Pineapple, bean sprout, peanut salad

Like I mentioned in the earlier post, I got a new cookbook. And I predict that you will be hearing a lot of it in the coming posts. Its a vegetarian cookbook by Carla Bardi. At the first glance actually thought it was Carla Bruni, then I thought 'Why should she write a cookbook?', then I thought 'Why would I buy a cookbook written by a former model? I bet there won't be a pat of butter to be seen anywhere in the book. I don't want recipes for wheatgrass juice.' then curiosity got the better of me and I picked it up to skim it and read the name carefully. These, ladies and gentlemen, are the thoughts that go through an exceedingly empty mind in a span of about 2 secs. :)

Anyway, its a beautiful book, simple recipes, fantastic food porn and a stress on fresh produce. Needless to say, I can't wait to try out all the recipes. When I saw the announcement for WYF: Salad/Starter/Soup event I knew I it was time to put the book to test. I tried the luscious pineapple, bean sprout and peanut salad.

Ingredients

1 cup fresh pineapple

2 cups bean sprouts

1/2 cup cucumber, sliced thin

1/2 cup carrot, shredded

1/2 cup toasted peanuts

Salt-pepper to taste

The book recommended a peanut butter, soy sauce dressing and I was out of peanut butter so I just tossed the salad with a little bit of salt-pepper and lemon juice and drizzled it with a little honey. It was delicious and refreshing. The juicy pineapple teamed up very well with the crunchy bean sprouts and peanuts.

So this heads over to Simple Indian Food for the yummy event. Its a pretty cool blog and its cheekily calls it 'comments' section 'expert views'!

Mexican Salad

Hazy summer days gave way to sinister skies today. The day started out like any other, bright and full of promise but soon turned dark with grey clouds hovering and completely obscuring my view of Manhattan. It was depressing and gloomy in the apartment and I needed something to pep me up. Creamy avocado came to the rescue. Buttery avocado slices enveloped bright yellow corn kernels and sweet green peas. Vine tomatoes and freshly squeezed lemon juice gave the tang with some chaat masala to keep things interesting.

This is my favorite salad of all times because the I always have all the ingredients in my pantry.


1 can of black beans
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup frozen sweet peas
1 tomato, sliced
1/2 a ripe avocado
some cilantro leaves
2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
salt to taste

pepper to taste

chaat masala (optional)

Defrost the corn and peas. Mix together with rest of the salad ingredients. Add lemon juice, salt etc. At this point I put it a container with a tight lid and shake it vigorously. This breaks up the avocado and it coats everything in a buttery layer. You can add bell peppers if you have them. Chill slightly and enjoy. This is an absolute winner with kids since the flavors are simple and everything is bite sized.

Oh! And I think I have found the perfect way to choose ripe avocados, you just pop out the stem on the bottom and if it comes out cleanly, the avocado is ripe. I have a record of getting the perfect ones using this method so I'm sticking to it!

By the time I made this salad the sun had popped out again. But this is what Manhattan looked like.

A view of the storm from the cozy confines of my apartment.