GalaLiving

Nourishing Recipes and Wellness Guides for your Mind, Body and Soul

Tropical Green Smoothie

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It’s the middle of February, and I know what you’re thinking…

VACATION!

It’s finally that time. We’re tired of the cold, rain, and gray and our bodies are screaming out for some sunshine, and trying to improve our low vitamin D levels… OK, the last one is undiagnosed, but come on, we live in Seattle. The sun shines here for 3 hours a day and when it does we all run out to greet it like that episode in “Portlandia” where the whole town follows each other around fighting for that little ray of goodness.

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Coriander Spiced Black Bean Quesadillas

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This is my favorite quesadilla.

Maybe it because I’m Indian… Maybe it’s because I love to eat Mexican… Maybe it’s because this quesadilla tastes like I’m eating eating a cumin and coriander spiced Indian chaat in a warm black bean Mexican corn tortilla… I’m not sure really what it is, but there is something magical about this dish that makes me want to make it, and eat it, over and over and over and over again…

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Pizzeria Gabbiano – Pizza by the Kilo

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” It seems to defy our perception of food, when a pizza dough, having only three visible ingredients, can have the depth of favor, the chew, and the and overall satisfaction of a slice of pizza you may have if you visit Rome’s Campo De Fiore… That thing you are tasting that sets it apart, is not the particular brand of organic flour, or the very specific Sicilian Sea Salt chosen for the recipe, but a more etherial ingredient,  that cannot be simply found on the grocery store shelf. It’s time. ” – Michael Easton (co-owner)

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5 Ways to Make Practicing Yoga Effortless

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StretchingI’m the first to admit. I’m always running out of time! I feel like between work, bills, kids, my school, the kids school, cooking, homework, the blog, house stuff, writing an eBook and the million other things I need to get done I don’t always find the time to incorporate a long yoga session into my day… and if you’re life looks anything like mine you need some easy tips and tricks to integrate a yoga practice into your daily life. So here are 5 ways to make your yoga practice less time intensive, and ultimately, really, just effortless.

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Black Quinoa and Green Lentil Stew

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DSC09348-2It’s funny, but I’m actually a little fooded out! We just got back from a 3 week globe trotting adventure around the world (Thailand, India, UAE) and I’ve literally eaten almost every type of cuisine possible. Indian, Italian, Middle Eastern, Thai, a sprinkling of Mexican…. and all of it was, well, delicious!… But boy I am ready to get back to our kitchen and our cooking. 

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Creamy Broccoli and Basil Soup

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If you want to know the real inspiration for GalaKitchen I’ll let you in on a little secret… It all started with this soup in the middle of a winter snowstorm and an old Cabbagetown Cafe cookbook in a college town suburb of Michigan.  As a young sophomore in 1993, Vishal, trying to avoid the blizzard outside, first tried his hand at “making a dish” and after the storming success of his first bowl of goodness he and his friends were hooked.. and it was with this, simple, easy to make recipe, that Vishal’s, and eventually my, intensity and passion for good home cooking came to be born. 

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Urad Dal with Coconut, Blistered Shallots and Cilantro

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Is it time for snow? If you didn’t already know, my husband was born in Buffalo, NY. Over the last 48 hours it has snowed over 6 feet in the region with more expected to be on its way…  And while it hasn’t quite been that cold here in Seattle, a lack of rain, or should I say clouds, has brought in not only the sunshine but super chilly air to follow (agh! where is that down coat parka from 1998!!). It’s times like this that I need a kick of something warm and hardy to make it though the night. Walking in the door, throwing on some thermal PJ’s and cozying up to a hot bowl of this dal is all I wanted last night. Served with some warm tandoori naan, you are sure to sleep a nice warm slumber through the night.  

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Bittersweet and White Chocolate Halloween Bark

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Last Friday we had no school. It’s parent teacher conference week and the kids and I had a whole day to do nothing but goof off and have some down time. No classes, no extra curricular activities, no homework, no stress… And after a day of playing in the park, swimming at the club, eating sandwiches and french fries at the pool and making Halloween cards for the teachers we decided we needed to end the day with a little homemade goodness…

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Sweet Corn Polenta and Eggplant Caponata

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Since exploring London’s culinary scene last summer, and eating at the famed restaurant Nopi, I have been obsessed with Yotam Ottolenghi. He may quite literally be the master of fusing the diverse culinary traditions of the Mediterranean into beautiful, mouthwatering fare. Ottolenghi’s only rule: “the ingredients must always be first-rate, and the food gorgeous and tasty.” And so over the course of the next several months (or maybe even years) we will be exploring his world of Plenty.

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