Living Room – Sneak Peeks

Ok, as I promised, here is a sneak peek into our living room. Since the work is in progress, I’ll update with an overall picture pretty soon. The idea behind this look was to have an uncluttered, clean and chic look. I wanted to have a neutral palate with subtle accents of gold.

If you live in an apartment, you have to add things carefully so that you don’t end up with unnecessary pieces of furniture. The clever way is to find things which are versatile. In our case, we had to have a bookshelf to accommodate 100’s of books which my husband owns, and I wanted a nice statement console where I could line my frames and artwork. The result is what you see in the picture. I also tried to color coordinate the books…(this is what happens when a designer marries a book freak..:P) The addition of lamps gave a nice face-lift to this simple ikea bookshelf.

1. Ikea EXPEDIT shelving unit in Brown-Black ($70)
   
2. Target Lamp-shade in White Linen ($17)
3. Threshold Lamp-base in clear glass from Target ($30)
4. I got my table runner from Tjmaxx for $8 which is no longer in stock, but I like this one too from Target.
5. Ikea Ribba picture frames ($5-$10);various sizes 

Quinoa salad with kidney beans and corn

This is our go-to recipe these days. Even though I’m not a salad freak, I relish this one so much that I can have it every other day. In addition to being a great source of protein, fibre, iron, calcium & magnesium, it has a very nice flavor too. No wonder they call it a ‘Super Food’.

So here is what you’ll need:

• 1½ cups quinoa(raw)
• 3 cups water
• 1½ cups cooked kidney beans
• 2 tbsp pine nuts(lightly toasted)
• 1 cup cooked corn
• ½ large onion finely chopped
• 1 finely chopped tomato (medium size)
• ¼ cup finely chopped fresh coriander
• 1 finely chopped green chile (optional)
• 2-3 tbsp of grated feta

Dressing:

• 5-6 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1½ tsp salt
• 1¼ tsp ground cumin
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 tsp chili flakes

Method:

1. Wash quinoa in a large bowl thoroughly, rubbing grains, changing the water a couple of times and letting them settle, until the water runs clear. Drain the water and transfer the quinoa to a medium saucepan. Boil the quinoa in salted water for about 10-12 minutes; till it absorbs all the water. Remove from heat and let it sit for another 5-7 mins. Drain the remaining water if any, and transfer to a large bowl. Fluff it with fork to help it cool more quickly.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the dressing by adding all the ingredients of the dressing in a small bowl and whisking it.
3. To the bowl of quinoa, add the rest of the ingredients including coriander, feta and nuts. If you are using canned beans, drain its water completely before adding it to the mix. Finally pour the dressing over the salad mix and toss well. Serve at room temperature.

Hope you enjoy this salad as much as I do..:)

 

 

 

 

Cauliflower Steak with Mushroom Gravy

The moment I came across this recipe online, I was eager to try it out myself. Both, me and my husband are always on a lookout for recipes which are ‘healthy and tasty’ at the same time. I used to believe that healthy and tasty don’t go together, but the notion was completely transformed by this amazing blog-http://loveandlentils.com/. It is full of great cooking ideas that force you to believe that vegan cooking can be interesting too…:)

I modified the recipe slightly to my taste. For the steak and kale you can follow this link. For the mushroom gravy, here’s my own recipe which is slightly spicy (the way I like it).

Ingredients:-

• 3-4 cloves minced garlic
• 1 medium sized onion sliced
• 2-3 dried red chiles
• 1 packet sliced white mushrooms (8 oz.)
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 2 tbsp milk
• 2 tsp red wine vinegar (optional)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ cup chopped coriander
•  ½ cup chicken stock (Vegetarians can use vegetable stock instead)
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Heat olive oil in a non-stick pan on low-medium heat.  When warm, add the garlic and dried chiles and saute for a few seconds.
2. Add the onions, saute for a minute and then add mushrooms turning the heat to high.
3. Meanwhile, mix the cornflour and milk and keep ready. Once the mushrooms start shrivelling and leaving water, turn the heat to medium again and add the cornflour mix and chicken stock.
4. Once the mix starts to thicken, add the red wine vinegar, salt, pepper ( I put a lot of pepper) and coriander.
5. Stir well for 2 minutes, turn off the heat and let it stand for a couple of minutes before serving.

Now, layer the cauliflower steak with kale and pour a generous amount of mushroom gravy over it. Pour yourself a glass of wine and savor the dish…:)

Glutton’s workshop..;)

Since the most important place in the house of every glutton is ‘The Kitchen‘, let’s start with that..:). For every new house one moves into, the kitchen has to be made functional as per the needs and requirements of its occupant. In some cases this might call for some major modifications but in a rental place it is just not possible. Thanks to Ikea and Home Depot, there are several inexpensive and easy solutions available, which won’t land you in trouble. In my particular case, all I needed was a couple of organizers to make things practical and easy. Since I use a lot of spices, I wanted them to be handy everytime I cook. So I made a list of items which could make that possible.

1.  Ikea Spice Rack – $4 each

2. Ikea Planter which could be used as a cutlery caddy or a condiment stand. – $8

3. Spice Jars – $3.5 per 4 pack

4. Cutlery Tray – $1 each

Overall cost- $34

As ‘Cutlery Caddy’

The colorful display of spices do make a pretty picture and add vibrancy to the kitchen decor.

My NEW home..:)

So, the reason I’ve been away for a while now, is that we moved to Connecticut. Anyone we tell this to, attacks us with the SAME question every-time..”from California to Connecticut..WHY?”. NO, we aren’t insane but sometimes you just have to go where life leads you. Who knows what’s in store for us but for now after having settled a bit, I’m more than happy getting back to doing what I absolutely love – Blogging..:D

Since we are doing up our place from scratch, you guys will be treated to whole lot of Decor related posts. To start with, let me show you around our new place.

This place has a lot of potential, and my mind is going crazy with ideas. Hope it comes together as I am imagining it to be.  

My experiments with Typography!

This is in addition to what I had posted earlier. I made these funny hand lettered coasters as a farewell gift for friends before moving to Connecticut.

There’s probably  nothing more special than a handmade gift. It was my husband’s 30th birthday this year, so I decided to put my creativity to use and make a gift for him myself.

Since he is such a COFFEE freak, I couldn’t think of a better quote than this one….

Since then, I’ve been fascinated with Handwritten typography and it’s how I’ve been utilizing my free time these days.