Showing posts with label weekend. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weekend. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
A Jammy Weekend Recipes for Strawberry Balsamic Fig Vanilla Black Pepper Jam
A little cafe surrounded by a kitchen garden - windows with fluttering lace curtains - a big oven on one side - cinnamon, yeast, vanilla scents in the air - sounds of happy chatter - the aroma of fresh coffee brewing - people waiting in anticipation of a simple good time - a cup of good coffee or choice of tea with a scone or a muffin topped with some homemade jam - A girl can day dream right?
On Thursday, I ordered more fruit than I usually do for a week, especially strawberry and figs, with the intention of making jam. Im not much of a jam sandwich person. Give me a Mumbai style coriander-mint chutney and cucumber sandwich any day. But when you have a little boy at home wholl say Im hungry at the most unpredictable times of the day, it is good to have a loaf of bread and some spreads handy to make a snack in 2 minutes. He likes my Chocolate coconut Peanut Butter - well, I like it a lot myself and each batch gets over in a matter of 2-3 days. So I decided to make some jams anyway. What better way to preserve the goodness of seasonal fresh fruit for a couple more months?
Theres a lot more Id like to write about on jamming but the weekend chores beckon and I promised a few people that Ill be sharing the recipe on my blog before the end of the weekend, so here are the recipes for the two jams.
If you always wondered what the difference was between jelly, jam and preserve, read this.Id say my recipes are in between a jam and preserve, because while they do have a chunky texture, it is not that chunky because the fruit was fairly finely chopped to begin with. Contrary to popular belief that jam making is the job of old matronly housewives who wish to slave in the kitchen all day and night, these jams dont take more than 30-45 minutes each, including fruit chopping time, especially because were making only a small quantity at a time. Also, in both these jams, we dont need any added pectin because both fruits are full of seeds inside them which are a natural source of pectin. As for fig jam, most recipes from international websites dont ask for the fruit to be peeled, but Indian figs are very thick skinned, therefore better off peeled.
Strawberry Balsamic Preserve
Recipe adapted from Epicurious
Ingredients
750 grams strawberries (washed, patted dry and tops removed- I bought 1 kg and this was what I got after eating a few and removing the tops)
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp water
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp butter
Directions
- Finely chop the strawberries-youll get roughly 2 1/2 cups of chopped fruit
- In a heavy bottomed steel or anodised pan, put all the ingredients together, on a medium flame, bring this to a simmer.
- The butter prevents the mixture from foaming and splattering too much. In fact, mine didnt splatter at all.
- Simmer for 20-25 minutes, until the mixture is thick and translucent. Keep stirring off and on. Dont worry if its still a bit flowy and it will thicken further on cooling. So, switch off before the jam turns thick.
- Remove pan from heat and cool thoroughly.
- Meanwhile place two empty clean and dry glass jam jars bottles without their lids in the microwave for one minute. This is to quick sterilise the bottles.
- Once cooled to room temperature, spoon the jams into the two jars. Id say I got roughly two jars of 300-350 grams each.
- Close them tight and keep in fridge. Use within a month.
Recipe for Fig-Vanilla-Black Pepper Preserve
Adapted from Taste
Ingredients
Roughly 1 kg fresh figs
1 cup sugar
half a vanilla pod (or use a cinnamon stick + 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon)
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice or balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp butter
Directions
- Wash, dry and remove stems of figs. Peel and chop finely.
- Slice the vanilla pod and scrape the seeds with the end of the knife, add this to the chopped figs.
- In a large bowl, add all the ingredients, including the scraped vanilla pod, cover and keep overnight. [at this stage you could either keep the bowl of ingredients covered in the refrigerator overnight and proceed with jam making in the morning or proceed with the process immediately. I left it in the fridge overnight]
- After the mixture has sat in the fridge overnight, transfer them to a heavy bottomed steel pan or anodized pan, bring to a simmer on medium flame.
- Keep stirring off and on so that the sugar does not stick to the bottom and burn.
- In around 20 minutes, the mixture will start to thicken. Remove from flame. Cool thoroughly.
- Meanwhile place two empty clean and dry glass jam jars bottles without their lids in the microwave for one minute. This is to quick sterilise the bottles.
- Once cooled to room temperature, spoon the jams into the two jars. Id say I got roughly two jars of 300-350 grams each.
- Close them tight and keep in fridge. Use within a month.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
WEEKEND BREAKFAST PIZZA
I dont buy refrigerator ("whomp tube") biscuits very often, but I DO buy them for this recipe. My family absolutely loves this quick and easy breakfast. As a matter of fact, the first time I made this, I was told "this is gold!!" Even Picky-picky Hubby gave double thumbs up which is rare!!
This weekend treat can easily be "tweaked" to suit your family. Here are the basic ingredients:
8 ounce Pillsbury refrigerated crescent rolls
1 pound (total) cooked breakfast meat (see note)
1½ cups frozen shredded hash browns (thawed)
1½ cups shredded cheddar
4 eggs (dont be tempted to add more)
¼ cup milk
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
Open the refrigerator rolls and press into an ungreased 12" pizza pan, pinching all of the seams shut. Important: make sure you press some of the dough up onto the sides of the pan to create a "lip". DO NOT PRE-BAKE THE CRUST.
Cook (and completely drain) one pound of your favorite breakfast meat (NOTE: I used equal parts of crisp bacon, breakfast sausage and finely diced ham...but ANY combo will work well. Just make sure the total weight is about a pound).
Sprinkle the cooked breakfast meat, evenly, over the unbaked crescent dough. Next, evenly sprinkle the thawed hash browns and cheddar cheese over the cooked meat.
In small bowl, whisk the 4 eggs, black pepper and milk together. Drizzle evenly over everything. NOTE: Dont be tempted to add more eggs. It is going to SEEM like it isnt enough, but trust me...it is perfect.
Lastly, sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over all. Bake in a 375 pre-heated oven for 30 minutes (my oven took 28 minutes). Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before you cut it.
Sauteed mushrooms, peppers, etc. would be wonderful in this breakfast pizza. Just add them the same time as the thawed hash browns. You might have to add a couple extra minutes to the total baking time if you add a LOT of extra veggies.
NOTE: You can also use one of those small boxes of JIFFY pizza crust mix instead of the crescent roll dough.
NOTE: If you use frozen hash browns, make sure they are thawed before using in this recipe.
Read More..
8 ounce Pillsbury refrigerated crescent rolls
1 pound (total) cooked breakfast meat (see note)
1½ cups frozen shredded hash browns (thawed)
1½ cups shredded cheddar
4 eggs (dont be tempted to add more)
¼ cup milk
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
Open the refrigerator rolls and press into an ungreased 12" pizza pan, pinching all of the seams shut. Important: make sure you press some of the dough up onto the sides of the pan to create a "lip". DO NOT PRE-BAKE THE CRUST.
Cook (and completely drain) one pound of your favorite breakfast meat (NOTE: I used equal parts of crisp bacon, breakfast sausage and finely diced ham...but ANY combo will work well. Just make sure the total weight is about a pound).
Sprinkle the cooked breakfast meat, evenly, over the unbaked crescent dough. Next, evenly sprinkle the thawed hash browns and cheddar cheese over the cooked meat.
In small bowl, whisk the 4 eggs, black pepper and milk together. Drizzle evenly over everything. NOTE: Dont be tempted to add more eggs. It is going to SEEM like it isnt enough, but trust me...it is perfect.
Lastly, sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over all. Bake in a 375 pre-heated oven for 30 minutes (my oven took 28 minutes). Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before you cut it.
NOTE: You can also use one of those small boxes of JIFFY pizza crust mix instead of the crescent roll dough.
NOTE: If you use frozen hash browns, make sure they are thawed before using in this recipe.
Monday, March 10, 2014
Detox diet Part II Weekend detox plan
After the wonderful response to my earlier post, I thought it would do good to share a sample plan which you can try over the weekend. This is adapted from the interview of a Bombay based nutritionist that I did while doing a feature on the same topic. I will try and answer the rest of the questions asked in response to the earlier post in its comments section.
How to do a weekend Detox Plan
Day 1
Plenty of water and fruits for the entire day in unlimited quantity. Include all fruits excluding bananas and chickoo.
Breakfast: Water melon.
Mid Morning: Apple
Lunch: Papaya with lemon squeezed on it.
4 PM: Grapes
6 PM: Oranges
Dinner: Papaya
Day 2
Breakfast: Any melon
Lunch: Salads + Vegetables + Pineapple. Use cold pressed organic oils (either sesame or ground nut) No potato should be included.
Mid Evening: Banana
Dinner: Salad + Vegetable + Soup.
Day 3
Breakfast: Fruits with a herbal tea like peppermint tea
Lunch: Salad + Vegetables + Sprouts + 1 Roti
Mid Evening: Any fruit
Dinner: Salad + vegetable+ soup + brown rice
Very important
Some pointers
Read More..
How to do a weekend Detox Plan
Day 1
Plenty of water and fruits for the entire day in unlimited quantity. Include all fruits excluding bananas and chickoo.
Breakfast: Water melon.
Mid Morning: Apple
Lunch: Papaya with lemon squeezed on it.
4 PM: Grapes
6 PM: Oranges
Dinner: Papaya
Day 2
Breakfast: Any melon
Lunch: Salads + Vegetables + Pineapple. Use cold pressed organic oils (either sesame or ground nut) No potato should be included.
Mid Evening: Banana
Dinner: Salad + Vegetable + Soup.
Day 3
Breakfast: Fruits with a herbal tea like peppermint tea
Lunch: Salad + Vegetables + Sprouts + 1 Roti
Mid Evening: Any fruit
Dinner: Salad + vegetable+ soup + brown rice
Very important
- This diet MUST NOT be done by sick, convalescing or diabetic people without the approval of their doctor.
- There is no scope for any kind of diet for a pregnant woman.
- Even if you are in the best of health, it is better to take it easy during the detox days, drink plenty of water and take ample rest.
Some pointers
- Eating out and socialising are almost impossible when on this diet, so choose the dates accordingly.
- The problem with detox diets is that the weight loss achieved is usually temporary and is the result of water loss and a minimal fat loss due to severe calorie restriction. The weight comes straight back after the diet is done, which is why Detox diets are not essentially weight loss diets.
- Some people also experience side effects like tiredness, acid regurge and headaches. While many believe that this result of toxins being expelled, it’s usually caused by a low sugar level.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)