Cherry Friands

I can’t re-blog any more in WordPress…What gives?

But glad to see cherries back in the groceries!

This is a re-post from September 2016.

Looking forward to making this again!

Cherry Friands

When I saw these, Cherry Friands, I knew I desperately wanted to try them. I saved the recipe. I even saved my last batch of fresh cherries in the freezer just for this recipe!

I created a lighter version with less butter and maple syrup. Here’s how I made mine.

Ingredients:

45 grams flour
3/4 stick butter (will use only 1/2 next time)
80 grams almond meal
1/3 cup maple syrup
3 egg whites
a pinch of salt
6 pitted cherries

Prepare a 6 muffin tin. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, whisk together: melted butter and egg whites. Add in flour,  almond meal, pinch of salt and maple syrup. Add 1-2 tbsp of batter into muffin tins. Top with a pitted cherry.

Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked and toothpick test passes.

 

Enjoy with a nice cuppa tea!

Best of 2016

I slacked off in 2016. But that is understandable. My schedule was so busy, that I had less time to try new recipes. I did try some new, retried several old, and tasty recipes!

Here are some favorite recipes from 2016.

In January, I  kicked off the year,  with some another fun Black-eyed Peas and Collard Greens recipes. This one is a keeper!

I even tried two roll recipes: Jalapeno, Scallion and Garlic  and Sun-dried Tomato and Jalapeno. Both were so delicious, that I continued to make them throughout the year!

I attempted the 21-day beach body diet in early 2016, and here’s my version of Bulghur Wheat Upma, designed to meet the container requirement (Disclaimer: I am not a certified Beach Body coach, so use at your own discretion!)

Another fun recipe in February from the beach body diet was the Brown Rice Paella.

March was all about Cauliflower Nirvana. Period!

Come April, I put all else aside for a two week vacation down under. What an incredible trip!

May is always, typically about Cherries.

I also experimented with other recipes like Mango Coconut Scones

And learnt to make Bagels… Sun Dried Tomato and Jalapeno bagels, of course 🙂

Summertime, to beat the heat, I experimented with many Popsicle recipes, many of them with mango or cherries: my two favorite fruits.

I maintained a scant patio garden this summer, which was plagued by over zealous squirrels. The most exciting vegetable from my patio garden this year  was zucchini!

August was about Savory Sun-dried Tomato Kalamata Olive and Jalapeno bread.

Two fun recipes from September included, plunging into Cauliflower Rice and Stir Fried Vegetables.

And these delicious Cherry Friands!

And another variation of the Quinoa Bisibele Bath.

October, I found Mango Chia Pudding, and it was terrific. It has fast become my go-to breakfast items!

November was incredibly busy. Come December, I did try the Tian.

But, December is all about the holidays… about Airplane Cookies!

Have a very Happy New Year!

Hope to see you back here next year!

It’s Time… for Limited Edition Airplane Cookies!

Happy Holidays!

Once a year, I bring out my airplane cookie cutters, scour the web for a good cookie recipe and off I go. This year, Ronit made it all too easy with her Cut out Almond Butter Cookies. The moment I saw it, I knew this was it.

I made no changes other than to dip some of my cookies in chocolate and add some sprinkles.

This might be one of my best airplane cookies so far.

See Also:

Tis’ The Season for Airplane Cookies
Airplane Cookies are here!
Time… for Airplane Cookies
Fly me to the Moon

Tis’ the season… for Airplane Cookies!

Believe it or not, December is here… and Christmas is just around the corner. And it is the one time of the year, I bake cookies!  At least the last 3-4 years, since I got my airplane cookie cutters 🙂

Each year, I try a new recipe. This year’s recipe was adapted from here.

Ingredients:

3 1/4 cup  flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cardamon powder
1 tsp rose essence
1 egg
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup sour cream

In a large bowl mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, salt and cardamon powder. In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar, egg, butter, sour cream and essence.

Mix dry and wet ingredients and roll into a ball. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Roll out the cookie dough into a ball of 1/4 in thickness. Use desired cookie cutter and create fun holiday spirit cookies.

See Also:

Airplane cookies are here

Time for Airplane cookies

Fly me to the moon

Muesli Bread

I came across this bread, along with other breads in the latest Prevention Magazine. I really wanted to bake the cranberry bread, but instead, I opted to bake this one. I had the oven all fired up anyway, as I roasted root vegetables for a pot of Roasted Root Vegetables with Kale and Lentil soup for the week.

As always, I made changes. Here’s how I baked mine…

Ingredients:

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 + 1 tbsp cup rolled oats
1/8 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp flaxmeal
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/6 cup each, raisins, pepitas, dried cherries, raw almonds and coconut. I swapped in cherries and coconut since I didn’t have apricot.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix flours, sugar, baking powder, oats, flaxmeal, salt and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, oil, eggs and almond extract. Combine with flours and mix well. Fold in nuts and dried fruit.

Grease a baking pan and pour the mixture evenly. You can sprinkle some fruit and nuts on top, which I missed.

Bake for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool.

Enjoy for breakfast with a hot cuppa tea or during the afternoon slump!

Cherry, Dark Chocolate and Coffee Popsicle

Recently, I came across this blog: Wit and Vinegar and quite propitiously Popsicle Week just came to an end with varied Popsicle recipes.

Here is one of my favorite I’ve tried so far. As always, I adapted using ingredients in my pantry.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup coconut milk
3/4 cup pitted cherries
6 tbsp unsweetened coffee
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
a dash of salt
2 squares of dark chocolate cut to bits

Process coconut milk, unsweetened coffee, vanilla extract, maple syrup and salt in a food processor. Transfer to a freezer safe dish. Add dark chocolate bits and cherry bits. Freeze for 45 minutes to an hour.

Once the mixture is thickened, scoop and transfer to Popsicle molds. Freeze for 3-4 hours to allow the molds to set.  When ready to eat or serve, dip molds in hot water for a few seconds to allow the popsicle to slide out.

Enjoy on a ridiculously hot, and humid day!

Baked Garelu or Plain Vada

I typically shied away from making vada, since it is a deep fried dish. While I was happy to eat it while my mother or other family member created it, I personally have never made this dish. That is until recently.

After the success of baking masala vada, I have tried to recreate the plain vada with no success, until today. It can’t be re-created similarly. I ended up using a muffin tin, but if you have a donut tin that will do perfectly since Garellu are made with a hole in the center!

Ingredients:

1 cup urad dal
Salt to taste
Oil

Soak the urad dal in water for 5-6 hours. Rinse and blend in a blender till smooth with some water to make thick batter, similar to what is needed to make idlis.  Season with salt and set aside to ferment,

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.

When ready to make vada’s, generously grease a muffin tin with oil, adding 1/2 – 1 tsp oil and add 1-2 tbsp of batter  to each muffin cup.

Bake 35-45 minutes till golden.

Serve warm with some sweet and sour ginger chutney.

Sweet and Sour Ginger Chutney

Raw ginger has a very pungent flavor. It needs to be tempered with tamarind juice and jaggery (or brown sugar) to make it palatable.

This is my first attempt to make this chutney. Contrary to the Sweet and Sour Ginger Pickle, I posted a few weeks ago, this one is easy, short lived and goes well with vada. It is a very typical Andhra dish that is served during events such as weddings, funerals and other events. It is very often served with plain vada. Not to say  it can’t be served with other vada types.

Ingredients:

2-4 in of ginger stalk, peeled and chopped
1/2-2/3 cup tamarind sauce
3-4 tbsp brown sugar or 1-2 cubes jaggary

Tempering:

1 tbsp oil
1 tsp urad dal
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1-2 dry red chillies
dash of tumeric
dash of asaphoetida
a few curry leaves

I previously provided a recipe for the Sweet and Sour Ginger Pickle that can last months and years. Contrary to that, this is a short lived recipe, that is quick to make and lasts up to a week.

Add the chopped ginger to a blender, along with tamarind juice and jaggery and blend till smooth. Adjust tamarind juice and sugar to personal preference. Transfer to a bowl. Season with salt.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan. Add turmeric, asaphoetida, urad dal, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and dry red chilli. Fry till lightly golden. Add some curry leaves and leave for another minute.

Transfer to the bowl containing the ginger paste. Mix well. Adjust tamarind juice, sweetness, and salt.

Serve with some fresh vada!

Note: You can make a roasted sesame chutney, by replacing the ginger with roasted sesame which is another traditional chutney that is served at events.

Cherry Swirl with Dark Chocolate & Cherry Bits

I love Cherries.

Lately I have comes across many recipes for ice cream. And this one was no different.  This recipe started out one way, and ended up differently as I started to improvise.

Ingredients:

1 cup cherries, pitted, and another handful
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2-3 tbsp honey or Maple syrup
1-2 dark chocolate squares cut into bits

Blend half cup Greek yogurt, cherries and vanilla extract. Transfer a bowl that is freezer safe.

In a separate bowl mix the remaining Greek yogurt and honey, and toppings of cherry  and chocloate bits. Layer on top of the bowl. Using a butter knife to gently swirl the mixture.

Freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.

Note:

My first attempt used only 1 tbsp Maple syrup as prescribed in the original recipe and I found that wanting. So I repaired the recipe by adding more maple syrup and adding the toppings. The final product was more to my liking.

Eat stand alone, with a slice of cherry cake or I even experimented making a sandwich with two digestive biscuits. Refreshing in this hot, humid weather!

Baked Vada

Give me a good rainy day, especially during the summer monsoon season, and the best snack my mother would make was any one of these deep fried favorites: Bajji, Vada, or Pakodi.

While I love to cook, I am less enthusiastic of making anything that remotely feels unhealthy such as deep fried food. Don’t get me wrong, I do love my french fries with my vegeburger or that occasional onion rings.

While I wondered about it, I never tried to bake my bajjis or vadas, so I was recently happy to see that it does work and you can bake them. Here’s how I made mine!

Ingredients:

2/3 cup channa dal
1 tbsp brown rice flour
1-2 dry red chilies
1-2 jalapeno
a handful of chopped cilantro
1/4 onion chopped
1 inch piece of ginger
salt to taste

Soak the channa dal in water for 3-4 hours. It’s okay if it is more than 24 hours 🙂

Rinse, and set aside a handful of the channa dal. Transfer the rest to the food processor or blender. Add jalapeno, dry red chilli and ginger and process smoothly. It might be necessary to add 1-2 tbsp water. Don’t make it runny.

Add chopped onions, chopped cilantro, set-aside channa dal , and season with salt.

Meanwhile pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Grease a baking pan generously with oil. Take 1-2 tbsp of batter and scoop out onto the baking pan as if baking cookies.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove the baking pan, flip the vada and transfer back to the oven and continue baking for another 15-20 minutes.

Serve warm with some sweet and sour chutney such as ginger or any chutney for that matter.

It is also good when eaten with ketchup or spicy Maggi  sauce  :-)

Enjoy with a hot cuppa tea on a rainy or snowy day!