Kitchen Talk

Veg or Non veg. You'll find these little green or red labels on everything, including cereal boxes. Speaking of cereal boxes, I've made the mistake and bought cereal that was imported instead of local which cost be about 3 times the amount it should have cost. I learned my lesson. Now I always look for the little label in the upper right corner. It's a sure sign that it's cheaper! 
Back to the topic of meat. Thankfully Joe and I both can go either way on this topic. We love a good steak in America and we love a good veg sandwich in India. It's a win-win situation for us. In our last 14 months of living here we've gotten really creative with our cooking style based on all the good veg options. I started making these "Crunchy Lebanese" sandwiches after falling in love with them at my favorite cafe here in the city. Thought I'd share the recipe with you.

Crunchy Lebanese Sandwich- serving size 2
4 slices brown bread
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 green pepper
1 onion
3 small tomatoes
lettuce
homemade hummus*
-Prepare hummus and set aside. Clean and cut veggies into small strips. Toast bread. Combine ingredients and enjoy! 
(My favorite combination is yellow and red peppers with extra hummus!)
*homemade hummus is way better than store bought or canned hummus. Just saying

While I'm in recipe mode I'll add this recipe I found on a cooking blog. I've made them a couple times for different groups. The first batch I made was for some national friends. They liked them, but I changed the recipe a little for the second batch. They were a hit at our American Idol party. Here it is with my additional changes. Example: using half the amount of butter

Oreo Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1/2 stick softened butter
• 6 Tablespoons sugar
• 6 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 ¼ cup flour (half white flour, half wheat flour)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 11 broken pieces Oreo Cookies
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup semi- sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter, and sugars until well combined. Add egg and vanilla until mixed well.

2. Place flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large bowl, stir to combine. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients then stir in oreos and chocolate chips until just combined.

3. Bake for 10 minutes or until cooked, but still soft. Let cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Try it! You'll like it!