Diwali is just around the corner and I got my hands on this recipe on Sprouted Kitchen. I modified it to make it taste Indian and it is probably one of the easiest mithais (sweets) to make. Last year I made Halwa, which is a traditional mithai with semolina flour, ghee (clarified butter), sugar and milk. I opted to make something easy, modern and relatively healthy this year. Almonds are my favorite and I call them alpha nuts because of their incredible nutritional value. Almond milk, almond butter, almond everything is so incredibly delicious, including this mithai recipe.
Read MoreCheese Plate 2.0
Ahh I love cheese. So much that if I was stranded on an island and I could only have one thing, it would be cheese. Sharp Cheddar is my all time favorite but Gouda and Brie are runner ups.
Remember my first cheese plate creation? Well, on this cheese plate 2.0, I did something different. Since figs made an appearance for the season, I wanted to incorporate them into a dish. So I sliced the gorgeous figs, put them in a small baking dish and baked for about 5-10 minutes at 350º F (until the figs were soft). For easy clean-up, I placed sliced Brie on parchment paper and then carefully place the warm figs on the cheese and drizzled honey. The warm figs softened the Brie just enough without melting it. I served the figs & cheese with whole wheat toasts and French baguette slices. I also added some almonds, dark chocolate and of course, red grapes to the plate.
Read MoreBanana-Walnut-Chocolate Chip Muffins
I had these two overly ripe bananas sitting there staring at me. These sad looking bananas didn't deserve to be in the trash so I immediately decided to make banana bread. Then I realized that I didn't have enough of these deathly looking bananas to make a loaf of banana bread, so I decided to cut the portions in half and made muffins instead. I used my previous Banana Bread recipe and just added chocolate chips and chopped walnuts.
Read MoreCheese Plate
I got this gorgeous cheese board and cheese knives as a birthday gift from our neighbor friends, Matt & Laura. I finally had a chance to use it when I invited some friends over for dinner last night. From my research and experience with cheese platters, I had too many ideas and choices going through my cheese-loving brain. My friend, Breanne, was bringing appetizers so I didn't wanna go overboard with the cheese plate. So after much thought and consideration, the following made it to the platter:
Brie - mild & creamy Pecorino Romano - salty & hard Apricot Jam (recipe in a separate post) Red grapes Almonds Walnuts 72% Dark Chocolate Brioche toast Plain crackers
Read MoreApricot Jam
I love spring/summer for all the fresh fruits we get to eat! I saw these beautiful apricots at Whole Foods and grabbed a few hoping to make a chutney. I was planning a dinner party with some friends so I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone, I put together a cheese platter just so I could use my new cheese board I got as a birthday gift last year and I made apricot jam instead of chutney to go with the cheese. I loved making Fig Jam last year and I can't wait to make it again this year when they are in season. I followed the same concept with the Apricot jam as well but I was so disappointed with myself because I forgot to turn down the heat and walked away from the pot. The jam was not a jam anymore, it was this dark caramelized goo. Ugh...I had to buy more apricots and tried making it again the next day. I did not forget to turn down the heat and paid more attention to it and thankfully, it turned out well.
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