Green smoothie: kale and mango

There's something about the dog days of summer, particularly those Phoenix-specific ones, where you can say 114°F, without batting an eye (because they've dried up). It's an unending scorch that can make one do imperatively unordinary things.

Like, for example, yesterday, when I went after a rattlesnake, who fancied the afternoon shade in my flourishing garden. The only flowers I've had in 8 years, after twenty past failed attempts. Although it's not typical of myself to use a garden rake to face such rattling fears (excuse the pun) I'd made up my mind that the new green thumb and horticulturist streak could not be deterred because a desert reptile considered my backyard its native land.

Along these same lines, a few weeks prior, I decided to order a kale smoothie at the Boba spot opposite Kiddo One's University. I'll mention that I've never been a fan of blending salad ingredients into beverage. Even if they're chockful of every single vitamin/mineral/nutrient/ironmanpower on the planet. The green smoothie trend is something no one could sell me on.

But. It happened. In that very first sip of a mega 16 ounce frosty matching my summer lawn, tethered in bouncy tapioca pearls and topped with cubes of fruit. Suffice to say I'm a changed human, forever.

Dog days. 
Heat. 
I live in the inferno. 
And I now make kale smoothies. 
Uncharacteristic, atypical and imperatively unordinary to my nature.

Thankfully, the grocery had packets of organic kale on sale. I bought six. Newfound cravings are a good thing, especially when they're bound by healthy choices, but most especially when the person at the register nods at your purchase in approval. It's the most responsible-adult feeling you'll ever have, and not like they'll ever know what the majority of your eating habits actually are.

Today's green smoothie is a wonderfully unfussy project and won't taste leafish in a way where you'd  hesitate to blend it over and over again.

The drinkability ratio, of course, is determined by the ripeness and quality of fruit per each cup of kale. A well measured, fruit-liquid-yoghurt plexus can increase the narrow window of consuming and thoroughly relishing blended greens.

My favorite pairing is with in-season mangoes, enough to sync in sweetness and mild bursts of tart. Frozen bananas yield a creamier build, and a beverage that could challenge your favorite fast food milkshake. Throwing in chia is just something I like to do. It not only notches up the nutrient and texture quota, but the inevitable gel-ee helps in a lusher, thicker drink.

You are free to come up with as many variable smoothie conclusions your head conjures up and taste buds likely to agree upon. Packed handfuls of kale together with peach/pineapple, a slather of coconut milk, and a sprinkle of coconut sugar transcends to an island-beach feel. Dates, plaintains leverage in enough substance to be a post workout meal or just so you don't eat that last slice of cake. Keep in mind, kale leaves remain your core component, stick to the remaining advice I've given you, and you most certainly won't end up with anything short of fantastic.

The probability of messing up this recipe is near nil. It is straightforward, fantastically easy, supremely gratifying, housing a bastion of powerhouse ingredients to back it up.

In conclusion,  it's important you get this right, understanding how placing kale in a blender can spark as much joy as putting cake into the oven.

Well...almost.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk(dairy or non)
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 1/2 cups chopped kale, loosely packed and stems removed
• 1/2 of a banana, frozen, peeled and cut
• 1/2 cup peeled, cubed and frozen ripe mangoes
• 1/2 cup plain lowfat yoghurt
• 1-2 tbsp coconut sugar(or sweetener of choice)

Directions:

• Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed until smooth. Taste and adjust, according to preference, such as adding more milk, sweetener, fruit, etc.
• Pour into glasses and serve.

Shakes and smoothies~

Banana chikoo shake

Mixed berry coconut smoothie

August~

2012: Pate A Choux

******

"Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way." James 1:2-4 (MSG)

Kiwi, cream and mango pudding

If you, like me, are a visual eater. then the bright images should send "I want" signals to your hungry brain, in about three seconds. Or peak enough curiosity you'll attempt the recipe that will come up shortly after reading through to the end of this article. If you believe this can and will apply to you, pull up close, friends and get ready to listen. 

Before I begin, those who understand the significance of the colors and timing of post, can totally get why I painted Indian patriotism all over today's page. 

To you who have no idea of what it is about, here you go...India celebrates its Independence Day on August 15 and hence the sweet salute to the stripes of the Indian Flag 🇮🇳🇮🇳. I should admit it can be personally liberating to plan a post that plays to one's nationalistic fervor, where you can celebrate holidays of countries/regions you belong to/claim nationality to/ once lived in or desire enough that you believe you actually do.

On the 15th, most Indians attend patriotic parades, watch flag hoistings, fly kites, attend politically incorrect charged functions, even those living outside the nation. I like to design desserts to matchy match country flags.  Last point is most likely tantamount to the ultimate religious experience.

At one period in life, I fell hard in love with layered puddings. It would be a time when culinary fashion in my small town demanded every wedding/baptismal/birthing/preschool-to-highschool graduation served multiple rows of these old school desserts. They were technicolored, often had a biscuit base, with textures ranging from bright pops of fruit, to silken Milkmaid creations and toppings of assorted caramel crunch. My life became brighter and an undying love for 2 ounce pudding-in-a-cup cups bloomed to the point that I knew, beyond doubt, I was destined to master multicomponent dessert-ing.

Kiwi, cream and mango pudding. The flavor profile can be read in its very name. Subsequently,  there is an incredible assortment of texture to keep a mouth curious and enough tricolored beauty to make it levels more distinctive than the manufactured gloop you were going to buy the other day.

The ingredient list is impressive. About eight kiwis solidify the fact you are consuming a stupendous serving of fruit. These, along with pinches of mint - totally optional and not mentioned- contribute to our hulk hued base layer. 

A smidge of tang works wonders in heavy cream desserts and splendidly balances the combination of condensed milk with thickened dairy. It's what a silky cheesecake filling would resemble, without being overly cheese-y. If you desire a fluffier, less contained structure, then subtract some gelatin to err to an airier whip side.

The final custard is made using a packaged mix doused with a plentiful amount of mango puree , thus making it shine. Because the plan here is to not overwhelm with a dish that will keep you in the kitchen for half a day. The particular brand I use is more of a thickener that benefits from enhancement and has you wonder if you actually did do it from scratch. 

When raw ingredients cooperate with your patriotic endeavours🍊🥝🥛

Use today's edit as a blueprint for the commemoration, occasion, shout out or sit down you'd like it to highlight. It adapts quite justly, doesn't demand much and will wow pieces of garments off anyone you present it to. Feel free to replace fruits/ colors/presentation to realize a full range of thematic desires.

Happy Independence day India!
God bless.

Ingredients:

Green layer-

• 2 packets gelatin (14 grams of 5 tsp)
• 1⅓ cup white grape juice
• 8 kiwis, peeled, sliced and quartered
• ⅓ cup cold water

White layer:

• 1 ½ cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 tbsp cream cheese
• 2 packets gelatin (14 grams or 5 tsp)
• ½ cup cold water
• ½ cup roasted, salted cashew pieces

Orange layer:

• 1 ½ cups milk
• 3 tbsp custard powder
• ½ cup mango puree
• 1 cup assorted peeled and finely chopped fruits- either/or/and oranges/peaches/mangoes.

Directions:
Green layer:

• In a bowl, sprinkle gelatin over 1/3 cup of grape juice.
• Meantime, in a saucepan, bring kiwi pieces in remaining juice to a boil. Allow to simmer and kiwi to cook for 2 minutes. Turn off heat.
• Combine gelatin mixture with this and stir till dissolved.
• Pour into cups or molds, about 1/3 up. 
• Refrigerate.
• Prepare the white layer.

White layer:

• Beat cream, condensed milk and cream cheese in a stand mixer, on medium speed, until smooth.
• Sprinkle gelatin in cold water and let it stand for like 5 minutes.. Heat in the microwave until it turns liquid again, almost 40 seconds.
• Combine with cream mixture. Stir in cashews.
• Set aside until lightly thickened but not set. Then pour over firm set kiwi layer in cups or molds, another 1/3 up.
• Refrigerate and allow to firm.
• Prepare the orange layer.

Orange layer:

• Heat milk in a double boiler. Add the custard powder. Allow to thicken and simmer. 
• Take off heat. Let cool for a 2-3 minutes.
• Take a few spoons from the heated custard and add it to the mango puree, so it doesn't separate. Stir this mixture back into the custard and combine until you have a smooth emulsion.
• Transfer this to a medium sized bowl.
• Add oranges, peaches, mangoes to the the puree-custard. Combine well.
• Refrigerate in bowl until cooled.
• Spoon over the white layer to fill to rim. The orange layer has softer texture and does not set stiff.

Notes:

I used 4 sprigs of mint, blended it with 1/4 cup of water to add color, and a bit pep to the kiwi (green) gelatin.

For the white layer, you could also add pieces of tender coconut.

The pudding above has chopped mangoes in it. For the bottom picture, oranges were used. Fruit toppings as a fourth layer work well too.

Puddings:

Upside down sticky toffee pudding with kumquats

Malva pudding

Quatro leches pudding

Orange peach pudding

Spiced chai creme brulee

Tender coconut lychee pudding

******

"No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it." 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NABRE)

Beet chapatis/rotis/flatbread

The chapati, or roti, as it's generically known, is the Indian's way of telling the world they have mastered the art of the flatbread. Often upstaged by its renowned artisanal, counterpart, the naan, chapati, unfortunately, does not get the universal recognition it rightly deserves.

These tortilla- like breads, essentially daily sustenance on streets across India,  are made of wheat and served with anything ranging from chutney to enriched curds,and/or the native curry fortunate to make its pair.

Wheat that's unleavened and, for the most part, unadulterated, is kneaded with a bit of water and an even tinier bit of oil. It's not frequent that one staple ingredient and a mere 2 essentials get you such satisfactory recipe leverage. Yet, the homemade, handkneaded bread carries an unassuming air, in its slim, dark spotted demeanor, and houses boss packed wholesomeness in a 6 inch frame.

Today is all about the chapati, taking on an artsy spin. If you can recall middle school art class and how you were taught to "envelope color to enrich, enliven, enthrall"...well, I believe I did just that.

Meet beet chapati.

This isn't the first time I painted flatbread. You've seen me do it before, where blended salad greens created foliage colored roti.

The general feels are that beets aren't the most popular vegetables on the planet. But before you come to a conclusion, or even dismiss the one someone else has come to, wait till I finish these next 100 words.

Ground beets camouflaged in wheat is pure brilliance and solidifies a universal truth: eye catching vegetables mashed to rival crayola are the perfect guise and an excellent nutritive addendum to food you normally can't get kids, no matter the age( even the grown up adult ones that refuse to make a single thing on their own- yes, you!), to eat. And now, who's the fool?

It's when these same underlings people clamor for frequent said meals that it makes an even truer testimony to the wantability(if that's word) factor for a given recipe.

Finally, addition of root puree is a luminous attempt in amping chapati's health quotient, aesthetics, and overall textural quality. It's so good, you'd happily eat to your mouth's content and simultaneously grab for a next one.

Before you begin, I've taken the liberty of jotting down some suggestions that could help in your own chapati maker journey.

⭐It's all in the knead. Apart from being a supreme stress buster, kneading determines the dough's consistency. After a few trials, the number of pounds and turnovers required for a soft, pliant bread becomes instinctual knowledge.
⭐️Get a feel of when enough is enough. Be it liquid, dry ingredient, salt, fat.Too much/too little of any one element could totally offset the result. One person's moisture content is not another's.
⭐ A perfect round can and will be achieved with practice. Even if your chapati is closer in shape to the outline of a small Eastern country on the map, and not the circle it's intended to be, no fret, because it will taste just as good. And you could purchase a large, round biscuit cutter.
⭐  Let your imagination fly. Play this any way you want- flavorfully, nutritionally, visually. Sneak in stuff your diet might be lacking in, yet tastebud urgings may not always be calling out for. Carrots, cabbages, zucchinis, turnips and collards could find a sure future as the rainbow on your plate.

Since accompaniment potential is limitless, this is the ideal meal prospect for the vegetarian, the non vegetarian and the undecided alike.

So, really, is there an excuse?

These are to be devoured before they get cold. But if you have motivated appetites, like the growing boychild who believes he has become the adult he clearly is not, you'd press out a few dozen before the actual process of cooking.

 Ingredients:

• 2 beets, peeled and cut into cubes
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups whole wheat durum flour(know as chapati atta) (you could substitute with whole wheat flour)
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• salt
• 5 tsp olive oil

Directions:

• Peel and cut beets into small chunks. Puree in blender with 1 cup water on high until a nice liquid forms.
• In a large bowl or bowl of stand mixer, whisk flour, garlic powder, salt. 
• Slowly add beet puree, along with 2 tsp oil, into flour mixture. Knead, using kneading attachment on stand mixer's high option. Add additional water, if needed, until mixture forms a smooth ball. Cover with a a damp cloth and keep aside for 15 minutes.
• Take dough out and roll out 1 inch smooth balls. Keep covered, so they don't dry out.
• Roll out each ball to a  5-6'inch diameter using a rolling pin on a floured surface, a very clean and flour dusted countertop will do. Try to roll out into
• Heat a flat pan and smear with oil over medium flame.
• Heat chapati on one side for not more than a minute, flip to the other side until done. 

Silverware? No thanks. Pieces of chapati and your very own hands feed best.

August-

2016: Chili-lime roast corn

2015: Vermicelli payasam

2013: Buttermilk and cheddar biscuits
2012: Pate A Choux- puffy swans

******
"Revive us again, O God! I know you will! Give us a fresh start!
Then all your people will taste your joy and gladness." Psalm 85:6(TPT)

Red, white and blue cake

If your Fourth of July is as happy as this cake is, then I'd say you're having a very good holiday. 

Since I'm not too much a fan of summer, I had nothing better than to work on my coloring/crafting skills, perhaps in a sincere endeavor to make up for lack of a few years' worth of July Four posts.

Not to reduce this beautiful display of pastry art to mere simpleton aspirations/techniques. Though, it may stem from a likeminded concept- to just. let. go. Like you would in a situation you've nil control over. When doing so, it gives you that creative edge and an end product with enough enterprise, in varied texture, taste, mouthfeel and crumb. Yes, people, the party in your mouth can be a true story.

Today's cake is designed with the flag in mind, decorated in patriotic berries, purchased specially for the purpose. It warrants the standing ovation, open mouthed aaahhss!, a possible salute or two, and  can be assured total Grand Entry Status to any venue it's showcased at.

The three layers are noticeably distinct from one another, not only visually, but in flavor nuances a trio of independent cakes should give off. The blue and red are velvet cakes. I used separate recipes, because I wanted to have more of a cocoa touch in one and less in the other. The white layer is lemon-ish and has enough stand-out quality to perk up anything that might be taken for granted in this three ring show. 

I bid you to try, then thank me later.

Happy fourth y'all🎉 🎇 and happy birthday, America🇺🇸

Recipes will be soon be up💥 Update July 4, 2019 *** They are up*** Scroll down to see⬇︎

Red velvet cake-
(Adapted from Live Well Bake Often)

Ingredients:

• 2 ⅔ cups cake flour 
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ cup salted butter 
• 1 ¾ cups sugar
• 2 large eggs 
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 3-4 tbsp no-taste red gel food color
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1 ⅓ cups buttermilk 

Red cake -
Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans.
• In a large bowl, sift together cake flour, cocoa powder and baking soda. 
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, eggs, oil, red food color, vanilla extract, and vinegar.
• With the mixer running on low, slowly add in the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Make sure to mix each addition until just combined.
• Distribute batter between prepared cake pans. 
• Bake at 350°F for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Place cakes in their pans, on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. 
• Remove the cakes from the cake pans and invert cakes onto the racks directly to cool.

Vanilla(white) cake-
(Adapted from Joy Of Baking)
Ingredients:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• zest of one lemon, finely grated
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ⅔ cup whole milk
• ⅔ cup vegetable oil

Vanilla cake-
Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans.
• In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt.
• In mixer, cream together sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla extract until smooth.
• Stir together the milk and oil.
• With mixer running on low, alternately, add the dry ingredients to the batter in three additions with the milk mixture, starting and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined.
• Distribute batter between pans.
• Bake for 25- 30 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Place cakes in their pans, on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. 
• Remove the cakes from the cake pans and invert onto the racks directly to cool.

Blue velvet cake:

(somewhat adapted from Food Network's Blue velvet cake)

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda 
• ¾ tsp salt
• 1 ½ cups vegetable oil
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• ¼ cup coconut sugar
• 2 tbsp royal blue gel food color
• 1 toothpick amount violet gel food color
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk

Blue cake-

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans.
• In a large bowl sift together flour, cocoa ,baking soda and salt.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer ( or handheld mixer) cream together oil, sugar, coconut sugar, food colors, vanilla, vinegar and eggs.
• With the mixer running on low, alternately, add the dry ingredients to the batter in three additions with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined.
• Distribute batter between prepared cake pans. Bake 28-30 minutes or until cakes have pulled away from sides and toothpick inserted in center of cakes is clean.
• Transfer cakes to cooling rack. Allow cakes to cool in pans for 10 minutes, after which remove from pans and place directly on racks to cool to room temperature.

Soaking syrup(optional)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup water
• 1 tbsp rum

Soaking syrup

Instructions:

• Bring water and sugar to a boil until sugar dissolves. Let simmer for an additional minute. Turn off heat and add alcohol.

Cream cheese frosting-

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces cream cheese
• ¼ cup butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp heavy cream

Cream cheese frosting

Directions:

• Beat  cream cheese and butter until smooth.
• Add sugar and vanilla until frosting is light and fluffy. 
• Beat in heavy cream until well combined.

Whipped cream frosting-
Ingredients:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Whipped cream frosting-

Directions:

• Beat 2 cups heavy cream until until it starts to become thick.
• Slowly add the powdered sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.

Assembly:

Stack cakes with red cake at the bottom, white in the middle, blue on top. Brush each layer with cooled soaking syrup. Fill and frost between the cakes between with cream cheese frosting. Ice the entire cake with sweetened whipped cream.

Decorate with berries or fruit of choice.

Notes:

Eggs, butter, milk and buttermilk should be at room temperature.
No buttermilk? No worries :-) Combine 4-5 tablespoons of regular milk in enough plain yoghurt to equal the amount required in the ingredients.

It is beneficial to line the bottom of your cake pan with parchment. Just trace out a parchment circle using the cake tin as your guide and place it in after the pan is greased and floured. Be sure to remove before you frost.

Tap the pans on the counter 2-3 times before cakes go into the oven to remove any air bubbles.
If you are baking all the cakes in succession, then one preheat is fine and the oven will remain on throughout your baking. That being said, you can space out baking the layers. Cakes can be made several days in advance, sealed with wrap and stored in the freezer.
When whipping heavy cream, chill bowl and blade (s) in freezer for 5-10 minutes prior to beating. 
Each recipe yields 2 cakes, which in my household is not a problem. Desserts are dietary requirements here, so I freeze the extras, including any shaved off remnants, in lots of plastic wrap for later use.

2017: Star spangled meringues

2013: Crostata di marmellata

2012: Red, white and blue fruit tarts

******
"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12(NIV)

Instant Pot butter chicken

Last year, I gave you an adequately easy recipe for butter chicken. Today, I want to expand on that:  same ingredients, in an exceptionally...surprising...wait for it....effortless way. I'm excited about  today's story- not a better version of the former- just an alternate road to bring the same meal to your tables at faster, greater frequency.  

Curtains rise. Cue the Instant Pot. Say hello to Present Hero of My Kitchen, my 10 month new appliance I wax poetic about to any person I have on the phone for more than five minutes. The auto timed, multi cooking piece of magnificence is my new companion, a ten in one use grand machine. It is relentless in its pursuit to produce happiness, predominantly mine. The semi adult/ mid teen child look at you like you're a rockstar, your dining room transforms to Moti Mahal in a matter of minutes-  ALL because of what I'm about to share with you. Yes, people, material goods really can lead one to nirvana.

Of course, the next few hundred words are not to persuade you to buy anything, in any way. Except maybe the stuff needed to produce what's made within the six quart pot. Because, seriously,  friends, you'd know, that any time I open script, it should be, only will be, solely about the food. 

Most layfolk, who know not left or right of the spice spectrum, consider butter chicken and it's British-Indian counterpart chicken tikka masala natural starting places on the Indian menu. Both are hugely popular and closely akin. Though it's butter chicken that sings in less spice and more butter, is as desi as it gets and is one of my absolute favorite dishes, just falling short of the regional cuisine I inherited.

There is not really a huge margin of error here since the cooker does most of the work. A simple saute of non-marinade ingredients pressure cook into a beautiful mess, which after going through a hand blender (yahhh- it never leaves the pot !!) mashes into the silkiest, smooth spiced, onion-tomato-ey broth you'll  ever experience.

It is a clean step process. The only executive decision you'd need to make is how to brown the chicken pieces, because it's just better that way. You could brown them in the Instant Pot, take out for gravy making purposes and return to simmer after. Or oven bake for tandoori-like, slightly charred flesh. In either situation, allowing the chicken to commingle and settle into it's upcoming murgh makhani role is what you're really aiming for.

Lastly, I feel obligated to impart some advice, perhaps heathen, from all that I've learned, through years of cooking/recipes/kitchens/habitats. Never think an iconic plate of food, or kitchen technique is unattainable, non doable, or as elaborate as the world and their mother make them out to be. Do use ingredients and methods that deem authenticity, not altering blueprints in such a way that have people wonder what it is. Yet, strive to keep the flow easy, classy, economical, friendlier to busy lifestyles, evolving palates, limited budgets. 

So that we all become fearless champions of not only the kitchen, but even our homes. 
Bring on the capes.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 tbsp red (Indian)chili powder or cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ginger powder
• ½ tsp black pepper
• salt
• ½ cup plain yoghurt
• juice of one lemon
• 5 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 large red onion, cut into medium chunks
• 2 tomatoes, roughly cut into chunks
• 2 tsp thinly sliced ginger
• 6-7 garlic cloves, sliced thin
• 1 small-ish cinnamon stick
• 2 cloves
• 1 cardamom pod, 
• 2 sprigs cilantro
• 1 -1 ½ cups water
• 2 tbs sugar
• ¼ tsp powdered fenugreek leaves- kasoori methi (optional)
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 2-3 tbs of butter
• 1-2 sprigs cilantro, chopped
• 1 sprig mint(optional)

Directions:

• Make a paste of cayenne, coriander, cumin, turmeric, garlic powder, ginger powder, black pepper, salt, yoghurt, lemon juice, 3 tbsp oil.
• Add the chicken pieces and coat each in the spice mixture thoroughly.
• Set aside marinaded chicken for 30 minutes to an hour.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Using the Instant Pot's saute setting, add 2 tbs. oil and cook onion, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and stir on high 3 minutes. You don't need to brown them.
• Stir in cinnamon, cloves, cardamom.
• Add cilantro and salt.
• Pour in the water. Stir to combine. 
• Secure the lid and pressure cook on high for 8 minutes. Allow the natural release option to release for 15 minutes, then quick release the remaining pressure. Ingredients should be soft cooked and fork tender. 
• In the meantime, place chicken pieces onto a foil lined baking tray. Bake at 400° F  for 20-25 minutes. It's ok if they're slightly undercooked, pieces will finish cooking when later simmered in the IP.
• Open the Pot. Remove, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom.
• Use an immersion stick blender to puree cooked ingredients into a smooth, thick liquid.
• Take the chicken out of oven and put pieces into the pureed onion/tomato sauce.
• Once more, turn on Instant Pot's saute function, simmer the ingredients for an additional 5-7 minutes, more if chicken needs to cook through.
• Taste and add salt, if needed. Add additional water if you desire a more liquid gravy 
• If chicken has not fully cooked through, leave on saute to simmer until cooked.
• Turn off Pot.
• Stir in the sugar. 
• Add powdered fenugreek leaves.
• Add cream, and butter.
• Garnish with cilantro and mint.

Notes:

To kasoori methi or not? I leave out the powder on most occasions. So, I'd say test with a pinch of it and see if it's what you'd like to eat for the next 5 servings.

Curry leaves nod to a much needed South Indian dimension, one which I'm familiar with and oftentimes longing for. I admit, even if I don't have much love for it, fenugreek leaves lend authenticity in fragrance and flavor. An overgenerous serving of butter doesn't hurt either. 

Indian chili powder is just pure ground red chilies. American chili powder is not. It is a combination of several spices, including cumin. I cannot vouch for the Mexican kind either, or those from other parts of the world.  An appropriate substitute would be cayenne pepper, which is about the same thing.

Honestly, I had not planned this at all, but almost exactly one year ago on this date~

June 2018:butter chicken

******
"Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment." Matthew 9:22 (NIV)

Project cake: caramel-fudge filling

This. In queue simply because I had another full time gig for much of the year. Which is why I am punching the words that came straight to my head about 90 days ago onto the screen today, before they leave me forever.

Not that I will forget how staggeringly good the combination of what I am about to report on really is.  It would be a story of how an awesome piece of cake possessed the ability to transform into something even more astounding, it deserved several repeat visits. The frosting, the filling, the flowers participate in too grand a party that you'd never ever wish to sit out on.

Getting down to the real of it, I wanted to construct something that combined two of my very favorite things onto one single plate. So this would be my ode; to cake and the decadent caramel sugar-condensed milk-butter fudge that I once fell in love with, a few many years ago that might have you gasp...wow, is she really that old(!).

As said, the cashew studded filling comes from a place of nostalgic admiration. Forged with mainly 3 ingredients, yet not a real reduction, it is simmered to a toffee-ish quality which makes everything it touches just right. 

The cake, as such, is incredibly accommodating to the thick middle that it sandwiches. Whole eggs and liquid whites evidence for a similar-to-cloud texture. In turn, you get an almost airy crumb which yields beautifully to the butter cream and fondant gild that are called to adorn it.

Take it as your cue; to flavor up/try/test/ mix/match/experiment on things that could and would spin your future cake baking endeavors out of orbit. Release that beast chef within. 

And remember to come back to tell me all about it.

I created this meadow cakescape at the onset of what I seasonally infer to as "Spring". With too many months in our Southwest Inferno-esque summer, I might consider cooking cake on the sidewalk next time. I'll tell you about it, if I don't turn to ash myself😎

Fondant not only makes things pretty, the homemade marshmallow kind actually lends nice flavor. Since I have two of the pickiest cake testers on the planet to vouch for this,  I can tell you each and every modicum of display counts and had them fighting for pieces post picture taking.

For the cake-
Ingredients:
(Adapted from Sally's baking Addiction)

• 3 and 2/3 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 and 1/2 cups salted butter, 
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs + 2 additional egg whites, at room temperature*
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract 
• 1 and 1/2 cups well stirred buttermilk

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour 3 8" round cake pans.
• In a bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda. Set aside.
• In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar on med-high until pale and fluffy. 
• Reduce speed and add eggs and egg whites, and vanilla extract. Increase speed and beat until pale and fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. 
• Alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with flour and fully incorporating after each addition.
• Pour into pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out  clean.
• Allow to cool in pans for 5-7 minutes, then turn onto wire rack. 

For the vanilla frosting-

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature
• 3 3/4 cups (1 1-pound box) powdered sugar, sifted
• 4 tbsp heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla 

Directions:

• Beat butter, on medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy.
• Slowly add powdered sugar and beat until incorporated.
• Pour in cream and vanilla and beat.

For the fudge filling-

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp caramel syrup
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 1 can condensed milk
• 1/2 cup raisins(optional)
• 1/2 cup salted cashews 

Directions:

• Put first three ingredients in a heavy bottomed saucepan  and bring to a boil on moderate heat
• Boil for 3-4 minutes, until slightly thickened, a scoop-able, but, not too dense consistency.
• Take off heat.
• Add raisins and cashews. Stir to combine well.
• Allow to cool slightly.

Assembly.

• Spread fudge filling over one cake and top with second. Spread evenly and decorate with buttercream.

Notes:

Butter, eggs, milk, cream should be at room temperature

Past Junes~
2018: Butter chicken
2017: Coconut ice cream
2014: Pastry tarts
2013: Chaat masala french fries
2012: Cannelloni

******

After reading Ruth Reichl's (food writer and past editor-in-chief of now shuttered Gourmet magazine)book, "Delicious", I think I will continue on to "Save Me the Plums." This summer I am aiming towards 10 books, 2 thus far read, one a mystery that had me sleep with lights on for several nights. I intend to visit with you more often here, maybe download a smidge of the gazillion recipes that crowd my head, to pages of my white screen. Wish me luck and, always, thank you for reading.

"And He is before all things, and in Him, all things hold together." Colossians 1:17

Oven roasted chicken shawarma

Having an arsenal of flavoring ideas does quite well for a visionless meal planner such as myself. Whether it's a marinade bath or a shake and bake rub, this one prep alone can make a dream out of grub preparation.

Let me begin by saying megapacks of chicken thighs/breasts are an essential part of busy weeks, particularly when you have other gigs outside the home. Not only are they super cheap, but the perfect foundation to build upon, often without much creative effort needed. A bundle of bold and bright flavors can doctor up almost anything.

That being said, in my kitchen, on a roll, 16 pieces of any limb of bird celebrate flavors of Mexico, China, Japan, Italy and at least 2 regions of India, before I bag them to the freezer. Not one of the two I mothered can deny that one or a couple of these make for A-class lunchboxes.

On to the topic. What is shawarma? 

Basted with cloves, nutmeg, oregano, and motley of seasonings key to Middle Eastern cooking, it is a sort of rotisserie preparation, where meat is roasted vertically for up to a day and brings out the tenderest, most flavorful results. In contrast to Western "tender" this meat maintains a structural integrity that's, well, foreign, to the latter. You won't be alone in thinking how unintentionally wronged you were after consuming roasts that never looked, tasted, smelled like such.

A shawarma plate possesses an expanse of flavor that is unparalleled to any other recipe I've really ever done. You'd think the chicken/beef/lamb so perfectly hugged by these exotic scents/smells/tastes was, of course, created for such a thing as this. 

You might just miss the exotic stand-up grill. In lieu, we bake...in our kitchen oven...on moderate high flame... to pretty much the same outcome. 

It's strong enough to take on a myriad of prospects, with mix and match meats/skewers/ assorted veg platters, and an  array of sidecars.

And it might be the missing link to your weekly repertoire, whether dinner favorite or pin-worthy tiffin.

The best part? No advanced cooking skill, no foreknowledge of mystery barbecuing, no ninja chef training and no special equipment.
Boom. Boom. Pow!
Now, you just need a cape.

Ingredients:

• 6 tbsp finely minced garlic
• 3 tbsp finely minced ginger
• 2 tsp finely minced parsley
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2-3 tbsp cayenne pepper/Indian red chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 3 tbsp  za'atar
• 2- 3 tsp shawarma seasoning
• 1 tsp black pepper
• salt
• juice of one lemon
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Directions:

• In a large bowl, prepare a marinade for the chicken by combining all the ingredients up to the chicken thighs.
• Place chicken in bowl and toss well to coat. Cover and store in refrigerator for 1 hour. If it's being kept longer, skip the lemon juice and add in at the final hour of marinade.
• When ready to take out, preheat oven to 400°F.
• Place chicken in a sheet pan, or rectangular baking pan covered in foil. Add all the juices of the marinade.
• Spread all the pieces evenly and without overlap.
• Bake until chicken is browned and charred along the edges, about 40-45 minute, testing to see if juices run clear once on slicing.*
• Take out of oven and let rest for 5=8 minutes.
• Slice and serve.

Notes:

* For more burnt edges, turn the broiler to high and keep chicken in after baking time for an additional 3-5 minutes, checking in between so as not to burn. Take out of oven and let rest for 5 minutes.

To serve this meal:

Add chopped English cucumber, red onions, red, yellow, orange bell peppers and toss with whole cherry tomatoes. Sprinkle with feta cheese and cilantro or parsley (optional). Squeeze half a lemon wedge over the vegetables. Toss with salt and pepper. 

Mix 1 tsp grated garlic and tahini with half a cup yogurt and salt. Whisk until  combined.

Brush pita bread slightly with olive oil. Cut into smallish pieces. Use your hands, rustic is key. Bake in a 400° F oven for 6-7 minutes. Take out when slightly crisp.

On a serving platter, spread an ample amount of hummus. 

Slice chicken. Place on platter along with vegetables, yogurt and pita pieces.

Alternatively, naan would also be a brilliant option.

April ~

2017: Mixed berry coconut chia smoothie

2015: Chocolate vanilla marble cake

******

"The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar in Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green. " Psalm 92:12-14