Kid's Delight - Fruit based recipes - Event Announcement

Changing seasons bring with it a variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables. The food we cook also changes to accommodate the changing produce in the grocery store. Whether you are enjoying the last taste of summer fruit or the fresh taste of fall fruit, share your recipes with us.

This month I am hosting Kid's Delight, an event started by Srivalli of Spice your life. As part of this event I challenge you to cook dishes where fruit is the primary ingredient and have the stamp of approval from a child. I understand this 'approval' can be subjective. My child has a mature palate and will try anything. Your child may be picky. I will accept all entries as long as they are vegetarian (eggs okay).

Here are the rules.
Prepare a fruit based dish and blog about it between the 16th of October and 15 of November 2016.
Link to this post and Srivalli's Kid's Delight post.
Entries should use fruit and not fruit extracts. Fruit juice is okay.
Multiple entries are allowed.
Children in your life should have approved this dish.
The dish should be vegetarian (eggs okay)
Archived entries will not be accepted.

Bloggers and non-bloggers are invited to send in their entries to varadaskitchen@gmail.com with the subject line 'Fruit Based Recipes'. Please include the following in your email.
Your name and the name of your blog
Name of the recipe
URL of the post
Picture of the dish

I look forward to all your colorful dishes

52 Week Cooking Challenge

I have decided to participate in the 52 Week Challenge hosted on the Reddit forums. Every week there is new theme. Every participant is expected to cook as per the theme and post a picture of the finished product. The themes are disclosed a few weeks ahead so there is plenty of time to prepare.

I participated in this cooking challenge in 2014. While it was fun there were a few difficult weeks when the theme was not suited to a vegetarian lifestyle. I am hoping I do not run into similar problems this year. I am really looking forward to the weekly challenges.

Here are my entries so far -

Kid's Delight Roundup

Kid's Delight is a themed event started by Srivalli of Spicing Your Life. Every month is hosted by a different blogger. I have never hosted an event on this space so when she sent out an email asking for hosts I put my hand up. The theme I chose is colorful dishes.

Color in nature makes us feel good on the outside. Eating food with different colors makes us feel good on the inside. As a rule one should try to eat foods with five different colors a day. I challenged my fellow bloggers to come up with recipes that used colorful food, not food color. And here is what they came up with.

Srivalli from Spicing Your Life

Methi Beets Pulao with Soya Chunks

Tomato Soup with Cheese toast 

Corn Spinach Cheese Toast

Archana from The Mad Scientist's Kitchen

No Bake Cheesecake

Roasted Beet Salad

Devilled Eggs

PJ from Seduce Your Tastebuds

Papaya Carrot Apple Juice

Capsicum Cheese Toast

Colorful Cocktail mini idlis

Ruchi Indu from Ende Kushini

Chettinadu Biryani

Batata Poha

Semiya Pulav

Kid's Delight - Colorful Dishes - Event Announcement

Nature is colorful whether it is flowers, birds, animals or fruit and vegetables. Color is good for us. A blooming colorful garden makes us happy. On a hot sunny day a deep green canopy of evergreens feels cool and pleasant.

But did you know the same is true for colorful food? Our body needs naturally colored food. Not only does such food look appetizing but is provides us with a wide array of nutrients. How many times a week do you to cook, bake, steam or in any way prepare food that is naturally colorful?

This month I am hosting Kid's Delight an event started by Srivalli of Spice your life. As part of this event I challenge you to cook dishes that are colorful and have the stamp of approval from a child. I understand this 'approval' can be subjective. My child has a mature palate and will try anything. Your child may be picky. I will accept all entries as long as they are vegetarian (eggs okay).

Here are the rules.
Prepare a colorful dish and blog about it between the 16th of February and 15 of March 2015.
Link to this post and Srivalli's Kid's Delight post.
Entries should be colorful but without the use of artificial colors.
Multiple entries are allowed.
Children in your life should have approved this dish.
The dish should be vegetarian (eggs okay)
Archived entries will not be accepted.

Bloggers and non-bloggers are invited to send in their entries to varadaskitchen@gmail.com with the subject line 'Colorful Dishes'. Please include the following in your email.
Your name and the name of your blog
Name of the recipe
URL of the post
Picture of the dish

I look forward to all your colorful dishes

Mega Marathon

Blogging Marathon is the brainchild of Srivalli who blogs at Spice Your Life. Participants blog three days a week for either 2 or 4 weeks of the month based on a theme. I plan on participating in the Blogging Marathon every month. Mega Marathon is an enhanced version of the Blogging Marathon where participants blog every day of the month except Sundays. There are two versions of this event every year. I plan on participating in both, the April and the September, versions this year.

The mega marathons I have participated in so far -

Daring Bakers Challenge

I am going to continue with the Daring Bakers challenge this year. Daring Bakers has received a face lift and new energy has been pumped into it. If you have never heard of this challenge, every month a participating baker steps up and hosts a challenge. The other bakers take up the challenge and bake the challenge recipe. It is a fun way to expand your skills and get to know some really nice bloggers. I would never have attempted any of the recipes below if it were not for this challenge as I had never heard of these recipes before the challenge. I am looking forward to participating in the new challenges.

Here are my entries so far -

Sourdough Surprises

Finding Sourdough Surprises was a happy accident. I would love to participate regularly in this event as it allows me to use my favorite sourdough starter. But for one reason or the other I have not been able to participate in 2014. I plan to change that in 2015 and participate every month.

These are the recipes I cooked/baked for this challenge so far -

Bundt Bakers

I don't cook cakes often so I joined the Bundt Bakers. I have a cute bundt pan and have participated in the event a couple times last year. I want to continue to participate in this event in 2015.

The bundt cakes I have baked for this event so far -

2015 52 Week Baking Challenge

This year I have decided to participate in the 52 Week Baking Challenge hosting on the Reddit forums. Every week there is new theme. Every participant is expected to bake as per the theme and post a picture of the finished product. The themes are disclosed a few weeks ahead so there is plenty of time to prepare.

Last year I participated in a similar cooking challenge. While it was fun there were a few difficult weeks when the theme was not suited to a vegetarian lifestyle. I am hope I do not run into similar problems with baking. I am really looking forward to the weekly challenges.

Here are my entries so far -

Foodies Read 2015 Challenge

Last year in December I went looking for challenges around the web. I found two I liked - the Reddit 52 week food challenge and a photography challenge. I stuck with the first and not the second. Over the course of the year the food challenge got difficult with weekly themes not always suitable for a vegetarian. But I stuck it out and always found a way around. For 2015 I decided I did not want to do that again and was looking for something new.  I found the Foodies Read Challenge.

It is a very interesting challenge for a food blogger. If you are intrigued and want to find out more visit their website here. I have decided to join this challenge as the Cordon-Blue Chef and read more than 19 books this year. I know it is ambitious but I think I can make the time.

These are the books I have reviewed so far -