Cook's Hideout: Nuts
Showing posts with label Nuts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nuts. Show all posts

May 06, 2016

Mexican Chocolate Date Truffles (Vegan Energy Balls)

After doing the detox diet, I have been trying to avoid processed foods and refined sugar in our diets. But sometimes it is difficult to stop those afternoon sweet cravings. Instead of reaching to those chocolate candy, here are a much healthy and nutritious alternate -- these Mexican Chocolate Date truffles.
Vegan Chocolate Date Energy balls
These little energy balls are made with medjool dates, nuts and cacao powder. They are no-bake, no-cook and are perfect when you are short on time. I used mixed nuts with almonds, cashews, pistachios and peanuts, but you can use any one nut or your favorite combination of nuts.

April 28, 2016

Xmas Fruit Cake (Kerala Christmas Fruit Cake)

BM# 63: Journey through the Cuisines 
Week 4: Kerala Cuisine 
Day 24: X for Xmas Fruit Cake
So here we are at probably the most difficult letter of all, X. There are very few dishes or veggies that start with the letter X, so this must have been a tough letter for everyone except for those cooking from Spanish or Chinese cuisines. I was initially planning to go with an adjective or a verb but finally ended up making this Kerala Style X mas Cake.
Kerala Christmas Fruit Cake
I was thinking of doing a post like xplore Malabar cuisine, xperience Kerala sadya or something on those lines. I even asked Rajani for her input and she said try a sadya meal by making dishes over couple of days. I was tempted but the amount of work involved seemed too tedious and with the husband traveling, it was way too much food for just me. It is one of my dream meal to make in my lifetime.

April 08, 2016

Curry flavored Roasted Mixed Nuts

Roasted nuts are my husband's favorite go-to snack. He is the snacker in the house, grabs a handful every time he walks into the kitchen. I don't like snacking, I'm more of a 'eat a full meal and wait for the next meal' kind of a gal. Even when I snack, it has to be in a proper bowl, I don't do handfuls, I only have bowlfuls :-)
Roasted Nuts for Snack
Anyway, my husband has been asking me to make roasted nuts for a long time and I finally made him these curry flavored roasted mixed nuts. Recipe courtesy Ellie Kreiger's Food Network show.

January 29, 2016

Granola with Cinnamon and Nuts

I always stop my husband from buying granola or granola bars and promise him that I will make them at home for him. But never get around doing that and he keeps asking me for them. After procrastinating for as long as I can, I finally made him this Cinnamon-Nut Granola from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain baking cookbook.
Cinnamon Nut Granola
This granola is a perfect balance of salt and sweet, crisp and crunch, fruit and nuts. Using butter to make the granola gives it a ton of flavor, especially in combination with cinnamon. But you can easily substitute vegetable oil or coconut oil for the butter. Varying the fruits and nuts in the granola is the fun part, so feel free to use whatever you have in your pantry.

December 14, 2015

Eggless Fruit & Nut Cake

Bake-a-thon 2015: Day 6
Bake of the Day: Fruit & Nut Cake without Eggs
We are just 12 short days away from Christmas and I'm sure everyone is in full gear with holiday decorating, shopping and baking. We just put our Christmas tree up yesterday and the decoration is still work-in-progress. My 3 year old is very excited about Christmas and has been actively helping me in decorating the house :-)
Fruit & Nut Cake without Eggs
This fruit & nut cake reminds me of Britannia snack cake with little specks of tutti fruity in it. I have made this cake about half a dozen times already and it has been quite a hit every time I make it. Recipe is from Nisha Madhulika's site. Recipe needs just a few basic baking ingredients and a few minutes of stirring, voila you have a delicious cake in less than an hour.

November 14, 2015

Figs, Date & Nut Bars (Anjeer-Khajoor Burfi)

Belated Diwali wishes to all of you. It was a very quite festival for us this year and the weather didn't cooperate either. It was gloomy and raining the whole day. I'm glad that my husband was home for Diwali, first time in the past 2~3 years. Even after seeing all the yummy Diwali snacks on Facebook and Instagram, I wasn't motivated enough to make anything.
Anjeer-Khajoor Burfi
But then I felt bad for the family and decided to make something less guilty yet satisfying. After leafing through the cookbooks, I found this fig, date & nuts burfi in Sanjeev Kapoor's Sweet temptations. It has no added sugar and the sweetness comes from dried figs and dates.

March 29, 2015

Eggless Fudge Brownies with Nuts

I recently joined Gayathri's Baking Eggless group. She gives a dish that has eggs and wants the group to come up with an eggless version of the same. This month, she picked Joy the Baker's Extra Nutty Dark Chocolate Brownies recipe that has 3 eggs and asked us to come up with an eggless version.
Egg replacer powder (I use Bob's Red Mill brand) is my go-to substitute for eggs and I always keep a packet of it in my fridge. But that usually works only for recipes with 2 eggs. Any more eggs, I don't think the vegetarian option gives the desired results in the baked goods. Ground Flax seeds (Flax see meal) can also be substituted instead of the egg replacer powder.
Eggless Fudge Brownies with Nuts
So for this recipe with 3 eggs, I substituted 2 of the eggs with the egg replacer powder and for the last egg, I used 1½tbsp of sour cream. The resulting brownies tasted very close to the real thing, they were fudgey and delicious. I shared few of the brownies with couple of blogger friends and one of them said she couldn't stop eating them because they were so fudgy and yummy :-)
One thing to note about baking brownies in general is that to remove the pan from the oven when the top does not look glossy anymore -- there might be a few wet crumbs sticking to the toothpick, but resist the urge to bake it longer because that might lead to dried out and crumbly brownies.

Recipe adapted from Joy the Baker:
Ingredients:
Unsalted Butter - ½cup (1stick)
Dark Chocolate - 5oz., chopped
Unsweetened chocolate - 2oz., chopped
Unsweetened Cocoa powder - 
All purpose flour - 1cup
Baking Soda - ¼tsp
Coarse Sea Salt - ½tsp
Light Brown Sugar - 1¼cups, packed
Egg replacer - 2tbsp whisked in 6tbsp water
Sour Cream - 1½tbsp
Vanilla extract - 2tsp
Pecans - 3tbsp, halved
Walnuts - 3tbsp, chopped

Method:
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 8" square baking pan with cooking spray and line it with parchment paper. Lightly grease the parchment too.
  • In a microwave safe bowl, combine butter and the chocolate. Microwave the mixture 30 seconds at a time, stirring until glossy and completely melted. Stir in cocoa powder and mix well to combine.
  • Whisk egg replacer mixture, sour cream and brown sugar in a mixing bowl until thoroughly combined. Whisk in vanilla extract.
  • Add the chocolate mixture and stir to combine.
  • Next add salt, baking soda and flour. Mix well to combine all the ingredients, spoon into the prepared pan. Top with the nuts.
  • Bake for 30~35 minutes until the brownies are slightly puffed, the nuts are golden brown and the top is no longer glossy.
  • Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack before slicing.
Eggless Fudge Brownies with Nuts
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December 24, 2014

90 Minute Fruit Cake

Bake-a-thon 2014: Day 11
Bake of the Day: 90 Minute Fruit Cake
Christmas is just 1 day away. If you didn't make a fruitcake and think you don't have time to make it, think again. This 90 minute fruitcake is just for you. Instead of making loaves or round shaped fruitcakes, these mini bundt cakes are very easy to put together and taste almost like the regular fruitcake.
90 Minute Fruit Cake
Last year I made an eggless Christmas Fruitcake that involved soaking in the dry fruit and nuts in orange juice or some kind of alcohol for at least 1 day or more to get the best flavor. This year I wanted to make something different and when I saw these mini bundt cake recipe in the King Arthur catalog, I knew I found myself a good recipe.

November 26, 2014

Afghani Sheer Payra (Afghani Milk Fudge)

Blogging Marathon# 47: Week 4/ Day 3
Theme: Bookmarked Recipes from A-Z International Marathon
Dishes: Afghani Sheer Payra

I'm going to end this month's blogging marathon on a sweet note. I have made this delicious milk fudge from Afghanistan 3 times in the past 1 month. It is that simple to make and quite a crowd pleaser. My husband really liked the fudge because it has a really nice flavor from ground cardamom and rose water.
Afghani Sheer Payra (Afghani Milk Fudge)
The only thing that takes time in making this fudge is melting sugar and boiling the syrup and letting the fudge cool -- other than that the whole process is very simple and quick to make. The most important and critical part of successfully making this fudge is the consistency of the sugar syrup. it should not be too thin (fudge won't set) or too thick (fudge would be very very hard). 

March 31, 2014

Iranian Jeweled Rice (Vegan recipe)

For this month's International Cooking Challenge, our host Savitha Ramesh @ Savitha's Kitchen has taken us on a culinary tour of Persia/ Iran. Iranian cuisine or Persian cuisine refers to the traditional and modern styles of cooking related to Iran. Situated in the Middle East, the Iranian culinary style is unique to Iran, but it has been influenced by Iran's neighbouring regions at various stages throughout its history.
Many foods famously associated with Middle Eastern, and indeed World cuisine have their origins in Iran, such as kebab and ice cream. Fresh green herbs are frequently used along with fruits such as plums, pomegranates, quince, prunes, apricots, and raisins. Typical Persian main dishes are combination of rice with meat, lamb, chicken, or fish and some onion, vegetables, nuts, and herbs. To achieve a balanced taste, characteristic Persian flavorings such as saffron, dried limes, cinnamon, and parsley are mixed delicately and used in some special dishes.
Iranian Jeweled Rice (Vegan recipe)
I made this very flavorful and colorful Iranian Jeweled Rice. It is sweet, nutty and very aromatic. I'm lucky to live in an area that is close to good Turkish/ middle eastern groceries and I have access to good quality ingredients. I bought orange blossom water on one of my so-called 'window' shopping days, which was put to good use in this recipe.

January 25, 2014

Persimmon and Nuts Salad

Blogging Marathon# 36: Week 4/ Day 2
Theme: Online Bookmarked Recipes
Dish: Persimmon Salad
This year's winter has been brutal till now. Snow is something that is expected this time of the year, but the freezing temperatures have been really the killer. Arctic blast & polar vortex are the terms that are widely being used not just by the meteorologists but by everyone dealing with this harsh weather. Even with all that going on, life still moves on.
Coming back to today's recipe, this is probably the simplest dish ever. I had some persimmons in the fridge and after enjoying some as is, I wanted to do something else with it. I saw the recipe for persimmon salad in Vegetarian times magazine, but I didn't have the ingredients on hand. But the idea of making the salad stuck with me and google search led me to this recipe on LA times.
Persimmon and Nuts Salad
There is not much of a recipe for this dish, but the salad was so colorful that I couldn't stop clicking. So here are some shots of the dish.

December 25, 2013

Eggless Christmas Plum Cake (Vegan recipe)

Blogging Marathon# 35: Week 4/ Day 2
Theme: Bookmarked recipes
Dish: Eggless Christmas Plum Cake
Here's wishing everyone a very merry Christmas.
This holiday season has turned out to be the best so far with family and friends around. We have family visiting us for the holiday and everyone is just having a blast. It's now past 12:00AM on Christmas morning, gifts are placed under the tree and cookies and milk left out for Santa and carrots for the reindeers. Kids are sleeping, but I'm sure they are dreaming about the presents that Santa's going to leave them. 
Eggless Christmas Plum Cake (Vegan recipe)
I planned to make fruit cake for this Christmas a long time ago, but as with everything else I kept it till the very last minute to make it. The reason being I found Dassana's recipe that doesn't need cakes to be soaked in booze for days and I decided to make it just 2 days before Christmas. So I soaked the dry fruit and nuts in orange juice and rum on Sunday and baked the cakes on Monday.

November 25, 2013

Dates & Nuts Laddoo

BM# 34: Week 4/ Day 2
Theme: Cooking from Sapana's blog
Dish: Dates & Nuts Laddoo
It has been a very busy weekend. Saturday whizzed by really fast with 2 birthday parties -- my sister's where we had lunch and evening snack with cupcake cutting then a surprise 50th birthday party for a friend. Of course we were late for the surprise part since we were driving from one corner of New Jersey to another. But all in all it was a great day with loads of good food and fun with family and friends.
Dates & Nuts Laddoo
Sunday started out lazy but soon became busy with house cleaning and laundry. We are hosting our first ever Thanksgiving party this year and even though it's going to be a potluck, I'm getting nervous about the menu, quantity of food, decor and just about everything related to hosting a party. So rest of the Sunday quickly went by with menu planning, laundry folding and Kung Fu Panda watching (not sure how and when the last one got onto the list -- but it's definitely worth the time, kept my mind off the impending work).

November 02, 2013

Poushtik Moti (Seasoned and spiced Rice balls)

Wish you All a very Happy Diwali..
Hope everyone is enjoying the festival. Today's post is going to be short because I've to cook for Diwali lunch, then attend an early Thanksgiving party in the evening. Too many things going on in the head and in the kitchen, so I'm going to keep this post short and simple.
This dish is perfect for days like the one I'm having today. Too many things going on and suddenly you realize that you have only sweet dishes and forgot to make the savory dish. You also don't want to make anything deep fried, then this dish is perfect for you.
Poushtik Moti (Seasoned and spiced Rice balls)

September 23, 2013

Sheer Qurma/ Khorma/ Korma (Hyderabadi Kheer with Vermicelli & Dates)

Blogging Marathon# 32: Letter S
Theme: A-Z Vegetarian Dishes of Andhra Pradesh
Dish: Sheer Qurma/ Khorma/ Korma (Hyderabadi Kheer with Vermicelli & Dates)
Today we are starting the final week of our month long A-Z themed blogging marathon. It has been quite an experience cooking and posting Andhra dishes for the past 18 days. As a group, we have been planning the event for almost 4 months and so most of my dishes were thought out, cooked, clicked and scheduled to post well in advance except for the last week. I only made 2 dishes for the last week and the posts are still pending :-(
Sheer Qurma/ Khorma/ Korma (Hyderabadi Kheer with Vermicelli & Dates)
September has been the busiest month so far. 2 birthday parties planned and executed, sending a first grader back to school, family from India visiting, entertaining my 1 year old and my 3 year old niece during the day.. phew.. a lot has been going on and the last of week BM suddenly had to be put on the back burner. Added to that some of the letters for this week were also quite challenging (hello U,V,W,X,Y & Z-- thank you). But I'm sure I'll figure everything out and complete the marathon, thanks to my mom for all the help :-)

May 13, 2013

Banana Nutella Nut Milkshake

I wrote about my son's love for chocolate a lot of times. His mom is obsessed with everything related to cooking and eating and he is obsessed with everything chocolate. The other day when he had to pick between vanilla and strawberry ice creams, he told me very seriously that he doesn't like vanilla. I couldn't help myself from laughing out loud because I wasn't sure if he knew why he didn't like vanilla. My guess is he thinks he shouldn't like vanilla because he loves chocolate :-)
Well anyway, chocolate actually makes him eat bananas, because he eats bananas drizzled with chocolate syrup. Not the best way to eat a fruit, but I'm happy he's at least trying it. I believe in baby steps and I'm sure one day he'll get better at trying and tasting different foods.

April 12, 2013

7 Cup Sweet (Burfi)

Blogging Marathon# 27: Week 2/ Day 4
Theme: Traditional Dishes
Dish: 7 Cup Sweet
Today's traditional dish is very simple and easy to make, but the end result almost makes you look like you slaved away in the kitchen for hours. These burfis just melt in your mouth and all the effort you put into it is mix it for may be 10-15 minutes.
7 Cup Sweet (Burfi)
The recipe is quite self explanatory - there are 7 cups of ingredients that are mixed until it thickens to burfi consistency. I have already posted the recipe for 7 cup sweet a while back, but this is one has slightly different ingredients. I used half cup each of cashews and almonds instead of 1 cup of coconut for a smoother burfis.

April 04, 2013

Paravannam (Paramannam/ Rice Pudding - Indian style)

Blogging Marathon# 27: Week 1/ Day 4
Theme: Occasions - Birthday
Dish: Paravannam (paramannam/ Rice Pudding)
No occasion is complete without a sweet dish in any Indian household. Paravannam or Rice pudding is probably the most made sweet/ dessert on any special occasion. There are probably infinite variations to this dish and I'm sure each household has its own version of it depending on which state in India you are from.
It is a must however for birthdays. The first thing my mom would ask is if I made paravannam for any of my kids birthday, not the cake, not any other special dishes that are made. It's this simple rice pudding that signifies the occasion along with new clothes to wear :-)
Paravannam (Paramannam/ Rice Pudding)
My mom makes one version with just sugar and the second one with a combination of jaggery and sugar. I have the second version today. But my jaggery is very golden and didn't change the color of the dish that much.
Paravannam (Paramannam/ Rice Pudding)

June 23, 2009

Fruit & Nut Cookies

This is a recipe that has been on my to-make list for a very long time. I watched Ina Garten make them on her Barefoot Contessa show and when Priya (@ Akshayapaatram) made them egg-less and vegan on her blog, I had to absolutely had to make them. I even bought all the ingredients, but couldn’t find the much needed time to make them.
As the old saying goes, it’s better late than never, so this past weekend, I finally MADE these yummy cookies. I followed the original recipe to the T, I’m giving the same recipe here.


Adapted from Ina Garten’s Recipe.
Ingredients:
Dried fruit – 2 – 2 ½ cups (I used a combination of raisins, dried cherries/pineapple/papaya/prunes/apricots/figs & cashews)
Honey – 1tbsp
Dry Sherry – 2tbsp
Lemon juice – 2tbsp, freshly squeezed
Salt – pinch
All-purpose flour – 2 2/3 cups
Sugar – ½ cup
Light brown sugar – 1/3 cup
Butter – 2 sticks, unsalted and @ room temperature (I leave it out the night before)
Egg – 1 extra large
Ground cloves – ½ tsp

Method:
  • Add honey, sherry, salt & lemon juice to dried fruit and nuts; cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit overnight at room temperature.
  • Cream butter along with both sugars, ground cloves with hand mixer on medium speed, for about 3 minutes.
  • Add egg and mix until incorporated.
  • Slowly add the flour and ¼ tsp salt and mix until just combined; do not overmix.
  • Add the fruits and nuts, along with any liquid in the bowl.
  • Divide the dough in half and place each half on a parchment paper. This dough is very easy to work with and the recipe makes about 5-dozen cookies, so if you want to divide it into more than 2 logs for future use, go ahead and make 4 smaller logs. Roll each log in the parchment and refrigerate for 2 hours. Place all the logs that are not being used right away in a Ziploc bag and stow in the freezer (right now I’ve 3 logs waiting to be used).
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut the log into ½” thick slices. Place them on a ungreased cookie pa ½” apart. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden. My cookies were ready in 16-17 minutes, but the bottoms were slightly browned, so keep checking after 15 minutes.
These are sooooo good, buttery with the sweet and tangy bite from the dried fruit. I think I like them better than Karachi bakery fruit cookies. Thanks Priya for making me try these, they are worth every minute of the wait.


These cookies go to Mansi @ Fun & Food Blog for her Sugar High Fridays-Fruit & Nut event.
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