Tropical Smoothie – Made from Fresh, frozen and, canned fruits!

Thanks Fauzia for the amazing Hareesa brunch last week. We went into an Hareesa coma after we got home. And oh the smoothie she made… we were thinking about it all week!

We went out and got a new blender, as our old one croaked a couple months back, and we were just too lazy to get a new one. This smoothie, got our tushes off the couch, and we went shopping, came back with a new blender, and as the title says, lots of fruits (fresh, frozen, canned)

And guess what there is no right or wrong way to do this. You make it however you like. Use all the ingredients listed below, or a few…

So here is Fauzia’s recipe.

Ingredients:

Dole Tropical mixed fruit can,
Dole Pineapple chunks in pineapple juice can,
Cranberry juice,
Mango pulp,
Mixed frozen fruit (mangoes, peaches, grapes, strawberries, etc)
Frozen blueberries (I used a mixed bag of berries; but using only blue berries will make the color darker, and taste sweeter too)

Method:

Put about 1/2 cup each (approximately) of all of the above ingredients in the blender, and blend away. Customize to your preference.

Nice, huh?

In India, street vendors, sell juice, and this smoothie reminded me of the Cocktail juice they make. Dark purply, thick consistency. I actually took a picture of this before we guzzled it all down.

March 10, 2010 | No Comments »

Chocolate Mousse mmmmmmm – easy and quick recipe

Why did’nt I try this sooner??????????? Mrs. Vanard (Jeanie) had an accident and had to have surgery recently, and we visit her weekly. The last time I was there, she gave me some bittersweet baking chocolate. And the package had a recipe for chocolate mousse, she told me to try that.

It is so simple, please go bring the chocolate and try it for this weekend and wow your friends.

Ingredients:

3 squares bittersweet baking chocolate,
1 (8 oz) whipped topping (I used Kraft Cool Whip)
Method:

First melt the chocolate squares in a microwaveable bowl for about 1-2 mins, whisking every 45 secs. When it is completely melted, add about 1/2 cup whipped topping and blend well. Finally blend the remaining cool whip gently. Dont be shocked, the final quantity is lesser than the container of your cool whip (because the hot chocolate melts the cool whip you added initially … I know sucks right!)

That’s it, mix well and refrigerate (half an hour is enough, I know I couldnt wait longer either!) :D

Enjoy!!

Last weekend I was in Ikea, and I ate their Chocolate Overload cake (for a slice, I had to burn a hole in the husband’s pocket, but oh so totally worth it!). It was layers of chocolate cake and chocolate mousse. Yumm!! I am tempted to try making it at home with this mousse.

March 4, 2010 | No Comments »

Gud Papdi – Sukhdi – Gujarati Indian Recipe

When I was in elementary school, one of our neighbors were from Gujarat, western part of India. She used to make this dessert made with 3 commonly found ingredients in Indian houses. Ofcourse you could jazz it up with dry fruits and stuff. But I am so lazy, I just stuck to the basic ingredients. This is my mother’s recipe for making gud papdi, which I am guessing she picked it up from our neighbor.
Not only is it delicious, and good for you, kids genuinely like to eat it. And they dont know its a healthy dessert. Shhhhhhhhh, lets just keep that to ourselves! :)

Here it goes.

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour (smooth texture), 1 cup
jaggery (gud), 3/4 cup grated
unsalted butter or ghee 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp

Optional:

white poppy seeds (khus khus) about 1 tbsp
slivered almonds for garnish

Method:

Keep a small tray or a deep dish ready, but greasing the bottom with a non-stick spray or ghee. I used a 8X8 inch square glass pan.
Start by heating up the ghee/butter. Then add the flour to this. Roast on medium high flame till you get a sweet smell, and the color looks like a deeper tan/golden red.

When its nicely roasted. Turn off the heat, and add the jaggery to this. Quickly mix it.

Then put this in the greased pan, and flat it out with a spatula, or with the bottom of a smooth bowl.

Cut into little pieces, and let it cool thoroughly.

I read somewhere this stores well for upto 15 days.

Note: I made a small mistake, I got bored grating the gud, so I just put it in a ziplock bag and broke it up in small pieces with rolling pin. But later when I was mixing it in with the roasted flour it would not evenly mix in. So, next time, take the effort, and grate it!! :)

April 6, 2009 | No Comments »

Suji halwa – Cream of Wheat Dessert – Indian Recipe

I never ever ever could make halwa, but tonight, inspired by a recipe I saw on YouTube, from Vahchef which is very much like my Turkish Un (flour) Halwa recipe, I finally did it!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup ghee  (I used 1 stick unsalted butter),
1 cup suji (use fine, but coarse works too – suji is basically cream of wheat)
1 cup sugar (more or less, depending on taste – start with less, you can always add more at the end)
2 3/4 cup milk + water (1 3/4 milk, 1 cup water) – cold
almonds slivered (cut length wise) (optional: cashews, raisins, pistachios, etc)
saffron soaked in warm water (few pinches of saffron)

Method:

I started by roasting the almonds in the butter, till they were about pinkish in color. Then I added the suji. On low – med heat, I roasted the suji for a long long time (my mother and Rudaba aunty say that when you get the sweet smell, then its done). Since I have a blocked nose tonight, I went by the color, so look for pink-tan color. (I almost burnt it, so be careful).

Then, after its nicely roasted, add the sugar, mix quickly, and pour the cold milk water mixture slowly, while stirring constantly.

Let it come to a boil, then reduce the flame/heat to medium. Add the saffron soaked in water now. Let it cook, till it reaches the consistency you like (dont make it really dry, let it be little gooey). When most of the liquid evaporates. Put a lid over the pan, and turn off the heat, and leave it like that for about 5-8 minutes.

That’s it, its ready. Serve hot!!

Note: You can freeze this. Just while serving, thaw completely, and microwave till its nice and hot.

March 4, 2009 | No Comments »

Reviews on some of my favorite local stores here in and around Kent, Ohio

For information on Chocolate Truffles, Buffalo wrap, and more, keep reading.  I promise, it wont be a waste of your time.
CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES:
The best Chocolate truffles I have ever eaten, were introduced to me by Vanessa, my friend. Thanks Vanessa, you are the best!!

They are not exactly made of dark chocolate, but they have such a rich taste, that they feel as if they are dark chocolate!! A couple days back, we got some, they had a raspberry filling in the center. Ohhh!!! So GOOD!!!

Now, that I have got you drooling, you want to know where do I get these fabulous truffles from. Well, here you go. This is their address and Website.

411 East Main Street, Kent, OH 44240, Tel: (330) 673-9244.

http://www.stahlskentbakery.com/ 

They close early; also they only have the truffles when the weather is cooler. But I am sure, the nice lady there will make some for you if you pre order them.

BUFFALO WRAP

I had heard that Yours Truly restaurant in Hudson downtown is great, but in the last 8 years I have been in Kent, I never went there. So, once when we were passing Hudson downtown on our way back from someplace, absolutely hungry may I add, we decided to give it a go. Firstly I must say its always crowded. You almost have to wait every time. But I must say its absolutely worth it!! They have very friendly waitresses, the food is great, the ambiance is homely. You are in for a good time, all in all.

I always get the Buffalo chicken wrap, it comes with Bleu cheese dressing I think. Its just awesome!!!

You want to go there tonight huh?? :)

Here is the address and the website.

36 South Main Street
Hudson, Ohio  44236
Tel: (330) 650-2900

http://www.ytr.com/Default.htm

They are a chain in North East Ohio, so, you may find one near your house.
Ok, dear friends, That’s all I have for you today. Next time, I will be back with another interesting post. Till then, Ta Ta!

January 2, 2009 | No Comments »

Cheesecake – Update

I made the cheesecake last night( recipe here ).

The only thing I would suggest doing is spraying the bottom of the pan, with a Pam Non Stick cooking spray, or just applying oil.

The crust was practically stuck, and so it was hard to scoop it out. But other than that, oh… it was sooo good! You have to try it out, this recipe beats the Cheesecake factory’s pricey cheesecake’s a%$!!!

:)

December 9, 2008 | No Comments »

Apricot Knots over a scoop of icecream!

YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY, did I say YUMMY too many times? Well, then this dessert sure deserves the compliments!

I watched this recipe on TV last week (I think the host was Robin Miller, she is superb with these shortcut recipes), and since my dear MIL made apricot jam for us, I decided to give it a try. I am sure glad I did.

All our friends enjoyed this simple, quick, and easy recipe. Few minutes prep time, and few minutes of baking, and you have an amazing dessert, especially great for the cool winter nights.
Ingredients:

2 puff pastry sheets, thawed as per the direction
enough Apricot jam or preserve (to spread on the 2 sheets in a thin layer) or any flavored jam you like
Method:

Roll out the pastry sheets (with a rolling pin, or as we call in India ‘belan’) to make them a little bit thinner and into a rectangle.

Then spread out the apricot jam evenly over the sheet. Fold it lenghtwise in half. Press the edges with your finger tips to seal of the ends.

Use a pizza cutter or a knife to cut out thin strips, about half a inch thick.

Stretch them a bit, if needed to tie them up in a knot. (Like you would tie a ribbon/shoe lace)
Lay on a baking tray.

Bake at 375 deg F for about 6-10 minutes, or until the puff pastry are golden and flaky.

Serve them hot with a scoop of creamy icecream. (We ate ours with Fauzia’s famous Mango Icecream). How heavenly!

November 18, 2008 | No Comments »

Fresh Fruit Sundae

Now, this is what I call a guilt-free dessert!You will see what I mean, just take a look at the ingredients! And oh, so so quick and easy, even a kid could make it. I had this at Marty’s house. She and Mike are our neighbors, who are great, extremely friendly and helpful. They have the best curb appeal on the block. She works hard to keep it that way.
Ingredients:

Cantaloupe (chopped in little bite size pieces),

strawberry (chopped in little bite size pieces),

Vanilla Ice cream,

nuts (walnuts/toasted almonds/pecans etc)

Method:

Take a nice fancy glass (like a martini glass), and then layer these one on top of the other, any way you like it. The way Marty made it is: first the cantaloupe pieces, a scoop of ice cream, then strawberries, finally nuts.

Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!! :)

September 9, 2008 | No Comments »

I made Peach Pie, and the crust too!

If I can do it, so can you! Its true. It is really easy to make pie!
This recipe is from Mrs. Vanard’s Betty Crocker Recipes (Book).

The crust recipe is a little different, I follow Mrs. Vanard’s recipe for that.

Ingredients:

For 1 crust:
1 1/3 cup flour,
1/3 cup oil,
1 tsp salt,
3 tbsp milk

For filling:
5 cup sliced peaches
1 cup sugar,
1/4 cup flour,
2 tbsp butter,
1 tsp lemon juice (optional)

Method:

To make the pie crust dough, mix the dry ingredients first (double quantity, as we need 2 pie crusts, one base, and one for the top). Then pour the milk and the oil and mix well.

Use 2 pieces of wax paper, and take half of the dough, and then place it in between the two. Roll out using a rolling pin.

Remove the wax paper from one side, and lifting the bottom wax paper with its corners, gently flip the crust over the pie dish. ( I used a 9.5 inch glass tray).

Mix the flour and the sugar for the filling, then mix the peaches in it. Pour this in the pie dish. Put few blobs of butter on the peaches.
Follow the above steps to make the second pie crust, and put it over the peaches. Seal the ends, by pinching them in.

Cut some slits in the top crust (this is important). Cover the pie dish with a foil (shiny side out), so that the crust does not burn.
Sprinkle sugar or brush the top with butter.

Bake at 425 deg F, for 30 minutes, and then remove the foil from the dish and bake additional 15-20 minutes, till the crust becomes golden.

Cool it on a wire rack. Then cut pieces and serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

August 13, 2008 | No Comments »

Banana Nut Bread for Breakfast

Hmm imagine a freshly baked loaf of banana bread full of walnuts for your breakfast. Yummy huh?

Well, you need not go to a bakery for this. You can make it at home in your oven. This recipe is what I would classify as ‘throw in everything, mix and bake’.

Ok enough about how great the bread is, how about the recipe now.

I think this recipe is from Betty Crocker’s bread recipe book. Its an old edition.

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour,
1/2 cup shortening, (or margarine)
1 cup sugar,
1 tsp salt,
1 tsp baking powder,
1/2 tsp baking soda,
2 medium size bananas mashed (about a cup),
2 eggs,
1/2 cup crushed walnuts

Method:

Except the walnuts, mix all the other ingredients in a mixer, or with a hand blender (be patient it gets sticky). This is neither like cake batter, nor like dough. Its kind of in between; thicker than cake batter, thinner than dough.

After everything is mixed up, stir in the walnuts.

Grease the bread tin. Pour the batter, and bake at 350 deg F for about 65-75 minutes, depending on how your oven heats up. Mine took 65 minutes. I put it on the middle shelf of the oven.

I know, the saying is practice what you preach, but its best to wait for the bread to cool down, and then slice it. I being rather an impatient girl, had to dig in one of the corners of the bread, as soon as it came out of the oven, and hence I didnt get a chance to take a picture of the bread :(

At breakfast, we like to dip this bread in milk and eat. Its fantastic! But, this is good like a dessert, a snack, anything!

August 3, 2008 | 1 Comment »
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