Black Forest Cake

Yield: 12 servings
  

Ingredients

½ cup (110 g) butter, softened
1+¼ cup (275 g) sugar
2 eggs
1+¼ cup (140 g) all-purpose flour
½ cup (50 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, natural
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup (1.8 dl) buttermilk

Ingredients for filling

¼ cup Kirschwasser (Kirsch/cherry brandy), optional
2 cans (14 oz or 400 g) cherry pie filling or pitted cherries
3 cups (7.2 dl) heavy whipping cream, chilled
¼ cup confectioners' sugar
Milk chocolate curls or shavings, for garnish
Maraschino cherries or sweet cherries, for garnish, optional

Source: http://www.cacaoweb.net/blackforestcake.html

Paneer Tikka Masala in Punjabi Fashion

Ingredients

  5 tsp. lemon juice

• 1 tsp. grated ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 green chili, chopped
• 3 tbsp. chopped coriander
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• salt to taste
• 250g paneer cut into cubes.
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 2 onions, chopped in 1-inch long thin slices
• ¼ tsp. turmeric powder
• 3-4 tbsp. thick yogurt
• ½ cup milk

• 
  

• Directions

  
  
  
  
• Mix together lemon juice, ginger, garlic, green chili, half of the coriander, chili powder, salt, and paneer in a bowl .  Cover and leave to marinate for an hour.
• Heat oil in a pan and cook onions for 3-4 minutes on low flame till transparent.  Add turmeric powder, yogurt, milk and the remaining coriander.  Stir for a few minutes till the sauce thickens.
• Add the paneer mixture in the sauce and cook for 5 minutes on medium flame. Adjust the seasoning.
• Serve hot garnished with fresh coriander with your choice of Indian bread or rice.

• 
  

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter, divided
• 4-1/2 teaspoons butter, softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
• 4 milk chocolate candy bars (1.55 ounces each), coarsely chopped
• Colored sprinkles, optional

Directions

• In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup peanut butter, butter, confectioners' sugar and salt until smooth; set aside.
• In a microwave, melt the chocolate chips, candy bars and remaining peanut butter; stir until smooth.
• Drop teaspoonfuls of chocolate mixture into paper-lined miniature muffin cups. Top each with a scant teaspoonful of peanut butter mixture; top with another teaspoonful of chocolate mixture. Decorate with sprinkles if desired. Refrigerate until set. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 3 dozen.

Nutrition Facts: 1 piece equals 123 calories, 8 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 2 mg cholesterol, 76 mg sodium, 12 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1-1/2 fat, 1 starch.

Source: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Homemade-Peanut-Butter-Cups

I am so happy today

Today, i.e Ist of july, I'm so happy.....
As today I got my 1st blog......

Via this blog, I would share lots and lots of new recipes and kitchen tips... so keep updated....

SMILE!!!!!!!!

I'm sooo excited today
as my all worries washed away like anything

9 steps to a healthier you!

9 steps to a healthier you!

9 steps to a healthier you

Weight loss, overweight, remove dietery fat, crash diets, obese, starvation, fasting, no carb foods… all these are marketing jingles that are commonly associated with gimmicks for weight and fat loss. But unfortunately, no one understands the far reaching implications of these and very often, the gullible relate to them for good, sound health.

But good sound health is only 9 steps away if you can follow these guidelines.

1. Be regular in your routine

Stick to your biological clock. Most of us cannot do this because of our busy and hectic lifestyles but this is one of the most important factors to maintain good health. Our body has set all our activities and habits on its own clock known as biological clock and it is maintained by the body in our routine. That is the reason we feel sleepy at a particular time and hungry as per our meal time. Changes in these habits are acceptable only upto a certain extent. If you are suffering from problems like sleeplessness or constipation, you are definitely not following your biological clock.

2. Stick to nature

In the name of ‘convenience’ most of us are now preferring processed foods which are really very harmful for us when consumed over prolonged periods. The additives such as colours, preservatives, artificial sweeteners in these foods are very unhealthy. Fruits and vegetables along with other cereals, pulses, eggs, meat, fish, and poultry are able to fulfill all our body requirements.
As far as possible do prefer natural foods in its natural form only.
Following are few examples that can be illustrated to understand this better:

• Prefer whole fruit instead of fruit juices.
• Vegetable like carrots, beetroot are more nutritious when added to salads rather than in juice form.
• Do not peel off fruits like apple, chickoo, pear etc.
  

In case of foods where raw intake is not possible, follow a correct method of preparation. For example do not overcook the food or prefer microwaved and steamed foods instead of deep-fried and fatty foods.

3. Seasonal adaptations

Changes in the season influence greatly on the health of an individual. So in order to counterbalance we need to change our diet as per the season. For instance, we should include more water and other fluids in the diet during summer whereas the consumption of carbohydrates and fats should be high during winter.

4. Do not overeat

Anything in excess is always harmful and food is not an exception! Overeating for prolonged time leads to overweight and obesity. We should plan and divide our food in three or four meals but avoid eating in excess. According to Ayurveda, a meal should be eaten on time and its quantity should be in such a way that 2 parts of stomach are occupied by food, 1 part by water and 1 part should be empty in order to have proper digestion.

5. Be away from salty & spicy foods

Salt and spices are part of our cuisine but the quantity in which we are consuming them is of prime importance. Salt is a main source of sodium in our diet but its high consumption is correlated with hypertension and high blood pressure. Also excessive spicy food is very harmful for our health. We can definitely cut down the excessive salt by use of lime juice, black pepper powder, coriander etc in food.

6. Prefer carbohydrates especially starch & fibre

Most of us use to exclude carbohydrates from our diet as a part of the weight management but it is always preferable to include complex carbohydrates such as starches and fibres instead of simple sugars from juices, table sugar, milk and honey. The main reason is the digestion of the complex sugars is comparatively at the slower rate than the simple ones, that is, these sugars take longer time for digestion. Starches are good substitutes for fats and sugars as they contain fibre. Fibre in diet reduces cholesterol and also plays a vital role in avoidance of constipation. On the other hand simple sugars get directly absorbed in blood.

7. Say no to high fat, cholesterol & saturated fat

Intake of meat, fish, poultry, eggs, ghee, butter, vanaspati etc needs to be in moderate quantities. Try and avoid high sugar and fried foods.
Following listed foods should be avoided or limited where ever we can:

• Soft drinks
• Doughnuts
• French fries
• Chips
• Fried non fish sea foods such as shrimps, oysters, lobsters etc
• Coffee
• Processed meats like bacon, sausages etc.
• Canned products
• Refined white flour
• Cookies
• Chocolates
• Dried coconut
• Butter
• Cream
• Burgers
• Pizza
• Fried chicken
• Hotdogs
• Ice cream
• Cakes
• Commercial breakfast cereals
• Baked foods
• Processed cheese products
  

8. Maintain height: weight ratio

Being slightly underweight is always better than overweight. Even if overweight, it should deduct in a right way & gradually otherwise it will invite major health problems or can be fatal. Our body requires energy for various activities including voluntary actions such as running, walking, typing, talking etc and involuntary actions such as respiration, digestion, pumping of heart etc. Basal metabolism, thus, represents a minimum energy required by the body for all these basic life processes. It varies with individual depending on different factors such as body size, age, diet, climate, genetic differences etc. We need to plan our diet taking into consideration all these factors.

9. Variations in diet

None of the foodstuffs can provide all the nutrients in the required amount. So we need to include different food groups in combinations. This will also remove monotony and also fulfil our entire nutrient requirement. Following are main food groups:

• Milk, dal, meat, fish, egg
• Fresh fruits & vegetable
• Cereals, pulses & cereal products
• Oils, fats, sugar & jaggery

We need to manage our meals in a way all these foods are covered.

Thus we can see that it is not a daunting task to maintain our well being.

SOURCE: http://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/this-month's-special.aspx?utm_campaign=&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_source=WCMcloud.com&utm_content=