Road trip stop 1 - The Dalles, Oregon

We have stopped for lunch at this cute little cafe in Dalles Oregon . Brama caffe - serves Italian and Greek food. We ordered two panini's one with chipotle chicken and the other with Caprese . 

Each table has these cute expresso shot glasses and are really cute . 

My chicken panini with Greek salad was very good. The brown bread with seeds and oats added the perfect crunch to the chicken that was grilled and soft. It also had some chipotle mayo that tasted delicious . For dessert I had the affogato vanilla gelato with expresso shots!! Oh it was so delicious I had tasted this when I was in Australia as a student . Here's a picture of it 

Will write more later.. Tata

Roadtrip Cookies or just-to-eat peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

Whenever we had to leave for a road trip or rather any trip in India, my mom always always used to make her methi theplas. So that we have something to munch on along the way. These theplas were so good that on days when we go bored of eating outside we would eat a couple of the theplas with some tea or coffee.

Well, my theplas dont exactly taste like my mom's and they require so much effort which I am very lazy to do by myself. I decided to go ahead and make some peanut butter chocolate chip flourless cookies before we leave on our road trip to Eastern Oregon ( soo excited !!! :D ) . These cookies have no flour in them, can be made gluten free using gluten free rolled oats and are a perfect snack for the road as they have protein - peanut butter, fiber - rolled oats and are tasty - chocolate chips & vanilla ! These are so easy u must, must make them :) .

Ohh, I love these cookies !!! 

I have adapted this recipe from the blog two peas and their pod.

Ingredients:

* Rolled oats - 2/3 cup

* Peanut butter  - 1 cup

* Brown Sugar - 2/3 cup

* Eggs - 2

* Baking Soda - 1 tsp

* Vanilla Essence - 1- 1 1/2 tsp

Recipe:

Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

This recipe will make around 12-15 medium sized cookies.

Preheat your oven to 350 F.

In a bowl mix the rolled oats and baking soda and keep aside.

In a mixing bowl add the brown sugar, eggs, peanut butter and vanilla essence and mix until everything comes together.

Add your rolled oats + baking soda mixture and mix on medium speed for 1 min.

Finally add the chocolate chips.

The mixture is quiet sticky, so you might want to use a scoop or a spoon to put them on a sheet.

Bake them for around 9 - 10 mins until they are a little brown on the edges, once you remove them from the oven they will continue to cook. Once they cool down a bit say 2 - 3 mins you can transfer them to a cooling rack and let them cool completely before you pack them for your trip !!

I hope you all have a stress-free and relaxing weekend !! Enjoy :)

Time saving no-cook over night refrigerator Oatmeal

I have a confession to make. I used to hate oatmeal, It was the most un-appetizing breakfast. I have tried many times as a student to cook oats with buttermilk, milk, water, even olives ! Alas, but to no vail. I used to hate it.

Then a few months back my mom made me try masala oats, a ready to cook savory oats porridge available in India and I was hooked. I ate it so much, that I got around 30 sachets of masala oats from India.

Rolled oats

This got me thinking that if I love savory oats in ready to eat packs so much, I should try cooking them myself with different flavors and so began my oatmeal experiments. And lo behold now I want to get up every morning to a bowl of oatmeal :) I love them so much. My favorite is the no-cook refrigerator oatmeal. It is so easy to make, requires some planning and you can have it  in any flavor you like. I love these oats as you dont have to wake every morning wondering what to eat for breakfast, saving you a lot of time and effort. I am sure you will love these.

Here's what you ll need :

* Rolled Oats - 1/3 cup + extra
* Milk/ Soy milk / Rice Milk/ Almond Milk
* Chia seeds - 1 tsp
* Cacao/ coco powder - 1 tsp
* Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp
* Sweetener - brown sugar, stevia, maple syrup, agave, honey
* Nuts
* Fruit - banana, strawberries, berries
* Air tight container that does not drip or leak.

Here's how you do it. Take any kind of air tight container that you might have - mason jars or small glass lunch boxes. Put everything, except the fruit inside the container, add as much or as little milk as you like. Close it - shake shake shake, Put it in the refrigerator and forget about it. Your no-cook overnight refrigerator oatmeal is ready to eat the next day !

Before you eat it, chop some fresh fruit up and it to the oat meal. Fresh fruit enhances the chewy gooey flavor of the soaked rolled oats.

Chia seeds, have a neutral flavor and when they soak in the milk tend to swell up and become like tapioca balls. I always add some to my oatmeal.

Chia seeds, a great addition the oatmeal.

And here's the trick, you can experiment with any or all of the above and even add your own flavors - Matcha Green tea, Brown sugar and Maple, and my favorite Chocolate & Strawberry. Enjoy :)

Strawberries

Strawberries, taste so good with oatmeal !

Let me know if you do try the oatmeal or how do you make your oatmeal every morning?

Grilled Eggplant Tacos !!!

There has been so much happening last week that I couldn write. I have been baking a lot. I took part in the food bloggers bake sale in Portland, Oregon. I baked Rose-water Raspberry cupcakes and Coconut Haystack cupcakes. I had a lot of fun meeting new people and taking part in my first bake sale.

Though its still May, weather in Oregon has been great for the past couple of days. Weather in the 70's and 80's is simply a treat ! All I can think of when it gets closer to summer is BBQ, inviting friends over and cold drinks. Most times at the BBQ, I mostly see meat or burgers. There is not much veggie and fresh food. I like the idea of making tacos with grilled eggplants. I haven tried these on my grill yet           (made them on the stove) , but I do think these would turn out great. You should give them a try. 

Perfect Tacos for Summer 

So for the hot sunny days, when you don't want to cook and just take it easy, here is a simple recipe  - "Eggplant Tacos" with just 4 ingredients - eggplants, Brie cheese, hot sauce and cilantro. They take about 10 minutes to make and less than 10 to devour :). So enjoy these tacos with some cool lemonade.

Wash and slice eggplant into slices of medium thickness. Place on a dish, sprinkle with salt and keep aside for 20 - 30 mins. The salt will make the eggplants sweat releasing some of the water content. Squeeze the water out from the eggplant by keeping it between the palms of your hands and then placing on a kitchen tissue. In a large grilling pan/ pan , add a tbsp of olive oil and grill eggplant on both sides until browned. You can also do this in the oven at 400 F for 8 mins on each side. 

Egg plant Tacos

Once done remove the eggplants and let them cool. Meanwhile slice your cheese into cubes . Once the eggplants have cooled down add a slice of cheese, a dash of hot sauce and a few chopped sprigs of cilantro.

Tacos perfect for a light summer snack.

I love the idea of eating veggies this way, How do you eat your veggies on the grill? Do you make tacos with other veggies. Please post your thoughts in the comment section, I would love to hear what you think.

Left over rice flatbread - Rice Theplas

When the sun is out in Oregon and the temp is in the mid 70's , I absolutely can't cook ! I just want to sit outside, read a book and have fun. That's the time I want to look for something quick & easy to cook. Left over rice theplas is a dish my mom used to make with left over rice or khichdi. Its a good way to use up left overs and also savor something delicious.

It was so delicious I had to take a bite :) 

Rice Theplas

Makes around 10 to 12 theplas.

Ingredients:

Left over rice - 1/2 to 1 cup

Wheat flour - 1 cup ( use 1/4 cup at a time).

Chopped onions - 1/4 cup

Turmeric  - 1/4 tspn

Chilli powder/Cayenne pepper  - 1/4 tspn

Ginger diced - a small piece

Garlic diced - a small piece.

Coriander - washed and chopped finely

Oil - 1 tbsp.

Salt to taste

In your food processor bowl, add all the ingredients with 1/4 cup of wheat flour and pulse, then add another 1/4 cup and pulse again, do the same until all ingredients are combined. You dont need to add any water.

If you dont have a food processor just add everything to a mixing bowl and mix again with 1/4 cup of wheat flour. Keep doing this until u have a dough ball which is moist and sticky.

Put one tbsp of oil over the dough, let all the sides be covered with oil. Place it in your bowl and close it and keep aside for 10 - 15 mins.

On your stove, place your pan and heat on medium heat. Make a small lemon shaped ball of the dough and roll out until it is of medium thickness. If you have holes in your thepla because of the onions its perfectly all right.

Ready to be cooked, can u see the small grains of rice?

Cooking on the pan

Place on hot pan, after bubbles form on one side, add a tsp of oil on top and flip the thepla. Using your spatula or a ball of tissue paper, press the thepla firmly on all sides. Make sure both sides are cooked thoroughly and do not have transparent surfaces. Use a more oil if needed.

Place them on a kitchen tissue and serve with chundoo, pickles or just plain yoghurt !