Thirst Quencher - Lime Soda

The heat wave in New Jersey sent me looking for thirst quenchers. I finally ended up buying a bottle of Seltzer water and few limes.

I remember myself and my cousins always made Lime soda suring our summer vacation. We would go to the shop pick up some bottles of 'plain soda' a.k.a club soda. We would then go to our backyard and pick limes from the lemon tree. We would then squeeze the limes in tall glasses and add a pinch of salt and sugar and add the sizzling club soda. It is an amazing drink and it is a definite thirst quencher. And the best part- skip the salt and sugar- and you end up with a zero calorie drink.

So here is a picture of Lime soda- the summer thirst quencher!

Health vegetable #3- Spinach

Spinach is a vegetable that you can eat raw in a salad or just steam it and eat with a little pepper and salt. My favorite spinach recipes are 'Spinach Morkutaan' which is a dish from Tamilnadu in India. The spinach is cooked with dal and spices. I can eat it with dosas, chapathis or rice. I have tried so many dishes using spinach and I eat atleast two bunches a week.

Today my dinner is 'spinach thoran' which is a spinach sauteed with urad dal and onions. It is a simple dish and can be eaten without any accompaniments.

So here is the recipe

Spinach- 1 bunch finely chopped
Urad dal- 2 teaspoons
Mustard seeds- 1 teaspoon
Coconut oil- 1 teaspoon
Dry red chillies- 1 or 2
Onions- 1 finely chopped
Channa dal- 3 teaspoons- microwave for 2 minutes till the dal is semi-cooked

Method

1. Add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil and add the mustard seeds
2. When the mustard seeds splutter, add urad dal and saute till urad dal are brown. Then add the red chillies.
3. Add the onion and saute till brown
4. Add the spinach, salt and saute on low heat
5. When the spinach is cooked, add the semi-cooked channa dal and cook till the curry becomes dry.
6. Serve while hot

Health Vegetable #2 - Celery

I came across this recipe for a celery thokku in http://vegconcoctions.wordpress.com. I tried it out last week and it tasted awesome! In fact, I even recommended it to my friend and she also loved it. I think it is a beautiful way to include a healthy vegetable like Celery in your diet.

So, with due credits to the Hema and her MIL who thought of this unique and tasty recipe, here it comes - Celery Thokku ( from http://vegconcoctions.wordpress.com)

Celery
Green chillies
Asafoetida - a pinch
Cilantro leaves- chopped
Ginger - 1/2 inch cube
Mustard: 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Gingerly oil (til oil) - 1/4 cup ( this adds the unique taste in the recipe)

Chop up the celery and saute it with cilantro in about 1-2 tbsp of oil for 4-5 minutes. Set aside. Next heat up another tbsp of oil and add chopped chillies, hing and ginger. Let this cook for 5 minutes. Put this and the celery in the blender and grind to a fine paste. Heat up about 6-7 tbsp of the oil. Add mustard seeds and once they splutter, add the paste. Add salt and turmeric and keep cooking till the oil leaves the sides of the pan. This step takes a while. The thokku should have a thick paste like consistency. ( reproduced from veg concoctions)