Meringue Swirls....

I must tell about the obsession I am having about travelling to Paris, eating french food and about anything French !!! I happened to come across the book " A lunch in Paris" by Elizabeth Bard in the library not hoping to read it as much as I am, but just to skim and pick out a few recipes. But ironically, this is the best book I have read in a long while and what I really enjoyed about it was how the author writes about her experiences living in Paris and how she tasted various food followed by recipes of those dishes. I enjoy reading about the story behind each recipe and the history behind it. Its no wonder that when I read  a blog post on Meringue swirls by Michelle, I jumped up wanting to try them.

Meringues are a french low fat dessert as they are made of only egg whites and sugar. The basic meringue recipe ( I did a little research) has only two ingredients egg whites and sugar ... There are many versions to dress up your meringue either by adding gel food coloring, various flavors ( vanilla bean, coffee, chocolate) or just eat it the simple way ! Well I made mine based on Martha Stewart's recipe. Here is what you will need.

Swirls baking in the oven..

3 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean or 1 tbsp vanilla essence
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
zest of lemon
gel food coloring
pastry bags

Preheat oven to 200 F.
Simmer some water in a pan, before you start. In a heat proof mixing bowl, mix the sugar and the egg yolk. Cut the Vanilla bean and scrap the insides and add it to the sugar and egg yolk. I made one batch with vanilla bean and another with vanilla essence, and there was a huge difference. The ones made with vanilla essence had a egg smell while the ones made with vanilla bean were good and did not have any egg smell. Vanilla beans are a bit expensive, so its okay to use vanilla essence. So, once you done with this place the bowl on the pan with simmering water and mix with a beater for 3-4 mins, the sugar should melt completely and the mixture should be white and foamy.

Remove from the heat and add salt and cream of tartar. Beat using an electric mixer on medium high speed until glossy stiff peaks are formed. This should take around 6-7 mins.

Paint three vertical stripes on the inside of the pasty bag using any gel food coloring of choice. Fill with meringue paste and circular shapes using a round tip. Space each meringue 2 cm apart. Bake in the oven for 1.15 mins or more until the top is crisp and not doughy. Let the meringue cool for 10 mins before taking them and storing them in air tight containers.

Though I made them twice, I am not very  satisfied on how my meringue turned out. I hope to make them some time soon and master making these. The entire process of making and baking these was entirely thrilling and so much fun . I hope you have making them, as much as I did !!!!

A very middle eastern dinner...

I have been wanting and wanting to make hummus now for a very longgggggggggggg time.. you get it right, there are always some recipes sitting there that you want to try but either are too lazy or lack motivation. Hummus has been one of those, so to push myself to make it I soaked a cup of chickpeas the night before so I would be motivated to make it the next day. I don't mean to boast about this recipe, but I must tell you the truth the hummus and pita bread was simply delicious and more importantly easy to make.. At first I didn't know if I should attempt making the Pita or get it from the store but after reading Deb's blog on making Pita bread, I decided on handling an larger task. And It was I must say rewarding and satisfying meal.

Without further discussion for the hummus you'll need

1 1/2 cups ( soaked overnight and cooked) chickpeas
3 cloves garlic
3 tbsp Tahini
2 tsp salt
1 cup water
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tbsp lemon juice
Olive oil for garnishing

Put the chickpeas, garlic, tahini, salt , water and  lemon juice in a blender. Blend until it is a smooth consistency, I like a smooth hummus . Garnish with olive oil , paprika and parsley.

For the Pita bread:

3 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp instant yeast
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/4 cup water ( microwave for 40 secs or less so that its warm)

In a measuring cup add the yeast, oil, salt and water and stir. Take the flour in a mixing bowl , add lil of the liquid from the measuring cup and keep kneading, keep doing this until u have a dough consistency. The dough will be a sticky and difficult to handle. Dont worry just keep kneading for another 5 mins. Let the dough then sit for 5-7 mins and then knead it once more for 3-5 mins, then place it in a bowl cling wrap it and leave it in the fridge for at least 6-8 hours before you make your bread. Your dough should rise in this time and become soft and fluffy. When you remove the dough cover it up with a wet tissue and slowly take small lumps of the dough and make small balls , place these balls under an oiled cling wrap.

Once this is done, keep your pan on the stove on medium heat and now start rolling the dough into small circles. You will need to use extra flour to be able to roll as the sides will stick , apply a lil more pressure on the rolling pin so that the dough does not roll back in again.


Once you have the dough rolled out place it on the pan let it cook on one side till you have brown spots or bubbles form and then turn sides. If you have a flame burner then place your bread directly on the flame till it rises. Otherwise you can buy one of those wire meshes that you can directly place on the burner , place
 your bread on it and it will have the same effect as being placed on a burner.

I am so sure your pita bread will rise and you can cut it up and either use it as a pita pocket or just dig in and eat :)..... bil-hana' wa ash-shifa' ( may you have your meal with gladness and health).... Bon Apetite..