Whats for Tea honey???

Simple and Easy Orange cake with Chocolate heavenliness!!!


I believe Orange and Chocolate combined is one of the heavenliest tastes i have ever encountered. The orange stimulates and provides freshness and good chocolate is orgasmic. My boyfriend was on his way back from work and it was a warm rainy day. I just needed to have somethin special with our evening cup of coffee:) So i quickly whipped up this luscious piece of divinity! Hope you all enjoy too!


Ingredients


1 cup all purpose flour


1/4 teaspoon baking powder


1/4 teaspoon baking soda


A pinch of salt


1/4 cup sugar


4 tablespoons butter


A dash of milk


1 orange


Chocolate chips ( Nestle Tollhouse semi sweet/ sweet chips....trust me they are gold)


1 egg


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F.

2. Melt the butter and add sugar into it. Stir. Add milk.

3. Wash orange in warm water to remove any pesticides/ other chemicals and grate all of it
lightly to make orange rind. Add rind to mixture above.

4. Chop orange into tiny bits and blend in blender. Add this orange juice to butter and sugar.
Keep 2 tablespoons orange juice aside for glaze.

5. Add egg yolk to the wet ingredients and separate out egg white.

6. In a separate bowl , add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

7. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet and blend slowly.

8. Whisk egg white to obtain stiff peaks.

9. Fold egg whites slowly into cake mixture.

10. Grease a baking pan and add in cake mix.

11. Bake for 30 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the cake mix. If it comes out clean, its done:)

12. Remove from oven and let it cool a bit.

13. Meanwhile, in a bowl add in chocolate chips and left over orange juice.
Microwave for about 2 minutes on medium and keep stirring. Leave the melted chocolate out
for about 15-20 minutes so that it can thicken.

14. When ready to eat, pour chocolate glaze over warm cake and stuff yourself with this yummy heavenly delight.

I am so bad at taking photographs but this is the best i could do :) I hope everyone likes it.

Cranberry Orange Pancakes

Every Saturday and Sunday, my boyfriend and i feed on pancakes. We have spent many many weekends dressed in our pajamas cooking and trying new things to add to our pancake mixture. These are really delicious, slightly tart, slightly sweet but not too filling. In addition to being yummy, the cranberries add a completely new dimension to this recipe. They are full of antioxidants, tannins and great for the good health of the kidney/urinary tract.

So readers, one of you can make the coffee while the other warms up the syrup and butter to go with this flavorful fresh recipe.


Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp butter

1/2 cup milk

1 medium egg

1/2 tsp salt

3 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp grated orange rind (avoid bitter white pith)

2 tbsp orange juice

6- 8 Coarsely chopped fresh or frozen cranberries

Directions:

1. In a bowl, beat together the milk, 1 tbsp metled butter and egg. Set aside

2. Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and orange rind and add to wet ingredients. Stir in

chopped cranberries.

3. Grease a skillet lightly with butter and let it heat. Pour in about 1/3 cup pancake mixture.

4. Cook for about 1-2 minutes until bubble start forming on the top of the pancake.

5. Flip and cook for about another minute or until golden brown like shown below.

6. Serve with maple syrup!

Quick Vegetable Nachos

What's crunchy, cheesy ,full of vegetables and goes great with beer?...yes..you guessed it right....vegetable nachos. Well, i work on the field a lot...specifically beaches. Every summer i spend 3-4 months on beaches in Delaware/ New Jersey collecting data (crab and bird counts, doing experiments). We work all day and come back pooped in the night. All i can think about when i get back is FOOD! Something delicious and quick to make. So my adviser introduced me to this yummy, nutritious dish.

Originally, this dish was knows as "Nacho's Especiales". According to the history channel, the first-ever plate of nachos was served in the town of Piedras Negrasis in 1943 by Chef Ignacio .
While plain old nachos and cheese are good, i prefer them with all sorts of toppings. The recipe below is one of the most popular ones between my friends and family:)



Ingredients:



A can of refried beans ( i prefer Goya refried pinto beans)

2 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons cumin powder

A can of diced tomatoes

1 large onion finely chopped

2 large cloves minced garlic

1 small Jalapeno pepper

1 green bell pepper

10 or 12-ounce bag corn tortilla chips ( I prefer Tostitos tortilla chips with a hint of lime)

Shredded Monterey Jack or Mozzarella cheese

2 tbsp minced fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons oil

Pinch of salt

A 9 x 13 inch baking pan



Directions:



1. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a medium sized skillet.

2. Add onions and saute over medium high heat.

3. Once onions are light brown in color, add garlic and diced tomatoes. Saute for about 4-5/

minutes until tomato juice is just about evaporated.

4. Add chili powder, cumin powder, salt, jalapeno pepper, bell peppers and cilantro and saute/

mixture.

5. Add in refried beans and stir thoroughly. Cover and leave on low heat for about 10-12

minutes, stirring occasionally.

6. Preheat oven to 350°.

7. Arrange chips in baking pan. Remove refried bean chili from heat.

8. Spread a layer of chili on chips.

9. Sprinkle over shredded cheese.

10. This recipe usually makes about 4-5 layers. Follow steps 8-9 for every layer.

11. Put pan on middle rack of oven for about 10 minutes.

12. Remove from oven and ENJOY with a glass of chilled beer!!!





Some suggestions : -



If in a hurry, you can make this recipe with refried beans and salsa in place of all veggies and microwave the chips/chili mixture for 5-8 minutes.



Serve with guacomole and sour cream



Serve with sour cream and Guacamole dip, if desired.