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.

Restaurant Review : Burma Road, Gaithersburg MD

Burma Road : http://www.burmaroad.biz/ 717 S. Frederick Ave, Gaithersburg MD 20877

Burma Road as the name suggests is a restaurant catering to Burmese cuisine although they have a separate section for your run of the mill Chinese food as well. Burmese cuisine is very similar to Indian and Chinese cuisines and is a fusion of sorts of both.

I've been to this place a few times and have always had a good experience. The place is very easy to miss on Rt 355 in Gaithersburg, but it's worth to find this place for the food.

I've tried the Coconut Noodle Soup which is a personal favorite of mine. Rib sticking soup made of coconut milk, egg noddles , onions and shredded chicken with spices make this a delicious treat.

Another popular item on the menu is the Chicken/Lamb and Potato. It's very similar to the Indian curry, chicken cooked in tomatoes and spices along with potatoes. 

Their menu lists the Pickled tea leaf salad as a must try although I am not too fond of it.

Food : Good

Ambience : Okay

Service: Good

And if you're not sure about tasting Burmese cuisine there's always the Chinese menu here.

Vegetables and Egg Casserole

Today I have a breakfast item which is a good substitute to the common omlette. It's the Vegetables and Eggs Casserole. This preparation is similar to the breakfast quiche recipe .

Ingredients :

• One Medium sized Zucchini/Squash
• Small pack of Mushrooms (White/Baby Bella/Shitake)
• One Tomato
• One small onion
• 4 Eggs
• Chopped Ham ( You can skip this if you want to keep it vegetarian)

Chop up the Zucchini,Mushrooms,Tomato and Onion into medium sized pieces. Using a Cooking pan on Medium heat sauté them together with a little Olive oil until the vegetables begin to soften. Sprinkle a pinch of Chili powder while cooking to add a little heat to your dish.

In a mixing bowl, break open the eggs and beat them with a fork. Add salt and pepper to this according to your taste.

Place all the vegetables from the pan in a Oven dish. Add the Egg mixture on top making sure it is evenly spread in the oven dish. Add the chopped ham from the top making sure it is evenly spread.

Set the oven to 375 F. Place the dish in the oven until it is cooked for 30 minutes. When the top and bottom of the dish starts to turn brown it is ready to be served.

Enjoy 3 servings for breakfast or lunch. 

Split pea soup with Ham

Want a delicious and cheap way to get more fiber in your diet ? Then consider the split pea soup as part of your regular diet.

Ingredients :

• One pound of split peas 
• One large onion or two smaller ones
• Pinch of Turmeric
• One large piece of ham steak cut up into small pieces ( you can skip this if you want a vegetarian soup)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Soak the split peas in water for 2-5 hours.  Try to follow this for cooking any type of lentils as this will  reduce your cooking time by quite a while ( and save energy!). 

Chop up the onion into small pieces and add it to a large cooking pan. Saute the onion in cooking oil until it turns soft. Add the turmeric to the onion while it gets cooked.

Next add the soaked split peas to the pan. Add boiling water to the pan up to the level that it just covers up the peas. Bring this to a boil on high heat and then immediately reduce the heat to medium.

Cook the split peas stirring occasionally for an hour until the peas break down in the soup. Add the ham to the soup at this point along with salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy 6-8 servings which you can use as a healthy lunch for an entire week!