Roasted Red Bell Pepper Hummus

You don't have to be a vegan to love hummus. Yet, this vegan, chickpea based middle-eastern dish is great as a dip or a spread. Just dip with pita or tortilla chips for a filling snack. Spread some on a flatbread, fill with veggies and make a wrap. You have got yourself a quick lunch. My LO loves to eat this just by the spoonful. This recipe here can be made and stored in the fridge for several days.

Ingredients:
Cooked Chickpeas - 2 cups (or use 1 can, washed and drained chickpeas)
Garlic - 1 clove
Salt - to taste
Extra virgin olive oil - 3 to 4 tbsp
Red pepper flakes - a pinch (optional)
Red bell pepper - 1 large
Tahini - 2 tbsp (see notes below)
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp

Method:
Roast the red bell pepper in the oven (refer link here for roasting in oven) or char on a flame. When charred all over place in a container with a tight fitting lid and allow it to sweat for 15 minutes. Remove skin and chop finely.
Place the chickpeas, garlic, tahini, red pepper flakes, salt and lemon juice in a blender. With the blender running, drizzle the olive oil and grind the hummus until coarse. Add the roasted red bell pepper (reserving some for garnish) and continue grinding until smooth. Check for seasoning and add salt/pepper flakes as needed. Serve with pita, tortilla, bread, celery, carrots or cucumber. 
Notes:
Tahini is sesame butter. To make tahini at home, toast 2 tbsp of white sesame seeds, allow to cool and blend with 1/2 tsp of olive oil until smooth. Use as needed.
Bonus tip: For a super smooth hummus, try to peel the skin off the cooked chickpeas. For me, I love the skin and the texture it adds.

Tofu Recipes - All in one page

Tofu Golden Triangles

Sweet & Spicy Baked Tofu

Pad Thai Tofu Lettuce Wraps

Sesame Crusted Tofu Salad

Thai Style Mushroom Tofu Soup

Hot and Sweet Basil Tofu

Tofu Bell Pepper Scramble

Szechwan style Tofu with Vegetables

Buddha's Delight

How to make Applesauce at home

My experiment with making applesauce at home began very recently. Though I have heard about the good factors, it never occurred to me to try making it at home. My tryst with the farmer's market shopping made me buy a large bag of apples. I set out to make applesauce the very next day.
It is a very easy process and I froze the cooled pureed applesauce in 1/2 cup measures. I have been using it in place of oil/fat in baking. Remember I have been making muffins and quickbreads and freezing them in batches. It is a goto food when I or my little one want a quick snack.

Ingredients:
Makes 2 cups of applesauce
Apples, Fuji variety - 1 kg (2 lb)
Water - 1/4 cup
Sugar - a pinch (optional)

Method:
Wash, peel and core the apples. Chop into 1" pieces. Place in a heavy bottomed pan with water and sugar. Cover and cook in medium heat for 30-40 minutes until the apples are soft. Allow to cool and puree in the blender until smooth.
This can be used right-away as a snack or as an oil substitute for baking.
Or you could measure 1/2 cup quantities and pour in a freezer safe ziploc bags and freeze flat in a plate. When frozen, place in another large ziptop bag and date it.
To make chunky applesauce:
Reserve half of the cut apples and add them at the 20 minute mark. Blend with an immersion blender or just pulse a few times in the blender.

Morning Glory Muffins (Low Calorie/Vegan) | Muffins and Quick Bread Recipes

My LO has taken a liking to muffins and quick-breads and I am making many varieties of muffin batches like this Very Berry Muffins and this recipe here. This muffin here uses less oil than the typical morning glory muffins and substitutes apple sauce instead. I have also used Agave syrup instead of regular sugar making it a teeny bit naturally sweetened. I store the batch in a freezer safe ziptop bag and pullout one whenever needed and microwave for half a minute. 

Ingredients:
Adapted from here
Makes 12 muffins
Whole Wheat flour - 2 cups (can use a mix of both whole wheat and all-purpose flour)
Cinnamon powder - 2 tsp
Ginger powder - 1 tsp
Baking powder - 2 tsp
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Grated carrots - 2 cups (about 4 medium sized carrots)
Dried fruits - 1/2 cup (I used a mix of cranberries, raisins and figs)
Unsweetened Applesauce - 1 cup (recipe follows)
Oil -1/2 cup (Canola/vegetable)
Agave nectar - 1/2 cup (can substitute honey/maple syrup)
Vanilla extract - 1 tbsp

Method:
Preheat the oven to 375 F/190 C. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with liners or grease with oil. Sieve the dry ingredients (first 6) together. Mix the grated carrots, dried fruits, applesauce, oil, agave and vanilla in a separate bowl with a fork. Pour over the flour mixture and mix until no streaks of flour remain. Set aside for 10-15 minutes (You could also preheat the oven at this time). Fill in muffin tin and bake for 25 minutes. When done, transfer to a cooling rack and cool for 30 minutes. Store in an airtight container for a few days or freeze in a ziptop bag for several weeks.
Note: Fan of nuts? Add 1/2 cup of chopped nuts in the batter before baking.

One minute Orange Chocochip Mug Cake (Eggless) | Microwave Dessert Recipes

For all those who are wondering.. No I did not vanish from the face of the earth. Things had been pretty tiring with the family health side. What started as a common cold with my LO, came rounds with all of us and became worse bringing in its friends cough and sore throat. And yes it has been more than a month and we are still recovering.
As for today's post I keep it simple with a one minute microwave egg-less orange cake until I dust my drafts for more interesting recipes lying there.

Ingredients:
Serves - 1
All purpose flour - 4 Tbsp
Baking powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - a dash
Confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar) - 2 Tbsp
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Milk - 1 Tbsp
Orange juice - 1 Tbsp
Orange zest - from half a small orange
Chocolate chips - 1 tbsp

Method:
Sieve flour, baking powder, salt and sugar and set aside. In a microwave-proof mug, add wet ingredients with orange zest and mix well. Sprinkle dry ingredients over and mix until thick. Pop in the MW and cook for a minute.
Dig in with a spoon and enjoy!