Amaranth Orange Cardamon Loaf

Cardamon is one of those intensely aromatic and flavorful spices. The moment I saw this recipe on Pinterest, I knew I had to try it soon! Considering it has orange as well meant there was no doubt about it that I would make it. Here is my adapted version.

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup Amaranth flour
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup olive oil
3/4 cup greek yogurt
1 tsp cardamon
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp baking powder
1-2 tbsp orange zest
1-2 tbsp orange juice

Mix flour, baking powder, salt and cardamon in a bowl.

In a separate bowl mix sugar and orange zest with your hands. Add oil, eggs, yogurt and orange juice and whisk until all the ingredients combine. Add the dry ingredients and mix well.

Grease a baking pan and dust lightly with flour. Pour the batter and smooth out the top.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake loaf for 50-55 minutes until golden brown.

Serve warm with a hot cup of cardamon or orange pekoe tea.

Try this, you will just love the fragrance and aromas floating in your kitchen as you bake this!

Celebrate fall with Amaranth Pumpkin Loaf

If it’s fall, it’s gotta be pumpkin!

I have been itching to make this since I saw it. And as can be expected I made minor changes. Key one being to substitute 25% of white flour with amaranth flour. The final product ended up being moist and tasty. I took it in to work and it was gone in a couple of hours 🙂 Here’s how I made my pumpkin loaf.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup amaranth flour
1.5 cups sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 15-oz can pumpkin puree
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
some pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl mix together flour, amaranth flour, salt,baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, salt and ginger.

In a separate bowl whisk together eggs, oil, sugar and water.

Mix the wet ingredients with the dry. Add chopped walnuts and mix well.

Grease a loaf pan and add the batter. Sprinkle some pumpkin seeds and bake for 60-80 minutes.

Orange Cranberry Scone!

Finally!

I got to make my favorite scone! For a while this used to be my favorite breakfast. Each day as I headed to work I made a stop at the local Starbucks and picked a coffee and scone (typically orange cranberry if they had one). Yummy!

I still had fresh cranberries and oranges left over after the Cranberry Orange Bread I baked last week. The weather was gloomy with overcast skies and periods of rain. After the beautiful, warm fall weather we’ve been having, it was a sharp contrast to have the temperature dip into the 50’s. Time to turn off the air condition and turn on the heater!

It was definitely the perfect day to turn on the oven and do some baking…

As usual I scoured the web for the perfect recipe with the condition that I would try one if I had all the ingredients already in my pantry. So here is my final adapted version:

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup amaranth flour
1 cup fresh cranberries
Orange rind from 1 orange
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt

Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Take cold butter and cut into cubes and add to the flour. Put the bowl in the refrigerator. In a separate bowl whisk egg, buttermilk and orange rind. Place the bowl in the refrigerator.

Meanwhile preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare parchment paper or baking dish to bake the scones.

Remove the dry ingredients. Either chop the cranberries or use whole (I used them whole) and add to the dry ingredients. Mix well with a spatula or hand. Add the egg buttermilk mix and mix thoroughly. Prepare the counter top table with some flour. Roll out the mixed dough into a 1 in thick circle. Cut the circle into 8 or 10 wedges. Or use a cookie cutter for more fancy shapes.

Bake on a parchment or baking dish for 13 – 15 minutes, until golden. Remove from oven and cool.

Serve warm scones with either orange marmalade or raspberry jam. Or glaze scones with some orange glaze and serve warm with tea or coffee.

Yum!

Orange Blackberry Muffins

So… I still had the oranges I bought last week for the Cranberry Orange Bread  (which by the way was delicious… I took it in for an office party and it was all gone save a slice for me!)  And some fresh blackberries that were on sale. This was a perfect recipe to try.

Although this time rather than use orange rind, I decided to use the real thing.

Turned out pretty good….

Ingredients:
1 cup blackberries
1/4 cup fresh orange pulp
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 tbsp  baking powder
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1/4 cup milk

Blend butter and sugar, add egg and milk blend until smooth.

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly. Add the wet ingredients. Mix well. Add orange and black berries and mix.

Grease muffin tin and add batter.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake muffins for 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy with a cuppa of fresh cardamon tea. Yummy!

Makes 6 muffins.

Adapted from ELR.

Note: If you like your muffins sweet, you might want to add more sugar.

Banana Coconut Muffins

It’s been a while since I baked muffins. With a surprise party lined up tomorrow for my co-worker seems it is the perfect time to try these banana coconut muffins from Fresh Tastes Blog!

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 eggs (as always I used the organic egg whites)
1/2 cup coconut (I used unsweetened shredded)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil (I ended up using canola)
1/2 cup walnuts
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp flaxmeal and/or hemp (optional)
3-4 ripe bananas

Mix the flour, coconut, and baking powder. Add oil to brown sugar and mix well. Add the eggs and whip together. Smash the banana and whip. Add the dried ingredients and mix well.

Lightly grease cup cake tray and fill each cup with 3/4 batter. Bake for 25 minutes in a 375 degrees pre-heated oven.

Delicious!

Zucchini Bread

Each time I walk into a Starbucks I eye the bakery section, each time hopeful to catch sight of a slice of Zucchini bread. Each time I am disappointed. To think I had my first introduction to zucchini bread at a Starbucks. I recently came to know that the assortment of baked goodies offered at Starbucks vary by locality. So likely no chance of seeing it here! Lately having resumed my baking adventures, I of course wanted to bake zucchini bread and found the perfect healthy recipe for it at Whole Foods.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup applesauce
2 tbsp yogurt
1 cup grated zucchini
1/3 cup toasted chopped walnuts
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 tbsp hemp (optional)
1 tbsp flax meal (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Meanwhile in a separate bowl whisk together egg, oil, apple sauce, yogurt and vanilla extract. Combine all ingredients. Fold in zucchini and walnuts. Being me, I tossed in some flax meal and hemp.

Lightly grease a bread pan. Pour in the dough and bake for 50-60 minutes or until the toothpick test passes.

Cool and enjoy with a fresh cup of coffee!

Mini Cherry Crumbles

Saw this on PBS Fresh Tastes Blog and had to try it out immediately. Cherries are my favorite fruit. When in season I never fail to buy them during each visit to the grocery. I had some fresh organic ones in the refrigerator ready and a sweet tooth to quench.

Ingredients:
2 cups pitted and sliced cherries
3/8 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
3/8 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp butter
pinch of salt

Slice the cherries and set aside. Drizzle some lemon juice and toss lightly. Meanwhile in a bowl mix melted butter, sugar, oats and flour. Add a pinch of salt.

Fill each ramekin with 3 quarters of cherries and add the rolled oats mix on top. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake the cherry crumbles for 25-30 minutes.

I used sliced strawberries with some left over crumbles and it was excellent. Next time I think I will try with raspberries, blueberries and blackberries as well!

Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Easy, quick and delicious! Try it!

Crepes

INGREDIENTS
1 cup unsifted all-purpose flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups milk
***1 tablespoon sugar, optional
***1 teaspoon vanilla, optional

PREP
In a medium bowl combine flour, eggs, egg yolks, oil or butter, and 1/2 cup of milk until smooth. A handheld blender, blender, beaters, whisk or many other tools do the trick. Add the rest of the milk and blend until smooth.

Heat a skillet or crepe pan over medium heat and butter the pan between each crepe. Pour approximately 1/4 cup of batter onto pan and swirl the batter around evenly by lifting the pan up and rotating your wrist in a circular motion for even distribution. Swirl the batter around the pan as thinly as possible. Lift up the edge to check for to see if done. Light brown is the goal unless you prefer your crepes more or less brown. Flip with a spatula or like my brother…flip it into the air and catch it in the pan. Brown the other side and continue until all crepes are made or eat and make as you go.

This batter is good prepared the same day you make the crepes and even better the night before. I haven’t tried this yet but this may be a good recipe to make a batch and then make a crepe a day for a few days.  I love hot crepes with sugar, filled with jam, filled with berries and whip cream, eggs inside with sausage and jam and i can’t wait to try filling them with homemade lemon curd (same lemon curd from the dream pie) and blueberries.

One of these days I will figure out how to make a scrumptious carmel filling and explore these as a dessert. Savory is very good also…with ground hamburger, sharp cheddar and garden fresh tomatoes or sauted spinach, mushrooms and garlic. Leave out the sugar and vanilla when you are making the savory crepes. 

EnjoyO!

Rasamalai

Ingredients:
1 can of part skim Ricotta Cheese
1-2 cups of sugar
1/4 gallon milk (2% or whole)
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp cardamom ground
pistachio and almonds

Mix Ricotta Cheese with a little sugar (1-2 tbspoons).

Either make small round flat balls (like cookies) and bake in cup cake pan or spread out in a square or rectangular baking dish (about 1/2 in thick).

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees and bake for about 45 minutes (less if making rounds) or until they turn lightly brown. Remove baked cheese rounds into a deep dish and let cool. If baked in a square pan, cut the cheese into 1 -2 squares.

Meanwhile heat milk on low heat. Once it is boiling add sugar and continue to simmer on low flame for 30-40 minutes. Add a few drops of rose or vanilla essence.

Pour the milk over the cheese rounds or squares. Add some ground cardamom. Chill in a refrigerator.

Garnish with chopped pistachio and sliced almonds and serve cold.

Rasagolla

This recipe came to me from an old Bengali friend in college and I have always made it this way. Rasagolla is one of my favorite desserts.

 

Ingredients:
1 cup paneer
4.0 cups sugar
rose essence
1 tsp ground cardamom

To make fresh paneer, check here.

Knead the fresh homemade paneer (cheese) with a tsp of flour or maida. Divide into 15-20 parts and roll each portion into a ball. Meanwhile bring two cups of water to boil in a pressure cooker. Add 2-2.5 cups sugar (based on preference). Add a few drops of rose essence. Once the sugar melts and the syrup is boiling, add up to 10 of the paneer balls. Remove the safety belt, and weight from the cooker lid and close the lid. Cover the lid with a small cup. Reduce flame to low and cook for 12-15 minutes.

Remove from flame and transfer the rasagolla along with syrup to a separate bowl. Prepare fresh syrup for each batch of 10 rasagolla balls. Add fresh ground cardamom. Refrigerate and serve cold rasagolla with some syrup. Enjoy after dinner!