(Chunky) Guacamole with tomatoes and bell peppers #French Fridays with Dorie

This is the first non-fishy French Friday of June. Boy ! am I glad ! 

So the Doristas picked Guacamole for this Friday. Though a Mexican dip, Guacamole has apparently become a standard in France.  Dorie says that in chic restaurants there, they serve it in tartines dotted with shrimps, as the base for salmon tartare, in layered crab salads or even as a garnish on gazpacho. I have already tried the 'crab avocado ravioli' and avocado with salmon in a different recipe and can image how good those French dishes with guacamole must be.

Dorie says that for most of their dishes, the French buy the guacamole, but she likes to make her own. She makes it two ways, chunky and smooth. For the chunky version, she mixes lime zest, chopped cilantro leaves, slices of  red onion, jalapeno and salt with a fork. Then adds chunks of avocado, chopped red bell pepper and cherry tomatoes to it. Squeezes some lime juice over it before seasoning the mixture with salt, pepper and some hot sauce and finishing with a garnish of cilantro leaves. For the smooth, she uses the same ingredients but blends them using a mortar and pestle. 

For want of a mortar and pestle I went for the chunky version and served it with chili and slices beer bread. The Guacomole and the combination as a whole was such a hit that the whole bowl was wiped clean over dinner that night. This recipe will certainly be a repeat in our house.

Visit French Fridays with Dorie to know what the other members thought about this spread. You can find the  recipe for this guacamole here . For more such delicious recipes order your copies of Around my French Table and join the Doristas in this tasty adventure.

I shall be sharing this spread at these parties...

y
Sweet & Savory Sunday Link Party @ Baking in Pyjamas

Monday 
 Mix it up Monday, 
Made with love Monday, 
Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks, 
Recipe Sharing @ Jam Hands
Melt in your Mouth Monday, 
Inspiration Monday Party 
Recipe Sharing Monday,
Inspire Me Monday, 
Clever Chicks Blog Hop,
Maniac Monday Linky Party

Meatless Monday :  Meatless Monday My Sweet and Savory

Tuesday 
Totally Tasty Tuesday @ Mandy's Recipe Box,
 Show Me What You Got @ Our Delightful Home ,  
Hand Made Tuesday @ Ladybug Blessings
Share it Link Party @ Winthrop Chronicles,  
Tasty Tuesday @ Anyonita Nibbles,  
Hearth and Soul blog Hop @ Zesty South Indian Kitchen,
In & Out of the Kitchen @ Feeding Big & More, 
Tuesday's Table @ Love in the Kitchen, 
Tickle My Tastebuds@Mini Van Dreams
The Southern Special @Spatulas on Parade
 Time to Sparkle Tuesday, 
Create Link Inspire, Tuesday Talent Show, 
Two Cup Tuesday, The Scoop, Simple Supper Tuesday, 
Brag About it Tuesday, Social Media 2-for-Tuesday, Take a Look Tuesday, 
Treasure Box Tuesday, Take a Bow. 

Wednesday 
What's Cooking Wednesday @ Buns in my Oven, 
Cast Party Wednesday @ Lady Behind the Curtain, 
Show and Share @ Semi Homemade Mom, 
Wine'd Down Wednesday, 
Wonderful Food Wednesdays at @ All She Cooks
Wonderful Food Wednesdays at @ Mom's Test Kitchen 
Wednesday, Whatsit@White Lights on Wednesday,
Wednesday Extravaganza @ Hunger Little Girl, 
Create & Share @ The Trendy Tree House,
What I Whipped Up Wednesday @ Sugar & Dots Look, 
Hump Day Happenings @A Savory Feast

Thursday
Link it Up Thursday @ Seven Alive,
Fantastic Thursday @ Three Little Chiefs, 
Thriving on Thursdays @ Domesblissity,  
Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage , 
 Freedom Friday @ My Turn,  
Thursday's Treasures @ Food Done Light,
Pin it Thursday @ Sweet Bella Roos

Friday 
Foodie Friday @ Simple Living and Eating,  
Friday Linky Party @ The Pin Junkie, 
Get Him Feed @ Anyonita Nibbles
 Friday Favorite (DYI too) @ Simple Sweet Home,  
Foodie Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes,
 Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm, 
Weekend Wonders @ The Thriftiness Miss, 
Friday Food Frenzy @ Mostly Food and Crafts, 
Weekend Potluck @ Sunflower Supper Club, 
The Weekend re-Treat @The Best Blog Recipes

Saturday
Saturday Show Stopper @Will Cook for smilles
  Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Fresh Foods Wednesdays, Allergy-Free Wednesdays, 
Let’s Get Real, Gluten-Free Fridays,Fight Back Friday

Spanish Eggplant & Bell Pepper (Dip)

I spotted  this Eggplant and Bell Pepper dip from  Tapas collection of 100 essential recipes, almost as soon as I bought the book from a local library sale, about an year back. I cooked it and  ever since have been recommending this recipe to my sister, my sister-in-law and who-so-ever visits us and expresses his or her unfamiliarity with eggplant recipes. The thing is, this so-to-say "Spanish eggplant dip" is really easy to prepare and tastes great both as a spread on toasts as well as with rice and dal. Though a Spanish dish, it pairs perfectly with our Indian meals and over the past year has become one of my go-to recipes.

Owing to the citrus flavoring, and seasoning of  paprika and cilantro, this "dip" tastes very similar to Baigan Bharta. But as I mentioned, it is much easier to prepare and gets done much faster.

The original recipe calls for processing the cooked eggplant and bell pepper in the food processor along with the other ingredients. I however have never felt the need for it. So far, I have always roasted the eggplant and bell pepper and then cooked the dip in the skillet. Non-processing it, leaves the "dip"  chunky, which lends it a charm of its own.

Green Pea Hummus

My toddler has an unusual love and hate relationship with peas. He claims that he likes them, but will spit it out the moment I give him some.

So the other day I was telling my mother about it and she said,
"Probably its the skin that he dislikes. Try pureeing the peas and see if he likes it that way."

Ever since I had been on the look out for a recipe with pureed green peas and this green pea hummus hit the spot. The recipe is   A Cup of Jo and then decided to make one using my favorite hummus recipe... the one from Around My French Table.

Day one, he had it as a dip with his steamed veggies.
Day two, he had it as a spread over his beet pancake.
And on day three, I just mixed it with his khichdhi and un-suspiciously he ate it all without complaining once about the taste or texture of his food.

I guess Maa was right. It was the skin that was bothering him all this while and in the hummus everything felt fine ! Mmmm it is not for nothing that they say..  moms know best ! They really know it all...

Spiked Pumpkin Bread & Savory Pumpkin Dip Recipe for Halloween and Weekly Menu Plan

Hi ! How are you ? Is it cold in your corners yet ? Here in LI, it is getting a bit chiller by the evening... but the mornings are gorgeous. Bright and sunny !  Our New Hampshire trip, followed by the trip to my cousin's place and then the preparations for the toddler's  birthday party had thrown me off my routine. but after a lazy week at home, I am back on track. Totally charged up for Halloween and Diwali. 

This will be my first Halloween and Diwali here. Actually my second one.. but the first one doesn't count since it was within weeks of the toddlers birth... and i was still recovering from the C-section. In any case I am excited. We haven't yet zeroed on any costume for the toddler...but with this bandana in mind, we are thinking along the line of pirates... 

that is if he obliges... we'll see....

Now about my Spiked Pumpkin Yeast Bread. In my post on Pumpkin Yeast Bread, I had mentioned that I had been playing around with the recipe. What I actually did was that I spiked it up the dough with Pumpkin Ale. I substituted the milk and water in the recipe with an equal amount of beer and baked my first batch the same way as the Pumpkin Yeast Bread... except that I baked it in the form of a Savory Pull Apart Loaf and 4 buns.

The buns were nice and soft and were perfect for sliders. The Pull Apart Bread was also good..  but I wouldn't really recommend it in the form I made. The bread was good and the pumpkin dip that I had slathered on the rolled out dough was also good and the two tasted good together. but it would have been better if I had baked the loaf by itself and served it with the dip.  the dip somewhat made the moist loaf soggy... and texture-wise less appealing. it was however yummy !

Anyways having learnt my lesson, I ditched the idea of a pull apart bread and decided to try out a beer glazed bread for my second batch. Again I did this in two ways. With the Dutch Crunch topping in mind I prepared a mixture with beer, yeast, rice powder, maple syrup and oil . Then shaping the dough into 6 buns and a 6 inch round loaf, I glazed the spiked loaf and 2 buns lightly with the solution and spooned some of the beer and rice flour mixture over two other buns and left the remaining two un-glazed. I baked the un-glazed buns for 20 minutes at 375 degrees F and the others 425 degrees F.  Initially I was quite excited with how they looked. specially the ones with crunch-topping...

But as they say... All that glitters is not gold. While the un-glazed buns, the loaf and the lightly glazed buns were moist and super-flavorful, the buns with crunch topping were terrible. I could not eat those beyond a bite. it was that BAD. I am not sure what the problem was... but since it looked good I have decided to try it again soon. Will let you know it if and when it works out. For now here are the recipes that worked... the Spiked Pumpkin Yeast Bread and the Savory Pumpkin Dip...

Spiked Pumpkin Yeast Bread (Bread Machine) Adapted from my Pumkin Yeast Bread
Preparation Time : 2 hours                                                                                         Baking Time: 30 mins  Yeild: a 9x5 inch loaf + 4 buns or a 6 inch round loaf and 6 buns
Ingredients    for the dough 1/3 + 1/4 cup Harpoon Brewery's Pumpkin Ale (UFO) 1/4 cup yogurt +1/16 tsp baking soda (as a substitute for 1 egg) 3/4 cup pureed pumpkin, fresh or canned(I used canned) 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour 1/8 cup light brown sugar 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1/4 tsp ground cardamom 1 tbsp bread machine yeast for the glaze 20 ml Harpoon Brewery's Pumpkin Ale (UFO) 2 tbsp rice flour 1 1/2 tsp instant year 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil 1/2 tbsp maple syrup -  Instructions Put all the dough ingredients in the bread machine pan in the order specified by the manufacturer and set it to the dough setting.  When the machine beeps at the end of the cycle, turn the dough into a lightly oiled surface. Shape it into a loaf or a loaf and 4-6 buns and place the loaf it in a well greased 9x5 inch  loaf pan or 6 inch round pan and the buns on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Cover the loaf with a greased plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled 30 to 45 minutes.  In the meantime preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and mix all the ingredients of the glaze and let it stand for about 15 minutes.  Once the dough doubles, lightly glaze the loaf and the buns with the beer and rice flour mixture and transfer the pan/ baking tray to the preheated oven. Bake the buns for 20 minutes and the loaf for 30 minutes. Immediately afterwards remove the loaf from the pan, cool the buns and the loaf on a wire rack, then slice and enjoy with savory Pumpkin dip or otherwise...

So that was all about my experiments with pumpkin bread recipe.  Do let me know if  you have any pointers about the Dutch crunch topping. I'll be happy to work on your suggestions.

Sending the first photographs "Spirit of Fall"  The Colour Me Photography Challenge Series" ~ Colour Me Orange , a photography event  at Priya's  place The Humpty Dumpty Kitchen.


Now this week's Menu at Ma Niche

	This Week's Menu Plan
Sunday	Chicken Fry,  Leftover Lentil curry with veggies and rice
Monday	Moussaka with Radish Salad,  Pasta with yogurt, Cheese Omlet and boiled carrots for the toddler
Tuesday	Carrot and Pea Stir Fry, Gatte ki Kadhi and Roti, Deconstructed Oliver Salad and Teff Crepes for Toddler
Wednesday	Hurry up and Wait Roast Chicken  and Roasted Potatoes
Thursday	French Onion Soup and Vegetable Sandwiches
Friday	Dinner Rolls with Japanese Cream Stew
Saturday	Masoor Dal and Briami with Steamed Rice

 Sharing this with Meal Plan Monday @ Organizing Junkie 

                                       and Meal Plan Monday at The Diary of a Real Housewife.

Yeastspotting the loaf. Also sharing it at the following weekly parties..

Monday Food : Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks, Melt in your Mouth Mondays, Inspiration Monday Party, Sharing Monday, Inspire Me Monday, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Maniac Monday Linky Party,Mix it up Monday, The Scoop,  Meatless Monday @Veggie Mama's,  Meatless Monday My Sweet and Savory

Tuesday Food:  Totally Tasty Tuesday @ Mandy's Recipe Box, Tasteful Tuesday Party @ Nap Time Creations,  Show Me What You Got @ Our Delightful Home,  Hand Made Tuesday @ Ladybug Blessings, Share it Link Party @ Winthrop Chronicles, Tasty Tuesday, Hearth and Soul blog Hop

Wednesday Food : What's Cooking Wednesday @ Buns in my Oven, Cast Party Wednesday @ Lady Behind the Curtain , Show and Share @ Semi Homemade Mom, Wonderful Food Wednesdays at @ Home Take 2

Thursday Food: Link it Up Thursday @ Seven Alive, Creative Thursday @ Michelle's Tasty Creations, Fantastic Thursday @ Three Little Chiefs, Thriving on Thursdays @ Domesblissity, Freedom Friday @ My Turn, Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage  

Friday Food: Foodie Friday @ Home Maid Simple, Friday Favorite (DYI too) @ Simple Sweet Home, Foodie Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes,  Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm , Weekend Wonders @ The Thriftiness Miss, Friday Food Frenzy @ Mostly Food and Crafts , Weekend Potluck @ Sunflower Supper Club,  The Weekend re-Treat @The Best Blog  Recipes  

Tzatziki # French Fridays with Dorie

This week we were scheduled to whip up Tzatziki for French Fridays with Dorie.

As most of you know, Tzatziki is a basic part of Greek cuisine. Walk into any Greek diner in the NY Tri-state area and they'll serve you a bowl of tzatziki along with everything else that you have ordered. It is that chilled yogurt dip that accompanies and tastes awesome with spanokopita, pita, bread, kebabs, gyros, stuffed grape leaves... you name it.  

If you have always wondered what are all the ingredients that are stirred into Greek yogurt to make it that awesome dip... here is what it is.  

In a bowl of hung curd or Greek yogurt stir in some lemon juice, olive oil, a generous helping of mint and dill, some minced garlic and some freshly ground white pepper.

Finally throw in a good helping of finely chopped (preferably seedless) cucumber into the bowl. Oh make sure that the cucumber is well seasoned and the water had been drained off the vegetable before you add or it tends to make the dip a little too runny.  That's it ! Now isn't that an easy whip ?

As per Dorie's suggestions I had accompanied my bowl of Tzatziki with veggies but that wasn't very exciting.  It tasted far better with the meat balls that I had made for the toddler and the vegetable pakodas the husband had fried for us..... All in all its a good recipe to keep in mind for times when  you wish to add a little zing to your meal.....

Being a member of french fridays with Dorie, i cannot publish the original recipe in the blog. You can however find a similar recipe here. For many more delicious recipes such as this one order your copies of Around the French Table from Amazon or from The Book Depository and join us as we cook our way through the book.