Pizza sauce

A good pizza sauce is a vital ingredient for any good pizza. A robust sauce, few toppings and lots and lots of cheese is the way pizza has been popularized throughout the US. I usually like my pizzas with a good helping of pizza sauce and lots of vegetables, but tend to go easy on the cheese. Here is how I make my pizza sauce.

What you need:
Garlic - 3 cloves, minced
Oil - 2 tbsp.
Tomato - 5 or 6 large, juicy ones, chopped
Basil - a handful, chopped (I used fresh basil. It can be substituted with dried basil)
Italian seasoning - a few generous sprinkles
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Red chilli flakes - to taste

Heat oil. Saute garlic in it. Then add in the rest of the ingredients. Mix well and cook covered over a low flame until the tomatoes are well cooked and mushy and the sauce reaches the desired thickness. You can choose to blend the sauce if you like it smooth. I like mine chunky and have left it as it is.
Once completely cooled, this can be refrigerated and will stay good for up to a week.
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Multigrain waffles

Waffles are my daughter's favorite weekend breakfast. She loves it topped with fresh fruit, whipped cream and honey or maple syrup.  As for me, though I like waffles, I cannot imagine starting my day with something sweet. So, though it might sound sacrilegious to most people,  I usually top my waffles up with something spicy. In the pic, I've spread some karuveppilai thokku (Curry leaves pickle) on my waffle.

What you need:
1 cup multigrain pancake/waffle flour (I used Trader Joe's Organic Waffle mix)
3/4 cup cold milk
2 tbsp. oil

Mix the ingredients to a smooth batter. Brush some oil on your waffle iron. Heat it and pour enough of the batter to cover the lower surface of the waffle iron. Close and cook. Wait for a few minutes before opening to check if the waffles are done.
Serve with toppings of your choice.

This post is the second in a series of posts on Food from the USA for the Blogging Marathon. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#82

Eggless donuts

There was a time when a cup of coffee and a jam filled donut from a popular Donut chain here would make my day. The love for donuts continues into the present day. However, the chain store I like does not have a presence in the city I live in. I decided to try my hand at making these at home and found, to my surprise, that these are not at all difficult to make. A little kneading and deep frying later, you will be able to produce these perfect donuts which are bound to make people think that you spent hours slaving over a hot stove.

What you need:
Oil - for deep frying

For the donuts:
All purpose flour - 1 cup
Baking powder - 1/4 tsp
Butter (melted) - 2 tbsp.
Sugar - 3 tbsp.
Salt - a pinch
Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp
Instant yeast - 1 tsp
Warm Milk - 1/4 cup

For the chocolate glaze:
Chocolate chips - 1/4 cup
Butter - 1 tbsp.
Heavy cream - 1/3 cup

Mix all the ingredients for the donuts into a smooth, pliable dough and let it rest in a warm place until doubled. Once doubled, punch it down and divide into three equal balls. Roll each out into a thick circle and cut into circles using a donut cutter. If you do not have a donut cutter, you can use a cookie cutter to cut out a large circle and then use a small bottle cap to cut out the center portion to make a donut hole. Keep the donuts under a moist towel to prevent them from drying out.

Heat oil in a large pan and deep fry the donuts over a medium flame until golden brown.

The donuts can be eaten with a plain sugar glaze or with a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar on top. You can also fill it with jam/jelly to make a jelly donut. I tried glazing the donuts with chocolate ganache.
To make the ganache, boil the cream over a low flame. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips. Stir in butter and keep mixing until the chocolate melts and the mixture becomes smooth and shiny.
Dip the donuts into this and set on a rack with a cookie sheet or large plate under it to catch any drips. You could also add some colorful sprinkles at this stage, while the ganache is still wet.
These taste best fresh, but will stay good for a couple of days at room temperature.

This post is the first in a series of posts on Food from the USA for the Blogging Marathon. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#82

The best eggless whole wheat banana walnut bread

If, like me, you buy bananas every time you go to the grocery store and end up with a few over ripe ones, this is a great way to use them up. This is a fail-proof recipe that yields the perfect loaf every single time. You can use whole wheat flour, all purpose flour or a combination of the two. The bananas make the loaf naturally sweet. So you don't have to add a lot of sugar into the batter. Every time I make this, the kitchen smells wonderful and it gets over in no time at all.






















What you need:

Whole wheat flour - 1.5 cups (Can be substituted with APF or a combination of APF & WWF)
Butter - 1/2 cup, melted (Can be substituted with oil)
Brown Sugar - 3/4 cup
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Bananas - 3 (very ripe ones, mashed with a fork)
Powdered cinnamon - 1 tsp
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Chopped walnuts - 1/4 cup
Raisins - a handful (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the mashed bananas, cinnamon and vanilla extract. Add flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well. Gently stir in the walnuts and raisins.
Pour the batter into a greased loaf tin and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely and then slice using a serrated knife.

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Eggless whole wheat strawberry cake

One of our favorite activities to do together as a family is strawberry picking. We love to drive down to the farm early in the morning and pick and taste strawberries. We usually come back with more strawberries than we can eat. So for a few days it is strawberry milkshakes and various kinds of bakes using these berries. I also freeze a good amount of strawberries and use them in fall and winter, and that brings a little bit of sunshine to the otherwise cold days.

What you need:

Whole wheat flour - 1 cup

All purpose flour - 1/4 cup
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Sugar - 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp.
Butter -  1/2 cup, softened at room temperature
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Milk - 1/2 cup
Vinegar - 1 tbsp
Strawberries - 1/2 cup, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and line with parchment paper, a 9 inch cake tin. Sieve the flours, baking powder and baking soda together.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Mix in the dry ingredients, milk, vinegar
and vanilla extract. Mix well and pour into the prepared pan. Top with the chopped strawberries. Sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar over the strawberries. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

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Whole wheat cranberry tea cake

Fall is one of the most spectacularly beautiful seasons where I live. Every time I see the vibrant red and yellow hues in nature, I am awed. Of course, it is a precursor to the cold, dreary winter that is to come, but while it lasts, I love the crisp, cool air and the many sights and smells of autumn. Cranberries usually make an appearance in the markets around this time and I have used dried cranberries (also known as craisins) to make an eggless tea cake. Despite using no egg and no butter, this cake has a beautiful texture and is perfect with a hot cup of coffee/tea.

What you need:

Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
All purpose flour - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 3/4 cup *
Oil - 1/2 cup
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
White vinegar - 1 tbsp.
Milk - 1 cup
Dried cranberries - 1/2 cup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large mixing bowl, add the oil and milk. Whisk the sugar into this. Add in flour, baking powder and baking soda. Mix well. Add vanilla extract and white vinegar. Whisk quickly. Gently mix in the cranberries. Pour into a greased loaf tin and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Cool completely and use a serrated knife to cut into slices.

This is my first post for Blogging Marathon #82 under the theme Fall fruit desserts.
 Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#82