When the cookie monster attacks you, you can't just eat one and leave it especially these cookies :),  That's how my kids feel when they eat these cookies.  My children have declared that  this is the best cookie their mamma makes.  This is the best oatmeal cookies you can dream off.  I mean you can think off.  I would actually like to dedicate this cookie to my dear friend Madhuri, she loved them so much, she kept pestering me to post the recipe ( this was around 2 years back!! ) at last I made it to the blog!. I have been making these from around 3 to 4 years back, I know I never posted it.  It was usually in a jiffy I used to make it for some reason or the other, either to pack it for my kids or gift it to somebody and never got time to take photos, Oh! No, I did once but they were crap so discarded them.

These cookies are a killer combination, I would say combination made in heaven. If you have visited my blog you would notice that I love orange and chocolate combination a lot, works out perfectly a match made in heaven. I would say just like Tomato, Mozzarella, and Basil on a Bruchetta.

 I would actually like to dedicate this cookie to my dear friend Madhuri, she loved them so much, she kept pestering me to post the recipe ( this was around 2 years back!! ) at last I made it to the blog!. I have been making these from around 3 to 4 years back, I know! you did guess it right ? I never posted it.  It was usually in a jiffy I used to make these cookies either to pack it for my kids or gift it to somebody and never got time to take photos.  Oh! No, I did once but they were crap so I have discarded them.  Now, don't go there, I know what you are thinking :), do you (me) rate that these cookie photos are good? well, then I would say to my caliber I think they are Ok! Aha...

This is my top notch recipe. Everybody who has tasted my cookie love it.  I have always got a good feedback from everybody.  You should try it out and tell me if you like it.  Baking cookies is an easy peasy job and also kids would love to get involved, They are all grown up now and they don't get time to do things which they enjoyed when they were little.

Did I tell you, we had been getting some jobs done in our house and we had people working for various jobs and I fed them with my cookies and asking them about how they would rate it.  I remember one chap thinking!! he started munching and went on saying Mmm.., these are really delicious I can get the taste of orange and it really is crispy and chewy and very tasty.  This was my recent appreciation which I received from somebody whom I never knew before because I told them I was a blogger and would really appreciate their honest opinion.  what else would I need, one happy satisfied baker, they even asked me for the recipe!

Orange, Oates, Raisin and Chocolate chip Cookies

Recipe Author: Jayasri
Recipe Type: Breakfast/Tea-time snack
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Shelf time: 4 to 5 days
Makes: 15 to 18 cookies

Ingredients:

1 ¾ (175 grms) Cup Rolled Oats
50 grms ( 1/3 cup) Whole wheat flour (atta)
75 grm Butter
½ tsp Baking powder
1/8 th tsp Baking Soda
1 Cup Orange Juice ( from 2 Oranges)
2/3 cup Brown Sugar
¼ cup Raisins (dried grapes)
¼ cup Chocolate chips
2 to 3 tbsp of Orange zest

Method:

Zest the Oranges, Squeeze the Orange juice ( I got nearly one cup of orange juice minus 1 tbsp) and keep aside

Take a large bowl take butter and sugar blend them well until well combined.  To this add Oats, whole wheat flour mix them with your hand until they resemble like crumbs to this Baking powder and Baking soda. Mix well.

Mix Oats, whole wheat flour , Baking powder and Baking soda. Take these dried ingredients and mix well with the above mixture using your hands they will resemble like crumbs.

Add Orange juice and zest and make it into a dough-like consistency, to this add chocolate chips and Raisins.

The dough will be a bit sticky not to worry it will be fine.  At this stage put it in a refrigerator for 1/2 to 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees for  15 minutes.

Take a cookie sheet place a parchment paper, using a scoop make round balls and flatten them a bit and place them on the sheet with a gap of 1 to 1/2''.

Place the cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes depending upon your oven temperature.  you will notice that it is turning into golden in colour.  Take it out and allow it cool, before munching.

Notes:

1. I have baked these cookies many  times in different ways.  I have used just oats only without any flour and it turns out really well.
2. You can bake it with one large Egg if you like to use egg in your baking.
3. You can substitute all-purpose flour instead of whole wheat flour.
4. So, which Oats to use? you can use any Oats, I use porridge oats or Rolled oats, If the Oats are thick just grind it into a powder and use it as needed.

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Orange, Oats and Raisin chocolate chip Cookies - Eggless

These cookies are so delicious with the goodness of Oats and Raisins and with bursting flavours from the Oranges

Course Breakfast/on the go

Cuisine International Cuisine

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 15 -18

Author Jayasri

Ingredients

• 1 ¾ 175 grms Cup Rolled Oats
• 50 grms 1/3 cup Whole wheat flour (atta)
• 75 grm Butter
• ½ tsp Baking powder
• 1/8 th tsp Baking Soda
• 1 Cup Orange Juice from 2 Oranges
• 2/3 cup Brown Sugar
• ¼ cup Raisins dried grapes
• ¼ cup Chocolate chips
• 2 to 3 tbsp of Orange zest

Instructions

• Zest the Oranges, Squeeze the Orange juice ( I got nearly one cup of orange juice minus 1 tbsp) and keep aside
• Take a large bowl take butter and sugar blend them well until well combined. To this add Oats, whole wheat flour mix them with your hand until they resemble like crumbs to this Baking powder and Baking soda. Mix well.
• Mix Oats, whole wheat flour , Baking powder and Baking soda. Take these dried ingredients and mix well with the above mixture using your hands they will resemble like crumbs.
• Add Orange juice and zest and make it into a dough-like consistency, to this add chocolate chips and Raisins.
• The dough will be a bit sticky not to worry it will be fine. At this stage put it in a refrigerator for 1/2 to 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees for 15 minutes.
• Take a cookie sheet place a parchment paper, using a scoop make round balls and flatten them a bit and place them on the sheet with a gap of 1 to 1/2''.
• Place the cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes depending upon your oven temperature. you will notice that it is turning into golden in colour. Take it out and allow it cool, before munching.

Notes

I have baked these cookies many times in different ways. I have used just oats only without any flour and it turns out really well.
You can bake it with one large Egg if you like to use egg in your baking.
You can substitute all-purpose flour instead of whole wheat flour.
So, which Oats to use? you can use any Oats, I use porridge oats or Rolled oats, If the Oats are thick just grind it into a powder and use it as needed.

The post Orange, Oats and Raisin chocolate chip Cookies - Eggless appeared first on My Veg Fare.

Tomato Juice! Some things are very simple in life, but these are not just simple but rich in Vitamins A & C, minerals and rich in Fiber!
Some simple things you don't even think that it ever existed until you miss it.  It may be anything in our life.  Do you know what I am talking about? It's always food.  In this episode, it's a drink!  I have never missed this simple drink at all.  Every summer reminds me of this drink,  which mum used to make it for us when we were little.

My Mom was a working woman, she used to be very busy as she was a teacher, she always had lots of school things to do and had to take care the three of us.  My Dad always helped amma in her housework, it was a really beautiful home set up, feels like I want to go back to those good old days. We had our breakfast time, school time, lunch time, Hometime, snack time and the best was our Dinner time!  All of us would sit together and share each other's stories about the whole day.  I really miss those days so much.

When I started my own family I wanted to it be the same way eating together as a family but it never happened. When my kids were very small it was only the kids and me, we lived in a joint family so in batches everybody used to have food.  After coming here we started having food as a family again.  But,  this has changed again now as my kids live elsewhere for their education, I eagerly wait when they are back for their holidays.

 A simple drink as this brings me lots of memories.  Summer means hot weather and cool drinks, and of course travelling to Mysore to my Aunt's place almost every vacation.  Uncle used to buy loads of fruits especially Mangoes and my favourite

Isn't it funny? a simple drink as this brings me lots of memories.  Summer means hot weather and cool drinks, and of course travelling to Mysore to my Aunt's place almost every vacation.  Uncle used to buy loads of fruits especially Mangoes and my favourite was Jackfruit.  Oh! such a nostalgic feeling thinking of all those days.  Wish they all come back once again in my life. Only if wishes were horses....

So, Back to Tomatoes yes! they were one such fruit which would turn into a drink when summer knocked on the door, mum always used to whizz it up quickly for us, when she didn't have time,  as they are a staple fruit (veggie) in any Indian home.

Here is the simple recipe for this juice.. drop in some Ice cubes and have a cool summer!!

Recipe Author: Jayasri
Recipe Type: Juices/Drinks/Mocktails
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Serves: 2

Ingredients:
3 Medium sized tomatoes
1 Orange
1/2  Lemon/Lime
5 to 6 tbsp of demerara Sugar
1 to 2 cups of water

Method:

Chop the Tomatoes
slice and squeeze the juice of 1 Orange
slice and use one-half of a small lemon/Lime juice
Put the tomatoes, juices of lemon/lime and orange and then the sugar in a blender and blend it well using a sieve strain out all the juice from it throw away the residue.
Serve them in nice tall glasses with Ice cubes and garnish it with mint.
Enjoy your summer with this delicious simple drink.

Notes:  You can skip the sugar and drink just like that or add Honey/Agave syrup and make it more healthier.  You can add a dash of salt and pepper to it.  Otherwise, go the other way round and add a dash of salt and pepper.

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Tomato Juice - A simple Juice

A simple delicious healthy drink, which makes your summer much cooler and keeps you hydrated

Course Juices/Drinks/Mocktails

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author Jayasri

Ingredients

• 3 Medium sized tomatoes
• 1 Orange
• 1/2 Lemon/Lime
• 5 to 6 tbsp of demerara Sugar
• 1 to 2 cups of water

Instructions

• Chop the Tomatoes
• slice and squeeze the juice of 1 Orange
• slice and use one-half of a small lemon/Lime juice
• Put the tomatoes, juices of lemon/lime and orange and then the sugar in a blender and blend it well using a sieve strain out all the juice from it throw away the residue.
• Serve them in nice tall glasses with Ice cubes and garnish it with mint.
• Enjoy your summer with this delicious simple drink.

Notes

You can skip the sugar and drink just like that or add Honey/Agave syrup and make it more healthier. You can add a dash of salt and pepper to it. Otherwise, go the other way round and add a dash of salt and pepper.

Tomato Juice - A simple Juice

Recipe Type: Juices/Drinks/Mocktails
Cuisine: Indian
Author: Jayasri
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 5 mins
Total time: 15 mins
Serves: 2
A simple delicious healthy drink, which makes your summer much cooler and keeps you hydrated
Ingredients
3 Medium sized tomatoes
1 Orange
1/2 Lemon/Lime
5 to 6 tbsp of demerara Sugar
1 to 2 cups of water
Instructions
Chop the Tomatoes
slice and squeeze the juice of 1 Orange
slice and use one-half of a small lemon/Lime juice
Put the tomatoes, juices of lemon/lime and orange and then the sugar in a blender and blend it well using a sieve strain out all the juice from it throw away the residue.
Serve them in nice tall glasses with Ice cubes and garnish it with mint.
Enjoy your summer with this delicious simple drink.

The post Tomato Juice - A simple Drink appeared first on My Veg Fare.

I have been typing this post from a week! but something keeps cropping up, I kept writing it in bits and pieces,   I had almost done it and yesterday I thought Yay! I have done it and I can post, but  I lost everything as something happened and it didn't Autosave.  My internet has been playing up so much,  I am fed up.
Past week life has been so busy when the sun is up you just can't waste your time, my other passion is gardening, when summer is here the six months all my dormant plants come to life and they all need lots of love and care.   I am not really happy with the weather, it's the howling wind, which is giving me headaches.  I have this little green house, not anything expensive stuff but helps the purpose, the wind is so strong, I got so scared that it might bring down my greenhouse and all my hard work would be gone.
I am not really happy with the weather, it's the howling wind, which is giving me headaches.  I have this little green house, not anything expensive stuff but helps the purpose, the wind is so strong, I got so scared that it might bring down my greenhouse and all my hard work would be gone, last year we had the same kind of the wind which broke my fence.
This post had to be on the blog on 24th last month, I bake with few wonderful blogger friends who have the same ilk like me, baking bread is something we all love - We Knead to bake #27, Yup this our 27th Bread,   I haven't posted my breads which I baked these group for some time, after a long time here is mine, absolutely gorgeous bread thanks Aprana for this wonderful bread.  This bread has been Reproduced from  5oo Breads from Carol Beckerman, I have tweaked the bread with little things and I haven't changed anything much  I have used Khorsan Flour with the bread flour to make it bit healthier otherwise the recipe is just the same.
This is a Breakfast Bread, that's what I told my kids, but they just loved it, especially my son, he kept coming for seconds and thirds, he just couldn't stop with 2 slices!, Let's see how this bread is baked,
I baked this bread in a big loaf tin, this dough makes 2 loaves, I would definitely suggest you to use 2 loaf tins as suggested it makes 2 medium sized loaves.

AN ORANGE AND CINNAMON SWIRL BREAD
(Reproduced from 500 Breads by Carol Beckerman)

INGREDIENTS:
1 tsp Sugar
2/3 cup warm + 1/4 cup*
2 tsp dry yeast
450 grms Bread flours
100 grms Khorsan flour*
3 tbsp Sugar
2 Eggs
1/3 cup Juice and finely grated zest of 1 Orange
5tbsp Apricot Preserve
1 tbsp Cinnamon powder
1/2 cup Brown sugar
Oil for greasing

EQUIPMENT:
8'' X 4''  2 loaf tins

METHOD:
Grease two Loaf tins with oil, In a large bowl take 2 to 3 tbsp of water sprinkle 1 tsp of sugar and yeast, leave it for few minutes watch it when it starts to bubble up, so now we know that the yeast is active.  To this add, 3 tbsp of sugar, eggs and flour ( Sieve the flours together twice so that they are well blended together), zest, Juice, and water make it into a somewhat firm dough.
Knead this dough for 10 minutes to a smooth dough, take a large bowl oil the bowl and coat the dough completely with oil and leave it for 1 to  1 and 1/2 hours in a warm place until it doubled in size.
Once doubled punch the dough and knead it a few minutes until it is firm, Roll the dough into 6 x 13'' rectangles, spread each rectangle with Apricot preserve, cinnamon, and brown sugar.  Roll up each rectangle into firm jelly roll and place them in the loaf tins cover it and leave it for further 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven 200C (400F), [I preheated the oven to Gas Mark 3 and baked it at gas mark 4 as my oven gets very hot ] brush it with milk and bake the loaves for 30 t0 35 minutes until the loaf is golden brown in colour and the bottom when tapped sounds hollow.  Cool it on a wire rack, This recipe makes 2 loaves.

NOTES:
As I have used Khorsan flour and Bread flour I had to use an extra 1/4 cup of water, if using All purpose flour according to the Original recipe it uses 3 1/2 of Flour and 2/3 rd cup warm water or else you can just use bread flour and probably need the extra 1/4 cup of water

Enjoy and this is Yeast spotted

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We Knead to Bake #27 - An Orange and Cinnamon Roll

sweet and delicious, scrumptions on the go Breakfast bread

Course Breakfast

Prep Time 3 hours hours

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Total Time 3 hours hours 35 minutes minutes

Servings 2 Loaves

Author Jayasri

Ingredients

• 1 tsp Sugar
• 2/3 cup warm + 1/4 cup*
• 2 tsp dry yeast
• 450 grms Bread flours
• 100 grms Khorsan flour*
• 3 tbsp Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1/3 cup Juice and finely grated zest of 1 Orange
• 5 tbsp Apricot Preserve
• 1 tbsp Cinnamon powder
• 1/2 cup Brown sugar
• Oil for greasing

Instructions

• Grease two Loaf tins with oil, In a large bowl take 2 to 3 tbsp of water sprinkle 1 tsp of sugar and yeast, leave it for few minutes watch it when it starts to bubble up, so now we know that the yeast is active. To this add, 3 tbsp of sugar, eggs and flour ( Sieve the flours together twice so that they are well blended together), zest, Juice, and water make it into a somewhat firm dough.
• Knead this dough for 10 minutes to a smooth dough, take a large bowl oil the bowl and coat the dough completely with oil and leave it for 1 to 1 and 1/2 hours in a warm place until it doubled in size.
• Once doubled punch the dough and knead it a few minutes until it is firm, Roll the dough into 6 x 13'' rectangles, spread each rectangle with Apricot preserve, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Roll up each rectangle into firm jelly roll and place them in the loaf tins cover it and leave it for further 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven 200C (400F), [I preheated the oven to Gas Mark 3 and baked it at gas mark 4 as my oven gets very hot ] brush it with milk and bake the loaves for 30 t0 35 minutes until the loaf is golden brown in colour and the bottom when tapped sounds hollow. Cool it on a wire rack, This recipe makes 2 loaves.

Notes

As I have used Khorsan flour and Bread flour I had to use an extra 1/4 cup of water, if using All purpose flour according to the Original recipe it uses 3 1/2 of Flour and 2/3 rd cup warm water or else you can just use bread flour and probably need the extra 1/4 cup of water

The post We Knead to Bake #27 - An Orange and Cinnamon Roll appeared first on My Veg Fare.

Last few days Sun had been scorching hot, temperatures soared up so much I couldn't stand and cook in my kitchen as it becomes too warm there and I feel like running away to find some place cooler.  Any amount of water and juices wouldn't quench your thirst down, I feel like drinking something cold all the time.  I made some ice creams, kulfis, popsicles, juices and smoothies.  This smoothie is my favourite which  I make now and then when I get hold fresh Mangoes fortunately which are in season now otherwise when I crave for it I sometimes use tinned mangoes.  I have been eating lots of mangoes as well :), from markets here, they do not taste like the ones I get back home but, they are quite delicious.  When I think of mangoes I think of my hometown, as this is the  season you get loads of mangoes.  My sister has a Mango tree and she used to bring us boxes of mangoes every year, I have a photo of her Mango tree somewhere I should dig it out to share it with you all.

This smoothie was something I whipped once long back when I ended up with lots of Avocado when compared with these two fruits, Mangoes are more appealing to me, which one do you prefer?  Then off course I love the visual appearance of Avocado rather than eating it when compared with Mango.  I use Avocado in many ways it is such a versatile fruit just like a mango, it can be used either as sweet or savoury version, it adapts to anything very easily.

Avocado is definitely a super food, it is said to have a plethora of health and beauty benefits.  There are loads of research done upholding the facts about Avocados.  They are said to have good fat that is the Oleic acid found in Avocados can reduce LDL Cholesterol and Increase HDL Cholesterol.

They are rich in Vitamin E, it is rich in Omega-9 fats that repair damaged skin by reducing redness and irritation caused by Acne, you can use it as a face mask and use its skin as an exfoliator, Did you know it is said that the oil is good for your hair as well, it helps in regulating hair growth and prevent hair loss,  I use Avocado as a hair mask, apply mashed Avocado on to your hair leave it for sometime and wash it with a good shampoo. It is rich in potassium, Mono- saturated fatty acids, high in fibre, it is useful for people who suffer from the symptoms of Arthritis.

Did you know something about how to peel an Avocado and why is it so important? well, read further as there is an interesting fact to know about it. why peeling an Avocado properly is useful for healthy eating.  This information is from Whole foods (www.whfoods.org) Avocado and health benefits page.  To know more about this click on the link

The method you use to peel an avocado might make a difference to your health. Research on avocado shows that the greatest phytonutrient concentrations occur in portions of the food that we do not typically eat, namely, the peel and the seed (or "pit.") The pulp of the avocado is actually much lower in phytonutrients than these other portions of the food. However, while lower in their overall phytonutrient richness, all portions of the pulp are not identical in their phytonutrient concentrations and the areas of the pulp that are closest to the peel are higher in certain phytonutrients than more interior portions of the pulp. For this reason, you don't want to slice into that outermost, dark green portion of the pulp any more than necessary when you are peeling an avocado. Accordingly, the best method is what the California Avocado Commission has called the "nick and peel" method. In this method, you actually end up peeling the avocado with your hands in the same way that you would peel a banana. The first step in the nick-and-peel method is to cut into the avocado lengthwise, producing two long avocado halves that are still connected in the middle by the seed. Next you take hold of both halves and twist them in opposite directions until they naturally separate. At this point, remove the seed and cut each of the halves lengthwise to produce long quartered sections of the avocado. You can use your thumb and index finger to grip the edge of the skin on each quarter and peel it off, just as you would do with a banana skin. The final result is a peeled avocado that contains most of that dark green outermost flesh, which provides you with the best possible phytonutrient richness from the pulp portion of the avocado.

Coming back to the Recipe, This tropical fruit  blended with something incredibly healthy secret Ingredient which your kids wouldn't notice or I can say for fussy eaters who will never know what is in it, it's so yummy, creamy and thick.

VEGAN AVOCADO AND MANGO SMOOTHIE

INGREDIENTS:
1 Cup Pureed Mango Pulp*
3 Ripe Avocadoes
1 Cup Orange Juice
3 to 4 tbsp of fair trade Brown sugar*

METHOD
First of all blend y our Avocadoes which are cut into pieces use some orange juice if it is a bit difficult to blend into a lovely smooth consistency, once Avocadoes are smooth add the Mango puree and the remaining Orange juice and blend hem well with the sugar to a smooth consistency.
Increase adding extra orange juice or water if it becomes too thick.

For a variation:
You can add cream of coconut and some bits of Pineapple  to make it a complete tropical smoothie, you can even add Soya/almond/oats milk to make it more delicious.

* I used 2 mangoes cut them into chunks and blended it into a smooth consistency, you can even use tinned Mango pulp if fresh mangoes are not available.

If you liked it try it out and leave me a comment below  and also tell me how do you use Avocado in your  diet? Have you tried Avocadoes in any other way in your beauty techniques, Check out this blog for some baking recipes as well using Avocadoes

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Vegan Avocado-Mango Smoothie

Healthy and delicious, Tropical fruit blended with Avocado

Course Drinks

Cuisine International

Servings 5 Glasses

Author Jayasri

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Pureed Mango Pulp*
• 3 Ripe Avocadoes
• 1 Cup Orange Juice
• 3 to 4 tbsp of fair trade Brown sugar*

Instructions

• First of all blend y our Avocadoes which are cut into pieces use some orange juice if it is a bit difficult to blend into a lovely smooth consistency, once Avocadoes are smooth add the Mango puree and the remaining Orange juice and blend hem well with the sugar to a smooth consistency.
• Increase adding extra orange juice or water if it becomes too thick.

Notes

You can add cream of coconut and some bits of Pineapple to make it a complete tropical smoothie, you can even add Soya/almond/oats milk to make it more delicious.

* I used 2 mangoes cut them into chunks and blended it into a smooth consistency, you can even use tinned Mango pulp if fresh mangoes are not available.

The post Vegan Avocado-Mango Smoothie appeared first on My Veg Fare.

EGGLESS VEGAN ORANGE CHOCOLATE NUT BROWNIES 

 

Chocolate and Oranges in a brownie is the most addictive dessert to Indulge, These are Vegan and Eggless as well! I love this combination and I keep using it always in my bakes!

Vegan why?

Because I love trying out baking Eggless and vegan, it’s like an adventure to me! But, to tell you the truth, being born in a vegetarian house hold we never had eggs. That’s the reason I try to bake eggless, when venturing into eggless baking I wanted to try if I could make it vegan!

I was not planning on baking these, when my thinking was loud  that I am thinking of baking something, immediately kids called out from upstairs Brownies please...., Kids..? Uhh.,  don't get confused they are teenage children, anytime every time they love brownies especially my twins.
My eldest doesn't care for chocolates (Just like me!), can you believe? I have completely stopped eating chocolates from past 2 months.  I never used to eat chocolates before, coming here I had kind of got addicted to it, and I was eating chocolates everyday like a tablet! Now I have come back to my normal phase, (senses I mean!)  my only favourite chocolate was snickers, yeah you know why ! Because I love nuts, I love to eat anything with nuts from chocolates, cakes  to Ice creams but everything in limits though.

 

The days are getting shorter, and its becoming colder, weather keeps changing all the time, sometimes I think cold is much better than rain,  the worst part is the daylight, it doesn't seem to wait for me at all.  Baking becomes an obsession especially in winter.

Here comes my recipe, a quick brownie which is eggless and delicious.

EGGLESS ORANGE CHOCOLATE NUT BROWNIES
Recipe : Jayasri

Prep time : 20 minutes

Bake time: 30 minutes

In an other bowl take all the wet Ingredients and mix them well enough to this add the dry ingredients blend them all well together do not over mix.

Scrape this on to the prepared pan smooth it  and spread some nuts on top of it and bake it in the middle rack of the oven, until the skewer comes out clean for around 20 to 25 minutes.

The post Eggless Vegan Orange Chocolate Nut Brownies appeared first on My Veg Fare.

Hi everybody, Oranges and me have a great connection I think you might have noticed I have loads of Orange recipes in my blog, Oranges as we all know is good source of vitamin C, and I think this time of the year we definitely need it, Consuming Vitamin C rich food keep the cold away.., This also helps in the absorbtion of Iron when you are eating Iron rich food as well,  keeps the Haemoglobin content well.
Coming back to this cake, This is suppose to be a  Greek Cake which I got from a cakes and bakes Magazine, People in Greek bake this often and they love and enjoy it.  I searched few websites for this cake but ended up making from this magazine, as I liked the Idea of it.  Hope you like the Idea and enjoy it too.. as my family and friends did...
My Children loved it, they said it was sweet and moist, I made few changes adapting it to my way of baking, I have used silken Tofu in my bakes, but not to this quantity,  I tried and was quite satisfied, This particular cake was more interesting to me as I had  fruit in it and later on I decided to use cocoa powder in it so I could send it to Kalyani's Monthy mingle Chocolate and fruits, which I am posting it a bit late.  Check my notes for the changes I have made in this cake.
This cake stays moist for at least 5 days, no need to refrigerate it either (well I am talking about this climate)

KEIK PORTOKALI - ORANGE SEMOLINA CAKE - EGGLESS
Minimally adapted from Cake & Bake Magazine

INGREDIENTS: 
FOR THE CAKE
2 Medium Organic Oranges well Scrubbed
1/2 cup Olive oil
1and 1/2 Cup soft brown sugar
200 grms fine Semolina
1 Cup + 3 tbsp Mori Nu Silken Tofu ( around 300 gms )
50 grms Almond meal ( Powder )
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking powder
2 tbsp milk

FOR THE GLAZE:
1/2 tbsp Butter / vegan Butter
1/2 cup Icing sugar (confectioner's sugar)
1 tbsp of Milk / soy milk
1 tsp of Orange Blossom water
1 tsp of Orange juice

METHOD:
In a very hot water add two oranges in intervals of 5 minutes for 4 to 5 times keep changing the water that is after every 5 minutes throw away the water, use fresh hot water again and do the same way at least 4 times, this will remove the sourness of the orange skin. (even though not completely )
In a thick bowl boil the whole oranges in plenty of water until softened, almost about 1 hour in a low flame, with a closed lid which had a little hole in it. keep checking that they are well covered and keep adding hot water as needed.
Once it is cooked take out the Oranges, once they are cool, Quarter the oranges to ensure that there are no pips and seeds,  Puree the oranges skin and all in a blender or food processor until you have a smooth orange puree.
Grease a Bundt pan and coat it with flour and set aside.
Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4 / 180 degree**.
Take all the dry Ingredients and sift them well together except cocoa powder and keep it ready.
Meanwhile Blend Tofu**  in a blender or Mixer until smooth with 2 tbsp of milk (see notes)
In a large bowl, pour this Orange puree into it, to this add oil, sugar and well blended Tofu puree also into it.
blend them all well together.

To this Blended Liquid mixture add the dry Ingredients until well incorporated.
Divide this mixture equally into two bowls to one of this bowl blend cocoa powder to this set aside.
Take your Bundt pan pour one spoonful of the white (not exactly) batter next the cocoa next to it then the white batter and next the cocoa batter on the next step alternate each batter on top of it as the batter is not very stiff but bit liquidy it spreads.
Once all the batter is used up.
Place it on the middle rack and bake it in the oven for 40-45 minutes**.
Once done remove it from the oven and place it on a cooling rack, after 10 minutes, remove it from the tin and allow it to cool.
Then I made the Glazing and poured it on to the top of the cake and leave it cool down.
Slice and enjoy the cake...

NOTES:
Blend Tofu in a blender or a mixer without any lumps, then add 2 tbsp of milk blend again so it is smooth and silky.
I always bake my cakes and other baked products in Gas Mark 3 as my oven has very high temperature, even though I have given the universal cake baking temperature.
You bake with your oven temperature and also check the timings as well.

ORIGINAL RECIPE IF YOU WANT TO TRY OUT:
Original Recipe calls for 5 eggs, 185 ml Olive oil, 140 gms caster sugar, 250 grms fine semolina, 80 grms almonds chopped and few chopped almonds for decoration.
This recipe also uses syrup to pour on to the cake after it is baked. for this syrup 125 grms caster sugar, juice of 1/4 lemon and 1 tsp orange blossom water

This recipe goes to my Bake-a-thon event by Champa and check out Priya, Suman, srivalli and Preethi

Sending this also to Kalyani's Magic Mingle - Chocolate and fruits 

The post Orange Semolina Cake - Keik Portokali - Revani (reh-vah-NEE) - Eggless appeared first on My Veg Fare.

Hi, everybody it is SRC time again, I am sorry for not linking my blog right on time, My laptop, froze and as I had not scheduled my post to go on time just because , I was planning to publish as I was at home. well, I am really sorry about this but, definitely here is my post.  I would never miss SRC as I love this secret club, It makes me delighted and going through the blogs I get assigned to every month, I get the whole month browsing every recipe and wonder which one should I choose.
Suzanne my hostess assigned me to Judie's blog - Gluten Free with Judie, An to  A-Z   gluten free blog, there is not a second thought to it. You want to know anything and everything about Gluten Free and lot more things she has it right their in her blog, I have bookmarked so many pages to study about lot of things, I had not decided what to try out from her blog, and decided at the last minute that's yesterday!!.  I had invited my friends, she is pregnant and would be leaving to India soon and made this little dessert - Panna Cotta to her with a whole some menu of Indian food and made International Italian dessert !!Only with  less sugar, as she doesn't like anything sweet. I have increased the amount of sugar when writing it here with a 1/4 cup more so do need to check out before you like to increase the sweetness in it.
Coming to the recipe, I made it vegan, and made a Orange syrup to go with it, which was perfectly delicious, Chocolate and Orange is a fantastic combo.
Thanks Judie for this wonderful recipe.., everybody at home enjoyed it..., Here is how the recipe goes...

VEGAN CHOCOLATE AND COCONUT PANNA COTTA WITH ORANGE SAUCE

Recipe Source: Judie's Blog with Changes

INGREDIENTS:

Makes 6 Ramekins

2 cups of Fresh thick Coconut milk ( you can even used coconut cream )
1 cup Soya milk
3 tsp Agar - Agar Powder
2 tbsp Warm water
3 tbsp Coco powder
1 tsp pure Vanilla extract
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
3/4 cup Fair trade Palm sugar / brown sugar

Recipe Source: Original

ORANGE SYRUP
1/2 Cup Orange juice
1/4 Cup Sugar
A Pinch of Orange colour

METHOD:
Soak Agar - Agar powder in the warm water from few minutes, Meanwhile In a bowl take coconut milk and soya milk and heat them whisking continuously with sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon powder and dissolved coco powder.
Add soaked Agar - agar powder into the bowl and keep stirring for few more minutes and boil in a medium flame and immediately put them in individual Ramekins.
Once it comes to the room temperature place them in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours to set.

To Make Orange Syrup: 
Meanwhile make your Orange Syrup, In  a bowl add all the Ingredients under Orange syrup and simmer it in a very low flame for 15 to 20 minutes in becomes slightly thick and your syrup is ready it has a tangy Orangey taste to it.  Once done keep it covered until needed.

After 2 to 3 hours place the Ramekins in a hot water for few seconds and with a sharp knife or fork turn it around the inside of the ramekins just to release them from the ramekins then tilt it over on to a plate, Place few Oranges I placed clementine slices and poured the orange syrup over them and served them..

My kids felt it was good but not too good as it was not very sweet as they have a horrible sweet tooth, and when ever I use brown sugar it doesn't give you much sweet so you need to increase the quantity of it, that's the  way they  like it!!, so you can increase the sugar level if you have a very sweet tooth.
It turned out really well and came out clean without any trouble at all..
Do please check out her blog for the original recipe, she uses gelatine, as being a vegetarian I did not want to use gelatine, Agar- Agar acts just like gelatine and can be used instead of it in any recipe which calls for gelatine, you can find these in any Asian or may be health wise shops.
Agar - Agar is made from a sea weed and is a best substitute for gelatine and suitable for vegan and vegetarian recipes..

Check out all my other SRC members below who have created so many recipes..some of them you might want to book Mark!!
Sending this to Ayesha's cook eat delicious desserts - milk started by Raven
and to Vardhini's Kitchen Chronicles - only Vegan event started by Kalyani

Update:  I won a cookbook from Raven for this Dessert Yay!!, 

The post Vegan Chocolate & Coconut Panna Cotta with Orange Sauce appeared first on My Veg Fare.

Hi Everybody, Hope you are all doing well, It's been about a month or so I posted anything in my blog!, I had completely deserted my blog, poor thing :(, my kids kept asking me, mom won't you post anything at all..., So here I am again..., I would have still postponed my coming back, If it wasn't for SRC.  Yup  it's SRC time again, and I am sitting and typing this late in the night, as I did not want to orphan a blog, whenever I read a blog was orphaned because of some reason, I always keep reminding myself I will not let down our team, it's team spirit you see hahaha :).
Moving, cleaning, organizing, setting up Oh! yes been a hectic schedule from past one month...Yes I moved into a new home the beginning of December and I had no net connection and my house was not a home with things lying around everywhere and It's been so hectic, kids having their exams so help from their side was almost nil, so H and me had more share of work to do, Of course kids would bring in stuff when I packed everything, with this I had to sort out my kitchen so I could stir out something and eat, I did a bit of baking, I had a Electric cooker, I was scared to bake in it, but felt good when I baked, I thought baking much quicker than the Gas cooker, but my stove top cooking took long so last week I changed the cooker back to Gas. well, I am getting there.., sorting out everything.., tired long hours of hard work.
Oops let me stop here, I think you all know about SRC - The Secret Recipe Club by this time, started by Amanda now co-hosted by Jane, Tina, Angela and Tami.
I have been a good girl and promptly participating every month without missing..., I am in Group C and Angela of Big Bears wife being our hostess had assigned me to  Josie's Kitchen, A very lovely blog, Josie - I liked the way she writes, so homely I thought, she writes and blogs about all the things about her family, food and the way she enjoys cooking, baking and even her mishaps which makes it more nice, I being a vegetarian had very few options in her kitchen, so I looked into her baking section (well I think you know by now I love baking, can't help it) the first thing which caught my attention was her Pumpkin flan, as I always If I am going to try anything from anybodies blog, I like to try their family recipe or their original recipes, and this she says is her family recipe, but the thing missing was the flan tin which I couldn't find it anywhere here (I only searched nearby my place! around 10 miles), then I loved her Rainbow cake it's beautiful with so many colours, hats of to her patience, she says she uses her Dominican Recipe for this cake, well, I never dared to venture that as I was short of time and above all patience.., So as you can see I made these Orange and  Ginger cookies -  funny thing, I seem to get stuck to orange all the time, I have to post a few of them which are in my draft, and did I regret nope, I baked them enjoyed every bit of it, so delicious they were, My kids first holiday cookies....Only I did make a few changes to the recipe not much but a tiny twist.
As it said Orange and I saw all these oranges lying around in my kitchen basket I just decided why not use the oranges so here is my recipe..., Please do not laugh at my photographs as it is very late in the night and I couldn't do anything better in my mobile phone camera, If you want to know the truth  JUST BAKE IT....ORANGE AND GINGER COOKIES - EGGLESS

Recipe Source: Josie's Kitchen adapted with minimal changes

INGREDIENTS:
4 oz butter
1 3/4th Cup Self Raising flour
2/3rd cup Sugar
1 tbsp Dried Ginger
Pinch of Salt
1/2 Cup Golden Syrup
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 Egg (which I omitted)
Orange Rind from One Orange
1 Orange
9 slices of Terry's Orange chocolate

ORANGE SYRUP
I made a Orange syrup Kind of I really don't know what to call this, I took one orange grated the rind then sliced of the white skin from the orange then sliced them into thin rounds. Took a thick vessel added one cup of sugar and one cup of water then added these Orange circles into it and boiled them for around 1/2 an hour in a low flame, and kept aside to cool.

METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 325 degree F/Gas mark 3
In a large bowl I took the grated rind of orange, sugar, Golden syrup, Dried Ginger,  melted Butter, salt and  Baking soda  mixed them well together.
Then from the Orange syrup I took out the Orange segments added them into the bowl and mixed them thoroughly kind of mashed them not too much though.
Then chopped Terry's Orange chocolate added them to the bowl with the self raising flour, mixed them thoroughly
Lay a butter paper/Baking parchment on a Baking sheet and put a spoonful of the batter with giving 2 and 1/2'' apart as this spreads!
(The first time I baked I hadn't given not too much space and even spread them a bit, was a little mess, they spread so big)
Keep an eye on them bake around 8 to 10 minutes and take it out to cool down
Not to worry they peel out nicely., may be a little bit sticky, might be because of the fresh fruit in it, and the cookies were quite a bit on the softer side.
Next time I want to bake with whole wheat flour may be a bit extra flour and may be they might turn out harder, but nonetheless the cookies were damn good and with a Gorgeous smell.

I was careful the next time,  just a dollop of the batter and baked them.... they came out cute.., but none was left when I came back to take photos!.
The biggest culprit was H, as it was more on the sweeter side, he couldn't resist, I know all of them would be gone by morning as they holidays and they are sitting and watching a movie..

Thanks Josie your Holiday cookies were enjoyed by family and friends hoping to make these soon and take it to my sis for christmas party.....

Here are a few of my favourite things baked my lovely blogging buddies from our team of SRC... check out...
c you soon with an other recipe soon.....

 

The post Orange and Ginger Cookies with Terry's Orange chocolate - Eggless appeared first on My Veg Fare.

Well, well, well this was a difficult situation I was in and few more like me who are vegetarians and vegans, as Suet is made from meat!!, Even though here they sell a vegetable suet by Atora, I had never tried it and really did not know how it works, May be someday I might give it a try!!, But then Esther, was a wonderful host who wanted all of us to participate and was she flexible, yes!!, she was very !!!, she wrote that she wanted all of us to bake I mean Steam away or Bake or however you know how to make a pudding!!, and yes here we go we all had free reins so we could just make whatever we wanted!!
If you are interested on how the suet is made check out in Esther's blog or visit the main Kitchen where loads of our Daring bakers have contributed to stuning puddings to feast your eyes!!
I just wanted it to be atleast in something realtively near so I really wanted to Steam and see how the pudding tastes and looks!!, I was so surprised that it turned out very well..., Here is my pudding recipe...
This recipe after searching so many books I found this one, which attracted me for two reasons one by the look of it and the other was it had dates in it!! The most loved dry fruit by me....!!!,This book is a collection of Desserts and doesn't have an author.., whoever found this one won my heart and of course my family and friends who enjoyed it, especially my H who said, it was simply Gorgeous and had a generous second helping !!! as it was quite sweet...
Sorry once again I have to apologise the not-too-tempting-clicks!!, But they were really too yummy!!, you all must give it a try.

CHOCOLATE, ORANGE AND DATES PUDDING

 INGREDIENTS:
100 gms Golden Caster Sugar
2-3 Seedless Oranges
200gms Unsalted butter, softened
200 gms Dark Muscovado sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed Oranges ( I used 2 tbsp)
3 tbsp of fine-cut Orange Marmalade ( I used home-made Marmalade from my previous recipe)
3 Eggs beaten
1 tbsp Orange-Flower water (Optional)
150 gms Plain Flour (I used 100 gms Plain flour + 50 gms Quinoa Flour)
50 gms Unsweetened Cocoa powder
2 tsp of Baking Powder
150 gms ready-to-eat dates, chopped

Served 7 !!

METHOD:

First make a sugar syrup, pour 150 ml water into a small sauce pan and add the caster sugar. Cook over gentle heat until dissolved.

Slice each Orange thinly into about 6 neat slices. Submerge them in the sugar syrup. set a disc of  non-stick grease proof paper on top and simmer gently for 30-40 minutes. Lift the Oranges out with a slotted spoon and drain on a wire rack. Boil the syrup until reduced by half.

Line the base of the pudding basin with a disc of non-stick greaseproof paper. Place the best Orange slice on top of the disc, and use the rest of the slices to line the sides of the basin.

In a large bowl, cream the butter, muscovado sugar and orange zest using an elctric whisk, until light and fluffy.

Beat in the marmalade, then gradually beat in the eggs and orange-flower water, if using, mixing well between each addition. Sift the floour, cocoa and baking powder into the egg mixture and fold in.  Finally fold in the dates.

Spoon the mixture into the basin, It should come about three-quarters of the way up the sides.  Smoot the surface and cover with a disc of non-stick greaseproof paper.  Take a large sheet of aluminium foil and fold it in half.  Make a pleat in the centre.  Press the foil over the side of the basin with the pleat in the centre. Press the foil over the side of the basin, tie around the top with string and trim away any excess foil.

The pleat will open out and allow the pudding to expand during cooking.

Stand the basin on a trivet in a large, deep pan and add enoough water to come at least 5 cm up the sides. Cover with a lid and simmer gently for 2 hours, topping up the water level from time to time.

Remove the foil and disc and insert a skewer into the centre of the pudding.  If it doesn't come out clean, re-cover and steam for a little longer.  Run a knife around the sides, turn out onto a dish and brush with syrup. Serve with what ever you enjoy!!!!.

VERDICT: I just loved Steaming this pudding as I had never done this before, Every one loved it!!, I used my pressure cooker to steam this pudding, I did not have a pudding bowl, so I steamed it in a pyrex bowl!!

I served with my Home made Mascarpone cheese, which I had learnt it in previous Tiramisu (which I did not make !!, just made the cheese) Daring Baker's challenge.

Home Made Mascarpone cheese cre'me:

50 gms Mascarpone cheese

150 ml Double cream

50 gms Icing sugar

I softened the cheese, mixed it with Icing sugar and added the creame and thoroughly beat into a soft sweet cream.

Here are some more clicks of my lovely chocolatey, orangy dates pudding....

My kids were saying it just tasted like the Orange chocolates sold exclusive only in UK, which is just like the orange segments, as if you are peeling an  Orange, So if you ever come to UK, do not forget to buy these Orangy chocolates.., as I heard from lot of people that you can get it nowhere!!
Enjoy!!!

The post Chocolate, Orange and Dates pudding for Daring Baker's challenge-April 2010 appeared first on My Veg Fare.