These glazed chocolate peppermint cookies are gluten free and perfect for your holiday baking or all year round. It’s a fun project for the little ones and makes an awesome edible gift.
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easy
Salmon Sandwich Spread
Milk Toffee with Pumpkin & Chocolate (Pumpkin Fudge)
Keema Curry with Vegetables
Best Fluffy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Sri Lankan Pumpkin Curry
Baked Mushroom & Spinach Frittata
Watalappan-Coconut Custard Recipe
Apple Chia Pudding Recipe
Easy Sauteed Apples
Sweet Chili Pepper Jelly
Lentil and Vegetable Soup with Parsley
We were thrilled when the sun started shining and the temperatures peaked to 25 degree Celsius. Oh! What glorious days they were. I even lamented to my husband that it’s too hot in the house and we should get a fan and wondered out loud about the benefits of an air conditioner like we had back in Dubai (gasp). As you imagined, the good weather didn’t last long and it’s back to the unpredictable weather. The other day we were walking to the town and then the library where we got soaked about 4 times. Bit of rain, then the sun, they played hide and seek and Ammar was sure the rain was targeting us. LOL! Every time we stepped out of a shop to the street, it would start pouring.
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Quinoa, Butternut Squash, Pomegranate Salad with Pumpkin Seeds
I’m not much into salads. There I said it. The salad played a essential but minor role in meals growing up. It was never, ever considered a main meal. It’s because the type of salads we had nicely complemented the Rice & Curry and gave that extra tang or crunch.
There was the cucumber salad which I love. Sliced cucumbers mixed with chopped onions and green chillies with a bit of fresh coconut milk and lime juice. I would sprinkle the liquid to my rice and the dish is elevated to the next level where I’d easily finsh off two portions.
And the raw grated carrot salad. Same method as the cucumber salad without the coconut milk. Then there’s the Gotukola salad. These are the salad we had mostly on rotation and was never eaten on it’s own. So I could never bring myself to have a salad as a main meal.
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Cinnamon Hazelnut Bread – Gluten, Dairy and Sugar Free
Breakfast is an important part of my day. I can never skip it. But I can’t sit down to a hearty breakfast still groggy-eyed and in my pj’s either. I start the day with a cup of tea and a digestive. Yes,that’s fuel for the heavy work to follow.
A half hour to one hour studies later, I’m off to make breakfast and lunch for boys and hubby. Waking them up, getting them fed and ready for school and work with packed meals in their bags requires copius amounts of energy. That’s where my tea and biscuit comes in handy. Ha.
Before I set to tackle the house which by this time looks like a whirlwind has passed through, I sit down for my proper breakfast. That is, I start cooking my morning meal. When you’re on a Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Sugar Free diet that’s the most sensible thing to do.
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Mildly Spiced Chicken Biryani
I love biryani. They aren’t confined to special occasions or days, they’re a comfort food. It warms my soul and nourishes my body. It saves me from those days where I stare at an open refrigerator wondering what vegetables to pair and what to cook. No,I’m not good at meal planning. So, having an easy recipe with ingredients I mostly have in my pantry is a relief.
The only two ingredients I didn’t have until now are the white poppy seeds and dried plums. But ever since I started making biryani this way they’ve become part of my pantry. For my Irish readers, poppy seed is available in most Asian stores. They come in a 200g pack and will last for a long time, I mean a very long time. Unless you use it to make lemon poppy seed muffins all the time. A favorite of mine which I should blog about. And the dried plums. They are different from prunes and comes with the seed. It has a sweet and mild sour taste and that too can be found in Asian stores. It will be great addition to any curry. The hulled white poppyseeds and dried plums can be seen in the picture below.
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Cinnamon Coconut Granola
It feels good to be back in this space after a long hiatus. I was away from the blog and social media enjoying a much needed break. I had taken a break from my studies too. ”What did she do? ” you may wonder. I read. Yes, a lot. I would go to my local library and bring as many books as I can carry. Fiction, Non- Fiction, Cookbooks. I read from morning to night. We each have different ways of relaxing,recouping. For me, it’s reading that does it. It’s theurapetic. I may not remember most of what I read now, nor I had the slightest idea to record the books I read. It’s the moments that mattered to me. The feeling that you get when you do what you enjoy, a time well spent.
I didn’t experiment much in the food front. I stuck to my comfy foods, foods that I know won’t cause me any insensitivies. But for some time now, I’ve been coming out of my comfort zone and trying different foods. Like the Hazelnut Bread recipe from ”The Ketogenic Kitchen” by Domini Kemp and Patricia Daly. The recipe for that will be coming soon. And this Granola. I should say that I’ve never been a ganola fan. Even when my husband was gorging on store-bought chocolate granola I stayed away. One reason was I couldn’t stomach the oats in it. And granola with milk didn’t appeal to me.
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Turmeric Milk
The things I do to keep myself warm. It wasn’t snowing this time here yet. But it’s unbelievably cold. I think I haven’t still got used to the cold. I don about 3 to 4 layers of cloth,the last being a soft and cozy robe. Last winter,I didn’t know a fleece robe is a quintessential winter clothing to be worn inside the house. Man,I suffered. A dear friend pulled me out of that misery. We talked about robes while she cooked me lunch wearing a soft blue one. This time around I never made that mistake. I bought not one but two robes. And bought them for hubby and kids too. I’m glad I converted my husband and he can never be seen around the house without his dark blue manly robe.
And then comes warm liquids. I haven’t craved for warm teas since my vacation days in Nuwara Eliya. Hill Country. The coldest part in Sri Lanka. We were once staying at Ambewela,near the famous milk factory. Every morning fresh milk was brought to the cottage,heated until steam comes forth,Mom would generously add heaps of tea leaves and sugar ,stirring until the color is just right.a sort of beige,and pour the steaming milk tea into our mugs. I would hold the mug as a precious jewel as dropping even a drop of that liquid gold was unthinkable. An utter waste. I would savor each gulp and never wanted that stream of hot tea down my throat to end.
Dairy Free Broccoli Soup
This is my first Autumn here in Ireland. I am in love with the scenery around me. The shades of trees from,green to the different hues of orange adorning the streets are a thing of beauty. And the falling leaves scattered around made me want to bring some home and photograph it. Which I did.The photo is in my Instagram feed.
The days are short and weather is getting colder. And I crave more warmth and often find myself in front of the heater or making something hot to drink or eat.
Growing up we had bone broth with lots of vegetables every week and that was called soup. A big bowl of rice with copious amounts of bone broth and spicy condiments was the norm for a Sunday lunch. Beads of perspiration would appear on my nose while I scrape down the last bit of the meal with the spicy sambal. That’s how it was supposed to be in the humid climate in Sri Lanka. It’s not that you crave soup in that weather rather it’s a norm, probably passed down from the Colonialists.
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Fish Curry Recipe
Looking at this fish curry,evokes the memories back in the day . Specially tuna, it had to be my favorite fish. Because it resembled meat,sturdy and held it’s shape. I despised fish of all sorts except this. I hated the tiny long bones fearing that it would get stuck in my throat and the fish smell . I’ve always been a meat girl. Chicken was very rare those days, you get to eat it only on special occasions. It was always beef and fish on rotation.
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Homemade Rice Crispy Bars
Kids,they always seem to be hungry.”Mama,can I have something to eat?” or “Mama,can I have a snack?” are often repeated words in our house. I’ve tried all sorts of things to keep their hunger at bay till the next meal time. Some stick.Some don’t.
I give them cucumber with hummus. Because it’s something I like to eat. Hummus remains untouched sometimes. But a bag of corn tortilla chips would vanish within seconds with hummus.I’ve forced them traditional stuff. Like a sweet semolina conjee that I used to enjoy. It doesn’t get past a few teaspoons. But a vanilla cake or a plain muffin gets chomped quickly leaving no leftovers.
A cupcake with fruits or veggies in it,only a few bites here and there like the rats nibble. Perhaps, an oats bar with nuts and seeds in it.No way.
I accept defeat.
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Sesame Seed Snack Balls
It’s been a long time since I visited this virtual space of mine. A lot happened in our lives since I last posted here. We had a major move spanning three countries. We said our good byes to Dubai happily and lugged ourselves back to Sri Lanka. We settled ourselves briefly there. Before long,the kids and me got on a plane again to our home now,Ireland. Home for the foreseeable future,in sha Allah !
Beef & Rice Conjee/Porridge
After a long silence in my blog,here I am reviving it again. Come what may,I realized I couldn’t abandon my blog. I sincerely thank all my readers who messaged me,inspiring me to keep the blog alive. Also a shout out to my husband who designed this lovely header. Felt like coming back to a newly decorated, good old home filled with memories. A lot happened during the past year,and I thank the Almighty for giving me courage and keeping me going.
It’s the blessed month of Ramadan. A month of fasting,not feasting. This year,Alhamdulillah,I made a resolution to keep our meals to a bare minimum. Not that we had extravagant meals all these years,but the focus was always been on food rather than more on worship. It’s always been what to cook for Iftar(Breaking fast),what to make for Suhoor(Early Morning meal),how many iftars do I have to organize and so on and so forth. But starting my higher studies on Islam, getting myself bombarded(in a good way) with all the updates about the true essence of Ramadan by the social media and various groups that I’m part of, helped me realize the true spirit of this blessed month.
Now in Srilanka, the staple Iftar meal is the Conjee or the rice porridge.
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Kiwi Mint Lemonade
Zespri Arabia did it again, that is to send me another box of kiwis. This time it was a pleasant surprise, in the form golden kiwis. I have never tasted golden kiwis before. Eagerly, I cut open a kiwi,scooped out the golden flesh and started devouring. The note of lemonade hit me sharply as I was warned. It was still not fully ripe. I gave it a few days and since the Ramadan started the box of kiwis was not disturbed very much.
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Kiwi and Sago Pudding
The temperature is rising sharply here in Dubai. It’s hot and humid even in the evenings. The park outings with the kids have almost come to a standstill. We crave for juicy fruits,cooling liquids and food all the time. My granny used to make sago pudding or kanjee during very hot days in Sri Lanka. She used to say it’s very cooling to the body. It’s easy to make and delicious. We have it as dessert.
