Wheat Oats Flaxseed Maple sandwich Loaf!

I made the Wheat Oats Flaxseed Sandwich Loaf last week. I used 2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup instead of the sugar this time.

Here are pretty slices!

And some more..

Rice Pudding (Kheer) with dry fruits

Kheer or indian rice pudding is one of the staple festive desserts in most Indian households. I am slowly moving away from dairy because of my mild lactose intolerance as well as the eventual goal of turning vegan. Some tea in the morning and icecreams are the only dairy intake right now. Icecreams will hopefully soon go out the window once I get my nausea and tummy back on track!

Its such fun trying to explain to elders back in India why I dont eat ghee anymore :)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups whole milk
• 1 cup cooked rice (unsalted)
• sugar to taste ( I used 4 Tablespoons raw crystallized sugar)
• 1/2 cup cashews and almonds coarsely ground or finely chopped
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder

Directions:

1. Add some unsalted butter to coat the bottom of the pan so the milk doesnt burn. Add milk and bring it to a boil on low heat.
2. Add in the cooked rice, cardamom powder, sugar, cashews, almonds and raisins and mix well.
3. Keep cooking on low heat with occasional stirring for half an hour or an hour, or until the milk is the desired consistency. I like my kheer quite thick, so we cooked for a little more than an hour.
4. Serve chilled !

Quick last minute Chocolate Rum fruit cake! Ho, ho, ho!!

Merry Christmas to all!

We dont really celebrate christmas, but I thought I should make either a stollen or a fruit cake.. of course the fruit cake won because of the alcohol content in it.

Heres a chocolatey Rum filled fruit cake.

Ingredients:

• Half of Devils food cake mix
• 1 large egg
• 4 Tablespoons of Dulce de leche frozen yogurt ice cream or dulce de leche regular ice cream or any icecream with caramel
• 2 Tablespoons oil
• Rum as much or as little as desired
• 2 or more Tablespoons each of cashews crushed into smaller pieces, dried blueberries, raisins and any other dry fruits or nuts you want to add.
• candied cherries
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1/2 cup of water

Directions:

1. Soak the nuts and dried fruit in warm water for 15 minutes. Soak the nuts and fruits in rum instead of water, if you have a couple of hours or a day before or a year before:)
2. In a bowl, combine the Devils food cake mix, ice cream, egg, oil, 2 Tablespoons of Rum and water till just about combined.
3. Add in the soaked fruits and nuts and mix well. You can add candied fruits as well.
4. Pour batter in greased mini cake pans.
5. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F or until toothpick comes out clean.
6. Take the mini cakes out of the pans and pour desired amount of rum on them when still warm. Hubby poured about half a cup, which is a bit much :), makes the cakes taste too spirity.
7. Enjoy warm with vanilla ice cream!

Wasabi Soba chilled with grilled veggies

Hubbs the ever creative budding chef wanted to eat the cold wasabi noodles ( like the ones @ boom noodle) and found this recipe similar to it here and made some awesome noodles!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups buckwheat soba (cooked acc to instructions and chilled with ice cubes)
• Assorted veggies grilled in oil on high flame (carrots, bell pepper, red pepper, onion, ginger)
• Cilantro, grated ginger or other herbs for garnish
• Dressing: A teaspoon of soy sauce, rice vinegar, wasabi (we got some fresh from asian store), lime juice, sesame oil and brown sugar.

Directions:

1. Prepare the soba noodles and chill.
2. Grill some veggies and add them to the chilled noodles.
3. Mix in all the dressing ingredients and half teaspoon wasabi well and keep ready.
4. Serve chilled noodles with dressing on the side and half teaspoon wasabi on top the noodles!

Apple Carrot blueberry spiced mini cakes

Made these tiny healthy cakes a few weeks back. These are not very sweet, so I served slices warmed with some maple syrup and fresh fruits on top!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup self rising flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup carrots grated
• 2 tablespoons apple sauce
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg and clove powder
• 1/2 cup dried blueberries
• 1/3 cup water

Directions:

1. Mix the flours salt and the spices in a large bowl.
2. Beat the egg oil and brown sugar until frothy.
3. Add this mixture to the flours. Add in the applesauce, lemon juice, grated carrots, ginger and water if needed and mix until just about combined.
4. Add in the blueberries and mix to distribute them.
5. Pour the batter in greased mini cake pan or muffin pans.
6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean from the center.
7. Take the cakes out of the pan and let cool before storing.