Citrus Golden Sangria

I told'ja I'd see you around New Year's, didn't I? Here I am. For starters, how about we have a rapid-fire round of questions before we close this year's posts? Here we go!

Ever had a sip of a drink and wanted to jump into it and live in there forever? Ever wanted to go all the way and make your own drinks for guests rather than just pick up readily available wines, beer and soda? Ever wanted to quench your thirst with something home-made, yet with the right amount of 'hiccity-hic'? Ever wanted to feel like it is summer when it is bone-chillingly cold outside with some cheery looking drink?

Sangrias are the answer! Inviting hues ranging from blood red, fiery oranges, pretty pinks, golden yellows and clear whites - These are down-right amazingly flexible wine based drinks. And talking about color, let me mention to you that I bring to your party this drink only because of the Free-Spirit Bloggers (pun totally unintentional).

This winter, FSB-ite Mridhubhashini decided to throw more than a snow-ball at all of us. The chirpy young lady gave us a theme fit to liven up any occasion. It being New Year's and all, she made this one really vibrant. She randomly assigned colours of the rainbow to numbers and asked us to pick one each. Next she said, go ahead and make food/drinks which would finally look that colour that we picked. We FSB-ites sure love such games. And, it was my turn to paint it orange!

Many on-board FSB have chosen to make a three course meal using the colour they picked, but I decided to make just a drink, not due to shortage of orange coloured foods, but simply due to shortage of time and some other reasons (which I will fill you in shortly).

And so...yes, Sangria! They're basically wine punches supposed to have originated from Spain and Portugal and have found their way into pitchers across the world. Fresh fruit, wine, sweetener, soda and a hint of brandy if you like, is all it takes. Oh and yes, about a day for all these wonderful flavors to get to know each other well in your refrigerator.

Coming to a wee bit of news from my end - We're moving back to India for good from the US sometime early next year. So this might well be the last post from me for a long while now, unless I sneak in some sit-down-and-write time amidst all the packing that's going on. I'll certainly see you all back, but for now, I'll be taking a break. So, until next time, here's sending you and yours good luck, best wishes and good health in the coming New Year and always.

For now, go ahead and finish that pitcher of Sangria!

Creamy Mushroom Farfalle with Steamed Veggies

Ever come across a moment in life that changes the way you see a certain thing, person or sometimes even a situation? Among other larger such 'moments-of-change', to me is hidden this one moment that revolutionized the way I saw a little button of a thing - Mushroom. And, such was the theme for last month's Free-Spirit Bloggers. It was chosen by none other than Anupama of Love and Lentils. 

Anupama challenged us to pick out a food/ingredient that we steer clear of. Something we've never liked as a child or even as a grown up and cook with it. Not to forget she asked us to have fun doing so. Here's my story keeping in mind this wonderfully challenging theme.

It would seem normal for a pure vegetarian to state he or she did not like mushrooms because of its taste and texture. But for me, being a meat-eater did nothing towards how I saw mushrooms until very recently. I must thank my very close pal, V, for introducing me to this way of cooking mushrooms. V found this recipe in some cookbook, apparently. Now, there's almost nothing to hate and everything to love when I think of mushrooms.

I love pasta, but I never for once imagined it would gain a new dimension of taste when you throw is a dash (or more, ahem!) of cream and mushrooms. I was so in love with it the day I ate it and now, I make it for lunch at least once a week (cutting back on the cream of course!). I must add my son loves this as much as I do. So, all you moms looking for a fresh new perspective on pasta - This is IT!

What's even more awesome is that you can club this with a side of fresh steamed veggies and voila what do you have? Creamy Mushroom Farfalle with Steamed Veggies!!

Pasta leaves me stumped when it comes to showing off its ability to adapt and absorb any flavour you toss it in. And this recipe is a winner, hands down. In fact, if you love mushrooms, but not pasta you GOTTA TRY THIS. You will come back to me and thank me, telling me this was your 'moment-of-change'.

Cafe Casa | The Round-up | Free-Spirit Bloggers

You've been waiting for this, I know. I'm here now, so keep those daggers down and pick up something to drink as you read on. Confused as to what to fill your cups and glasses with? Oh think no further. Allow us, the Free-Spirit Bloggers, to pamper and spoil you with ideas.

Cafe Casa was the theme for FSB all September, where I invited bloggers-on-board to make cafe inspired drinks, the ground rules being:

- Pick any coffee-based drink recipe from this listing OR choose your own from anywhere else OR conjour up your own
- Share with us your inspiration for the drink, if its your own or why you choose a certain drink
- Present it the way it would be in a Coffee Shop (Think cinnamon dusting, whipped cream etc.)
- Add a snack to accompany your drink (Optional)

That said, I did allow some jiggle-room for my FSB mates who did not like coffee too much. So, they went ahead and made cafe style drinks instead. Keep your eyes peeled for there's a host of thirst quenchers listed up here! So, what are we waiting for. Let's roll!

CAFE CASA ROUND-UP

DK of Chef In You

She's sure to have your palate tickled pink with her Strawberries and Creme Frappuccino

She suggests you down this with her Very Berry Coffee Cake. I would blindly take her advice!

Lataji of Flavours and Tastes

Even though she's not too much of a coffee person herself, she whipped up something just as sweet and cool as her. It's called Iced Caramel Macchiato. 

   

Take a bow and glug it down with Egg-less Apple Cinnamon Muffins. It cannot get better, can it?!

Madhuri of Cook-curry Nook

You can almost never go wrong with this tall one - Frappe Mochacchino! Cold, creamy and most of all - It. Has. Chocolate.

We need not another excuse.

   

Want to make this a complete snack and drink party? How about some Spinach-Corn-Cheese Sandwiches on the side. Burp!

Mridhubhashini of Slurp, Chomp, Yumm!


A staunch tea lover gives us this western world version of our very Indian Masala Chai. Presenting Chai Tea Latte, made from scratch at home!

     

This one is certainly on my to-do list, because tea was, is and always will be my first love when it comes to beverages. And, what's more to love you ask? Well, the Glazed Lemon Blueberry Cream Scones that are peeking at you from behind that cuppa. Grab 'em now!

Siri of Cooking With Siri

Like your tea iced? How about some Ginger and Honey Iced Tea? The pictures are so inviting, you wouldn't think about NOT making this one.

  

I don't even know why I never looked at tea this way. Just plain superb!

Anu of Love and Lentil

I will update her offering to this theme the moment I hear from her. So, stay tuned!

Nags of Edible Garden had to excuse herself from this theme because she was traveling on work. But, I wouldn't be surprised if she surprises us. Hang tight!


And, finally my Caramel Macchiato which you already must have tried by now. If you haven't, well then I've just handed you a bunch of drinks on your to-try list. Go!! 

Caramel Macchiato

You knew something on these lines was coming, didn't you? If I've made caramel, then I was going to use it somewhere! Okay...Okay! You win this one time. But, there's a little thing you don't know. Ah! Now I have you're attention. So, read on.

You're aware of the Free-Spirit Bloggers by now. Well, as cliched as it may sound but time has flown by since this group of bloggers was founded. It's been a good six months. We had our share of fun making interesting appetizers, challenging bakes, imitation food and nostalgic entrees to mention a few themes from the past. This time I suggested to my buddies on the group that we should kick back and take a break. A coffee break, at that! And that was the basis of my theme.

What better way than to put all our heads together and come up with coffee based drinks served up at your favorite coffee-shop? I named this theme 'Cafe Casa', to mean that you bring the Cafe to your Casa (home) and invited all my FSB pals to bring on their best coffee-based drinks!

You will find that some of them made a snack to accompany the drink, too, so they create a very cafe like ambiance. Also, I shared this website with my friends to give them various ideas on the kind of drink they can make. But, knowing this group of bloggers, I don't think they even needed this kind of an heads-up!

So, that pretty much rounds up the theme that we FSB-ites had for September - Cafe Casa!

Here's my part of the story. Once, I am done with this, I will share links of all the other drinks (and snacks, if applicable) that all other Free-Spirit Bloggers have come up with.

I'm not sure about you, but every time I hit the lines of modern day coffee-shops my eyes are rolling all over their menu wondering and wandering like a deer that wanted to stroll in the well-known limits of the wilderness but lost its way and was left bewildered in the middle of New York City.

So, for all those wide-eyed mob of deer out there, gaping at the coffee shop menu, this month the Free-spirit bloggers are here to solve a few mysteries. Mysteries of the coffee shop! Join us as we recreate the coffee shop drinks at home without any fancy equipment. Welcome to Cafe Casa!

I'm not big coffee drinker myself. But, being raised in Bangalore, I've had my share of 'filter kaapi', especially after downing a large, butter-laden masala dosa at the next-door restaurant all my childhood. Coffee took a backseat when tea entered my life. But, all of last month I lost count of the number of coffee cups I gulped down just to make this one drink that I so love in my favorite coffee shop - Starbucks. Oh yea, S.T.A.R.B.U.C.K.S!! So fancy, so accessible and so very compelling to all of your senses. Hot or Cold. Drenched in whipped cream or just a simple latte. They have it ALL.

Over the last couple months I kept hopping in and out of every Starbucks cafe I passed by, trying different drinks they offered. Here's what pleased me the most - Caramel Macchiato. This drink is served both cold and hot. I tried the hot one on a unusually cold day in late summer and was in love with it. Light coffee (which pleases someone who likes milky coffee), sweet notes of caramel and warm frothy milk. Bliss!

So, before we jump into how to make this surreal temptation, let's get down to some history and science. First up, history.

Caramel Macchiato is a variant of the original drink called Cafe Macchiato, caramel being the extra factor (X-factor, tee hee!). Macchiato in Italian literally translates to 'stained', which refers to the way coffee/espresso is 'stained' with steamed/frothed milk.

Now, let's move on to the science of this drink - The steamed or frothed milk. Did you know steaming or frothing milk is an art that baristas across coffee-shops have to know like the back of their hands? Oh yeah. It is the very basis of a plethora of coffee based drinks. So, yes the equation for this drink is simple. Caramel + Espresso + Steamed Milk = Caramel Macchiato.

Before you conclude that you can simply whip this up in no time, think again. It took me a good gallon of reduced fat milk and about 3 weeks until I figured out the exact way to get that froth you see on top of that cuppa. Still, I'm not too satisfied with it.

I made Caramel Sauce at home, to give this drink a complete 'Homemade' tag. If you've missed that recipe, read it here. So, like I said, I was trying hard to get the foamed milk on my coffee, which means I had to first start off by learning to make Lattes, which are a combination of espresso and steamed milk.

Once, I mastered the steamed milk to a certain extent (as far as possible it was without any equipment at home), I made my first caramel macchiato which you see below. I hated why I poured it in that wine glass. It was the only one I found (before I bought what you see above) and I decided I will sip out of it anyway!

If you ask for this drink at Starbucks, they serve it with their signature caramel crosshatch on top of the foamed milk. This was something I was unable to recreate. I fumbled, stumbled and fell on my face in despair. But, well, there's always a next time!

I'll get down to the recipe now. So, now that you know this is very much a do-it-yourself fancy coffee drink, what's stopping you?

Paneer Butter Masala

Siri Pulipaka decided this months theme for us, Free-Spirit Bloggers. To say she took us down memory lane is one thing, but here's what she did. She left us there to wander about all those memories and the restaurants we'd visit as children. And, the most important thing she made us do: Re-live the moments in that restaurant eating the one dish that always made its way to the waiter's order note-pad. 

For me it's always been Paneer Butter Masala. The moment we'd grab our seats in any restaurant, the one thing we knew we were going to order was this. Everything else did not even matter. I still remember us driving up to the Karnataka State Billiards Association (KSBA) on weekends for Bingo Nights. I was very young to understand the game. So I'd sit there munching on appetizers, trying to understand the game, telling Dad and Mom  I see the number on their sheets, knowing well what followed for dinner.

While I spent all of my childhood and teenage years, gorging down this North Indian delicacy, things changed after I stepped into wed-lock. Once I learnt the basics around the kitchen, I wanted to, for certain, learn to make this favourite. I still remember the very first time I made it (a pretty home-y version sans cashews and cream) and was super excited. Almost as if I had created a new being or something. Then on, I explored various ways of making paneer butter masala - From recipe books, magazines and the internet. I've come down to one recipe, a combination of a little bit of everything I've read. And, this one works every time and gets me the results I'm looking for.

Mildly spiced, creamy cashew sauce with succulent paneer cubes. What wouldn't go with it? Roti - Yes! Naan - Yes! Kulcha - Yes! Plain white/brown bread - Yes! Rice - Yes. In fact, I could down bowls of Paneer Butter Masala all by itself!!

Honey Roasted Sweet Peppers And Mango With Ricotta Ice Cream

Yes. We raised the bar. The Free-Spirit Bloggers just decided to take things to a completely different level along with a little bit of a gambling, too. How is that for a little summer-time fun?

This time Lata Raja choose the theme. We were all to make sweet-dishes or desserts using just about any mode of cooking we liked. So? You ask, 'What's so great about that?'. But, hold on. Here is the twist. She asked us to choose numbers between 1 and 12. To each of these numbers she had put down the most unusual combination of ingredients that one would make a sweet dish out of, on a spreadsheet that she had not shared with us.

So (virtually)  blindfolded, each FSB member picked her choice of number(s). Once all of us were 'numbered', we got to see the list. When the ingredients were revealed, I was more than a little baffled. Then, left in amusement and awe. Then in deep thought. Lastly, action followed and here is what I made using what I had chosen - Sweet Peppers along-side fruit and nuts. 

Here's a peek at what other choices Lataji had on her list:

1. Bottle gourd/ Marrow/ Zucchini (Cinnamon/Cardamom flavouring)
2. Tapioca/ Arrowroot starch (Zest of lemon or Orange/Juice) 
3. Tomatoes (Vanilla)
4. Barley (Coffee/ fruit)
5. Quinoa (Raisins, Fruit juice) 
6. Noodles/ Pasta (Dark chocolate)
7. Buckwheat (Cheese/ Paneer)
8. Sweet peppers (Nuts and dry fruits) 
9. Sweet corn (Cream) 
10. Corn meal/ Polenta (Coffee/ Orange) 
11. Black currants/ Pomegranates (Caramel/ White Chocolate)
12. Chick peas or mung beans (Saffron/ Pistachios)

Oh yea, I did away with the nuts because there was already so much going on here. Besides, it was optional. Well, well if you really want to add nuts, just throw in some slivered almonds on top! 

I knew my toughest enemy to make a sweet treat out of this would be dealing with the bold flavor of the sweet-peppers. I had to do something different to make the peppers show me their 'sweet' side, quite literally! Pacing through my mind were various ways I could do this. Saute the peppers and make a halwa? Grind to a puree with cream and sugar and make a popsicle? And just then, like a brainwave I remembered this wonderful recipe I had watched on Food Network. Chef Claire Robinson had made Roasted Figs with Fresh Ricotta on her popular show Five Ingredient Fix. I drew inspiration from this recipe and created what I would like to call Honey Roasted Sweet Peppers and Mango with (not just Ricotta, but...) Ricotta Ice Cream!

Free-spirit Bloggers

This post has been long pending. Nearly 3 months up, really. Too bad I did not have time to do justice to this elite group I've been a part of, and enjoying every bit of it.

So, if you're already not aware of us, we are the Free-Spirit Bloggers (FSB). Who? Well, eight food bloggers whom Madhuri Kumar decided on putting together into a closed group dedicated to one soul purpose - Having fun with food!

Just another monotonous day was in progress for me, when Madhuri pinged me and told me about this brilliant idea she had. We make a group of food bloggers and every month each of us pick a theme and cook up together! That made my day - Sounded to me like great fun and most certainly so to the other well established bloggers we have on board today, too. Who are they? Here you go! (In no particular order or preference)

1. Madhuri Kumar (Mads)- My school-mate and a very, very good friend. Social networking and blogging brought us back in touch and now we've come to times where we cannot pass a day without chatting with each other and fueling one another with the craziest of ideas...oh and yes, not to mention, sharing the same wave-length, too. To be very honest, she's the one to get the food-blogger in me all fired up - My inspiration!

2. Siri Pulipaka - I'd been seeing her name on blogosphere for the longest time. Got to know her once we formed FSB. She's recently moved to Bangalore from the US and has the company of Madhuri. I am SO J of you two!

3. Dhivya Karthik (DK)- The stalwart blogger in the food-blogging arena. I've been reading her recipes and posts ever since I started blogging, and she certainly rocks!

4. Anupama Gobalan (Anu)- Another blogger who I'd come across time and again, but go to know better after FSB came into the picture. She writes amazingly well. So it simply goes without saying that her recipes are very easy to follow - She'll take you every step of the way like a baby. With pictures to leave you drooling like a baby at the end of it all, too!

5. Nagalakshmi Viswanathan (Nags)- An experienced blogger and photographer based out of Singapura. Just take a look at what she has on her blog. I need not say another word then on.

6. Lata Raja (Lataji)- The sweetest person you'd ever meet. At least in my case, virtually. It's amazing how she delivers thing way ahead of time. Enthusiastic and charming. That's Lataji for you!

7. Mridhu Mohan (Mittu) -  The newbie blogger on the block. She's certainly an amazing cook and that she's on FSB just proves it all, again and again!

8. Deepti Pawar - Well, well! You know who this is.

So, finally I have some place where I can lead you all to when I talk about FSB on my blog. I do hope you all enjoy the ride as much as us. Loads of interesing recipes coming your way. So, stay hooked!

Grilled Veggie Seekh Kabab

Summer's here. Almost synonymous with blazin' hot grills, chilled soda, sun-hats, flip-flops and most certainly a whole lot of fun. The mention of the grill would've probably had you thinking of charcoal burning and meat sizzling away on the heat. But, no. This summer, how about going green? All of us could do with an extra serving of veggies. And, what better way to get them in than make vegetarian versions of popular non-vegetarian dishes? That's what we Free-Spirit Bloggers have in store for you this month. 

All of us have in store veggie versions of recipes that normally are made using meat, poultry and/or seafood - all of which also look non-veggie, too. Hmm! Now, that's reason enough to skim through all our blogs, eh? I'll give you just the place where you can get all of this, so you can take a look at what the other Free-Spirit Bloggers are upto, but before that take a peek at what I have in store for you. I decided to take this month's theme a notch further and do away with much of the oil/grease that normally accompanies non-vegetarian dishes. So, the gill was the answer! Whatcha waitin' for? Better not be Christmas - It's way too far to have your mouth drooling the way it is! Go and turn on your grill and gorge on some grilled veggie seekh kababs.

Baby Corn Pepper Fry

The Free-Spirit Bloggers are back again this month, and you can only 'begin' thinking of what we've got in store for you. Appetizers, starters, hors d'oeuvres or if you really care less about terminology...ahem, snacks. Call it by whatever name you want,  they're all are served with a purpose. They keep you occupied and get people conversing with each other until the main course arrives. 

Why are we all so partial to potatoes and oil when it comes to party starters? Sometimes, it is simply nice to swing things in a totally different direction. Try this - Baby Corn Pepper Fry. This one's very close to my heart, from my childhood days really, and I'd like to serve this up for this month's Free-Spirit Blogger's theme. This peppery, crunchy, tickle-your-tongue starter was a regular item on our table every time our family visited the Billiards Club in Bangalore. You'd be surprised to know this  was the first time I tried making it at home myself. No great shakes, this recipe...but great flavor, is in here!

Egg-less Chocolate Pound Cake With Paneer

The end of winter makes you want to do new things. Spring rings in a new beginning. And, with this came a refreshing idea from my very close friend and co-blogger, Madhuri Kumar. She herself had been thinking about bringing in something fresh to blogosphere. Something that would bring together like-minded bloggers and get the creativity flowing in their respective kitchens. Of course it doesn't stop there. We go a step further and put across all these 'experiments', good or bad, on our respective blogs for the world to see. 

That said, she came up with a name for this group of bloggers. She christened it - Free Spirit Bloggers or FSB, for short. Yes, now you make sense of that little logo I have up on my blog. Well, the name says it all, right? Oh! Well, not quite. I'm sure you're aching to know more. Madhuri has a great write-up on Free Spirit Blogging on her site which you can take a peek at over here. Get to meet other FSB-ites and don't forget to bookmark their pages. All of them are awesome in their own ways. I am indeed honored to have been invited to be a part of such a group. Danke, Madhuri!

For those of you who want a quick piece of information right here...Be my guest. FSB is a group of eight bloggers who co-ordinate and come up with monthly themes for blogging. Something that will allow us to transcend from the mundane recipes to exciting culinary experiences. Each of us choose a theme, be it a cook, bake or something absolutely wild (in the kitchen ONLY! Ahem!) and work on it for a good 30 days before it gets presented on each of our blogs.

The whole of last month each of us were busy in the kitchen with our ovens. Why? We all decided to take up a theme based on cake baking. The month's theme was suggested by Madhuri. All of us tried different egg substitutes for a basic chocolate pound cake. I opted on trying using paneer in place of egg. You should check out what the other's used, too. Blog hop a bit over the FSB-ites pages. It's great fun.

So, in keeping with the 'spirit' I performed my experiment on one cold Spring afternoon. Here goes!

Ingredients

21/2 Cups All purpose flour (or Maida)

1 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Butter

3 heaping tbsp - Cocoa powder

1 Cup Paneer (I used paneer cubes)

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 Baking Powder

1 tsp Vanilla essence

1/2 Salt

3/4 Cup Milk (The original recipe for Chocolate Pound Cake calls for 1/2 Cup. I found the batter too thick and added more milk. I really think it would drink in more wet ingredients)

Method

- Preheat the oven to 350 F

- Prepare baking dish by applying butter/oil and dusting with flour till well coated and set aside

- Puree paneer in a food chopper until you have very, very minuscule pieces

- Meanwhile, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl

- Repeat the sifting process thrice to get a homogeneous mixture and set aside

- Cream together butter and sugar

- Add the vanilla essence, beat well and set aside

- Add the pureed  paneer to the butter-sugar mixture and beat well till it has been incorporated

- Now, add the sifted flour mixture to the butter-sugar-paneer mixture little by little and beat well till

blended smoothly

- Add adequate milk to achieve a batter of dropping consistency. Like I said, the original recipe called for 1/2 Cup. I added more to make the batter more smooth.

- Pour batter into the prepared baking pan, and bake at 180 deg C for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cake

- Cool completely before serving

Verdict

The final cake fell apart so easily that I was itching to rename this Chocolate Crumb Cake. But, I do know paneer is an egg substitute that people use. I should try this again. My suspicion is on the freshness and quality of the paneer. So, if you see another chocolate pound cake up here on SSTT soon, you know I really am working up the experimental cook in me.