Varada's Kitchen and Garden

Fruit smoothies are great in summer. I usually make smoothies with fresh fruit, ice and soymilk. But this smoothie is a little different. It is made with a frozen banana. I had three overripe bananas that I put in the freezer to use up later. One of them went into this smoothie. I had it for breakfast. Demand for smoothies is unpredictable in my house. It is not something I prep for without asking unless I am going to drink it. My daughter loves smoothies but she has to be in a mood to have one. I, on the other hand, can have a smoothie anytime. You will need 1 apple, peeled, cored and cut up in chunks 1 frozen banana 1/2 cup orange juice  1/4 cup soymilk Blend all the ingredients in a blender until smooth. Enjoy!

Fruit with yogurt is very popular in summer and flies off the shelves. You can make this fruit flavored yogurt at home. All you need is your favorite yogurt and some fruit. I used fresh blueberry. You can use any fresh berry or stone fruit. My daughter is not very fond of the store bought versions but she loves this homemade version. The sauce can be made ahead and you can have a bowl every day of the week. The recipe is really simple. You will need 1 cup yogurt 3 tbsp. blueberry sauce Layer the two as desired. If you like it all mixed in whisk the two together. Enjoy! This is my entry for week four, day two of BM #53 for the theme Fruits in any form. Check out the  Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#53 .

A long time ago when there were fewer responsibilities, when there was no homework to worry about and before there were early bedtimes to adhere to, going out every evening after dinner was the norm. My husband and I would go out with friends, to the mall or sometimes we stopped for some ice cream. At the ice cream shop we would order a banana split and share it. Banana split always brings a smile to my face as all those memories come flooding back. Recently my daughter told me she had never tasted a banana split. While I am pretty sure she has I realized I had not made it for such a long time that she did not remember it. So I made some. I used the traditional chocolate, strawberry and vanilla flavored ice cream, chocolate sauce and some fresh strawberries. My daughter loved it. This dessert is really filling so you might want to use small scoops to control portion size. Or split the dish between two people. You will need (for 1 banana split) 1 just ripe banana 1 scoop c

Falooda is one of those desserts that I loved the first time I tried it. However, for years I lived in a relatively small town where not only could you not find a creamery or ice cream shop that sold falooda but you could not even find a store that sold the ingredients. It was such a pleasant surprise to find grocery stores with all the ingredients when we moved to Texas. And then we found a creamery that sold some great tasting falooda. For some reason my daughter does not like this dessert. My husband and I do not go out just for dessert and so we have not been to the creamery in a long time. Last week I ended up with a lot of ice cream in my freezer and this is one way I decided to use it. I followed Pavani's recipe  the end result was tasty and awesome. You will need 1 tsp rose syrup 1 tsp. basil or sabja seeds 2 tbsp falooda noodles 1 cup milk 1 tbsp condensed milk 2 small scoops vanilla ice cream crushed nuts to garnish Soak the basil seeds in a 1/2 cup of wat

Summer is right around the corner and the mercury is shooting up. Schools are out and the kids are enjoying their new found down time. The afternoons are so hot, everyone is looking for something to cool down with. Ice cream fits the bill perfectly. It is even better if the ice cream is decorated with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. That brings me to this sundae. It is easy to put together. You can make your own chocolate sauce like I did or use store bought sauce. You can whip up the whipped cream or buy it at the store. A few crushed nuts on the top add a nice crunch. The other day I asked my husband to get a small tub of ice cream to make some ice cream soda . He bought two large tubs. He had a pretty good reason for buying so much ice cream but I cannot remember what it was. You cannot return ice cream so I had to use up the two tubs. As a treat my family got to eat some new and old favorites with ice cream. Watch this space for more. You will need 2 scoops vanilla ice c

This is the season for graduation, high school and college children finishing one phase of their life and moving on.  This is also the season for graduation ceremonies and parties with friends and families. My daughter graduated from high school this year and this is one of the dishes I made for her the week she graduated. Time flies and it seems only yesterday I dropped her off at her first day of Kindergarten. She was looking forward to it so much, she could not wait to run into the classroom. When the teacher asked the children to line up, wave to the parents and walk into the classroom, she waved and never looked back. And now she is all done with school and is ready for college. I used whole wheat tortillas from Whole Foods. I also used canned black beans and store bought salsa making this a semi homemade meal. I have not specified quantities as you can adjust them to your taste. You will need whole wheat tortilla as needed cooked black beans as needed tomatoes, dic

Mexican dishes brings a big smile from my daughter at the dinner table. She loves the flavors from this cuisine. Authentic Mexican food was easily available in Arizona where she grew up. It takes a long time to prepare Mexican dishes but the taste is so worth it. Verde sauce is her favorite so I favor that sauce. Since moving to Texas my daughter has taken to Tex Mex, but I have not tried it at home yet. It is a spicier version of Mexican food and the couple of times I have tasted it I could not get past the spicy flavors to the actual taste. I make this red sauce enchilada very infrequently. If you are not partial to verde sauce then you should try this version of enchiladas. I have stuffed the enchiladas with spinach. You could use plain cheese or any other filling of your choice. You will need 7-8 tortilla 1/4 cup cheddar cheese 3 cups red enchilada sauce 1 cup filling For the filling 1 bunch spinach 1/4 cup onion, shredded (optional) 1 /2 tsp. cayenne pepper powder

Baked tortilla chips are so quick to make especially if you start with ready made tortilla. Making the tortilla is time consuming and I will post the recipe but today I took some help. I got these tortilla from Whole Foods. They are fresh made corn tortilla and do not last very long. You have to use them in a day or two. You will need 4 corn tortilla (as fresh as you can get) 2 tsp. oil Preheat oven to 400 F. Brush each of the tortilla with a little oil. Using a pie cutter or knife cut the tortilla into wedges, I got six. Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 5-8 minutes. If the tortilla you use are not fresh you may need to bake a little longer. Keep a watch so they do not burn. Enjoy with salsa or in nachos! This is my entry for week two, day one of BM #53 for the theme Tortilla based dishes. Check out the  Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#53 .

Popcorn reminds us of the movies. It is the most popular movie theater snack. While the popcorn at the theater is flavored with artificial butter and coloring I used cinnamon sugar to flavor it. I have kettle corn in this space already. It is also a very popular movie theater option. I made this as a change to the savory flavors I usually make. It has a very subtle sweet flavor. You will need 1 cup corn kernels 1 tbsp. oil 1 tsp. cinnamon powder 1 tbsp. sugar Heat a pan and add the oil and corn kernels. Keep the heat on medium and cover the pan. When the kernels begin to pop turn down the heat. When the popping sound stops take the pan off heat. Combine the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle them over the popcorn. Enjoy!

Raspberries are in season and make a nice sweet and tart smoothie. I love a brightly colored smoothie but raspberries do not make the most colorful smoothie unless paired with another berry. If you enjoy a certain amount of tartness to the smoothie you will like this. If you like your smoothies very sweet then try adding a mango or similar sweet fruit. Over the years movie theaters have gotten very creative. The regular movie snack counters have expanded from the usual soda and popcorn to a variety of sweet and savory snacks. But it is the innovative theaters that serve food at your seat, anything from smoothies and snacks to a full meal. Berry and banana smoothies are very popular on this menu especially in summer. Now reclining seats with food trays attached may not be your kind of movie experience. But there is a huge clientele for it and these theaters are showing up everywhere. Personally I prefer the regular theaters with bucket seat that recline but not too much. But I

Nachos make a great snack and I realized with surprise that I had not added this easy snack to this space earlier. The basic idea of nachos is a crispy base of corn chips topped with a variety of ingredients eaten with a gooey cheese sauce. At its simplest nachos can be chips and melted cheese. You can add additional layers of black beans, tomatoes, avocado or guacamole as you please. My daughter likes to add salsa and sour cream on the top. Fresh made tortilla chips with layers of toppings and cheese sauce makes a great movie snack. It is a mobile snack that is great hot or cold so can be devoured slowly as you watch a movie. A very basic version is sold in movie theaters but we never get that. I prefer this easy homemade version instead. The next time you plan a movie night add this you your list of snacks. You will need Tortilla chips to cover the plate/bowl Black beans (dry soaked and cooked or you can use canned) Tomatoes, diced Avocado, seed removed and diced N