I am not a great cook. I do not follow recipes and neither can I put a lavish spread on the table. Nonetheless, I love cooking. I am, what I call, 'an intuitive cook'.
I find cooking therapeutic ['coz I can clear my head while doing it]. I let my heart decide what I am going to make and how I am going to make it. Thus, seldom can I cook the same dish twice. Even if I try, it never tastes the same [good but just not the same]. Since I have the luxury to blow my own horn [it's my blog], I can honestly say that I am very good at putting a meal together with whatever I can find in the kitchen.
To start from the beginning, I am a budget-nazi! Meeting my budget every month is a small goal I set for myself. It is a great high to achieve it. Makes me feel my life is on track and I am in control. I try and do grocery only 3 times a month [i.e. every 10 days, no more]. I hate rushing to the store just because I ran out of one bloody ingredient [only exception is milk]. But, thankfully, that doesn't really happen to me since I am a crazy-organized-list-making-maniac. I make a list and stick with it. [That's the whole point of making one, isn't it?!?!?]
However, invariably on the 8th or the 9th day the vegetables and other ingredients will start running low in the kitchen and I would have to turn to my innovative-creative-better-part of the brain and cook something up. And that's what has made cooking fun for me! I have successfully managed to remove the monotony of cooking and turned it into a, yet another, creative outlet for myself.
I love healthy, yet, tasty food.
I love the smell of the spices.
I love colorful-crunchy vegetables.
I love well-presented food.
And I love the praise I receive,
when I serve it.
This is my healthy version of the Penne Pasta
Tomato Paste, Garlic and Serrano Peppers [Green Chillies] sautéed in Olive Oil
Chopped, Washed and Steamed Vegetable
Bon Appetite!
Yum Yum!!!
ReplyDeleteI add lot of orgeano and basil leaves in it..tastes great and loved your cooking pics:)
Tanvi, you are what my father calls a loving cook... you cook from the heart. I prefer intuitive cooks than those who follow recipes to the letter.
ReplyDeleteThat penne pasta looks so yummy. Have a great day! xoxo
yummmieee :) I think I am a quick cook- if there is such a category...I dont think i can invest a lot of time in the kitchen...i like a fast meal...
ReplyDeletei love the pasta....... yummy.. the brocoli is so tasty i jus wana grab it and eat it.... yummyyyyy lip smacking
ReplyDeleteAlong with all those things your cooking is inspiring....remember a salad pic you'd put on? Thats inspired to make my own version of it...it didnt turn out to look as pretty as your did, but it did taste nice. :)
ReplyDeleteNeedless to say I am gonna wanna try these out...so recipe plz!
That looks sooo yumyy! You make even vegetables look exciting and mouth-watering!
ReplyDeleteSoon, I shall make you make all this yummy food for me :-)
that looks DELISH! although I really don't know how you manage going grocery shopping only thrice a month. I hate doing groceries (and cooking) but I still have to go once a week for things that perish quickly like milk and bread and veggies!
ReplyDeleteLeia's Delights
The food looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteIt's only this summer that I have actually started cooking and helping mum in the kitchen. n I love the experience. :)
Ditto, I adore cooking. It relaxes me and calms me down, even after a long days work I enjoy chopping away and cooking. I try to follow recipes and the internet is a great resource for newbie cooks like me. Pasta is a safe go to and my food staple.
ReplyDeleteYum! Love veggies and penne. I'm a little bit experimental around the kitchen too and it's fun that way! I love recipes as a guide and tweak from there.
ReplyDeleteOMG! it loooks yummmyyy...m at work n u made my stomach growl :P slurrrpppp!
ReplyDelete"I find cooking therapeutic" i sooo agreeee with this...i feel the same plus it brings out the creativity in me!
cheers!
sup!
I'm not reading as regulary as I used to because work is getting a little crazy :(
ReplyDeleteI've never put any kind of hot peppers in pasta but I think I'll give it a try!!
I loveee how honest you are in your writing..
Just came across your blog and I felt an instant culinary connection! I shop and cook like you {except for the budget part~need work in that area:} Great post~may try to recreate it, intuitively of course:)
ReplyDeleteMary Chris
www.prettypleasedblog.com
I will be starting cooking soon...send some recipes here
ReplyDeleteOh yum that sounds amazing!!! You're so impressive how organized you are. I need to take a lesson from you :)
ReplyDeleteHope you had a fabulous weekend! xoxo
I wish I can cook like you do, I'm so hopeless in the kitchen:P
ReplyDeleteLooks so healthy and good!
ReplyDeleteam a pasta fan, try to do lotsa different stuff with it, provided i get the ingredients!!
ReplyDeleteam liking your pasta recipe lots, what all veggies did ya use, i can make out broccoli, red carrots and red bell peppers
and can i use readymade tomato puree in place of tomato paste
and how do you steam the veggies, in microwave...well thats hell lot of questions!! but i do wanna try making this recipe of urs, with a little bit touch of mine too!!
This looks soooo good! I think I may need to broaden my cooking horizons now :)
ReplyDeletehttp://jammer10am.blogspot.com/
Yummmmm I looove penne!! And this pasta looks good! So glad you're so close to me, now I get to eat to eat what you cook! :)
ReplyDeleteHmm, scrumptious!
ReplyDeleteWow, grocery shopping three times a month? I'm full of admiration. I go to one to three farmer market's a week (depending on my schedule)!
ReplyDeleteWow! I would never be able to pull together such a thing, it looks delicious! I'm with you on the grocery shopping and budget, too, Tanvi! XO!
ReplyDeleteThat looks so good. I have to try this.:)
ReplyDeletewow my mouth is literally watering! lunch time! Thanks for sharing! hugs
ReplyDeletethis looks yummy...i am not much of a cook myself..and till date i have not learned (from Mom or from recipes) to cook anything besides halwa(which i learned from my grandmom)..good thing is that whatever routine food i make still turns out to be good somehow..don't knw how..
ReplyDeleteYum yum yum. I made my own broccoli recipe after I read your post. :)
ReplyDeleteI tend to change the recipe to suit my taste. This looks yummy and healthy
ReplyDeleteThis looks sooo yummy!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome that you can just make stuff up. That's what I usually like to do because I'm too cheap to buy much food, so I always go digging around in the cupboards and try to use up whatever I have before I buy more.
ReplyDeleteCe qui m'inspire
the pasta looks so tasty I also cook it lotsa veggies
ReplyDeleteLooks delicious! I love cooking as well..it's very de-stressing..although I still need to learn the art of presentation! I love your 2/3 vegetable 1/3 pasta idea btw! Now why didn't I think of that!?!?
ReplyDeleteHmmm...Yummm...Yummmyyy...
ReplyDeleteDo you mind sharing it :-)
I so wish I could cook!! I've tried a few times, but I always get so stressed, lol. Thanks for sharing this: I want to try it now.
ReplyDeleteYummyyyyyyyyyyyy!
ReplyDeleteIt looks delicious!
I should try to limit my grocery shopping more - I end up just going all the time and not really paying attention to what I grab. Your food looks YUM too!
ReplyDeletexoxo, Ashley
Yum, this looks delicious! I'm an intuitive cook, too - even if I start out with a recipe the dish always ends up differently. xoxo
ReplyDeleteThis looks yum!! I like to add a little bit of Indian spices to pasta.
ReplyDeleteyummy!!!this looks delicious!!!i should try this some time!!!kisses
ReplyDeletethat's what i love about cooking; you have freedom to do your own thing. although that's what also scares me since i'm not comfortable cooking haha. i prefer baking :D
ReplyDeleteI cook the same way! I can't follow a recipe for anything! Your meal looks delish!
ReplyDeleteThis looks delicious! I can say that I am very similar in the kitchen: I hate following recipes (my life has enough structure without following directions in order to feed myself!). I love playing with different pasta dishes, you almost always get great results.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I'd love to see more cooking and recipe posts on your blog.
Agree completely with Leah's comment.
ReplyDeletelook yummy yummy. :)
ReplyDeleteoh love this post so much.