The Green Monster - My Obsession

Last week I felt like an Indian street vendor as I carried a huge jug filled with freshly blended green juice to Neha's soccer practice. People who saw me struggling with the massive and very green container ... a bag of plastic cups ... on top of the huge black bag that is soccer gear chuckled. Not secretly even. Openly. And these people are supposed to be my friends.

I'd been talking about it obsessively for two weeks and my fellow moms finally told me to put up or shut up - they wanted a taste of the stuff - my own liquid gold and my latest whole food obsession.

About a year ago, a friend had juiced a bottle of greens and fruit and brought it over as a gift for giving her an Indian cooking lesson. I drank it up in 2 days. It was that good. I even considered buying a juicer just to make my own.

But, then I got to wondering if I could make it in my handy dandy Vita Mix - one of the most amazing inventions on the market (no - I have no stake in the company). It's a high-powered blender that shreds peel, seeds and anything else in seconds. I use it to make fresh soup (it actually gets it going to the point that it heats it up)...salsa...ice-cream....pudding....fruit sherberts...and now my latest fave -- green juice.

I tried it in there, but it was too thick. Remember, with a Vita-Mix you're keeping all that nutritious fiber. So you have to be careful about the consistency as well. So..I put the idea of making my own green juice on the back burner until I could afford a juicer.

THEN...I ran across a Vita-Mix demo at my local Costco. (The machine - very pricey (but worth every penny) is there ocassionally and sold for cheaper than online). They were showing everyone how to make the GREEN MONSTER COCKTAIL. This is largely their recipe, but I've modified it in parts.

The KICKER??? Every time I tell the girls that I'm making green juice they jump up and down in excitement. They LOVE homemade green juice. They hate the stuff that's prepackaged including all the ones that are supposed to be healthier for you. It's just not the same as fresh. This is one recipe totally worth making.

And..if you can. Try and check out getting home deliveries of organic fruits and veggies. We've been doing it for 2 months and granted some things don't always get eaten right away but for the large part it's changed our perspective on Swiss Chard...beets...kale...Arugula. My girls are eating it all and begging - begging for more. We go through Irv & Shelly's Fresh Picks. Tell them I sent you! (And no - I have no stake in the company - just really like their produce and service - though their website can be a little difficult to maneuver at time. It is worth every penny!)

You can try the recipe below in a traditional blender...I just don't know if you'll get the smoothness that you really do in a VM. Don't worry - I'm sure if you love good, wholesome foods..one of these machines is in your future.

Green Monster Cocktail (provided by Vita-Mix Demonstrators)

Start with something light to cover the blades - 100% Welch's or Dole's white grape or banana/orange/pineapple frozen fruit juice. (Anything light in color). I use green grapes and water (about 10 grapes and 2 cups of water).

Add couple of baby carrots (or regular carrot)
1 cup spinach
1 - 2 large leaves of Swiss Chard (my change to original recipe)
1 banana (peeled)
orange (peeled - but leave the white stuff on)
a large slice of pineapple with core
a little squash or cabbage (optional)
half an apple with peel
a whole peeled lime (I actually use two and you can just take the juice too)
large piece of ginger peeled (my change to original recipe)
2 cups of ice
splash of honey on top (I use Agave Nectar)

Blend it down and enjoy enjoy enjoy. Remember, this should not be too thick. So,if your version is, just add more water to thin it down. Also, if you don't add enough ginger or lime the leafy veggies start to taste a little woody. Soo...try that if you don't immediately like the taste. Also, this will sit in the fridge. But keep a lid on it to preserve the taste and know that after about a day it will start to get a bit bitter tasting. If it does sit you'll see all the fiber float to the top. Just be sure to mix it well before pouring.

Enjoy!!! And please post your own green juice obsessions to this post. I can't wait to hear all about it!

Frequently Asked Questions

Welcome to everyone that has taken even a second of their day to stop in as see what I'm cooking. Lately, it hasn't been much. I think I've been on an unintentional break from cooking - especially Indian. Last month I cooked 20 dishes in 2 days for our first photo session for my upcoming book and I was literally spent. I managed to do it single handedly with two sick kids home from school but I needed to take a step back for some time. I'm glad to say I'm back and ready to cook and write some more on this blog.

Our community of Indian foodies is growing...for that I have to thank all of you. I appreciate each and every one of you for reading this blog and especially for becoming a follower. I can't believe I have 30 followers now! You can also friend me on facebook and become a friend of indianasapplepie on facebook.

There have been so many questions up to this point that I wanted to take a second and address as many of them as possible.

When Can I Buy Your Cookbook? As many of you know, I have written the first comprehensive cookbook on authentic and healthy Indian cooking in a crockpot. My book, entitled The Indian Slow Cooker will be released in October by Agate Publishing. The book is being edited as we speak..pictures have just been shot and I'm looking forward to sharing a jacket cover with all of you just as soon as we have it ready. I'm as eager as all of you!

Can I Try Making Some of Your Recipes Now? Yes, absolutely. If you take a look towards the right of my site you'll see the header 'Recipes'. CP refers to crockpot. I have dishes from Rajmah (kidney beans) to Kali Dal (Black Lentils)...to chicken curry, butter chicken to chicken tikka masala. Some of you have emailed me asking for more recipes. I am putting a few more out on the blog but that's about all I can realistically share before the book comes out. I hope that's an incentive to buy the book (I can't just subsist on beans, folks!:)

Will You Come to My City to Promote Your Book? I would love to come to your city and meet you. But, remember...there is little money in the publishing world these days. And, I'll depend on all of my supporters to help me in this area. I'm asking all of you to consider hosting an event in your town, in your home or other venue. Invite as many people as you like or are able and I'd be happy to do a book signing and/or cooking demo. For all my hosts I'd love to offer you a free copy of my book. Though a goal is to sell books my bigger goal is to get all of you cooking more and thinking about Indian as an option in your daily routine. For those desis out there I want you to realize that making the Indian food your grew up with is not that complicated. It just takes a little thought and planning. If you are interested please email me ASAP at anupysingla@indianasapplepie.com If you have any community organizations that you think would benefit from such a book please run it by me...you never know where your thoughts and ideas can lead...

How Can I Be a Taste Tester? I have 7 slow cookers, and when I recipe test most of them are going at once. There is no way I can get through all the food. Rather than waste it I offered it to friends and contacts to taste test. If you want to test some recipes just text me/email me once you read what I'm cooking that day and come over with containers. I have NO MORE containers. I'll fill them and you'll be on your way with some amazing, fresh Indian food. The only catch is that I ask anyone who is testing to post feedback within a week of tasting. Otherwise you've got to go to the end of the taste testing line, unfortunately. This is my way of getting feedback on my recipes and ideas on how you've used the recipes in completely different ways than I ever dreamed. I've used a few ideas already in my book. I'm sorry I can't credit everyone in the book.

If I want to try making some recipes what size slow cooker should I buy? I've made all my recipes in a 5-quart slow cooker - the Rival Crockpot. I then tested them in a 3 1/2 quart Cuisinart slow cooker. I found that the beauty of Indian food is that it's scalable. Take the recipe for the larger size and half it if you want to use the smaller and it will work for you. You might have to adjust the timing a little but in the cookbook I will have that in there for you.

Should I Use the High Setting or Low? I have indicated the temperature settings in my recipes. I find that beans need to be cooked on high to get them at at temperature where they will finally soften. Meat, I prefer to cook on low to make sure it's still moist. BUT here's where you can experiment. If you are planning to cook something on low instead of high, just tack on about 2 extra hours for cooking. And vice versa if cooking on high instead of low. You'll have to experiment a bit here.

Cooking Beans - Should I Soak Them First?? The key to my recipes is that I don't like fuss. I hate that extra step of soaking beans - so you don't need to in ANY of my recipes. Now, from the health perspective it is believed soaking them will reduce the gas. I haven't noticed a difference. If you insist on soaking beans first just remember to reduce the water used in the recipe a bit as well. You'll have to experiment to get it just right. I'm a health nut but I will NOT soak beans 'cause then I'll never get around to cooking them! You get that right? With a 7and 5-year-old underfoot - the easier the better.

Can I Use Canned Tomatoes? Unlike other cuisines like Italian, good Indian food does not depend on a sweet, well-ripened tomato. Our food benefits from tomatoes that are actually less sweet because we like the tanginess and tartness. So, if you don't get great tomatoes - try using them - likely it will be fine. If you like using canned for the sake of ease go for it. I'd suggest replacing a 15 oz. can for 2 tomatoes. My only issue with canned is go for a good quality brand, as often I feel like it adds a level of acidity that doesn't suit me. But experiment - I know plenty of people who use canned tomatoes and even tomato paste in their recipes to replace tomatoes.

How Much Methi in the Chicken Curry? Yes, I do use 1 cup of dried fenugreek in my chicken curry. I think this is a magical ingredient. My bua (father's sister in England) is an amazing cook and she used dried fenugreek leaves (methi) in all of her cooking from curries to paranthas. If you are nervous that this will be too much just reduce it to 1/2 cup and see how it goes. It will be fine!

I'm Afraid of Indian Because It's Too Spicy. The beauty of cooking anything at home is that you can make it just the way you like it. My young girls love love love Indian food. I just make it without any chilies for them, and add the green chilies and red chili powder later for me and my husband. Don't miss out on this amazing cuisine because you have the incorrect assumption that it's too spicy.

Can I Watch You Cook? I am working on a cooking show pilot as we speak. So, yes, eventually. I will also be doing demos at various locations in Illinois including Bloomingdale's in Old Orchard on April 10 and then in May at the Bloomingdale's in Oak Brook. I'll post more about the dates on this blog and my facebook page!

How Can I Write A Cookbook? Writing a book, let alone a cookbook is one of the hardest things I've ever done - outside of quitting work to take care of my two little girls. I just spoke on a panel sponsored by the Association of Women Journalist where I explained that when writing a work of non-fiction it's essential to have a solid book proposal written. This has several standard components to it. I promised that crowd of 30 or so future authors that I'd publish the books I used to write my proposal. Remember there are hundreds out there and tons more information on the Internet, but the ones I used worked for me and came highly recommended. They are:

"Write the Perfect Book Proposal:10 That Sold And Why" by Jeff Herman and Deborah Levine Herman
"Author 101: Bestselling Book Proposals" by Rick Frishman and Robyn Freedman Spizman
"How to Write a Book Propoal" by Michael Larsen

I hope you keep reading this blog. I know so much good will come out of it. It already has...my kids are eating better than they ever have. Tonight we sat down to Mataar Paneer (homemade cheese and peas)...Basmati rice...fresh rotis...raita...papard. My girls ate it all...not because they are naturally easy eaters. Because I've been working with them over the last three years giving them new foods almost daily...filling their plates with little heaps of this and little heaps of that. When they don't like something and spit it out, reintroducing it the next week but never ever giving up. It's been hard. Yes, we've reverted to pizza and pasta on occassion but more often than not they cry for Basmati rice and savory yogurt. I still can't get my little one to eat even a full slice of pizza - unless it's homemade!

You can't get better than that! You can do it too. It's easy and accessible with a little planning. Email me...call me...friend me on Facebook...send me a Tweet. I want to hear from you and I want to help you!!!!

I Did It!!!!

Here's an example of the beautiful photography that came out of last week's three-day photo shoot for my upcoming cookbook The Indian Slow Cooker (Fall release). (Shots are by Brave New Pictures) This dish is a traditional spicy yogurt-based dish called Khari. If you are Indian your mouth will be watering at this point. Khari is eaten on the weekends as a lunch with tons of rice and spicy achaar on the side. I never thought it was possible to actually make this in a slow cooker - but I did it!

This was just one of the approximately twenty dishes I prepped in the first two days of shooting.



Here's another - Palak paneer as all the ingredients are going into the slow cooker. I don't normally pat myself on the back but I gotta' tell you all I am incredibly proud of myself.

We went into the week sick. Aria (my 4-year-old) started crying at pick up on Friday. Her eyes were watery and I figured it was likely pink eye. My heart fell because I had a list of things to get done for the weekend. Instead of doing any of them, we ended up Saturday at the pediatrician. What began as pink eye escalated to a severe cough and cold for Aria, Neha and me. Sandeep was heading out of town and I wasn't sure what to do.

When we had to cancel school on Monday I was miserable. I knew how much work I needed to get done including grocery shopping on Devon (Chicago's Little India) and basic prep and cooking. Oh, and did I mention a deadline for a Chicago Sun-Times article?

I hyperventalated a bit on Monday and then I sprung into action Tuesday. Despite the constant snow, I bundled the girls up and headed to Devon. I decided to make it an adventure for them. They took turns sitting in the cart with piles and piles of beans, lentils and fresh veggies tossed on top of them.

Tuesday night I finally got the girls in bed and started prepping at 10 p.m. I started with the recipes that would take the longest to make - Dal Makhani and Rajmah. As I cut my onions and grated my ginger, Aria would cough and cry upstairs. I run up, rub some Vicks on her feet or massage her back a few minutes and run back down to finish prepping (um, washing my hands in-between). I was frustrated, anxious I wouldn't get it all done and wondering why the hell I ever gave up my extra pair of hands (my au pair). I found myself getting angry but I brushed it off and just kept going.

I prepped all 6 slow cookers in my kitchen - they were all actually running. I timed everything so well that come Wednesday when the photogs came over we actually had food ready as it was time to shoot that particular dish.

At the end of Wed. I stayed up till 1 a.m. to wash dishes and put things away and prep some more because it was time to do it all over again for Thursday. And the story goes on - you see where I'm going with this.

Come Friday around 10 p.m. when the guys were just finishing up shooting we toasted over beers. I said, half laughing, "I'm not really sure how I managed all this."

"We're not really sure either," they said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when we do photo shoots for folks like Hyatt they usually have a team of chefs. At least 10. And here, you did this all by yourself."

I was dumbfounded, thinking, was I an idiot that I decided to take all of this on myself? I should have at least enlisted friends or hired someone to wash dishes.

But, I gotta' say what got me through it all? The amazing simplicity of the Slow Cooker. I know I sound like a broken record here, but that is the only way I could have done it. I managed to cook a feast in what amounted to about two hours (if even that) of prep time per day.

And to have this achievement under my belt was worth all the grief and aggravation.

If you want to write your own cookbook - take my advice - it's not easy. Sure, the end product is wonderful and worth all the grief but it is such a taxing process along the way. I've tried recipes dozens upon dozens of times...tweaking ingredients along the way. I never thought it would be such a long, arduous process. The folks doing it out there now make it look so easy. But nothing that's ever worth it is easy.

Folks, this book will be worth it. I can't wait to have it in my hands for all of you to purchase...use...and benefit from.

Thanks for all the kind words and support along the way. I've needed it. Hop onto Facebook and friend me if you're new to the site. I'm on Twitter as well. I've got loads of promotions in store as we move forward and I want to make sure you're all taking advantage of all of them. (some are book and slow cooker give-a-ways!).

I'm taking a break and then it's off to cooking again starting next week. Keep posting your comments. They keep me going.

WGN Midday Appearance

A little intense - but that's exactly how how I feel about my Aloo Gobi! This is a candid shot from my appearance in January on the WGN Midday Lunchbreak segment. Thanks to everyone there for giving me a little air time!

I'll try to post the clip soon.

20 Dishes in 48 Hours Despite My Aria

This is Aria. And this is where we are after 4 straight days of being sick. We're all going stir crazy and it's not helping that I'm on deadline for several things - especially The Indian Slow Cooker. I need to shoot the pictures this week - precisely tomorrow and Thursday and need to have 20 dishes prepared to get a full sense of the art work.

I thought I'd have Monday and Tuesday to purchase all my ingredients and prep - while the girls were in school. But nooooooooo. Can my life just work out the way it's supposed to? No way. It just can't be that freaking easy.

Friday when I picked up Aria from school she was crying she was feeling so sick. That cumulated into possible pink eye - a full day Sat. at the pediatricians and then two days of them being home from school and me getting NOTHING I'd planned done. As many of you know I have no help at home right now and it's been grueling being up at night with crying kids while I'm not only tapping out my latest Sun-Times article but also trying to cook all this food for the pictures that we've decided to shoot this week of all weeks.

Well, it is what it is. I'm forging forward. Here are the dishes we're planning to shoot - all of which I'm making in between running up to a half-crying Aria in bed to rub Vicks on her feet...give her some water...try some honey and lemon...um..some hand holding...some sanity breaks on the computer and a ton of chopping.

IF ANYONE WANTS TO TASTE TEST. NOW IS THE TIME. JUST LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO TRY AND COME OVER WITH CONTAINERS. ALL I ASK IS THAT YOU POST FEEDBACK ON THIS BLOG WITHIN 2-3 DAYS OF PICKING UP FOOD. SMALL PRICE TO PAY FOR SOME PRETTY GOOD EATS.

Here's that list:

Black Lentils/Dal Makhani
Simplest of Simple Yellow Dal
Tart Whole Pigeon Peas
Sambhar
Dry Spiced Dal
Rajmah
Curried Chickpeas
Black Chickpea Curry
Goan Blackeyed Peas
Aloo Gobi
Palak Paneer
Fenugreek Carrots
Kardhi
Chicken Curry
Butter Chicken
Mock Keema
Nihari
Kheer
Carrot Halwa

Let me know what you think and let the requests for taste testing roll in! And wish me luck - it's gunna' be an all nighter!