Valentine's Cupcakes

I took a Valentine's cupcake class over the weekend at Sur La Table . It was a two hour class and we baked three kinds of cupcakes. I don't think I should publish the recipes here ( copyright issues, not sure, why take a chance!), but they turned out great. The frostings were to die for, specially the Orange Cream cheese frosting. It was full of orange zest and absolutely citrus-y and delicious. Here's what we baked:

> Red Velvet cupcake with Orange Cream cheese frosting

> Devil's Food Chocolate cupcake with Pink Butter cream frosting (and the pink was not food coloring, but a strawberry puree. Yum!)

> Vanilla cupcake with milk chocolate frosting

The instructor was good, funny and shared lots of information on good baking tips etc. It was a fun class and I am looking forward to trying out one of these recipes at home next weekend for Valentine's day. Right now, I am thinking the Red Velvet cupcake. Just because the frosting was out of this world. But then again, I am a chocoholic, so it might be the Devil's Food chocolate cupcake!

Fried Corn in Spicy Gravy (Corn Koftha)

If you are a corn lover, this recipe is full of all that corn goodness! The spicy gravy balances the sweet corn really well.

Prep Time: 40 minutes (includes making the corn fritters)

Serves: 2

Ingredients: Corn (Frozen) - 1/2 packet, Onion (red) - 1 large, Tomatoes - 2 medium, Tomato paste - 2-3 Tbsps, Serrano peppers - 1 medium, Ginger - 1/2 inch piece, Garlic (optional) - 2 cloves,  All purpose flour - 1/2 cup, Canola oil or vegetable oil - 3 tsps +  enough for deep fry, Salt to taste, Coriander powder - 2 tsps, Cumin seeds - 2 tsps, turmeric - 1 tsp, cilantro - 3 Tbsps

Cook Away...

> To make the Fried corn fritters

     > Thaw the frozen corn, leave at room temperature for about an hour or so

     > Grind the corn to a coarse paste, add some salt while grinding and about a 1/4 cup of water

     > Heat a pan on medium high on the stove top and add enough oil for deep fry

     > To the corn paste, add the all purpose flour and fold in thoroughly

     > Make small fritters with the corn paste and deep fry till they turn golden brown

     > Set these aside on a paper napkin to soak up any additional oil

> To make the Gravy

     > Dice the onion, tomatoes, serrano peppers and garlic

     > Heat a pan on medium high and add 3 tsps of oil

     > Add cumin seeds to the oil and add the onions and serrano peppers and saute for a few minutes

     > Now add the garlic and grate the ginger on top and saute everything for a couple of minutes

     > Add chopped tomatoes and salt, turmeric and coriander powder and let it all cook for 5 minutes

     > Now add the tomato paste and about a cup of water and cook on medium high heat for an additional 5

        minutes

> Now add the fried corn fritters to the gravy and gently fold in so the corn doesn't break

> Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with rice or chapathis or naan !

No Butter Banana-Walnut Muffins

I was trolling the Internet to find a recipe for Banana muffins that are not loaded with butter/sugar. So after browsing through a few recipes from different sites, I came up with this one and the muffins turned out moist and yummy.

Prep Time: 40 mins (15 minutes prepping and 25 minutes baking)

Serves: 10 muffins

Ingredients:  Bananas - 3 overripe, Eggs - 1, Sugar - 1/3 cup, Applesauce - 1/4 cup, Vanilla extract - 1 tsp, All purpose flour - 1 cup, Baking soda - 1 tsp, Baking Powder - 2 Tbsps,  Walnuts - 1/4 cup, roughly chopped

Bake Away...
> Preheat the oven to 350 F
> In a bowl, mash the bananas and sugar until there are no big chunks. Add the egg and combine well
> Add applesauce and vanilla and fold into the banana mash
> In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking soda and baking powder
> Add this to the banana mash and gently combine everything
>Fold in the walnuts
> Line the Muffin pan with paper liners and scoop in about 2 Tbsp of mix into each tin
> Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean

My Thoughts..
> You could add a little more sugar if you want, I found that this was just right but most may find that they want more sweetness

Enjoy the delicious and healthy muffins for Breakfast or as a dessert!

Whole Grain Spaghetti with Ginger-Peanut Sauce

Last night, I wanted something peanut-y for dinner. At the same time something not too heavy in the tummy. And something that's quick and easy to make. And healthy...somewhat..So I do a quick glance around the pantry and I see some Peanut Butter and whole grain spaghetti pasta. So I throw this quick pasta together in less than 10 minutes and it turned out quite yummy.

Prep Time: 10 minutes (includes pasta cook time)

Serves: 2

Ingredients: Spaghetti  - 1/2 package (so around 7 oz??), Peanut Butter - 1/3 cup, Soy sauce - 2-3 Tbsps, Honey - 1.5 Tbsp, Hot water - 1/2 cup, Ginger - 1/2 inch , Red chilli flakes - 1 tsp, Toasted Sesame seeds - 2 Tbsps

Cook Away..

> Cook the Spaghetti according to the instructions on the package (The whole grain variety takes about 7-8 minutes to al-dente, so it's more than enough time to make the sauce)

> In a mixing bowl, add the peanut butter, soy sauce and hot water and whisk thoroughly until all the ingredients combine into a smooth creamy paste

> Now add the honey, red chilli flakes and grate the ginger on top and whisk some more

> Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and fold gently until all the sauce sticks to the pasta

> Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and serve hot!

My Thoughts..

> I didn't have any green onions on hand, but adding sliced green onions or bean sprouts will add that crunch to this pasta

> You can skip the chilli flakes if you don't want any heat in the dish

Enjoy!

Cranberry Orange Pancakes

The inspiration to try out this recipe came from Denny's! Yes, the diner Denny's. The hubs, daughter and I went to Denny's for a Sunday brunch not too long ago and they had a new item on their menu..Cranberry Orange pancakes and it sounded yummy. So I went ahead and ordered it and loved it. So of course, it was time to try it out at home a week or two later. So here's what I came up with..

(Will post the picture as soon as I can upload )

Prep Time: 10 minutes (for about 7 pancakes)

Serves: 2.5 (the half for a toddler)

Ingredients: Pancake mix - 1 cup, Dried cranberries - 1/2 cup, Orange zest - 1 tsp, Orange Juice - 1 Tbsp, Butter - 1-2 tsp

Cook Away...

> Make the pancake batter from the mix according to the instructions on the package

> Add the zest of a fresh orange to the batter

> Add freshly squeezed orange juice

> Mix the batter so everything combines well

> Add the dried cranberries and fold in gently

> Heat a girdle or pan on stove top and add the butter

> Pour about 1/4 cup of batter for one pancake

> Enjoy it with some maple syrup (or even without the syrup...since there is so much flavor in the pancake you will not miss the syrup on this one!)

Yum-my!

Out of sight, not out of the Kitchen!

I've been a "slagger" (Slacking Blogger!) for the last few weeks. I apologize to my 5 or 6 loyal readers for that :) . I have my list of excuses, a couple of them being a sick toddler and lack of sleep (due to the sick toddler!). It's been a particularly brutal winter here in the Chicagoland so far and it's not even winter yet officially! Big Fat UGH...But I have been cooking and have been trying out some interesting recipes. I will post the recipes soon. What have I been cooking? Cranberry Orange Pancakes for breakfast (yum), Pumpkin pancakes, Spicy Tofu and Green Bell Pepper stir fry (double yum), Cranberry Dhal (Indian lentils cooked with Cranberries)..how's that for some fusion cooking?! Watch this space for details on all these yummy recipes.

Until then, stay warm!

Cranberry Relish

This is a quick and easy relish/salsa that you can pair with Chips or even with the Curried couscous from the previous recipe I posted. As easy as throwing a bunch of ingredients in the food processor and giving it a quick whirl!

Serves : 6

Prep Time: 5 minutes (or less!)

Ingredients: Cranberries 2 cups washed, Red onion 1 (medium), Scallions 1/4 cup chopped, Serrano pepper chopped 1/2 tsp, Cilantro 1 cup chopped, Sugar (to your liking)

Blend Away...

> Add all the ingredients to the food processor and pulse a few times until everything is chopped but not a paste

> Transfer to serving bowl and serve with Chips or pair with any dish of your liking!

My Thoughts..

> Since cranberries are quite tart, I had to add about 1/2 a cup of sugar. You can adjust the sugar depending on how sweet or tart you want the relish

> Store it in the refrigerator right away if you are serving it later. It keeps nicely in the fridge for a few days

Enjoy!