Category Archives: Snacks

We can’t seem to get enough of California. It was just last month that we were at San Diego and Los Angeles and this time it was SFO. We were there to visit our friends and it was so much fun. The weather was perfect. It had the hustle and bustle of New york and the quaint beach lifestyle of Florida. We instantly fell in love with the city. Our friends were excellent hosts and took us around the city.

We visited the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, SFO Downtown, Pier 39,Union Square, beautiful drive across the Bay and much more. The highlight of the trip was shopping at Daiso a Japanese shop where you get household, kitchenware, utensils, stationary / gift bags, travel containers , tiny props etc. Daiso has the best price to fulfill impulsive buys; almost everything is $1.50 unless otherwise indicated. I got carried away and picked up props for food photography. This is definitely the one stop shop for all food props. They don’t seem to have any other outlets in the Midwest, the only options is to shop online. I was lazy enough to put all the things together for the below photograph…just a few for your eyes:)

Coming to the recipe, I baked this Tart last week when we were craving for something Savory. It is easy to make and is very filling too. The secret to a good crust is to have everything cold and to handle as little as possible.

I had some filling left over and used it for quesadillas the next day. I also didn’t need the entire dough, so with the remaining I made an upside down tart,recipe to follow shortly:)

CARMELIZED ONION TART

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
12 tablespoon (1 1/2 sticks) butter( chopped into small pieces)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup+ 2 tablespoon water

Nut Filling

1/2 cup almonds
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoon olive oil

Onion Filling:

2 large onions ( sliced)
2 tablespoon olive oil
a teaspoon chili flakes/chili powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar
a tablespoon cilantro (chopped)
salt as per taste
a teaspoon balsamic vinegar( optional)

sliced tomatoes for decoration

Pulse the flour and salt in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until it forms a coarse meal. With the motor running drizzle water little by little( a tablespoon at a time, as you might not need all of the water) until the mixture begins to hold together. You will end up with a soft ball. If you think the dough is too sticky, add little more flour and knead using your fingers. Flatten the dough into a disc and wrap in a plastic wrap; refrigerate it for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile get started with the filling.

For the Nut filling pulse walnuts and garlic in a food processor. With the machine running, add the olive oil and run until the mixture is finely chopped. Set aside.

For the Onion Filling – Heat oil in a wok. Saute the onions until golden brown. Add the chili powder,salt and sugar. Continue to cook and scrape until the onions richly browned and caramelized.Now at the end if you wish add the balsamic vinegar or wine( if you like) to de-glaze your pan and bring in some additional flavors to the onions. Set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 16 by 8 inch rectangle. Fit this dough into a 14 by 5 inch rectangular tart pan with a removable bottom. Trim the excess dough from all the sides. Pierce all over the bottom with a fork . Refrigerate for about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven at 375F. We have to blind bake the tart shell – Line the Tart shell with a parchment and fill it with dried beans or pie weights. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the crust begins to brown. Remove the pie weights and parchment, bake the tart shell for 10 minutes more. The shell must be golden brown. Allow it to cool.

Spread the nut filling all over the shell. Bake for 2-3 minutes. Now top it with the caramelized onions and finally bake for another 15-20 minutes. If you feel the crust is browning fast, cover it loosely with an aluminium foil and bake. Once done, decorate with sliced tomatoes and cilantro. Serve warm.

Tarts are easy to bake, if you’ve mastered the art then there is so many recipes you can come up with.There are endless ideas for the filling. You may just whip up some cream, fill the baked shell, decorate with fruits or whip mascarpone cheese and mango puree, or use vegetables such as Zuchini,Beets, Squash and ofcourse cheese.

Bon Appetit!

Pita is a kind of a bread which is very popular in the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries. It is a round pocket bread which when baked puffs up and flattens as it cools. A very popular greek food is Falafel Sandwich were the falafels are stuffed inside the pita bread.This is one of my fav food at Gyros a greek restaurant in MN. The sandwich is served with cucumber,tomatoes,onions and tzatziki sauce.It tastes YUM!.

Hummus is like a dip made with garbanzo beans and Baba Ganoush is made using eggplant(aubergine).The first time I ate them was probably four years back at a Lebanese restaurant. They were served with warm Pita bread and Tabouli salad.The salad was something I just couldn’t eat,I think one has to have an acquired taste for “cous cous”.Anyways it was just not the delicious fare that we enjoyed, the traditional belly dancing accompanied with the foot tapping music made the recipe for a perfect evening. I was amazed with the finesse with which the dancers performed….it was sheer elegance coupled with superior dexterity.

The addition of Tahini is what makes these dips taste great. I believe you can make them without it as well, I sure haven’t tried it yet.I usually dont buy the paste, have always made it from scratch.

PITA BREAD WITH ROASTED GARLIC HUMMUS & BABA GANOUSH

Pita Bread
( makes about 8 pita breads)

1.5 cups flour
5 tablespoons warm water
1/2 teaspoon yeast proofed in a tablespoon of warm water with 1/2 tablespoon of flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoon olive oil

Mix the flour,water and the yeast in a bowl. Add salt,mix and then add the olive oil. I used my stand mixer fitted with a dough hook to knead.Turn to high speed if needed to get the dough to slap against the sides of the bowl. Brush a glass bowl with oil and place the dough in it. Cover with a plastic wrap and let rise for about 3 hours in room temperature or until tripled in volume. Press down the dough,cut into equal pieces and shape them into small balls. Roll out the balls into 4 or 6 inch disks,flouring as needed to prevent sticking.Because the dough is elastic you may have to let the disks rest once or twice while you are rolling them out to get them to hold their shapes. Place a pizza stone on the floor of the oven and preheat the oven to 500F. You may also use a baking sheet. Arrange the discs on the sheet pans and slide it into the oven, bake for about 7 minutes until they are lightly browned. Turn them over and bake for another minute or two.

Tahini

¼ cup sesame seeds(white)
2 tablespoon sesame oil

Dry roast the sesame seeds until golden brown.(be careful as they turn dark very soon).Cool and grind it along with sesame oil. Store it in an air tight container.

Roasted Garlic

Preheat oven at 400F. Take a garlic bulb and cut the top of the clove.Place it on a small silver foil and drizzle about a teaspoon of olive oil. Wrap it with the foil and bake for about 40 minutes. Remove the skin.You will end up with a very soft golden colored garlic not to forget the amazing aroma too:).

Hummus

1 cup Garbanzo beans ( you may use the canned ones too,reserve the liquid)
Roasted garlic ( as needed)
4 tablespoon olive oil + ½ teaspoon for garnishing
¼ teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoon tahini paste
salt as needed
¼ teaspoon chili flakes and parsley ( optional)

Soak the Garbanzo beans overnight and cook it the next day until soft. (If you are using a canned ones this step is not required.). Reserve the liquid in which it is cooked. Allow it to cool. Grind it along with the rest of the ingredients except the last one. (If it is too thick use the reserved liquid, just a little which is purely optional). Garnish with olive oil,chili flakes and finely chopped parsley.

{If you like your Hummus to be super garlicky, use all of the roasted garlic else use about 3-4 pods}

Baba Ganoush

1 eggplant ( I used a baby eggplant)
2 tablespoon Olive oil + little extra for brushing
1 garlic pod ( you may use roasted garlic too)
1 teaspoon tahini paste
salt as needed
¼ teaspoon chili flakes

Preheat the oven at 400F. Brush little oil ( probably need about ¼ teaspoon)all over the eggplant and using a knife make small slits on all sides.You may even use a fork and prick. Bake for 40 minutes until they are completely soft. Peel the skin and scrape out the pulp. Grind it along with rest of the ingredients except the last one. Garnish with chili flakes and little olive oil.

If you prefer a smoky flavor, use the broil option in the oven to char the skin of the eggplant, then peel and use. I chose not to as I dont like it. Since I used a baby eggplant, I ended up with less than ½ cup of Baba Ganoush. You will have to adjust the quantity of ingredients as per your taste if you are using a large eggplant.

Serve the Hummus and Baba Ganoush with Pita bread.
Enjoy!
Note : The recipe for Pita Bread was adapted from the book Baking by James Peterson. I made some changes to suit my requirement.

When it comes to Baking often times the prepared items are sweet, remarked the Husband!. He was suggesting if I could make him a snack preferably non sweet and healthy. So after pondering a while I decided to come up with something….ended up being ” Spinach and Cheese Savory Buns”. It tastes best when fresh and warm!

SPINACH AND CHEESE SAVORY BUNS

Makes a dozen

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 shallot finely chopped
1 garlic pod chopped
3 cups of spinach chopped( use only fresh ones)
a teaspoon of chilli flakes
1 tablespoon of cilantro ( chopped)
2 1/2 cups self rising flour
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
3/4 cup Feta cheese
1 cup + 2 tablespoons of milk
salt as per taste

Heat olive oil and a tablespoon of butter in a pan,saute garlic and shallots until the later is translucent. Add spinach and cook until soft. Add chilli flakes,salt and cilantro. Drain if there is any water left. Allow it to cool.

Preheat oven at 350F. In a bowl stir in flour,salt( as needed only for the flour),cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup of feta cheese. Now add in the spinach and milk( slowly add the milk, as you might not need the entire milk). Mix well. Shape into balls and place them on a  baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle the remaining feta cheese on top.  Bake  for about 20 minutes, remove from the oven and brush the remaining  butter on the top. Bake for another 10 minutes. Serve warm!

It certainly met the criteria of non sweet, not sure if it was healthy enough,thanks to the flour content in the buns. I did my part of using fat free cheese n less butter

Have you heard this ???? - “Between the optimist and the pessimist, the difference is droll. The optimist sees the doughnut; the pessimist the hole!” – Oscar Wilde

Its the 27th again and I am all set for this month’s Daring Baker’s Challenge. This time there was no baking, it was a wonderful Doughnut Challenge. I love simple doughnuts with powdered sugar sprinkled on the top. And I must say they taste best when hot. Thanks to my Mom who helped me make this!

Doughnut is a sweet deep fried snack which is very popular across most countries. Some have them as an evening snack and some take it for breakfast. The most popular ones are the ring shaped ones  and other one being the flat ones with some creamy filling. Also Doughnuts are made in various sizes and shapes. I ended up with the regular ones which are so simple and easy to make.

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

I reduced the recipe into half as I didn’t want to make too many of them.This is how I made them:

YEAST DOUGHNUTS

Preparation time:
Hands on prep time – 25 minutes
Rising time – 1.5 hours total
Cooking time – 12 minutes

Yield: 12 to 15 doughnuts & 12 to 15 doughnut holes, depending on size

Ingredients
Milk – 180 ml
Vegetable Shortening 1/6 cup
Active Dry Yeast  - 2.5 teaspoon (1pkg)
Warm Water –  40 ml (95°F to 105°F / 35°C to 41°C)
Eggs, Large, beaten 1
White Granulated Sugar 30 ml
Table Salt  - 1/2teaspoon
Nutmeg, grated 1/2 tsp
All Purpose Flour  2 1/4 cup
Canola Oil DEPENDS on size of vessel you are frying in – you want THREE (3) inches of oil (can substitute any flavorless oil used for frying)

Directions:

1. Place the milk in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat just until warm enough to melt the shortening. (Make sure the shortening is melted so that it incorporates well into the batter.)
2. Place the shortening in a bowl and pour warmed milk over. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let dissolve for 5 minutes. It should get foamy. After 5 minutes, pour the yeast mixture into the large bowl of a stand mixer and add the milk and shortening mixture, first making sure the milk and shortening mixture has cooled to lukewarm.
4. Add the eggs, sugar, salt, nutmeg, and half of the flour. Using the paddle attachment of your mixer (if you have one), combine the ingredients on low speed until flour is incorporated and then turn the speed up to medium and beat until well combined.
5. Add the remaining flour, combining on low speed at first, and then increase the speed to medium and beat well.
6. Change to the dough hook attachment of the mixer and beat on medium speed until the dough pulls away from the bowl and becomes smooth, approximately 3 to 4 minutes (for me this only took about two minutes). If you do not have a dough hook/stand mixer – knead until the dough is smooth and not sticky.
7. Transfer to a well-oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Mine took almost 2.5hrs to rise. I kept it in the refrigerator and continued with the rest of the steps the next day.
8. On a well-floured surface, roll out dough to 3/8-inch (9 mm)thick. (Make sure the surface really is well-floured otherwise your doughnuts will stick to the counter).
9. Cut out dough using a 2 1/2-inch (65 mm) doughnut cutter or pastry ring or drinking glass and using a 7/8-inch (22 mm) ring for the center whole. Set on floured baking sheet, cover lightly with a tea towel, and let rise for 30 minutes.
10. Preheat the oil in a deep fryer or Dutch oven to 365 °F/185°C.

11.Gently place the doughnuts into the oil, 3 to 4 at a time. Cook for 1 minute per side or until golden brown (my doughnuts only took about 30 seconds on each side at this temperature).

12.Transfer to a cooling rack placed in baking pan. Allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes prior to glazing, if desired.

I didn’t allow it to cool for long as I was too tempted to have them immediately. Sprinkle some Powdered Sugar and enjoy!!!

Verdict : These were just perfect like the store bought ones.Simple yet so tasty!!! I went nuts over Doughnuts….did you???