Spinach Potato Frittata

Sometimes it's the routine in life that makes it interesting. Wouldn't you agree that there is a thrill accompanying the comfort in looking forward to your daily routine: like for me I know that after a hectic day of teaching, I can look forward to my favorite show Parenting every Tuesday night, I know that  lil Nikky is usually tired and ready to sleep everyday at 8.00 pm every nite (yay!) and that a busy week will always be followed by the weekend. I also know on Sunday mornings I will be making my potato spinach frittata.  I look forward to this every week as I know that once the eggs are baking in the oven, I can relax with my cup of tea and a warm tasty breakfast will ready soon. Ah the bliss of routine!

I make my frittata with potatoes, spinach, onions and sometimes a tomato, along with  shredded cheese I have on hand, some chopped jalapenos and some cilantro. I use 2 eggs per person and adjust the veggies accordingly. If I am feeling too cheeky I throw in a asparagus or broccoli.

This is not a recipe but just a general guideline of how to make a fritatta.

In a skillet pour a tbsp of olive oil, add chopped onions and fry till translucent. Toss in some sliced jalapenos. Then add chopped, peeled potatoes( no need to boil) to your skillet and fry till potatoes begin to soften. Throw in a handful of spinach at this time and let it wilt for a few mins. Remove skillet from stove. Meanwhile beat 2 -  4 eggs gently. Stir in the potatoes-spinach mixture along with a handful of cheese. I use pepper jack or sharp cheddar but almost anything is fine.Top with some sliced tomatoes if desired. Flavor with some salt and garnish with cilantro.

Take a baking dish, grease the bottom with some olive oil. Pour in the egg mixture.

Oh, I forgot to mention that you need to preheat your oven to 350 F while you are doing all this. Place the baking dish in the oven and let it bake for 30 - 40 minutes. You know it is done when a knife inserted comes out clean. I typically bake upto 40 mins, over baking causes the eggs to harden. Enjoy!

Update on Nikky

My baby is now walking! I have to admit that he is walking like a zombie - hands out, face scrunched and serious, stepping gingerely taking care not to fall. He is such a cautious dude. It is such a pleasure to experience these milestones. He can say tata, duck, yuck and along with mamma and dada. He is beginning to understand instructions and takes care NOT to follow them! He is a little stingy with his 'kissies' and you really have to make him laugh before you get one, although it is generously doled out to things that light up and sing or things that have pretty pics. I am thinking I really need to improve my singing skills or maybe dress in brighter colors to get more kissies, eh? He is still an early bird, waking up at 5.00 am every morning. Any ladies out there know when that will change? Okay, that's all for now.

Roasted Vegetable Panini

Ah summer! Is almost over! I have been super busy, finishing up my post doc and transitioning into a new job this summer. Little baby N aka Paapu is little no more. He has turned one and behaving all of it! Its super fun though to watch him achieve his milestones - no greater pleasure than watching those chubby fingers grab a cheerio and aim correctly into the mouth, and then ofcourse spit it one second later because he is bored!
Coming home after a long day of work and putting together a tasty dinner is no simple feat. Not the actual process itself but taking the decision of what to make seems to be the hardest. I am still trying to shed those baby pounds, so last week's menu was healthy. One among that being the roasted vegetable panini.  I kind of got the idea from the Passionate Eater but changed the recipe to suit my palate.

The recipe is quick and easy. Just have fun while making this!

I sliced an eggplant, red pepper, squash and onions into long thin pieces. I drizzled the veggies with some olive oil, sprinkled lots of salt and pepper. I laid them to roast at 350 F on a cookie tray for about 30 - 40 minutes. I turned the veggies once in between. You know they are done if they start charring or getting too crisp.

I then toasted some crusty bread with olive oil on a tava. You could use butter too.
Then I spread one side of the bread with hummus. Other options are pesto or marinara sauce. I then laid out some slices of mozarrela on the warm bread......its get a little gooey when the bread is warm and holds the sandwich together. Assemble the veggies and layer the other bread on top. Done!

Hardly took me any time. While the veggies were roasting I was able to feed Paapu and get him ready for his bath. A perfect summer meal. Also perfectly suited for Nupur's BB6. This is perfect for a potluck because the recipe does not take too much assembling time. The sandwiches can also be served cold. So you could roast the veggies the previous day and assemble it on the day of the party. Enjoy!

Cranberry out of the pantry!

When Nupur announced her BB4 event to help clean the pantry, the first thing that came to mind was the bag of craisins - dried cranberries- that has been hibernating in my pantry for a really long time ! After the baby, we have turned into  big fans of Costco aka anything-we-sell-is-cheap-but-you-buy-sacks-of-it store, I tend to grab bags of dried fruits and nuts whenever I visit there. Just because they are cheap and make a nice healthy snack. But I pretty soon got bored of munching on cranberries and tossed it into a deep dark corner. So to clean my pantry, here are three goodies using cranberries. I don't have a picture of the last one since I munched on it as I made it and the leftovers where not pretty. Two of the three recipes were inspired from the hostess Nupur, they can be found here and here. The first site I look for anything as I find her recipes simple and delicious.

1. Cranberry quick bread

• I set my oven to preheat at 350 degrees. I then soaked 2 cups of dried cranberries in some warm apple juice for 30 minutes. I did not add any sugar as the cranberries were already sweetened.

• I then mixed together 2 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1⁄2 tsp. baking soda, 1⁄2 tsp. cinnamon powder and 1⁄2 tsp. salt.

• Then whisked together the wet ingredients: 2 large eggs, 1/4 cup butter and 1 tsp. vanilla extract. I folded the wet and dry ingredients gently. Added the soaked now plump cranberries along with the juice. Baked it for 45 mins

Voila! The cranberry bread is ready! The bread turned out very moist and tasty!

2. Cranberry Pecan Granola

I have been making this very regularly since I made it for the first time. I make a big batch that lasts for two weeks. Hubby loves it and so do I. A great start to the day!

I follow Nupur's recipe to the tee except that I skip the molasses as I don't have any. I add pecans or almonds just to change it up a little every week. The next few weeks I will be substituting the raisins with cranberries. Add some chopped fresh berries in there to give a more summery flavor.

3. Cranberry Peanut Trail Mix

This one is not from a blog but from a patient of mine. We were chatting one day and she mentioned how she makes her trail mix with peanuts and cranberries. I have 2 big bottles of peanuts (Costco again!) in my pantry. So they got thrown together with cranberries, M and Ms, raisins and almonds. What a healthy and satisfying snack! I carry these in a ziplock in a purse and they come very handy.

Phew! That almost cleaned my pantry of cranberries

Chettinadu Gobi

Its been busy! Work, home, play ....everything is keeping me very happily occupied. And lil N is growing so fast. He is 10 months old already. He has started crawling and does so many cute things that I am almost thinking of converting this into a baby blog. Atleast, will have lots of pictures to show for it :). So indulge me dear readers if I do chat about my boy now and then. Oh and he just got his two front teeth! Can't wait to make cookies for him!

Without any further ramblings, I am going to jump to the dish. I have always been a big fan of Chettinadu cuisine.  Though I never ate much Chettinadu dishes growing up, they have a nice niche in my heart (or is it tummy?) due to their rich use of spices and vibrant colors. Chettinadu is known for its chicken dishes and here I attempted to replicate one of them using cauliflower. It is a perfect side dish for rice or roti. The dish is adapted from Solai's True Chettinadu Kitchen.
As I followed the recipe to the tee, I am not going to post it here. I marinated cauliflower florets instead of the chicken. You could deep fry the cauliflower to make it more sinful yummier. Do not sober the dish down using less chillies as it will not be chettinadu then! The dish tasted great and will be something that will be cooked in my kitchen often.