Tropical Fruit Bake

Couple of weeks back I found a ripened papaya, 3 mangoes and a few bananas to be used asap in my kitchen. The mangoes & papaya flew all the way from Florida with Shankar. We hardly get these yummy tropical treats in our part of the country and at this time of the year, they are also at the end of their growing season. Hence I have found that the best way to give a boost to their flavors is by baking these fruits. Here is my simple Caribbean-ish recipe. 

Slice / chop all the fruits and mix in a big bowl with 2 tbsps of sugar, 2 pinches of nutmeg, a pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of cardamom. Also add a couple of pinches of salt and for this bake, I also added a dash of ground pepper. Then came  a few teaspoons of Palm sugar (Karupatti) ground with a few almonds. Then went in 1/2 tsp of grated ginger and 3-4 tbsp of ginger liqueur (Canton). Finally I sprinkled a handful of grated coconut, transferred the salad to a baking dish and baked in a 350F oven for about 20 minutes. I like mine served with yogurt and some granola for added crunchiness. Yummy!

I am sending this recipe to  Monthly Mingle, hosted by Deeba of Passionate about Baking.

Weekend Rangoli & a Recipe

Shankar & I spent last part of last weekend in Chicago - we went to watch the show "Traces" which sure did leave  trace in me, had a wonderful dinner @ Le Colonial - a French Vietnamese restaurant. And staying in downtown in a room with a view from the 38th floor was a splendid bonus. On Saturday we had brunch at Rick Bayless' Frontera Grill and did some shopping. We also managed to gorge on the Diwali Special buffet at Priya Restaurant on our way home. After all the activity, Sunday was a relaxed day at home. I managed to spread out my painting supplies once again on the dining table and painted a small 8x8 Rangoli. The pattern extends to two of the sides. The best thing is, it is already spoken for :) Now at the collection of David Hill, Madison.

Rangoli with acrylics on canvas

For dinner on Sunday, I also managed to make a few dishes including this simple Brussels sprouts side dish. I simply halved these vegetables, sautéed them in olive oil + butter, added salt & pepper for seasoning and let it cook for a few minutes, Then transferred them into a baking dish, sprinkled some chopped toasted walnuts and shredded Gruyère cheese. I also sprinkled a handful of shredded parsnips (being used in another dish), for crunchiness. Baked for about 10 minutes in 350F oven. Yummy!

Latest from my table

I started to play around and try making a couple of these highly customizable beaded bookmarks as an option for the fundraiser I am doing in my friend's memory. And to my utter delight, a friend who came over picked up both the "pilot" pieces I made, motivating me to make more. And here they are - from my little corner craft table today! I am hoping to list them for sale on my site by the end of the week, with all proceeds benefiting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Beaded Metal Bookmarks

Irish Lace Cookies

I made these lace cookies for my lab meeting the first time. Since it takes only less than 10 minutes to prep and another 10 minutes to bake, I have since made them a couple of times. Also, this recipe is so versatile, once I made them just by throwing a handful of different ingredients together :)

The ratio is basically use 1 part of flour to 4 parts of butter, sugar (creamed together) and rolled oats. I started with powdering a handful of almonds with a little sugar, then adding the above ingredients (butter at room temperature) in the food processor along with a pinch of cardamom, and 1/2 tsp vanilla flavor. Drop the dough by a teaspoon leaving room between the cookies and flattening a little. Baked in a pre-heated 350F oven, they turned out to be so good. I also drizzled a little bit of melted blueberries & lavender dark chocolate :)

The blog I used for this recipe has been removed since and hence no reference :(