sundried tomatoes,garlic and olive focaccia and box

 Hi............this poor thing has been sitting in my draft for AGES!!!!!!!!!!Only because I completely forgot to take the pics of the uncut....baked focaccia......and uh...this happened a couple of times....but now...finally the day has dawned when I can put this post up.....................I'm also attaching some pics of a recycled box that I have done for snehal's event.....those guys are really good(crafters all of them!),this is just my humble attempt ...please don't judge me!

The sundried tomatoes I had sitting in my pantry,I had done those when the sun was nice and shiney(as opposed to now,when it can't make up its mind!)You can see it  here lazy-cooks-sun-dried-tomatoes.html.

INGRDS 2 cups plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp

5 cloves of garlic finely chopped

10 black olives stoned and finely chopped
1/2 cup of sun dried tomatoes chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
150 ml lukewarm water
TOPPING
5 tablepoons olive oil
sundried tomatoes chopped
3 olives chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
METHOD
1.Mix together everything except the topping ingrds,make a well in the centre add the olive oil and water..........now mix thoroughly to form a soft dough.

2.Turn onto a floured surface and knead for 10 mins.Put the dough into an oiled bol and leave to prove for at least an hour.

3.Turn out the dough and knead lightly again.Roll out into an oval shape,about 1/2 cm thick .

4.Place the dough on a greased baking sheet,cover and leave to prove for 30 mins.

5.Pre heat the oven..........make indentations all over the top with your finger tips.......put the chopped tonatoes and olives and half the olive oil on top.Bake at 200 deg C for 25 mins...........transfer to a wire rack and spoon the remaining olive oil on top...........excellent when eaten fresh out of the oven....the next ay is going to see this get a little hard(but still good.....treat like a salty rusk!)
Now onto my little handmade box..... which is going to snehal's event at snehalscreations.blogspot...this is made with recycled stuff.....the box is what we buy act 11 popcrn in,the covering(?)is a handmade paper bag..which I cut up,the lid  and the rust coloured flowers had been donated by my friend and neighbour manisha(thank you sweetie)and all the embellisments have been taken from my daughters stash(love you darling!)....hmm....oh yeah..the effort is mine.

lazy cooks baked samosas

Hi...everyone...there is this wonderful event started by Nupur fried-to-favourite I'll keep my stories for another time...coz there is a storm brewing up..which means that soon..very soon I'm going to lose the net.Check out Nupur's page for the details...........I tried the baked samosa's out........ I agonized for days,bout how I was going to make the covering as fat free as possible....I think it worked out fine!Thanks Nupur.....I seriously would never have considered baking samosas!..........Here goes my version of the baked samosa...........the filling is -masala-potatoes....The cover/wrap is as follows

INGRDS

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ajwain(carom seeds)

2 tsp olive oil

cold water to knead the dough..as reqd

METHOD

1.To the flour....add the salt,and ajwain...now add the oil and rub it into the mixture..try and get it to look like bread crumbs.....add the cold water and knead well..it should be a fairly tight dough.

2.Let the dough rest for 1/2 an hour(prepare the filling),then break off walnut sized pcs of dough ,roll it between your palms to get a nice n round ball .......roll out  with a rolling pin into a circle  ,cut the circle into half put the filling in and pinch the sides together.

3.Brush olive oil on a baking tray and in a preheated oven,bake at 180degC for 20 mins,then brush the samosas with a little olive oil ,flip 'em over and bake for another 20 mins.

4.Serve hot with chutney or tomato sauce.

 NOTE

After sending these to a few friends for their input..the following points are to be noted

1.The wrap should be a little thicker.

2.The oil in the wrap could go up a bit and finally

3.The ajwain could be done without......this is optional

lazy cooks penne with mushrooms and sausages

Hi everyone.......a very good morning to all.this is a quick post on a quick,one dish meal.The vegetarians can leave out the sausages(obviously)

INGRDS

penne-1 packet(200gms)

8-9 cloves of garlic..pound together with 1 green chilli

1 big onion chopped fine

3 med sized tomatoes chopped fine

1 packet of button mushrooms ..chopped

1 medium sized capcicum chopped

1 tablespoon of worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon of oregano
1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 packet of ready cooked sausages.....cut into pcs.

salt and pepper to taste

some grated cheese(optional)

METHOD

1.In a kadhai(heavy bottomed wok),add the olive oil...the the garlic green chilli paste.....fry for a min...then add the onions and fry till golden brown.

2.Now add the tomatoes,salt and pepper.fry this well..till the oil leaves the mix.

3.Put the mushrooms...and the capcicum in(I also added some chopped cilantro here),add the worcestershire sauce,cover and cook till the mushrooms are done.....dry up the residual liquid.Add the sausages.

4.Side by side put a big pan of water to boil..when it gets to a rolling boil,add the penne......cook for about 6-7 mins...drain the hot water..rinse in cold water.

5.Toss the penne in this ...serve hot.I would normally have avoided adding cheese to this..but my daughter loves cheese and hates mushrooms.........i figured the cheese would disguise the mushrooms(did not ..i might add..she still gagged when she got mushroom in her mouth!)In all fairness though the cheese did help the flavours along and upped the taste(in my very humble opinion!)

lazy cooks eggs in white sauce

Hi guys....how are you doing?Here's another "eggy" recipe.practically a staple in my house.Now i do not hate butter(quite the opposite actually..i can't imagine a world without butter.),i figure where i can introduce olive oil without compromising on the taste...i do!.and i use whole wheat flour instead of regular flour.
INGRDS
1.Boiled eggs-5(shelled)
2.1 tablespoon olive oil
3. 1 tablespoon wholewheat flour
4. salt and pepper to taste
5.1 cup milk
METHOD
1.In a heavy bottomed pan,heat the olive oil..add the flour and stir for 2 mins....add the milk...while stirring continously(you could also take the pan off the heat..add the milk..stir well and put it back on the heat)...the mix will get thick..add the salt and pepper.

2.Cut the eggs in half,arrange on the serving platter,pour the sauce on top and serve.
3.I put eggs into the white sauce,you can put in boiled veg,or pasta....or chicken(cooked and deboned)..........have fun.  
sending this tohttp://ramyasrecipe.blogspot.in/2012/02/abc-series-egg-recipes.html

lazy cooks easy peasy peas

These are nice and quick to do........they taste great as a side dish or then as a stuffing in whatever you wish...in samosas,phyllo pastry parcels,slices of bread......whatever.
INGRDS
1. 2 cups peas(fresh would be the best!)
2. 1 medium onion chopped fine
3. 1 1/2 inch cinnamon stick(don't bother measuring this..you just need some cinnamon stick)
4. 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
5. salt and freshly ground black pepper.
METHOD
1.In a heavy bottomed pan.(wok..kadai),heat the oil and add the cinnamon stick..then ad the chopped onion...fry till the onion turns transparent.
2. Add the peas and the salt and pepper.Lower the heat to low-medium.Cover with a tight fitting lid(in my case ..a plate),.....check after 10 mins..the peas should be cooked.

3.Thats it..serve hot.or cold ..they taste fine either way!
sending it to
http://sobha-goodfood.blogspot.in/2012/02/event-announcement-just-4-fun.html