Blueberry Jam - Just 3 ingredients!

Ingredients:
600 grams - Fresh Blueberries
400 grams - Sugar
1 tablespoon - Lemon juice

Method:

• Wash the blueberries well.
• Add the blueberries, sugar and lemon juice into a heavy bottom pan.
• Place the pan over a gentle heat to slowly dissolve the sugar crystals, stirring with a wooden spoon from time to time.
• As the sugar starts to melt and the fruit warms up, mash the blueberries in the pan.
• Once the sugar has completely dissolved turn up the heat and bring the pan to boil and time for 15 minutes, stirring all the while (to prevent the sugar burning on the base).
• Take the pan off the heat and test a few drops of the jam on a frozen saucer and place in the fridge for a minute. If when you push your finger through it the jam forms a crinkle and is gel like then it’s ready. Otherwise boil for another couple of minutes and repeat process until ready.
• Store the jam in a glass jar.

Recipe inspired by fabfood4all.

3 Ingredient Aval Kozhukattai

This 3 ingredient kozhukattai is perfect for a healthy hot breakfast or evening snack.

You can follow the recipe here https://youtu.be/2ZvVVkDpBPA. 

I powdered 1.5 cups of aval and used ¾ cup of Nattu Sakkarai instead of vellam. 

This yielded 18 kozhukattais. 

I then steamed the kozhukattais in the rice cooker steam setting for 10 mins.

Fluffy Lemon Ricotta Waffles

Yields: 10 small waffles

Ingredients:

1½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp fresh lemon zest
⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
½ cup ricotta cheese
¾ cup milk

Directions:

• Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
• In a bowl whisk together butter, lemon, sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice, ricotta, and milk. 
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Do not over mix the batter.  A few lumps remaining is fine.
• Heat you waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s instructions spraying with cooking spray if needed.
• Dollop ¼ cup of batter into the waffle iron and cook until golden brown.  
• Serve immediately with what whatever topping you would like. I served mine with a dollop of whipped cream, maple syrup, almond slivers for some crunch and topped it  off with blueberry preserve.
• These waffles can also be individually wrapped and frozen. They are great heated up in the toaster or in the oven

Recipe from oliveandmango.com

Whole Wheat Pancakes

Yeilds: 8 med size pancakes

Recipe adapted from sallysbakingaddiction

Ingredients:

1 cup - whole wheat flour (I used Aashiravad atta)

1/2 cup - quick cook oats

1/4 teaspoon - salt

2 teaspoons - baking powder

1 teaspoon - ground cinnamon

1 egg

1 cup - milk

2 Tablespoons - unrefined sugar

1/4 cup - yogurt

1 teaspoon - vanilla extract

2 Tablespoons - chocolate chips or fruit, optional

Directions:

• Mix together flour, oats, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and milk together. Whisk in the sugar, yogurt and vanilla until combined.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir gently until just combined. Do not over mix the batter or your pancakes will be tough and very dense. Add the chocolate chips or diced fruits.
• Heat a pan over medium heat. Add a few drops of oil or butter.  Once hot, drop about 1/4 cup of batter on the pan. Cook until the edges look dry and bubbles begin to form on the center or sides. Flip and cook on the other side until cooked through.
• Serve with maple syrup.

Wholewheat Blueberry Scones

Blueberries are one of my favourite fruits to bake with. Adding these juicy blueberries put these homemade scones over the top! They’re super moist and tender in every bite. They also make a great breakfast option.

Recipe adapted from https://daisyandthefox.wordpress.com

Flatten the dough into a circle.

Cut into 8 wedges.

Brush the top with cream and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

Wholewheat Blueberry Scones

Yeilds: 8 wedges of scones

Ingredients:

Wholewheat flour – 2 cups (I used Ashirwad Atta)

Sugar – ¾ cup (I used raw sugar. You can use normal white sugar and reduce to ½ cup if using white sugar)

Baking Powder – 1 tablespoon

Grated lemon zest – 1 tablespoon

Salt – ½ teaspoon

Butter – ½ cup (cold and cut into cubes)

Egg – 1

Heavy cream (cold) – ½ cup (I used Paul’s thickened cream)

Fresh blueberries – 1 cup

A few table spoons of additional heavy cream to brush the tops

Raw sugar -1/4 cup for sprinkling on top

Cinnamon powder ½ teaspoon for sprinkling on top

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 200C.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, lemon zest and the butter. Mix in the stand mixer until fine crumbs form.
• Add the egg and heavy cream to the bowl, and mix until a thick dough forms.
• Remove the bowl from the mixer, and gently fold in the blueberries into the dough.
• Transfer the dough to a floured surface and press into a flat circle with about 1 inch in thickness.
• Cut the dough into 8 wedges and brush the top with some heavy cream.
• Combine the raw sugar and cinnamon powder and sprinkle on top.
• Place the wedges on a baking tray lined with baking paper, and bake for 18 – 20 minutes, until golden brown.
• Store in an air-tight container after the scones have completely cooled down.

Note:

•  When storing, wrap each scone individually with butter paper/baking paper and store in an air-tight container. Otherwise they stick to each other and crumble.
• Keep refrigerated. Warm in the microwave for a few seconds before consuming. Keeps well for 4-5 days.

Chocolate Cashew Butter

This recipe couldn't be any more easier or more delicious! And chocolate makes everything better. This homemade chocolate cashew butter is a great alternative to the store bought chocolate spreads full of corn syrup. The key to the smoothest and tastiest butter is to use good quality fresh cashew and cocoa. So start blending!

Chocolate Cashew Butter

Yeilds: 1 1/2 cups of butter

Ingredients:

• 2 cups - Raw cashew nuts
• 3 tablespoons - Cocoa Powder (add according to taste)
• 3 tablespoons - Extra virgin coconut oil
• 3-4 tablespoons - sugar (add according to taste)

Method:

• In a food processor, grind the cashew nuts to a powder.
• Add in the rest of the ingredients and grind to a smooth paste.
• The food processor over heats, so stop periodically and scrape the sides.
• Transfer to a dry container and keep refrigerated

Note:

• The butter can be stored up to a month in the fridge.
• It can be used as bread spread, to top your favourite ice cream, blend it in with a bowl of oatmeal, or enjoy as a dip for fruit slices.   

Cranberry Jam

It's Christmas season, and I recently have been seeing cranberries all over the supermarkets here in Singapore. I have never tasted fresh cranberries before, so when I saw them in Mustafa (of all places)…I immediately grabbed a bag and headed home. I was expecting it to taste sweet. But they tasted so tart, and I couldn't really eat it on its own.

So the bag was lying in my fridge waiting to be baked into breakfast muffins. But I never got around to bake anything this week.  And a can of jam sounded like the yummiest way to use up these fresh berries.

This ruby red spread is so refreshing and delicious...slathered on a piece of toast, it makes a perfect breakfast! Moreover, Cranberries are powerhouse of Vitamin C and antioxidants. Now you don’t need any more excuse to try out this super quick, sugar-free preserve this Christmas season!

Cranberry Jam

Yields: About 1 ½ cups of jam

Ingredients:

• 3 ½ cups – Cranberries
• ¾ cup – Honey
• 2 tablespoons – Raw Sugar (optional)
• 1 tablespoon – Vanilla essence

 Directions:

• Heat all the ingredients in a pan and keep stirring.
• Keep cooking for about 10 minutes until all the berries break down and the mixture thickens. Do not overcook.
• Transfer the contents to a glass jar, and store it in the refrigerator for up to a month.

 NOTE:

• If you prefer a smooth texture for your jam, just blend the mixture in a blender, while the jam is still warm. And then store it in a glass jar.
• I skipped this step, because we like coarse texture for our spreads.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Rolls

Hello my dear bread bakers, this is a recipe for a healthy morning breakfast rolls.  I am always in the search of healthy breads recipe. This recipe was a great hit. So much health and goodness in one simple roll.

 This is great for the busy mornings, just slit it open and slather with a fruit spread and butter and you are good to go.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Rolls

Makes: 15 rolls

Ingredients:

1 Cup – all purpose flour

3 ½ cups – whole wheat flour

1 cup – rolled oats

2 cups – water

3 tablespoon – Butter

1 tablespoon – instant yeast

1/3 cup – honey

1 ½ teaspoon – salt

1 egg + 1 tablespoon water – for egg wash (Can use milk instead of egg)

Rolled oats for sprinkling

Directions:

• In a pan, boil 1 cup of water. Add the oats and butter to the water and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and set it aside to cool.
• Take 1 cup of warm water, along with the yeast and honey. To this add the cooled oat mixture, salt and all purpose flour, beat until smooth.
• To this mixture slowly add the whole wheat flour to form soft dough.
• On a floured surface, knead the dough for about 6-8 minutes, until smooth and elastic, add more whole wheat flour if needed.
• Place the kneaded dough in a greased bowl, cover with a damp cloth and let it rise to double for about 1-2 hours.
• After rising, punch the dough down and let it rest for another 10 minutes.
• Divide into 15 equal portions and roll into a ball. Place in 1 or 2 greased pans.
• Cover with damp cloth and let it rise for another 45 mintues.
• Before placing into oven, brush the dough tops with the egg wash or plain milk, and sprinkle with the oats.
• Bake at 180° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan and let it cool.

5-Minute Chocolate Oatmeal

Hey chocolate lovers!!! Here is an excuse to have chocolate for breakfast! This super quick oatmeal recipe for those boring weekday morning! 

To be fair I hate oatmeal. I have no idea how anyone would eat soggy oatmeal every morning. But I wanted a healthy alternative for the sugary cereal breakfast options. So I did a search for interesting oatmeal recipe and came across this chocolate oatmeal recipe at chocolatecoveredkatie.com. She has all these amazing low-cal dessert recipes.

So for your next breakfast, whip up some oatmeal with chocolate! YUM! 

PS: Always use the best quality cocoa available to get a really great end product!

5-Minute Chocolate Oatmeal

Yields: 1 serving

Ingredients:

• Rolled Oats – 40grams
• Milk – ¾ cup
• Banana – 1
• Cocoa Powder – 1 ½ Tablespoon
• Sugar/Unrefined cane sugar/honey – 1 tablespoon
• Salt – a pinch
• Vanilla Extract – ¼ teaspoon

Directions:

• Combine all the ingredients in a pan, and cook for 5-7 minutes over medium heat.
• Keep stirring until cooked.

Whole-Wheat Bread

Seems like a long time since my last post. I have been busy with a lot of stuff at home lately. But I am still trying out new recipes, just couldn’t find time to post them online.

I am so bored with the store bought ‘wholemeal’ bread. When you read the ingredients list printed on these breads packages, you can notice that white flour still has the major percentage than the whole-wheat flour.  I also like my bread with a bit of chewy texture. Believe it or not, I hate white bread!! I know most of you out there remain sceptics when it comes to brown bread, but you have to give it a try, I promise you will start to love it! Brown bread has so many layers of rich flavour and texture, which you cannot get in a plain white loaf!! Previously I have been successful in converting a lot of my friends to switch from white bread to wholemeal!! And I hope after reading this post, more of you join this fab guilt free option.

Baking with yeast is not my forte, I tried two recipes before with no good results. But this recipe is from www.annies-eats.com seemed easy enough. I agree making homemade bread seems too much of a work. But the result is so worth it. I won’t be baking this every week, but it will be a nice switch once in a while from the god awful NTUC wholemeal bread.  FYI I tried dark rye bread from Giant a few times, and I love it.

The dough doubled in volume after 1 hour.

Dough in pan, doubled in volume after 30 minutes.

Whole-Wheat Bread

Yields: Two 9-inch loaves

Ingredients:

2+1/3Cups– Warm Water (around 100°)

1 ½ tablespoon – Instant Yeast

¼ cup – Honey

4 tablespoon – Unsalted Butter, melted

2 ½ teaspoon – Salt

¼ cup – Rye Flour

½ cup – Toasted Wheat Germ* (Toasted the wheat germ in a dry pan on the stove)

3 cups – Whole-wheat Flour (I used Aashirvaad Atta)

2 ¾ cups – Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (I used Plain Flour)

*Wheat Germ - The germ of wheat is the reproductive part of the seed that germinates to grow into a plant. Removal of bran is aimed at producing flour with a white rather than a brown colour, and eliminating fibre.
 Wheat germ is a concentrated source of several essential nutrients including Vitamin E, folic acid, phosphorus, thiamin, zinc and magnesium. It is a good source of fibre.  White bread is made using flour that has had the germ and bran removed. Wheat germ can be added to protein shakes, casseroles, muffins, pancakes, cereals, yogurt, smoothies, cookies, and other goods. 

 Directions: 

• In a bowl, mix the water,yeast,honey,butter and salt with a rubber spatula.
• Mix in the rye flour, wheat germ, and 1 cup of the whole-wheat and all-pupose flour.
• Add the remaining whole-wheat and all-pupose flour, attach the dough hook and knead at low speed until the dough I smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. (If you don’t have a dough hook, then use your hands to knead).
• Transfer the dough to a lightly foured surface and knead the dough for another 30 seconds, until it is soft and smooth.
• Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough inside and cover with plastic wrap or a moist towel.
• Let it rise in a warm area until the dough has doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• Heat the oven to 190° C.
• Gently press down the dough and divide it into two equal pieces.
• Gently press each piece into a rectangle about 1-inch thick and 9 inches long. Roll the dough formly into a cylinder, pressing down to make sure the dough sticks to itself.
• Turn the dough seam side up and pinch it closed
• Place the cylinder of dough into a greased 9 X 5 inch loaf pan, seam side down, pressing the dough gently so it touches all sides of the pan.
• Cover the pan, and let it rise for 20-30 minutes, until the dough has doubled in volume.
• Bake for 35-45 minutes.
• Transfer the bread immediately from the baking pans to a wire rack to cool.

Blueberry Wholewheat Muffins

Oh muffins, how do I love thee? I make these for breakfast all the time. They are super easy to make, and convenient as a grab and go sort of breakfast. There are so many possibilities of what you can add to the muffin batter I am certain you will find a combination that you (and your kids) will love. They freeze beautifully!!

I put strawberries or blueberries in some and some leftover pear that I had on hand in others…and why not raisins?

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour (I used Ashirvad Atta)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup oil
• 3/4 cup orange juice or apple juice
• About 1 cup of total filling (berries, fruit, nuts, etc. – see below for details)
• Muffin/Cupcake liners
• ¼ cup white sugar

Directions

1.      Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl with a fork or whisk mix the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.
3. Make a well (hole) in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in the eggs, honey, vanilla, oil and orange juice.
4. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together – do not over mix.
5. Line a muffin pan with liners and fill 2/3 to 3/4 of the way full with batter.
6. Sprinkle 1 – 2 teaspoons of whatever you would like (from the list below or from your own creation) onto the top of each raw muffin in the pan.
7. Then gently mix each one with a fork or spoon. Here are some options to consider for the fillings:

• blueberries
• diced strawberries
• peeled and diced pears
• either diced or mashed up bananas and chopped walnuts
• grated carrot and chopped walnuts
• orange or lemon zest (only add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of zest per individual muffin)
• a mix of dried fruit bits
• jelly

8.   After the filling has been mixed into each muffin slide the tray into the warm oven and bake for 10 – 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature and freeze some for a later date.

9.   Yield: 12 muffins