Soulful Creations

It has been hot, hot, hot here in Houston. Ever since we landed here, the temperatures have been in the triple digits. Add to that " stay-at-home " all day situtation- you get one cranky little lady (well may be not little but definitely cranky). So to remind me of some cooler weather- here is an easy dessert that combines most of my favorites- strawberries, lavender and whipped cream Ingredients (adapted from the minimalist's version ) 1 cup strawberries 1/4 cup raw sugar 1/2 cup heavy cream 2 tbsp vanilla powdered sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp lavender- I just crushed it using my mortar and pestle Method Hull strawberries, wash them and chop into 1/4-inch-thick pieces. Toss with half the sugar, and wait 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they give up their juices. Place half the strawberries and all the juice in a food processor, and purée. Pour purée back in bowl with the remaining strawberries. Whip the cream with powdered sugar, crus...

Who does not love candy? I certainly do and it is just the perfect challenge to come out of hibernation! The August 2011 Daring Bakers’ Challenge was hosted by Lisa of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drive and Mandy of What the Fruitcake?! . These two sugar mavens challenged us to make sinfully delicious candies! This was a special challenge for the Daring Bakers because the good folks at http://www.chocoley.com offered an amazing prize for the winner of the most creative and delicious candy! Fruit and Nut chocolate bark To temper: With tempered chocolate pieces, also called “seeding” Tempering Ranges: Fahrenheit Dark: 113°F-122°F > 80.6°F > 89.6°F Chocolate is melted and heated until it reaches 45°C / 113°F. Tempered un-melted chocolate is then stirred and melted in until it brings the temperature down to 27°C/80.6°F. It is then put back over heat and brought up to its working temperature of 32°C/30°C/29°C /// 89.6°F/86°F/84.2°F depend...

Its been 2 months since my last post, isn't it? Our move from Boston to Houston was a long wonderful winding road. We flew to Denver, CO and drove from there to San Diego CA. On our way we did devour some great food. From San Diego the wise guy flew to Boston for some last bits of work while I set sail to SFO and had a great time there- oh so much to eat, so little time! More on that in a later post- but today read on for my first Indian Cooking Challenge post The melt-in-your-mouth tirunelveli halwa Ingredients Wheat berries- 3/4 cups Sugar- 1 cup almonds & walnuts, chopped- 3/4 cup, reserve 1/4 cup for garnish Ghee- 5 tbsp cardamom- 1tsp Pachai karpooram- a pinch Food color Method Soak the wheat berries overnight. Grind in a blender with about a cup of water. Strain the milk into a bowl. Return the husk to the blender and grind again with water. Strain and repeat the process about 4-5 times. Note*: Clean the strainer and blender immediately, otherwise you wo...

A few weekends ago, we were at a potluck-poker party (yes, a really sweet couple from wise guy's work had this party to celebrate our marriage!). I did my part for the potluck and the wise guy did his for poker (oops, that is a teeny-weeny lie now- he did his part for both the potluck and the poker game!). I rarely talk much and when it comes to parties I become super-calm (except before the party when it looks like a rioted kitchen and a nail biting-me), and super-quite. I love to watch people, listen to conversations around me and gather the most inconsequential pieces of information. I do love food talk, so when someone asks me what I brought for the party- they better be prepared for a long may be even boring monologue. This party was not much different except a big bunch (read six) of kids running around. We had great food- our Japanese friend brought a gorgeous Japanese vegetarian soup, the host had roasted beautiful green nori with olive oil, salt and pepper and even told u...

The May 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Emma of CookCraftGrow and Jenny of Purple House Dirt . They chose to challenge everyone to make a Chocolate Marquise. The inspiration for this recipe comes from a dessert they prepared at a restaurant in Seattle. The vegan recipe that I used were created by Ashlae of Ladycakes , thanks Ashlae! Vegan Chocolate Pudding ( http://ladycakesbakes.blogspot.com/ ) Ingredients 1 package Mori- Nu soft silken tofu (approximately 12.3 oz.) 1 cup up vegan chocolate chips (approximately 6 oz.) 1 Tablespoon vegan butter (approximately ½ oz.) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Directions: In a food processor, blend the tofu until it is creamy and lump-free; keep in food processor and set aside. In a double boiler over medium heat, melt the butter into the chocolate chips until smooth. Once melted, remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes. Pour chocolate mixture and vanilla extract into food processor; blend with tofu until combine...

Warning: I am no professional restaurant reviewer by any measure but I have come to learn "good food" in the past few years. I decided to do this now because I am leaving Cambridge to go to Houston, Texas and this is a tribute to all those foodie joints (good and not-so-good) that I visit often! This one is yet another fave, an all vegetarian and vegan place in Watertown (now that is the only disadvantage since it is not on any T line)- The Red Lentil . Every dish that I have tried is actaully different from the other- unusual flavor combinations are a big draw (for me anyway). I will surely miss their Nirvana Delight and ooh the gobi manchurian. I also love their entire line of brunch menu (think I can safely brag that between the wise guy, my mom and me- we have tried most of what is on their menu).While their food is great- there are times when I have been frustrated with their wait staff. In fact this year's Mother's day was celebrated at The Red Lentil....

My mom is visiting and one of the things I ask her to make every time she visits is some form of paruppu thuvaiyal (a kind of pesto that you eat with rice, similar to chutney except a lot more thicker) This recipe uses yellow moong dal- skinned and split mung beans that are easy to digest. Ingredients 1 cup yellow moong dal 1 clove garlic 2 dried red chillies * a pinch of asaefotida (hing) 2 tbsp oil salt to taste water, minimal quantity for grinding Method Heat oil in a pan. Add the garlic, red chillies, asaefoetida- saute for about 30 seconds. Then add the yellow moong dal and roast till the dal is golden brown. Cool it down and grind with minimal amount of water. Serve with hot rice, ghee (clarified butter) and some fried papad! Judgement With the garlic and the heat from red chillies, it sort of warmed me up- exactly what I needed after kind of weather we have been put through here in the area. (I guess I cannot complain about it being cold when people dow...