Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Blog Patrol # 4

The Blog Patrol team has been busy again. Busy checking out recipes by food-bloggers, and then busy trying them out. Here's the report. :) Alphabetically presented.

1. Butternnut squash Subzi/ Kaddu ki Curry by Krithika of Manpasand: Krithika presented this recipe as a part of an informal event: Nigella Awesome. And this dish too was simply awesome. I had never eaten pumpkin/butternut squash paired with Kalonji/nigella seeds before, but I now know that I am gonna make it often. Apart from the earthy aroma of nigella seeds, what makes this curry special is the addition of Amchoor/dried mango powder. Try it out. You won't regret.

2. Eggless maple syrup-pecan cake by Shammi of Food, in the Main...: I took this one along to a typically German 'Kaffee und Kuchen' party with my Italian friends. They loved it. I loved it too. They were surprised to hear that it had no eggs. (They also found it difficult to understand why somebody would * want * to bake a cake without eggs. I didn't try to explain it to them. They don't understand vegetarianism. Never mind. :))
What is important here, is that it is a great cake, and I highly recommend it.

3. Honey Banana Muffins by Nandita of Saffron Trail: I made these muffins almost immediately after Nandita did her post on them. I found the combination interesting, and the fact that there are no eggs in it encouraged me even more. (It's not that I don't eat eggs, but I somehow fancy baking without them. Maybe because they were never a part of my growing-up?)
As for the muffins, they were easy to prepare and were ready to be taken out of the oven in 15 minutes. Ideal as a surprise evening treat for a tired-after-work husband. :) Even better, if the husband makes them as a surprise treat for a tired you!

4. Italian Vegetable Soup with Gnocchi by Meeta of What's For Lunch Honey?: This one too I made almost immediately after Meeta blogged about it. Only that I didn't include it in one of my previous editions of 'Blog Patrol', because every one of them already has at least one dish blogged by Meeta. :) To be honest, whenever I want to cook something non-Indian, I open Meeta's blog. Each and every vegetarian dish of hers that I have tried, has been a success. Especially the Italian ones...mmmmmmm.
As for this dish, Meeta gives us the option of combining various vegetables. The last time I made it, I used one small zucchini, 1 medium carrot, 1 medium red onion and 1 small yellow pepper. Also, I used readymade stock cubes. (Although Meeta graciously asks to refer to a post by me for the recipe of vegtable stock! See the irony of things? :))

5. Tomato Rice by Saffron Hut: A wonderfully aromatic preparation. It smells so delicious while it is cooking, that you don't even have to call your family to the table; you find them waiting there already! :) And it is ready within minutes. Great for those weekend dinners, when you are too tired after a day's shopping. ;-)
By the way, I used 'imported' from India readymade Biryani Masala instead of the Garam Masala suggested by SH. (I wish we knew her name. Calling somebody a 'hut' is just too much.)
Anyway, name or no name, this recipe is a keeper.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for the mention- I was searching for a belated birthday card to send you and something else diverted me...anyway, here's wishing you a great year ahead.
Coincidentally I made snake gourd curry yesterday-wish snake gourd fresh from the market. Your blog patrol is coming after quite some time :)

CIao

Krithika said...

That is so sweet of you. So glad that it turned out well.

Meeta K. Wolff said...

Vaish baby! I was wondering when the next Blog Patrol would be coming around! Thank you for those kind words and you know what. I made another recipe recently and thought of you. WIll be posted a little later. In the meantime. I hope you'll be taking part in my next monthly mingle ... as you missed the last one.

Anonymous said...

Hey Vaishali,

So the blog patrol is out again huh? Glad you liked the tomato rice recipe.

I know you have a little grief about anon bloggers :-) but I quite enjoy the anonymity of my pseudonym :-)

Hey, a lot of folks have started calling me Saffron and I'm getting used to it now...

now, about Hut as a last name?...hmmmm you are right, doesn't quite have a punch to it, does it?

cheers!

Shammi said...

Thanks for the mention, Vaish :) I'm proud to be featured here!

RP said...

Belated happy birthday wishes Vaish!
Good to see your blog patrol. Good job.

Vaishali said...

Hey Nandita, thanks for looking for a b'day card for me. Never mind, that you didn't send one. The thought counts(!).

Thanks for checking out the post, Krithika.

Meeta, oh yes, I missed the last Monthly Mingle. I missed a lot many events in the past month. Have been very busy, you know. However, I don't wanna miss it this time. Nope.

No problem, Saffron. You choose to be anonymous; I respect it. Only that I'll keep cracking jokes about it every now and then. Hehehehehe

Shammi, proud? That feels nice. *grin*

Thanks, RP. You are always so nice to me. :)

Anonymous said...

And this dish too was WOW Gold fundamentally awesome. I experienced in no way eaten pumpkin/butternut squash paired with Kalonji/nigella seeds before, but I now recognize that i am RS Gold gonna ensure it is often.