Tree Faces and Other Additions to Our Backyard

Posted on October 13, 2009 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

bench-bird-house-and-bird-bath

S has put in some new features and embellishments in our backyard. We now have a bird house, bird bath and a little stone bench.

S also did a fun little thing in our backyard – tree faces! The grandfather trees (the grand old ones) now have faces!

grandfather-tree3

Just look at that tree…all he needed was a face to make him perfect. And I love this tree face. Makes the tree look so dignified. A contemplative, learned, meditative face. Henceforth, he is the philosopher tree.

He has a handsome profile too. He pouts, but thats ok.
Just look at that nose…his nose has character.

nail-to-tree

Tree faces are easy to install. See how the nose and eyes are hanging from nails? That’s it! Just put nails on the tree and hang facial features!

tree-face2

Talking of facial features…heres a particularly ugly face S chose for this tree. Just look at him in all his scruffiness. A far cry from the philosopher tree.

tree-face1

He needs to get his eyebrows done…BAD. A nose job wouldn’t hurt either.
Just look at those bulbous eyes and horsey teeth! What an unkempt, goofy looking fella. Henceforth, he is the scruffy tree.

grandfather-tree1

I love my philosopher tree..

Where to buy tree faces – any garden store or home improvement store like home depot should have them. S got our tree people from the local garden center.

How To Open a Pomegranate Without Making a Mess

Posted on October 12, 2009 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

Ever made a bloody mess opening a pomegranate? Or do you buy pre-seeded, over priced pomegranates at the grocery store because you dont want to deal with opening a fresh one? If you’ve answered ‘yes’, this post is for you! A completely mess free way to open those lovely, fresh pomegranates that are in season now…

how-to-open-pomegranate-001

Fill a large bowl with water. Using a sharp knife, make two deep slits on top of the pomegranate in the shape of a ‘x’. Do this on a cutting board for more support. Place the pomegranate in the bowl of water.

how-to-open-pomegranate-002

Put your thumbs where you made the ‘x’ shaped slit, and pry open the pomegranate. Do this underwater so that the red juices don’t splash on you. You should be able to pull the fruit apart in wedges. If the pomegranate is difficult to pull apart, make the slit on top deeper and longer.

how-to-open-pomegranate-003

Pull the pomegranate wedges apart into manageable pieces. Gently remove the white membrane, while keeping the fruit under water. Then use your fingers to gently remove the red seeds. The seeds will sink to the bottom and the membrane and skin will float to the top.

how-to-open-pomegranate-005

Skim the top of the water to remove all floating white membrane and skin. Then pour out the water, reserving the pomegranate seeds. Pour a little more cold water over the seeds and pour out once again to make sure all the white membrane is gone. Gently pat dry the pomegranate seeds. Serve immediately or store covered in the fridge.

Raspberry Mousse Tartlets with a Chocolate Surprise

Posted on October 10, 2009 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

raspberry-mousse-pie2

I had a really stressful week. When I was talking about it to my friend K, she suggested two things. Go over to her place for dinner. Or make something decadent and post it on my blog. (Notice how both involve food?!). I went with option two. What can be more stress busting than cooking (and then making S clean up)? What can make a girl happier than a luscious raspberry mouse tart with dark chocolate ganache hidden inside?! And what can make me forget my worries that reading your comments Stress be gone!

mousse-tart-diptych

You can whip up this dessert rather quickly because there is no baking involved. The only time consuming step is chilling the tartlets for atleast 3 hours so that the filling sets.
chocolate-surprise

I used store bought graham cracker mini tarts. You can use whatever pie crust you like. An oreo crust will be great too.

The filling is raspberry jello powder or agar agar, mixed with a quick raspberry jam (recipe below), cream cheese and cream.

Whip everything together. Pour a little chocolate ganache at the bottom of the pie/tart. Then pour the raspberry mousse in and let it set.

You cant see the chocolate layer, but once you cut into the tartlet, there is a nice little chocolate surprise waiting for you.

Regular mousse involves eggs. But this recipe is eggless. You still get a wonderful, creamy yet light mousse from the addition of fruit pectin and jello powder or agar agar.

raspberry-mousse-tart

Raspberry Mousse Pie/Tart/Tartlet with Chocolate Surprise Recipe
loosely adapted from this recipe on Recipe Bazaar
makes about 6 mini tarts

6 mini graham cracker pie crust or any pie/tart shell of your choice. If the crust you are using needs baking, pre-bake it according to package directions

for quick chocolate ganache
2 oz dark chocolate bar
1 1/2 tbsp heavy cream

for raspberry mousse
6 oz fresh raspberries
1 1/2 tbsp fruit pectin powder
3/4 cup sugar
a pinch of salt

1 1/2 tbsp raspberry jello powder or agar-agar
1 1/2 tbsp boiling water
3 tbsp cream cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream

Start with the raspberry jam. In a medium pan, heat the raspberries, pectin, sugar and salt on medium heat. Cook till the mixture is bubbling and slightly thickened. About 4 minutes. Then press the raspberries through a strainer, discard the pulp and seeds and reserve the liquid jam. Let the jam cool.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric beater, place the boiling water and jello or agar agar and mix till dissolved. Then add the cooled jam and cream cheese. Mix with a fork till well incorporated. Pour in cream. Using the beater, whip/beat the mixture on high till thick.

For the chocolate ganache, place the dark chocolate and cream in a pan and cook on low heat just untill the chocolate melts. Be careful not to burn the chocolate

Divide the chocolate ganache evenly among the pie crusts. Let it cool about 5 minutes. Then pour the raspberry mousse mixture into the pie crusts, over the chocolate ganache. Refridgerate atleast 3 hours to allow the mousse to set. Serve chilled, garnished with fresh raspberries and chocolate shavings.

NOTE (added Oct 13 ’09): the raspberry filling was very slightly runny for me. (You can see that in the picture of the cut open tart above). You may want to use more jello or agar (3 tbsp jello/agar + 3 tbsp boiling water) to help the filling set better.

Cheesy Giveaway Winners!

Posted on October 3, 2009 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

cheesy giveaway winners

Thankyou all for entering the cheesy giveaway. We put everyone’s name in a bowl (those of you who blogged or tweeted about this giveaway were counted twice/thrice). S picked 3 names from the bowl. S always picks my giveaway winners…read this post to find out why.

And the winners are…

alex

carrmen

Mel

Congrats Alex, Carmen and Mel! Please email me your addresses!

Stay tuned for cheesy giveaway part 2 coming soon!

Easy 5-Minute Mozzarella Fondue

Posted on September 29, 2009 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

easy-fondue1

There is a proper way to eat fondue – dont double dip, the fondue fork shouldnt touch your mouth, transfer dipped food from the fondue fork to a plate and eat it with another fork, dont drop stuff into the fondue pot…

Then there is our ‘throw-all-the-rules-out’ method of eating fondue. We dont have a fondue set, so we put the fondue in a soup bowl and used bamboo skewers. We double dipped like crazy. Several apple cubes were lost in the fondue pot/soup bowl. At the end we wiped the bowl clean with our fingers. So much fun!

The best part – 5 minutes is all it takes to make this fondue – easy and fuss free.

easy mozzarella and alouette cheese fondue

Here are some fondue dipper/dunker ideas for you..

What to dip in fondue

lightly steamed broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus (pat them try before serving, if the veggies are wet, fondue wont stick to them)
lightly grilled eggplant or zucchini (my favorite)
roasted fingerling potatoes
button mushrooms
crusty bread
cubed apple, tossed in a little lemon juice to prevent browning
sliced fresh figs
pretzel sticks, tortilla chips, pita chips
cooked (al dente) tortellini, patted dry

easy-fondue2

Easy 5-Minute Mozzarella Fondue Recipe
serves 1-2

1 garlic pod minced
1/4 cup white wine
a pinch nutmeg
1/2 cup Alouette cheese spread (recommended: garlic and herb or savory vegetable). Scroll down to see how you can win Alouette cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
anything from the “what to dip” list above to serve with fondue

Heat a small, deep non-stick pot. Add garlic and wine and bring wine to a simmer on medium heat. Once the wine begins to bubble, whisk in nutmeg and Alouette cheese spread and let it melt. Then add mozzarella cheese. Keep stirring with a whisk till the mozzarella melts, about 1 minute. If the fondue is too thick, add milk (one tablespoon at a time) while whisking on medium heat till desired consistency is reached.

Serve fondue with cubes of crusty bread, apples, steamed vegetables or anything from the “what to dip” list above. To reheat fondue, return it to a non stick pot on medium heat, whisk in a little milk if needed.

Like this recipe? Want to win the Alouette cheese I used in this fondue or two other cheese?

A cheesy giveaway! Win a free coupon for one of these cheeses!

1.Soft spreadable cheese (used in the fondue recipe above) 2.Baby Brie 3.Crumbles

How to enter

You can do one of three things to enter this giveaway:

-Leave a comment. Tell me what is your favorite cheese and how you like to eat it
-Mention this giveaway on your blog and link to this post
-Tweet about this giveaway

Do all 3 of the above and you will be counted 3 times!

Contest will close at 11.30pm EST on Friday, Oct 2nd ’09. Three winners will be announced on Saturday, Oct 3rd ’09.

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED. WINNERS ANNOUNCED HERE.

A Cheesy Giveaway – Part 1. Win Brie, Crumbled or Spreadable Cheese from Alouette!

Posted on September 28, 2009 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

win-free-alouette-cheese

Alouette savory vegetable spread, with whole grain baguette and olive medley.

The wonderful people at Alouette cheese are giving three lucky readers of this blog a free coupon to try one of their amazing cheeses!

If you haven’t had alouette cheese, you truly dont know what you are missing! My favorite is their garlic cheese spread (which I used in this polenta recipe).

You can win a free coupon for one of these cheeses! 3 random winners will be picked!

1.Soft spreadable cheese

2.Baby Brie

3.Crumbles

How to enter

You can do one of three things to enter this giveaway:

Leave a comment. Tell me what is your favorite cheese and how you like to eat it
Mention this giveaway on your blog and link to this post
Tweet about this giveaway

Do all 3 of the above and you will be counted 3 times!

Contest will close at 11.30pm EST on Friday, Oct 2nd ’09.

Three winners will be announced on Saturday, Oct 3rd ’09.

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED. WINNERS ANNOUNCED HERE.

Fresh Fig and Spiced Rum Upside Down Cake

Posted on September 23, 2009 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

fig-rum-upside-down-cake2

I have a confession. I cheated big time with this cake. I used…gulp…store bought cake mix! I didnt have time to make cake batter at home and I really wanted to make a fig upside down cake with a gorgeous box of fresh black figs. So I resorted to a betty crocker mix…and it turned our yummy. The figs were so soft and sweet, I thought a nice rum and spice upside down cake would be fitting for these figs.

fresh black figs

Dont keep fresh figs for more than two days. They are best used the day you buy them. You could also use dried figs in this recipe – just simmer them in a little water to reconstitute them and then proceed with the recipe.

arrange-figs-in-cake-pan-then-pour-batter

Wash and pat dry the figs. Then trim off the stems and quarter each fig. Pour some rum and spices over the figs and let them sit while you make the cake batter. Then arrange the figs in a cake pan and pour cake batter on top. Bake according to the instructions on the cake mix box.

fig-rum-upside-dowm-cake3

When the cake is done, invert it onto a plate and you’ll have gorgeous fig studded cake!

This post goes to monthly mingle over at ‘My Diverse Kitchen’, Meeta and Aparna have chosen the theme, high tea.

Fresh Fig and Rum Upside Down Cake
Serve about 10

12-16 fresh figs
2/3 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1 tbsp sugar, more or less depending on how sweet the figs are
4 tbsp rum (I used captain morgans spiced rum)
1 box store bought cake mix (angel food, white or yellow cake mix)
Ingredients need to make the cake mix

Wash and dry figs. Cut off the stems. Quarter the figs. Arrange the figs in the bottom of a buttered cake pan in a single layer. (divide teh figs and batter into two cake pans if necessary). Mix cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice, sugar with rum. Pour this spiced rum over the figs. Then prepare the cake mix according to manufacturers instructions. Pour cake batter into the cake pan, on top of the figs. Bake according to directions on the box. When cake is done, let it cool for 10 minutes and invert in onto a plate.

Monica Bhide’s Basmati with Pine Nuts, Pomegranate and Mint

Posted on September 21, 2009 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

basmati-with-pine-nuts-pomegranates-and-mint3

This picture goes to Jugalbandi’s Click. This month’s theme is heirloom.

How gorgeous does this rice dish look?! This recipe for basmati with pine nuts, pomegranate and mint is from Monica Bhide’s book ‘Modern Spice’.

Check out my guest post about this dish on Monica’s site.

You can buy Monica’s book, ‘Modern Spice’ here: