Fruit on Kitchen3N

Raspberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Thu, 30 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000

I recall as a kid, I would get visibly angry if upon cutting into a cake at someone’s birthday party, the interior revealed a pale cake with fruit wedged between the layers. I mean c’mon! Save the fruits for the healthy afterschool snack. If I’m dressing up and buying you a present, the least you can do is serve up some decadent chocolately goodness. I mean as I kid I wasn’t on the hunt for swiss chocolate or anything, heck I’d be happy if they served the Entenmann’s double chocolate cake over any of those cakes from my childhood. The one exception I make: raspberries. But only when smothered in chocolate, no less. Chocolate and raspberry will forever be one of my favorite flavor combinations. The chocolate/raspberry mousse cake from my local bakery was a long time favorite of mine, until my palette changed and only my homemade chocolate cake will do. So I created this homemade version, using swiss meringue buttercream instead of mousse as they are similar in texture and sweetness. In traditional Naureen style this is chocolate ganache dripping all over the cake, the perfect accent to the raspberry and chocolate layers underneath.

Pastry Pillows

Mon, 27 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000

I'm baaaaaaaack! After recovering from hosting Thanksgiving dinner, I'm back in the kitchen making some of my favorite things: small bites, filled with butter, sugar, then topped with more fat and more sugar. Yeah! Just in time for the holiday season, I'm whippin' out my trusty old "100 Best Cookies" catalogue from Better Homes and Gardens that I got way back when I used to live Poughkeepsie (2010). I don't celebrate Christmas, but I love all the holiday baking that comes along with the season. I've also been watching a whole lot of The Great British Baking Show so I'm super inspired by all the different creations I see on the screen. What shall I bake next? A Stollen (a German holiday bread studded with dried fruit with a marzipan center)? A chocolate twist bread? Chocolate revel bars? I'm enjoying the down time to explore cakes' buttery brethren - though I'll be back in the kitchen baking cakes as of tomorrow =).

I was fascinated by this recipe. Most pastry dough requires skillful combining of cold butter and flour in order to achieve flaky texture, but this fool proof dough creams together butter and cream cheese and mixes in flour. Somehow they puff up in the oven and look like glorious buttery pillows. The best kind of bedding I’d say! I did something sneaky and subbed mini chocolate chips for the jam in some of my later pillows. Hope you enjoy these as much as my friends and family have!

Tropical Green Smoothie

Fri, 29 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0000

I just realized that it’s been 2 years since I lost the baby weight. I realize it because I’m slowly putting the weight back on (oh no!).

It’s hard being smaller than your natural dress size! I look at all the women in my family, and post childbirth, we are all at least a size 8 and pear shaped.

I’m 5'1 and for the longest time after my second kid, I was stuck at 129 pounds. Inspired by my Barnard classmate, Asiya Khaki, photographer and beach body coach, I decided to get in shape. I started doing 25 minute interval training workouts with FitnessBlender. I cut out sugar almost entirely. Subbed quinoa for rice in pretty much every meal.

Citrus Quinoa Salad With Dates, Almonds, and Mint

Sat, 23 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Ramadan is coming up! I figured I should add a few more Ramadan friendly recipes to the blog, for those of us who are looking to depart a bit from the usual fried foods iftars. During these long summer days when we're denying ourselves food and liquid for 15 hours straight, we need to treat our bodies well! This is a dish you can feel good about eating, that's not going to make you crash before the long night of ibadah (prayers) you have lined up.

This recipe is based on one from Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table. I know a quinoa salad is not the first thing you think of when you consider French cuisine, but she’s filled her cookbook with things she makes for her family, without strictly adhering to a particular cuisine. In our hyperconnected world, it’s kind of impossible to resist influences from other regions. She’s got a Moroccan Tagine and carrot salad, small plates from her American upbringing, French pastries and traditional stews from her current residence. And she’s kind of an authority when it comes to food so I trust her with my quinoa!

On Pomegranate

Wed, 05 Nov 2014 00:00:00 +0000

It’s pomegranate season, y’all! Just kidding. I’ve been watching too much Pioneer Woman.

But seriously, it’s pomegranate season (somewhere in California). Have you noticed them stacked by the entrance at your local grocery store? Have you picked one (or a couple) up and taken them home and painstakingly popped out each seed, only to watch the beautiful mound get depleted in seconds? If you haven’t, then you must. Right now. And don’t give me the excuse that your store doesn’t have them. I would find them at my local Hannaford when I used to live in Nowheresville, NY (aka Poughkeepsie). They seem to come in late September and lasted through the fall. It’s such a refreshing change up in the fall fruit line up from the usual suspects: apples, pears and pumpkins.

Mango Time

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000

For most people, this time of year means cherry blossoms, longer days, warmer weather, or taxes. For me, it’s mango season. They hold a permanent place in my fruit bowl during the warmer months. There has been a steady trickle of the fruit with each and every visit from nana or nanu, since the first day my daughter uttered the word “am” (bengali for mango). And when the season’s first real ones came in, that trickle became a waterfall, with literally boxes of the golden treats coming through the door every week. Not complaining here. In fact, I feel kind of guilty. We have access to an exceptional source: Jackson Heights. Not sure why, even at the specialty grocery store here in Forest Hills, I haven’t found the quality or quantity available in my old hood.

Berries n Sour Cream

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

I think everyone has found themselves in the following situation: item X was on sale so, naturally, you stock up and reap the benefits of your frugality for weeks to come. Except, sometimes, this item doesn’t have a great shelf life. So you can start putting it in everything you eat, or just suck it up and toss it at some point. That’s what happened when my husband bought several tubs of sour cream (originally for spinach and artichoke dip for my daughter’s birthday party). After the last chip had been dipped, I started putting it into everything I could think of–mashed potatoes, sour cream pound cake, even pancakes (which did not go so well). I still hadn’t exhausted my supply when said hubby asked if we had any whipped cream to eat with some strawberries we had lying around. Inspired by sheer laziness, I came up with the following: berries with (sweetened) sour cream.