Tomato Basil Soup and Veggie Quesadillas

Hello All!

I'd like to share with you what I made for dinner today. Today was rainy and cold so I thought soup and something bready with it would be the way to go. I was flipping through food blogs and found a tomato soup that looked good and quick which is perfect for weekdays. As for bread, I found another entry in the same blog that I wanted to try - veggie quesadillas. I know they're different cuisines but it turned out to be a pretty good combo :).

Here is the link to the tomato soup: Creamy Tomato Soup. I made a few changes - instead of 3 cups of milk, I put in 2 cups of 2% milk and 1/2 cup of heavy cream. I also added in about 2 cups more of tomato juice so in total about 5 cups went in. I also added 4-5 leaves of fresh chopped basil. On a scale of 1-5, I would rate this recipe a 4. I really liked the creaminess but it wasn't as tomatoish as normal tomato soups are.

Here is the link to the veggie quesadillas: Veggie Quesadillas with Chipotle Cream. I followed this recipe exactly. For the chipotle cream, I put in half a teaspoon more of chipotle in adobo sauce to make it more spicy (me + spice = paartay). My hubsy doesn't like the smoky flavor of the adobo sauce so I gave him quesadillas with a dip I had made a few days ago. It's similar to the Creamy Jalapeno Dip at Chuy's. That dip is in my top 5 fav foods for sure! It's linked below. I would rate these quesadillas a 4.5 out of 5. I'll make these again fo sho. I probably won't make the chipotle cream, it was just 'eh.. Maybe it needs to sit for a night for the flavors to meld together.

Link to the creamy jalapeno dip: Chuy's Creamy Jalapeno Dip. It's similar to their dip but not exactly the same thing. But still it makes everything taste better!

Thanks for reading & enjoy these recipes! Btw, these photos are taken from my phone, my SLR's batteries were out - will use that next time..

Tc and have fun!

Beenz

Recipe 101

For the most part of my life, I've been interested in baking. I only started cooking after I got married :). I tried to learn from my mom before I got married, but understanding 'andazay say', 'thora sa yay' and thora sa voh' didnt really work for me :p. For food other than Pakistani, looking for recipes that I liked took quite a bit of time and I wasnt sure that they would turn out good. Now that I've tried and tested some recipes, I want to post the good ones to make life easier for others, and when you try them don't forget to give me your feedback.

I'll start with my most recent one, its called Chipotle Cashew Chicken with Brown Rice. This recipe is by Rachel Ray. Its kind of a Chinese/Thai dish. Its surprisingly easy to make, the ingredients seem to be a lot, but they're pretty basic. I've made this recipe twice and both times it turned out really good. It takes maximum 45 minutes to make. I've made a few changes here and there to the recipe, the original one is available at www.foodnetwork.com. Ok, here it is:

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, 1/4 onion finely chopped, 3/4 thinly sliced
3 cups quick cooking brown rice
water (the amount depends on what is written on the brown rice box; if you get the brown rice that doesnt come in a box, then use 4 cups)
1 chicken cube - you can get this at any halal food store
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 pounds chicken meat: tenders, boneless, skinless breasts or boneless, skinless thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces (I get chicken breast and I tell the meat guy to cut it up into pieces)
2 tablespoons grill seasoning blend (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning blend by McCormick)
2 to 3 tablespoons tamari dark soy sauce (I found this in the international section)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
10 to 12 water chestnuts, whole (Ashher and I really like these, so I put in the whole can)
1 cup frozen green peas
3 tablespoons chipotle in adobo (2 peppers and their sauce), available in cans on the international foods aisle or substitute 1 1/2 tablespoons ground chipotle powder (I used the powder)
1 tablespoon ground cumin, a palm full
2 to 3 tablespoons honey, 2 healthy drizzles
1/4 to 1/3 cup real maple syrup, eyeball it
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro or parsley leaves, your preference
1 cup raw cashews

Method:
In a medium pot over medium heat combine 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan, and 1 tablespoon butter. When butter melts into oil, add in the chopped onion, cook 2 minutes, then add rice and cook 3 minutes more. Add water and chicken cube. Stir and crush the chicken cube so that it dissolves then cover the pot. Raise heat to bring stock to a rapid boil. Once the stock boils, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender, 17-18 minutes.

While rice cooks, make the chicken. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add vegetable oil, 2 turns of the pan, then the chicken. Season the chicken with grill seasoning. Brown the chicken on both sides, season with soy sauce then move off to one side of the pan. Add the remaining onions, garlic and peppers. Cook 2 to 3 minutes then add water chest nuts and green peas and mix vegetables and meat together. Add the chipotles and cumin. Toss to coat. Glaze the mixture with honey and maple syrup and turn off the heat. Add in the chopped cilantro or parsley and the cashew nuts.

Top rice with cashew chicken and serve. Enjoy!

Why this Eid was different...

Eid Mubarak to you all. Yes, to the two of you who visit my blog! - but wait, isn't it late to write about Eid?. Well, Eid was so busy that I didn't get chance to scribble anything. Now, I've recovered from Ramadan and I'm back in action.

This Eid was different due to the following:

1) My First Eid-ul-fitr with my better half (Sabeen- you're the best!)
2) For the first time ever I wore black Shalwar Kamiz on Eid (I thought black was reserved for Moharram).
3) I also wore my wedding Sherwani for first time after my Shaadi (yeah it still fits!).
4) Took a full day off from work( I had taken half days off at most in previous eids in US).
5) Went on to watch a movie to celebrate Eid. I watched the 'Departed'. Couldn't pick a better movie for Eid. Full of gory violence and foul language. It had everything I had learned in Ramadan to avoid. I still recommend this movie, but save the fun for some non-Eid day.
6) First time ever, Sabeen and myself finished the holy Quran in Ramadan. So Eid felt well deserved. Alhamdolillah, that was a big milestone for both of us. We both really enjoyed the experience.

Well, time flies by so fast. Throughout Ramadan we all were were waiting for Eid and now its gone down to memory lane. A word of advice - cherish the present moments you have as the time spent never comes back. So spend your time well and stay happy!

Abject Pakistan batting display

"The worst batting I've seen in my time as coach" - Woolmer said. This pretty much summarizes how Pakistan batted against South Africa in Champions Trophy. Some of the deliveries were really good, but most of the batsmen threw their wickets themselves. Younis Khan for sure should have taken some responsibility. There was no need to play that stupid hook shot when he had already fetched a boundary. If Yasir Arafat could withstand the South African attack then how come our top order couldn't apply themselves and collapsed miserably?

Now is the time to move on and bring some changes in the team. First of all, Shahid Afridi should be thrown out! He has no value for his spot in the team. This guy has played over 200 ODIs and still feels no responsibility. Thank you Mr Afridi- your services are not required anymore!. Thats what the PCB chairman should be telling him. In case, if its decided to keep him in the team then send him to open the batting. He's worthless down the order, not to say he's going to do wonders as an opener. Everytime Afridi plays for Pakistan, its like PK team starting with one wicket down. It automatically gives the opposite team an advantage. Performing well in 1/30 games is not acceptable, period.

Second, PK needs to have good opening pair. These lefty's that PK has been trying for sometime are not learning their lessons. Everytime they get out in a similar fashion. This department has to be fixed if Pakistan is even considering the chances of fairing well in the World Cup. Also, Younis Khan must focus on his batting rather than eyeing on the captaincy slot. Dude! I don't know if you even deserve a slot in the team. Let alone be captain.

Hopefully, Pakistan will emerge out better in their next fixtures, and especially if they have the services of Shoaib and Asif. Of course, Inzi is a backbone of the PK team. I am positive that the Pakistan camp will contemplate on this dismal performance and bring the neccesary changes to the team, and steer it to the right direction.

Barnes & Noble Wanted!

As the Parmer/I-35 area is growing, all these big chains are flooding in every day. One prominent chain Barnes & Nobles is nowhere to be seen. How can they deprive the so-called literate population of the area. If they don't care about the literates then atleast care for the starbucks coffee addicts.

Barnes & Noble, if you're reading this then do something immediately about it as all the land around the Parmer area is finishing quick and yeah don't give me this excuse later on cause I did tell you. I admit we go to your stores and read all the books and buy them from Amazon, but still we sometimes buy coffee from your stores. Even if we buy any book from you we make sure to return it before the 30th day. You're the policy maker, not us. We're just applying your rules. B & N, you know what you bring to people?....you bring a class, a sophistication, a library close to all the non buyers like us. I appreciate you for that but you are truly an overcharger. You've trapped so many people before internet became common. I know it must feel bad that now you sell more coffee than books. But, nevertheless, I still support you. I will still sip that expensive coffee every now and then. I hope I helped you change your mind. So now, go and put your sign up there on one of the empty lots at Parmer.

Sleepless in Ramadan

I Feel stoned! Seems like a bad hangover- that was the first week of Ramadan, and its not getting any better. I haven't sipped coffee since the beginning of Ramadan. But isn't that the whole point of Ramadan? -to change your routine from normal. I may be sleep deprived but its a different feel in Ramadan. I am in a dilemma whether the ample sleep before Ramadan was real sleep or have I woken up with Ramadan and now since I am awake I don't want to go back to sleep. Maybe, this sleep deprivation is a sign. I have yet to discover the trail. It could just be that I don't want to sleep so that I don't miss anything in this month. I guess, thats the decision each one of us make every day. We all know the facts, but we very tactfully dodge ourselves.

Ramadan's routine is going pretty hectic. Everyday we go to Masjid for the quran recitation. So far we're finishing up one Juz everyday. Hopefully, we'll finish off the whole quran this month. It is indeed a pleasure to ponder over the verses and in fact, a great time to reflect upon our lives.

Debut

Here I start my own Blog. Couldn't resist anymore! I had been thinking about it for sometime but yet didn't follow the thought seriously. Now suddenly this desire resurged and I finally decided to do something about it. Blogs are nothing new to mention but to me they are a means to see an ability to response according to our own circumstances and environment. It is very interesting to see different responses of people in a similar situation.

I'll try to write about things happening in and around my universe, and how they condition my response. I'll also like to get your feedback and understanding about how you are seeing those things from your very own universe.

Let it roll!