Ok, let me not start with my usual lame excuses for not updating this space for quite a long long time.

Because I don't have any good one expect for the fact that I was lazy. there you go.. i said it.

You call it writers block, lack of mojjo or whatever, I say its plain old laziness.

So now you would be wondering why I am writing this post....hmmm

A few days back my dear hubby was telling me, "Failure to plan is planning to fail".

C'mon, its me who get to use all the "quotes" in this house.( of course on him ;) )..you know..men men men

And for the first time he got to use one on me...oh no! it felt like one tight slap

Any way, I hope I will post more frequently here after....I have to...at least to save my face

Its always towards the end of summer I get the urge to utilize the abundant supply of stone fruits that summer offers and preserve them for the rest of the year. I guess, one reason for that is, I don't want to let go of the summer...and also because I find it really hard to embrace fall n winter...yeah I hate cold weather and all that comes with it....The very sight of peaches, plums, nectarines all their cousins on the fruit stand in the farmers market makes my day. its such a visual treat..I love summer and all these yummy fruits. 

This peach preserve is a very versatile thing..can be used in a cake, or in a pie or use as a topping in any kind of pudding desserts,ice creams or simply just spread it on your Sunday morning toast and enjoy :)

Chunky peach preserve

By Nikki
Published 10/21/2014

Ingredients

• Peaches: 3 lbs (ripe and firm ones)
• Sugar: (5 cups)*
• Lemon juice: 2/3 cup

Instructions

1. Wash and dry the fruits and cut a X on the rounded edge.Bring a large pot of water to boil and add the peaches to it, a few at a time and blanch them for 30 sec.
2. Transfer to a bowl of ice water immediately to stop cooking. Let it cool, once cooled peel them from the X cut we made.
3. Cut each peach into 6-8 wedges and each wedge into 3 pieces. Put them in a large bowl and add sugar and lemon juice and mix well. Let it stand for a few hours or even overnight, stirring it 2 -3 times in between until the sugar dissolves completely.
4. Transfer the mixture to a large pot and cook it on moderate heat for 25- 30 min , until the syrup thickens and the peaches become soft.Skim off any white films that collects on the surface while cooking.
5. Let cool the mixture, cover and let it rest overnight. Drain the fruits from the mixture using a sieve and set aside. Bring back the syrup to a boil on moderate heat for a few minutes, until it reaches the jam like consistency. To check the consistency, pour a spoonful of the syrup in a chilled plate and wait for a couple of minutes to cool down. If it thickens to a jam like consistency, you have got it rite.
6. Add back the drained fruit pieces to the syrup and mix it all together and cook for a couple more minutes.
7. Remove from the heat, let it cool and transfer to jars and wipe the rims with clean cloth. Crack open the lid until it cools down completely. Once completely cooled, tighten the lids and store in a cool place.

*I used only 4 cups of sugar in mine, because I like things less sweet. Adjust it to your sweet tooth level by tasting the mixture.

P.S: I leave mine in the pantry and it stays fresh for almost a year. You can also refrigerate it, if you want to keep it longer

And I'll see you all soon....i'm not kidding ;)

Zucchini Bread

Four to five years back, i haven't even heard of this vegetable, zucchini.

One day, at work, one of my colleague brought this delicious cake and said its zucchini bread.

A yummy cake using a vegetable..I was all excited about the idea :)

I ate a piece and fell in love with it, though I had know idea what zucchini was or how it looked like.

Anyway, during my next trip to the grocery store,i went straight to the produce section looking for this mystery vegetable, and grabbed a couple of them.

Since then every summer, I make this delightful bread a number of times.

One of everybody's fav evening snack. (Can also be a breakfast too)

Easy to bake, calls for vegetable oil instead of butter, lots of veggie, all in all a win-win.

Even today, there are lots of veggies in the produce aisle I haven't given a try. I guess, I have to think outside the box (I mean, outside my limited staple vegetable choices)

I use zucchini in stir-fries too. It tastes so good.

Here is the recipe, adapted from allrecipes.com

You'll need:

Recipe makes 1 loaf

All purpose flour: 1 1/2 cups

Sugar: 1 cup

Eggs: 2 nos

Vegetable Oil: 1/2 cup

Baking soda: 1/2 tsp

Baking powder: 1/2 tsp

Zucchini: 1 cup (grated)

Salt: 1/2 tsp

Vanilla extract: 1 1/2 tsp

Ground cinnamon: 1 1/2 tsp

Chopped walnut: 1/2 cup

How to make:

Preheat oven to 325 degree F.

Grease and flour a 8 x 4 inch loaf pan.

Sift together flour, salt,cinnamon powder, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, add the sugar, oil and the vanilla extract.

Mix in the sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture and beat well.

Stir in the grated zucchini and chopped nuts and mix well until combined.

Transfer the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 40-50 min, or until the tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cool the pan on a rack for a few mins.

Enjoy the cake or the bread, what ever you call it...i guarantee,  its gonna taste good :)

Granola bar

Are you a morning person? I am not. I can stay up late in the night, but getting up early is a no no for me.
If you are like me these granola bars are your life saver. I love having it as a snack, but these energy bars can be perfect grab n go breakfast too...
I have to eat when I am hungry. I mean, I am a hangry person. Hunger pangs makes me angry.
These granola bars have saved me in those situations. Especially on those days when you have a bit of long drive back home after work, or you had a light breakfast and its not lunch time yet.
Even otherwise I like to munch on this crispy bars of delight.

I used to buy them from the grocery stores, until one day I found these yummy granola in a near by farmers market. I bought some and thought, why not try to make some granola bars of it...brilliant idea, huh?

It's not that a big deal to whip these up, if you have the ingredients handy.

Here is the recipe : Adapted from Ina Garten's recipe here

You will need:

Old fashioned oatmeal: 2 cups *
Toasted wheat germ; 1/2 cup
Unsalted butter: 3 tbsp
Light brown sugar: 1/4 cup
Honey: 2/3 cup
Vanilla extract: 1 1/2 tsp
Salt: 1/4 tsp
Almond: 1 cup (sliced)
Dried apricots: 1/2 cup (chopped)
Dried cranberries: 1/2 cup
Raisins: 1/2 cup

* I substituted 1/2 cup of oatmeal with store bought granola.Not necessary.You can follow the original recipe. Also you can mix and match different nuts and dried fruits of your choice.

How to make:

Preheat oven to 350 degree F.
Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan and line it with parchment paper.
Toss the oatmeal, almonds together on a sheet pan and bake 10-12 min, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned.
Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ.
Reduce oven temperature to 300 degree F.
Place butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla extract and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook for a couple of min and pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add the dried fruits and stir well.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and press it down using a spatula or by hand.
Bake for 25-30 min, until golden brown. Cool for 2-3 hrs and cut into desired shapes.
Store in an airtight container.
Make sure you have a couple of these in your hand bag before you step out :)

Blueberry Muffin

 
I like muffins...they are cute :)  its easy to make, and its yummy.

Though muffins are considered a complete healthy meal elsewhere, in my house its always treated as a snack..Say, I make some sweet or savory muffin in the morning, everyone( read husband) eats a couple of them  and then after a while, here comes the question "what is for breakfast"..... are u kidding me?
but still I make them quite often as some evening snack...

I always love the jumbo blueberry muffin you get in the coffee shops... the juicy baked fruit that oozes out when you split open one, its divine :)
Take it from me, this is one easy on the go breakfast for all you busy bees out there. Make them ahead of time, and they do stay fresh for a day or two.

You'll need:

All purpose flour : 2 cups
Sugar: 1 cup
Butter: 1/2 cup (softened)
Baking Powder: 2 tsps
Egg: 2 nos
Milk: 1/2 cup
Salt: 1/4 tsp
Vanilla Extract: 1 tsp
Blueberries: 1 cup (fresh or frozen)

How to make:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line or grease a 12 cup muffin pan.
In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt until well combined.
In an another bowl, cream softened butter and sugar using a mixer. Add eggs one at a time. Mix in milk and vanilla extract.Add the dry ingredients mixture into this, and beat it just until moistened. Fold in the blueberries. Fill in the prepared muffin cups 2/3 full.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 min or until a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack before serving.

Notes:
These muffins are good as such without any toppings. If particular about topping, mix 2 tsps of sugar and 1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg and sprinkle it over, after filling up the muffin tins.

Strawberry Banana smoothie

Smoothies...yummm... i always love smoothies...be it any time of the year...and especially in the scrotching summer....refreshing...

is it summer yet? i doubt...but is already darn hot here in TX....hows it at your end? 

whoever  I speak to these days,be it some friend from up north...or someone from back home in India...everybody is complaining about the warm weather...i don't know whats up with weather this year..its extremely hot so early...my li'l one is stuck indoors almost for the whole day....dying to go out and play in the sand box, ride the slide n the swing...but have to wait until the end of the day to take a peek outside :( 

same with me too...

smoothies like this help us keep our cool on these days...

and what better fruit to use in the summer other than strawberry...these days you find  plenty of  locally grown berries in the farmer's market....red and delicious ones...good to munch on as such and also can we whipped into a quick smoothie....sometimes we switch our evening tea with a cool chilled smoothie....very relaxing after a long sunny day...

You'll need:


Strawberries: 6-7 nos, stems removed and coarsely chopped
Banana: 1, sliced
Yogurt: 1/2 cup
Milk: 1/2 cup
Sugar: 1 tbsp

Blend strawberries and banana with the milk and sugar until smooth and at the end add the yogurt and loads of ice and blend for another 30 secs...
I like mine slightly chunky....small bites of berries when you take a sip...oh, my!! heavenly..enjoy the summer :)

Banana nut muffin...with a crunchy topping

what do you do with those over ripened bananas? I'm always out of options when i think of getting rid of the over ripened bananas...i like my banana just ripe....no more ..no less...even my li'l one enjoys hers the same way...usually we buy only a few at time, so that we don't have to worry about the over ripened ones...
was looking for ideas to use them, and happened to see this muffin recipe...which actually called for these over ripened bananas...bingo...there you go :)

and the crunchy topping.....an added bliss to the muffins...i have had these crunchy toppings in the store bought ones n have always wondered what they are...and here it is...a crowd pleaser...

You'll need:
For the muffin:
All purpose flour: 1 1/2 cups
Baking Soda: 1 1/2 tsps
Salt: 1/4 tsp
Nutmeg powder: 1/8 tsp
Over ripened bananas: 4 nos
Chopped and roasted walnut or pecan: 1 cup
White sugar: 1/2 cup
Egg: 1 large
Vanilla extract: 1/2 tsp
Butter: 1/2 cup (1 stick, softened)
Milk: 1/4 cup

For the topping:
All purpose flour: 2 tbsp
Cinnamon powder: 1/8 tsp
Butter: 1 tbsp
Brown sugar: 1/3 cup

How to make:


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Line a standard 12 cup muffin tin with paper muffin cups or grease with butter.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg powder.
In a small bowl, mash two bananas with a fork, so that they still have a texture.Set it aside.
In another bowl, mash the remaining two bananas along with the sugar using an electric mixer.
Add butter, milk, egg and vanilla extract and beat it together until its completely incorporated, scraping down the sides using a spatula as and when needed.
Add the dry ingredients mixture to this in batches and mix just until its well incorporated.
Fold in the chopped nuts and the reserved mashed bananas to this.
For the topping, in a small bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon powder and sugar. Cut in the butter to this mixture, until it resembles coarse corn meal.
Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups using an ice cream scoop. Sprinkle the top of muffins with the prepared topping.
Bake in the middle rack of the oven for about 18-20 min ,until the muffins turn golden brown or when the tester inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean.
Let the muffin tray cool on the wire rack for a few minutes, before you indulge yourself in those delicious yummy muffins...
Serve it hot...the best way to enjoy them, enjoy a few crunchy crumbs on the top first....and then dive into the muffin...yummm

Fluffy Flaky breakfast biscuits...

Warm fresh biscuits for breakfast, I love them..I guess I started liking it after having the breakfast sandwiches we get on warm biscuits in Dunkin Donuts...yummm

Okay, to be candid, I was not sure i could bake biscuits at home...its like the sugar glazed donuts from Dunkin Donuts...I don't think I will be ever able to make such soft and spongy ones at home...wait a min...you  never know.....i might some day...oh!! how optimistic (not at all like me :)

Okay, go ahead and give this a try....I am sure you will be happy with the results...We started our new year with these fluffy home made biscuits for breakfast...

You'll need:


All purpose flour: 2 1/2 cups
Baking powder: 2 tsp
Baking Soda: 1/4 tsp
Salt: 1 1/2 tsp
Sugar: 1 tbsp
Butter: 1/2 cup (chilled)
Buttermilk: 1 cup (chilled)

How to make:


Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a large bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients, ie; all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and the sugar.
Cut in the cold butter with a fork into the dry ingredients and mix it together...(there will be small chunks of butter, which is totally okay)
Pour the buttermilk and mix using a wooden spoon until the dough starts to come together.
Now knead using your hands for a couple of times. The dough should be sticky.
Turn the dough on to a  floured surface and knead it just until it dough comes together.
Roll the dough using a rolling pin  to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut out rounds using a biscuit cutter and place them on the baking sheet. (At this point you can brush the top of each with some melted butter...it gives the golden crust on top)
Bake in the preheated oven for about 12 min, or until it gets the golden crust on top.

Serve hot out of the oven....a perfect breakfast as such... good for sandwiches too...
sausage egg n cheese on a buiscuit, anybody....I am in :)

You'll have a good one :)

Welcome back with a smoothie

I know, it's been a while.I mean quite a while ;)

My mom always complains about my dad, someone has to keep pushing him from his back( at times its literally true) to get things done.And I can always relate myself to that, after all I a also a Capricorn like my dad...but, hey after all we have keep up our traits :)

Okay, so coming back to my lethargy, initially i blamed it on the so called "postpartum depression". I'm sure i wouldn't have even heard about such a thing if at all I had my li'l one back home in India.
My grandmother, who has 11 kids, 27 grand kids would definitely mock at me if I tell her about it.

My innocent li'l one(whom i blame these for anything n everything going wrong in my life these days) is almost one now.Don't you think its time for me to look for another lame excuse for my laid back attitude? I'm sure, it won't be hard for to find one ;)

We had a wonderful 2 months vacation back home in India. Still struggling to get things going here, especially with cooking, after enjoying 2 months of no cooking and only eating yummy days!

And of course TX invited us back with the scorching summer, which is really bad this time. Especially when you get back from Kerala,God own country where it rains and only rains during this time of the year.Oh, my! what a pleasant weather it was. Me and my li'l used to sit in our verandah, enjoy the heavy pour and the lush greens that dance in the rain.....Oh what a joy, Oh what a sight...... (this is from one of my baby's favorite cartoons)
I have to admit we see more baby TV than adult TV these days...i'm sure moms with a preschooler  in home would agree to that...these days, I hum rhymes, read Parents,Baby Talk, American baby and shop in the baby section....and I see all new mommies around me doing the same...so i guess, that is how its supposed to be (a good parent)

We get a lot of fresh fruits this time of the year, and got a couple of boxes of strawberries a few days ago, most of which we ate as such. By day 2-3, when they started looking not so fresh, i made this smoothie.
Here is the recipe:

You'll Need:

Strawberries: 8-10 nos (hulled and quartered)
Yogurt:  1/2 cup
Milk:      1/2 cup
Sugar:     1-2 tbsp
Ice cubes: as per required

Blend all the above together. Add more sugar as per your taste.

Enjoy your lip lickin' smoothie :)

P.S: yes,the book in the background is my li'l one's book of colors...see, this what I was saying earlier ;)