Tuesday, April 26, 2011

I am Beautiful @ Avontuur Restaurant

“I am Beautiful”
at
The Avontuur Estate Restaurant
Join us for an ‘”Inspire themed morning of Guest speakers,
Scrumptious eats and treats.

Mary –Ann Shearer ~ Change your diet, change your life
Sanche Nel ~ DEMO ~ Inspiring yourself and others
Patricia Handley ~ The power of your name

Date: 17 May 2011
Time: 9 am ~ 11 am
InvestmentR100.00
Rsvp: 021 855 4296 
Dress Code: Your favourite colour

Tips to safe and healthy Barbecue

1. Do not let the lights does not char the meat.

2. Fry over low to moderate temperature.

3. Pickle meat in the marinade, olive oil and lemon juice are at the base. Recent studies have shown that exactly the elements that enable the risk of the formation of carcinogenic substances in heat treatment of meat down.

4. Select a barbecue for products with little fat such as vegetables, lean meats, poultry and fish.

5. However, if there is meat on a fat removed before cooking.

6. Use herbs with pickles. According to research from the University of Kansas, as grasses help the basil, mint, rosemary, cumin and sage, to prevent the formation of harmful acids. To use it, it is preferable to a cool way to add pre-marinated.

7. Not overroast vegetables. Nothing will be useful.

8. Add more vegetables, meat.

9. Clean a grill before each use.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Moist Chocolate Bundt Cake


   Its birthdays and birthdays in the family from January to May, April being the month of three birthdays and one wedding anniversary, July the month of 3 wedding anniversaries within 10 days! The kids' birthdays, more often than not, are celebrated at home. We normally keep it to a small group of their 'best-friends' at that point of time. The group was pretty much the same for the past 5 years and has changed only recently with my son's new all boys group. He had wanted all of them invited for his 9th birthday along with the old friends. He loves to have people over and we had to temper his enthusiasm.


He cried loud enough to scare the pediatrician in the hospital when he was born (turned out he was just very hungry!!!). He made me cry when as a 4-year-old, he never asked me to pick him up as Amma had a baby in her tummy. He is my staunch supporter most of the times when he senses me and hubby having a difference of opinion. He is a big foodie and loves to serve even water in style. His bed time reading - my recipe books a good number of times. Loves to draw sketches of cars and has plans to sell them to the Tatas no less - the first model to be sold to him. The little entrepreneur put up a lemonade stall, replete with a board which read "Rowjee's Lemonade Stall'' of front of our house last summer.

He has taken to reading detective stories and the outcome was this on our front door...Notice the logo and Bond.'A' Bond on the right:-)


Father-in-law has a home appliances store. Anirudh often accompanies him to the store. A customer had once asked if there were any 'offers' if he bought a television. Son seriously replied "If you buy a television at our store, you get the remote control free''. The then 6-year-old was kidnapped in his dream. He told the kidnapper that if he let him free, he would sell an air-cooler at a discount of 50% to him!  He had once told me with tears in his eyes that he would keep on collecting my pictures. The moment I die, he would paste them all over his room! Well, I did not know if I had to laugh or cry!!!

Back to the cake - it is a very important part of the birthday and we discuss ahead what cake it should be. I try to make it in line with whatever is his current fad. It was once a  Racing Track Cake , a Helicopter Cake the other year and this year a Beyblade cake (surprise, surprise!!). I tried to make one with a small beyblade drawing on it as. It turned out quite sloppy looking (me artistically challenged) but still the boys thought it was cool to have a beyblade cake and a home-made one at that! Notice (hard!) the 'L' in the middle which stands for a Lightning L Drago. I made this cake a vanilla sponge with almond, chocolate and whipped cream filling. 


I normally bake 2 cakes for the kids' birthdays. A chocolate cake doesn't fail to please most kids, so played safe and baked a Moist Chocolate Bundt Cake too


This cake is from the The Food Librarian's blog from here. This is one very easy and quick to put together cake, stayed quite moist even after almost 40 hours of baking it.. the last tiny slice was still moist and good. The recipe has both oil and butter in it, which adds to to the moist quality. Makes this a good make ahead cake for a party or a picnic. The original recipe has cinnamon in it, I have skipped it and added a dash of coffee. Feel free to tweak it to your taste and preference.



Ingredients:  
1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar (nope, the cake was not too sweet)
1/2 teaspoon salt (I skipped this)
1/2 cup buttermilk (Refer note below)
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules(optional)
or
1.5 teaspoons cinnamon

Procedure : Preheat the oven to 190 degree C / 375 degrees F. Grease a 12'' bundt pan. I greased mine very very generously with ghee and dusted with flour. Put butter, water, oil, and cocoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil.(I added the coffee granules here) Meanwhile, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Pour the chocolate mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix well. Then, add the buttermilk and baking soda. Mix together the eggs (and cinnamon if using) and vanilla in a small bowl, and add to the batter. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake 30-35 minutes or till a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cake to cool completely in the pan. I left the cake in the pan over night. My bundt cake once broke when I tried to invert it 15 minutes after baking. I don't think I will ever do that again.. safer to cool the cake in the tin for a few hours and then invert.

To make the buttermilk: Add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar to half a cup of room temperature milk. Let it stand for about 10 minutes, it will curdle. I used plain synthetic vinegar and it worked fine for me.

I have frosted the cake with dark chocolate ganache . You will need

For the ganache:
Cream( I have used 25% fat, Amul) - 2 Cups
Dark chocolate chopped - 2 1/2 cups
Unsalted butter - 1 tablespoon

Suspend a large fine meshed strainer over a suitable vessel. Bring the cream to a boil in a heavy and thick bottomed saucepan. Stir in the butter. Add the chopped dark chocolate. Whisk gently till the chocolate dissolves. Strain the ganache using a spatula to push it through the strainer. Straining will help get a smoother ganache with minimal air bubbles which means a smoother finish to the cake. Pour the ganache over the cake when still warm. If the ganache thickens before you use it, heat carefully in a microwave and use.


The cake sliced beautifully, was loved by the kids. I personally am very partial to cakes and brownies made with melted chocolate as compared to those made with cocoa. If you do not have any such strong preferences, please do bake this cake, you will like it for sure!

P.S: Forgive the pics as I just could not get them right a little late during the day. I love chocolate but taking pictures of chocolaty stuff - naaw.. HELP!!!






Chicken Salad

Chicken Salad

Chicken salad is a family favorite. It does not have to be laden with excess fat to be tasty and enjoyable.




A tasty and healthy chicken salad method will consist of boneless, skinless chicken breast, low fat or fat free mayonnaise and other flavorful additions.


Chicken Salad


Fruity Chicken Salad


4 C. Boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked and coarsely chopped

1/4 cup sliced celery

2 Tbsp. Chopped green onion

4 oz. Pineapple chunks (save the juice)

1 cup seedless grapes.

1/4 cup dark raisins

1 granny smith or your beloved apple, chopped

1/4 C slivered almonds

1 C fat-free mayonnaise

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp. Curry powder (optional)

2 tablespoon pineapple juice

Mix mayonnaise, curry powder, and lemon juice in a small bowl.

In a larger bowl, concentrate celery, green onion, grapes, raisins, apples, almonds and chicken. concentrate and refrigerate. This will give the ingredients a opportunity to blend.

Yield 6 servings. Each serving has 225 calories, 5 Gms. Fat, 608 mg. Sodium and 24 grams carbs.

Quick and easy Chicken Salad

Combine 1 can white meat chicken with 2 c. Shredded carrots and 2 c. Celery, chopped. Add ¼ c. Onion, chopped. Add just adequate low fat or fat free mayonnaise to moisten. Add ½ can shoestring potatoes just before it is served.

Spicy Chicken supper Salad

2 boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and coarsely chopped

½ cup fat free Italian dressing

½ cup chopped celery

¼ cup chopped sweet onion

½ green pepper, chopped

2 cups cooked elbow macaroni or cooked ziti

Place chunked chicken in a zip lock type warehouse bag with the salad dressing. Leave for at least four hours.

Since the chicken is cooked, it is not indispensable to drain the salad dressing.

Add the remaining ingredients and toss lightly. Add further fat free dressing as needed.

This is a yummy entrée or side for your dinner.

Cocktail Chicken Sandwiches

1 loaf party rye or pumpernickel bread

1 can all white chicken, drained

½ cup celery, finely chopped

¼ cup sweet onion or green onion, finely chopped

1 cup seedless white grapes quartered.

1 cup fat free thousand island salad dressing

4 radishes, sliced thin. More if necessary.

Mix chicken with celery, onion, grapes and salad dressing.

Spread evenly on party rye or pumpernickel bread.

Top the sandwich and ornament with a slice of radish for added color.

Your selection of inherent combinations for low fat recipes is endless. They do not have to be boring. There are a great selection of fat free salad dressings that can be used in place of full fat dressings. The low or fat free mayonnaise is also tasty, according to your beloved brand.

The food industry is attempting to help every person achieve a healthier life style if they so choose. By varying the dressings, instead of sticking with mayonnaise, you have created a new low fat recipe.

Remember that a method is merely a map. If you don't take the side roads, you are missing the satisfaction of the trip.


Chicken Salad

Easter bunny cupcakes

I wasn't really going to bother with Easter cupcakes as our house was already overflowing after a baking frenzy last week (more to come on that in another post), however I got a new tip and had a glut of clementines in the house so decided last night to whip up something delicious with a slight Easter theme!

The cupcakes themselves were based on a lovely recipe I saw on fellow cake enthusiast The Caked Crusader's blog. The recipe can be found here - I halved it and got 6 cupcakes and instead of using orange juice I used the juice of lots of freshly squeezed clementines. Simple.

I used my own vanilla frosting recipe, halved and replaced the milk with clementine juice. Then came the fun part - piping with my new nozzle.  Well it would've been fun if it hadn't been about 100 degrees in my kitchen and the frosting wasn't going soupy after a couple of minutes. I persevered and it kind of worked - but the heat still kept melting it when on the cupcake, so I went against everything I believe and put them in the fridge to stay non-soupy and set about the very simple decoration I planned.

Warning the photographs below contain scenes of bunny decapitation - look away now if easily shocked!

First you take one of these


the delicious Malteaster bunny shaped treat from Malteser. Now unwrap him....


and then...

chop his head off with a lovely pink knife. Or any knife you have. The main point is you must decapitate the bunny.

After this it's pretty straightforward. Take your cupcake and sit the decapitated bunny head on top amongst your grassy frosting. Again, simple.


As you can see my grass frosting didn't quite work out as I'd hoped but I know it will next time - when my kitchen isn't warmer than the centre of the earth! It still manages to look rather cute in my opinion - especially when you remove the cases.

And as for the taste - you can see from the yearning in the Lindt Bunnies eyes he wants one because they taste really good. The clementine juice gives a really moist cake, it's possibly one of the moistest cakes I've made. The flavour was rather subtle (the outside of the clementines weren't really good enough to grate some peel in as I would usually have done), but really tasty.


If you're a bit too squeamish to chop the head off a bunny for your own cupcake pleasure then feel free to decorate in any other way you choose.

Finally, I can confirm the bunny was still decapitated this morning, it had not, in the spirit of Easter re-attached it's head and 'come back to life'. So we ate it. 

How to Make a Chocolate frozen pleasure

How to Make a Chocolate frozen pleasure

Chocolate is a favorite dessert of the young and the young at heart. It's so loved that no special occasion is perfect without a yummy cake or other dessert as the center piece. Whether you are fixing a German cake, an angel cake or just serving chocolate ice cream, it assuredly doesn't matter as people just love chocolate.




Chocolate comes from the seed of the cacao tree that originates in South America. Today, about half of the world's cocoa comes from West Africa. It comes in different varieties depending on the added ingredients. Dark is the collection that would be called the pure chocolate. It has that certain bitter-sweet taste. According to studies, dark chocolate, when consumed in moderation, can help in lowering blood pressure. Other types include milk and white. Milk chocolate contains milk powder or condensed milk, and white contains cocoa butter instead of cocoa solid.


Chocolate Cake Recipe


Chocolate is a favorite comfort food for those who are depressed and stressed. It has something to do with the publish of serotonin, an anti-depressant, primarily due to tryptophan that can be found in chocolates. Its consumption also increases the publish of endorphins, which decreases stress. This is probably one of the reasons why people who are depressed conduct to gain weight.


It can be enjoyed in a collection of ways and the invention of chocolate cake is one of the best. Unfortunately, baking a cake from scratch entails a lot of work, dirty pans and the exact measurement of ingredients otherwise your cake will sink in the middle.

You can create a fall safe dessert by manufacture Chocolate icy Delight. It is great recipe for those who do not like to bake, yet want to eat a sumptuous chocolate dessert. This recipe comes from Taste of Home magazine. Chocolate icy pleasure is a very easy, no-cook, assuredly mouth-watering dessert. Here are the ingredients and instructions to make this for your family:

Ingredients
3/4 cup cold fat-free milk
1 package (1.4 ounces) sugar-free instant chocolate pudding mix
2 cups fat-free vanilla icy yogurt, softened
1/4 cup reduced-fat chunky peanut butter
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons fat-free whipped topping, divided

Directions
In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Stir in the icy yogurt and peanut butter until blended. Fold in 1 cup whipped topping. Replacement to an 8-in. Quadrilateral dish coated with cooking spray. Cover and frost until firm.

Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving. Cut into nine squares. Garnish each with 2 tablespoons whipped topping

Make this the next time you know the house will be home for dinner and you can be sure everybody will enjoy it. Indulge your love for chocolate dessert without all the hard work, try manufacture a Chocolate icy pleasure tonight!


How to Make a Chocolate frozen pleasure

Saturday, April 23, 2011

cafeteria equipment - Cost, Maintenance and LifeLine

cafeteria equipment - Cost, Maintenance and LifeLine

The A2Z of cafeteria Equipment




You might think that owing a cafeteria is an easy enough task to do. But citizen who own it tend to think otherwise. There are a lot of aspects that go into the success of a cafeteria but none are as foremost as cafeteria equipment.


Menu Salads


It can be all the more confusing if you are finding to set up the cafeteria from scratch. The Total cost of proprietary is just one of the aspects of this. There are so many details that it might just seem too confusing for the midpoint person.


The cost of the equipment, the power consumption, maintenance costs, the returns that they furnish and the lifeline of the cafeteria equipment, should be combined and looked into before buying a new one.

Preventive maintenance

The tedious task is not about buying the most recent piece of cafeteria equipment. It starts when you look at maintaining that tool in the best of forms.

You need skilled personnel who are trained to keep the tool in the best of forms. A friend of mine who owns a cafeteria was distraught when a cafeteria tool suddenly stopped working.

It was working perfectly well and when it was dismantled, it was found that the maintenance staff had left out the 'O rings'. This allowed food particles to enter the tool ultimately contaminating it and it got stalled. So it is crucial to evaluate the costs of maintaining tool over its lifetime.

Variables into the picture

Most citizen only reconsider the cost of the tool and tend to ignore the other factors like the maintenance and the power costs. There is pro help available for those who find it too daunting a task.

Several companies who specialize in these factors offer services to citizen finding for Tco in cafeteria equipment. You can absolutely find such a company online.


cafeteria equipment - Cost, Maintenance and LifeLine

Cheddar Tuna Chowder

Cheddar Tuna Chowder

This hearty chowder is easy to prepare. It is made with ingredients already stocked in nearly every kitchen pantry. It is a tasty dish all year, but especially welcome during the winter months. Serve with a green salad, and toasted bread or warm rolls for a perfect meal.




Cheddar Tuna Chowder


Tuna Salad Recipe


Ingredients:


1 small onion, chopped fine

2 large potatoes, cut in 3/4 inch pieces

1/2 cup carrots, cut in 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cup celery, cut in 1/2 inch pieces

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups boiling water, saved from cooking vegetables

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

3/4 pound sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1 15 ounce can creamed corn

1 8 ounce can tuna, undrained

1 pinch crushed rosemary

Dash hot pepper sauce, or to taste

1/4 cup chopped chives

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preparation:

Add the salt and cut potatoes to a pan of boiling water. Cook for 10 minutes. Add the carrots and celery and cook until all vegetables are tender, roughly 10 more minutes. Set aside.

In a large pot cook onion in butter until onion is clear. Add the flour a microscopic at a time, stirring until all flour is moistened.

Drain cooked vegetables, reserving 2 cups cooking water. Add the reserved water to flour and onion mixture, stirring well to preclude lumps. Add cooked vegetables and stir.

Reduce heat. To cooked vegetables, add the milk, creamed corn, and canned tuna. Bring to a simmer. Add cheddar cheese, crushed rosemary, chopped chives and ground black pepper. Add a dash of hot pepper sauce or to taste. Stir well. Simmer gradually for at least 10 minutes.


Cheddar Tuna Chowder

"Mazurek" - A Polish Easter Cake

We are having the most glorious spring that I can ever remember. The weather in the UK right now makes me deliriously happy all the time - that's the great thing about living in a country where you expect it to rain - it makes you appreciate every single ray of sunshine like it's your last. As usual, I am spending the Easter break down on the south coast - catching up with old friends on the beach, sunbathing in the garden and cooking with my mum. This morning we made a really popular Polish Easter cake - the mazurek - which is also the easiest cake you can ever hope to make
You start off by making some pastry
And some caramel - you do this by completely covering a tin of condensed milk with hot water, and boiling for two to two and a half hours. Allow it to cool before opening
 Then you spread it over the pastry... and get creative with the nuts on top
  Pastry

600g flour
250g sugar
350g butter
3 egg yolks
Pinch of salt

Mix the ingredients together and kneed to make the dough. Put it in the fringe for 1 hour before rolling out into a 1cm thickness, and placing in a backing tin with raised edges. Bake for 15min at 200 degrees, until golden

simple Summer Salad - Three Steps to a Quick, healthy Salad

simple Summer Salad - Three Steps to a Quick, healthy Salad

As summer heats up, a great meal to make is a nice, simple salad that doesn't take a lot of sweat in the kitchen. This salad takes three basic steps: marinade and cook the main salad ingredient, put in order the vegetables and make the salad dressing. It's a great way to use orchad vegetables if you grow them or even if you take advantage of farmers' store sales. You can use any main ingredient along with shrimp, chicken or tofu. Plus, the home made Balsamic Vinaigrette will have every person asking where did you get the salad dressing. Here is a indubitably easy recipe for manufacture a salad that every person is sure to love.




Ingredients for 4 servings:

1lb Main Ingredient (Chicken, Shrimp or Tofu)
3 cups Salad (Pre-washed salad is a real time saver)
Several orchad Vegetables (Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Olives, Apples...whatever you have on hand or like)
1/4 cup Feta Cheese
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Dried Basil
Dried Oregano
Pepper
Salt if needed
1. put in order the Main Ingredient: Shrimp, Chicken or Tofu


Simple Salad Recipes


Pick Out, Marinate and Cook the Main Ingredient:

Pick out you main ingredient; we regularly use tofu, shrimp or chicken. If you use tofu or chicken, chop it up into bite size pieces. Then marinate it in low fat Italian dressing for about 5-10 minutes. We regularly use 1-2Tbsp of dressing per pound of main ingredient.


Cook the Shrimp, Chicken or Tofui

Grill the main salad ingredient. We indubitably like to use a grill pan which saves you from having to make skewers. This allows you to cut smaller pieces so there will be more exterior area for marinades. an additional one selection is to cook the main ingredient in a non-stick pan with a light coating of vegetable oil. regularly shrimp and tofu take about 7 minutes while chicken takes a combine minutes longer. We regularly let the main ingredient marinade while establishment the other steps, and then cook it at the end.

2. Make the Salad Dressing:

Nothing is good than homemade dressing. This is our indubitably simple recipe for manufacture a indubitably great Balsamic Vinaigrette that you can use on almost any salad. In a small bowl, combine and mix with a fork:

1Tbsp olive oil
1Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1Tsp dried basil leaves
1Tsp Dried Oregano
pepper to taste and salt to taste.Try not to use too much salt because it is very easy to overdo sodium in your diet.

3. combine Vegetables and terminate Salad:

Chop up all the orchad Vegetables and add to the salad. Toss with the salad dressing.

Arrange salad on plates or in a salad bowl, sprinkle feta cheese on top and then arrange the main chicken, shrimp or tofu on one side.

Using the basic dressing recipe and orchad greens, it is indubitably easy to convert things up with a separate main ingredient. One night try shrimp and on an additional one maybe try tofu. The hidden to cooking tofu is to let it marinate for a long time. Hopefully you enjoy this basic recipe for manufacture many separate salads!


simple Summer Salad - Three Steps to a Quick, healthy Salad

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Vegetable sago

Sago is widely used as a "fasting food" especially in North India. This recipe is slightly different and quite tasty - something I would love for a change, although I've not found any particularly appealing information on health benefits as such from sago.


Ingredients:

sago - 1/2 cup
potato - 1
peas+carrots(diced) - 3/4 cup (cooked with a little salt)
roasted crushed peanut - 1/4 cup
green chillies - 3 (adjust according to taste)
broken cashewnuts - 1 tbsp
oil - 2 tsp
mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
black gram - 1/2 tsp
curry leaves - a twig
coriander leaves - a few (chopped)
turmeric powder - a pinch
salt - 3/4 tsp (adjust according to taste)
lemon juice - 1 tbsp

Method:

Soak sago until soft. Drain on a kitchen towel and keep aside. Cut potatoes into 1/2 inch pieces. Heat a teaspoon of oil. Fry potato pieces with a little salt and keep aside. Heat the remaining teaspoon of oil and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, black gram and cashewnuts. When the mustard seeds start spluttering and cashews start turning light brown, add green chillies and curry leaves. Add sago, cooked carrots+peas, turmeric powder and salt. Fry for a couple of minutes. Add fried potatoes and broken peanuts and fry for a minute. Mix in the lemon juice and top with chopped coriander leaves.

Notes:
Soaking time will vary depending on the sago - if it is instant sago, just wash and drain. If it is the hard sago, it needs to be soaked for a few hours, preferably in warm water so that it soaks faster. (Do not use hot water).

Let them eat cupcakes


I know, I know, I'm not fussed either, but it would seem some of you are!  So if you are excited about the Wedding, and about cupcakes (and if you aren't excited about cupcakes not sure why you're reading this blog!) then this could be the perfect t-shirt for you.

Available from Cupcake Betty.

Southwestern Chicken Salad method

Southwestern Chicken Salad method

Looking for a appetizing and healthy summer recipe? You are going to love this. My inspiration for manufacture this salad came after eating a very similar dish at a popular cafeteria that I often visit. Actually, this is something my Wife and I like to do every once in a while. After we eat a dish that we are particularly fond of, we like to go home and try and re-create the recipe without knowing the ingredients. Try it... It's a fun way to see just how sensitive those taste buds honestly are....




Farmers shop


Chicken Salad


I am fortunate enough to have a marvelous farmers shop not too far from my home. There is just something extra about shopping for produce in a farmers market. The collection and potential of the produce found in my local farmers shop is far superior to the boring old supermarket. I know I am getting as close to organic as inherent when I shop there, so if you have one near you, I very suggest you visit and see what they have to offer. Regularly the folks there are very helpful and knowledgeable about their products so don't be afraid to ask questions.


Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you will need to make this marvelous salad:

- 1 Pound of Chicken Cutlets Grilled and Cut Into Strips - I like to use the thin sliced chicken as it cooks honestly fast and is easy to cut into strips.

- Southwestern Spice Rub:

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons paprika

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon dried oregano

- 8 Ounces of Mixed Salad Greens - I like to use a mix of Baby Romaine, Radicchio and Tango. If you can't find fresh greens, I suggest buying a bag of Fresh Express brand mixed salad greens. I have sampled a handful of salad brands and Fresh Express is by far the best in my opinion. The vegetable are always fresh, crisp and delicious. Everything is pre-washed and there are no preservatives.

2 Ripe Avocados Cut Into Small Chunks - It is very important that you pick ripened avocados. When finding for ripe avocados, do not pick them based on color. The best way to conclude if they are ripe is by the squeeze test. Ripe avocados will have a firm flesh but will give slightly when squeezed. Unripened avocados are hard and will not give. You should be able to tell the difference. It may take a bit of practice though. If you are unsure, ask for help. A ripe avocado should slice like butter.

1 Large Green Bell Pepper Cut Into Squares

2 Ears of Roasted Corn (Instructions Below)

Half of a Red Onion Sliced

A healthy Bunch of Fresh Cilantro Chopped

1/2 Cup of Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Ranch Dressing

Directions

Step 1 - Soak the Corn, husks and all, in cold water for 30 minutes.

Step 2 - While corn is soaking, prepare the chicken cutlets. Lightly coat the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle some southwestern spice rub on both sides. Rub the spices into the chicken. Refrigerate and allow the chicken to marinate while the corn is soaking.

Step 3 - After corn is done soaking, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place corn directly on oven rack and roast for approximately 30 minutes or until the corn is relatively soft. Remove from oven and let the corn cool.

Step 4 - Preheat indoor or outdoor grill. Get the grill nice and hot. Grill chicken cutlets for about 2 minutes on each side, or until done. Remove from grill and allow to cool.

Step 5 - While the chicken and corn is cooling, add the remaining ingredients into a large bowl.

Step 6 - Remove corn from cob. Hold corn upright over a cutting board. Using a knife, gradually cut the corn from the cob in a downward motion. Be careful!

Step 7 - Slice the chicken into thin strips.

Step 8 - Add the corn and chicken to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients.

Step 9 - Add the ranch dressing and toss the salad. The amount of ranch dressing you add is honestly up to you. It depends on your personal preference. I like to add about 1/4 cup.

Your done! Serve and enjoy!


Southwestern Chicken Salad method

Mamidikaya Pulihora ~ Raw Mango Rice

( మామిడికాయ పులిహోర )
Ingredients :

Raw Rice : 1 cup
Grated Raw Mango : 1 cup
Mustard Seeds : 1 tsp
Chana Dal : 1 tsp
Urad Dal : 1 tsp
Cashews : 15
Green Chillies : 4 to 6
Dried Red Chillies : 2 to 4
Curry Leaves : 2 stems
Turmeric Powder : 1/4tsp
Salt to taste
A big pinch of hing
Oil : 1 tbsp


Method :

Wash, peel and grate the mango and set aside. Wash the rice, add 2 cups of water and pressure cook for 3 whistles. Heat oil in a wok. Add the mustard seeds, chana dal, urad dal and fry them. When they start to splutter, add the cashews, split green chillies, red chillies, curry leaves and hing and fry for a minute. Now add the grated mango and turmeric powder and mix well. Switch off the heat and add the cooked rice and salt. Mix very well and serve.

  • You can also check other Pulihora recipes here
  • Check out other recipes of Mango here
  • Back to Recipe Index

Other Names : Mango Rice, Mamidi kaya Pulihora, Mivinakayi Chitranna, Mangai Sadam, Maanga Satham, Mamidikai Annam, Kaccha Aam Ka Chawal.

Grandma's Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake With Chocolate Icing

Grandma's Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake With Chocolate Icing

When I was growing up as a small child, I always looked transmit to the homemade chocolate cakes that my grandmother would make for my Birthday. In our family, my grandmother was a dedicated baker and would bake something for us every day. Thankfully, she passed on her love for baking to me.




This method is done the old-fashioned way and is topped off with some tasty chocolate icing. Once your cake is cooled, you will want to store it in a cake container. If it's hot and humid outside, I recommend storing it in the refrigerator.


Banana Cake


Cake Ingredients:


1/2 pound butter, softened

5 eggs

2 cups granulated sugar

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup evaporated canned milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar. Slowly add in the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, integrate the all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly add 1/2 of the flour compound to the wet ingredients and beat for 1 minute. Pour in the 1/2 cup of milk and beat again, followed by the remaining flour mixture. Stir in the vanilla excerpt and beat again. Finally, stir in the 1/4 cup of evaporated milk and beat until all ingredients are well combined.

Note: If your batter seems beyond doubt stiff, add a tiny supplementary milk.

Lightly spray a 9 x 13" baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 to 45 minutes or until cake is done in the center. Cool cake on a wire rack.

Chocolate Icing Ingredients:

2 1/2 squares baking chocolate

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1 teaspoon butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large saucepan, melt the baking chocolate over low heat. Stir in the granulated sugar and evaporated milk. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 to 3 minutes or until a soft ball forms when dropped into cold water. Remove pan from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract. Beat icing by hand until it is thick sufficient to spread on your cooled cake.


Grandma's Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake With Chocolate Icing

How to make fried rice

In order to make a fried rice, it is best to follow this simple step which was shown by this video. In fact, this is the first time I braise myself to cook fried rice that is so delicious because I have learned it through this video.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Minty lamb with herbs and black pepper and carrot and pea curry

I love cooking with other people because you always learn something new, even when the person cooking with you feels like they have nothing to teach you. That down there is a picture of a couple of curries myself and my cooking-partner, Dan, made before the "detox". It's in inverted commas now because of the bottle of rose wine I had on Saturday and the fact that ate half a chocolate bunny in one sitting yesterday - I was only meant to nibble on an ear, but things got out of hand - anyway, back to the curries: the pea and carrot one is similar to a Polish dish my mum makes - the similarity between  cuisines from such different parts of the world never ceases to amaze me. The other one is a really fresh- tasting lamb curry with mint and coriander - and it's something really quite special. Both of them are from "50 Great Curries of India" by Camelia Panjabi


Lamb with herbs and black pepper
(serves 6)

2 cups coriander leaves
1/2 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup fresh grated coconut
About 20 cashews (unroasted)
6 green chillies
Pinch of mustard powder or 1/2 mustard
4 tblsp oil
1.5cm broken cinnamon stick
4 green cardamon pods
3 cloves
2 onions, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves
2.5 x 1.5cm peeled ginger, chopped
1kg bones stewing lamb, cubed
1/2 tsp turmeric
1.5 tsp coriander powder
3/4 tsp cumin powder
100ml yoghurt, whipped
salt
1 tblsp lime or lemon juice
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp garam masala

I know, I know, I just had to write that list so I do realize how long it is, but believe me the recipe couldn't be easier. We blended the fresh mint, coconut and coriander with the nuts, chillies, mustard and a bit of water to a fine paste in the food processor. Then you heat the oil in a frying pan, and add the cinnamon, cardamon and cloves. After 1min add the onions and saute until they're turning brown, before adding the garlic, ginger and lamb. Turn the heat up and saute for 5min. Add the all the spices apart from the garam masala (turmeric, cumin and coriander) and fry for few more minutes. Make sure all the lamb is well-coated, then turn the heat down again and add the yoghurt really slowly, stirring all the time - two people at this point make the job easier, because one can stir continuously while the other one pours. If you are cooking on your own, then take care, maybe even take it off the heat for this bit, because you don't want it to curdle. Now, the green paste and a bit of water go in - it says 400ml, but I just follow my instincts with these things rather than being too precise. Bring it to the boil, then turn it right down and allow to simmer for about 45min. Just before serving, check the seasoning, add the lemon juice, freshly ground black pepper and the garam masala powder

Peas with carrots and cumin
(serves 2)

3 tblsp oil
2 onions, finely chopped
1 green chilli finely chopped
1 garlic clove
1cm x 1cm piece of ginger, finely chopped
1/4 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/4 chilli powder
1/2 cumin seeds
1 tomato, chopped
150g peas
2 carrots, diced
salt

Heat the oil in a frying pan and saute the onion until it turns brown (about 25min), then add the chilli, garlic and ginger. Saute for 3min, before adding all the spices. After a couple of minutes add some water (aprox 3 tblsp) and cook for a further 3min. Then the tomato for a couple of minutes, and finally the carrots, peas and salt. Cover and cook until tender - just keep tasting the carrots basically, and when they are soft enough for you, it's ready

Both these curries were great in their own right, but we decided that they are not necessarily meant to be eaten together. In fact, probably not. It's not that they tasted odd together, but they did nothing to compliment one another. One was simple, nice and undeniably good for you (if it was a person, it would be the girl-next-door type), the other one - probably not that great for you, but when something is that tasty, you just don't care: everything else pales by comparison and you think about it for days afterwards. It's unusual, complex, deep and rich - an undiscovered star of the curry world!

Going back for a second to learning things from people through cooking - what I learnt during this session is that I need to slice my onions way more finely than I had ever bothered to - it makes a massive difference to the taste of the curry. I will sharpen my knives and not be so lazy about this in the future, and if you haven't been doing so already I beg you to do the same. They should be as translucent as you can get them, you won't go back i promise you...

An-Tea Establishment


As mentioned in the last post I'm not that fussed about the Royal Wedding but I do like cake, and punk. Which means I really want to go to the An-Tea Establishment afternoon tea at the Met bar. It looks right up my street, I love rhubarb and custard cupcakes! And macaroons. And roly poly.

Savoury dishes include ‘quiche a la fergie’, breadless cucumber sandwiches, prawn cocktails and a warm Wensleydale cheese & pickle muffin. For those with a sweet tooth, ‘strawberries & cream’ macaroons, rhubarb & custard cupcakes, organic compote roly-poly and many more all feature on our delicious hand-made menu.


Available for a limited period between 22nd April - 8th May, 3-6pm. Price £27 + service charge (12.5%) per person. All reservations must be made at least 24 hours in advance.

Anyone want to come with me, doubt Manny will fancy it. You can have my prawns (I'm allergic)

Boiler Feed Water solutions.25,000 gpd. - IBUOnline

Boiler Feed Water solutions.25,000 gpd. - IBUOnline

Egg Salad method - A Quick, Easy and Versatile Salad Idea

Egg Salad method - A Quick, Easy and Versatile Salad Idea

I don't know about you, but egg salad recipe is on my mind tonight. After a busy day at work and then a long (but excellent) work-out at the gym, I am naturally seeing for something relatively easy, uncomplicated and quick.




Egg salad is versatile because it can act as a side dish at breakfast or supper. You can put it in the middle of two slices of bread to make a sandwich as well. an additional one added bonus is that it doesn't need complex ingredients.


Tuna Salad Recipe


So how do you make egg salad? Here are some easy instructions.


First secure or make sure you have these ingredients (there is only 3 main ones so it might mean a quick stop at the grocery store on your way home):

6 eggs,

1 stalk of celery,

3/4 cup of mayonnaise or Miracle Whip (adjust this whole to your liking).

First, make some hard boiled eggs. It can be tricky but here's how I do it (you can result your own formula if that works best for you). Fill a pot with water up to 3/4 full, then add the eggs to the pot (Note: the eggs have to be fully submerged). Turn up the heat to high setting, then cover the pot. Remove the pot from heat of the stove as soon as boiling temperature is reached while retention the lid on and allow the eggs to cook for about 10 minutes to secure hard-boiled eggs.

In the meantime, finely chop the celery. After the 10 minutes are up, dump the water from the pot into the sink and shock the eggs in cold water. Peel and chop the eggs. In a large bowl, mix chopped eggs and celery with the mayonnaise or Miracle Whip.

That's it. Enjoy it as a side dish or if you just want something quick and simple, put it in the middle of two slices of toasted bread and taste with some salt and pepper. Happy cooking!


Egg Salad method - A Quick, Easy and Versatile Salad Idea

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Anarchy in the UK

Photo copyright Nathan Pask 2011

You are much more likely to find me at a (yes I know they've sold out now but never the less I like them) Sex Pistols gig than watching the Royal Wedding,  however a Royal Wedding event organised by the wonderful Miss Cakehead has caught my eye!

Will and Cake is a Royal Wedding inspired pop up cake shop for one day only, Thursday 28th April, at Maiden in Shoreditch. A host of bakers will be selling their goods there, including the awesome Molly Bakes. Get there early and stock up on cupcakes and cake pops to enjoy while you watch the wedding on Friday. Or not, as the case may be! The shop opens at 11am and will close when the cakes sell out - if previous events are anything to go by they'll sell out quick!


If Will and Cake doesn't excite you, how about a more traditional wedding offering from Fiona Cairns, who as you may know has been chosen to make the wedding cake for Wills and Kate.

Fiona is of course making the traditional style cake for the wedding, not the rich tea and chocolate fridge cake that everyone seems to be a great topic of discussion in the cake world.  She has also teamed up with Sainsbury's with these exclusive boxes of 9 red, white and blue commemorative cupcakes for those who prefer a more traditional style of cake.  According to her website, Fiona's company bakes 27,000 cupcakes a week! Eek. I'd still call these fairy cakes myself (buttercream = cupcake v icing = fairy cake) but that is still a lot of cake! I've had Fiona's cakes a couple of times and they've always been light and moist. And my delicious sticky toffee cupcakes recipe is adapted from a Fiona Cairns recipe.

Sainsbury's have given me a box of these cupcakes to give away to one lucky, UK based, blog reader. For a chance to win a box, to be sent to you direct from Sainsbury's, please leave a comment below, with contact details if you don't have a blog link (twitter, email etc). If you would like an additional chance to win please tweet a link to this post and let me know that you have done so, so your name can be entered twice. Closing date for entries is Monday 25th April at noon.

Update: the winner chosen at random via the random generator was Mel! Congrats and I hope you enjoy them!

Cashew And Coconut Payasam



Entertaining is a pleasure. Entertaining foodies is even more of a pleasure. I love to cook, call people over and feed them. I like it when I see people relishing food. We are a foodie family. My father is an enthusiastic eater, but doesn't cook beyond the occasional sambhar or upma when my Mom is away. He keeps joking that its a good thing that my place is quite a distance from their place - dreads what would happen to his weight if I kept feeding him my experiments. When we were kids, he would make sure he got us snacks to eat even on short journeys . He would make sure my picnic lunch during my school days ended with a bar of milk chocolate. Brother loves to eat and does cook rarely, sometimes giving my Mom a day off from the kitchen on a weekend. My brother-in-law loves, loves food and is quite easy to please, whatever my busy doctor kid sis dishes up is happily demolished. Sis likes to eat, but would rather not spend any time in the kitchen on a daily basis if she could help it. My older sister is a very good cook, enthusiastic about cooking, but nothing that will be a three hour process puhleez, no thanks. No, am not going to bore you with more talk about my foodie uncles, aunts, cousins and the rest of the clan...promise! I bet I heard that sigh of relief:-)

Sis and family were to come over for lunch the next noon. The biggest budding foodie in the family is my son, I wouldn't have it any other way! He took a few of my recipe books to bed to help me decide what I could dish up. By morning, he was ready with the menu written on a piece of paper and put it on the fridge door. He even decided that the names of the dishes would be written on paper and placed in front of each dish (now whatever this is called, enlighten me!).

Foodie bonding also saw me give my brother-in-law a 'demo' of the Instant Microwave Brownie for those emergency sugar craving situations. The lunch was at short notice but there was no way I could not prepare at least two desserts for my  brother-in-law's sweet tooth. The other one was a creamy and tasty Cashew And Coconut Payasam.




Here is how I made it.

Ingredients: 
 Cashew nuts -  1/2 cup
 Fresh grated coconut - 1 cup
 Milk - 3 cups plus more as needed to adjust the consistency
 Sugar - 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (adjust to taste)
 Freshly ground cardamom powder - 1 teaspoon
Finely chopped, cashew nuts - 2 tablespoons.
Ghee - 1 teaspoon



Procedure: Soak the cashew nuts in enough hot water for at least 1 hour. When the nuts are soft, drain. Grind with the fresh coconut to a very smooth paste using some milk as needed to grind. Set aside. Boil the milk in a thick heavy bottomed pan. Lower the heat to minimum. Add the ground paste, mix well, ensuring no lumps. Cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The raw smell of the cashew nuts should disappear. Add the sugar, cook for a few more minutes. Turn off the heat. Roast the chopped cashew nuts in a teaspoon of ghee till golden brown.  Stir in the roasted nuts and the cardamom powder. Cool. Serve chilled.


Note : This will be sweet but not very sweet. If serving the payasam chilled, you may need to add more chilled milk to adjust the consistency. Have some powdered sugar on hand as you may need to add more sugar once you add the extra milk.

A little bite of heaven!

This week I tried my hand at almond and rosewater flavoured cup-cakes.
They were light, filled with flavour and absolutely easy to make.

Here is the recipe step by step to soften even the most hardened heart.
After all, who can resist such a little bite of heaven?

Mr. Quality-control


Almond and Rosewater Cup-Cakes:
(Makes 24 small or 12 large cup-cakes)
(You can flavour mixture with cocoa, lemon zest or any other flavouring if you do not like almond)

125 G Butter
¾ Cup castor sugar
1 Teaspoon almond essence
2 Teaspoons Concentrated Rosewater
3 L Eggs
1/½ Cup Self Raising Flour (sifted)
¼Cup Milk

Method:
1.      Pre heat oven to 180 º, prepare cupcake holders and place in muffin pan.
2.      Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
3.      Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4.      Add flour that has been sifted alternating with the milk and all flavourings.
5.      Spoon into cupcake holders and bake in oven that has been pre heated for 12- 15 minutes. They should be golden and risen.
Golden and light.

Yummy as is!

Fluffy Buttercream Icing:
(You can flavour this icing once you have beaten it with cocoa, lemon zest etc)

1 Kg sifted Icing sugar
250 g White baking margarine *
Method”
1.      Add softened margarine to bowl of electric mixer and beat for a few minutes till soft.
2.      Add icing sugar a little at a time and beat until all icing sugar has been incorporated. Add a few teaspoons of boiling water to make mixture more manageable. Not too much or mixture will curdle, if this happens add more icing sugar, so go slow.
The icing, soft and fluffy.
3.      Add food colouring if using and 2 teaspoons of rosewater to icing.
4.      Once cupcakes are cooled, Ice cupcakes and enjoy!

·         Use white margarine as your cupcakes will be pure white. If it does not matter, use normal baking margarine like Stork baking marg.


The crumbing stage - before icing.

Indian summer coloured icing

Ready to be enjoyed!