Kerala Beefy Mushrooms

Mark Bittman is my food god. End of story. But when he posts a recipe that appears to be fairly afield from his usual cuisine talents - Asian, Mediterranean, American - my suspicious nature raises its ugly head. Never fear on this one, it was incredibly good! And so surprising

Who knew that cooking lots and lots of chopped onions, adding spices, tamarind and yogurt could produce such an amazing tasting dish!

Adding seared portabellos was my inspiration, and it worked well. To keep it veggie, add seared seitan or some other faux meat if you like, or the traditional beef if you like. But the mushrooms are what I will be sticking with in the future!

Garam Masla Salmon with Plum Mango Salsa

This is just a variation on the fruit salsa with grilled salmon that has mde it way to this space before. But plums in the mango salsa was a first for me and it was so delicious! Not being a huge fan of plums, I rarely think of them. But having been gifted with some this seemed like a great way to use them.

You could substitute peaches or nectarines or even some good tomatoes if they are prime where you live. Mango is always my favorite so that is usually my starting point. But let your own preferences guide you.

Prawn and Veggie Tempura

Tempura is one of those dishes that you have probably assumed can only taste good at a restaurant. Guess again! This is nearly a fool-proof recipe from the God himself (that would be Mark Bittman in case you had forgotten!)

Simple, easy, quick and delicious! Yes, it does require a lot of oil. So it is not something that happens very often in my kitchen. But it sure is worth it!

The assortment of veggies listed below leaves out any of those that require a parboil before frying - carrot, sweet potato, yam - so feel free to add them in if you want to. I find easy is better.

I have tried beer battered tempura but find that Bittman is right on this recipe - light but crispy. It allows the flavor o the vegetables to shine.

Moroccan Eggplant Pizza

This is truly one of those "no recipe" recipes. It was inspired by a lone eggplant hanging out in the refrigerator and my desire for pizza. And it was delicious enough that it made it to this space!

While the suggestion below is for squeezing lemon juice over the finished pizza - trust me on that, you need to at least do that - if you have preserved lemon, mince it super fine and sprinkle it over the pizza before baking. That will probably be even more fantastic!

Although fresh mozzarella is not usually my choice, it works better here than regular mozzarella because the tomato sauce needs to be more of a dominant flavor than it tends to be when covered up with melted mozzarella. Think of this as more of a flat bread than a pizza and you will have a better understanding of the concept I was attempting to create.

Best Healthy Creamy Garlic Herb Dip

Necessity is the mother of invention, or so they say, whomever "they" are! When I needed a healthy snack to have around the house for the returning college students, this dip popped in my head: cottage cheese whipped into creamy deliciousness with garlic and herbs. What's not to love!

Whether you eat it with raw veggies or sour cream and onion thick cut potato chips, it's healthy and filling - not the potato chips perhaps, but the dip is!

This would make a great addition to any 4th of July picnic, an easy way to get veggies into your Independence Day festivities.

This is literally a snap to whip up and if you haven't discovered the ease and joy of fitting a small mouth mason jar on your blender for making such dips, do it with this recipe; you will never go back to your carafe!