Costco Naan To the Rescue!

My workouts are a lot more fun now that I have a gym buddy; my friend Kathy. We kicked ass in tonight's Zumba class. I was so energized after the class that I couldn't let the good vibe go to waste. When I got home, I made dinner for my family.

Tonight's Special - A Different Kind of Naan Pizza

Browsing through the fridge, I found a container with leftover Eggplant Bharta and a light bulb switched on. Why not use it! Vegetable curries are great to use as toppings on pizzas. I topped the naan with eggplant bharta, pasta sauce, shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese, and fresh basil. Monterrey Jack cheese is excellent when you want to add a bit of spicy flavor to the pizzas. I also combined pasta sauce with the bharta to make it easier to spread on the naans and for flavor enhancement. After topping my naans, I popped them in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees (or until the cheese is all melty) and Voila! 

I got two thumbs up from my grandma and that made my night. My mom was happy too; she caught up with her favorite TV shows while enjoying the pizza. 

A Garage Sale with Lots of Family and Big Bowl of Creamy Pasta

Wow, what a mouth full and that's just the title...

This weekend turned out to be too eventful if such a thing even exists. What I really meant was that there was never a dull moment with a packed house from Friday through Sunday.

On Friday, our relatives from Tenn. stopped over for a visit and we all enjoyed some good ol' home cooking courtesy of my mom. The special of the night was Masala Dosa (savory rice crepe) served with Seasoned Potato Curry and our favorite Peanut Chutney. Everyone knows masala dosa is always accompanied with potato curry and some chutneys like coconut chutney for instance. However, we NEVER eat dosa without Peanut Chutney. It wouldn't be right. It's like walking outside with just your unmentionables on. You would feel weird.

So next time you're eating dosas, DON'T FORGET TO DIP your dosas into the dollop of Peanut Chutney on your plate for a flavor burst. You'll thank me later. 

Saturday-Sunday morning and afternoon were spent attending to Garage Sale customers. Yes, I convinced my parents to have one and we made some dough. The stuff that didn't sell was donated to Habitat for Humanity. Saturday early evening and night was a riot. More relatives stopped by (from Atlanta this time) and while the adults sad around talking, the kids (including myself) played to our hearts content with PaperToy Monsters.

Check out Gene Chemzyme AKA The Creature from the Deep

I found the book at a boutique toy shop in Park Slope, Brooklyn and fell in love with it. It has 50 cool papertoys you can make yourself (like the one above) with pre-scored, easy-to-fold designer templates. Then at night, my baby cousin (who will be attending college this fall) made this gourmet pasta dish from a blog that he follows called Spicy Sun-Dried Tomato and Broccoli pasta. Like Emeril, we kicked it up a notch and added more than required red pepper flakes. It was a house full of desis, you shouldn't expect anything less!

Tonight's dinner was a combination of cool, hot, spicy and sweet dishes. We started off with Chili Poppers, Eggplant and Potato Fritters as appetizers, then ate Seasoned Pumpkin Curry, yogurt rice, and finished with sweet Kent Mangoes for dessert.

Overall I think I maintained a healthy figure through the whole weekend and that I can't wait for my Kickboxing class in a few days...Goodnight everyone!!