Whole wheat Chocolate Swirl Pumpkin Squares with Cinnamon Sour-cream Dip

I know that you are wondering yet how many pumpkin recipes does this girl have in her kitty. I do have some more and you sure gonna like them. Back when I was in India we used to get pumpkins through out the year. Amma has never used it in her dishes and so have I. Only when I started baking and browsed for recipes did I come to know that pumpkin puree can be used in baked goodies. Thanks to baking and the halloween funda, I wanted to use pumpkin in my baking and I got our very first pumpkin to make these pancakes just to check if the flavor worked with our palate. We liked it, in fact we loved it and since then I have been buying pumpkins whenever I see them in the market.

These squares happened by chance. It was late in the night when amma said that the dosa batter which was planned to be used up for the next day breakfast had gone bad, (thanks to the current fluctuations) and asked me if I could make something easy for the next day breakfast. I had some pumpkin puree that need to be used up and quarter a cup of melted dark chocolate which I had been saving up to make brownies. Thought of putting 'em together and these soft, delicious squares were made in minutes. The dip is purely optional, the squares goes well with some cold milk too, but I strongly recommend you to try them with the dip. The additional cinnamon touch that the dip gives makes them perfect...

~*What U Need*~ Wheat flour - 3/4 cup All purpose flour - 1/4 cup Egg - 1 Pumpkin puree - 1/2 cup Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp Sour cream - 2 tbsp Cinnamon - 1/4 tsp Baking powder - 1/2 tsp Baking soda - 1/4 tsp Hot water - 1/4 cup Oil - half of 1/3 cup Salt - a pinch Brown sugar - 1/4 cup Melted dark Chocolate - 1/4 cup How I Made it: Preheat oven to 180 C and grease and dust a square pan. I didn't have a square pan and hence used a loaf pan. Sift wheat flour, all purpose flour and baking powder in a bowl. In a mixing bowl, beat oil and sugar together. Add egg, and beat well. Stir in pumpkin purée, sour cream and vanilla followed by salt and cinnamon. Stir in flour, just until combined. Add baking soda to hot water, stir to mix, and then mix into batter until it is evenly distributed. Spread batter onto the greased pan. Add the melted chocolate and swirl with knife. Bake for 30-40 mins. Do a done-ness test and cool in the pan for 5 mins. Transfer it to a wire rack to cool for completely before slicing. Cinnamon Sour-cream Dip ~*What U Need*~ Sour cream - 1/2 cup Cinnamon - 1/4 tsp Brown sugar - 2 tbsps Chopped walnuts - 1 tbsp How I Made it: In a bowl, mix everything together till well blended except the walnuts. Transfer to serving bowl and top with chopped walnuts.

Serve the pumpkin squares with the dip!!!

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

Signs off!!!

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Happy New Year| Randam Rantings| Grilled Honey Pineapple with Chocolate Sauce| and Guest post for Sumanarthy's Kitchen

Disclaimer: This is gonna be a lengthy post so please bear with me.
Like all the food bloggers out there, I wanted to end 2012 with a recap, a thankyou note and a wish. But then the kid never allows me to sit in front of the laptop these days. As soon as the welcome screen pops live, he comes crawling at jet speed out of no-where. And then it is literal banging to the screen... oh, I don't know till when the lappy is gonna last and its just been out of service. That said, I just couldn't find time to browse through recipes and put down those recipes that the readers loved as a post. The lappy remains closed all through daytime and I sit to compose a post or trim a pic only when the kid has been rocked to sleep. And at times, I just give up and crash on the bed.

So giving up on the replay post, I moved on to other thoughts. A whole lot of ideas have been going through my mind on what to post on new year's eve. Orange curd tartlets or a chocolate mudcake.. why not butterscotch blondies (..oh the blondies have been in my to-do list for a long time) or nutella brownie bites. Ideas seem to come pouring. But I just couldn't bring myself together to bake something. The idea of celebrating a New year without the huss is weighing me down and is making me sulk. And just like a booster, came by the FB msg from Karthi. She wanted another guest post for her beautiful blog and the theme was Xmas and new year. Since I had already posted a Christmas fruit cake for this year, I took up the theme of New Year. Not wanting to do an elaborate bake, I wanted to keep it simple and when I saw a fully riped pineapple sitting on my kitchen counter, I knew what the recipe was going to be. Its a simple but elegant dish and is best served hot, topped with a dollop of ice cream and drenched in chocolate sauce. Do hop over to Sumanarthy's kitchen to know more. She hasn't posted it yet so do give it sometime.

Talking about this year, its been quite adventurous and I can describe it as a wholesome package of joy. We took a step ahead in life and ventured into parenthood ~ entered our god-sent-gift on the month of April and ever since he has been keeping us on our toes. Its been a roller-coaster ride, I would say. But end of the day, when I see him cuddled next to me, his tender hand resting peacefully across my bosom, my heart feels like bursting with love and happiness.

On the blogging front, I would say I have my own milestones. Done with my 200th post (..ok I know it is too slow, but I am happy that I could get there), my blog has got 300+ followers and am planning to open my FB page (... I didn't till now, becos I know me and I know I will not be actively maintaining it), announced my first event, had a winner for that and got done with a giveaway. Started with posting the cake that I bake for my kid's monthly birthday on the 22nd of every month which has got many readers attention and comments. And yeah, I thought of giving up blogging with the entry of the kid, but I was reluctant to do so. But thanks to DH and amma, I am in full form till now. Lets see what the future holds.

On the personal front, I have seen F.R.I.E.N.D.S sitcom for the 3rd time, completed all the seasons, finished reading the whole Harry Potter series for the 7th time and am reading more articles on food photography (I know my photos donot reflect anything of that kind but I am still on the READING stage). Added to that I never miss an episode of GREY's ANATOMY and now I have two dream boys added to my list... McDreamy and McSteamy.

When I was thinking that the year was coming to a peaceful end, (...yeah the Mayan calendar was proved to be wrong and we still live, thanks to that) the whole world was shook first by the Connecticut shooting and then by the Delhi r**e. No-one in their right mind would attempt to do something like that and still the sinners live. A friend of mine posted this on her wall:

Rightly said... No action has been taken till date that would make the victim's family happy. No action has been taken by the government to assure the citizens that they are in safe hands and sins like this will not be tolerated. Days after this incident happened, I came across another article: read this and this. Where has humanity gone, where has law gone, where has social dignity gone, where is the world going to end up. Lets wake up, lets stand up and fight for our rights. I know nothing can be done against the government and these ill mannered men but atleast we can ensure our own safety.

** Stand up when you see a b*****d rubbing against a woman
** Call back and I say use words, when you see a group teasing a girl
** Shout when you see someone verbally assaulting a lass
** Have a pepper spray in hand or atleast a compass, believe me it comes handy
** Protect your children, have an eye on them anytime, anywhere. Donot trust anybody, your father, your brother, your FIL even your huss, when it comes to your child.
** Talk to your child, let them know what is bad touch and good touch. Make them talk about their day and you will know if anything has gone wrong.

Do share the below pic in your space if you wish to.

Okay I know I have mouthed penned many of my thoughts here and am putting an end to it. All I wanted to tell is Stay safe, be safe and Play safe.

WISHING YOU ALL A HAPPY AND SAFE YEAR AHEAD. And thanks to all my dear readers who have taken their time throughout the year to stop by and say a Hi through your comments. Do visit more often.

Updated on 26/1/2012 with the full recipe

~*What U Need*~ For the chocolate sauce/gravy Butter - 2 tbsp Unsweetened cocoa powder - 1 tbsp Flour - 1 tbsp Sugar - 2 tbsp Milk - 1/2 cup Vanilla - 1/2 tsp How I Made it: Heat butter in skillet. Stir in flour, cocoa powder and sugar and continue to cook over low heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the milk slowly say 1 tbsp at a time, whisking till incorporated. Cook for another 2 minutes, until thick. Add vanilla and remove from flame.

Store in air tight containers...

~*What U Need*~ For the Grilled Honey Pineapple Pineapple slices - 4, fresh or drained Honey - 2 tbsp Butter - 2 tbsp How I Made it: Heat butter in a grill or griddle. Place the pineapple once the grill is hot, drizzle honey around the sides and cook for 3-4 mins till nice and caramelized. Flip, drizzle more honey and cook again. Once caramelized remove from pan.

Serve hot, with a dollop of icecream (..which I missed) and drizzled with chocolate sauce.

** My Notes:
** Use fresh pineapple or canned ones. If using canned drain the juices fully.
** Using a grill gives the beautiful lines, but since I didn't have one, I used a griddle. But I highly recommend using a grill.
** You can also add 1 tsp of lime juice and 1/4 tsp of cinnamon. ** I used Cadbury's cocoa powder and hence skipped the vanilla.
** Cook till forms a thick custard and if it is too thick, dilute using milk to the desired consistency
** The sauce can be stored and used within 2 days. Serve as a dip for fruit bites or breads.

So bye guys, See you next year... Have fun and enjoy life. and do check out this video which I found quite useful..

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Tzatziki Sauce

I first heard about this dip from George Calombaris during his Masterclass in Season 3. I was so hooked to this recipe or rather the name of the recipe. It had a cute ring to it and I was jotting down the ingredients list as usual on the daily newspaper. As time went by, I forgot the date on which the recipe was jotted down and  the paper heap found its way to the local newspaper-wala. Though the paper was lost, never did I forget the recipe. I did not have exact measurements but then I was confident to go with my intention. So one day, as George said I grated the cucumber, sprinkled a dash of salt and dumped it in the fridge to leave its water. And there it sat for the rest of its life... I forgot the whole episode and after 2days when I was cleaning the fridge, I found it hidden behind the preserved vegetables. Left with no other option, I had to dump it into the dustbin and with that went in the tzatziki recipe. I didn't want to waste another cucumber.

After months or rather say an year, the dip started popping around my head from time to time and so thought of giving it a go. This is not George's recipe but has been heavily adapted from here. The original recipe called for dill leaves but I replaced it with mint leaves. The dip was perfect to have with our Sunday Biryani.
P.S: I will be trying George's recipe soon... its still registered in my mind.

~*What U Need*~ Makes - 1 cup Greek yogurt / Hung curd - 1 cup Lemon juice - 1 tbsp Garlic clove - 1 Cucumber - 1, deseeded and diced Mint leaves - 1 handful Salt - to season Black pepper - to season

How I Made it:
Strain plain yogurt in a cheesecloth overnight. Peel cucumbers, cut in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Discard seeds. Slice cucumbers, put in a colander, sprinkle some salt, and let stand for 30 minutes. This step is to draw out the water from the cucumber. Drain well and wipe dry with paper towel.
Blend together garlic, lemon juice, mint and cucumbers. Season with pepper powder. Give a few whizzes until fully blended. Whisk yogurt till smooth.

Stir the cucumber mixture into the yogurt. Season with salt as needed. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving so that the flavors can blend in.

Serve with pita breads or biryanis or pulao varieties.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

Signs off!!!

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Spiced Mascarpone Cheese ~ A dip and a Sandwich

Trying out different sandwiches has become like an obsession to me these days. What else do we need other than a satisfying look and a cheerful smile from the loved ones. And when you get a loving hug for the food you made, you will be literally over the moon. The gift for a cook is the happiness that he witnesses when his food is served around the table.
All women put in their heart and soul when they cook for their huss. They say "The Best way to a man's heart is through his stomach" and it holds true in every household. It needn't be a feast but even a simple cheese sandwich will make him grin. I realised this when I made this sandwich for the huss and when I got the broadest grin ever.
Since I had made only a small batch of mascarpone cheese, I was not able to use it to make tiramisu so utilised it to make a spread which could be used as a dip also.

~*What U Need*~
Mascarpone Cheese - 3 tbsp
Chilli flakes - 1 tsp
Oregano - 1/2 tsp
Pepper - to taste
Salt - to taste

Wheat/White bread slices - 2
Ghee/Oil - to toast

How I Made it:
Mix together mascarpone cheese, chilli flakes and oregano till silky and smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Spread this on a slice of bread and close with another bread slice. Toast the sandwich till brown on both sides.

Serve with a cup of hot milk or you can also serve this spread as a dip for nachos or chips or baked tortilla chips.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

Signs off!!!

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