Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

 I thought to try a new sauce for pasta. As red bell pepper are high in antioxidants and low in starch over any other, using red bell pepper for sauce. Other few ingredients to spice up and easily available in pantry are used. The majority time is spend in roasting the red bell pepper. So you can roast ahead of time and make the sauce when ready for meal.

Ingredients:

1. Red Bell Pepper - 2 Medium size
2. Onion - White or Yellow - 1 Small
3. Garlic - 4/5 Cloves
4. Parsley - Dry or Fresh - 1 TBSP
5. Cream Cheese - 2 TBSP
6. Parmesan Cheese - 2 TBSP
7. Butter - 2 TSP
8. Milk - 2 TSP
9. Salt - 1 TSP
10. Black Pepper - Fresh for better taste

Method:

1. Preheat oven at 425 degree fahrenheit. Wash and cut up bell pepper in halves. You can deseed now or after roasting. Line those on baking tray and brush the skin with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle some salt. 

2. Roast those for 20-25 min until the skin is charred. Peel off the skin and deseed if not already. Chop those in some smaller pieces. You can store roasted red bell pepper for two days in refrigerator so makes it easy to roast those ahead of time then use for sauce right at meal time.

3. While bell peppers are roasting. Chop the onions and garlic. Heat the thick bottom pan at high heat. First add butter, as it starts to melt, add in chopped onion and garlic.

4. Let the onion cook and become translucent, in 4-5 min. Then add in parsley.

5. Add in milk and parmesan cheese. Mix it only for a minute.

6. Blend the mixture with roasted bell pepper until you get smooth texture.

7. Add in cream cheese and salt. The sauce should thicken a bit. It is ready to be served. This sauce stay for 4 days to a week in refrigerator in case you are left with surplus.

8. I am using rotini pasta but any similar penne or even spaghetti will do. Garnish with fresh parmesan if you like.

Sponge Cake - No Eggs, No Oven

 Sponge cake is one of the basic cakes. I have a recipe to be followed in microwave. Like with any cake the magic lies in the sponge sheet. Try this Microwave Cake recipe for hassle-free ending. I am not using any eggs, makes it a vegetarian recipe. Key is to follow the recipe to a T.

Ingredients for Cake:

1. Unsalted Butter - 4 TBSP
2. Cream Cheese - 4 TBSP
3. Sugar - 1 Cup
4. Milk - 1 and 1/2 Cup
5. All Purpose Flour - 2 Cup
6. Baking Powder - 1 TSP
7. Baking Soda - 1/2 TSP
8. Vanilla Essence - 1 TSP

Ingredients for Whip Cream:

1. Heavy Whipped Cream - 1 Cup
2. Granular Sugar - 2.5 TBSP
3. Lemon Oil - 1/2 TSP
4. Food Coloring

Steps for Cake:

1. First step is to divide ingredients for cake into two. We are making two layers. Bring unsalted butter and cream cheese to room temperature. Mix both with sugar.

2. Warm the milk and start adding milk, little by little. 

3. Sieve flour and add baking soda and baking powder to it. Now add this flour mixture to above milk and sugar mix.

4. One way to mix all is using cake mixer. In this case I using only whisker and found it easy that way as none of the ingredients are cold.

5. Now prepare glass container 9*9 inches in size by spraying cooking oil or grease it. Dust in some flour at the bottom or use parchment paper. Pour all batter equally. You may need spatula to even the top surface.

6. I have microwave of 1100 V. At high settings, bake for 4:30 minutes. Do the toothpick test by inserting it in the middle. If it is not completely clean, bake for another 30 sec. Pull out of microwave on wired surface. Let it cool for 15 minutes.

7. Turn it gently over, the bottom may be warm so tap at the bottom so spong falls on wired surface. Let it cool down for another 30 minutes or so. Now refrigerate the sponge for at least 2 hours before applying filling. Repeat all steps for second sponge.

8. For fillings, add heavy whipped cream, granular sugar, lemon oil ingredients in cake mixer. Use whisk attachment and whisk on highest setting - i.e. 10 for 2 to 4 minutes, until you have stiff whipped cream. Add food coloring at end. I divided the whipped cream. In half I used 1/2 TSP yellow color with 2 drops of green color. This mix wix spoon.

9. Have both sponges cooled down in refrigerator. I used bread knife to cut the edges in exact straight line.

10. Place a dollop of whipping cream in the middle of tray. Then place first sponge. Apply sugar syrup. 

11. Add in white whipped cream filling. Then place second sponge on top. Apply sugar syrup. Refrigerate for 15 min. Followed by applying light green whipped cream outside and top. I decorated with few M & Ms.

Sprouted Mung Beans Curry

 In asian market, long sprouted mung beans are readily available. The sprouted are at least 3 inches long. They are high in protein and amino acids. As one can imagine, because of same reasons, they have a bit of bitter taste. I have a simple recipe to combat that bitterness and make a tasty and healthy curry.

Ingredients:

1. Sprouted Mung Beans  - 3 Cups
2. Mustard Seeds - 1 TSP
3. Cumin Seeds - 1 TSP
4. Carom Seeds - 1 TSP
5. Sesame Seeds - 1 TSP
6. Curry Leave - 4/5 Leaves
7. Turmeric Powder - 1 TSP
8. Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 1 TSP
9. Salt - 1 TSP
10. Water - 3 Cups

Method:

1. Heat the pressure cooker on high settings. Once hot add extra virgin olive oil, followed by mustard seeds, cumin seeds, carom seeds and sesame seeds. Once those starts to splutter, add in curry leaves and turmeric powder.

2. Mix quickly. Add all sprouted mung beans and water. Give it good stir and close the lid. 

3. After 4 whistles, turn off the flame. Let the pressure cooker cool down by its own. Open the lid, add in salt and give it a taste. This curry is ready to eat with roti or rice. If you like the curry to be extra spicy add in red chili powder. In my experience, I found that carom seeds adds just right amount of spice and flavor.

Rainbow Cake - No eggs, No bake

 Making a Rainbow Cake is a lengthy process. It is rewarding at the end when you see rainbow in your plate though. The recipe is divided into three parts; cake, filling, sugar syrup.

Ingredients for Cake:

1. Condensed Milk - 12 oz
2. Powdered Sugar - 3/4 Cup
3. Vegetable oil - 3/4 Cup
4. All Purpose Flour - 3 Cup
5. Baking Powder - 3 TSP
6. Baking Soda - 3/4 TSP
7. Milk - 1  and 1/2 Cup
8. Vanilla Extract - 3 TSP
9. Food Colors

Steps:

1. In a mixing bowl, add condensed milk, powdered sugar and vegetable oil. You can use suffola or canola oil as well. As long as oil is not flavorful like an extra virgin olive oil, you can use it in place of vegetable oil. 

2. Mix well with a whisker. In only a couple of minutes, you will have a consistent mixture.

3. In a cake mixer bowl, sieve all purpose flour. Add in baking soda, baking powder, vanilla extract and above mixture with only half of milk. Once you start to mixer, at level 2 for two min. Add in remaining milk. At the end, if the batter is thicker then add 1 or 2 TSP milk. The consistency should be thicker than pancake batter. Now divide the batter in 7 separate bowls; around 1/2 cup each. Add 1 to 1 and half TSP of food color in each. 

Red, Yellow and Blue are easy. Most of the food colors come in these colors. 

For Orange - Use 1 TSP Red + half TSP Yellow

For Green - Use 3/4 TSP Yellow + 3/4 TSP Blue

For Purple/Violet - Use 3/4 TSP Red + 3/4 TSP Blue

For Indigo - Use 1 TSP Red + half TSP Blue

4. Heat up thick bottom pan at least 10 inch wide. Grease with less than 1 TSP of oil. Now pour in batter for each color at a time. Here is red and purple. 

5. Cover the pan with lid. Let it cook for 4 to 6 minute at medium-low flame. At around 5 minute do the toothpick taste in the middle of the batter. It should come clean for taking it off the stove.

6. Let all cakes cool off to room temperature. Now refrigerate all for at least 2 hour to a day. I did here for 2 hours. Then you can use circle template to cut in circle shape. Since those are about 1 inch thick, I used bread knife to cut all in exact shape.

Ingredients for Filling:

1. Heavy Whipped Cream - 1.5 Cup
2. Granular Sugar - 5 TBSP
3. Vanilla Extract - 1 and 1/2 TSP

Method:

1. Add all ingredients in cake mixer. Use whisk attachment and whisk on highest setting - i.e. 10 for 2 to 4 minutes, until you have stiff whipped cream.

    2. For filling, I use ziplock bag by cutting off one corner.

Ingredient for Sugar Syrup:

1.  Water - 1 Cup
2. Granular Sugar - 1 Cup

Method:

1. In a thick bottom pot, mix in water and sugar. Keep the flame medium and continue to stir.

    2. Let the sugar dissolve and mixture will become translucent. Continue to stir to bring it to boil. At first sight of boiling, stop the flame. Cool off the syrup come to room temperature. Now add vanilla extract before storing it in air tight container in the refrigerator. It will be stay fresh for upto 3 months.

Now that we have cakes and filling, for assemble, I am using round tray.Start with dusking a bit of all purpose flour. Add a spoonful of filling at the center.

Place Purple cake on the top of filling. Brush it with sugar syrup.

Layer it with filling. Then place another cake; indigo colored cake layer. Repeat applying sugar syrup and then filling before adding blue colored cake layer. Work your way up to red. 

You can cover the sides with same filling and top and your cake is ready. Although I choose to use fondant to cover. I made a golden ninjago mask with fondant.

This is how it will look with cut. 

Slice is ready to enjoy!

Red Mung Beans Curry

 Red Mung Beans are also known Red Chori or Adzuki Beans. They are smaller than kidney beans, almost same color, reddish brown. They are much sweet in taste than any other beans. The texture is naturally creamy. I make it a vegan curry. Without further due, lets see the recipe.

Ingredients:

1. Red Mung Beans - 1.5 Cup

2. Onion - 1 Medium - White/Yellow

3. Tomato Paste - 1/3 Cup

4. Tomato - 1/2 Medium size

4. Garlic - 1 TBSP

5. Ginger - 1 TBSP

6. Curry Leave - 5-6 

7. Green Chili - 2 

8. Mustard Seeds - 1 TSP

9. Cumin Seeds - 1 TSP

10. Asafoetida - 1 pinch

11. Extra virgin olive oil - 2 TSP

12. Turmeric Powder - 1 TSP

13. Salt - 2 TSP

Method:

1. As red mung beans are soft enough, there is no need to soak those ahead of time. You can make this in pressure cooker or instant pot. For pressure cooker, heat it up at high temperature. If using instant pot, turn it on at saute setting for 7 min. Once hot, add cooking oil. I am using extra virgin olive oil. Follow up with mustard seeds, cumin seeds. Once those start to sputter, add in turmeric powder, asafoetida, curry leave and chopped green chili. Give a good stir to all the spices.

2. Add chopped onion, saute those 3-4 min, until translucent. Now follow up by adding pressed garlic, finely chopped ginger, chopped tomato and tomato paste. Once mixed well, let the mixture cook for a minute or so.

3. Now add washed red mung beans, salt and water. If using pressure cooker, you will need to add more water than instant pot, for about 2.5 cups. and cook for two whistles. If using instant pot, adding 2 cups of water to make sure all beans with mixture are covered. After the putting the lid with closed seal, set it on pressure cooking setting for 10 minutes.

4. In either pressure cooker or instant pot, let it cool down once whistles are done and timer is off; say about 15 min. then open the cooker/pot to cooked curry. Some may like it with added lemon juice on top. I like it without. Enjoy it with rice or roti.