Strawberry Pie Dessert - Welcoming The Summer

Strawberry, strawberry and strawberry everywhere be it cosmetics or desserts, even shakes. I just love the flavor and smell of fresh strawberries. Every time I find something of that flavor or smell, I just but that product. Few days back, luckily I got a pound of fresh ripe strawberries from the local grocery shop. I can't tell how happy I was.

The other day was Valentine's Day. So time to celebrate love. And to make my love feel special, I deiced on ordering his favorite food. The time I saved from cooking the meal, I used it in making the dessert. After all the saying goes like - All's well that ends well.

Strawberries helped me in pleasing his taste buds, as I made a romantic Strawberry Pie. Romantic being the day of love and as its wonderful aroma and flavor set the mood. I tried making my first tart or crust. And the filling was all love. These days you can get the crust from food shops too and the dessert will be ready in minutes.

Ingredients

For Crust

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, cut into small cubes
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

For Filling

1 bar cream cheese (softened)
1/4 cup sugar
3-4 cup strawberries, hulled and halved
3 tbsp corn starch

Makes 8 servings

Method

* Blend flour, butter, sugar, and salt until moist crumbs form in a food processor for around a minute.
* Transfer the dough to a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom.
* With floured fingers, press dough evenly into pan and up sides. Dip a dry-measuring cup in flour, and use it to press dough firmly into bottom and against sides of pan.
* Freeze crust until firm for about 10 to 15 minutes.
* Preheat oven to 350°
* Using a fork, prick crust all over. Bake until golden, 25 to 30 minutes, pressing down gently once or twice with a spoon during baking if crust puffs up. Cool completely in pan.
* For making the filling, in a medium bowl, mix cream cheese and sugar until smooth; spread mixture evenly in bottom of baked crust (still in tart pan).
* Chop half of the strawberries and place them into a saute pan
* Add one cup of sugar combined with three tablespoons of corn starch.
* Cook strawberries and sugar/cornstarch on medium heat.
* Using a whisk, crush strawberries as they soften and continue cooking on low heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
* Take the other half of the strawberries and into the sauce prepared.
* Pour the strawberry pie filling into your perfectly baked crust.
* Chill the pie for about 2 hours.




Note: To prevent the delicate crust from breaking, leave it in the pan while assembling and chilling tart. Remove the tart from mold tart just before serving.

Apple Cinnamon Cake - Sinfully Fresh

From chocolate cakes to truffles, Irish to plain vanilla, strawberry, cakes and pastries are a delight for everyone. But at times these cakes become too much of a sin. Still they are hard to resist. And since I am new to baking, every now and then craving for a warm piece of cake arises. Most of the times, I have to run to the nearmost bakery and only after having a piece of cake or pastry that the craving subsides. Its just that I am lucky, the bakery is just fabulous.

Although, this weekend shedding my laziness finally I made a cake. The recipe is somewhat similar to apple oatmeal muffins but with a few changes, adapted from a cookery show. Cookery shows come second in my list of things addicted to. First being the cookbooks, which I have already mentioned. Every time I get to watch a show, I scribble the recipe in my diary, just to use it at some point of time. Finally its turn came.

Lately, the weather has been freezing cold. But after the whole lot of effort of making the apple cake, when I took the first bite of the warm cake, I felt devine and much more fresh. The cold had made me really lazy to the extent of guilty of neglecting my blog. From a past few days, I was really feeling bad. So, I am back with a lovely delcious cake. Take my advice and have it fresh from oven. A warm cake is an indulgence worth taking. And with a dolop of chilled icecream or fresh scoop of cream cheese icing, the fun becomes much more joyful. s

Ingredients

For Cake

2-3 apples (peeled & chopped)
1 cup flour
1 cup butter
1 cup superfine sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp cinnamon powder

For Icing

1cup cream cheese
pinch of roasted cardamom powder
1/2 cup whipped cream

Method

* Whisk sugar and butter together for few minutes.
* Then fold in the flour followed by eggs, honey and cinnamon powder.
* Finally add apples and mix properly.
* Pour the prepared batter into a buttered baking pan.
* Bake for about half an hour at 170C
* Meanwhile prepare the icing by whipping all the ingredients together
* When the cake is baked, let it cool.
* At the time of serving spread the icing over the cake and serve.

Fried Rice - When You Want Something Quick

Merry Christmas to all of you!!

Christmas spirit is everywhere. Got a wonderful Plum cake from my neighbor. I gifted her some assorted chocolates along with a greeting card. She gave me a wonderful Plum cake, which was absolutely delicious with lots of nuts & raisins inside. After having large bites of it, tummy was almost full and feeling of laziness started overpowering me. But still a need for something fulfilling was there. Somewhere in these moments, I always wish if I had a magic wand. Just a swish and piping hot delicious food is there on my plate. As I am no magician nor I have a magic wand, I have to cook.

A quick peep inside the refrigerator and I found some leftover rice, along with the regular veggies. My joy knew no bounds. At that very moment I knew, I am lucky. Out of plain leftover rice, so many rice dishes can be put together in minutes. Just throw in variety of flavors, some veggies, saute and a wholesome meal is ready to be served. And I bet anyone will be pleased. I also did the same and a delicious steaming fried rice was ready. Although there is no specific recipe but I used a mix of few Chinese ingredients and some regular ones on my instinct.

Ingredients

2-3 cup cooked plain rice
1 cup mixed vegetables (peas, beans, celery, cabbage)
1 large onion, chopped
1 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1/4 tsp red chili powder
salt to taste
2 tbsp oil
copped spring onion & cilantro leaves for garnish

Method

* Heat oil in a wok and fry onions till golden brown.
* Add vegetables, salt, pepper and chili powder and fry till all the water from the vegetables evaporate.
* Add rice and mix well. Splash soy sauce and fish sauce.
* Stir-fry rice till everything is mixed well.
* Garnish with spring onions and cilantro leaves.
* Serve hot.

Fried Onion Rings - For Tea Time

Winters have started with misty mornings and cold evenings. And cold evenings call for hot cups of ginger tea
along with some quick knick knacks. Although snacks can be as simple as biscuits or something sweet. But if you will ask my choice, then I am always on for something crunchy, crispy & salty. Most of the week I have to suffice myself with readymade items. But on weekends, I indulge myself fully in making every effort to enjoy my tea time.

Onion rings are simple "bhajiyas" which is usually made in any Indian home. But making crunchy rings is a trick which I have learnt from my mother and she has from her mother. When we keep sliced onions with salt. Then after few minutes they release water which is sufficient for making batter for bhajiyas. As soon as I got back home I salted the onions and kept them. Then I continued with my other things. After 10-15 minutes when I started, enough water was there. The aroma which started coming was in itself very overwhelming. Along with it I made hot cups of ginger tea. Both made wonderful combo. So what are you waiting, enjoy your cold winter evenings with something hot n crunchy.

This is off to the Tea Time Snack Event on Simple Indian Food.

Ingredients


2-3 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced in rings

1 cup of gram flour

1 cup of fresh green cillantro leaves chopped

¼ teaspoon of turmeric powder

¼ teaspoon of oregano

¼ teaspoon of fresh green chilies chopped fine

¼ teaspoon of red chili powder

Salt to taste

Oil as required for frying

Method

* In a large bowl add salt to the onion rings and leave for about 15-20 minutes.

* Then add gram flour followed by all the other ingredients.

* Mix well.

* In a wok, heat oil.

* Take out each onion ring or a small portion of the batter and drop into the hot oil.

* Deep fry till they turn golden brown in color.

* Pat the onion rings on an absorbent paper to soak the excess oil.

* Seve them hot with green chutney or cheese dip for tea.

Note: Don't use water, if you want to make crispy rings.

Caramelized Bananas - A Quick & Simple Dessert

When you are back home after slogging for almost nine hours of work and you come to know that you have guests, then what do you do? Panic ? Atleast I do. Although I love to entertain but unexpected guests really spoil my mood. Yesterday night was also the same. But for a change, I pondered for a few moments, searched quickly through my refrigerator, checked the blogs of my foodie bloggers, took a deep breath and diverted my anger towards preparing the dinner.

Preparing the main course was easy, followed by a salad. Being equipped by the appliances of modern cooking, it took me over an hour. Yoo-ho !! Guests arrived just at that moment. Cooking had made my mood. I welcomed them with a smile. But still an important thing was left and that was the dessert. All of a sudden a glance on a bunch of bananas and something clicked. Any guesses?? Yes, Caramalized Bananas. Bingo !! When you want something quick and simple, caramelized bananas make just a perfect dessert in winters and even in summers, if served with scoops of ice cream. The recipe is just too simple and almost all the ingredients are there in the home.

Ingredients

6 bananas (peeled)
1/2 cup sugar
2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup butter
1 tbsp cinnamon powder (roasted)
1 tbsp cardamon powder
handful of raisins, peanuts & pistachios
1 tbsp orange zest
1 tbsp brown sugar

Method

* In a pan, heat sugar on low flame until it melts and turns brown in color.
* Add butter, orange juice, cinnamon and cardomom powder.
* Keep on stirring till the mixture comes to a boil.
* In a baking dish, place the bananas and pour the mixture over them.
* For topping add orange zest along with the nuts.
* Sprinkle the brown sugar and bake the bananas for about 20 minutes at 170 degrees(C).
* Remove and let it cool for sometime and serve warm with fresh cream or vanilla ice cream.

Chocolate Plum Cake - A Simple One For Christmas

Weekends are a joy for everyone. Whole week everyone plans for weekend getaways and I plan for what I will make or bake. Lately baking is a new passion in my life, for which I get time on weekends only. In the last one, I had few of my friends. Just a bunch of women, no men. That makes me think, do we really need men in our life. No!! not at all. But yes men and women compliment eachother. And this will remain a fact as always. After all whatever we cook or we wear, if we don't have an admirer then from where will come the appreciations. We women love to be appreciated!!

For the lunch I had planned well in advance. There were grilled vegetables with tahini in the starters followed by fried rice and then my lovely chocolate cake with vanilla icecream for dessert. We chatted, we ate, watched a movie. All together you can call it a super fun time. Each part of my body freshened up.

Since when I have bought a can of chocolate, I am going totally crazy. Whatever dessert I am making, there is chocolate in it. Thats why I made chocolate cake. Its an easy recipe. I am gonna make one again and gift it to my darling neighbour on Christmas. So this one is for her. Rest of the menu, I will post in coming days. Enjoy this simple cake with your family this Christmas !

Ingredients

1 cup chocolate
1 cup butter
2-3 tbsp sugar free, powdered
2 eggs
2 tbsp honey
1 cup flour
handfull of chopped nuts

Method 

* Melt the chocolate in microwave or a pan of low heat.
* In the meantime whip butter and sugar together in a bowl until light & fluffy.
* Add melted chocolate and beat in the eggs.
* Fold in the flour. Whip the whole mixture in a blender as well for having a perfectly soft cake.
* If required add a little milk
* After blending, stir in the chopped nuts.
* Take a pan, grease it with butter and pour the mixture in it.
* Bake the cake at 170 degree C for about half an hour or more. Check using a toothpick.
* Serve with freshly whipped cream or a scoop of icecream.

Steamed Chocolate Pudding - Weekend Special

Sunday was special for me. After contemplating for about a month, finally I had bought a laptop. So there was a reason for my happiness. And any reason of happiness needs a celebration. Now we foodies when we are happy, what we do? Obviously cook or bake or eat out. Whatever we decide on, food is definitely there playing an important role. The menu consisted of chicken in red wine sauce with mushroom pilaf, followed by the yummy dessert.

The star of the menu was the dessert,  a lovely Chocolate pudding and that too steamed making my weekend treat special, . Easy to make in home, even if you don't have an oven. Morever you dont have to have a steamer too. What you can do is take a large pot anf fill it one third with water. Put a strainer in it and over it put your mould, covering it with a foil. Then close the lid of the pot. Its a quick home method. But if you have oven, you can always bake the chocolate pudding.

The chocolate pudding I made was wonderful. I served it warm with scoops of vanilla icecream. And I also saved some spoons of melted chocolate. While serving I poured it on the pudding. It was such a lovely treat. I still have that warm gooey taste in my mouth. So here goes my recipe -

Ingredients

1 cup grated dark chocolate
2/3 cup all purpose flour, sieved
3 tbsp cocoa powder
½ tsp baking powder
2 eggs
½ tsp vanilla essence
3 tbsp sugar
1 teaspoon coffee powder
Milk as required

Method

* In a pan on low heat add grated chocolate and melt it.
* Then whisk the chocolate till it smoothens.
* Mix flour, baking powder, cocoa and coffee powder.
* Then using a strainer sieve through into a large bowl.
* Add eggs, vanilla essence, melted chocolate and sugar.
* In a blender, blend the mixture adding little milk if it is thick.
* Take a mould and grease it with butter and pour the mixture in it.
* In a steamer, add the mould and cover it.
* Steam it for around half an hour or so. Check using a knife by piercing it in the pudding. If nothing sticks to the knife then the pudding is ready.
* Let it cool for few minutes then remove from the mould.
* Serve it warm.

Cheesecake - A No Fuss Wonder

Lately, I have been less into blogging for some or the other reasons. Nothing specific. These days I am somewhat into a wandering state. Although I am not moving but my mind is. Lots of thoughts are coming and going. At one time I want to write a story, then at another I want to start a new blog and some other random musings. But there are so many thoughts that I have become a little uncomfortable. I need to organize them. After much of contemplation, finally I have decided on making a notebook and jotting down all my thoughts and may be I will have to start another blog for my ramblings which are not at all related to food. Probably then I will be able to reach a sense of stability.

Other than thinking, I baked a wonderful cheese cake. There was no reason of celebration. But then Food is itself a reason to celebrate. Whenever we are cooking something delicious for our family, then that counts as a celebration. The Cheese cake on Thanksgiving came out to be perfect with all the flavors of my superb learning experience from other food blogs on baking. With not much fuss, I just used a simple recipe ofcourse a synthesis of all the cheese cake recipes I read.

Cheesecake is such a delicious dessert, a wonderful way to end the dinner. After having it you will be smiling with pleasure. I made a plain one but you can use any of the fruits, nuts, raisins or chocolate to make different flavors for the topping. Morever if you don't want to bake then you can set it also. But that takes few hours to set before serving.

Ingredients

For Base

2 cup biscuits crushed (around 8-10 biscuits)
1/2 cup melted butter or margarine

For Cake
1 cup cream cheese, softened
2-3 tbsp sugar free
2 eggs
2 tbsp corn starch
2 tbsp cream
1 tbsp coffee

Method

* First mix butter and crushed biscuits properly for making the base of the cheesecake and refrigerate.
* In a bowl mix well all the other ingredients.
* Place the biscuit mix in a baking pan.
* Pour the cheese mixture over the base.
* Bake the cheesecake at 325 degree F for about half an hour.
* Serve warm otherwise you can chill it for few hours, if you want to have it cold.

Thanksgiving Day, Cranberry Relish & New A Look

After a new domain, I almost disappeared for a week. Worked hard to get a new look for my blog. Finally I have been able to come up with something. Although I consider it a beta version somewhat. Need a lot of advices and lot more changes so that I am finally satisfied with it. So dear friends a request to all of you. Please give me the feedback on this new one and help me improve it.

Thanksgiving is just in a few days. So here is an easy recipe to make. No preparations required. Ideally you should serve it warm. What you can do is make it a day before and when required, just warm it in the microwave. The recipe is so delicious and so easy to make. Its just that you will have to get the cranberries.

Ingredients

2 cup frozen cranberries
2 cup sugar or any other sweetener
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder

Method

* In a pan combine cranberries, sugar and cinnamon powder. Mix well.
* Add the mixture into a baking dish. Cover the dish with a foil.
* Preheat the oven to around 300 degrees(F).
* Place the dish in the oven and bake for almost an hour.
* After an hour, take it out and let it cool.
* Serve it warm.