February has been a month of many delicious new trials and some hot favorites. With the winter snow blanketing the ground, and the slushy, slippery streets to deal with, it has been a month of warm, cozy meals by the fireside, safely ensconced in the family home.

We started the month off with the Goat Cheese Salad with Couscous – an easy and quick dish to put together when you are back home tired after a long day at work. Goat cheese gave this salad that gourmet touch, while the Kalamata Olives provided that tangy, salty taste. All in all, it was a healthy, low fat, and satisfying meal.

The Brain food – Stir fried Curried Okra added that crisp, crunchy flavor to any meal. This accompaniment is the enticing pick-me-up to keep your family’s intellect sharp and incisive.

If you ever needed to entice your taste buds and ensure that you have something at hand to smother over warm bread to make an easy meal, make the Sweet Green Chili pickle. Stock your refrigerator with this pickle and you can lay your hands on a yummy meal in a snap.

For a replete Sunday lunch, after a day spent on the snowy slopes sledding with your children, make the Radish Greens Stuffed Whole Wheat Bread. Serve with the Sweet Green Chili Pickle or with warm jam. Nothing like greens camouflaged in warm, homemade bread to welcome kids home from a long, rambunctious morning of play and fun!

Make the Crisp, Curried Kovakkai, if your family is tired of the same ole’ potatoes, peas and cauliflower. Watching your family down the vegetable without any proddding will be a reward in itself.

Fasting one day a week? Don’t forget to take a swig of the Fresh Homemade Vegetable and Fruit nectar to keep you alert and hydrated.

When the sweet tooth beckons, make this wonderful, healthy Sugar Beet payasam. No trans-fat laden, unhealthy, artery-choking dessert for you and your family! Enjoy every sensation with healthy, wholesome ingredients!

Cold winds howling outside your window panes with sleet and snow bearing down? Eat this satisfying, sweet and spicy, Sweet Potato Spicy Soup to warm the cockles of your heart.

There are days when you crave a delicacy and all you can think of is to visit the local ethnic restaurant for a meal. Resist that feeling and make this wonderful Edamame and Green Onion Pilaf at home to assuage that craving.

And finally, round up your snack attack with this wonderfully healthy Jicama Mint cutlets.

It is a well known fact that the musical score for the song “Jai Ho” in the movie “Slumdog Millionaire” won the Oscar for its its creator, A. R. Rahman. But it wasn’t just the musical score of the song that made it so popular. It was also the fact that the words of the song were so apt. The word “Jai” (pronounced with a “J”) means victory. The song bursts onto the screen as the hero of the film, Jamal (pronounced with a “J”) wins the million rupees and his girl. And my name “Jaya” is a derivative of the word “jai”. Again, pronounced with a “J”!

It was only after my arrival at the US, I realized that some people, especially those of Mexican origin, either didn’t seem to have a “J” in their alphabet or wrote “J” when they actually wanted to say “H”. And so it was not Jose, but “Hose’ “, not Jesus, but “Hesoos” and now I learned, that it is not “Jicama”, it is “Hee ca ma”!

Well, I sure am amenable to saying “Hose’”, “Hesoos” and “Heecama”. Only don’t call me “Haya”! Indian languages do have a “J” so I am still “Jaya”!

Jicama is a tuber that is mostly grown in Mexico. The great thing about this vegetable is its low calorie count and very high Vitamin C. It is tasty, crunchy and flavorful. Although some sites mention that Jicama lasts about 2-3 weeks, my personal experience has been that it doesn’t seem to have a long shelf life, so try to use it up as soon as you buy it. I read that it is generally eaten raw in salads, but I wanted to experiment with it and see how it tasted in a variety of dishes. So I combined it with fresh mint leaves and made it into really flavorful, fantastic tasting cutlets.

In these days of recession, you can still eat healthy without affecting your pocketbook too much, if you buy local produce, eat most of your meals at home and reduce the frequency of going out to eat. These cutlets that I made cost just under $2. And I made enough cutlets to feed a family of four. Place the cutlets between two slices of whole wheat bread, top with lettuce, tomato and mayo, and Voila! You have a healthy value meal. Sure beats McDonalds!

Here is what you need:
1 large Jicama
1 cup breadcrumbs (make your own and save money: see instructions below)
4-5 sprigs fresh Mint leaves (chopped fine)
1-2 green chilis (chopped fine)
1/2 tsp red chili powder (optional)
3/4 tsp salt
Oil to shallow fry
1 egg white

Here is how you make this:
Wash, peel and grate the Jicama with a hand grater. The tuber is soft and will grate easily. Squeeze out the juice. I hate to waste any food, so I used the juice in my lentil soup.

To make breadcrumbs: Tear 4-5 slices of whole wheat bread into small pieces. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Toast for about 5-7 minutes until the bread pieces are crisp. Remove from the oven, cool and place in a blender to powder fine.

Add 3/4 cup breadcrumbs, chopped mint leaves, chopped green chilis, salt and red chili powder to the grated Jicama. Mix well. Shape into cutlets. Beat the egg white with a fork. Dip the cutlets into the egg white and then coat with the remaining breadcrumbs.

Heat a non-stick pan on the stove. Place the cutlets in the pan. Drizzle olive oil around the cutlets. Cook until crisp and brown on both sides. Remove from pan and serve hot.