Mulberries and smoothies

I remember that silly rhyme we would sing as kids, round and round the mulberry tree. The fruit is not silly though.

It resembles a blackberry but has these tentacle like thingies all over (forgive me for not knowing the scientific word, this is a food blog)

I bought some of these but really didn't know what to do with it. I remember Patrick Star (of Spongebob Squarepants) once say: "when in doubt, pinkie out!" (that REALLY did not help)

SO I created a new one "when in doubt, blender out!"

I made a dee-licious smoothie with the mulberries and strangely a larger quantity of other stuff.

What you need:

¼ cup mulberries
½ cup diced papaya
1 cup cold milk
honey to flavor (honey is perfect as a sweetener for this recipe)

What to do:

1.Blend all, preferably with some ice
2.Slowly sip and enjoy the flavor. And keep your pinkie out. Its Friday the 13th!




My beautiful mulberries.




My even more beautiful mulberry smoothie.

Organic, vegan, low fat, paper thin PIZZA!

I hope you die hard sloppy-joe lovers don't hate me for desecrating the full fat, soft, cheesy, deep pan pizza.

All my experiments generally start with a craving and this time it was pizza. I created something that is remotely close to a pizza as we know it but is still technically a pizza.

It was delicious in an organic, vegan, low fat way and it was a fun eat.



What you need: (for two large pizzas)

(For the base)
2 cups wholewheat/ grain flour
5 gm fresh yeast
1 tsp EVOO
salt
water

(For the topping)
1 cup grated firm tofu (buy it or make you own)
¼ cup shredded cabbage
¼ cup sliced mushroom
2 tbs peas
¼ cup chopped bell pepper
1 red onion finely chopped
2 flakes finely garlic chopped
1 green chilli chopped
EVOO to saute
Oregano and salt to taste

(For the sauce)
2 tbs barbeque sauce
¼ cup tomato ketchup
¼ cup tomato puree/paste
fresh basil leaves, torn
2 tbs water

What to do:

(Base)
1. Mix all ingredients for the base and work into smooth dough. Leave to rise in a drought free place.

(Topping)
2. Heat evoo in a wok. Stir fry vegetables starting with garlic, chillies and onions then adding the rest (except for the tofu). Add salt and oregano as per taste. Stir fry for only about a minute.

(Sauce)
3. In the same wok add the ingredients for the sauce and simmer for a minute.

(Assemble)
4. Punch out the risen dough and roll out till paper thin. Top with sauce, then vegetables and sprinkle the grated tofu all over. Bake in a 180°C preheated oven for 20 minutes then reduce heat to 100°C and bake for 20 minutes more till the base is crisp.

Super Easy Diced Salad

Its time for another Salad! I invented this last night. It was fabulous and one the easiest dressings I ever made!

I may sound idiotic posting this because you don't need to be a genius to invent this recipe but I have to tell you that it's the right combination of vegetables and fruits that make this salad a hit.


What you need: (Serves 2)

1 Cucumber, diced
1/2 an Apple, diced
1 small Carrot, diced
1 Pineapple Ring, diced
Sprigs of mint to garnish
2 tbs yogurt
1-2 tsp honey
a pinch of salt

What to do:

1. Mix yogurt with honey and salt and stir in the diced veg and fruit.
2. Enjoy!

Wholemeal English Muffins

I always look out for something interesting to make for breakfast because there are such limited nutritious breakfast choices. At my place It's generally eggs or cereal and it can really get monotonous for me.

These Wholemeal English Muffins (I pointed out the differences between the British name and the American name in my last post) are just so easy to make and can be eating with anything you want. I made these all the more nutritious by using a blend of soy, oat, barely and whole grain wheat flour another one of my concoctions.

What you need: (Makes 4 small sized muffins)

1 cup of wholegrain flour/ or you can experiment with different flours like I did.
5 gm fast-action dried yeast
A pinch of sugar
Salt to taste
water to bind

What to do:

1. Prepare yeast with warm water and sugar.
2. Mix flour with salt and place in a mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Add the fermented yeast and knead. Add water as per requirement.
3. Keep aside for an hour in a dry place.
4. When doubled in size punch back and form four balls with them and leave aside for another 30
5. A little trick that I use: I microwave the ball shaped dough for 1 minute on 60% power instead of waiting for them to rise again. It's a smart thing to do, it saves you time and you can be certain that you wont have partially uncooked muffins.
6. Heat a griddle with some pan spray or just a hint of olive oil and cook on both sides, covered; for about 7 minutes till well done. Do not let the griddle get too hot or the muffins will burn from the outside while remaining raw from the inside.
7. Cut in the center and serve with anything you like.


So how do you like them?

Sweet: (Nutella filling)


or

Salty: (omelet filling)

REALLY Low Fat Strawberry Cheesecake

I've been really trying to cut down on the calories but It's so hard to do with my sweet tooth. I almost always crave for dessert. I often just chew on fruits to curb my sugar attack but today I needed something more.

I made a cheesecake. You must think I must be totally out of my head to even consider that a term that contains the words "Cheese" and "Cake" could ever be low fat. I'm here to prove you wrong. I made a Strawberry Cheesecake without cheese and strawberries.

What you need:

1 package strawberry flavored low-fat, sugar-free pudding mix. [One that asks you to mix 750 ml (3cups) to it]
1 cup of low-fat yogurt, hung for 2-3 hours or just use a really creamy variety without the hanging
1 cup of muesli
1 tbs melted butter or yogurt whey
1 tbs powdered gelatin
1 bar strawberry fruit bar (optional)

What you need to do:

1. Prepare pudding as per instructions only one major modification: reduce the 750 ml(3cups) of milk to 500(2cups) ml of milk. You need to get a really thick and extra sweet pudding. Leave aside to cool.

2. Crush the muesli in a bowl and pour melted butter or whey (makes it slightly soggy but if your really cutting down this is the way to go) and line in a clip cake tin or quiche tin. Freeze for 10 minutes.

3. Puree the cooled pudding with the yogurt and pour into a mixing bowl.

4. Dissolve gelatin in hot water and pour into the pudding mix, stir vigorously. Pour over muesli lined tin. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours till firm and set.

5. Cut pieces of the strawberry bar for garnish.(optional)

6. Cut into REALLY large slices and enjoy; you can afford to!


The pudding should look this thick:





And that's the final cheesecake:

'Tang'y Fruit Salad

I'm on this whole health food kick.

I love eating fruit salad not only because its nutritious and all that, but because it is delicious especially when its made with the freshest seasonal fruits you can find. But what I look for in a fruit salad is the individual taste of every fruit and I hate when the fruit salad is so over 'tossed' that it tastes like one big bowl of fruit puree.

I don't believe in making something simple like fruit salad overly calorific by dressing it with any kind of rich dressing. But I have a trick that makes the most brilliant fruit salad while keeping it simple and low cal.

What you need:

3 cups. of a bunch of your favorite fruits, De-seeded and diced into small pieces. Choose fruits with a firm flesh so that they retain their shape after being tossed about. I used apples, pomegranate, oranges and kiwi (I know it mashes up but I put it right in the end)

1/4 cup. (optional) mixed nuts and dry fruits (almonds, walnuts, dried figs and raisins)
2-3 tsp. of Orange flavored 'Tang' or any similar drink powder.

1/2 tsp. (optional) Indian Chaat Masala- you can buy it or make your own


What to do:

1. Place the firm fleshed fruit in a big bowl

2. Put in half the nuts and dry fruit in the bowl and toss gently

3. Sprinkle tang and chaat masala all over and toss again. Let it sit for a while in the fridge.

4. Before serving sprinkle the remaining nuts and fruits and the mashy fruit if any and eat!


The Tang serves two purposes: an easy dressing and prevents fruit discoloration because of the citric acid in it. Isn't that cool?