The mint in my garden is already 10″ tall and of course spreading with reckless abandon. I love mint and have decided to let it “own” a patch of ground by the porch, since it’s worth it to step outside and grab some whenever I need it. After all, what other herb grows by the square foot? (If you want to corral it – it also grows well in a low flat pot.)
Mojitos, anyone?
Another great way mint can be the star of the show is with Fresh Mint & Lemon Iced Tea, which is only lightly sweetened, but incredibly refreshing – especially on a hot day. Plus it’s caffeine free.
Ingredients:
4 cups water 2 peppermint tea bags (we like Celestial Seasonings) 1-2 cups of fresh peppermint sprigs (stems and leaves are fine – no need to remove leaves) 2 Tbsp sugar 2 Tbsp lemon juice
Directions:
Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the teabags, sugar and fresh mint and remove from heat. Cover and let steep 10 minutes or so. Stir and then strain into a pitcher. Add 2 Tbsp lemon juice and fill the pitcher with ice.
Stir again, then check the taste – adding more sugar or lemon to taste. Pour into glasses half-filled with ice and garnish with a slice of lemon and a sprig of mint if desired.
I made this remarkably delicious stew last night and it’s a keeper. With a coconutty, fresh lime and cilantro focus, it’s light and the fish and shrimp taste wonderful with it. I’ve tweaked a recipe originally from the New York Times, and everything is very easily available except Dende oil. It may be worth ordering some – since I will definitely make this again.
Ingredients
12 oz peeled, deveined shrimp 12 oz cod fillet, cut into 1″ pieces kosher salt 2 limes (juice of one and the other cut into wedges) 2 Tbsp olive oil (Or Dende oil – traditional but less easily available) 4 garlic cloves, crushed 1 small yellow onion, chopped 2 large bell peppers, cut into 1/4″ slices, and halved 1 can Ro-tel tomatoes, drained and juice reserved (Or 1 lb. tomatoes, cut in 1″ wedges, and 1 Scotch Bonnet pepper, whole and pricked all over with a a knife.) 1 13.5 oz can of coconut milk 1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro steamed rice for serving
Directions
In a bowl, squeeze the juice of one lime and add 1 tsp salt. Place fish chunks in bowl and let marinate.
In a large, deep frying pan, heat olive oil. Add garlic and cook for a minute, then add onions and cook another few minutes. Turn heat up a bit and add the peppers and drained Ro-tel tomatoes. (Save the juice!) Saute for 5 minutes or so, until the peppers are starting to soften.
Reduce heat and add the coconut milk, the Ro-tel juice and simmer about 10 minutes. Add half the chopped cilantro, and the shrimp and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Gently place fish and marinade into the pan, and cook 2-3 more minutes until fish is cooked through. Taste and add salt if needed.
To serve, place some steamed rice in the bottom of the bowl and ladle stew over. Top with a squeeze of fresh lime and more chopped cilantro. Delish!
I’ve always loved Chicken Karahi from when we lived in Karachi, but really never made it until I snagged a Shan Masala mix for it. It’s a surprisingly easy dish and Kumy and I both loved it with fresh hot Roti (like whole wheat tortillas.) Another good Shan Masala mix – though it’s pretty spicy when made as directed on the box. I might try doing half the mix in the box if you don’t like things too spicy, or using just one chili.
Also – you’ll note that the recipe on the box calls for 1 1/2 cups of oil, and a 1/2 cup of butter, but have mercy – that’s just too oily! The oil and butter are important to this recipe though, so 1/2 cup of oil and the 1/4 cup of butter are about right.
Ingredients
1/2 to 1 box Shan Karahi Seasoning Mix
3 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized chunks
2 Tbsp crushed garlic, or 1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp grated ginger
2 Tbsp ginger, julienned
5 tomatoes, diced
4 little green chillies
(You can also substitute 1 can Rotel and ½ can diced tomatoes for the tomatoes and chillies.)
½ cup olive oil + 1 Tbsp olive oil
½ stick butter
3 Tbsp fresh chopped Cilantro
Mix crushed garlic, grated ginger and shan masala mix in a medium bowl. Add chicken chunks and stir until everything is well coated. Let sit for at least 15 minutes.
Heat oil in a medium saucepan, and add meat mixture. Stir fry 5-6 minutes on high heat. Reduce heat and add juliened ginger, cvoer and cook for 10 minutes on low heat.
In a separate pan, heat a Tbsp of olive oil, and saute tomatoes and peppers for a minute or two stirring frequently. Reduce heat and cook 5-6 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add cooked tomatoes and peppers to the chicken mixture, and increase heat to medium. Cook stirring gently but frequently to prevent burning.
Made again today for New Year’s Day 2026, with a cool trick to skip the overnight pea soak!
It’s a Southern tradition to eat Hopping John (Black-eyed Pea Stew) on New Year’s Day for good luck all year, and this year, I’m not taking any chances!
I started with Ree Drummonds recipe. Ree adds a ham hock and says that you can also add a can of diced tomatoes, or a few cups of torn-up Kale. I skipped the ham hock, but may try the tomatoes or kale the next time I make it. If you don’t like black-eyed peas, it’s also good with black beans – it’s a great, comforting dish perfect for a cold Winter’s Day!
Ingredients:
4 Tbsp butter (or 2 Tbsp bacon drippings & 2 Tbsp olive oil) (Or just 4 Tbsp olive oil for a vegan version) 1 large yellow onion, diced 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 bell pepper, any color, diced 2 stalks celery, diced 3 14-oz cans black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed (or 1 lb dried, soaked overnight and rinsed*) 1 quart chicken stock (or veggie stock for vegan) I used Better than Bouillon 1 tsp Kosher salt 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper Good pinch of red pepper flakes 2 tbsp. white wine or Apple Cider vinegar White rice
Heat butter or bacon drippings and oil in a cast iron skillet. Add, onions, bell pepper and celery. Sauté for about 5 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add garlic and sauté another 2-3 minutes.
Add black-eyed peas, chicken stock and seasonings. Don’t add the vinegar yet! Bring to a simmer, cover and let cook 30 minutes. Remove lid, stir and let cook another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Take off the heat. There will still be quite a lot of liquid.
Take out about 1/2 the liquid from the beans (I just used a teacup to remove it) and place in a smaller pan. Heat the sauce for about 30 minutes, or until the liquid is reduced down to half or less. That way the sauce gets thickened but the beans don’t turn into mush. Add thickened liquid back into the beans and gently reheat.
Add vinegar and stir. Check seasonings. Serve in a bowl over hot rice.
*If you end up using dry Black-eyed peas, but didn’t soak them over night, I found an easy fast method from onestopchop_ on Instagram.
He says bring a pot of water to the boil and add the dry peas. Let them boil for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat, put the lid on and let them soak for 1 hour. Actually, I strained them out after half an hour and added them to the veggies, along with about 1/2 a cup of the bean water, since I knew I was going to simmer everything for another 60 minutes. Worked like a charm.
Maya made this for Christmas Lunch and it was one of the most delicious desserts I’ve ever eaten. Light, lemony and not too sweet, and so pretty. I asked Maya for her recipe and here it is:
Ingredients
For lemon curd:
¾ cup fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest ¾ cup sugar 3 eggs ½ cup unsalted butter, cubed
For filling:
6 egg yolks ¾ cup white sugar 1/2 cup milk 4 ounce mascarpone (at room temperature) 1 cup heavy cream ½ teaspoon vanilla extract ¼ teaspoon salt
For Ladyfinger “Dip”
1 Tablespoon of Grand Marnier Liquor ¼ cup lemon juice ¼ cup water Ladyfingers (2 packages)
Step 1: Take Mascarpone Cheese out of fridge (it should be room temperature by the time you mix it in)
Step 2: Make Lemon Curd. Add lemon curd ingredients to a sauce pan and bring just to a simmer on medium-low heat, whisking often until mixture thickens, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. (Maya put some in a ziploc bag and piped it on the top.)
Step 3: Make Tiramisu Filling
In a medium saucepan, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until well blended. Whisk in milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Boil gently for 1 minute, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Once cooled (about 10 minutes) add 1 package of room temperature mascarpone cheese (4 ounces). Mix this until totally combined.
Next, whip up your whipping cream until soft peaks form, then add vanilla extract and salt. Gently fold this whipped cream with the mascarpone mixture; the consistency in the end should be kind of a light pudding.
Step 4: Make the ladyfinger dip. Combine Grand Marnier, lemon juice, and water in a shallow bowl that you can use to dip the ladyfingers in. Feel free to play with the ratios if you want your tiramisu more lemon-y. (If you can’t get ladyfingers, you can substitute sponge cake or pound cake cut into strips and baked for 10 minutes or so until they’re a little firmer.)
Step 5: Assembly
In a medium serving dish, you’ll start the layering. Dip some of your ladyfingers in the lemon dip, (they should be wet, but not soaked) and line the serving dish. Layer some of the mascarpone/whipped cream pudding on top of the ladyfingers (assuming three layers, use about a third of the mixture). Dot on some lemon curd, about 2 tablespoons. Repeat the dipping, placing, and layering until you’ve used up most of your ladyfingers and the mascarpone/whipped cream pudding; then drizzle with lemon curd. You probably will have lemon curd left over, if you make a whole batch of curd.
That’s it! Beautiful and lemon-ny, this adjusted tiramisu is a lot of work, but totally worth it!!
Another MelsKitchenCafe recipe – and I like this because you can prep it ahead of time and it isn’t overly sweet. It makes a great breakfast on a cold morning, but you could even use this as a treat with afternoon tea. Or as a weeknight dessert, served with a dollop of sweetened, whipped cream.
Update: I recently made this with blueberries, mixing 2 cups fresh big berries with a cup of smaller frozen berries. It was absolutely delicious!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned regular style oats 3/4 tsp baking powder 1 tsp cinnamon 1/8 tsp freshly ground Nutmeg 1/4 – 1/3 cup brown sugar 1 1/2 cups milk 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla 2 T butter, melted, (omit for a vegan version) 2 large apples, cored and chopped (no need to peel) (I used Gala, but really you can mix it up.) or use 3 cups of blueberries.
Mix oats, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar. If you like things a bit sweeter, use the larger amount of brown sugar.
Mix the milk, egg, vanilla and melted butter, and pour into the oats. Stir gently to combine
Place chopped apples or blueberries in the bottom of a 9×9 cake pan, (or a 9×12 pan as shown) and top with the oatmeal mixture. You can cover and hold this overnight, or you can bake it straight away at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. Delish!
I love roasted vegetables, but sometimes forget how much veggies shrink while cooking. By cutting the chunks larger, and spreading them out, you can get wonderful flavor without overcooking them. Plus all of these truly beautiful vegetables are hardy, so you can prep this early and roast them later.
Ingredients
1 large red onion, halved and cut into eighths 1 medium yellow onion, halved and cut into quarters 2 small zucchini, cut lengthwise and into 2″ pieces 2 small summer squash, cut lengthwise and into 2″ pieces 2 green bell peppers, cut into 2″ pieces 2 red bell peppers, cut into 2″ pieces 1 carton baby Portabella mushrooms, sliced thickly 1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into florets 2 blue potatoes, halved and cut into 3/4″ slices
3 Tbsp olive oil 1 tsp kosher salt 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1/2 tsp garlic powder good-sized pinch each of Oregano, Basil, Red Pepper Flakes & Parsley smaller pinch each of Rosemary and Thyme
Mix oil and spices in a small bowl. Pour a little extra olive oil on two baking sheets and sprinkle a little more garlic powder, salt and black pepper on them. Spread around with your hand, and then dump the vegetables on one pan. Pour the olive oil mixture over and toss gently until all of the veggies are coated. Spread the veggies evenly on the two trays and bake at 425 for 25-30 minutes. Give them a bit of a stir half way through. The veggies should still have all their beautiful colors, but still be nicely cooked.
These vegetables are so beautiful:
Update: After roasting, toss with a quick little vinaigrette. If you make a lot of vegetables, just double the vinaigrette.
2 Tbsp olive oil 2 tsp red wine vinegar 1 tsp parsley pinch of salt
Mix in a cup and drizzle over and gently toss vegetables. The vinaigrette adds a really nice bright note and I’ll probably keep making it like that.
I made this dressing yesterday for Christmas lunch and realized that I had to really hunt for it. So I decided to make it a bit easier to find. If you don’t have fish sauce, you can definitely make it without. But if you get a chance – definitely try it – the flavor it adds to dishes is amazing.
1 tsp crushed garlic or 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard 3 Tbsp white wine vinegar 1-2 tsp Fish Sauce 1/2 cup olive oil 1/2 tsp kosher salt 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
To make vinaigrette, add all ingredients to a mason jar, starting with 1 tsp of the fish sauce. Close with lid and shake like crazy until well blended. Taste and add salt, pepper or fish sauce as needed.
Inspired by the Great British Bake Off to try some new flavors – I made Mango Trifle for Samir’s birthday dinner last night. The recipe is very easy and so delicious.
Ingredients
2-3 cups of cake (angel food, lady fingers or yellow cake, unfrosted) cut into 1″ slices 14 oz (or more) frozen mango pulp, or fresh mango chunks Cardamom Custard (recipe below) 2 Tbsp rum fresh mango chunks whipped cream
Cardamom Custard: 1 cup sugar 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp ground cardamom 1/4 cup cornstarch 5 cups whole milk (Can also substitute fat-free 1/2 & 1/2 for some of the milk.) 4 eggs, well beaten in a medium sized bowl
Blend sugar, salt, cardamom, cornstarch and whole milk in a large saucepan on medium heat. Bring to a gentle boil stirring constantly. Once the custard reaches the boil, remove from heat and add 1 cup to the eggs in the bowl, stirring vigorously so the eggs don’t cook. Add another cup of milk mix to the eggs, and continue stirring.
Return the whole thing to the saucepan and put back on medium/low heat. Heat for 1-2 minutes until the custard is just starting to bubble a little. Don’t leave it for a second at this point or it will curdle. Remove from heat and let cool. It will thicken as it cools.
Toss mango in a bowl with rum and a little powdered sugar if needed. (Frozen mangoes are kind of hit and miss in terms of sweetness.)
To assemble:
Place cake in a thin layer on the bottom and sides of a large bowl or clear trifle dish. (Be a bit neater if using a clear trifle dish.) Place mangoes and rum liquid over cake, placing some on the outside so they show. Pour cooled Rich Custard over fruit and cake, cover and refrigerate at least a couple of hours until lightly set.
Just before serving, top with whipped cream and fresh mango chunks and dust with ground cardamom.
Beautiful Baby Spinach from Pille-Riin-Priske on Unsplash.com
I’ve always loved Palak Paneer, but had never tried to make it. We had Samir’s birthday supper last night and I made it, along with Biryani and a really delicious Mango Trifle, which I’ll add soon. Kumy made his amazing Potatoes, too.
I used a modified version of Swasthi’s recipe from IndianHealthyRecipes.com, which was excellent, if a bit confusing. Basically, you cook the spinach mixture first, and then the spice, onion tomato mixture. You add the spinach back in near the end, and Paneer goes in last, just before serving. It’s actually fairly easy.
It looks like a million ingredients, but they all go together beautifully.
Part 1:
2 Tbsp oil 4 green chilies (Long, skinny ones, seeded) or 2 small/medium Jalapenos, seeded 1 lb. organic baby spinach, washed and well-drained 10 cashews (unsalted or salted is fine)
1 14 oz. can crushed or petite-diced tomatoes with juices in can. (Can carefully buzz with an immersion blender in the can if you want a smoother curry.) 1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp garam masala 1/2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves 12 oz. Paneer, cut into 1/2″ cubes
In a dutch oven, heat oil. Saute chillies, cashews and spinach until spinach is completely wilted, but still bright green. Remove from heat, transfer into a bowl and let cool. Use an immersion blender or food processor to buzz the spinach into a smooth mixture.
Melt butter in the dutch oven and add the whole spices. Let cook until the spices are starting to sizzle a bit – maybe a minute or two. Add the onions and cook until golden – about 8-10 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring constantly for 1-2 minutes.
Add tomatoes with juice and salt. (If you used salted cashews, go easy on the salt.) Cook for several minutes until the tomatoes start to break down. If you buzzed the tomatoes, you’ll have a smoother curry. If you left the tomatoes in chunks, you’ll have a chunkier curry. Both are fine.
Add the garam masala and about 1 cup of water to the pan, and cook down until you have a nice, fairly thick gravy consistency. When in doubt – let it get a little drier. You can always add a bit of water at the end to loosen it up if you need to.
Add the spinach mixture and the dried Fenugreek leaves. Cook another 2-3 minutes to bring it back to the simmer. Taste and add a bit of salt if needed, and if it’s very thick, add a couple of spoons of water.
Little Brown Cookbook 