Harveen's Baking Affair

Vanilla chai and I go way back together. Some , fourteen years ago when I had just moved to the States , it was  my must have beverage. I was way younger and could afford to drink the sugar laden chai ..rather I used to crave for it ! Older and much wiser, my relationship with it has much lost much of the it's fervor . The passion is there but have manged to restrain it to a  moderated level. The fact that vanilla chai is not available at all outlets of Dunkin Donuts might have helped too ! Who knows ? When I came across this recipe , my joy knew no bound. I could now eat vanilla chai too !!!! In cake form of course ! Betty crocker has a chai cake recipe but it has eggs and here I was looking forward to an eggless cake recipe. I came across a similar recipe from Chef Zarnak which was eggless. I adapted from both and the result was simply divine.  Note : I used Vanilla chai tea bags for the flavor I love..you guys are welcome to try any flavor of tea bag that you

We seem to be having an overabundance of snow days here. Today was an unexpected one as no information about school closing was given beforehand. Found out about it after my son was all dressed and ready to go to school. Well , knowing beforehand would have ensured that we would have given our hard working alarm clock a break but still it wasn't bad news. We lazed around in the bed and had a leisurely breakfast which is such a luxury on week days. Yet another school closing also means that lunch needs to be special as kids are there to enjoy it fully. While giving it some thought, decided why not to make it colorful as well ..healthy colorful . If comfort food is essential to enjoying a snow day in all it's glory , why not sneak in some veggies as well ? And while at it, why not utilize the bunch of cilantro lying in the fridge. So, here is the end result - cilantro pistachio pesto pasta with tri color veggies. Ingredients - 16 oz box Penne pasta 2 cup

It's strawberry galore time ! Time when we are flooded with fresh strawberries which are just begging us to try them out . Every year I tried to do full justice to their  awesomeness , after all we have to thank them  for being the nutrition powerhouse that they are. I really feel that organic strawberries  are under appreciated ..I really do ! At just 50 calories for a cupful of them , we get more than our daily share of Vitamin C from them. Organic strawberries are well known for their cancer fighting abilities due to their phyto nutrient content. With all this talk about nutrition, it should come as no surprise that I wanted to bake them in a healthy way. And what is more healthy than home baked 100 % whole wheat bread laden with strawberries, right ? This is the kind of bread you can eat without feeling guilty about ., provided you do so in moderation . The original recipe comes from here  but as usual I have taken the liberty of adapting it . For this particular r

We are having some snow days..actually three in a row now. The poor condition of the secondary roads means this figure might still extend.Though I appreciate the break from the normal routine but poor weather also means that  we all are stuck at home and the kids are suffering from cabin fever. How do I treat that ? Well , baking of course ! Nothing like a colorful and chocolaty bake to pique the kids interest and  keep them engrossed . With that in mind, set about to bake some chocolate cookies . Nothing like good ole comfort food to cheer you up especially when the weather is gloomy . And , when the comfort food has a pop of color as well , the end result is simply divine.  Rainbow Sprinkles did indeed brighten the bake and the kids spent some merry time rolling the dough balls and then sprinkling them on top. Ingredients - 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour 1/2 cup butter 12 oz semisweet baking chocolate 1/3 cup brown sugar 1/3 cup caster sugar 1 tsp baking soda

Mocha brownies with pink icing sugar decoration set in red heart doilies ..it doesn't get any cuter than this !  Cute enough to be given as special treat to the hard working teachers at  my daughter's school. I mean the get enough store bought chocolates . These home bakes brownies should convey a nice personal touch , don't you think ? This recipe for the mocha brownies comes from the book "Cookie Classics" from Better Homes and Gardens . They are also referred to as bar cookies and along with the mocha flavor also carry a delightful hint of tangerine ! I have used colored sugar to decorate them and the heart doilies serve as the perfect prop considering they are being used as Valentine treats. Ingredients -  3/4 cup all purpose flour 2/3 cup butter 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips work fine too) 1 tsp instant coffee crystals 1 tsp shredded orange or tangerine peel 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla

The Roys love banana bread. We really do . Love it so much that even my kids can boast of baking it on their own .  The fact that their version is loaded with chocolate chips is altogether a different story. Mama Roy tries  to stick to the healthier version though and today was no exception . The box of blueberries sitting in the refrigerator had been giving me pleading looks for the last few days . I could have listened to it earlier but in my defense can only say that  I wanted to give full justice to it . In short , I wanted a recipe which could subdue it's tartness for our taste preference but would still be a healthy appealing bake. Blueberry pie did not interest me nor was I particularly inclined towards muffins having baked them just two weeks earlier. Also, the fact that it was a healthy Monday bake meant that I had limited time  on my hands . So , imagine my relief when I came across this particular  blueberry banana bread  recipe on the driscolls website .If