Let's cook. And eat.

A friend’s son requested a chocolate dessert for his birthday gift. So made these quintessential baked desserts (but without the baking) because it does not get more chocolatey than a Pot de creme.  https://thecafesucrefarine.com/blender-chocolate-pots-de-creme/ Substituted half and half for the cream in the dessert and it worked wonderfully. Next morning the chocolate dessert was all set. For the whipped topping added some vanilla essence to the cream for flavor. 

This one was quick and easy. Followed the recipe as is.  https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/swirled-garlic-herb-bread/ The only thing I did was replaced some of the flour-milk with my sourdough starter because I was trying to use some up.  A hit with the family. And baby Yoda approves it too. 

The idea came from Reena Di. She suggested making halwa with quinoa. I was intrigued to no end so decided to make it. After all it was Ganesha’s birthday and he loves sweets.  Start off with dry grinding 1 cup of quinoa. Roast it in 4-5 tbsp of ghee. Meanwhile boil 1 cup of water or milk with 1 cup of sugar. Go less on the sugar if you like it less sweet. Add a tsp of cardamom powder and some saffron threads. I actually ended up using coconut sugar. Once the quinoa is roasted add the boiling liquid into the pan and stir quickly. Roast/stir for a couple of more minutes. Add some slivered almonds. Done. 

The inspiration and recipe came from a friend in the neighborhood who made these on Mother’s Day and promptly left a sample for each of us.  https://www.cookwithkushi.com/nankhatai/ And the effort came from Master S, who has been being really handy in the kitchen these days. I just had to babysit these when they were in the oven.  Delish! 

This recipe has been sitting in the draft box because I forgot to take a picture of the finished product. But I need to post it so it enters my recipe box.  The recipe itself is a mish mash of what I already knew and some of the tips came from my friendly neighbor- Mr. M. He once made the most awesome Kadhi and shared some.  2 cups of room temperature yoghurt whisked with 6-7 cups of water and about 2 heaping spoons of besan. Add turmeric, coriander powder, chilli powder along with ginger-garlic paste and whisk.  Dry roast 1 tsp cumin, 2 tsp coriander seeds, 2-3 dry red chilies. Add ghee, 1/4 tsp Asafoetida, thinly sliced onions (1 medium), a few curry leaves, 1/4 tsp methi daana. Sauté for a few till the onions are a bit translucent.  Add the yoghurt mixture and simmer for 30-50 minutes. Salt to taste. Add pakodis and cilantro. Simmer for another couple of minutes.  For the pakodis, use sliced onions with besan, carom seeds, salt, coriander powder. Fry like small fritters. You can als

Inspired by Lady G. She made it and posted a picture, and it looked good. I went looking for a recipe and found this one.  https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/dahi-toast Used it as is, except I used ghee instead of olive oil. Homemade sourdough made it even better.  Lip smacking good. 

This particular dish got me really excited  Start with a cast iron skillet and 2-3 tbsp of oil. When the oil is hot, place the trimmed and halved brussel sprouts, cut face down in the pan. Let them cook for about 8 minutes undisturbed. The cut faces should now have a nice char. Add garlic salt and pepper and move the sprouts around and let the other sides brown too.  Switch off the heat. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice, some sliced almonds. Let the almonds roast in the hot pan. Top with shaved Parmesan.  Enjoy while it’s hot.   

This is another great recipe by Lady S.  Her instructions were simple:  Cook orzo according to direction but use broth instead of water Olive oil, red pepper flakes, frozen spinach , salt, garlic powder, black pepper. Mix orzo with spinach. Taste On top I added some Parmesan and sun-dried tomatoes. Came together in no time and definitely a winner. 

This just went into the oven.  https://www.thewholesomedish.com/the-best-classic-zucchini-bread/ Did not have applesauce on hand so used puréed peaches instead.  The best part about this recipe was that there was really no heavy lifting- just throw the ingredients together and you are good to go.  I did have to bake longer than 50 minutes. I think I almost went to 65-70 minutes. Wondering if my oven heats up to the right temperature... 

The inspiration came from a friend and the recipe from NYT Cooking with a few changes.  Mostly followed the recipe as is except I did not have peppers on hand and so I used a frozen stir fry blend and topped the dish with some Zatar spice right before breaking the eggs on top.  3   tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1   large onion, halved and thinly sliced 1   large red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced 3   garlic cloves, thinly sliced 1   teaspoon ground cumin 1   teaspoon sweet paprika ⅛   teaspoon ground cayenne, or to taste 1   (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes with their juices, coarsely chopped ¾   teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed ¼   teaspoon black pepper, plus more as needed 5   ounces feta, crumbled (about 1 1/4 cups) 6   large eggs   Chopped cilantro, for serving   Hot sauce, for serving   Heat oven to 375 degrees. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-low. Add onion and bell pepper. Cook gently until very soft, about 20 minutes. Add garlic and cook until ten

I once made it for a wedding party of 100 guests and it came together in less than 30 minutes start to finish. Super easy and ridiculously yummy.  https://www.food.com/recipe/nutella-mousse-63150 I like this recipe, instant coffee is skippable but it adds a nice flavor.  Top with fresh berries or pecans or macarons.