Carrot Cake

My excuse to eat carrot cake is that I get my daily servings of vegetables from the cake :). This healthier version of carrot cake is moist, soft and absolutely decadent. The only fatty part of the entire recipe is the frosting and the cake tasted good without it as well. A definite entry in my "to do again" list.

Ingredients:

1. 3/4 cup all-purpose flour   
2. 2/3 cup whole-grain wheat flour   
3. 1 tsp baking soda   
4. 1 tsp ground cinnamon   
5. 1/2 tsp table salt   
6. 1 large egg
7. 2 large egg whites
8. 3/4 cup honey
9. 1/4 cup vegetable oil
10. 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
11. 3 cups carrot(s), grated
12. 3 oz light cream cheese, softened  
13. 3 Tbsp powdered sugar   
14. 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Heat oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Lightly coat the bottom of an 8-inch (20 cm) round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line with wax paper and lightly coat paper with spray.
2. In a small bowl, combine flours, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
3. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat eggs, honey, oil and lemon juice until blended.
4. Stir flour mixture and carrots into egg mixture just until well blended.
5. Spread batter into a prepared pan and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.
6. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Turn out of pan and cool completely.
7.  Meanwhile, for frosting, beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla in a small bowl. Spread a thin layer over cooled cake and serve.

Multigrain pancakes

The first time I had pancakes was at IHOP :). I was trying to look for low fat or high fiber pancakes in their menus, but did not find many options. We came across the multigrain pancake flour at Winco and decided to give it a try. There are dozens of recipes out there and I was not sure which one to follow, so went with a basic recipe at vahrevah.com, and substituted the all purpose flour with multigrain pancake mix. Hot pancakes with bananas and honey drizzled over form the perfect brunch for a rainy Sunday.




Ingredients:

1. 1 cup--Multigrain pancake flour
2. 1 tsp-baking powder
3. 1 cup-milk
4. a pinch of salt
5. 1 egg
6. 2 tbsp-oil
7. 2 tsp-sugar

Method:

1. In a bowl, add the flour, salt, baking powder.
2. In another bowl add egg yolk, sugar, milk and mix well.
3. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and mix well till you get a pouring consistency. If required add more milk and oil.
4. Now take egg white and beat till it forms soft peaks and add this mixture to egg and flour mixture using the folding method.
5. Heat the tava and pour a ladle full of batter on the pan
6. When the bubbles show up on the pancake and is browned on the other side, flip the pancake
7. Resist the urge to press down on the pancake after flipping it :)--Takes about a minute or so to cook
8. Yields 6 medium sized pancakes

Chocolate molding

Making chocolates is fascinating!! The first time I tried to melt chocolate was to drizzle some on coconut macaroons I made. I made a complete mess trying to melt chocolate in the microwave. I was too slow and too sloppy, I ended up getting chocolate everywhere else but on the macaroons. As I was not fast enough, the chocolate cooled super fast and got hard, it was no longer "drizzle-able".

I then saw some videos on youtube, where the chef inflates a balloon, dips it half way through into melted chocolate, refrigerates the balloons for a bit, then makes a small prick to let the air out and as the balloon deflates, it is supposed to just peel out  from a fine looking chocolate cup. Except that mine was not fine looking :).  I experimented with two balloons. For the first balloon, the prick burst the balloon and I had chocolate pieces everywhere. For the second balloon, the crumbling balloon brought down the chocolate along with it, so it was all pieces again. I put together all the pieces and made it look like this :). We stuck those barks in ice cream.

The third time, I was determined to make it work somehow. So I did some more research on "tempering" chocolate and read about molds. I did think it was kinda kiddish to be using molds at this age. The grocery stores here did not have chocolate molds. In fact, a clerk looked at me like I was asking them directions to the moon. Then, finally I found a few at Jo-ann craft's store. I felt sillier when I read on the package " Adult supervision needed when trying to melt chocolate":). I decided to go ahead with it anyway.

Ingredients:

1. Good quality chocolate-16 oz (Can use store bought bars/coins), separate to 12 oz and 4 oz.
2. Double broiler
3. Molds (I used 2 molds--one to make dessert cups,and another for snow men)
4. Rubber spatula
5. Candy thermometer
6. Water

Method:

1. Melt 12 oz of chocolate in a double broiler. You can make a double broiler set up with a pot and a pan which fits on the pot. Boil water in the pot, place the pan on top of the water (Make sure the bottom of the pan is not touching the water). Melt the chocolate pieces/coins on the pan, stirring continuously.Very important: There should be no water or moisture on the spatula or the pan. Water will break/curdle the chocolate, rendering it unfit for molding.
2. Once the chocolate is completely melted (to about 110 deg F on the candy thermometer), remove the pan from the pot. If you are not using a thermometer, a tip to see if its done: the chocolate is glossy and easy to stir
3. Begin the process of cooling and agitation: One easy way to do this is to stir in the remaining 4 oz of chocolate. (Remember to work really fast, before the chocolate cools down (it has to be molded before it cools down). If the chocolate cools down, you can reheat it to get it up 90 deg F (I did not have to do this))
4. Pour the melted chocolate into the molds (Make sure to wash the molds and dry them completely--remember the no moisture rule)
5. Tap the molds against the counter gently to release any air bubbles
6. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes, till the chocolate hardens
7. Release the chocolate from the molds.

This is a beginners recipe for melting and molding chocolate. It is certainly a fun project to do with kids.

Molten Lava cake

The first time when I had this cake from dominos,I fell in love with chocolate all over again. The molten chocolatey goeey filling was too good. Later, I was shocked by the number of calories in a teeny tiny slice of this cake, obviously :). I hesitate to make something high in calories, but I had to had to try it, at least once.

Ingredients:

1. Dark Chocolate – 4 oz (113g)
2. Butter – 4 oz (113g)
3. Eggs – 2
4. Sugar – 1/3 cup (75 g)
5. All-purpose Flour – 1/4 cup (40g)
6. Butter flavored cooking spray – for greasing ramekins

Method:

1. Melt the chocolate in a double broiler.
2. Beat eggs and sugar until light and fluffy
3. Once chocolate is melted, remove pan from heat and add in butter. Mix until the butter melts fully.
4. Add chocolate/butter mixture into the eggs, add all-purpose flour and mix until well incorporated.
5. Butter bottom and sides of ramekins (small glass/porcelain bowls) and pour in mixture about 3/4 way full.
6. Place ramekins on a baking tray and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 C) for 10 – 15 minutes. Shorter for gooey (molten) inside--12 minutes, longer--about 15 minutes for stiff inside.

Personal notes:

1. I used raw chunks of dark chocolate,the original recipe had bittersweet chocolate
2. The chocolate can be melted in the micro wave as well, but I found the double broiler method to be better. (The double broiler method : boil a pot of water and melt the chocolate on a pan placed on top of the boiling water)

Recipe from showmethecurry

Onion Samosas

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup -Wheat flour
2. 1 cup-All purpose flour/maida
3. 1/2 tsp-chaat masala
4. 1 tsp-chilli powder
5. 1/2 tsp-coriander powder
6. coriander leaves--a small bunch
7. 3- green chillies
8. Oil to fry
9. 1 cup onions finely chopped
10. 1 cup-poha/pressed rice
11. Salt to taste
12. Water as needed

Method:

1. Take a bowl add maida,atta,salt, 1 tsp oil mix well then add water to make a soft dough rest it for 10min.
2. Now in another bowl,take onions chopped,poha,chilli powder,cumin powder,green chillis chopped,oriander ,chat masala mix well.
3. In a small bowl add 1tsp of maida mix with some water and make a paste keep a side.
4. Now take  the dough make a thin chapaties and take a pan slightly cook the chapatis both the sides do not cook more.
5. Once chapaties are ready cut the chapati sheets into long triangle shape.
6. Now apply maida paste one side of the sheet make a cone shape stuff the mixture in the cone then close the edge.
7. Fry the samosas in the oil, drain and serve hot.

Personal notes:

The original recipe calls for frying the samosas twice: half fry them the first time and fry them completely, the second time.

Adapted from vahrevah.com

Carrot Halwa

Of all the Indian sweets, I find carrot halwa to be a pretty healthy choice. I have to warn you that the recipe has less sugar, less butter/ghee, but its been a good quick fix for my sweet tooth cravings.


Ingredients:

1. 1 cup shredded carrots
2. 1/2 cup milk (1% milk)
3. Cashews and raisins to garnish
4. 1 tsp butter/ghee
5. 2 tbsp sugar
6. A pinch of cardamom powder

Method:

1. Boil the milk in a heavy bottomed pan or microwave
2. In another pan, roast the cashews and raisins in a tsp of butter/ghee
3. Add the shredded carrots and stir fry them until they change color and become tender
4. Add the boiled milk and cook until all the milk evaporates. Make sure not to stir too much as it might become mushy.
5. Add the sugar and stir for another 4-5 minutes till the halwa comes together and starts leaving the sides of the pan.

Personal notes:

1. The milk is boiled initially, because if it is boiled with the carrots, the end result is a mushy mass, yummy, but mushy :). I like the carrots to retain their shredded shape when done.
2. I added less sugar as the carrots are sweet themselves, please do add more if required.

Mulit grain sphagetti

It's been a couple of years since I 'discovered' pasta :) and I find it to be a healthy refreshing alternative to my 'usual' cooking. I have to warn you that I add a ton of veggies to my pasta (pretty much a little of all the veggies I have) and we usually find it hard to spot the noodles in the mountain of veggies :)

Ingredients:

1. 2 Green peppers, chopped
2. 4-5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3. 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
4. 1/4 cup black olives, chopped
5. 2 oz-sun dried tomatoes
6. 2 carrots, chopped 
7. 3-4 green chillies/2 jalapenos or to taste
8. 1 onion,chopped into long thin slices
9. 1/2 cup peas
10. 1/4 cup lima beans
11. freshly ground pepper to taste
12. salt to taste
13. mozzarella cheese/feta cheese, to garnish
14. 1/2 cup pasta sauce
15. 8 oz of multi grain/whole wheat spaghetti noodles
16. coriander, to garnish
17. 2 tsp olive oil 
18. Water, (very less to cook the vegetables)

Method:

1. Boil a large pot of water (about 4-5 cups) in a tall container with some salt added to it.
2. Cook the pasta according to package instructions (till Al dente--takes about 5-8 minutes)
3. Heat the olive oil in a pan and saute the garlic, ground pepper, chillies and onions
4. Add rest of the vegetables and saute
5. Add water to cook the vegetables and close the lid (Make sure not to over-cook the vegetables, they should be "just cooked" and not mushy)
6. Once the vegetables are done, remove the lid and add the pasta sauce. Let it boil for a couple of minutes before adding the cooked pasta noodles.
7. Toss the noodles in the veggies and sauce. Make sure not to over-stir or mix as the  noodles might break.
8. Garnish with mozzarella cheese and coriander leaves,serve hot.

Personal notes:

1. you can add a little cheese before removing the pasta from the stove top, it melts and blends in with the pasta resulting in a creamier taste
2. some vegetables don't need the extra water to cook, just closing the lid will do. Vary the amount of water depending on the vegetables added 

Patates sto Fourno (Greek recipe for garlic lemon potatoes)

Being in potato land (Idaho), potatoes are a staple in my kitchen.(I think they would be so even otherwise :)). We once bought this huge bag of yukon gold potatoes and I was looking for non-Indian recipes when I found this. This makes a yummy snack or even a good side dish for a meal.

Ingredients:

1. 4 medium potatoes
2. 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3. 1 tbsp butter
4. 2 tbsp lemon juice and 1 tsp lemon zest
5. 1 tbsp dried oregano powder
6. 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
7. salt to taste
8. freshly ground pepper to taste
9. 2 tbsp coriander leaves

Method:

1. Wash and scrub the skin off the potatoes, chop them into wedges (6-8 wedges a potato)
2. Heat the butter in a flat bottomed pan and once melted place the wedges in the pan
3. Once browned on one side, flip to the other side--this takes about 5-6 minutes
4. Reduce the flame to low/medium and cover the potatoes to cook for a few more minutes (poke with a fork to see if cooked)
5. Make the sauce by mixing the rest of the ingredients and pour on the potatoes
6. Mix very gently and make sure not to break the potatoes
7. Cook the potatoes without the lid for a few more minutes
8. Top off with cilantro

Inspired by the recipe from chefinyou.

Croissants

Ever since I saw a french cook Pino make these croissants on youtube, I have had several dreams about them:) I held back because they are totally sinfully unhealthy and the complex multi step over night process scared me a bit too. So after a lot of hesitation, I went ahead and started making these yesterday.

Steps involved at a higher level:

• Making the croissant dough
• Laminating the butter
• Folding and rolling process
• Shaping the croissants
• Brushing and baking

Ingredients:

1. 2 1/4 cups of flour plus some for dusting
2. 0.5 oz salt
3. 0.5 oz yeast
4. 8-9 oz of lukewarm milk
5. 8 oz of butter--should be chilled
6. 1 egg beaten with 2 tbsp of water

Method:

Making the dough: 

1. Mix the yeast in the warm milk and let it stand for about 10 minutes. The mixture should turn frothy. 
2. Mix the flour, sugar, salt and pour in the milk mixture and knead to a smooth elastic dough.
3. Let it stand for about 1.5- 2 hours. The dough should rise

Laminate the butter:

1. Lay down a cling film on the counter and place the slabs of butter on the film horizontally
2. Cover the butter with another layer of cling film and use hands to gently press into a flat sheet. The butter should be malleable
3. Once the butter is pressed down to a small rectangle, use a rolling pin and roll it further.
4. Seal the cling film and refrigerate the butter

Folding and rolling the dough:

1. Take the risen dough and punch out the air
2. Roll it to a rectangle (a bigger rectangle than the butter rectangle)
3. Place the butter in the center of the flour rectangle and fold the flour sheet over the butter sheet (a 3 fold like how a letter is folded)
4. Pat the rectangle slab made in the above the step with the rolling pin. Do not roll immediately as the butter will crack.
5. Turn the slab 90 degrees right, in other words, make one right turn :)
6. Roll out the rectangle with the rolling pin
7. Use the extra flour to dust the surface so that the dough does not stick.
8. Wrap it tightly in cling film and refrigerate it for at least 30 mins
9. This is round 1. Repeat it two more times
10. Remember to always turn the dough slab. The short side of the rectangle should face you while you start rolling
11. Once the 3rd round is complete, refrigerate the tightly wrapped slab for at least 8 hours.

Shaping the croissants:

1. Cut the slab into 2 and work with one half.The layers of butter and dough are visible in the above picture
2. Roll out the half into a rectangle about 1/2 cm thick and cut out long triangles with a pizza cutter
3. Make a small incision at the base of the triangle
4. Place a tiny piece of dough at the incision, hold the tip of the triangle. Stretch the tip with the other hand and start rolling it up from the base towards the tip. The croissants look like this once rolled:

Brush and bake:

1. Cover with a plastic bag or place in a warm place for a couple of hours--the croissants are required to poof up a little.
2. Brush lightly with the egg wash prepared
3. Bake for about 15-18 minutes at 375 deg F
4. Serve with Jam (there is already a ton of butter in it:))

Chocolate Chip Almond Biscotti

Nothing like a choco-chip biscotti with a cup of coffee to unwind from a long stressful day.

I love Nonni's biscotti, not so much the one we get at Starbucks. I always thought that this is pretty hard to make, and after seeing some videos online and so more research, found this healthier version of biscotti.

Ingredients:

1. 2 sprays of cooking spray
2. 2 cups all purpose flour
3. 1 tsp baking powder
4. 1/2 tsp table salt
5. 3 tbsp mini chocolate chips
6. 1 cup sugar
7. 2 large eggs
8. 1 tsp canola oil
9. 1 tsp vanilla extract
10. 1/4 cup of crushed almonds (or to taste)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt until combined; stir in chocolate chips.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla until frothy, about 2 minutes. Make a well in center of dry ingredients and pour in egg mixture; stir just until moistened and dough forms. 
4. Shape dough into a 13 X 3-inch log on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes and remove from oven. Reduce oven to 300°F. 
5. Let biscotti cool for 10 minutes. Then cut warm log crosswise, on a slight diagonal, into twenty 1/2-inch-thick slices. Stand slices, about an inch apart, on baking sheet and return to oven to cook for 12 minutes more. The centers will be soft but biscotti will crisp when cooled. Yields 1 per serving. 

Personal notes:

1. You can cut the logs from the dough at Step 4, instead of doing it in step 5. It is much easier to shape the log from the dough, rather than cut it after the first round of baking. 
2. The choco chips can be substituted for cherries and other nuts.
3. I used a mix of all purpose and whole wheat flour.

Pumpkin Pie with Graham cracker crust

With the fall season coming in, there were bright colorful pumpkins everywhere. I have been wanting to experiment with pies for a long time so the first choice--pumpkin pie. I did want to buy a whole pumpkin and make my own puree. As I did not have other pumpkin recipes in hand, I went with the store bought canned pumpkin--Libby's 100% pure pumpkin puree.

Ingredients:

1. 2 large egg whites
2. 1 large egg
3. 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
4. 1/4 tsp table salt
5. 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
6. 1/2 cup fat-free evaporated milk
7. 1/4 cup light whipped topping
8. 9 inch pie crust--reduced fat graham cracker crust
9. 1 cup canned pumpkin

Method:

1. Position the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degree F
2. Whip egg whites until frothy, fold in egg, dark brown sugar, salt, pumpkin spice, canned pumpkin and evaporated milk
3. Beat the pumpkin custard until smooth and pour into pie shell
4. Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45-55 minutes
5. Slice into 8 pieces and top each slice with 1/2 tbsp of whipped topping

Banana-Oatmeal Bread

A super fast, super healthy recipe for banana-oatmeal bread.

Ingredients:

1. 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
   
2. 1/2 cup unpacked brown sugar
3. 1/2 tsp table salt
4. 1/2 tsp baking soda
5. 1/4 tsp baking powder
6. 3 tsp canola oil
7. 1 large egg beaten
8. 2 medium egg whites beaten
9. 3 large bananas ripe
10. 1 cup uncooked old fashioned oats

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients. Add oil and eggs; mix thoroughly.
2. In a smaller bowl, mash bananas with a potato masher or fork. Add bananas and oatmeal to batter.
3. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray. Pour batter into pan and bake until top of loaf is firm to touch, 45 to 55 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Flip out and cool on a wire rack for another 10 minutes.

Personal notes: I used a mix of all purpose flour and whole wheat flour adding up to 1.25 cups. Alternatively, one can use whole wheat flour completely.

Masala Peanuts

Ingredients:

1. 1 1/2 cup peanuts
2. 1/2 cup gram flour
   
3. 1/4 cup rice flour
4. 1 tablespoon coriander powder
   
5. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
   
6. 1 teaspoon of curry masala powder/chilli powder (or to taste)
   
7. 1 teaspoon red pepper
8. 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
9. 1 tablespoon finely chopped green chili
10. 1/4 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
    
11. 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
    
12. 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
13. 1 cup Water as needed
14. Oil to fry

Method:

1. In a frying pan roast the dry peanuts on medium heat for 3-4 minutes and let it cool for few minutes.
2. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Add water as needed making sure the spices and flour stick to the peanuts uniformly.
4. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium heat.
5. While putting the peanuts into oil, loosen them with your fingers to make sure the peanuts are separated and do not form lumps. Peanuts should be separated while frying.
6. Fry the peanuts until they turn light brown, turning them occasionally.
7. Once done, remove from oil and drain the excess oil with a paper towel.

Personal notes:

1. The key to figure out when the peanuts are done is that they stop sizzling in the oil.

This is a crunchy munchy snack for cold winter days-adapted from manjulaskitchen

The Greeny green pasta

I was in search of a pasta sauce which is not tomato based, when I found this interesting recipe. This recipe is inspired by Heidi's recipe of Winter pasta from 101cookbooks.com. Though this recipe does not look too appetizing, it was a healthy yummy change from the regular pasta I make.

Ingredients:

1. 5-6 cloves of garlic, peeled and slightly crushed
2. 2 cups of spinach
3. 4-5 tbsps of olive oil
   
4. 1/3 cup of feta cheese, plus more for topping
5. Freshly ground black pepper
6. 2 Green chillies
   
7. 8 oz of dried whole wheat penne pasta
8. Coriander leaves--a small bunch
   

Method:

1. Boil water (with salt added) and cook the pasta Al dente or as instructed on the package
2. In a pan, saute the garlic, green chillies in a few tsps of olive oil.
   
3. Add the spinach, coriander and saute till the spinach wilts (don't over cook it)
4. Puree the above with olive oil and feta cheese and set aside
5. Toss the pasta with the puree in the pan
6. Top with crumbled feta cheese and coriander leaves.
   

Pumpkin rolls

Ingredients:

1. 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2. 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4. 1 tsp of pumpkin spice
   
5. 1/4 teaspoon salt
6. 3 large eggs
7. 1 cup granulated sugar
8. 1 cup Libby's 100% pure pumpkin
   
9. 1/2 cup almonds chopped (optional)
10. 1 pkg. (8 oz.) fat free cream cheese, at room temperature
11. 3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
12. 2 tablespoons butter
    
13. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:
For the cake:

1. Line the pan with parchment paper and grease it. I used a cookie tray (the original recipe requires a jelly roll pan ).
2. Combine the lour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin spice and salt in small bowl.
3. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until thick.
4. Beat in pumpkin and stir in flour mixture.
5. Spread evenly into prepared pan and sprinkle with nuts.
6. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched.
7. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel.
8. Carefully peel off paper.(Sometimes the cake tends to come off along with the paper, hence don't miss out on greasing the paper at step 1)
   
9. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end.
10. Cool on wire rack.

For the filling:

1. Beat the cream cheese, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth.
2. Carefully unroll cake and spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Don't worry if there are some cracks--just fill them up with the filling and make sure not to spread a lot on the edges as it tends to ooze out when rolling.
3. Reroll cake.
4. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour.

Personal notes:

1. The original recipe uses cinnamon and cloves powder, I liked the pumpkin spice better
2. I also reduced the amounts of sugar in the recipe (as I don't like my desserts too sugary) both in the cream cheese filling and the cake- it can be reduced further as well, depending on personal taste
3. Make sure the cream cheese mixture is not runny and is a little thick when spreading. Runny fillings ooze out easily.
4. The original recipe calls for 6 table spoons of butter--I added 2, believe me, I did not miss the butter :)
5. The original recipe also calls for 1 cup of walnuts--which I substituted for 1/2 cup almonds.
   

Apple Crumble

Yep, they say an apple a day keeps a doctor away, but I am not a big fan of apples. That's before the apple crumble happened. A simple quick recipe to get some servings of fruit in.

Ingredients:

1. 3 small apple(s), Granny Smiths, cored, chopped
2. 1/8 cup raisins
3. 1.5 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
4. 1 tsp lemon zest
5. 1/4 cup(s) unpacked brown sugar
6. 1/4 cup(s) Quaker Oats Old-Fashioned Oats, or other brand
7. 1/8 cup(s) almonds, ground
8. 2 tbsp all-purpose flour, sifted
9. 1 tbsp butter
10. A few walnut pieces
11. A pinch of cinnamon

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 6-cup casserole dish with cooking spray.
2. Lightly cook the apples in a sauce pan, takes about a 3-4 minutes. (I added this step, not in the original recipe)
3. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl; sprinkle over fruit. Combine oats, almonds, walnuts and flour in same small bowl; rub in margarine using fingertips and then sprinkle the topping over the fruit mixture. Bake until the fruit is tender, about 25 to 30 minutes. Cut into 6 pieces and serve warm.

My personal notes:

• The quantities I have mentioned are half of what was stated in the original recipe (which had pears and 1/2 tsp of all spice in it as well).
• I substituted allspice with cinnamon powder and threw in a few chopped walnut pieces. I also pre-cooked the apples a little bit ( I saw a video where someone did that :)).

Coconut Macaroons

I have had these macaroons in India as well as here and for some reason, I thought they are pretty difficult to make. Well, they are not. This recipe is a healthier version of macaroons, as quite a few of the recipes I checked online have sweetened condensed milk in them and this one does not. It also has very less of flour, no butter.

Ingredients:

1. 2 large egg white(s), at room temperature
2. 1/4 tsp table salt
3. 1/3 cup(s) sugar
4. 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
5. 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
6. 1 cup(s) sweetened coconut flakes

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper coated with cooking spray. (Note: if you do not have parchment paper, simply coat cookie sheets with cooking spray)

2. Combine egg whites and salt in a medium bowl; beat with an electric mixer at low speed until egg whites are foamy, about 1 minute. Gradually add sugar, increasing the mixer speed until egg whites form stiff, glossy peaks.

3. Fold in remaining ingredients. Drop batter by tablespoons onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake until light golden brown, about 15 minutes. Yields about 2 cookies per serving.

My personal notes:

1. The first time I made these, I used extra large eggs, as that is what I had. I didn't think it would make a huge difference between large and extra large, but I guess I was wrong and the batter turned out runny due to more of egg whites and I got flat macaroons. The second time I corrected the issue and the macaroons turned out good. If they are still runny, adding extra coconut flakes helps too.
   
2. Soak the eggs in lukewarm water for about 5-10 minutes to bring them to room temperature. Else, it takes really long (about 30-45 minutes) for the eggs to reach room temperature
3. I had to beat the life out of the egg whites, as I did it by a hand whisk. I saw a video which showed that the egg whites had to beaten till they reach a hard peak. This means if you remove the whisk from the mixture, there will be a stiff peak of frothy egg whites formed at the tip of it (It should not drip or be runny).
4. I also added less than a 1/3 cup sugar as the coconut flakes are already sweetened. The next time will probably add even lesser.
5. The insane part was when I tried to melt some chocolate to dip these, and I tried melting dark chocolate morsels in the microwave--- it got pretty messy, I would try the double broiler method the next time.

So if you have an electric mixer or have the patience to beat the egg whites, this recipe is pretty simple :)

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

I was very apprehensive about trying this recipe because of the copious amounts of cheese used. It has been months since I bought these whole wheat whole grain lasagna noodles and I finally decided to give it a try. I made several tweaks to this recipe, added an Indian twist and tried to make it as healthy as possible.

Ingredients:

1. Whole wheat/Whole grain Lasagna noodles--9 sheets
2. Tomatoes--4
3. Garlic pods-8 to10 pods
4. Basil powder- a pinch
5. Fennel seeds powder--a pinch
6. Marjoram powder--a pinch
7. Oregano powder--a pinch
8. Eggplant-(I used Indian brinjals)- 1 cup
9. Mushroom- 1 cup
10. Cheese mix -1 cup
11. Spinach--1 cup
12. Green chillies-4 big ones or to taste
13. Black pepper- 2-3 tsps or to taste
14. Olive oil--to coat veggies and saute garlic
15. Coriander leaves

Pasta Sauce:

Blanch 4 tomatoes and remove the skin. Puree two of them and chop the other 2 into tiny pieces. Heat about 2 tsp of olive oil and saute the finely chopped garlic first and then add the chopped tomatoes and green chillies. Add the puree and boil this on medium flame for about 15-20 minutes. Make sure the tomatoes are not raw. Add oregano, marjoram, and basil powder.(I added a tiny pinch of fennel seed powder for an Indian taste :)and skipped the basil powder) Bring to a boil. The sauce should neither be too thin nor too thick.

Veggies:

1. Spray a non stick pan with cooking spray and roast the eggplants which are previously coated in salt, pepper and olive oil in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, they should be tender and well browned.
2. Saute some more garlic and spinach till the spinach wilts.
3. Chop the mushrooms ( thick pieces, not too thin)

Cheese mix:

I made a mix of shredded mozzarella, cottage cheese and feta. I added some pepper, coriander leaves ( I skipped the parsely leaves) and mixed them together.

Putting it all together:

1. Start preparing the baking pan by coating it with cooking spray. Spread a little sauce on the pan. Layer 3 sheets next to each other, coat with sauce, a layer of eggplants, a layer of cheese mix, layer of next 3 sheets, coat with sauce, layer of spinach and mushrooms, layer of cheese mix, layer 3 more sheets. Pour remaining sauce on top and sprinkle remaining cheese.
2. Bake uncovered for 40-45 minutes at 400 F. Cool and serve.

My personal notes:

I made the recipe healthy by:

1. Using whole wheat and whole grain pasta instead of white or regular pasta
2. Making my own tomato sauce.
3. Reducing the amount of cheese (Some of the recipes I saw have about 3 cups of cheese--I used only 1 cup. I used veggies to bulk up the recipe instead of cheese.
4. Using part skim mozzarella, cottage and feta to cut down on fat and add more flavor.

It does not look like the professional restaurant type lasagnas, but tastes pretty good and is healthy too.