Almond Pilaf

Recently, One of my friend was diagnosed with diabetics. When we were talking about what to eat and what not, she gave me some recipes which was suggested by her dietitian. One of them was Almond Pilaf which was of Low Carbs and it's very healthy for everyone not only the diabetic patients. This pilaf is very easy to make and I thought of posting this recipe in my blog.

This also gives me an opportunity to make my entry to JZ's Lets Go Nuts: Almonds - March 31st event started by Aquadaze of Served with Love

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups Brown rice
• 3 cups Water
• 1/4 cup raw Almonds,raw and grounded
• 1/4 tsp Garlic powder, to taste
• 1 tsp Parsley,dried
• 1/4 tsp Black Pepper, to taste

Method

• In rice cooker, place all of the ingredients in a rice cooker.Cook until the water evaporates, about 30 minutes. or as per your cooking instructions in the package
• Fluff cooked rice with a fork. This dish goes very well with grilled/baked fish or chicken.
• Add a large green salad to complete the meal.

Note

• If you are using microwave, place all ingredients in a large, covered, microwave-safe dish.Microwave on 80% power for 33 minutes.
• For more interesting, you can also mix in cooked vegetables, toasted almonds,raisins or cashews to the pilaf.
• I served with Dilled Salmon Cakes and stir fry vegetables.
  
  

  Link to this post

  
  
  Dilled Salmon Cakes : Simply Spices
  

One Thing Today

Image created by simplyspices

Some people spend 90% of their time organizing their time.


Some tackle to-do lists peppered with insignificance that stretch a mile long.


And still, there are others who refuse to do anything at all.


As for me, I am committed to doing one thing a day, and that has made all the difference.


From Marc At MarcandAngelHackLife.com:

Pink Lemonade

This refreshing cooler is perfect for a hot summer day. I thought of posting this in summer but I wanted to make an entry to Priya's FIC: Pink/Rose event started by Sunshinemom so here it is.

In our home any pink food/toy/dresses are allergic to my little boy. That's the boys world until they grow up! If I wear pink dress he says....phew...girly girl! I often tell him that you are a having pink tongue and you like pink lemonade and strawberry smoothie, but he says boys are okay to have pink tongue and can drink their favorites he always loosen his rules if he likes....that's kids right. Like that I think, it's okay to drink this lemonade in spring. :)

Okay, Here is the simple recipe I used to make the pink lemonade.

Ingredients

• 1 cup white Sugar
• 4 cups Water
• 1 cup fresh Lemon juice
• 1/2 cup Cranberry juice
  

Method

• Combine all ingredients (sugar, water, lemon juice and cranberry juice) in a pitcher.
• Stir to dissolve sugar.
• Chill for an hour, or serve over ice to serve immediately.
  

Note

• This recipe used 1 cup cranberry juice.
• Make sugar and water adjustments to taste.
• Reduce sugar if using sweetened cranberry juice.
  

Keywords: Old fashioned pink lemonade with fresh squeezed lemon juice, simple syrup of sugar and water, and cranberry juice for color.

Spaghetti in Homemade Basil Pesto Sauce

This recipe off to Earth Hour 2009 event hosted by Anna . I used to submit my recipes to her events when I had my website. Recently she invited me for this.I'm delighted to submit for Earth Hour 2009.

It was really hard to decide what to cook for this event.So many conditions...:) Very less packaging,transport and energy consumption. I have to mix and match everything,found some leftover fresh basil in my refrigerator. Instead of throwing away after a week I can use them now.

Here is the recipe for Spaghetti and Pesto Sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Vegetables(Carrots,Broccoli),steamed
• 2 cups Whole-Wheat Spaghetti
• Homemade Basil Pesto Sauce(recipe below)
• Salt to taste
  

Method

• Steam 10 -15 min all your favorite vegetables to go with spaghetti.
• Boil the water; add salt and cook spaghetti in salted boiled water for 18-20 minutes.
• Filter the water and mixed with prepared pesto sauce.
• Toss cooked vegetables into it.
  

Basil Pesto Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh Basil leaves
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese,grated
• 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/3 cup Walnuts or Pine nuts
• 3 Garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

• Pulse chopped walnuts few minutes in food processor.
• Add basil leaves into the processor.
• Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.
• 2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on.
  
• Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended.
• Add a pinch of salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Note

• I forgot to take a picture of sauce, picture shown here is leftover.
• Toss favorite veggies into the sauce, place those on baking sheet; bake 350^o for 15-20 min or until tender.
  
• Add a splash of lemon juice to the sauce spread on fish/chicken and grill/bake until thoroughly cooked well.