EVENT: BREAD BAKERS THEME: HEARTY FALL BREADS RECIPE: SPICED PUMPKIN BREAD Spiced Pumpkin Bread is a soft, delicately sweetish, spicy home baked yeast bread. Walnuts, raisins, pumpkin seeds and pumpkin pie spice mix makes this bread ideal for breakfast or as a tea time treat. Memories Do you write down everything in a diary to remind you what has to be done on which day? Do you still belong to the old school where its written and not on your mobile? I am, as I really cannot trust technology 100%. What if my mobile gets stolen, or it is not charged or refuses to work for some odd reason. Last month’s theme was jotted down in my diary as a reminder. I had baked the…
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Continue ReadingRecipe: Mexican Bhel Mexican Bhel is actually like a Mexican Salad but with a slight twist. A bit of sev is added as that goes almost in all the chaat recipes. Also the salsa is prepared a bit more spicy as Indian green chillis (lavangi or jwala) are used. Add vegetables of your choice. The basic components are sweet corn, onion, tomatoes, beans either red or black, bell pepper and avocado. Adding carrots, cucumber, olives, cheese is optional. Mexican Bhel is a great addition to your party menu, for kitty parties, kids parties, as a light lunch, or as a different kind of chaat. It is amazing how India tends to ‘Indianize ‘ western dishes. Mexican bhel is an innovative way to serve the famous…
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Continue ReadingRecipe: Pasta With Butternut Squash Sauce Pasta With Butternut Squash Sauce is a filling, delicious and creamy pasta dish that one can easily enjoy as a main meal. Add vegetables of your choice. It makes a wonderful change from the usual tomato and white sauce based pastas. Perfect vegetarian dish to serve for Thanks Giving or Christmas Dinners. First Trial Of Pasta With Butternut Squash Sauce Sometime back I had roasted a big butternut squash to prepare some soup. I used half of the butternut squash. I stored the remaining in the fridge. Next day was wondering what I can make with the remaining roasted butternut squash. Had a box of pasta sitting in the pantry and that is when the idea came. Hubby and…
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Continue ReadingRecipe: Watermelon Mint Sorbet Watermelon Mint Sorbet is a refreshing and cooling summer treat to enjoy. Making it at home is so easy and you need just a few ingredients. Where Are The Rains? The main conversation these days where ever you go is the heat. People are getting fed up of the really hot weather and are praying for rain. Energy levels ebb, no breeze, every one sweating profusely. People constantly reaching out for ice cold water, drinks and trying to spend more time in the shade whenever possible. Men pulling heavy loads on a cart, women walking with babies tied on their backs and loaded baskets on their heads. Life has to carry on whether its hot or cold. I complain about the…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIES_REDOING OLD POSTS RECIPE: STUFFED ZUCCHINI BOATS Stuffed Zucchini Boats are so deliciously cheesy with 3 different kinds of cheese used along with pasta and pesto. Serve them with some soup, salad or as a side dish. What Are Stuffed Zucchini Boats? Stuffed Zucchini Boats are a fun way to enjoy zucchini. These ones so deliciously cheesy with three different cheeses used along with pasta.Serve as a light meal with some soup or salad or as a side dish. We all know that we have to eat healthy but time and again we get tempted by all the unhealthy foods, fried ones, sweet ones, cheesy ones. I try and make our dinners light and healthy. But of course that’s not the case everyday. The…
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Continue ReadingRECIPE: STRAWBERRY OREO CHEESECAKE Strawberry Oreo Cheesecake is a no bake, easy to make, simply irresistible creamy dessert with fresh strawberries and oreo crust. Prefect for any celebration or just as a fancy treat. To make this delicious cheesecake, I have used vegetarian gelatin. I love using Dr. Oetker’s Vege – Gel. Whenever I run out of it, I replace it with agar agar. What I have realised is that if I am not demoulding the cheesecake and if I have used fresh double cream, then there is no need to use any gelling agent. However, if you use a cake tin to make one big cheesecake then you need to add a gelling agent. Very Berry Yummy Whenever strawberries are in season, I love…
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Continue ReadingRecipe: Mombasa Mix Mombasa Mix is popular as street food in Mombasa. Nowadays it is much easier to find it at fat food restaurants. It is basically a brown chickpea potato curry cooked in coconut milk. It is then served with deep fried lentil fritters, coconut chutney and some chevdo. Chevdo is popular snack made of potatoes, lentil and flat rice with spices. The origins of this super delicious dish is debatable. Some claim it originates from Mombasa and others claim it is from Zanzibar. As far as I am concerned, during the British Rule, it was all one area and coastal food was and is different from the inland. Most coastal food has a strong, Arab, Portuguese, British and Indian influence. Where To…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIES_REDOING OLD POSTS Recipe: Spicy Sweet Potato Wraps Spicy Sweet Potato Wraps make a healthy, hearty, delicious lunch or dinner option. Carry the wrap for lunch and warm up in the toaster or a pan. The best part of this easy to make recipe is that one can enjoy the wraps warm or cold. Also they come together in a jiffy if you have tortilla or wraps handy in the pantry. Wraps Are Versatile If you have tortilla at home, you can use leftovers as stuffing. Sometimes just spreading some green chutney on the tortilla and adding leftover methi bateta nu shaak, tastes super duper. Try Sukhi Bhaji and use thick yogurt as a spread. How about using okra stir fry or cauliflower potato…
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Continue ReadingRECIPE: MUSHROOM EGG FRIED RICE Mushroom Egg Fried Rice is an easy to make, flavourful, tasty mushroom rice with eggs. Instead of the usual style of adding scrambled eggs to the rice, raw beaten eggs are added at the final stage of cooking. This way the vegetables and rice all get coated with egg. This Mushroom Egg Fried Rice can be enjoyed on its own or served with any Chinese or Indo Chinese sauced based dish. Galaxy Restaurant Galaxy Restaurant is a well known Chinese Restaurant in Mombasa. I often order egg fried rice to go with my veggie dishes. When we are in India I love to order Mushroom Stir Fried Rice. Love the one they make at the fast food joint Shri Krishna…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: WE KNEAD TO BAKE RECIPE: APPLE DESSERT PIZZA What is an Apple Dessert Pizza? Did you know that tomatoes were brought to Europe around the 16th Century. Before that pizza topping did not include tomato. In fact it was anything from cheese, fruits, pine nuts, raisins to honey. Though not commonly found, dessert pizza do exist and are found in some of the pastry shops in Italy. Over time dessert pizza has evolved to include so many different ingredients that are commonly used for desserts – fruits, nuts, dried fruits, sauces, chocolate, candy, etc. After enjoying a fruity pizza as dessert during our trip to Italy, I had to try out an apple dessert pizza. We stayed at the Grand Dino Hotel in Baveno…
