my very favorites.

this recipe seriously is a treasure of mine. these cookies are such a treat and i can't wait to share the recipe with you. make them and you won't regret it.

chocolate crinkle cookies

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup cocoa

4 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 1/3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

confectioners' sugar

in a large mixer bowl combine sugar and oil. add cocoa; blend well. beat in eggs and vanilla. combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. add to cocoa mixture blending well. cover; chill at least 6 hours* in the refrigerator.

*or 1-2 hours in the freezer - the dough needs to be firm so you can roll them into balls.

heat oven to 350 degrees. shape dough into 1 inch balls and roll into confectioners' sugar. place 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. bake 12 to 14 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched. remove from cookie sheet; cool on wire rack.
oh man. i want one (ten) right now. bake and munch them up. and if you're nice you'll share with friends.

Cupcakes by the canal

We took advantage of the sunny weather yesterday and took a walk along the canal from Islington to Broadway Market. I'd been wanting to go to Broadway Market for ages but as Manny usually has band practice on Saturdays and wanted to come I'd put it off till he had a day off. Unfortunately he also had a stonking hangover - but thankfully a good bumble down the canal in the fresh air sorted that out - and some Ghanaian stew he had :) 

One of the first stalls we chanced upon was Violet -my main reason for heading to the Market. My previous encounter with Violet at Covent Garden had been slightly marred by my experience with  the salted caramel and wanted to give them another go as the other cupcakes were very tasty and gorgeous to look at :)

I was going to just get a couple of large cupcakes, however there were so many flavours to choose from we just opted for a box of 9 minis for £7 which included all the flavours on offer. We got vanilla, valrhona chocolate, salted caramel, figs, lemon, strawberry, candied violet and I think the final one was blackberry - or blueberry...I really should write things down at the time! We shared most of the cupcakes and they were all really nice - including the salted caramel which this time wasn't over-salted. The cake bases were all really soft and melt in the mouth and the frostings were all fantastically well flavoured. I particularly loved the fig cupcake and also the strawberry.  I'm really impressed by  the range of cupcakes available and all seemed to be available in both sizes. 

Highly recommended :) I shall definitely be going back to the Market as I want to try the coffee as well as the cupcakes. You can always buy some cupcakes, get a coffee and then head into the nearby fields (or down to the canal) if weather permits :)

Like your cupcakes spicy?

The featured "cook the book" on Serious Eats this week has been Bite Sized Desserts by Carole Bloom which is available on Amazon via the link above, in the UK from the 2nd Sept. It has so-so reviews on Amazon.com, but the bittersweet chocolate five spice cupcake recipe featured on Serious Eats sounds yum. For the full recipe click here. 

By the way, as much as I adore Serious Eats,  I don't particularly agree with their  description of my favourite baked good 

Sure, they might be a little passe and cliched but who's heart doesn't still flutter with a bit of happy childhood nostalgia when they think of cupcakes? 

Passe and cliched...pah! 

Simply bea-utiful cupcakes

There's a certain time of the month when every lady craves cupcakes...or maybe it's just me but anyways...I'm lucky enough to have a lovely husband who pops to the local bakery at lunchtime and gets me my "fix". And it's just fabulous that the bakery local to his office is Bea's :) 

We had a passion fruit, a raspberry, a chocolate Baileys and a chocolate caramel. The two chocolates were Manny's but he let me have a taste of the divine chocolate Baileys - next time I'm having one of those for sure! My passion fruit one (with the cherry on top) was gorgeous - soft and flavoursome base and the frosting was to die for - fruity yet moreish. And the cherry on top was lovely too :) Again the raspberry base was nice and soft (and fresh!!)  and the frosting had a nice sharpness to it that you expect from raspberries! Simply divine!

When I first tried Bea's cupcakes I really didn't get them - I didn't like the frosting as I was used to the more sugar-filled American style ones but now I really, REALLY like them - it was just a case of something different being a shock at first I think! I also love the freshness of the ingredients used - you can tell everything is super-fresh and I adore the passion of everyone who works there! 

Sorry for the quality of the pics - I was taking them with my new phone which I've not gotten used to yet - they really don't do the cakes justice! 

I really recommend keeping an eye on Bea's website (and twitter) for the flavours and popping along to try the many lovely combos they come up with! I'll be back for the chocolate Baileys soon! 

Carrot Kobbari Koora - Carrot Coconut Curry

Carrot Kobbari Koora ~ Carrot Cococnut Curry

Ingredients :

Carrots : 1/4 Kg
Onions : 2
Dry Coconut Powder : 1/4 cup (or as per your taste)
Green chillies : 2 or 3
Red chilli powder : 1/2 tsp (optional)
Mustard seeds : 1/2 tsp
Urad dal : 1/2 tsp
Chana dal : 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves
Salt to taste
Oil : 2 tsp

Method :

Wash, peel and grate Carrots. Cut the onions into thin strips. Heat two teaspoons of oil in vessel. Add mustard seeds, chanadal, urad dal and fry them. When they start to splutter add curry leaves, onion pieces and chopped green chillies. Let them fry until light brown color. When onions turn light brown add grated carrots, turmeric, salt and little water. Mix well, cover with a lid. Let it cook for 10 about minutes. When it's done, Add dry coconut powder and red chilli powder. Mix well. Serve hot with rice or chapathi..

new toy.

ike's dream birthday gift finally came in the mail a few weeks ago. he has been talking about this sweet thing for as long as i've known him. he loves music more than anyone i know and he always knows all the latest stuff.

and now he can officially dj!

so if you need him to make your party jammin' - get at us.

Tag & Awards!!

I am very Happy to receive this award from Sireesha & Priya Narasimhan ... Thank you very much.. :)

I also received Scrumptious blog award from Chaitra & Sireesha.. Thank you girls.. :)

Hema & Shri has taged me..

1. A – Available/Single? None
2. B – Best friend? My Mom
3. C – Cake or Pie? Cake
4. D – Drink of choice? Fresh fruit juice
5. E – Essential item you use every day? Computer
6. F – Favorite color? White
7. G – Gummy Bears Or Worms? None
8. H – Hometown ? Ongole
9. I – Indulgence? Sweet
10. J – January or February? January
11. K – Kids & their names? None
12. L – Life is incomplete without? family
13. M – Marriage date? None
14. N – Number of siblings? 1 sister
15. O – Oranges or Apples? Oranges
16. P – Phobias/Fears? No phobias
17. Q – Quote for today? Cannot think of one right now..

18. R – Reason to smile? Hugs from my mom
19. S – Season? Winter
20. T – Tag 4 People? Will do it at the end of the post
21. U – Unknown fact about me? I am sensitive
22. V – Vegetable you don't like? like all of them
23. W – Worst habit? I don't know

24. X – X-rays you've had? None

25. Y – Your favorite food? any indian food
26. Z – Zodiac sign ? Pisces

I would like to share this awards tag with..
Chaitra
Parita
Uma
Prathibha

st. georgie.

our little getaway was perfect. ike and i both got a chance to forget about school and work and just relax. i love vacations that allow some relaxation.

we drove down on thursday night and saw this magical rainbow! it was the biggest i had ever seen. so big i couldn't get the whole thing with my camera.
friday morning we slept in and went and had a late lunch at the egg and i. i was a little weary at first because i don't love eggs, but of course they had lots of delicious things on their menu.
i love him. and take lots of pics of him like this.

this hot choco was top notch.
my aunt and uncle let us stay at their very fabulous condo for the weekend and we loved it. i think isaac and i should invest in one in our future.
after breakfast we hit the pool for the afternoon and swam for a few hours. we had it all to ourselves, it was fun actually swimming instead of laying out. laying out is overrated.
for dinner we went to our fav, in and out! i was really hungry and made the mistake of thinking that i could eat a double double. oh boy was i wrong. i ate like 4 bites and was done. too much beef. but still yummy as ever.
after dinner we did a little adventuring and went climbing on the red rocks.
st. george is the perfect place to come hang out and eat yummy food. we had a really fun first day and hit the sack early to prepare us for our day in vegas...more to come!

A new cupcakery in town disappoints

About 4 months ago I tried a vanilla cupcake from Ella's Bakehouse @ Selfridges and all was not good (you can read about it here). I never really like to judge a cupcakery badly on just one try, so when I was told by a fellow blogger that Ella's Bakehouse had now opened a little store in Covent Garden I couldn't resist checking them out. 

I had to wait a week or so, having had swine flu (oink oink) but last Friday after a rather hectic day at work I traipsed down to Covent Garden and chose 3 cakes - a vanilla (pink of course), a chocolate and a coconut. Oh yeah the store - it was small but perfectly formed with a lovely retro feel. There were quite a few flavours of cupcakes to choose from including red velvet, peanut butter and mocha and from the spaces on the shelves I think they had been busy. I took a couple of pics (after asking was it ok) and headed off home, heralding all my willpower not to scoff a cake on the bus as they looked really nice!

We had the cakes for pudding. Well, Manny had his cake for pudding - unfortunately the vanilla and the coconut were put barely touched in my beloved Brabantia bin. I really wanted to like these cupcakes, as the shop was cute, the cakes looked all glittery and pretty and Lorraine Pascale seems incredibly passionate about baking and any cupcakery near my work is welcomed,  but as soon as we removed them from the box it wasn't looking great. The casing of the vanilla cupcake had come away completely from the base and the base looked all soggy. Also the vanilla frosting unfortunately smelt of nothing but butter - and alas tasted the same. Just butter - no vanilla, not really sweet - just buttery. I tried a bit of the base and  it was very tasteless, again no taste of vanilla. I'm not a professional baker, but I know something was wrong - the cake was full of large air holes (over-mixing?) and as I said the base was very moist and sticky -to the point of being half raw. We decided it was only fair to try some of the coconut cake so we cut it in half but it was also inedible with not a lot of flavour - this one wasn't moist, instead it was rather dry. I'm a HUGE fan of coconut but the frosting did nothing for me - again just too buttery. 

The chocolate cupcake was another story - I only tried the frosting, to compare and it was really tasty- very chocolatey and dense. Manny enjoyed it and said he'd have a chocolate one again but agreed the other two weren't worth visiting for. 

I have since googled some reviews and while I found a couple that agreed with me re the over-buttery-ness of the frosting, others thought the cakes were fantastic and on par with Hummingbird - I shall politely disagree with that. Please let me know if you try the cakes and agree or disagree. I really do want to hear as obviously people have different tastes - this one just isn't for me.

Tofu Salad

Ingredients

225g/8oz firm tofu, cut into

2cm/3⁄4in cubes

100g/4oz mangetout, cut into

3cm/11⁄4in lengths

2 small carrots, cut into matchsticks

100g/4oz red cabbage, finely shredded

2 tablespoons chopped peanuts

For the marinade

2 teaspoons sweet chilli sauce

1⁄2 teaspoon grated fresh root ginger

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 teaspoons light soy sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

Ways of Working

1. To make the marinade, put the chilli sauce, ginger, garlic, soy sauce and oil in a screwtop glass jar, and shake well.

2. Put the tofu in a medium bowl, pour the marinade over and stir. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour.

3. Put the mangetout in a small pan, pour boiling water over and leave to stand for 1 minute, then drain and plunge into ice-cold water. Drain well.

4. Add the mangetout, carrots and cabbage to the tofu, and toss together

5. lightly. Transfer the salad to a serving bowl, sprinkle with the peanuts

6. and serve immediately.

Serves 4

Asparagus & potato salad

Ingredients

450g/1lb small waxy potatoes

125ml/4fl oz extra virgin olive oil

2 shallots, finely chopped)

4 tablespoons white wine vinegar

900g/2lb fresh asparagus tips or young asparagus, trimmed

225g/8oz young spinach leaves, rinsed and drained

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Ways of Working

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas mark 7.

2. Put the potatoes in a roasting tin, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20–30 minutes until just soft to the centre, then cool.

3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together some salt, pepper, the shallots, vinegar and the remaining oil. Slice the potatoes thickly, put into a large bowl, pour the dressing over and marinate for 10 minutes.

4. Cook the asparagus in lightly salted boiling water for 3–4 minutes. Drain carefully, and put into a bowl of ice-cold water to retain the colour and stop the spears cooking further. Drain again, then add to the potatoes with the spinach. Toss together carefully, and serve.

Serves 6

Prawn salad

Ingredients

900g/2lb raw prawns

100g/4oz celery, finely chopped

450g/1lb canned pineapple chunks, drained

75g/3oz raisins

125ml/4fl oz mayonnaise

2 teaspoons curry powder

4 pitta breads

4 leaves of lettuce

Ways of Working

1. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, add the prawns and cook for 3–5 minutes until the prawns turn pink. Drain and rinse with cold water. Peel and devein the prawns.

2. In a bowl, combine the prawns and the remaining ingredients, except the pitta bread and lettuce. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

3. Serve the prawn salad in the pitta bread with the lettuce leaves.

Serves 4

Fish Chowder

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

200g/7oz onion, finely chopped

200g/7oz celery, finely chopped

150g/5oz carrot, finely chopped

400g/14oz canned chopped tomatoes

1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic

100g/4oz plain flour

1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1⁄2 teaspoon dried marjoram

1⁄2 teaspoon dried oregano

2.4 litres/4pt fish stock

200g/7oz cooked boneless cod fillets, flaked

25ml/1fl oz dark rum

25ml/1fl oz Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce

salt and ground black pepper

Ways of Working

1. Heat the olive oil in a heavy saucepan over a medium heat. Sweat the vegetables, tomatoes and garlic for 5 minutes, stirring continuously.

2. Add the flour, cinnamon and herbs, and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the stock and bring to the boil, then crumble the fish into the pan with the rum, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

3. Season with salt and pepper, and serve hot.

Serves 8-10

success.

in less than 10 hours i will be back in schoolio like a foolio. my break was well needed and so much fun! but waaay too short. a 2 week summer is not enough. luckily with the pool at my apartment and some pool time in st. george i managed to get a little color. very little, but still.

here is a little list of some fun things i did...

1. got the hair/eye/dmv appointments out of the way. i am now officially emma joy westwood and my hair no longer has 3 inch roots! i feel like a whole new woman.

2. our trip to st. george/vegas was soo much fun. i can't get enough of isaac. i love it when we have no school/work to distract our fun. pics to come from our trip...

3. our apartment is officially organized and clean. it feels so great. i don't have bags of unpacked t-shirts lying around anymore!

4. i got so much fabulous sleep. and exercise time.

5. my mom and i had a hay day. we lunched at zupas numerous times (our new fav, i dream about the nuts about berries salad) and did what we do best...find amazing deals shopping! we also saw julie and julia. loved it. i was so inspired! i want to really learn to cook.

6. so i read la candy on our trip to vegas and i'm not ashamed to say i enjoyed it! i know, it's bad. now i'm reading a book one of my bff's wrote and am loving it.

7. my girlfriends are so good to me. we met up for lots of lunches, pool time and girl talk. steph and i saw the times traveler's wife - when i got home i thanked isaac for not traveling time. i have a love/hate relationship with that movie.

8. i baked reese's chocolate cookies, easy ice cream sandwiches, lemon squares and peanut butter cupcakes. yum yum yum.

9. we got to spend lots of time with family and loved it. once you're married you realize how much you take advantage of the time you get to spend with them. we went to isaac's cabin, attended a family reunion, had my family over for dinner, spent time with my cousin brian, visited my sweet grandma, spent time with ike's family, and are planning a big sunday dinner for his fam next sunday...lets hope the food turns out!

10. went to the free twilight series iron and wine concert at the galivan center. mistake #1 -craving kfc's chicken legs (a very strange craving, we rarely eat any fast food) and munching them before the concert. not a good idea. never again will we eat you kfc. mistake #2 - not getting there super early to get a good spot so we could actually see...and hear for that matter. i decided i don't like things with a lot of people. i asked isaac, "if i don't think this is fun does it make me an un-fun person?" he said, "no, it just means you like a different type of fun." indeed, fun where you have to pay a little to get in so so many dang people don't show up. next time iron and wine, next time.

us in st. george.

the break was a true success. i can't wait for the next one...

i'm pretty sure i have to learn how to put an iv in this week. i'm nervous.

Lots of cupcake cuteness

I love finding new websites with lovely new cupcake goodies - today's is Beadesaurus.co.uk which is full of gorgeous cupcake items. 

My faves include the kisslock purse and wallet by Fluff, featuring a gorgeous "forever sweet" cupcake, cupcake and junk food hair clips by Loungefly and finally, the Hello Kitty cupcake plushie - Hello Kitty really hopes you like the cupcake she baked for you - how could you resist? 

I'm definitely getting the wallet unless someone (hint hint) wants to get me it ;)

Thanks to Beadesaurus.co.uk for the pics :)

Cute 'n' cuddly cupcakes

I have slowly become quite addicted to Twitter - there are so many things you can find out on there, and its nice to just let your little thoughts out sometimes. 

Today a fellow tweeter posted about these and I thought how adorable so thought I'd share them. These Koala cupcakes were posted on Not Quite Nigella's blog for the RSPCA cupcake day along with the recipe - they're just so cute! And then to make the blog even cuter she's also got a panda cupcake recipe! Cute, cute, cute!

Thanks to Not quite Nigella for the pics and lovely recipes. 

Tomatoes on toast

Ingredients

olive oil for brushing and drizzling

6 large tomatoes, thickly sliced

4 thick slices of brown bread

balsamic vinegar for drizzling

50g/2oz Parmesan cheese, shaved

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Ways of Working

1. Brush a heavy frying pan with oil, and place over a high heat.

2. Add the tomato slices and fry them for 3 minutes, turning once until soft and slightly blackened.

3. Meanwhile, lightly toast the bread under a grill or in a toaster.

4. Put the tomatoes on the warm toast. Drizzle each portion with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese shavings, season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately.

Serves 5

Grilled Asparagus & Leeks

Ingredients

12 small leeks, trimmed, with ends removed

12 fresh asparagus spears

olive oil for brushing

50g/2oz pecorino or Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed

lemon juice

Ways of Working

1. Preheat the grill to high.

2. Arrange the leeks and asparagus in a single layer in a shallow baking dish.

3. Brush the vegetables with the olive oil, and place under the grill. Cook for 5–8 minutes, turning occasionally and brushing with more oil as needed.

4. When almost done, sprinkle with two-thirds of the grated cheese and all of the lemon juice. Grill for a further minute.

5. Finally, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top, and serve hot in the baking dish.

Serves 4

Potato Soup

Ingredients

8 rashers back bacon

200g/7oz onion, chopped

450g/1lb potatoes, cubed

275g/10oz canned condensed chicken soup

600ml/1pt milk

1 teaspoon dried dill

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Ways of Working

1. In a large saucepan, sauté the bacon until crisp. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Sauté the onions in the bacon fat over a medium heat until soft and golden.

2. Add the potatoes and enough water to cover. Cover the pan, and cook for 15–20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

3. Stir together the condensed soup and milk until smooth, and add to potato mixture. Heat but do not allow to boil. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and stir in the dill.

4. Crumble the bacon and sprinkle on top to garnish. Serve hot.

Serves 5

Mushroom Soup

Ingredients

350g/12oz mushrooms, finely chopped

50g/2oz butter

3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs (without any crust)

1⁄2 garlic clove

900ml /11⁄2 pt chicken stock pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

2 tablespoons double cream

salt and ground black pepper

Ways of Working

1. Sauté the mushroom with the butter in a heavy saucepan for a few minutes. Add the parsley and cook, stirring, until soft.

2. Add the breadcrumbs and garlic, stir and pour in the chicken stock with a pinch of nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes

3. Purée the soup in a food processor or blender until smooth. Return to a clean pan, stir in the cream and reheat gently. Serve hot.

Serves 5

Hot & Sour Soup

Ingredients

8 dried shiitake mushrooms
25g/1oz cornflour
3 tablespoons dry sherry
100g/4oz pork loin
1.2 litres/2pt chicken stock
50g/2oz bamboo shoots, sliced
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 egg, lightly beaten
225g/8oz tofu, diced
salt and freshly ground
black pepper

Ways of Working

1.In a medium bowl, soak the mushrooms in warm water for 20 minutes, then drain, squeeze out any excess moisture and cut into 1cm/1⁄2in slices.2
2.In a small dish, stir the cornflour into the sherry and set aside.
3.Put the pork loin in a large heavy pan and completely cover with water. Simmer until tender, then cool and shred.
4.Bring the stock to the boil. Stir in the pork, mushrooms and bamboo shoots. Simmer for 10 minutes, then stir in the soy sauce and red wine vinegar. Season with salt and pepper, then stir in the reserved cornflour mixture. Keep stirring until the soup has thickened.
5.Remove from the heat and whisk in the egg. Mix in the tofu and heat through. Serve the soup hot.

Serves 5 – 7

Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients

900ml/11⁄2pt chicken stock

1 bay leaf

4 spring onions, sliced

225g/8oz button mushrooms, sliced

100g/4oz cooked skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced

50g/2oz soup pasta such as orzo or ditalini

150ml/5fl oz dry white wine

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

salt and ground black pepper

Ways of Working

1. Put the stock and bay leaf into a heavy pan, and bring to the boil. Add the spring onions and mushrooms to the simmering stock.

2. Add the chicken to the soup, and season with salt and pepper. Heat through for 2–3 minutes.

3. Add the pasta, cover and simmer for 7–8 minutes.

4. Just before serving, add the wine and parsley, heat the soup through for 2–3 minutes, then check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. Serve hot.

Serves 6

Chicken Soup

Ingredients

1 roast chicken carcass with meat left on

225g/8oz chicken wings

1 onion, diced

1 leek, diced

1 parsnip, diced

6 whole black peppercorns

Ways of Working

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas mark 2. Put in a large heavy saucepan with the chicken wings.

2. Add the onion, leek and parsnip,and bring to the boil. While the water is heating, add the whole peppercorns.

3. Once the stock has boiled, transfer to an ovenproof dish and cook in the oven for 2 hours. Skim off any scum from the surface using a slotted spoon, and strain the stock you have created. Discard everything except for the chicken.

4. When cool enough to handle, take out the carcass and shred the chicken before returning it to the stock. Serve hot.

Serves 5

temple.

here are the first round of pics from our wedding day. there are so many that i love so i couldn't do it all in one post, so i decided to break it up into sections - the temple, isaac and emma, and our wedding dinner. i hope you like them!