This was our Sunday morning breakfast. I had a lot of time at hand and techni color vegetables to go with it.  So I thought , why not make something that fills my stomach and my time? My daughter loves eating capsicums, especially if they are of different colors. Thankfully I managed to reserve some for the dish before she crept up from behind and ate it all raw! I used wheat fusilli that my dear neighbor got me from France. Its of fine quality- its firm, yet tender.  Its made of wheat, yet its tasty.

I must say that oven baked butter toasts taste so amazingly different from the ones grilled in a sandwich maker or a tawa. The toasts come out really crunchy, thats what re-baking does to them. Cooks them well till within and makes them taste fresh. Try placing your pasta on one of these toasts for a healthy breakfast.

My baby loves this dish and hence its off to Kids Delight Wholesome Breakfast hosted by Srivalli.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fusilli (wheat)
• 1 cup vegetables – red, yellow and green capsicums, mushrooms and corn
• Olive oil 1 Tablespoon
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon tomato sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Procedure:

1. Cook the fusilli in hot water till done. Drain and dry out on a plate.
2. Heat oil in a wok. Add vegetables and stir fry them.
3. Once vegetables are soft add the cooked fusilli.
4. Now add tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Mix well.
5. Add grated cheese and cover the pasta. Cook on sim for a few minutes till the cheese melts.
6. Turn off the heat and serve hot with butter toasts.

Oven baked Toasts:

1. Spread butter on bread slices and place them on a baking tray.
2. Bake them at 175 deg C for about 5 -7 mins.

Mom learnt these at a baking course she took decades ago. On completing her training she started taking Bakery classes at home. She used to stack these cheese straws as they were easy to make, we loved it as kids . Interestingly, they have a shelf life of an entire month! Hmm…thats not a bad thing but will anyone leave them for a month? They are gone in a matter of days and sometimes hours.

This time I decided to make Lots of them. So I spent about 4 hours and baked them in 4 batches, but what about the total effort? Not that much because once the dough is ready all you need to do is roll it out and bake it for 20 mins, making as many batches as you like. I find standing near a hot oil kadai ( or wok) deep frying stuff more tiring. Moreover, anything that contains as much water as cheese can make the oil splutter angrily. If there is a single opening in the dough it can make the cheese melt straight out of the casing spoiling the oil. On the other hand while baking if the exact same thing happens, not to worry. The excess cheese will flow out and get hardened. You can easily chip if off or even eat it.

Kids love using their cookie cutter on the Dough

We celebrated Sankranti last Thursday. Its rare to see everyone not only awake but also ready for the puja early on a holiday. We made Spilt urad dal khichdi and til rawa laddus for prasad. I thought of sharing a picture of the prasad with you.

Urad Dal Khichdi and Til Rava Laddus

My Daughter has learnt over time that she has to wait for the photo shoot to get over before she can dig into anything. She waits patiently for her turn now. Not to eat but to shoot the  food with her toy camera.

My daughter takes a pic with her camera too

Recipe for Cheese Straws

Ingredients:

• 55 gms Cheese (regular processed cheese cubes)
• 55 gms Unsalted Butter
• 115 gms Flour / Maida (approx 1 cup)
• Ice cold water to knead

Add the following ingredients as per your taste:

• Salt
• Pepper
• Chillie flakes
• Italian seasoning (a dry powdered mixture)

Procedure:

1. Grate the cheese in a bowl.
2. Partly cream the fat. Mix the cheese and the butter well.
3. Now add the sieved flour into it. Mix salt, Italian seasoning, pepper powder and chillie flakes.
4. Rub it with your fingers till the mix resembles tiny bread crumbs.
5. Now add ice cold water one teaspoon at a time and gently knead the dough.
6. Once the dough comes together and becomes quite sticky , make a ball and place it in a bowl.
7. Cover the bowl with a cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 1/2 an hour.
8. Take it out of the fridge once set. Gently knead it by dusting it with some flour.
9. Roll it out with the help of a rolling pin to about 1/4 inch thickness . Cut it into straws (or any other shape with a cookie cutter)
10. Grease a baking tray and preheat the oven. Place the straws on it and Bake at 175 deg C for 30-25 mins.

Please Note:

1. Add salt cautiously. Please remember that if your cheese or butter already contains salt then the mix could become too salty.
2. You can use whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour to make it a healthy snack for kids.
3. You can store cheese straws for weeks in a clean, dry container.
4. In case you have given the straws a different shape using a cookie cutter you might need to bake it for lesser time. Please keep a watch on the crackers and remove as soon as they turn brown.
5. Please very careful while adding the ice cold water. Add it one teaspoon at a time as excess water could make the dough unmanageable.

Being a chocoholic by nature I’m always looking for ways to make chocolate desserts and goodies. Bet this wont make my doctor very happy. Anyway, here is the recipe of an almond chocolate fudge that I tried a few days ago. It was so delicious that I started eating it without even allowing it to set completely. Its too long to wait overnight to eat a yummy fudge. I shared this chocolate with a few neighbors and they liked it too. I’m sure this fudge is going to be a regular at our place given that its liked equally by kids and grown ups.

This is my entry to the Color in Food event hosted by EC of Simple Indian Food. Brown is the color of chocolate, which I simply love!

Ingredients :

• Nestle Everyday Milk powder – 1 cup
• Brown Sugar – 3/4 cup
• Unsalted Butter – 1/3 cup
• Cocoa powder – 2 heaped teaspoons
• Water – 3/4 cup
• Milk – 1/2 cup
• Almonds (roasted and powdered) – 2 tablespoons
• Few drops of Chocolate milk essence
• 5-6 Black Raisins (de-seeded)

Procedure :

1. Take Sugar in a heavy bottom pan and add an equal quantity of water.
2. Cook the sugar syrup till a drop of it in plain water does not dissolve. That indicates its tight enough to bind.
3. Reduce the flame. Now Add butter and stir quickly till it melts.
4. Mix in milk powder and milk alternately. Ensure no lumps are formed.
5. In case you find the consistency unmanageable then add some more milk. Ensure the mixture is pasty, not watery.
6. Now turn off the heat. Mix in the cocoa powder, almond powder and raisins. Add a few drops of chocolate milk essence and beat well.
7. Pour out chocolate fudge into a greased plate. Allow it to cool off and then give the fudge any desired shape.
8. Dust it on powdered chocolate biscuits (alternately you can use roasted almond powder)
9. Refrigerate overnight and enjoy chocolate fudge the next day.

Fruit Punch
Diet Pakodas
Spring Onion Toasts
Chinese Salad

Please read posts in this section for some more attractive looking food designed specially for kids.

Pinwheel Sandwiches

To consume dinner leftovers the French designed the Pinwheel sandwiches, which they made for breakfast. Although the recipe mentioned below describes the procedure to make the filling you can always fill it up with any sabzi you are left with after your meal.

Ingredients :

1. 2 slices of sandwich bread (large size)
2. 1 tablespoon of cheese spread
3. 5 thin slices of tomatoes
4. 5 thin slices of cucumber
5. Pinch of pepper

Procedure :

1. Cut off the edges of a large slice of bread.
2. Place it on the clingfree side of a clig wrap.
3. Roll the bread flat using a rolling pin.
4. Mix cheese spread with pepper and spread it out on the bread slice.
5. Now arrange the thin slices of tomato and cucumber over the cheese.
6. Wrap up the sheet so as to roll the bread in and finally close the roll like a toffee.
7. Refrigerate for an hour and cut out the pinwheel slices.

Variation

You can even apply a layer of pudina chutney inside the sandwich to make it more chatpata.

Please NOTE :
Sometimes the roll wont stay together on its own in which case you can prick it with toothpicks. This also prevents the roll from bulging and breaking when you are cutting out the pinwheel slices.

Ingredients :

• Chocolate sponge cake 100 grams
• Plain sponge cake 100 grams
• 1.5 tablespoons Chocolate sauce
• 1.5 tablespoons orange juice
• 1/2 tablespoon mixed fruit jam
• 1 tablespoon roasted Almond/ Cashew nut powder
• Fresh Cream (optional)

Procedure :

1. Crumble chocolate sponge in a mixing bowl. Mix chocolate sauce and jam into it.
2. On clingfree side of a cling wrap spread out the choco mixture.
3. Mix plain sponge cake with orange juice and spread over the chocolate layer.
4. Finally make a layer of dry fruits.
5. Pull up one side of the cling wrap so as to roll the mixture into a log. Set in a fridge for a few hrs.
6. Now you can make lines on the log using cream in a piping bag or you can dip your fork into Choco sauce and make lines on the log to resemble the bark of a tree. Cut the edges diagonally and serve yummy choco logs.

Please NOTE :

1. You can prick the log with toothpicks before cutting to prevent them from bulging and breaking from the sides.
2. If you use cream to make the lines on the log please add sugar and some cocoa powder to it so that the taste of cream blends well with the rest of the log.

These sandwiches are easy to make and yet unique in their appearance. Try it in the next birthday party you throw for your kid.

Ingredients :

• 1 loaf of freshly baked bread
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cucumber cut into thin slices
• 1 tablespoon Pudina chutney

Procedure :

1. Buy a freshly baked loaf of bread from the bakery and ask the baker to give it to you by making 2 horizontal cuts along the width.
2. Now you have 3 long, horizontal slices of bread.
3. Puree tomatoes and strain away the water.
4. Mix salt and butter with the strained tomato pulp. Apply this mixture on the first cut.
5. Apply pudina chutney on the second layer and arrange finely sliced cucumbers on it.
6. Place back the top slice of the bread and wrap this loaf of bread in a cling wrap.
7. After an hour remove the clingwrap and cut out thick slices of the bread (just as you usually have in breads, only thicker).

Variation

1. If possible, please try to use a loaf of brown bread to top up the nutrition value.
2. You can try using spring onion chutney instead of pudina chutney for a twist in taste

Involve your kids in making a dessert this weekend. They will feel doubly joyed to eat a pudding they made. You will have to help them blend and steam the pudding and they wont be able to wait for it to set.

Ingredients :

• 2 cups of milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 slice of bread
• 3 glucous biscuits
• 1/2 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 cup, your Choice of fruits

Procedure :

1. Heat sugar in a pudding bowl till it caramelizes.
2. Spread it to ensure the bottom surface is covered.
3. Blend milk, eggs, bread, biscuits, cocoa powder and sugar in a mixie jar.
4. Pour into the pudding bowl and steam for about 20 mins.
5. Chill in fridge and serve with your choice of fruits.

Please NOTE :

1. For steaming, use a cooker that best fits the size of the pudding bowl. If the cooker is too big then the pudding wont be steamed evenly.
2. To know if your pudding is done, stick a fork and check if it comes out clean.