Cranberry Orange Artisan Bread

Cranberry and Orange is one of my personal favorite flavors, especially, when it comes to scone and loaf cake. This is super easy yeasted bread that requires no-kneading. The recipe is basically any artisan bread recipe works for you + grated orange peel and dried cranberries.

Here it goes:

Ingredients :

Warm water - 1 and 1/2 cup
Salt - 1/2 tablespoon
Sugar - 1tablespoon
Yeast - 3/4 tablespoon
Bread flour - 3 cups
Dried Cranberry - 1/2 cup
Grated Orange Peel - from 1 orange

When warm water is ready, go ahead and add salt, sugar and yeast. Give it a good stir and let it sit for 2 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until the dough comes together. This is a very sticky dough.

That is my four year old daughter helping me with my dough.

Rest it for 2 hours, so that dough will rise, nice and airy. On to a nice floured surface place the dough and fold it. Make sure your hands are well dusted with flour. Form a nice dome shape, with seam side down. Dust the dough generously to give that artisan look, bakery style! Rest the dough for another 40 minutes.

Preheat the oven at 450 degree fareheit. Heat 1 cup of  water, add to a baking tray and keep at the lower rack of the oven. Make sure you heat the tray/cookie sheet/pan that will be  using for baking the bread. Once everything is ready and hot, transfer the dough on to the hot cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Slice the bread after it cools down completely. This bread has a very nice aroma, it reminds me of orange cranberry loaf cake!! This loaf is really good for any kind of toast!

Enjoy,
Anjana

Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes with Banana and Coconut filling

This is an easy snack which can be made with ingredients always available in the kitchen. So here goes the ingredients :

To make this you will need :

For the pancakes (makes 3 medium)
Wheat flour -  1/2 cup
Water - 3/4 cup
Banana -  1/2 of one banana
salt -  to taste

For the filling
Banana -  1/2 (chopped into smaller pieces)
Coconut (desiccated or freshly grated)- 2-3 tablespoon
Jaggery/molasses - 1 tablespoon
Cardamom powder -  a pinch (optional)

Mash the banana and add into the flour. Add water and salt, mix well and  keep it aside for 10 minutes, you will end up with nice and soft pancakes. Melt the jaggery (if adding molasses, just mix everything together) and add the banana along with the coconut. If cardamom powder is available, add and mix. Heat a griddle and pour slightly over 1/4 cup of batter. My batter was enough to make 3 pancakes. Add the filling and serve hot/warm.

 If you like it to be sweeter, serve with pancake syrup !

Enjoy,
Anjana

A Green Smoothie for a Healthy Morning

Green juice/ smoothie is a great way to start a day. This is a very basic recipe to make a green juice. I usually add or subtract the ingredients according to their availability in my kitchen, at the time (in the morning!!!).

Recipe  source: Myself
Makes : Two 8 oz. approximately

Almond milk - 1 cup
Banana - 1 (ripened)
Spinach -  1 cup (packed)
Apple/pear - 1
Pine apple chunks - 1/2 cup or to your taste
Cayenne pepper/Chilli powder - a pinch (optional)

Peel and break the banana into the blender jar or nutribullet (or any other convenient machine!). Wash and add spinach. Roughly chop apple/pear, pineapple chunks and throw in with almond milk. Finally, add in the pinch of cayenne pepper or chilli powder to get an extra kick (also, it boosts the metabolism!). Blend and enjoy!

Hope you all have a good day!!

Anjana