Carpaccio of Pineapple

Carpaccio (an appetizer of thinly sliced stuff, usually meat or fish) sounds like such a sophisticated term for what is, essentially, just sliced fruit. But astonishing as this association of fruit (pineapple), oil (olive oil), and spice (vanilla bean) is, they are in perfect harmony. And I dare you to not like it!

Blueberry, Vanilla, and Bread Pudding

I had my first taste of blueberries today. We don't get blueberries around here - like ever, not because its winter. So, I'd bought a can of blueberries a couple of weeks back. Having heard about a friend gorging on wild berries in another part of the world, I just decided to bust open the can and have some. I was quite disappointed - the berries looked purple rather than blue, for one; and they were swimming in a sugar syrup and I just tasted sweetness rather than any real flavor from the berries. That's Rs 270 gone down the drain. I was so looking forward to making a spinach and blueberry salad later this week. So, the only sensible thing to do with these sugary babies is to make dessert and put the syrup to good use.

My blueberry and bread pudding turned out quite nice. Would be so much better had I had some fresh berries. But then again, if I had fresh berries, I wouldn't dream of cooking them.

Coffee & Coconut Ice Cream

Coffee and coconut ice cream has so much possibility! You can Irish it up, add chocolate chips, or even add fruits like rasberries. And am happy to note that this time (third time's the charm!), the ice cream definately felt creamy and not all ice-crystally.

But first, this recipe is dedicated to Tiffany! A while ago, Tiffany commented that she uses coconut milk with her tea. I found that a bit absurd, even suggesting that she use soy milk instead. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. With coffee. Not tea. So, I brewed a strong batch of black coffee, and added a couple of dollops of coconut cream. OH MY GOD - It tastes sooo good!! Now, I've stopped having my daily tea and have coconut cream spiked coffee every day! Everyone should at least try it once - vegan or not.

You should definitely try making a small batch of coconut milk coffee before you attempt making a bigger batch of coconut and coffee icecream. If you like the taste, proceed with the below.

I wanted a bittery coffee taste to my ice cream and so have added just 6 teaspoons of sugar. Do a taste test on your coffee brew and adjust sugar accordingly.

Coffee and Coconut Icecream

Servings: About 6-8 scoops

Ingredients

• 1 cup coconut cream
• 4 cups water
• 4 teaspoons coffee
• 5-6 teaspoons brown sugar

To make:

• Brew a strong batch of black coffee using the coffee powder, sugar and water.
• Let it wittle down to two-thirds of the original batch and then turn off the gas.
• Let the coffee cool down for 10 minutes before stirring in the coconut cream.
• Stir well till the mixture is a nice mocha color and there are no coconut cream floating around undissolved.
• Transfer to a container and freeze -with the lid on -  for a couple of hours.
• After a few hours, break up the ice cream into chunks and blitz the chunks into a mushy liquid in a blender. Refreeze. Repeat this process a couple of times.
• Then let it set one final time.

And Thou Shall Have Cake

I turned thirty a couple of days back. To be honest, I was dreading the day I couldn't call myself twenty-something. Thirties is another word for "responsibility" and I'm not sure I want to say goodbye to my days of wild abandon, reckless drinking, bad boys and such.

The girls at work very generously arranged for a made-to-order vegan cake from a bakery. No-egg cakes are quite common here, but i've never seen a completely vegan cake. I thought I had to forego my days of eating cake forever -what, I am not baking my own custom cakes!! This one's made of soy milk, but you'd be hard pressed to tell a vegan and non-vegan cake apart.

And, speaking of cake - I recently won the fabulous "A World of Cake" from a giveaway at Sprinkles of Parsley. I guess beginner's luck counts - I entered several other giveaways after this one, and haven't won a thing!

Its 350 thick and glossy pages of mouther watering cakes from all over the world. Completely non-vegan of course, but hey, you can always admire food porn and gain not an inch on your thighs, right?

What I Want Now: Chocolate Coated Orangettes

I love the chocolate and orange combination - they complement each other so well. That is why I am over the moon over my latest find: Chocolate coated orangettes. The orange rinds, even before cooking, look so pretty and glossy all uniformly sliced up. But the devil's in the details - I'd skip the corn syrup.

Photo and recipe from Someone who Bakes:

Coconut & Pomogranate Ice Cream

My last attempt at making ice cream wasn't exactly the most delish ice cream I have ever eaten. In fact, it turned out more like an icy sorbet than a creamy ice cream. Since I do not have an ice cream maker, and will not use either milk or eggs, I shouldn't really ask for any thing other than what I did end up with. Therefore, understandably, I haven't rushed in to make another batch for a long time. Don't get me wrong - It was delish, but just not as creamy as store-bought ice cream.

But then I saw this no churn pomogranate icecream recipe by Nigella Lawson. I had a pomogranate at home. And more importantly, I had a can of coconut cream, that I was dying to dig into. So I did start off with the idea of just making a pomogranate icecream. But, as I added my coconut cream to the pomogranate juice, I really liked the nutty flavor and so, probably, added more coconut cream than I should have. The result is my coconut and pomogranatae no churn, vegan ice cream. No sugar as well. I used maple syrup - which is what turned the ice cream color from a rosy pink to a soft plum color.

Coconut & Pomogranate Ice Cream

Serving: 2-3

Ingredients:

• 1 large pomogranate (about 2 cups of pomogranate seeds)
• 1 cup coconut cream (more if you're using coconut milk)
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 lime

To make:

• Peel the pomogranate to get about 1.5 to 2 cups of pomogranate.
• In a juicer, juice the pomogranate along with the juice of half a lime. Its up to you whether you want to include the pomogranate seeds or discard them. I included them as they're very healthy.
• Tranfer the pomo-lime juice into a bowl. Stir in the maple syrup.
• Add little by little the coconut cream into the mixture, stirring all the while.
• You may also want to transfer this mixture back in a blender and just get some air in by blending for 5-10 minutes.
• Lay the mixture in a tin bowl and put it in the freezer with a lid on.
• After an hour or so of putting the mixture in the freezer, take it off and break the chunks and stir around for some time, and put back in the freezer to reset. Repeat this process a couple more times after an hour or so. Then leave it in the freezer for 4 hours to set one final time.

What I Want Now: Ginger Candy

Crystallized ginger - so easy to make and I'd imagine it'd taste great.

Photo and recipe courtesy the Healthy Green Kitchen:

What I Want Now: Dark Chocolate with Chillies and Cherries

I'm in love! Ever since I laid my eyes on this gorgeous scarlet red bar of chocolate (which was all of 10 minutes ago), I can't stop thinking about it. If any one wants to gift me one for the new year's or my upcoming birthday, I will be more than happy to oblige with my shipping address, etc. :)

But seriously, look how pretty it is! <3

http://boulderlocavore.blogspot.com/

Guava, Mulberry and Maple Salad

This is a really easy salad/dessert to make with very few ingredients. I added a couple of broken down pieces of my flaxseed chikki for added crunch. Flaxseed chikki is really easy to make – just melt some jaggery or brown sugar in a pan. Let cool for 5 minutes. Add the flax seeds. Stir well. Transfer to a flat bottomed pan and cut into diamond shaped or square pieces and let it set till it’s a solid mass.

Guava, Mulberry, Maple Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 large guava
• 10 mulberries
• 1 cup iceberg lettuce
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 2 pieces of flaxseed chikki (optional)

To make:

• On a bed of lettuce leaves, lay the guava pieces.
• Add the mulberries and the maple syrup on top.
• Finish with chunks of flaxseed chikki on top.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Vegan Strawberry Sorbet

Strawberries are finally in season!! So, I bought a carton of strawberries and a 200 mils soy milk box to make a frozen strawberry treat. Well, I was going for strawberry ice cream, but it turned out more like a sorbet.

Vegan Strawberry Icecream Sorbet

Servings: 2-3 scoops

Ingredients:

• 12 strawberries
• 75-100 mils of unsweetened soy milk
• 2 tablespoons of organic cane jaggery (replace with brown sugar, if needed)
• Pinch of rock salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon rasberry food coloring

To make:
Freeze the strawberries for a couple of hours in the freezer.

Take them out, thaw them for a while, then roughly chop them.

In a blender, add the strawberries, jaggery, salt, and soy milk.

Blend well for 5-10 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and the coloring.

Spread the mixture in a bowl and let it freeze for at least 4 hours in the freezer.

After that, put the solid mixture back in the blender (or stir it up roughly by hands). Put back in the freezer for a couple of hours more for a final freeze.
Garnish with strawberries and serve.