Date Cake

During the initial years that I was  in US, I suffered from anemia and I was suggested to eat lots of dates.  I like eating them but when it gets mandatory it gets boring. So I had to find ways to use them. With my craziness for baking at the peak those days I wanted to try baking something,  I came across this recipe on a blog site.  I tried it and before it cooled more than half was gone. This is one recipe I  like to bake over and over again.


What you need:
Pitted Dates -18
Milk 3/4 cup
Sugar 3/4 cup
All purpose flour  1 cup
Oil 1/2 cup
Baking soda 1 tea spn

How its Made:
Blend togather dates, sugar and milk to a smooth. Add oil and mix.
Seive together flour and baking soda. Add the flour one table spoon at a time and mix.
Preheat the oven at 350F. Bake the cake in a greased loaf tray for 35-40 min. Flip it and cool it or just eat warm as I do :).

Caution : Measure and bake it at right temperature or you may end up with date halwa !!, someone out their knows what I am talking about.

Strawberry-orange smoothie

Hmm, it was one of those days when I wanted to drink something chilled ( in winter, with the temp below freezing outside). Opened the refrigerator and stared at the juices, apple- that's for Adwi, orange - a big gallon that Sri got but never finished it off. I didn't want any of those. My brain started to tickle a few seconds later, went back to the refrigerator, pulled out orange juice, some strawberries that were sitting there since a week.  To give a smooth texture added a scoop of vanilla ice cream and blended them all together with some ice cube and had a nice yummy drink at 11.00 pm.

While enjoying this refreshing drink, I was looking for more recipes to make use of the strawberries and came across a similar smoothie with coconut milk. Got to try it next time.

pepper chicken

My hubby makes this yummy pepper chicken, this time I had some chicken in the freezer, so I asked him for the recipe and tried it myself.
Turned out pretty good, not spicy as he does though.

What You need:
chicken pieces ( with bone or boneless)-1/2 lb
Onion finely chopped- 1
Tomatoes finely cut- 2 small ones
Ginger garlic paste-  1 teaspoon
garam masala- 1/2 teaspoon
red chilly powder- 1 teaspoon
black pepper- 1 tablespoon
few curry leaves
Cilantro leaves to garnish
salt to taste
oil

How its made:
Heat oil in a pan, add onions and fry until brown, add ginger garlic paste and fry for a few minutes, add the chicken pieces, cook them till the meat turns white. Add the tomatoes, garam masala, chilly powder, curry leaves, salt and cook, keep it covered. You can add little water if needed. When almost done add in freshly ground black pepper and mix. Garnish with cilantro. Serve hot with rice or chapathi.

world through a toddler's mind

When was the last time you stopped on your way and admired the beautiful sky or stop by to see a pigeon or squirrel and get amazed at them.
That's what I have been doing these days. I went downtown to get some groceries and my 2 year daughter was in her stroller, all that was in my mind was plans for cooking dinner and planning my to do list before going to bed. Than suddenly I heard Adwi say "mummy there see sky". that shook me off my thoughts and responded to her. Yeah, The evening sky was so beautiful, I was walking even without noticing it. Than she went on "there see squirrel, bird / flower, wawa ( water - in her baby language). We stopped every few steps to admire the nature and marveled at it.  That was fun little walk I had. It might be one of those every day walks, but that days walk left a deep impact on me and the next day at work as I was busy recording my neurons, her sweet words kept echoing back in my mind. It made me think, How much I was lost in my daily chores that I had stopped enjoying the beauty of nature. I never appreciated the birds or squirrels in the backyard or the first flowers of the spring. Now every day whenever the weather permits, I make it a point to spend sometime with my little one and admire the nature through her eyes. Try it and you will be truly amazed as to what your missing in life.
Sometimes happiness comes in little packages.