These adorable jello shots are perfect for any occasion, especially New Year's Eve! I saw this recipe on Erica's Sweet Tooth and could hardly wait to make them for NYE. They're easy to make and look so fancy with the festive toothpicks. The guests were "oohing" and "aching" when I walked in with these cuties. Make them with any sweet bubbly wine or champagne.
Read MoreQuinoa Patties
During our nightly social network catch-up sessions while hubby and I were on vacation, I saw that Recipris (a fantastic vegetarian food/recipe blogger) had posted on her Facebook page that she was in Bali, which happened to be our next destination! I got super excited and asked hubby if it would be weird if I asked her to meet me while in Bali. He encouraged the idea and next thing we know is that we're sharing laughs with the newlyweds, Priya (author of Recipris) and her husband, Raman, over dinner. I'm so glad I took the initiative of reaching out to her because she is a sweetheart and so is her husband.
Read MoreAlmond-Cashew-Date Mithai (sweet)
Diwali is just around the corner and I got my hands on this recipe on Sprouted Kitchen. I modified it to make it taste Indian and it is probably one of the easiest mithais (sweets) to make. Last year I made Halwa, which is a traditional mithai with semolina flour, ghee (clarified butter), sugar and milk. I opted to make something easy, modern and relatively healthy this year. Almonds are my favorite and I call them alpha nuts because of their incredible nutritional value. Almond milk, almond butter, almond everything is so incredibly delicious, including this mithai recipe.
Read MoreCheese Plate 2.0
Ahh I love cheese. So much that if I was stranded on an island and I could only have one thing, it would be cheese. Sharp Cheddar is my all time favorite but Gouda and Brie are runner ups.
Remember my first cheese plate creation? Well, on this cheese plate 2.0, I did something different. Since figs made an appearance for the season, I wanted to incorporate them into a dish. So I sliced the gorgeous figs, put them in a small baking dish and baked for about 5-10 minutes at 350º F (until the figs were soft). For easy clean-up, I placed sliced Brie on parchment paper and then carefully place the warm figs on the cheese and drizzled honey. The warm figs softened the Brie just enough without melting it. I served the figs & cheese with whole wheat toasts and French baguette slices. I also added some almonds, dark chocolate and of course, red grapes to the plate.
Read MoreSriracha Paneer
Who doesn't like Sriracha? It's the solution to everything. It is spicy, flavorful and jazzes up anything you add it to. "Sriracha > every sauce that has ever existed," says, the biggest Sriracha fan ever, my hubby.
I needed a recipe for a finger food dish to make for my lovely friend, Devina's bridal shower. While I was spending hours and hours on Pinterest drooling over every food pin I saw, I instantly fell in love with this recipe. The original recipe was made with tofu but I decided to use Paneer instead, (Paneer = Indian cheese, tastes a lot like Ricotta). Paneer is made with whole milk that is typically curdled with a food acid (lemon juice or vinegar), then the water is drained out using a cheese cloth and the remaining curdled milk is pressed to form a tofu like consistency. The texture of paneer differs a lot from tofu, paneer is slightly gritty and dense whereas tofu is smooth and soft. You can find Paneer at any Indian grocery store or even make it at home.
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