Cottage Cheese and Cucumber Salad

This is possibly the easiest salad you will ever make.  Seriously.  I promise it will take less than 4 minutes to prepare – INCLUDING the time it takes to gather up the ingredients.  Don’t believe me?  Try it.

 

Ingredients:

1 cup Cottage Cheese
1/2 cup English Cucumber
1/2 teaspoon dried Dill Weed
Salt and Pepper to taste (if desired – I usually skip it)

 

Tools:

Medium Salad bowl
Spoon
Knife for cutting cucumber

 

1. Measure out one cup of cottage cheese and drop into bowl;
2. Cut cucumber into bite-sized pieces and place in bowl over cheese;
3. Sprinkle dill over mixture;
4. Mix well, adding salt and pepper if desired/needed;
5. Check time and realize that I was right, it DID take less than 4 minutes to prepare! 🙂

 

This is a great recipe to make your own.  If they’re in season, try it with grape tomatoes or fresh, sweet green onions or even a bell pepper to add colour.  As long as the ratio of cheese to veg remains the same (or close), this will turn out.  It also keeps for a few days in the fridge so you need not worry about making the exact right amount.

RESTAURANT REVIEW: Baba India, Oakley

Food: 9/10

Service: 5/10

Value:
Dinner – 8/10 (you get what you pay for)
Lunch – 9/10 (lunch buffet is a great deal!)

 

Photo credit: www.babarestaurant.com

3120 Madison Road
Cincinnati, OH 45209
513.321.1600

www.babarestaurant.com

Genre:
Indian, Pakistani

Attire:
Casual

Price Range:
$$

Hours:
Mon-Sat          1130am-230pm
                        500pm-1000pm
Sun                1200pm-900pm

 

Located on Madison Road in Oakley, Baba India is an easy favourite of many East Siders.  Known as well for their affordable lunch buffet as well as for their poor service, this restaurant is owned by the same family as Ambar India and while it shares many of the same menu items, I suspect the main reason for Baba’s slightly lower prices is its distinct lack of ‘ambiance.’   Despite the bare bones look, even the less than stellar service is more than made up for by both the variety as well as the quality of Baba’s menu items. 

The lunch buffet ($6.99) on weekdays is a reliable option for those who want to be seated right away, eat right away and leave right away.  As the restaurant is a converted fast food building, there is plenty of seating.  The buffet items seem to be cooked in small batches and are always in good supply and piping hot.  It’s a great way to introduce Indian food to a newbie since the menu items are pretty diverse including anything from Korma to Samosas to Tandoori Chicken.  There are always several options for both vegetarians and meatlovers alike.  The service at lunch as well as dinner leaves much to be desired, with waiters often bringing the cheque mere moments after sitting down with your meal – to some, this might be convenient; to me, it’s a little rude.  Ordering take away at any time of day is always a good option since the service is fast and you will likely feel less like an annoyance to the staff when coming in to pick up rather than to ask for a table – or so has been my experience.  If you order ahead, however, be aware that they are closed until 5pm most days and are not likely to make an exception; I’ve not realized this before and was told to “call back in ten minutes when we’re open.”

As far as menu items go, the Garlic Nan is a solid option and the Chicken Tikka Saag along with the Chicken Jalfrezzi are consistently above par, as Indian fare goes.  The portions are definitely plentiful, the choice items and their accompanying Rice Pilaf is always hot and fresh and is more than enough for two average eaters to share when served with a couple Nan breads.  

Bottom line: great food, poor service… but really, the food is so good you will hardly notice.

 

 

 

Since the main theme of this blog is food, I think it’s only fitting that it also include some restaurant reviews.  Every Saturday, you’ll find a review of a local eatery in the Cincinnati area – if you’re interested in having your restaurant reviewed, please contact me.

Zucchini and Carrot Loaf

I recently called my gramma to ask for her recipe for Zucchini loaf and she flat out refused.  “It’s too greasy!” she said, “I threw out the recipe!”  Luckily, I eventually found my own copy and did some tweaking…  A little less oil, an extra egg and a touch of milk.  Here it is:

 

Ingredients:

11/2 cups all pupose flour
1 cup sugar (feel free to subsitute Splenda)
1 teaspoon ground cinamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup shredded zucchini
1/2 cup shredded carrot
cooking spray/butter/margarine for coating pan
2 teaspoons milk

 

Tools:

Loaf pan
Large mixing bowl
Small mixing bowl
Whisk (or large fork)
Spatula
Cooling Rack

1. Preheat oven to 325F;
2. Mix together in large bowl, flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda;
3. In separate bowl, whisk eggs, milk, oil and vanilla;
4. Gently pour wet mixture into dry and mix until JUST combined (be careful not to over churn!);
5. Pour into greased loaf pan;
6. Bake approximately one hour and fifteen minutes until top is dry and cracked and inserted wooden toothpick comes out clean;
7. Remove from oven when done, after five minutes, remove from loaf pan and plan on cooling rack;
8. Slice and serve!

Three Bean and Lentil Soup

Well, here’s one of my own recipes from back when I was a vegetarian.  I cooked a lot of soups at school (especially using a slow cooker) as it was cheap, easy, healthy and provided me with enough to freeze in single servings to take with me to work or just heat up when I didn’t feel like cooking but the pocket book didn’t allow for ordering pizza.  Be forewarned, the 4 teaspoons of curry paste might be too much for some tastebuds to handle (also depends on the heat factor of the paste itself), so play it safe and you can always add more heat later.  This is great to let simmer on the stove – it will make your house smell very cozy!

 

Hey, once you’ve gathered your ingredients, this recipe takes 15 minutes – so go get your simmer on!

 

Spoon a big bowl, curl up on the couch with your honey and serve with a big crusty hunk of bread…. Yum!

 

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh minced gingerroot
4 teaspoons curry paste (if you don’t like heat, go for 1 or 2 for flavour and add depending on your heat tolerance)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh corriander
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes
6 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
3/4 cup lentils
1 each – can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), kidney beans and black beans – drained and rinsed
salt and pepper to taste

 

Tools:

Large pot (dutch oven)
Wooden spoon
Knife (for chopping onion, etc)
teaspoon (for measuring)
measuring cups
mincing tool (for garlic and gingerroot)

 

1. Heat oil in large pot (dutch oven) over medium heat;
2. Cook onions, garlic, ginger and curry paste, stirring often, for 5 minutes until onions soften;
3. Add chickpeas (garbanzo beans), kidney beans, black beans, lentils, vegetable stock, tomatoes and water;
4. Let cook 15 minutes or until cooked through;
5. Stir in corriander, lemon juice, salt and pepper;
6. Serve with crusty bread and ENJOY!

Sour Cream Chicken

I appologize in advance for not having a photo today as we’re running into some technical difficulties.  If you’re like me, the photos are one of the reasons I return to read a blog – especially when it’s about food – so please know that I do my best to have a photo accompany every post!

 

This is what I call comfort food.  Yes, its very rich and it sticks to your hips so it’s not something you want to make very often but sure is a treat.  Serve this over rice of any kind or over hot egg noodles.  Another great winter time recipe taught to me by my mom.

 

Pork chops can be substituted for the chicken to make yet another tasty variation that might be a little easier on the wallet.

 

To cut out some fat and calories, try using fat free sour cream.

 

Ingredients:

 

1-2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 package dry onion soup mix

1 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon dried dill

1 pinch paprika

Salt and Pepper to taste

 

 

Equipment:

 

Fry pan or skillet

Large mixing bowl

Large spoon or whisk (for mixing wet ingredients)

Baking dish large enough to hold all meat in one even layer

Tin foil (if baking dish does not have lid)

 

 

Instructions:

 

1)      Preheat oven to 350ºF;

2)      Heat vegetable oil in fry pan or skillet over medium heat;

3)      Brown chicken on all sides;

4)      In separate bowl, combine rest of ingredients and mix well together;

5)      Place browned chicken in baking dish;

6)      Pour wet mixture over chicken;

7)      Cover with lid (or use tin foil) and bake for 1 hour.

The Underrated Omelette

 

I am someone who loves breakfast on the weekend. Sure, cereal is great and pancakes are a yummy treat now and then but when I roll out of bed late and am looking to cook up something substantial but not sweet covered in syrup, an omelette always seems to fit the bill. Serve with a steamy cup of coffee, an english muffin and half a grapefruit and you’ve got brunch!

One of the reasons I like omelettes so much is that they are so versatile. My sister loves them plain with only cheese, my husband likes them dressed up with cheese, hot sauce and salsa and my favourite changes depending on what’s in the fridge haha. Go to the end of this post for some ideas for great combinations. Once I had mastered scrambled eggs as a kid, this was the second recipe I was allowed to make on my own. It’s great for kids because it’s so versatile and they can add whichever fillings they want.

Oh, and as far as I’m concerned, the only thing better than breakfast is breakfast for dinner – so next time you get home from work late, hungry and tired, why not cook one up instead of giving in to the temptation to dial for take away?

Ok, so without further ado, here is the (EASY) recipe:

 

Ingredients:

2 eggs (use 3 egg whites instead for a lower fat version)
2 tablespoons of skim milk (or whatever percentage of milk you have – water works too for lighter fluffier eggs)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Dash of onion salt (optional)
Dash of paprika (optional)
½ teaspoon of parmesan cheese (grated)
Cooking spray

 

Tools:

Cereal bowl (or small mixing bowl) for mixing
Fork (for beating the egg mixture)
Teaspoon (for measuring roughly)
Fry pan (preferably nonstick)
Large lid from a pot (optional)
Large spatula

 

1. Place pan on stove, spray with cooking spray (alternately, melt a small amount of butter or margarine) and turn to medium;
2. Crack 2 eggs into bowl and beat well;
3. Add milk (or water), salt, pepper, paprika, onion salt, parmesan cheese and beat well;
4. Pour mixture into pan, turn down to medium-low and place large cover over pan (this helps the top of the omelette to cook as well as the bottom so flipping is usually not needed);
5. Prepare filling ingredients (see below for combination ideas);
6. Once top egg is cooked through (no liquid is left on top), cover half of the egg with filling and gently fold the egg in half, turn heat to low and cook for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted or filling is heated through;
7. Remove from pan and enjoy!

 

Filling ideas:

• Cheese (one or any combination of cheeses to your taste);
• Salsa, hot sauce and cheddar;
• Garlic kielbasa and mozzarella;
• Asparagus and sharp cheddar;
• Bacon and potato;
• Green pepper, olives, feta and tomato;
• Ham and Swiss cheese;
• Whatever leftovers are in the fridge and suit your taste!

 

Please feel free to leave comments here with what you like in your omelette!

Ale-8 Pound Cake

When I moved to Cincinnati about a year ago, I realized that, since my husband (fiance at the time) was also new to the area, I would have to figure out how to make some new friends.  I had previously heard about a website called Ravelry, which is an online porthol for everything fibre-related (knitting, crocheting, spinning, weaving, etc.).  Since I’m a knitter, I thought this site might be a great way to meet some new friends in the area with whom I share this common interest.  To be quite honest, I was expecting to meet a bunch of conservative grannies (and maybe a few crazy cat ladies) … which couldn’t have been further from reality.  Our group – that started as four of us meeting up at Starbucks once a week for a couple hours – has now grown to close to 20 women who meet up at a local bar to knit, drink, eat and chat.  For those not particularly familiar with the knitting world, these meetups are often referred to as ‘Stitch ‘n Bitches’. 

In any event, we’ve all become quite close and one of our members hosted a girls night this weekend.  We all had a great time, most of us drank a little too much and we had some great food to nosh on through the evening.  One dish in particular, the Ale-8 Pound Cake was something I thought I’d like to share.  It’s a pound cake flavoured with a regional drink called Ale-8.  Julia, the gracious chef, explained to us that it’s a pop that is native to Kentucky and is like gingerale… but fruitier.  Apparently the distribution rights are now owned by Coca-Cola but the pop continues to be made (and I think is only available) in Kentucky.  I would imagine that this cake could turn out well using other types of gingerale; however, if you want it to be authentic, see if you can track down the real thing.

 

 

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter
½ cup vegetable shortening
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
1 teaspoon lemon extract
3 cups all purpose flour (plus extra for pan)
1 7oz can of Ale-8
non-stick cooking spray (alternately, use shortening to grease pan)

 

 

Tools:

Large mixing bowl
Wooden spoon or spatula
Measuring cups
Electric hand or stand mixer
Tube/bundt pan 
Serving dish

 

  

1. Preheat oven to 300F;
2. Grease, then flour tube/bundt pan;
3. In mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar and shortening;
4. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition;
5. Add lemon extract while continuing to beat mixture;
6. Add small amounts of flour and Ale-8 alternately, beating well after each addition;
7. Pour batter into prepared pan;
8. Bake at 300F for 1.5 hours;
9. Let cool in pan, then turn onto serving dish;
10. Cut, serve and enjoy!

 

 

As mentioned above, this recipe can certainly be used with other types of gingerale; however, I have a hard time believing that this light fruity flavour can be duplicated by substituting any other type of pop.

Thanks Julia, for the great recipe!