When one has an ice cream maker at home it is so much fun to get creative with ice cream flavors. The best part of having an easy to use ice cream maker is that we can make small-batch ice creams – just enough for one evening. This also means that we can experiment with different flavors in small quantities. The twins and I love trying out new and creative ice cream flavors over the hot summer months.
Saffron pistachio ice cream is a classic ice cream flavor in India called Kesar Pista, which translates to Saffron Pistachio. Used to be I could only find this flavor at Indian grocery stores or at Indian restaurants and ice cream parlors. But now with my easy to use ice cream maker, making Saffron Pistachio Ice Cream at home has become a breeze. Here is the recipe.
I tried a bleu cheese dressing salad at one of the tapas restaurants called Loquita in Santa Barbara, California last fall, and that salad tasted so good that I decided to try and make something similar at home. I chose to make my salad with apples and a blend of mixed greens and arugula. I used apples because I knew these sweet apples would compliment the bleu cheese dressing very nicely. Continue reading Apples, Mixed Greens & Arugula Salad with Bleu Cheese Dressing→
If you like peanut butter and bell peppers like I do, you will love this chutney. The red bell peppers in this chutney give it a nice sweetness, while the roasted peanuts add a nutty fragrance and creamy texture. My friend Padmini made this red bell pepper chutney when my Dad and I went to her place for lunch one day. She served this chutney with some idlis, and it was so unique and delicious that I asked Padmini for the recipe to share and she passed it on. Try this chutney with idlis, zucchini fritters, carrot fritters, black-eyed pea fritters, or you can have it as a dip with fresh veggies and crackers. Here is the recipe. Continue reading Padmini’s Red Bell Pepper Chutney with Roasted Peanuts→
I got this recipe when I was watching my favorite Food Network show Barefoot Contessa with Ina Garten. She was making brunch dishes and this hazelnut granola was one of the items featured. All it had was nuts, honey, oats and oil. That’s it. When was the last time you saw a granola recipe that had so few ingredients and was so easy to make that all you do is combine and bake? Continue reading Roasted Hazelnuts & Cashew Granola→
Bert’s Bites Chunky Snack Granola is a delectable and decadent granola that I discovered recently. I know, somehow the words decadent and granola don’t seem to belong in the same sentence to describe a healthy snack like granola. Continue reading Bert’s Bites Chunky Snack Granola→
I love Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut Bar. It’s my favorite chocolate. I thought about making some at home but decided it was best to leave it to Cadbury’s to make it the way they do – just perfect. Instead I decided to make a more adult fruit and nut bar with dark chocolate and some of my favorite dried fruits and nuts like apricots, pistachios, and candied ginger. I also added saffron to give the chocolate an exotic flavor. Here is the recipe. Continue reading Dark Chocolate Fruit & Nut Bark with Saffron→
A couple weeks ago I received loads of homegrown apples from my friends Devi and Swati. Between the two of them I had over 35 apples! How fast can we eat all these apples I wondered. I figured this would be the perfect time to make my Cardamom Spiced Warm Apple Almond Crumble. Continue reading Cardamom Spiced Warm Apple Almond Crumble→
Here is a salad that looks and tastes like a gourmet salad you might order at a fancy restaurant. A nice juicy pear is delicious in this salad, and a good Gorgonzola cheese or bleu cheese really gives the entire salad a kick of sophistication. You can pick up a small tub of Gorgonzola cheese from Trader Joe’s, Safeway, Lucky, Whole Foods, or any grocery store. Continue reading Spring Greens Salad with Pears, Walnuts, and Gorgonzola.→
