Tomato-Basil Pasta Sauce

I LOVEeeeeeeee Pasta!!!! Unfortunately ever since I have moved to U.S I don't get to eat it as much as I would like. Not 'coz there are no Italian Restaurants but 'coz  there are no vegetarian options for me! Atleast not as much as I would like. I scincerely feel that if anyone wants to go Vegan then you should consider moving to India.Trust me it's heaven out there.You wont beleive the number of dishes you can make out of a single vegetable.

Ok now, getting back to the recipe. The reason this sauce is here  is 'coz even my husbands approves of it!!! So lets get started.

Tomato-Basil Pasta Sauce:

Preparation time: 30mins

You will need:

1.Tomatos - 4 (Big, Ripe&Juicy)

2.Onion-1 medium,finely chopped

3.Garlic- 4 Pods-Finely chopped

4.Olive Oil- 1Tbsp or less

5.Fresh Basil leaves- a small bunch(You can use dried leaves too.)

6.Salt to taste

7.Water

Method:

* Wash the tomatos and using the tip of a  knife make long cut all over. Make sure that the  cuts are only skin deep else all the juices will run out.

* Now palce the tomatos in a saucepan and fill it with water  till it covers the tomatos 3\4 of the way and bring it to a good rapid boil. Lower the flame and let the tomatos be till you start noticing the skin peel its where you made the cuts.

* Remove the pan form the heat, Strain and save the water and  immediately fill the pan with some cold water. (The Cold water will stop the cooking  process immediately and the sudden changen in temp. will make the skin of the tomatos to wrinkle, making it easier to remove it)

* As soon the tomatos are safe enough to be handled,peel off the skin and grind the tomatos to a smooth  paste.(Please ensure that the paste is smooth without any seeds.If you think that the paste has any seeds that you are unable to get rid off simply strain the paste before cooking )

*Now, in a skillet preferably with tall sides add oil and garlic,turn on the heat and cook the garlic till it turns light brown and releases that wonderful aroma.Make sure you are constantly mixing it.(Be carefull NOT to heat the oil before adding the garlic. Both need to heat up together.What it does is , it flavours the oil completely before it turns brown).

* Add the onions and cook them till it turn lightly brown.

* Add the tomato paste,salt,a few basil leaves& cover and cook it till done.(What you need to look out here is when you add the paste it will usually be an orangish-pink in colour however, when the tomatoes are cooked they turn red).

       Keep stiring the sauce else it will stick to the bottom of your pan.Also, you may want to add water as and when it starts to dry up.Use the water you reserved after boiling the tomatos.Maintain a medium consistency.

*  Once the sauce is done garnish it with a few more basil leaves.(Makes sure you use only the leaves and discard the stalk of the leaves).

Enjoy!!!

Apple Chips- Munch Away!!!

This  recipe got its way into my post when an old friend asked me for its recipe and I promised her that I will share it with her later as I was busy then, juggling between slicing, chatting,posting (On FB of course) and monitoring my oven all at the same time.Phew!

Eventually, when I sat down to mail her the recipe I realised I don't have her mail id :(. So, I decided to blog it instead and then share the link with her on FB.  Hemlata this one is for you:-

We went "Apple Picking " last month at a nearby farm. It was so much fun and got carried away. At the end of the day we had more than 10Kg of apples a day. Now I know "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" but come on ,10 Kgs of apple  would last us 10 months.So, I finally decided to do some research and settled with a recipe to make Apple chips. Now, these are super healthy and light so you can keep munching on with Zero guilt.

Apple Chips:

Preparation time: 1hour- 1 hour 15 mins

You will need:

1. Apples - Any Variety(ensure they are firm)

2. Parchement Paper

3. Slicer

Method:

Pre-heat your oven to 200F.

Wash and dry the apples completly. Now using a slicer cut thin slices of the apples.Cut them as thin as possible.Now line your  baking sheet with a parchment paper and arrange the apple slices ensuring that they do not overlap each other.

Bake at 200F for and hour and then check to see  if the colour has changed to light brown as in the above picture. If not bake it further for another 15 mins.

Once done the chips will be very soft\Soggy. Allow it to cool completely post which they will harden up and be very light and crispy.

Note: Ensure that you are baking at no higher than 200F else the apples will burn instead of bake.

I plan to bake a few more over the long weekend for a friend who is on her way to New York now and loves munching on chips in any form and then feels guilty about the calories intake. I am sure she is gonna love these super light , guilt free delight. Happy Baking!!!

Update : I have been showered with compliments by all who have eaten\made these chips and thats when I realised that I haven't mentioned the recipe source. I found this recipe in one of my favourite blogs.

A Waffel, a Crocodile and some Updates!!

So my last and first ;) post said that I had found my "GUY" and so much has happened since. We got engaged and then got married and recently celebrated our first Anniversary (Wow!). S got an exciting offer and we have moved to the US. As for me I am enjoying MY TIME OFF!!! It was tough at first and I must confess that S was an absolute sweetheart and supported me and helped me to settle in. Now, I am totally in love with the place. Winter is around the corner and we are really looking forward to it as we both have never experienced snow before in our life. Which reminds me of the current projects that I have been working on. It's a Men's Cap and a matching Scarf that I made for 'S' as our Anniversary gift and to keep him warm during the coming winter and a pretty Scarf for myself. Have a look :

Thats the Scarf made using whats called the "Waffel Stich" And here is the Cap:

S then convinced me to make something for myself and while I was digging up for patterns I came across the "Crocodile stich". Now I must warn you that this stich eats up a lot of yarn and is time consuming (Not that I am running short of any):

And here is a close up Shot!!





Cheers!!

Dedicated to my grandparents and their undying love....

So after what seemed like a never ending war with myself about whether or not to Blog I finally decide to go for it!!! (Well you see one always has the delete option.)

And as I sat here contemplating what should be my first post I faced the Herculean task of organising my thoughts,'coz you see my mind is probably the only thing bussier than a bee hive crowded with around a zillion thoughts running wild all at once. But then,so it was that all my thoughts faded away when I happened to think of "My first lesson in love".

After my 10th Boards I came down to my native for further education.I was in boarding, my first time away from home.So, when I got my 10 days leave for Onam I decided to visit my grandparents in our ancestral house.I was not sure though 'coz there was no one there except the old couple.A dwelling that once housed their 8 children and grandchildren was now deserted.I remember being scared at nights when I would visit for summer vaccations as a kid, even with that enormous crowd so that, I guess explained the butterflies in my stomach.

The first few days were as expected, quite uneventfull and I would spend majority of my time exploring the house which was my favourite activity even as a child.We had paddy feilds and a small stream running at the south east of this giagantic architecture which served as another pasture to my overactive self once I was done exploring the house(I must mention for the Nth time).

At the end of the day I would be so exhausted that I would be the first to crash with both my grandparents still sitting in the veranda.The electricity was sure to be out till mid-night and along with the distant sound of the cricket and un-nervingly close sound of mosquitoes there would be another sound that was sure to be there every night.My grandparents murmurring to each other....and it was the same murmurring to which I would wake up ever single morning.So one day by when I had almost exhausted all my "feild work activities" I diverted my attention towards the two frail bodies which sat in the veranda day in and day out and would be in a world of their own.To my curious self this was a part of the whole deal which I had never explored.

So I quickly finished my night activites and hit the bed only today my ears were pricked against the wall trying hard to hear their conversation.The next morning the usual lousy me was up @ 5.30 just so that I dont miss their morning ritual.Grandma was in the kitchen busy making the morning cuppa tea and Grandpa in his ever so famous Armchair.While I was busy observing this from a distance I got spotted by my grandfather who called me and said "Do you whanna see your Grandma get angry?" Whatever anyone might say but my memory of my grandmother is that of a tall,fair lady with hair upto her hips clan always in a clean white saree,who would miss her meal than miss lighting the lamp in the evening.Hence, such a sight of my grandma getting furious increased the curiosity in the already curious me.

My grandpa wincked at me and with that mischevious smile of his called out to my grandma asking "will I get Tea today or should I wait until tomorrow" to this came an instant voice of my grandma from the kitchen "What do you want me to do?The water will take its own time to boil".She kept grumbling till she came out with a cup of tea and spotted me as an audience to my grandpa's plot.She turned towards me shyly and said this is how we 2 old folks kill our time.Parents who bore 8 children were eventually left alone.But I had no feeling of pity or sympathy 'coz they were "Alone" but definetly not "Lonely".And Right there, at that moment I learnt my first and most important lesson in love.I decided that when I have to choose my life partner I will not go for looks or riches,caste or creed but for one simple thing....will he be the one I can talk to into the night everynight and yet have enough topics for another lifetime.Will he be the one who would pick up a fight just to kiss and patch up???

Grandma is no more, but Mom tells me even in her last stages where she could barely communicate if she could ever form a sentence it would be "Take care of Father when I am gone.He is my only worry"!

Today when I am at the threshold of sharing my life with someonelse.I have only one thought....I for sure can stay up everynight for the rest of my life and still never run out of topics to discuss with him......