Ice-cream Cake

 

Made this a few days back.

I think it's looks pretty, and tasted good too.

It's hard for an ice-cream cake to taste bad :-)

 

Makes one 3" high 6" diameter cake.

I'd say enough for 6-8 people.

 

Method

 

Very easy to put together.

I baked half of a chocolate cake from a boxed mix. I wanted it to be flat and thin so I baked it in a baking sheet.

 

I used a 6" dia and 3" high Wilton springform pan to build the ice cream cake in. And once the chocolate cake was baked and cooled I used the pan like a cookie cutter and cut out 2 circular layers - one for the base and one for the lid (the rest of the cake was chopped up and used for another dessert but you can cut out more circular layers for a taller cake).

 

I had Baskin Robbins make me a 6" waffle disc (65 cents only) - I wanted to use that a crunchy center. Sadly it didn't stay crunchy :-) In retrospect I think I should have dipped it in tempered chocolate and let it harden before using it sandwiched between ice-cream.

 

I used a quart of OREO Cookies 'n Cream ice cream from Baskin Robbins (use what ever you love!)

I let it sit on the counter for a few minutes until it became soft.

 

Now lets build the cake!

Place the bottom layer of the chocolate cake in the pan.

Scoop out half the ice-cream and spread it over the cake.

Now place the waffle in position and spread the rest of the ice-cream over it.

Seal the deal with the chocolate cake disc.

Freeze for about 30 mins.

 

After 30 min I un-molded the cake and decorated it with some un-sweetened whipped cream on the sides. Then I poured come chocolate ganache on top and decorated it further with chocolate shards made from tempered chocolate.

 

Chocolate Ganache

1/2 cup heavy cream

9 oz. of dark chocolate bits.

 

Gently warm up the heavy cream in a double boiler and add the chocolate bits into it. Stir until chocolate dissolves completely. Let this cool to room temp before pouring it on the cake. Freeze the cake for another 20 min at least or until ready to serve.

 

Tada!

Some more pictures.

 

 

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Qeema Aur Shimla Mirch

There must be a thousand different ways to make this, every household does it differently.
Hope you like my version.

(cook time 15 minutes)
(serves 3-4)
Ingredients

White onion 1 small sized (about 1/2 cup chopped fine)
Minced fresh garlic 1/2 Tbs.
Thai chilies 3-4 medium sized sliced thinly (use less or more if you like)
Red bell pepper 1/2 large (cut into chunks)
Green bell pepper 1/2 large  (color of pepper won't matter use whatever you like)
Ground beef  1 Lbs. (you can use whatever meat you prefer)
I used fatty ground beef (16% fat) and therefore needed no cooking oil. If you are planning to use leaner meats then you will need around 2 Tbs. of your preferred cooking oil.

Spices:

Salt
Coarse black pepper 1/2 tsp.
Black cumin seeds 1/2 tsp. (You can buy this easily at an Indian grocery store)
Turmeric 3/4 tsp.
Red chili flakes 3/4 tsp. (make adjustments if you'd like)
Fenugreek leaves 1 1/2 tsp.
Coriander powder 1/2 tsp.
Roasted cumin powder 3/4 tsp.
This is made by dry roasting cumin seeds on a nonstick pan. They will turn dark brown to almost black. Let them cool down completely and then grind into a powder. Keep an eye on them while roasting they go pretty fast and they shouldn't smell burnt.

Method

Since I had used fatty ground beef my method was simple.
I combined all the ingredients and spices (except the peppers) together in a wide skillet and turned the heat on to medium high.
It took me under 15 minutes to cook this, I had to use a spatula to break down any lumps that formed.
I like the peppers to be not super tender and I added them in the last 4 minutes.

Method 2: (for leaner meats)

Heat cooking oil in a skillet to medium high.
Cook onions for 4-5 minutes or until soft.
Add garlic, chilies and spices... stir around for a minute.
Now you will add the ground beef to the skillet.
Use your spatula to make sure everything is well incorporated and break any lumps that might form.
Add peppers towards the end.
You are done.
:-)

This goes very well with most Indian breads like naan, roti or paratha.

 

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Raw Pear and Bean Sprouts Salad

Wonderful lunch :-)
This salad turned out quite nice... It was very easy to put together and had a re-freshing zesty flavor.

How to sprout beans

Sprout People has some good info on sprouting.

It took me close to 4 days to sprout the mung beans. I prefer them when the tails are very small, if you want them to be longer it will take you more than 4 days - I don't know how many because I haven't really tried that :-)

I had no special tools for sprouting I simply soaked them overnight  in plenty of water and then drained them. I then spread the beans in a colander and put them in a warm place for 2 days. I chose my oven because its cold here, otherwise your counter-top would be fine. Twice or thrice a day I sprinkled them with water. And then after a couple of days they just sprouted :-)

They had no bad coloring, no funky smells or any kind of bitter flavor.
They tasted wonderful. Light and crunchy!

It is quite a commitment to start prepping for lunch 4 days in advance :-) just skip them if you don't want to trouble yourself too much.

(prep time 10 mins)
(serves 1)
Ingredients

Bosc Pear 1 large (a little over 3/4 cup chopped)
Mung sprouts 1/3 cup
Red peppers 1/2 medium sized (1/2 cup chopped)
Salad greens 2 cups *I used Organic Girl's I heart baby Kale!
(baby kale, tango, baby spinach, baby green chard, green romaine, baby green oakleaf lettuce)

Vinaigrette

Red onions 1/2 Tbs - minced very fine
Garlic 1/4 Tbs - minced very fine
Macadamia nut oil 1 Tbs *I used Brookfarm Natural Macadamia Nut Oil
(I tend to consider most cold press nut oils as raw... I know some might not agree. So please don't use this if you have concerns)
Fresh lime juice 1 Tbs
Lime zest  1/4 tsp
Pink Himalayan salt 1/3 tsp
Fresh ground coarse pepper 1/8 tsp

Whisk together all the ingredients in a large bowl and keep aside.
You can use olive oil instead but macadamia oil was wonderful... very buttery and delicious. I highly recommend it.

Method

Simply chop the pear and red pepper into chunky pieces.
Toss these in the vinaigrette along with the mung sprouts and pour over the greens.
Enjoy.

 



 

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Butter Bean Salad

A lovely refreshing salad that I had with some herb roasted chicken breast.

I took this picture on day 3 so the colors of the vegetables are less vibrant but the salad itself still tasted great if not better :-)

 

(serves 3-4)
(prep time 15 mins)
Ingredients

Butter beans 2 14 oz cans
Cucumber 1/2 cup (diced small and seeds removed)
White onion 2 Tbs (diced small)
Red pepper 1/2 cup (diced small)
Green beans 1/3 cup (blanched and cut into small pieces)
Roma tomato 1 (diced small and seeds removed)
Celery 1/2 cup (diced small)

You can play around with the amounts.
Just make sure all the veggies are cut into a similar size.
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and pour the vinaigrette on top.
Toss well.

Vinaigrette

Olive oil 2 Tbs
Fresh lime juice 3 Tbs
Red wine vinegar 1/2 Tbs
Minced garlic 1/2 tsp
Salt 1/4 tsp
Pepper 1/8 tsp
Chili flakes 1/8 tsp

Whisk everything together with a fork for a few seconds and it's ready.

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Jackfruit Seeds

I recently found out that ripe jackfruit seeds are edible and are considered a delicacy in South India. The idea sounded lovely and made me very curious about the flavor. I had to cook it. I searched for a few recipes and learnt that they need to be boiled for a while to get the skins off.

I saved up some seeds from the jackfruit that I had slayed earlier and following is the way I made it. I didn't want to make it into a curry, just something simple that I could eat atop a leafy salad. I selected some Pakistani/Indian inspired spices that would taste good with potatoes and went with that.
The flavor and texture was nice. Kinda like a nutty potato :-)

(serves 1)
(cook time 25 mins)
Ingredients

About 30 jackfruit seeds
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Black mustard seeds 1/3 tsp
Black cumin seeds 1/3 tsp
Chili flakes 1/2 tsp
Pepper 1/8 tsp
Fenugreek seed powder 1/8 tsp
Salt
Canola oil 2-3 Tbs
Fresh mint 1/2 Tbs (chopped fine)
Fresh lime juice 1 Tbs

Method

Start by boiling the seeds in salted water for 20 mins.The skin comes off very easily once the are cooked. Slice the seeds in half.
Heat some oil in a frying pan.
Add all the spices in the hot oil and cook for 30 seconds.
Now you can throw in the jackfruit seeds into the frying pan.
Toss around and cook for another minute or so.
Sprinkle some lime juice and mint on top.
I had it just like that over a simple salad (cucumbers and some greens no dressing).
But I would imagine it work great with roti or naan.

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Boston Cream Pie Cake

Something quick I made from boxed white cake mix, instant vanilla pudding mixed in with some whipped cream, and chocolate ganache spread on top.

I love the concept I think it will be great for birthdays and such. For sure I am going to try making it from scratch someday :-) And maybe someday I'll be able to make cake look all even and pretty :-)

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Steamed Sea Bass

♥ healthy

Steamed Sea bass
(prep and cook time less than 15 mins)
(serves 6)
Ingredients

I had 6 pieces from 2 fillets of seabass.
Dried chipotle powder
Himalayan pink salt

Sprinkle a little chipotle and salt over the pieces of fish.
I steamed it, covered, over the kale wild rice I was cooking so none of the good fish oils were lost.
You could simply steam it over boiling water.
After 7 mins they will be fork tender, juicy and delicious :-)

Wild rice with Kale
(prep and cook time less than 60 mins)
(serves 6)
Ingredients

Wild rice 1 1/2 cups
Yellow onions 1/4 cup (chopped finely)
Celery 2-3 stalks (chopped finely)
Garlic 1 tsp (minced finely)
Kale 1 bunch about 3 cups chopped (stems removed and leaves chopped coarsely)
Salt 1/2 tsp
Pepper 2-3 grinds
Olive oil 2-3 Tbs

In a large pot heat up some olive oil and add to it the chopped onions and celery.
Cook for 8 mins on medium heat or until the onions are tranlusent, stirring once or twice.
Add the garlic and cook for another 45 seconds.
Season with salt and add about 2 3/4 cups of hot water.
Bring the water to a full boil and then add the rice.
Cook covered on reduced heat for about 30 mins or until the rice is cooked through.
Turn off heat.
Fold in the kale, cover with a lid, and let the kale take in the heat from the rice for about 10 mins.
Serve.

I served this alongside some salsa and guacamole.

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Tomato Chutney

This is fairly easy to make.
Very versatile.

Large Roma tomatoes (chopped) 6
Whole dried red chilies 3-4
Salt 1 tsp
Canola oil  2-3 Tbs
White wine vinegar 1/4 cup
Heat some oil in a pan.
Add the tomatoes, the chilies and the salt all at once.
Cook for 45 min on medium high heat or until the tomatoes are mushy and well cooked.
Add the vinegar and cook for another 5-7 mins.
Blend well and store in a clean glass container.
Done.

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Pasta With Creamy Lemony Fish Sauce

How gorgeous is this pasta? Each strip is a natural flavor from tomatoes, spinach, different colored bell peppers. I was so excited when I saw these. I decided to make a quick fish sauce to go along with it.

(prep time 20 mins)
(serves 2)
Ingredients

White fish (I used Dover sole, but halibut would be better) 1/2 lbs cut into large chunk
Garlic 1 Tbs (minced)
Juice from 1 large lemon
Chili flakes 1/2 tsp - use more or less if you prefer
Butter 1 Tbs
Cream 1/3 cup (I used 36% fat)
Pepper 1/8 tsp
Parsley leaves 2 Tbs (roughly chopped)
Salt

Method

Melt some butter in a frying pan.
Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
Add the fish and season with lemon juice, salt, pepper and the chili flakes.
Lower heat to medium and cook for 3 mins.
Add the cream and cook until the fish is done. Dover sole cooks really quick, about 3-4 mins.
Turn off heat and sprinkle the parsley leaves on top.
Serve along aside the pasta.

A word about the pasta

Add this pasta to salted boiling water. I also added a little lemon juice to the water to prevent the colors from fading. Boil for 12-14 and drain. Don't ever wash cooked pasta with water, instead pour a tablespoon of olive oil to make it glossy.

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Guacamole

Try this easy and yummy guacamole recipe for your next party.They taste and look fantastic with blue corn tortilla chips.

(prep time 15 mins)

(serves 3-4)

Ingredients

Hass avocados 2 ripe (cut into 1/2" chunks)

Jalapenos 1/2 Tbs (minced)

Red onions 1 1/2 Tbs (chopped fine)

Green onion 1/2 Tbs (chopped fine)

Fresh juice of 1 large Lime

Cilantro 2 Tbs (roughly chopped)

Garlic 1/4 tsp (finely minced) *optional

Salt

Combine everything together in a bowl.

Use the back of a fork to break some of the larger pieces of avocado but don't over do this, the guacamole should be a bit chunky.

Enjoy!



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Minty Mango Salsa with Crystallized Ginger

A delicious quick and easy salsa great with fish tacos!

(makes about 2 cups)
(prep time 15 mins)
Ingredients

Mango 1 large (cut into chunks, choose a sweet ripe mango) - you can also use fresh pineapple

Mint leaves 5-6 (cut into thin strips)

Red pepper 2-3 Tbs (chopped fine)

Red onions 1 Tbs (chopped fine)
Green onions 2 Tbs (chopped fine)

Cilantro 1 Tbs (cut into strips) - optional

Jalapeno 1/2 Tbs (minced) - optional

Fresh ginger 1/2 tsp (minced)

Crystallized ginger 1 tsp (minced) *Raw foodists raw crystallized ginger recipe 

Juice of 1 fresh Lime

Salt

Mix everything together.

Allow to refrigerate for a few hours for all the flavors to combine.

Enjoy :-)


Following is not my creation but a great sounding recipe I found on the net.
Posting it here for the sake of completion.
Original source:  http://goneraw.com/account/show/evergreen

Raw Crystallized Ginger

Submitted by evergreen
Servings: 1 cup

Ingredients:
1 cup Medjool dates, about 12 pitted
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
1 organic lemon, zest only
.33 cup date sugar, can be made by dehydrating and grinding dates
 
Preparation:
1. process dates and ginger till smooth.
2. pulse in lemon zest and about 1/4 cup sugar till stiffened.
3. roll into 1”log.
4. wrap in food wrap sprinkled with additional sugar and place in fridge till firm.
5. slice into desired pieces and coat with more sugar.

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Wiener Schnitzel

I had the most amazing lunch just now!
Very basic ingredients, so surprisingly easy to make... and out of this world delicious!
"Wiener Schnitzel" originally comes from Austria and has many variants around the world. It's basically very thin slices of veal drenched in flour, egg, crumbs and fried. I had this with deli bought Sauerkraut, potatoes and some infused butter!

(serves 2)

(cook time for the veal 4 mins - potatoes are 20 mins extra)

Ingredients

I used veal for this but I read on several sites that pork chops, beef or chicken breast meat can also be used. Whatever sort of protein you use, its important that the slices be 1/4" thick. You can ask your butcher to prepare the meat for you or you can place the meat between 2 sheets of wax paper and use a mallet to pound the meat until desired thickness is reached.

Veal slices 1/2 lbs about 6 slices (I got "veal scallopini" so it was already very thin)

Salt 1/3 tsp

Coarse black pepper 1/3 tsp

Flour 1 cup

Eggs 2 large (beaten lightly)
Bread crumbs 1 cup
Fresh lemon slices

Fresh dill

Oil for frying

Make sure you have everything set before starting.

Use a wide frying pan filled 1/3 with oil.

You should have 3 dipping trays for the flour, egg and bread crumbs.

Sprinkle some salt and pepper over the veal slices. Use very little, you want to taste the veal!

Press each slice in flour and then shake off the extra.

Dip it in egg and then gently roll it around in bread crumbs.

One important thing that I read on several sites was not to press the bread crumbs too hard into the meat. The crust should form a loose shell around the veal once cooked.

Slide this into hot oil and cook for 1 1/2 min per side on medium high heat. That's all it takes!

Squeeze some lemon juice on top before eating.

Side Potatoes

Small potatoes 4

Garlic 1/2 tsp (minced)

Coarse sea salt 1/4 tsp
Pepper 1/4 tsp

Butter 1 Tbs

Oil 1 Tbs

I don't peel the potatoes, cut them in quarters and boil them in salted water.
Allow to cool down a bit.

Heat some butter and oil in a pan and sear the potatoes on all sides until brown and crispy.

Add the garlic in the last 10 seconds of cooking.

Toss with salt and pepper.

Compound Butter

Unsalted butter 2 Tbs (soft at room temp)

Lemon zest 1/2 tsp

Lemon juice few drops

Fresh dill 1 tsp

Pepper pinch
Salt pinch

Combine the above ingredients together.

Place the butter back in the fridge until set. I used a candy liner as a mold.

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Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons

Update:

I recently made this batch (see pics below) without the chocolate coating and without shaping them. I just drop 2 Tbsp worth of the dough on a cookie sheet and baked them for 20 mins.

 

I think they look fantastic this way - partially beacuse I have a better camera now :-) What's not to love about these, very quick and easy and always a crowd pleaser.

 

 

Original post starts here.

 

These are perfection! Nice and chewy in the inside.

I browsed through several recipes and came up with this version.

So cute in chinese takeout boxes, don't you think they make perfect little food gifts?

You won't believe how easy it is to make them.

 

(makes about 18-20 cookies)
(prep time 10 mins)
(bake time 20-25 mins)
Ingredients

Sweetened coconut flakes 14 oz
Dried coconut flakes (unsweetened) 1/3 cup (lightly toasted)
Condensed milk 2/3 cup
All purpose flour 1/4 cup + 1 Tbs
Large egg whites 3
Nice pinch of salt
Dark chocolate bits 1/3 cup

Method

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and rubber some butter over it. Keep aside.
Mix all of the coconut, flour, condensed milk and salt together in a bowl.
In a separate bowl whip the egg whites till they become frothy and form stiff peaks. Takes about 1-2 mins with a hand held mixer.
Fold in the egg whites into the coconut mixture.
Scoop out 2 Tbs worth of the dense and sticky coconut mixture and shape it gently using two spoons.
Place the cookies 1" apart from each other and bake in the oven for 15-20 mins.
After baking for 20 mins I realised that the top of the cookie wasn't toasty enough.
I didn't want to bake them longer and risk over cooking them, so I placed the cookies under the broiler for a a minute or two to get the tops all goldeny brown. You want to keep an eye on the cookies while you are doing this. They can burn quite quickly. It also helps if you rotate the cookie sheet to make sure all the cookies are equally browned.

Remove the cookies from the cookie sheet and peel them off the wax paper, allow to cool completely.
A lot of recipes that I went through made a chocolate ganache for dipping these in, but the ganache remains soft and its hard to keep the cookies together in a box without the ganache rubbing off and making a mess.
So for the second batch of cookies that I made, I just melted some regular dark chocolate and dipped the cookies in that. The chocolate hardened after a bit and I was left with perfect little coconut macaroons.
:-)
Note to myself: Next cookie to try "Macaron"!

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Fennel and Zucchini Salad

Had a friend over for lunch... one of the a  things I made was this Italian inspired salad.

(serves 4)
(prep time 15 mins)
Ingredients

I used a mandoline to slice all the veggies very thin and then julienned them with a knife. You can use a grater that has a slicer side or a food processor with a julienne insert. You can of course minimize slicing time by using matchstick carrots.

Fennel (bulb only) 1 cup (julienned)
Zucchini (un-peeled) 1 cup (julienned)
Baby carrots 1/2 cup (julienned)
Red onions 1/4 cup (julienned)
Red bell pepper 1/3 cup (julienned)

Vinaigrette

Olive oil 6-7 Tbs
Red wine vinegar 2-3 Tbs *Raw foodies use your favorite freshly squeezed citrus
Garlic 1 tsp (minced)
Salt 1/2 tsp
Pepper 1/4 tsp
Chili flakes 1/4 tsp
Chopped golden raisins 1/3 cup *Strict raw diet followers you could  use Vivapura Raw Monukka Raisins or Bob's Red Mill

Combine everything except the raisins in a blender and blend for a few seconds.... It should turn cloudy.
Then gently mix in the chopped golden raisins.
Pour this over the veggies and toss well.
Refrigerate for 30 mins to an hour before eating.

My friend and I had this with desi food... and it was great.
But I will grill a halibut steak to go with this for my hubby tomorrow.
:-)

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Zar's Chicken Shawerma

Enjoying the last few days of my vacation back home.
Zarlashta, my adorable teeny tiny bhabhi, made some extremely yummylicious shawermas for us.
A wonderful Mediterranean inspired sandwich consisting of tender pieces of meat wrapped in warm pita bread. I think these would also be great for picnics.
Lets calls these Zawermas :-)

(serves 12)

(prep time 45 mins)

Ingredients

Chicken 2 1/2 lbs (boneless cut into cubes)

Garlic paste 1/2 tsp

Ginger paste 1/2 tsp

Garlic powder 1/4 tsp

Pepper 1/2 tsp

Dried Oregano 1/2 tsp

Dried Rosemary 1/2 tsp

Lemon juice 1 1/2 Tbs

Vinegar 1 Tbs

Worcestershire sauce 1 Tbs

Salt

Oil for cooking 1/4 cup

Heat some oil in a frying pan, season the chicken with all the spices and cook until tender.

Allow the chicken to cool down and then shred into small pieces.

Veggies

Green bell pepper 2 med (sliced into thin strips)

Red onions 1 med (sliced thin)

Carrots 1 large (sliced thin)

Cucumbers 1 large (sliced thin) optional

Pickels 6 med (Sliced length wise) optional

Jalepeno 3-4 Tbs (chopped) optional

Mushrooms 3-4 Tbs (sliced) optional

Add a few drops of vinegar to these.

Mayo Sauce

Mayonnaise 5 Tbs

Garlic paste 1/4 tsp

Pepper 1/2 tsp

Paprika 1/4 tsp

Red chili flakes 1/2 tsp

Lemon juice 2 Tbs

Salt

Mix everything together in a bowl.

You will need 12 gently toasted, medium sized pita breads.

Here is a demo on how to wrap these.

Enjoy :-)

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Tostones

One of the yummiest and easiest sides I ever made. Twice fried plantain is very popular in many Latin American countries. We had this with Puerto Rican style green mojo sauce.

(prep time 5 min + cook time 10 min)
(serves 1-2)
How it's done

Unripe (green) Plantain 1 large 
Oil for deep frying
Kosher salt

Peel off the skin of the plantain and slice it into 1" to 1.25" chunks. I got eight pieces from one large plantain.
Heat some oil in a wok and deep fry the plantain pieces for 5 minutes and take them out.
Now you need to flatten them.
Traditionally a tostonera is used. And since I didn't have one I placed each piece between 2 sheets of wax paper and pressed down with the bottom of my palm, then I used the smooth side of a meat mallet and pounded it gently to a 1/4" thickness.
Once all the pieces are flattened, fry them again for another 5 minutes until crisp and golden brown.
Take them out on sheets of paper to absorb extra oil and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.
Tell me this ain't easy.
:-)

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Pasta with Pink Sauce

Made from a lot of pre-made stuff! Prolly not the healthiest or tastiest thing to eat... but hey great for lazy days!

1 part your fav marinara sauce

1/2 part heavy cream

1/4 part chicken broth or vodka

Mix it all together in a heavy base sauce pan, cook for 10-15 minutes over med-high heat.

Great over pasta! Shred Parmesan or Mozzarella cheese on top and maybe some chili flakes.

Done in 15 minutes.

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Quick lunch

(prep time 10 mins)
(bake time 40 mins)
(serves 2)

Made this just now :-)
Shortest time spent in the kitchen and almost no clean-up afterward :-)
I simply rolled up a single sheet of leftover puff pastry, 5 slices of muenster cheese and 1 lbs of various deli meats.
Brushed some egg wash on the top, made a few vent cuts and baked in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees for 30-40 mins or until crispy brown.
Let this rest for 15 minutes before slicing.

:-)
P.S. Plain 'ol ketchup goes well with this.

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