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Strawberry Cobbler

Fruit desserts have always been my favourite, especially if that fruit is in season! I always wait eagerly for the strawberry season. One of the many perks of being in Pune is the proximity to Mahabaleshwar, which accounts for nearly 75- 85% of strawberries produced in India. Pune gets fresh supply of these red beauties daily. 

This tart fruit was introduced to India by the British. Mahabaleshwar was developed as a hill station during the British Raj and was the summer capital of Bombay Presidency. The cool climate and red soil benefitted the growth of strawberries here and hence this entire Panchgani-Mahabaleshwar belt is now famous for the production of strawberry along with other berries like mulberry, gooseberry and raspberry.  Mapro, Mala and Manama have set up their big centres for manufacturing of preserves, jams, toppings, crushes etc., in the vicinity. Continue reading “Strawberry Cobbler”

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Mint & Peas

Peas are in season now and I had a bumper crop in my vegetable garden. It was absolutely fun picking the peas in pods from the climbers and god only knows how many I must have gobbled up while picking!  They were so fresh and the pods so tender because I picked them early on while the peas were small. I decided why not use these tender pods as well along with the peas to make a nice hearty soup for the cold winter nights! The pods are otherwise not used unlike the snap peas and the snow peas where the pods are eaten regularly. These tender pods of the green peas are very much edible and contribute to the dietary fibre.  And using fresh mint from the garden was like a marriage made in the heaven! Peas pair really well with mint and the soup gets its freshness from the mint. I also have a very nice recipe for a pea and potatoes salad with a mint dressing in my repertoire. I will be sharing the recipe for this salad along with the Mint and Peas soup, in this blog. Enjoy! Continue reading “Mint & Peas”

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The fennel-tastic Salad!!!

Fennel takes me back to the school days. Mostly every school in India would have street vendors outside the gate of the premises selling school kids their favourite food stuff like salted raw mango slices, amla slices, karvand (bush plum), ber(Indian jujube), tamarind and fresh fennel seeds on fronds! Little did I know at that time that this very fennel has bulbs from which the stalks grow and that the bulbs are edible raw as well as cooked! Continue reading “The fennel-tastic Salad!!!”

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Me Eat Cookie … Om nom nom !!!

I have not just one but two cookie monsters in my house unlike the only cookie monster from the famous television show Sesame Street! Both my kids are crazy about cookies. And just like Cookie Monster, they like to show their inclination to eating healthy once in a while and start talking about flourless food. To satiate their cookie mania and at the same time encourage their desire to eat healthy, I bake these absolutely gorgeous peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies for them. Of course the sugar needs to be pardoned 🙂 Continue reading “Me Eat Cookie … Om nom nom !!!”

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Yule Log – Perfect Cake to Welcome Santa!!!

One of my favourite festivals is just around the corner. I love Christmas because it is filled with the warmth of the loved ones against the chill in the air, it is filled with festivity and positivity and last but not the least it is a festival for the sweet tooth! One such cake that I love baking and decorating is the Yule log or the Buche De Noel as it is called in the European countries. This cake is actually a swiss roll or a roulade made from sponge filled with a sweet filling and decorated to resemble a log of wood. Continue reading “Yule Log – Perfect Cake to Welcome Santa!!!”