HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Happy THANKSGIVING everyone.

I've taken a hiatus from the blog as I've been busy with revising and publishing my books on Amazon through Kindle Publishing..

I hope you'll look for my latest book, 'Prescription for Love' on Amazon and read it on your Kindle Reader or iPad, iPhone or even on Mozilla on your computer.

It is a traditional romance set in California.

I am also working on revising the six books I published with Silhouette in the 90's and am working on these six romances coming out under my Homespun Romance Series.

I do apologize for neglecting the blog...I have been cooking and plan on getting back to posting easy recipes that cut our cooking time in half so we can get on with the other things we want/have to do.

Here's a good recipe for a happy, safe holiday season with:

1 cup joy

1 cup thoughtfulness

1 cup peace and

4 cups contentment.

Easy Breezy Shrimp

EASY BREEZY SHRIMP

A recent guest and friend gave me the perfect gift...a recipe so easy and quick PLUS one that meets the great taste requirements of all spoiled Indian taste buds!

I have made it so many times since Sridevi's visit but just put off sharing it as I kept forgetting to get a photograph before they all vanished.

So here's the recipe for your eating pleasure. Remember I'm making this dish for one so the portions are small.

As for the vegetarians, this works great with sliced zucchini and sliced eggplant too!

5 large frozen shrimp.

1-2 tablespoon medium sooji/rawa.

Chilli powder and salt to taste.

A pinch of hing/asafoetedia.

Mix sooji, chilli powder, salt and hing on a plate.

Rinse shrimp in warm water and place on plate.

The coating will stick to the wet shrimp...if they don't pat gently, turn and do the same to the other side.

In a small non-stick skillet heat two teaspoons olive oil.

Place shrimp in oil.

After 3-4 mins turn and cook other side for 3-4 mins.

I turn the stove down to medium after putting the shrimp in as I want them to cook slowly.

Leave for longer if you want the coating to get darker but I love the golden brown color with parts of the shrimp peeping out.

From freezer to mouth this dish takes 10 minutes, tops.

Leftover coating mix can be placed in a sandwich bag, labelled and stored in the freezer for next time.

The coating is crunchy and delicious; surprisingly so. Next I'm going to try it with a fillet of tialpia and report back when I remember to do it.

5 star Vegetarian Burritos, Indian Style

5 star Vegetarian Burritos, Indian style.

When we were young my mother would take the hot chappattis off the tawa, smeared it with ghee, sprinkled it with sugar and give us each a 'roly-poly' to eat.

These burritos are like roly-poly's, with a different filling.

I tried this recipe for the first time, a while back when I had guests from India stopping by for brunch. I wanted to make a dish in one, something different and yet one that appealed to Indian taste buds and this turned out to be a hit.

Yesterday I made it again, after a year or more, to take to a friend's place for lunch.

(The original recipe came from : http://kitchen-goddess.yumsugar.com/Baked-Smothered-Burritos-107864 but is no longer available for viewing.)

8" whole wheat/flour/corn tortillas.
1 can vegetarian refried beans ( if you are vegetarian check it has no lard).
1 onion sliced or chopped
1/2 onion chopped fine.
1 can Mexican canned chillies chopped fine.
2  large firm ripe tomatoes chopped.
1 cup cilantro chopped
Olives...optional
1/2 tsp cumin powder (per 16 oz can).
1 tsp grated garlic per can or to taste.
Chili powder and salt to taste.
1 cup bottled Picante sauce or Google recipe for making your own.

1 pkt  grated 5 blend Mexican cheese (or cheddar will do).

The first time I used canned, vegetarian refried beans.

For the second time, I soaked fresh pinto beans overnight, then cooked them for 2-3 hours and then used a food processor to make then into a paste (it's a little watery and should be).
Either way is fine.

Fry a large chopped onion till translucent, added grated garlic, chilli powder, cumin and salt and the bean mixture and let it cook till it was thick (about five-seven minutes).  Don't let it harden too much.

Add chopped Mexican canned chillies.

Add a couple of tablespoons of the vinegar the chillies come in as it enhances the taste.

I left out the olives but that was just a personal choice.
Cool bean mixture.

I used whole wheat tortillas to make the dish more nutritious and reduce the size of the burritos.
Warm tortillas in a skillet on each side...lay out on counter.
Place 1 heaping Tbsp of baked bean mixture spread out like a log in the middle, top with tomatoes, cilantro, cheese, a little raw onion and 1 tsp Picante sauce. 

I used mild Picante sauce and that had enough heat in it for this dish for us. I guess the chilli powder had already added some heat.
Roll up burritos and place in baking pan.
Sprinkle with more grated cheese on top.
Bake in a 300 degree oven till cheese melts or microwave.

TIPS
If I'm making a large batch I heat up 2-4 for dinner with the grated cheese on top and freeze the rest.

Making the pinto beans from scratch did make a difference to the taste.

While all the prep (fine chopping, grating) takes a while it is worth it as the end result is great.

The payoff to the effort invested is that even if you bake the whole batch, these burritos freeze and re-heat excellently and one of them is a great lunch or dinner for a diabetic.

Changes to a recipe are supposed to make it one's own but I still want Yumsugar to have 80% of the credit for this one. It has joined my 5 star club of top of the line dishes.

Compliments followed every bite with this dish, and I hope you'll try it out.

Cut in half, the burritos make a good appetizer too with all the tangy tastes that appeal to Indian taste buds. One could serve two dipping Picante sauces: mild and hot, on the side.

5 star Zucchini Bread

This is my daughter's recipe taken over by me, when she married and left home. We can't believe it's a 'bread' recipe...it's more like a fruit cake or, to be really accurate, I should say vegetable cake. Call it by any name...it's yummylicious!

I grew zucchini in my garden for years and she discovered the recipe in a Betty Crocker Cookbook and we've kept changing/adding to it over the years.

Recently I tweaked the recipe for a friend who doesn't eat eggs.

For those of you who don't get zucchini where you are, it is similar to 'lauki'. I have often used zucchini in sambar as if it were lauki.

They are close cousins.

I'm giving you both the original recipe and the new shortcut; adapted to my 'easily-tired' stage.

I hope you'll try the original recipe too because it's on the topmost rung of 'Tried and True Recipes', in our family.

lan, the flowers were added with you in mind...the nasturtiums have run amok in my garden this year with all the rain we've been having.

5 star zucchini bread

This zucchini bread recipe makes two large loaves or four mini loaves.

• 3 eggs
  
• 1 cup vegetable oil
  
• 2 cups granulated sugar (I use 11/2 c. as raisins add sweetness too)
  
• 2 cups peeled & grated zucchini ( use medium sized grater)
  
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
  
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
  
• (I use 1 ½ cups all purpose and 1 ½ cups chapatti atta (whole wheat flour) from the Indian grocery store).
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
  
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
  
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
  
• 1 cup raisins
  

Beat eggs until light and foamy; add vegetable oil, sugar, zucchini and vanilla. Mix lightly but blend thoroughly.

Mix together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and spices; mix lightly. Add dry ingredients to first mixture, stirring to blend. Stir in nuts and raisins.
Pour batter into two loaf pans, 9x5x3-inches in size. Bake at 325° for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near center of a loaf comes out clean.

I used foil mini loaf pans and it baked in 35-40 mins.

**********************************.

New Zucchini Bread Recipe

One box yellow cake mix.

(you could use the spice cake mix and omit the cinnamon, cloves and allspice).

2 cups peeled & grated zucchini. (I use the medium sized hand grater/Cuisinart medium grater).

½ cup raisins

2/3 cup walnuts (Chopped by hand).

1 level tablesppon ground cinnamon.

1 level teaspoon ground cloves

1 level teaspoon allspice

(Next time I'll use 1 cup walnuts, 2/3 cup raisins.)

Follow directions on cake mix box for other ingredients like oil and water.

ADD 1/3 cup oil and 1/3 cup water extra to mix.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

I substituted 3 Tbsps yogurt for the 3 eggs.

(In our home it's supposed to be buttermilk that's substituted for eggs, but I use yogurt and add a couple of tablespoon of water so it mixes up in the food processor.)

When the cake mix, oil, water and buttermilk is blended, add the raisins, walnuts and grated zucchini and ran the food processor for 30 seconds.

Do not over beat.

Check the consistency of the batter… we all know what the consistency of cake batter from a box should be…if too thick add a little water.

Pour into well-greased loaf pans or a baking dish. (I use mini foil pans as I have standing orders from friends for gifts of zucchini bread.)

Bake at 350 for 45-50 mins or till a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Check after 30 mins.

Remember baking time depends on the kind of oven you have and this cake took a long time though it was in 4 mini loaf pans.

Enjoy…your friends and family will never guess this bread/cake has zucchini in it so you might want to play a 'guess the secret ingredient' game, before you tell them.

TRIFLE WITHOUT MILK

A friend's comment that she was having adverse reaction to dairy foods (particularly milk), made me work out my favorite trifle without milk. I tried not to compromise the taste so it took three tries and many tastings (my favorite part), to get this right.

Trifle Without Milk

One box white cake mix (comes out the best and lightest).
One pound fresh strawberries, sliced. (You can used canned, frozen fruit).
4 cups water
4 Tbsps cornstarch
4 Tbsps splenda/sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Pinch cardamom (optional)
1/2 cup strawberry jam.
Juice of one lemon...2 Tbsps
Sherry (optional)
1 small can pineapple juice or if you're using canned fruit then juice from can.
1 tub whipped non-dairy topping.
Hershey's chocolate syrup for decoration.

Bake cake according to package directions.
Allow to cool.
(I use about half of the cake baked in a 9 by 11 pan for a large bowl of trifle for 6-8 people and all the cake for 16-20 people).
If making it for 16-20 people double the custard recipe.
First set aside some strawberry slices for decoration.
In a small bowl mix cornstarch with cold water till smooth.
Bring rest of water to boil in a saucepan, add cornstarch, keep stirring till it boils for 2 mins.
Add Splenda/sugar, sliced fruit, vanilla essence, cardamom, jam and cook till fruit is soft.
Add lemon juice.
Taste. It should be sweet but not TOO sweet with just a hint of lemon.
Mix should be thick but not too thick...if it is, add some more water.
It should be like a custard at this stage or thick idli batter.

Arrange cake slices in one layer...I layer it with 2" cubes as I just have one layer...you can do slices if you want to repeat layers.
Pour sherry evenly over cake, add pineapple juice to wet cake but don't drown it.
Pour strawberry mix over it...this too will go into the cake but the rest will set as an even layer.
Refrigerate till cool.
Spread whipped topping in a layer.
Decorate with chocolate and strawberry slices.
Serve well chilled.

The last time I made it the trifle in ready-to-serve individual glass bowls and the layers showed up well. The friend who doesn't tolerate milk was thrilled and other friends I've made it for didn't miss the custard. Everyone agrees this is a scrumptious dessert.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy New Year to one and all.

May 2011 be filled with health, wealth and happiness, and if all that does not add up to prosperity, I don't know what does.

I have been busy since Thanksgiving, trying to clean out my freezer.

By that I mean, eat all the dishes, I had stored there.

That resolution made HD and me happy throughout December. When we weren't eating with friends or family, we had 'instant meals' to heat and eat! He loved the minimal washing up, and I loved the time to turn my attention to all the holiday fun.

To date, I still haven't met my goal of freezer emptying, so I abandoned that temporarily, and started making a few new dishes.

I've often wondered if everything we bloggers try comes out great...in my case that isn't so.

I've also often wondered about those people on cooking shows who take a bite of what they've made and say, "Ummm...so good...so delicious etc...."

Do they always get it right?

Anyway, to get back to my experiences, this recipe for corn fritters intrigued me, but also left me feeling it needed something more. I got the main idea for this recipe from 3 Thai cooking sites and I'm dubbing it a 'work in progress'.

Who can resist a fried dish in this cold weather? I'm posting this recipe now, instead of trying to perfect it, hoping for two things: 1. everyone will enjoy it now

2. some cooking genius will come up with some advice to help me make a good dish, great.

Tofu Corn Fritters

1 cup rice flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce (fish sauce can be used instead)

8 ozs firm tofu cut into small cubes

1 cup frozen corn kernels (you can use fresh kernels off the cob if you want to).

1/2 cup fresh chopped coriander

1/2 red bell pepper chopped

4 green onions sliced fine

Red chilli powder and crushed pepper to taste.

(HD would prefer plenty of sliced green chillies, which I will try next time.)

A pinch of turmeric.

1-2 kaffir lime leaves, available at Oriental grocery stores snipped into slivers...I omitted this as I couldn't find any. (wish I had added some lime juice or a tsp of vinegar instead).

Mix rice, baking powder and spices well.

Beat eggs with oyster and soy sauce.

Mix all ingredients together.

Deep fry by heating oil well, dropping mix by the teaspoonful into the oil.

Let the underside brown, turn over and remove when both sides are a deep golden brown.

Don't mess with it too soon or it will break up in the oil...it will also do this if the oil isn't hot enough.

I fried one alone first, for a taste test, and decided the needed just a pinch of salt.

Serve hot with sweet and sour chilli sauce.

Delicious, but I would have liked a little more crunch in it...maybe next time I'm going to add some chopped red onion.

Also, I'm going to mix the batter and fry straight away...I think letting the batter rest a while, softened the scallion and bell pepper, which otherwise might have given me the texture I'm looking for.

The tofu was an unexpected ingredient that tasted delicious.

lan, this one's for you.