No Knead Ciabatta Bread

Recipe courtesy: Food Wishes

I always wanted to bake bread , somehow I didn’t have the courage. May be it’s my previous experience with bread had stopped me. Back in india, before my marriage Sundays used to be my culinary experimental days: white rats? My parents and two dogs :). Once I came across this awesome honey bread recipe, I decided I am gonna make it. My mother being wiser told me to use half the quantity since it’s an experiment. Well no , I was very sure that this will be a success and I some how convinced her. The ingredients were 1kg all purpose flour, honey and blah blah blah. I made it according to the instructions and a golden brown loaf was the result. I made tea and invited my parents to the table. Hmmm you should have the seen the look on my father’s face, as if his daughter has conquered the world. They both sat down and I started slicing the bread, well the knife was not moving. How do you cut a chicken? Yeah I had to use the same butcher knife and the force. My mother was hesitant on trying the piece like thing I had served, but my dad somehow managed to nibble something from the sides and he was so happy that his daughter made “BREAD AT HOME”.

The saddest part is that since I didn’t want to hurt my parents tooth anymore I happily gave the bread to my dogs and they rejected it. After the first bite they gave me a stare that I will never forget. From that day I never went near them alone, who knows whether they will take the revenge???

Anways this Ciabatta bread came out well and my family loved, especially my little one. I made it one V- Day. Because of his curiosity he started poking the bread which I had kept on the table to cool down. I was trying to keep him away from my bread and forgot to switch of the oven with my Parmesan chicken and nearly burned it. Well life is not that easy!!!

Ingredients:

Bread flour / All Purpose Flour- 4 cups
Yeast- 1/4 tsp
Water- 2 cups
Salt- 1 1/2 tsp

Method:

In a mixing bowl, mix together flour, yeast, water and salt together. It comes out as a very sticky dough. Cover the bowl with silver foil and keep it at room temperature to rise for 18 hrs.

After 18 hrs, you’ll get a very bubbly sticky dough. On a silver foil or plastic sheet sprinkle some flour and scrape down the dough. Sprinkle some more flour on top of the dough and slowly punch down the air. Stretch it into long flat loaf. On a baking sheet spray some oil and sprinkle corn meal generously. Transfer the dough to the sheet and shape the loaf once more. Cover it with a kitchen towel and let it rise for 3 hrs.

Pre-heat the oven to 425 C. Fill a loaf pan with water and keep it inside the oven. Steam from this will give the bread a nice crust and chewy inside. Bake the loaf for 35- 45 mns. Cool it over a wire rack and enjoy….

My little one having fun !!!

Molten Lava Cake

It feels so good to be back and alive……. Last 3 weeks were terrible, we all were sick. Thanks to my son for bringing home the flu & cough. The best part is that after 3-4 days he was fine and jumping up & down. I really missed all your awesome creations.

So to celebrate my coming back I thought of posting this molten lava cake which I had made for V-Day. If you are a chocoholic like me, trust me this is all you need to hit the spot. If you want a smaller portion you can use muffin tray with paper cups and reduce the baking time (10-11 mns) , done that too. This batter can be made in advance and frozen, thaw it to room temperature 1 hr before using and bake it. Enjoy……..

Ingredients:

BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate- 4 squares
Butter- 1 stick
Powdered sugar- 1 cup
Eggs- 2
Egg yolks- 2
Flour- 6 Tbsp

Method:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Butter four 3/4-cup custard cups or ramekins. Place on baking sheet.

Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 min. or until butter is melted. Stir with wire whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar until well blended. Blend in eggs and egg yolks with wire whisk. Stir in flour. Divide batter among prepared custard cups.

Bake 13 to 14 min. or until sides are firm but centers are soft. Let stand 1 min . Carefully run small knife around cakes to loosen. Invert cakes onto dessert dishes. Serve immediately, topped with whipped topping or ice cream .

Recipe Courtesy: Kraft Food

Cream Cheese Filled Strawberries

This is a light, yet elegant and romantic dessert. After a heavy V-Day meal I thought of serving a simple dessert and this worked well. This recipe is from Paula Deen Show, but I tweaked a little. The original recipe called for full pack of cream cheese and Pecans. To make it light I used half pack of Fat Free Cream Cheese and added little Marsala wine to make it more flavorful. It tasted like Tiramisu in a Strawberry topped with chocolate.
I am sending this Priya's Heart For St. Valentines Day & PJ's No Cook Event

Ingredients:

Strawberry- 14-16
Cream Cheese- ½ packet
Confectioner Sugar- ¼- ½ cup
Vanilla Extract- 1 tsp
Marsala wine- 1-2 Tbsp
Magic Shell- as needed (optional)

Method:

Clean and dry the strawberries. Cut a thin slice from the bottom of each strawberry so the berries stand upright. Carefully make “X” incision on the berries , half the way. Fan wedges just slightly, taking care not to break them. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, wine and vanilla until combined. Using a Ziploc bag or pastry bag, fill the strawberries with the cream cheese mixture. Drizzle the stuffed strawberries with magic shell. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Chicken Tikka & an Award

This is a semi home made version, there are days when you feel like having something spicy but not in a mood to get into the kitchen. This is my fix for those days, yep i used Shan Tikka masala to make this spicy chicken tikka . It pairs well with roti , rice or a simple salad for a low carb meal. I am sending my chicken Tikka to Rahin’s Semi Home made - Indian Recipes Event

Ingredients:

Chicken- 800 gms
Shan Tikka Masala- 1 packet
Ginger- Garlic Paste- 2 tsp
Lime/Lemon Juice- 1
Oil- 1-2 tsp

Method:

Clean and cut chicken into desirable size. With knife make slits on chicken. In a shallow bowl mix all the ingredients, to this add the chicken and mix well. Marinate for atleast an hr.

Pre-heat oven to 400 F

In a baking tray spray oil and arrange the chicken. Bake it for an hr, turning once. Serve immediately

Aparna from Ladies Special Adukala has passed this award , thank you Aparna for considering me. As a rule I am passing this to my Blog buddies. Please accept this award an post it in your blog.

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Malar

Guacamole

A healthy & tangy dip,perfect for parties. If you want chunky style , you can mash 3 avocados and cut one into cubes and add at the final stage. Sending this Guacamole to Siri's Healing Foods-Avocado, PJ's No Cook Event

Ingredients:

Ripe Avocado- 4
Chopped Tomatoes- 2
Chopped Onion- ½
Lime/ Lemon Juice- 1
Minced Garlic- 2 cloves
Salt- 1 tsp or as needed
Chopped Jalapeno- 1
Chopped Cilantro- ½ cup

Method:

In a bowl add all the ingredients and mash it to desired consistency. Serve immediately with chips.

Avocado Juice

Yes!! You read it rt. I had 2 avocados left and was thinking of what to do. Google has once again saved the day. I came across this Indonesian jus alpukat or Avocado Juice recipe. At first I was little hesitant, but thought what’s life without a little risk.

But the result was good, so buttery, nutty flavoured juice. It has a taste similar to the flesh of tender coconut. So here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

Simple Syrup:

Sugar: 5 Tbsp
Water: 5 Tbsp

Juice:

Avocado: 2 ripe
Cold Milk: ½ cup
Chocolate Milk- 1 Cup ( I made it adding 2 tbsps Hershey’s cocoa powder to 1 cup milk)
Crushed Ice- as needed

Method:

In a sauce pan add the sugar and water and heat it till the sugar dissolves. Removes from the heat and cool it.
In a blender add the flesh of avocados, ½ cup cold milk and grind it well. Add 1-2 tbsp of simple syrup and mix well.
In a tall glass pour the avocado juice, then add a layer of ice and then pour the chocolate milk. Enjoy!!!

Sending this delicious avocado juice to Siri's Healing Foods-Avocado

Simple Fruit Salad

Fruits are good for health and if eaten before a meal, it really helps to control the portion. I think this fruit salad is perfect for summer. Very refreshing and filling, I really mean it, when we had this we skipped our lunch. Lightly sweetened with honey, it satisfies your sweet tooth. 

Sending this to PJ's No Cook Event and Divya's Show Me Your Salad

Ingredients:

Cantaloupe cubes - 1 cup
Honey dew melon cubes- 1 cup
Pear cubes- 1 cup
Apple cubes- 1cup
Grapes- 1cup
Watermelon cubes- 1 cup
Honey- 2 tbsp
Lemon/Lime juice- 1 tsp
Chopped mint – 1 tsp (optional)

Method:

Mix together honey, lemon juice, and mint well, reserve. In a big bowl add all the fruits, pour the dressing on top and toss well to coat all the fruits. Serve immediately.