Starbucks Pumpkin Bread (egg free if you choose) and Trader Joe's Cookie Butter

Wow, I haven't blogged anything in a VERY long time and that may be because most of what I've been doing is making other people's recipes but that shouldn't stop me from sharing. If I find something incredible, I should share it :) 

Here's a recipe for a copy cat of Starbucks Pumpkin Bread that I made and fell in love with. I did change one little thing. I replaced the eggs with Chia Seeds. This bread will be a regular now and may replace Banana Bread in my life...  Head over to CopyKat Recipes for the recipe and to Trader Joe's for their amazing Speculoos Cookie Butter! 

Sweet Rice for EFM Variety Rice Series

This use to be my favorite breakfast when I would stay at my auntie's house...I looked so forward to Sunday morning's and this rare treat! I have added raisins, cinnamon, and nuts before but this is the way I ate this growing up.

 Simple, without many ingredients, but a favorite of mine!

I am sending this to EFM - Variety Rice Series hosted by SriLekha.

Ingredients:
• 2 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup starchy white rice
• 1/4 cup stick butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• salt to taste
• brown sugar to sprinkle

Method:

Bring water, rice & salt to a boil. Reduce heat, stir and cover, simmering for 10 minutes. Stir once more, replace lid and simmer 10 more minutes. At this point, stir in the rest of ingredients until blended. Sprinkle with brown sugar and enjoy!

French Toast & Ranji's Eggplant Pickle

I wanted to make french toast for breakfast this weekend, but was out of syrup, so I improvised with some plain sugar. I took whole wheat flax bread, to make it healthier, and soaked it in a mixture of eggs, cream, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla. I cooked it on a non-stick skillet, and when the one side was cooked, I flipped it and sprinkled white sugar on the cooked side... After the other side cooked, I flipped it again, and let the sugar caramelize while the other side cooked. I then flipped it and repeated with sugar on the other side. This turned out so good I doubt I will use syrup again... and I can imagine it was actually less sugar than pouring syrup all over and scooping it up with every bite. Even my daughter enjoyed it... She never even asked for syrup.


Now, onto a recipe I tried this week and fell in LOVE with!!! Ranji over at Ranji's Kitchen Corner shared her eggplant pickle recipe, and it sure looked amazing on the post, so I had to try it. Everybody loved it, my daughter did so much that when we ran out of roti's, she at it on buns! We are finishing the leftovers tonight with some rice. The funny thing is, my daughter always says she hates eggplant, so I don't tell her that's what the vegetable is, and she eats it up... and ALWAYS talks about how much she loves the taste of the "vegetable". Thanks, Ranji for your awesome recipe!

Masala Dosa with Green Onion Chutney

When I saw the post by Cham for an Instant Dosa mix, I knew I was going to have to try it... though I figured it would turn out like any of my other attempts and only disappoint me. Turns out, I was anything but disappointed! The original recipe came from Essence of Andhra... along with some more appealing pictures calling me to try this recipe. I used up the first batch already, It's been less than a week, and now I'm going to have to make more... maybe a double batch! Thanks, Cham, for bringing Uma's recipe to my attention!!!

Along with it, I made the masala filling I found in Betty Crocker's Indian Home Cooking... Surprised? I doubt it, I cook from this book almost weekly! If i'm not cooking from this, I'm cooking from some other Betty Crocker book :P The filling consisted of black mustard seed, chana dal, cashews, asafetida, turmeric, potatoes, cilantro, ginger, fresh chilies, and curry leaves. It had also called for tomato, which I didn't have, so I left out. This didn't matter, it was still awesome!

I also made a chutney, which I just came up with using whatever I had... I wanted a green chutney, but no fresh mint... I wanted an onion chutney, but wanted to use up my fresh cilantro... So this is what I came up with ...

• 2 green chilies (wow, maybe I will use 1 next time :D)
• 1 red onion
  
• 2 handfuls fresh cilantro
  
• 2 tsp. tamarind paste

I grinded this all in the food processor with a little water and it was super tasty! It was even better the next night. My daughter requested it, even though it was SO hot!!! She loved it, and just drank more water than usual while she ate :))


"This is my hope. This is my prayer"

Aloo Parathas

Here is a recipe for potato stuffing I used in my parathas recently. It's adapted from a recipe in Neelam Batra's 1,000 Indian Recipes.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 pounds (about 3 large) potatoes ( I peel them before boiling)
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
4 spring onions, white and green parts, minced
2 fresh green chilies, minced
2 tablespoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons chaat masala
1 teaspoon ground dried fenugreek leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
salt to taste

Method:

Boil the potatoes in lightly salted water to cover until tender, about 20 minutes. Mash them in a medium bowl. Mix in the rest of ingredients. Stuff your bread, cook, and devour!

~ "I don't mind living in a man's world as long as I can be a woman in it" - Marilyn Monroe ~

Pancakes

I haven't posted in awhile, and I haven't been regular at all...after moving and having no internet access at home, I don't find much time to post, but I have a back log of recipes, dishes, and pictures waiting to be posted....

The other day I was over at my mom's and she made some of the best pancakes I ever tasted...so I asked her how she made them and she said it was from the box, but she had tweaked it a little bit. She added an extra egg, and thinned the batter out, then fried it in a shallow bit of oil and butter. They were so thin and crispy and dense, now I am going to pick up a box of pancake mix and try these for myself.

Sweet Rice

This use to be my favorite breakfast when I would stay at my auntie's house...I looked so forward to Sunday morning's and this rare treat! I have added raisins, cinnamon, and nuts before but this is the way I ate this growing up.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup starchy white rice
• 1/4 cup stick butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• salt to taste
• brown sugar to sprinkle
  

Method:

Bring water, rice & salt to a boil. Reduce heat, stir and cover, simmering for 10 minutes. Stir once more, replace lid and simmer 10 more minutes. At this point, stir in the rest of ingredients until blended. Sprinkle with brown sugar and enjoy!

~ Children need models more than they need critics ~