Vegetables Au Gratin (Dieters Version)

We all love our cheese! Let's admit it, unless we have some major allergies to dairy, which often still does not apply to cheese. While being touted as a good source of protein cheese tends to be more of a fat source!  Not trying to go all preachy on you since I am as culpable as the next person in liking this darned thing!  But new year resolutions kicked in a month later for me and I am trying to be good about what goes into my mouth and into my stomach. I am adhering so far to the NO-Fry February,  with which also goes more veggies, less grains and all that jazz.

All the recipes that I call my own, is most often just put together! As I have often said, if you put of bunch of things you like together, chances are you will like the outcome of it just as well. And quoting myself again (coz I am so good like that) I also restate that recipes are mere guidelines always subject to personalization.

So here is my recipe
1 8x9x4 deep baking dish  
Makes about 8 generous portions
Ingredients

• About a dozen Baby carrots split length wise
• 1 medium cauliflower cut/snapped into daily big florets
• 1/2 box of baby spinach (about 3 cups)
• 2 zucchinis cut in cubes
• 1 can of Campbell's low sodium Mushroom soup
• 1can of Campbell's cream of celery 
• 1cup of shredded cheddar

Flavoring Guidelines

• 2 dry red peppers crushed
• 1tbsp of pesto powder
• Salt
• Fresh ground pepper

Method

1. Set oven to 350 deg F
2. Broil on high the veggies for about 10 minutes or until the tips of the veggies are turning brown
3. Remove from oven
4. In a deep baking dish
5. Spray the bottom with olive oil 
6. Add half the grilled veggies
7. From either can ladle out the soup in chunks around the pan over the veggies
8. Use half of the flavoring ingredients 
9. Now add the rest of the veggies I separated mine so it felt like different layers
10. And repeat process with second can of soup and flavoring
11. Now add the cheese
12. Bake for about 25-30 minutes
13. Serve with Bread 

Marmalade with Tangerines - The best evah!

Gotta have the spoon shot!

What does one do when you have a child in Orchestra in school. They sell stuff to sponsor trips and they make money of their parents primarily - This is how I got suckered into getting 2 BIG crates of oranges and tangerines all the way from Florida. They tasted like nectar, that's for sure and truth to tell, it did not take much arm twisting for me to agree to buy grapefruits, navel oranges, tangerines and oh-so fresh strawberries. I made strawberry coulis, and jam and I ventured for the first time to make some marmalade. The oranges - I want to say about 12-14 yielded 3 16 ounce jars, two of which vanished before i could say Jack Robinson (an old expression of my dad - which I still use often if only to keep him in my thoughts on a daily basis.

So easy to make and so delicious you've got to try this and feel the rush and the power of making your very own, homemade, marmalade -

Ingredients

• 12-14 good sized tangerines, pitted (see how to below)
• 1 cup of White Sugar
• 1cup of sugar in the raw
• 3/4 -1  cup of orange blossom honey
• A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 1tsp orange essence

Method

1. Wash tangerines thoroughly and dab dry with paper towel or kitchen towel
2. Soak in the honey for about 30 minutes
3. Peel them in such a way that you get some big pieces that can then later be cut
4. Cut the orange sideways to reveal the wheel. For pitting it, I took a blunt knife and simply ferreted out the seeds
5. Chop the tangerines slices roughly. 
6. Strain the juice and keep separate
7. In a large 5 or 6 quart pot, add the sugars and the juice and allow it to thin 
8. Once it gets a syrupy consistency, add the tangerine pieces and honey and the rinds
9. Allow this to simmer for about 20-40 minutes or until you see the jam thickening to the preferred consistency. This would be the time to grate the nutmeg into the pot and stir
10. 
    
11. Cool and store in Jars. (you can see how to sterilize the jars here)

The best orange peeler by tupperware, almost as old as my hubby! 

Combos that are da bomb with this delicious marmalade are - yogurt (Mama Mia) hot toast, english muffins (Mama Mia) Hot butter and marmalade over croissants (Mama Mia) and over crumpets -

For the well-adjusted Indian, this is a super combo with dosais and better yet with adais!
Enjoy until the next recipe!

Caramelized Pear Tart

Starting my blogging marathon # 9 with Srivalli with a bang :)
Verge has got the better of me, again and this time some homegrown pears given to us by a friend was a recipe in the making – The luscious pictures in the book were calling out to me. OF the 6 or more pear recipes I decided on the tart –

Now who knew that making the pastry base was such a long and rather complicated process not to mention super highly caloric – I really had no idea! I thought it was like any other dough for breads – Mais non,mes amies, it is an overnight process!

I made it nevertheless, following his instructions to a T – But since then I have scoured the web and found far easier and less caloric ways of making pastry dough – Pardonez moi, Mr Verge, I mean no offense when I say that we have to wean ourselves away from those huge amounts of butter!

The recipe for the pear preparation resulted in exquisite, perfect tasting caramelized pears – mama mia!

Without much further ado, I present to you Mr.Verge’s Caramelized Pear Tart  - Ingredients and preparation instructions have been give verbatim from the book!

PUFF PASTRY
This is the most complicated dough to prepare(Verge) (so I, Priya a novice baker is not the only one)You cannot use a food processor. Everything must be done by hand, with care and precision. But in the end, what lightness, what crispiness-what a delight!
(Sorry I could not photograph the entire process since i was too flustered and buy getting my pastry to work)

INGREDIENTS- YIELD: THREE 3-INCH TARTS
2 ½ cups sifted flour, plus extra for flouring work surface
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound butter: 
7 tablespoons for binding and the rest for the butter layer, chilled1 cup cold water

Preparation

• Bind the dough with water. 
• In a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt. Form a hole in the middle and fill it with the cold water and 7 tablespoons of slightly softened butter, cut into pieces. 
• Blend rapidly with your fingers. Form a ball of dough and shape it into a square. 
• With a knife score the top with a grid pattern. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Work the butter. 
• On a lightly floured board, roll out the rest of the butter into a 3 x 6-inch rectangle. 
• Add a little flour to the rolling pin as needed. Refrigerate. For everything to work well, the dough and butter must be the same temperature. 
• Combine the dough and butter. 
• On a floured pastry board, roll out the dough until you have a rectangle that is about 8 x 12 inches. 
• Now place the butter rectangle in the center. Fold the edges of the dough completely over the butter, starting with the long sides and then the short sides, pressing the edges of the dough together. 
• Roll out this package until you have a new rectangle measuring approximately 20 inches in length and 8 inches in width. 
• Fold it into thirds, folding back and under the short edges. 
• Turn the board a quarter turn. Roll the dough out again until you have a rectangle of the same size. Again fold into thirds. 
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Repeat the above steps twice: roll out the dough, fold into thirds, let rest. Refrigerate at least 45 minutes or overnight, if desired. Just before using the dough, repeat the steps one more time. 
• Finish. 
• Cut the amount you need. Roll out to the desired dimension. Wrap the leftover dough; it will keep for 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Caramelized Pear Tart
This recipe will remind you of a traditional tarte tatin. Have you ever tried to make one with pears? Personally, I almost prefer the pear variation. If you want to stick to tradition, replace the pears with pippin apples and the pear brandy (which is optional) with Calvados

Ingredients

4 ripe pears

Juice of one lemon

2 tablespoons pear brandy (optional)

5 tablespoons butter

½ cup sugar

1/3 recipe puff pastry or short pastry dough

Equipment

cast-iron skillet with high sides, or any frying pan 9 ½ -10 inches in diameter with a heatproof handle.

Preparation

1.Peel the pears. Slice into 6 sections and remove the core and the stems. Sprinkle with the lemon juice and brandy.

2.Preheat the oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit

3.Melt the butter in the skillet. Add the sugar, stirring, and remove from the heat when the mixture is smooth. Arrange the pear slices in the pan, forming a circle with their tips toward the center.

4.Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, until the pears are completely coated with the caramelized sugar.

5.In the meantime, roll out the dough into a circle equal in diameter to the pan. Prick with a fork. Once the pears are caramelized, remove the pan from the oven and cover with the dough, taking care to seal or fold along the sides. Lower the temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for another 15-20 minutes, until the crust is a beautiful golden color.

6.Remove the pan from the oven. Gently heat for 1 minute on the stove. Shake gently to make sure that the fruit is not sticking to the bottom. Wearing cooking mitts, turn a plate over onto the crust; in one quick movement, flip the pan over. The caramelized fruit should now appear on top. Serve warm. 

Check out the other Bloggers in this Marathon

Pineapple & Papaya Soup with Jasmine (Soup D'Ananas et De Papayes au Jasmin)

This soup is an adaption of the French chef par excellence, Roger Vergé ‘s Soup de Melon et De Papayes au Jasmin from his book Cooking with Fruits. My dear friend lent me this book to browse – I was totally fascinated at how wonderfully he was able to make a mélange of recipes with fruits.

This is a fantastic soup for all especially I believe my friends from South India who wear jasmines in their hair. The heady, intoxicating fragrance of the flower! I never thought that this could be used in cooking! Believe you me when I say that it infused the most exquisite bouquet to the soup and I felt in 7^th heaven at having reproduced, albeit with some changes, this soup delicacy and wowed my family with it… please enjoy the pictures and the recipe and it is one you can certainly try in the south given the abundance of papayas and jasmines and pineapples too.

Picture from the book

6 servings

Preparation 20 minutes

No cooking required

Ingredients

Zest of 1 lemon

Juice of 2 limes

½ Pineapple

1 medium sized papaya

¾ cup sweet wine such as Sauternes

(I subbed dark cherry juice)

1/3cup sugar

1 pinch of salt

36 very white jasmine flowers (you can sub this with few drops of orange blossom water when you are ready to serve)

6 sprigs of fresh mint

White pepper, finely ground (I used black)

Add caption

Preparation

Grate the lemon for the zest

Peel, deseed and cube papayas

Peel and dice pineapple

Juice the limes

Measure ¾ cup of cherry juice (you can sub with pomegranate or other easier available juices or use sweet wine if you prefer)

Add all the above in a blender with the sugar and the pinch of salt

Pour into a wide bowl and add the jasmines and gently stir them in

Chill for about 2 hours

Strain the soup before serving

Garnish each soup bowl with 2 jasmines and a sprig of mint

Enjoy (:

NOTE: The Jasmine I garnished the soup with was for decorative purposes and perhaps not meant to be eaten :)

Linking this to Taste of Pearl city's Anyone Can Cook, Priya's & Aipis Bookmarked Recipes, My event Fast Food Not Fat Food guest-hosted by Archana of Mad Scientist's Kitchen