Pineapple Smoothie

Friends, I am so elated as I right this.... I am off to India tonight and will be back by Oct end. I will have access to internet sometimes so will post a few recipes from my draft and will surely drop to your blogs to see your posts.

With bags almost packed, what I was concentrating oflate was emptying my refrigerator. I had a pineapple sitting there to be used soon. I made salad with a portion and reserved some for this smoothie. I loved it but my husband wanted it to be strained first. He doesnot like small fibrous bits coming in his mouth.

He says,'Its a smoothie, so it has to be smooth'. I agreed.

This delicious smoothie is a perfect breakfast blend and will surely kick start your day!

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh chopped pineapple cubes.

1/2 cup low fat yogurt.

1/2 cup low fat milk.

Sugar to taste.

A slice of pineapple for garnishing.

Ice cubes, optional.

Process:

Blend all the ingredients in a blender. Strain it and pour into 2 glasses. Garnish with a piece of pineapple and serve immediately!

Enjoy!

Rise N Shine

As promised in my post here, I am here again with another of my favourite juice..As the name goes, this juice being a combo of oranges, pineapple and grapefruit, is exotic and vibrant in colour!

It is sure to bring a ray of sunshine to the gloomiest of mornings! Pineapples are packed with minerals and nutrients so they make a perfect addition to this breakfast blend. Grapefruits have a slightly bitter after taste(I like it), so many people doesn't like it much. But, I tell you, you wont feel it in this blend. This juice is perfect for a refreshing start of the day. Try it and am sure you wont be disappointed..

Makes 1 large glass.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped pineapples, fresh.

2 oranges, peeled and cut into wedges.

1 pink grapefruit, peeled and cut into wedges.

Black Salt to taste.

Freshly ground pepper to taste.

Process:

First juice the pineapple through a juicer followed by oranges and grapefruit. Stir in the black salt and pepper. Pour into a glass and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Marvelous Macaroons

I was very delighted when Champa had sent me 2 of her baking cookbooks all the way from US around 2 months back. Although I had bookmarked quite a lot of recipes to try from them but had been postponing it till today. All these while I was trying to keep my calorie intake in control!!

Well, since it had been a while since I had baked something new, my hands were literally itching to bake. So, finally I decided upon these 'Marvelous Macaroons' from the book '101+ Hurry -Up Cookie Recipes' sent by Champa. They really turned out 'marvelous'. To be honest, I have never tasted a macaroon before, but, I was happy with my results. The recipe given in the book was for about 40-42 macaroons. So, I scaled it down proportionally to get 12. However, my macaroons turned out to be slightly bigger than those shown in the book's picture.

Needless to say, I am sending these to Champa's Bake-Off and Baking from a book#4 this time being hosted by Ruchikacooks

 I used:

1/3 cup finely chopped/crushed tinned pineapples.

1/2 cup condensed milk.

1/3 cup dessicated coconut.

2 tbsp margarine.

2 tbsp chopped almonds, toasted.

1/2 tsp lemon zest.

2 drops almond extract.

1/2 cup+2 tbsp AP flour.

1/2 tsp baking powder.

Makes around 12 no. 

Process:

Preheat the oven to 180 C. Drain pineapples well and place them in a large bowl. Add milk,coconut, margarine, nuts, lemon zest and almond extract. In a small bowl combine flour and baking powder. Beat into pineapple mixture until blended. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 1 inch apart onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 13-15 mins or till lightly browned.

Garnish with whole almond, if desired. Store in covered container in refrigerator.

Enjoy!!

Chilli Cheese Toast

Baking from Book#4 is here! It is being hosted by Sowjanya. When Champa had started this event, I borrowed many books from the library and had tried and bookmarked quite many recipes from books. This 'Chilli Cheese Toast' recipe was bookmarked form Anjum Anand's Book','Indian Food Made Easy'. I had also tried 'Savoury Semolina Cake' from there and it has become a very regular item in my household. Similarly, I have made these toast many times but had not blogged about it.
I had made them last week and clicked a few pics. So, here it is- 'Chilli Cheese Toast'. I had made a few changes it it. I have reduced the quantity of cheese by half and have added ketchup. I love ketchup so much that my friends often call me the ketchup girl! I like to call it my quickfix bread pizza. Its perfect for a breakfast or as a snack with afternoon or a light meal.

Makes 2.

50 gm grated cheddar cheese or the cheese of your choice.
1 small onion, finely chopped.
1/2 small tomato, finely chopped
1/2 cup green pepper, finely chopped.
¼ tsp finely sliced green chillies.
1 tsp finely chopped fresh coriander leaves.
2 slices of bread.
2 tbsp tomato ketchup, extra for serving.

Process:

Preheat the oven to 200 C. Spread the ketchup on the two slices of bread and evenly spread the grated cheese. Mix rest of the ingredients. Pile the mixture evenly on top of the bread and bake it in the oven for a 8-10 mins until crisp and browning on sides. Cut it into bite size with a pizza cutter. Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Needlass to say, sending this off to 'Baking from a Book' event, brain child of Champa and this month being hosted by Ruchikacooks.

Pineapple Raita

I had this raita first time in a restaurant in India and O Boy! I was bowled. I am a big fan of this exotic lush fruit and of late my hubby is loving it too. It goes well with some spicy pulao or biriyani. But, I can simply devour the whole bowl of pineapple raita all by itself.

I found a few interesting facts about pineapples while surfing the net. I thought it might interest you guys too.  So, here they are:

- The pineapple is a member of the bromeliad family. It is the only available edible bromeliad today. It is a multiple fruit. One pineapple is actually made up of dozens of individual flowerets that grow together to form the entire fruit. Each scale on a pineapple is evidence of a separate flower. 

Is not that strange!

- The benefits of pineapple are all the vitamins and minerals the fruit is loaded with. Its nutrients include calcium, potassium, fiber, and vitamin C. In addition it is low in fat and cholesterol. It is valuable for easing indigestion, arthritis or sinusitis. The juice has an anthelmintic effect; it helps get rid of intestinal worms.

Sending this off to Yasmeen's Health Nut Challenge 7 - Tropical Temptations.

Coming back to the recipe:

Ingredients:

400 ml low fat yoghurt.
1/2 cup finely chopped pineapple.
Fresh chopped coriander leaves.
Salt and sugar to taste.
½ tsp roasted cumin powder.
¼ tsp red chilli powder.

Process:

Mix the yoghurt, chopped pineapple and fresh coriander. Season with salt, sugar, cumin powder and red chilli powder and its ready to serve!

  

Enjoy!!

Tomato Soup with Oven roasted Croutons

I don't know how many times I have professed my love for tomatoes on this blog and thats why when it comes to soups, my first choice is 'Tomato Soup'. I have already posted a few variation of tomato soup as, Tomato Noodles Soup, Tomato Baked Beans Soup and Tomato Black Eyed Beans Soup. But my favourite plain 'Tomato Soup' was long due to be posted. So, when I saw PJ's Healing Food -Tomatoes 

Event Announcement, I knew I am going to post this soon.

Tomatoes have immense benefits and it must be a very important part of a healthy diet. It is largely regarded as a fruit rather than a vegetable. If go for listing the benefits of tomatoes, the list will be a long one. So, very breifly, here are the benefits of tomatoes:-

• Tomatoes are rich in Lycopene,Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Fibre, Beta carotene, Potassium, Iron. Lycopene is the substance responsible for it's striking red colour.
• It lowers the risk of cancer.
• The lycopene in tomato prevents serum lipid oxidation, thus exerting protective effect against cardiovascular diseases. The regular consumption of tomato has proved to decrease the levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood.
•  It also improves eye health by aiding in improving vision, preventing night-blindness and macular degeneration.
• It is also responsible for protecting joints, muscles and brain cells.
• Lycopene guards against aging of the skin.

Due to its versatile heath benefits and versatile preparation option there is no reason to neglect this fruit/veggie in one’s diet unless you are found allergic to this wonder fruit/veggie. My mom was once allergic to tomatoes for many years, but Thank God, it was over after a naturopathy treatment.

Now, coming back to the recipe:

Makes 1 large bowl.

Ingredients:

4 medium tomatoes, ripe.

1 small carrot (Optional).

3/4 -1 Cup Water.

Salt to taste.

Freshly ground pepper to taste.

1 tsp Sugar or to taste.

Butter to taste, Optional.

Process:

 Boil the tomatoes and carrot in a pressure cooker or as sauce pan. Let it cool down and churn it in the mixer till it is smooth. Seive this mixture through a strainer. Now, add this into a saucepan and heat it. Add the salt, sugar and pepper. Stir occasionaly and heat till you get the desired consistency.

For the Croutons,

2 slices of bread chopped into peices, I used wholegrain brown bread.

Process:

Arrange these bread peices in a baking tray and bake in an preheated oven at 200 C for 3-4 mins. Toss the once in between for even roasting.

Serve the tomato soup, hot with these croutons for a healthy meal.

Sending this off to PJ's event Healing Food- Tomatoes. This event is the brain child of Siri.

 

Enjoy!

Breakfast Frappe

Bananas are one of my favourite ingredients when it comes to making smoothies. Most of the time when the bananas are very ripe I blend them into smoothies. This breakfast frappe is one of my favourite as it has the right amount of caffeine, that keep me awake and alert, first thing in the morning.This glass of smoothie is packed with vitamin, nutirents and fibre and is ideal for a filling breakfast and hence its name- 'Breakfast Frappe'.

Some nice facts about bananas, I read in a book recently:-

• Bananas contains tryptophan, which is believed to improve mood.
• Studies show that bananas help to relieve heartburn.
• Its potassium rich, so next time you have a cramp, eat a banana.
• Banana plant is not a tree, it is the world's largest herb! The  word banana is derived from the Arabic word for finger.
• Rubbing the inside of a banana skin on a mosquito bite reduces swelling and irritation.

Now coming to the recipe:-

 

For 2 glasses:

Ingredients:

1 large banana, fully ripe.

1 tbsp sugar or to taste.

1/2-3/4 tsp instant coffee powder.

2 scoop of vanilla icecream ( Optional).

4 ice cubes.( Optional)

400ml low fat milk.

Process:

Add peeled and roughly chopped bananas to the blender follwed by milk , sugar, ice cubes, coffee powder and whiz till nicely blended and frothy. If you are feeling more indulgent add vanilla icecream while blending or serve it with a scoop of icecream.

Isn't is something worth setting your alarm for! Enjoy!

And the Winner of my CSN $50 GIFT certificate is....

Finally, I am here with the winner of my CSN gift certificate winner.. I am late by a day but as the saying goes, 'Better late than never'. Thanks to everyone who commented on my post.

I have used a very simple way to choose the winner. All I did was to make a list of the all the people who commented on my post citing with their favourite food accompaniment and each of the name corresponded to a number from 1 to 24.

1	Satya
2	Debbie
3	Spice
4	Cooking Foodie
5	Champa
6	Stephanie
7	PJ
8	Vaishali
9	Alias
10	That Little House
11	Nitha
12	Nive
13	Sanjeeta
14	DG
15	Rachana
16	Jayashree
17	Aparna
18	Nithu
19	RV
20	Prani
21	Suburban
22	Priya
23	Sanyukta
24	Arc

I made 24 chits with one number written on each. Finally, I picked up one of the chits and the number was 23. It corrresponds to Sanyukta who blogs at Creative Sanyukta. Congratulation Sanyukta.. I will mail you the details soon..

Enjoy!

Peas Pulao

Sometimes it happens that you have to prepare something in a jiffy, something that is a complete meal and doesnot take much time. Yes, I am in such situations often and my hubby wont take a smoothie or a salad for a meal. So, what do I do? Well, I make this Pulao and serve it with raitas and with some chopped tomatoes and onions. I takes just 15-20 minutes to make the whole lot. While the rice is cooking in the microwave, I whip up the raita and chop the salad.

Here is my way of making this pulao. Before that, if you have missed my earlier post, here is a reminder, I am hostng a giveaway here from CSN stores. Do drop your comments on this post and be a part of the giveaway. Who knows you could be the lucky winner!

Coming back to the recipe..

You will need.

2 cups boiled rice.

1/2 cup peas.

1 onion chopped.

2 cardamom pods crushed.

 1 tsp cumin seeds.

2 bay leaves.

1 green chilli slit.

Some cashew nuts.

10-12 raisans.

1/4 tsp turmeric powder.

1/2 red chilli powder.(optional).

Salt to taste.

1 tbsp oil or ghee.

Chopped coriander leaves to garnish.(optional)

Process:

Heat a pan and add ghee/oil. When heated add the cumin seeds, green chilli, bay leaves and crushed cardamon pods. Saute for 30 seconds and add the chopped onions. Saute for 2 minutes till they are translucent and add the peas, raisans adn split cashew nuts. Heat for another 2 minutes. Now add the turmeric powder and salt and give a good stir. Add the rice and mix well. Cover the pan and let it cook for 2-3 minutes on a low heat. When done, take it off gas and pulao is ready to serve.

Serve hot with Raita and Salad.

Sending this off to MLLA#26 hosted by Briciole. This event is the brain child of Susan of 'The well Seasoned cook'

Enjoy!