Homemade Whole Wheat Pasta -- made by Big Sis

Homemade Whole Wheat Pasta

This was the 16 year old's first attempt at making homemade pasta from a recipe following allrecipes. It turned out to be delicious and if we had time, we would not go back to buying boxes of pasta again

Yesterday, someone in my neighborhood came back home, recovered from Covid-19. I didn't know him and so was even unaware that he was in the hospital. We only came to know when yesterday we saw there were balloons in his lawn and signs with "Welcome Home". There were car parades and honking, probably from his friends and colleagues.

Today as a neighborhood community, we all went in our cars with "Welcome Home" signs and drove in front of his house, honking and welcoming him back home.I don't know them but it felt very nice to be part of it. However it was scary too hear his wife's first-hand account of her husband's illness. And here he was a very fit person in his 40s, who had to fight for 3-weeks in the hospital and has to still use a walker when we waved to him today. I cannot imagine what it must be doing to at-risk individuals.
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Sometimes I feel guilty sharing food and what we are cooking at home while a pandemic rages through our state, taking lives, making thousands of people sick.
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Here is the thing, there are 2-sides to this story.
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On one side there are the heroic frontline workers facing the pandemic, their families, the patients and their families.
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On the other side, there are people depressed staying home, some not understanding the importance of social distancing, some not happy with online school, some in fear of losing income, some unable to travel to their loved one, some just wanting to get out and go shopping.

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When I share stories from my kitchen, I hope someone in the second category will read and find some joy in staying home today. Maybe they will find a reason to get up and make a meal for themselves. Someone will see that the schools are doing a lot, that's enough education and it's good that kids have little more time on hand now.
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Ours is not a story about great master-chef style cooking. It's more of finding joy in staying at home and cooking a meal for family. It does not have to be perfect to be delicious.
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Today BigSis made pasta from scratch. She has been wanting to do this for a long time. Homemade Pasta just like the one we had in Tuscany. However her school workload leaves no time for such stuff usually. As a fallout of the pandemic the kids did get a little break and today she could spend cooking one of the things she loves.
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Our first issue was we did not have enough AP Flour or Maida. So she had to look for a whole wheat Pasta recipes and she found one in AllRecipes which she followed.

She made the dough. We don't have a pasta making machine, so she rolled the dough by hand and cut her shapes. It was truly delicious 😋😋 .

She then used some of the dough to make ravioli. It was very impromptu ravioli with cheese+pesto filling. I loved the ravioli a lot. The kids thought the pasta was better than the ravioli.

I am sharing the pasta recipe that we did at home as well as videos. Hope this will help you make your own pasta at home

Vegetable Fried Rice with leftover rice -- By Little Sis

Vegetable Fried Rice | Stir Fried Rice with Vegetables and Egg

Left over rice is stir fried with vegetables and eggs in this easiest one pot-meal to make a delicious fried rice

This Veg fried rice was a staple in our home with left over rice. I don't know how my Mother made the exact amount of rice for each meal but there were some of those rare days when she overestimated or we ate less and there was left over rice. Usually she would eat the left over rice herself the next day and serve us freshly cooked rice, a practice I vehemently protested against.

But then on some days when she had excess left over rice, she stir fried it with eggs and vegetables like carrots and peas to pack a fried rice for school lunch. How I loved that stir fried rice. I think it was one of the best school lunches in my childhood memory.

During this Quarantine, LS, the 11-year old has developed a sudden interest in cooking. It is usually her sister, the 16 year old who is the cook if me or the Dad are MIA and LS is the sous chef helping with chopping vegetables. She is a good vegetable chopper and often chops vegetables for me too.

But in the last few weeks, it is LS who has taken over lunch duties. Her online classes get over earlier than her sister's and so she keeps asking me if she can make lunch. She started with baking, then mac and cheese and today she made this fried rice with the leftover rice that we had. I took a video of her cooking to remember these precious memories.

It was delicious and though she made it for only the two of them, I couldn't stop eating. It is really a very quick, one-pot meal to make if you have leftover rice ready.

Quick Recipes for Covid-19 Lockdown and after

We have been in quarantine for just over a month now. And while some people have used this time to hone new skills, take masterclass, learn yoga, train for marathon, and become the next best chef, there are others like us.

Us as in me.

The ones who had dream in their eyes, a long list of things to do and learn and run and watch, at the start of quarantine but..... And there is huge BUT. But all that I have managed to achieve is multiple zoom calls and putting meals on the table. Oh also tweezing away a part of my eyebrow. I think I need at least 2 years worth of quarantine to learn anything. This past month was just spent thinking of the possibilities.

So, if you are the one who has been bogged down with work and lockdown and don't want to spend hours in the kitchen anymore, here are some easy recipes to tide you over. They are mostly quick and simple and  easy to make.

Quick Recipes for Quarantine and after

Bengali Khichuri -- Khichdi or Khichuri is the quickest one-pot meal of rice, lentils and vegetables to make. You can pair it with an egg or a papad and pickle or some fries and no meal is easier than this.

Quinoa and Samo Khichdi -- This one pot meal has Quinoa, Millets, Lentils and is protein packed as well as delicious

Bengali Congee or Phenaa Bhaat -- This is another very easy one-pot complete meal where rice and vegetables are cooked together and mashed. Top with some ghee or butter and serve with an egg or fried fish, and you have a winner

Kolkata Egg-Chicken Roll -- These are super quick to make if you have frozen parathas in the freezer. For healthier option, try these with Tortilla or Rotis.

Stir Fried Noodles - this is another favorite and easy meal to cook. You can add vegetables, eggs, shrimp or chicken of your choice.

Bread Pulao or Paurutir Pulao -- This is another of those dishes which can be a complete meal with your choice of vegetables and eggs

Doi Salmon in Oven -- This is our favorite Doi Salmon but this time done in the oven. This one is quicker and saves time. Some rice with this and you are set.

Coriander-Green Chili Fish in Oven -- Another easy and delicious fish in the oven.

Soy Sauce-Sriracha-Honey Salmon in Oven

Mixed all of these until it tasted just right
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Sriracha +.
Chilli Paste +.
soy sauce +.
garlic paste +.
honey glaze.
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 a drizzle of Olive Oil.
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Basically just mixed all together until it tasted yum and then poured over the salmon and baked it at 275F for 25 mins. It came out really good. #salmonwithsrirachahoneychilli

Busy Day's Egg Masala -- This post tells you to make an all purpose-masala that will really help you on most working days. the egg masala that follows is a delicious one too.

Savory Crepes or Dim er Parota _- You can make these and then use any stuffing of your choice. We like it with a dosa aloo stuffing or a keema stuffing

Boiled Dal with Lime Leaves -- If all else fails there is always a big pot of Dal. A boiled Dal like this one is super simple and fragrant with Lime leaves. All we need is some rice to go with.

Phuchka -- And then of course if you can make a meal out of Phuchka what else would you need

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