KANGKONG IN MY GARDEN

Supremely happy with myself, because i have kangkong growing in my terrace garden, its beautiful , lush green and so much fun to just pull out and cook....very very happy...
Think all of us must try and grow a few basic things ... because its so simple to, also have basil and lemon grass...

DAY 32 :LAZY DECADENT CINNAMON ROLLS

Today was a wonderful free day after very very long, so actually spent the day trying to catch up with my Spanish but eventually was in the kitchen trying out new stuff, that i found with the pioneer woman, its so very satisfying to be able to make something tasty from sweet nothings,spent most of my morning playing tiger mama to my cub Zene, we then spent a lazy lazy time watching TV, and then there were a few things that i wanted to make, so googled and found some amazing sure shot recipes, so went ahead and cooked and baked till my kitchen looked happy, oh also growing kangkong in my garden and basil and lemon grass so really happy about it... have been just running from the time school started in June , and so love this break, actually i bunked class....ha ha ha

So here goes

Lazy decadent cinnamon rolls
1cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
yeast
2 cups all purpose flour and an extra cup on the side
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
plenty of melted butter
1/4 cup Castor sugar
powdered cinnamon

Mix the milk , vegetable oil and sugar in a pan over fire and stop heating it just as you feel its going to boil, leave it to cool for at least an hour...
When the mix is luke warm add the yeast , i always add an amount i really do not know how much, but it somehow comes out right...let this mix sit for about 3 minutes or till you see the yeast acting up...
add the flour to this mix , but don't forget to keep aside that extra 1 cup of flour..
This should be set aside undisturbed till it doubles in size...
Now you add the extra flour , the baking powder, the baking soda and the salt ,it becomes a beautiful soft malleable dough...
now we are ready, so sprinkle some flour onto your work table, and roll the dough thin and in the shape of a rectangle...when you feel its thin enough , pour onto it a generous amount of melted butter and them the cinnamon powder, please don't be stingy with either , oh and no we are not on a diet and never will be , so now that we have settled that, we now start rolling in the dough towards us , and slightly tight, what i did is i let the butter freeze a bit so that it did not all spill out as i rolled the dough....
Pinch the seam to seal it all, then cut the roll in 1'' pieces and arrange them away from one another in a well greased cooking tray...
Cover with a wet muslin cloth and let it rest ...In about an hour , these rolls will have puffed out and look ready to put into the oven ...
I baked them for 20 minutes at 170 degrees, but you need to keep an eye on them, because all our ovens behave differently...
As soon as they came out of the oven i poured this frosting i made with a mix of sugar, milk , coffee and some maple syrup...

And then waited a bit , like 5 minutes so that i do not burn my hands and pulled out a piece and bit into a very warm piece of aaaahhhhhhhhhh with frosting pouring down on it....
Wonderful, yummy and really delicious "LAZY DECADENT CINNAMON ROLLS" only from "Maria's Kitchen"

DAY 31: HOLA DE LA PIZZA

And so i spent the afternoon today kneading dough to make pizza dough and a cheese bread, I'm having too much fun baking and do not want to do anything else at the moment, but today because i put in a little extra water ,my right forearm nearly had a chance of competing with Popeye's forearm , that's how much i had to knead it while putting the flour in so that i had the right consistency of dough, but all's well that ends well, and so as i rubbed in the olive oil , i kind of was feeling like singing" besame, besame mucho" and getting into a full scale soprano mode and was dreaming of tossing the pizza dough in the air ....gosh i really do have a fertile imagination ha ha ha and love every "pequeno" bit of it..

Follow exactly what i did for the bread loaf , but just substitute the margarine for the olive oil, and add some ajwain into the flour, i also sliced some garlic into the dough , because i like garlic in my food, when the dough has risen, you beat it down , and then divide the dough into sections depending on how big , thick or thin you like your pizza base, and roll out your dough, put it onto a flat baking surface and blind bake it for about 8-10 minutes, it comes out wonderful and crisp, also because i made the base really thin.....

Got it out added my pizza sauce, and added vegetables , a variety of them and a super helping of cheese, put it back in the oven and kept a watchful eye , because i love my cheese to be just about melted gooey and slightly brown ......
it took about 10 minutes more .....And then the moment Zeke , my house help and me were all waiting for....
Took it out, it had a wonderful aroma that in sure you get all over in Italy , oh forgot before i took it out , put some fresh basil (which i now grow at home along with , kangkong , coriander, lemon grass and a little mint) and just threw it onto the melted cheese , ooooh that aroma is to die for, took it out in less than a minute, cut it into slices and clicked a photograph , very very quickly , before it was dived into and devoured, lovely fresh yummy pizza, sprinkled with chilli flakes and oregano, hot and cheeesy, delivered with a piroutte only from "Maria's Kitchen"

DAY 30: MUAH PAVLOVA

This is something that i saw Nigella Lawson make on TV and i just had to try it, it looked easy and very very tasty and frankly because i really do not count calories and "THINK THIN" i did what i love doing, i googled the recipe and loved the history , this particular dessert got its name after the beautiful Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova visited New Zealand and Australia in 1926 and 1929 respectively and both the countries claim that this is their tribute to the woman who danced to "Swan Lake" like no one has, they wanted to make something really special and delicate and airy and light that would do justice to all that Anna the ballerina stood for ,and that's how the pavlova came into being ...

I love to have "pavlovas " because they are easy to make but are difficult to bake , but once you get it right, its the yummiest and lightest dessert you can have... i love them most with fresh cream and strawberries but mangoes are nice too.....

PAVLOVA

5 egg whites

1 pinch salt

1 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar

2 cups Castor sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees, but you will be turning it down to 130 when you put the meringue in to bake

Combine the egg whites and salt in a large bowl and beat with an electric beater, until you get nice soft peaks, then start adding the sugar a table-spoon at a time so that enough of air gets trapped with the whisking, then add the vanilla and the vinegar, your mix is ready..

Pour it out on to a grease proof paper on a flat baking surface...

And i pour it into a mound and make a well in the center and just stroke the sides with a fork , so that you get this uneven beautiful "tutu" thats begs to be dressed with fresh cream and fruits when ready....if done right it does look like a ballerinas skirt adorned with exotic fruit.....

Bake it at 130 degrees for 3 hours, or until it is nice and crisp and a pale straw colour...then turn the oven off and keep it over night without opening the oven , the next morning open the oven and you will have ,staring at you one of the lightest and melt in the mouth kind of experiences when you bite into it, all you do is whip some fresh cream , i use the fresh cream you get from Parsi dairy farm, i love that , chop seasonal fruits and dress the pavlova with a generous helping of fresh cream and garnish with fruits .........yummmmmmm

Must also tell you that this is the 4th time I'm making it , the 1st time , i read the recipe and thought i was too cool , because i got it all right , but like i said it all about the baking , and so yup my pavlova rose, looked beautiful and i was so happy , i checked the crispiness and it was all like it should be , so i put the oven off and was all set to leave it all night in the oven, went to check on it before i went off to sleep , And lo! and Behold some body had stolen my pavlova , it was just not there, i was like "what the hell happened", i opened my oven and there on the grease paper lay my pavlova , it was a PAPAD, i was heart broken and could not believe that this could happen to something so beautiful, and so learnt a lesson ...

To maintain that beautiful airy happy fluffiness , it needed the right amount of warmth for the right amount of time, not more not less , and only then will the pavlova rise to the occasion and smile back at you...

Actually cooking food for me is like being in a beautiful relationship, it has to be given enough of warm love and care or the most beautiful thing will shrivel up and perish...

Oh ! God, think its the rains, that's getting me all gooey...

So here's presenting, with a lot of warm love and care, "Muah Pavlova" fresh , mouth melting , topped with fresh cream and gorgeous fruits, only from "Maria's Kitchen".....

DEAR ARSHAD, PRAY THE MUSIC GOES ON FOREVER.....

Gosh this was the most fun thing i have done since a very very long time, dancing is my 1st love, eating my 2nd, feeding others my 3rd, etc etc, but to dance again on stage was as thrilling as it has always been , and this is one part of my life that i miss the most, dont miss being on camera or being a familiar face, but miss the adrenalin rush, my heart beating fast and the immense pleasure of letting the music take over....
Thank you Arshad for making this possible again, and dear Vaibhavi who just made me fly...

"Dear Arshad, pray the music goes on forever......

Day 29: ABRA-KADABRA BREAD AND SPEEDY CARROT CAKE

Got into baking class finally on Wednesday, it felt so good to go back to Sophia's, the buzz is all the same , but i feel so different , also this time I'm learning on a different floor...
I still remember sitting in designing class doing my work , when suddenly we would be accosted by wafts of the freshest aroma of bread just out of the oven , or chocolate rum balls or then cake...
Oh! God, that time was so much fun and stress, homework, exams and then attendance that i was always bad with... because i was also dancing and modelling, because yup the extra money i got , funded my designing extras...and I'm very proud of that, still remember standing in line for the bus and getting squashed in the train, but it was fun every bit of it..also once studied for a paper that i did not have...yup done all kind of crazy things....
This time around , I'm learning to bake only because i love it , i do not have to search for a job or make a career , so no pressure to do anything ...
My teacher is Sashi ma'am, who is soft spoken , has beautiful hands and is very very helpful , and on friday, in no uncertain terms , she told us , that if we do not wash what we use, we are going to have to scrub the entire kitchen in and out, we'll i always clean up after i finish working , and in all probability , all the rest of us will too...
I made bread in my first class, lovely wholesome , beautiful big fluffy loaf of bread, but under Shashi mam's guidance, and Zeke completely loved it , according to him , i can do anything he points out to from my numerous cook books , and that's the reason i really want to learn it all ,so today I'm on my own in my kitchen and am going to attempt making bread, its the most wonderful feeling in the world, so basic and yet so satisfying....
Carbs sweet satisfying carbs , here i come...

Flour - 250 gm
grain sugar - 5 gm
Yeast -5 gm
Margarine - 5 gm
Salt -5 gm
Water-150 ml

baking temp-200c
Baking time- 1/2 an hour to 45 minutes

Mix yeast in a little water along with sugar, and keep aside.
sieve flour and make a little well in the centre
Pour in the yeast mix and start mixing the dough , add as much water as in necessary to make the dough soft.
Mix margarine and salt together and rub into the dough kneading until smooth and pliable

Did all of the above and my dough rose beautifully, yeah yeah yeah its a wonderful Saturday, I'm actually making bread, then i beat it around a bit , folded the dough into a roll like i was taught in class and put it into my spanking new bread tin and left it to rise again.......

And in the mean time i made a carrot cake that i have been wanting to do for the longest time

2 eggs separated
225 g brown sugar
175 g melted amul butter
150g whole wheat flour
1tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp mixed spice
25g chopped walnuts
25 g dried raisins
175 g grated carrot

Topping
1 cup full fat milk
3 tbsp flour
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup margarine
orange edible glitter

And so while i was waiting for my bread dough to rise , i creamed together the egg yolks, sugar and melted butter.
stir in 2 tbsp warm water.
place the remaining cake ingredients in a bowl and make a well in the center , add the egg mixture and beat thoroughly
Whisk the egg whites until standing in soft peaks, fold carefully into the cake mixture.
Spoon the mixture into a 20 cm cake tin and bake for 50 minutes in an oven that has been pre-heated to 190 degrees.

It really is easy and comes out beautiful and brown and then just cool it for a bit , it has the most amazing inviting aroma, so i was trying to resist biting into it, because frankly in my opinion , there is nothing better than biting into cake that has just come out of the oven , its heaven in a bite....anyway way now for the frosting , which i learnt from u-tube from a bakery called magnolia...

But now my bread dough has risen so i brushed it with some milk and into the oven at 220 degrees for 40 minutes

Back to the cake frosting , i put the milk in a non stick pan over a medium flame and whisked in the 3 tbsp of flour , kept whisking it so that it does not get lumpy, and becomes a slightly thick and cooked consistency..
Take it off the fire and keep whisking till it is cool , then add the butter and beat the mix with an electric mixi add the sugar a tsp at a time so that its nice and fluffy, and voila you're done...

My bread is also done and has come out of the oven looking so good , gee I'm so so so happy , its like you put in this dough in and "abra-kadabdra-kazaaam " beautiful fluffy fresh bread out of the oven, i toppled it out on to my counter, brushed it with butter and left it to cool....now back to my cake...Zeke is waiting to have it with butter, and so am i ...

After my cake is cooled , i added the frosting very very generously over it and left it rough and unfinished...and then added my new edible orange glitter that my sis juliet and my riend Kichie sent me...i love glitter...

Cut it into slices and bit into my "Saturday comfort slice of carrot cake " yummy , very very sinful only from "Maria's Kitchen"...
P.S. there is nothing more satisfying that actually baking bread from scratch and eating it with amul butter melting on it, sweet basic moments...