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MINGLING WITH APPETIZERS...Colourful Veggie Hors'Doeuvres!
2008-06-06 12:47:00
Laughter is brightest where food is best. Irish Proverb Oven Baked Potato Cheese Breaded Bites Cream Cheese, Bell Pepper & Cucumber NibblesTime for Meeta @ Whats For Lunch Honey's Monthly Mingle. This months' edition is being co hosted by Mansi @ Fun 'n' Food, with the theme for the month being Appetizers & Hors'Doeuvres. Their call...For this monthly mingle, we'd like you to share some fancy vegetarian appetizers. Cook something that's pretty to look at and tasty to bite in, something that looks good on a plate and is irresistible to your guests! Am sending these colourful appetizers off to sunny California to Mansi @ Fun & Food, from more than sunny India. The first one is an "Oven Baked Potato Cheese Breaded Bites' appetizer which I put together with potatoes... Oven Baked Potato Cheese Breaded BitesIngredients:Potatoes - 2 large / boiled & gratedCheddar - 1/2 cup / gratedCoriander - 1 small handful / chopped fineGreen chili - 1-2 / deseeded & chopped...
More About: Vegetarian

PEACHES & CREAM...A truly sublime dessert!
2008-06-05 15:49:00
"Chocolate's okay, but I prefer a really intense fruit taste. You know when a peach is absolutely perfect... it's sublime. I'd like to capture that and then use it in a dessert."Kathy MatteaPeach es 'n' Cream ...As summer proceeds & the weather becomes even hotter & hotter each passing day, we are rewarded by fruits as luscious as peaches! Strange are the ways of nature, where we are subjected to harsh, scorching summers on one hand, & rewarded with fruits as sweet & juicy as nectar on the other! No reason to complain, so moving on from juicy plums, I decided to explore peach in a dessert! SUBLIME!!There is a proverb that talks about a "Peaches 'n' Cream" ... complexion, traditionally, I would think! The only peaches & cream I can think of is that which goes straight to the hips!! Amy, can you hear me? Life is like that; good comes hand in hand with not so good, so onward we go! That's what I like about us foodies... Colour my world...So then, while looking...
More About: Fruit , Dessert

BLOGGING FOR BRI...GOING THE YELLOW WAY!
2008-06-03 16:42:00
"Hope" is the thing with feathers- that perches in the soul...Emily Dickenson YELLOW is the colour of hope & we're here blogging for Bri. Jai & Bee @ Jugalbandi have led the way to spread hope & have embarked on a very inspired edition of CLICK. I haven't had the good fortune of interacting directly with Bri, but have bumped into her at my dear friend Manggy's many a time, & at Bee's too. In Jai & Bee's words ... "This is a special edition of CLICK, tinged with sadness and filled with hope. Yellow is the happiest colour in the spectrum. It signifies hope and enlightenment. Though the work of the LiveStrong Foundation, it has also come to signify the fight against cancer. This edition of CLICK is more than a photo event. It is a fundraiser for our dear Briana. She was 15 when she saw her mother die of breast cancer. Now, she?s waging her own war. Bri is one of the 5% of women diagnosed with breast cancer under the age of 30. That was two and a half years ag...
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AMAZING MAIZE & CORNY COOKIES
2008-06-02 04:12:00
"I am still convinced that a good, simple, homemade cookie is preferable to all the store-bought cookies one can find."James BeardBowled over by Cornmeal Pistachio Cookies Then comes along one of those looooong lazy summer days where you want to bake something & for once you'd rather it wasn't chocolate. It happens to me at times after a chocolate overdose in the kitchen. Something different has to be attempted; something which has a chance of turning out unexpectedly good or even bad, but different. Have started throwing caution to the wind & have begun treading on uncharted territory. Read on for my tale of good...& then bad, as in disastrous! It happens... & now I've reached a stage where I do not weep copious tears. Onto the good first...cookies made out of cornmeal with my favourite nut, the pistachio! It's nice to experiment with different grains, & coincidentally found a post on different grains at Food Blogga @ Susans'...'How Many Whole Grains Can ...
More About: Amazing , Pistachios

IN THE PLUM OF THINGS...A sweet tale of sauce & ice-cream
2008-05-31 04:56:00
"A sauce.....adds something, really two things: a taste as well as the opportunity to think about how the thing was made."Raymond Sokolov Spicy Sweet Plum Sauce Plums 'n' Cherries...the fruit of summer! Plum, Cherry & Black-cherry Conserve Ice-creamFresh fruit in food is my kind of thing. Summer brings with it delightful juicy fruit from the hills of Jammu & Kashmir, (Gurgaon & Delhi lie in the plains of North India where the weather these days is HOT, HOT, HOT), & one just cant seem to get enough of these delicious fruit. Have to limit the amount of sweet in everyday food, but the temptation is far too great. Bought a small lot of juicy tart plums the other day. We ate a few & the rest were in for a sauce!Put them on to simmer in a pan, & kept tossing coins...sweet sauce, sour sauce, sweet sauce or sour sauce. Reached a point of decision making, & went for sweet! Made this from the top of my head...kept throwing in things & tasting...ended up with...
More About: Fruit , Ice Cream , Dessert , Things

CHICK PEAS THAT TASTE LIKE HOME...& DAL PARATHAS!
2008-05-29 15:24:00
"Whose bread I eat: his song I sing." German proverb Chick Peas / Chanas...almost like a summer saladFoodie blogs are buzzing with activity these days with lots of tags & events showing up to mark the appreciation of recipes tried from each others blogs. Tried and Taste d (T&T) is one such monthly event in appreciation of other blogs, hosted by Zlamushka @ Zlamushka's Spicy Kitchen...provides an opportunity to thank fellow bloggers for sharing their recipes by re-creating them. As Zlamushka says, Starting the very first edition of T&T, Cynthia of Tastes Like Home has agreed to be the first ?laboratory rat?. Cynthia?s blog is beautifully weaved with pictures of dishes mainly from her homeland ? Barbados and Guyana. It rarely features actual recipes (this is because she is writing a book), but she is more than willing to share them. All you need to do is to drop her an e-mail....which is what I did back in the first week of April, & cooked these wonderful chick peas fr...
More About: Vegetarian , Indian

CHECK OUT MY STRIPES...L 'ZEBRA CAKE
2008-05-28 13:10:00
"I'm ten years old. My life is half over and I don't even know if I'm black with white stripes or white with black stripes."Marty the Zebra...in the film Madagascar The Fascinating L 'Zebra Cake ...(instead of L 'Opera Cake)With a heavy heart I write that I have been unable to complete Mays' Daring Bakers challenge...the first I've missed since I joined in Jan this year. Reason...chicken pox took over our house; then when things just about started looking up, 3 days ago, I had a minor mishap in the kitchen & severed a vein in the palm of my right hand. It's on the mend thankfully, but didn't leave me time for the Opera Cake that I so wanted to make for 2 reasons. Firstly, because I've always been fascinated by the Opera cake (even bought a square platter for it for the DB challenge), & secondly, for Barbara @ Winos & Foodies who it is was dedicated to this month. For you Barbara......flowers of the Cassia Fistula tree in bloom here these days. Am posting L 'Z...
More About: Chocolate , Check , Stripes

DEVILS WITH ICY COOL HEARTS...COCOA MINT CUPCAKES
2008-05-27 03:13:00
"There?s more to life than chocolate, but not right now." Cocoa Cupcakes...with Icy Cool Hearts & Icy Cool Toppings too! Chanced upon 'The Cupcake Hero' theme while perusing random blogs & saw that COCOA was the theme for the month. The crew there say..."Well, let?s see your skills! Each month a theme ingredient will be named. The theme ingredient must be used in either the cupcake, the frosting, the filling or all of the above if you choose. Simple enough? I think so. I beg of you to be creative with this theme. Of course we will take any entries you guys bake up. With that said, go outside your comfort zone. Think up something new, exciting, different. Take cocoa to a new level. "I tried... Ever since I've seen After Eight Mint Chocolate Cupcakes on Rosie's blog @ Rosie Bakes a Peace of Cake, I have been mesmerised by the very idea. Slept over it & had a brainwave one morning...peppermint comes from mint I guess, so decided to use mint fresh from the garden to intr...
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COFFEE ROASTED ALMOND BISCOTTI...a handsome combination!
2008-05-24 03:08:00
"I am not a glutton, I am an explorer of food"Erma Bombeck Coffee & Roasted Almond s...a handsome combination I have my biscotti moments...at times, I will suddenly alight & set off to make a biscotti with a 'flavour of the moment' off the top of my head. This particular moments' flavour turned out to be coffee & roasted almonds. A delicious, crisp biscotti! I made these some time ago, & am tempted to set off & bake some now....only problem being that I've cut a nerve in the palm of my right hand & am incapacitated as far as baking/cooking goes. Which leaves me with very little to do; torturous, but my own fault. Was careless & got a shard of broken ceramic do the damage...:0( Biscotti date to Ancient times. The term literally means "twice baked." These hard biscuits fueled armies and fed travelers. Flavor variations and culinary techniques evolved according to time and place. German zweiback, Jewish mandelbrot, British ship's biscuit, and American ha...
More About: Combination

BEAN THERE, DONE THAT...CLICKETY CLICK!
2008-05-23 02:57:00
Pep without purpose is piffle.Anonymous Bean s & Lentils ...Naturally beautiful! (My entry for CLICK May 2008)FULL OF BEANS...It's the CLICK time of the month @ Jugalbandi, & this time very nearly missed the boat. To begin with my little fellow was unwell, & then I thought I would hone some photography skills before I send in an entry. Messed up LOADS of clicks majorly...NO, I DON'T HAVE A NEW CAMERA YET... (am still busy flogging the old one & it still gives me ample joy). The theme for May 2008 is CLICK Beans n LentilsThe temptation though is too much once the CLICK theme for the month is announced, & tends to seep into my sub conscience. So I've bean, oops, been spilling my beans, sprouting my beans, been not so full of beans...& finally... BEAN there, done that! I just got back into good ole auto on my little camera & clicked some pretty beans 'n' lentils! To tell you the truth, never once thought beans could be so fascinating. It all started a fe...
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SANDWICCIA ANYONE?...Focaccia sandwiches by another name!
2008-05-21 13:47:00
"It has been well said that a hungry man is more interested in four sandwiches than four freedoms."Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., (American diplomat)'Sandwiccia'...a focaccia sandwich!Made some Roasted Garlic & Bell Pepper Focaccia again the other day. This very versatile Italian bread has become quite a staple at home since the kids LOVE it. It's a gratifying feeling that they enjoy garlic & basil as much as we do...which just means that meal times are simpler & fun to plan too. They enjoy home baked breads of all sorts. For me, it's therapeutic. The mixing, the kneading, the rising & finally the aromas that waft through the whole house makes life just seem more worthwhile. I made a double batch of focaccia, & served up the second batch the next day as grilled 'SANDWICCIAS'...my coined phrase for focaccia sandwiches, which quite takes sandwiches to another level altogether. They were obviously quite because they were polished off in next to no time. The kids said...
More About: Bread , Sandwiches

CITRUS MAKES ME HAPPY...TANGY FRESH LIME CAKE
2008-05-20 03:12:00
Anytime the perfume of orange and lemon groves wafts in the window; the human body has to feel suffused with a languorous well-being."Frances Mayes, Bella Tuscany CITRUS is Tartelettes' chosen flavour for this months' edition of Sugar High Fridays , a monthly event created by Jennifer of The Domestic Goddess. One of my favourite flavours, I find myself using 'citrus' , mostly lime, every single day, in one way or another. No day is complete with a squirt of lemon, or a splash of orange. It's quite amazing how international a flavour citrus is. We're talking marinades, salad dressings, desserts, chutneys, cookies, cakes, sauces, pickles, preserves...the list seems endless. For me, it's fascinating to find CITRUS in so many avatars in blog land...lemon preserves in Moroccan stew@ Mike's Table, pretty Lemon Madeleines @ Tartlettes, Marinada Davita @ Familia bencomo, Lime Green Chili Pickle @ Konkan World, Orange & Asparagus Salad @ No Special Effects, Candy Ravioli in Orang...
More About: Cake , Happy , Fresh , Citrus

MANGOLICIOUS MORNINGS with FRUITY BEGINNINGS!!
2008-05-18 02:14:00
?Marriages are all happy; its having breakfast together that causes all the trouble.?Irish Proverb Mango Fruit Salad with Apricots, Melon, Cherries & basilIt's the month of May, & MANGO, the king of fruits, rules the roost here in India. As far as the eye can see, it's mangoes all the way. In the midst of this, Arundati @Escapades is hosting this month's Weekend Breakfast Blogging (WBB) #22; it's has been aptly christened 'May Mango Madness'. As she dramatically states, "Melting moments of May have turned up the heat a notch higher?WBB, the event started by the lovely doctor at Saffron trail, stops by at Escapades this month." With mangoes going for less than a dollar a kilo here, it is complete madness. To add to it, the Escapades lady has been on my case to send her an entry & soon. SMSing, googling, calling...I am now stressed enough to post this immediately! Oh, the pressures of modern day existence & blogging are enough to give me sleepless nights; throw i...
More About: Fruity

CHOCOLATE ALWAYS MAKES THINGS BETTER...'BETTER BAKED THAN CREAMED BROWNIES'
2008-05-16 09:57:00
"Any food not fit to wear is not fit to eat."Jim Rosenthal 'Better Baked than Creamed' Brownies ...Chocolate OverdoseDiva @ Sugar Bar is hosting this intriguing event "Beauty & the Feast". The challenge is to pick a cosmetic/beauty/body-hand-skincare,etc. product that has either a name that is food-related or has food-related ingredients. Use the combination of flavours of the product as best as you can& give it any funky name you like. I picked Cocoa Butter Body Butter...a Body Shop product which is full of 'brownies in another form'!! Picture courtesy Body Shop, UK"Doubly rich for extra dry skin with a yummy chocolate-and-vanilla scent. An excellent moisturizer that melts at body temperature, leaving the skin feeling soft and silky smooth. "With ingredients similar to what makes this delicious body butter, my 'Better Baked Than Creamed Brownies' are on their way to Diva's delicious feast!! Do stop by at the Sugar Bar to read her hilarious & interesting tales t...
More About: Dessert , Things

LIFE CAN BE QUITE A CHUTNEY SOMETIMES...GRINDING TIMES!!
2008-05-15 03:57:00
"Chutney is marvelous. I'm mad about it. To me, it's very imperial."Diana Vreeland (1903-1989) GREEN WITH ENVY???When we were young, we often heard the phrase, 'Hurry up or Mom will make a chutney out of us'...often in a punishing way as many would say 'making mincemeat of us' in parallel tones! Times change, words change, Mom's don't & the grind continues ... Full of flavour...my favourite chutney!Why am I on a 'Chutney' trail? Susan from Food Blogga wrote in to me the other day asking me about chutneys from India, & if I had some favourite chutney posts she could link to? Surprisingly enough, I had made my fave chutney the previous day, but didn't have time to blog about it. Reason...my dear little son decided to come down with chicken pox!! Both kids were vaccinated last year, & the doc said the chances were one in a million that they would get it...so the boy went on to prove the doc was quite right!! Misery reigns supreme in his life as of now, but shou...
More About: Life

TAGS, AWARDS & A TON OF THANKS!
2008-05-14 03:15:00
"A photograph is like the recipe - a memory the finished dish. "Carrie Latet It's been a while that I was tagged to do post my top 10 foodie photographs from my blog. When I first got the tag from Farida @ Azarbaijani Cookbook I was thrilled. This was something just me...'say it with pictures'. Tags in general remind me of my dear friend Manggy@ No Special Effects where he claims 'all tags come to die'. This tag was special & challenging. Clicking away to glory is my next best therapeutic pleasure after cooking or baking, & I'm still trying to squeeze the life out of my old faithful camera. DH has been on my case to get a new one...until that comes along, here's my pick for my top 10, being posted pronto because dear Rosie @ Rosie Bakes a Peace of Cake tagged me for the same. I'm embarrassed that I needed prodding to get my act together...sorry that I'm so late Farida, but IT WAS ALWAYS ON MY MIND!! Have been tagged again by Jamie @ Flavour Pantry for the same one l...
More About: Awards

MOLTEN TOBLERONE HEARTS...OOOOOOZING WITH LOVE ON MOTHER'S DAY!!
2008-05-10 18:29:00
"A mother had a slender, small body, but a large heart - a heart so large that everybody's grief and everybody's joy found welcome in it, and hospitable accommodation" Mark Twain Molten Toblerone Hearts ...beating for Mother 's Day!!This recipe is from Dhanggit's Kitchen ...just the most beautiful blog for Asian French recipes! I made these Toblerone Mini-cakes, with a heart full of melted chocolate, when the post caught my eye visiting her gorgeous blog. Take a look at the chocolate trying to step out! YUM!!Been very very eager to use my metal heart shaped baking tray that a dear friend gave me, & these did seem the perfect answer! These are hearts in both senses...shape & goodness!!Simple to make ... & absolute decadence!! Make sure you serve them warm to keep the chocolate ooooozing at the heart!! I made these a while ago...while strawberries were in season here; sadly they're available for a couple of weeks only! The recipe as taken from Dhanggit's blog...Ingred...
More About: Love , Dessert , Chocolate

CREAMY HOME-MADE MANGO ICE-CREAM...ON A CALCIUM HIGH!
2008-05-09 02:29:00
"Condensed milk is wonderful. I don't see how they can get a cow to sit down on those little cans." Fred Allen On a calcium high...Goodness that's fruity & cool!This creamy, delicious mango ice-cream's en route for something I support whole-heartedly & have always believed in...Beautiful Bones: An Osteoporosis Food Event, hosted by one of my favourite bloggers Susan @ Food Blogga. Susan is funny, her posts are evocative, beautifully presented, & come with a fair share of humour, meaning... & much more. Thanks to her, 'Dermadoc' is gaining notoriety as an avid foodie critic too!! Ha Ha...sorry Susan, was hilarious when he dropped by my place a while ago, & then I saw him at Nicismes' recently too! I have made this ice-cream twice already to celebrate mango mania in the merry month of May.Once here......&, on popular demand, here again! It has been my endeavour to ensure both my kids have always been 'high on calcium'. Thankfully, it's become a habi...
More About: Ice Cream , Mango , Home , Made , High

BLING ON BOLLYWOOD WITH A LAMB CURRY!
2008-05-06 17:42:00
Hasta la vista, Baby Arnold Schwarzenegger (Terminator 2: Judgment Day) BLING ON BOLLYWOOD...LAMB CURRY!Hasta la vista; is a Spanish parting phrase meaning "see you" or "so long". It literally means "until the seeing", but is used in the sense "until next time". My dish here reflects the same sorta feeling. It's the time of the month again for The Monthly Mingle at Meeta's @ What's For Lunch Honey! This time's special...it's the BOLLYWOOD bling!! Time to show-off colour, polish the family silver, splurge on all things oily & rich...generally ROLL OUT THE RED CARPET!! Also time to fall off my 'healthy perch'...blame it on Bollywood or blame it on Meeta...I did just that!! "What we are looking for is a glamorous and elegant dish fit for the red carpet. We love the everyday comfort cooking no doubt about that, but here we want you to dress your dish up in glitter and gloss. Show us your favorite Indian dish fit for a Bollywood (or even a Hollywood) star and share your expe...
More About: Curry , Lamb , Bling

MOCHA WALNUT CHOC-CHIP MUFFINS...GREEDY GOODNESS!!
2008-05-05 16:05:00
"I believe the world to be a muffin pan, and there certainly are a lot of muffins here."Aaron Funk Mocha Walnut Chocolate-chip Muffins ...When I read about theSnackshots #3 event hosted by Michelle @ Greedy Gourmet , I was thrilled. Opportunity to try these mocha muffins I had bookmarked long ago, & soon. Michelle asks "What’s the difference between a muffin and cupcake? ...A muffin contains less sugar and doesn’t have icing on top, in other words it’s healthier. " My choice of muffin is deep, dark, decadent & chocolaty; the flavours enhanced with the addition of coffee. Am still trying to place the source on the net; I know I wanted to try these because they used oil instead of butter & were literally popping out of the screen!! They didn't disappoint at all; lovely chocolaty dark muffins, great taste, moist & soft!! What's more ? No butter!! Got a whole batch of 12 regular ones, & also almost a dozen mini muffins out of the batter...bonanza!!Like other ...
More About: Goodness , Chip

PEST of a PESTO... but then onto PASTA!
2008-05-04 10:53:00
"How could such sweet and wholesome hoursBe reckoned but with herbs and flowers?"Andrew Marvel Basil Almond Pest o... Snip,snip,snip...all I could hear out in the garden was snip, snip, snip. Sunday morning, me lazing in the study with my cuppa cold milk...one day I like to steer clear of the kitchen in the morning. The snipping didn't seem to end & I got suspicious. Stepped out to find the gardener trimming away my beloved basil bushes to pretty shapes...I almost passed out! There, lying all around, were bunches of my precious basil! He felt it had overgrown too much & decided it was time to clean it up; for him it was just another part of the overgrown hedge! Leaves galore...Grrrrrrrrrr...& that's how Sunday morning began. I made him bag the leaves & then got them in & set to work. In temperatures as high as we have here, leaves wilt in next to no time. The only good thing was that I was coerced into doing something I had been procrastinating about for far too...
More About: Pasta , Pesto

GINGERBREAD MEN TO PASS ON THE ARTE Y PICO AWARD!
2008-05-01 19:28:00
"Cooking is a language through which a society expresses itself"Jean Soler Wholewheat Cinnamon Ginger Cookies ...Made these 2 days ago with Amy @ Familia Bencomo in mind...HUGS to you Amy for the wonderful Arte y Pico award. These gingerbread men are very special because this is a recipe that I worked on a while ago for a teacher in the kids' school who was HUGE on wholewheat healthy stuff & wanted some yummy cookies. The cookies are crisp, great tasting & cut-out beautifully. My favourite choice for gingerbread men & teddy bear cut-out cookies because these hold shape very well & the colour is just right...WARM & HAPPY!! They make great hanging tree ornaments too! And more hugs!! I have posted them before for a Think Spice Ginger blog event many moons ago. They have wonderful flavours emanating outta them...cinnamon & ginger!Ingredients:Whole-wheat flour - 2 cupsBaking powder - 1 tspSalt - 1 pinchGinger powder - 3 heaped tspsCinnamon Powder - 1 tspButter - 1...
More About: Awards , Award

MANGO YOGURT PANNA COTTA...A TANGO WITH MANGO!
2008-04-29 18:22:00
??a big part of cooking is choosing the ingredients.And a big part of serving is doing it with pride? Ruth Reichl Mango Yogurt Panna Cotta...light & deliciousWith the mango season finally upon us, it's difficult to stay away from this sensuous fruit. It is enticing, it is mesmerising, & it is bursting with juicy sweetness. The season will last the next 3-4 months & I intend to use this luscious fruit as much as I can! I guess you will see quite a few mango posts, some healthy & others not entirely so, popping outta my blog this summer (it's already 42 degrees C here; small mercies that mangoes don't melt!!!) Looks & tastes good...both in the bowl & upside down!This is one such fruity adventure to herald the beginning of the mango season here, & is a healthy dessert...a satisfying fresh panna cotta; almost harbouring on the creamier edge of a flavoured yogurt but more indulgent! This post is specially for Chris @ Mele Cotte who is running the Cooking to...
More About: Dessert , Tango

POP GOES THE CHEESECAKE...IT'S THE DARING BAKERS AGAIN!
2008-04-29 02:27:00
"My mouth is a happy place"Pat Conroy Colourful & delicious...Cheesecake Pops!It's the DARING BAKERS time of the month again...& each challenge means breaking new ground. With never a dull moment, & now even a new site for the Db's, we're all back to it again. Posting today, there are gonna be LOADS of Cheesecake Pops POPPING up all over the net. TASTEFUL ENTHUSIASM? Yes indeed!These are just the perfect party poppers for the summer, delightful to look at, a novel challenge this month...hosted by Elle @ Feeding My Enthusiasms & Deborah @ Taste and Tell this month. The April challenge call was for CHEESECAKE POPS!! To tell you the truth, it was the first I had ever heard of these delightful mouthfuls! You can find the recipe at here & here. En route to the freezer...As the gals say, "These cute little bites of cheesecake, held on a stick and dipped in chocolate and, if you like, decorations, are sure to make you smile. The cheesecake is New York style, the pop...
More About: Dessert , Chocolate , Bakers

A TOAST TO ROASTED GARLIC...SPAGHETTI & FOCACCIA...& another award!
2008-04-25 09:47:00
"Garlic is a habit and a passion."Kim Upton, Chicago Sun-Times Of Spaghetti & Vegetables... this one's a combination full-of-flavour! Bursting with flavour...an incredibly delicious focaccia! Ever since I read that Casa Bencomo has a huge jar of organic garlic waiting to be used up, my minds hit the garlic trail. Am sure the jar at Amy's end is history, but my pursuit in never ending...garlic is one of my favourite ingredients. I was at a loose end for a meal one day...rummaged in the fridge & found bell peppers. Had a couple of heads of garlic & spaghetti. The Pasta Bible has place of honour on my bedside these days...a recipe I had read a couple of nights back came to my mind...Spaghettini all'Aglio Arrostio (Spaghettini with Roasted Garlic). The garlic was duly put to roast, & the poor bell peppers tortured to grill again! Chargrilled Peppers & Roasted Garlic...perfect partners!Spaghetti all'Aglio Arrostito...with a twist!I decided to use most of my roaste...
More About: Vegetarian , Awards , Award

DARK CHOCOLATE PANNA COTTA...It's all about the kidz in us!
2008-04-23 17:25:00
"I can resist everything except temptation"Oscar Wilde Dark Chocolate Panna Cotta...deeply divine!Foolishly put the question across to the kids, asked them what they love to eat most....& nearly got run over in the ensuing melee. Sweet ranked supreme, & chocolate was the popular call.."Chocolate panna cotta" sang the chorus!!Did I have to ask? I seldom do because I like to keep rotating flavours, especially chocolaty ones, lest they get stuck on one. I asked today because Ben has a special kids event on for Food for Plastic Kidz as 'Tupperware is celebrating April as Children’s month. The best part is that they are donating $1 from the sale of selected items to the Boys & Girls Clubs.'This one's specially for your event amigo. Ben's event is interestingly about 'food you enjoyed as kids, or foods which may be your kids favourite food'. I have a strange suspicion that the idea is fuelled by the kid in him, & I'm all game for it!Favourite food ='s DESSERTThis...
More About: Dark Chocolate

TIME TO PASS IT ON...an excellent award!
2008-04-22 13:11:00
?Friendships develop over food and wine?Prince Nicholas Romanoff I made this cake once again yesterday...really enjoyed doing it. The basic cake is an orange flavoured sponge from a book by Sue Ross. It's sandwiched with an almond whipped cream & topped with a dark chocolate ganache...really excellent. I made the one below using this recipe for the first time... A Chocolate Orange Gateau. You can find the recipe HERE.The word excellent has reminded me of some urgent & overdue stuff to be done. I have received this lovely award three times; once each from Susan @ Food Blogga, Joy @ Joy the Baker & from Andrew @ New Cook......THANK YOU to all of you; each time I receive it makes me feel even more special. It's time to pass this treasured award on to 10 blogs of my choice in no particular order. A tough choice with the blogosphere packed with excellence all over...Suganya @ Tasty Palettes...she leaves me in awe with total perfection in every post. Mind-blowing pictures w...
More About: Awards , Time , Award , Pass , Excellent

READY,STEADY,COOK...Pasta, Grilled Cottage Cheese & Salad!
2008-04-19 11:44:00
"The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a star." Anthelme Brillat-Savarin A Vegetarian challenge...Wonder how many of you have heard of the BBC daytime show 'Ready Steady Cook'? I used to watch it often while visiting the UK years ago. Two members of the public, or occasionally sporting or other celebrities, provide two celebrity chefs with a bag of ingredients they have bought, usually to a set budget of £5 The chefs proceed to make several dishes out of the said ingredients (and a generously stocked kitchen containing basic ingredients and spices), in 20 minutes, with the help of the contestants and the programme host (things have changed a bit now, but the show goes on!). Ainsley Harriott was the presenter then...charismatic, larger-than-life & flamboyant. I googled about the show, & was absolutely delighted to find he's still on this addictive food show, "My aim is to make cooking fun," he says! A medley of flavours...Healthy...
More About: Pasta , Italian , Cottage , Cheese , Salad

MALTED OAT 'n' PISTACHIO COOKIES & A DISTINCT AWARD...GASP!!
2008-04-18 02:48:00
"Food...can look beautiful, taste exquisite, smell wonderful, make people feel good, bring them together, inspire romantic feelings....At its most basic, it is fuel for a hungry machine."Rosamond RichardsonMalted Oat 'n' Pistachio Cookies I made really simple healthy cookies the other day. Had some oats which were beginning to look really sad just sitting there, so out came the cookbook. ...'The Great Cookie Book'. Wasn't in the mood for some long drawn recipe; found this one which seemed as laid back as I was feeling! Made a few changes as I obviously would want to. Added nuts to add to crunch & taste; had to be pistachios which have found loads of favour with me these days. I think even walnuts would be a great option. The original cookie was supposed to be a crisp 'n' crunchy cookie...ideal to serve with morning coffee! In my great laziness, didn't realize that we needed malt extract (help, what's that???) until I had tossed all the dry ingredients together!!!Aaaaaaaa...
More About: Awards , Award , Pistachios , Oats

MANGO ICE-CREAM SWISS ROLL DESSERT...ROLLIN' IN MANGOES!
2008-04-15 16:58:00
"Ice cream is happiness condensed."Jessi Lane Adams Simple 'n' Sensational...an Ice-cream Swiss Roll This is by far the simplest & most versatile baked dessert that I have tried several times over & in many combinations. The Swiss roll is very pretty, is adaptable to personal taste, & also makes a fab frozen dessert. DH & the kids were ruing the absence of exciting dessert for many days. A bite of after dinner chocolate seemed to work for a few days, but not too long. I had some mango ice-cream left-over in the freezer & thought we could polish that off. But the foodie in me got the better of my laziness, & I decided to make something with Equal Opportunity Kitchen's first foray into blog events - 'Tried & Tested' in mind.When I saw the 3 T's at Equal Opportunity Kitchen, I was ecstatic. I love the idea of tried & tested. At least you are on safe ground, true, & also within virtual reach of the maker! The Swiss roll is a very simple sponge...
More About: Ice Cream , Mango , Dessert , True