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I’ve got a new hummingbird feeder for the front yard. I’ve watched them swooping in and out before I decided to put a feeder out. Surprisingly, after installing the feeder, I don’t see any hummingbirds making their way to the nectar. Am I doing something wrong? Any suggestions? I thought that I’ll make some hummingbirds of my own to console my heart. In the meantime, anyone out there is more than welcome to join me on my quest to be friends with these beautiful creatures.

INGREDIENTS:

  • All-purpose flour* + extra for dusting pan- 3 cups
  • Baking soda – 1 teaspoon
  • Salt- 1 teaspoon
  • Cinnamon- 1 teaspoon
  • Unsalted butter, room temperature + extra for buttering pan- 2 sticks
  • Extra Fine Granulated Sugar- 1 cup
  • Light Brown Sugar-1 cup
  • Vanilla extract- 1 tablespoon
  • Eggs- 4
  • Mashed ripe banana- 2 cups
  • Crushed pineapple, with juices- 8 ounces
  • Milk- 1/3 cup
  • Pecans, chopped- 2 cups

To make the Frosting:

  • Cream cheese, softened- 8 ounces
  • Vanilla extract- 2 teaspoons
  • Confectioners Powdered Sugar- 1 cup
  • Whole milk- 1/2 cup
  • Water- 3 tablespoon
  • Chopped pecans- 1/2 cup

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Butter and flour 12 mini bundt pans.
  3. Sift flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together. Set aside.
  4. Mix butter and both sugars until well combined; mix in vanilla.
  5. Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, and pineapples. Add milk.
  6. Slowly mix in flour mixture.
  7. Fold in 2 cups chopped pecans.
  8. Divide cake batter evenly into 12 mini bundt cake pans
  9. Bake 30 minutes.
  10. Let cakes cool 5-10 minutes before turning over and removing from pan. Let cake cool completely before frosting.
  11. For frosting, whisk together cream cheese and vanilla extract. Slowly add in powdered sugar.
  12. Whisk in milk and water.
  13. Drizzle icing over cooled cakes and top with chopped pecans.

Remember:

*Spoon & Sweep method: Use a spoon to fill measuring cup with flour until required amount is obtained. Scooping measuring cup directly into flour bag will firmly pack flour resulting in too much flour required for recipe.

https://www.dixiecrystals.com/recipes/hummingbird-mini-bundt-cakes

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Golap Pitha

I have made these a while ago. The lady that I have learned from is my favorite of all the deshi people on youtube. Here is a shout out to Fouzia aunty. I have tried a lot of her recipes. Her techniques are very easy to follow and understand. I hope that whoever reads this also tries out a few recipes from her vlog on youtube. The taste and the presentation is very authentic and I am sure they will satisfy your deshi cravings. I have linked this recipe down below. For those of you who do not speak Bangla, it may help to watch the video as I have tried my best to explain the process of making the shape of the flower,  but it might have sounded a bit complicated when explained. Happy Cooking!

INGREDIENTS:

  • Flour – 1 cup
  • Milk- 1/2 cup
  • Egg beat -1
  • Olive oil- 1 Tbsp
  • Sugar- 2 Tbsp
  • Food color (optional) – Used to color the flowers

To make the Sugar Syrup:

  • Sugar-2 cup
  • Water- 1 cup

DIRECTIONS:

  1. In a saute pan, pour the milk and wait for it to come to a boil. After which you can turn off the stove and pour in the oil and the sugar making sure to whisk it in. Beat the egg and add it to the mixture. Lastly, add the flour and mix vigorously and wait for it to cool down.
  2. After the mixture is cooled, form a dough and roll them out into big thin rounds. Take a cup or a round cookie cutter and cut out three circles (3 circles will make one flower).
  3. Stack the three circles on top of each other. Press down with your pinky finger in the middle of the stacked circles to attach them together.  Make three cuts leaving the middle portion intact. Lift one piece by holding the ends of the piece and press down towards the middle indent bringing together the two ends of the piece to form a cone in the middle which will be the middle of the flower. Lift another piece holding it by the two ends pressing it down alongside the other piece. Keep lifting all the pieces by the two ends of them and pressing down the corners to make it look like flower petals.
  4. After you are done making the shape make sure to press all the corners together well enough so that it doesn’t come undone when frying. Trim out the excess from the corner to give it a much more realistic look.
  5. In a frying pan on low heat cook these flowers until they are golden brown. Do not rush this process, as you want the flowers to cook thoroughly.
  6. To make the sugar syrup – on a separate saucepan bring the sugar and the water to boil. After frying the flowers let it sit on a paper towel to soak up the oil. Place the flowers in the sugar syrup under medium heat for about five minutes. Take them out and serve them warm. The flowers should be slightly soft and crispy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4iX0XACHLw

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Its been a while since I got around to uploading a recipe. Life has been so wonderfully busy. I am finally realizing the importance of a lot of things I didn’t care for before. I guess this is how it feels to be an adult. I started eating healthier and working out as well. I have been doing the paleo diet for a few months and it was getting boring to eat grilled chicken breast every day. So I wanted to come up with something different and put my cast iron skillet to good use. Here is a sort of healthy recipe for people who want to have delicious and good food.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 Medium Chicken Thighs
  • Bone-in Skin on 2 Chicken Wings
  • Butter- 2 tbs
  • Olive Oil-1 tbs
  • Salt, Pepper, Paprika to Taste
  • 4 Medium Russet Potatoes (Peeled and Diced into 1-Inch Cubes)
  • Baby Carrots-2 Cups (Halved Longways)
  • Onion-1 Medium
  • Cloves Garlic-Diced 5 minced
  • Soy Sauce-1/2 Cup
  • Honey-1/2 Cup
  • Ketchup-1/4 Cup
  • Chicken Stock-1 Cup

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high, add butter and olive oil.
  2. Pat dry chicken with paper towel and season with salt, pepper, and paprika to taste.
  3. Place chicken skin side down in the hot skillet, and cook just until brown. Flip chicken and brown on the other side. Do not cook all the way through. Remove from pan and set aside.
  4. In the same skillet, add baby carrots and potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Cook over high heat until they develop some color. About 8 minutes. *TIP: Only stir occasionally. This allows more color to develop. Color = FLAVOR! Once slightly golden but NOT cooked through, remove from the pan and set aside.
  5. In the same pan, add onion, and more olive oil if needed. Saute onion until translucent. While onion is cooking, make the sauce. Whisk to combine coconut aminos (soy sauce substitute), honey, ketchup and chicken stock in a small bowl. Set aside.
  6. Add garlic to onion and cook 1 minute. Add sauce and bring to a simmer to reduce slightly. About 5 minutes. Add carrots and potatoes to the skillet and toss in the sauce. Nestle in chicken pieces.
  7. Finish cooking in a 425°F oven for about 15-20 minutes OR until chicken reads an internal temperature of 165°F.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH6hy1fHiQw

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Lobongo Lotika Preparation

Lobongo Lotika Preparation

 

I never thought that I will be able to cook let alone make things that I’ve never been introduced to before. Growing up, my mother being a full-time worker always made the time and put in the effort to make traditional food that we couldn’t buy around us because we never lived in Bangladesh.I would help my mom out in the kitchen all the time and always felt that I will never be able to do what she was doing. But somewhere in my head, all the things that I have seen her do have stuck with me, I guess. After all these years when I work in the kitchen, I feel like I”ve achieved such a great feat making things from scratch. And it becomes decently impressive to people around me. It is quite surreal, I feel a bit grown up. Here is a grown-up recipe. Follow the link below to view the steps clearly.

 

INGREDIENTS:

To make the filling

  • Desiccated Coconuts-2 cups
  • Sugar- 2 cups
  • Cardamom Powder- 1/4 tsp
  • Semolina- 1/4 cup
  • Cloves- As needed

To make the Dough

  •  Flour- 2 cups
  • Sugar- 2 Tbs
  • Salt- 1 pinch
  • Oil- 1/4 cup
  • Water- As needed

DIRECTIONS:

  1. To make the filling, in a saucepan put coconut, sugar and about 1 Tbs of water to melt the sugar quickly. Turn the saucepan on after combining all the ingredients. The mixture will become thick and will turn liquidy. Add semolina and cardamom powder, cook a bit more so it develops the flavor. Keep aside on a plate to cool.
  2. To make the dough combine flour, sugar, salt, and oil in a mixing bowl. Add about a little bit more than half a cup of water to form the dough.
  3. Make 10-12 balls of dough. Roll them out one at a time and put about two tablespoons full of filling in the middle of the dough.
  4. Brush some water all around the edge of the dough. Fold the top half of the dough towards the middle. Brush the water only on one side of the dough. Folding from the top right corner to the middle. Brush water to the remainder of the dough folding again from right to the center. keep repeating the folds until all the dough gathers in the center. Pierce the middle with a piece of clove.
  5. Heat about 2 cups of oil in a frying pan. Deep fry the parcels three at a time making sure to cook all the sides evenly.
  6. Serve while it’s hot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CdfMFOg0D0

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Not Yo’ Mamas Pudding

Banana Pudding

I have never tasted banana pudding before until two weeks ago at a Barbecue restaurant. I instantly fell in love with it and could not forget how satisfyingly beautiful it tasted. That was three weeks ago. I was craving to have this pudding since then. I asked around at my workplace to see if anybody has a guaranteed recipe that is easy to put together. And here is the recipe that I tried. It makes enough for at least 15 people. I had banana pudding to eat for a week and had shared one whole pie dish with a family. I substituted vanilla wafers for Chessmen cookies.

INGREDIENTS:

  • Can sweetened condensed Milk- 1 (14-ounce)
  • Frozen whipped topping- 1 (12 ounces)
  • Pepperidge Farm Chessmen Cookies- (2 bags)
  • Bananas- 6 to 8 sliced
  • Milk- 2 Cups
  • Instant French vanilla pudding mix- 1 box (5 ounces)
  • Softened cream cheese- 1 box (8 ounces)

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Line the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch dish with 1 bag of cookies and layer bananas on top.
  2. In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend well using a handheld electric mixer.
  3. Using another bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth.
  4. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended.
  5. Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/not-yo-mamas-banana-pudding-recipe-1912976