Peach - Orange Popsicle

Summer is here not yet officially but we got to see glimpses of  summer weather last week in our neck of the woods. We were craving for cooler things and I had prepared some fruit pops to beat the heat. I love the fact that preparing popsicles at home gives us control over what goes in them besides being healthier and cheaper. These pops were prepared using some sweet peaches and oranges. They were so yummy and creamy that we were left craving for some more.

Ingredients: (Yield 5 popsicles)
2 peaches (I had about 1 & 3/4 cups peeled and cubed peaches.)
Juice squeezed from 1 big sized orange (1/2 cup juice)
4 to 6 tbsp. sugar or any other sweetener (Adjust the quantity depending upon the sweetness of the fruits.)

Method:
* Blend the cubed peaches, orange juice and sugar into a fine puree.
* Pour the puree into popsicle molds and freeze them until set.
* Run warm water over the molds to remove the popsicles easily from the molds and serve immediately.
* In case if there are no popsicle molds then pour the mixture into small paper cups and cover them with aluminum foil. Make a slit in the center with a knife and place a popsicle stick in each slit. Freeze until set.
 
This is my entry to
1. Blogging marathon #53.
2. Srivalli's 'Kids' Delight' event hosted by Harini this month with the theme 'Fruits'.

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Vegan Orange - Chocolate Cupcakes

 

I stumbled upon this recipe when looking for any fruit and chocolate based cupcakes and oh boy, I am glad that I did. This is almost a 5 star recipe, in my opinion. I should however admit that in the middle of baking, my heart sank seeing the sinking tops of the cupcakes. I had zeroed in on this recipe and was in no mood for further recipe hunting. I gave up and thought that I may have to fall back on any standard banana chocolate one. However by the end of baking they rose again, leaving a big happy smile on face. And so if the cupcakes sink in the initial stages of baking following this recipe, I guess there is no need to worry.
The taste and the texture of the cupcakes are fabulous. You can also add a tsp. of orange zest to enhance the orange flavor. The recipe had nuts in them but instead I chose to go with chocolate chips as this was a chocolate based theme. This is basically a cake recipe and suggests to use a 8-inch square or 9-inch round baking pan. I decided to use a muffin pan instead since I was planning to bake cupcakes for the marathon.

Ingredients: (Yield 16 cupcakes)
1/2 cup soy milk at room temperature (or milk for a non vegan version)

2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 & 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup mixed chopped nuts (optional)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup orange juice

2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips (or chopped nuts)

 

Method:
* Grease the cake tin / muffin pan you are going to use and keep it aside. Or liners can be used for the muffin pan. 
* Whisk milk and vinegar in a bowl and leave aside for 3 to 4 minutes.
* Preheat oven to 375 deg F / 190 deg C.
* Sift flour, baking soda and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl. Add sugar and mix well.
* Mix orange juice, oil and vanilla and add it to the vinegar mixture. Beat just to combine.
* Add the liquid ingredients to dry and whisk to combine forming a non lumpy batter.
* Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean. I halved the original recipe to get 8 cupcakes and mine were done in about 25 minutes.

See how beautiful the texture is.

 

This is going to be a part of BM # 37 under the theme of "Chocolate Based Muffins / Cupcakes".

 

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KamlaLebur Kheer / Kamla Kheer

The title kamlalebur kheer itself sounds so fancy. How does one describe it? Sinful, decadent and rich. Or "orange kheer" from West Bengal to put it in simple terms. The idea of sweet, succulent orange segments dunked in chilled, thick, creamy milk itself is mouth watering. This recipe do not need many ingredients and also the process is a simple one. It is a perfect dessert when you have company, especially during summer. I noticed it for the first time at Sharmi's blog and then at Sandeepa's and was bowled over. I could not put it together until now though planned it several times earlier. We thoroughly enjoyed it and I thought of sharing it.

Ingredients for 3 servings:

2 cups milk

7 oz / 200 gm condensed milk (1/2 can condensed milk)

2 Tbsp sugar or as per taste (if using unsweetened condensed milk, adjust the quantity)

2-3 oranges (any sweet variety)

Method:

1. Bring the milk to boil in a nonstick pan. Then simmer on low flame till it reduces to half the original quantity, stirring intermittently. Using a nonstick pan and stirring is to avoid scorching.

2. Add the condensed milk and sugar to the pan and stir well. At this point you can continue boiling till the milk thickens attaining a creamy hue. Or for more convenience, add this mixture of milk and condensed milk to a microwave safe bowl and put it in the microwave for 2 -3 minutes, checking in between to avoid spilling. The final product should be a very thick, smooth mixture. Let cool.

3. In the meantime, get those oranges out of the refrigerator. Peel them and separate the segments. Remove the thin film clinging to those segments and cut each segment into two or three pieces.

4. Stir in the orange pieces to the cold milk in step 2 and refrigerate it for 3 -4 hours.

5. Serve chilled.

This yummy entry is on it's way to the 

"Anyone can cook" event.

"Bookmarked Recipes", an event by Priya & Aipi.

Check out the other bloggers doing this Blogging Marathon.

30 minute meals:Priya Mahadevan, Pavani

Salad: Ila, Divya Vikram

Entries for the ongoing events: Priya Suresh, Harini & me

Kid friendly dishes: Vatsala, Jay, Kamalika

Rice dishes: Veena KrishnaKumar, Padma Rekha, Priya Srinivasan

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Eggless, Orange Flavored Berry Pancakes and Banana Sandwich

Here are 'not so sweet' whole wheat, orange flavored, berry pancakes that both kids and adults can enjoy.



Ingredients for 6 pancakes:
1 cup wheat flour
About 1.5 cup orange juice (at room temperature)
1/2 cup dried berries, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sugar (optional)
Oil / ghee / melted butter to drizzle

The cooking part:
Mix the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder. Gradually add the juice and whisk to form a lump free batter. Then gently combine the berries.
Heat a griddle or a shallow pan. Pour 1/4 cup batter and spread gently into a 4 - 5 inches circle. Drizzle a few drops of oil around the edges. Let it cook on low flame, covered. Cooking on low flame is important. When it appears cooked, flip the pancake and cook for about 30 seconds or a little more when the other side too browns a little bit.
Repeat the same with the remaining batter.

Simple, Whole Wheat Bread - Banana Sandwich:
This is a family favorite and I prefer banana slices with toasted bread as a breakfast when I am feeling lazy. Any nut butter would be a healthy addition if serving kids.



I am sending these over to Priya who is hosting Sharmi's 'Cooking with Kids' event this month, with the theme Whole wheat with fruits.

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Pineapple - Orange Smoothie

This sunshine smoothie is to celebrate the spring weather we are having for the past two days.



Actually the preparation of this delicious drink is so simple that it doesn't need a recipe. However I am going to mention what I did. For 3 servings, I added 2 bananas, a cup of pineapple cubes, a cup of orange juice (freshly squeezed is better) and a cup of yogurt to a blender (or a food processor) and pureed it till smooth.
This colorful, creamy smoothie can be served as breakfast or as an afternoon snack.

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Happy Shivarathri and Rasayana

Happy Shivaratri to every one.

Rasayana for Mahashivaratri One of the delicious prasadams offered to the devotees at temples in Bangalore region is rasayana. The recipe usually contains banana, jaggery, coconut and cardamom. Sometimes may be just banana and jaggery. Usually when there were varieties of fruits at home, my sister used to prepare rasayana using all of them. Following her, I added other fruits and ingredients to the standard recipe here. As I mentioned, using other fruits is entirely optional. Only bananas can be used and quantities of other ingredients may need to be altered if done so. You would need: One banana, peeled and sliced into circles One cup of other fruits chopped (I have used oranges, grapes, apple) Powdered jaggery - 1/2 cup Grated fresh coconut - 1/2 cup Cardamom - 1/2 tsp Honey - 2 tbsp Raisins - 1 tbsp

The simple preparation: Add all the ingredients to a serving bowl, mix it well and leave it for at least 30 minutes before serving. By the time, the jaggery would have melted and got incorporated in to the mixture.

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Orange Craisin Cupcakes

Orange Craisin Cupcakes are among one of the few goodies (to me) which I bake regularly. I saw this recipe a couple of years ago in a magazine. I was primarily attracted to this because it was eggless. I avoid the icing part since it tastes good even without it. For more kid- friendlier version, they can be decorated. Also, I am sure that people who are allergic to dairy products would love this as this doesn't contain any of them. I used dry craisins, since their sweet and sour taste perfectly complement the orange juice used in the cakes. Usage of dry craisins is completely optional and any chopped nuts or dry fruits can be used instead of them. These ingredients would make 18 cupcakes and you can halve the recipe.

Ingredients:
All Purpose Flour/Maida - 2 ¾ cups
Sugar - 1 ¼ cups
Baking Powder - 2 tsp
Baking Soda, seived - 1 tsp
Orange Juice - 1 cup
Vegetable Oil - ½ cup
Ripe, Mashed, Bananas - 2
Grated Orange Peel - ½ tsp
Dried Cranberries / Craisins (Optional) - ½ cup

Baking:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda.
Stir in orange juice, bananas, oil, orange peel and craisins just to combine.
Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling each one three - fourths full. Bake around 20 minutes, or until golden brown and a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan and then remove them from the pan.

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