Summer Corn Chowder

For this week BM#57 we were given a choice to choose from this site Food 52 Weekly Contest.   This soup is yummy,  I, have made it vegetarian with some  minor changes,  it tasted yum and creamy.

Recipe Source here
Serves 2

Ingredients
2 Ears of Corn
1 Small Onion
1 Green chilly -  finely chopped
1 Jalapeno pepper - seeded and finely chopped
1 Small Celery stem -  finely chopped
1 Tomato - peeled, seeded and finely chopped
1 Large Potato  - peeled and cubed
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
A pinch all spice powder
A Pinch of sugar

1 Bay leaf
1 Tablespoon Cream - at room temperature
1/4 Cup Milk
Freshly ground black pepper
Chopped parsley, for garnish

1 Tablespoon Olive oil

Method

Remove the kernels from the corn.  Take the kernels of one corn, place it in the blender with 1/4 cup water and grind to paste.  Strain the paste and keep aside the  milk.

In a large saucepan,  add the oil when  slightly heated add the onion and cook over moderate heat until golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the green chilly, jalapeno and celery and cook until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Add the tomato, potato, salt, all spice, sugar, bay leaf,  the reserved corn kernels and the milk,  stir well. Cook over moderate heat until mixture begins to sizzle.

Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender, 30  to 35 minutes. Stir in the cream and milk and bring just to a boil. Remove from heat and season with black pepper to taste. Ladle the chowder into bowls and garnish with parsley.  Serve hot and enjoy.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 57

Labels :  Soup, Corn, Blogging Marathon, Chowder, Gluten Free

Recap ~ BM #56 ~ Buffet on Table

This my 2nd Mega Marathon . I am sure many of you must have seen my post ~ theme "Buffet on Table" here is the recap for the marathon.

Week 1 (Combos from Countries)
FISH N CHIPS WITH SAUTEED VEGETABLES AND SPICY DIP

CHICKEN RENDANG WITH NASI LEMAK

THAI RED CURRY PRAWN WITH RICE NOODLES

MOROCCAN SPICY RICE WITH MOROCCAN SALAD ( SHLADA)

MATAR PULAO WITH RAITA

Week 2 (Indian States)

GUJARATI KADHI WITH STEAMED RICE- A TRADITIONAL GUJARATI CUISINE

LEMON PEPPER RASAM WITH STUFFED RICE ROTI - TAMIL NADU

RAJMA CHAWL WITH MANGO KACHUMBER - PUNJAB

BROAD BEANS POTATO BADI CURRY WITH TRIKON PARATHA - CHHATTISGARH 

GAJRELA - KASHMIR

KALA MASOOR MASALA / SABUT MASOOR MASALA - MAHARASHTRA

Week 3 (Condiments from Countries)

HUMMUS (BI TAHINI) - HOMEMADE

HARISSA PASTE - TUNISIA

BROWN SAUCE GRILLED CHICKEN - SPAIN

ENCHILADA SAUCE - MEXICO

ROASTED POTATOES WITH ZAATAR SPICE - HOMEMADE

AAM KA MURABBA / RAW MANGO CHUNDA - INDIA

Week 4 (Breakfast across Countries)
ENGLISH BREAKFAST - UNITED KINGDOM

SWEET CORN ATOLE - MEXICAN 

SPANISH OMELET - SPAIN 

PAKISTANI BREAKFAST

HAFRAGRAUTUR / OATS PORRIDGE - ICELAND

SWEET VERMICELLI / SEVIYAN KA MEETHA 

Week 5 (Blogger's Choice) 

FUSION BHEL ( A LOW CALORIE)

HOW TO MAKE FROZEN PEAS AT HOME - HOMEMADE FROZEN PEAS

CANDIED GINGER - HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN CANDIED GINGER - HOMEMADE 

An InLinkz Link-up

Candied Ginger - How To Make Your Own Candied Ginger - Homemade

Let me disclose one truth - my weakness for candied ginger. I simply relish this. I can finish 200 grams packet of theses in day or two. As I am working in the kitchen I will just pop one of these into my mouth. So I decided to make my own candied ginger so that I can enjoy having it and not ...making a hole in my pocket. This candied ginger is so expensive and with very little effort you can make this at home. It turned out superb.

Ingredients

400 Grams Fresh Ginger- should be tender and less fibrous
2 cups granulated sugar + additional sugar for coating
3 cups water
A pinch of salt

A teaspoon of Lime juice

Method

Soak the ginger in water for 10 minutes then wash it.

Peel ginger with a vegetable peeler( this works well for me).
Slice ginger. Make it as thin as possible. 

  

I used the V slicer to slice it, (but be careful while using the V  slicer as it is very very sharp  it can slice your finger too) do get distracted while using the V slicer  again I would say ...Be careful!

Place the sliced ginger in cold water for 15 minutes.

Place ginger slices in a saucepan, adding enough water
to cover ginger. Bring water to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer 10 minutes. 

Drain water from ginger. 

Then boil again in fresh water, changing the water twice. This will reduce the sharp - pungent taste of the ginger.

After completing this process then again boil water in the sauce pan  add the sugar, salt and  stir it in between  till it comes to a boiling point.  Place  the twice-boiled ginger slices back in the saucepan. Cover the pan with a lid and cook  it over medium heat  for 20 to 30 minutes or until the ginger is cooked.  Do not over over cook it or else it will turn into a paste when it cools. Once cooked remove pan from heat immediately.  Drain the syrup.  Keep the syrup aside.

Options: Ginger Slices in Syrup OR Sugar-Coated Ginger:
I did  both!

For ginger in syrup:

Take the drained ginger syrup back into the pan add the lime juice and let it boil till it thickens slightly ( the lime juice is added so that the syrup does not crystallize when stored )

Allow mixture in saucepan to stand for an hour at room temperature to cool a bit. Spoon mixture with half the  ginger slices  into a glass jar with a tight fitting lid. Store in refrigerator up to 1 year. Do not use for 20 days to  one month.  After a month use it in anything you want to make

The syrup is delicious drizzled over  pancakes, ice cream, or use this preserve to prepare ginger bread or cookies or even in a cocktail!

For sugar-coated ginger slices:

Immediately after removing hot mixture from the heat, drain ginger slices, getting as much of the syrup off the ginger as possible. I used a sieve to do this. Let this drained ginger sit in the sieve till completely cooled and free of any extra syrup or moisture.    

In a separate bowl  pour in enough powdered  sugar to coat the ginger slices. Give them a turn and toss until they are well-coated.  Do this process again twice.

Once slices are completely covered with sugar, give them a shake to get rid of excess sugar.(I used this excess sugar to  make our tea -  to impart a mild ginger flavor).

Place the ginger slices on a plate you’ve covered with foil or butter paper to dry (this may take several hours or even overnight, depending on humidity) It took 2 days to dry completely ( let me disclose this too - by that time more than half the ginger was finished by me).

To store sugar-coated ginger slices, place them in a glass jar and keep tightly sealed at room temperature for up to  a month or 2 or 3 months. That too long for me, it lasted only 2 days.... my weak... ness ...ha... will make it again.

Labels : Ginger, Sugar, Homemade, Blogging Marathon 

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 56

An InLinkz Link-up

How to make frozen peas at home - Homemade Frozen Peas

This is delayed post, sorry friends was suppose to post it earlier it somehow forgot about it.  But very soon  green peas will come in the market the season is nearing.  When in season green peas are very cheap, that's the right time to bring and store them.  For when peas are not in season, they  are expensive too.  Today's post is  making your own homemade frozen peas! So lets get on how to make frozen peas at home !

Ingredients

3 Kg Fresh Green Peas

A pinch of Soda bi carb - optional

Water as required

Method

Remove the peas from the pod, set aside. Rinse it well in a strainer once. 

Boil water in a big vessel / pot  until bubbles appear vigorously.

Add the peas and soda bi carb,  the peas will all float on the top,   keep for a minute,  when you see bubbles just beginning to appear. Immediately take  off  flame and pour it into the strainer, run the tap of cold water to stop the cooking process. Cool them under running tap completely.

Drain the water completely.   Then spread it on a clean cotton cloth to dry  for about half an hour.  

Store it in a zip lock bag or an airtight container.  I store it like this.  Cut plastic sheets a little bigger than the size of the container.  Place one layer of peas according to one time use approximately.  Then place the plastic sheet on top, place another layer of peas.  Keep repeating this process till you finish storing all the peas.  This occupies less space in the fridge too.

Freeze it...  whenever you require peas just lift the plastic sheet and take the quantity you require for your use.  Keep the container back into the fridge.  In this manner you need not defrost the full lot. 

Frozen peas are very handy and cooks faster as its already parboiled.

To thaw the frozen peas:

Take the frozen peas keep it in a plate and let it come to room temperature,  they will separate, you can use it for the required recipe.

My Notes:

Blanching, then freezing them gives more shelf life also helps in easy cooking later and does not emit a raw smell.

Don't overcook the peas.

The peas slightly shrink.. it is perfectly normal not to worry.

Also before storing in zip lock/ container make sure there is no moisture in the peas  or else it will easily spoil.

I store the peas for 6 to 9 months and they are still fresh when defrosted.

Labels : Vegetables, Green Peas, Homemade, Blogging Marathon

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 56

An InLinkz Link-up