Simplicity at its best!

I started off my weekend by finally going for the Harry Potter movie. I was really looking forward to watch it, but apart from the movie, I had something else on mind and was far more excited about that. I was determined to get a couple of must-have and good-to-have things for our home. And today was a good day for that.. :P I managed to get a new gas-top grill/skillet and a lovely dutch oven. I also got an ice-cream maker and cant wait to make the first batch of frozen yogurt.

After thinking over what I bought today, I actually understood that I indirectly made some healthy choices. As the wedding date gets closer, eating healthy is becoming a necessity and day-by-day me and my fiance have gone down on the quantity and type of food we consume. I try to shop for things on a daily basis and make conscious choices towards consuming whole grains,fresh fruits and veggies. And these recent purchases are surely going to help me through my usual cravings.

We usually spend saturdays with friends but without a set plan,we both decided to relax and stay in. With that I got the opportunity to officially inaugurate the new grill. :) I wanted to make something quick and simple using the grill and started thinking of grilling pita bread to make a simple sandwich. With basic ingredients at home I decided to keep it simple and to my delight, it came out really well.

Veggie pita-bread sandwich

Ingredients:

4 - whole wheat pita-bread

1-2 cloves garlic chopped finely

1 - onion sliced

1 - green bell pepper sliced

10-12 mushrooms (I used crimini,gives a very earthy flavor)

3 tbsps - dijon mustard

1 tbsp - balsamic vinegar

2-3 tbsps - olive oil

1 tsp ground chili flakes

salt and freshly ground pepper

• Drizzle olive oil into a heated skillet/non-stick pan. Once the oil is heated add in the garlic and saute for a minute, followed by the onions.
• Once the onions are a bit caramelized, add in the rest of the veggies. Let it saute for about 6-8 minutes. Once the veggies are cooked, season them with salt,pepper.Sprinkle some chili flakes to give it a kick!
• Heat another grill/non-stick pan and use a oil spray to coat the base. Place a pita bread and let it get toasted from one side. Add a few spoonfuls of the veggies and make a roll out of it. Let it get toasted on both sides.
• On the side, mix the mustard and the vinegar to make a garnishing sauce.
• Serve the rolls piping hot with the sauce. Enjoy!

I am so happy that I got this grill and the dutch oven. Both are made of cast iron and using them really gives a very rich flavor to the food. I remember back in India my mom still uses a cast iron kadhai (frying pan) and she is very possessive about it. :P It so wonderful to see that such simple things can make such a big difference!

Weekend fun..

After going through a variety of options - online as well as in-stores I had given up on finding a good set of coasters. As usual an idea popped and I started looking for designing coasters at home and finally ordered a simple set of plain cork coasters with a holder.

I had kept two choices on what the designs should be and finally decided to recreate Warli Art patterns. Warli Art belongs to the Maharashtra state of India and has been dated back to 2500 BC. You can read more here.

I had started making these about 2 weeks back but ran out of the black marker until yesterday when walking around the theater waiting for the movie (went to see Transformers 3D, you have wait in line almost an hour before!) I stumbled upon an Aaron Brothers store and found bliss! :P I never knew they sold art materials. After walking into the store with sheer excitement I made a mental note of all the materials I had on my mind and set out to find them all.

I used Sharpie's oil paint based marker to draw the designs and use a acrylic sealer to make the drawings water-proof. Since I used cork coasters I had to coat them before and after with the acrylic sealer as cork material is highly porous. (Note: Allow enough time (6-8hrs) for the design to dry off before you spray on the sealer again)

Below is the finished project:

Summer has officially started in San Diego and hoping to have some chillin' weekend time!

Have fun everyone!