Friends, Family and Food Adventures, USA
Hello Everyone! Apologies for the looooooong gap since my last post but I am back to prove the cynics wrong and VegDelights is back online. 🙂 During this break a lot has happened both in the kitchen and beyond: my husband and I went back to US to visit family and friends, I fell ill, my mother-in-law visited :), we took advantage of the many London festivals (Wine and Cheese and Restaurant Week) and hosted/attended many Diwali events/dinners. I did enjoy taking some time off cooking; but of course a girl’s got to eat and I really enjoyed eating food made by others. 🙂
Back in the summer month of September, my husband and I took our first trip back to the States since we got married last year and the plan was to see and do as much as we could in the time that we had. We started our trip in Chicago and just an hour after landing, we started our food journey, which lasted until the time we were on our way back to London. First meal was of course the famous Chicago Stuffed Pizza. Nothing like the Italian pizza, it was nonetheless heavenly for me as I prefer the extra layer of dough on the top! Not one to stop there, just a few hours later that evening we went to dinner at Le Colonial, a French-Vietnamese vegetarian-friendly restaurant. The decor gave an exotic classy ambiance and food was nothing short of spectacular. Everything was perfect including the company. After dinner, as the last diners in the restaurant, we moved upstairs for that ‘last’ drink to their cozy bar/lounge area. Le Colonial was tastefully decorated with sofas, mini palm trees and had wooden floors and walls; it was like being whisked away on a tropical holiday. A big heartful thanks to our family in Chicago for such a fantastic evening.
The next day we went on the stunning architecture boat tour and went to The Signature Lounge at the 96th for late afternoon drinks and dessert! 🙂 It’s located in the 96th floor of the John Hancock Center and is one of the most spectacular views around the city of Chicago. It was an ideal place to chit-chat and hang around with its casual atmosphere.
Signature Lounge at the 96th
As much as we I was sad to leave Chicago, I was equally excited to reach Atlanta, our next stop! I was in tears to see my cute little angels (niece and nephew) who had come with my sister and brother to the fetch me at the airport! The nine days in Atlanta were eventful to say the least, as I tried to check off all the restaurants that I wanted to eat at and maximize the time spent with family and friends. I had to take my husband to all the places that for the past year I had been going on and on and on about. Some of these restaurants were Cafe Bombay (Indian – Paneer Mughlai, Bullet Naan), Little Bangkok (Thai – Fried Rice), RuSans (sushi), Poblanos (Mexican), California Pizza Kitchen (Tostada Pizza), Chipotle, Taco Bell and many more. Sadly, I did not get to dine at every establishment on my list 😦 On the flip side it was wonderful to have some home-cooked meals made by mom! 🙂
My Angels
Our next stop was California; my first ever time! We started out by spending couple days in Napa Valley. It was the most relaxing and most scenic part of our trip. Thanks to our wonderful family, we were able to explore the Sonoma and Napa Valley in their convertible and admire the beauty of the vineyards so openly and soak in every ray of sun before our return to the UK! A convertible was the best way to do it; although I still can’t figure out how I lost a slipper sitting in the car! We indulged in countless tastings – wine, champagne, cheese, olive oil, vinegar, mmm…mmm…mmm! One of the nights we dined at Ubuntu, a Michelin starred vegetarian restaurant……..i know VEGETARIAN, I was psyched! Our dining experience was phenomenal. We ordered the entire menu, no joke! Each course was inventive, inspiring, and amazingly flavorful with its remarkable combination of ingredients. The dishes were impeccably and artistically presented. Their menu rotates seasonally and the ingredients comes from their own homegrown biodynamic gardens. All organic and healthy! For a small corkage charge, you can bring your own bottle of wine to most of the restaurants in Napa. I found a Chardonnay that I liked from all my tastings and enjoyed it on our perfect evening at Ubuntu. Conclusively, every minute was heavenly in Napa Valley!
Champagne Tasting in Napa Valley
Ubuntu
Ubuntu
Next, we had a day trip to Monterey and Carmel area including the 17-mile scenic drive. Stunning houses and golf courses! We ate a local gourmet sandwich cafe near a golf course and finished our night at a vegetarian Vietnamese hole in the wall dining place in San Jose called ToFoo Com Chay. It was great to try some Vietnamese food as have never found a Vietnamese vegetarian friendly restaurant. Again another great hit!
Carmel Beach
Vegetarian Pho at ToFoo Com Chay
Next, we explored few days in San Francisco/San Jose area. Three of my favourites to highlight: Eiks Place in San Francisco, Kara’s Cupcakes in Ghirardelli Square, the Google Tour! Eiks is a sandwich place that serves meat/mock-meat sandwiches. We were told about this place, just showed up and got lucky with the lunchtime queue. Apparently it is known to have queues of half hour to an hour; so much so that locals now have started ordering online/phone to avoid waiting. They have the most unusual sandwich combinations I have ever seen and interesting names to match. I even wanted to grab one on our way to the airport the day we left! It’s a must try if you ever find yourself in the Bay area. If only this could be replicated in the UK…..
Unlike my cheese desires, I am not much of a cupcake monster as quite often the frosting is too sweet, thick and sickly! However Kara’s Cupcakes in Ghirardelli Square were surprisingly hypnotizing. I was stunned at how soft and smooth the frosting was for the range of cupcakes we sampled that afternoon (it was a big group!). Since then I have been trying different recipes for the smoothest frosting but have not yet succeeded. When I find my perfect balance, I will be sure to post about it!
Lastly, a tour of Google in Mountain View. A family member works at Google and was kind enough to give us a lavish tour of the Google campus. I had heard many things about GooglePlex and it was great to see (taste and experience) it firsthand. As Google is dedicated to providing free, largely healthful and artisan-produced meals three times a day to its employees, it was great to sample some of the dishes in one of their multi-cuisine cafes followed by burning off some calories on dance dance revolution in their arcade center.
Just a few hours before leaving to come back to London, we spent some time at the San Francisco Saturday Farmers’ market. It was inspiring to see so many varieties of fresh produce and try bits and bobs of everything I could get my hands on! With loads of catering stations, I just couldn’t resist buying a tub of herbed goat’s cheese spread and then find the best bread to match it, before devouring it in minutes!
San Francisco Saturday Farmer's Market
While the trip was for friends and family, it was an unforgettable food journey! I cannot wait until next year to do it all over again, but as yet the location is to be determined! 🙂
I am glad to be back blogging and will be sure to post regularly with the vegetarian meals, recipes and restaurants that I fill my stomach and desires each and every day. Thanksgiving is only around the corner…….. 🙂
Spiced Banana Bread with Chocolate Bits
Sadly no photo of my banana bread, forgot to take one :(!
It was 9PM on a workday and was just feeling restless and so decided to bake! I had two bananas that had ripened and needed to be eaten up rather soon, so banana bread it was.
I started with a recipe and soon realized that I completely decided not to follow it! This time my mission was to make a version that was relatively healthy and with a bit of extra spice and of course some dark chocolate! 🙂 To add nutritional value, I decided to use soya flour and be stingy with my use of sugar and butter.
I recently learned that soya flour can be used in baking for extra protein by simply replacing about a 1/5 of flour ingredient with soya flour for non-yeast raised products. Because baked products containing soy flour tend to brown more quickly, I had to the lower the temperature just slightly.
This healthy baking experiment was a success as it was enjoyed by all my work colleagues! 🙂
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Ingredients:
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp of cinnamon
2 bananas, mashed
1 cup plain/all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup soya flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup small chunks of dark chocolate (80% cocoa)
1. In a mixing bowl, cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Next beat in eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and bananas until well blended.
2. Combine the flours, baking soda and salt and add to creamed mixture and stir just until combined. Fold in chocolate bits.
3. Spoon into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 170C/ 340F for about 55-60 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Vanilla Custard Fruit Pie
This recipe involves a few steps and may seem like a lot of work, but trust me it’s quite the opposite: minimal baking and easy to put together. What’s more, my version is relatively healthy! 🙂 I initially made this fruit pie with a cream cheese filling following the recipe from a friend in Atlanta (now is Dallas) and it was mighty delicious. However, with the recipe below I have replaced the filling with vanilla custard to make it a lighter dessert for a dinner party that may already be laden with cheese. I have also included a recipe for the sugar cookie base which uses half the sugar than that found in ready-made cookie dough mixture that you can buy at the grocery store (only available in US, not in UK). For the fruit topping, you can combine any fruits that you like. I have chosen berries for my recipe below, but you can use pineapple bits, kiwis, grapes, etc.
Every time I have made it for others, it has gone down a treat! Why don’t you “bake” to impress! 🙂
Serves 8 /Total Time 45 minutes
Sugar Cookie Dough Ingredients:
170g /1-1/3 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
115g /1/2 cup butter, softened
100g/1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set these dry ingredients aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.
- Preheat oven to 375F/190C. Line a 12 inch/30 cm pizza baking tray with parchment paper. Roll the dough onto the parchment paper. You can use your fingertips to push it out evenly to the edges.
- Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let it stand on on baking tray for about two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.
Vanilla Custard Ingredients:
250 ml milk
100 ml fresh cream (I used 25% fat fresh cream)
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cornflour or cornstarch
1/2 of vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla extract/essence
- In a saucepan, put the milk and cream together and add the vanilla seeds/extract/essence. Take 1/4 cup of this mixture in a small bowl and mix in the sugar and cornflour to make a smooth paste and keep aside.
- Heat the milk mixture over a medium flame. When it comes to a boil, lower the flame and stir in the cornflour/milk mixture. Stir constantly until thick and creamy, making sure that nothing catches at the bottom of the pan. Take off heat and set aside to cool.
Orange glaze ingredients:
1 tbsp icing sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tbsp lemon juice
pinch of salt
- In a saucepan, combine all ingredients, heat over medium flame, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil, and cook for 1 or 2 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat. Allow to cool, but not set.
Topping Ingredients:
2 cups strawberries, sliced in halves
1 cup blackberries, sliced in halves
1 cup raspberries, sliced in halves
1/2 cup blueberries
or
Any combination of your favourite fruits
- Once the fruit is cut up, set aside.
Assembly:
- Slide the cooled baked cookie dough base on to a serving dish of the same size if you wish. Otherwise, just remove the parchment paper from the baking tray.
- Spread the cooled custard over the sugar cookie base leaving 2 cm of edge of base uncovered.
- Arrange chosen fruit in a circle around the outside edge. Continue with fruit of your choice, working towards the middle.
- Now spoon over the cooled orange glaze over the fruits.
- Chill for at least 1 hour, then cut into wedges and serve.
Stuffed Pasta Shells
1 tub (250g) ricotta cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
2 small green bell peppers, finely chopped
1 small tub (100g) mushrooms, chopped
1/2 tbsp dried mixed Italian herbs or handful of chopped fresh herbs
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
3 cups zingy pasta sauce
2. In a large mixing bowl, make the filling by mixing together all the ingredients above except for: pasta shells, 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese, and pasta sauce.
3. Spoon 1/2 cup of pasta sauce evenly over bottom of large baking dish.
4. Individually fill the cooked pasta shells with 1-2 tbsp of the filling made in Step 2. Place the stuffed shell in the baking tray. Repeat with the remaining shells.
5. Drizzle a tbsp of sauce on each shell and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan. Cover loosely with foil and bake for about 35 minutes.
Zingy Pasta Sauce
There are so many ways you can make your own pasta sauce. I specifically like a bit of zing to mine and prefer a orangey-red colour sauce that I have detailed below. It’s simple (as always) and you can store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in the refrigerator or even freeze it.
Makes about 3 cups; Serves 4-5; Total time 50 minutes
Ingredients:
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2, cans (400g) of chopped tomatoes
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
1 tsp dried red chili flakes
1-1 1/2 tsp sugar
2-3 tbsp double cream/whipping cream (optional)
large handful basil leaves, torn into small pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper (generously season) to serve
1. Heat the oil in a saucepan and cook the onions and garlic until translucent and softened.
2. Next, add the tomatoes, chilli flakes, dried herbs and sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook on low heat for about 40-45 minutes.
3. Add the torn basil leaves, double cream, and season with salt pepper. You can serve it chunky or use a blender to make it into a smooth paste.
Thai Basil Rolls
On numerous occasions in the Far East I found myself searching for these fresh basil rolls. Let’s just say I couldn’t find them very often, in fact perhaps only once, so didn’t get a chance to really satisfy my cravings with the authentic version. Ever since we have been back, I have wanted to make them myself. One day, as I had all the ingredient I needed (from my recent trip to the local chinese shop) I decided to make what I believe are the most amazing fresh basil rolls :). I really only wanted to experiment making a few as a starter, but there turned out to be 12 in total for me and my husband to devour! They were so easy to make and so healthy, it was a heavenly experience to eat them. I took some rolls for lunch the next day and shared them with a co-worker and let’s say she did enjoy them very very much!
It would seem that I no longer have to go to a Thai restaurant to eat unlimited amounts of fresh basil rolls!
Makes 10-12 rolls; Total time: 2o-25 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup soaked rice vermicelli noodles, but run through cold water
10-12 round rice wrapper sheets
1 bunch fresh Thai holy basil leaves (not the normal supermarket one)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro/coriander
1 cups bean sprouts (optional)
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 carrot, shredded
1/2 cucumber, cut into matchsticks
100 g tofu, cut into matchsticks
100 g shiitake mushrooms, cut into matchsticks
1 tsp soy sauce
Dipping Sauce (yields 1 cup of sauce):
3/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
2 tablespoon water
1. Combine all the sauce ingredients and set aside.
2. Heat 1 tsp of oil in pan, tofu, mushrooms and soy sauce. Stir fry for five minutes or until mushroom are cooked. Set aside. Be careful not to stir too much as you don’t want the tofu to crumble.
3. Fill a large bowl with hot water (not boiling). Dip a wrapper in water for about 30 seconds until soft and flexible. Lay wrapper on a flat surface.Add another wrapper to the hot water as you fill and roll the first one.
4. Place 3-4 basil leaves in center, side by side, about 2 inches from edge of wrapper. Lay two pieces of tofu and mushrooms each on basil, followed by small amounts of bean sprouts, lettuce, carrots, noodles, and coriander leaves.
5. Starting at one end, roll the wrapper over once, fold both sides in toward the center, and continue rolling as tightly as possible without tearing. To seal it wet the edge of the wrapper with a little water and press it down gently. You will quickly get the hang of working with the rice sheets and like with my attempt, the first one rarely comes together the best and should be used as a taste test 🙂
6. Repeat for remaining rice sheets. Serve with dipping sauce .
Aloo Tikki Chaat (Potato Patties Snack)
So this dish may seem very complicated and time-consuming. Yes, if you make everything from scratch. But if you have part of the Assembly Ingredients (below), such as the chutneys and sev readily available (thanks to your mom and mom-in-law), it’s super quick and easy to prepare. Otherwise, the chutneys and sev are readily available from any local Indian shop or even in the International section of local supermarkets (at least it is the case here in London :)). Alternatively if, like me, you want to make the chutneys yourself and have them to hand for later use in snacks, it’s quite simple and uses very few ingredients.
I was really craving this chaat as we were going to watch a Hindi fim later that evening. In the US, I would generally be able to buy samosas at the theatre hall. However, my husband quickly pointed out to me that it is not the case in London. Therefore I had to satisfy my craving by making my chaat at home beforehand and unfortunately the extra one packed away for devouring during the intermission was quickly eaten by our starving friend during the car journey! 🙂 This Aloo Tikki Chaat was such a yummy treat!!! mmm..mmm.. and more mmmmmmmmm!
Serves 3; Total time: 30-40 minutes
Potato Patty Ingredients:
3 large potatoes, boiled and mashed
2 tbsp bread crumbs (tub or fresh)
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1 green chili, finely chopped
1/4 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp coriander-cumin powder
1/4 tsp amchoor (mango) powder (or more lemon juice)
1/4 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp lemon juice
handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
1. Combine all the ingredients above and to make a smooth dough.
2. Divide dough into 12 portions and make a ball, then flatten it to get a pattie shape. I used cutter ring to make perfect circle patties.
3. On your grill/griddle machine, spray oil on plates . Place the potato patties on the plate and cover the top. Grill until golden brown. This should be about 8-10 minutes. Alternatively, if you don’t have a grill/griddle machine, heat some oil in a pan and shallow fry on both sides to a golden brown color. Set aside.
400 g can – chick peas, drain water and wash well
1/2 onion, chopped finely
1 tomato, chopped
Spice Batch 1: 1/4 tsp – Cumin seeds; 1/4 tsp – Hing powder; 2 cloves; 1 cardamom; 1 small cinnamon stick; 1 bay leaf
Spice batch 2:1 tsp coriander-cumin powder; 1/4 tsp red chili powder; 1/4 tsp turmeric powder; 1/2 tsp amchoor powder; 1/4 tsp garam masala powder
1 ) Add 1 tbsp of oil to a pan. When hot, but not smoking add Spice Batch #1. Temper for roughly 25 seconds or until the spice aroma is released. Then add onions and fry untill golden brown (at least 5 minutes).
2 ) Add spice batch #2 and fry for a 30 more seconds. Add tomato and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add chickpeas, 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil. Smash the chickpeas roughly with stirring spoon. Add salt to taste and simmer covered for 10-12 minutes.
Assembly Ingredients:
1/2 cup beaten plain yogurt
1/4 cup tamarind-date chutney
1/8 cup green coriander chutney
1/4 cup fine sev
handful coriander leaves
1. Lay 4 aloo tikkis (potato patties) on a plate, add the Choley (chick-pea curry) on top then add 2-3 tbsp of yogurt, 1 tbsp of coriander and tamarind chutney. Generously sprinkle sev and coriander. Repeat for other 2 starter dishes.
BEST Spicy Basil Tofu EVER!
One of my favourite Asian dishes of all time is the spicy basil tofu from a Thai restaurant in Atlanta called Top Spice. When we were travelling the far east earlier this year, we had this dish at a restaurant on the small island of Koh Lanta in Thailand. It looked gorgeous and tasted out of the world. So impressed was I that I asked the cook (in my best Thai!) if I could come the next day and learn from him how to make it. Sure enough, I was there learning how to make it the most authentic way in a somewhat basic (mosquito-ridden) kitchen. Taking into consideration what I learned there and another good recipe, below is the combination that I think makes an amazing spicy basil tofu. I think it’s definitely comparable to the one at Top Spice! 🙂
The non-negotiable ingredient in this recipe is the holy basil (tulsi). You can get this Thai basil at an Asian supermarket and the standard supermarket basil is completely different and most definitely not a substitute. Holy basil’s aroma and subtle hint in the dish works brilliantly to bring all the flavours together. Another ingredient that I think is equally important is the vegetarian (shrimp-free) chilli paste. We got our chilli paste from Chiang Mai. Having dined at an amazing veggie restaurant (May Kaidee) we had to ask where she got her veggie paste from; it was quite a mission to find as the shop was only a ‘hole in the wall’ in a huge food market. (Having found the place, we were so elated and desperate to buy more vegetarian Thai ingredients, but the language barrier limited us and we nearly walked away with a herbal constipation and vomiting cure!) We now use the chilli paste a lot in our Asian cooking and absolutely love it. Though, if you can’t get hold of the Thai veggie chilli paste, you will be able to get the kick from the chinese chilli paste but perhaps not the full flavour. Not sure what we will do when our jar is over!
This Spicy Basil Tofu is really healthy and quick to make and did I mention, tasty?! 🙂
Serves 4/ Total time 15-20 minutes
600 g tofu, cut in to 1″ chunks
2 medium red or green bell peppers, cut into thick slices or chunks
1/2 large onion or 1 medium onion, cut into thick slices
3/4 cup vegetable stock
1/2 tbsp Thai vegetarian chilli paste
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
4 tbsp oil
Big handful of holy basil leaves (1 cup worth at least :))
salt and pepper to taste
For Paste:
12 garlic cloves
1/2 large onion or 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 to 3 hot Thai green chilies
1. Heat 3 tbsp oil in a frying pan or wok. Pan fry the tofu and turn every few minutes so that each piece is golden all over and has a thin crust. Do not stir too much, just move the tofu around by shaking the pan or using tongs. This process should take roughly 10-12 minutes and once done, remove from pan/wok and leave aside for later.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the paste by pulsing it to get a rough paste. Be sure not to make it into a fine paste.
3. In the same pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil and add the paste. Saute for about 2-3 minutes on medium heat, making sure not to burn the garlic.
4. Next add bell peppers and onions saute for about 2 minutes. Add in soy sauce, sugar, chili paste and stock. Stir-fry for a few minutes to allow the sauce to thicken a bit.
5. Add in tofu and stir-fry for 2 more minutes to allow the sauce coat the tofu. Add the cupful of basil leaves and stir it in. Serve this dish with steamed rice.
We had this dish together with the Aubergine Curry at a recent vegan dinner party for some friends and I think the meal went down a treat.
Thai Aubergine Curry
For those of you who do not like aubergines (eggplant), this is a must try to get you hooked! I do not fancy aubergines much, but lately they have grown on me tremendously, partly thanks to this recipe. I found this recipe when attempting to make a sumptuous last-minute meal for my hubby. Below is my adaptation of the BBC Food recipe that I found. I must admit it was a magical moment when I tasted it! It wonderfully tickled all my taste buds!
As it was such a great hit, I decided to make it for an upcoming dinner party with a vegan friend. It was a perfect match as the coconut milk provided some creaminess that Sunil & I were craving since (prematurely) giving up cheese for the Hindu religious month of Shraavan. Everyone enjoyed it! I have been raving about it to my mother in law and she has been patiently waiting for me post the recipe! Mom, I hope it was worth the wait. 🙂
Serves 2-3; Total time: 30-35 minutes
1 medium size aubergine, quartered lengthways, then halved
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tbsp sugar
1-2 spring onions, finely chopped
200 ml coconut milk
200 ml vegetable stock
1/2 of small tin of bamboo shoots
2 kaffir lime leaves (optional)
1 tsp soy sauce
Handful coriander sprigs, chopped
For the paste:
2 green/red chillies, seeded
2″ piece of galangal (can use ginger as substitute) or a mix of both
1 lemon grass stalk, trimmed and roughly chopped
3-4 garlic cloves
1. Pulse the chillies, garlic, galangal/ginger and lemongrass to a paste. Set aside.
2. Mix the turmeric and chilli powder together and rub all over the aubergine wedges. Be careful not to spill out the bowl over your kitchen counter or not wash your hands properly before touching things. YES, speaking from experience, turmeric will stain everything! 🙂
3. Heat the 1/2 tbsp olive oil in large frying pan, add the aubergines as a single layer, allow to cook for 5 minutes on medium heat, turn to ensure even browning, remove from the pan and set aside. This process should take about 10 minutes. Be sure not to stir or move the aubergine pieces too much else they will break down and become mushy.
4. Add 1/2 tbsp of oil to the same pan and cook the paste, sugar, kaffir lime leaves and spring onions for a few mins, then return the aubergines to the pan. Add the bamboo shoots, soy sauce, coconut milk and stock. Mix well and bring the liquid to the boil. Reduce the heat and cook gently until the aubergine is tender. This will take about 15 minutes.
5. Season to taste and sprinkle with fresh coriander. Serve hot with steamed rice.
It might seem like a very spicy curry but the coconut milk balances it out in the end. If you prefer less heat, you can choose leave out fresh green/red chilies. There are really not great substitution for any of the ingredients as the flavour comes from all the fresh herbs. You can easily get these ingredients in any Oriental/Asian shop. Hope you enjoy this dish as much as we did!
Raspberry & White Chocolate Muffins
I had a streak of making muffins a few months back that led to me adding another 4 recipe books to our bookshelf that was already struggling to stay on the wall. My next phase of my cooking journey led me to baking bread and now with the birthdays and events of close people mostly behind me, I have gone full-circle and back to sweet breads/muffins! (Equally bread making is for patient people and we always found ourselves staying up later than we wanted waiting for the bread finish proving for that perfect loaf.)
On my husband’s return from work this week, he brought me a large punnet of raspberries, fresh from the fruit farm in Cheshire. How thoughtful! 🙂 I love them and sometimes eat them all up in one sitting. This time, given the quantity, I would have needed a couple of rounds. The next day he also brought some cherries home when he was just supposed to get some vegetables we needed for a pot-luck dinner (my list for him did not include cherries!). Again very thoughtful, but how was I going to finish all this fruit before it went bad (haha, there is no pleasing women! :))? As raspberries perish the fastest, I decided to make these muffins and to follow the Strawberry Bread, share them with my work colleagues. It’s so great I now have people to bake for at anytime I want. These muffins were quick and simple to make and more importantly not a daunting task to start at 9 pm!
As with any adventure in the kitchen (or in life) I undertake, I consulted quite a few sources as I wanted them soft, moist and bursting with raspberry flavour with every bite! I finally found one from Nigella Lawson that I felt happy to challenge myself with. After watching many of her TV shows, I know her recipes are more on the decadent side and thought it would be a good place to start.
Here are my alterations:
1. I used 300g of raspberries instead of 100g. I thought 100g was not nearly enough for 300g of flour. Plus I wanted raspberries to dominate.
2. I used 150g of white chocolate and 160g of sugar to compensate the tartness of the additional raspberries.
With these small alterations, I made about 24 mini muffins. My husband and I really enjoyed them, especially warm out of the oven. Equally they were well received from my co-workers! I was a bit nervous with my extra additions, but they worked a treat and just how I wanted! 🙂
Strawberry Bread!
From my previous posts you may have gathered that I used to hate baking, but now I am on a constant baking spree and take every opportunity to try something new out! In the past five days, I have baked four delights! I stumbled upon this strawberry bread recipe while I was browsing through another blog and then got redirected to another blog, then another… the final destination: mybakingaddiction, the perfect source for my baking craves.
When I came across this mouth-watering recipe, I instantly knew it would this recipe (instead of cupcakes) that I would be baking for my new work colleagues, a great balanced treat with morning coffee or tea! I absolutely love bread and strawberries; what a great combination they made! Also worth mentioning again that strawberries are in season so you will find great tasting ones from your local grocer (not from your supermarket). To get really nice, sweet strawberries, I diverted from my usual route home to get these from a local stall and this time tried hard not to eat them before I began the recipe (as I had failed for my mango cupcakes) and I succeeded!
This was my first baking experience where I used buttermilk. I was curious as to why buttermilk was essential to this recipe and did not opt for the usual route of substituting for whatever I have at home. I since discovered that buttermilk is used to combat discolouring that is often caused by the chemical reaction of fruits and other foods. It also promotes browning of baked goods and improves texture by making it a light/tender baked good. Despite its fat-sounding name, buttermilk is low in calories: it has the same amount of protein and vitamins as the milk it is made from and is an excellent source of calcium.
My minor alterations to the recipe/handling:
1. I used 3/4 cup sugar, instead of 1 cup as knew I was buying sweet fresh strawberries. As always there was health aspects to this but also I wanted to keep it light and not too sweet. In addition, I used low-fat cheese.
2. I added a 1/4 more cup of chopped strawberries, as I really wanted the strawberry flavour to come out in each bite! Basically, I put an entire (UK) tub of strawberries in my cake mix.
3. I divided the mixture into two bread loaf tins. It just made it easier for me to handle and cut into small bites. (As my husband will testify, I am really terrible at cutting bread!)
I highly, highly recommend this recipe as it was a great hit at work and I absolutely love it! It is also a great way to get your kids to eat more fruit!
Mango Cupcakes
My father in law and I exchange many conversations about food. From his countless hours of watching Food TV, he has amassed third-party knowledge of cooking that works out for me as I learn a lot from him. At some point recently we were talking about diets (which he doesn’t believe in, because we should eat everything :)) and he said something that really struck me: eat various fresh fruit and veggies, but the key is to eat fresh whatever is in season, it’s as natural as it can get. At one of the food events I attended, I picked up a calendar of what is in season each month of the year and so my aim is to buy seasonal produce from local markets.
Hence, it brings me to the one of the fruits that is in season now (in India): mangoes! I was never too crazy about mangoes and ate them here and there, but never went on a mission to purchase really nice mangoes. Thanks to my in-laws, I am now a mango maniac! 🙂 In the last two weeks, they have given me two boxes of delicious mangoes that I have just basically inhaled and scraped off every bit possible…..yum! These were exported from Asia and were amazing silky smooth and sweet. My husband even caught me on video where I basically ate half my first mango of this season before I even finished cutting it…..addictive!
While halfway through my second box in weeks, I felt a bit guilty about eating all these amazing mangoes by myself, so I decided to share an entire mango with others by making cupcakes! I had never made mango cupcakes, but I was sure they would taste just as great as the actual fruit. Then followed a mission to find the perfect recipe online. For a little twist on the humble cupcake, I came across a vegan version here. This dessert blog is full of delectable recipes and I have since subscribed! 🙂
I am very keen to see how they will turn out, can you believe I have n0t had one yet (practicing self-control :)! It will be the moment of truth when people have them at a friend’s BBQ house-warming gathering that we are due to attend this evening! Amazingly the UK still has sunshine and so I have to make the most of it before the Autumnal weather follows this weekend! I will comment on the feedback we get! It will be interesting to see, does the vegan ingredients make it less desirable, can people tell the difference?
Back to work with a Lentil & Carrot Soup!
For all of you that know me, I started my blog when I was not yet working in the UK and didn’t really have a fixed agenda for my days. Reality has struck as I am now working (really enjoying it!) and do have a daily schedule that I have to follow in order to get all my things done, including blogging. I was told (jokingly) by many, that after starting work, my blogging and cooking will become non-existent (do I sense jealousy!?!?! 🙂 ). Surprise, surprise, I have still managed to get a few posts in my first week. However, it has been challenging to post as frequently as I used to. No lies, a few days into working life with my husband away, I came home starving and could not be bothered to cook, so I just hastily ate whatever was around……cereal! That week I really missed cooking and I had to get my fix! I have now altered my eating schedule at work so that I can wait to eat properly after making dinner.
As for lunch, I have varied it between eating out, grabbing from local delis and making my own lunch. Sandwiches all the time can get boring. For instance, today I decided to make myself a lentil and carrot soup for lunch. Its “packed” with abundant nutrients and makes a good hearty, satisfying meal. Just because I have had a lifestyle change by starting work, I am adamant for it not to be an excuse to mistreat my body, deprive myself of healthy choices and the opportunity to make ‘gorgeous’ food!
Serves 1-2/ Total time: 15-20 minutes
1/4 cup red split lentils
2 medium carrots, processed or grated
1 tomato, chopped or 1-tsp of tomato puree
1 1/2 cup vegetable stock
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 dried red chili
2 tsp lemon juice
few sprigs of chopped coriander
salt and black pepper to taste
1. Heat oil in a pan until hot but not smoking. Temper the oil with cumin seeds and red dried chili. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds or so.
2. Add tomatoes, carrots, lentils and give a good stir. Add in stock and bring to boil. Afterwards, simmer for 10-12 minutes until lentils are cooked (fluffy texture).
3. Puree the soup with a stick blender. I like a bit of texture so I take out half for pureeing and mix the two batches. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
You can serve with ciabatta bread or other bread of your choice.
Asian Noodle Soup
This is one of my favourite soups. You can make it in so many different ways with just the simplest of ingredients you have at home. It’s extremely nutritious and quick to prepare. Either you can enjoy it as a light soup with the mushrooms and cucumber only or make it a lunch/dinner main dish by adding other goodies to it (as mentioned below)! We have made a few different versions of it; overall I prefer it with edamame (for texture) and mock chicken to maximize protein intake.
Serves 4/Prep time: 5-10 mins; Cook time: 10 mins
5 oz of mushrooms
1/2 cucumber
2 springs onions
few sprigs coriander
3 garlic cloves
1 pint water/650 ml
1 oz (handful) of chinese noodles
2-3 tbsp soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
optional
1 cup mix of sweet corn, mixed beans, 1 diced chili, mock chicken, edamame, or other vegetables
1. Thinly slice mushrooms or other vegetables of your choice.
2. Cut cucumber in half, scoop out seeds with teaspoon and slice thinly.
3. Chop garlic, spring onion and coriander.
4. Heat oil in a pan, add spring onions and garlic and sautee for about a minute. Add mushrooms/other additions and stir fry for 2-3 mins.
5. Stir in water and break the noodles in half and add to the soup. Bring to boil
6. Add cucumber slices, salt, pepper and soy sauce and simmer for 2-3 mins.
7. Garnish with coriander and Enjoy!!!
Here is another version with the addition of green beans and broccolli….
Taste of China – Restaurant Review
Yesterday, my husband and I joined a few family members for some great food and laughs at Taste of China in the London suburb of Harrow. I had not heard of the place before nor had any idea where it was.
After clearing up some confusion that meant us waiting in a different restaurant, we ended up in the right place 🙂 Despite it being a Tuesday evening, the place was completely full and there was a buzz across the 3 dining areas. In terms of decor, there was no modern chic chinese touches, rather a standard clean restaurant look together with the customary brick fish pond. I am sure the owners are thinking ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ and rightly so.
I cannot say much about the meat dishes, but the veggie options were numerous and quite tasty! As we were with some regulars, I did not spend longer than 5 minutes going through the menu before relinquishing the ordering. The menu is quite exhaustive and you will no doubt find every chinese dish imaginable both for vegetarians and non-veggies.
We all shared a variety of starters and would say the lettuce wraps were delish! Chap chum was a dish that I had never come across: the execution is similar to crispy duck rolls but with sautéed vegetables.
As usual, after having lots of starters to nibble at I didn’t have much tummy space for the mains. So it was down to ordering a single main that would be just simply amazing! I had to look no further than the first item on the mock meat (gluten) list. I hadn’t even seen it on the menu before I expressed my wish to the group to have sweet and sour MOCK pork!!! I could not believe it was there and so my decision was made…
To give you a background to this dish: when we travelled to Hong Kong a few months ago, we came across this vegetarian hole-in-the-wall restaurant where large queues were forming outside the front door. We finally made it in, but were struggling to find a place to sit down as the locals were pushing past us and grabbing the vacant spots. I don’t know what we were doing as it works the same in India!! Thankfully a lady sat at a big round table called us to join them (in Cantonese, of course)…..next hurdle was reading the menu. With no hope of doing so and a desperate need to eat, we just pointed at whatever the locals on the table were having that looked delectable. One of which was the sweet and sour mock pork. I cannot express enough how amazing it tasted, simply unfaultable! It was so tasty that I would go any day to the place again, or generally Hong Kong for just food (not shopping)!
So going back to the Taste of China, it was like being back in the Far East. I was very excited, but did it live up to the authentic taste I had experienced in Hong Kong? Soon after my first bite, it was all very quickly gone. The dish even impressed the carnivores amongst the group.
As I enjoyed all the four courses there (chap chum is an intermediate course) for a reasonable price and with the signature authentic sweet and sour pork dish, I would definitely recommend Taste of China for being a tasty vegetarian friendly restaurant. As far as I could see, the carnivore looked happy to me as well! 🙂 In terms of service, I would say they struggled to give us attention when the restaurant was full but on the flip side, when we were the last ones in the restaurant, they didn’t pressurise us to leave.
Black Pepper Tofu
For dinner I made an Asian dish from Yotam Ottolenghi’s vegetarian cookbook, Plenty. We came to know about this cookbook from my husband’s friend, Niraj, who equally enjoys cooking vegetarian food. We have heard really great reviews about the Ottolenghi restaurants in London and can’t wait to visit so that I can post a review of my experience. As Ottolenghi himself is not a vegetarian, he also has a non-vegetarian Cookbook out.
I have only had 30 minutes to glance through Plenty, but I am very impressed with his creativity and originality. (In fact my husband glanced through Plenty whilst walking back from the library and was inspired to spontaneously stop at a market stall and buy some fruit and veg!) With that said, a lot of the recipes revolve around generous use of oil and butter. These recipes are great for dinner parties, but if you want to enjoy them on a daily basis, I would recommend altering them to make them healthier; as I have done for this black pepper tofu recipe. I have substituted some of the ingredients (to make it less fiery and make it more store cupboard ingredient friendly) and opted to stir fry instead of deep fry and slashed the butter amount by almost 8 times. It was still very delicious!
Serves 2/ Total time: 40 minutes
400g firm tofu, cut into large chunks (about 3X2 cm)
2 tbsp oil, (I used Chinese stir fry oil)
Cornflour to dust tofu
1 knob of butter
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced
1/2 red (bell) pepper, diced or 2 large mild chillies, sliced
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp grated ginger
2 tsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp brown or caster sugar
1 tbsp coarsely crushed black pepper
2 spring onions, cut into 3cm segments
1. Heat oil in a frying pan or wok. Toss the tofu in cornflour and shake off any excess. Pan fry the tofu and turn every few minutes so that each piece is golden all over and has a thin crust. Do not stir too much, just move the tofu around by shaking the pan or using tongs. This process should take roughly 15 minutes and once done, remove from pan/wok and leave aside for later.
2. In the same pan, melt butter. Add onions, garlic, ginger, and capsicum/chilli. Saute for 15 mins on low to medium heat until all the ingredients are completely soft.
3. Next add soy sauce and sugar and stir before adding the crushed black pepper (if using a pepper mill, it is best to crush the pepper beforehand so that the liquids don’t evaporate away before you are done). Add the fried tofu and spring onions to warm it up for a minute or two. Serve hot with (wheat) rice.
If you have used other recipes from Ottolenghi’s book, Plenty, or you have tried to make this Black Pepper tofu, I would be keen to hear your thoughts. Enjoy!
Bite-size Desserts!
Soon after I announced my launch of my blog, I received a phone call from Sunil’s Uncle to create dessert delights for his daughter’s wedding party of 200 guests! I was awe-struck!!! With the bride on board, I was thrilled to have this opportunity and couldn’t believe she was trusting me to provide treats on her special day! It was the first time that I would be baking on such a big scale in my teeny-tiny kitchen…..I was up for the challenge! 🙂
As they were already bringing in the main wedding cake and other fruit desserts, I decided to complement the selection by creating mainly chocolate items! I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to make one item, two, or many! After brainstorming, a discussion with my husband and much contemplation (as we wanted to do it all!!), we opted for five different varieties; each with its own distinct flavour, texture, and wow factor! At first, I thought it was not possible to do it all on my own, but with the support of my husband, no mission is ‘mission impossible’ 🙂
Planning Stage:
To keep myself organized and to be sure I had accounted for everything I needed on the day of baking, I created a spreadsheet! Surprise, Surprise…those who know me really me, know how much I love my spreadsheets and for everything I do, I have a spreadsheet! I can’t help it!! 🙂 I cannot say enough how organized they keep you and they are a great medium to get ALL your thoughts down together: including ingredients to buy, any advance preparation, timings, storage and transport considerations. It was the one single thing that cleverly restricted me from being lost at any point during this process!
Execution:
So you are probably still wondering what the five selections were: chocolate-mocha hazelnut macaroons, chocolate brownie bites, lemon-ginger meringue mini cupcakes, chocolate-oreo truffles, and chocolate tuxedo strawberries.
Our biggest limitation was the size of our oven, come micro come grill! With only small oven shelf, we had to make sure there was not any idle time. Thus, I started with the items that required the oven and in between each oven change, I prepared the mix and made sure the next batch was ready to go. I would be lying if I said everything went smoothly: there was a batch of italian meringue that flopped, a reject batch of macaroons and brownie bite crumbling from over-handling! In the end, we made close to 400 pieces of intense pleasure. Overall it was a great learning curve for me across all aspects of this gastronomic project!
At the event:
When it was time for the desserts to come out, we displayed them all on a perfectly decorated table. It was the moment of truth…did it live up to the expectations in terms of presentation and taste? After speaking with many, many of the guests, the hard work had paid off!! It was rewarding to see all those great smiles and people really enjoying the sweet delights! I couldn’t have asked for more!! I was glad to see those empty trays 🙂 It was my first big event and I hope to spread more smiles with more opportunities!
Chocolate-Oreo Truffles
Chocolate-covered Tuxedo Strawberries
These are the same lemon meringue cupcakes made using a recipe by Eric Lanlard, whom I met at the “Taste of London”. The bit that we changed was that we used stem ginger instead of candied lemon.
The beautiful batch of hazelnut macaroons….mmmmm! You can find this delicious here. In the ganache filling, I added cinnamon powder (one of my favourite spice) to give it another dimention.
Zaika Restaurant Review
This past week, we dined at a vegetarian-friendly restaurant called Zaika in Central London. As we walked in, the decor instantly created a Rajasthani Palace ambience with its high ceilings, beautiful drapes, carvings and antique figures. I instantly began dreaming of the feast to come, but beforehand I very much enjoyed their Espresso Martini. Let me say it is one of the best I have had! 🙂
We began our feast with a simple daal (lentil) coconut micro-soup. It was presented so beautifully in a shot-sized soup cup with a bite-size bhajia on top: it was just simply heart warming! Soon afterwards, we nibbled on a selection of starters; my favourites were the grilled goats cheese and Aloo (potato) chaat…. so delicious with a delicate spice note. Though I have had these dishes before at other restaurants, Zaika incorporated different lentils, fruits, and vegetables to make your taste buds tickle and the ingredients came together so well.
As we moved on to our mains, one dish that really had that ‘wow’ factor was the biryani: it was served in traditional style with a pastry cover. As we cracked the pastry open with a tap of our spoon, ooooh that steam and wonderful aroma of the various spices oozed out. While enjoying all intricate flavours, I wondered where did this dish originate. However, I had to wait until a later time to satisfy my curiosity and I continued indulging in yet more of the delicious biryani, cheese naan, paneer curry, and raita.
To finish off the night on a sweet note, we tried a selection of desserts. I was quiet impressed with rosewater and vanilla crème brûlée. Delish! The essence of rose-water was well-balanced and definitely took it back to a traditional Indian dessert.
Overall, the dining experience at Zaika was excellent: not only because the food was great, but the staff service was impeccable and we were among great group of people! It is definitely somewhere that we are going to come back to!
Biryani
Now going back to my curiosity about biryani. While having a chat with my father-in-law, he mentioned that biryani did not even originate in India. Apparently, it originated in Persia and might have taken many centuries to arrive in India. The actual name refers to the cooking style of “fried before cooking”. There are so many variations of biryani that exists today, but they are generally cooked in two different ways.
In one, both the meat/vegetables and rice are cooked separately and then layered and baked. Here you can cover the dish with filo or puff pastry to retain the moisture.
In another, the meat/vegetables is marinated in a mixture of spices for a few hours and then mixed with the biryani rice cooked over low heat.
I have eaten biryani cooked with both techniques and appreciate both: the taste and texture are similar but you can’t beat the pie-style pastry top! Now actually cooking it….it’s a bit of work, but definitely on my to-do list! 🙂
Grilled Vegetable Sandwich
This is one of my all-time favourite sandwiches. Why? It has so much nutritional goodness and uses 10 grain baguette. It’s so simple and quick to make yet a totally guilt-free and satisfying meal. In any great sandwich, I believe the most important ingredient is the bread. I mean you can almost always eat the everything between the bread layers on its own, so why eat the bread! The bread has to be worth it to eat those extra carbs! 🙂
When I think about some of my favourite sandwiches, the actual bread is the main thing that comes to mind. For example, in the US, Panera Bread and Publix use the yummiest bread! That said, by far the most variety that I have seen is in German bakeries, it was like walking into bread paradise! When I was in Munich last year for about five months, I truly fell in love with German breads (not because I had nothing else to eat in the country where people love their meats :)); so many whole grain varieties packed with flavour and goodness!
We all see whole-grain this and that, but what does that really mean and why is it good for us? Whole grains contain all the parts of the wheat stalk without its bran and germ removed by milling. Whole grains are naturally packed full with vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients including fibre, iron, and zinc. As this is a high-fibre food, it makes you feel full for longer and helps you reach/maintain your healthy weight. Not only that, many studies have shown whole-grain to help lower your risk of diabetes, heart disease and certain types of cancer.
It’s easy to meet that daily allowance of whole-grain: you don’t really have to try as it’s actually hard to avoid it :). Use whole-grain bread instead of white bread, eat oatmeal or buckwheat cereal, whole-meal waffles or pancakes, corn tortilla, brown rice, etc. Nowadays, most of the products you will have a whole-grain option! Next time when you are shopping, be sure to check for the word “whole” as part of the first ingredient.
Feeds 2/ Foot Long Sandwich/Total Time: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients:
1 Zucchini/Courgette
1/2 medium Eggplant/Aubergine
2 Portobello Mushrooms
2 Red/Orange bell peppers
Handful of fresh spinach leaves
3-4 tbsp of Pesto
Hard cheese of your choice, sliced
Foot long baguette, preferably multi(7-10) grain
Olive oil (‘Extra Virgin’ for drizzling and cold-pressed or blended for grilling)
Salt & Pepper, to taste
1. Cut all vegetables into long thick slices/chunks, except for spinach.
2. In a pan, heat some olive oil and grill all the vegetables on high heat for about 5-7 minutes until tender and season with salt and pepper.
3. While the vegetables are grilling, slice the baguette, spread pesto on the inside of the two halves. Once vegetables are prepared, layer each of them on the baguette. Next, place the slices of cheese and finally, layer fresh spinach. Drizzle little bit of extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper over spinach and cover with the other half of baguette. Delicious!
Thanks to the kind and generous gift from my close friends in Atlanta, Ni and Monisha, we now have a Cuisinart Grill/Griddle machine that makes grilling anything so easy and you always get that charred flavour coming through. We are yet to crack into the packet of paneer that has been in the fridge for a few weeks so watch this space for the tikka recipe!
On a final note, for those that wondered whether my blogging career was already over after 30 posts, fear not: we have a family wedding over this weekend for which I was quite thrilled to be asked to prepare some bite-size desserts. I will post up how I got on in the coming days 🙂
Heavenly Peanut Butter Cookies
If you live in London, no doubt you must have heard of or been to The Hummingbird Bakery. It’s famous for its cupcakes and pies; what with four locations around London with trendy decor, quiet convenient to get your sugar fix. 🙂 I have had a few items from there and made a couple of recipes from its cookbook. Personally, I find the frosting quiet a bit too buttery/creamy and too sweet that takes over the underlying flavour. However if you have a really sweet tooth, this is heaven for you! When I bake from the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook, I reduce the sugar content by 10-15% and it works perfectly.
Below is a recipe for some really scrumptious peanut butter cookies. It is a slight variation of the recipe from the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook. I made these to cheer up a friend, and indeed it was well worth the effort! Make them to share so you don’t feel guilty for eating them all 🙂 Also, for all you mummies out there, you can get your kids involved in the mixing and spooning steps and turn into a great weekend afternoon activity!
A main ingredient in this recipe is of course the peanut butter! Cookies are not the healthiest of treats, but we should try our best to put in ingredients that can improve the nutritional value. Peanut butter contains roughly 30 percent protein, but eat peanut butter for the healthy fats that it contains. When buying peanut butter, try to buy the most natural kind. Most peanut butter will have hydrogenated oils and sugar in it. The peanuts should have only natural oil and should not require palm or any other kind of oil. The less added ingredients, the better. The only problem is that without preservatives, you have eat it quickly.
The one I used is made by Whole Earth, which contains no added sugar and has 97% peanut content. The cookies were perfect and not overly sweet. For those of you who eat it regularly, get Get Meridian or Old Fashioned Crunchy, close to 100% peanut butter. Alternatively just make your own by blending peanuts in a food processor with pinch of salt. Make it in small batches so there’s no need to worry about long-term storage and you can always make healthy snacks by eating it with apple slices or celery sticks……yummy!
Makes 18 cookies/ Total time – 35-45 minutes:
110 g unsalted butter
90 g caster sugar
90 g light brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
120 g crunchy peanut butter
170 g plain flour
1 1/4 tsp bicarbonate soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 or 3 baking trays, lined with parchment paper
1. Whisk butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix well. Beat in vanilla extract and peanut butter.
2. Sift in flour, bicarbonate soda, and salt. Mix well until a smooth dough is formed.
3. Preheat oven to 170C/325F.
3. Arrange 6 equal spoonful amounts on each tray. Be sure that they are spaced apart to allow for spreading while cooking.
4. Bake in preheated oven for about 10 minutes or until golden brown around edges. Leave the cookies to cool slightly on the tray before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
The cookies should be soft and chewy. Enjoy!
Taste of London!
Taste London 2011 at Regents Park
This past Friday my husband and I went to the Taste of London food festival. We contemplated whether to attend given the usual British summer rain. That said, we made an executive decision to get the tickets, come rain or shine. Rain it was! For those that are unfamiliar with the festival, it is a half day affair nearby to us in beautiful Regents Park. It gives the opportunity to taste various sample dishes from some of the best (Michelin starred) restaurants in London.
Although this was my first Taste of London experience, but not my first food festival in London, I had some expectations. Overall, I enjoyed it and can definitely see the attraction for meat eaters: as expected, it was not very vegetarian friendly for the actual food tasting experience. However, outside of the paid-for tasting, we did manage to get stuffed with endless samples of cheeses, breads, biscuits, spreads, oils, sauces, desserts, and drinks. The food experience would have been much better had it not rained and the need for my winter coat and poncho! Thankfully, the rain halted for a good while and were able to get through all stalls.
Garlic spread tasting….
Breads made from spelt flour…
Zacher Torte – they tried to recreate the famous one from Vienna! Wonderful memories…
I would say the highlight of the festival was meeting and seeing all the famous chefs that I have seen on TV and have often tried to cook their recipes. We saw Michel Roux Jr, Marcus Wareing, Atul Kochhar, Eric Lanlard, Gennaro Contaldo and probably trod on the toes of other renowned chefs that I did not recognise.
The person I was most excited to see and have a chance to chat with was Eric Lanlard, a Master Pâtissier. Watch his show “Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard” on Channel 4. At the festival, we chanced upon his only appearance over the weekend: he was doing a demonstration of an Upside-down Berry Sponge. It was great to see him at work first-hand and pick up some baking tips. At the end of his demo, my husband pushed me behind the kitchen stage to meet him. When we spoke, I shared my baking experiences with his recipes and how I would like to be part of this show one day! 🙂 He is looking for Bake Clubs for the next series so do get in touch if you would like to join me in setting one up in the London area.
Eric making the Upside-down Berry Sponge
The finished Upside-down Berry Sponge..yum! We wanted to see if we could taste it, but only realised after we left the demonstration!
My moment of fame!
I have made some of his fabulous desserts for family and friends and each time have had such great success. I have found that his recipes always demand a lot of eggs but they do always deliver in taste and texture so why question a Master Pâtissier. So far I have made a Genoise Sponge and Lemon Meringue cupcakes.
I made these cupcakes for a family picnic and were a huge this. You can find this recipe here.
I made this for a special family gathering, a six layer Genoise Sponge, great summer cake. I definitely need to improve on my decorating skills, but the taste was there! 🙂 You can find the recipe here.
Another great chef that we met was Atul Kocchar, a famous Indian Chef that runs Benares. Thankfully in this Michelin-starred sample menu, they had a vegetarian option! The paneer roll was tasty and it was gone in seconds (partly due to the size):
We ended our tour of the Taste for London by taking an interactive survey from British Airways. This group was conducting a study on how our sense of smell is affected at high altitudes. Apparently, our sense of smell is cut down by 30% and that’s was causes us to think that food served on airplanes is bland, when in reality it’s not. They were proving this by engaging us on various smell test. For those that did not see it on Channel4, British Airways have worked with Heston Blumenthal to increase the taste perception on planes by spraying chemicals during meal times. (In my experience, Air India do the opposite by spraying air neutralisers to counteract the tons of pickles that are in people’s hand luggage!)
Summary
As a passionate foodie, since moving to England I have been fortunate enough to go to the many food markets that pop up in London from time to time as well as a couple of the large food shows. Quite often each time you end up coming across the same stalls selling high quality, local and tasty (but somewhat overpriced) products that are actually available in my local Waitrose.
Taste of London is a fantastic concept for those that want to sample a variety of dishes from over 20 Michelin-starred restaurants for the price of a sit-down meal at just one of those restaurants. I would definitely recommend it for meat or fish eaters but unlike other shows, you do really miss out being a vegetarian.
Kadhi (Hot Yoghurt Soup)
Kadhi is very light to digest and contains ample amounts of calcium and protein. It’s so easy and quick to whip up, it’s the perfect Indian soup to have even when you are feeling sick.
Kadhi is made in many different ways in India, depending on the region. My version is closer to the Gujarati style with the addition of sugar or jaggery (ghor). Another variation is one that I have learnt from my mom, who suggests using a paste of the stalks of coriander to make it more flavourful. I love coriander and I would put it on everything, including desserts! 🙂 Not to mention the health benefits of coriander.
Serves 2-3 / Total time: 10-15 minutes
1 cup yoghurt (greek yoghurt gives you a more creamier consistency)
1/2 to 3/4 cup water
2 small green chilies, 2 cm ginger, 6-8 stalks of coriander (leaves removed), all pureed
1/4 tsp salt or to taste
1 tbsp gram (chana) flour
1 tsp oil or purified butter (ghee)
pinch of sugar or jaggery (ghor) -optional
few sprigs of fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Spice Batch # 1: 1/4 tsp of cumin seeds (jeera), 1/4 tsp of mustard seeds (rai), pinch of asafoetida (hing), 2 cloves, 8-10 curry leaves
1. Mix gram flour, yoghurt and water until smooth consistency in a sauce pan. Add the chilli-ginger-coriander paste, sugar, salt and bring to boil. Stir regularly to avoid it splitting.
2. Meanwhile prepare the tempering by heating the ghee or oil until hot and add Spice Batch #1. Temper for roughly 15 seconds or until the spice aroma is released. Be sure not to allow the leaves to burn.
3. Stir the temper mix, including the oil, into the simmering liquid in the saucepan. Simmer gently for few more minutes.
4. Sprinkle the fresh coriander on top and serve hot.
Fried Ice Cream
2 cups sweetened corn flakes, crushed (place them in a bag and use a rolling-pin to crush)
1/4 cup flaked coconut (optional)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 beaten egg (optional)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Cooking oil for deep-frying
Whipped cream, syrup, or chocolate sauce (optional)
1. Scoop out ice cream and make into 4-6 plum sized balls. It’s best to do this with your hands. Once done, place them on a plate and back into the freezer. Keep them in there for about half an hour.
2. In a bowl, mix egg and vanilla extract. In a small plate, mix corn flakes, coconut flakes and cinnamon. You can experiment here by adding other spices like cardamom powder to your flakes mixture or even add few saffron threads to your egg mixture.
3. Pull out the ice cream balls from the freezer, hopefully they are solid. Roll each ball into egg, and then into flake mixture. You can repeat once more for extra layer of crunch. I know some people do not eat eggs and it will still work with out coating with eggs, just not as strong binding. Continue with rest of the balls.Place them back into the freezer till hard.
4. In a deep fat fryer or heavy saucepan, fry frozen, coated ice cream balls, 1 or 2 at a time for about 15-20 seconds or until golden brown (carefully lower into oil with spoon). Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately with whipped cream, syrup, or chocolate sauce or just have them plain!
Stuffed Peppers
One of my favourite vegetables and a very versatile one is the (bell) pepper or capsicum. As usual with my meal ideas, I had a few ingredients at home and wanted to create a healthy warm side dish. I stuffed these peppers with a basic filling but you can add rice and your favourite veggies. If you are going to make the effort, you might as well just add a few more nutrients by combining some sort of protein such as beans, lentils, or mock meat in your filling.
In this recipe, I personally do not like to use green bell peppers. Compared to green peppers, red, yellow and orange peppers have more vitamins and nutrients (twice the vitamin C content). That said, I just personally think they are just more flavourful.
Serves 2-3/Total time: 25 minutes
2 medium to large bell peppers (capsicum), sliced in half and remove inners
50 g fresh spinach, roughly chopped
2 spring onions stalks, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or minced
1/4 cup sweetcorn
3/4 cup mock meat mince
4-6 cherry tomatoes, cut into fourths
1 cup vegetable stock
sprinkle of fresh coriander, chopped
3/4 cup grated cheese
1 tsp tomato puree
1 tsp oil
1/4 tsp of salt or salt to taste
dash of black pepper
1. Heat oil in a pan. Add onions and garlic. Sautee for a few minutes. Add sweetcorn, cherry tomatoes, tomato puree, salt, pepper, minced mock meat and stock. Cover with lid and cook for 5-7 minutes or until water is absorbed.
2. Meanwhile, boil the peppers in salted water. After 5 minutes, drain the excess water. This will make them tender and reduce the time it will need in the oven. I am always looking to save time without compromising quality! 🙂
3. Now add spinach and coriander to the cooked mince mix and stir. Take it off the heat. Scoop 1/4 of the mince and fill the half the pepper, sprinkle generously with grated cheese. Repeat for the other 3 halves.
4. Place the stuffed peppers in a baking tray and place under the grill for 5-7 minutes until the cheese is melted. Serve immediately.
If you are preparing the dish in advance, let’s say for a dinner party, instead of grilling, place them in the oven for 15-20mins so that the filling heats through.
VegDelights 