Cucumber and Basil Salad

Cucumber and Basil Salad

2 medium cucumbers, julienned
½ cup fresh basil, chopped fine
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp sour cream ( I use reduced-fat or fat-free)
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 green chili, chopped fine
1-2 dashes of Tabasco (optional)

Cut the cucumber into juliennes, about 1-1 ½ inches long. Toss with the basil, chilies, salt, and pepper. In a separate bowl mix together the rest of the ingredients. Then mix the cucumber and the mayonnaise mixtures together. Keep in the fridge till ready to serve and serve it cold.

Grilled Scallop Squash

This scallop squash recipe works as an easy but tasty side dish.

Grilled Scallop Squash

2 medium patty pans (scallop squash)
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Oregano (dried) to taste

Cut patty-pans length-wise into ½ inch slices. Rub on the salt, pepper, and oregano. Allow to sit for 10-20 minutes. Put onto hot grill. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Bacon CheeseBurgers

Bacon CheeseBurgers

When I was growing up, a beef burger was hard to come by in India; so we often made ours at home. However, we always used to fry our burgers and never grilled them, until last night. Last night, I decided to try grilling these burgers, which would make them a little less of a calorie abomination and would save me from cleaning the oil of my stove. Admittedly, the bacon and cheese quickly nullified that calorie-conserving-halo that had started to glow over my head. Anyway, the burger turned out great and I am going to start making it more often.

Bacon CheeseBurgers

1 pound ground beef
About ¼ cup ketchup
Approximately 3-4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
2-3 tsp dried oregano 

1 tbsp (heaped) bread crumbs
5 strips thick sliced bacon
4-6 slices cheese
4-6 leaves lettuce
1 medium tomato, sliced thin (optional)
Some Mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard

Mix together the ground beef, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, ¼ cup ketchup, breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper. Form into patties and place on a hot grill. Do not turn the burger until the underneath has browned. Flip over, after it's brown, and grill the other side. Once cooked place a slice of cheese over the patty and allow it to melt. Remove from grill.

Cut bacon into half to make it fit on the burger. Place in a baking tray and broil for 20 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit or until crispy. Remove and allow to cool a little.

Toast buns on the grill. When done, remove and spread some mayonnaise on the bottom bun and ketchup and mustard (or any other condiments) on the top. Place the cheeseburger on the bottom. Top with 2-3 pieces bacon. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper to taste. Then put some lettuce and tomato and close the bun. Serve hot.

Notes: Your options with this burger are endless. You can add onion rings, raw or caramelized, and an unlimited amount of toppings like avocado, coleslaw, or lettuce tossed in vinaigrette. I occasionally also add a couple of finely chopped green chilies and/or chopped garlic to the beef mixture.

Chicken Burger with Avocado and Bacon

Chicken Burger with Avocado
 and Bacon 

This year to help me create new stuff in the kitchen and to introduce us to new vegetables and ideas, I decided to join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). So far, it’s working great. I’m dealing with vegetables I’ve always seen at the grocery store but never had the courage to buy. We’ve been eating more salads and more assembling of food so I’ve had to do less slaving-over-the-hot-stove cooking. Here is another burger we’ve had that my husband absolutely loved.

Chicken Burger with Avocado and Bacon

4 thin chicken breasts
1 avocado
4 burger buns
1-2 tsp dried oregano
4-6 slices thick cut bacon
Kraft hot and spicy mayonnaise
10 leaves iceberg lettuce
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 medium scallop squash, sliced
½ cups fresh oregano, chopped fine

Marinate the chicken in salt, pepper, and dried oregano. Set aside for at least 20 minutes. Cut bacon strips in half (to fit the burger bun), then fry or broil till crisp. Set aside.

Cut the scallop squash into medium round slices. Bake at 350 in a toaster oven for 25 minutes. Then place a slice of cheddar cheese on each slice of squash and broil at 450 for 5 minutes or till the cheese starts to brown.

Preheat the oven to 350 and place chicken in an oven proof dish. Cook for about 20 minutes, or till cooked.

In the mean time, scoop out avocado into a bowl and mash, mixing in some salt, pepper, and oregano to taste. (Use fresh oregano in the avocado if possible).

Toast buns if you like. To assemble burger, spread some hot and spicy mayo on the bottom bun. Then place a chicken breast, cutting it to fit the burger bun. Put one slice of cheesy scallop squash on the chicken and then two strips of bacon on it. Spread the avocado mixture on the top bun as thick as possible. Place some lettuce over the bacon and then close to form a sandwich. Serve hot with baked sweet potato fries.

Zucchini Boats with Egg Salad

1 large zucchini
3 eggs, hard boiled
2 green onions, chopped fine
1 1/2 cups fresh oregano, chopped fine
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 red pepper, chopped fine
1-2 green chiles, chopped fine (optional)
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
A pinch of chili powder


Remove the head, then cut the zucchini in half length-wise. Bake in toaster oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25-30 minutes. Broil for the last 5 minutes. Allow the zucchini to cool. Once cool enough to handle, scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon to create a boat. Discard the seeds.

Chop the boiled eggs, red pepper, green onions, chilies, and oregano and keep aside. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the mayonnaise with a little salt, pepper, and chili powder. Add the egg mixture to the mayonnaise and blend well. Warm the zucchini in a toaster oven. Place the egg salad in the cavity of the zucchini and serve.

Chorizo Burger with Caramelized Onions and Roasted Peppers

Hello Food-Loving-People!

First off, I apologize for not having put up any recipes in the last few months. Spring always heralds a hectic routine. There is spring cleaning to do, gardens to tend to, celebratory picnics and dinners to throw, and family visiting from India. Couple all that with a failed attempt at dieting and I was left with a slump in my cooking. I ended up using a lot of recipes I’ve already put up and ergo had nothing new to add.

However, summer is here - I know it’s been here for a while – but my guests/ family is gone, and I finally have some time to experiment and to put up some recipes. I have a new obsession with burgers but haven’t been able to make too many. Here is one that I made for a little bicycling picnic we took a few weeks back.

Chorizo Burger with Caramelized Onions and Roasted Peppers

1 pnd ground beef
About 7oz chorizo, removed from skin
Some smoked paprika (optional)
Salt to taste
1/2 onion,  finely chopped
1-2 chilies, finely chopped
Oil for frying

12-15 small sweet peppers
1 onion, cut into rings
8-10 leaves lettuce
Some mayonnaise
Ketchup to taste
Burger Buns

Chorizo Burger - Squeeze most of the water out of the ground beef. Mix together ground beef, chorizo, smoked paprika, salt, chilies, and finely chopped onion, until well blended.  Form the mix into burgers slightly larger than the bun. In a frying pan, heat the oil, fry the burgers on both sides till well browned. Allow to cool slightly.

Caramelized Onions - In the mean time, in another frying pan, heat a little oil. Toss in the onion rings. Sprinkle over them a pinch of chili powder, some salt and pepper, and about 1-1 ½ teaspoons sugar. Toss until onions are brown and the sugar starts to caramelize on the onions. When the edges start to burn remove from heat and set aside.

Roasted Peppers - Turn your gas stove onto high and using a pair of tongs hold the entire pepper directly over the flame. Allow to burn slightly, then turn the pepper over and repeat. Put in a plate to cool.

Spread a liberal amount of mayonnaise on the top and bottom of the bun along with a little ketchup. Place the chorizo burger on the bottom of the bun. Next put in 3-4 rings of onion and a leaf or two of lettuce. Top with the top of the bun and serve with the peppers on the side.