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