MY DUKAN DIET + RECIPES- VANILLA COFFEE PUDDING

If the word diet puts u off , well it does to me too (ignore the word in the tittle though), and for me its more of a lifestyle , eating a bit of everything.

But for someone who needs to shake off some pounds build up on eating (read binge'n)way too muc than normal amounts in the name of being a foodie , this is te way to go.

Now i have been working out for around 3 months and lost  weight (i loose faster than i put on bdw), totally into weight training to build that all that muscle which will continue too burn all my calories even while i sleep and absolutely enjoy it coz i love high energy and always have lods of it left even after a 2 hour workout ..
(sounds like music to the ears doesn't that ?? )

GRILLED HERB SHRIMP with "ONION SALSA" @ INA'S GARDEN

Grilled Herb shrimps , with Basil , lotsa garlic and some pine nuts to be a bit more precise.

This is the ''Wild Card '' fortnight at Ina's Garden and that means you can join in the party with jus about any of ur Ina's creations ...

Shrimp and grilled together sound exciting and this is just the shrimp am going to grill over the weekend for a dinner , but for now i jus grilled a small batch for 2 of us for lunch and it was awesome.

The best part about this recipe ( i promise ur gonna love this part) is that u can marinate the shrimps (or even chicken) , spread it on ur baking tray , cover well or cling wrap the previous nite and all u need to do on the day of the party is pop the tray in the oven a little before the guests arrive to a warm very very yummy smelling home ...( c i told ya , ur gonna love this )

There were actually no limes in the pantry , and i subbed in some home vinegar and the flavours it helped bring were fantastic, pairing beautifully with the french mustard.

+ all the marinade with the onion served as a great salsa kinda of accompaniment with the prawns.

The onions get mustardy and the vinegar, again , lends a nice flavour to them.

So yeah one whole onion for a few shrimps is totally worth it coz the grilled onions grab the nice shrimpy flavour plus with the basil et all , its gets absolutely delightful , and if u make lots of it u can even have some of it on some toastess and viola u have another entree.

The pine nuts were added on impulse coz of their ''pesto'' pairing with basil .

 

And just like Ina's recipes , this one is soo forgiving too , specially if u dont seem to have it all in sur pantry.

I measured nothing out , jus played it by ear and still it was sooo good!

+ i added some whole coloured peppercorns with some crushed one's , and lots of chopped garlic with a whole onion , that as i said , is a nice accompaniment with the shrimps.

GRILLED HERB SHRIMPS 

original recipe here

7- 8 larger shrimps, heads and tails left on

1-2 tbh chopped garlic

1 red onion chopped

a good handful of basil chopped 

1 tsp pf dijon mustard

1 tsp whole peppers (coloured)

1/2 whole peppers crushed

some pine nuts (optional)

a splash of vinegar or wine or lemon juice

salt to taste 

a ''good'' drizzle of olive oil

1) Mix all the ingredients in a bowl , and marinate the shrimps , atleast for an hour .

2) Place on a baking sheet , if grilling under a broiler ( with all the marinade), and grill till done , turning once in between.

3) Dot with butter when done (optional ) , and serve with all the marinade ,now browned and yummy of onions and pine nuts.

Serve with the ''onion salsa '' u grilled along (marinade)

NOTE- if u want more of the onion + basil+ pine nut salsa , jus add some more to the shrimps thats all, and dot with butter /olive oil.

I think this would be fantastic with some Pesto or parmesan and bread crumbs too , but whatever u do , dont leave out the garlic (and butter too :-) )

SWEET & SPICY ROASTED NUTS with ROSEMARY @ INA's GARDEN

Cashewnuts are as Goan to me as Cashew feni to a tourist traveling to my land of sun , sand , sea and sea food , Goa , for the first time or second or third (if u have not heard this , i have many many times over, that they HAVE to feast on the cashew feni when in Goa on a holiday or not )

 

Too good , too fast to be true...

See how well the sweet and salty spiced butter coats the nuts..

Never leave Goa without some of these.......

 

Even if i cant generalize that , well i want to for the love of Cashewnuts anyway , besides being a wonderful nut , it connects me to my goan connection , in a good way .

Always looking forward to grind , slice , chop cashewnuts in baking or cooking , here was another opportunity and so for this weeks Appetizers and snacks , Rosemary roasted cashewnuts from Ina's Barefoot in Paris .

I dont know what part of this recipe is French but i like the sound of it ....

U simply cant stop at some....

BAKED GARLIC SHRIMPS @ SECRET RECIPE CLUB

Is this the longest time i have been away ...though i would totally love to say Yeah yeah yeah , it aint so coz omce i was without a computer and the company too the longest time to deliver the new laptop , and well i was away.

This was one long crazy month and i say it in such a good way , but this was really really not planned ok , absolutely NOt.....

Though der is a niggly little heart break dat refuses to budge i still had a very beautiful month , even away from the internet and life is jus getting so beautiful that i still wanna throw up both my hands high in the air and say hooray...im in love.......

And i so missed being around and saying hullo to u all and though its gng to take me a bit to catch i sure sure will...and absoultely...

I have been cooking and baking lots and lots of good food , mostly local goodies,coz we have been entertaining a bit and though we sure can get somebody to cater there is nothing like home cooked goodness topped with love.

Lets get talking about food right away and to begin with is my very very late posting for the secret recipe club...

Secret recipe club begun by Amanda of Amanda's cooking  is a fun group to be a part of and u can join in here , and believe me , its totally fun not only coz till the last day u dont k now who is assigned ur blog but u do get to discover some very wonderful blogs and some very wonderful foods.

I have know Lizzy for awhile now and before i go gaga about her wonderful blog i must say she has one of the most wonderful hearts , she is so kind and sweet and her words and thoughts to me always scream so.

I love the love about her and to top that she has an absolutely delicious drool worthy blog....oh its soo yummy!!

I have bookmarked so muc from her blog and was more than jus thrilled to be assinged with her blog.

This and this and this and this ....oh there is more too and i sure have to try the stuff soooonnn.Its also an added bonus that her recipes are so so quick and easy and so good to have at hand on a busy weekday night or relaxed weekend ...

And more so if u have guests , unannounced, whatever ur situation or ur tastebuds demand , she has a recipe for u.....

Now having jus come online , was a little lost catching up and though had planned on min of 3 recipes from her blog i simply couldn do it and went with this favourite.

I had everything , except bread crumbs in the pantry and am sure u do too , this recipe comes together at the snap of the finger , and not to forget is soooo absolutely delish too.

I didn add muc butter as the original recipe and used one red serrano peppers , for a little bite .

 Also stuck to whole black peppers , which i love to bite into.

Where crushed pepper goes Habareno pepper and Chipotle pepper flakes worked well for me , infact very well.

All u need to do , is toss all the ingredients together or simply line the shrimps in a single layer on a baking tray and sprinkle it all over and bake..

If u have some garlic bread u can add it to the oven , in the final minutes of baking so u have some warm bread to dip the juices in.

Lizzy does delicious with some warm french bread... me love...

BAKED GARLIC SHRIMPS

recipe from Lizzy's blog

Easily double and please triple actually :-)

12 shrimps ( peeled and deveined with heads and tails intact)

a good drizzle of olive oil

2 tablespoons red pepper chopped

2 tbh parsely/cilantro minced

4-7 cloves garlic minced

1 serranno pepper,deseeded sliced long(optional)

  red pepper flakes to taste

   black pepper to taste

   garlic powder (optional)

   butterdepending how buttery u want it

parmesan cheese to sprinkle.

salt to taste

Arrange the shrimps in a single layer in a baking dish and sprinkle all other ingredients except butter and cheese atop.

Dot with butter , sprinkle with cheese and bake in a preheated oven till done .

Here are all the goodies of the Secret Recipe club members...enjoy....

PASTA with PIZAZZ in INA'S GARDEN

Pasta with Pizzaz , is the theme this fortnight and when i read the theme , it got me excited.

My dear pal Chaya , chose this weeks theme and it sounded so exciting and perfect for the summery days we are seeing.

Im an avid Pasta lover , and if u arent able to see my pasta here , dats coz of some glitches i had and instead of getting those details lemme get into the details of our very wonderful group Ina's Garden and i would love to introduce to u our co-hosts again , we love to join together in Ina's Garden and would love eee to have u over too.

April of The 21s Century Housewife and The 21st Century Housewife’s Kitchen

Chaya of Comfy Cook's Kosher Kitchen and Bizzy B Bakes

Louanne of Louanne’s Kitchen

Peggy of Pantry Revisited

and of course, ur truly...

If ur wondering why there is no Pasta happening here , fret not , we still have a little less than a fortnight for the linky and u and i are going to cook any of Ina's Pasta's or maybe toss this one (oh i loveeee roasting shrimps before i add them to a dish , its makes the flavours better and u happier), and then we will link right here with the rest of the gang shall we?

SAVORY CHEESY HERBY BREAD @ FFwD

Savory and herby.

Not jus herby , but filled with herbs , to the brim ,which is a good thing here.

There are poppy seeds to make it prettier (ok fine i wasn't adventurous enough to add vanilla and i cant do without my tiny black seeds fixation , not to forget i have a rather large jar of poppy seeds)

And there's some slight garlicky goodness too , jus so , to add some garlicky to the home garden garlic chives.

If that aint enough, its cheesy , very cheesy , really , there is all kinds of cheese happening here , and it was the perfect bake to add in all sorts of cheese's that seem to be collecting in my refrigerator.

 Its nice to have cheesy and pockets said in the same sentence about this bread.

U can have it warm ,right out of the oven or 2 days later , if it lasts that long, lightly toasted , with butter.

Good with lunch as muc as with brunch as muc as that food basket u seem to carry everywhere u go,specially if u drive around with ur mom or sibling while they are at work.

 Really , its the bessst savory loaf i ever had , moist and flavorful, full of cheesy and herby goodness.

I AM BAKING with THIS BUT I DONT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE, WILL U HELP ME ?

I am baking right now ,(ok now at the time of publishing its already baked n we have happily enjoyed more than half), of course u will see it (asap) too, right here.
But till then i so muc wanna know what these herbs are?

I know ,i know , its been more than a couple of times , that i find something and have never seen and used or had it before ,i love to blame it more to the village i come from in Goa than my frog in the well status , but honestly i am so comfortable with u guys , my readers , my frens.
U'll have helped many a times with fruits and veggies i never knew.

 The are flavorful and actually have a fragrance that makes me feel like im in a room full of basil , and i actually think like these are Baby Basil , maybe the bonsai kind?

 Or maybe Basil crossed with thyme? I really have no idea , hope u do.