July Recipe Swap: Vegetarian Spring Rolls

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 A new month and with it comes a new recipe swap.

This time Christianna of Burwell General Store  asked us to give our take on Oregon style coleslaw.

 

We have had a coleslaw recipe swap earlier as well. That time I had given an indo-chinese take on the recipe. This time too I am doing an Indo-chinese take on the recipe.

I don’t know why, but there is something about cabbage that always makes me think of chinese food. Maybe because of its use in chow mein noodles. Or in manchurian. Or in spring rolls.

Growing up I loved spring rolls. My mom would hardly make them at home, but we would get them at the Air Force Mess parties and I would always feast on them. The filling always comprised of cooked chow mein noodles mixed with finely chopped veggies like carrots, cabbage and bell peppers that were sauteed in soy sauce, vinegar and ginger garlic paste. The wrappers always made from scratch.

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Garam Masala Tuesdays: Chicken Samosas

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Samosas are the quintessential Indian tea time snack. Everyone loves samosas, and when ever you crave one in India, only a few blocks away from you you will find be a guy scooping out some fresh samosas from a big pot of hot oil. Needless to say, that option is not available where we live. So when I am craving one, I have to make some on my own.

My favorite are of course the regular potato kinds – about which I have posted in the past. But since I make them every time for any potluck where non-Indians are concerned, I thought I would try a different filling this time.

This time I went for a non vegetarian filling.

Generally, the non vegetarian filling that my mom uses is made from lamb meat, but since I was cooking for my non Indian friends, I decided to go with chicken as the filling. From my experience I have realized that Americans (or at least the ones I have come across) are not too fond of lamb preparations. Maybe that’s why none of the grocery stores in a 100 mile radius of where we stay carry lamb meat.

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Oven baked Rutabaga Fries, a Review & a Giveaway

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So after more than a month of no blogging, I am back and plan to keep it that way. I could give you the reasons for not blogging, but I realize I will just end up whining. And that is something I just don’t want to do, especially today.

Since I have been away for so long I thought I would come back with not only a recipe but a giveaway as well.

A few weeks back Ariosto seasonings sent me some samples to review.  (Do understand that even though these samples are free, I have not been paid for the review and the opinion I share today is unbiased, or as far as being unbiased goes)

Ariosto seasonings have been very popular in Italy for over 47 years. They have an excellent range of Italian seasonings which combine the right amount of specially selected herbs, spices and Sicilian sea salt to perfectly flavor meat (chicken, beef, pork and lamb), fish and side dishes. The seasonings use herbs such as rosemary, sage, juniper, bay, oregano, garlic, thyme, sweet marjoram, basil, coriander, onion, parsley, carrot and celery to create traditional Mediterranean mixes. All the seasonings are natural as they don’t contain preservatives, colorings or MSG.

I received several packages of Ariosto seasonings. One was for poultry and meat, one for tomato sauces, one for roasted or fried potatoes, one for fish, and one with garlic and chili pepper.

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