I found this cake to be particularly soft! Since applesauce is used as an egg substitute it has all the qualities that make a cake soft and spongy. Add a few eggs and now you have a cake thats even softer, yet well bound. 

Apples and cinnmon are a match made in heaven. Its rare to find a apple dessert that doesnt contain cinnamon. Its advisable to freshly prepare any spice powder by roasting and grinding the spice. This when added at the very last stage of bread making results in a lasting aroma. I tried roasting the cinnamon but didnt know that it burns so fast. I threw those poor charred sticks away and started again, very cautiously. This time I tossed them around constantly and turned off the gas as soon I got the fragrance of roasted cinnamon. The resultant cakes were soft and brown with a hint of cinnamon in them.

I have adapted this recipe from Mansi’s Apple Bread Recipe. Thanks Mansi, for sharing this delicious recipe with us.

I made a few changes to the original recipe :

1. I made it as a muffin since my baby likes small round portions
2. I didnt add nutmeg powder and nuts
3. I also added 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder to the flour while seiving
4. I baked muffins at 175 °C for 25 mins

Vegetable carving goes back to good old days when a boat used to be made out of a cucumber to keep lord Krishna’s idol during Janmashtmi or to the grinning pumpkins that were and still are so popular during Halloween. With changing trends, vegetable carving today has become an art in itself. When you order salads at those fancy places you must have come across some interesting things made out of the fruits and vegetables.

Here is a garden I carved for myself. Gosh! It was very difficult to take a picture right before my baby crashed into it. She couldnt keep herself from eating the cucumber chains I had made for the garden fence.

So next time your child refuses to eat salad this is possibly one option you can try.

Garden Fresh Flowers

In the figure you see :
Tomato basket which contains cauliflower florets, spring onion buds and mint leaves plucked freshly from my garden. To make the cauliflowers edible you need to blanch them in water and season them with oil, salt and pepper. Now these baskets will serve as an attractive salad for a dinner party. (The ones in the picture are raw)

Cucumber fence has been made by peel stripping layers of the outer skin of a cucumber and shelling out the seeds using a mellon baller. Finally, slices have been cut out of this cucumber. A small slit was made on one side of the ring and these rings have been interlocked to form a chain.

Flowers have been made by slicing out petals from the tail end of a radish and a carrot. A tiny piece of tomato has been placed in the middle of the flower. The stem has been made using spring onions. The entire flower is held together by a toothpick.

Watermelon has been made by peel stripping the tail end of a cucumber. The seeds were then removed and a small ball of carrot was placed within. Tiny pieces of tomato were placed around the carrot to make it resemble a watermelon.

The Garden lawn has been made using a cabbage leaf and a few spring onions have been placed by the side for added greenery.

This salad is completely edible ( except for the toothpicks , of course! )

And now for something Fishy…

This fish was made in 10 mins flat. I had a radish which was almost in the shape of a fish. I just peeled it and kept a few ribbons aside to make the tail. I used a zester to make the fish scales and put a clove for the eye. Then I used a scissors to make a V-cut at the ends of the ribbons and attached them to the fish with the help of a toothpick. As you can see this fish is a strict vegetarian. Its eating a radish leaf for lunch

This carving was so easy to make. Next time I throw a party I am sure I can make a few fishes out of carrots and radishes and keep them with the salad. That way I can tell my friends that I have made fish for them and I would love to see the stunned look on their face since they all know that I am a vegetarian.

This is my entry to the Vegetable Carving Event which I’m hosting this month.

Portugese food is becoming increasingly popular in India. In Mumbai there are these restaurants that exclusively serve Portugese delights. I came across this rare kind of salad on a tv show called “Cooking isnt rocket science” where Manju Malhi, a popular chef from Britain, shows us how to whisk up dishes from around the globe with utmost ease. Since we dont have the long grained rice that is used originally in Portugese dishes we can substitute it with Indian Basmati which works just as well.

I liked the flavor of this salad. It was somewhat like a fried rice just that its flavors are more raw and strong. This is my entry to mixed rice varieties event hosted by Easycrafts.

Ingredients :

• 1/2 cup Long grained Basmati rice
• 1 teaspoon Olive oil
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 1/2 cup finely chopped spring onions
• 5-6 black pepper corns
• 3-4 garlic pods
• salt

Procedure :

1. Cook the basmati rice with excess water. Drain out and let the rice cool. ( Be careful not to overcook)
2. Mix the ingredients for the dressing in a mixing bowl. Let it rest for a while so that the dressing seeps into the spring onions well.
3. Now mix the dressing into the rice.

Wheat crackers are among the most nutritious biscuits available in market today. Non-fried and high in fibre they make a perfect snack to be had with tea or to kill that hunger in-between meals.

Dress them up and they become an attractive option to be had as a side-dish. Replace your salad with these and watch them disappear from the dinner table. Even kids who usually dont eat salad will have at least one!

Ingredients :

• 2 Wheat crackers
• 1 teaspoon Cheese Spread
• Grated cheese (optional)
• 1/2 a Tomato, finely chopped
• 2 baby potatoes
• Moth Dal sprouts
• Whole green moong dal sprouts
• Freshly roasted and ground pepper powder
• Mint leaves (Garnish)

Procedure :

1. Microwave (or boil) potatoes and sprouts for about 5 mins.
2. Mix salt and pepper into tomatoes, sprouts and potatoes.
3. Spread cheese on the cracker. Place mashed boiled potatoes on it.
4. On it add tomatoes and sprouts.
5. Sprinkle grated cheese on top or dot crackers with cheese spread.
6. Decorate with a mint leaf and serve.

Please NOTE :

Spinach is extremely nutritious and should be a part of ones regular salad. Whenever you make salad you can place it on lettuce, spinach, etc; to ensure we get our greens in the most nutritious form – raw!

However, please place the crackers over a tissue paper as green leaves can make the crackers soggy.

Last Sunday we neighbors met for a potluck lunch. The flavor of this salad left me wondering what the dressing could have to make it so unique. Its a cousin of the coleslaw yet very different in its taste and appearance.

I am definitely going to make this the next time I have guests over. Hope I can do justice to the original recipe. Here it is…

Ingredients :

For the dressing

• 2 teaspoons Mayonnaise
• Pinch of pepper powder
• 1 teaspoon Dry herbs powder (mix of oregano, basil, rosemary)
• Few drops of Vinegar
• Salt (to taste)
• Sugar (to taste)
• Few drops of fresh lime juice

For the salad

• 1/2 Grated carrot
• 1/4 Capsicum
• Few Lettuce leaves
• 3 Beans
• 1/4 cup Corn
• 1/4 cup Pasta
• 1/4 Apple
• 1/4 Orange

Procedure :

1. Grate the carrot and shred the lettuce.
2. Finely chop capsicum, beans and apple.
3. Squeeze lime juice over apple pieces so they don’t go brown
4. Parboil beans and corn. For this you need to boil water add salt, beans, corn and turn off the heat. Cover and let the vegetables simmer in their own steam till they cool off.
5. Remove skin and pips of the orange pieces and extract the juicy, inner orange pulp.
6. Boil the pasta in salt water till its tender.
7. In a mixing bowl add carrot, capsicum, lettuce, parboiled beans, parboiled corn, pasta, apple and orange pieces.
8. Mix in the dressing ingredients. Serve chilled.

Variation

1. If you dont find lettuce you can use cabbage
2. Along with beans and corn you can also parboil fresh peas.

This salad at first looks, appears like a sabzi owing to its tempering and groundnut powder. This is also one of the reasons behind its unique taste.

You can make roasted groundnut powder and store it in an air tight container for upto one month. You can also try mixing the same tempering and powder in your vegetables that you cook for lunch/dinner.

Ingredients :

• 1/4 Groundnuts
• 1/2 cup grated carrot
• 1/2 cucumber, finely chopped
• Finely chopped coriander leaves
• Finely chopped green chilly
• Rai

Procedure :

1. Roast Groundnuts. Removed peel and grind into a coarse powder.
2. Mix grated carrot with tiny cucumber pieces. You can add grated radish also if you like.
3. Add salt, groundnut powder and coriander leaves.
4. Heat oil. Add rai, green chillies and mix tempering into the salad.

Please NOTE :

1. While grinding the roasted groundnuts, run the mixie for just 2-3 seconds, switch off turn contents and then continue in the same manner till the powder is evenly formed. If you run mixie at a stretch the groundnut will turn into a paste. Also, ensure your mixie jar is completely dry before starting.
2. The same salad can be made with finely chopped tomatoes and grated red carrot.

Salads are the healthiest way to consume our veggies and what can add more to the nutrition than sprouts. This salad is a crunchy munchy hi-protein dish which keeps you feeling full for longer. Yes, calorie conscious people can stop binging in-between meals with the help of this dish. As for others, its just another treat for the taste buds.

Ingredients

• Salt, Black Salt (to taste)
• Juice of one fresh lime
• Pinch of Black pepper powder
• 1/2 cup soaked moong dal
• 1/2 cup soaked masoor dal
• 1/2 cup grated carrot (preferably both red and orange)
• Finely chopped coriander leaves

• 2 tablespoons each of the following vegetables (finely chopped)

• Cabbage
• Cucumber
• Tomatoes
• Radish
• Spring onions

Procedure :

1. Soak moong and moth dal separately overnight.
2. In the morning strain out the water and let it stand for a day or so, till it sprouts.
3. Mix in the finely chopped vegetables. Add White and Black salt, pepper powder, lime juice and mix well.
4. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and serve chill.

Please NOTE :

Once soaked you need to drain the water out of the sprouts, otherwise it can start smelling of stagnant water.

This is a cold, crunchy salad with a sweet and sour taste. Its taste depends completely on fresh and crispy vegetables. If fresh Iceberg lettuce is available anywhere then this is the way to go.

Ingredients :

For the salad

• 5 fresh lettuce leaves
• 5 fresh cabbage leaves
• 1/2 cup grated carrot

For the dressing

• Few teaspoons of vinegar
• Few teaspoons of red chilly sauce
• 1 teaspoon Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt

Procedure :

1. Shred the lettuce and cabbage. Mix in the grated carrot.
2. Mix the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl. Stir well till sugar dissolves.
3. Now mix the dressing into the salad and refrigerate for an hour.
4. Serve with meals or snacks.