Chewy Tofu In An Apricot, Chipotle and Tamarind Sauce: Vegan Mexican

I like to think I was Mexican in another life. I love traveling through this warm and beautiful country, its food appeals most to my tastebuds (after Indian, of course), and I even look a little Mexican with my olive skin and dark hair. Ever so often someone speaking Spanish approaches me on the street to ask for directions, or a salesperson tries to make me feel comfortable by breaking into what they assume must be my native language. They even look a little incredulous when I explain to them that I don't speak a word of Spanish.

Lately my kitchen has started looking a lot like a Mexican one too. I've packed my refrigerator and my kitchen cupboards with fresh and dry chillies of every kind, I've been confounding Desi with words like "piloncillo," "jamaica," and "achiote," and I've been dropping hints several times each day about that tortilla press I don't have to use up all the masa flour sitting in the pantry.

My Dad's Not-Mutton Mushroom Curry, Fat-Free

My favorite dish to cook and eat has always been My Dad's "Not-Mutton" Mushroom Curry-- a recipe I shared long ago here at Holy Cow! It is a spicy, saucy vegan curry made using the same flavor base my father used when he cooked his very special mutton curry for our family each Sunday, when I was growing up.

The vegan version I first shared contains far less fat than my father's curry did, because I both cut down on the amount of oil added to the dish and because, of course, I cut out on all that fat that meat inevitably introduces to a dish. As I explore ways to make my recipes even leaner than they already are, I decided to challenge myself this weekend: to see if I could make a version of my dad's not-mutton mushroom curry with no added fats whatsoever, without losing any of that wonderful flavor.

Whole-Wheat Berry Muffins, Fat-Free

Everyone needs something sweet every now and then. And what better way to satisfy that craving than with a delicious whole-wheat muffin filled with the nourishing goodness of fresh berries and free of added fats?

I flavored my Berry Muffins with a puree of fresh strawberries and a handful of plump, juicy blueberries that burst in your mouth as you bite into the muffin, taking this sweet treat to a whole new level of sublime indulgence. My sweetener is turbinado sugar, a healthier, less processed sugar that I use in most of my sweet recipes, but you could just as well use maple syrup which would add even more flavor to an already delicious, not-too-sweet muffin.

In our home, these muffins made perfect pre-breakfast treats. Each has just around 112 calories and lots of protein, dietary fiber, and potassium. There is just 0.5 grams of fat in each muffin and it comes from heart-healthy flaxmeal which also adds some moisture to the muffin and great, nutty flavor.

Five Kitchen Gadgets I Almost Can't Live Without

There's no thing in this world that I can't live without.  But as someone who loves to cook and usually doesn't have a lot of time to do it, I do rely everyday on a handful of gadgets that take off my hands some of the more time-consuming chores cooking involves. So, just for fun, I thought I'd list them for you.

This list doesn't include some of the most basic cooking appliances and tools that you simply wouldn't be able to cook without, like ladles, stovetops and ovens. And I do share the brand names of some of the appliances I own, but please keep in mind that the companies are not paying me for this and this is by no means an advertisement or even an endorsement. I list the good and bad points of each. And the only reason they are named is because, by choice or accident, I ended up with them in my kitchen and I know enough about them to discuss them.

Whole-Wheat Sourdough Baguettes

My dead oven sprang to life last week and I couldn't wait for the weekend so I could put it to work again. I had the perfect job for it too: baking up a Whole-Wheat Sourdough Baguette. Or two.

Baguettes can be tremendously healthy eats, especially when made my way. These crusty hunks of French goodness contain no fat, are largely whole-grain, and the sourdough brings down their glycemic index, which makes them perfect for the diet-conscious, diabetics, and just about anyone who likes to eat consciously while eating well.

Kholamba, A Low-Fat Vegetable Stew

India's regional cuisines are so strikingly diverse that when resemblances and overlaps occur they inevitably make you wonder where the dish could have originated. There's never a simple answer.

A long-running food argument in our home has been over the beginnings of what is perhaps Tamil Nadu's most famous stew: the sambar, or kuzhambu. You would recognize sambar if you've ever ordered a dosa or an idli at an Indian restaurant. It's the lentil and vegetable stew that comes alongside as a dipping sauce.

Lentil stews, or dals, can be found across regional cuisines in India, but what sets the Tamil Sambar apart is the tang of tamarind and the unique blend of spices that go into it. Sambar is one of the most-cooked foods in my kitchen because my Tamil husband, Desi, adores it more than any other food in the universe-- after all, it's what mom would cook.

Then one day I came upon an article that said the sambar may have actually originated centuries ago in the kitchens of Maharashtrians occupying Thanjavur, a region in Tamil Nadu. I went home and gleefully rubbed that bit of information in Desi's face.

Fat-Free Burrito Bowl: Cilantro Brown Rice, "Refried" Black Beans, No-Avocado Guacamole, and Tomato-Corn Salsa

This morning, as we walked our dogs in a county park near our home, Desi and I noticed a squirrel running frantically up a tree carrying something large in her mouth. It was a plastic water bottle. And she was not carrying it --her mouth was stuck in it.

We couldn't help the poor squirrel because she was high up a tree and probably would've been too afraid  to let us approach her, so we did the next best thing we could: we spent the next few minutes picking up more than a dozen bottles and cans that people had dumped around the park despite the fact that there were at least a half a dozen trash bins within a 20-foot radius. Of course, we knew that what we were doing did not really matter-- that more bottles and cans would be back on the ground a few hours later and some unsuspecting animal might stick its mouth in one in the hope of finding food. But it was a good reminder that thoughtless littering has consequences far worse than just marring the beauty of our surroundings.