Brussels Sprouts Chaat Salad

Is it weird to eat salad for breakfast? With all the holiday cheer of sweets and indulgent foods, I’ve been trying to achieve a balance and eat some good stuff too (like salad for breakfast)! Have you ever had salad for breakfast? Yesterday, we took our Papillon-mix to the groomer at 8 am and then I went back to sleep. I guess it’s a luxury for me right now to be able to go back to sleep or sleep in and wake up late. Since it was late-breakfast to early lunch-time, I had a brunch of Brussels sprouts salad with chaat masala.

Jeera Spaghetti

Suraj, a friend of mine since first grade, loves talking about food and the recipes he tells me about, especially his family recipes, always sound so good. He gave me some pointers on Vegetable Manchurian, which I have featured in a previous post. Here is one of his recipes Jeera Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce. It is a great dish for a weeknight when you are busy because, like many pasta dishes, it does not take too long to make.

Acorn Squash with Wild Rice Stuffing

Acorn squash is stocked in markets this time of year and it is one of my favorite types of squash. I think most squash are my favorite though. Dark green skin and orange flesh, it is a beautiful-looking squash. I grew up eating squash often as my Dad grew them and still does. Summer squash, winter squash, all different types of squash. I get some nice free squash and pumpkins sometimes 🙂

Roasted acorn squash with wild rice stuffing is a vegetarian dish that I used to eat on Thanksgiving when I did not eat meat and wanted to have something besides tofurkey. I first cooked this dish about 4 years ago after I heard an interview on NPR about a vegetarian Thanksgiving and some veggie-friendly recipes.

Red Lentil Stew – a Remix of Filipino Mongo (mung bean stew)

Red lentils! I have never had them before, until very recently. Have you? Though lentils are a staple in many parts of the world, I didn’t grow up eating them. As an adult, I’ve had lentil stews a couple of times such as the canned soup variety or a lentil dish at an Indian restaurant. The taste and texture of lentils reminds me a lot of a mung beans, something I did grow up eating. We often ate mung beans in a savory Filipino stew called Mongo (Mongo Guisado or Ginisang Mongo) or in Hopia Mongo, a flaky pastry filled with sweet mung bean filling. Mongo is a comfort food that even kids with picky palates love. My dog Swift, a 17 year old Labrador mix, has loved Mongo stew with rice since she was a puppy! When she got sick and didn’t want to eat dog food, she would eat Mongo!

While shopping at Trader Joe’s, I saw a brightly orange and green colored package of Red Split Lentils. Somehow the bag of orange-red beans was calling me out and telling me that I needed to get it. I guess I have a penchant for buying colorful foods.

Don’t these look interesting? (traderjoes.com)

Using the red lentils, I decided to make a dish that reminded me of the Mongo stew that I grew up with and still love, but with an Italian and American twist. Remix time!