Last month when we went apple picking, I had big plans. I was planning to make use of all those apples to make apple butter, apple pie, apple crostata or galette, apple doughnuts and this cake. Whole month spent in packing, the apples were pushed aside and the easiest use I could put them to, was for juicing. I was on a juice kick and apples helped make the green juices taste way better. Time passed by and I finished 10 pounds of apple but never made a thing from that  list.

Recently when my computer went lifeless, I realised that all our photos of apple picking adventure no longer exist and than I was filled with sudden sense of guilt as ages ago I promised you guys to share the trip details. So here I am, without any photos but yes with a winter worthy dessert whcih will make your home smell like an apple farm, in a good way.

Making crostata or galette is one of favorite task. It takes my mind to a peaceful zone. I love the act of making dough with cubes of frozen butter, breaking them into crumbs with fingertips and the way it all comes together.  The best thing about these type of desserts is that whatever kind of fruits you have on hand, chop, mix them with some lemon juice and sugar. Let it macerate, fill them up in a buttery dough layer and bake and you are sure to be greeted by something delicious.

Rustic Apple Galette

You can play around with different fruits or vegetables. Considering its almost winter in this part of the world, I would suggest may be a combination of pumpkin/squash with brie, spicy potato filling or pear with apples and so many more.

//Filling//

•  2 gala apples, peeled, cored and sliced in thin rounds.
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp unbleached all purpose flour
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

In a bowl, mix sugar, flour, lemon juice and cinnamon. Put apple slices in the mix and coat them gently with the sugar mix with hands. Let it sit.

//Dough// Adapted from SmittenKitchen via SproutedKitchen

• 3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat  flour
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 4 oz. / 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut in cubes
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. yogurt
• 3-5 Tbsp. ice water (Start with 3T and proceed tsp at a time if too dry)
• 1 egg
• 2-3 T turbinado sugar (optional)

In a bowl, combine both  flours, salt and sugar and stir to mix.Now acting quickly, add the cold butter and mix it with the flour with the help of a pastry cutter or your fingertips until it resembles small pea size pieces. In a separate bowl, mix lemon juice, yogurt and ice waterand mix it. Add it to the flour butter mix and mix it all with hands until just combined. DO NOT OVERMIX. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to an hour.

Once the dough is ready to bake, preheat oven to 400F. On a well floured surface, roll the dough to a 12″ circle. Transfer it to a parchment lined baking sheet. Place apple mix in the center and roughly fold the border towards the center. Break egg in a separate bowl and add a tsp of cold water. Mix it together and brush it on the outer edges of dough using a brush or hands. Sprinkle turbinado sugar for extra crunch, if using.

Bake for 50 – 55 minutes depending on the oven type.

Let it cool a little before serving or if you are like me, proceed.

We  moved. Finally. Last few days or should I say weeks were particularly hectic. We were packing day and night, taking care of all the dues, making sure we don’t  miss out anything . With most of our belongings packed into a uhaul box and the remaining packed in our car, we left for a 15 hour drive. Do you find moving as hard as I do or is it just crazy me speaking? During all this crazy madness,we were feeding our bellies with the best our city offered as we knew in our hearts that it might be the last time here. I still remember the taste of fresh cut oven baked mushrooms in my vegetable fajita quesadilla, the mouth watering panang curry with spicy curry fried rice along with the perfect sticky rice with coconut ice cream dessert you could dream of.

Food connects us in so many ways. Along with impacting our lives, it instills our minds with memories which we remember. I still remember what I had on my first ever St.Patrics day in Chicago and that makes me remember how I met one of my best friends of all time. Memories make me nostalgic.

Today’s recipe is the first cocktail drink on this website. I know. I enjoy drinking cocktails and it came to me as a surprise when I realised that there is no cocktail recipe here. This Cranberry cocktail is perfect for the holiday season. You can serve it easily on thanksgiving or Christmas or you can keep some in your refrigerator and serve to unexpected guests.

Holiday Cranberry GingerAle Cocktail

 Serves 1

If in rush, replace homemade cranberry juice with market bought .

//Ginger Sugar syrup//

• 1/4 cup natural cane sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp freshly grated ginger

To make syrup, simmer all three ingredients in a pot for 3 – 5 mins while stirring frequently. Take it off the heat and let it sit for few more minutes before straining ginger. Keep the syrup aside. This will make enough syrup good for 2 – 3 drinks.

Cranberry GingerAle Cocktail

• 4 Tbsp cranberry juice
• 4 Tbsp vodka ( If you prefer less alcohol, you can scale down the amount of vodka)
• 1 Tbsp ginger sugar syrup or more/less per taste
• Ginger ale
• Lots of ice
• few lime/ lemon wedges

In a shaker or jug, add ginger sugar syrup along with cranberry juice and vodka. Shake it until completely mixed.

Fill up a tall glass with lots of ice and lime wedge. Pour the mix from shaker and fill it up with ginger ale. Enjoy.

With the onset of fall, I love getting drenched in colors. Colors in every aspect of life so much so that even food is not left aloof. With markets flooded with pumpkins, squash, apples, pears and all sorts of dark leafy greens, the task of meal preparation gets much more exciting. I look for unusual vegetables and different ways to incorporate them in daily meals.

This recipe is your usual hummus recipe but the addition of beets takes it to a completely different level. It has a somewhat less smoother texture than the usual hummus . Beets lend it a beautiful color which makes it a a great appetizer for gatherings. Beets are rich in anti oxidants, provides anti inflammatory and detoxification support. If boiling or steaming beets, try to keep the cooking time 15 minutes or less to get the maximum benefits.  With Halloween & thanksgiving around the corner, I wonder if this beet hummus can be one of the healthy addition to the usual menu.

Beet – Chickpea Hummus

Though this and this are my all time favorite hummus recipes but now I am glad to have one more added to the list.

• 1/4 cup chickpeas, dry  or 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas (Use canned if short on time, remember to rinse them really well before using)
• 1/2 medium size beet, chopped and boiled until tender to touch
• Salt to taste
• 2 tsp tahini paste
• 2 garlic cloves
• Juice of 1 lime, adjust to taste
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 cup water, add 1T at a time
• Olive oil
• Sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

Boil the chickpeas if using dry until soft to touch. In a blender, throw all the ingredients except olive oil and sesame seeds. Blend all until smooth. You might need to add more water. Add 1T at a time as you need thick paste.

Chill, add olive oil and sesame seeds. Serve with thin slices of cucumber, celery, pita chips or carrots.

Hi. I hope you all are doing good. I have some exciting news for you all. I am launching the first Issue of NaiveCookCooks Magazine letter for the month of October. I will be publishing two magazine letters per month and with time we will bring along new faces,  fresh voices and lots of interesting stuff. You all must be wondering why call it a magazine letter and not just a newsletter? So this is something new which we (Jerry + me) are working on. We have some plans under our sleeves and are busy working on those. This is a start of something we  dream about.

So this magazine letter will contain one new recipe which has never been featured here on NaiveCookCooks so unless you subscribe to the magazine letter, you will miss out on it. It will feature health facts about one ingredient and related healthy recipes along with Spotlight which you can read here and some unique finds.

So what are you waiting for. Sunbscribe to the magazine letter Now.

Todays Spotlight features Lili from “We all scream” blog. When I first came across this blog, I was blown away and most importantly I was hungry and hungry for ice creams. She writes about ice creams and flavors such as Celery with rum soaked raisins, tamarind, baklava and so many more. I want them all. I wish she lived closer so I can have constant supply of ice cream from her. So I thought of interviewing her and she is such a lovely lady as she immediately agreed. So here are few things about her which will help us to know her better. Don’t forget to visit her blog!

Blog :

We all Scream..

Location : 

Los Angeles, CA, USA

Blogging since :

WeAllScream.Net  was launched in 2011, but I have been blogging since 1994. I have had many blogs to cover different topics or areas of interest. We All Scream is specifically about ice cream and my illustrations of ice cream recipes.

Why you started blogging and in particular about ice creams : 

When I became obsessed with making ice creams at home and experimenting with different flavors, I was scribbling down recipes on bits of paper. I figured that a blog would be a great way to archive these recipes, and also to share them with other people. I work professionally as an illustrator, animator and character designer, so the We All Scream blog and “illustrated ice cream recipe” format is also a showcase for my artwork.

 Usual step by step procedure for developing your posts :

From time to time, I browse through food websites, ice cream blogs and books. When I find a flavor that I am curious about, I make the ice cream at home. In the process of doing so, I usually tweak the recipe and take notes. Then I draw up the recipe, design a flavor mascot character, and upload this to WeAllScream.net.  I am a big fan of  ”Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams At Home” so I  usually try to adapt whatever recipe that I find to Jeni’s ice cream base method. Sometimes I make an ice cream more than once, to fine tune the recipe.

Future plans with the blog if any :

I won’t take you on a long ride today  instead I will get to the point and yes I have something to tell you. I made my own roasted flavored pumpkin seeds. I know it might sound so cheesy and yes they are super easy. But you see I never made these before and for that matter never bought a pumpkin or scooped out the seeds and took the energy to wash them, dry them before, ever. So while I had them washed and cleaned like weeks ago, I totally forgot about them until today. Today while cleaning, I realised I need to do something with them and so I roasted and they are the best roasted pumpkin seeds I have ever eaten. Not lying. I have a packet of roasted pumpkin seeds  from store and on comparing both, I found the store bought seeds have  a super tough skin while the one roasted at home are so soft that you can literally eat them with their skins on.

Pumpkin seeds are a great source of minerals such as manganese, magnesium, phosphorus along with other minerals in small amounts. They also have powerful anti-inflammatory properties. Munching on a handful of these provides your body with about 9gms of protein along with other minerals. So make halloween more fun and healthy by snacking on these crunchy pepitas.

Spicy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds 

You can do zillion of flavors with these babies. Go creative and make all sorts of flavor.

•  Seeds from 1 pumpkin
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp grapeseed oil or any other high heat oil

Scoop out the seeds from pumpkin. Wash them in a colander and lay them on a baking sheet and let them dry for a day or two. Once completely dry, add oil, salt and red chili powder . Mix it well together and bake it in a 350F pre heated oven for 12-15 minutes. Keep an eye as they burn easily.

Once cool, store in airtight container.

We are busy packing our stuff these days. We are moving. Change is good, always. Even small changes make a difference to the way we exist. No matter how much I try to get away from the reality that soon I will be leaving our first ever apartment which we called home together as a couple, it hits me whenever I am packing stuff, putting away my finest props, tucking them safely in brown paper and than to be extra cautious wrapping them with bubble wrap and hoping to see them unharmed and undamaged.

These days we are trying to spend more time with our beloved friends, doing things and seeing places we always wanted to. Recently we went apple + pear picking (more on this in upcoming post), filled our bellies with the best cheese in Wisconsin, baked some delicacies. I am trying to live in the moment rather than worrying about the future more than usual, which I have been doing a lot lately.

With the busy schedule, I often try not to worry about making anything for breakfast. I was fine for few days but than my body started to give up. I started to feel lazy, tired and most importantly always hungry. So I started making these smoothies which I like to call super power breakfast smoothies as they are a complete meal in themselves.  A breakfast as quick and filling as this, I am always ready to make it.

This smoothie is packed with super foods such as walnuts, hemp seeds and kale.

Hemp seeds : Hemp seeds are the latest addition to the superfoods family. They have existed for long but now they are getting their share of much desired attention. Hemp seeds contain all the  amino acids as well are a balanced source of Essential Fatty Acids which includes omega-3 and omega-6, which helps us keep a healthy immune system, and are responsible for shiny healthy looking skin, hair and nails. Hemp seeds have been found to lower the cravings for junk food when consumed regularly. Chewy, nutty and soft, you can sprinkle them in smoothies, over yogurt, cereals or add them in baked goods. There are innumerable ways they can be used.

Walnuts: Walnuts are packed with loads of anti -oxidants and other vitamins. Walnuts are supposed to have high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids which our body can’t produce and are supposed to help in preventing cancer, heart diseases and rheumatoid arthritis. Walnuts are found to have no cholesterol so they are good for including in a low cholesterol diet.

Kale: Kale is packed with vitamins specially Vitamin A and Vitamin K. One cup of chopped kale contains approx  33 calories and 9% of the daily value of calcium, 206% of vitamin A, 134% of vitamin C, and a whopping 684% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus.

This smoothie is particularly good for people who are not vegetable lovers as you can sneak in so much without them even knowing.

Super power breakfast smoothie, Serves 1

There are numerous ways you can make this smoothie. Use ingredients you have on hand rather than rushing to the store. You can sub other greens like spinach, collard greens in place of kale. You can add banana as well to give it a more creamier texture. You can omit blueberries entirely if you prefer or sub strawberries or any other kind of soft berries in place. 

• 1/2 cup chopped kale
• 1/2 apple, chopped
• 3 dates, seeds removed
• 1 tbsp hemp seeds
• 2-3 walnuts
• 1/4 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
• 1 cup water

Place everything in a blender and blend until smooth. Add more water if you like thinner consistency.

Weekends play this game on my mind. They leave me feeling sluggish, sloppy and most of all unorganised and at times kind of moody. Sometimes I wonder if it’s the female hormones or just me. Lately I have getting this tendency of going bananas at the slightest hint of disarray. I wait till the last moment to take care of tasks and this is something I absolutely hate about myself and is one of the main reason why I get moody.

This habit of mine, I drag it to cooking as well. Often I get ingredients for a certain recipe and wait till the last moment to give it a try. Sometimes I end up throwing the wilted greens and often find promising myself to become more cautious next time. Sometimes, while posting also suffers and one example of this habit is the current post. I baked these emapanadas quiet a while back and they were absolutely delicious. Healthy, filling, tasty and a promise of warm brunch/ lunch/dinner in minutes. They have been sitting on my computer’s folder marked “to be posted” and finally today is the day, they see light.

I love the fact that they freeze well and make up for a quick hot meal at moments notice. The cilantro – yogurt sauce here plays an essential role. Don’t take it as a mere sauce and don’t even think of skipping it. It takes few minutes to put this sauce together and it takes these empanadas to an all new dimension.

So give these a try this weekend and freeze some for weekdays.

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Empanadas ( Adapted from MyRecipes.com )

Makes around 10,  5″size empanadas

I have been thinking of other options. May be potatoes and green peas, potatoes and cauliflower or just cheese. Let me know if you have a favorite recipe.

For dough:

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (You can do half whole wheat and half all purpose as well)
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1 large organic egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

In a bowl, mix flour, salt and whisk it.

In another bowl, combine oil, water, cider vinegar and egg and mix. Add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until it all comes together. Knead lightly until you get a smooth dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it chill for atleast an hour.

For filling:

• 1 medium- big sweet potato, boiled, peeled and mashed
• 1 poblano pepper, grilled or softened in microwave, chopped
• 1 cup dry black beans, washed, boiled
• 1 tbsp cilantro, chopped
• 1 tsp olive oil or ghee or coconut oil
• 4-5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
• Cumin powder to taste
• Red chili powder to taste
• Salt to taste
• 1 egg, beaten for egg wash

In a bowl, add sweet potato and mash it using back of spoon or fork. To it add chopped poblano pepper and cilantro and mix.

In a skillet, heat oil and  to it add chopped garlic. Saute it for few seconds and add chopped yellow onion. Saute it until soft. Add black beans along with salt , cumin and red chili powder. Cook for few minutes and add this mix to sweet potato mix. Mix it all together and taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

Arranging:

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400F.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator and keep it covered so it doesn’t dry. Take a small piece from dough and roll it into a circle around 5″ diameter or cut in a circular shape using cookie cutter if using any. Put few tsps filling on half side of the circle. Bring the other empty half  side over the filling covered half and pinch the sides together to make a seal.

Place the empanada on a parchment paper covered sheet. Cover with a towel until getting others ready. Once all empanadas are ready to be baked, using pastry brush, brush the tops with egg wash for a golden crust. Bake in oven for upto 16 minutes or until golden.

Cilantro – yogurt sauce

• 1/4 cup yogurt, organic
• 1/4 cup, chopped fresh cilantro
• 2-3 green chillies or add the amount according to the hotness you can handle
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• Salt to taste
• Lime juice as per taste

Throw all the ingredients in a mixer and mix until you get a fine smooth sauce. Add water if using greek yogurt. Taste and adjust salt and lime juice.

Serve empanadas with cold sauce.

 Today it’s about ice cream. I wanted you guys to wake up and see this the first thing in the morning, think about ice cream all day at work and get forced to make it tonight. . I know it is torture. But that makes the wait worth every minute, isn’t it? Remember my ice cream obsession which started with mint ice cream and than went on to the creation of one of our all time favorite  strawberry oreo ice cream obsession. If that makes you think even for a second, that I must be tired and fully well satisfied than let me tell you that you are dead WRONG.

Summers are almost gone here and that makes me worried sometimes. First and foremost, I love getting tons and tons of fresh sunlight in our apartment and it breaks my heart that there won’t be any more in the near future for atleast good 3-4 months. It gets harder to shoot let alone to cook. Usually by the time my dishes are ready, it is almost past afternoon but summer has always been supportive and there have been days when I  have taken pictures successfully at around 8PM . Secondly and this is kind of  important in my list right now, we are again forced to sweat  in enclosed gyms while having other bodies sweating around us. Have I ever told you how much I loathe going to gyms when there is fresh running ground available just steps away from  home.

By far, this is the quickest and the easiest ice cream recipe I have encountered and by far, tastiest as well. Chocolate ice cream on its own is perfect and reminds you of the creamy heavenly chocolate ice creams you get in the stores. Add ons are, I suppose a bit of a personal preference. I enjoy it both ways but Jerry liked it on its own better. So it is totally upto your preference to add cookies or not. Trust me, no judging.

Egg-less chocolate ice cream with chocolate chip cookies

Makes about 5 cups ice cream

•  3/4 cup good cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar such as cane sugar or others, preferabaly organic
• 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• pinch salt
• 1 cup whole milk, preferably organic
• 2 cups heavy cream, preferably organic
• ½ tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped chocolate chip cookies or other goodies. You can add chocolate chips, brownies and much more. Possibilities are endless. (I used this recipe). You can buy from market if you are short on time.

In a bowl, whisk together cocoa, both sugars and salt. Add milk and using a whisk or hand blender, mix until all the cocoa and sugar dissolves. Add heavy cream and vanilla extract and mix gently. Refrigerate covered for atleast 2 hours or upto overnight.

Process the ice cream according to the instructions of the ice cream maker.It usually takes 15-20 minutes to get to soft serve consistency. Towards the last 2-3 minutes, add the add ons if adding any. Freeze it in an air tight container. Serve in 2-3 hours or immediately as soft serve. Stays good for upto a month  in freezer.

I have been wanting to post this recipe  for some time. Now, it’s not a bad recipe. In fact it is super simple, hearty, satisfying recipe worthy of getting a prominent place in your diary of recipes where you have recipes cleanly arranged in categories. I know you own one (!!). I ,on the other hand,  kind of lack in this department when it comes to arranging important paperwork. Today when I planned on making our favorite coconut chutney, I as you can predict  was unable to find my recipe journal and at that time, this, love of mine, my blog came handy. I find relief in making quick, healthy recipes. Recipes that requires tons of ingredients often scare me. Not that I don’t give them a go.

Dals, are my favorite, when it comes to eating healthy, whole meal diets. They are specially helpful when you are on weight watch. I am telling you. They are a quick lunch – dinner meal when your pantry is empty and you head is far from any ideas. Serving them with whole wheat chapatis or bread or rice turns them into a complete satisfying meal. I am into black rice these days. Last night we tried black rice with dal and I was surprised as it tasted normal. It wasn’t chewy or weird as sometimes I have experienced with brown rice.

Since I started eating more healthy, I find myself getting attracted towards green leafy vegetables, fruits and whole grains. With so many healthy options out there, it has been much easier to follow healthy tasty diet.

On another note, I have been juicing lately and thought to share with you the pros and cons around it. The right kind of vegetables – fruits to juice, different combinations and all. I am working on that post and hope to publish it soon.

Till then, be warm, eat healthy, work hard and most importantly live every moment.

Arhar dal { Yellow split peas / toovar } with spicy tempering

• 1/2 cup masoor dal, picked and rinsed in cold running water
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp ghee or coconut oil for tempering
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 – 1 tsp red chili powder
• Fresh chopped herbs like cilantro or mint or parsley to garnish (optional)
• Lime juice (optional)

In a pot, add the cleaned dal along with 2-3 cups of water. Add 1/2 tsp salt and turmeric. Let it boil on medium high. Keep checking after every 7-10 mins to add more water when getting dry. It takes around 30 minutes to get fully cooked. When you touch dal, it should be soft to touch and should mush around easily. You know, it is ready to eat. You can add more water once done, according to desired consistency. Give it a good boil again. Keep aside. Taste salt and adjust.

It tastes best if you do tempering just before serving as it retains the maximum flavor and aroma. In a small pot, add ghee or coconut oil . Once hot, to it add cumin seeds. Watch out, they will splutter. Once they finish spluttering, lower the flame and  add red chili powder. Cook for 3-5 seconds and turn off the gas. Watch out as red chili powder burns very quickly. Pour it over hot dal.

I also like adding few drops of lemon or lime juice to my dal. It is upto preference.