Magpie's Recipes

Cod and Couscous En Papillote

Since there was no school on Sundays, my sister and I decided that meant we could sleep in. Our mother did not agree, and we woke every Sunday to the sound of her insistent knocking on the door of our bedroom, as she hurried us to awake and get ready for church.

We would sleepily nudge each other to get up and get bathed first so that the other would have a few more cozy minutes, buried under the covers. Usually this meant we were almost always late, arriving at church bleary eyed and grumpy as we went through the motions, waiting for the service to end so we could get to our Sunday feast and favorite TV shows.

How things have changed! Today, going to Sunday Mass with my little family is one of the highlights of my week and I am always, like my mom, the first one to be dressed and ready, urging T and the toddler to hurry so we won't miss a bit of the service. Mostly because today as an adult, I understand the significance of the symbols, the meanings behind the motions. Over the years, life's many ups and downs, God has drawn me closer to Him and I hope, He draws me closer still.

The Golden Gate Bridge- from the beautiful Marin Headlands

In our busy, sometimes unrelentingly demanding week, the peaceful church is a serene, soothing retreat. Joyous hymns raise my spirits and strengthen me ( this one and this are two favorites) I smile when the toddler loudly joins in- the fact that he doesn't know too much of the words doesn't deter him in the least. He usually just makes up his own! The sermon fills my heart and inspires me to be a better person and rise above my flaws, feelings of in-adequacy and petty anxieties. I am reminded of God's enduring, unconditional love for me and my fellow human beings. I leave feeling rejuvenated with a song on my lips and a feeling of contentment in my heart. After mass, the world is more beautiful.

Today is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of a solemn time when we count down to Easter and the death and Resurrection of Jesus. It is a time of prayer, reflection, and many fast and abstain from things they usually enjoy, during this forty day period before the celebration of Easter.

Like last year, I plan to give up or at least reduce my consumption of my biggest weakness-sweets.
Unfortunately, since it also happens to be Valentine's day tomorrow, I am surrounded by decadent chocolate cakes and tempting sweets in pink and red hues. Seeing these and the many adorable heart shaped cookies and cakes on Facebook and all my favorite blogs, I almost broke down and baked today, using a V-day themed blog post as an excuse to give in. Then I reminded myself that this is an austere time, a time to grow spiritually, a time for self-discipline, so I resisted.

Instead I decided to post this fish en papillote that the hubs and I made together last Sunday A simple, healthy and romantic meal and a special day spent together.

After last Sunday's mass, we were thinking about where to head for lunch when the hubs suggested that instead of going to a restaurant how about going to the nearest Whole Foods to pick up some fish and attempt en papillote ( in parchment) cooking. "I don't know how!" I exclaimed. It sounded complicated, and the only similar thing I had seen my mother make was Meen Pollichathu where fish is cooked with spicy masala inside a banana leaf."We'll learn together." said he.

So we did. With guidance from Alton Brown, I was sous chef to the hubs for the afternoon as we sipped wine and cooked together, packaging the fish with herbs, vegetables and couscous in a sheet of parchment paper. It turned out to be very easy, didn't take much time at all, and was a lot of fun! There was much drama, excitement and anticipation at the escaping steam when the hubs cut open the package in the end.

One of the most delightful Sundays ever, and a fresh and delicious meal that although we devoured completely, we didn't feel stuffed, but rather left us feeling energized and light.

A tasty mess!

The couscous and the carrots absorbed all the juices and flavors and the lemon and onions almost tasted like they were pickled and I found myself eating slice after slice.

I hope you have a wonderful day tomorrow, filled with love. The three of us are a little under the weather, and will most likely be staying in, but we plan to cook something special, maybe try something new, because this was so much fun!

Cod and Couscous En Papillote
Recipe adapted from: Alton Brown here

Ingredients:

1 cup couscous ( I would recommend that you don't skip this)
2-pounds cod fillets or whole red snapper, cleaned, head on
2 teaspoons salt, plus a sprinkling for the couscous
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 small bunch fresh oregano ( we used 1 tsp dried)
1 small bunch fresh parsley
1 whole lemon, thinly sliced
1 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
1 cup drained and quartered artichoke hearts ( we didn't use this)
A few carrots sliced in half lenghtwise (optional but recommended)
1/2 cup white wine
1 tablespoon butter

Special Equipment:

A Baking sheet

Parchment Paper or aluminium foil ( do not use wax paper)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Rinse and soak the couscous in cold water for about 10 mins, then strain and lay out on a plate, after sprinkling some salt.
Cut parchment paper into a 15 by 48-inch sheet, large enough in width to cover your baking sheet twice.
Fold in half and lay on baking/cookie sheet so that it resembles a greeting card.
Open the "card" and lay the fish on the inside layer of parchment so that you can cover it woth the outer flap of parchment.(As though placing the fish inside a greeting card.)
Generously sprinkle salt and pepper on the fish, on both sides of the fillets or if using a whole fish, inside and out.
Place herbs in between the fillets or inside cavity of fish along with half of the sliced lemons, and half of the sliced red onion.
Arrange couscous next to fish on all sides.
Place minced garlic, and remaining lemon and red onion on fish and lay tomatoes, carrots and artichoke hearts around outside of couscous, creating what Alton describes as somewhat of a wall.
Cut up the butter into small chunks and place them over the fish.
Pour wine over fish and cover with the outer flap of parchment
Fold along the edges of parchment paper, to create a package and staples the edges if necessary, so that it won't leak.
Bake in oven for 30 minutes. Carefully cut open, keeping away from the escaping steam.

Make sure to serve enough couscous which absorbs all the juices. Along with the carrots it was perhaps my favorite part about this dish.

3 Ingredient Nutella Avocado Banana Mousse

Today I have a special treat for you: luxuriously smooth and creamy chocolate decadence which is actually healthy, and what is more, is ready in under 5 minutes. I know, it sounds too good to be true. This 3 ingredient mousse tastes and looks absolutely sinful, but it's creamy lusciousness hides a surprising secret:

Nutrient rich avocados and a banana that are completely enveloped by the deliciousness of nutella or if you are allergic to nuts, simply melted chocolate, or even cocoa powder and a bit of sweetener of your choice. Yes, yes! Believe! It is even more delicious than it looks! and no, you cannot taste much of the avocado or the banana. You probably wouldn't even guess they were there if I hadn't told you. All you taste is deep chocolate decadence and all you feel is smooth creaminess that your spoon will not have enough of!

Whenever I think of avocados I remember those early months with the toddler when he had just started on baby food. Mashed bananas and avocados, roasted pureed sweet potatoes- these were our picky eater's favorites. Avocados were blended with a little sugar or maple syrup a lot in this house. Past the finger food stage however, we had rarely bought them, mainly because I actually don't like them very much.

Then one day a couple of friends got together for a potluck and my friend Vijitha brought over a chocolate mousse. When I heard that it was made with cocoa and avocados I was pretty sure I wouldn't like it, because I just don't like the taste of avocados. I think they taste kind of eggy. But her mousse looked so creamy and irresistible I had to taste it, and gosh was I proved wrong! I LOVED it!

The awesome thing about avocados, apart from their dreamy creaminess, is that although it has a pretty strong flavor on it's own, when it is mixed with something else, it completely takes on the flavor of whatever it is that you mix in. And what could be better than nutella?

We love desserts, T and I, and our little three year old has a big sweet tooth too. The last couple of years we definitely have indulged a little too much, thanks mostly to my baking obsession. So this year, at-least while my new year resolutions are still quite fresh in my mind, I was on the lookout for healthier alternatives to satisfy our sugar cravings.

When some one tells me that something is healthy, I used to automatically expect it to taste "healthy". You know what I mean. Healthy desserts are a bit of an oxymoron right? Chalky, tasteless is what I had come to expect of most desserts that had been robbed of butter, cream, sugar, eggs and other sinful ingredients that make it awesome yet overindulgent.
If you are an unbeliever too then one taste of this mousse will convince you that going healthy does not mean missing out on delicious.

Since today is World Nutella Day, I couldn't resist making something rich and purely decadent and this secretly healthier mousse totally hits the spot.

Even though I waited till today to post this, I have actually made this mousse many times, especially since it is dairy-free, eggless and allergy friendly and wholesome for the three year old and not even T could tell that this was a "healthier" version of mousse. It can be slathered on anything, and I am also planning on using it to fill crepes like the ones I always make sure to get whenever we head to Fisherman's warf in San Francisco. They make the crepes on large cast iron griddles, slather a big gloop of nutella on them and serve it to you hot and crispy, with sliced strawberries on the side.

I love going over to Pier 39. It is such a colourful, bustling place. I like playing tourist and going over to gawk at the sea lions, watching the street performers and eating nutella crepes are almost always part of the experience. These pictures were taken on our last visit to Fisherman's wharf over the holidays.

This mousse it would make a really rich tasting, thick and creamy chocolate frosting for a layer cake, or sandwiched between cookies... I am sure I will be playing with this healthy mousse in many ways!

Recipe for 3 ingredient Nutella Avocado Banana Mousse

Yield: Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 Avocados ( Tastes best with ones that are just ripe, dent lightly when pressed with a finger, with green not brown flesh)
1 Yellow, not over ripe banana (Over browned bananas may have a stronger banana flavor)
1/3 Cup Nutella (Use less or more as per your preference)
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder ( optional- I use and love Ghirardelli's unsweetened, Cadbury's or Valrhona)

Directions:

Whizz all of the ingredients in a blender or use an immersion blender until creamy and combined and no lumps remain ( Do not add any liquid)

Note:

Taste and add more nutella, a sweetener, or if you like, a shot of vanilla extract, or even balsamic vinegar or a little sea salt if you like some tang.

In place of the nutella you can also use chocolate chunks that have been melted in warmed milk or soymilk
You can also just mix the mashed avocados with or without the banana with just cocoa powder and a sweetener like sugar or maple syrup as per the original recipe that this version was inspired by.

Can store the mousse for about a day or two in the fridge and serve either at room temp or chilled.

If you are as nuts about nutella as I am, you may like to check out other recipes celebrating nutella here

Beer Braised Cilantro Chicken Dumpling (or anything) Stew

Wait, what? it's Friday already? Gosh this week just flew past!

How are you all doing? Anyone down with the flu? I heard it's especially nasty this year. Stay warm and well my friends!

We decided to skip getting flu shots this time, after having been sick immediately after getting the shot for the last two years. So I'm being extra careful. I caught my self edging away from people who sniffle! I have even become one of those people who carries around a clip-on bottle of hand sanitizer (!).

In spite of all this, in case we do succumb to those dastardly bugs (very likely because we have a germ magnet of a three year old who loves to share) I have stocked up on my homeo supply and will be making steaming mugs of masala chai, pepper soups and this stew. Guaranteed to make bleak and depressing days better. Why? because it's chicken stew and it has beer in it.

I'm not too much of a beer drinker, and would much rather sip a glass of wine. But every time the hubs brings home a case of beer, I squirrel away a couple of bottles to cook with. Beer tops wine in cooking, I think and adds a lovely hearty, malty flavor to everything. From pouring onto slow cooking meat, baking super easy beer bread and this chicken soup/stew, I love the many ways that beer can be used in the kitchen.

With the Superbowl this week end I am sure many of you will end up with more beer bottles than you could possibly drink. Use them well.

And while we are talking about the Super Bowl, I felt compelled to share some Super Bowl friendly food ideas:

Grilled Chicken Wings Indian Style
Melted Brie and Bruschetta Dip
Better than popcorn-spicy rice crispies and nut mix
Skillet Pizza with no knead 5 minute dough
Garam Masala Pulled Pork- feed a crowd!
Pork Vindaloo
Tasty Tuna Cutlets or Croquettes
Easy Kerala Style Chicken Fry - one of the first recipes here!
Whole Wheat Pistachio Cardamom cookies
4 Ingredient quick and easy Nutella Brownies

And now back to this stew/ soup. I do love the dimension of flavor that beer adds to it. But it doesn't have to have beer. It's just a basic, really good chicken stew or soup that I make all the time with what ever I have on hand. All kinds of vegetables can be tossed in, including one of those bags of assorted frozen veggies. This stew helps me use up all kinds of left overs like roast chicken, rice, pasta or even lentils. This time I simmered it with a bottle of beer that was hanging out in the fridge, though you can easily skip the beer and use chicken stock instead. Sometimes I make it with egg noodles, sometimes I plop in bits of dough that absorb the delicious broth and cook into hearty, plump little dumplings. We ate them all up so I didn't have any to photograph, maybe next time, in the next incarnation of this stew that I make too often.

It might interest you to know how different yet awesomely delicious too is the chicken stew that I grew up eating in Kerala- a gloriously spiced coconut milk, chicken, vegetable or meat stew that is one of my all time favorite dishes. My good friend Prerna Singh of Indian Simmer even features a slow cooker variation of it in her brand new cook book :)

Hurry over to her beautiful blog to win a copy of her first cook book and discover how to cook Indian Food easily and deliciously in the slow cooker.

Recipe for Beer Braised Cilantro Chicken Stew
Recipe by: Rose of Magpie's Recipes
Difficulty Level: Easy

Ingredients:

Chicken breast tenders or thighs 6
Pearl onions or shallots 4 ( or you can use 1/4 of a regular onion)
Garlic 6 cloves sliced into wedges
Celery seed powder 1/4 tsp ( better to use fresh celery about a handful, chopped, I just didn't have any)
Cumin powder 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder 1/2 tsp
Pepper 1/2 tsp
Dried Thyme 1/2 tsp
Carrots 1 cup sliced into thin rounds
Scallions 2 chopped ( optional)
Ginger 1 inch piece smashed
Flour 1 tbsp
Beer 1 twelve oz bottle ( optional, can use some more chicken stock instead)
Chicken stock 2 cups ( can use bullion dissolved in 2 cups water)
Cilantro a handfuls, chopped to garnish
Oil (I use canola or light olive oil, sometimes one of those herb or garlic infused olive oils)

Directions

Heat some oil in a skillet
Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on the chicken breasts and brown the chicken on both sides, don't cook, just brown
Remove the chicken and keep aside
In the same skillet, adding a little more oil if required, brown the garlic then the onion, then add the spices and vegetables and stir until lightly browned.
Add back the browned chicken and stir in the flour. Keep stirring until the flour is slightly turned a light brown and is no longer raw.
Add the chicken stock and or beer and let simmer.
If you want to add noodles, pasta or cooked rice, this is the time.
Check and add salt if required and garnish with chopped cilantro.
Drizzle some olive oil, if you like ones infused with herbs or garlic, use that, and serve with bread, biscuits, or even over rice.

Note, If I'm in a hurry this is what I do to save thawing the chicken in the microwave, I use my pressure cooker instead:
Pressure cook the frozen chicken tenders with 1/2 cup chicken stock or beer till thawed and cooked
Heat oil in a skillet and brown the chicken, cut it up with a fork and remove, proceed as above for the rest.

You can also make dumplings and simmer them in the stew until cooked:

Dumplings
1 cup AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
Herbs (optional)
Water or milk

Mix the above ingredients with just enough water or milk to make a dough
Roll into small marble sized balls or scoop with a spoon and drop into the simmering stew.
Cover and let the dumplings cook until a skewer inserted into the dumpling comes out clean and the inside is not gummy ( 10 to 15 minutes, the smaller you roll them, the faster they will cook)

Kerala Coconut Crab - Njandu Peera Pattichathu

This Coconut Crab dish is one of my mom's specialties, It is mildly spiced and tangy from the Kokum- a kind of tamarind. It is mouthwateringly good and a childhood favourite. This recipe is common among Kerala households and is often made with prawns or the flaked white flesh of other fish like tuna or seer fish.

My mom always made this whenever she chanced upon fresh crab from our neighborhood fishmonger who would drive up with an icebox perched precariously behind his moped. Crab and Kari-meen (Pearl spot fish) were in high demand, and so we were always aware of the extra-special-ness of a lunch with either of these on the table!

She would usually make it the same way each time. Poaching the crab in a little warm water in which sour Kokum was soaked to infuse it with it's tangy flavour. The water was evaporated to ensure that every bit of the tanginess was absorbed by the crab, usually in a wide, shallow clay pot ( mann chatti) reserved for cooking seafood, that also imparted it's rustic earthiness.

Kokum- used like tamarind to impart sourness usually in seafood dishes

This process of cooking is termed Pattichathu, where delicate seafood is cooked in a little amount of flavorful liquid until all the liquid is absorbed and evaporated. She then stirred the tender meat gently, along with coconut, tempered spices and curry leaves over a low flame so that the flavours danced together harmoniously.

When I saw crabs at my neighborhood grocery store I was suddenly filled with all the memories surrounding my mom's crab dish and a deep craving for it, so I immediately decided to make it. Halfway through wheedling the flesh out of one crab and my hands were scraped red. I decided I didn't have to do everything exactly like my mom did, and left the rest of the flesh intact to crack open at the dinner table, which was actually kind of fun! The rest of the process is quite simple and you can make this with any kind of fish by flaking the meat, and is especially delicious with tiny shrimp. It is also one of the most magical things you can do to a can of tuna, along with this, although of-course it is most excellent with crab.

The handsome dude who came over for dinner!

We ate it with mounds of rice and a little spiced buttermilk and the tantalizing play of contrasting flavours - the sweet crab meat and coconut, tang from the Kokum, the zing of freshly grated ginger, heat of the green chillies with the crunchy toasted mustard seeds is something you will never forget.

A new friend, the very lovely Jean from Lemon and Anchovies had been cooking with crab too, and I couldn't wait to see what she would make with it, especially since she mentioned homemade pasta and fried Meyer Lemons! To see what Jean made with her crabs go to her beautiful blog here. Isn't it great how one ingredient can be cooked in so many delightfully different ways? Never ceases to amaze!

Update: I thought this recipe deserves an illustration! ( Click to enlarge)

Njandu Peera Pattichathu ( Crab Shredded and Poached)

Ingredients

Crab meat -1 pound or 500 gms of meat
Kokum ( Kodampuli) – 3 pieces ( A kind of tamarind, available in Indian stores, else substitute with a marble sized ball of regular tamarind, if you can't find either, just squeeze some lemon before serving for some tang)
Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon
Red chili powder – 1/2 tablespoon
Grated coconut – 1 cup ( If using frozen shredded coconut like I do, thaw for about a minute in the microwave)
Fresh ginger, peeled and grated – About an inch (Do not use store bought ginger paste instead, omit it if you have to)
Thai green chillies slit in half – 6-10
Warm water for poaching the crab and soaking Kokum- 1 cup for fresh crab (1/4 cup if using cooked crab)

*Note: I used one and half of a Dungeness crab, which is atleast twice the size of the the smaller crabs my mom cooked in India. I cracked the small legs and kept the flesh intact but extracted the flesh out of almost all the other parts of the shell to make it easier on the diner- aka myself and the hubs!
Also if you are not used to spicy food, please reduce amount of red chilli powder and green chillies to suit your tastes

For the tempering:

Coconut oil – 1-2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp
Garlic pods, each sliced in half – 8
Small Pearl onions or Shallots– 3-4 (sliced thin or use half of a red onion instead chopped fine)
Dried Red chillies – 3 ( or 1 tsp red chilli flakes)
Curry leaves- 8 ( Optional, avaliable in Indian grocery stores. Do not substitute with curry powder)
Sprinkle salt to taste

Method

If you are using uncooked crab meat, soak the Kokum in about a cup of warm water in a pot or saucepan ( but preferably an earthernware mann chatti).

If you are using already cooked crab use less water, only about 1/4 cup, just enough to cover the Kokum pieces in a small cup.

Soak the Kokum until it softens and the water turns a brown colour- about 15 mins

Now add all the ingredients including crab meat with the kokum water and stir gently together- just to flake up the flesh a little.

Turn on the heat to a medium and bring the liquid to a gentle boil.

Cook, stirring very occasionally till all the water has evaporated

In a separate pan or skillet, heat the coconut oil and just before it begins to smoke, add the mustard seeds and wait for all of them to finish popping.

Cover with a lid to prevent the seeds from popping all over your kitchen!

Once it begins to slow down to just a few pops, add the cumin and stir until it turns brown and no longer smells raw. Careful not to burn or blacken them.

Add the garlic and lightly brown it, then the onions and golden brown them too.

Add the chilli powder and curry leaves together and switch off the heat just as curry leaves begin to stiffen up.

Now add the crab mixture to the tempering in the pan, salt to taste, and stir gently on low heat until the dish is completely dry and flavours are well combined.

Enjoy with rice and spiced buttermilk ( recipe follows)

Tastes best the day it's made.

For the spiced buttermilk

1 cup yogurt

1 cup water

3-4 fresh thai green chillies chopped

salt to taste.

Stir in a little water at a time into the yogurt whisking with a spoon constantly to make buttermilk ( or just use store bought buttermilk- which is usually a little more hard to find than yogurt)

Stir in the green chillies and enough salt to taste

Serve chilled or at room temperature, pouring over rice or drinking as is.

Although traditionally served with rice, I think this crab dish also tastes great with salad and a soft boiled egg. Even though this dish may sound complicated, the part that will take the longest is the shelling of the crab, and you can just use crab meat instead or even most white, flaky fish as mentioned above. Everything else is quite easy.

Melted Brie and Balsamic Bruschetta Dip

Hope you are all having a great start to the new year, and dealing with the fact that the holidays are over much better than I am. I think I am in denial and am having trouble getting back into the routine. I stubbornly refuse to take down the Christmas ornaments and get into the celery nibbling mode that is typical for this time of year. All your amazing carrot soups and Tabbouleh posts may help me finally get over cookies and desserts though, so please keep them coming!

We had a truly wonderful two weeks with my sister- in-law and family visiting us and I so miss my nephew, niece and our monkey being all kinds of goofy together- whether it was endless jumping around to Gangnam Style or being Batman, Super girl and the big monster and chasing each other around the house. Thank God this time the three kiddos did not decide to fall sick together and we didn't have to make those dreaded trips to the ER like we did the last two times we all met up. So we had a great time- lots of poker playing, charades, just dance 4 sessions, and my cute as a button little niece and I were even able to do craftsy shrinky dink jewelry making and use her easy bake oven cake decorating kit which I admit was a Christmas gift as much for myself as it was for her!

We even managed to do a little sightseeing this time, and went wine and cheese tasting and picnicking in wine country.Yes, it is almost always picnic weather in California, but hey, all weather is wine and cheese weather :)

Photo taken by my sis-in-law

We went to the Mondavi and Gundlach Bundschu Wineries in Napa and like every time we visit, I decided that we must visit more often. Would love recommendations for wineries to visit so do comment on the ones you love.

He did ask for wine but the monkey only got to taste water :)

The Marin Cheese Company in Sonoma (not too far from the kiddo's favorite Train Town) is a great place for all cheese and wine lovers to go to and is such a nice picnic spot, with lots of space for the kids to run around, a pretty duck pond, picnic tables and a convenient, well stocked tiny little deli with all kinds of cheese, wine, sandwiches, pastries, deli meat..all kinds of wonderful things, so you don't have to bring your own food, or even paper cups and things because they give you all that.

They have lots of cheese set out on platters to taste, their specialty being small wheels of brie and we made a beeline for the one that was topped with an amazing roasted tomato and caper bruschetta which was the starting point for this post. We enjoyed the combination of bruschetta and the soft cheese both with garlic bagel chips and the baguette that they even slice up neatly for you, and I decided to make my own version at home with whatever I had on hand, though I would love to try another version with either broiled or sundried tomatoes.

I LOVE cheese but I don't like brie too much, especially on its own, so this warm, gooey, cheesy dip with balsamic bruschetta was the most delicious way for me to use up the last of the cheese hanging out in my fridge and the perfect quick and easy, delicious appetizer that I see my self throwing together all this year. I love it so much, I may even put it inside a sandwich.

Melted Cheese Bruschetta Dip
Makes enough appetizer for two-four people

2 plum tomatoes chopped
1 clove garlic minced
3 thai green chilies chopped ( optional)
2 small pearl onions chopped or a tablespoon of chopped regular onion
1 tsp chopped fresh basil or 1/2 tsp dried
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp rice vinegar ( optional)
1 small brie round ( I used Rouge Et Noir Le Petit Bleu from Marin Cheese Company and also tossed in a bit of some Parmesan that needed to be finished, but you can use any melting cheese you like, even a mix since we will be melting them together to make a spread or dip)

Method:
Keep the cheese aside and mix all other ingredients gently together in a small bowl
Taste and adjust, adding more herbs or more tomato if you find the mix too garlicky or spicy for your taste
Set in the fridge for about an hour or longer
If your cheese has a thick rind, cut it off since it won't melt and chop up or grate the cheese if you are using a hard cheese
Heat either on the oven, stove or in the microwave on high for about 30 seconds to a couple of minutes or just until the cheese is slightly melted, warm and gooey
Stir up the melted cheese and top with the bruschetta mix
Enjoy over some lightly toasted baguette or crackers and a glass of chilled Gewürztraminer!

I am sending this dip over to Lisa the Authentic Suburban Gourmet for her Appetizer party to celebrate her blog birthday!

Secretly Vegan Carrot and Plum Cake- Eggless and Dairy free

All is quiet, the little one is fast asleep, snug between his two cousins, and dreaming of Santa. I am writing this post quickly just to share with you a quick and super easy recipe for a plum cake that happens to be vegan. But you really shouldn't label it a vegan cake and it's not really a traditional Christmas cake. It's just a really good moist cake that happens to be vegan- mahed bananas replace the eggs and most of the fat, with grated carrots and enough chopped dried plums to make it Christmassy

After complaining about my dislike for fruitcake in my guest post for Shulie, you must be wondering why I am here with a fruit cake recipe right? Well I do want to give fruit cake one more try, and also wanted my little one to get a taste of some Christmas-time traditions that his mom grew up with! Since he is allergice to dairy and eggs, I just adapted his favourite banana cake into something more Christmassy and quite healthy yet delicious too!
You can soak the fruits in brandy or rum and spices as in traditional fruitcake if you like, but as I have mentioned (repeatedly here ), I am not a fan, so I just soaked the plums in warm water to soften it and it really did the trick, making them plump and moist.

Merry Christmas!

Carrot Banana Plum Cake

Ingredients ( The order in which these ingredients are added is important):

4 medium very ripe bananas peeled and mashed well till no lumps remain ( the riper the bananas the stronger the banana flavour.)
1/4 cup oil
1 cup sugar ( I have halved this amount too and it works- just made the cake a little drier)
2 cups flour
3 TBSP water, 3 TBSP oil, 2 tsp baking powder (all mixed together in that order and kept aside for about 5 minutes prior, not much more ahead else it may lose some of the fizz require to make the cake rise)
1/4 tsp, baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla essence ( optional)
1 cup chopped dried plums or prunes ( soak the fruits in warm water or just put them in a bowl of water and heat in the microwave for 15 secons to make them moist)
1 cup grated carrots

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 F degrees or 325 F if using a glass pyrex dish

Grease and flour a 9X5 inch loaf pan, or a pyrex bowl as I used in the photos above, to give it a traditional Christmas pudding look ( I used vegetable oil to grease the pan and didn't flour it, but lined the bottom with parchment paper, cutting the paper where it bent and creased and overlapping it to make it as smooth as possible to fit the curved shape of the bowl)

In large mixing bowl, mix all ingredients in order given ( if you don't follow the order, things may not work so its VERY IMPORTANT!). Pour into pan and bake 40 to 50 minutes.

Let it cool in the pan for about 10-15 mins. Then run a knife around the sides of the pan.
Invert it onto a plate or cooling rack and let cool completely

You can also bake this in muffin or cup cake tins and it would be perfect for breakfast

Am sending this cake over to Simone of Junglefrog Cooking who is hosting the Monthly Mingle as well as a sparkling photo challenge

Nankhatais Indian Cardamom and Whole Wheat Cookies -Guest Post for Food Wanderings

Nankhatais- Indian Wholewheat cardamom cookies

I love Shulie's blog Food Wanderings ( such an apt blog name right?) and enjoy discovering many new things to try from her Jewish heritage. Several times I have been happily surprised to learn about Jewish dishes that may have influenced those that I grew up eating all the way in Kerala in the south of India, among my Syrian Christian community there. I am very excited that I am getting to do a guest post for her inspirational blog as part of her Indian Food Series, which has featured some of my most favorite Indian food bloggers.

When we were brainstorming about what the post should be about, I mentioned Nankhatais since I had just taken a batch along with some macarons to a cookie swap and I was so happy to learn that Shulie loved them and that her mom used to make them for her too, after taking grains to a store in their community where it was ground for her.

I am glad these cookies brought back childhood memories for Shulie and hope you all enjoy them too!

Do go over to Shulie's blog, fall in love with her writing and breath taking photographs if you haven't already and also read my post on these buttery, cardamom infused snappy cookies from India (which are also a snap to make), and read about one particular Christmas time tradition in Kerala I am more than happy to escape!

I hope these cookies held their own among the other deliciousness like Chocolate drizzle caramel bars from Patty, these Salted caramel and coconut thumbprints that just have no mercy from Lisa, Chocolate Caramel Filled Cherry Thumbprints from the Cookie Queen herself :) -the lovely Gina, melt in the mouth Mexican wedding cookies from Jean and tender Coconutty cookies (with cute cookie swap printables) from Liren and pretty, swirly Cinnamon bun biscotti from Azmina

They really go well with tea or coffee and would even be great nibbles to serve alongside some red wine. Make them, gift them, but most importantly enjoy them, and have a wonderful holiday, and a very Blessed, Merry Christmas!