Varada's Kitchen and Garden

Whoopie pie is a cream filling sandwiched between two cake like cookies. By cake like I mean they taste more like cake even though they are shaped like cookies. This is the last day of my month long baking challenge. I have posted a baked recipe this month every day except Sundays. Most of those recipes used either whole wheat flour or vegetables. I strongly believe in the concept of everything in moderation so this is my last recipe for the month made with all purpose flour and butter. My daughter is fond of chocolate but not milk chocolate. She prefers bitter or bittersweet high percent cacao. So I thought a chocolate ganache made with 75% cacao would make the perfect filling for these pies. I was right. She loved them. And uncharacteristically had two in one sitting. For some reason I did not take step-by-step pictures. All I have is the end result. Recipe source for the cookies is here You will need (for 12 pies) For the cookies 2 cups all purpose flour 1 cup sugar

One of the weekend staples in my house is pav bhaji . Pav bhaji is a vegetable side served with dinner rolls. Bread hot out of the oven is always appetizing and paired with a mixed vegetable side allows me to clean out the refrigerator in preparation for a new week. I usually make one of the many rolls recipes I have on this blog. But sometimes I like to try something different. Today I shaped the rolls to look like birds. There was no difference in taste but they are fun to shape and fun to eat. I had seen a picture of these birds on Pinterest a while back. They was no recipe or blog associated with it. It was just a picture. I saved it for a later day. Using the dinner roll recipe for these birds turned out to be a great decision. They were eaten for lunch and tasted great. My daughter was very reluctant to eat the birds. She said they were too pretty to eat. My husband and I had no such problems. You will need (8 birds) 1 egg or egg substitute of your choice 1/2 cup +

Focaccia made a great afternoon snack. My daughter loved it. So here is my version with herbed oil and feta cheese. I had planned on taking pictures of the crumb but she thought it would be cool to tear instead of cut the bread. I let her have her way. It was only after it was all gone that I realized I have just one picture of this recipe. If you need help with detailed instructions you can refer to an earlier version of focaccia I have on this space. You will need 1 1/2 tsp. sugar 1/4 cup olive oil 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 1 tsp. instant yeast 1 tsp. salt 1 1/2 cup warm water For topping 2 tbsp. olive oil 1/4 tsp. basil 1/4 tsp. organo 1/4 tsp. thyme 2 tbsp. feta cheese Combine the topping except the cheese and allow the oil to soak up the flavor of the herbs. Combine all the ingredients for the dough in a mixing bowl and form a soft dough. Knead for a few minutes, cover and keep aside. Allow it to double in volume, about 1-2 hours. Preheat oven to 375 F.

This entire week I have posted different types of hors d'oeuvres. My final post in this series is a roasted fruit appetizer. Originally I wanted to use fruit as the base but none of the fruit that lend themselves to baking is available in the market. It is too early in the season. I will post my planned recipe in summer when the ingredients are available but for this week here is my fruit based appetizer. Strawberries are generally cooked over the stove top. However, they taste really good when they are roasted in an oven. As they are baked strawberries retain their shape. Leave them alone as they cool and they turn juicy and flavorful. The resulting strawberry in its juice goes great with ice cream or as topping on pie. But it also tastes great as a topping for bruschetta. I used my baguette recipe as the base. You can find that here . I have made savory  bruschetta  with tomatoes, basil and mozzarella before. This is a very different recipe but the flavors go together

This was a very experimental recipe. I had never made this before but will be making it again. I am posting bite sized appetizers this week. I wanted to make a bite sized stuffed fruit puff. But at the last minute I realized I had some left over vegetable filling I used in another recipe. So I decided to use that filling instead. The flaky homemade pastry and the vegetable stuffing made this hors d'oeuvre a very wholesome bite. I made this recipe on Prom night. My daughter left late afternoon and was gone for the rest of the day. I made these for our dinner. My husband for some reason chose not to eat it so it was my dinner. I like it a lot but would have to say they are best eaten hot out of the oven. You will need (for 4 mini puffs) For the puff shell 50 gm bread flour 1 tbsp. melted butter 1/2 tsp. instant yeast 1/2 tsp. salt 15 gm water For the filling 1/4 roasted red bell pepper, dice finely 1/4 roasted yellow bell pepper, dice finely 1 roasted carrot, diced

I had once seen an cooking show on TV where they stuffed tomatoes with millet. I am not sure what else was used or if the tomatoes were baked but the idea for the filling staying with me. When I finally decided to try a bite sized recipe with tomatoes I started searching for a suitable filling. I had rye berries in the pantry so I used them. Since then I have used rye berries and millet successfully in this recipe. I used shredded smoked gouda and a little asiago cheese with lots of basil. The rye provides some substance to an otherwise soft fruit. We enjoy the smoky flavor of cheese. If you do not like it you can use regular gouda or even cheddar. I made this version when my daughter was out on a sleepover with friends. I cooked a special dinner for the two of us and this was our appetizer. My daughter loves tomatoes so we saved some for her. She finished them all but they did not taste as good as the day they were baked. These should be served straight out of the oven. You wil

Zucchini is one of those vegetables that can reduce to mush when the recipes demands it but can stand up on retain its shape if called upon to do so. It is so versatile and can be used in sweet and savory dishes. A while back I had made zucchini boats a recipe that never made it to the blog. This recipe is a bite size variation of that creation. Roasted vegetables in all forms are a favorite in my house. Roasted zucchini base topped with roasted bell peppers and goat cheese makes a perfect hors d'oeuvre. I like some char on the vegetables to enhance the taste. A little basil adds to the flavor. You will need 4 zucchini (slender) 1/4 red bell pepper, dice finely 1/4 yellow bell pepper, dice finely 1 carrot, diced finely 3 tbsp. goat cheese 4-5 leaves basil chiffonade 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper powder salt and pepper to taste Preheat oven to 400 F. Wash and clean the zucchini. Cut off the ends. Slice the zucchini in thick rounds. Place them on a baking sheet covered wit

Brie en Croute is a popular appetizer served with either crackers or fruit. A slab of brie is baked inside pastry dough sometimes with fruit. The melted brie in the pastry shell is then served on a heated platter. This a mini version of the popular appetizer. The little balls of pastry have a filling made of a chunk of brie along with some apricot preserve. The pastry is baked with the filling inside. When served hot but not piping hot, it makes a great appetizer. The brie is molten and the fruit preserve adds a mild sweet flavor. The outer shell remains crunchy but is not hard. I brought fresh French made Brie from Whole Foods just for this recipe. Imported Brie can be expensive but Whole Foods will willingly cut you a sliver the size you want. I got just enough for this recipe and to use as a snack with fresh sourdough bread. I made my own pastry dough. I have my own shortcut method for when I want a soft but not necessarily very flaky dough. It is called go easy on the butter.

Hors d'oeuvres or appetizers have a unique place in a meal. Unlike other courses that are meant to fill you up, appetizers are supposed to stimulate the taste buds and get your appetite going before the main course of the meal. They are very flavorful but typically are served in small portion sizes. This week I am presenting baked party hors d'oeuvres. Not the kind you serve yourself on a plate and eat with a fork. The kind that pass by on a tray waiting for you to reach out and pop one in your mouth while holding on to your drink and carrying on your conversation. Bite sized, packed with flavor and served straight out of the oven these baked potatoes in some ways are a mini-version of the popular baked spud eaten with sour cream, cheese and chives. But unlike their bigger counterparts, these are baked with the filling. Using organic potatoes lets you can keep the skin on. Baking the potatoes whole before adding the filling makes them tender without overcooking the filling

I loved the bread as soon as I saw it. I got it from Aeri's blog where she has a lot of Korean recipes. The appearance of this bread made me want to try it. I can never follow a recipe, even when it is my own, so I made a few variations. But the base concept and technique come from Aeri. My daughter is in high school and has a huge workload. Some weeks she is so tired by Friday evening, she skips dinner, she falls asleep at 6 pm and wakes up the next morning. I can usually see it coming during the week. I try to have something appetizing ready for her on Friday afternoon so she does not go to bed hungry. This stuffed bread was one such meal. It was filling and tasty. She devoured it before going off to bed. The original filling is not vegetarian. I substituted red bell pepper to give the filling some body. Add a little salt to the red pepper and allow it to sweat so the filling does not get soggy. You will need For the dough 2 tbsp. butter at room temperature 2 cups