Recipe #2: Malpua

Mike and I were watching a show on the Food Network a couple weeks ago, I think it was called Restaurant Makeover. They were re-doing an indian restaurant and the one chef taught the indian chef how to make Malpua. It looked really simple and freaking delicious (honestly, I dreamt about it!), so I thought I would try it out.

I changed the recipe a little. Instead of doing the cardamom, I put in a little vanilla and sprinkle of sugar instead. Doing a little research online (thanks Google!), looks like you could use cinnamon, nutmeg or even ginger as substitutes as well! The recipe also says that you can do something like pomegrante seeds on top, instead of the lemon.

It's really pretty and light. Enjoy!!

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup whole milk
* 2 large eggs
* 1/2 cup flour
* 6 tbsp unsalted butter
* 1/4 tsp vanilla
* Icing sugar
* 1 fresh lemon

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Combine the milk, eggs, and flour and cardamom in a medium mixing bowl. It will look like pancake batter and should be a little lumpy – don't mix till smooth.

3. Melt the butter in the oven proof pan (in the oven) and when it’s bubbling hot pour in the milk/egg/flour batter.

4. Bake for about 20 minutes until it's set, puffed up and golden brown. Cover the top with a generous amount of icing sugar (using a sifter) and place back in the oven for 5 more minutes. Remove from the oven and give it another good dose of icing sugar and a generous squeeze of fresh lemon.

5. Place in the middle of a table and devour.

Recipe # 1: Banana Bread

I was bored this afternoon, and boredom tends to lead to baking for me. Mike and I had a couple scary-ripe bananas, so I thought about banana bread. It took a little bit of hunting for recipe that only needed 2 bananas, but I tracked one down.

Originally this recipe had no vanilla or cinnamon, but I added a little of each after reading some comments. Other suggestions included a tablespoon of buttermilk or canola oil for more moisture, but I found that leaving both out still left me with a great, moist loaf.

The comments also suggested only 50 minutes in the oven, but I upped it to just over an hour. I'm not sure if that's because of the high altitude or just my oven, but keep an open mind on timing. It could vary.

So this is my first official post! I hope you all enjoy! It's really easy and delicious!

Ingredients

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1 cup white sugar
* 1/2 cup margarine
* 1 egg
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 cup mashed bananas
* 5 tablespoons milk
* 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

2. In a large bowl, cream sugar and margarine. Beat the egg slightly, and mix into the creamed mixture with the vanilla and bananas. Mix in sifted ingredients until just combined. Stir in milk and nuts. Spread batter into one greased and floured 9x5 inch loaf pan.

3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) until top is brown and cracks along the top, about 60 minutes.

Intro

Hello all!

So I've decided to turn this into a food blog! I love baking and cooking, so I'm going to take pictures of what I make, post the recipes and chat about it! I look forward to comments and discussion!