Paleo dinner (sort of ) Shrimp and Brussel Sprouts

Here's a quick < 30 mins dinner I like to throw up together every now and then.

Ingredients :

• Large uncooked Shrimp ( 1 lb)
• 1 cup mushrooms (white/ baby bella /shitake)
• 1 small onion
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• 1 pack of premarinated Brussel sprouts (courtesey Trader Joes)

Cooking the Shrimp :

Dice the garlic into small pieces. Add it to a cooking pan along with some oil. Let the garlic cook for 1 minute. Chop up the onion and add it to the pan, Cook until the onion turns soft for 5-7 minutes on medium heat.  Add the cup of mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms turn soft for 5 minutes. Finally add the shrimp and cook for another 10 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the shrimp (stop cooking when the shrimp curls up and another couple minutes after that)

Cooking the Brussel sprouts :

The Brussel sprouts from Trader Joes are premarinated with garlic,olive oil and pepper. Simply add this to a cooking pan and sautee for 20 minutes on medium heat until the brussel sprouts turn softer and look evenly cooked.

Serve the shrimp and Brussel sprouts with 2 hard boiled eggs and half an avocado. Serve some carrot sticks on the side.

Food in Beijing,China

So last week I got a chance to visit Beijing, China for a business trip and the food was well.... interesting to say the least! It's a Vegiterian's nightmare and even for non- veggies the local cuisine is quite difficult to handle. Here are some pictures from the local restaurants :

Traditional Beijing food (1)

Mystery meat 

Traditional Beijing food 2

"Vegetarian food"

Soup for Lunch

More "Vegetarian " food

Salad made of Lotus and Wild flowers

Restaurant Review : Mediterranean Grill

Mediterranean Grill  : 5221 Buckeystown Pike, Frederick MD 21704

As someone who is extremely fond of Mediterranean cuisine, this is one of my favorite restaurants in Frederick. The Mediterranean diet has been recently reviewed in the media as one of the better diets to lead a healthy lifestyle : http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/24/mediterranean-diet-heart-health/2013417/

Getting back to the restaurant, the food is mainly Turkish/Lebanese. They have a nice selection of mezze , salads and lunch sandwiches.

For lunch , I started off with the Tirosalata Dip which is prepared from roasted red peppers, red chili peppers, feta cheese and lemon juice. The other mezze dip options of Hummus, Baba ghanouj and Tzatziki are good as well. All dips are served with a warm Pita.

Tirosalata

They have a great selection of lunch sandwiches for only $ 10. You get an option of soup or salad with your sandwich. I recommend the spinach and lentils soup or the Greek Salad.

I had the Mediterrarean Chicken Salad Sandwich. It is a delicious sandwich filled with chicken salad, cilantro hummus, cucumbers, sun dried tomatoes, onions and feta cheese on a pita.

Mediterranean Chicken Salad Sandwich

Under the salad options my favorite is the Mediterranean Cobb Salad. A generous portion of diced tomatoes, avocado, onions, eggs, feta cheese, and kalamata olives on a bed of organic baby greens with honey balsamic dressing. Top if off with some Chicken Shawarma and you have a delicious meal.

The only drawback about this place is the time it takes for the food to come to your table. Especially during lunch, when they have a rush of people between 12-12:45  pm it is best to avoid else or be ready for a long wait time. Personally I okay with their service since this is not fast food and the food quality is good.

Food : Very Good

Ambience : Good

Service : Okay

Chicken Sandwich/ Burger

Ingredients :

• Chicken thighs (Boneless and Skinless)
• Fresh Garlic/Chili powder/turmeric/salt for marinating the chicken

Toppings for the Sandwich/Burger :

• Onion rings
• Tomato slices
• Fresh spinach leaves
• Avocado
• Lemon Juice

In a previous post I had put up a recipe for Baked Chicken :  http://foodieinfrederick.blogspot.com/2013/01/baked-chicken-with-little-heat.html , I will be using the same for this recipe. Once the chicken is cooked, pile a piece of chicken on the bread. Pile on the Avocado, Onion rings, Tomato slices and spinach leaves. Squeeze some lemon juice from top.

Now for the best part, take the top slice of bread and soak into the chicken juices marinated with garlic and spices. Enjoy this delicious sandwich and thank me later.

Bread Pudding

Bread pudding is a quick to make dish which can be served for breakfast or a quick snack. It is also a good way to use some of the extra bread left over.

Ingredients :

• 4 cups of milk
• 2 eggs
• 5 teaspoons of sugar
• 3-4 slices of bread (preferably fruit bread)

In a mixing bowl crack open the eggs and add the sugar. Beat the eggs with a fork and add milk to the mixture. Tear up the bread slices into small pieces and soak the bread into the mixture. Add some lemon/orange zest for flavor. Sprinkle some raisins/dry fruits from the top. Transfer this mixture into a rice cooker and cook for 30 minutes. 

Serve chilled with a drizzle of honey and some fruit on the side.

Food in Italy!

Here are some pictures of my meals taken during my trip to Italy last summer.

Prosciutto

Mozzarella Cheese

Salami

Lasagna

Cottage Cheese and Green Peas Curry

Today's recipe comes from a poster who wishes to remain Anonymous.

Ingredients :

• One pound of Cottage Cheese ('Paneer' from Indian stores preferably because the grocery stores ones are too soft for this recipe)
• One Large Onion or two smaller ones
• Half Cup of Cashews
• One Cup of Green Peas 
• Half Teaspoon of Turmeric and Chili Powder
• One Teaspoon of Ginger and Garlic paste (Or few cloves of hand chopped garlic and ginger)

Defrost the cottage cheese for a couple of hours if it was kept in the freezer. Slice the cottage cheese into small pieces and keep it soaked in salt water until it is ready to be cooked.

Chop up the onion into small pieces. Stir fry the onion with a little oil until it starts to turn brown. Add the cashews to the onion while it is being cooked. After the onion and cashews turn brown a bit , add this to a mixer. Blend it until the mixture turns into a fine paste. 

In a cooking pan heat up some cooking oil and add in the ginger/garlic paste,turmeric and chili powder. After cooking it for 2 minutes add in the green peas and cook until the peas soften a little.Add the onion/cashew paste from the mixer along with the cottage cheese. Cook for 10-15 minutes on medium heat. Add salt to taste. Serve with rice or indian bread and enjoy 3 servings for Dinner.