Tag: Tried Tested ‘n’ True

A BLOG EVENT, ORGAN DONATION, A WINNER & A PRIZE…HAPPY DAYS!!

“Don’t think of organ donations as giving up part of yourself to keep a total stranger alive. It’s really a total stranger giving up almost all of themselves to keep part of you alive.”
Author Unknown
Guess what arrived in the mail yesterday? Imagine my utter horror when the bell rang & by the time I got to opening the front door, I heard a mild thud & caught sight of a package hitting the ground. My heart missed a beat…the postman had just chucked this parcel over the gate & gone away. One look & I knew what it was. Bubble wrap saved the day!!Back in August, Giz & Pschygrad at Equal Opportunities Kitchen had held Round 2 of Tried, Tested & True, but with a difference. It was linked to Organ Donation, a cause I support completely. Here in India, we don’t have a very organised organ donation programme & public awareness is quite minimal. But the hub & me have each other informed; should anything happen to either of us, we’ve pledged our organs for donation. Next of kin approval is acceptable. The hubs mother had pledged her body for donation/research, but when she passed away due to Multiple Myloma almost 10 years ago, her organs had borne the brunt of the disease. Thankfully, we were able to donate her eyes. My entry to the event was Olive Oil Pistachio Brownies, framed above beautifully by Giz & Pschygrad, & it won the 3rd prize. Yipeeeeeee!! They had a guest celebrity judge, Cathy Cushing judging the recipes sent in. Christine Cushing is one of the trailblazers of the Food Network in Canada. Check out her website here. THE PRIZES…
Christine Cushing generously donated a selection of her products, & I am the glad recipient of this great jar of hand-made tomato sauce. I am over the moon & plans for dinner were underway soon; pizzas on popular demand tonight. You can find home-made pizza dough recipe here. I added red chili flakes, Italian grill seasoning & garlic powder to the dry ingredients before making the dough. The pizza was a thin crust one & quite the best we’ve had in a while….YUM!!

I also won this beautiful piece of careware jewellery, which was included as prizes. It was donated by Blue Marigold, a line of jewellery that Giz produces, where 50% of the profits go to a selected charity. It’s absolutely stunning.

Thank you Giz & Pschygrad, & thank you Christine Cushing.

Posted by Deeba @ PAB

PISTACHIO OLIVE OIL BROWNIES…Tried, tested & true!

“To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.”
La Rochefoucauld

Pistachio Olive Oil Brownies…the healthy choice & TRUE!!

I made these yummy brownies & I made them with olive oil!! Believe it or not…they were scrumptious. If you are looking for butter laden, rich, dense brownies then these are not for you. But, if indulgence & counting calories are your kind of conflicting inclination, then these are right up your alley!!
Was surfing the net a few days ago & found this very interesting sounding brownie recipe…interesting because they were brownies made with olive oil accompanied by a stunning picture by Sabra @ Cookbook Catchall. The recipe that comes from Faith Heller Willinger’s new cookbook, Adventures of an Italian Food Lover is a twist on the traditional brownie in butter terms. The original recipe has a fruity olive oil which I didn’t have, but we loved how these turned out, & I was glad to be able to offer the kids a healthy brownie option.
I tried to make them healthier by adding some oats to the recipe & was worried that disaster might strike. They turned out just great & are are a lovely, healthy brownie option, specially for dessert. It was actually quite intriguing to learn that you can turn out olive oil brownies that taste so good!! My other alteration to the recipe was the use of pistachio nuts, my favourite pairing with chocolate in taste & visual appeal. The brownies had a semi-dry cracked surface & were moist within. I thought they were beautiful.

Equal Opportunity Kitchen is running a second round of their very successful first event Tried, Tested & True. The lovely ladies wanted to provide a forum for recipe sharing that people could go to when they needed something that was already proven, that wouldn’t fail and would shamelessly make them look great. Take 2 is on now, but with a slight difference; it’s calling for health-promoting tried, tested and true recipes. This time, they’re attaching a cause of importance to them, organ donation. “Just think about a submission that’s healthy and tastes good – that you would feed to someone you love knowing that you were promoting good, healthy eating.” This is absolutely great; I think there couldn’t be a better way to promote & spread the message. You’ve got until Monday, July 21st (EST) to rush in your entries. Also, do do stop by & read a wonderfully inspiring story at Ann’s @ Redacted Recipes. It’s heart-warming & beautiful.
Onto the recipe now as adapted from Sabra @ Cookbook Catchall
Ingredients:
Dark / bitter chocolate – 100gms (broken into pieces & melt in microwave)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil – 1/3 cup
Flour – 1/2 cup
Rolled Oats – 1/4 cup
Sea salt – 1/4 teaspoon
Eggs – 2 large; at room temperature
Caster sugar – 2/3 cup
Vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon
Pistachio nuts – 2/3 cup; chopped (save some to sprinkle on top if you like)

Method:

  • Preheat the oven to 175C. Line an 8-inch (20cm) square baking pan with a lightly oiled and floured piece of parchment paper that overhangs the pan on two sides (this aids in removal later).
  • Whisk the oil into the melted chocolate. Leave to cool.
  • Whisk together the flour + oats + salt together in a bowl.
  • In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until pale, thickened and billowy, about five minutes. Fold in the vanilla and the cooled chocolate mixture, then fold in the flour and optional nuts, stirring just until everything is combined. Pour into the prepared pan and distribute evenly.
  • Bake for 22-26 minutes (note from the Traveler’s Lunchbox: I would recommend checking earlier to avoid over-baking – mine were just on the verge after 22 minutes). The top will be dry and crackly, though a toothpick inserted in the center should emerge still a little wet.
  • Cool completely, then cut into squares. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

    • Served with a cuppa coffee…bliss!!

Posted by Deeba @ PAB

MANGO ICE-CREAM SWISS ROLL DESSERT…ROLLIN’ IN MANGOES!

“Ice cream is happiness condensed.”
Jessi Lane Adams
Simple ‘n’ Sensational…an Ice-cream Swiss Roll
This is by far the simplest & most versatile baked dessert that I have tried several times over & in many combinations. The Swiss roll is very pretty, is adaptable to personal taste, & also makes a fab frozen dessert.

DH & the kids were ruing the absence of exciting dessert for many days. A bite of after dinner chocolate seemed to work for a few days, but not too long. I had some mango ice-cream left-over in the freezer & thought we could polish that off. But the foodie in me got the better of my laziness, & I decided to make something with Equal Opportunity Kitchens‘ first foray into blog events, ‘Tried, Teste d & True’ in mind.
When I saw the 3 T‘s at Equal Opportunity Kitchen, I was ecstatic. I love the idea of tried & tested. At least you are on safe ground, true, & also within virtual reach of the maker!
The Swiss roll is a very simple sponge which gets whipped up in less than 10 minutes (begin preheating the oven) & by the time the oven is hot, the batter is ready. It also bakes in about 10-12 minutes. Such a breeze!! All you need is 3 simple ingredients & flavouring as desired.
Mangoes & Pistachios
I made my Swiss roll vanilla flavoured & used pistachio nuts with mango ice-cream because I love the colour combination yellow & green. I like to work with whatever I have on hand…in this case it was the above! Have to add that the taste was quite sensational & the flavours were beautiful! ‘Ooooohs & aaaaahs’ echoed when the slices were cut…looked very pretty indeed!
Ingredients:
Eggs – 3
Castor sugar – 1/2 cup
Vanilla Extract – 1 tsp
Flour – 1/2 cup
Filling:
Mango Ice-cream -approx 350ml
Pistachio nuts – roughly chopped up / a handful
Pistachio slivers – 2-3 tbsps if desired
White chocolate ganache to drizzle

Method:

  • Line a Swiss roll tray / cookie tray with butter paper.
  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
  • Whip the eggs + sugar + extract for 5-7 minutes until thick & mousse like.
  • Fold in the flour, 1/3 at a time, gently in figure 8 movements, so as to not release the air beaten in. The beaten in air helps the sponge to rise since there is no raising agent here.
  • Sprinkle with slivered pistachios & bake for 10-12 minutes till done.
  • While the roll is baking, lay out a cloth kitchen towel flat on the counter top, dust with Castor sugar.
  • Turn the sponge onto the towel, remove the tray & gently peel off the paper.
  • Hold the end of the towel, & roll up the sponge into a tight roll, & leave to cool completely.
  • Once cool, unroll the sponge. Keep the serving platter ready. We need to work fast now.
  • Soften some mango ice-cream ( I had a 3/4 portion of a 500ml tub left-over), & quickly spread evenly over the open sponge. Sprinkle with chopped pistachios (optional), & quickly roll up.
  • Place on the serving platter seam-side underneath, drizzle with white chocolate ganache & roughly chopped & whole pistachio nuts. Put into the freezer until needed.
  • Slice & serve straight out of the freezer. Makes about 8-9 slices per roll.
“Ice cream is exquisite. What a pity it isn’t illegal.”
Voltaire

Caught him guarding the freezer…& framed him!!

Some other Swiss roll recipes you might enjoy:
Posted by Deeba @ PAB
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