Food Fashion Recipe Blog

Rhubarb-Pistachio Mini Cakes & A Giveaway!

May 1, 2017 By Asha Shivakumar

These Rhubarb Pistachio Cakes are made with olive oil, and can be made in a cake pan or mini muffin tins like this. The rich pistachios combined with cardamom make for a tasty, addictive treat. Thanks to Revol for sending me some of their pretty pieces.

Happy May!!

A favorite month of mine, mother’s day and a special birthday.

As spring is setting in, I immediately dream of warm days, long evening walks, and vacations. Light sunny days, and mildly cool nights. I struggle to choose between Autumn and Spring; I love them both.

Subconsciously, salads make more of an appearance. My humongous cane fruit basket is filled with fruits and summery melons. There are rolling hills to one side, and strawberry and vegetable patches to the other. I stop by every week at the local farm, and the guy fondly asks how the kids are and gives me an extra basket of strawberries.…

Lentils Masala Mint Fritters/Masala Vada

April 25, 2017 By Asha Shivakumar

Masala Vada, or Masala mint fritters, are a famous snack in South India. It looks and tastes a little like falafel. It’s crunchy, and loaded with ginger, garlic, and onion. They are versatile and can be minced and stuffed into tacos, and also mixed in curries. Served with chutney at coffee time, it’s so good.

The sounds of running water and rushed preparations start in the wee hours of the morning. I lie in my bed for that wake up call. I don’t hear it, so my face digs itself more into my hard pillow. I hear a complain from dad, to my mum… “Why don’t you wake her up? It is a festival day.” Of course, mum ignoring his complaints.

My room was right next to the kitchen, the sounds of the pressure cooker, the occasional drop of a steel glass, all was quite clear. The 3rd whistle is just too much for anyone to handle, and now I’m begining to think that the whistle so early was just a tactic of mum’s without having to wake me up. I very clumsily walk to mum to see what’s going on, and she gives a smile and quietly but sternly asks me to shower and get ready for the pooja. I looked at mom with annoyed eyes, like “Who in their right mind rushes to do pooja?”…

Roasted Garlic and Onion Relish in pickling spices/Bruschetta

April 19, 2017 By Asha Shivakumar

It’s National Garlic Month! Here, the Gilroy Garlic Fest is considered the Ultimate Summer Food Fair. So today, I have Roasted Garlic and Onion Relish. It goes great with pretty much everything. Top it on bruschetta like I did here, or add it on burgers as a relish, or even top it on a broccoli and pea soup to bring it all together. It’s a relish you will be eating in spoonfuls.

Happy mid week!!

Fun Fact. Did you know that Gilroy, California is known as the garlic capital of the world? It is, although China is said to be the biggest producer of garlic.

Gilroy, a short drive away from where we live hosts the biggest festivals that the little town sees every year. It’s in the midst of the scorching hot summer. It’s the Coachella for garlic lovers. There’s even Miss Gilroy Garlic and her court, ensuring a garlicky good time.

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Fruity Belgian Waffles/ Natural colored rainbow waffles

April 11, 2017 By Asha Shivakumar

This is my favorite recipe of Belgian Waffles that I’ve been making for years, and they are a winner. They are crazy simple, yeast free, and it comes together quickly. It is adapted from tasteofhome.com, and added the fruits and matcha to make these Fruity Belgian Waffles.

Hey hey, Spring is here. Bay Area saw some beautiful weather, and some nasty rain when least expected. The drought crisis is finally over!

We made colorful waffles for National Waffle Day.

We love Waffles. One of my go to recipes for waffles is Ricotto whole grain waffles. We even named our puppy Waffles :).

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Caramel-Mocha Raspberry Mousse

April 4, 2017 By Asha Shivakumar

Here’s my simple way to make this Mocha-Caramel Raspberry Mousse, using Werther’s caramel candies, and it’s all dressed up. Sweet treat Ker-uh-muhl or Kar-muhl, how do you pronounce it? What ever it might be, we love Caramel. This silky smooth Caramel mousse, layered with Mocha cream and raspberry mousse, altogether making it an indulgent beautiful Spring/Summer Dessert.

As the afternoon sun cast shadows of the trees in my garden on my dining floor, I suddenly had the urge to have something cool, creamy and rich. I opened the refrigerator just to find few eggs staring back at me. It’s almost like they were calling me to be used. I had guests 2 days later, so why not?, I thought to myself. Taking my steel bowl to break open the eggs, I stared at the egg shells and back to the most prettiest separated yellow yolks. This is where I belong, the kitchen, Waffles by me waiting for a spill, and a cookie if he got lucky. I took a sip of my coconut water and got out my double boiler and added water. I decided I was going to make a creme anglaise. Slowly whipping the eggs and the moment I added it to the cream, a perfume surrounded the kitchen.…

Spicy Amaranth Chicken Curry/ Thotakura Chicken

March 27, 2017 By Asha Shivakumar

Amaranth Chicken Curry is popular throughout the state of Andra Pradesh. Their cuisine is known for their spicy food and hearty distinctive taste. Amaranth leaves come in shades of red, purple and simple green. They are easily available in Asian grocers and widely popular in Indian cooking. They are robust in flavor eaten raw, but when cooked they turn mellow and add an extra layer of flavor to any dish.

Midweek rush.

Have you packed your bags? Print everything you want for school now, nothing in the morning. I’ll wake you up at 6. am., if you want to finish your homework.

After making sure things are a bit organized, I send the little one off to bed, kissing him on his cheek and squeezing his chin. I come down to finish the chores, prep for tomorrow’s lunch, and stare at the dishes for a while before tackling them. Once I find myself standing in a clean kitchen, I am pleased with myself. I put on a kettle, pour some boiling water in my mug and sit down with my green tea on the sofa, taking a deep breath. My phone is in my hand.…

Akki Rotti/ Rice-Dill Rotti (gluten free)

March 21, 2017 By Asha Shivakumar

Thin, loaded with vegetables, and made with rice, Akki rotti /rice rotti is a very popular dish of Karnataka. It is vegan, gluten free and oh so good, that you will be making this on repeat.

The food of Karnataka is very diverse, which has a wide range of vegan, vegetarian and gluten free recipes. Food there is typically less oily, and usage of multigrains is very popular. While the strict vegetarian food of Udipi is just outstanding, the gourmet delicacies of Mangalore and their rich curries are a must try.

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Chinese Chicken Salad Tacos with Home made spiced tomato tortilla

March 15, 2017 By Asha Shivakumar

Salads are great. My family likes their salads with a little protein, an extra crunch, and a fresh, sweet touch. Having a salad once a day is definitely a good habit. Of course, having someone chop and prep a salad is even better. I am absolutely loving the ready to eat organic salad kits we find these days. They’re so convenient, with such clean ingredients. Here, I made a tortilla and topped it with the salad and some chicken. It was a complete, delicious meal of Chinese Chicken Salad in a tomato tortilla.

I was glad to partner with FeedFeed and Earthboundfarm. I am usually very skeptical about bagged salads and bottled dressings. However, this one defied my expectations. I stand by this brand., and am so impressed with this little kit. It comes with a dressing (which by the way is good), some chips, and nuts. I add this salad mix to my chow mein, omelettes, pastas, and pretty much everything else that I can add vegetables too….

Black Bean Dosa/Crepe – Easy and Instant

March 2, 2017 By Asha Shivakumar

Here is a quick and easy Dosa for the days you want to have something comforting and no time. Black Bean Dosa/Crepes are versatile, go with curries and chutneys. And they are packed with protein.

Last month. This and that…..

We are creeping into spring and it’s March already.

Are you feeling it in the air? We are; the little one has started to sneeze and I have some itchy eyes. Still, I can’t wait for some warmth and sunshine.

How are you doing? How has weather been in your part of the world?…

Matcha No-bake Cheesecake bars flavored with cardamom

February 24, 2017 By Asha Shivakumar

This time it’s this beautiful, luscious, simply easy, smooth cheesecake with a hint of this naturally enhancing matcha and a rich cardamom flavor hidden. Add the Toffifay, the caramel hazelnut chocolate treat to elevate the dessert. One bite of this will make you want to stop and think of every little thing you have just experienced. Then you might not want to stop at one slice:)

For the love of chocolate, Matcha and all things pretty.

For me the end of winter is all about open windows, fresh chilly air, full of grassy smell and leaves scattered everywhere. The mild heat from the fireplace spreading around, and snow on the mountain tops slowly melting away. Water dripping from the windowsill, a strong desire to wear a lacy dress and wander the vintage streets, camera in one hand to take pictures of the beautiful green mountains. A hope for something new, something fresh and something beautiful.

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