Pan Sauteed Asparagus

Hi All,

First of all I would like to thank all my wonderful readers and friends who reached out to me when I really needed the most. Honestly some of the emails I got really touched my heart and brought tears in my eyes. So a BIG THANK YOU to everyone, I really am lucky to have you all with me!

Cooking home cooked meals is not easy, especially when you are traveling to different countries and living out of a suitcase. At such times we need something which is easy and can be ready in minutes and of course it has to be extremely satisfying. Today's dish is simple and satisfying Pan Sauteed Asparagus, I learnt this dish from a colleague and I was pleasantly surprised on how easy it was to prepare and how delicious it tasted with all that butter, salt and pepper.

Pan Sauteed Asparagus
Ingredients:-
1 bunch of fresh asparagus (about 15-20)
1 tbsp of unsalted butter
Salt to taste
Freshly grounded black pepper to taste

Procedure:-

•  Chop off the ends of the asparagus and give it a good rinse in cold water.
• Heat a non stick pan, add in your butter, once melted throw in your asparagus.
• Season with some salt and pepper according to your taste. 
• Cover and cook for about 5-7 mins, until crispy and cooked.
• Serve hot as an appetizer of side dish.

Verdict:- I love these! Its so simple and is ready in mins, perfect when I am tired from long day work and really need something satisfying to dig in! If you love butter and asparagus you will definately love these. Try it for yourself today!

Feeling Blue!!

Dear All,

I know I owe you all an explanation to my unexpected disappearance. I havent updated my blog in last one month and there is a reason behind it. Lots of things have changed in last one month at work front and in personal life. Let me ask you all a question..have you ever felt so alone in life as if you were living on a different planet with no one to talk to and share your feelings with? with no friends and family? Do you question yourself upon the decisions you make and when those decisions go wrong and makes you feel miserable and guilty? When someone you love breaks your trust and you cannot forget and let go?  It hurts so bad that you want to scream your heart out? Honestly I feel like I am going through that phase in life. I feel sad, disappointed, betrayed and probably lots more!!

I think I am going through some kind of identify crisis. Its like you think you know what you are doing and you know what you want in life but suddenly life takes you down to a path which you never thought you would walk on. It makes you question yourself and the worst part is you dont have an answer for that! Its when you feel even after doing all things right still everything goes wrong. It makes you question your beliefs and your moral values. I always knew life's tough and the world is cruel but a part of me always believed that there are good people out there who would feel the same way as I do. I always thought that if you didnt do anything wrong to anyone else nothing can go wrong with you but now I am not so sure about it. I always thought that whatever happens..happens for good, I wish I knew what good its gonna bring out to me. I wish we knew answers to all our questions...life would be so much better..isnt it?

So what do you do in such situation? Of course apart of getting all emotional and giving a big lecture just like I did above :) For me CHOCOLATE is probably the best way of making myself feel better..ah forget the extra pounds for a while! Some chocolate brownies with creamy vanilla ice cream on top! Yup thats what I am having right now while writing this post :) And what better way than sharing a delicious chocolate cake recipe with you all especially if it has lots of sour cherries in it...hummm and some chocolate chips as well! Chocolate+Cherry is one of my favorite combo and I always wanted to bake with sour cherries. So when my dear roomy got some sour dried cherries from US I baked this gorgeous cake for my colleagues who never disappoint me in finishing any of my baked treat in record time :) 

Chocolate Cherry Cake to make you feel better!
Ingredients:-
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3 tbsp of rich cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 cup milk
90 ml vegetable oil
1 cup chopped dried sour cherries
1/2 cup chocolate chips
2 tsp vanilla essence or seeds of one vanilla bean scrapped

Procedure:-

• Grease amd flour a pound cake pan, preheat the oven to 180 degress C.
• Sieve all purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda.
• Dump together the above dyr ingredients with sugar, cherries and 1/4 cup chocolate chips.
• Now in a measuring cup mix together 1 cup of milk, 90 ml oil, vanilla seeds/essence and 2 eggs.
• Thoroughly mix the wet ingredients well until fully incoporated.
• Now pour the wet ingredients in the dry ingredients while mixing well with a spatula in between the additions. Donot use a beater, a spatula or a wooden spoon is more than sufficient. 
• Be careful to not to over mix the batter.
• Pour the batter into the cake pan and sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cups chocolate chips.
• Bake the cake for 45 mins or until a knife inserted comes out clean.
• Remove the cake from oven and let it cool completely.
• Slice and serve with some warm milk or even with a dollop of vanilla ice cream!

The cake was deliciously moist and everyone in office enjoyed it! Will definately be making this cake more often as I am sure my little sister R would love it! So now you know what to make in case you  are feeling blue or even just want to pamper yourself :)

Love,

Cardamon and Rose Flavored Ricotta Pound Cake (Paneer Cake)

Dear All,

Today's post is a very special and close to my heart. This post is dedicated to two very special individuals in my life...my mom and my dear roomy V. Today is my mom's birthday and I just wanna wish her.."Happy Birthday Ma", I know I may not express it enough but I love you very much and today whatever  I am is because of the culture and integrity that you built in me! Cant thank you enough mumma!!

  V and A, made for each other :-)

Now its V's turn, she is one of my closest and sweetest friend, though we both are roommates but I feel more like sisters and of course I being the eldest :P She is a sweetheart and I adore her! Very emotional and sensitive but at the same time rock solid and steady, now thats an awesome combo wouldnt you say? No wonder A has fallen hard for her and now they both are ready to tie a knot very soon! Congratulations guys! A calls me mother-in-law in context that V is my daughter :-) Now being a mother-in-law I have certain responsibilities towards my daughter's future which I do take very seriously :P Usually I need to bear with the dowry requests coming in from A where he demands for cakes and in return I make him cook food..lol. A is a hardcore punjabi and a fantastic cook himself! On this special occasion I wanted to make something festive  like halwa or some bengali sweet but the baker in me immediately took charge and I ended up baking this gorgeous melt in mouth Cardamon and Rose flavored Ricotta Pound Cake!

I had bookmarked Ricotta Pound Cake from Aparna's blog the moment I saw it and this was the perfect occasion to make one, as usual made some changes, added powdered cardamons and some rose water and it came out fantastic! Got 2 thumbs up from A and V both! Ricotta is not available in India and Paneer  (Indian Cottage Cheese) can be easily substituted for this. For cakes always use freshly homemade paneer and not the ready made ones, trust me this makes a lot of difference to the texture of cake. I know its a little extra effort but its well worth it! How to make paneer at home is here.

                                                          Myself and V, don't we look cute?

Cardamon and Rose flavored Ricotta Pound Cake
Adapted from Aparna's blog, original recipe here
Ingredients:-
3/4 cup fresh paneer or ricotta, its about 180gms (I used entire paneer from 1litre full fat milk)
3/4 cup all purpose flour, 110 gms
1 tbsp cornflour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg at room temperature
1/3 cup unsalted butter (75 gms)
3/4 cup sugar, 150 gms
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp freshly crushed cardamon seeds
2 tbsp rose water or 1 tsp rose essence
handful of raisins, soaked in water/rum for minimum 2hours, drained
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds removed or 1 tsp vanilla essence (optional but preferred)

Procedure:-

• Grease and flour a 6'inch round cake pan . Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
• Sieve flour, cornflour and baking powder. Keep it aside.
• In a blender/mixer add freshly made paneer with 2 tbsp of rose water and make a smooth paste.
• Put this paneer in a bowl, add in butter and beat it well. Use a beater for this but I did it using hand and didnt face any problems, its just that it takes a little more effort and plus its a very good exercise for hands :)
• Add in sugar and beat till light and fluffy.
• Now add in vanilla seeds, eggs and powdered cardamon and beat well.
• Add in flour mixture in 3 turns and beat gently.
• Finally add in drained raisins and give it a quick stir, donot beat.
• Fold the batter in the greased and floured pan and bake at 180 degress for 35 to 40 mins or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean!
• Remove from oven and let it cool for 10 mins.
• Once cooled completely, remove from tin and serve it plain and simple or with some whipped cream and fruits!

Verdict? I am planning to prepare a chocolate version of this cake very soon..yeah you guessed it right! The cake is a winner with melt in mouth texture and so soft and moist! Infact truly said its the softest cake I have ever made! It cuts extremely well and the recipe is very versatile.

Until next time take care and have fun!

Love,