Juice it! (Veggie)

I've been eating out for the last three weeks.. and decided to eat healthy this weekend. I bought fresh organic parsley, spinach, carrots, lemons etc yesterday, so I decided to try a few juices.

I made the juice with my "Magic Bullet". The bullet is very helpful when you are making juice or smoothie for 1-2 people. Less dishes - because you can make the juice and drink it out of the same cup.

Here is the recipe for my "Green Veggie Revolution"
Greens: A bunch of Baby Spinach
Flavor: A bunch of Parsley
Consistency: One ripe tomato
Taste: Fresh squeezed lemon juice
Ice cubes or cold water - just to ensure that everything blends

Wash ingredients and then add to the Magic Bullet/Blender
Blend

Please ensure that you use one from each category - for juice that you'll enjoy
Greens: Baby Spinach, Regular Spinach, Kale, Lettuce, Celery, Cabbage
Flavor: Parsley, Basil, Coriander
Consistency: Tomato
Taste: Mint leaves, Lime/Lemon/Orange Juice/Rind, Jalapeño, Red/Green/Yellow Pepper

Corriender and Mint Chutney

GRIND TOGETHER to a fine paste:
Corriander - 1 bunch (equal to a cup)
Pudina - ½ bunch
Onion -1 small
Green Chilli -4
Garlic -4 pods
Jaggery -1 Tsp
Salt to taste
Jeera - ¼ tsp
Juice of ½ Lime Or ½ tsp Pulp of Tamarind.

Washing Veggies..

Veggies look so green and beautiful when you look at them on the veggie shelves in the grocery store. I personally feel that they use a "Veggie Wash" or a "Clean Veggie spray".. and I'm sure these contain chemicals.. even if doesn't have the spray, I think we need to wash the veggies very well.

Here are a few ways to wash the veggies to ensure that it is completely clean, and free of any bacteria and dirt.

- Wash with Hot Tap Water and then with Cold Tap water
- Add 4-5 table spoons of Lime Juice to a pail of water and soak the veggies for about 4-5 minutes. Rinse in hot tap water, and then cold water.
- Add 1/2 to 1 cup of white vinegar to a pail of water and soak the veggies for about 4-5 minutes. Rinse in hot tap water, and then cold water.
- You can also soak the veggies in Boiling water for 1 to 5 minutes and then rinse in cold tap water

Chai (tea) spice mix

A lot of people as me "How to make good Chai (tea in the hindi language)".. the key is in the spices and the quality of tea. We all know that the quality of the end product depends on the ingredients that go into what you are making.

So here is a simple "spice mix" for Chai.. Please feel free to add more of what you like, and avoid what ever you don't prefer. For example, I like cardamom a lot, but don't fancy cinnamon too much.. so I add more of cardamom and less of cinnamon. I like to add the saffron and vanilla bean when the water boils, so I usually don't add them in the mix.

Ingredients:
Cardamom - 8 to 10 pods
Clove - 5-6
Cinnamon - 1/4 inch stick
Star Anise - 1/8 inch piece
Ginger powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Saffron - 6-10 strands
Pepper - 1-2 pods
Nutmeg - 1/8 teaspoon
Vanilla bean - 1/8 inch piece

1. Use a coffee grinder/mortar & pestle set/kitchen counter & knife to mix and coarse grind the spices.

2. Store the mix in a air-tight glass/plastic container.

3. Keep the container in the refrigerator or any cool, dry place.

You only need to add 1/2 teaspoon per cup of tea - so make small quantities to ensure that the mix is always fresh.

Quick tips:
- If your cup of chai tastes "perfect" then write down the ingredients (with the exact quantity used.)
If you think you need more of one spice, you can always add it to the mix.
- If you don't like it all together, you can always throw away the mix and start from scratch. Use small quantities of the spices for the "trial" so that you don't feel too bad about throwing away spices..

Let your taste buds decide the ingredients and the quantity of the same..

Try this, and let me know your "mix".

Some useful links to learn more about spices:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spices
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chai

Ani Phyo's Raw Food Kitchen

I have signed up to listen to talks from the Raw Food Summit (http://rawsummit2.com/free_access). This morning, I heard a talk by Ani Phyo - who is a chef, author, and a raw food expert. As I was inspired by her talk, I went to YouTube to look at the video of some of her easy "raw" recipes.

Here are the links to her videos:
Spanish Breakfast Scramble - This can be a wonderful side for your dinner, or can be had for breakfast. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gvrEj2H36w&feature=related

Crunchy Donut Holes - This can be a very healthy snack. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuGjDagUWNg

I also saw a video from Wholegormet:
Homemade Pizza Crust - This is a good way to use up my pound of Whole Wheat flour before I go on vacation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAVUFnhP1ZA&feature=related

Kitchen counter top cleaning

Wo.. I just cleaned my kitchen counter top - and my apartment smells of "Bleach!". To counter that smell, I lit a candle (vanilla flavor) a few minutes back. Now, my apartment smells of a mixture bleach and vanilla - it really seems like I am in a "candle making factory!". Not to forget, my fingers hurt because I scrubbed the counter when there was bleach all over.

Though I love commercial cleaning products, I really want to seek an alternative. I would like something more natural, and that would not burn my fingers. My search for "Natural Cleaning Products" led me to this website:

http://www.bostonhealthcoach.com/nn/nov07.html

It is interesting that White Distilled Vinegar and Baking Soda are "Natural Cleaners". I am certainly going to try these out.