Country: D for Dominican Republic Dish: Rice & Beans We are back to South America today, to Dominican Republic. It is a nation on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean region. Chrsitopher Columbus landed in Hispaniola in 1492, during the first of his 4 voyages to America. Dominican Republic is the most visited destination in the Caribbean. The first time I heard of this country was 9 years ago from a colleague who was from Dominican Republic....

Classic Dutch Baby Recipe Not to be confused with a newborn from the Netherlands, today’s Dutch baby is actually an incredibly tasty, giant German pancake! If you’ve never had one, it’s something of a cross between a popover, crepes, and pancakes (though it’s much lighter than a traditional pancake). The beauty of this recipe is that it comes together in minutes in a blender, and the rest of the time is spent in the oven....

How long it takes: 15 minutes plus 2 hours to chill Equipment you’ll need: trifle bowl, mixing bowl, electric mixer, measuring utensils Servings: 10 Once fresh strawberries hit the market, I start thinking about this trifle. It’s one of my sister’s favorites so we often make it for her birthday. It kind of looks like a fancy layer cake in a bowl so we stick a few candles in it and sing Happy Birthday!...

How long it takes: prep time 10 minutes, grill time 20 minutes, 30 minutes to 6 hours to marinate Equipment you’ll need: small bowl, ziploc bag or large bowl, grill Servings: 6 (2 drumsticks each) However, we came from the East side of the state, a more diverse area, full of fantastic ethnic food, Middle Eastern in particular. Ben grew up in Dearborn, Michigan and also worked there for four years....

Happy Mid-Week and we are totally basking in the glorious taste of this Grilled Watermelon Habanero Margarita that we made a few days back to welcome sunny weather. Spicy Margarita’s are our favorite party drink or something we love even if it’s just the two of us but have you ever tried ‘Watermelon – Habanero‘ combination?? The flavors are going to blow you away and the good news is this can be made using only 5 ingredients (no habanero roasting or peeling needed)....

Learn how to make this healthy dark chocolate at home with detailed step-wise pictures. After white chocolate, I am back with another chocolate recipe, and this time it is dark chocolate bar. With just three ingredients, you can make healthy and delicious dark chocolate at home. The most significant advantage of making dark chocolate at home is controlling the amount of sugar that goes into your dark chocolate. It is also free of preservatives and additives, making it a healthy indulgent snack....

Be sure to check out the how-to VIDEO at the bottom of the post! World’s Best Ice Recipe Ice. It’s what separates us from the animals. Scientists have probably argued for years that it is the practice of adding frozen water to room temperature water that differentiates human beings from all other species, and I couldn’t agree more. Today I’ll be showing you exactly how I make my own homemade ice cubes in my own kitchen....

Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables. The beautiful emerald spears are so wonderfully delicious and always remind me of spring because they are one of the first green shoots to appear in the garden. How long it takes: 5 minutes to prep, 12 minutes to roast Equipment you’ll need: sheet pan Servings: 4 Asparagus is high in nutrients, particularly folate, along with lots of vitamin A and vitamin K, and it contains a lot of fiber, too (Healthline)....

Quick Easy Indian Chickpea Salad One of my most favorite go-to salad all season long is this ‘Indian Chickpea Salad’, also called ‘Chole Salad’ (in Indian language). A great mix of fresh ingredients, boiled chickpeas with nuts/cheese, and some chat masala (a lemony-spicy blend of spices – available in every Indian store). It’s packed with flavors, filled with nutrients, and works as a light meal or easy to pair with any kind of food....

Are you down with cold or flu? are you looking for comforting food for this cold and rainy weather? Then you are in the right place. What’s better than a spicy, filling, and chunky soup like this vegan cauliflower soup? Also, this soup is easy to make, and you can customize it according to your preference. Why Spicy Soup? I know spicy foods are not the remedy for cold and flu, but it soothes and comforts you....

When I was going through my archives this summer, I realized I have posted quite a few dal recipes but apparently missed this Punjabi style dal fry. Again, I am glad I missed it. :-) Isn’t this a perfect time to post this dal fry? When I started cooking North Indian food, I always get confused between dal tadka and dal fry. Then my friend V explained the differences. In simple words, dal tadka is the simple dal tempering without much spices, onion, and tomatoes and you add the tempering to the boiled dal, whereas in dal fry you add the cooked dal to the tempering and tempering is prepared with a whole lot of spices and with onions and tomatoes....

My Homemade Jalapeno Popper Recipe These jalapeno poppers were inspired by one of my favorite snacks from back in the day when, as a teenager, I worked at a local Arby’s restaurant (this is where I actually met my husband!). These were one of my favorite items on the menu, and when I was pregnant with Luke, despite not having eaten there for years, they somehow became my #1 pregnancy craving (the number of times I burned my tongue biting into one of those bad boys is just too high)....

Kadarangai Gojju Finally, here I am with my next kadarangai recipe. I was planning to post it right after the kadarangai rice recipe. But with the new pup at home and with hectic work, I couldn’t get back to the post. As always, better late than never. I am glad that I can post it today. As I mentioned above, gojju is a sweet and sour dish, and it is prepared with different veggies....

Kale Oats Paratha – Kale Indian Flatbread I think I’m in love with Kale 😉 … .It’s one vegetable that I can’t get enough, it tastes great raw or cooked and with so many benefits…I can say it’s one real healthy affair. Kale Oats Paratha – Kale Indian Flatbread Ingredient Kale – fresh or frozen Quick Oats – you can even use oats flour or just pulse whatever kind of plain oats you have....

I am back with another savory recipe but this time with the millet, precisely pearl millet. I am so glad that millets are gaining their popularity back again. Of all the millets, pearl millet is my favorite, maybe because I grew up drinking the gruel or the kambu koozh. :-) So I thought of making a sweet and a savory recipe with pearl millet this time. For this thattai, I went with simple flavors....

Kathal Sabzi – Kathal ki Sabzi – Indian Jackfruit Recipe What is Kathal ki Sabzi? Come winter’s and I start craving this Kathal Sabzi or as many know it Kathal ki Sabzi or Jackfruit Curry. Kathal which is also known as ‘Jackfruit’ all over the world, is mostly available in India during the winter season and you see an array of recipes then after. I’ve grown up eating it every winter, so whenever winter/fall starts here in California, the cravings for the Jackfruit recipe peaks too 😉 Here’a the detailed ingredient list for this recipe using ‘Canned Young Jackfruit’ which is a raw, cleaned, thickly sliced jackfruit that’s not sweet in flavor....

How to Make Kettle Corn at Home My homemade kettle corn recipe makes light as air, perfectly sweet, and slightly salty popcorn that tastes just like what you can buy at your local fair, carnival or Fall festival–only fresher and significantly less expensive. Similar to my caramel popcorn, this recipe fits right in among my other festival favorites, including my super simple funnel cake, chewy soft pretzels, and flavorful fried pickles....

Today I want to talk about the differences in salted and unsalted butter, substitutions you can make if you only have one kind on hand (and it’s not the kind your recipe calls for), and why some recipes call for one type of butter over the other. Until about two years ago, my inclination when baking was to always reach for the salted butter, no matter what the recipe said....

Something about summertime always gets me going a little crazy with the lemon recipes. The tartness is a refreshing pick-me-up in the heavy humidity and, after a few 90-degree days, I’ve been keeping these lemon crumb bars stocked in our fridge. They’re not a far cry from the lemon pie I shared recently, only the lemon filling is slightly creamier and encased in a crumbly streusel based crumb rather than a pie crust....

How long it takes: 20 minutes prep, 45 minutes to bake Equipment you’ll need: electric mixer, loaf pan Servings: makes 1 large loaf (10 slices) While banana bread and zucchini bread have kind of a rustic, home-baked vibe to them, this lemon poppy seed bread feels more like something you’d enjoy at your favorite coffee shop. And that lemony flavor—I probably could eat the entire loaf of this lemon poppy seed bread in one sitting!...