If you want a salad that is hearty, healthy and colorful look no further than this page. Tomatoes and olives are a match made in heaven and in this dish they are combined with just pasta and olive oil, allowing their flavors to shine. I prefer to use black olives in this, cause the colur and taste compliment the dish much better than green olives. But go ahead and experiment. After all the pasta recipes with the heavy sauces, this is a welcome break to my stomach. There’s absolutely no guilt when I indulge in this one. Come to think of it, I have no guilt in indulging in food at all! Warm Penne, Tomato and Olive Salad Prep time: 20 mins Serves: 4 as main course / 8 as salad What you need: 5 ripe Tomatoes 12 Black Olives sliced 400 gms Penne 4 Tbsp extra virgin Olive Oil 1 tsp Oregano 1 Tbsp fresh Parsley Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper, to taste What to do: Cook the pasta in a large pan of lightly …

Well baking is really not my forte. Not that I suck at it, but I would never really attempt a 10 layer cake and expect to get it right. That’s what the patisseries’ are for right? That said, this Banana Bread recipe is extremely simple. Actually I am even willing to call it failsafe. Add to the fact that it lets you use up overripe bananas left over from overzealous shopping expeditions, well who’s complaining?? The basic Banana bread recipe remains the same and you can toss any dried fruits/ nuts into it to make it more interesting. I would suggest walnuts, almonds and raisins. Also for a yummy flavor you could add blueberries.. but solo. We don’t want a hodgepodge now do we? It’s a really dense bread, so it keeps moist for a long time. But it’s never lasted beyond two days at my place… cause we eat it up!! Double Banana Nut Bread Recipe Courtesy: Shelley Albeluhn Baking time: 60 mins Serves: 8-12 / One 9X5 inch loaf What you need: 2 …

There are some days when you say to yourself, “This is too easy and boring..Lets complicate life a bit.” Ok, no one really says that, but adding a little challenge to a mundane existence does spice things up! This kind of thinking also occurs in the beginning of the year when resolutions are made with hearts braver (or more foolish) than the rest of the saner months. So my challenge was to make ravioli – from scratch. Huh! Did I disappoint you? Maybe you thought I was going to Base Jump?? Well considering this is a food blog lets stick to my adventures in cooking. So here’s my Spinach and Cottage Cheese Ravioli, which really was a LABOUR of love. It took me a good 2 hours to make, cause I hand rolled the pasta. Of course you can be saner and just buy some and toss it into the pan… But where’s your sense of smug achievement? Happy New Year by the way. 🙂 Spinach and Cottage Cheese Ravioli Cooking time: 2 hrs Serves: …

The reason I’m calling this a vegetarian Spaghetti Alla Putanesca is because the original recipe calls for anchovy fillets and I haven’t used any! Come to think of it, I actually have consciously avoided any recipe that calls for the use of anchovy. I love fish, I really do.. But in the form of canned fillets which remind me of cat food by the way… I have avoided them. I’ll let you know when I pick up the nerve to try some, but till then this recipe will be what it is. It’s a really simple, tasty and speedy dish by the way, so don’t hesitate to try it. Spaghetti Alla Putanesca (sans anchovies) Cooking time: 35 mins Serves: 4 What you need: 3 Tbsp Olive Oil 2 Garlic cloves (finely chopped) 1/2 cup Black olives (pitted and chopped)1 Tbsp Capers, drained and rinsed 1 kg tomatoes, peeled and chopped Pinch of Cayenne pepper/ chilli powder1 dried Red Chilli, torn into pieces Salt 400 gms dried Spaghetti 2 Tbsp chopped fresh Parsley to garnish What to …

What is it about the color yellow that makes us think of summer and feel happy at the same time? Perfect for a dreary winter night, this chowder has loads of yellow in it! Corn, cheese, potatoes and cream. When you finally eat it, the happiness of the yellow gets transferred onto your face in the form of a content smile. Chowder is a thick soup, usually milk based, made with seafood, fish, vegetables or chicken. The name comes from the French chaudiere, a copper pot in which fishermen’s wives cooked a communal soup from a share of each man’s catch to celebrate the safe return of the fishing fleet from the sea. OK, so this recipe does not have fish but the story does make you feel all warm and benevolent, just like this soup! Corn and Cheese Chowder Cooking time: 30 mins Serves: 8 What you need: 90 gm Butter 2 large Onions, finely chopped 1 clove Garlic, crushed 2 tsps Cumin seeds 4 cups (1 ltr) Chicken stock 2 medium Potatoes, peeled …

If I had to have only one type of cuisine for the rest of my life it would have to be Indian food. Maybe I’m partial to it because I’m an Indian, but I’m lying if I say that’s the only reason. I’m actually kinda cheating when I say ONE type of cuisine, cause it’s not one actually 🙂 Indian Cuisine is so diverse you can just spend the whole of your life sampling all the dishes and you would still have not covered half the country. Anyway, the recipe below is a North Indian favorite. You can serve it as a starter or a main course (like I have with some Ghee rice). You can substitute Ricotta for Cottage cheese, it would give you the same results. As for the Indian spices, if you don’t have them… then don’t make the dish! It won’t be the same … Honest. Hariyali Paneer Tikka Cooking Time: 15 mins Serves 6 as starter and 4 as main course What you need: 500 gms paneer (cubed) 1 big Capsicum …

One of the staple ingredients that I have in my kitchen is good quality pasta. You can toss in some veggies and sauce and voila you have something edible and yummy in less than 15 minutes. That definitely qualifies as a sure fire idea for a work day dinner. It also helps that the co-resident is a big fan of Cheese Sauce, so there will be no negotiating the day’s dinner plan when this recipe is announced. The main veggie in this recipe is Peppers or Capsicums, but you can substitute mushrooms, broccoli, corn, spinach etc etc etc. Be creative! Peppers can be found in a variety of colours – Red, Yellow, Green and Orange. Red peppers tend to be the sweetest when cooked, while the green ones are the spicy ones. So use them liberally to spice up your dish – taste and looks wise both! Peppers are also an excellent source of antioxidants so it probably will spice up your looks as well 🙂  Pasta with Peppers in a Cheese Sauce Cooking time: …

Alfredo sauce is a world famous Italian sauce – for its wonderful flavor as much as its calorie rich ingredients! Butter, Cream and Parmesan Cheese. Well I’m not going to apologize that this post has nothing to offer for a person on a diet. But I will throw in a variation to make this recipe slightly less rich… ahem ahem. I have also used chicken but feel free to jump on the calorie bandwagon by substituting bacon. Fine, fine I really am not trying to fatten up the whole world, but being blissfully content for one night is not such a sin! Farfelle Alfredo with Chicken What you need: 2 skinless chicken breasts 2 Tbs olive oil2 tsp crushed garlic (optional for sauteing chicken) 2 Tbsp butter 1 cup heavy cream ½ cup grated Parmesan400 gms Farfelle PastaSalt to your taste a little ground black peppera pinch of sugardash of nutmeg What to Do: The key to this recipe is keeping everything you need at hand, because you need to toss it all in at …