Favorite English Movies

I prefer comedy, action, spoof, and occational drama. Horror/Scary has no entertainment value for me. Some of my favorite movies in no particular order:
1. Hunt for Red October
2. Clear and Present Danger
3. My Cousin Vinny
4. Few Good Men
5. Untouchables
6. Office Space
7. Dave
8. Bowfinger
9. Godfather 1
10. Harold & Kumar goes to White Castle
11. Dodgeball
12. There is something about Mary
13. Raiders of the lost Arc
14. Indiana Jones & last crusade
15. Matrix 1
16. Tommy boy
17. Fugitive
18. The Firm
19. Pelican Brief
20. 9 months
21. She is having a baby
22. Home Alone (all 3)
23. Bushwacked
24. Shawshank Redemption
25. Coming to America
26. Die Hard (1 and 3)
27. Ruthless People
28. Father of the Bride
29. Trading Places
30. Star Wars triology (old one)

I will add more as I remember.

Salad

This is a simple, tasty and yet a healthy salad you can make in minutes. I have tasted this at a Russian friend's place and tried several variations of my own over time.

What you need

• Baby spinach or fancy salad mix
• Extra Virgin Olive oil
• Lemon juice
• Sweet Onion
• Strawberries
• Walnuts
• Salt & Pepper

Preparation

In a bowl add thinly sliced onion, Strawberries, lemon juice, salt, pepper, 1/4 spoon sugar, Olive oil and let it sit for 30 minutes.
Toast walnuts and chop roughly. Arrange salad greens in a bowl and top with about mix and nuts and you are done.

My Spin

• Mango and naval oranges are excellent alternatives to Strawberries. Look for a fruit or berries that's juicy and acidic in nature. The emulsion of acid and olive oil makes the dressing.
• Walnuts can be replaced with pine nuts or almonds. It's important to toast them to bring out the taste.
• I prefer sweet onion that's not too strong. If you don't have it, soak sliced onion in ice cold water (with little vinegar if you have some) for 15 minutes and drain. Cold water keeps them crisp.
• I prefer chopping greens as well. You will be sacrificing presentation but smaller leaves gets even coating of dressing and easy to pickup with a fork and stuff your mouth.
• I recommend baby spinach. If you have leftover greens and not in the mood to make a salad, you can wilt them (see my previous post for Chard) or make other Indian dishes.

Spicy Chard

Swiss Chard - Here is a green that's packed with vitamin A, K and a host of other nutrients.It's easy to prepare and quite tasty too.
What you need:

• Swiss Chard (white or red)
• Garlic
• Crushed chili pepper (pinch)
• Olive oil
• Salt/pepper
• Lemon juice

Process:
Clean, drain and roughly cop the greens.
Heat the pan, add oil, chopped garlic and crushed pepper. Fry for a minute, add greens, stir and cover. Cook for about 5 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper and add lemon juice and you are done.
Variations:
You can follow this simple process with most other greens.
Add chopped onions, bell peppers in the beginning.
Drizzel with more olive oil and roasted pine nuts.

Glazed Carrots

Carrots can provide you healthy doses of beta-carotene, anti-oxidants and Potassium. Here is a way to jazz it up to make it attractive for kids and grown-ups alike.
What you need:

• Carrots
• Brown sugar
• Orange juice
• Butter
• Cinnamon stick

Chop carrots. I prefer to keep the skin on since most of the Potassium is right under the skin (just like potatoes). I scrub the carrots with mild soap before chopping.
In a heavy pan, add butter, fry carrots for two minutes on high till evenly coated.
Add a cup of orange juice and 2 to 3 spoons of brown sugar, add a small stick of cinnamon.
Mix, cover and cook on medium for 10 minutes.
Remove cover, fry till all liquid is evaporated and you are done.

Tricks and tips:
Add a little ginger during the process to add some zing
Let cool at room temperature, sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.
Serve with your favorite ice cream and whip cream
Use ripened plantains or yams instead of carrots.

Trivia:
Carrots are originated in Afghanistan and black in color. With selective breeding over centuries, carrots are now produced in varied colors and sizes.
Baby carrots are made from regular carrots (1 carrot = 3 baby carrots). Machines remove the skin and polish them to look like small carrots. What started as a way of reclaiming hard to sell imperfect carrots now became a multi billion dollar industry.

Acorn Squash and Vegetables Soup





This is a hearty soup my lady likes and I make this with a few variations.
What you need:

1. Acorn Squash
2. Onion
3. Carrot
4. Celery
5. Fennel Bulb
6. Beans (a can of one of these - Garbanzo, kidney, red, Lima, white)
7. Tomatoes, tomato paste, sun dried tomatoes in Olive Oil

Roughly cube the veggies except tomatoes.
Heat a large pot, add two spoons of EVOO, add veggies, sprinkle with salt and pepper and fry for 5 minutes.
Add enough water, two whole tomatoes, a spoon of tomato paste and bring to boil, reduce heat to medium heat and cover.
After about 20 minutes, take the cooked tomatoes out, add drained canned beans.
This is a good time to adjust salt and pepper and let it cook another 10 minutes.
Peel the tomatoes, add to a blending bowl along with a piece of ginger, garlic clove, sun dried tomatoes, some of the soup mix with veggies and blend.
Add to soup, cover on simmer for 2 minutes and your are done.
Let the soup stand in the pot for another 10 minutes before serving.
Tips and Tricks:
There is no one way to make a perfect soup. There are so many vegetables you can add to a soup but try to keep it to a minimum. Onion, Carrot, and Celery forms the base for these kind of soups so remember Italian (or Indian) flag colors.
You can add a spoon of all purpose flour when frying the vegetables which gives a nice texture to the liquid.
Do not fry long enough to char the veggies lest it changes the soup color and taste.
Save the squash seeds, add a spoon of EVOO, pinch of salt and toast until light golden brown. Garnish the soup with these seeds and leaves from Fennel bulb (similar to Dill) as shown in the above picture.
If you have fresh basil leaves, add them during blending towards the end. Cooking after adding any fresh herb is a big NO, NO.
Don't mix two fresh herbs. Your palette will be left confused.
Potatoes and Carrots are a great source of Potassium. If you peal them, you lose most of it. I scrub them with mild soap.
Add pasta 10 minutes before turning off the heat. Shells, rotini, elbows or tubes will work better.
Compliment with a thick loaf of Rosemary bread available in most gourmet markets and you got yourself a complete meal. Toast the bread with a little EVOO for best results.
Consider following vegetables as alternatives:

• Potatoes
• Fresh green beans
• Leeks
• Yellow squash
• Zucchini
• Chayote
• Any other squash

Cabbage Soup

Here is a quick and easy, yet tasty soup recipe. You can vary the portion of ingredients to achieve different tastes and textures. Before I go any further, I want to make a few things clear.
In my language oil or olive oil = extra virgin olive oil(EVOO), pepper = fresh ground pepper. If you compromise these and freshness of other ingredients, don't blame me if your dish sucks.
What you need:

1. Cabbage
2. Carrots
3. Onion
4. Garlic cloves
5. Ginger

Chop the above, fry with a little oil on medium, add salt and pepper (about 5 min)
Add water and bring to a boil, cover and cook with cover for about 20 min
Blend (I prefer handheld blender) and return to pot
Add a cup of milk, cook in simmer for 10 more minutes
Adjust salt and pepper and you are done.

Garnish:
Garnishing is very important for both presentation and taste. For soup, use the following items but be careful and creative about how many and what combination works. For example, I don't garnish with cilantro and basil together. Same with green onions and chives. Don't use more than Three.
Garnish candidates:

• Cilantro
• Green onions
• EVOO
• Basil
• Parsley
• Sprouts
• Mint (pudina)
• Avocado
• Fried Onions
• Butter
• Salsa (Recipe in a different post)

Remember: The complexity of a dish lies in it's simplicity. Stick with freshness and fewer ingredients to bring out their taste.
Happy cooking : )