scalloped potatoes with spinach

This is an awesome potato dish that i just discovered. it is really fun to make, and muy delicioso!

You'll need:
organic potatoes
spinach
chopped basil leaves
chopped parsley
cheese (shredded)
cream
milk
italian spices
salt and pepper

steps:
boil the potatoes for 10 minutes, then slice them thinly. in a greased pan, layer the potatoes on the pan, add a layer of cheese, spinach, basil, and parsely. sprinkle salt and pepper and spices. spread another potato layer and repeat. with the cream and milk, add salt and pepper to taste and pour over the potatoes last. then sprinkle cheese and bake on 350F for an hour or so, or until the potatoes are cooked and golden brown. Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You are a masterpiece

YOU ARE A MASTERPIECE

A plum once said, just because a banana lover came by, I converted
myself into a banana. Unfortunately, his taste changed after a few
months and so I became an orange. When he said I was bitter I became an
apple, but he went in search of grapes. Yielding to the opinions of so
many people, I have changed so many times that I no more know who I am.
How I wish I had remained a plum and waited for a plum lover.

Just because a group of people do not accept you as you are, there is
no necessity for you to strip yourself of your originality. You need to
think good of yourself, for the world takes you at your own estimate.
Never stoop down in order to gain recognition. Never let go of your
true self to win a relationship. In the long run, you will regret that
you traded your greatest glory - your uniqueness, for momentary
validation. Even Gandhi was not accepted by many people. The group that
does not accept you as you is not your world.

There is a world for each one of you, where you shall reign as king /
queen by just being yourself.
Find that world... in fact, that world will find you.

What water can do, gasoline cannot and what copper can, gold cannot.
The fragility of the ant enables it to move and the rigidity of the
tree enables it to stay rooted. Everything and everybody has been
designed with a proportion of uniqueness to serve a purpose that we can
fulfill only by being our unique self. You as you alone can serve your
purpose and I as I alone can serve my purpose.
You are here to be you... just you.

There was a time in this world when a Krishna was required and he
was sent; a time when a Christ was required and he was sent; a time
when a Mahatma was required and he was sent; a time when a J.R.D.Tata
was required and he was sent. There came a time when you were required
on this planet and hence you were sent. Let us be the best we can be.
Don't miss yourself and let the world not miss you.

In the history of the universe, there has been nobody like you and
to the infinite of time to come, there will be no one like you.
Existence should have loved you so much that it broke the mould after
making you, so that another of your kind will never get repeated. You
are original. You are rare. You are unique. You are a wonder. You are a
masterpiece. .. your Master's piece. Celebrate your Uniqueness.

- His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Vegetarian chili and corn bread!

This is total inspiration from Hyson and Kasia, when they cooked this at the youth silence course....absolutely heaven! I actually didn't make this totally from scratch...bought a can of vegetarian chili and corn bread mix from Trader Joe's, and added some sauteed zuchinis, carrots, and tomatos in the chili towards the end so there's at least some freshness. For the corn bread, i used coconut oil.... Serve hot and top it off with shredded cheese and sour cream. YUMMYYYYYY is all i can say!!!!!

Artichoke hummus

Nothing beats home-made hummus!! It is so easy to make, and takes only 5 minutes! Have it with bread, crackers, lettuce, or w/ other veggies. Also if you don't have artichokes in your back pocket, you can just have it w/out, it tastes delicious as well :)

Artichoke Hummus ingredients:

cooked/canned organic garbanzo beans
sesame tahini
lemon juice
artichoke hearts
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
paprika
a little bit of water (which you can use from the water from the can, or from the water that was boiled in the beans)

steps:
Blend all the ingredients into a creamy hummus. Bon apetite <3

Veggie burgers

we had this for lunch today...veggie burgers!

Potato patty ingredients:

boiled potatoes (organic)
peas
cumin powder
salt
paprika powder

steps:
boil the potatoes until soft. remove the skin and smash the potatoes. add in the peas, and spices and mix. form into patties. Put some oil onto a pan, and brown both sides... enjoy w/ whatever condiments you like :)

Corn Soup

one of my favorite and easiest soups to make! you can either use frozen or fresh corn, and use organic as much as you can! you can basically make soup out of any vegetable. instead of corn, i sometimes substitute it with zucchini, squashes, spinach, broccoli, or carrots. be creative with your dishes and don't be afraid to experiment with different spices and veggies. you'll be surprised what an awesome cook you can be :)

Love
Johanna.

Corn Soup

Feeds 4 pple, prep 15 minutes

2 cups of Organic corn (white or yellow)

1 tablespoons raw sugar (optional)

1-2 cups Water

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 cup Milk (whole milk is creamier, which is better to use)

Peas (optional)

Cilantro or parsley for garnishing

steps:

In a blender add the corn and water and blend. Place the contents into a cooking pot, and bring to a boil. Once hot add in milk and sugar, heat more, and add in peas. Stir occasionally, and then add salt and pepper to taste and top it off w/ cilantro.

hi!

happy monday! i had fun painting this card for my mom for mother's day...i really want to get into water color :)

pesto and quinoa

i used to have pesto w/ regular pasta, but find the wheat pasta to be very heavy. so instead, i use quinoa, an awesome grain that is packed with protein and is gluten free. i feel much lighter eating it like this, and i often keep sauteed veggies on the side like zucchini, broccoli, or other veggies. this is a mixture of red and regular quinoa. As for pesto, i absolutely LOVE pesto! Some people think that in order for pesto to taste good you have to add in the garlic and parmesan, but i find that it tastes really good as well w/out it. All dishes that i make are w/out garlic and onions, and they still taste really delicious.

Pesto:
extra virgin olive oil (organic if possible)
organic basil leaves (can get at trader joe's, whole foods)
pine nuts
salt

steps:
put pine nuts into blender, then olive oil, salt, and basil leaves. Blend together, serve fresh.

Enjoy!!!

Healthy chaat? what of course!

This is what we had today as a snack! Chaat is a popular indian snack that you can get by the road stands all over india, but especially in bombay :) It's known to be pretty unhealthy, with all the fried goodness. this is my first attempt at making Bhel the healthy way. No onions, so no bad breath! :) Came out pretty awesome!

ingredients: (you can get all these ing. at the indian store)

spiced organic potatoes (boiled, and cut into small pieces. then you add in paprika, salt, cumin powder and mix it up)
puffed rice
sev (little small pieces of fried strips made out of garbanzo bean flour)
tomato diced
cilantro chopped
tamarind-date chutney (tamarind paste, dates, water, salt, ginger powder, cumin powder, honey, blended together into a thick paste. to make it easier to blend, i boil the dates in water until they are soft and then put into the blender)
sprouted mung beans
yogurt (optional)
chaat spice mix (my hubby got this mix fm india, but i can taste black salt, and bunch of other spices in it)

steps:

first prepare the potatoes and tarmarind chutney. then in a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together, and spice it up to your liking. Yogurt is my favorite part, but not everyone likes it, so you'll have to decide. ENNNNJOY!!

Annapoorna, the Goddess of Nourishment

good morning all! this blog is really fun, and i am glad i can share part of my life w/ you guys. please drop in a line and let me know if you have any suggestions, comments, etc.

The goddess to my right is Annapoorna devi. She is the Hindu goddess of nourishment. Anna means food and grains. Purna means full, complete and perfect. She is form of Parvati, the consort of Shiva. When I met Yashoda Maa at the bangalore ashram and cooked food for her in her little ashram room, she would tell me to pray to her and ask for her blessings so the food would come out really good :) I don't really do that when i cook these days, but i have a pic of her as reminder that food is not just something that will fill your stomach, but is sacred and should be honored. It is a symbol of wealth and abundance, and when you cook with that intention and gratitude, it really won't matter what spices you put in, it is your love in the food that people will taste.

Green beans w/ coconut

this is an awesome indian dish, and my hubby and I absolutely love it!!!

Savory green beans w/ coconut

Ingredients:

green beans cut into small pieces (blue lake or french)

shredded coconut (fresh or frozen)

coconut oil (be generous w/ it, its high in the good saturated fat)

cumin seeds

mustard seeds

curry leaves

sea salt to taste

steps:

heat the coconut oil to medium heat, and add in cumin seeds, mustard seeds and curry leaves. Roast the spices till the mustard seeds start to pop and cumin seeds start to brown. Add the green beans. Let it simmer on medium-low heat until it is tender. Add the coconut and simmer more. Add salt to taste. Enjoy! I notice the coconut oil really adds to the flavor of the beans rather than using regular olive oil. you can try it both ways and see which one u prefer :)

mmm...lettuce wraps :)

these lettuce wraps are very easy to make and soooooo yummy! i have had these wraps in restaurants where they put soy protein, but since i'm not a big fan of soy these days, i use nuts as a replacement. in this pic i have used pecans.

Lettuce wraps

Feeds about 4 people, 40 minutes

Ingredients:

4 sticks of celery (chopped into small squares)

2 carrots (chopped into small squares)

2 handfuls of green beans (cut into small pieces)

ginger (finely chopped)

1-2 tbspoons of Sesame Oil

1-2 tabspoons of Soy sauce (or to desired taste)

1 tablespoon of Sugar (optional) (preferably raw, organic kind)

Cilantro for garnishing

2 handfuls of toasted cashews or other nuts (chopped into small pieces)

2-4 tablespoons of toasted sesame seeds

Iceberg lettuce

steps:

heat the sesame oil to medium heat and put in the ginger. Sautee ginger to lightly brown, and add in the chopped celery, carrots, and green beans. Sauteed till cooked and tender. Add soy sauce, sugar, cashews, and sesame seeds. Sauteed for another 3-5 minutes or until the soy sauce has been mixed in well.

Serve w/ the lettuce wraps. Cut the base of the lettuce and peel the leaves gently so they form into bowls where you can put the filling inside.

bon apetite!

it's my first blog!

hi everyone! this is my first blog, yay! looking foward to sharing with you some veggie, low carb, and healthy recipes that i created, art, tips, and more fun stuff! stay tuned.... :)