pure vanilla extract

Posted in Continental, Desserts, Entertaining, Happy Moments

Coconut Macaroons

It was a cold winter day and we were driving pass Santa Cruz mountains. I was craving for cappuccino while S wanted an oven fresh pizza. Before I could realize he had parked in front of Domino’s. Since pizza doesn’t really fit into my ‘fat-friendly’ list, I started exploring other options. I saw this small bakery shop which looked very inviting. The smell of fresh bread was very tempting. While I was still deciding the owner brought out a tray full of coconut macaroons just out of oven. He dipped one macaroon in chocolate and insisted me to try. That…

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Posted in Breakfast, Desserts, Snacks

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Two years and two months, I had successfully put off the urge of making chocolate chip cookies at home. Finally I gave in and decided to make S happy by making his two favorite dishes – Sabudana Khichadi and Chocolate Chip Cookies. The debate still continues whether firm and thin or soft and chewy is the perfect texture but we both agree that fresh, warm, just-out-of-oven cookies with a glass of cold milk is a pure bliss! It would have been a lot easier if there were one master recipe for each classic dish. After going through numerous websites I…

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Posted in Breakfast, Continental, Desserts, Snacks

Banana Walnut Bread

Even though I think about calories, fat, saturated fat and of course, the price I end up buying banana walnut bread at Starbucks. The cakey delight is so hard to resist. Today I decided to try it myself at home using whole wheat flour instead of maida (all purpose flour) to make it a little healthier. My husband could not tell the difference 🙂 [purerecipe] Food For Thought Walnuts are often referred to as “brain food”, not only because of brain-like appearance of their lobes but because of their high concentration of Omega-3 fatty acids. They also promote bone health…

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Posted in Continental, Desserts, Entertaining

Chocolate Brownies

Rich, Cakey, Chocolatey Goodness !! I bet you are smiling already. 🙂 This is one thing I have found hard to resist. Even though they are easy to make at home, next time I would rather but them by the piece just to keep my weight loss goal on track. I found couple of recipes with slight variations in amount of chocolate, cocoa powder and eggs used. The one I used came from my colleague’s mom. She has been baking these brownies for last 50 years, how wonderful is that! I think i did a good justice to her recipe and made…

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