Saturday, December 31, 2011

Low Fat Café Latte and Warm Cookies

Continuing with Martha Stewart’s recipes, here is one all coffee lovers will enjoy. I am an ardent coffee lover and I absolutely loved this simple latte. The second best thing about this coffee…it does not come attached with an expensive price tag :-)

Low Fat Café Latte
Ingredients
Low fat milk (I used fat free)
Freshly brewed coffee decoction
Sugar
Method
Take the required amount of milk in a glass/microwaveable bottle with a lid and shake well. The milk will become frothy. Remove the lid, place in the microwave and heat to desired temperature (the froth might ooze out if kept for too long). Pour into your coffee mug, along with the decoction, making sure that all the froth comes out of the bottle. Add sugar and enjoy! Bon Appétit.
Now that you have a cup of coffee, I am sure you all would love some cookies to go with it. Try these, you’ll love’em. 

Marble Cookies
Ingredients
All Purpose Flour – ½ cup
Brown sugar – ½ cup (you can use white too)
Cocoa – 2 tsps
Baking powder – ¼ tsp
Salt – ¼ tsp
Butter – ¼ cup (at room temperature/melted)
Milk – 1 tsp
Method
Divide the flour, salt and baking powder into two bowls. Add the cocoa powder to one bowl. Beat the sugar and butter together, add milk and mix well. Divide equally among both bowls and knead to form nice dough. Roll out the dough into two logs (one dark brown and one light brown), cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 300F. Remove the chilled dough, cut into small discs and give them a little press in your palms to make them thin. I made discs with each colour and placed a small ball of the contrasting colour, just to give it a unique look. I also mixed both doughs to form one single log and then cut them into discs to make marble cookies.
The cookies will expand a bit, so place them with a little gap between them. Line the cookie sheet with parchment or just butter the sheet and bake the cookies for 20-21 minutes. They will feel soft when they come out but will harden as they cool. Bon Appétit. 
 
Square Meals Wishes all its Readers and their Families a Very Delectable 2012!
      





Link to the original recipe -
Recipe sent to

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Whole Wheat Multi-Grain Loaf

This is a recipe from Martha Stewart and it is my first time with bread making. I make it a point to watch most of her shows, especially the new series Martha Bakes, in which she bakes some amazing goodies. The original recipe was for two loaves so I tried it with half the amount. Even though the procedure is slightly long, the end result is absolutely worth it.
I used a 9.3”x5.2x2.7 bread pan.
P.S. To all those out there who like dainty little sandwiches on slices with the crusts cut off…this bread is not for you. This is for those who love a thick crusty bread with a hearty flavour and an amazing crunch.

Ingredients
Yeast – 1 packet
Warm water – ¼ cup
Honey – 1 tbsp
Whole wheat flour – 3 cups
Ragi/rye flour – ¼ cup
Salt – 1 tbsp
Melted butter – 2 tbsps
Honey – 1 ½ tbsps
Water – 1 cup (approx)
Cooked wheat berries (whole wheat grain) – ¼ cup
Soaked bulgur wheat – ½ cup
Flax seeds – ¼ cup
Oats – ¼ cup
Sunflower seeds – 2 tbsps (I did not use this)

Method
Soak the wheat berries for at least 2-3 hours, in hot water before cooking. They can be pressure cooked, cooked in an open vessel on the stove or in the microwave. It does take some time to cook, so please do not forget to pre-soak.
Soak the bulgur wheat in some warm water for at least an hour. In a small bowl, whisk together the yeast, warm water and honey and keep aside. The mixture will bubble and rise as the yeast starts working. In a bigger mixing bowl, add the flours and salt and mix well. Add water, melted butter and honey and mix well. Add all the grains and the yeast mixture and knead well. Spray/oil the mixing bowl and place the dough in it. Oil a plastic wrap, cover the dough and place in a slightly warm place. I placed it in my oven with the light turned on. Leave it to rise for 1-1 ½ hours and it would have doubled. Remove the dough on to a floured surface, deflate it and place in the bread pan. Brush the top with egg white/water and sprinkle some flax seeds, oats and sunflower seeds (if using), cover with wrap and let it rise for another 30-45 minutes.
With peach preserves for a yum breakfast
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, reduce to 400 and bake the loaf for 40-45 minutes. And voila, your whole grain loaf is ready! From my experience, this bread can be enjoyed for breakfast, as a side for a salad or for dunking in your favourite soup. Bon Appétit.


Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Holiday Party

Last Saturday, my husband and I attended an office holiday party, held in a ball room of a huge hotel. It was a fun event, especially because we made some new friends, had some yummy food and last but not the least, a little dance session to top it all off. There was a raffle with prizes like Nordstrom Gift cards, Kindle Fire, an IPad and even a flat screen TV. We, unfortunately, do not have any sort of luck for such things, so we just sat back and watched others get the prizes :-).
The highlight, according to me, was dessert. There were six miniature desserts ranging from chocolate cake to fruit tart to pecan pie and cheesecake. They were absolutely delish.Here, take a look.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Beetroot Three Ways

During my weekend visit to the local Sprouts market I saw this bunch of beetroots with their leaves and couldn’t resist them. Both my husband and I are not big fans of the vegetable but I just had to buy them. Anyway, I set out to make beetroot sabzi and plain dal when I saw that the leaves were starting to wilt a bit, so I decided to use them too. Here is what I did.
Dal with Beetroot Leaves
Ingredients (Serves 2-3)
Finely chopped beetroot leaves – 1 cup
Masoor (red lentils)/Moong dal(split mung beans) – ½ cup (I used a mix of both dals)
Chopped garlic – 2 small cloves/ 1 big clove
Finely chopped onion – 2-3 tbsps
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Chilli powder to taste
Salt to taste
Oil – 1 tbsp
Water
Method
Soak the dal (s) in hot water for about half an hour to speed the cooking process.
Heat oil in a vessel; add the chopped onion and garlic to it and sauté well. Once they lose their raw smell, add the washed dal(s), chopped leaves, salt, turmeric and chilli powder and mix well. Pour enough water to cover the contents and cook until well done (20-25 minutes), while stirring occasionally. Add more water if the mixture gets thick during the cooking process. Serve hot with rice/rotis. Bon Appetit.

Beetroot Sabzi
Ingredients (Serves 2)
Grated beetroot – 1 cup
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Lemon juice to taste
Chilli powder to taste
Grated coconut for garnish
Oil
Method
Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. Once they start spluttering, add the grated beetroot, salt and chilli powder and mix well. Cover and let it cook for about 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat, add the lemon juice, garnish with shredded coconut and serve hot. Bon Appétit.  
The leftover sabzi went into my chapathi dough and made it back to my plate as beetroot chapathis :-)


Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Rice and Vegetable Fritters

I mostly manage to make just the right amount of rice for lunch but you know how there are those days when you have just a little bit extra. My husband and I do not like having rice for dinner so the rice eventually goes into the fridge to be used the next day.
Well, here is a better way to use up left over rice.  It is not the healthiest of options but it is pretty darn good for a cold, rainy, evening!
Ingredients
Rice
Chopped onions
Chopped bell pepper
Cheese (optional)
Besan (gram flour)
Maida(all purpose flour)
Chilli powder to taste
Salt to taste
Water
Oil for frying
Method
Mash the rice and add the onions, bell peppers, cheese (I used a jalapeno flavoured grilling cheese which I bought from a Persian market) and salt. In a bowl, mix equal parts of the flours, salt and chilli powder.  Add water and make a smooth batter (should not be too watery).
Heat oil in a pan. Make small balls out of the rice mixture, drop them in the batter and make sure they are completely coated. Fry until they are brown and crispy. Remove onto a paper towel and serve with ketchup/hot sauce. Bon Appétit.
Note –You can add other vegetables too, like carrots, peas, corn etc.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Brussels Sprouts Sabzi

This is my first time using Brussels Sprout and I have tried a really simple recipe that I learned from a cousin.
Ingredients (Serves 2)
Brussels sprouts
Finely chopped garlic – 2-3 cloves
Oil – 1 tbsp
Water – 4-5 tbsps
Salt to taste
Method
Wash the Brussels sprouts and cut the stems. Heat oil in a pan and add the garlic. Sauté until the garlic is cooked and add the Brussels sprouts. Add salt and water, mix well, cover and let it cook over medium heat until all the water is gone. If you feel that they are not tender enough, pour a little more water and continue cooking. Once they are done, roast for another 10 minutes and serve hot. Bon Appétit.
Note – The roasting can also be done in the oven and I shall update the details the next time I try it out. Please let us know if any of you try it in the oven.




Wednesday, December 7, 2011

My Experiments with Granola

Let me tell you about my new find, Sprouts Farmers Market! We received a newspaper advertisement for the store and it showed really low prices for fruits and vegetables. So my husband, mother-in-law and I visited the store and I was blown away by their fresh produce section and huge collection of organic juices, nuts, lentils, flours and more. We saw that they were selling oats by weight and that they had four barrels with different varieties. We bought small quantities of two to try out and liked one of them a lot. It was similar tasting to the quick cooking Quaker Oats, but slightly smaller in size. Anyway, we went back to the store and bought about four pounds of oats for my mother-in-law to take back to India…and guess what, by the time everything else went it, there was no space for the oats. So now I am left with oats to last me a year…oh maybe not that long :-).
This recipe was adapted from the granola recipe I saw on the Martha Stewart show two days ago.
Ingredients
Oats – 1 cup
Flax seeds – 2 tbsps
Vegetable/olive oil – 1 ½-2 tbsps
Honey – 1 tbsp
Light brown sugar – 1 tbsp
Crushed cashews – 1 tbsp
Crushed almonds – 1 tbsp
Cinnamon powder – ¼ tsp
Cardamom powder (for an India twist) – ¼ tsp
Freshly grated nutmeg – a pinch
Vanilla essence (optional) – ½ tsp
Raisins – 2 tbsps
Colourful candy like M&Ms or Gems (optional)
Method
In a mixing bowl, add oil, honey and sugar and vanilla (if using) and mix well (If the honey and brown sugar are not blending in, microwave for about 30 seconds and try again). Add the oats, flax seeds, nuts, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg and mix until well incorporated.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Spray/grease a flat baking sheet with oil and spread out the oats mixture evenly, making sure there are no big lumps. Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes while tossing them once in between.

Mine were not crisp at the end of the baking time because I had forgotten to preheat the oven, so I left them in the hot (turned off) oven for another 20 minutes and out came a batch of crunchy, chewy granola. Once it has cooled considerably, add the raisins and the candy and mix well. Store in an air tight container and enjoy as cereal for breakfast or a quick snack. Bon Appétit. 

Note – Granola will stay fresher longer if refrigerated.


Sunday, December 4, 2011

Froyo Anyone?

I had a lovely time last week when we had travelled to the Bay Area. I met with Gomathi after seven long months and we had a reunion lunch. It felt good to catch up. It is not that we don't keep in touch, but it was definitely a treat to be sitting in front of each other and yapping away to glory :-).

Coming to today's recipe, I had frozen yogurt for the first time about three years ago and I had a mixed experience.  The taste was amazing but I was shocked by the price. Most froyo stores offer self service stations so I followed the crowd, took a small cup, filled it with two flavours of yogurt, added some granola and nuts and handed it to the cashier. She weighed it and punched the keys on her cash register; out came a bill of almost $6. I was shocked..all this for some yogurt!!!
I finally decided to make it at home and here is what I did.
Ingredients
Thick yogurt – 1 cup
White/Brown sugar – 3-4 tbsps
Blueberries (fresh/frozen) – ½ cup
Water – ¼ cup
Method
In a small saucepan, heat the blueberries with water and 1 tbsp of sugar. Mix and simmer until the berries are cooked and start forming a sauce. Add more sugar if required. Simmer till the sauce thickens well and keep aside to cool.
As the blueberries cool, add 2 tbsps of sugar to the yogurt and whisk well to make a smooth mixture.  Once the blueberry mixture has cooled a bit, add it to the yogurt and pour into a freezer proof container and freeze. Keep stirring every hour, for the first few hours (to avoid formation of ice crystals). Bon Appétit.
Note – You can use other fruits like mangoes, bananas, strawberries etc., to suit your palate. You might want to puree the fruits before adding them to the yogurt, unless you like biting into pieces.

My Froyo had a makeover and became a breakfast smoothie. Just add some low fat milk and blend!

Favourites