Daring Bakers Challenge February: Flourless Chocolate cup cakes with No-Churn Pomegranate Ice Cream

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.They have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.The flour less chocolate cake was total chocoholic's delight,reminded me of the Chocolate Espresso Mousse cake I baked earlier,that was also flour-free.I...

Sweet Potato Pie with Caramalized Nuts topping

I reserve decadent pies just for potlucks or parties,if I happen to bake one just for ourselves,my hubby's(with exceptional sense of smell and aversion for solid fats) first query would be "Did you add butter in it?!",yes obviously, who ever heard of a pie without butter or shortening?,then he would just eat a miserly little piece,and the rest is for me.I have a very small appetite for desserts,can't...

Cauliflower Rice : Brown or White?

For someone(like me) used to eating soft white rice at all times,the switch to nutty brown rice a little challenging and also expensive ,considering its low supply and relatively higher price.But makes me wonder, shouldn't the brown rice be cheaper,because it involves lesser processing than its white make over,saving the energy costs of Industrial milling and process of fortifying with synthetic vitamins?.Be...

Orange Carrot Salad with Orange blossom(orange flower water)

The citrusy Orange carrot salad with the piquant Orange blossom is another one of those heart-healthy feel-good Mediterranean salads with fresh,dried fruits,nuts,herbs and vegetables with splash of flavorful olive oil.The Orange blossom(Orange flower water)is the most unique ingredient in the salad,made by distillation of fresh bitter-orange blossoms.Must be available in most Mediterranean or Middle...

Fennel Tea(Saunf Chai)

Fennel seeds are known to aid digestion.It not uncommon to be served with these aromatic seeds at the end of a masala(Spicy) Indian meal.Although this excellent mouth refresher can simply be chewed to get the most of its benefits ;its freshening taste can also be used to make fennel tea,which is soothing for sore throats and also relieves any discomfort from bloating or indigestion.Read more of it...

Investigating Trans fats :Margarine or Shortening or Butter,which is worse?. And Spiced-up Peach Mini-Tarts

Back when dangers of trans fat were unknown,none cared to check the food label for this unhealthiest kind of fat.Lots changed after discovering the link between the growing number of heart disease and the daily careless consumption of trans fats;every food label is now required to mention about the quantity of trans fat under the nutrition facts.What is a Trans Fat?Simply put,it an altered or processed...

Super Grain,Green Freekeh(wheat) Vegetable Pilaf

Green Freekeh(pronounced free-ka) ,the little known ancient grain of the Middle East(Eastern Mediterranean) has all the nutritive benefits to qualify as a super grain alongside Quinoa,Farro,Spelt and Amaranth.This green wheat is made by picking the wheat before its fully mature ; parching ,roasting and smoking in wood fire finally threshing and drying it.Since its picked young and involves less processing,Freekah...

Artichokes Hearts and Pimento Olives Rotini Pasta.

At first it seemed like an approachable vegetable with a pretty flowery structure,tempting me to buy it fresh rather than canned.Following the simple steps as this page,I started to cut this unusual vegetable hoping I'll be able to carve a fresh artichoke heart.But my amateur skill in cutting this vegetable was not sufficient to perfectly carve the artichoke hearts.So much for my experiments I ended...

Strawberry Cobbler With Orange Carrot Frozen Yogurt

Strawberry cobbler is another one of the delectable baking recipes I found in the Book Reader's digest Baking with Love,borrowed from the library here.The book is so cool,I'm not sure I'll ever return it back,I've already renewed it 8 times already now(almost 6 months).The Original recipe called for plums,but I used strawberries instead which are equally delicious ,in fact you could use any kind of...

Pomegranate Tabbouleh,a Blogger Aid Cookbook Entry

Blogger Aid is a Social Network of International Food bloggers,founded by Val of More Than Burnt Toast, Giz of Equal Opportunity Kitchen and Ivy of Kopiaste…to Greek Hospitalilty to raise awareness and funds to alleviate hunger world wide .In there latest ambitious project, for raising funds, all foodies are invited to contribute to the Blogger Aid Cookbook.100% of the profit from sales will be...

Almond Cocoa with Home made Almond Milk(100% Dairy free), Almond milk Versus Cow's milk

Like many I assumed only dairy products milk\cheese\yogurt as good sources of calcium.Considering how big and powerful the milk industry is,people are made to believe that it is the only good source.Unless one chooses to become vegetarian for better health or search for alternatives due to allergies or lactose intolerance,the equally nutritive alternative sources like Soy ,Almonds, vegetables like...

Methi Masala Roti(Fenugreek Spice Flatbread) with Lasun(Garlic) Chutney

"Families that cook and eat together healthy meals,stay together"[My motto for healthy family] In my earlier post of Green Parathas with Tomato chutney I mentioned about how making Indian Flat bread(Roti\Parathas\Chapathi) was our family tradition,we never missed(and never bored) having them for breakfast throughout the year,except on Eid.Every member of the family were involved in making these...

Strawberry Milk Shake with Homemade Strawberry Syrup.And a POMWonderful contest Entry.

"Most people associate vitamin C with oranges, but if you look at oranges versus strawberries, ounce per ounce, strawberries actually contain more vitamin C than oranges." A Doc at Center for Human NutritionIn fact Strawberries have 58mg of Vitamin C verses 50 mg in Oranges.Not an exciting fact, for folks living were Strawberries are not readily available as Oranges.Growing up in bustling city...