The trick to most Indian cooking is to have the masalas (spices) on hand. They can last a long time if kept in airtight containers, and only need a minute or 2 dry-fried in a pan before using. After that, it really is a quite simple cuisine to prepare. And you can mix and match various masalas, rather than follow exact recipes. Experiment! Lentils and beans, too, are generally interchangeable. No 2 Indian cooks prepare the same dish in the same way... And it is a surpisingly quick way to prepare delicious meals once you've tried it once or twice! Just took a pic of my masala shelf... This post was edited by shaxhome on Wed, Apr 3, 13 at 8:38

Just to add that yesterday (February 12) I made this again in two loose-bottom tart pans, one 10" and the other 8". I added some tuna to the topping of the smaller one and they were both cooked in 35 minutes in my fan oven, so you have to watch to see when they're ready in your oven. SharonCb

Got all these from the cooking forum and they are favorites! Made the spinach salad from Ann for a luncheon, it was a very big hit! Vittorio's Spinach Salad from Ann T Vittorio's was a restaurant in Toronto that we use to go to years ago. Salad isn't something that I would usually order but I loved his. This is my recreation of his recipe. Salad: Washed and dried baby spinach 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled 4 or 5 cleaned mushrooms, sliced 1 can of artichoke hearts halved or quartered 3 Roma tomatoes, quartered 2 chopped green onions Kalamata olives Dressing: 1/4 teaspoon tarragon 1/2 clove of garlic 2 or 3 tablespoons wine vinegar 1/2 cup homemade mayo or Hellmans salt and pepper Place spinach in a large salad bowl. Decorate with eggs, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, tomatoes and green onions and olives. Drizzle with dressing and toss. Can be made on individual plates as well. Dressing: Soak tarragon and garlic in vinegar. Add salt to dissolve. Mix vinegar mixture into mayonnaise and adjust seasoning to taste. ------------------------------------------- Nancy's "55" Salad Dressing (wizardnm) 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic 1 teaspoon dry mustard 1/4 cup vinegar 1/4 cup water 2 teaspoons salt 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper 1/2 teaspoon celery seed (optional) 1 cup vegetable oil Combine garlic, dry mustard, vinegar and water in a food processor or blender. Pulse to combine. Add salt, sugar, peppers, and celery seed (if using) With processor or blender running, SLOWLY add vegetable oil in a thin stream. After oil is added, continue to process another 3 minutes. --------------------------------------------------------- Creamy Roquefort Dressing (mqmoi) 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1 large shallot, minced 1 tablespoon Sherry wine vinegar 1 large garlic clove, minced 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 1/3 cup crumbled Roquefort cheese 3 tablespoons whipping cream Whisk first 5 ingredients in small bowl to blend. Fold in Roquefort cheese and cream. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Do you like cold soups, like gazpacho? I find it easy to make and delicious in the summer. Here goes: Garlic - About 6-7 cloves large onion - cut into chunks Campari tomatoes - about 1.5 pounds, peeled (note: for easy peeling, blanch the tomatoes with the skin lightly slit but leaving the tomato full and intact, dunk it in cold water and the skin should come off easily; can substitue Campari for other sweet flavorful tomatoes; it’s the quality and flavor of the tomatoes that makes the most difference) Fresh pickling cucumbers or English cucumbers - peeled and cut about a cup (I like the pickling kind because the tender ones don’t have to be de seeded; if it is the English cucumbers, make sure you either remove the seeds or that they are tender enough not to require removing the seeds) bell peppers - one cup, chopped with seeds removed (I like the gold and red peppers because they’re often fleshier and sweeter than the green) olive oil - half a cup balsamic vinegar - 1 tbsp salt - to taste (I like rock sea salt) ground black pepper - to taste blend everything except the olive oil in a blender until smooth; once the mixture is smooth, add the olive oil and blend for about 10 seconds (adding olive oil to the gazpacho rather than blending the oil into the gazpacho doesn’t have the same result) Optional- you can add a bit of mint or basil or any other seasoning you like. I like to add olde thompson’s Italian seasoning while blending.