Marzipan Chocolate cookies

What a way to bring in a New Year with some sweet marzipan goodness.

Ingredients:

Dark Cooking Chocolate (for drizzling)

1/2 kg of finely ground sugar

1/2 kg of icing sugar

1/2 kg of cashew nuts

4 egg whites

1 tsp Almond essence

2 tsp rum

Egg yolk (for brushing)

Recipe:

For the Marzipan filling:

1.     Grind 1/2 kg of finely ground sugar and 1/2 kg of cashew nuts together in small batches and place the powdered mixture in a big bowl. Add 1/2 kg of icing sugar to the mixture.

2.     Add almond essence and rum to the mixture.

3.     Beat 4 egg whites till firm and mix little at a time with the mixture till a dough forms.

Roll the marzipan dough with a rolling pin to about 1/2" thickness.  Line two baking sheets with butter paper.  Cut out the dough with the cookie cutters of your choice (I recommend small ones) and set them on the baking sheets, set a little bit apart.  Let the sheets sit out, uncovered, 6 to 7 hours, or overnight. 

After the sheets have sat out and dried, preheat your oven to 375.  Brush each piece with a little bit of the egg yolk and bake for a few minutes to give them a little color and a crust.  

Cool on the sheets, and then store in an airtight container.

Melt the cooking chocolate in the microwave for one minute and stir till smooth. Drizzle the cookies with a little chocolate for a perfect ending.

Marzipan Chocolate with a dash of Hazelnut !

Marzipan we either love it or love to hate it….I absolutely love this cashew filled goodness.

Ingredients:

Dark Cooking Chocolate (for Dipping)

1/2 kg of finely ground sugar

1/2 kg of icing sugar

1/2 kg of cashew nuts

4 egg whites

1 tsp Almond essence

2 tsp rum

Recipe:

For the Marzipan filling:

1.     Grind 1/2 kg of finely ground sugar and 1/2 kg of cashew nuts together in small batches and place the powdered mixture in a big bowl. Add 1/2 kg of icing sugar to the mixture.

2.     Add almond essence and rum to the mixture.

3.     Beat 4 egg whites till firm and mix little at a time with the mixture till a dough forms.

4.     Make small balls and dip into melted cooking chocolate a dry on a rack. Grind a handful of hazelnuts and sprinkle a little on each chocolate.

Baked Garlic potatoes with olives

We do love our French fries when we go out to eat but they are so rich in calories that we feel real guilty on consumption. So I thought why not bake the potatoes and see if it stops my cravings for fries. And voila !! It did…..the baked recipe below is as yumm as the fried option. Do try them.

Ingredients:

2 medium sized Potatoes

2 medium sized onion

½ cup green olives

2 Tbsp oil

1 tsp Garlic paste

1 tsp mixed herbs

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 150 deg C.
2. Chop the potato into fine slices. Chop the onions to fairly large pieces. Mix in a mixing bowl the potatoes, onions and olives. Add the oil and herbs and garlic paste and mix well until the potatoes are coated well.
3. Grease a large flat pan with little oil and spread the mixture into it and place it in the oven for ten minutes.
4. Remove and turn the potatoes upside down on the pan and put again for another  10 mins and serve hot. 

What’s your favorite way to enjoy Nutella??? ·

• Nutella with Toast?
• Nutella on Bagels?
• Nutella with Waffles?
• Nutella on marshmallows?
• Nutella stuffed cupcakes?
• Nutella sandwiched cookies?
• Nutella dipped bread-sticks?
• Nutella Banana crepes?
• Nutella Sandwiches?
• Nutella topped Brownies?
• Nutella dipped Donuts?
• Nutella with crackers?
• Nutella and churros?
• Nutella dipped chips?

My favourite way to enjoy Nutella is to dip my finger right into the jar and lick the nutella right off my fingers ;) Yummmmmmmyyyy

Nutella Fun Facts:

1. 1 Tbsp of Nutella contains 100 kcals which takes half an hour of walking to burn. Completely worth it right ? ;)
2. Feb 5^th is celebrated as ‘World Nutella day’
3. More than 70 million hazelnuts are used worldwide each day in the production of Nutella
4. Nutella® spread, in its earliest form, was created in the 1940s by Mr. Pietro Ferrero, a pastry maker and founder of the Ferrero company. At the time, there was very little chocolate because cocoa was in short supply due to World War II rationing. So Mr. Ferrero used hazelnuts, which are plentiful in the Piedmont region of Italy (northwest), to extend the chocolate supply.
5. Nutella® is pronounced as "new-tell-uh" and not “nut-tell-uh”

Chocolate Anonymous

What are Addictions ?!! Drugs, Sex, Alcohol, Smoking, .......and chocolate !!!Yes Chocolate ...........How can I speak with authority and say its an addiction and not just a sweet-tooth craving of mine? Let me tell you my story.

I doubt I ate that much chocolate and candy as a kid. As a matter of fact I used to have food allergies most of my growing years and couldn't have milk or even chocolate or any colored food items at one point. So es I was a deprived kid..no candy floss, no chocolates :( but i survived.

But I'm making up for it completely over the last five years :) I eat a lot of chocolates. And when I say a lot, I mean 'A LOT'.To give you an indication - any chocolate bar or box I open I can finish the entire thing in one sitting :)

Now I come back to the story of telling you when I knew I was addicted. Little more than a year ago I decided to lose 12 kgs of extra weight I had gained on the job and started a strict exercise and diet regime and obviously the first food item to go off my diet was 'Chocolate'!

When I sat down with my dietician, I pleaded her to add a little chocolate wherever she could in my daily
diet and she said she'll try. But to my dissapointment at my next appointment with her, I saw my diet sheet and she's added 'Kelloggs Chocos' for breakfast as an option. Are you serious? Chocos?! I hate Chocos! That's not even chocolate. And first thing in the morning chocolate? naah my cravings start in the evening only specially after dinner.

Then I asked her optionally when is the best time of the day she feels I can have a piece of chocolate if I have to. And her response was just immediately after my workout since the body will digest the chocolate almost immediately. Are you seriously telling me that after an hour of a tiring and vigorous workout I'm gonna stuff my face with chocolates? That's the only time I'm 100% motivated to eat right.

Phew ... bottom line I couldn't have chocolate ! My chocolate consumption from a couple of boxes a week had to reduce to 1-2 square pieces of chocolate in a week :( The first 2 weeks were the worst. I questioned life. I questioned my existence on this planet. Was it all really worth it? That's when I realized I was addicted!
"An addiction can be cured " I told myself. Maybe there is a 'Chocolate Anonymous' in Mumbai. Let me google it. Yeee there is one 'Chocolate Anonymous' ...ohhh wait.. thats a name of a chocolate shop ! WHat!??!? This is not happening to me.

Anyways eventually I almost stopped having chocolates for THREE whole months and I did manage to lose my target weight of 12 kgs :) After I reached my target then I started to have a little chocolate in my diet but reduced the quantity drastically. I'm still addicted but a controlled chocolate addict ;)

Music or chocolate?!

If I had to chose between Music and Chocolate, which one ?! (This is just purely for discussion purpose,
God please don't let me ever have to chose)

For anyone who knows me well, you'll know how much I love my chocolate.

But this is a good discussion, cause I love my music too. I was a born into a music family. My dad used to
have a collection of 1000+ cassettes back in the days and my brother when he was in school used to save his pocket money every month and buy the latest released music cassette for his own small collection. He used to even record mixed compilation tapes for the neighbors and charge them Rs. 30 for each tape :)

So I've always had music daily in my lives. Every morning before Dad left for work and every evening once he was back from work. I always followed all the MTV and [V] music charts and even knew all the new songs before they were released locally through the Billboard Top 100 charts.

When I left home for hostel to pursue my graduation, I had my music system packed with me :) I remember being the first and only girl in the hostel to have a music system :) Listening to music has always been a hobby. During my studying days and even once I started to work. Keeps me company on my long drives to work and meetings.

Music is in blood...... cant stop myself from humming a tune now and then ...or even nodding my head to a famous tune in a bar...

I'm not saying I'll be happy to give up my chocolate, But my life would be depressing without any music.
So if i had to choose, I would have to chose music over chocolate. I think Music was always my first love
and first loves are never forgotten ;)

Imagine a life without a tune or any rhythm ..how boring ! no ! turn the music on !

How to take a Holiday!

Do you always hear yourself complaining that you don't take enough holidays in a year? or when u hear of your friends taking a holiday, do you get all jealous and wish you were him? Don't be.  Take a holiday yourself...I'll tell you how !

1) Plan your leave
This first step is not as daunting as you think it is. Cause your holiday can be an international one for 7-10 days long or a local holiday for a weekend to 3 days.

If you're travelling international, all you need minimum is a five day holiday clubbed with two weekends. That's 9 days at a stretch. I doubt your boss is going to not give you a week's holiday once in six months.

If you planning a short holiday, you can take a weekend off and add a Friday or Monday to it that gives you a good 3 day break !

2) Plan your money
You don't need to plan years in advance for a holiday. Even if you start planning 6 months in advance it is sufficient to start your savings. And break your expenditure into 2-3 parts. Book flights 4-5 months in advance to get the advantage of the price. Then book your hotels 2-3 months in advance and then your final expenditure is the vacation itself, i.e. meals, transport, shopping, site-seeing and adventure activities. So since your spending in three different intervals of time you have time to save more from coming months salary for the final trip.

3) Book hotels right
Don't search for expensive hotels for your trip, this is not your honeymoon where your gonna cozy up all day
in your room. All you need is a room to sleep at night with a clean bathroom and a fresh bed. Maybe you can check the basic facilities like hot water and free wifi. That's all you'll ever need. Trust me.

4)  Packing Light
You don't need to shop prior to your vacation, save that money to shop while your on your vacation. All you need to carry is already there in your cupboard. Carry toiletries in small sized packages/ bottles. Pack a small or light towel.

Carry extra undergarments so you don't spend time washing your clothes. 1-2 dressed-up items in case u decide to go to that expensive place for dinner or a club.

If your visiting a warm city/town all you need is some shorts, t-shirts, jeans and a light sweater just in case. If
its cold, layer up and you'll be warm.

Always carry a pair of good walking shoes, you'll need it while spending hours walking site-seeing.

Don't forget to wear Sunscreen. Even if its cold, your gonna be outdoors in the sun most of the day.

5) Activities / Site-Seeing
Don't waste your time all day lazing around in the hotel room, you have the weekends at home to do that. Go out, each place has so much to offer whether it is a Sky-diving experience, or a chocolate-spa or a Haunted Tour. Go out there experience the city/town your in. Even if its just sitting at a cafe by the roadside and staring at the people passing by. Make the most of your trip and experience the place, the people and their culture.

Research places much before you visit. You don't need to visit all the places that are commonly known. See what is of interest to you by reading up in advance and take your family and go there only.

6) Shopping
Keep it incidental. Don't take time out of your busy site-seeing schedule for shopping cause that's gonna burn a big hole in your pocket. With the same money you could finance your next holiday. Most of the sites you visit, are going to have shops around where you can take time out and shop.

8) Save on food
Always book a Hotel that serves complimentary breakfast. So you can fill up on a heavy meal before you start your day out. Eat a light lunch of a sandwich or something so you don't feel lazy to tour in the afternoon. Plan to have an early dinner so you can get back to the hotel early and get up early for the next day of touring. Unless it's a weekend then stay out late and party up !

9) Sleep /Jet Lag
Simple. Don't waste days getting over your jet lag. From the first day itself. Sleep at night at the local time
and you'll be as fresh as new from the next day itself.

10) Let go, Let loose and enjoy!
It's a holiday. Try new food, talk to strangers, try something scary. Who knows you might love the experience :)

Note: This is for those who realized I skipped point 7 :) Well it was on purpose since this is all the advice you need before you plan your next holiday.

10 ways to stop eating chocolates !

Or how to reduce the impact of chocolate on your shrinking clothes ;)


1) Switch to Dark chocolate

• Don't switch directly to 99% Dark chocolate. But instead get your palette used to the taste of dark chocolate by switching first from milk chocolate to 60% Dark. Then gradually switch to 65% Cocoa and slowly to 70% and then 80%. This would take a couple of months to graduate to. I would recommend max 85% cocoa when it comes to taste, anything more than 85% is too bitter for our liking. 
• Also when you purchase Dark chocolate, keep in mind to check the calories of each bar. They might be dark chocolate by name but still have loads of sugar packed in them. My experience is, by far the best dark chocolate to enjoy in the market is 'Lindt'. They have a really good collection of Dark chocolate called 'Lindt Excellence'. They come in different flavors and few of my favorites are the Intense Orange, Intense Mint, Cranberry.

2) Switch to an alternate sweet source

• I would recommend this step only in the initial weeks of trying to reduce your intake of chocolate. Since your used to having something sweet, you would need an option. But a warning here, don't get addicted to some other sweet in the bargain. 
• Few options that have worked for me are few sips of diet coke/juice, fruit, a chocolate flavored granola bar, a spoon of peanut butter, dried fruits, chewing sugar-free gum, 1-2 biscuits (Marie is my favorite), etc.

3) Brush your teeth and sleep early (to avoid temptation for a late night craving of chocolate)

4) Wait Ten mins 

• Next time u have an urge to have a bite of chocolate, wait for ten mins before you can indulge. Distract yourself. If you still want to have a chocolate after ten mins, have a little :)

5) Don't be greedy

• Indulge. But even a bite or 2 is sufficient. You don't need to finish that entire bar of Toblerone at one go.

6) Keep Healthy food options around 

• At all times, whether at home, at work or even in your purse keep healthy snacks around. So next time your hungry you don't need to reach out for a chocolate but a snack instead

7) Eat chocolate an hour after your meal 

• Don't eat it immediately after your meal. Your stomach is already full and all those sweet calories will get stored as fat. If you eat it after an hour or so your brain will treat it as a snack which will re-energize your body. 

8) Sip water everytime you have an urge to go for that chocolate bar

• Water is good for you and will fill up our tummy and maybe stop u from craving a chocolate snack

9) Eat chocolate, avoid chocolate deserts

• The lesser the cocoa content means more calories from sugar, butter, flour going right to those hips. Chocolate in the solid form preferably dark chocolate with 65% cocoa or more are far more healthier than chocolate pastries, tarts, cakes or cookies.

10) Stop rewarding yourself with chocolate

• We all have a hard days work and a task we need to get done. But do not reward or incentivise yourself by having that chocolate. Learn to gift yourself something other than chocolates- maybe a weekend holiday, a visit to the spa, or a new dress but not reward yourself with that box of chocolates you saw at the grocery store.

Warning: All the above steps are suggested to 'try' to stop you from eating chocolate, I do not guarantee success. After all who would like to stop eating chocolate all together? I do not recommend ;)

Nuts over PeaNuts

I'm surprised I didn't discover my love for Peanut butter and chocolate any sooner.

Since our childhood days we've always munched on roasted peanuts and also enjoyed pealing and eating hot boiled peanuts in the rainy season.

But it was only a decade ago we were introduced to Peanut Butter. Did i love it at first bite? No. But I did start to enjoy some melted peanut butter on hot toast occasionally. 'Peanut butter and Jelly' I've tried too, a good desert I agree ;)

But the day I fell in love with the salty nut was the day I tasted a Reese Peanut Butter cup. I found a big bag of Reese's cups in my cupboard that my Brother had left behind by mistake. My first bite into the cup aaaaahh ... the combination of the sweetness of the chocolate and the saltiness of the peanuts.....ohhhhhh woooww yummmilicious !!

It was just perfect..!! Sweet and Salty.....what heavens are made off!

Then began my discovery of the perfect Peanut-Butter Chocolate recipe. At first I just tried
combining ground peanuts with peanut butter which was delicious. Then tried adding some crushed
biscuit to it to add some crispness ...and there we were.. "Peanut-butter Chocolate crisps" !!!

(Recipe coming soon)

Soup for the soul???

I’ve always associated soups in the past as being a cure for bad colds or something you’d order at a Chinese restaurant (and my favorite being, off course ‘Chicken sweet corn’ soup).

I’ve always heard of the benefits of soup but was too damn lazy to make them in the past.

Today being a Sunday, I thought why not try. And I found this real simple recipe by Martha Stewart http://www.marthastewart.com/353233/spring-onion-soup. Trust me even you men out there can try a hand at this one. And believe it or not, its actually TASTY. Yes it is healthy and tasty, who’d have thought that 

Spring Onion Soup

• Prep Time 10 minutes
• Total Time 60 minutes
• Yield Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 pounds spring onions (or yellow onions), trimmed and thinly sliced
• 2 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt (or to taste)
• 1 1/4 cups homemade or low-sodium store-bought chicken stock (or soup cubes)
• 2 cups water

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent but not brown, about 15 minutes.
2. Stir in salt, stock, and water. Bring to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes.
3. Remove from heat, and let cool for 20 minutes. Working in batches, puree in a blender, starting on low speed and gradually increasing to high, blending until soup is smooth.
4. Divide soup among 4 bowls, drizzle with oil or a little cream, and serve with flatbread on the side.

Livin’ on a Prayer…

Last Saturday I woke real early,

stepped out on the road.

And every corner I peeked,

I found you God…………….

We’ve got it all …Oh so we say….

But only God Knows..

We’re livin’ on a prayer

 (First Cross on the turn to my lane)

 (A soft bloom)

 (Second cross on Carters)

 (The Red cross on Carters)

 (The fourth cross at Carters)

 (By the sea)

 (A son rests and sleeps below)

 (Love the Greens)

 (Morning company?)

 (Yellow Cross at chimbai)

 (In a lil tiny lane behind 'The Bagel Shop')

 (The cross at Sherly Village)

 (Unite in Peace)

 (Gods own creation)

 (I stand alone with thee)

 (I protect thee and you protect me)

 (By the mangroves)

 (A companion to my thoughts)

Zabaglione with Fresh Peaches and Cherries

I’ve always enjoyed fruits by themselves without any dressings…..but this evening while I was chopping up some fresh peaches to eat for a snack, I said why not try a simple Fruit Salad recipe. So came across this one Martha Stewart which I modified to suit my liking.

Yield: Serves 2

Ingredients

• 3 peaches
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons White wine
• 1 Tsp honey oneyHoney
• 1 cup Cherries

Directions

1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Prepare an ice-water bath. Place peaches in boiling water and cook 10 seconds. Drain, and immediately transfer peaches to ice-water bath. Remove peels using your fingers or a paring knife. Slice peaches in half and remove pit; set aside.

2. In a heatproof bowl set over (but not touching) simmering water, add egg yolk, wine, and sugar. Beat until mixture is creamy and thick, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat.

3. Divide peach halves evenly between 2 plates. Fill peach halves with cherries and spoon over zabaglione. Serve immediately.

It's a Kind of Magic !

A drop of water caresses my face.
Is it a leaking AC I wonder..
Another drop freshens my spirits..

It's finally here...
It's finally the rain :)

Eggs Benedict discovered in Seattle !!

It was when I was in Seattle in Aug 2011, that I came across this delicious egg dish.

I was in Seattle for one of my closest and oldest friends Wedding…….. Love the town….a perfect blend of nature and city life….with its famous Space needle (which reminds me of ‘Fraser’) ……Pike's Market Place with the talented street performers……the yumm Piroshky’s ….(The beef and cheese one was delicious but the Marzipan one was OMG yummmmilicious)……the First Starbucks….and my favorite – ‘The Gum Wall’.

On the last day I had a chance to visit ‘Lola’ where we had brunch….that’s where I discovered ‘Eggs Benedict’ and ‘Benya’s (supposed to be the inside’s of donuts)….

So after that first date of mine with 'Eggs Benedict' I've fallen in love....so Got up real early on Saturday and was thinking what to cook for breakfast and here you go....took out the recipe from my fav cookbook…..‘The Family Circle’ Cookery Encyclopedia. Here it goes, real simple:

Mango and Grapefruit Wonder

I’ve been bad again!

Yes I finished half of box of Anthon Berg’s Creamy Mint Chocolates last night for Dinner. (For those who love the combination of Mint and Chocolate, OMG you have to try these and you’ll know why I didn’t stop at just one)

So the sins of last night turned into guilt this morning….. “Only Fruits for Breakfast! Start the day healthy!” I told myself.

So I found some grapefruit in the fridge mom had picked up and like most of us I’ve never liked the taste of the fruit. But I thought they gotta be someway to make grapefruit tasty.

So I found this Recipe for a Mango and Grapefruit juice. I modified it as below to suit my taste buds and intentionally didn’t wanna add any sugar/honey and let the sweetness of the ripe mango do its magic.

Ingredients:

2 Mangoes
1 ½ Grapefruit
A pinch of nutmeg
A Pinch of Salt

Chop the mangoes and blend them in a mixer together. Add the Grapefruit nutmeg and Salt and blend again. Add water /ice depending on how thick you like your juices. And there you go, a great way to kick start your Saturday Morning 