White Spinach Pizza Grilled Cheese

Not much of an exciting story behind this one, just one afternoon felt like making a sandwich for the three of us. Well, to make it less boring than 'just a sandwich' thought of playing a little with some stuff I had in the fridge. Didn't feel like a cold sandwich and what better than a grilled cheese with a twist to make a warm sandwich. With some crafty use of ricotta, mozzarella and spinach, I could give it a catchy name as well, a name with the word 'pizza' in it. The little one sure bought it and loved it too. Let me know what you think.

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Mushroom Spinach Lasagna Rollups

Lasagna is many things to many people. For some it would be a daily deal, for some, a dish that they only make when their kids ask for it, for some it is an exotic dinner they have only when they visit their local fine Italian restaurant. I simply think of it as comfort food. Super easy to put together yet super impressive in the way it sounds and looks. If you love Italian food this is definitely for you, something you will most definitely want to try. It is fancy - hey it's 'Lasagna' - loaded with fresh goodness of spinach, mushrooms, creamy ricotta - hearty and beyond good! The simple twist with this preparation is that instead of the lasagna sheets being layered, the sheets instead are rolled into a... well... rollup. This is a meal you are going to remember on how well it came out and your 'customers' can be a regular feature of your weekend brunch.

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Mawa Pistachio Saffron Mini Bundt Cake - an eggless recipe

ne afternoon when I was sitting around thinking what I could cook up next, my baking genes started to flare up. The obvious question was what to bake. As I sat there and thought, I basically kicked myself for not having thought about the most common form of cake that I ate and made growing up - a cake with Indian flavors.

I remember back at home when I first started learning to bake anything, I tried to make a cake in one of those small counter-top electric ovens. It was a recipe that everyone in my extended family used when they had to make a cake! Nothing extraordinary, just your basic cake but kicked up several notches by adding key Indian flavors like mawa and nuts. That made the cake almost a cross between a cake and an Indian sweet dish.

Having baked several different kinds of breads and cakes, I decided to put a little twist on the classic recipe by adding pistachios and cardamom. Moreover, I believe this made the cake a bit more exotic, perfect for the upcoming occasion of the festival of Holi. 

So here is the recipe for this fabulous fusion cake. Also, if mawa is difficult to find where you live, I have also detailed a couple of easy ways of making your own mawa at home. The use of mini bundt pan is optional. You can use any cake pan, I just thought they looked cute and were handy to serve to my little princess.

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No bake tiramisu cheese cake (gelatin 'n egg less)

My first encounter with Tiramisu was at our local Olive Garden. Hubby completely loves it so he ordered it promising it would be absolutely wonderful. To be honest I liked the idea of the dessert but kinda did not like the strong raw egg taste and the rum soaked ladyfingers (but I still pretended to like it :) So I decided to make it at home without the components I do not like. I did try it some days back. It turned out great. I will post it soon. The other thing among popular desserts that I don't like is cheesecake (not much of a dessert person now am I!). So you might think it is funny for me to make this cake which combines Tiramisu and cheesecake. The other drive for me was to make a cake that does not involve baking (go figure). Believe me, it really tastes as great as it looks. It is a very light but decadent dessert that combines the taste of Tiramisu and cheesecake without the gelatin or eggs. If it is any indication, we finished half the cake within fifteen minutes of having made it.

Here's how I made it-

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