An Asian Feast - Lotus Stem in a sweet, sticky, sesame sauce.

When I was working for a stock broking firm in another life, working crazy hours, having no sense of balance, taking pride in being a workaholic, if someone had asked me what I liked to do, I wouldn't be able to think of anything, except work! But, I have realised that  to be happy, I needed more, more of a connection - spiritual, creative, with other people, with the environment!

Over the years, I have had a chance to pursue some of my interests and it has been absolutely wonderful to meet with people who shared this passion. Whether it is a shared interest in literature, sports, music or Food!

Recently a couple of my friends and I got together to make vegan sushi and the result was a massive Asian feast - Miso noodle soup, Vietnamese rice paper rolls, Lotus stem in a sticky sweet sauce and Sushi. The preparation involved only slicing and chopping some beautiful and colourful vegetables and cooking the most flavourful sushi rice and taking a ton of pictures (well, the credit for that goes to my friend Dipti Jain!). The real experiment and surprise of the lunch was the lotus stem preparation, simple, quick and yummy with a surprising texture. I am eager for all of you to try this recipe, its really great!

 

Lotus Stem in a sticky, sweet, sesame sauce

Ingredients

3 lotus stems
5-6 dried red chillies
1 tbsp (or more) sesame seeds
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
11/2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp (or lesser) olive or sesame oil
salt to taste (although its probably not required)

Process

Soak and wash the lotus stems well. With a knife scrape the skin away. Now thinly slice the lotus stem in a slant fashion, this helps increase the cooking surface and decrease cooking time.
In a hot wok, pour in the oil, red chillies and sesame seeds. As they begin to pop and splutter, add the sliced lotus stems. Fry them for a couple of minutes and add the vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and salt if required. Stir, and the liquid will quickly become a sticky sauce. Let it cook for a few more minutes and  take it off the heat. The lotus stem should still be a little crunchy.
Enjoy hot!

Peanut butter Cookies

As a person with such a connection with food, a lot of my happy and feel good moments are related to food. And I have passed this love on to my family as well! With my daughter at home for vacation, we are creating fun and easy to make goodies everyday and enjoying them together. It is a real highlight of her day to be cooking and making healthier versions of the traditional fare, it makes her feel responsible for her health and have fun while doing that!

Peanut butter (the kind which has organic peanuts, no hydrogenated oil, salt and sugar), is a great addition to your diet, a good source of protein and good fat, which can help lower cholesterol. We are both (my daughter and I) big fans and are constantly trying peanut butter with anything from our raw oatmeal to a bowl of fruit, vegan ice cream or a humble toast. Even our vegetarian golden retriever, Bheem is a big fan. So today, I am sharing not one but 2 peanut butter cookie recipes - one for people and one for dogs!

Peanut butter cookies - for people

Ingredients
3/4 cup peanut butter (hydrogenated oil free)
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp water
11/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (use only if your peanut butter is unsalted)

Process
Mix the peanut butter, coconut oil, sugar and water until smooth. Combine the dry ingredients and add to the wet ingredients. Beat until well incorporated. Roll into equal balls on a silicon sheet or a greased tray and flatten with a fork (1/4 inch rounds). If you prefer, chewy cookies with a soft centre, like me, leave the cookies thick, as you can see I leave mine pretty thick. And if you prefer them thin and crispy, flatten them further.

Preheat the oven to 180*C and bake for 7-10 mins or until golden brown.
Let it sit on the baking sheet for an additional minute before transferring to a cooling rack, otherwise they tend to break or crumble.

Peanut butter cookies - for dogs

Ingredients


3/4 cup peanut butter (hydrogenated oil free)
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
2 tsp sugar
4 tbsp water
11/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (use only if your peanut butter is unsalted)

Process
The same as the recipe above.