Lemonade Stand

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BM #116 : Week 5, Day 4
Theme : Lemonade Stand/Drinks platter

For the last post of this month’s mega marathon, I am here with a mix and match lemonade stand/bar. I wanted to do a drink platter and this seemed to be a good idea where you have a single base recipe (plain lemonade) and then you have options to add your own flavors to it.

There are many ways to implement this idea, but I decided to go with the easiest one. Ever since I made this strawberry mocktail, I have been hooked into Mojito styled drinks. The basic idea is to muddle/crush the fruit of your choice along with a couple of wedges of lemon, few mint leaves and sugar and then top it with water and ice. Here, I have topped it with lemonade and then decided to skip adding sugar since the lemonade already had it. You can always add more according to your preference.

You can also do this by making fruit flavored simple syrups and then keeping it in bottles alongside the lemonade. People can pour the flavor syrup(s) they want and then top it with lemonade or even water and sugar. Or yet another way is to keep fruit purées and just mix it into the lemonade.

This is the last post for the thali series and a farewell summer post is also the perfect way to say farewell to this month long blogging mega marathon!

Read on for the recipes and more pictures.

The lemonade bar has

  1. Lemonade
  2. Blackberries
  3. Blueberries
  4. Raspberries
  5. Melon rounds
  6. Watermelon puree
  7. Pomegranate seeds
  8. Mint leaves
  9. Lemon wedges
  10. Sugar/Agave (not in the picture)
  11. Mortar and pestle; glasses to serve

Pick fruit of your choice, few mint leaves and a couple of lemon wedges. Add to the mortar and crush with the pestle. Just 6-8 crushes would do. Not too much to make a purée.

Add this to a glass and top with lemonade. Check sweetness, add more agave for sweetness. It would be easier to dissolve.

The glasses have flavored drinks with

  1. Blackberry
  2. Watermelon
  3. Melon ball
  4. Blueberry
  5. Raspberry

I used a melon baller to take out balls from a watermelon and honeydew melon. I also saved the juice coming out of the fruit. The juice is really sweet and makes a good addition to the lemonade.

You can also add aerated drinks for additional flavors, but I personally don’t like it.

For watermelon flavored lemonade, I made a watermelon purée and then added some crushed mint leaves and topped with lemonade.

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Protein rich South Indian lunch

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BM #116 : Week 5, Day 3
Theme : Fruit platter

The thali here is not a planned thali. I was making lunch and was planning to cook quinoa for me. It was only when the meal was coming together that I realized it was a protein rich meal. Not every single item is protein rich, but most of it. Our usual lunches will have only one source of lentils or beans. We don’t make dal based sambar and then serve it with dry beans based Sundal. But I made an exception here since I had some leftover chickpeas and boiled eggs I wanted to finish off. Sometimes it’s the leftovers that craft the lunch at my place 😁.

We have started stocking up frozen vadas from Indian store. It’s a quick solution when you crave for a snack or when you don’t want to prepare a side dish for lunch. I thaw it in microwave and then cook for a few minutes in the dosa pan. That seems to work for me. The best part is I can serve a single vada instead of making an entire batch. So I decided to add the vada also to the thali, which my family loved.

Read on for the recipes and more pictures.

The thali has

  1. Quinoa
  2. Carrot and tomato sambar
  3. Chickpeas Sundal
  4. Sautéed Okra
  5. Masala eggs
  6. Yogurt
  7. Mango pickle (readymade)
  8. Potato chips (readymade)
  9. Urad dal vada (readymade)

Chickpea Sundal

  • Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a pan. Add one teaspoon of mustard seeds. Once it pops, add salt as needed, a teaspoon of chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder and 1.5 cups of cooked chickpeas. Mix carefully.
  • Let it cook for 3-4 minutes until flavors mingle well and chickpeas are heated through.
  • Now add 2-3 tablespoons of shredded coconut. Start with 2 and then add the third spoon if you want to. Taste test and adjust seasonings if needed. Remove from heat and serve with rice and sambar.

Sautéed okra

  • Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan. Add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds. Once it pops, add 3 cups of cleaned and sliced okra. Add salt as needed and 1 teaspoon of chili powder. Carefully mix.
  • Heat this on low to medium heat, stirring in between carefully a couple of times, until the okra is done. I don’t stir too many times to avoid breaking of okra. The sliminess reduces as the okra is cooked. Remove from heat and serve as a side dish.

Masala eggs:

  • Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in a pan. Add salt, pepper and a pinch of turmeric powder. Add 1/4 teaspoon sambar powder to the oil. Mix well with a spatula.
  • Now slice a boiled egg into two lengthwise. Carefully keep the flat side down on the masala mix. Cook for 45 seconds and carefully flip and cook the other side too. You can cook it for a longer time too if you want it more crispier. Remove from the heat and serve with rice.

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Fruit platter

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BM #116 : Week 5, Day 2
Theme : Fruit platter

My son loves fruits and so does his friends. I usually serve a couple of fruits in bowls when his friends come over – usually grapes, mangoes or watermelons. It gets over fast and that’s where I got the idea of a colorful fruit platter. This could be a great snack tray or appetizers to serve to a crowd.

I made a trip to Farmers market just to buy fruits for this platter and I have used only half of what I bought in this platter. When I started laying it out, I decided to stick with only red color fruits. So the rest of the fruits went right back into the fridge. I have been looking at a lot of Instagram posts for platter ideas and this one here is inspired from one of the platters I saw there.

Fall is here and soon it will be just sweaters and thick pants. We have already had a few days where we had to take the thin jackets out. Before we get into the completely cold weather, I wanted to enjoy a tray full of summer fruits. I wanted to add a couple of fruit dips to the platter, but I forgot it – to be honest. So it’s just fruits here on the plate.

Scroll down for more pictures and to see posts from my fellow BM bloggers for the day.

The platter has

  1. Water melon slices
  2. Red grapes
  3. Pomegranate
  4. Black Plums
  5. Clementines
  6. Raspberries
  7. Blackberries
  8. Apples

Start with the bigger fruits. Arrange it first where you want them. Mine is inspired from an Instagram post. Now keep adding the bigger pieces of fruits and fill the space in between with smaller fruits like grapes and berries.

Oranges or clementines look a lot better when you take off that spider web like layer of white pith.

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Sandwich platter

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BM #116 : Week 5, Day 1
Theme : sandwich platter

Theme for today is sandwiches. It’s my son’s one of the most favorite food to eat, so I can tell you that we had a happy happy kid the day I made this.

I use instant pot to make boiled eggs and so I always make a few extra whenever I am doing it. So prepping an egg salad sandwich is an easy thing for me. I had mushrooms I needed to use up and I decided to prepare a white sauce base to keep the sandwich together as the others had cheese in them. I am making veggie Frankie for the first time, I used readymade tortillas as the wraps.

It’s always an issue at my place what to serve the sandwich with. My son wants ketchup (the masala style ketchup from Indian store). My husband likes Trader Joe’s Green Dragon sauce or any other hot sauce and I like the flavor of green chutney. So I decided to serve all our favorites so that we can each choose what we want. The chili vinegar is a favorite with both me and my husband.

I have used cheese slices here for the pesto sandwich since I didn’t have mozzarella with me. It’s kind of a take on Caprese sandwich, but I am never stocked up in fresh basil leaves. I also prepare it with soft cheeses like goat cheese or cream cheese too, it pairs well with the pesto and tomato slices.

Read on for the recipes.

The platter has

  1. Egg salad sandwich
  2. Pesto and cheese sandwich
  3. Mushroom sandwiches
  4. Veggie Frankie
  5. Chili vinegar
  6. Tomato ketchup
  7. Dragon sauce / Chili sauce
  8. Green chutney
  9. Sliced onions

Mushroom sandwich:

  • 4 slices of bread
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
  • 2 tablespoons coriander leaves or herb of your choice
  • 2 teaspoons flour
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • salt and pepper

Method:

  1. Heat butter in a pan. Sauté the mushrooms until it releases all the liquid. Add the coriander leaves or spinach or any herb of your choice.
  2. Push the mushrooms to the side of the pan. Add the milk into the center. Now add the flour with salt and pepper per your taste. Mix so that there are no lumps, mix the mushrooms too. Add more milk if it’s too thick. Take off the heat. Add the mushrooms as filling for the bread. Toast the bread in a pan with some butter until it turns brown. Serve with ketchup or chili sauce.

Pesto tomato and cheese sandwich:

  • Bread of your choice
  • 1 slice of cheese of each sandwich or a soft cheese like cream cheese or goat cheese
  • 2 round slices of tomato
  • 1 teaspoon pesto
  • Toast the bread. Spread pesto on one side. Add the tomato slices on top. Spread the soft cheese on the other side or use a slice of cheese. Put the slices together and enjoy your sandwich.

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