Caramelized pear and plum grilled cheese

I had some pear and plum left over since baby ate just a few slices of it and I decided to make something out of it. I caramelized it and used it in grilled cheese. It was an extremely tasty impromptu recipe ! 

Ingredients 

Bread - 2 slices 

Butter - 2 tbsp  ( 1 tbsp extra )

Cheese ( I used white cheddar with herbs de Provence) - 5 slices ( this was a block cheese so cut into a few slices , if using sliced deli cheese would use 2 slices ) 

Pear - 1/2 cut into small cubes 

Plum - 1/2 cut into small cubes 

Brown sugar - 1 tbsp 

Cinnamon - pinch

Nutmeg - pinch 

Instructions 

1. Place a saucepan on medium heat and add two tablespoons of butter , now add the cubed pear and plum and sauté and then add the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sauté well for 5-6 minutes until it is caramelized and take off the stove and set aside 

2. Now take the pieces of bread and butter one side of each slice. 

3. Now arrange the slices of cheese on the bread and spread the caramelized fruits on top.

4. Place the bread on a sauce pan on medium heat and let it cook for a minute and then flip over and let it cook for another minute or longer until cheese is melted and the outside is golden brown 

5. Grilled cheese is now ready to serve 

Cheese sandwich

One of my go to lunches is a cheese sandwich. Often people wonder as vegetarians what I put on my sandwich. I usually put whatever I have laying around in terms of vegetables and with the right condiments the sandwich makes for a tasty and satisfying meal 

Ingredients :

Bread - two slices 

Cheese ( any kind , you can get the deli cheese or just cut a few thin slices from a block of cheese )- a few slices 

Mayonnaise - 1/2 tbsp

Mustard - 2 tsp 

Onions - cut into slices 

Tomato - cut into rounds and deseeded ( so that the sandwich doesn’t become mushy)

Olives 

Dill pickle slices 

Cucumber - cut into rounds 

Bell pepper - julienned 

Lettuce - shredded 

Mushroom - cut into small slices 

Salt

Pepper

Olive oil 

Instructions 

1. Place mayonnaise on one slice of bread and spread evenly 
2. Then place the mustard in the other slice and spread evenly 
   
3. Place cheese slices in the bread
   
4. Then place all the vegetables on it
   
   
   
5. Drizzle some olive oil on top . Sprinkle some salt and pepper and oregano ( optional)
6. Cut into half ( triangles ) and serve . Sandwiches are typically served with chips, soup  or fruit on the side
   
   

Paneer tikka masala pizza

Paneer Tikka Masala Pizza

Prep Time:  20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes 

Written by guest author Rich

We have been craving Indian pizza.  Unfortunately, the nearest place that we can find that serves it is in Michigan.  One day I was cruising the internet for recipes to inspire me to make it.  I found one on Green Planet by Tori Cooper (vegan Indian pizza ) that at least gave me the right combination of ingredients however, it was vegan but we both love cheese.  

Also, Cooper’s recipe doesn’t include roasting the spices, which is a must in Indian cooking otherwise it leaves you with a raw bitter taste.  I also had to make some other changes as the sauce was a bit sour.  

 

Pizza dough 

 

For the Pizza Dough, I used one can of Wal-Mart Pizza crust.  Grease a round pizza pan and roll the dough.  Set aside and allow to rise.  

 

Ingredients

 

Spices for roasting 

2 teaspoons of ground turmeric

2 teaspoons of garam masala

2 teaspoons of ground cumin

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 clove

½ teaspoon ground red pepper 

3 pods Cardamom crushed

2 Tbs Sesame Oil

Mix all the spices in a magic bullet (blender) to crush the clove and cardamom and to mix the spices.

 Heat oil on a pan and add the spices to it and roast for about a minute.  Set aside 

 

For Sauce

4 cloves Garlic minced

1 thumb ginger peeled and chopped

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 small white onion chopped 

1 cup green and red bell peppers

1 can tomato paste (mix with 1 can of water and set aside)

1 can chickpeas

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 cup of cherry tomatoes – crushed 

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 cup of plain yogurt (We prefer Desi Natural)  Don’t use Greek yogurt ( it seems more sour) 

½ cup fresh cilantro chopped

¼ cup Brown Sugar

1 bag of fried paneer (Or one block – cubed and fried in about two tablespoons of butter)

 

Toppings: 

1 cup freshly shredded mozzarella cheese

Tamarind sauce

Red and green bell peppers chopped

Instructions

 

1) Heat oil in a pan on medium heat.  Roast the garlic, ginger, and onion until the onions are transparent. then add the bell peppers and roast them 

2) Add the ground spices and a tablespoon of of oil and roast them as well. 

3) Add tomatoes and cook until the raw smell is gone.  

4) Add chickpeas, lemon juice, tomato paste, paneer, and cook until chickpeas are tender.  

5) Add yogurt and flour and cook until sauce thickens.  

6) Taste sauce and add brown sugar a spoonful at a time until the sour taste is gone, and sauce is slightly sweet.  

7) Spread sauce evenly across the pizza crust.

8) Spread cheese, chopped bell peppers and cilantro on the top.  Bake the pizza at 425F for 15-20 min or until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly 

9) Take out of the oven and drizzle with tamarind sauce. Now delicious pizza is ready to serve.

 

 

Yogurt rice

I love eating rice with different things added to it. In South Indian cuisine rice is a staple and there are different things that can be added to rice such as sambar, rasam, kootu etc. These are different kind of gravies added to cooked white rice . There are also rice dishes called ‘variety rice’ which are rice dishes with stuff already added to them such as biryani, lemon rice, coconut rice etc.

Yogurt rice can be as simple as adding yogurt to plain white rice with a little bit of salt and mixing it together or it can be served premixed in a little fancier fashion as shown below. Yogurt rice is eaten at the end of the meal since it cools down the palate.

Ingredients

Cooked medium grain white rice (cooking rice)- 1 cup

Warm milk - 1/4 cup

Plain yogurt or sour cream- 1/2 - 3/4 cup 

For seasoning 

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Urad dal- Split dehusked black gram 1/2 tsp

Peanuts or cashews  - 2 Tbsp

Ginger - cut into small pieces- 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida - pinch

Green chilly- 1/2 de seeded and finely chopped ( optional) 

Curry leaf - 4 or 5

Cilantro leaves - chopped 1 Tsp

Salt to taste 

Oil - 1 tbsp for tempering the seasoning 

Instructions 

1. In a bowl let the rice cool down
2. Add the warm milk and mix well ( this is added to the rice so that the yogurt doesn’t get sour if serving later)
3. Add the yogurt to the rice and mix well. You want the rice in a rice pudding like consistency.
4. Place a pan on the stove on medium heat and add oil to it.
5. Now add the seasoning ingredients one at a time to the oil in the order that they are listed. Ensure the mustard seeds sputter and the urad dal gets slightly brown before adding the peanuts ( roasted until golden brown). Now add the rest of the ingredients and roast  for a few seconds.
   
   
   
   
   
6. Take off the stove. Now add the seasoning to the yogurt rice, add salt to taste and mix well.
7. Yogurt rice is ready to serve ! It can be eaten by itself or with vegetables ( poriyal)  like potato poriyal (potato poriyal) eggplant poriyal, etc. or with pickle.