Soulful Creations

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookie. Well I have given up-  I do not even feel an iota of guilt for posting so late these days. I am the "lets-do-everything-last-minute" kind of person- I do it even the most important things- like paperwork for soon-to-expire passport! I tried fighting it- no more because it is simply not who I am! This month's DB challenge was no different- I had everything planned as soon as the challenge was announced but clearly the execution of it left much to be desired! So here goes my version- had fun with it all the way! Ingredients: 2/3 cup (160 ml) (150 gm) (5.3 oz) unsalted butter 2 cups (480 ml) (160 gm) (5 2/3 oz) quick oats (I soaked the oats in 2 cups warm water and 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar for 24 hrs and then dried it in the oven using the warm setting, tem...

Well it tastes like a fancy-schmancy cake but it was definitely a breeze to make it especially if you own a food processor. Nigella Lawson, if I have to sum up what I feel in one sentence- love her recipes, hate her eyes-rolling, up-close camera tricks cooking show! Ingredients  Recipe source from Food network Cake 1 cup all-purpose flour 2/3 cup barley flour + whole wheat flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 cup cocoa 1 cup sugar 1 stick Vegan butter + 1/2 stick soft unsalted butter 2 eggs 1 tbsp vanilla extract 1/3 cup yogurt + 1/3 tsp baking soda 1/2 cup boiling water 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup chopped candied orange peel (homemade) Syrup 1 tsp cocoa   1/2 cup water   1/2 cup sugar 1-ounce dark chocolate (from a thick bar if possible), cut into splinters of varying thickness, for garnish Equipment: 2-pound loaf tin (approximately 9 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 3 inches deep), lined with greased foil, pressed into the corners and with some...

than twisting the traditional. I find myself constantly experimenting (I guess it makes sense because I am a scientist!) with food. And the one thing I love to make over are the idlis- my favorite dish in the whole world. When I am feeling low or when I am supremely exhilarated- the one that calms me down: idli-sambar. When I go home on vacation and on occasion when ma is too busy to make breakfast- dad hops on his hero winner (now this deserves a post in itself), gets to his favorite food joint nearby (either saravana bhavan or vasantha bhavan) and gets me sooda-sooda (hot-hot) idli-medhu vadai-sambar combination. Ingredients 2 cups idli rice 1 cup brown rice a handful methi seeds 1 cup urad dal 1/2 cup whole urad dal with skin 1/2 cup green gram sprouts 2 tbsp wheat germ 2 tbsp ground flax seeds Method Soak the rice, dal and methi seeds separately (you don't have to soak the sprouts) for about 4-5 hrs (next time on-I am going to soak it longer) Grind the dals fi...

the World Nutella Day held every year on Feb 5th.  This year the event along with World Nutella Day is co-hosted by Ms.Adventures in Italy and Bleeding Espresso .  Every year I forget all about it and read about it pretty much after the round-ups have happened. I would not have it this time- come on nutella is my favorite thing in the whole world! Nutella is really a trade name for a chocolate-hazelnut spread and you can read all about it here . So how did I find it out this time- on my favorite blogs- Aparna's My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba's Passionate about baking , they participate almost every year! The mad dash to the finish line began at around 5:45 pm this evening. Nutella had to be put to good use- and it had to be done quickly enough! Borne out of this mad rush- Tapioca pearl- nutella pudding! Ingredients 1/2 cup tapioca pearls, soaked in water for about 30 min 1/2 cup water 1/2  cup almond milk, vanilla flavor 1 cup Nutella 2 tbsp vanilla sugar ...