Welcoming 2010 with a Cypriot Olive, onion and herb bread and Sweet Potato baked "Fries" with spicy Mayonnaise dip

Hello everyone!!
Hope you all had a wonderful Shivaratri, Diwali, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Eid and New Year celebrations. Yes I know, can't believe myself that I have been gone that long!!
Well... I am back to blogging in good spirits, new positivity and hope. I appreciate all your support during my long absence and thanks for all your emails, comments enquiring about my safety, well being, for missing me and asking me to return to blogging. Better late than never, so here I am.

Here is my belated new year toast to all of you. Have a very happy, prosperous and healthy 2010. Be positive, surround yourself with good things in life, keep all the toxic people out and smile more. Cherish your families and friends. Cheers!! :)

Here is a healthy tasty savory bread I baked to start the New Year after many many months of not baking anything at all and also for Thanksgiving, I had bought some Sweet Potatoes. I thought I would try baking some fries instead of deep frying to serve with a spicy hot sauce Mayo dip. They came very good, tasty sweetish fries with spicy dip for appetizer or just to snack on.

Cypriot Olive,onion and herb bread:
Source for this bread recipe is "100 Great Breads" by Paul Hollywood, with my own modifications since some ingredients are in grams in this book and he used 30gms of fresh yeast instead of dry Yeast. I had to make some adjustments in the recipe to suit me.

You need: (Makes 1 big loaf or two smaller loaves)
1 1/2 packages of dry active Yeast (or about 1 1/4 tbsp),
1 1/4 cup water, (you may or may not need all the water)
1 tsp sugar,

3 1/2 to 4 cups white bread flour,
(you can mix white and whole wheat bread flour),
1 tsp salt,
2 tbsp Olive oil,

1/2 to 3/4 cup drained well and pitted, roughly chopped black Greek Olives,
(Kalamata or any kind of Olives you like),
4 tbsp chopped white sweet onion,
2-3 tbsp fresh mixed herbs or 1 tsp crushed dry mixed herbs,
(Author used 4 tbsp chopped Cilantro but I used fresh Basil and Parsley from my herb pots).
Mix the Olives, onion and herbs and divide into two portions. Keep aside.

To bake this bread:
1. Add yeast to 1/4 cup of warm water with sugar and let it foam for 10mins in a stand mixer bowl or any big bowl you are using to knead the bread.
2. Sift 3 1/2 cups of flour, salt and add oil. Mix well. Add Yeast mixture to it and remaining 1 cup water gradually as needed and use the kneader hook for 4 mins to knead or knead the dough well by hand until soft and pliable.
3. Add 1/2 cup of remaining flour only if needed to make a soft dough. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces, cover the bowl and leave it to rest for an hour in a warm place.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

4. Mix the herbs, Olives and onions, divide into 2 portions. Add each portion to each piece of dough and knead to mix well. Shape into rounds. I made one big oval shaped loaf instead of two. Place both pieces of round dough on the Parchment paper on the baking sheet.
5. Sprinkle the top lightly with some flour (optional) and cut a "X" on loaves to release the steam when baking or slash the bread across 1/4" deep as you see in the picture. Cover with a clean cloth and leave to rise again for 45 mins.

Preheat the Oven to 400F.

6. Bake the loaves for 30 to 40 mins or until baked golden and sounds hollow when tapped the bottom of the bread. Don't bake too long.
7. Let it cool completely on a rack before you store in a plastic bag like Gallon size Zip-lock bag.

Serve the toasted slices with soup or with cream cheese or with hummus. You can also serve the slices with grilled meats, Greek style Yogurt salad like Tzatziki. Enjoy.

******************************************************************************************************
Baked sweet Potato fries with spicy Mayo dip:
I baked these for Thanksgiving day. Deep frying the sweet Potatoes probably make them tastier, crispier and yummy I am sure. But I baked this time. Sweetish salty fries with spicy and tangy Mayonnaise dip go very well together. Enjoy.

You need:
2 Sweet potatoes, narrow and oval shaped would be good to make finger chips,
Enough salt to sprinkle. Coarse black pepper powder (optional).

To bake:

Preheat the oven to 400F

1. Wash the sweet Potatoes and dry them. No need to peel the skin unless you want to. Cut into 3 to 4" finger chips, about 1/2 " to 1" thick. Better to make them same length and thickness to bake them uniformly.
2. Layer them on a thick non-stick baking sheet, spray little Canola oil on top or mix the finger chips or fries with oil in a bowl and then layer on the sheet.
3. Bake in the oven for 30 to 40 mins or until fries are golden, cooked thoroughly and crispy. Oven time differs, so use your judgment to cook them.
4. When they are done, spread them on a cooling rack to cool them a little and sprinkle with salt and pepper to your taste.
5. Serve with spicy Mayo dip while they are still warm.

Spicy and Tangy Mayo:
1. Take 3/4 cup Hellman's Mayonnaise (light Mayo is okay too but I prefer the regular Mayo) in a bowl, add 2 tsp Sour cream, 1 tsp or more of Sri Racha hot sauce or any hot sauce you like.
2. Sprinkle 1-2 tsp of any fresh herbs you like or 1/2 tsp of Italian dry herbs, salt and pepper as need it. Some minced white sweet onion can be added too for crunch but optional. Mix well and serve as a dip with baked fries.

That's it! Beautiful to look at and very tasty appetizer or snack to serve.

*******************************************************************************************************
My thanks to my dearest friends!!
Sometimes life kicks you from your peaceful, happy slumber to wake you up to smell the "coffee" as they say. After you deal with the reality, in most situations, these experiences will help you change your life hopefully for the better, to make you appreciate more of what you have, realize who your true friends and well wishers really are and to find yourself again in the process even though I do not wish to repeat the last six months of 2009 ever again. Life will never be the same as before for me but I am sure it will be different in a good way. I hope, pray and wish that 2010 will be fabulous for all of us!

Here is a quote I like the most:

"A woman is like a tea bag- you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water" by Eleanor Roosevelt. Here are more of them from this lady.

I had few rough months last year since July (personal, nothing to do with blogging or any blogger), took me a while to deal with all that and recover in one piece. Some of my blogger friends (you know who you all are, I am not listing your names here for privacy reasons), my dearest friends from India, my family helped me a lot during this tough time with their advice and absolute support without judgment. I really do appreciate everything you did for me and a HUGE thank you from me to all of you. I feel privileged to have you as friends in my life.

Blogging/Blog surfing:
Since I am cooking just for two most of the time these days, I won't be cooking specially for any blog events except for very few ie only if I already have any dish to post for my blogs suitable your events. Event hosts, don't take it personally please. I don't feel like cooking just for events or even blogging that much anymore, trying to cut down cooking a lot these days too.
I am also not going to blog surf a lot everyday and will not publish any negative, rude comments either, will try to keep blogs clean and positive. I will come and say hello to you whenever I see your names/blog profiles here in my blogs. I don't think I can handle surfing 200+ blogs I have listed in my reader on a daily basis, best to avoid myself getting a "carpal tunnel syndrome", seriously!! :D

I recommend these movies I loved:
"Julie and Julia", Walt Disney's "Up", "Avatar", "Sherlock Holmes" and "Nine". I liked "Nine" specially.

Have a great day, see you all next week. I still have to post my 2009 Summer garden pics!

WELCOMING 2008 WITH COCONUT CAKE, BLACK EYED PEAS HUMMUS AND FRITTERS FOR GOOD LUCK!

My family wishes a very happy and healthy New Year to all of you. Let's all have a great new year!!:)
Last year we were in Orlando, FL at this time and had published my 2006 New year post from there! I am at home this year and enjoying it too!:D
I am welcoming 2008 starting with a delicious Coconut-Raspberry Layer Cake and ending with Black Eyed Peas Hummus and fritters to bring our family good luck as southerners believe!
Another dish with Black Eyed Peas I made last year is "Hopping John" and another Spinach dish you could try is "Spinach-Ricotta Gnocchi". Enjoy!!:)

Photo from istockphoto.

I can't believe how fast 2007 went by!!
It was a wonderful and fun year for us. Hope it will be as peaceful, happy and healthy in 2008 as well. Usually I don't make any new year's resolutions as I accept life as it comes to me. But I will be making few changes in the way I blog this year to have a tad more time with my kids who are growing up with a lightening speed!:D
Here they are...
1. To take frequent and complete blog breaks, absolutely no visiting any blogs on weekends and limit to 2-3 recipes in one post except RCI posts if I can! I will try my very best!!:D
2. To visit only the blogs of the my regular readers which I do enjoy, who come to my blogs every week with their sweet comments (if you are taking a break for any reason, it's quite okay not to visit of course!) and to visit few of my favorite bloggers who do not blog that often. That means if I see your name in my blogs, I will see you in your's, fair isn't it? :D
There will be a new blog roll this year. You can't believe how many blogs I visit everyday blindly, just because they pop up in my blog roll! Even in some blogs who almost never comment in my blog! It's taking lot of time out of my day to visit 80+ blogs every single day which I have blog rolled since June 2006! I have just realized this in the last month or so. I know! I am a bit slow to catch on!:P
3. To convince myself NOT to feel obligated to enter every event out there in the blogosphere, it's okay for me not to participate if I don't have the time or inclination and NOT to feel guilty about it!
4. Lastly and most importantly, make and spend more time with my kids talking to them, to get involved even more in their day to day happenings and guiding both to enable them to make the right choices/decisions in their lives. It is very tough to raise teenagers and deal with their "attitudes", "issues" and "mood swings" etc! Hahaha!
I will have 2 teenagers at home this March as Tushar is turning 13! After hearing Brittany Spears family saga, watching films like JUNO and looking at teenage moms walking into my daughter's junior and senior high school classes with their tiny babies, I better spend more time with my kids discussing about choices so they can manage their lives in the right way! Specially spend more time talking with my son (don't want him to be a teenage father either now, do I?!) more than my girl who will be 17 yrs old who seems to be far more mature for her age thankfully!!
Okey dokey, these are enough goals for this year, let's see how these work out first!:D

Here I go....

Coconut Layer Cake with Raspberry and Buttercream filling:

I am sending this to Bindiya from "In love with food" for her "These are a few of my favorite things" event with a theme of "cakes and Muffins" this month. Thanks Bindiya, enjoy!:)
This beautiful Coconut-Raspberry celebration cake recipe(with my own slight changes) came from a book called "Perfect Cakes" by Nick Malgieri, which is to me is the best cake book ever! Yes, it takes time and lot of butter and egg whites to make this cake but worth making once a year, specially if it has my favorite sweetened coconut!!:)

For the Cake you need:
2 1/4 cups cake flour or plain flour,
1 tbsp baking powder,
1/2 tsp salt,
8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened,
1 1/2 cups sugar,
1/2 tsp coconut essence or Vanilla essence,
1 1/4 cups milk,
1/2 cup egg whites (from about 3 to 4 large eggs,separated)
Buttercream filling:
1/2 cup egg whites (from about 4 large eggs),
1 cup powdered sugar,
20 tbsp (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened,
1 tsp vanilla essence.
For garnish:
1/2 cup seedless raspberry preserve or Jam,
One 7 oz bag of sweetened shredded coconut.

Two 8" round cake pans, lined with parchment or wax paper and sprayed with oil or buttered.

To bake the cake:
First, preheat the oven to 350F.

1. Sift the cake flour, baking powder, and salt onto a paper or a plate.
2.Beat the butter and the sugar with a paddle attachment in a mixer until light and creamy. Add in the essence.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the milk and the egg whites. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture in the blender to the butter mix and beat until smooth. Add in 1/2 the egg white mixture and then add in 1/3 of the flour mixture. Beat well. Add in the remaining liquid and the flour mix. Mix until well incorporated.
4. Divide the batter between two pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until done. Cool in the pans for five minutes and then cool on the racks. Peel off the paper.
To make buttercream filling:
Whisk egg whites and sugar in the electric mixer first. Take the bowl out and put it over a pan of simmering water to whisk until the egg whites are hot, and sugar has dissolved. Attach it again to the blender, whip this mixture until cool, increased in volume and buttery smooth. Beat in vanilla essence.
To layer the cake:
Slice each layer of the cake horizontally into half into 4 slices. Place on layer on the platter. Spread with 1/3 of jam and then 1/4 of buttercream on it. Top with another layer of cake and repeat. Place the last layer on top and spread the top and sides of the cake with the remaining buttercream. Press the sweetened coconut all over the outside of the cake. Chill the cake for 2 hrs to set the cream and coconut.
Serve at room temperature or you can keep it the fridge for about 3 days. Enjoy!:))

Black Eyed Peas Hummus with crisp Olive oil-herb Pita wedges, few Dimes for luck and Black eyed peas and Spinach fritters!
Hummus recipe is from "Holiday Celebrations" cook book and Southern US style fritters are like the yummy Indian Pakodas, but made using plain flour/Maida. Black eyed peas called "Alasande" in Kannada, which is my favorite beans to make side dishes for rotis or Saaru with rice. I used canned black eyed peas which makes the job easier for me and added spinach to fritters to bring us prosperity and few dimes for good luck on the plate, not inside the fritters to save our teeth!:D

According to southernfood.about.com, "A staple in the Southern diet for over 300 years, black-eyed peas have long been associated with good luck. A dish of black eyed peas is a New Year's tradition in most areas of the South, thought to bring luck and prosperity for the new year. Jessica Harris, author of "Welcome Table" says in her book that some add a dime to the peas for an extra "boost" of luck to the recipient. Greens, thought to symbolize folding money, are often eaten with the black eyed peas on new year's day". (1 Dime=10cents)

To make Hummus:
This is the ame recipe as delicious Chickpeas Hummus but added Black eyed peas instead, was very tasty with crisp Pita bread. You can use crisp Tortilla and Khakras(Indian crisp rotis) for dipping too. Hope you try.


You need:1 can (15oz) Black eyed peas or 2 cups cooked Black eyed peas,
1 tsp Cumin seeds powder,
1-2 Garlic,
few Cilantro leaves,
3-4 tbsp Tahini or Toasted Sesame seeds paste,
Salt and cayenne pepper to taste,
2 tbsp Lemon juice to taste,
water, only if needed to thin to your consistency,
Red or green onion, finely chopped, cilantro to garnish.



To make it:
Grind all the above to a fairly smooth paste adding enough water to thin it to a thick puree. Serve in a bowl garnished with onion and cilantro pieces.
Herb Pita wedges:
Take 3 to 4 Pita bread, brush them with Olive oil and any herbs like Parsley or chives or even spice powder you like on the top. Cut each Pita into 8 wedges. Heat the oven to 350F and place Pita and bake for 5 mins or until just until crisp, not brown. Take them out and cool.


Black eyed peas-Spinach Fritters:
I loved these fritters, best eaten hot and crisp right after frying. Make sure spinach is dry, dough thick and oil is hot(370F) when frying to prevent them soaking too much oil. Enjoy.


You need:
1 can (15oz) Black eyed peas or 1 1/2 cups cooked Black eyed peas,
1/2 cup or more Plain flour,
1/8 tsp or a pinch of Baking soda,
1 tbsp Cornstarch or corn flour,
4 tbsp chopped Cilantro or Parsley,
1/2" finely minced ginger,
1/2 tsp garlic pd,
1/4 cup finely chopped Onion,
1/2 cup chopped Spinach,(if using frozen, squeeze them well until dry)
1 tsp Cumin seeds,
salt and red chilli flakes to taste.


To make fritters:
1. Heat enough oil to 370F to deep fry.
2. Add drained cooked peas in to a bowl, mash roughly until coarse with your hands or with a spoon but not into a smooth paste. It should still have pieces of beans visible but mashed coarsely.
3. Add in all the other ingredients shown above, and mix well to a very thick dough like Pakora mix. Since beans don't have much gluten to hold them together, you should add plain flour to make it thick enough to bind the dough.
4. Adjust the salt and chilli flakes and using two spoons, drop large Walnut sized, oval shaped fritters into the hot oil and deep fry until golden all over.
Serve with Ketchup or hot sauce.

Here is our Christmas feast; Honey baked Ham, Cranberry sauce, spicy Potato fry, Coleslaw, Apple-Orange Marmalade-Feta cheese salad and Italian Panettone!


Well..I had planned to post this on the 1st of Jan. but then realized it's a public holiday and went to watch "I am legend" with the family (not worth the money!). Trisha and I went to see Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd" last Wednesday and enjoyed it thoroughly. Watch it if you get a chance, beware of the spurting blood and gore though!
Have a great beginning Y'all!! See you next Wednesday as usual with some Indian dishes, had enough of cakes and cookies already!:D

BEET-COCONUT CHOCOLATE CAKE AND "THE THREE THINGS" MeMe!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU, MY BLOG FRIENDS! LET'S HAVE A JOYOUS AND HOPEFUL NEW BEGINNING FOR 2007!! :)

(Image from www.rhettsmith.com)

Guess what did I get for Christmas? Scroll all the way down!;D

What a wonderful end for 2006 and great start for a New Year!! A hope,a dream and a promise!I always loved water; lakes,rivers,Ocean!One day,I hope to live by one too!

Anyway,I am still in FL,having loads of fun.This is the eighth time in 12 years we are visiting Orlando but it never gets old!In fact,Universal Studios has lot of new rides!Kids are enjoying fully.We will head back home on Sunday!:)

My last dish of this year to begin a new one, a recipe for a delicious Beet-Coconut Chocolate cake with Beet icing or glaze rather! It tastes delicious and looks fabulously colorful.I wanted to do something different than just baking a chocolate cake with coconut to celebrate and welcome 2007 and for 'JFI coconut' hosted by Ashwini of 'Foodforthought' this month.I found this recipe at southernfood.about.com and made some changes adding sweetened coconut to the Beet Chocolate cake recipe.It worked out well as you can see.

Here is my beautiful Beet-Coconut Chocolate Cake with Beet icing or glaze with Coconut garnish! Welcome the New Year with a smile and a new hope in your heart!!




To bake this cake you Need:



Pre-heat the oven at 350F. Then gather all these; 2 cups all-purpose flour,1 1/2tsp baking pd,1/2tsp salt,1 1/2 cups sugar,1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder.









3 large eggs, beaten,1 cup plus 2 tbsp Canola oil,1 cup grated beets, 1/2 cup sweetened grated cocnout,2tsp vanilla essence.

Cook beets covered for 5mins in the microwave without water ,squeeze and save about 1/8 cup of Beet juice for icing and use the rest for cake.







Beat eggs. Mix all the dry ingredients and put it in a Kitchen Aid or any blender you have with mixer blade.Mix on low, add in all the wet ingredients and blend gently until mixed well.









Pour into a attractive mould (I used a French non-stick fluted pan from Williams-Sonoma)but a Bundt cake pan is best.Tap the bottom to release the bubbles.Put it in the oven and bake for 30-45mins or the knife inserted comes out clean.Oven temps differ,so I cannot give you the exact time.If you use the ready chocolate box recipe ,follow the instructions on the back of the box.




Take the out and cool on a rack before you add icing. You need: 6 tbsps melted butter, 1/2 cup Powdered sugar, 1/4 cup whipping cream, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla,4 tbsp beet juice.Mix all these to a smooth, thickish mixture.Keep additional 4tbsp coconut to garnish the top separately.Now for icing; take a baking sheet pan,put the cooling rack on the pan with the cake still on the rack.







Pour the beet icing from top to cover the top and sides.Take a spatula,scoop the icing which falls through the rack into the pan and keep pouring it on top until the whole cake is covered with Pinkish red icing.Let it dry between the layers and keep coating the icing until you are satisfied with the even glazing!:)

A Delicious Slice of Beet-Coconut Chocolate Cake slice for you:





NOTE: If you don't want to go through all these steps,here is an easy option!

Take a store-bought Chocolate cake mix ,follow instruction on the box and add the cooked,squeezed 1 cup beet and 1/4 cup coconut as in the recipe above and proceed with baking.I should have done that instead all these!:)




For quick icing or Glaze: Take a cup of store-bought vanilla icing, mix in reserved Beet juice and heat gently in the microwave until little thin.Mix well and pour over the cake until cake is covered.That's it for this year! Enjoy!!!

After that delicious cake, let me take on a equally delicious MeMe!

"THE THREE THINGS":

I've been tagged by my beautiful friend Artizen Flair for 'The Three Things MeMe' of 'artizenkitschen' blog. Thank you for tagging me for this fun MeMe, AF!:)

Here they are, my life in three's!:D

Three things that scare me:

Going back to my early 20's ("horror" is more appropriate word here!),

my husband dying before me,

and my kids getting seriously ill!

Three people who make me laugh:

Myself,(one of these days I am going to kill myself with my own bad jokes!),

my 11yr old son Tushar with his imitations of Bollywood dances,

desperate parents who are trying to "keep up with Joneses", who buy zillion of toys to impress but I see their kids playing with boxes those toys came with!:D

Three things I love:

Being and feeling positive most of the time about life and such,

creating my food blog and to see how an empty page evolves into a beautiful post,

to see my kids are happy , healthy and laughing!

Three things I hate:

Unnecessary War and the results of that conflict all because of somebody's "misunderstanding",

Poverty around the world which includes children,

Paedophiles!(I despise them and war on these creatures is a just war!)

Three things I don't understand:

People who dicriminate against others because of skin color,race or Origin,

ultra rich people not trying enough to help the poor and needy,

emotional,verbal and physical abuse on women and children.


Three things on my desk:

My beloved LapTop,

loads of books,

a calculator!

Three things I'm doing right now:

Typing this MeMe waaay in advance before I leave for my Christmas vacation,

cooking dinner and doing the laundry at the same time,

and just realizing that I am famished and I need to eat something!


Three things I want to do before I die:

To see my kids go to Medical school as it is their dream and goal,

to see them grow up to be fine American citizens with my Indian values and philosophy firmly imbibed in them,(not easy but possible!),

would like to visit Egyptian Pyramids and walk on the 'Wall of China'!


Three things I can do:

Cook creatively , efficiently and deliciously,

read books like a thirsty woman who hasn't seen water for quite a while,

be kind to others and brutally honest when and if necessary.


Three things you should listen to:

Your sixth sense,(if you feel something is wrong,it probably, usually is!!)

sound of waves of the Ocean and chirping of birds on early mornings in Spring,

to kids when they walk in the house from school and yakking away about their day.


Three things you should never listen to:

Destructive criticism,

Fanatical Religious non-sense; people who are alive and breathing around you are always more valuable than anybody's personal beliefs,

to people who take pleasure putting you down!(I say,rise above them and look down!:D)

Three things I'd like to learn:

To be stress free and worry free,

to learn to say 'NO' to people articulately without hurting their feelings,

to relax and smile even more.

Three favorite foods:

Any and every Indian dish,

Crab cakes with spicy Remoulade sauce,

Strawberry Cheese cake.


Three beverages I drink regularly:

Indian masala Chai(Tea),

occasional Cocktail,

Water.


Three TV shows/Books I watched/read as a kid:

Watched "Fraggle rock" every weekend,

Chandamama,(a Indian monthly kids' magazine with lots of stories)

Many, many 'Mills and Boon' and 'Danielle Steel" trash as a teenager!:D


Three blogger friends that I am going to tag:

Rooma of "myKhazanaofrecipes"

JayaK of "Watscookingdoc"

ViniK of "awhirlofaromas"

Pooja of creativepooja as well since she is back from her break!:)


Take up the tag only if you feel you can ladies,no pressure!:)


That's it for this year my friends ! I promise you, there will be no baking anything for the whole of January! I will post Indian food and only Indian food next month! Have a great New Year's celebration friends!I will see you next week! :)