EVENT: SUNDAY FUNDAY THEME: CHRISTMAS COOKIES AROUND THE WORLD RECIPE: KARACHI BISCUITS Karachi Biscuits are soft and melt in the mouth kind of cookies or biscuits. Easy to make, they are studded with tutti frutti and flavoured with cardamom and rose essence. Generally, these cookies are enjoyed throughout the year with a cup of masala tea. However, I love to make them for Diwali and Christmas. In fact, they are perfect to gift to friends and family. Why Are They Called Karachi Biscuits? To begin with these biscuits or cookies are not at all from Karachi. They are famous biscuits from Karachi Bakery that is located in the city of Hyderabad, India. As a matter of fact, Khanchand Ramnani, a Sindhi who migrated from Karachi…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: CHRISTMAS BAKES RECIPE: CLEMENTINE COOKIES Clementine Cookies are made from the basic sugar cookie dough. These quick and easy cookies are delicately flavoured with fresh clementine juice and zest. The basic sugar cookie dough is so versatile, add flavours of your choice, roll them into balls and bake, roll them out flat and bake – whatever you prefer. With a slightly soft chewy centre these cookies are quite popular during Christmas. I baked this batch and family visiting us from US loved them. Planning to bake some more soon for Christmas to gift to neighbours and new friends we have made in the small town of Magog, Quebec. Actually, the whole idea of adding clementine juice and zest for these…
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Continue ReadingRecipe: Apple Ginger & Turmeric Jam Apple Ginger & Turmeric Jam is very easy to make and delicious. This home made apple jam with a bit of fresh ginger and turmeric has no artificial colouring or preservatives. Apple Picking At Vergers & Cidrerie Denis Charbonneau Sunday 19th September The previous day my son asked us to be ready by 9a.m. as his girlfriend and he had planned a surprise trip for us. When we got ready, it was a bit chilly so we dressed accordingly. We sat in the car and kept on guessing where they were taking us to. As we got nearer to the venue, road signs for Mont Saint Gregoire appeared and we thought we probably were going for a hike. Then…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SUNDAY FUNDAY THEME: RECIPES WITH CHICKPEA FLOUR RECIPE: TAWA BREAD PAKORA Tawa Bread Pakora is a healthier version of the famous deep fried bread pakora. Bread pakora is a snack where stuffing is added between two slices of bread, dipped in chickpea flour batter and deep fried. In fact, my tawa bread pakora is a healthier version as instead of deep frying I allowed the bread pakoras to cook in little oil on a tawa or skillet. The smell of chickpea batter being deep fried is pretty irresistible. As a matter of interest, Bread Pakoras are commonly sold as street food in India along with a million other varieties. Okay, not a million but enough to make you salivate. Psss… it’s barely two months…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SUNDAY FUNDAY THEME: JUST PEACHY RECIPE: MAPLE ROASTED PEACHES Maple Roasted Peaches, healthy, flavourful, so easy to make and best part – has no refined sugar. Served with some greek yogurt it makes a fruity summery light dessert. Sprinkle granola and it becomes a delightful fun breakfast. Roasted Peaches can be served with ice cream, but with a diabetic hubby, I wanted to make it without refined sugar. The dark robust maple syrup gifted to me by my son and his girlfriend is perfect for this kind of recipe, not too sweet and very tasty. From start to finish, this dish takes about 35 minutes. So it is a dessert that you can prepare while you’re enjoying your dinner. During the weekend mornings, by…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SUNDAY FUNDAY THEME: MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM PARTY RECIPE: BEETROOT & CHOCOLATE MINI MUFFINS Beetroot & Chocolate Mini Muffins is a fun way to enjoy bite size soft, fudgy chocolate flavored beetroot muffins. Ideal for parties, topped with a cream cheese frosting, the muffins are so delicious. Adding cooked and pureed beetroot is a good way to sneak in this vegetable for kids. Use less of cocoa powder, omit yogurt and you land up with Beetroot Red Velvet Muffins without adding any artificial food coloring. This muffin recipe is without any eggs. We had a very small tea party with some of my neighbours and I baked these mini muffins. Sunday Funday Sunday Funday is a group of Food Bloggers. Every Sunday we share some…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SUNDAY FUNDAY THEME: GARLIC LOVERS RECIPE: GARLIC PARMESAN HASSELBACK POTATOES Garlic Parmesan Hasselback Potatoes, so crispy from the outside, the middle is tender and soft like mashed potato. Coupled with the flavors of butter, garlic, olive oil, parmesan and chilli flakes these potatoes are to die for! What are Hasselback Potatoes? Hasselback Potatoes, Potato à la hasselbacken or Hasselbackspotatis are baked potatoes that are sliced till the middle and open up like a fan on baking. These were invented by a trainee chef Leif Ellison who worked at Hasselbacken Restaurant in Stockholm. Though pretty popular nowadays this side dish, starter was invented in 1953. They also go by name of Accordion Potatoes or Pillbug Potatoes. I know I’m pretty late in trying out this awesome addictive…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: A- Z RECIPE CHALLENGE THEME : AN INGREDIENT BEGINNING WITH THE LETTER W RECIPE: WHOLEWHEAT & BANANA PANCAKES Wholewheat & Banana Pancakes so soft, fluffy and delicious without refined sugar makes a healthy and nutritious breakfast or brunch for the whole family. Serve it topped with homemade chocolate sauce, fresh fruits and nuts. What are Pancakes? Pancake is a popular breakfast option in many parts of the world, be it sweet or savory. So what is pancake? Basically, its a batter of flour, liquid, a raising agent(leavening agent) mixed together and cooked on a griddle or frying pan. Known also as flapjack, griddlecake or hotcake, there are so many different kinds of pancakes all over the world. Which kind of flour is…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: A- Z RECIPE CHALLENGE THEME : AN INGREDIENT BEGINNING WITH THE LETTER U RECIPE: CHOCOLATE MANGO SMOOTHIE – USING UNSWEETENED COCOA Chocolate Mango Smoothie, using unsweetened cocoa is a delicious, exotic, filling and healthy smoothie to enjoy as breakfast, as a snack or as a light meal. I made this as our Valentine’s Day treat, chocolatey but without any sugar or any other sweetener at all. So yes totally a healthy smoothie and diabetic friendly. Actually, didn’t need to add any sort of sweetener as the mango was sweet. What is Unsweetened Cocoa Quite often when I feel like having a chocolatey smoothie for breakfast I reach out for unsweetened cocoa. Cocoa powder as its mostly available, tends to be unsweetened, that is, no…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: WARM DESSERTS RECIPE: BAKED APPLES Baked Apples As the name suggests, apples are baked with a stuffing. Easy to make, absolutely delicious with a light tangy caramel sauce that develops when butter and brown sugar melts into the fresh orange juice. Best enjoyed warm. Usually, the apples are either cut into halves, cored and stuffed or whole apples are used. Actually, it is so much easier to core apples with a corer. However, if you don’t have one, then patiently cut out the middle of the apple with a sharp paring knife. Incidentally, have you noticed how when you need a gadget the most, you cannot find it? I swear I had a corer and just can’t find it! Not…
