Eid Tins

Eid celebrations consist of going for a congregational prayer, receiving guests at your home, and of course, house hopping to and from people's homes. Whenever my family and I would "house-hop," we would take a hostess gift of either sweets or flowers.  For this Eid, I decided to make Eid Tins filled with dark chocolate almond cranberry bark.

This recipe is a variation of the one in Kraft Foods "What's Cooking" magazine.

Dark Chocolate Almond Cranberry Bark

18oz 70% dark chocolate, chopped into medium sized pieces
6 oz white chocolate, chopped into medium sized pieces
1 cup - 1.5 cups of chopped almonds, skin on**
1/3 cup of dried cranberries **

In two separate double boilers, melt both the white and dark chocolates over low heat.  Stir occasionally to assist in the melting process.  In the meantime, chop up the almonds.  Once the chocolate is melted, stir in the almonds into the dark chocolate and the dried cranberries into the white chocolate.  First spoon out the dark chocolate mixture onto a large, parchment lined baking tray and smooth out with an offset spatula.  Next, pour the white chocolate cranberry mixture over the dark chocolate. Using the offset spatula, start creating wave pattens in the chocolate so you get a marble-like look.  Refrigerate for 1 1/2 hours or until firm and then use a sharp knife to break into small pieces. Line small cookie tins with wax paper and fill them up with the bark.

** rough estimates

On this Eid...

First and foremost, I'd like to wish everyone an Eid Mubarak or Happy Eid. May it be filled with joy, spirituality and remembrance of God the Almighty. As I prepared for today, I remembered Eids of the past- shopping for Eid presents for my family and friends, watching my mom and grandmother make traditional sweets for us and guests to eat, getting mehndi (henna) on my hands, stringing green twinkly lights around the windows and banisters of our home and of course, getting Eidi money from my grandparents and parents.
This Eid, and the one prior, has been a somber time because of the recent passing of my father.  It will be one year since his passing in December- where does time go?  May his soul be showered with God's Mercy and be at peace.

Sandwiches for a Road Trip

I know I've been neglecting my blog for the past few weeks, but I have a good reason for it- I didn't have time.  I recently flew back to Canada and it's been go go go since I got off the plane. I've been spending my days seeing family, catching up with good friends, supply teaching at my old school and a few new ones, reading, picking up an old knitting project and going to the gym 5 to 6 days a week.  See...I have a good excuse!

Anyhow, lets backtrack to a few weeks ago.  My husband and I were finally able to make our way up part of the Pacific Coast Highway, otherwise known as PCH. Along the way, we stopped to explore places people had recommended to us.  Our first stop was Solvang, a quaint Danish town about 1.5 hours north of Los Angeles. As we exited off the highway, our surroundings had transformed and it was as if we drove right into a fairy tale. The cottage-like structures and cobble stone paths reminded us of stories that we had read as kids.

 

We visited Paula's Pancake House for breakfast and then continued to walk through the streets, exploring hidden squares, fountains and windmills. Solvang's streets are lined with bakeries, antique shops, restaurants, book stores and gift shops. Really, there is something for everyone.

Once you have explored Solvang to your heart's content, there are surrounding towns in the area that you can visit. There is one town that has a lavender farm. We never had a chance to explore it, but next time it will be on my list of things to see.

After our walking tour of Solvang, we headed down south to Santa Barbara.  Because we got there in the afternoon, we only explored one tiny pocket of downtown Santa Barbara.

According to our research, Leadbetter Beach was one of the better beaches to visit and since it was my first time seeing the Pacific Ocean, we decided it was the place we wanted to check out.  I have to say, I love the beach!  I could sit there, fully clothed (hehe!) for hours.  We watched the waves for a while and then ventured out into the water, only to run back onto the beach when big waves rolled in.  We walked along the cliffs to a quieter part of the beach where the only sounds to be heard were of the waves crashing on the beach.  It was calming. It was peaceful.

Along the other side of the beach we hung out at the Santa Barbara Harbor & Seafood Festival. There were crab stands, oysters on the half shell, clam chowder, live lobster cooked to your specifications and so much more.  We decided to try some lobster bisque.  It was creamy and chunky and full of flavour.  I think one of these days I'm going to have to try making clam chowder and lobster bisque at home.

Now when it comes to a road trip, it is important to have the all the necessary food items: drinks, water, sandwiches, fruit and some snacks.  A good road trip sandwich is this roasted chicken breast sandwich with tangy, crunchy cornichon.

Roasted Tandoori Chicken Breast Sandwich



5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, washed and butterflied
1.5 cups of 2% plain yogurt
1 tbsp of minced garlic
1 tbsp of minced ginger
3-4 tbsp tandoori spices ( you can pick up a packet of blended spices from any Pakistani or Indian grocery store or you could create a blend by mixing salt, red chili, ground coriander, turmeric, ground cloves, ground cinnamon, garlic and ginger powders, and ground cumin.)
6 whole cherry or grape tomatoes, washed
salt and pepper to taste
red chili powder to taste (optional)
1 tbsp light mayonnaise
5-6 large red leaf lettuce leaves, washed
5-6 baby cornichon, sliced
slices of whole grain bread
1-2 tbsp sweet and sour chili sauce

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

 

In a medium bowl, combine the first 8 ingredients.  Let the chicken breasts marinate for 1-2 hours in the fridge. At this point, you can bake off all of the pieces of chicken or you can bake a couple and freeze the rest. You can roast the chicken breasts either on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a roasting pan. I used a baking sheet lined with parchment paper because I found it easier to flip the chicken pieces over as they baked.   Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the chicken breasts have cooked through.

Toast bread slices once the chicken has come out of the oven. Once they're out of the toaster, wash and pat dry the red lettuce leaves and then smear some mayonnaise onto the toast.  Take two slices of toast, mayo side up and begin to layer a few lettuce leaves on the bread. Then add your roasted chicken breasts. Next, spoon a little of the sweet and sour chili sauce on the chicken breast. Add the sliced baby cornichon and top it off with the other piece of toast.

 

For the love of bananas!

I love bananas! Mixed in with crunchy flakes and cool milk, bananas are a perfect companion to my morning cereal. They are also great on their own and prove to be a refreshing snack if eaten cold. 

We were going to go on a short trip to Santa Barbara a while back, so I picked up a few ripe bananas to take along with us. The trip got delayed and the bananas quickly began to show their brown spots.  I couldn't consume all of them in one shot, so I decided to try another banana bread recipe that I found on Gina's site. I didn't want to bake two loaves, so I cut the recipe in half.  The bananas I had were far from being over ripe. They had brown spots on them, but were still firm so when I mashed them, I had little chunks of banana. The banana chunks baked in the cake created tiny, moist pockets of sweetness that I just love.

Banana Walnut Bread



I couldn't resist eating a slice before taking this picture.

 4 ripe bananas (not over ripe), mashed
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup natural cane sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a loaf pan with parchment or grease the pan with butter.

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.  In a separate bowl mix melted butter and sugar. Add eggs, mashed banana, apple sauce and vanilla.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until just combined. Fold in chopped walnuts.  Pour into loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes and run a knife around the edges of the pan. Cool for another 10 minutes before enjoying.

A Refreshing Salad

I came across an old post by Heidi at 101Cookbooks where she talked about a trip to Mexico. This trip inspired her to create a lime and peanut salad. The salad sounded mouth watering and led me in a direction to create an adapted version of her salad.  This salad has the tang of fresh lemon juice, the spice of a serrato chili and the creamy texture of a ripe avocado.

Broccoli Slaw Salad

half a bag of broccoli slaw, washed and drained

1 ripe avocado, peeled and cut into small cubes

2 ripe Roma tomatoes, washed and sliced

1/2 a serrato chili, finely diced

1/3 cup cilantro/coriander, washed thoroughly and roughly chopped (you can use parsley instead)

juice of one small lemon

1-2 tbsp olive oil

pinch of cumin

salt and pepper to taste

In a medium sized bowl, add the serrato chili and cilantro. Add the broccoli slaw and give a good stir so that they are combined. Add in the tomatoes and avocado. Stir gently.  Pour in the lemon juice and olive oil and add the cumin, salt and pepper.  Mix so that everything is coated, especially the avocado. 

Some thoughts:  If you want you could add in diced English cucumber, slivered almonds and bean sprouts.

Cravings of Chocolate Equals a Brownie Recipe Fit for A Swirly Scoop of Pinkberry

I've begun to notice that the days I am fasting is when I crave chocolate the most.  It's this urge that won't go away until I've had some chocolately goodness.  I missed two fasts during Ramadan because of traveling, so now I have to make them up. I started today and honestly the chocolate cravings were crazy.  I just knew that once I broke my fast I would have to have a chocolate fix. So I went through my "Chocolate" section under My Favourites and came across Two Peas and Their Pod's Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies recipe.  Bingo!  I didn't have all of the ingredients the recipe called for, so I decided to adapt it to what I had on hand. The end result was a fudgey brownie with a smokey, dark chocolately taste.  Yumm!  Instead of consuming the brownies on their own, I believe because of the texture and flavour, the brownies would be better as a topping for ice cream or frozen yogurt.  And since I got my husband to pick up some of Pinkberry's Original swirly goodness, I had to test my theory.  Yup....it was a perfect pairing!

 Brownie Topping

3/4 cup white whole wheat flour, sifted

3/4 cup natural cane sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp instant espresso powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup canola oil
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup organic almond butter, room temperature
1 tbsp crushed walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9" pie plate with parchment paper. You should cut the parchment paper to fit the bottom of the plate.

In a bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.  Add in the sugar and espresso powder and mix to combine dry ingredients. In another bowl, mix the eggs, vanilla extract and oil until blended.


Pour the liquid over the dry ingredients and lightly mix together until just blended.  Add in the almond butter and crushed walnuts.  Stir until combined. Using a spatula, evenly spread the brownie mixture in the pie plate until it reaches the sides of the plate.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean.  I found that my brownies were ready in 10 minutes, so be careful and watch those brownies.

Cool and serve on top of ice cream or frozen yogurt.

A trip to Little India and Gobi (Cauliflower Curry)

This past weekend, my husband and I decided to check out the Little India of LA. It's not as big as the Little India on Gerrard Street in Toronto, but the lack of "dinginess" was very appealing to me.  Now I consider myself a Canadian through and through, however there's nothing like going to an area where your community congregates to; the sights, sounds and smells make you feel like you've just come home.

We walked around the entire neighbourhood and discovered Saffron Spot, a drinks and snack stop tucked away in a corner. It's decor reminded me of Demetris. The bright pops of colour on the walls and the ice cream and falooda display cases. We didn't end up getting anything, but because the menu had ice cream flavours like Badam Pista, Fig Walnut, Kulfi Kreme, Lychee, Masala Tea, and Saffron Silk and various kinds of falooda, we knew we'd definitely come back.  After making our way back onto the main street, we checked out a few movie stores, some interesting eating places and a grocery store that, from now on, will supply my needs for spices, dals, rice, flour and fresh vegetables. We were pretty giddy when we walked into Pioneer (it's the Iqbal's of LA). The quality and freshness of the produce and spices was easy to spot. Also, the fact that they had everything you could possibly need to make South Asian cuisine was amazing.  I have had trouble locating certain spices and vegetables, but thanks to Pioneer, that is no longer the case!
We ended our tour with a stop to Ambala's, a desi mitae shop. It has nothing on Brar's in Mississauga or Al-Karam in Scarborough, but it will have to do.

Speaking of fresh vegetables, the recipe I'm going to share is a Gobi (Cauliflower Curry) salan.

Gobi

1 head of cauliflower, cut into tiny florets
1/2 tsp of garlic, minced
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped and browned
1/3 tsp hyde (turmeric) powder
1/4 tsp ghara mirch (red chili powder), adjust as necessary
1/4 tsp salt, adjust as necessary
1 tomato, diced
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 serrano chili, cut into small pieces
3 tbsp fresh kotmeer (cilantro), washed and chopped


In a stainless steel pot, add minced garlic and oil. Slightly brown the garlic and then add the browned onions. Cook the garlic and onions for a minute or two and then add the hyde (turmeric), ghara mirch (red chili powder), and salt. Add in the chopped cauliflower florets and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes on medium heat. Stir frequently.  When the cauliflower is tender, add the chopped tomato and serrano chili and cover the pot.  Let the flavours meld for a few minutes.  At this point check the flavour of the cauliflower- add more salt and ghara mirch if necessary.  Add the lemon juice and put the lid on again. Turn the heat down so the cauliflower is cooking on a low simmer. When the cauliflower is just about cooked through, add the chopped kotmeer (cilantro) and stir into the cauliflower.  Check the spice level one more time, add spices if necessary.  Turn off the heat and keep the cauliflower covered, the kotmeer will steam in the residual heat.

Serve with warm rotis.