Savory Semolina Muffins and No Bake Date & Nut Fudge

Today's post is all about trying recipes from the fellow bloggers. Almost a decade back when I started to have adventures in my kitchen, Bawarchi.com was the main or I should say only place where I would go searching for the Indian recipes. But many a times even I liked the recipes but because of lack of photos I never tried those. I always love reading cookbooks also with food photos. Fast forward o 2009, I discovered food blogs while looking for some recipes and instantly loved that how everything is given with photos. Result is my list of bookmark recipes, sometime I feel, to find a bookmarked recipe I need some sort of search program....I can't help bookmarking, because the details and pictures in the recipe make me go "try this one...try this one". So, to solve that problem I try to make the recipe same day I discover it(provided I have everything on hand plus time to make it). My first trial was Ragi Roti and in the past couple of weeks I tried 2 more recipes : No Sugar Nuts Fudge from Creative Saga and Savory Semolina Cake from Red Chillies, they have also adapted these recipes from other food blogs.

Now for the recipes I mainly followed the actual recipes but with some changes according to my taste & availability of ingredients.So for actual recipes please check the respective blogs as I'm going to mention only the changes I made.

1) No Bake Date & Nut Fudge actual recipe NoSugar Nuts Fudge(Creative Saga) :

Actual recipe doesn't ask to soak the dates but I did soaked them in 2 Tblsp. of warm milk as that made it easy to puree them. But that also add little extra moisture, so for that add either more oats or nuts. But I added sesame seeds & wheat germ which balanced it. Also, I kept only few pieces outside & rest in the fridge as I've used milk in it.

I made two versions, first version was for kids so I used almond meal instead of coarsely grind almonds & I didn't used any walnuts in this. Added 2 Tblsp. of Wheat germ + 1 Tblsp. of instant oats.

Second version : Coarsely grind almond & walnuts. I also added around 1 Tblsp. each brown & black toasted sesame seeds and 1 Tblsp. of wheat germ.

NOTE : a) If you are new to black sesame seeds, it's better to use them in combination with regular sesame seeds you use, as the flavor is really strong, but they have more calcium, for more details check here.

b) Wheat germ is a concentrated source of several essential nutrients & essential fatty acids. Which is naturally found in whole wheat flour. I use it in my baking & cooking whenever I'm using any other flour than whole wheat flour. I don't remember the actual source from where I read it but it said it should be used sparingly as it is concentrated form of nutrients and it also need to be stored in fridge as it can easily become rancid if not stored properly.

2) Savory Semolina Muffins actual recipe Savory Semolina Cake(Red Chillies)

Changes I made in this recipe were :

• chopped broccoli florets instead of peas
• no sugar I used only salt
• 2 Tblsp. of wheat germ
• baked them as muffin in regular muffin tin for 22 minutes at 375 degree F.

Loved the taste of Upma & the ease of baking it in the evening & having it for weekday breakfast next morning.

Thanks to Sowmya & Supriya for sharing these recipes. I feel this is the best way to celebrate my 50th post in this blog world by saying thanks to my blogger friends & enjoying some of their recipes.

Irish Soda Bread

"I'm always watching my weight. I don't eat sweets like cookies or chocolate. But bread is different. I can't even have one piece, because when I start, I don't stop." by : Daniela Pestova

Photography by "R" with her original idea

I choose Irish Soda Bread as my first bread to bake by myself for one particular reason : it's very easy to follow instant recipe with few ingredients(i had everything in my kitchen) & i feel it's kind of foolproof recipe for a first time bread baker(maker).Now, what exactly is Irish Soda Bread ?

It's a type of quick bread in which bread soda (otherwise known as sodium bicarbonate or baking soda) is used for leavening rather than the more common yeast. The ingredients of traditional soda bread are flour, bread soda, salt, and buttermilk. Other ingredients can be added such as raisins, egg or various forms of nuts. Soda bread dates back to approximately 1840, when bicarbonate of soda was introduced to Ireland. Soda bread eventually became a staple of the Irish diet.

Actual recipe is from Parents.com it says Irish Brown Bread over there, but i guess it's same as Irish Soda Bread because it uses Soda & buttermilk which are the key ingredient for this bread.Though i did made few changes after doing my web search and result was pretty good.

Ingredient :

1. 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour(Maida)
2. 1-1/2 cups whole-wheat flour(I used regular chappati flour)
3. 1/2 cup quick oats
4. 1/2 cup wheat germ
5. 1-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6. 1/2 teaspoon baking powder(not in actual recipe but i added it)
7. 3/4 teaspoon salt
8. 1-3/4 cups buttermilk
9. 2 tablespoons honey

Directions :

1. Heat oven to 400°F. In bowl, combine all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, quick oats, wheat germ, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

2. In small bowl, using fork or a whisk mix buttermilk with honey(Spray your measuring spoon with Non-stick spray, so that honey doesn't stick with the spoon). Add liquid ingredients to flour mixture; stir to combine.

3. Turn dough out onto floured surface & gently bring it together(no need to knead the dough) and shape into a circle( I greased my hands using 3-4 drops of Olive Oil while forming it into circle). With a sharp knife cut a X mark on top of the loaf around 1&1/2 inch deep.

4.Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes( You can use a Pizza stone if you have one, I used greased Cast Iron Skillet).

5. Reduce temperature to 375°F and bake 15 minutes more or until the bread sounds hollow when you tap it. Let cool 20 minutes.

Ready to go in the Oven

And It's Ready.

Note : Mine was baked in exactly 30 minutes but timings may vary from oven to oven.

Review by my family : Here in this section I'm planning to keep a note regarding the review of my experiment under the following categories, which i feel will be helpful to anyone who wants to try this recipe & also, if after long time I myself want to repeat the recipe.

Look : We all loved it how it look. My daughter said it's pretty but doesn't look like bread b'coz she never saw a round bread before.Now time to cut it .

Crust & Inside : Had a great hardy crust(for DD it was too hard....did I told you guys that she takes crust of her sandwich bread too)but she liked the inside of it.Inside was kind of textured (crumbly but not falling apart)It's not airy like french baguette but it's hardy.Like to mention here that this bread was quite filling one, i guess b'coz of the whole wheat flour & oats I used in the recipe.

Serving Suggestions : DD eat it with her favorite strawberry jam.Adults liked it eating it plain or toasted slice with butter.I even ate it with lentil soup in the lunch, tasted delicious.

Storing : Kept two slices on the shelf for first two days. Second night moved it to fridge.Because of the milk used in the recipe I was not sure about storing it outside for longtime.

Rating : I had never tasted Irish Soda Bread before, so really can't compare. But i would say overall it tasted really good(everybody in the family liked it).Good choice for bread making beginners like me.Pretty Easy to make.

Don't forget to checkout my next experiment with Bread making/baking. And "Diwali Mubarak" to all of You.

I'm sending this delicious Irish Soda Bread to CFK-Wheat guest hosted by Sireesha of Kidz Delight, event authored by Sharmi .