CLICK Cookies

CLICK is a monthly photography event hosted by Bee and Jai over at Jugalbandi.

Its been a really long time since I sent in an entry to this event. This month's theme is "Cookies". I have clicked quite a few cookies in the past, and it wasn't very hard choosing an entry.

(Click on image to enlarge)

These are Raspberry Almond Twirls, and the recipe is here.

I hope all of you are enjoying the long weekend.

CLICK and AFAM

This month’s fruit is Papaya and when Nags announced this I was wondering what I could make with Papaya because I enjoy the fruit as is and have never bothered making something out of it. I bought a large raw papaya that same weekend thinking that a raw one would give me sufficient time to come up with something. It has been sitting on my table since then, and in a wink has ripened too!! I realized it was high time I made something before it went bad on me. Mom had mentioned a tropical salad long ago and that required papaya, but I wasn’t too sure if a ripe one would do good. I went ahead and made it anyways and it was great.

Exotic Super Salad

You will need:

½ cup Papaya cubed
½ Cucumber cubed
½ cup Pineapple cubed
½ cup Orange segments
2 tsp Mint chutney (recipe here)
2 tsp Olive oil
½ tsp Black pepper powder
½ tsp Salt
½ cup Green gram sprouted (Whole Moong dal) – optional

In a medium bowl place the cubed fruit and cucumber. In another bowl, blend the olive oil, minty chutney, salt and pepper. Pour this over the cubed fruit and toss. Garnish with a fresh sprig of mint. Serve immediately.

I left out the green gram sprouts because I don’t like the taste of the raw sprouts.

I am not a salad person at all but was not too hestitant in making this one because it has fruit in it. I must say I was pleasantly surprised at how well the fruits and the cucumber came together. The mint chuntey made it refreshing and tasty. I think this is one salad I will make again.

This is headed to Nags at For the Cook in Me who is hosting AFAM – Papaya this month.

CLICK -- Liquid Comfort

It is the heart of winter now and other than soups nothing else could be more comforting. But I’ve made a lot of soups this winter and want to stop making them for a while. So I chose to click our favourite liquid comfort in the blazing summer heat. I know summer’s a good many months away, but no harm in gulping down some now as well. Our drink is Minty Ginger Ale with lots of ice, a dash of lime and mint leaves.

I added a mint leaf to each ice cube mold and let it freeze, not only did it make the ice cubes look good with the mint leaves in it, but it also adds to the minty flavour of the drink as it melts.

This picture is my entry to this month's CLICK - "Liquid Comfort" over at Jugalbandi.

Festive Chocolate Fruit and Nut Squares

For the first time ever, I think I'm really into the festive season with all the baking and cooking. Anywhere you go its all 'Christmassy' ...lights, colours, decorations, gifts and not to forget the various holiday 'sale's. Even all the channels on tv are decked up for the season. Hard to avoid all the cheer!

Well whatever the reason, I just a need an excuse to cook or bake and share it with friends.

After the cookies I decided to make these Festive Chocolate Fruit and Nut Squares. Sweet and dark chocolate with dried fruits and toasted nuts, a feast to the palette.


You will need:

9 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup whole or split roasted, salted cashews
1 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup chopped dried plums
1 tsp Orange zest plus more for garnish

Melt the 2 chocolates in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.

Meanwhile, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using a ruler and a pencil, draw a 9 by 10-inch rectangle on the paper. Turn the paper face down on the baking sheet.

Pour the melted chocolate over the paper and spread to form a rectangle, using the outline. Sprinkle the cashews, apricots and plums over the chocolate. Also sprinkle the orange zest on top.

Set aside for 2 hours until firm. Cut the chocolate into squares and serve at room temperature.

Stacked up!

You can use any dried fruits you have on hand..cranberries, pineapples...your choice.

Festive Chocolate Fruit & Nut Squares is my entry to the event "AFAM - Dry Fruits" hosted by Latha of The Yum blog.

Also, the picture below is my entry to Bee & Jai's "CLICK - Show us Your Nuts"


Happy Holidays everyone!! :)

Update:

This is also an entry to Bindiya's event "These are a few of my favourite things -- Chocolate".

A little bit of This and That – CLICK

Well that’s exactly what my dish has, a little bit of this and that. This month’s theme for CLICK is “Noodles”. My better half and I are into Pasta and nowadays I find myself making Pasta more often than not. Last night was one such time when I set out to make a particular dish and realized I didn't have the kind of pasta the recipe demanded-- angel hair, so I decided to make do with what I had – spaghetti and fettucine ..hence the dish has a little bit of This and That.

Another reason for the pasta, I wanted to finish the fresh basil before it wilted on me.

Fresh Tomato, Basil and Garlic Sauce over Pasta

You will need:

1 large can whole peeled tomatoes
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 oregano sprig
1 tsp chili flakes
1 tsp sugar
1 pound Angel hair pasta (I used Spaghetti and Fettucine)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish
1/4 cup chiffonade basil, plus whole sprigs for garnish

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt the water generously and add the pasta. Cook for 13-14 minutes till done.

Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions and garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add the thyme leaves, oregano sprig, and chili flakes and saute until the garlic begins to turn golden brown. Add the tomatoes and the sugar and stir well. Lower the heat and cook slowly until the mixture is fairly dry, about 15 minutes.

Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Now add the Parmesan and basil and toss well. Garnish with more Parmesan and basil sprigs.

These are the pictures I took using a Canon Powershot A610.

And now for the entry to Bee and Jai's CLICK event:

A Little Bit of This and That

While the pasta water came to a boil, couldn't help taking pictures of the Spaghetti :) so here they are...

Realms of the Noodle world!

I'm nothing but an amateur in the world of photography,and I've taken only a few baby steps yet. This event is keeping me on my toes as well as shaking the rust of my brains as I'm always trying to figure how to take better pictures ...thanks to the duo for that! :)

Eggs travaganza….time to CLICK!

It’s been really exciting to see so many creative minds at work to get their Egg pictures submitted to CLICK. This month’s theme being Eggs, its no doubt eggs all the way! After looking at all those entries I was at a loss what to do! Then something came to mind and this is what I clicked with a Canon A610.

Looks like Mickey Mouse's eyes to me... :)

Egg Art!

"Stuck in My Heart"

I took these pictures over the last week so obviously didn't have all these eggs on one day! :) "Stuck in My Heart" is off as an entry to Bee and Jai's CLICK.

Wait, wait there's more Eggs headed your way! When Kanchana announced the theme for Weekend Breakfast blogging - Omlettes, I was all ga-ga! She said Frittatas too come under this category and I've been dying to try this since long, so here goes.


Egg and Pasta Frittata (Serves:6)

The following is the original recipe, I scaled it down to serve 2. You can do the same.

1 12 ounce box Fettuccini pasta
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
Salt and black pepper
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
8 extra large eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Add pasta and cook 6-8 minutes -- al dente. Pasta will continue to cook in frittata. Drain and reserve.

Heat a large nonstick skillet with oven safe handle over medium high heat. If all of your skillets have rubber handles, cover handle tightly in foil to protect it. Add oil and butter and melt together. Add cream and reduce for about 3 minutes. Add cheese and nutmeg, salt and pepper. Toss sauce with cooked pasta to coat. Add parsley and beaten eggs to the skillet and stir gently to combine.

Allow the eggs to set up on the bottom of the pan and become firm. Transfer pan to hot oven and bake 10 minutes, until golden. Serve from the pan or transfer to a platter. Serve hot or cold, cutting frittata into wedges.

The Frittata was creamy and rich, but not heavy in the slightest. It was fulfilling and tasty to the last bite.

This is off to Kanchana's Weekend Breakfast Blogging

I'm done with Eggs for a few weeks now..hehehe!