This is the story of how a typo turned into an entree. In Whatsapp group of fellow moms, coordinating the dishes of a potluck, someone offered up a Samoa cake. Misreading that for “Samosa Cake” many of the moms jumped at the prospect: “Samosa cake?! What’s a Samosa Cake?! I want to try it!!”. After clarifying the mix up, some ideas were thrown around as to what a samosa cake would look like. I immediately thought of layers of phyllo dough stacked with a samosa meat mixture, baked and cut in slices. When I looked up for recipes that would meet these requirements, I pulled together elements from a Borek recipe (Turkish layered meat pastry), an Egyptian meat pie, and the filling from a Yemeni Samboosa. There are cubanelle or italian frying peppers here for flavor, often seen in Turkish recipes. There’s tomato paste from the samboosa recipe, an ingredient that is necessary for any red meat dish, in my humble opinion. And the whole layering and baking technique pulls from Egyptian meat pie recipe.
Chocolate Zucchini Bread
There is no rhyme or reason to this cake. It is neither healthy, nor a proper dessert. It is simply for chocolate lovers. It is a glorious use of a bland, high water content vegetable that lends it’s moisture to the crumb of this perfect snack cake. It’s blandness acts as a perfect palette for all the wonderful cocoa and brown sugar flavor to absorb.
I’ve posted about chocolate zucchini cake before. This bread version is a bit heartier with whole wheat flour and almond flour – a little more substance to justify my classification of it as a snacking cake! I wasn’t happy with any of the recipes I found online for chocolate zucchini loaf, so I made my tweaks, including adding chocolate chips, and voila! Perfection.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (or 1 cup AP flour/1 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup almond flour)
- 1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa plus extra for coating chocolate chips(if using natural cocoa, swap the amounts of baking soda and baking powder)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 12 tbsp melted butter
- 1 lb zucchini, grated
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and lightly dust a 9inx5in loaf pan with cocoa powder. Stick in the freezer while preparing your ingredients.
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Turn off heat and allow to cool down.
- Wash and cut off one end of zucchini. Grate, not completely finely, but not in huge slivers either. Place a large sieve over a bowl and place grated zucchini there to drain while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl (everything except the eggs, butter and chocolate chips). Whisk to combine, breaking up any large clumps. Make a well in the center and add eggs and butter. Mix with a wooden spoon (Bengali alert: I used my hands to mix this batter!). Add all of the zucchini and stir until combined. In a small bowl combine the chocolate chips with sprinkling of cocoa (maybe 1/4tsp). Toss to coat the chocolate chips with the cocoa. Add to the batter, gently folding in. Take the loaf pan out of the freezer and add the batter, spreading evenly across the loaf pan. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out relatively clean.*
- Allow to cool completely before attempting to remove it from the pan.
*It won’t come out completely clean due to the moisture of this loaf. A few crumbs are ok. You just don’t want it to come out with wet batter.
Chocolate Candy Cupcakes
After a startling reading on the weight scale towards the end of December, I swore off sugar. Just two years prior I worked so hard to lose my baby weight. Inspired by beach body coaches in my network, I vastly cut down sweets, decreased portion sizes, drank tons more water, swapped quinoa for rice in many of my meals, and began to regularly exercise using Fitnessblender, the only exercise I’ve been able to stick to thanks to the fact that I can choose from workouts of different durations and can do it from the convenience of my home. So I lost the 9 pounds of lingering weight, and 8 pounds on top of that.
And then I fell off the wagon. Slowly but surely I downward spiraled, picking back up my sweets habits and eating rice and curry without restraint. I kept up with the exercise more or less but it wasn’t enough with my slowing metabolism.
So I decided to stop eating foods with added sugar. It’s just one step, but surely it should help. But of course the universe has to align to make this impossible for me. Shortly after making my resolution, I attended a gingerbread house making playdate where I was SURROUNDED by candy and cake and all kinds of good stuff. Soon after that my daughter’s birthday rolled around and somebody’s gotta do QC and make sure things taste right. Amiright?
I did a good job holding off on tasting these, but then I needed a cross section for the blog, so guess where the other half went.
Yup.
This is a really magical combination for the chocolate lover in your life. It’s reminiscent of the creme filled hostess cupcakes, but made even better with quality cocoa in the cupcake and chocolate in the ganache, homemade salted caramel sauce and delicious candy toppings. Remember we eat with our eyes first, and kids moreso than us. So if they see m&ms, they automatically think it’s a superb cupcake.
Enjoy the quick video tutorial below!
This is an adaptation of Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate cake. Because I used Dutch-process cocoa (which is alkalized, or less acidic than natural cocoa), I upped the amount of baking powder and decreased the amount of baking soda from the original recipe. I also used boiling water instead of hot coffee as many chocolate cake recipes call for, as it made for a way too tender a crumb. Perfect in layer cakes, but for cupcakes, you need something with structure.
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup dutch process cocoa (I use Rodelle)
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin/cupcake pan with paper liners. You will need 15 in total. My cupcake pan only has room for 12, so I need to make these in 2 batches.
- In a large bowl or in the bowl of your stand mixer add the sugar. Place a sifter over the top of the bowl and add flour, cocoa, baking powder and soda. Sift the ingredients into the sugar. Add salt. Stir to combine using the paddle attachment.
- In a 4 cup measuring cup or in a medium bowl, measure out the milk and vegetable oil. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well using a fork. With the mixer running on low, slowly drizzle in the wet ingredients into the dry. Stop occasionally to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Turn the mixer back onto low and slowly drizzle in boiling water. Stop the mixer and scrape down with a spatula to ensure the batter is homogenous.
- Using an ice scream scoop, scoop batter into the cupcake liners 2/3 of the way to the top. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- After they cool, hollow out the middle using a small circular cookie cutter. I used the smallest one from this set. I filled it with marshmallow creme using a piping bag and wide tip. I drizzled some salted caramel sauce over them. Then frosted them with chocolate ganache and garnished with chocolate candies.
Crepes
The first time I had crepes was in Paris in 2006. Kids coming home from school were snacking on this conical things wrapped in paper filled with all kinds of chocolately/fruity goodness. My buddy and I did not hesitate. We got ourselves some crepes filled with nutella and slices of banana and our minds were blown. So delicious and, as I’d soon discover, so easy to make, with such simple ingredients?!
Flash forward to 2017 and I’ve made it 34098734287234 times. I’ve filled them with sautéed mushrooms and swiss cheese to serve to guests. With scrambled eggs and spinach for a savory breakfast. Most often though, with nutella/banana or simply with strawberry jam for my sweet-toothed family. It is the THE most requested breakfast item, surpassing pancakes, waffles, french toast, everything. Which works for me since it’s SO EASY and cooks much faster than all those other options.
I’ve pretty much stuck to Alton Brown’s recipe all these years, tweaking it only by adding whole wheat flour and a pinch of salt (it was the only thing missing). For many years I’ve mixed the batter by hand using a whisk, which was a monumental mistake. You end up with lumps of flour in the batter that only go away after the batter sits for a while, hydrating the lumps away. As soon as I started using a blender, I never looked back.
Enjoy this recipe in any sweet/savory permutation you’d like.
Recipe adapted from Alton Brown.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup all purpose flour (I use half whole wheat flour)
- a pinch salt
- 2 eggs
- 3 tbsp butter, melted
Directions
- Melt butter in a small saucepan or in the non-stick skillet. Set aside.
- In a blender, add first five ingredients and blend on low speed, gradually increasing the speed to high. Blend for about 20 seconds. Add melted butter and blend once more for 10 seconds.
- Heat a 9 or 10in non stick skillet to medium heat. Pour 1/3 cup of the batter into a liquid measuring cup. Lift the pan up slightly above the flame and pour the batter onto the pan, tilting the pan around gently so the batter swirls and spreads evenly across the surface. Return to flame and cook for about a minute or until the sides start to loosen from the pan. Flip and cook for 30 seconds more. Remove from pan and set on plate. Continue with remaining batter, stacking the crepes on a plate.
- Serve with nutella, jam, powdered sugar, ,fruit and/or whipped cream.
Royal Icing
I just started decorating with royal icing after all these years. Why have I been torturing myself all these years with confectioner’s sugar/milk concoctions that thin too easily, and pipe too painfully?!
Since royal icing is made with egg whites (I use meringue powder so I don’t have to deal with leftover egg yolks), it has a lot of structure from the protein. Pipes wonderfully for borders and outlines and thins easily for flooding.
I have been a fan of Sana Sodawalla of SugarBase_ for a while now. Her gorgeous marbled cookies, whimsical cakes, and informative videos are something to aspire to. Since I’ve started baking and cake decorating more, I’ve been creating more content tailored to Instagram. I like how the platforms caters to creatives, offering a very visual space to share our content, with lots of real estate for pictures, and just enough for explanatory text.
I’ve created these cookies after watching her technique on marbling sugar cookies. I got the idea for gold splatter after taking a wonderful mommy and me art class I took with a talented local artist on paper collages.
I don’t know if I’ve done justice to Sana’s beautiful cookies, but I hope you try your own version at home. My go to recipe for royal frosting below.
Recipe courtesy of Toba Garrett of ICE.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup meringue powder
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 pound confectioner’s sugar, sifted
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice or extract*
Directions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl using a hand held electric mixer, use the paddle attachment to combine meringue powder and water at low speed until combined. Increase speed to medium and beat until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes.
- Reduce the speed to low and start to add the sugar, one cup at a time, until all of the sugar has been added. Turn the mixer off, scrape down the paddle and sides of the bowl and turn mixer back on to a low speed. Add the lemon juice/extract and increase speed to medium high. Beat for 5 to 7 minutes until you reached the desired level of stiffness. Keep well covered until ready to use. Can be piped, or thinned with small of amounts of water at a time to use for flooding. Will keep for 1 day at room temperature, or 3 days, covered in the refrigerator.
*I prefer lemon extract since the lemon flavor is a lot more pronounced.
Cinnamon Honey Skillet Cornbread
What’s the best gift you’ve ever received? Was it jewelry? A nice bag? Maybe those shoes you’ve been eyeing? For me, it was my engagement ring, hands down. BUT apart from the that, the best gift I continue to receive is from my mother. Every few months she gives me a jar of homemade ginger/garlic paste that is quintessential in Bengali cuisine. Sure, you can buy the jarred stuff from the desi grocery, but it’s just not the same. It’s fresh, preservative free, and it’s made with LOVE. Such a life saver on busy weeknights to not have to peel/chop fresh ginger and garlic.
This time though, she outdid herself. She brought me some homemade GHEE. Ghee, or clarified butter, is made exactly how the French make it. Warm up butter in a pot or saucepan until melted. Then let sit for an hour or two, until the milk solids fall to the bottom, while the fat comes to the top. When she brought it, I opened it up and OH MY NUTTYNESS it smelled good.
So, when I found the recipe for this cornbread in my Thanksgiving edition of Bon Appetit, I knew I wanted to sub the lard with ghee. It was perfect because I’ve had this coarse ground corn meal in my pantry for months, neglecting it because it was too coarse for muffins, but little did I know, perfect for this skillet cornbread. I added cinnamon and honey because I loved the cornbread croutons in Trader Joe’s Fall Harvest salad and I’m pretty sure they have a hint of both ingredients. I’m fairly certain this will be part of our Thanksgiving spread this year as cornnbread dressing. Mmmm.
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit.
Ingredients
- 2 cups coarse ground cornmeal
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp lard, veg oil or ghee
- 1 stick or 1/2 cup butter room temperature
- Fine sea salt for sprinkling
Directions
1. Place a rack in the middle of your oven and place a 9 to 10in cast iron skillet to preheat.
2. In a large bowl, combined corn meal, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. In a separate bowl or mixing cup, combine buttermilk, egg and honey. Slowly add to dry ingredients, stirring with a wooden spoon to incorporate.
3. Wearing oven mitts, carefully remove the skillet from the oven. Melt the ghee/lard/oil and swirl around the skillet. Pour the batter into prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.
4. After removing from oven, add butter to the top of cornbread an allow to melt all over the top. Serve with an extra sprinkling of sea salt.
Lentil and Bulgur Kofte
My heart is hurting. The world is burning. There is no where I can go, or send my family members, that feels safe from natural disaster, disease or rampant violence. Perhaps this is the way it’s always been – just now we are hyper aware because we are hyper connected. The natural disaster stuff is not new. Climate change is. And as a Bangladeshi American, I worry about the effects of glacial melting for a sea-level country like Bangladesh. We already have climate refugees.
Disease is certainly not new (hello plague, small pox, measles and the like). But Planetary Health is. The deterioration of our forests and natural resources that previously acted as a barrier from infectious diseases rampant inside the wilderness.
And the violence. From mass shooters to terrorists to drone strikes. We’ve been killing one another since Cain and Abel. Yet for all our progress, our education, we can’t seem to teach one another empathy. We can be pro-life when it comes to matters of a woman’s right to make decisions, yet when it comes to the life of someone who looks a bit different from us, we only know to act in self preservation.
What does this have to do with these vegan “meatballs”? I’m not sure, except it is a Turkish recipe. And if a certain small handed, orange hued, and even smaller brained individual had his way, contributions like this (both culinary and non-culinary), would come to a halt for a certain period of time. We cannot let fear come in the way of this country’s most powerful asset: our pluralism. We must use our propensity for innovation to tackle this challenge we’ve never faced before: an ideological war. One with no national border, rather the exploitation of the disenfranchised, the bored, the feeble minded.
A wonderful cook and long time associate, Keri Egilmez, shared this recipe with me. You may remember her from the Samboosa recipe I shared a while back. These are not meant to satisfy your cravings for dark, rich, savory meatballs. They work best as an appetizer – light and lemony and the perfect finger food. Also works well over a bed of greens as a light lunch. Afiyet olsen!
Ingredients
- 1 cup Red Lentils
- 1/2 cup fine bulgur
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 Tbsp Red Pepper Paste (or tomato paste)
- Juice of 1 lemon (or half if you like less sour)
- 1/3 cup of parsley, finely chopped
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1/4 tsp crushed red chili flakes or pul biber (aleppo pepper) – optional
Directions
- Place the lentils in a medium saucepan and rinse under running water 2-3 times. Add 2.5 cups water and bring to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes or until all the water is soaked up. Add the bulgur to the pot, give it a stir, and cover until mixture is cool enough to handle.
- In a large skillet or wok, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and cook until softened – 4 to 5 minutes. Add cumin and red pepper or tomato paste. Stir until combined then remove from heat. Add this mixture to the lentil/bulgur mixture.
- Add the lemon juice, parsley, green onion and chili flakes, if using, to the mixture. Stir until everything is combined, then pinch off golf ball sized amounts and lightly press into an oblong shaped ball. Set aside. Continue until all of the mixture is made into kofte (balls).
- Enjoy as is or wrapped in lettuce with a squeeze of lemon. Afiyet olsun!
Ramadan Round Up
Ramadan is halfway over, but there’s still time to make some of my favorite recipes for this time of year! Going clockwise from the top left:
Citrus Quinoa Salad with Dates, Almonds and Mint – we consume a lot of dates during Ramadan. This recipe uses up any extra dates you may have in a salad you can feel good about eating at the end of a long fast!
Meyer Lemon Strawberry Lemonade – I know sugar is the devil. I know. But you have to try this lemonade. It is light years beyond any bottled strawberry lemonade you can find. Recipe adapted from Pioneer Woman.
Basil Smoothie – a surprising staple in many homes I’ve introduced this smoothie to. Basil, yogurt, sugar and ice makes for an unexpectedly refreshing drink.
Tandoori Chicken – an easy, make ahead dish. When you’re fasting, you’re low on energy. So the less time you have to spend on your feet in the kitchen, the better. These chicken legs get a quick marinade of yogurt and spices. Then about 45 minutes before eating, pop them in a hot oven. That is all.
Mint Limeade – aka virgin mojitos. The refreshing flavors of lime and mint make this the perfect compliment to your break-fast meal.
Haleem – a protein packed Ramadan must. It’s one stop, one pot iftar. Stewed meat, grains and lentils combine to make the most filling, comforting dish possible. Can probably make this in your slow cooker as well.
Fruit Chaat – refreshing and easy. Simply combine your favorite fruits – try to ensure varying textures and levels of sweetness. Try apples, grapes, kiwis. Or pineapple, cantelope, raspberries. Or mango, blueberry, nectarine. Leave the yogurt/chaat masala dressing on the side, or mixed in, for a variation of your favorite fruit salad.
Banana Date Nut Bread – another healthy way to use up dates. The potassium from the bananas and dates combined with the fiber from the whole wheat make this bread great to have on hand when you’re short on time for your pre-dawn meal. Can bump up the fiber content with flax seeds, chia seeds, etc.
Aloo Chop (Fried Mashed Potato Balls) – not the healthiest thing on the list, but a comfort food must for many of us South Asians. Mashed potato balls stuffed with bits of hard boiled egg, breaded and fried. Yum!
Aloo Chop (Fried Mashed Potato Balls)
Traditional Bengali iftars are an exercise in how many different ways can we consume fried foods. Ground up lentils and herbs? FRY IT! Fresh sliced eggplant? BATTER AND FRY IT! Whole green chilis? FRY IT! Mashed potatoes? FRY. IT.
There’s been a backlash by my generation against the fried iftars of our parents’ generation:
- “We’re just doing broiled salmon and sauteed green beans for iftar.”
- “I’m doing a green smoothie for iftar.”
- “Every year I gain weight during Ramadan. No fried foods for me this year.”
Yet when we go to the inevitable iftar dawat at our parents’ or aunts’ or grandparents’, we’re still gonna pop a couple of fritters on our plate while no one’s looking. Not the whole deep fried green chilis – dear God no. I don’t know WHO that appeals to. But we can pretty unanimously agree on the Aloo Chop. Any manifestation of a fried potato is right by my books. And when filled with tiny cubes of hard boiled egg, well it becomes a whole darn meal!
I justify it by compounding it with salad. Lots of greens and veggies. And water. I read somewhere on the internets that junk food is ok, as long as you drink lots of water afterward. =)
I went with Yukon gold potatoes, as they are more waxy than Idaho. I didn’t add any butter or milk to the potatoes themselves, as I wanted them to hold their shape as well as they could while sizzling away in the hot oil.
The best part is, they freeze beautifully. Just pop them in the a ziploc before the egg wash/breading stage, and fry them up whenever you want them. These take a little bit of time to prepare, but these are the things childhood memories are made of.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs yukon gold potato, quartered
- 1 tsp kosher salt plus more to taste
- 1 tsp chaat masala*
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup minced cilantro
- 1 green chili, minced (optional)
- 3 hard boiled eggs, chopped small
- a squeeze of lemon juice (optional)
- a dash of salt
- a dash of cayenne pepper
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups seasoned breadcrumbs
- vegetable oil for frying
Directions
- In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water to boil. Carefully lower potatoes and cook until tender: 10-12 minutes. I don’t bother peeling them. I boil them skin on, then when cool to the touch, peel back the skins like my mom used to do.
- Season the potatoes with salt, chaat masala and cumin. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if necessary. Mash with a potato masher. Add scallions, cilantro (all but 1 tbsp of it) and green chili is using**. Then get in there with your hand and incorporate very well. Set aside.
- Season the diced hard boiled eggs with the remaining 1 tbsp cilantro, lemon juice, salt and cayenne pepper. Toss lightly.
- Make balls with the mashed potato mixture by grabbing a handful, rolling into a ball, pressing in to make an indent (see picture above), and fill with a tiny bit of the egg mixture. Enclose the egg mixture fully with the edges of the potato ball. Set aside on a plate or baking sheet and continue making the rest of the balls. At this point you can freeze the balls and fry them off at a later time as needed.
- Heat up oil (enough to come up 2 inches) in a small wok or saucepan to 325 to 350 degrees F. In a shallow bowl, crack eggs and beat lightly. In another shallow bowl, pour out the breadcrumbs. roll each ball in the egg, then in the bread mixture, then lower carefully into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry for 2 to 4 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from oil and onto a paper towel lined plate. Serve with Sriracha or Ketchup.
*Chaat masala is a tangy/salty/spicy spice mix that can bring any dish to life. Easily available at any Indian grocery.
**I wouldn’t recommend adding the green chili unless you are a LOVER of spicy foods. I just have it listed as it is a traditional ingredient.
My Go-To Suhoor (Sehri)
When you were a kid did you have curry for suhoor?
Let me take a few steps back here. Ramadan Kareem everyone! The blessed time of year when Muslims around the world abstain from food & drink (yes, even water) from dawn til dusk. Not just a physical fast, Muslims (healthy, adult) are to abstain from sex, violence and cursing. Particularly trying for those at northern latitudes where the days are long (16+ hours for us in NY), we need to make the most of our pre-dawn and fast-breaking meals. That means nutritious food that will keep our bodies busy breaking down complex carbs and proteins. Just as important: staying hydrated!
So if you’re South Asian, you probably had white rice along with veggies and some hearty curries for your pre-dawn meal (suhoor/sehri). And they probably left you feeling awesome, especially after your post-fajr nap.
Not. They always left me feeling queasy and hungry after a few hours. Don’t get me wrong, hunger pangs are going to strike regardless. It wouldn’t be a fast without the experience of hunger – to humble us, to remind us of our blessings, to connect us to those less fortunate, and to remind us constantly that we are doing it for the sake of God. But in eating whole foods, super foods, foods that are full of complex carbs and hunger abating protein, we can put our best food forward while going about our day to day jobs in non-Muslim countries. Otherwise, it can be challenging, functioning on reduced and disjointed sleep (late night prayers + a meal in the middle of the night) with a lower blood sugar throughout the day making your mental processing faculties a bit foggy.
So here I present my go-to spread for suhoor: overnight oats with fruit and nuts, two hard boiled eggs, toast with peanut butter, banana and chia seeds, coconut water, and water. I may not have all of these items every day, depending on how much time I have on my hands, but the overnight oats and hard boiled eggs are a must. I prepare the oats around the same time that I’m making iftar so it has a good 8 hours to soak in the fridge. When you read the recipe below, you might be turned off to the fact that it’s made with water instead of milk. But if you’ve ever struggled with downing oatmeal because the gummy texture turned you off, you must try it with water. Of course you are free to make it with almond, soy, rice, hemp or coconut milk instead.
Recently, I’ve been topping it with the raspberry compote from my Eton Mess. I don’t want to say it’s divine or anything in case that’s sacrilege – but it’s really really really good.
Combine the complex carbs from the oats with the protein and good fats from the eggs – you are good to go. The potassium from the coconut water and bananas (or dates!) well keep you running. The chia seeds provide a nutritional boost as well given they’re packed with Omega-3s, fiber, and protein. Sometimes I just munch on them as is. They have a wonderful crunchy/chewy texture.
Here are my tips for hard boiling eggs:
- Bring a generous amount of water to boil.
- THEN add the eggs.
- Set the timer for 8 minutes eggsactly (had to).
- When the timer is up, drain the water. Let cool. Don’t peel them ahead of time as they’ll dry out.
- Just before eating, crack them on a surface and roll around. You’ll find these eggs are the easiest to peel.
And here’s my go to recipe for overnight oats (from Quaker):
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup water (or enough to cover the oats)
- pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp fresh fruit or fruit compote
- 1 tbsp chopped walnuts (optional)
- 2 tbsp yogurt (optional)
Directions
- In a mason jar, or recycled jam jar, combine oats, water and salt. Close the lid and give it a shake. Let it sit in the fridge overnight (6-8 hours).
- To serve, top with fruit, nuts and yogurt, if using. Enjoy immediately. And be generous with the fruit! One of the perks of summertime fasts are the glorious fruits available, particularly at your local farmers market.