Pesto Recipe (Parsley & Mint)

My dear friends Shumi and Vivek bought me this superb processor for my birthday. (haha my friends know me so well!) I have been having a blast using it- mainly for spices. But I wanted to use it to make a dish, explore this cool toy!

Miranda's Heart www.mirandashearth.com is the awesome initiative that joins people from all over Boston once a month for music, food and art! If you guys have seen the video of my latest single "Graceland" you have seen one of the events which featured my music and thus became the premise of the video.



Each month the feature is on something special, and August was Food! The theme was "First time Recipe" - ie we all made something for the first time! It was Amazing- everyone's dishes were to DIE FOR. (That will be my next post- today is just mine) So I made Mint and Parsley Pesto for the lot with some Pita Bread.

The reason I used these ingredients is because I had them hehe.

 

So I had 2 bunches of Parsley, 1 mint, walnuts ( I hear pine nuts are the in thing for pesto but I didnt have any!) and garlic, olive oil.



So I put the Garlic, nuts and leaves in the processed. (Please note : I used 5 cloves of garlic but you should use 2 as mentioned in the recipe below, cos it was too much aaah)






After a few seconds of Pulsing I added the olive oil and parmesan and then zhhuuuuuu (that's me trying to be a food processor)



So while thats pulsing listen to this song we covered in Radio Shadhin this January- Aah my life is incredible :D




After  spooning the side parts down a few times and pulsing- here is the Finished blend.



Add a tiny sprig of Mint and VOILA!



Recipe:

• 1 cup packed mint leaves, plus mint sprigs for garnish
• 2 cup packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 1/3 cup almonds
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Procedure:

In a food processor, combine the parsley, mint, garlic and nuts and pulse until coarsely chopped. Pour in the olive oil and add the grated Parmesan; process to a puree. Season the pesto generously with salt and pepper.

It's so quick and simple I love it!! 

Seriously I've been using it with EVERYTHING. In my quinoa bowls, with bread, my friend Sandra was over from NYC and we had this with Pita bread as our late night snack and hangout session.

Till next time lovers <3 div="">

Crabmeat Sushi Recipe

I write this in woe. It's a coincidence or not, that I was actually at a sushi restaurant in Harvard square having an incredible meal with my friend Zoya when she suddenly got a message on her phone that Robin Williams had passed away.

Robin Williams, I hadn't thought of him for a while, after being a devout fan in my childhood. Have been weeping a few days, his suicide made no sense for awhile. But my friend JB and I talked about it, and here's what it is: he had an illness and it killed him, like many other people's illnesses do.

PS, if you my friends are suffering from depression please remember it really is a disease - seek help <3 p="">
Okay okay, I know what you really want see are my recipe pictures. So here it is- home made crab meat sushi.

So I started off with decorating the ingredients so I could take some pictures for you hungry bunnies!

(Crabmeat, Scallions, Sprouts, Avocado, White Rice)

Step 1: Cut up the crabmeat (100 gm) and mix with 1 tsp of Spicy spoon

Step 2: place white rice the in the middle of your nori sheet and layer avocado, crabmeat and sprouts

Step 3: pack ingredients, dab your fingers in water to wet the sides of the NOri sheet and roll it tightly

And cut in half or as many pieces as you like (I do half becuase its quick to eat and I'm lazy)

Song insert for the week: My first single Bhromor was recorded 10 years ago when I was in high school! I'm getting old- now I'm a double graduate 

 So for Lunch I had two sheets and this was my calories count:

• Crabmeat 4oz - 100 calories
• Avocado half0 80 calories
• Spicy mayo 1sp - 20calories 
• 2 Nori sheets - 10 calories 
• Green sprouts- 30 calories
• White rice 1/4th cup- 60
• Soya sauce 2 tbsp (to dip in ) - 20 calories

Total : 320 calories . That's pretty decent for lunch. If I'm having this for dinner I'd have 3 sheets worth to be honest. I just try not to add too much rice. :)

Okay peeps, home made pesto coming up NEXT. Love you

Teriyaki Sauce and some Meal planning

And I continue my newfound series of recipes, with this: Teriyaki..

The Teriyaki sauce has a sweet and soy favour I love! And thanks to one of my tuttees and the internet I combined a few recipes to make my own:

So first I made the sauce: (full recipe at the end) - with 1/2 cup mirin, 1/3 cup soya sauce and 1/4 cup rice wine and 1 tbsp suger. (You can lower you mirin and eliminate wine- its just an extra bounce and only use sugar)

boiled this on medium heat for 20 minutes or so

at one point it will be a glaze like sauce that I store in this cute cup!

I should actually get a new pan for the chicken, but I was lazy so I put the chicken breasts in with a tiny bit of olive oil.

stir stir stir

Once it is about done I added a bit more of the sauce I made and let it sit.

Then I chopped up some green onion - I LOVE the flavour it gives!

 Now I'm getting a bowl ready with 1/3 cup carrots, 1/3 cup green onions and 1/3 cup corn

 Added 1/3 cup quinoa too

So before we conclude here is my song excerpt of the post: I composed  for a film Shongram (my first film Yay) And this is a Nazrul Geeti that was arranged for this film by Adil Hadi and myself and sung by no other than Nazrul Geeti amazes Nashid Kamal (my mom, I truly think she sounds her best, and the non traditional arrangment brought out her voice)




  Can't wait for Dhaka when I will collaborate a lot more with her! (PS buy it here http://www.amazon.com/Rashmonchey-Dol/dp/B00K61KYZY)


Okay back to healthy heating stuff: 

I was making this meal to pack some lunches for the week. I feel like I do better when I have my portions pre planned, when I go to eat hungry I just eat mindlessly. So here's to a healthy new week for me. I am trying to lose 15-20 pounds before my album launch. Fingers Crossed!!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup mirin
• 1/4 cup sake/ rice wine
• 1/4 cup Japanese soy sauce
• 3/4 tablespoon sugar
• 4 chicken breasts 4oz each 
• Olive oil
• 1 green onion
  

Procedure:

• Boil soya sauce, mirin, sugar and rice wine for 20 minutes and then store away
• use 1 tbsp of olive oil and fry chicken till brown
• stir in the sauce on low heat and let boil

Serve with vegetables, quinoa, rice = whatever you chose.

For me, I calorie counted my bowl and here is what it was:

1. Quinoa 2/3 cup - 150
2. Corn steamed -40
3. Carrots raw - 15
4. Chicken 4oz  - 175
5. Green onion - 3   

total: 383 calories (give or take)

That's a pretty decent meal. I decided not to cut carbs completely because it's unrealistic, I am sick of losing and gaining so many times. This time its not the diet but the portions Im fixating on.

Garlic Prawns with Veggies - Recipe

It's not secret i LOVE food. After music, food is my biggest passion. But that comes with its' issues. I've had weight issues my whole life- I've done karate', swimming, yoga, gymming and nowadays biking to keep my health in check, but it's hard.

The only time I've lost substantial weight was when I lost my appetite due to shock and soon after gained the weight and the appetite back. But that did show me that the key tool to weight loss is the food. It's just math- eat within a certain calorie limit and you shall be fine. The trouble is my carb intake, I have a hard time limiting it when it comes to rice. So I decided to find yummy recipes that I can eat and enjoy in lower portions.

Each person will have a trigger food that is hard to lower- thankfully my only weakness is rice - other carbs I am okay to eat less. So here goes , my series of recipes for a my weight loss and maintain journey!

I had bought a bunch of prawn the other day that I yummily made curry out off and ate with 2 plats of bhaat (yes had a  bad week last week)- but with the leftover I made this new dish. I used an online recipe but lowered the oil intake.

GARLIC PRAWNS WITH VEGGIES

First I cleaned the prawns.



Then I heated about 3 tablespoons of oil with some garlic and chilli flakes (I was generous with the chilli and garlic - but thats really up to you) And once it was a hot I turned up the heat and added the Prawns.

It was kind of on a whim that I added the veggies, but I had some frozen vegetables in the freezer and just threw them in

Towards the end I added some rice wine but it's really not a must, I just had it lying around (because I made Teriyaki sauce, coming in the next post.)

And et Voila: added some salad greens Done!

Doesn't it look YUM? ( it so was!)

So here is the recipe- makes about 2 servings (depending on how hungry you are)

Ingredients:

• Olive oil - 3-4 Tablespoons (you can also use cooking spray)
• Prawns 1/2 pound (about 12-14 prawns)
• Frozen or fresh vegetables - 2 cups
• Chilli - 3/4th teaspoon (or more)
• Garlic cloves -3
• Rice wine - 1 TBS

Procedure:

• Heat Oil with garlic and chilli
• Sautee in Prawns in high heat for 4-5 minutes
• Add in vegetables and cook on low heat
• Add rice wine and simmer

Service with whatever you like :D

The calorie count for my meal- total 500 calories

• Olive Oil - 120
• Prawn-6 - 132
• Frozen vegetables 3/4th cup- 60
• Salad dressing (aah I shouldnt have) - 60

Hope you guys will like the new recipes I am going to be posting. Please don't forget to click on my music and maybe buy them if you like? Will need all the support I can now that I'm about to be an independent musician next week (I graduate in 6 days!)

www.armeenmusa.bandcamp.com Or iTunes, Amazon etc etc!

(Bangladesh friends you can buy my music on shurjorajjo.com) 

Graceland, America , Sushi. (Osaka, Coolidge Corner)

It's no secret I love living in the US. Maybe because of music school, maybe because of the sunshine, the diversity- I have fallen in love with being here (well Boston to be precise, I'm pretty sure there are parts of America I wouldn't want to live in.)

One of the interesting things foodwise in this country is American sushi. It has mayo, eel sauce, jalapenos and what not! Chefs go crazy creative with american sushi rolls, I love it!

*Nusha are you reading this*

It was restaurant week and here I was studying for an exam- so what better combo- a nice restaurant to study in! (Osaka in Coolidge Corner, one of my favourite areas!)










My vegetarian friend had veggie sushi, I had never had had sushi with someone who didn't eat fish, so I was amazed to see how lovely it could be. Vegetables are so beautiful and colourful naturally- the more I try to be healthy, the more I realise that.

I of course had the sashimi (my favourite) and then the most sauced up pretty looking Americanised yumm sushi roll.

One a personal note: I was editing these photos photos it seemed perfect to fall at the same time as the release of my latest song Graceland.

The song reflects an immigrant story at first sight, but really the story of everyone- who is looking for somewhere to be free. For most of my life I thought it was finally leaving Dhaka that I found my Graceland… Even though I never wanted to leave initially, I had a tough time there, I felt judged, I felt like an outsider, in the "high society" areas but especially in the music industry.

I found myself and my freedom once I started living and learning in this beautiful Berklee community but also the beauty of my anonymity in Boston. All of this is true- but as a person, a soul my Graceland is music and I no longer want to feel that animosity towards Dhaka or anyone there or anything ever really.  So here goes- my online friends, you are the first to know- I'm moving back to Dhaka. I have many reasons to go, before you ask, but the first one is that my heart told me to- and I've always followed my heart
Here is the video of Graceland- please love, share and send me feed back!


L

Graceland is the first single from Armeen's upcoming album "Simultaneously" - Buy it here : http://armeenmusa.bandcamp.com
http://amzn.com/B00MF936SM
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/graceland-single/id906276567


Written by Armeen Musa

GRACELAND

a hundred thousand miles she goes
to find herself a brand new home
she leaves behind the riches she knows,
to her graceland she arrives.

the dirty stares of the crowds
the petty things people said out loud
she leaves behind those horrid sounds
to her graceland she arrives

she holds her little brothers hand
as she walks on to this foreign land
she'll make it here and thats her plan
to her graceland she arrives

She's working at starbucks 6 to 3
she'd never had to make her own cup of tea
But now she finally feels free
to her graceland she arrives

Caspian - Dhaka Persian

I was mildly surprised to find out last year that the old Greek restaurant had been replaced! Not that I frequented it much, but it was nice to know Dhaka had a Greek place.

But yes, this meal was quite enjoyable. Huckleberry friend and I went here for our second date- so I remember clearly- even though this was a while back.

A Little disclaimer- I was trying out my friend's camera- so the pictures are a bit random.

So we started with appetisers of Humus and Eggplant with Yogurt. Yes to both- freshly made humus and the eggplant was just delicate and creamy like I love

For entree we had the mixed kabab plate. This was Beef, Chicken and Lamb kabab with 3 kinds of rice.
 Now if you know anything about me from my posts, you'll know I love rice, and flavoured rice is NO exception!

The Beef

The Lamb

The Chicken

]

The Tomato Sauce

Overall:  I liked the lamb and the eggplant appetizer, the rice was a bit dry but I guess thats normal.

Price: Yes, this is on the pricy side- I would day Taka 1500 plus per person if you order your own dish and drink.
Review:  To be honest- its very average Persian cooking, ie it's not spectacular. If you can afford it, I would say try it and see if it works for you. But I've found a place in Uttara when visiting my friend Bassbaba (way to namedrop haha) near Bhoot restaurant, and that was much for reasonable and the food was better. I don't think I'll be back here, unless I'm in the area and am expensing it for work or something.

BTW I have a new song out: so listen to it okay? http://armeenmusa.bandcamp.com/album/graceland