"I got 99 problems but a meal ain't 1"
Self-Taught Vegan Chef :: Food Network Champion :: TV Host
Honestly, this doesn’t need a fancy intro. You like cauliflower, I like cauliflower. We’re all screaming for… CAULIFLOWER. But! This ain’t no any old cauliflower rice or cauliflower wings. This is a Whole Roasted Cauli baby (yes I refer to my vegetables as babies. Back off), with a pretty unique marinade. And I recommend starting …
Have you tried a Lassi before? Its a yogurt-based cold drink that’s usually served at the end of a meal or drank as a snack. Lassi’s are simple – they come in 4 flavors – plain sweet, plain salty, mango, or rose. My favorite has always been rose. I grew up drinking these when we …
These juices are so versatile! What juices you ask? Lumi Juice of course! Did you see there’s a dedicated section for me on their site?! I love their product – drinking it straight and cooking with it! This week I created something deliciously Indian with their Belmont Beet juice. Belmont Beet has a very refreshing …
Ever heard of carpaccio? Many Italian restaurants have it – generally at the higher-end restaurants. Its commonly thinly sliced meat or fish that is served “raw” with some sort of marinade, or it is cured. I’ve never eaten carpaccio before, nor do I have any interest in doing so. The idea of raw meat is …
Not your momma’s lentil soup – that’s for sure! I realized that I don’t cook with legumes as much as I want to. I have grown up (and still do when I go to my parents) eating a lot of legumes – Indians love them legumes! We generally use them in daals (thick soups/stews), in …
I went to Italy last month – hold up – you didn’t know?! You haven’t seen my 89485948 pics?! Haha!
I visited Italy with my family when I was 6 years old, and although it was a beautiful country then as it is now, we didn’t exactly have a ‘beautiful’ experience. We experienced quite a bit of discrimination because of the color of our skin – weird, eh? So I was left with a very bad taste in my mouth at a very young age. That being said, I was hesitant to travel to Italy this time, but figured I’d give it a shot. One of my good friends had been living in Bologna, and obviously my foodie 6th senses perked up.
Bologna is among some of the foodiest cities in Italy, next to Modena and Parma. I ate my way through Bologna and made my way down to the Amalfi Coast cities. Let me mention at this point – I did not face any discrimination. Italian thought I was either Spanish (Espanola) or Sicilian or just didn’t know, haha!
In Sorrento, we discovered a delicious store that specialized in products of Umbria. Some of Umbria’s specialties include truffles, and black truffles were in season for the summer. So obviously I had to buy some! What I really wanted to do was shave them in my mouth, but I decided to act like a civilized human being, buy a jar and leave.
Truffles are generally very strong, but these fresh truffles are very fragrant – have a subtle truffle flavor, softer texture, and are just all around delicious. I decided to make a simple orzo with these.
Lemon-Garlic Orzo with Black Truffle
1. Place water in a medium pot, spray with a bit of PAM and set over high heat to bring to a boil. Pour in orzo and allow to cook.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, add in all of the ingredients except for the olive oil. Whisk together. While slowly whisking, pour in the olive oil until dressing is emulsified and combined.
3. Once the orzo is al dente, strain out the water (but save it!) and place the cooked orzo directly in the bowl of dressing, add in a couple of slices of truffle, and lemon zest and toss to coat. Taste for salt.
4. Serve on its own, with toasted ciabatta, or over arugula!
It was Mexican night at the Naik household this past weekend! We wanted something simple yet satisfying, and of course I just worked with ingredients that we already had on hand – was not about to venture out in the freezing cold for some nachos ya know. We decided on Quesadillas since we had a …