Julliano Vegetables Fried Rice

 

There are so many ways to make rice with the vegetables. This one is Chinese type of rice with Julliano fried vegetables. The secret is to very shortly fry veggies in the wok on the high flame, so that they don't loose the color and stay crispy. In this recipe I use carrot, baby peace, celery stick and root, fresh ginger and tofu, all chopped tin and long, fry them on sesame oil with little bit of asafoetida for apx five minutes. Basmati rice is fried separately with musterd seeds and turmeric powder, then cooked in the double quantity of water until water is absorbed. Then rice and vegetables should be mixed carefully, seasoned with tamari or shoyu sauce on the end. Should be served hot, decorated with fresh coriander leaves.

Cooking Presentation in Ljubljana, Slovenia

Last year I had an interesting cooking presentation in Health Food Store at City center in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The presentation was a part of my tour with Slovenian EU European Voluntary Service Project "Food for Life", for which I work as an active member, and which is serving only pure vegetarian meals. I was engaged to cook for children at kindergarten and for VIP persons like Japanese ambassador. On this presentation I was cooking in public and presenting healthy ingredients like miso, shoyu, moong dhal, basmati brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, tofu, sprouts, organic fruits and vegetables. I was explaining what are the benefits for our health if we use these type of ingredients for our everyday cooking, then I was showing how easy the process of preparing and cooking is, and people could taste the final result on the end of presentation.

From Zurich

Right now I'm in Zurich, teaching and cooking at ISKCON  temple there...

Incredible India in Belgrade

Recently I held a workshop in a cookery school Il Primo in Belgrade. The title of a workshop was Incredible India. I chose to teach some of the most typical Indian preparations: PUSHPANA RICE - multi flavored and multicolored mix of rice, vegetables and spices with a rich taste of cashew nut; SABJI EXOTIC - my favourite sweet and sour tomato gravy of zucchini, carrot and panir with the exotic touch of pineapple; ROYAL KOFTA - three layers vegetable balls with the spicy creamy sauce; PURI - Indian puffy deep fried bread; GOLDEN APPLE CHUTNEY - sweet and hot apple delight; KHIR - creamy rice pudding with saffron.
There were about 15 students who were enthusiastic in all stages of preparation and cooking, after which we had a tasty supper all together. Now we are waiting for the next workshop in January with a menu from South India.
My workshops are the only vegetarian program in the Il Primo cookery school.

Golden Zucchini Carrot Soup

This is very simple recipe for the light soup with zucchini and carrot. Zucchini is one of our favorite vegetable that we use a lot because it's very light and has neutral taste, so it can be used in many different combinations - for sauces, stuffing's, dressings, in cheese pie and pizza, etc. It should not be too much cooked. In fact it's enough to add it on the end of cooking and keep it on fire or in a covered pot for a few minutes and it's done. This soup is easy and quick to make, and can be great beginning for a light dinner or lunch.

- zucchini 1 small pc or half big pc
- carrot 1 piece
- parsley root 1 small piece
- sunflower or grape seed oil
- fresh marjoram and dill for garnish
- spices: asafoetida, bay leaves, black pepper, nutmeg powder, turmeric powder, salt, sugar

Grate zucchini, carrot and parsley root. Heat oil in a pan, add asafoetida, 2 bay leaves, pinch of whole peppers, little nutmeg and turmeric powder, and fry few seconds. Add grated vegetables, salt and pinch of sugar, and fry for 1 minute. Add water and keep cooking 5 minutes after starts to boil. Remove from heat and add handful of fresh dill and marjoram herbs, chopped tiny.
If you want to make it more rich you can add little tomato puree and sour cream on the end.

Unlimited vareity of Soup

There is no better way to start a meal than the soup. Spring and summer are the times for salad, which is cooling the body, but autumn and winter are the times for soup, because the soup is best to warm and heal the body during the cold season. But, regardless the season, in our house soup is everyday on the table. There are unlimited ways to combine vegetables, herbs, spices and imagination to create soups that we never get bored to eat over and over again. I'm going to start writing ideas from Istvan's creative kitchen that could maybe inspire you to add them to your own menu for the chill winter days that are soon going to come.
I'm not going to write the exact quantities for all the items, I want to present the idea, and you can adjust the recipes to your own needs.

MISO SOUP WITH TOFU AND VEGETABLES

- tomato 1-2
- Broccoli (optional)
- pumpkin (optional)
- tofu 50-100 gr
- miso 1 tbsp
- sesame or grape seed oil
- spices: asafoetida, black and green pepper, fresh ginger, lemon, sugar, salt

Cut tomato, Broccoli and pumpkin on larger pieces. Cut tofu on cubes. Heat sesame oil in a pan on high flame, put little asafoetida, pinch of whole peppers, 1 tsp of grated fresh ginger and little bit of sugar. Add tomatoes and fry few minutes. Add Broccoli, pumpkin and tofu and fry few more minutes. Add water and wait until starts to boil. Add miso and salt, turn of the heat but keep it covered 5 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with few drops of lemon on the end.

Retreat Holyday

Last week we had a great time on a spiritual retreat in hilly area of Fruska Gora, north part of Serbia. The place is known as the air bath because it’s surrounded by fragrant forests full of trees, herbs, flowers and beehives. With more then 200 participants, many of them our dear friends, we were practicing yoga, listening seminars on spiritual topics, walking and playing in the nature, dancing, cooking and eating exclusively vegetarian dishes.

Cooking was fun with many people participating in cutting vegetables and preparing ingredients. We had a big and old rented kitchen where things had to be adjusted. I was doing the lunch, simple and healthy menu of rice, cooked or stir fried vegetables, salad and light fruit sweet or halava. We had a good choice of seasonal fruits and vegetables like apricot, peach, plum, pear, zucchini, broccoli, green beans, cabbage, bell peppers, tomato, etc. As I always say to people, there are nowhere so tasty fruits and vegetables like here in Serbia, especially in Vojvodina, northern part of Serbia where fertile soil spreads like a carpet all over the province. This is my experience after extensive travelling and cooking in many places around the world.

We found it inspiring and greatly helpful to have some weeks during the year spent far away from civilization in pure, natural surrounding with likeminded people doing the things we enjoy. And eating well!