Cupcakes From My Childhood

I should not be here writing this post. I should be arriving in Sydney, exhausted after a long and grueling 24 hours of flying from New York. But that last minute trip just wasn’t meant to be. I won’t bore you with the details but fingers crossed I’ll be in Australia visiting family by the end of the year. Of course, the fact that this trip hasn’t worked out has got me a bit nostalgic, thinking about my childhood and the good (sweet!) memories of growing up in Sydney.

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Oh, I also have a little bit of spare time up my sleeve and have been meaning to write about these cupcakes that I made a few months back for quite some time. These cupcakes were an attempt at recreating my favorite (and simple) cupcakes that I have very clear memories of enjoying as a child.

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Homemade Muesli with Apricots and Raisins

Yesterday was the day I finally got around to making this homemade muesli/cereal from Bill Grangers book Bills Sydney Food. Most people know I’m pretty much in love with the bills chain of restaurants and the food that comes out of his kitchen. See here and here and here to see more about bills recipes. The decision to try out this muesli recipe came after I finally gave up my obsession with Just Right Cereal. What’s Just Right you’re asking? Only what was the best Australian cereal produced by Kellogg’s until the end of 2013. That’s when everything changed. Read on to learn more!

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Whole Wheat Pasta From Scratch

I was given a KitchenAid pasta press a few years ago as a gift and really enjoyed using it to make fresh pasta from scratch. I have to admit, the press doesn’t get used all that often because while it’s definitely fun to use, cleanup is it a bit of a pain. Yes, the results are great and the pasta deliciously fresh but it’s just not an every day kind of activity. Last weekend I had a bit of time up my sleeve and a craving for some whole wheat pasta so I thought “Why not?” Of course, just making pasta was the first step. I knew I’d have to compliment it with a delicious sauce and there were some strong opinions about the sauce needing to be tomato based. So I scoured the web looking for a recipe with my Ina Garten filter applied and lo and behold I came across this vodka-cream-sauce-like recipe published by Ina Garten titled “Nick and Toni’s Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola”. The recipe calls for Penne but I figured the Rigatoni that my extruder can make would be close enough. 

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Cilantro and Mint Chutney

Whenever we get Indian food delivered my most favorite thing to do is drizzle the cilantro and mint chutney all over the dishes I’m eating, especially those yummy samosas. But I could eat that chutney with just about all my Indian dishes. It just adds a delicious zing to everything. I’ve often wondered what goes into making that chutney. I actually didn’t realize the key ingredients were cilantro and mint until I started googling “green indian chutney”.

It just so happens that I planted some cilantro a few months ago on my window planter and was left with a huge bunch that I wasn’t quite sure what to do with. Then I remembered this chutney and the rest is history.

I searched my favorite Indian food blog, eateastindian and quickly found a great video with simple instructions on how to make this chutney.

So here’s what you need:

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  • 1/4 cup mint leaves
  • 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp ginger
  • 1/2 green chili (I used more like 3/4)
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp red chili powder
  • 1 tsp mango powder (amchoor)
  • 2 tbsp plain yogurt

And the steps are as simple as putting all the above ingredients into a food processor and blending until smooth.

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So simple! Here’s a video of me using my favorite kitchen gadget to blend it all together.

The verdict on this chutney? Delicious! It tastes even better than what comes from the local Indian restaurant. More zing and more spice. Yum. My only complaint is that it’s just not quite green enough. Maybe more cilantro or mint next time?

I’d definitely recommend making this accompaniment for your next Indian feast. It’ll make that meal even more special.