Friday, February 28, 2014

SUN DRIED TOMATOES AND CHEESE ROLLS

Yes! You heard it right. Doesn't it sound good?

I recently bought some bagels and an awesome Hatchet pepper cream cheese from Wholy Bagels.
Oh! They were scrumptious. The bagel got over but the cream cheese din't. taddaaaaa! I couldn't wait to use them on my rolls. I also used everyday seasoning grinder from Trader joe's. They have an amazing combination of Coriander, black pepper, mustard and chilli.

I usually add some garlic and basil leaves in variation. I strongly suggest to add basil leaves with sun dried tomatoes. They smell absolutely divine.

This recipe involves a lot of preparation but its definitely worth the effort. This is a wonderful recipe for    an appetizer or a snack or even for breakfast with coffee. You can go wild on the filling and experiment with a lot of sweet and spicy ingredients. So, here is the recipe.

Ingredients
makes 16 mini rolls

2 cup all purpose flour
1.5 tbsp yeast
1 cup of sun dried tomatoes, julienned (I used Trader joe's)
1 cup of warm water
Salt to taste
Cream cheese to taste
Everyday seasoning to taste
A handful of Pine nuts for topping

How to make it

- Mix flour, water, yeast and salt into a fine dough. Keep in a bowl covered with cling in a warm place for about 45mins. This is for the dough to double.

- Punch the dough to knock down the air.

- Split the dough into two halves. Roll one half into a rough rectangle.

- Add sun dried tomatoes, cheese and the seasoning. Spread evenly.


- Roll from one end gently but firmly. Cut it into 8 equal portions.

- Do the same to another half of the dough.

- Arrange them into the pan leaving some space for the dough to raise. I used Pyrex glass 8x8.

- Place them in a pre heated oven of 375F for about 30-35 mins. Enjoy them while they are warm.

p.s. - Use your judgment in adding water to the dough. The amount of water depends upon the type of flour you use. Also, oven temperatures vary. Keep checking to get the perfect rolls.



Tuesday, February 25, 2014

VEGETABLE AND PASTA - KID MEAL

Hello People!

Hope you are doing great. My kiddo A is keeping me super busy.Now my day starts with son up and ends with son down. Life is now so much fun and awesome. My son is no longer an infant and recently graduated to Toddler, the next stage. I am looking forward to more noise, dirt and mischief.

Now that he is big, I have introduced table foods and experimenting with different tastes and his likes. This post is a kid friendly..um..more of a toddler friendly recipe. I want to my kiddo to taste different lunch or dinner everyday just like us apart from the usual paruppu/rasam sadham. If you are looking for a change from the routine this is the one. And its super quick and easy to make too.

Ingredients

1 small juicy tomato, finely chopped
a small bunch of spinach finely cut
3-4 strands of spaghetti pasta chopped into small ones
3-4 drops of olive oil
salt to taste

How to make it

- In a pan, heat the oil and add the finely chopped tomatoes. Make sure it turns pulpy.

- Boil water. When the water is bubbling, add the pasta along with spinach. Boil until its dine.

- Strain the water and add the spinach and pasta to the tomatoes.

- Add salt and mix well. Voila! It is ready.

Let me know if you try this. Any inputs or improvisations are most welcome.

p.s. - This can easily be converted to adult meal with a few tweaks. I am going to try. Are you?