Valentine's Day Special Vegan Dip

It is often said, 'You are blessed doublee if you are in love'. So how many thumbs up for this? Valentine's day is here, express your feeling of love, affection and friendship. No matter how you dice and slice it, food and love are always inextricably tied. What are you planning for the love struck holiday? If your girl is hot, I've got something to really heat up your romantic date. Appetizers is a must from small to large scale gathering and even for a date. 

Hope you enjoyed my last year’s Valentine’s day special recipe, Cheesy hearts. A winning dip or spread can score big at any special occasion. This is a classic hot vegan dip that can be served with almost anything your soul mate likes whether it is crackers, chips or roasted vegetables. Do you really want the good times to roll? Serve her with something sizzling, tangy and spicy apart from your love.

Vegan Walnut and Red Pepper Dip

Ingredients:-

1 cup Water,

3/4 teaspoon Salt,

3 red bell Peppers,

1 small Garlic Clove,

1 1/2 teaspoons Paprika,

1 tablespoon Lemon juice,

2 slices Toast Pita Bread,

Black Pepper as required,

3/4 teaspoon ground Cumin,

1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar,

4 ounces toasted Walnut pieces,

2 teaspoons Extra-virgin Olive Oil.

Preparation Method:-

1. Roast peppers over gas burner till they are black. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Cool for 15 minutes. Peel and discard skin, stem and seeds. Keep aside.
2. Toast pita bread until crisp. Break into 2 inch pieces and place in a bowl. Cover with water. Soak until soft for 10 minutes. Transfer to a sieve and drain well. Press out excess of water. Keep aside.
3. Blend garlic and walnut pieces in a food processor. Now add paprika, cumin and reserved peppers and pita bread. Process for another 10 seconds.
4. Add lemon juice, oil, vinegar and salt. Season with black pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate it overnight.
5. Before serving, bring the dip to room temperature. Drizzle with oil. Garnish with walnuts. Enjoy with any snacks.
   

Happy Valentine’s Day

Food Ideas on Thanksgiving

Hey friends, hope you all had a yummilicious weekend with my recipe Healthy Turkey Mushroom Burgers. Here are s’more food ideas to enjoy the party to the fullest.

Turkey Muffins (Chocolate Candy Muffins) - One of the most loved dessert on any occasion is muffins. Simply prepare chocolate muffins and top it with chocolate cream. For the beak, you can use candy corn wings. Candy eyes are readily available in the market. If incase you don’t wanna use candied eyes, make eyes using vanilla cone and set a dot of chocolate, that gives the impression of the eyes. These muffins are my all time favorite. The muffins plate will be finished in no time, that’s a promise.  

Turk Turk Sandwiches (Turkey Sandwiches) - The simplest and quickest of all the breakfast to be prepared on Thanksgiving is the turkey sandwich as shown. The sandwich filling can be placed with turkey/chicken slice if you are a non-vegetarian, cheese if you are vegetarian and tofu if you are a vegan. All you need to do is show your creativity this way. Place in sliced almonds for the first sandwich and colorful capsicum for the second and third one. You can use black olives or boiled peas to denote eyes. Cashew nuts may also denote beak of the turkey.

Fruity Turkey Wings with Dip (Fruits with Yogurt Honey Dip) - The heavenly blend of yogurt, honey and cinnamon is gonna drive you crazy. Though you can pair any kinda meat (beef or pork) with this dip, I thought of introducing something extra lite for the fitness freaks. For this, I chose granny smith apples and gala apples. You'll really go gala with the red gala apples. Pretzels sticks denote feet of the turkey. Cutting thin slices of apples and placing in a dish as shown here is a creative idea and a lite appetizers for the people who are really health conscious. 

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Celebrate the The Vegetarian Fest with Tofu and Peanut Dip

The Vegetarian Festival of Phuket, Thailand is celebrated each year at the end of September to beginning of October, which lasts for nine days. The largest island of Thailand, named as ‘Pearl of the South’ looks spectacular on this fest. On this fest, the Chinese community considers the event as the beginning of the month of ‘Taoist Lent’, according to which the followers of the Tao, restrict themselves from eating meat and meat products. The main centre where the festival is celebrated is Jui Tui temple. It is the oldest and well renowned temple of Phuket. Highlights include:

• Walking on hot coals
• Climbing knife-blade ladders
• Piercing skin with sharp tools

I thought of making something out of tofu for the vegans/vegetarians. Hope you liked my vegan recipe ideas for Father's Day special. You can smartly substitute almond with peanuts, for the people allergic to peanuts. Tofu can be deep fried directly or you can have it as follows. 

Fried Tofu with Peanut Dipping Sauce Recipe

For Deep Fried Tofu

Ingredients:-

1 pound Tofu,

Oil for deep frying as needed,

4 tablespoons Cornstarch or Flour.

Preparation method:-

1. Drain the tofu. Cut the tofu into triangles or squares as desired. Roll the tofu in the cornstarch or flour. Heat wok and add oil for deep frying. Heated the oil to 350 D. F.
2. Fry, until the tofu is golden on both sides. Remove with a skimmer spoon and drain on paper towels. Keep warm while frying the remaining tofu.
3. Serve with Chinese-Style Peanut Sauce.

For Chinese-Style Peanut Sauce

Ingredients:-

1 pinch Salt,

2 tablespoons Sugar,

2 tablespoons Vinegar,

7 sprigs sliced Cilantro,

1 teaspoon ground fresh Chili paste,

2 tablespoons toasted and crushed Peanuts.

Preparation Method:-

1. Take a large microwave bowl to prevent over boiling. In a microwavable bowl, combine sugar, ground fresh chili paste, salt and vinegar. Heat up for a minute or till sugar is dissolved.  
2. Stir the sauce with a spoon to blend all the ingredients in. Add the crushed, toasted peanuts and top with the sliced cilantro. 
   

Enjoy the spirit of the fest!