Prune and Cinnamon squares

I have been planning to bake the Keuh Lapis with the prunes in between the layers for ages now.

Every time I plan to make it, something even more interesting comes on the way and I conveniently ignore the Kueh Lapis.

Anyways I had got this big pack of prunes some time back as part of Mission Kueh Lapis.

Last weekend , as always I took the prunes out of refrigerator and was looking through the Keuh Lapis recipe and browsing through my recipe collection..

And then there it was.. the pic of a juicy chewy Prune slice, it was soo inviting and that too the recipe was calling for hell lot of prunes..

Yippie ,I can get rid of the bag full of prunes at one shotJ Mission Kueh lapis moved to next week  or later

Ladies, did you know that prunes are one of the richest sources of protective anti-oxidants and excellent source of iron

So do try out this healthy and nutritious slice and keep that aging at bayJ

Here goes the recipe
Recipe adapted from :Slices , Murdoch books

300 gms Prunes Chopped

250 ml water

½ tspn Baking soda

50 gms butter

70 gms brown sugar

1 egg

60 gms all purpose flour+ 30 gms Self raising flour

½ tspn Cinnamon powder

Pre heat the oven to 180 Degrees

Combine the prunes and water and bring it to boil. Remove from heat and stri in the baking powder, mix well and let it cool.

Cream the butter and sugar till fluffy and light. Add in the egg and continue to beat for a minute.

Sift together the dry ingredients, flour and Cinnamon powder.

Add in the flour and Prune mixture alternately to the butter mixture and mix lightly.

Spread the batter in the prepared tin and bake for 55-60 minutes till the toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean.

Let it cool on a wire rack.

You can sprinkle the icing sugar and cinnamon powder on top of the slices to make it more flavorful.

Cookies and Cream Ice cream

I am still very much in my inertia mode from the 3 week long holiday

Anyways to kick start the culinary trial I decided to bring together two of my darling sweet treats..

And the two delectable treats are …the beloved Oreos and soothing ice cream

Yippee…there u have the addictive Cookies and Cream Ice cream..

Here goes the recipe

200 ml whole milk

300 ml double cream

1 tsp Pure Vanilla extract

60 g caster sugar

70 gms Oreo cookies crumbled

Over low heat warm the milk, sugar, vanilla together in a saucepan, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.

Let it cool. Once it’s cooled down, chill in refrigerator.

Whip the cream until thick and then whisk the chilled milk mixture.

Transfer to ice cream maker and process according to manufacture instruction.

Alternately you can freeze the mixture in a refrigerator for few hours, take it out and blend it in a mixer for few seconds.Move it back to refrigerator again.
You can repeat the blending and freezing process once/twice more to get smooth creamy finish

Freeze until ice cream is nearly firm and then add the crumbled biscuits and stir through gently.

Freeze for another 15 minutes and serve.

And off it goes to Fun and Sun and Letz Relish Ice creams event

Back to blogosphere after a looong break

My dearest blog friends, I am back after a fabulous and breathtaking trip to the mighty Himalayas..

When I say breathtaking I mean literally…AT 17000 ft I was really breathless!!

Here are some snaps we captured.. 

It all started from here, the Green Sikkim..

  

Gangktok , the tranquil and laid back town..

Now to the topmost point we scaled…the Gurudongmar Lake@ 17000 Ft

On the way to the top through Lachen/Lachung and the ever beautiful and blooming Yumthang Valley

  

And the great Nathu La Pass in the India China Border ,The fortified borders

The serene Monasteries on the way..

  

And finally some food we gobbled

Spaghetti with veggie balls

I am back after my exam and the weeklong post exam laziness syndrome!!

Anyways two good news to share ..I managed to crack that PMP examJ

And Secondly I am packing my bags to…to.....wait for it…The big Himalayan expedition…

We are embarking for the most adventurous trip of our lifetime…10 day trek in Himalayas!!

Now coming to the recipe,I was watching the recipe for Spaghetti and meat balls in Food network channel and was sooo tempted to make the veggie version of it..

Personally I totally loved the veggie version..the soft n lightly crunchy  veggie balls and the super tangy sauce….it was yummm.

But my hubby, who by the way is a carnivorous, said that this is nowhere close to the real juicy meat balls…

So vegetarians out there go ahead and give it a shot..I bet it won’t disappoint you..

Meat lovers…You are free to browse aroundJ

Here is what you need

150 gms Spaghetti cooked as per the package instructions

Pasta sauce of your choice-

I made the simple tomato sauce , recipe here and spiced it up with some Dried  basil, Oregano and ground Pepper

For Veggies balls you need

2 potatoes – grated

1 Carrot grated

1 Cup Frozen Green peas- Thawed

2 Cloves Chopped Garlic

1 tspn Olive Oil + Extra for shallow frying

Herbs of your choice- Dried Oregano n Basil..

Salt/Freshly ground Pepper to taste

Bread crumbs 1/2 Cup

In a wok, heat the olive oil, add in the garlic and herbs and sauté for few seconds.

Add in the potatoes and carrots and sauté for few minutes until the moisture is gone

Add in the peas, salt n pepper and cover n cook for 5-7 minutes.Let it cool a bit

Process the cooked veggies in a blender or food processor for few seconds until its mashed well

If needed you can add in a tablespoon corn flour and form small balls out of the mashed veggies..

Roll it in bread crumbs and shallow fry it in Olive oil until golden brown.

You can serve it as per your choice.

I chose to place the balls on top of cooked spaghetti and topped it generously with the pasta sauce and some grated parmesan cheese