Spending time with my folks = getting new recipes...

So, here I am...playing catch up once again. :( 

My household has been a little topsy turvy lately but, we are slowly settling back into life and trying to move on (ha! no pun intended).  I haven't tried many new things... cooking has become a chore and baking has found it's place only in words from recipe books and online pages....

Hoping that 2013 doesn't pass me up as fast as 2012 seems to be...

So, here's a couple of recipes my mom shared with me that she got from her friends... we tried them out as well and liked them.  The first one is an "Indianized" Carrot Cake... and it's Eggless too. Those who know me well, know that my attempts at making eggless items haven't turned out well... actually, they are less than edible! ;-)  So, with my skeptical self, I tried it out.  I hope you will give it a try too. :)

The second recipe below is a rice dish, sort of like a pulao. It was great with yogurt or a simple cucumber raita. :) It was new to us and we enjoyed it...good luck!

Eggless Carrot Cake

1 1/2 cups Flour 

(A.P. flour, Chapathi flour or Whole Wheat flour are ok)

3/4 - 1 cup Sugar

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Baking Powder

Cardamom powder - 1/2 - 1 tsp OR to taste

2/3 cup Oil

1 1/2 cups Grated Carrot

1/2 cup Chopped Walnuts

1/2 cup Yogurt - OR Buttermilk

(if you use buttermilk, leave out salt)

1/4 tsp Salt

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir the dry ingredients together first and then add in the wet.  The batter will be quite stiff, so it's best to just use your hand.  :)  

Bake in a 9" X 13" Greased Cake Pan at 350 degrees.  Check first at around 25 minutes.  It may need more time depending on your oven.  

Do the toothpick test and once it comes out clean, the cake is done.  

Wait until it cools (if you can...) ;)

 

Mint and Cilantro Rice

1 tsp. cinnamon (dalchini)^
1 tsp. cloves (lavang)^
2 Cardamom pods (eliache)^
1 tsp. fennel seeds (somph)^
^saute the above in a little oil

a few curry leaves
1 bunch cilantro leaves
1 1/2" piece of ginger, chopped
6 green chilies (to taste or less if you want it milder)

2 onions*
2 cloves of garlic*
1 bunch mint leaves*
*saute the above in oil

Transfer all the above ingredients into blender jar, add 1/3 cup coconut and some water and grind into a paste.

In a separate bowl have boiled 1/2 cup carrots, 1/2 cup peas, and 1/2 cup green beans ready.  Add those to the paste.

In a separate pan take a little bit of clarified butter (ghee) and a handful of cashews (more if you'd like) :)  Fry them until golden brown. 
Then add all ingredients into one pan and saute them well.  When everything comes together add 1 1/2 cups cooked rice. Add salt to taste.  Mix together well.
Enjoy! :)
 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hi,

Here's a super easy trick to add a little something fun for your next treat. :) 

Cookie cutters!!  They're so very easy to use, come in every possible shape and size these days and the kids just love them. At least mine still does. ;) 

Here's hoping you have a fabulous day spending time with you and yours! :)

Happy New Year!

Hi!
I hope the start of 2012 has been fabulous for you and yours!  :o)  With all the holiday parties you attended did you taste some thing that you'd just like to have a little more of?  Have you asked a friend for a recipe? :)  Well, of course the saying goes, "Imitation is the greatest form of flattery."

This post is thanks to a friend of mine who ate a dessert I made recently.  It was something I'd seen before but, made in different forms.  For this particular get together I made them bite-sized and entirely from scratch.

I didn't think too much of it prior to her asking for the recipe but, after typing it up, all I have to say is don't be scared by the length.  ;)  Once you make it you'll be able to use the techniques in other recipes. I've also included options to cut down the effort. So, give it a try. :)

Without further ado, here are my

Pecan Caramel Cheesecake Bites...

 Ingredients

• 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• dash salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup chopped, roasted pecans -  while the oven is already on & preheated if you put the pecans in for about 15 minutes - stirring in between, they will roast nicely.

Directions - Preheat oven to 325 degrees

• 1. In large mixing bowl beat cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar on medium speed of electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla and salt. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until just combined after each addition.

Easiest Method:  If you'd like to make it into just one large cheesecake you can purchase 1 Keebler® Ready Crust® Graham Pie Crust at the store. Place crust on baking sheet. Pour in cream cheese mixture. Bake at 325°F about 25 minutes or until knife inserted into filling 1 inch from edge comes out clean.

If you'd like to make your own crust :)  Which is what I did, you can. Then you can decide what size you want to make.  Which is how I came up with just the bites.

1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter , melted
1/3 cup light brown sugar or 1/3 cup white sugar , for less sweet crust (this is what I used)

I added some of the roasted pecans to the graham cracker crust and saved the rest for presentation. :)

Directions:

Mix ingredients together. 

Press onto bottom and up sides of pan until desired size.

Bake silver pan at 350F for 8-10 minutes, or dark pan at 300F for 8-10 minutes

Fill!  Then bake according to the original recipe. 

I used my 24 cup mini cupcake pan for the bites. I baked the crusts first and then I added the filling, baked again and then I put it in the fridge.

After they set for a few hours, I took them out and put them in an air tight container for storing.  

Before serving I took them out about 10 minutes prior. Placed them on the serving try.  

I topped them with Caramel Syrup (I like the Smucker's brand Caramel Sundae Syrup) and the remaining roasted pecans.

Here they are:

Catching Up...

So, Baker Mom went on break for awhile (a long...while it seems) she suddenly realized... she wrote some and never posted and then lost track of time and didn't write...wasn't home...didn't bake... time to get back to it all she thinks. ;-) 

After a hectic summer which included 3 weeks in SoCal (thanks to my daughter) and a quick trip to visit my folks in LA (read: Louisiana heat :)) I'm finding myself needing to play catch up.

So, here goes... you may wonder why my family moved itself to beautiful SoCal for a stint, well... the kiddo applied and got into the summer program through John's Hopkins University, Center for Talented Youth.  She chose to go to a camp called "Be A Scientist." Hence we decided to head out to LA, the closest place offered near home for her age and grade level. Road Trip!!!

Here's some tidbits that I'd written while there...enjoy!    :)   

Being here in LA has been awesome! We are thoroughly enjoying the summer, the beaches, the food and of course the myriad of outings possible.

My daughter is enjoying her classes, the projects and activities at camp during the day and the outings in the evening are fun for her too. :)

So, here's my little guide to LA; the places we've been to and the things we've done. Maybe you or someone you know will find it helpful in some way. :)

Places:

Santa Monica - Pacific Park & Pier, Farmer's Market (a must to check out!), Santa Monica Place, 3rd Street Promenade
Hollywood - Walk of Fame, Kodak Theater, Disney Soda Fountain and Shoppe
Manhattan Beach - We stayed close enough for several evening outings, enjoyed the beach atmosphere a lot
El Segundo - has all your usual stores and restaurants, of course a Costco with gas too...
Thousand Oaks - nice residential area... just stayed with family so didn't go out.  But, I did hear that there is a Charming Charlie there, but didn't check it out...

Restaurants: 

Corner Bakery - Manhattan Beach
LA Food Show - Manhattan Beach
Cozymel's - El Segundo
The Farm - The Grove
Islands - Manhattan Beach
Panchanga - Manhattan Beach
Healthy Hummus - Manhattan Beach
Cafe Crepe - City Walk
Louie's Pizza - Universal Studios
Pizza Anitca - Santa Monica Place
Disney Soda Fountain & Shoppe - Hollywood
La Monica's Pizza -  Westwood
Diddy Reese - Cookies!!!   - Westwood
The Natural Cafe - San Luis Obispo

Coffee Shops:

Peet's - San Luis Obispo
Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf - (2 locations: Manhattan Beach (nice) & The Grove (not so nice))
Intelligentsia - Awesome coffee!!  -  Venice, CA
Groundworks - Hollywood

Farmer's Markets: 

Thousand Oaks - kid & hubby went with my cousin... so don't know first hand... but, they came back with delicious strawberries so thumbs up for it 

Santa Monica - went twice - on my own and then made the hubby take some time off from work to go again  :)  -  Amazing place!  Heard that I'll see chefs stop by to pick their produce but, didn't believe it until I actually saw them there.  Great place to hang out, people watch, oh ya and of course shop.  Since we had a kitchen, I was able to cook meals with my fresh produce - could really taste the difference  :)

Shopping:

The Grove - American Girl Place - My daughter couldn't wait to go here!  Ok, that is an understatement to say the least! As her father will tell you.... 3+ hours and a Personal Shopper later!!!  The American Girl Place is not for the faint of heart!!  ;-)  In more ways than one....  she enjoyed every minute of it though... and so we came home with a new friend....Kanani.  :) 

Beverly Hills/Rodeo Drive
Westfield Culver City
Santa Monica Place
The Market @ Santa Monica Place
Third Street Promenade
Manhattan Village

Frozen Yogurt / Treats:

Yogurt Creations - San Luis Obispo - we stopped both ways  :)
Popcornopolis - really never knew one could have popcorn in THAT many flavors!!

Activities/Amusement Parks:

Universal Studios:  Had a blast! It was my 8 year olds first time and I think it was the perfect age to take her... she knew enough about movies, etc... and was game to go on all the rides... helped that she had her older college-aged cousins spend the day with us too - so Jurassic Park ended up being her most favorite ride!!

Sea World:  Lotsa fun!  Enjoyed the shows.  Shamika and I rode Atlantis!! Awesome! We soo would have gone again had the lines not been 1.5 hours+!! long.
Disneyland & CA Adventure:  Our SoCal trip concluded with a 3 Day Park Hopper to the "Happiest Place on Earth!!"  Enjoyed every minute of it because it's one of my favorite places to go to  :P  Also helped that the 405 freeway was closed on Day 1 and Day 2 of said 3-Day Park Hopper. ;)

Beaches:

Manhattan Beach - spent lotsa time here - great place :)
Redondo Beach - caught a mini-concert here on our last night - was great way to end our SoCal stay!

Cookies!!!! Inspired by...

Decorating cookies takes a little practice, patience, a steady hand, and time but, is a lot of fun once you get the hang of it.  There are several steps involved depending on the shape and design but, using an outline & flood method makes it doable. Nowadays there are several helpful tools out there to make it even easier to give it a try. Here are a few I've made recently.  Hope you like them...  :)

Now, more chances than not, you've heard of the very popular game Angry Birds!!! So, here's my 1st version of the Yellow Bird, Green Pig & Red Bird! 



Angry Birds!!



Ready for Tea Time?  Well, here's a tea cup cookie I made for a tea party baby shower favor.  :)



Tea Cups!



And... depending on whether or not you have a younger, say 7-11yr. old child at home, you may have heard about the new up and coming "semi-educational" website for them called Moshi Monsters.  So, after much convincing (on her part!), my 8 year old daughter joined it.  She created a pet and enjoys playing on it with her friends who have joined as well. In addition to the 6 main "monsters" which really aren't "monsters" in the literal sense (some of them are cute, at least I think so) :)  they have lots of baby monsters called Moshlings. (Which apparently I'm told, never grow up!)  Why am I telling you about them? Well, as another wish for her birthday, my daughter wanted me to make Moshi Monster cookies... so, looking at the myriad of them and all my cookie cutters I had to make informed decisions on which ones I could claim that I could re-create. ;-)  Here's my go at them:  Cutie Pie, Dipsy, Hansel, Roxy, Iggy, & Oddie.

Dispy  & Roxy!

Oddie!

Hansel!

Iggy!

Cutie Pie!

Cutie Pie!

Dipsy!

Hansel!

Roxy!

Iggy!

Oddie!

          

And last but, not least...Pinkalicious!! Here are my sparkly star wands inspired by Pinkalicious for a 4 year olds' Pinkalicious party!!  Pretty in pink??  :o)

Star Wands!

Pinkalicious!

Innovative Cake Ideas!

My daughter recently had a birthday and all she Really! wanted was a slumber party with a few of her closest friends from school. This being her (our!) very first one, my husband and I inhaled deeply and agreed to her request.  :)

She proceeded to plan out the details of what was going to happen that fateful (oops, read: exciting!) evening. My responsibilities of course, included providing the food, drink & cake. :) So, me being me, had to find out if there was any kind of cake that was special for a slumber party. :o)

Well....low and behold...  look what I found on one of my favorite sites, Family Fun!  I had a blast making it; it's quite easy actually.  The girls had fun picking out which one they wanted. Although the recipe calls for 5 Twinkies, since there were 6 girls, I placed 6 Twinkies comfortably on top.

Here it is.... maybe you'll give it a try for your child's next slumber party.  It would be really easy to change the icing colors and the hair/face on the wafers to turn them looking more like boys. :)

Slumber Party Cake!

Little girls in their sleeping bags.  :)

Update: Gram's Best Brown Sugar Cake

So, earlier this week I posted about Gram's Best Brown Sugar Cake, for which I had the recipe but, no picture and it had been bothering me. Well, not for long. :o)

An invite to the cousins came at a great time... for me and hopefully for them too. ;-)  As the usual getting together process goes.... invite... date....and then I ask, "what can I bring?" Fully well knowing and keeping my fingers crossed that no regular main dish be asked.  :p  The reply arrives to the notion that I may bring a box of sugar if I would like and they would be happy. ;-)

My chance had arrived...what better recipe to bring than... Gram's Best Brown Sugar Cake!?

Just a note if you try it. I don't add the extra powdered sugar on top.  It is already sweet enough in my opinion. :)

So, here is the picture...  enjoy!  :)