Carrot and Potato Soup / Winter Soup

     It’s raining in my place. So I made carrot and potato soup, it came out really creamy and delicious. Vegetable soups are a healthy and comforting food to include in your diet. This thick carrot soup is very easy to make, it has got bright orange color and a hint of exotic smell. Adding smoked paprika and Italian seasoning gives a nice spark to this potato soup. Try this carrot and potato winter soup and let me know your feedback.

    Ingredients

           1 Large Size Red Potato, Finely Chopped
           2 Medium Size Carrot, Finely Chopped
   1 Large Yellow Onion, Finely Chopped
   2 Garlic Cloves, Finely Chopped
   4 Mushrooms, Finely Chopped
   1/4 Tsp of Italian Seasoning
           1/2 Tsp of Cayenne Pepper
   Pinch of Smoked Paprika (Opt)
   1/2 Cup of Milk
   3 Cups of Vegetable Broth or Water
           2 Tbsp of Olive Oil
           Salt and Pepper to taste

    To Garnish

           1 Green Onion, Finely Chopped
   Dollop of Sour cream or yogurt
           Few Crackers

Method

Heat a pan with olive oil, add onion and garlic, saute this for 2 mins.
Add carrots, potato, mushroom, Italian seasoning, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, salt and pepper, saute this for 2 mins.
Add required amount of water, bring it to rolling boil, then simmer it for 15 mins in medium-low flame until vegetables are tender.
Add milk, cook it for 2mins and turn off the flame.
Carefully transfer carrot-potato mixture to a blender or food processor. Take 2 tbsp of carrot- potato mixture, keep this aside in a separate bowl.
Blend until smooth, add salt and pepper, if necessary.
Serve this in a soup bowl along with 2 tbsp of carrot-potato pieces, garnish it with chopped green onions and sour cream or yogurt at the top.
Enjoy this hot soup with crackers on a rainy day.

Tips

If you eat meat, then you can add beef pieces to it.
You can use butter instead of olive oil.
Adding smoked paprika is optional, it gives a smokey flavor to the soup.
You can use chicken broth or vegetable broth to the soup instead of water.
You can add any kind of cheese to this soup.

Health Benefits of Carrot and Potato Soup

Potato are high in fat and calorie content, potato soup is a good source of calcium, vitamin D and vitamin B-12
Carrot soup is rich in beta-carotene, a phytochemical compound with antioxidant activity that can protect you against some chronic diseases.

Creamy Avocado Pasta

      I’m a big fan of avocado. I always eat avocado in a guacamole form. They are really very good for our health because of the presence of vitamins & good fat in it. For a change, I tried with pasta, it tastes really yummy.

    Just Avocado, that’s all you need for this delicious avocado pasta.
    No cheese..
    No butter..
    No Cream..
    It’s taste really wonderful how creaminess of avocado replaces the creaminess of using traditional alfredo sauce. Addition of lemon juice gives a tangy taste. Chopped onion, tomato and garlic flavor gives a extra kick to this dish. On the whole, avocado gives the pasta, a gorgeous green color. This dish is very easy to make and it can be on your table in 15 mins.

   Ingredients

         2 Handful of Multigrain Spaghetti
   1 Large Avocado
   1 Medium size Onion, Chopped
   1 Roma Tomato, Chopped
   1/2 Tsp of Garlic Powder
   Dash of Black Pepper Powder
   Dash of Salt
   1 Tsp of Lemon Juice
   2 Tbsp of Cilantro Leaves
   1 Tbsp of Vegennaise or Mayonnaise (Opt)

   Method

   Cook Pasta

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook spaghetti according to package directions. Once it done, drain the water and rinse it well with cold water to avoid stickiness. Keep this aside.

Prepare avocado Sauce

Chop onions and tomatoes into a small pieces and set aside.
Add avocado to a bowl, then use a fork or spoon to mash into chunky paste. Add chopped onion, tomato, garlic powder, lemon juice, cilantro, salt and pepper. For extra creaminess, add vegennaise to it, mix well. Taste it and adjust salt and pepper accordingly.

Here is the video for you to make guacamole

Combine sauce and pasta

Combine both pasta and sauce in a bowl. Use two spoons or tongs to toss. Serve immediately. Make 2 servings.

Tips

Buy avocado 2-3 days in advance of your preparation day. Most avocado you find in store are rock hard so leave them outside to soften up for few days. This is to speed up the ripening process.
Use avocado when it is in dark green colour.
Onions are the mainstay for this recipe.It gives distinct flavor.
If you don’t have garlic powder or use crushed garlic or try with rest of the ingredients.
If you have any unused avocado, store them with seed so that you can use it later. Other trick is adding lime juice which prevents avocado from oxidation.
Do not reheat the pasta dish due to avocado in the sauce. Serve immediately.
Pasta dish is best eaten on the day it is made.

Health Benefits of Avocado

Inhibits the growth of cancer.
Rich in folate and vitamin C
High in beta-sitosterol, a compound helps to lower cholesterol level.

Eggless Blueberry Muffins with yogurt – Baking Recipes

“Blueberry ” is a magical fruit which is getting popular because of its nutritional benefits like whittle away the belly fat, high in antioxidant levels, slow down the aging process and boost the immune system. So stock your kitchen with these tiny little blue gem and include in your part of your diet. You can make many dishes with blueberry like pancakes, muffins and healthy bars. In this recipe, yogurt gives a nice kick and softness to the muffins. For breakfast or snack, nothing can beat blueberry muffins. Try this recipe and let me know your feedback.

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 Cups of Maida/ All purpose flour

3/4 Cup of Blueberry

1 Cup of yogurt or Thick Curd

3/4 – 1 Cup of Sugar

1/2 Tsp of Baking Soda

1 and 1/4 Tsp of Baking Powder

1/2 Cup of Cooking oil

1 and 1/2 Tsp of Vanilla Essence

1 Tbsp of Milk for brushing the top.

Method

In a bowl, add sugar and yogurt, wait until all sugar completely dissolves. Now add baking powder, baking soda to the sugar-curd mixture and stir well.
Keep it aside for 3 – 5 mins and you can able to see the bubbles appears at the top. Now add the vanilla essence, cooking oil and stir well.
Add maida, slowly to the sugar – yogurt mixture. Beat well with a whisk or forks until it turns thick and creamy. Add blueberries to the batter and mix well.
Preheat oven to 400 degree F for 10mins. Meanwhile place the muffin liners in the muffin pan and pour the batter to the muffin liners in the muffin pan and keep it ready.
Bake in preheated oven at 400 degree F for 10 mins, then reduce the temperature to 350 deg F and bake it for 30-35 mins. Check it by inserting fork or tooth prick in the center of the muffin, if it comes out clean, then your muffin is ready.
Just brush the top of the muffin with 1 tbsp milk, 10mins before the ending time to get a nice polishing glaze.
Allow the muffin to cool down for 10mins, then carefully take it out from the pan and enjoy !!!!

Tips

Don’t keep the batter to sit for long time after mixing, as baking soda reacts faster and makes your muffin harder.
If you don’t have muffin liner, just grease the pan with some oil.
You can add cranberry or any other fruits by following the same recipe.

Health Benefits of Blueberry

Highest anti-oxidant content of all fresh fruits.
Aids in reducing belly fat.
High in vitamin C and anthocyanin content, which gives blue color to the fruit.
Good for urinary tract health, vision and brain health.
Slow the aging process.
Boost your immune system.