Cake House

16 Bean and Kale Soup There are some who believe that eating beans on New Year's Day can bring you good fortune for the year ahead.  Beans are said to represent coins. I can't promise you will win the lottery this year, but I do know that this soup is really good for you and it tastes really good! I had a leftover ham bone from Christmas Eve dinner and used that, but you don't need a ham bone to make this. You don't even have to add any ham, but if you want that flavor, you can use a few slices of bacon or cube up some thickly sliced pieces of ham from the deli counter. I used dried beans in this recipe, but skip that step if you'd like and use a combination of your favorite canned beans. Just rinse and drain them really well before adding them to the soup. 16 Bean and Kale Soup Preparing the dried beans: 1 16 oz. package dried 16 Bean mix, rinsed and sorted 8 C. water The Soup: 1 large onion, chopped 4 stalks celery, chopped 4 carrots, sliced 2 fresh bay leaves 1 s...

Shrimp and Feta Risotto Making risotto, to me, is like meditation. It involves all of your attention and focus on doing something so simple, repetitive and peaceful. It's all about stirring the pot and adding the broth in intervals. Try this...you'll end up in a trance that your family will probably knock you out of as they coming running into the kitchen cheering as soon as they get a whiff of this baby cooking! This dish was inspired by a recipe I had found in Food & Wine magazine over ten years ago! I have improvised it many times, but I think this version is my favorite. The tangy saltiness of the feta really is delicious against the richness of the risotto. I throw in some spinach because I love it, it adds some pretty color and lastly, spinach makes me feel just a little less guilty over eating this! You can use any feta you like. I like to use French or Bulgarian feta because they are extremely creamy and they have a remarkable flavor that you'll love. They hones...

Maple Apple Crunch Superfood Granola Let's address what's on your mind before we even begin. Yes, I do need to hire someone to name my recipes for me. I know. But, I feel a need to include details...too many. Brevity has never been part of my character. So, you probably remember these yummy  apple chips!  They were so popular! Well, we are going to take them a few steps further...into granola land! I love granola, but sometimes it's hard to find one that isn't loaded with added fats, tons of sugar or things I may not want, but really, it's just fun to make yourself! This is my take on granola, but use this method to make it your own. Add your favorites to this recipe and you'll love topping your yogurt off with it, sprinkling it on ice cream, in a bowl with some milk or by the bucketful  handful as a snack! I've added golden flax meal and chia seeds. Maybe it's superfood overkill, but I just like to sneak as much nutrition into yummy things as I can. If ...

T his time again it is a cake recipe. I made this so many times, but this is the first time I am posting this recipe coz this time I managed to take photos before it got over :-). This is one of my favorites, as I like the unique banana flavor and the soft texture. The ripe bananas are mashed and added in the batter and when it is done, it is cut into slices. This cake is best served warm with a slight spread of butter. In this cake, we can add any of the nuts we want. This is a perfect tea time cake and kids will also love this to have them after coming back from school. Ingredients: Butter- ½ cup Sugar- ¾ cup Vanilla Essence- 1tsp Egg-1no Bananas- 2 nos All purpose flour / Maida- 1 ½ cup Milk- ¼ cup Method: Mix the butter and sugar well in a bowl till it becomes creamy and pale in colour. In this add the vanilla essence and egg and mix well. Mash the bananas and add them in the above mixture and mix well with a spoon without any lumps. Add the all purpose flour and milk alternately t...

Start with reducing 1/4 bottle of red wine till most of it has evaporated and the rest is almost siropy. Add 1/4 liter of beefstock and reduce again. Soak some dried cranberries in a cup of hot water. Fry a couple of sage leaves in some hot oil till crispy. In the meantime use a very sharp and thin knife to cut a small pocket in the monkfish filets. Use a chopstick to fill the pockets with the soaked berries and the sage. Fry the fish in oil and some butter.

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Rosewater Fritters (Zalabia or Lokma) I struggled a bit over what to call these!  We called them lokma when I was young, but maybe to add to the confusion, my Mom wrote zalabia on the recipe.  The important thing is, they all mean the same thing:  fried, sweet, sticky goodness!  They are basically a donut or fritter, but with the rosewater and lemon, they feel much more sophisticated!  ;) So, this is where you think, "Wasn't this a healthy food blog?"  Well, yes, most of the time it is, but it's the holidays and this is too good not to indulge in!  And to be fair, I did say it was mostly healthy food up there in the left corner! Rosewater Fritters (Zalabia or Lokma) 2 C. water, warmed (1 1/2 minutes in the microwave)  1 t. sugar 2 1/4 t. yeast or 1 packet of yeast 3 C. all purpose flour 1 egg 2 T. canola oil  canola oil for frying In a 2 C. measuring cup, combine the sugar and yeast and set aside. In a batter bowl, beat the egg with the can...

Roasted Red Pepper and Artichoke Tapenade with Crostini This is one of those "raid the pantry" kind of recipes. You may already have everything you need to whip this up quickly for the holidays. With those festive colors, it's perfect for this time of year. Roasted Red Pepper and Artichoke Tapenade 3 T. extra virgin olive oil, divided 1/2 medium onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped 12oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained 8.5oz. can artichoke hearts, drained (quartered is fine) 3 T. fresh parsley 1 T. fresh basil leaves 2 t. red wine vinegar salt and pepper to taste red pepper flakes, optional In a medium sauté pan, heat 1 T. of olive oil over medium high heat. Sauté the onions for about 3 minutes then add the garlic. Continue to sauté for another 2 minutes, or until the onions are a bit soft. Add the red peppers and the artichoke hearts. Cook for about 4 to 5 minutes, just to get the flavors to combine and to get some of the moisture out of the mixture. In a fo...

I hope all of you are busy baking goodies for Christmas and going for vacations and so on. For me the baking bug has bitten me yet again and so there are some cakes and cupcakes coming out of my oven. Some are successful and some with cracks ..:( The cracks in the sense, in the starting days of baking , i.e when I learnt baking, I had a passion to bake more and more goodies and so the cookies, cakes and cupcakes, whatever I made came out well (as you all can see in my previous posts). but now- a-days, whenever I am trying to bake something, either it would be half baked and raw or I can see big big cracks on them, which is not at all a pleasing sight. So my little one insisted me to make cupcakes for her and as she will be very happy even with my cracked cupcakes and so I made her these egg less cupcakes and to my surprise, they came out perfect (without any cracks ). I was really surprised how these turned out perfect. This is the recipe I used ... Ingredients: Adapted from cookingan...

Armenian Easter Bread ~ Choereg No, I don't have my holidays confused! OK, so this is considered an Easter bread, but it's just that good that our tradition has been to have this for Christmas morning every...single...year! Really, ever since our first Christmas after my son was born (oh my gosh...20 years ago!), we've had this for Christmas morning. It was perfect when the kids were little and all they wanted to do was rip into their gifts. This keeps you sitting by the tree with them enjoying one of the best mornings of the year, instead of fussing in the kitchen. Choereg is an eggy, rich and brioche-like bread. It's got a bit more density to it than brioche or challah. I like that about it. It's also enhanced by an unusual spice used a lot in the Middle East and Greece, mahleb. Mahleb is the little seed inside of the sour cherry pit. It's got the most unusual scent and flavor.  It is warm, sweet and nutty with a hint of almond and cherry. It adds so much to ...

Cranberry Pear Christmas Sangria with white wine Cranberry Pear Christmas Sangria 1 cinnamon stick 1/3 C. sugar 1/3 C. water 1 C. fresh cranberries, divided 1 pear, sliced zest from one orange 1/4 C. pear brandy (you can use any brandy you have on hand) white or red wine sparkling water In a small saucepan, over high heat, combine water, sugar, cinnamon stick and 1/2 C. of the cranberries. Once boiling, reduce to  low heat and simmer for about 5 to 8 minutes, until the cranberries have begun to pop a bit. Remove pan from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature. In a clear glass pitcher, combine the Brandy, pear, remaining cranberries, orange zest and the cooled sugar mixer including the cinnamon sticks with the wine. Refrigerate and allow the flavors to come together for 12 and up to 24 hours. When serving, spoon some fruit into a glass, pour the sangria over the fruit and top with a splash of sparkling water. Notes: Try topping the glass off with a sugared cranberry. Just r...

Baked Apple and Banana Chips Most store bought apple chips and banana chips are either freeze dried or fried! You don't need fat in your apples or bananas! These are so easy to make yourself and you don't have to add a thing to them if you don't want. This is more of a method than a recipe. It's so easy, the oven does all the work. What you end up with is so organically beautiful. These delicate chips are sweet, crunchy and become a concentrated version of themselves. They make such an awesome and unique snack that your kids will love! You'll need a mandolin to do this. There are some very expensive mandolins out there and I'm sure they are amazing, but I've got a really cheap one (under $20!) from amazon.com and it works just fine. I'm a little scared of it (well, maybe more than a little), but I try to use the hand-guard when I can. Baked Apple and Banana Chips 2 organic apples, any variety you like (I found the green Granny Smiths were my favorite) 1 ...

Macaroni Au Four I try to eat healthy most of the time. But, really, don't we all have some comfort foods from our past that we just need to taste again to bring us home? For me, Macaroni Au Four is just that! I am a mostly Armenian girl who grew up eating mostly Armenian food, so, I always thought Macaroni Au Four was an Armenian dish with...uh...a French name? I was a confused child. We spoke mostly Armenian and English at home and my parents also spoke in French and Arabic to really confuse us! On my first day of kindergarten, I apparently started speaking Armenian to a couple of girls. They stared at me with crinkled brows, glanced at each other and just laughed. They kept asking me what I was saying. I was so upset. I went home and told my Mom about it. That was when I found out the truth. I spoke two languages. I had no idea. So, I guess it's pretty clear now how I could be confused over the origin of this dish! Macaroni Au Four is basically Baked Macaroni in French. Al...

My friend Anne is responsible for my new obsession with baked donuts. She had bought a pan a few months ago and one morning sent her children to my door bearing the most delicious just baked donuts ever! I put on a pot of coffee and enjoyed. They made my whole morning better! I immediately bought my own pan and have been experimenting ever since. Cider donuts are our favorite. They remind me of an orchard that I used to take the kids to when they were little. We have great memories of them feeding the animals, walking through the orchard and before heading home, the day was always topped off with cider donuts from the orchard store. I had to try to recreate that donut! After a few attempts, I think these are delicious. And the best part is that you'll feel much less guilt over eating these than the fried version! Baked Cider Donuts 1 1/2 C. apple cider 3/4 C. whole wheat flour 3/4 C. cake flour 1/2 t. baking powder 1 t. baking soda 14 t. salt 1 t. cinnamon (I use Saigon Cinnamon) 1...