Rose Milkshake

It's officially Summer in our neck of woods and the temperatures are slowly rising. So this colorful and refreshing Rose milkshake is just perfect for the season. Recipe is from a TV cooking show.

It wasn't until recently that I got to know that my mom likes rose milkshake. We were talking on the phone a few weeks ago and she was telling me about how she used to drink it when she was little. I wish she had told me that while she was in US, I would have made this for her. Next time she visits us, I know what to make for her.

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Almond Rice Pudding with Homemade Caramel Sauce

Blogging Marathon#65: Week 2/ Day 2

Theme: 1 Sauce -- 2 Dishes

Dish: Almond Rice Pudding with Salted Caramel Sauce

I LOVE rice pudding but hardly ever make it because of my husband is not fond of milky desserts. When I saw this rice pudding with caramel sauce, I was initially skeptical to try because I feared it was going to be too too sweet. But it was probably the best rice pudding I ever made.

I had some almond milk that needed to be used, so I used it to make the rice pudding. You can use regular or other non-dairy milk. But the creaminess of the dish might suffer a little bit with some of the milk alternates.

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Vegan Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Filling and Ganache for Blog Anniversary

I started this blog in 2006 to share the recipes I was trying at home and at the time I wasn't even thinking of how long I would keep doing it. I am actually surprised that I have been doing this for 10 years already. So here's a chocolate cake recipe to celebrate the occasion.

Even though I remember about the blog anniversary, with everything else going on in life, I wasn't actually planning on making anything special. But the BM group pushed me to get off my lazy behind and make this delicious chocolate cake. This is dedicated to the BM group, all my blogging buddies, my readers and my family who inspire me to keep blogging. Thank you all for your support without which this wouldn't have been possible.

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Vegan Eggnog with Almond Milk

I've heard a lot about Eggnog but never tried it myself. The thought of drinking raw egg didn't really appeal to me. Last year I made this Mango Eggnog and it was quite a hit even with the kids.

This year I was tempted to try a vegan eggnog recipe when I saw this on Food52. It  is made with soaked cashews and full fat coconut milk to make it thick and the spices give the required oomph and deliciousness. I looked for more vegan eggnog recipes and found another recipe from Tasty Yummies, this one is made with cashew milk, soaked raw cashews and coconut milk.

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Vegan Churros with Chocolate Sauce

Buffet on Table: Week 1 -- Combos from Countries

Day 5: Mexico -- Vegan Churros with Chocolate Sauce

For the last day of this week's Combo meals, I made a addictive dessert from Mexico -- Churros with Chocolate Sauce. Churros are fingers or loops of sugar coated fried pastry dough that is usually served with cups of hot chocolate.

Churros have a light crunchy outside and an airy inside. They are quite easy to make at home. They can vary from country to country in shape and size: in Venezuela, they are shaped as dainty loops whereas Mexican churros are quite long and spiked with cinnamon. Many Latin countries like their churros with just a dusting of granulated sugar.

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Mango Almond Smoothie

Blogging Marathon# 54: Week 2/ Day 1

Theme: Kid's Delight -- Fruits in any form

Dish: Mango-Almond Smoothie

We are starting a brand new week of blogging marathon and my theme for this week is 'Fruits in any form'. It's for Valli's Kid's Delight event being hosted this month by Harini. I have 2 extremes at home, my son doesn't want to touch any fruit and my daughter loves most of the fruits. So for this week, I've tried to make dishes that would (hopefully) please both of them.

First up is this delicious and nutritious mango-almond smoothie. With mango season in full swing, I am making sure to keep fresh, juicy mangoes in stock all the time. We eat most of them as is -- peeled and diced.

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Tres Leche Cake (Vegan Recipe)

I have a rich, decadent and indulgent dessert today, Tres Leche cake or 3 milk cake. I made as a part of Mexican lunch I had with some of my blog buddies last weekend.

My husband is not a big fan of desserts like these, but I love them a lot. Since I can't make them for myself, I'm always looking for opportunities to make them. So when I decided on the Mexican theme for our blogger's lunch, I knew this Latin American dessert would be a great addition.

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Sweet Corn & Coconut Pudding

Blogging Marathon# 26: Week 3/ Day 3
Theme: Pick 1 ingredient and Cook from 3 books -- Dessert
Dish: Sweet Corn & Coconut Pudding

I have been watching a lot of Indian cooking shows lately and it looks like 'sweet corn aka American corn' is the latest 'hot' ingredient. Recipes ranging from breakfast upma to filling biryanis/ kurmas and desserts are being made with this versatile ingredient. Though I found it hard to find a dessert recipe with corn in my cookbooks, I would have definitely found a dessert recipe on one of the cooking shows.

Today's recipe is from "Viva Vegan" cookbook by Terry Hope Romero. Majarete is a light sweet pudding from the Caribbean island nations and some South American countries. This recipe is based on majarete found in the Dominican Republic, which is corn based, creamy and coconut scented with vanilla and cinnamon.

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Vegan Semya Payasam (Kheer) with Almond Milk

VeganMofo Day 25: Belated Dasara Wishes to Everyone. My husband was out of town yesterday, it was just my mom and I at home. Didn't feel like making anything big for the two of us, so I made this quick prasad for Vijayadasami.

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Vegan Chocolate Tres Leches Cake

 VeganMofo Day 17: Today is my husband's birthday and since he's a big chocoholic I wanted to make a vegan chocolate cake for him. Tres Leche cake is one of my favorite cakes and I decided to make a chocolate version. I adapted the Tres Leche Cake recipe from "Viva Vegan" cookbook by Terry Hope Romero to include chocolate.

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Almond Brown Rice Pudding

This recipe was love at first site for me. When I saw the recipe on Whole Foods website, I just had to make it right away. But that right away did not come for another 2 months, even though I was thinking of the dish a lot. It is a simple rice pudding with brown rice, almond milk and pureed dates and I usually have all the ingredients in my pantry & the fridge. What really caught my attention was the use of pureed dates in the recipe and I was imagining the combination of creamy almond milk with the rich sweetness of the dates even before making the dish.

It was so totally worth it when I finally made it, wasn't disappointed at all. It was slightly chewy, sweet and nutty - a perfect balance of taste & texture -- totally awesome. I used Lion brand date syrup that I brought back from India instead of pureeing the dates. I also used long grain brown rice, but short grain rice would probably make a more creamier rice pudding. So if you want to make this dish, try to get some short grain brown rice.

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