Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Feta Scones

My mother's garden is her pride and joy. Her time spent there, is the most favourite time of her day. She fusses over each plant like a mother, frets when all does not seem well with them and gets excited like a little girl when the first fruit/flower of the season appears!! She tells me that the joy one gets from growing plants and trees is a feeling that can only be experienced, rarely expressed!!

I had a glimpse of that sentiment, when this year, she decided to try her hand at growing vegetables. Along with some herbs, she also planted tomatoes and aubergines. My limited way with words is unable to express how excited we were when the first little tomatoes, green in colour, appeared (we almost squealed, if you must know)...and then everyday we would check on them, waiting and watching as they turned from green to red...every day a little more than yesterday!!

From a handful of tomato plants, we got a tomato harvest that was more than what our small household needed..so, Ma tapped into her inner Martha Stewart and churned out the most luscious, flavourful home-made tomato ketchup. And, when they were still more tomatoes left, she decided to make sun-dried tomatoes just so that she could unravel the mystery behind, in her own words, 'those over-priced bottles' of the same that you get in delis and shops!! With the blazing Indian sun, in a day's time, we had a bottle of sun-dried tomatoes that was promptly handed over to me "to make something with"!! And these scones are what I made!!

I had seen them a while back on Alice Currah's fabulous blog, 'Savory, Sweet Life'. With her cookbook slated for release this summer, you can rely on her blog to give you simple, reliable and delicious ideas for cooking as well as baking. Her original recipe calls for roasted tomatoes that I replaced with sun-dried ones.

 

The technique seemed familiar, much like that of the Irish soda bread I made a few weeks back. Only this had the dough mixed with sun-dried tomatoes, feta cheese and green onions for added taste. It is also one of those recipes that takes one hour from start to finish and that includes the baking time!!

These scones had the kitchen smelling fabulous, were soft and delicious and a perfect accompaniment to a soup or a casserole for dinner. The sun-dried tomatoes and feta gave a sharpness and saltiness without being overpowering. I did feel the green onions were a bit lost but that could have also been because the ones I was using were not particularly robust to start with.

These scones got full marks from the mother and I concur. It's such an easy and quick recipe that you know you'll keep coming back to it. Play around with different cheeses, cold cuts or even vegetables and do tell me how it turned out!! And before I sign off, can I just say that all you've read about how rewarding and special it is to cook with home-grown produce is, indeed, all true!!!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Muffins

When a close friend announced that she'll be off to business school this August, it brought back memories of my time in B-school when I had gone to do my Masters. In true Dickensian sense, it was the best of times and the worst of times!! The pace and intensity of the course tested and stretched not only my intellectual capabilities but also my self-confidence, determination and perseverance. But for all the academic rigour demanded, I also met some of the most wonderful and dearest friends of my life!! We came from diverse countries and backgrounds, studied diverse subjects, cooked diverse food and spoke English with our, own unique accents. And yet there seemed to be a connect with them that forged a bond that will, hopefully, last a lifetime!!

But, with two of them, Moya and Nush, it was more than just a friendship. We were each other's deepest confidantes, strongest supporters and the people to turn to for a laugh, a hug or just a shoulder to vent and cry on. We, now, live in three different parts of the world and are not in touch on a daily basis but all it takes is a phone call and in no time conversation dissolves into a bout of giggles and gossip. Girls will always be girls!!

When I saw these chocolate muffins, they brought back a specific memory. When the finer points of 'Game Theory' or the nuances of monetary policy seemed beyond our realm of comprehension, we would walk straight from the library to the University store and wolf down one of these huge, double chocolate muffins. Frankly, I can't even remember how they tasted just that they were chocolaty, sweet, as "big-as-my-face" and just the thing needed to help us face the world of economics again!!

April is the month when both of them celebrate their birthdays and I thought I make a batch of these with a virtual birthday wish for them. These muffins are a smaller, whole-wheat version of the original because, let's face it, with time our metabolism is not what it used to be in University!!

I saw these muffins on Reeni's lovely blog, 'Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice', and they looked so moist and chocolaty, I knew I had to make them. The recipe is all smooth sailing and the end result will truly hold your attention. These muffins were chocolaty, dark and surprisingly, moist in spite of using whole wheat flour. I reckon the use of yoghurt helped keep them moist. The whole wheat is such a welcome, healthy alternative to plain flour that when you get a recipe, like this one, that does not compromise on quality and taste, you know it's a keeper!!

Usually when I bake a batch of muffins or cookies, I keep only a few at home to sample and package the rest off to my gracious and unsuspecting neighbours. This recipe, however, was so superlative that it was the other way round. Most of it was consumed at home and only when the sugar guilt had settled in that the rest were sent off 'for-the-kids'!! I urge you to try these at the earliest!!

Happy Birthday Nush and Moya!! Life's come a long way from the time when we would eat 25p 'Tesco Value' frozen cheese pizzas for dinner!!

Lemon Loaf Cake : "TWD : Baking with Julia"

The summer heat is taking over my life and the choices I make. As the heat saps at my existence, the eye searches for the soothing, the mind yearns for the sublime and the palate desires something refreshing. The lemon in the 'lemon loaf cake' for the 'TWD: Baking with Julia' seemed like it would hold promise for the sentiment in mind. Right from its fragrance, to its taste, to its colour, a lemon is a refreshing antidote for summer. The citrusy tang providing a much-needed zing to an otherwise heat-drenched existence!!

The cake in question is along the lines of a regular pound cake with a lemon flavouring that is achieved by the use of lemon zest. I enjoy pound cakes for their sheer simplicity and taste and are perfect for your everyday, no-fuss baking.

I wasn't going to mess around with the recipe until I read other people in the group being underwhelmed and claiming that the cake was not lemony enough. So, to up the lemon quotient, I added a tablespoon of lemon juice to the batter and decided I would pour a lemon sugar drizzle on the cake once it's baked. The former a suggestion from a group member, the latter my sister's.

The recipe instructions couldn't be simpler. There is no beating, no electrical equipment needed... just a bowl and a hand whisk!! Even better, once you've done your mise-en-place, it takes five minutes before you put it in the oven. Everything went according to the script, the batter rose, a dome formed and it even cracked on the top, just as the book said it would.

Once taken out of the oven, while the cake was still warm, i spooned a lemon sugar drizzle on the top. It's nothing but lemon juice and granulated sugar mixed together and drizzled before the sugar melts completely. As a result, the sugar sets on top of the cake while the lemon juice seeps into the cake.

That sugar drizzle was probably the smartest thing I did. The cake, as everyone claimed, was not as lemony as I thought it would be. But what the cake lacked, the lemon sugar drizzle more than made up for. The lemon juice had seeped in places and that gave the cake a real lemony zing. As for the granulated sugar on top, it gave a slight crunch which was a welcome addition on the textural front. If it were not for the drizzle, the cake would not have held my attention.

The cake itself was moist and delicious but if you enjoy lemon-based cakes, you want the lemon to shine through. On that count, the recipe doesn't really deliver. You need to think of adding something. In my case, the lemon sugar drizzle, helped the recipe along.

 

Due to copyright considerations, only the person hosting the recipe for the group 'TWD:Baking with Julia' can post the recipe on their blog. The recipe for the lemon loaf cake will be available on the blogs of Truc and Michelle. Alternately, you can write to me at bakerindisguise@gmail.com and I will mail you the recipe.

Pizza Rustica : 'TWD: Baking with Julia'

With Easter Sunday round the corner, the 'TWD:Baking with Julia' group set its sight on the Pizza Rustica for our bake-together. Before we go any further, let me tell you upfront, it's not a pizza...it's a pie!! A little research on the Internet revealed that it is a traditional, rustic pie made in Italy at Easter. After a month of fasting and abstinence during Lent, this quiche is made for Easter Sunday and is loaded with cheeses and meats.

While I understand the sentiment behind the overload of meat and cheese in the pie after a month of abstaining from them,  with the mercury soaring out here in India, I was more in the mood for something lighter and vegetarian. So, I decided to travel down the Mediterranenan coast from Italy and take inspiration from the Greek spinach pie, Spanakopita and zeroed in on a filling of spinach, ricotta and feta cheese.

When I read the recipe I did find it odd that the pastry crust of a savoury pie should have sugar in it. Despite the book's assurance that the sweet dough is a nice contrast to the salty, meat and cheese-laden filling, I wasn't too convinced.  So, I cut down the sugar to just a tablespoon in the crust-dough and kept the filling a mix of ricotta, sauteed spinach and feta cheese.

And instead of making one big pie, I made smaller versions so that each pie was more like an individual serving. Following the rest of the recipe was a breeze and I think, the idea of a lattice on top was a good touch.. it definitely added to the visual appeal!!

And now for the verdict -- the pie was good, absolutely no complaints with it..although I'll be honest enough to say that it was nothing that spectacular that I would want to come back to it. While I had reduced the sugar and there was just a hint of it in the pastry, it's something you can easily do away with, in my opinion. The filling was a good choice, much lighter than I had anticipated and the feta giving it the required sharpness.

So, all in all, it was a good pie.. not a pizza.. a pie!! Come to think of it, I still don't why it's called a pizza..are pizzas and pies one and the same thing for the Italians?!?!

Orange-Scented Biscuits

When I bake I like to be left alone in the kitchen, all by myself. However, every once in a while, I allow a little elf into my baking space. In normal parlance, you'd refer to him as my nephew but to me he is an elf. Simply because, any time spent with him has been enchanting, to say the least. As he discovers the world and its quirks, his astute observations tinged with his inimitable sense of humour has made me re-discover my imagination, creativity and a certain sense of wonder which all too often gets lost in the mundane-ness of everyday life.

For some strange reason, despite a 25-year age gap between the two of us, he doesn't just think we are in the same age group, he believes it!! While it is always flattering for a woman to be considered younger than her age, it also means that when we spend time together, it is a battle of wits with each one trying to assert their superiority over the other. The only time he concedes I might know more is when it comes to baking!!

Last month when we spent time together, we decided to make these biscuits. It was my way of keeping him out of trouble while his mother left him with me. The biscuits are extremely simple to make and adapted from a Rachel Allen recipe. Her entire 'Bake' series on television was almost like a baking class for a novice like me at that time.

The ingredients required are your every-day pantry items and the recipe is so easy to follow that it is almost felt like a craft project. The biscuits have a buttery, short-bread like consistency with the orange zest uplifting them from the ordinary. I did drizzle on some dark chocolate on them which made them more appealing, visually as well as in taste.

There is nothing extraordinary in this recipe or in the baking process but what was a delight was the excitement in the li'l elf's eyes as every two minutes he would try to look inside the oven, almost willing the biscuits to come out faster!! And then when there were ready.. a certain pride as he served it to his parents and while he secretly revelled in their praise, publicly he acted very nonchalant about the whole thing!!! Erm...Modesty personified aren't we?!?!

The four uniquely-shaped biscuits, in the photograph above, have been specially created by the little elf. In a way, I think they represent him. In a world where people slot themselves into many a cookie-cutter stereotypes, he revels in being different without a care of what the world thinks while keeping his sense of humour and imagination intact.

Somewhere isn't that the magic of childhood where you question, challenge, wonder, imagine and discover life!! So, my suggestion is... go grab your little elf and create your own special magical memory!!

Irish Soda Bread : 'Baking with Julia'

Keeping St.Patrick's Day in mind, the 'TWD:Baking with Julia' group settled on an Irish Soda Bread for our next bake-together. Soda bread is one of the easiest bread recipe floating around. It is, especially, for those who've always wanted to make bread but don't want to go through the trouble of kneading the dough or, for whatever reason, harbour a fear of yeast..remember my white loaf of bread!! It comes under the category of 'quick bread' and when they say quick....well, it literally takes 5 minutes to get the dough done before you put it in the oven!!

After all the fuss that the rugelach created, I think everyone in the group must have been happy to see a recipe that required just 4 ingredients and took all of 5 minutes of work!!! Before, I get to my baking experience, can i just admit that photographing the soda bread has been my most difficult photographic experience to date. It tested the capabilities of my compact camera as well as my nascent photographic skills like nothing before. So, please bear with the photographs even as I begin the hunt for a digital-SLR....

Moving on.. while the recipe does not have yeast, it does rely on soda bi-carbonate to be the raising agent. Buttermilk is then used in the recipe and the resultant chemical reaction between it and the soda bi-carb is what makes the dough rise. Kneading is kept to the absolute minimum (about one minute!!), just until the flour mixture comes together. Pop it in the oven for fifty minutes and you are done!!

All extremely simple except that it seems almost fated that every time I attempt to make bread, there has to be a little drama. In this case, five minutes into baking and we had a power cut!! It is Murphy's special little law for home-bakers in India that all of us have encountered sometime or the other - "Think you have done everything the recipe asks for and are feeling confident and there will be a power cut few minutes into baking!!"

Luckily, Murphy was countered by a lucky Leprechaun and ten minutes later, the electricity was restored. Because the oven had been pre-heated for a while, it did not affect the end result too much... Phew!!

Much like the artisanal breads that are becoming increasingly popular these days, this bread has a rustic feel to it. The 'X' slashed on top giving it an almost, medieval look! The hard, golden-brown crust on the outside hides a soft inside, though do not expect it to be as airy as a yeast bread. Like most of the recipes in this book, the recipe delivers superlatively on taste!!

The recipe is simple enough to be attempted by a novice baker. In fact, if bread making intimidates you, start off with this recipe as the results will not disappoint! Made in just under an hour's time, it can be eaten alone with butter slathered on  or as an accompaniment to a soup or a stew. And that's what i did..re-created an Irish supper in India - Irish soda bread along with some hearty, Irish lamb stew. I'll leave it to your imagination on how good it was to mop up the stew gravy with this crusty bread!!

Strawberry Brulee

Last week, we celebrated Holi - 'the festival of colours' in India. It is time for family, food and fun ... but it also marks the onset of the Great Indian Summer. Spring is a largely 'blink-and-you'll-miss-it' affair in India and the summer spawns anywhere from mid-March to mid-July depending on which part of India you live in. Despite being Indian, born and bred, summer in India is my least favourite time. The heat and dust of the Indian summer is legendary. My mind stops functioning as I cope with the summer heat that can be brutal and unforgiving at its peak. I shun anything that takes me out of my air-conditioned cocoon, stepping out only once the sun has set and some sort of mental equilibrium established.

Summer also means lesser time baking because a hot oven just seems to aggravate things further. And that's why over the next few weeks, you will find my posts taking me away from the oven and closer to the refrigerator.

Today's recipe is right up my alley - fuss-free instructions, simple ingredients, seasonal fruit and an end-result that will defy all expectations when compared to the effort that went into it! It is from Donna Hay's television series: 'Fast, Fresh, Simple' that just finished airing in India and is based on her latest book.

There is nothing fancy about this recipe but what takes it a notch higher than the desserts you usually make at home  is that simple brulee effect that you achieve right at the end. And yes, you can achieve it even if you don't have a blow torch like me!!

I don't just recommend this dessert, I will almost insist that you give it a shot. You can use any soft fruit of your choice but you already know my weakness for strawberries. This will probably be one of my last desserts with strawberry for this season before the market makes way for mangoes!! 

It is the yoghurt-based mixture that will suprise you with its slight tang that offsets the sweetness of the fruit mixture. It's texture is almost that of a 'no-bake' cheesecake. What more could I say other than that it's refreshing, light and perfect for this time of the year!