Summer Breakfast Parfait

Dear Foodies,

I will forever be envious of those who can pause in the morning to make themselves a good breakfast before getting started with their day. I wake up with just enough time to get ready for work and rush out the door. Taking a few extra minutes to sit down and enjoy breakfast even if its just a bowl of cereal or a banana makes me antsy. But skipping it entirely isn't an option either so I've found my way around it. I can't stick to one recipe for more than a few weeks but variety is good, right ? I've circled through many breakfast ideas and tricks over the years and will share some of them so I remember when the lull moves in.

We are in the cusp of berry season and stone fruit season leaving us with an abundance of choice. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, plumcots, lychees, jackfruit and the list goes on. Each of them proudly vibrant, plump and bursting with sweet juices making it impossible to not be greedy. But its a good problem to have on hand, pretty much wash-eat-repeat I'd say.

My breakfast during the last few weeks has been yogurt + fruit. I wanted to make it a little more fancy and played with the idea of a parfait. I was out of granola so I made a quick stove top version that was ready in 10 mins. I toasted rolled oats, flax seeds and slivered almonds in some brown butter on really low heat for 8-10 mins until they were evenly browned. I finished it off with some local honey and sea salt to balance out flavors. While this was happening I scooped a few spoonfuls of homemade yogurt into a strainer to get rid of excess moisture. I also pitted plump rainier cherries, roughly chopped strawberries and tossed them with a few blueberries and another drizzle of honey and a squeeze of floral lemon juice.

All three components will be ready in just over 10 mins. All that's left to do is layer them as you please. If you are feeling fancy pick a tall glass or jar like I did, be meticulous in your layering of yogurt followed by fruit and granola. Step out onto your patio and enjoy breakfast under the pleasant warmth of the early morning sun. Or Scene 2 - dump them together with no real rhythm into a container with a tight lid and rush out the door to where ever your day takes you. Either way, you'll enjoy the beauty of summer fruit and look forward to another mornings' breakfast.

Summer Breakfast Parfait

Prep time: 15 mins

Servings: 2

Ingredients

Quick Granola

• 3/4 cup - Rolled Oats
• 1/2 cup - slivered Almonds
• 1-2 Tbsp - roasted Coconut chips
• a pat of butter
• 1 Tbsp - Flax seeds
• 2 tsp - Honey
• a pinch of sea salt

• 1/2 cup - Yogurt, strained
• 1 cup - Cherries, Strawberries and blueberries
• 1 tsp - Lemon juice
• 1 tsp - Honey

Method:

1. Place a wide, shallow plan on low-medium heat and spread slivered almond into an even layer. Toast them gently, tossing every few minutes until evenly browned and set aside. Next add butter and heat until it begins to brown slightly. Add oats and flax seeds and toast on low heat till they are turn a nice golden color. Remove from heat, add almonds and while still warm drizzle honey and salt. If adding dry fruits like raisins or cranberries, do so at this stage.
2. While nuts and oats are toasting, spoon yogurt into a strainer (placed over a bowl to catch whey) and place in the refrigerator. 
3. Pit and roughly chop cherries and strawberries into a bowl, add blueberries, lemon juice and honey. You may need more or less honey based on how tart or sweet the berries are.  Place these in the refrigerator as well until ready to assemble.
4. In a tall glass or jar spoon a layer of berries followed by yogurt and granola. Repeat as many layers as the glass will hold and end with a drizzle of sweet juices from the macerating berries.

The combinations are endless with this one - add vanilla bean seeds or extract to the macerating fruits or lemon/orange zest or cinnamon/cardamom or a tiny bit of grated nutmeg. Use whatever combination of fruit you have on hand, I cannot think of a bad one. Jackfruit + honey + pistachios is divine, papaya + candied pineapple + toasted coconut chips, for tropical bliss. Add other nuts to the instant granola - pecans, walnuts, brazil nuts, pistachios, pine nuts, raisins or dried fruit like cranberries, raisins, pineapple or cherries. You know, no rules. And of course, you can flavor the yogurt too or make a compote from some of the fresh fruit, but when simple, weekday-morning-doable can be this good, I'll stick to minimal work.

Sprouted Quinoa & Oats Granola

Dear foodies,

My blog seems to be a on health kick and I don't want to break its stride. We've covered a few salads but lets focus on the first meal of the day - breakfast. I've tried numerous cereals and still haven't found the one. Winters are easy, all I need is a warm bowl of oatmeal with some dry fruits on top and I'm happy. But the rest of the year is a mash up of many different breakfast finds. When in grad school nothing could beat Honey bunches oats with Almonds, well except Raisin bran crunch. We (roomies) would have it every single day and somehow did not tire of it. Never once did we complain while going through box after box of them. And then once I moved out I couldn't have another morsel of that cereal again! I had probably hit the quota limit for one kind of cereal and ever since the search for the next continues.

The first time I made granola at home I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was and more importantly how easy it is to make. Since then I've made numerous batches each different from the other. I pick up a cup of so of dry fruits from bulk bins and store them in refrigerator.

After experimenting with multiple batches I've narrowed my list down to using two type of nuts and dry fruits in each batch. Having this equation cuts down my confusion and makes it easier to get a batch done. The only constant in the last few batches has been crystallized ginger. I dice the chunks into tiny bits that disappear in the granola and the spice hits you by surprise when you bite into it. Switching out the combination of nuts, fruits and even the sweetener keeps it interesting. I've used honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, apple sauce and for this recipe Pomegranate molasses as a sweetener. I keep a jar of granola on the kitchen counter and a box at work. When the snack craving hits I don't have to look too far for something healthy to munch on.

I've always used rolled oats as the bulk of the granola but with plenty of quinoa on hand I decided to experiment. Cooking quinoa was out of the question for a granola so I decided to sprout the seeds instead. Sprouting, in general helps our body absorb nutrients a lot easier by breaking down some of the enzymes. And quinoa seeds are the easiest to sprout as they need a relatively short time. A 15-20min soak in water after a good rinse helps hydrate the seeds, overnight works too. Spread them out on a piece of clean cloth, cover to block any light and keep away from sun light for 4-8hours. If the conditions are right you could see tiny sprouts in just 4-5 hours. Its recommended that the sprout not be longer than the seed for consumption. Given the teeny tiny size of the seeds themselves tiny sprouts are just what we want. Sprouted quinoa can be used in various recipes like this granola or salads and stir-fries. Store unused sprouts in the refrigerator and use within 2-3 days. I've been adding about 2Tbsp to my breakfast smoothie for extra protein and it tastes just as good.

Oats are a great source of thiamine, iron, and dietary fiber making them perfect for breakfast foods.

Before                                                                                                      all decked out after baking

Sprouted Quinoa & Oats Granola

Prep time: 1 day ahead

Cook time: 40 mins 

Servings - makes ~6 cups

Ingredients:

• 3 cups - Old Fashioned, Rolled Oats
• 1 cup - Quinoa
• 1/2 cup -each of Almonds, Pecans coarsely chopped
• 1/3 cup each Cranberries, Raisins, coarsely chopped 
• 2 Tbsp - Crystallized ginger, finely diced
• 2 Tbsp - Flax seeds
• 1 Tbsp - Orange Zest
• 3 Tbsp - Butter
• 2 Tbsp - Oil, Honey, Pomegranate molasses
• 1 tsp - Vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt if using unsalted butter

Method:

1. Approx 8-10 hours ahead - Thoroughly rinse quinoa and set to soak for 20-30mins (can be left overnight). Drain water and spread the seeds on a clean kitchen towel. Cover and keep away from direct sun light for upto 8 hrs. When you see tiny sprouts they are ready to use, you can begin checking after 4-5 hrs. If you don't see any sprouts after 8 hrs then rinse, drain and repeat the process of spreading them out for another 8 hours.
2. When ready to make granola, Pre-heat oven to 325F
3. In a huge microwave safe bowl, combine butter & oil, microwave for 45-60secs. Add honey, pomegranate molasses, vanilla extract to melted butter and whisk together. Add the dry ingredients (excluding dry fruits and orange zest) and mix together coating them with some of the wet mixture. 
4. Spread the mix evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment and place in the center rack of the oven. Bake for 30-40 mins, flipping it every 10mins. Once you begin smelling the toasted nuts and oats check to see if they've turned a light brownish hue. 
5. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chopped dried fruits, finely grated orange zest and combine. The oats may not be crunchy right out of the oven, let them cool a bit to dry out and get deliciously crunchy.
6. Store in an clean and dry air tight container on the counter for upto 2 weeks or move to the refrigerator for longer shelf life.

Note: This recipe makes a mildly sweet granola leaning on dried fruit for sweetness. Pomegranate molasses also adds sweetness and a mellow tartness to the granola which I enjoyed. On its own pom molasses is extremely tart, making you pucker and the taste reminds of rola cola/purple poppins I had as a kid.
If I want chunks of granola I pulse about 1/2 cup oats or add almond meal and pack the granola mix in the baking sheet before it goes in the oven. Being extremely gentle when flipping ensures that the chunks hold up.
Millet can also be sprouted and used here but it takes longer to sprout compared to quinoa so plan ahead.

Tart, sweet, crunchy, colorful and healthy...can't ask for more from one recipe. Enjoy it on its own or use in other recipes, either way its a winner. Layered with fresh summer berries and homemade yogurt you have a perfect summer parfait to cool you down. Citrus zest and pomegranate molasses add bright bursts of flavor and pair really well with other fruits. You would want to stop and relish this for breakfast instead of rushing out the door. So customize this recipe to your liking and let me know what your favorite combination for granola is ?

Cookies Galore - Sweet, Salty & Spicy!

Dear Foodies,

Is your baking done, kitchen cleaned, gifts wrapped & mailed ? Sigh! My kitchen counters are still covered in flour, sticks of butter softening and the to-do list has a few more pending things on it. Since this is the one time I take up baking I try as many recipes as I can and there's just soooo many tempting treats popping up all over. It's extremely difficult to stop myself from trying just that o.n.e more cookies recipe. So if like me you have a few more batches to make, I've put together a very easy recipe that you can customize to your liking and crank out goodies in just a few hours!

The next three cookies are based on my shortbread cookie recipe here & here, both fantastic by themselves. This has become my go-to recipe because its really easy to create variations. The basic formula  used for all of these is - 1 stick (1/2 cup) Butter, 1/3 cup Sugar,1 cup AP flour + 1/2 cup Almond meal (or 1.5cups AP flour), a pinch of Salt  - then I add flavorings to make each batch unique.

Lets begin with chocolate, shall we...

3Tbsp unsweetened Cocoa powder + 1/2 tsp Instant Espresso powder + 1/2 cup toasted Walnuts +1tsp Vanilla extract

1/4 cup each chopped apricots & cranberries + 1tsp Vanilla extract

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese + 1Tbsp chopped Rosemary + 1/2 tsp Sea Salt + 1Tbsp Sugar (instead of 1/3 cup) + substitute 1 stick butter with 3/4 stick butter + 1/4 cup extra virgin Olive Oil

You can make so many more combinations of these shortbread cookies - different fruit & nut combo's -Apricot & Walnut, Cranberry + Pistachio, Cherries + Almond - Thyme + Parm cheese, toasted Cumin, Lemon zest & poppy seed, Deb has one for margarita cookies!!

Another great thing about this cookie dough is that it freezes really well. If you don't want to bake them right away then freeze the dough wrapped in cling wrap. Bring the log out whenever you want fresh cookies and slice just as many as you want. A fresh baked cookie will never be far off with a log of these in your freezer. For the detailed recipe see this post.

Chocolate Crackle Cookies

This is a recipe I tried the same day that Jen @Use Real Butter posted it, and the cookies were fantastic! Soft and chewy in the center with a crisp crust of sugar on the outside. It has a rich chocolate flavor and isn't overly sweet at all despite the outer coating.

I meant to post detailed recipes for the Linzer cookies & Gingerbread but with all the other stuff going on I was pressed for time. I wanted to at least share the ideas here before everyone gets busy with celebrations, so here you go....

Linzer cookies were based on Ina Garten's recipe, the only change I made was to substitute with 1.5 cup of almond meal for AP flour and added zest of 1 Lemon & Clementine. The best part though - homemade Raspberry jam & Peach Ginger jam.

My first batch of gingerbread cookies! This recipe is from Deb @smitten kitchen. I halved the recipe, added 1/8 tsp All Spice powder & 1Tbsp finely grated crystallized Ginger - fabulous! I also tried her recipe for goldfish crackers and they were sooooo good and easy to make and taste so much better than the store bought ones, but that's obvious I guess.

Homemade Cookie Sampler

I saved up to-go plastic containers that came with my sandwich lunches and turned them into the perfect cookie box. The savory cookies get their own little bag so they don't get a coating of sugar. And voila! You have a fantastic selection of cookies to please everyone. A little round of fruit cake wraps up the gift box and its ready to delight a loving family or friend. I think I'm done working with butter and sugar for another year, phew!

Have a beautiful holiday season filled with the things you love!

Decadent Chocolate Truffles

Dear foodies,

Any celebration is incomplete without chocolate. I know very few people who dislike chocolate and am glad for those few cos it gives us chocolate lovers more to enjoy :) In India, Cadbury's fruit & nut was my absolute favorite chocolate bar and still continues to be. Kitkat, Crunch etc were picked up once in while but Cadbury's was always the most sought after. When I shop at the Indian stores here, they very sneakily have the little bars right next to the register and its tough to ignore the call of chocolate :)

My aunt (mom's sister) once gave us homemade chocolate as a gift and it felt like pure magic to me. Chocolate. at home ?! It couldn't get any better, she'd stir in raisins and cashews at the very end before spreading it out on a greased plate replicating our beloved fruit & nut combo. For years after that the recipe was requested over and over again when we visited her place. My mom learned it from her so she could appease our cravings at home. Even to this day chocolate holds a special place for me and brings the same joy and warmth that it used too and that's magic of chocolate.

When I saw the recipe for chocolate truffles on one of the cooking shows a few years back I was surprised it was that easy! I couldn't believe I was paying 20-30$ for 6/10 pieces at the store when I could just as well make many more at home! Tricked yet again! I've been making them during Christmas for the last 3 years and it never fails to surprise & delight those I gift it too. Every year I experiment with different dried fruit to coat the truffle's. Last year my entire counter top and utensils were covered in chocolate because I tried my hand at tempering chocolate for the outer coating. The end result was good but I chose to keep my sanity this year and focused on the other things. When the chocolate is good you don't need to mess around with it.

With more and more people baking at home and preferring made-from-scratch homemade goodies, good quality chocolate it not hard to find. Specially this time of the year most specialty food stores sell them in bulk and I take advantage of that. All you need are two key ingredients - chocolate and heavy cream, so the quality of the end result depends heavily on the kind of chocolate you use. I prefer using bulk baking chocolate rather than chocolate chips. Chocolate chips also contain stabilizers and are not recommended for truffles in most recipes. I bought semi-sweet Callebaut blocks, Valhrona milk & dark chocolate chips and cocoa powder from Whole Foods this time. I like that they sell them in smaller quantities making them more affordable. I tend to use about 80% semi-sweet and 20% milk chocolate to balance out the sweetness in these truffles.

When chopping chocolate a serrated bread knife is your best friend. The sawing action of the serrated knife does a great job in creating smaller chunks with less elbow grease. Having the chunks more or less uniform and in a small size ensures that they melt evenly when hot cream is added to them. Heat cream over stove top just until you start seeing little bubbles appear around the edges.

Using a strainer to catch any skin formed, pour cream over chocolate pieces and let stand for a few minutes allowing the heat to disperse and begin melting the chocolate. Gently stir with a spatula incorporating as little air as possible as this allows for a smoother, richer ganache.

Initially as you fold in the cream it might look like you are headed for a disaster but keep at it and soon you will be rewarded with a glossy, shimmering decadent ganache. At this point you can use the ganache to (a) fill little pastry tartlets, (b) dunk shortbread cookies and allow to set or spoon over a cake (c) whip it up with a hand-held mixer to make a wonderfully rich & airy chocolate frosting or (d) cover in plastic wrap and chill to make truffles later. Decisions, Decisions!

Don't let your OCD scrape out every bit of chocolate from the spatula into the bowl. After all this hard-work you've earned yourself the right to lick it clean!

As the chocolate ganache cools off in the refrigerator to harden we've got lots of chopping to do. I used chopped toasted - pecans, almonds, pistachios & walnuts. For dried fruit we have - chopped cherries, cranberries and for the surprise element mixed pineapple and crystallized ginger. And lets not forget the classic - cocoa powder.

Take a scoop of ganache, roll it between your palms to shape it and it also softens the exterior a bit making it easy for the coatings to stick. Dunk them in the nuts or fruits and cover them with evenly all around, then lightly roll them between your palms to press in the nuts.

Chocolate Truffles

Yield - approx 50, 1" balls

Prep Time - 1hr

Ingredients:

• 1 lb - Chocolate, (0.8lb semi-sweet, 0.2lb milk chocolate)
• 1 cup - Heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp - Instant Espresso powder 
• tiny pinch of salt
• Optional flavorings - 2 Tbsp of flavored liqueur (Orange/Almond/Hazelnut/Raspberry); 1/2 tsp Cinnamon powder, Cayenne;
  

Toppings/Coatings - quantity depends on size of truffles & total no.of toppings used. You could start off with 1/2 cup and add more as needed.

• Nuts - Toasted, chopped Pistachios, Pecans, Almonds, Walnuts, Hazelnuts
• Dried Fruit - Cranberries, Cherries, Pineapple, crystallized Ginger
• unsweetened Cocoa powder, powdered Sugar, 

Method:

1. Break down the chocolate into smaller chunks by chopping it and place in a large bowl. Heat cream on medium heat until it begins to bubble around the edges.
2. Gently pour the hot cream over chocolate using a mesh strainer to catch any skin that forms on the cream. Add espresso powder and let the mixture stand for a few minutes.
3. Using a silicone spatula gently fold in the cream incorporating as little air as possible into the now melting chocolate. Now is the time to add flavorings as well.
4. Once you arrive at the glossy ganache stage, wrap the bowl with plastic wrap and move it to the refrigerator to cool for as long as it takes to harden ~ 1-2 hrs.
5. When ready, I use a small scoop (Size 100 - 3/8oz) or a teaspoon to get uniform truffles and shape them by gently pressing & rolling between your palms forming a ball. Roll them in our choice of toppings and roll again between your palms to help the nuts/fruit adhere to the chocolate. Arrange them on a non-stick baking sheet or wax-paper lined tray and allow to cool for 1-2hrs.
6. Bring them to room temperature before serving.

Notes: Last year I 'stuffed' the ganache with some of the drained, soaking fruit I had from the fruit cake, so you can definitely go that route and hide a treat inside the chocolate. Chocolate - I used Callebaut semi-sweet and Valrhona milk chocolate for these Storing - You can make the ganache and stash it in the refrigerator covered in plastic wrap for a few days and scoop out truffles when needed. I've also refrigerated finished truffles in an airtight container and they keep well upto a week. They never usually last longer than that and so I do not know how long they can be stored :)

Homemade Truffles sampler bag

When you serve it to friends & family I can assure you that it'll be followed by a moment of silence. They will want to focus on the magic unfolding in their mouth as the rich chocolate melts away. These are a chocolate lovers delight! The nuts and fruits offer a variation of texture and a counter balance to all the richness. But I guess I don't have to try to put the brilliance of these truffles in words, you need to try it for yourself. This is another fabulous gift that shows you care about the person receiving it.

Eggless Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Dear Foodies,

During my Masters, we had a Subway sandwich place inside our campus and it was just outside the building that housed my lab. Needless to say a veggie sandwich was my lunch far more times than I can count. I hardly go there now, but every few months I start craving that sandwich. My sub would have most of the veggies and the dressing combo was always sweet onion & chipotle always. After a few months I did not have to repeat my selection at all, the moment I was spotted walking into the place, they would have my sandwich started. I had a well ordered 'usual' on the menu and recognized at most of lunch spots around campus. I know I should not be proud of it, but well it felt good in some twisted way...:) On the days that I knew I was going to have a long day ahead of me in the lab, I would add a cookie to my order at Subway, either the oatmeal raisin or the white chocolate macadamia nut. These cookies are massive, and a mini meal by themselves. I think this was my first introduction to cookies too, and though not the best ever, they atleast did not put me off cookies either. I've eaten many more cookies since, and also experimented with making them at home. These fabulous chocolate cookies were made last two Christmas's, to share with friends & family and I think it'll continue to become a tradition from now on.

One challenge that I face when baking at home is my aversion to using eggs. I've experimented with different egg replacements for different recipes to see which combination resulted in the best end product. Applesauce, flax seed, banana puree, leavening ingredients, cornstarch, tofu, vinegar have all been tested. Muffins, cookies and small cakes turn out really well using these substitutions and you'll never notice a difference. These cookies today use flax seeds to replace the eggs in this original recipe.

Ash Gourd/Boodida Gummadikaya Halwa

Dear Foodies,

Here is that halwa I promised you. When I bought a huge chunk of ash gourd/white pumpkin from the store last time, I used up half of it to make this yummy kootu. The other half was saved up to make this halwa on V's request. And since we both lacked a sugar sweet tooth, I was surprised to hear such a request coming from him. I postponed making it for as long as I could because of all the scary stories associated with the word halwa in my mind. Halwa to me was that mandatory neon orange/green chunk that come in every assorted sweet box. Who knew what went into it, or how long it took :) But when I started looking around for recipes and asking my mother about it, I was pleasantly surprised.

So before you begin conjuring up images of ghee oozing out of every spoonful, long hours of stirring and the very fickle natured sugar syrup stages, I have a secret to share. This halwa has none of those horrors attached to it, so breathe easy. In fact this might even be one of the easiest desserts to make. Apart from the grating there is hardly anything labor intensive to do. It takes probably a maximum of 30 mins from start to finish but tastes like someone has been lovingly slaving over it for hours, just for them :) And you wouldn't have to tell your guests otherwise either, Ssshhhh ;) The best though is that you get to strike off a vegetable portion for the day while still enjoying dessert. Score!

Home-made Granola Mix

Dear foodies,

It's Fall already! And the weather outside isn't the poetic nip in the air' kind, its the kind that sends you rummaging deep into your closet for that heavy winter coat! The leaves have been changing color really fast, and I cannot wait for the rain to stop, so I can go out with my camera. Now the dear camera has been on a long rest, no recent dinners or lunches were offered to it first, instead it sat, neatly tucked in its bag. With the last weekend being a little cold I wanted to make amends, and bake something special. Most blogs I visited were serving bowls of delicious roasted stone fruit and muffins with cinnamon and spices....all of them ushering in the new season and the warm flavors it brings with it.

My apartment though was filled with the warm fragrance of vanilla and roasted nuts. For the longest time I've been planning to make my own granola mix/bars. I get a mini snack attack at 3 in the afternoon, and having something healthy and crunchy scores high. I tried making granola bars once, but failed miserably. I really don't know how I managed to do that! So I decided to made my own granola mix this weekend, and it really is one of the easiest things you can make, and one of the best too. I was soo excited after the first taste that I've put them on my Christmas gift list for friends. Its that good! You will want to share it with everyone you know....uh, or may be not, after the second bite...

Apart from being easy to make, you are also in full control. I usually have atleast one kind of nut or fruit that I don't like in the store bought granola mix. Most mixes either have too many peanuts & cashews or sun flower seeds. Now, I like these, but they need to be balanced with the rest. At home though, I am the boss. I can choose the quality of ingredients that go into it, the quantity and also the combination of flavors. The recipe below is more a method for you to experiment with, my only request will be that you come back and share your combination with me :-)

I shopped for all the ingredients at our local organic store which has a pretty good bulk section. For recipes such as this that need a long list of ingredients, but in small quantities, the bulk bin is your friend. You can buy small amounts of a variety of nuts and still not spend a fortune. I used hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans (my current fav), dried cherries and plump golden raisins. Almonds were a huge favorite in most of the recipes I found online, so while digging deep into my refrigerator looking for them, I found a bag of ruby red Goji berries instead! Looking thru the refrigerator is almost like a treasure hunt sometimes ;-) Most recipes also used Wheat germ, I could barely recollect that at the store. I found some Wheat bran next to the flax seed I was buying and so got some of it too. Wheat bran is the outer cover of the wheat kernel and is a source of magnesium and iron, about a quarter cup also has about 6gms of fiber. Some wild flower honey, and locally made maple syrup added the sweetness to the enticing mix.

Bejeweled!

Home-made Granola mix

Ingredients:

• 2 cups - old fashioned Rolled oats
• 1/4 cup each (unsalted)- Walnuts, Pecans, Hazelnuts - coarsely chopped
  
• 1/4 cup - Wheat bran
• 2 Tbsp - Flax seeds
• 1/4 cup each (packed) - dried Cherries, plump Golden raisins - coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup - Goji berries
• 1 Tbsp - Butter
• 2 Tbsp - Oil (I had olive oil, but any vegetable oil works too)
• 2 Tbsp - *Maple Syrup
• 2 Tbsp - *Honey
• 1/2 tsp - pure Vanilla extract

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 325F
2. In a microwave safe bowl, combine the butter, oil, honey and maple syrup. Microwave for a minute and whisk them all together. Add the vanilla extract and mix.
3. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spread the oats, chopped nuts, flax seed and wheat bran. Slowly add the liquid mix and combine with your hand, coating all the ingredients. Use just enough of the liquid mix to help form a rough ball of the mixture when held firmly within your fist.
4. Spread the mix evenly on the baking sheet and place in the center rack of the oven. Bake for 25-30 mins, flipping it every 10mins.
5. The nuts will soon fill the kitchen with the smells of their roasted goodness, and the oats will turn a slight orange-brown color. Bring the baking tray out, mix the chopped dried fruits and allow to cool. The oats will not appear to be crunchy when brought out of the oven, but they will get there on cooling.
6. Store in an clean and dry air tight container for upto 2 weeks, it won't last that long though :-))
   

Notes: * You can also use a combination of brown sugar and honey for sweetening the mix. Add the sugar while microwaving the rest, so it melts into liquid mix. or simply use only honey or maple syrup, instead of both.
Any combination of nuts and dried fruits can be used. I added some chopped crystalized ginger to a tiny portion. Dried apricots, papaya, mango, pineapple, candied orange peel, coconut flakes, sunflower seeds, almonds, peanuts, cashews, pistachios.....this list is endless!
If using dates or prunes add them during the final 5mins of baking time to dry them out a bit. Or the moisture in them could soften the oats during storage.
You can also add a tsp of cinnamon or ground cloves or nutmeg to spice things up a bit.

The smell of warm vanilla and the nuts that was filling the kitchen while baking the granola, is in itself a great reason to make this at home! Seriously! I was amazed by how good this turned out. the chunks of nuts and fruits were a delight to bite into. I have been eating it not just at 3 in the afternoon, but at every excuse I can find to get into the kitchen. I have a bag of it in my desk at work too. When I looked at the amount of granola I had, I expected it to last a few weeks, but I might have to make another batch this weekend. The honey and maple syrup on their own do not contribute to the needed sweetness, its the dried fruit added at the end that complete it. The raisins and cherries I used were tart and sweet and along with the chunks of nuts and crispy oats, you will not want to stop munchin & crunchin. I purposely left the nuts in bigger chunks so you can taste the individual flavors when biting into them. The butter and oil help in crisping the oats, you could substitute the quantity with either one too.

You can top some on your yogurt or cooked oats porridge for breakfast, or eat them as is for a snack. While baking the granola I also tossed in a few bowls of chopped plums and apricot drizzled with a little of the extra liquid mix I had, into the oven. After the oats were out, I let them roast for an additional 10 mins. Out they came oozing out all their sweet juices, topped with some of the fresh granola it was a perfect end to the cold weekend :) Happy Fall season!

Fruit cake cookies - eggless

Dear foodies,

Happy Birthday !

Fruit Cake Cookie! Isn't that like the most perfect set of words that can be put to together...whats not to love in that combination! I saw this recipe on Ina Garten's show Barefoot Contessa and knew I had to try it out soon. I love fruit cake, but haven't been super successful in perfecting a recipe for it. But to have a cookie that tastes just like it is just wonderful! I like most of IG's recipes, atleast watching them :D She does make a huge quantity of everything though and uses quite a bit of butter, but its her technique & cooking style that I like.

My main attraction towards this particular recipe, (apart from the name :D), was that it called for just one egg, now that could easily be substituted. I wanted to make them the very next day but then I hesitated. Making a whole batch of these decadent cookies with just me around wouldn't be good news for my weighing scale. So I waited for the perfect occasion and it came by earlier than expected. Its my brother's birthday today (Happy Birthday!) and I went to visit him this past weekend. I made a huge batch of these cookies and took them along with me. Trust me, a recipe cannot get any easier and also give such splendid results. A few of my brother's friends tasted it too and they only had compliments for me. *blush*

For those who are familiar with the famous Karachi bakery's fruit biscuits in Hyderabad, these cookies taste very similar to them, actually even better! I now can't wait to try the other biscuits that the bakery sells using this recipe as a base. woohoo! Another advantage with this recipe is that the dough freezes very well. It needs to be refrigerated for 1-2hrs before baking, but you can easily freeze and store it for a couple of weeks in there. Whenever you are in the mood for decadence, bring the dough out, cut a few cookies to bake and send the rest of the dough back to the freezer, soo convenient! Perfect for weekday parties too, and psst, the dough is delicious on its own too :D

For once I thought I will follow the recipe as is, but ended up tweaking it a little since the dough turned out to be really wet. I used a different combination of fruits and also used lesser sugar. I did not have brown sugar and used regular sugar instead. The fruits also contribute to the sweetness of the cookies, so adjust the amount of sugar to suit your needs. Below are the measurements I used, for the original recipe click here.

Fruit Cake Cookies (40-45 small cookies)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup, packed - mixed fruits and nuts, chopped
I used a combination of prunes, raisins, dried cranberries, blueberries & cherries. For the nuts, I choose unsalted roasted pecans (cashews will be great too)
• 1 Tbsp - Sherry or Red wine
• 1/2 Tbsp - lemon juice
• 1/2 Tbsp - Honey

• 1 stick - unsalted Butter (~ 8 Tbsp), at room temperature
• 1/3 cup - sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 tsp - powdered Cloves
• 1/4 tsp - powdered nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp - Orange zest
  
• 1/2 tsp - pure Vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp - ground Flax seeds + 1.5 Tbsp - water
• 1 1/3 + 2/3 cup - All purpose flour

Method:

1. Place the chopped fruits and nuts in a bowl and mix in the sherry/wine, honey and lemon juice. Cover the bowl and let them soak overnight at room temperature.
2. The next day, microwave the ground flax seeds along with the water for 30secs. Using a fork beat the mixture and microwave again for 15secs & beat. Set aside and allow it to cool.
3. In a wide glass bowl (or electric mixer) cream the butter, sugar, salt, orange zest, vanilla extract, clove and nutmeg powders until you get a smooth consistency. It took me 3-4mins using a hand mixer on low speed.
4. Sift the flour to remove lumps. Add all the flax seed mixture and the flour in 1/3rd portions. Mix at a low speed. The dough was really sticky even after the 11/3 cups were added, so I added an additional 1/2 cup of flour and mixed it in with a spatula. Don't over mix the dough since it will develop gluten and you will end up with really tough cookies.
5. Next add the fruits along with any leftover soaking liquid and fold it onto the dough. I added a couple of Tbsps of flour along with it.
6. Divide the dough in half and place each half on the longer end of a 15" wax/parchment paper. Shape and roll it into a log. The cross-section will give you the final shape/size of your cookie. (These cookies do not spread while cooking. I moistened my palms lightly with water to help me shape the logs, or roll the paper on the dough and use it to help shape). Repeat with the other half of the dough and refrigerate for 1-2hrs or until firm. If not using immediately move them to the freezer.
   
7. When ready to bake, pre-heat the oven to 350deg. With a sharp knife cut the log into 1/2 inch rounds. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and arrange them, 1/2 inch apart.
   
8. Bake for 15-20mins, checking on them every minute after the 15 minute point. When the edges start to turn a light golden take them out. They will continue to cook for a few more minutes outside the oven. Lift the foil and place it on the counter-top so the residual heat in the pan does not burn them.

These cookies are dotted with fruits all along and their sweet wine soaked flavor really comes through. I am in love with them. They taste a lot like a fruit cake but in a smaller, more flavorful package, and you cannot have just one. They crumble in your mouth and slowly melt away as you chew on the bits of fruit...bliss!

Last Sunday I made a tiny batch of 6 cookies and the rest of the dough was stashed in the freezer. I kept going back to the kitchen with excuses to have a bite or two and in no time all 6 cookies vanished :D On Thursday evening, all I had to do was slice them, pop them into the oven and pack before heading to the airport. My brother and his friends loved the cookies, and they could not believe it was home made. Did I tell you how gorgeous the weather in Houston is...aah, my heart craved for the sunshine and did not want to come back to this igloo of a place! hmph

When I started out with the recipe I had soaked 2 cups of the fruits & nuts. I refrigerated the unused cup and made another batch of cookie dough on Wednesday. They will be off to a few friends this week. These cookies are soo good that you will want to share it with everyone (and get tonnes of compliments in exchange :-P) I wanted to dip half of each cookie in some tempered chocolate, but I was soo in love with the fruity flavor that I let them be that way. May be you can try that out and let me know how it is ? Deal ?

Berry tasty pancakes!

Dear Foodies,

Here is a quick weekend/weekday breakfast recipe for you. I found the Moosewood restuarants cookbook on a visit to the library and got it home sincerely after having read about it from Bee & Jai and Suganya. I really loved reading the book cos its filled with loads of information and advice pertaining to ingredients, cooking methods and meal planning. Though there are very few photographs the book does a brilliant job in tempting you to try its recipes. Being a newbie at reading cookbooks its the photographs that I look for the most in them. But this one is surely much more than a coffee table read. Do pick it up if you get a chance...

I made these pancakes the night after I brought the book home, it was a Saturday and I was all set to have a leisurely breakfast/brunch :D I hate the frozen pancakes and the ones served at IHop and the like, since they are too eggy for my taste. This recipe is for a vegan pancake, and is filed as Vegan oatmeal-walnut pancakes in the book I think.

So here goes the recipe, I went back to the library y'day and looked it up as I forgot the proportions :)) I substituted the walnuts with berries as I forgot they were lying in my freezer! I really need to run a inventory check on my kitchen! I did not want to use oil as called for in the recipe and sub'd it with butter. It some how felt better, don't ask me why :))

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup - All purpose flour
• 1/4 cup - Whole wheat flour
  I reversed these amounts, using more whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp - Baking powder
• 1/2 tsp - Salt
• 1/4 tsp - powdered Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp - powdered Nutmeg
• 1/4 cup - quick cooking Oats or 1/4 cup - rolled oats flour
  
I used the latter by running the rolled oats I had for a minute in the spice grinder

• 1/4 cup - chopped Walnuts (toasted in the oven)
I used dried cranberries & goji berries soaked in warm water for 5mins and chopped fresh strawberries

• 1 Tbsp - Oil
I used melted butter

• 1-2 Tbsp - Maple syrup/honey or a sweetener of choice
• Soy milk - enough to make the pancake batter (cannot recollect the exact amt)

Method: Prepare the batter when you are all set to eat since it should not be left to rest for long

• This is as easy as it gets. Simply sift/mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl along with the nuts and berries (+ soaking water). Add the oil, sweetener and soymilk and bring all the ingredients together to form the pancake batter (idli batter consistency maybe). The book clearly asked that we DON't overmix the batter, a few folds of the spoon and turns of the bowl will do.
• Heat a griddle/non-stick pan on medium heat and scoop 1/4 cup of the batter onto it, don't spread the batter with the spoon, if needed swirl your pan around to spread it out a little. In about 1min you will see tiny bubbles forming on the pancake, slide a spatula under it and flip it to cook the other side. The second side took less than a minute to cook.

Serve immediately or arrange them in a single layer in a warm oven or covered with a kitchen towel for a short while.

I had these with some fresh peaches and strawberries. Instead of the usual maple syrup, I thinned out some mango jam by heating it in the microwave for 15 secs and used that as a sauce. This was a really good breakfast, I loved the berries in it and I was also left guilt free :)

From the comments to this post I realized I had a recipe that fits two events! Thank you Mansi and Srivalli :)

The first event is Mansi's own Healthy cooking event that also has a cookbook waiting for its winner. You can find the rules and guidelines for this event here. This recipe seems to fit the bill well due to the use of whole wheat flour and oats flour instead of all purpose flour alone. Paired with fresh fruit and with the absence of refined/processed sugars, its healthier too. Both, the walnuts given in the recipe and the berries I used, are rich in antioxidants. At a seminar I attended in my office, I learnt that walnuts are a recommended vegetarian/vegan alternative for fish oil capsules, (a known supplement for omega-3 fatty acids), flax seeds being another one. You can find more information on other dietary sources for these essential fatty acids here. The qty of walnuts though that you would have to consume on a daily basis is a lot more for the same amount of fatty acids got from fish oil capsules. Adding a spoon of whole or ground flax seeds would also be very nice in this recipe. Ground flax seeds do not contribute much flavor wise, so you can safely add them to salads and cereals. From the past month or two I have been adding a spoon of it to my morning cereal for my daily dose of omega-3 fatty acids. I find them to be the best egg substitute so far while baking (used it in sweet/savory cakes, cookies and cupcakes), because when heated with water and beaten, they have a beaten-egg consistency that lends a support structure to the baked product.

The other event is Nandita's WBB event which is now playing at Raaga's blog this month. This is one of the best thought out events because running out of breakfast ideas is O' so common for me, and trying to shove something into my mouth in the wee hours of the morning needs a lot of motivation and determination! Raaga made an excellent choice of theme this month, 'Express' breakfasts, which is the first criteria on my list. You can see that though I said it was a leisurely Saturday morning I still did not want to spend time in the kitchen, the leisure part is exclusively for the eating :)

Baking Adventures - Shortscones ??

Dear Foodies,


This is what I conjured up for Nandita's WBB # 7 - Baking for Breakfast event. Will be back with the recipe in sometime :-)

Off-late I have been trying to bake a lil whenever I can manage some free time. I dont like using eggs and so keep browsing for recipes that dont need it. Substituting eggs in a recipe is tricky, as you more often then not have to compromise on the texture or the taste. I am still on the look out for egg-less cake recipes, so any of you who have some do share them with me :-).

But in the meantime I was also looking at recipes for cookies and scones too. That was when I chanced upon this amazing blog, Baking Sheetby Nic. She has a huge collection of recipes which are soo well written and neatly explained. The first scone I had was a cinnamon scone at Panera bread and it was love at first bite :-) , so the moment I saw the scone recipes on Nic's site I was really excited to make some at home. I was going through the list of cookies and scone recipe she has and found a lot of them that did not need eggs. Browsing through her recipes frequently gave me a picture of the basic method and I experimented with the flavors depending on what I had in hand. I have made chocolate chip scones, coffee scones and berry scones, all of which were absolutely delicious. I only made about 4-5 medium sized scones each time and so they vanished before I and my friends were done tasting them. I have been planning ever since to make a bigger batch that would last a few breakfasts alteast, but never found the time or the motivation to do so.


When Nandita unveiled the theme for WBB event to be Baking, I rushed to my apt that very evening to bake some scones. Well it was actually night by then, I went home at 11:00pm and started out :-) I planned on making scones, but once the dough was ready I was in no mood of shaping them like those triangles and so shaped them randomly like cookies or bit sized scones. I then realised that shortbreads are, vaguely put, the cookie shaped version of scones. So now I dint know what I had made.....and so I named them ShortScones ..hehe..

I am going to give you a rough estimate of the ingredients I used. As I am still learning how to bake the perfect scones, I would suggest that you go over the Nic's blog for her detailed recipes.

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup - All purpose flour
• 1/3 cup - Sugar, I used the fine powdered sugar
• 1 tsp - baking powder
• 1/2 cup - Butter, chilled and cubed ( I used half a stick of butter)
• a pinch of salt

Any of these: 1/3rd to 1/4th cup

• your choice of chopped berries (strawberries,raspberries,blueberries,cranberries)
• dry fruits and nuts (apricots, raisins, walnuts,peacans)

My choice:

1. 1/3 cup- Chocolate chips + 2 Tbsp - Cocoa powder
2. 2 Tbsp mango pulp + 1 tsp - Elaichi powder

Wet Ingredients: 1-2 Tbsp of

• Water or Orange juice/Lemon juice + a few drops of the zest or Buttermilk or Soymilk

Procedure: ( Preheat oven to 300deg F)

1. In a bowl sieve in the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the sugar and mix well, toss in the cubed butter. And rub it into the flour mix with your hands by applying slight pressure on the cubes forming a coarse flour mix.
   
2. Now add in your choice of berries/dry fruits/choco chips and mix well
3. Next add the wet ingredients a tsp at a time and get the flour mix together, so you can shape it. When using berries you will need very little of the liquid to do the job.
   
4. The mixture does not have to be kneaded, and should be loosely packed, shape the into a lil thick disc and make cuts with a blunt knife like you would to a pizza and place it on a parchment paper lined baking dish.
   
5. Bake for about 15-20 mins, until a tap on the surface gives a hollow sound and it has a wonderful golden brown color. You can also test it withthe knife coming out clean when done trick.
   
6. Break the individual scones along the cuts you made and enjoy one right out of the oven and try to store the rest if you can stop yourself from eating more ;-)

While baking these treats the way I have done them, keep in mind that they continue to cook for a little while after being taken out of the oven. The Cardamom- Mango rounds and nankatai were a lil soft when I removed them from the oven but turned crisp on cooling. So time them accordingly.

Chocolate Hearts :-)

I made a heart-shaped batch of chocolate chip + cocoa powder combo. These were my favorites, well ofcourse I shud add I am a huge chocolate fan !! Anything that has to do with chocolate or coffee or soft toys will grab me 100% :-) The chocolate chips that were at the center did not totally melt, but were warm when rite out of the oven and gave a nice gooey, chocolatey taste that was very very delicious. I dusted these with some icing sugar just for the heck of it :D I am going to try refining this recipe to get a near brownie taste soon.

Cardamom-Mango rounds

The second batch was with the cardamom powder and mango pulp, shaped as round cookies with a cashew topped on each. I arranged these cookes too close to each other in the tray and so they came out as one big cookie that I had to break. The mango pulp did not contribute much to the taste as the quantity was far too less to dominate. The cardamom powder was the ruler. This cookie very dearly resembled an Indian sweet, but niether me nor my friends could pin-point at the name though. Let me know if you try these out :-)

Savoury Nankatai's

I also tried out savoury Nankhatias taking hints from Jyotsna's recipe. Instead of 1/2 cup of sugar and cashews I added just 1/4th cup sugar and 2 tsp of salt. I also added some hand-crushed cumin seeds. I did add some vanilla essence but skipped the saffron in her recipe. I also dont think you will need 1/2 cup of butter, a little more than 1/4th of a cup ( 1/3rd of the stick) should be good, I found my biscuits too buttery and a little more flour would have helped.

These biscuits posed wonderful sweet and salty contrast to the other two. The cumin seeds in the biscuits added a very nice flavor, though I added just about a pinch of seeds, the flavor spread through every bite. Absolutely yummy !!

I warmed the chocolate hearts and Cardamom- mango rounds for 5 sec before eating them and along with a glass of warm milk or hot coffee/tea, made up our breakfast for a few days :-), all thanks to Nandita ofcourse for getting me to bake and thanks to Nic and Jyotsna for their wonderful recipes :-)

P.S: Here is Nabeela's recipe for scones. She has pics showing the usual method of shaping scones :-)