Ginger Cake!

Whats better than a warm spiced up Ginger Cake on a cold cloudy afternoon!!!

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups self rising flour
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup bran
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup dark brown sugar or regular sugar
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/ teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves powder
• 1 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons lime juice
• 2 Tablespoons grated fresh ginger
• 1/2 cup chopped candied(crystallized) ginger
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup warm water

Directions:

1. In a large bowl mix all the flours, salt and baking powder. Mix well.
2. Add in the rest of the ingredients except grated and candied ginger and blend them well.
3. Add in the fresh and candied ginger and give a quick mix.
4. Pour batter in well greased pan
5. Bake at 360 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean!
6. Enjoy a slice anytime of the day!!

Tips: To cut candied ginger, cover the slices in flour and apply oil on the knife to reduce the stickiness while chopping.

Also, I usually like my baked goods less sweet. For regular sweetness add 1 cup sugar!

Vegan Version: Replace egg by any egg replacer or a teaspoon of flax meal mixed in 3 teaspoons water. Adjust water to get thick batter, not too runny. Bake and gobble with some tea or coffee!

Yasai Yakisoba!

Pic courtesy http://supermarketguru.ivillage.com/food/archives/2009/03/steal-this-recipe-yasai-yaki-s.html . check out their recipe as well!

My yakisoba pic coming soon!

I fell in love with Veggie Yakisoba after gobbling it down a bunch of times at Boom noodle. Heres my version!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup carrot grated or sliced thin and long
• 1 cup green bell pepper finely sliced or cut into strips
• 1 cup onion finely sliced
• 1 cup cabbage sliced
• 2 Serrano chili peppers finely sliced
• 1 inch ginger cut into thin strips
• 2 cups bean sprouts
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• 6-9 oz soba noodles. I used buckwheat soba, 2 big bowlfuls of the noodles.
• veggies or meat that can be added: red bell pepper, sliced mushrooms, shallots, chicken, pork etc
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Sauce: 1 Tablespoon yakisoba sauce. If thats not available then use the following.

• 1 Tablespoon Soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon vinegar or 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon hoisin sauce

Dressing:

• 1 teaspoon soy sauce or teriyaki sauce
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 inch ginger cut into thin strips
• 1/2 cup bean sprouts

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients for the sauce and keep aside.
2. Cook the soba noodles in boiling water for 5 minutes or according to package instructions. Rinse in cold water and keep aside.
3. In a large pan. heat the vegetable oil on high heat. Once the oil is hot , add the chopped onion.
4. Keep stirring frequently and cook the onion till it starts getting golden on the edges. 3-4 minutes
5. Add in the bell pepper, ginger and seranno pepper and cook on high for another 3-4 minutes.
6. Add in the carrots and continue stirring and cooking on high for another 2 minutes.
7. Add in the cabbage and cook for 2 minutes. If you have other veggies or meat, add them in the mix depending on the amount of time they take to get cooked. ie. onions were added in the beginning since they take a very long time to cook.
8. Add in the sauce and mix well.
9. Add in the noodles, salt and pepper and mix well. Keep stirring and mixing for another 2 minutes on high heat till all noodles are coated with sauce. You can add more salt/sauce or pepper according to taste.
10. Add in the sprouts, mix up everything and take it off the heat.
11. For the dressing, in a small pan, heat the oil on medium heat and add ginger strips to it.
12. Cook the ginger for 2-3 minutes.
13. Add in the soy sauce and sugar (or teriyaki sauce) and mix well.
14. Cook for another 1-2 minutes.
15. Add in the sprouts and toss them well.
16. Take this dressing and sprinkle on top while serving. You can also sprinkle some shallots, sesame seeds and pickled ginger.
17. Enjoy hot and sizzling!. I love ginger in this dish!

Pan de Hojaldre (Beautiful Puff Bread)

Pretty pretty..

I picked this one up from Susan's YeastSpotting Page.. Keep it up Susan. Heres the original recipe and how the bread should actually look from Cindy's Blog

Mine obviously doesn't look as great:). I put it in a pan instead of a plate and my dough was not as stiff as it needed to be! Phaa. Another reason to get the Kitchen aid .. Hubby are you listening? I steal the time a bit while working the dough.. and I am sure a good stand up mixer will help with reducing my arm aches!

Loved these with the morning tea!!

Sunday brunch Tikki chaat (Potato Cutlets with chutney)

Pics taken in the super short time between serving arrangement and hubby's mouth!

I am sure everyone has their own versions of Potato Cutlets/Burgers. And the Chaats that can be made using the cutlets. Heres my Sunday brunch version of the Tikki Chaat(Potato Cutlet with sweet and sour topping!)

Ingredients:

Cutlet:

• 3 Potatoes boiled and mashed
• 2 Serrano Chili peppers chopped finely
• 1 inch ginger chopped finely
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon red chili powder or black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
• pinch of asafetida(hing)
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon rock salt
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Sweet and sour Tamarind Chutney:

• 1 cup tamarind pulp(boil tamarind in little water and remove seeds)
• 1 cup brown sugar or jaggery
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon rock salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

Black Chickpea curry/stew

• 1/2 cup black chickpea soaked overnight
• 1 tomato chopped
• 1 serrano chili pepper chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic paste
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1.2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• pinch asafetida
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

Directions:

Cutlets:

1. Mix all the ingredients together and form small 3-4 inch flat burgers patties
2. Shallow fry the patties and keep aside.

Tamarind Chutney:

1. In a medium pan, add all ingredients and bring to a boil on medium heat stirring occasionally. Add a little water if the chutney consistency is too thick.
2. Reduce heat to low and let the chutney cook till it gets an even creamy thickness ( usually 15-20 minutes. or it depends on the content of water in the pulp)
3. Let is cool. Chutney can be stored in airtight container refrigerated for a couple of months.

Black Chickpea curry:

1. In a pressure cooker, add oil, cumin seeds and asafetida.
2. Cook on medium heat till cumin seeds start to give out an aroma
3. Add serrano pepper and mix well. Let it cook for a minute.
4. Add ginger garlic paste, tomatoes and salt and mix well.
5. Add in the soaked black chickpeas and water and mix well.
6. Pressure cook on medium heat for 3 whistles.
7. Take off the heat and keep aside.

Serve:

1. To serve, arrange the Cutlets on a plate. Drop spoonfuls of Black chickpea curry on the cutlets. Top it off with a teaspoon of Tamarind chutney on each cutlet.
2. You can also add more toppings like finely chopped onions. cilantro leaves, green chutney and/or thin sev( lentil party mix )
3. Enjoy the sweet and sour mouth watering dish as snack or brunch!!

Spiced Cranberry muffins!

I got some fresh cranberries the other day and was wondering what to do with them! I usually use dried cranberries in my cakes and muffins. But this time I decided to try the fresh ones. The muffins came out really yumm. The base was not too sweet and the cranberries had the sweet sour taste after baking(mostly sour) which gave the muffins an amazing dimension!

I have been super busy lately since I started fostering. I foster for a rescue called Gingers Pet Rescue. The rescue specializes in death row dogs. They drive or fly small dogs from small town shelters in California, Oregon and Washington . These small dogs have a very difficult life in the shelters and are usually scheduled to be euthanized because they dont get adopted soon enough. These dogs are brought to Seattle and they stay at foster homes until they get adopted! And now We are foster parents as well. We have a small condo and adding another crate, dog and supplies feels like there isnt enough space. But space can always be managed, a life lost cannot be brought back.. Once I foster a couple more dogs and get used to it, things will settle down into a more regular schedule and I will be able to squeeze in more cooking and experimenting time!! Till then the posts are going to be few.!

Makes about 24 mini muffins

Ingredients:

• 11/2 cups self rising flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
• 2 cups fresh cranberries mixed with 2 teaspoons of flour and 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup water

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix in the flours, salt and baking soda.
2. Add in the rest of the ingredients except cranberries.
3. Gently mix everything till almost combined.
4. Add in the flour coated cranberries and gently fold them in
5. Grease the mini muffin panand drop spoonfuls onto the pan.
6. Bake in preheated ovenat 350 degrees F for about 15 minutes!

Enjoy warm any time of the day!!

Grilled Veggie Quesadilla!

Another very simple recipe to start off the new year!

Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon oil
• 1 green pepper
• 1 red pepper
• 1/2 medium onion sliced
• 2 Serrano chili peppers sliced finely
• 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar (low-fat)
• 2 ripe tomatoes chopped
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper chopped finely
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 4 whole wheat tortillas or rotis

Directions:

• In a large pan, add 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil. Let the oil get hot on medium high heat.
• Add in the onion sliced and let cook for 2 minutes with frequent stirring.
• Add in 1 green bell pepper and 1 red pepper sliced thin and 2 serrano chili sliced finely.
• Mix all and let cook on medium high heat for 7-8 minutes or till all vegetables start browning on the edges. You can also grill the veggies on a grill pan or BBQ. And of course more veggies can be added as well, like zucchini, or mushrooms. And some pinto or black beans as well!
• Prepare the simple salsa by mixing in the tomatoes, jalapeno, cilantro and lime juice, Add in a little salt and pepper. Mix everything and keep aside.
• Heat a large grill pan or use a plain pan and spray oil on it.
• Place one tortilla on the grill pan.
• Sprinkle some cheese on the tortilla.
• Layer some grilled veggies on it and spread evenly.
• drop small amounts of the salsa and sprinkle more cheese.
• Top it all with another tortilla.
• Press down for a minutes and then flip the quesadilla!
• Press down on the other side for a minute as well..
• Cut it up using a pizza cutter.
• Serve hot with Guacamole, low fat sour cream, Salsa and Habanero Sauce!

Asian Salad!

I have developed a liking for salads over the years. One of my faves is Asian and it can be made using the grocery store Asian dressing or you can make your own dressing! The picture doesnt look as appetizing.. Reminder to self, take a picture of the salad on a nice plate with a grated carrot garnish on top!

I usually use baby greens and sprouts and raspberries/chopped pear and or croutons in the salad.

Here are some of my home made asian dressings

• Mix in 2-3 Tablespoons stir-fry sauce, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon vinegar or lime juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes. Toss in the salad/sprouts and optional fruit and enjoy!

• Mix in 2 teaspoons soy sauce, 1 teaspoon rice vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 3 teaspoons sugar,2 Tablespoons orange juice, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes.

• Mix in 2-3 Tablespoons stir-fry sauce, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon chili oil, 1 teaspoon sesame seeds. Toss in the salad/sprouts and optional fruit and enjoy!

These dressing recipes can be modified according to taste and add or substitute anything!

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year everyone!!

Hope this year brings in all the joy, health and happiness and all that you wished for gets fulfilled.

Hope this year also brings in a green revolution and we can make earth a better place for our coming generations!

Hope this year sparks love, care and passion in the hearts or people so they can be less cruel to living beings and more loving and helpful.

Hope this year brings in some more great breads some creative food blogging!!

Keep a lookout on my other blog http://offspaces.blogspot.com/ for some posts about living cruelty free and green!