The perfect Spa Sleepover

Heres a glimpse of the Spa Sleepover Party for my 10yr old daughter

Easter Crafts

I am one of the party moms for my daughters Preschool class and for their Easter party, I have to come up with some crafts for the class. After much research and thought, I have come up with two crafts that are going to be fun and easy. The egg carton Easter basket, a pretty bonnet for the girls and bunny ear hats for the boys.



Supper easy vintage Bonnet




Fun and simple Bunny Ears Hat

PI day cupcakes

Cupcakes for my daughters 4th grade class celebrating PI day, they had a class Pie potluck. Since it was her birthday my daughter asked for cupcakes that were
science related !!

They are studying the periodic table and each child was assigned a element to research. so I decided to make cupcakes picks with basic info about elements and a few facts about them.

The children read the facts out to the class before eating the cupcakes.
Now that's what I call smart eating !!

Vegetarian Tapas (with an Indian touch) part II

So continuing my series of Vegetarian Tapas

Tortilla de Patatas

6 Eggs
1½ tsp Salt
1 cup Olive Oil
2 large Onions (finely chopped)
½ tsp Black Pepper (freshly ground)
900 gms Russet Potatoes (peeled & sliced)

Heat oil in a pan over medium flame. Add potatoes to it.
Stir occasionally until they turn golden and crisp.
Take out the potatoes with a slotted spoon.
Add salt and pepper to the potatoes, and toss them for a while.
Add onions in the remaining oil and sauté till they turn golden.
In the meanwhile, beat the eggs thoroughly in a large bowl. Add the potatoes, onions, remaining salt and pepper to it. Leave it for 5-10 minutes.
Take a smaller pan and put it over medium flame.
Smear the pan with a little bit of oil. Pour half of the potato/onion/eggs mix in the pan. Swish the pan so that the mixture gets evenly spread.
Allow the mixture to cook for a few minutes until the crispy thin egg edge starts to pull away from the pan.
Now, take a spoon and run it around the outside edges to make sure the egg layer has not stuck to the pan.
Slide in the spoon; lift the omelette to turn its upside down. By doing this, the uncooked side will get cooked.
• Cook for another minute or so, and then slide the omelette onto a plate.
• Tortilla de Patata is ready to eat. Serve with bread and sauce.



Garlic mushrooms

3 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 lb. mushrooms, stems trimmed, brushed clean, whole if very sm., or cut in 1/4 inch thick slices
4 cloves of garlic, peeled & thinly sliced
2 tsp. dry (fino) Spanish sherry
1/2 tsp. paprika, preferably Spanish style
1/2 dried red chili pepper, seeded & crumbled, or 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

I made this in my convection oven. pretty much threw everything into the baking dish
and baked it for 15 mins.

Vegetarian Tapas

The word “tapas” is derived from the Spanish verb tapar, “to cover”.

According to legend the tapas tradition began when king Alfonso X of Castile or Alfonso the Wise, recovered from an illness by drinking wine mixed with small dishes between meals. After regaining his health, the king ordered that taverns were not allowed to serve wine to customers unless the beverage was accompanied by a small snack or tapa.

Serving of tapas is designed to encourage conversation because people are not so focused upon eating an entire meal that is set before them.

Now that I have given you some history on Tapas. I have to mention a special delimma
I face as a non-vegitarian. For us cooking for special occasions almost always involves a special Fish or Chicken dish.
Inviting Vegetarians for dinner poses a challenge for me. I have been stuck in a rut as far as vegetrian food is concerned.I have the same old dishes to prepare for
vegetarians. Its a shame because so many of my friends are vegetarians. So to shake things up a lil I tried (Indian Inspired) Vegetarian Tapas for a recent dinner party. It was soo much fun cooking and the dinner was pretty informal fun and
filling. I served some Sangria with the dishes


Peach Sangria

750ml bottle White Zinfandel
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup peach-flavored brandy
1/2 cup Sprite
8 oz sliced peaches
8 oz sliced pineapples
2 sticks of cinnamon
pinch of cinnamon powder

Mix together the wine, sugar, brandy and Sprite until well mixed. Add in the peaches,Pineapples,cinnamon sticks and pinch of cinnamon powder and refrigerate overnight

Vegetarian Kababs


medium sized boiled potato
1 tbsp Mint cutney
1 tsp ginger-green chilli paste
3-4 tsp gram flour (Besan)
1 tsp chaat masala
1 tsp chashew past

½ tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp coriander leaves
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt to taste

1. Mix potato, mint cutney,cashew paste in a mixing bowl.
2. Add ginger paste, chaat masala, salt, lemon juice, turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt.
3. Add gram flour(Besan) for binding and mix it properly.
4. Make small “Kebab” shapes.
5. Bake in 350 degrees for 15 -20 mins

Vegetable Cutlet




Mozzarella salad



Polenta Provencale



Trader Joes yummy gluten free polenta dish

Holi the festival of colors

Its going to be Holi very soon and I love Holi my favourite Indian festival by far.
It is very difficult to recreate the MASTI (fun) of Holi here in the USA. Nevertheless we can try to bring back some of the carefree fun at home.
(of course Playing Holi at home will result in ruined carpets walls and other nightmares that will take days to clean sooo no playing holi at home !!! at least
not my home)The playing actual Holi needs to be done at all the public events( no mess no fuss).

A big part of any Indian Festival is the food !! Here are some recipes I found for all my beloved Holi foods

Gujia

an essential part of the Holi experience in North India


Kachoris



Malai Kofta



Veg Cutlets

Diwali Dessert Corner

Happy Diwali everyone. Diwali is the biggest Indian festival and there is so much excitement in our home in preparation for it. Sweet treats are a big part of the festival with people sending boxes of Mithai (sweets to their friends and family.)
Heres a nice way to set up a dessert corner for your guests to enjoy.


Easy home made flower shaped Kalakand

The winter nip is already in the air, piping hot Gajar ka Halwa
(Carrot dessert)warms you up.


Gulab Jamuns is the most popular Indian dessert in the world, so of course it has to be served for any Diwali party. Served on candy sticks to make them less messy to eat.


For the decor I used two Satin curtain panels bought at a discount store the stands
are basically cardboard boxes tucked under the satin panels.Lots of Dia's with the battery candles on them (don't want to start a fire.)