Storing opened ground spices

Spices play a very important role in Indian cooking, be it ground spices or whole spices. The problem I often face in my kitchen is to store the dried spices after opening the container. So, the other day I was looking online on how to store them and found this website. It has some great tips and ideas to store the spices and one of them is to keep the spices closed in an airtight container and hence I was looking for one. As a part of LNL supporters program, I received a Bisfree container with cute floral pattern on the lid and a handle. It is made of tritan material and is BPA free. It is clear plastic and looks just like a Boroseal 12 cup glass container that I got in the past and is light as a feather when compared to the glass container (I have to say my darling husband is so excited to see this one! He reserved this to take gulab jamun, an indian desert, to his potluck at work. He wanted this, and only this one, because he knows that the sugar syrup will not leak in this container).  Anyhow, I decided to store all my opened ground spices in this container. 

I also received a cosmetic case as part of supporters program. Since I am not big on using cosmetics, I don't have any to store. Hence I decided to use it in the kitchen as well. Some store bought spice packets are neatly organized in it instead of being here and there.

These fit well in the kitchen drawer along with some other unopened spices.

Bournvita Cake

My cousin D is a very good cook. I was so impressed with how she manages to cook for her daughter. Everything she cooks for kids definitely looks interesting. From Alphabits laddoos to butterfly shaped dosas to Indian flag colored idlis....innovative and interesting. She made Bournvita cake for us. Bournvita is a malt based drink and needs no introduction to those born and brought up in India. You can find it in any local Indian grocery store or buy it from Amazon. The cake tasted so good and naturally, I asked her for the recipe. I got a great idea to thank all my friends who helped us when I had surgery last month. They were kind enough to take care of the kids and cook some meals for us while I was recovering. And hence this is one small token of appreciation from us.

I have these cute little EZ lock, Simple & Easy containers from Lock N Lock.  I decided to cut the cake into small pieces, and put them in these containers, tie a bow with a THANK YOU tag. This would definitely make them happy as they fell in love with these containers when I got'em through LNL supporters program. These containers are Polypropelene (Recycle No. 5) and are BPA free. Even though they don't have those famous four side locking system as the other LNL containers, they are definitely air tight because of the way they are designed. The lid opens easily and has a floral pattern on it. And these containers stack well too. If you like these containers, now is the best time to buy them at LNL's dollar store here.

Here is the recipe in case if you want to try:

Note: For these measurements, I used the cup that comes with an electric rice cooker.

Ingredients:

Butter - 1 Cup

Sugar - 1 Cup

All Purpose flour - 1 Cup

Eggs - 3

Bournvita mix - 1/2 Cup

Shredded coconut - 1/2 Cup

Method:

1. Take the flour, sugar, bournvita into a bowl. Beat them on medium speed and slowly add butter, eggs. Mix them well and add the shredded coconut.

2. Grease the baking dish and pour the cake batter.

3. Bake this in a pre heated oven at 350 degrees and make sure it passes the tooth pick test.

Yummy bournvita cake is ready!

Borosilicate Glass Containers

When this 12 cup Borosilicate glass container with handle was featured on LNL's happy hour deal, I have bought one without a second thought. I always had this on my mind. The reason? Well, its huge enough to hold dishes for my Lock N Lock party (learn more about my LNL party here). I prepare the dish usually a day or two before the party, store it in the refrigerator. Because of the airtightness, food stays fresh. The best part is that this container has a handle which makes it easier for me to carry it to the party. All I have to do is pop it in the microwave/oven at the party and it is safe to do so without the lids. Since it is glass, it is stain (& odor) resistant which is one of my top priorities as I use turmeric while cooking my food. The floral pattern on the lid is adorable which makes the dish look more presentable. And I am glad that I received one more through the LNL supporters program. I also bought this 16.6 cup Borosilicate container with handle. This is BOROSEAL while the other one is BOROSEAL II. I cant get the difference between these two containers except for the capacity and change in the floral pattern on the lid. But, DH says that this container is little bit lighter than the 12 cup one. It has the same features as the 12 cup container - stain & odor resistant, oven & microwave safe and has a cute little blue handle too. Just perfect for carrying food to a party/potlucks.

Well, I am glad I bought these cuities, after all they are from LNL.

An organized kitchen: Part 1

Okay so, I decided to organize my kitchen.While I am typing this and looking at the pictures, I realized that instead of organizing my kitchen, I lock n lock'ized my kitchen. I waited for my fall semester to end so that I can devote my 100% to organizing. And I wanted this to end before my spring semester starts. But, thanks to Lock N Lock, the stuff that I ordered didn't arrive until after Christmas when we were not around. So I didn't get a chance to really organize my kitchen until last week.

DH had a long weekend and that was the perfect time, I realized. And the result:

The pantry:

Problem 1: I buy groceries from store and stack them one above the other in the pantry. Because of this, I don't know about the stuff I have at the bottom. Sometimes, I open a packet (for example, self rising corn meal) and I don't get to use for weeks. The next time I wanted to use it, it is full of food bugs.
Solution: To deal with this, I bought some containers from Lock N Lock. These are clear and air tight containers and are stackable. So I can see what's inside and even after opening a packet, it's fresh every time I want to use it because the containers are air tight.

Problem 2: We have a deep, narrow pantry which makes it difficult for me to keep track of what's been in the back. So I have bought wall pockets and decided to use these 1 for each row in the pantry. What I want to do with these wall pockets is that I would write a list of inventory in each row just so that I don't have to keep checking the stuff I have in the back.

Tip: If you have deep pantry like mine, you can also get one of those pull out drawers which you can pull out to reach the stuff in the back. But these are little but pricey, and hence I thought of the wall pockets; just dedicate one pocket for each row in the pantry and that should help you.

Under the sink:

Problem: I have one word to say - CLUTTER. I have in there - the sink cleaners, Mr.Magic Erasers, dish liquid, dishwasher detergent, swiffer dusters and what not?

Solution: Under sink organizer - I bought this from Bed Bath & Beyond and this is one cute organizer. I was able to store in all the cleaners and the stuff that we had under the sink. I have also bought a kitchen cabinet organizer similar to this to hold all the brushes & scrubbers, and a Plastic bag dispenser to hold all the plastic bags. And it looks so much better in there now.

Tip: Use "Under the sink" storage for short term storage only. You can store one pair of gloves in there and rest of the gloves in a box in long term storage (either in a garage or somewhere else). Store one extra bottle of dishwasher detergent in there and the remaining bottles (I usually get a 6 pack from amazon.com) in long term storage. This makes life a lot easier.

Stay tuned for more pictures in my next post......

A happy baby with Hello Bebe

I have received a few Hello Bebe items through Lock N Lock Supporters program to test. But, even before receiving those items, I was so impressed with these products and hence I ordered a couple of SS Cups and  SS Spoon & Fork Set for my DD and DS. I only bought the SS ones, but they have these containers in melamine (remember those bowls & plates in which they serve you in flights?). To my surprise, my daughter started eating her meals, fruit, yogurt and other snacks as well in these bowls. It seems like she is in love with the design, Little red riding hood story, and characters displayed on the bowls. I used to serve her fruit and snacks in those boring and plain stainless steel containers that I bought from India. She was never interested in eating from those bowls. But the situation is different now. She would beg me to serve more in these containers. Thanks Lock N Lock for making my life easier and happier.

 At first, I didn't dare to buy the bowls as there was no information on the capacity of these bowls. I didn't want to end up with huge/very small bowls than needed. And then, when I received the bowls through the supporters program, they looked cute and are of perfect for my 3 year old. And now, I am thinking of buying another set of bowls for my son too.

 

Tomato, Cilantro Chutney

When I visited my cousin in pittsburgh, she made this chutney to go with dosas. It tasted so good that I literally consumed the entire chutney. And did I tell you that it hardly takes 10 minutes to make this one? Yes, you heard it right. You can use any type of tomatoes to make this chutney, however I found that PLUM tomatoes are the best. My mom makes the same chutney, but she also uses mint leaves along with cilantro. I haven't used mint leaves because I found that they are little bit overwhelming. But, you can make it either ways - with/without mint leaves.

To fry the tomatoes, I have used the LNL vitamin 11 - inch red wok that I received through their supporters program. I found the wok appropriate to fry the tomatoes and the best part is that you can wipe the wok with a paper towel and put the popu in the same wok again. And the coating on this pan is non toxic, so no worries about all those dangers that accompany the non stick pans.

So, now to the recipe:

Ingredients:

For popu/tadka:

Chana Dal - 1 tbsp

Urad dal - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Dry red chillis - 3

Curry leaves

Oil - 1 tbsp

For the chutney:

Tomatoes - 6 ( medium sized plum tomatoes)

Cilantro - 1/2 bunch (Use just the leaves and not stems)

Green chillies - 10 (more/less depending on the spiciness required)

Oil - 1 tbsp

Method:

1.Wash the tomatoes, chop them into big pieces (I have a few cherry tomatoes that I wanted to use. Hence I used a combination of plum and cherry tomatoes).

2. Heat oil in a frying pan. Add the chopped tomatoes, green chillies and fry them on medium flame until the tomatoes are mushy. 

3. Add cilantro and fry them for a couple of minutes.

4. Now, grind this into a paste and take it into a bowl.

5. Heat oil in a frying pan. Put chana dal, mustard seeds, urad dal and cumin seeds and curry leaves. Add this popu to the tomato, cilantro paste and the chutney is ready to be served with dosas/idlis/vadas.

The chutney was so tasty that it didn't last long for me to take a picture.

Black Friday deals on new LNL website

If you are a regular visitor at LockNLockplace.com, you might have already noticed their new look. If you have ordered with them previously, you might also know that you can enter either a Gift card code or a Discount code only. But, with the new website, you can redeem the gift cards and save the amount as store credit. You can use this along with the discount codes while ordering. There are lot of other cool features that you might want to check out.

Now, we know that its Thanksgiving and there are some great deals going on everywhere. They are on LockNLock too! Visit here for some great Black Friday deals. They are available 11/24 - 11/25. I have purchased a Cookplus Charming SS 13 piece cookware set for $119.99 (regular price: $435.90). Some other highlights are:

Lock&Lock Wings Stackable basket 3 piece set (Regular: $56.60, Sale: $19.99)
Silby Ceramic Baby Lunch Box Set, Pink (Regular: $48.44, Sale: $12.99)
Silby Ceramic Round Container 16 pcs Set (Regular: $84.00, Sale: $9.99)
Silby Ceramic Bake n Serve Storage Set, White (Regular: $42.00, Sale: $4.99)
Lock&Lock Slender Container with Flip Lid, 17.9 Cup ( Regular: $12.89, Sale: $4.50)

That's not all. The Mystery Box promotion is back (Event Period: 11/22 - 12/02). This time, you will have a better chance to get more for your money. With only $9.99, retail value of the items in the box will range from about $40 to $70. One in five boxes will have your favorite Lock&Lock food containers worth about $70. Probabilities are in your favor so get your Mystery Boxes now!!!

Wait, there's more. Find Turkey and get a free gift (Event Period: 11/22 - 11/27).

Have fun and happy shopping.

Betel Leaves Rasam in Speedcook pot + $50 LNL voucher for $18

There has been lot going on for the past few days. Me & DH feeling sick, my final exams coming up (thank god! this semester will be over soon), organizing our kitchen….And I have been cooking only those dishes which will be done in a jiffy. I had some betel leaves left from kartheeka masam pooja. So I decided to use them in the rasam that I wanted to prepare. I came across this recipe for the first time in an Indian food channel.

This dish was very quick and easy, thanks to my LNL Cookplus Speedcook sauce pan. Here are some of its features that I liked. This pot has fast and efficient thermal dispersion, which helped in boiling rasam quickly. I should also mention that this pot has measuring lines to indicate serving. I am glad that these measuring lines are embedded in the pot and not printed on it (I have had experience in the past with some pots from another manufacturer where the measuring lines erased after few uses). The handles are silicone covered which makes it easy to hold them even when the food is cooked on high heat plus the yellow color matches my Cookplus ceramic yellow pan! And guess what? It has a lid which when overturned can be used as a plate! How cute is that? I also loved the idea of pouring spout which makes it easy to transfer the contents of this pot into a serving dish. This pot is originally intended to cook ramen noodles and hence the knob on its lid has chopstick holders. I think this was well thought and innovative.  If you would like to buy this sauce pan, now is right time as you can buy a LNL voucher worth $50 for $18. See details at the end of this post.

Now the recipe….

Ingredients:

For popu/tadka:

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Hing/asafetida – 1 pinch

Curry leaves

Coriander leaves – as desired

Red chilies - 1

For actual Recipe:

Betel leaves – 2 large

Tomato – 1 large

Black pepper powder – ½ tbsp.

Turmeric – ¼ tsp

Amchur powder – 3 tbsp (or according to taste)

Water – 5 cups

Method:

1.   Heat oil in a frying pan. Add red chilli, mustard seeds, hing and cumin seeds and let them splutter and add curry leaves and coriander leaves as well.

2.   Add chopped betel leaves and fry them for a minute.
3. Add chopped tomato.  Add cumin powder, coriander powder, black pepper powder, turmeric and amchur. Fry them till the tomatoes become mushy.

4.   Now add water and boil the rasam for 10 minutes on medium high heat (with the cookplus speedcook saucepan, it hardly took 5 minutes for the rasam to boil).

You can serve this with rice and dal or take it as a soup in small quantities.

Living Social deal: Sign up to living social website here. You will get a $5 credit. Then go to this link (if you are already a member you can just click on this link and then log in, but you will not be able to get $5 credit). Click “Buy Now” button and use the $5 credit towards this purchase. The total should show $18 for new members.

And remember, there are a few LNL sets available here for either $9.99 or $14.99 for one day only i.e. only on November 21, 2011. (Update @November 22, 2011 7:27 AM - This deal is gone.)

My Review + LNL Pre Black Friday Deals

Okay, so here is my review for the supporters’ gifts that I received this month. After putting them to a test, this is what I have to say…..

Inplus storage basket

This basket is sturdy and looks very nice. Ours is a townhouse. So when we come back from a grocery store, I usually hold lot of bags just to avoid several trips up and down. I found this helpful to carry those grocery items all in one shot without hurting my hands. This is just the perfect size to organize diaper packs, wipes and other odds and ends in a changing table. The table looks so much neater with things tucked in these bins. This is a well-made product at a reasonable price. And I guess, this is a perfect solution to organize kids’ toys and books. Color on the wings is rich and vibrant (and who doesn’t want a pop of color in their room?). A blue one for my son’s toys and a pink one for my daughter’s toys is just perfect. With the wings , they also stack. When they are stacked, you can reach for things in a basket through the wide opening on front without having to lift the basket on top.

Airtight slender container

One word- Quality. This is a 1.1L airtight container. These containers are made of high-quality plastic - are BPA-free - and are freezer, dishwasher, and microwave safe! This lid has two openings, one big one small. It’s good that you don’t have to open the entire lid to use the contents in the box. We usually have 4 to 5 varieties snacks/ cereals for our toddlers at home. We get small packs at the local grocery store and not those very big ones at Costco  or Sam’s club. So I always wanted small dispensers and this is the perfect size. It is not huge. So my 3 year old can pour the cereal by herself. I taught her how to use the small opening on the lid.  However, I don’t  like the lid is not wide open while cereal is being poured out; but this is a very good feature when kiddos using it!!! We also buy that huge box of pasta from Costco which has individual boxes of pasta in it. So I open one box and put it in this container (and again this is the perfect size). I think that the plastic is clear and you can see the contents inside. The lids seal absolutely tight and seal everything in excellently. All in all, very satisfied with this product. This also has 1-cup, 2-cups, 3-cups markings on one of its sides, which I think is very useful.

Glass container set

I started calling this our family set. Because it has four glass containers 3.6 cup & 1.6 cup (round),  2.3 cup & 1.3 cup (Square) and are perfect size for each one in our family. The round ones for dad and daughter’s lunch; the square ones for mom and son’s snacks for their trip to the park. These containers are well-built and are high-quality. Food stays fresher MUCH longer. My husband took lunch in this container on Friday. He went out for lunch that day and forgot to bring the box home. On Monday, when he opened the box and the food is still fresh. I totally love them after trying them out! And, did I mention that they are leak proof? I think these would make an awesome gift! However, the type of material used for the lid is not mentioned anywhere on LNL website. So, just to be on safe side, I don’t pack the box to its fullest just to avoid the food contacting the lid.

Pre black Friday Deal: Now is the right time to buy these and other great LNL products because of the Pre Black Friday deal @LNL. When you use the coupon code PREBLK2011 you will get 50% off on the total amount that you purchased (after adding items to your cart, just enter this coupon code in the "promotion code" box). This is valid only for 5 days from Nov 16^th through Nov 20^th. So hurry, and stock up some gifts for this holiday season. Don’t forget to check out their CLEARENCE and SPECIAL sections for some great deals.

Lock N Lock products for review + Free $25 Gift Card

Being a Lock N Lock supporter is fun. I have received my first batch of LNL products for free. Now, I'm off to putting these to a test. Stay tune for my reviews. Meanwhile enjoy some of the pictures I have taken:

Are you interested in buying these and other LNL products? Now is the time to do so. Currently LNL is celebrating its 1st anniversary and is giving away a $25 gift card for those who spend over $100 (including S&H, taxes) in a storewide single transaction. This promotion is on till Nov 14th. So hurry up and stock up some great gifts for this Christmas.