Whats Cooking!!!!

Cherry picking season is almost over and this year because of COVID situation didn't get to make our yearly trip to cherry picking at Brentwood which takes atleast 1:30 hrs. But decided to go to the local farms here in Gilroy and this is what I say its the best example of blessing in disguise. The cherries were delicious, the place was not crowded, we did have to drive for more than 15 mins and were back way before lunch. "Eat local grown food" lesson learned :) Fresh Cherries Now we have all these fresh cherries what to do.... bake a cake , that's what you do. So here is a very easy simple recipe for cherry loaf cake. Ingredients : unsalted butter, at room temperature : 2/3 cup  granulated sugar : ¾ cup  eggs : 3 large Greek yogurt : 2/3 cup  All-purpose flour :  2 cups + 2 tablespoons  Baking powder : 2 teaspoons cherries :  1 1/3 cups  2 tablespoons brown sugar Process: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Butt...

Finally the season for fresh farm picked fruits and with it comes the delima of how to use all these beautiful fruits before they go bad. One of the fruits that go bad really soon is cherries. They are really delicious but had to consume a lot. Not advisable as well as it might lead to frequent visits to the loo :). So here is a very delicious and convenient way of using the cherries . A moist quick loaf with sweet cherries. Ingredients: Almond: 1 Cup Blanched and finely Ground All-purpose Flour: 1 1/4 Cups  Baking Powder: 1 Tsp Unsalted, Softened Butter: 1 Stick  Sugar: 3/4 Cup  Large Eggs:3  Ripe Cherries:2 Cups Pitted  and cut Into Quarters Procedure: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease an loaf pan In one bowl. Mix together the flour, salt and baking powder. In another bowl beat the butter with the sugar at medium speed with a hand or table mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one a...

Here is another variation of simple banana bread, that was a real hit with my friends. Ingredients: All purpose flour: 2 cups Sugar: 2/3 cup Baking powder: 2tsp Salt: 3/4 tsp Egg: 1 large Milk: 3/4 cup Vegetable oil: 1/3 cup Vanilla Extract: 1 tsp Ripe Banana: 1 cup mashed  Walnuts: 1 1/3 cup chopped Procedure: Preheat the oven at 350F In a bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl combine egg, milk, oil and vanilla and blend well. Add the the dry mixture to the wet ingredients stirring just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Flod in mashed banana and 1 cup walnuts. pour the batter into the greased pan. Sprinkle with rest of the walnuts. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let in cook in the pan for 10 mins. Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack. Slice and serve it with a hot cup of tea or coffee and enjoy. Till then happy blogging Rakhee

Its again that time of the year, the festival of lights Diwali is just around the corner. Homes would soon start smelling like sweets and snacks. The front yards would be decorated with beautiful rangolies and twinkling lights and diyas would bright the dark moonless night of Diwali. Here is an attempt on my part to help all my readers prepare something special this Diwali. Nan khatai is a Indian cookie. Ingredients: Maida ( all purpose flour): 1 cup Suji (semolina): 1/2 cup Baking soda: 1/4 tsp  Butter: 1/4 cup Sugar: 1/4 cup  Curd: 2 tbsp Milk: 4-5 tbsp (  use as required) Pistachio: chopped for garnish Cinnamon Powder: for garnish Procedure: Beat the butter, sugar, and curd together. Sieve the flour, semolina and baking soda together in a bowl. Add the butter, sugar and curd mix to the dry ingredients and mix well. Add milk little at a time and make a soft dough. Divide the dough into 20-25 small balls. Preheat the oven to 350F. Pl...

The Spanish omelette is a typically Spanish dish consisting of a thick egg omelette made with potatoes and fried in olive oil. There are so many variations even in one specific region but the most common is the one made with eggs, potatoes and onion. Ingredients: Eggs: 5 whole Garlic: 2-3 cloves minced Onion: 1 large chopped Potato: 1 large cubed Milk: 1/2 cup Salt: as per taste Pepper: as per taste Cheese:Mixed shredded 1/2 cup Olive Oil: 2 tbsp Procedure: Preheat the oven to 350F. In a skillet heat oil and minced garlic and onion to it. Cook onions and garlic  on medium heat 5 min., stirring frequently.  Add potatoes, cook for 5 min., stirring frequently. Remove from heat.  Coat a oven safe baking dish with little non-stick spray. Spread potato mixture to evenly cover bottom of skillet. Whisk eggs and milk until blended, pour over the potato and onions. Top with cheese. Bake 20 min or until center is set. Slice and enjoy with some toast a...

I know it's been some time since my last post. I have been little busy with our move into our new home. It's been a great experience and am thrilled to start cooking in my new beautiful stainless steel gas cook top and other beautiful appliances. I cannot wait to take some gorgeous pics and share with you guys. Till then here is a recipe for flour less chocolate cake. Ingredients: bittersweet chocolate: 2 1/4 cups coarsely chopped unsalted butter, cut into six pieces: 3/4 cup  more for the pan large eggs: 5 granulated sugar:  1  cup pure vanilla extract:  1 1/2  teaspoons salt:  1/4  teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder: 1/4 cup ,  more for the pan Procedure  Position a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 300 degrees F.  Lightly butter the bottom of a 9x2-inch round cake pan and line it with a round of parchment.  Lightly butter the parchment and the sides of the pan and dust with cocoa powder....

I was desperately looking for an easy and different vegetarian appetizer for the Christmas party when I saw the add for Pillsbury croissant rolls and different things you can prepare using the frozen rolls. So I decided to prepare the confetti pinwheels.  Ingredients: Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls: 1can (8 oz)    refrigerated seamless dough sheet Nacho cheese dip:  1/4 cup Finely chopped red bell pepper :  1/3 cup   Finely chopped green bell pepper :  1/3 cup   Chopped green onions:  1/3 cup   Procedure: Heat oven to 350°F. Unroll dough; separate into 4 rectangles and place it on a cold baking sheet. Firmly press perforations to seal.  As the heat from your fingers would start meting the butter in the dough, refrigerate it for easy handling. After 10 mins remove it from the refrigerator. Spread cheese dip over each rectangle to within 1/4 inch of edges. Sprinkle with bell peppers and onions. Star...

Holidays are here and what tastes better than a warm chocolate chip cookie with a warm cup of hot coco. So here is my take on chocolate chip cookie. Ingredients: all-purpose flour:1/4 cups  baking soda:1 teaspoon  salt:1 teaspoon  butter, softened:1 cup (2 sticks)  granulated sugar:3/4 cup  packed brown sugar:3/4 cup  1 teaspoon vanilla extract eggs:2 large   NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels: 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Procedure: Preheat the oven to 375° F. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.  Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.  Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire rac...

Tanmaya is the only one at out home who loves to eat a banana every day and when he left for his business trip last week, I had a bunch of ripe bananas sitting on my counter looking at me. I like eating bananas but not everyday and they overripe so fast. So I wanted to bake something. But I didn't want to eat the same plain banana bread.  So here I decided to make a chocolate version of the banana bread. Ingredients: Chocolate Cake mix: 1 package  Banana: 2 medium sized over ripe Milk: 1/2cup Refined Oil: 1/2 cup Vanilla extract: 1 1/2 tsp Coke: 1/4 cup Procedure: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven.  Butter, or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, a bread pan.  Set aside.  In another large bowl, whisk together mashed bananas, water, milk, oil, coke and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the cake  mix and stir, or whisk, until combined. You will notice that the batter ...

Its October and here comes the season of dressed up children screaming in the haunted houses, pumpkin patches, jack-o-lanterns  and witches flying on doors and windows. The shopping malls flooded with halloween costumes and new fall collections. Holidays knocking on the doors. One thing that you get in abundance during this time is Pumpkins, so why not use it to the fullest. There are many Oriya recipe that use pumpkin like santula, dalma, kahakaru bhaja and more.  But I decided to start with a  sweet recipe the pumpkin bread. Ingredients: all-purpose flour:1 2/3 cups   baking powder:1/2 tsp  baking soda:1 tsp  salt:1/2 tsp  ground cinnamon: 1/2 tsp ground ginger: 1/2 tsp ground cloves: 1/4 tsp unsalted butter:1/2 cup, room temperature granulated white sugar: 1 cup  pure vanilla extract: 1 tsp eggs: 2 large  canned pumpkin puree: 1 cup  orange juice: 1/4 cup  Procedure: In a large bowl, sift or ...

It was Tanmaya's birthday last week and like every year I made him a home made cake.  He is not a huge fan of chocolate cakes but I am so I had to find a middle ground. So I decided to try my hands on a black forest cake which is chocolaty but not too much and luck was a great hit with Tanmaya and all my friends. I fond this amazing website " Joy Of Baking " by Stephanie Jaworski that has amazing recipes for who love baking.  I picked up the recipe for black forest cake from her webpage and was successful. Even though my cake was not as perfect as hers but it was really yummy of a first timer :) For the recipe please click on  Black Forest Cake  . Doesn't my cake look beautiful!!! Do remember on tiny thing..... shave the chocolate little thicker so that they don't blow away when the birthday boys blows the candles, and spread all over your table and carpet!!! I hope you follow the recipe from Joy of Baking and many other beautiful recipes and let me...

I planned on making a lot of dished for this 4th July week but unfortunately was stuck up with loads of studies and work so could not execute the plan. So this is the last and 5th recipe for m 4th July cooking spree. A pot pie is a term for a type of baked savory pie with a bottom and top completely encased by flaky crusts and baked inside a pie tin to support its shape. An American pot pie typically has a filling of meat (particularly beef, chicken or turkey), gravy, and mixed vegetables (potatoes, carrots, green beans and peas).  The distinction between a pot pie and other types of savoury pie is specific to the United States of America.  There are so many recipes available on the internet for this popular American dish, but I decided to go with this one that I found on the Bisquick website as they are mini and can the serving would be very easy when entertaining a big group of people. Ingredients: Chicken Mixture  vegetable oil: 1 tablespoon  boneles...

 Even though I love italian food, I rarely make it a lot as Tanmaya is not into pasta so much. But I have this beautiful friend Jo who gets pasta for lunch often and makes beautifully. I got inspired and thought why not make some nice creamy pasta and give Tanmaya a taste of Italian food  and may be he would fall in love with it. I was right!!!! Ingredients: Pasta: 2 cups cooked Butter:50g Mushroom: 1 cup chopped Onion: 1 medium sliced Flour: 3 tsp Sweet Corn: 1/2 cup Milk: 2 cups Cheddar Cheese: grated 1/2 cup Salt: as per taste Freshly Ground Black Pepper: as per taste Spring Onion: 1/4 cup chopped Procedure: Cook the pasta as mentioned in the package In a pan heat 1/4 of the butter and fry mushrooms for 2-3 mins and remove from heat. In the same pan heat rest of the butter and add onion slices and cook for 1-2 min till soft. Stir in the flour to it and slowly add the milk to form a smooth lump free sauce. Increase the heat and bring it to a boil s...

There is never enough chocolate recipe in the world. So here is one more. I got the recipe from Better Homes and Garden magazine. Its gooey, warm, chocolaty, easy to make and fun to eat.  Ingredients: Bisquick Pancake mix : 1/2 cup Sugar: 3/4 cup milk: 1/3 cup Oil: 1tsp Chocolate hazelnut spread(Nutella): 1/4 cup Unsweetened cocoa powder: 1/4 cup Boiling Water: 3/4 cup Ice cream of your choice (I used vanilla) Fresh fruit or berry of your choice. Procedure: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl combine pancake flour, the 1/4 cup sugar. Add milk and oil. Whisk until smooth. Stir in chocolate-hazelnut spread. Divide batter evenly among six 5- to 8-oz. oven-safe bowls or ramekins. Place in a baking pan. Set aside.  I n the same bowl for the batter, stir together 1/2 cup sugar and cocoa. Gradually stir in boiling water. Pour evenly over batter in dishes. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into cake por...

As scary as the name sounds this cake is equally delicious. The easiest way to prepare a cake is to buy the mix follow the instructions and your are done unless you have restrictions like cannot use egg. Its a biggest turn off when it comes to baking.  Like happened with me , I wanted to bake a nice cake for my dear friend Shanta on her birthday but as I have mentioned earlier we all are vegetarian for the month of Kartik and egg was not a option. So I prepared the devils food cake with out cake and it turned out to very delicious. So decided to share the success with all of you. Ingredients: Devils Food Mix : 1 pack ( I used the one from Pillsbury) Milk: 1/2 cup Curd: 1/3 cup Vegetable oil: 2/3 cup Coke: 1/4 cup Procedure: Preheat the oven at 350 F. In a bowl mix the milk yogurt and vegetable oil. Slowly add the cake mix and mix in order to avoid lumps. As you keep add the mix the batter gets thicker.  Add the coke and keep mixing, till yo...

How many time has it happen that you crave for that chocolaty goodness of yummy  warm chocolate cake but for that either you have to drive down to a bakery or bake on on your own. That is a real mood killer. With me there is one more issue Tanmaya won't help me finish the cake and I would end up eating all of which is of course neither healthy nor figure perfect ;) Yesterday I found a great receipt for quick chocolate cake in a cup which would take exactly 5 mins and would give you a perfect 1 serving cake with just 2 items to clean afterwards. Least clean up is a bonus. Ingredients: Baking flour : 4tbsp Sugar: 4tbsp Unsweetened Coco Powder: 2 tbsp Milk: 3 tbsp Oil: 3tbsp Bitten Egg: 2 tbsp Chocolate chips: 2 tbsp Vanilla Essence: a dash. Procedure: Take a microwave safe coffee mug. Mix all the ingredients in the cup. Place the cup in the microwave and microwave for 3 minutes. You would see the batter start to crown over the top of the mug...

Banana is wonderfully sweet with firm and creamy flesh, prepackaged in its own yellow jacket and is available for harvest throughout the year.The banana plant grows 10 to 26 feet and belongs to the same family as the lily and the orchid. Like a neem tree all the parts of this wonderful tree is useful to us. Creamy, rich, and sweet, bananas are a favorite food for everyone from infants to elders. Sports enthusiasts appreciate the potassium-power delivered by this high energy fruit. Bananas are one of our best sources of potassium, an essential mineral for maintaining normal blood pressure and heart function. There are various ways in which this wonderful fruit can become a part of our meal, like as a fruit, or cooking the raw banana, cooking the flower, the stem..... Like a lot of fruits it can be used to make a great cake. So here goes the recipe for a nice yummy eggless banana bread. Ingredients: Baking mix : 2 cup Banana: 2 butter: 1 stick sugar: 1/2 cup Cashew : broken 1tbsp Procedu...

Isn't yummmmmm the first thought that comes to our minds when we here mango? The season for this delicious fruit has started and shops are flooded with variety of options tempting you to buy more even if a load is lying there at home :) Mango is a fleshy stone fruit originally from India. Mango is generally sweet, although the taste and texture of the flesh varies across cultivars, some having a soft, pulpy texture similar to an overripe plum, while the flesh of others is firmer. Every part of the mango is beneficial and has been utilized in folk remedies in some form or another. The ripe mango is anti scorbutic, diuretic, laxative, invigorating, fattening and astringent. The most delicious way to have one is in its natural form as a fruit :) But how many can one finish alone when they are lying in the refrigerator. So I decided to use few together in a cake. If you don't have fresh mangos at home you can always go for the store bought puree. Ingredients: 1 – 1/2 cups all purpo...