Caramel Wings: March 2011

Friday, March 18, 2011

Nutella at home - It cannot get any better you guys! ♥

We all love Nutella. I mean there would be hardly anyone who hates it, and I hope they have valid reasons to do so. What better than a healthy Nutella recipe? Peanuts are good for our heart, A couple of tablespoons of Olive Oil does not hurt, and you can substitute the sugar with sweetener but I highly recommend the sugar considering that it is not a lot in quantity. So this is my version of Peanutella, adapted from Smitten Kitchen :)

Peanutella
Recipe from Smitten Kitchen
Makes as much as one full jar of Nutella.

Ingredients:

2 cups Peanuts, raw and skinned
1/2 cup Cocoa Powder
1 cup Powdered Sugar (+ couple spoons extra as per taste)
1 tablespoon Peanut Butter (Optional)
1/2 tsp Salt
3 tablespoons Oil

Method:

Roast the peanuts in a 400F/200C oven for 10 minutes or roast them on the stove top till they are nicely brown. Let them cool for few minutes to avoid the hot steam from the blender. Then all you have to do is blitz! Let it blend for a good 3-4 minutes, you will see that it has started to form a paste of it's own. Blend them till they're a smooth paste. Then add the remaining ingredients and blend again. There you are, with fresh Peanutella, but I guess you can make Nutella with roasted Hazelnuts instead. I did not find any here so I went with the Peanuts. This is just as good if not better! Enjoy it by itself, or smear it over anything you like!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

It's never too late for Frozen Hot Chocolate ♥

I have been so busy these days that I barely get the time to cook. I would also have to blame it a little bit on trying to change my lifestyle. I have been maintaining a food journal for just over a month now, and I can see huge differences in the amounts of intakes and the kinds of intake of my food too. I did nothing other than keep a journal and try to eat healthy. I did not lose a lot of weight on the scale, but people have been complimenting me on my inch loss. Feelin' Good!

What is better? I try to eat healthy and knowing that I have a major sweet tooth I never skip on desserts. I saw this recipe for a Frozen Hot Chocolate and the image took me straight back to Serendipity and since I love the movie so much I absolutely had to try this. The original recipe called for some Vodka too, but I did not see it making a whole lot of difference. Besides I was trying to keep it healthy too. Dark Chocolate is rich in antioxidants and I have cut down on normal chocolate and started to have Cocoa and Dark Chocolate instead. Thanks to Gillian. This recipe is low cal, healthy, has just enough chocolate and there is hardly a better way to welcome the summers! They have already arrived full swing in India!

Frozen Hot Chocolate
Recipe from Jessi, of course I tweaked it a little bit!
Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Chopped Bittersweet Chocolate
3 tablespoons Sugar
1 tablespoon Cocoa Powder
1 cup Cows Milk (Chilled)
1/2 cup Ice Cubes
1 tsp Vanilla Essence (Optional)
A dash of Vodka (Optional)
Whipped Cream/Marshmallows for garnish (Optional). I just grated some Milk Chocolate for garnish.

Method:

Melt the chopped chocolate in a double boiler or heat it on high in a Microwave for 2 minutes. Once melted, mix in the sugar, cocoa, vanilla, and half of the milk and incorporate thoroughly. Now add it to a blender along with the rest of the ingredients and blitz till it becomes nicely slushy and frothy. That is it! You're done! Garnish with chocolate shavings and serve chilled!