Eggless Carrot Cake ~ Butterless, Low Fat & Healthy

Carrot cake is one of the first few cakes I baked. During those beginning days, I stick to the recipe and never attempted to make any changes. Then after few attempts and reading many more recipes in various blogs, I started tweaking the recipe. This recipe is a result of my attempt to use whole wheat flour, low fat, healthy cake.

Ingredients

•  Wheat flour - 1 cup
• Sugar - 3/4 cup
• Grated carrots - 1 cup
• Refined Oil - 1/3 cup (I used rice bran)
• Buttermilk - 3/4 cup
• Vanilla essence - 2 tspn
• All spice powder -1/2 tspn  (Combo of cinnamon,star anise, cloves powdered together)
• Baking powder - 1 tspn
• Baking soda - 1 tspn
• Chopped nuts/tutti fruity - 1/2 cup

 Method

Sieve together maida, baking powder, soda and spice powder. Add oil, sugar and buttermilk. Whisk until its smooth and is well combined. Now fold the wet ingredients into the dry, mixing with each addition.

Transfer the batter to a greased and dusted cake tin and bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

 

 

The cake is very soft and moist. Since the cake on its own is very sweet, there isn't any need for frosting.  I baked one batch in an aluminium foil box to be taken for a friend.

 

 

 

That annoying drip...

We're smack dab in the middle of "National Fix a Leak Week" and already on pace to waste 1 trillion gallons of fresh water by years end.  Have you done anything in your home to check for leaks?

The amount of water leaked from U.S. homes could exceed more than 1 trillion gallons per year. That's equivalent to the annual water use of Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami combined. Wow! Does that mean every home has a leak? Well, if you believe the statistics, the answer is likely yes but we can all do our part in fixing the problem.

Most water leaks in the home go undetected, a leaking toilet flapper or an irrigation line buried out in the yard generally pass under our radar because they usually do not show up as a wet spot on the floor/ceiling.  Click the link above for a whole list of useful tips on where and how to check for leaks in your home and remember I am always eager to help should you need assistance.

Herb Red Potato Fry

Today I thought of making my favorite potato fry. Thought we eat food which is made with lot of spices, we do like simple aromatic food too. I got these different herbs like rosemary and thyme from market and I love them using in my recipes. So thought of marrying these two ingredients in making a simple yet elegant side dish.

Click on this link to see for information about Herbs and Spices

Some Medicinal uses of Thyme and Rosemary:

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Thyme:

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The essential oil of common thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is made up of 20-54% thymol. Thymol, an antiseptic, is the main active ingredient in Listerine mouthwash. Before the advent of modern antibiotics, it was used to medicate bandages. It has also been shown to be effective against the fungus that commonly infects toenails. It can also be found as the active ingredient in all-natural, alcohol-free hand sanitizers.

A tea made by infusing the herb in water can be used for cough and bronchitis. Medicinally thyme is used for respiratory infections in the form of a tincture, tisane, salve, syrup or by steam inhalation. Because it is antiseptic, thyme boiled in water and cooled is very effective against inflammation of the throat when gargled 3 times a day. The inflammation will normally disappear in 2 – 5 days. The thymol and other volatile components in the leaf glands is excreted via the lungs, being highly lipid-soluble, where it reduces the viscosity of the mucus and exerts its antimicrobial action. Other infections and wounds can be dripped with thyme that has been boiled in water and cooled.

In traditional Jamaican childbirth practice, thyme tea is given to the mother after delivery of the baby. Its oxytocin-like effect causes uterine contractions and more rapid delivery of the placenta but this was said by Sheila Kitzinger to cause an increased prevalence of retained placenta.

Rosemary:

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The results of a study suggest that carnosic acid, found in rosemary, may shield the brain from free radicals, lowering the risk of strokes and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer'sand Lou Gehrig's.

Rosemary may have some anti-carcinogenic properties. A study where a powdered form of rosemary was given to rats in a measured amount for 2 weeks showed reduction in the binding of a certain carcinogen by 76%, and greatly reduced the formation of mammary tumors.

Rosemary contains a number of potentially biologically active compounds, including antioxidants such as carnosic acid and rosmarinic acid. Other bioactive compounds include camphor(up to 20% in dry rosemary leaves), caffeic acid, ursolic acid, betulinic acid, rosmaridiphenol, and rosmanol. Rosemary antioxidants levels are closely related to soil moisture content.The market for these medicinal use of rosemary is currently small but there is a market for rosemary antioxidants and under the right conditions rosemary production could be profitable and sustainable.

Ingredients:

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3 small Red Skin Potatoes cubed

2 Garlic pods chopped finely

4-5 sprigs of Thyme leaves pulled out of the stem and roughly chopped

2-3 sprigs of Rosemary leaves pulled out of stem and roughly chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 tbsp Butter

1 tsp Olive Oil

Method:

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1. In a sate pan add oil and butter and when the butter melts add garlic and herbs and sate it for about a min.

2. add the potatoes, salt and pepper and first lightly brown on all sides and later cover with lid and cook until it's 3/4 done may be for about 7-8 mins.

3. Later open the lid and toss is frequently and make it crispier or until it's cooked and crisp on the outside. Serve this hot or warm with any mixed rice or grilled meat and veggies.