Strawberry Oatmeal Squares

A few weeks back, I made a large batch of strawberry jam. Yesterday, I decided to turn the leftover jam into something else. After hunting for a suitable recipe, I came across a simple one  for raspberry oatmeal bars which made use of ingredients I already had. Judging from the reviews of the original recipe, it seemed to be a pretty good one.  Since I needed to use up my homemade strawberry jam, that's what I used but any kind of jam would work here.

Ingredients:

(For 16 squares)

• scant ½  cup brown sugar
• scant 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup instant oats
• ¼  teaspoon baking soda
• A pinch of  salt
• 6 Tbsp butter, melted
•  ¾   cup  jam

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line an 8x8-inch baking dish with foil and grease well.

Mix the flour, oats, brown sugar, salt and baking soda together in a bowl. Pour in the melted butter and mix it well into the other ingredients with your hand.

Dump about half of the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Spread to form an even layer and pat down firmly.  Spread the jam over this layer. (Make sure you don't spread it too close to the sides of the pan- I made the mistake of spreading my jam a little too close to the edges and had some burnt jam along the edges, stuck to the foil.) Top with the remaining mixture and press down lightly.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool and cut into squares.  

Strawberry Buttermilk Cake

Strawberries are available year-round at all grocery stores, but the local strawberry season has been brief and is nearing its end. I've been trying to do as much as possible with these sweet and juicy berries before I'm forced to buy the tasteless ones off the supermarket shelves.

Recently, I was looking for a recipe where I could do something different with strawberries, but after going through a whole lot of recipes on the Internet, I finally decided to just tweak a Martha Stewart recipe that I'd tried a few months back.

I used buttermilk in my cake after I saw this. I always have buttermilk in my fridge and I’d just bought strawberries a few days back.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• A pinch of salt
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar (set aside 2 tsp for sprinkling over the berries)
• 1 egg
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 10-12 strawberries, finely chopped
• 6-10 strawberries, quartered
• 1/4 cup white chocolate morsels

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375 F and grease your baking dish of choice. I used my 9" springform pan for this.

In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In another bowl, beat together the egg, softened butter, sugar, buttermilk, and vanilla extract. Stir in the flour mixture in small batches and mix well after each addition.

Add the chopped strawberries (I tossed the fruit pieces in some flour first to prevent them from all sinking to the bottom of the batter) and chocolate chip morsels and mix well.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Arrange the sliced strawberries on top of batter, cut sides down, and sprinkle the remaining sugar over the strawberries.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. The insides of my cake were done in 45 minutes but the surface looked uncooked, so I carefully broiled it for 5 minutes.

Slice and serve.

Strawberry Cake

I've been baking a lot lately. Here is a strawberry cake I made recently using a recipe from the Martha Stewart website.



Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• A pinch of salt
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar (set aside 2-4 tsp for sprinkling over strawberries)
• 1 egg
• ½ cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2-2 ½ cups of sliced strawberries

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease your baking dish of choice. I wanted to bake this cake in smaller batches, so I used a small baking dish and 2 mini loaf pans instead of the 10-inch pie dish used in the recipe.

In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In another bowl, beat together the egg, softened butter, sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Stir in the flour mixture in small batches and mix well after each addition.

Transfer the batter to the prepared baking dishes. Arrange the sliced strawberries on top of batter, cut sides down, and sprinkle the remaining sugar over the strawberries.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Slice and serve.

Strawberry Balsamic Jam

Last year, I made jam for the very first time. The process was pretty simple and straightforward and not as daunting as I had thought it would be. Yesterday, after a very long time, I made another batch of the same jam. I used my original recipe but made a couple of changes. This time I added a splash of balsamic vinegar to the strawberries while they were cooking. I also substituted the cloves with some nutmeg. Both balsamic vinegar and nutmeg turned out to be fantastic additions to the recipe and the resulting jam had the most wonderful taste.

Ingredients:

• 1 16 oz. pack of strawberries, hulled and chopped
• ½ - ¾ cup sugar (I used ½ cup- adjust according to your taste and sweetness of the strawberries)
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Juice of half a lime
• 1/4 tsp or a large pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• A pinch of salt

Method:
Place the chopped strawberries in a saucepan and cook, stirring frequently until the juices are released. Crush the larger pieces of fruit.

When it starts to boil, add the sugar, balsamic vinegar, lime juice, nutmeg powder and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens (it took me about 25-30 minutes).

Allow the jam to cool and transfer it to a clean jar. Store in the refrigerator. It will keep for at least a week.

Corn And Scallion Pancakes With A Spiced Strawberry Syrup

This pancake recipe is something I’d hastily jotted down from some cookbook while I was in the long check-out line at the library.



Ingredients:
(For approximately 10 pancakes)
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cornmeal (I used white)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp sugar
Salt
2¼ cups buttermilk
2 eggs
2 Tbsp butter, melted
¾ cup corn (I used some frozen corn that I’d thawed)
3-4 scallions, sliced (I used both white and green parts)
Oil/Butter to grease the skillet

Method:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt.

In another bowl, mix together the buttermilk, eggs, and butter. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Set the batter aside for 10-15 minutes.

Stir in the chopped scallions and corn just before making the pancakes.

Grease a hot skillet with oil/butter; pour a ladleful of the pancake batter. Tilt the skillet around a bit so that the batter spreads out a little.

Cook on medium heat until the bottom is golden brown. Flip the pancake and cook the other side similarly. Repeat with the remainder of the batter.

Serve with your favorite syrup. I did not have any at home. So I looked around for something else I could use instead and saw a jar of strawberry jam in the refrigerator. So that is what I ended up using to make the syrup. I could have thinned it out a bit more, though.

Spiced Strawberry Syrup



Here's how I made the syrup:

I heated 1 tsp of oil and added 1- 2 finely chopped jalapenos (deseed and devein to reduce heat) to it. Then, I added ¾ cup of strawberry jam/jelly (I used Smucker's strawberry jelly) and a pinch of salt. I cooked this for 3-5 minutes. I added the juice of 2 small limes at the end to round off the flavors.

The sweet, sour and spicy syrup was the perfect accompaniment to the pancakes.

Strawberry Jam

Despite the fact that strawberries are available year round here and we buy them regularly, I really don't do much with them when I bring them home. Usually, they end up in some kind of a milkshake or smoothie, or I make some kind of a dessert using them.

In my previous post I'd mentioned that we'd gone strawberry picking. We came back home with more strawberries than I knew what to do with. We enjoyed some as is, then had some more with balsamic syrup (which by the way is the best way to enjoy strawberries, in my opinion), and then I made this.

By this point I was down to 2 cups of strawberries and was looking to make something that I'd never tried before. I decided that it was time to give jam-making a shot. While searching for recipes, I came across many simple ones for making jam before I finally discovered Zainab's recipe, which was by far, the easiest of them all. I also found Mandira's adaptation of the original version. And so, with the help of these two recipes, I set out to make my own jam for the first time ever last week.

Ingredients:
2 cups strawberries, hulled and quartered
3/4 cup brown sugar (adjust according to sweetness of berries)
3 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ tsp powdered cloves
A pinch of salt

Method:
Place the quartered strawberries in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring often. Crush the larger pieces of fruit. Skim any foam that rises to the top if necessary.

As soon as it starts to boil, add the brown sugar, lemon juice, clove powder and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens (it took me about 30-35 minutes).

Allow the jam to cool to room temperature, spoon into a clean jar (2 cups of strawberries gave me just enough jam to fill the small jar you see in the picture above) wipe the rim with a clean cloth or paper towel, and seal with lid. Store in the refrigerator. It will keep for at least a week.

Sterilizing the jars is required for long-term storage; I did not do it since I did not expect the jam to last more than a week. To preserve the jam longer, sterilize, pack and seal in canning jars according to the manufacturer's instructions. You can find some guidelines here if you are interested.

Nothing beats the feeling of making your own jam. And because I’d made my own jam, H and I had a breakfast of bread, butter and homemade jam for dinner that night!
Making jam was so incredibly easy that I'm wondering why I hadn't tried it before.

This goes to the Happy Cook for her event, Strawberry Feast.

Strawberry Crisp

H and I went strawberry picking over the weekend at one of the pick-your-own farms in our area, and returned home with nearly 3 quarts of sweet, red and juicy strawberries. Once back home, I set about cleaning the strawberries and gathering the ingredients required to make a crisp, a baked fruit dessert with a sweet, crunchy topping- one of the easiest ways to enjoy fresh fruit.



I adapted a recipe I came across on Kristin’s The Kitchen Sink Recipes.

(For 4-5 servings)Ingredients:
4 cups/1 quart strawberries, hulled and quartered
¼ cup sugar (adjust according to sweetness of strawberries)
Juice of a lemon
3 Tbsp cornstarch
A pinch of salt

For the topping:
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup rolled oats
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ -3/4 tsp cinnamon
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted (plus more for greasing the baking dish)
A pinch of salt

Method:Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter one 8x8-inch baking dish and set aside.
In a bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, oats, chopped walnuts, and cinnamon. Add the melted butter and mix well (I used my hands here) until the mixture begins to hold together.
Place strawberries in a bowl; add sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch (I used some Brown and Polson custard powder I had since I did not have any cornstarch) and toss well to combine. Place in the buttered baking dish and sprinkle the topping over the surface evenly. (I had about 3-4 Tbsp of topping remaining after using it for this crisp so I refrigerated the rest.)

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the fruit juices are bubbling around the edges of the dish.
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.



I'm sending this across to the Happy Cook for her event, Strawberry Feast.
I think the first picture fits the theme for Jugalbandi's Click: Bi-colour.

Strawberry and Apricot Shake

Blend together strawberries, a handful of apricots, honey, milk, yogurt, and a splash of vanilla extract for flavor. Chill. Serve.

I'm sending this across to the Happy Cook for her event, Strawberry Feast.

Chocolate Panna Cotta with Strawberry Sauce

This is one of the numerous posts that has been languishing in my drafts folder for months now. Blogging is beginning to seem like "work" these days!


Panna cotta is an Italian dessert made by simmering together cream, milk and sugar, mixing this with gelatin, and letting it cool until set. An Italian phrase which literally means "cooked cream", it generally refers to a creamy, set dessert from the Northern Italian region of Piedmont. It is eaten all over Italy where it is served with wild berries, caramel or chocolate sauce. (Source: Wikipedia)


Recipe source: Williams-Sonoma

For the chocolate panna cotta:
Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups heavy cream
1 packet/envelope plain gelatin( Strict vegetarians, please use whatever substitutes you have available.)
2 Tbsp Mascarpone cheese
3 Tbsp sugar
A pinch of salt
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Fresh strawberry sauce, recipe follows

Method:
Coat four small ramekins or custard cups lightly with flavorless oil. I used small steel tumblers.

Pour about ¼ cup of the cream into a small microwave safe bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over it and let stand until softened, about 5 minutes. Microwave for a minute or so and mix well until the gelatin has dissolved.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium heat, bring the remaining cream, mascarpone cheese, sugar and salt just to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat, add the chocolate and whisk until smooth.

Add the gelatin mixture to the chocolate mixture and mix well. Divide the mixture evenly among the ramekins and let cool to room temperature.

Cover the panna cotta loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set and thoroughly chilled, at least 3 hours or up to 1 day.

To serve, dip the ramekins one at a time into a bowl of hot water for about 20-30 seconds to loosen the custard, and then run a knife around the edges and invert onto a chilled serving plate. Serve the panna cotta with the strawberry sauce spooned over the top. Garnish with toasted walnuts. Serves 4.

For the strawberry sauce:
Ingredients:
8-10 strawberries
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp sugar

Method:
Add all the ingredients to a saucepan, warm on low-medium heat till the sugar melts and the strawberries get mushy. Cool and blend well to get a sauce-like consistency. Strain if you must.

Serve over chocolate panna cotta.

Mixed Berry Shake

Ingredients:

Strawberries

Blueberries

Milk

Honey

Vanilla extract

Blend everything together. Serve cold.

Balsamic Strawberries with Whipped Mascarpone Cheese

I stumbled across this recipe while I was looking for something simple to do with the strawberries that had just been purchased. I made this last night and it was a huge hit.

Ingredients:
15-20 fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
1 tsp (or more) of sugar

For the syrup:
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp fresh lemon juice

For whipping together:
2-3 Tbsp mascarpone cheese (at room temperature)
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence

Serves 2

Method:
In a bowl, gently toss the strawberries with the sugar. Let it stand for 15 minutes or so until the strawberries have released their juices.

Meanwhile, combine the balsamic vinegar, sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and the vinegar is reduced to a syrup-like consistency (takes about 5 minutes). Cool.

Whip together the mascarpone cheese, sugar and vanilla essence.
Portion the strawberries with their juices, mixed with a bit of balsamic syrup into serving bowls. Top with the mascarpone mixture and drizzle with the remaining balsamic syrup.

Balsamic vinegar has a lovely sweet flavor with a hint of tartness. Reducing it only intensifies the goodness. The mascarpone, the strawberries and the balsamic vinegar go really well together to make a quick dessert that is absolutely heavenly.

Off this goes to Mike @ Mike’s Table for Strawberry Seduction.

Some other recipes using balsamic vinegar:
Chocolate Balsamic Truffles
Ravioli with Balsamic Brown Butter

Another quick dessert with mascarpone cheese:
Peach and Mascarpone Phyllo Cups

I decided to have some fun with the balsamic vinegar while putting this together.
I clicked a couple of pictures and decided to send this one over to Bee and Jai at Jugalbandi for Click: Metal.

A spoonful of balsamic vinegar

Fruity Tofu Smoothie

Ever since WBB was announced by dear Rajitha, I wanted to make something which I had never tried before, with tofu. This has always been an ingredient that I have used either for making the very popular tofu scramble or the usual Indo-Chinese fare. This time around, I wanted to give tofu a breakfast-y makeover for obvious reasons. ;-)

I adapted this recipe that I saw on the Nasoya website. This makes a very filling and delicious protein-rich drink that’s ready in minutes.

Ingredients:
8 oz silken tofu, drained (I used Nasoya)
1 ½ cup frozen strawberries
1 ripe banana
1 cup orange juice
½ cup milk
3-4 Tbsp honey


Method:
Throw all the ingredients together in a blender and process until smooth. Chill and enjoy!

Makes 3 servings.

Tofu by itself has very little flavor and is almost bland. It blended really well (flavor- wise) with the fruits and took on the fruity taste. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it could not be tasted at all in the smoothie. What a great way to sneak some protein into your diet!


This recipe goes to Rajitha for Weekend Breakfast Blogging with soy. I am also sending the picture to Bee and Jai of Jugalbandi for Click: Liquid.

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

I have recently begun to enjoy making muffins and I make a batch of some kind of muffin almost regularly. There's something very magical about the whole muffin-making process. It is amazing to see that just by addition/substitution of fruits, nuts, and/or chocolate chips, the basic muffin can be transformed into a delicious treat. I just love the smell that wafts through the entire house when the muffins are baking and I am pretty sure that this is what heaven would smell like.


Dry ingredients:
1 ¾ cup All Purpose Flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt

Wet ingredients:
1 egg
½ cup oil
¾ cup milk
¼ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 tsp pure orange extract

For folding in:
½ cup almonds
½ cup chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)
1 ½ cups fresh strawberries, chopped

Method:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well till the whole batter comes together. (Too much stirring/mixing will result in muffins that are too dense/heavy.)

Fold in the strawberries, chocolate chips and almonds. Spoon the batter and place in each paper-lined muffin cup till it is two-thirds full.

Bake for 25 minutes or so till the tops are nice and brown or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffin comes out clean.

This recipe yields 12 muffins.

Strawberry-Banana Smoothie

Ingredients
10 -12 strawberries
1 banana
1 cup yogurt
1/2 cup milk
2-3 tsp. sugar

Method
Blend all the ingredients really well until smooth.
Serve chilled. Enjoy!