Fig, Orange and Lemon Biscotti- An easy to make anytime treat

Looking for that perfect anytime treat? Even better as its the Christmas season with fun, laughter and gaiety all around. Something that can be had with your tea, coffee or best of all easily be served up as a dessert? Then, it has to be Biscotti- easy to make at home and can be made with just about any ingredient you may have lying in your kitchen cabinets. Biscotti also known as cantuccini are twice baked cookies originating in the Italian city of Prato. The biscuits are oblong-shaped biscuits, made dry and crunchy through cutting the loaf of dough while still fresh from baking in the oven.

Fig, Orange and lemon Biscotti Today, biscotti are made using many different ingredients. Almonds, figs, pistachios, raisins, cranberries, and lemon & orange zest make for great flavors in this cookie and can be mixed and matched depending on their availability. I made these with wholewheat flour, figs, orange and lemon zest, creamed with butter and sugar . Ingredients 2 cups wholewheat flour 1 and a half cups sugar 350 gms butter 3 whole eggs Figs to taste Grated zest of one lemon and orange ( each) 1 tsp baking powder Method Put all the dry ingredients together in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Combine all the wet ingredients and stir briskly. Combine the two and make into a clean oval shaped dough. Put cling film and pop into the frig for 1 hour. Bake in a pre heated oven art 125 C for 30-35 mins

Bake at 125 C for 30-35 mins Allow to rest on a wire rack. Then cut into pieces and bake for another 15 mins till golden brown. Cut into pieces and bake again for about 15 mins Dust with icing sugar and serve with tea, coffee or simply as dessert

We tried it with whipped cream and berries- made for a delightfully decadent dessert. Try your own variations and let me know too.

Its the small things that make a big difference

Its been a while since I wrote a post on this blog and this time I've decided to write one with some real 'food for thought'. Though there are lots of scenes one can recall from the movies, there is a particularly poignant scene from a very old Hindi movie,'Choti, Choti Baatein' starring the inimitable Motilal.

( Image sourced from Google) The family sits down for dinner,the camera shows us a close up of the husband, wife and three grown up children. The table is groaning with food, and it all looks really good. The dishes are passed from person to person as the family greedily attacks the food The father,who in this case, the main bread earner, gets each dish last. In most cases, the food has been cleaned out, or something very close to it. He looks at each dish closely, then at his family, all of whom are busy gorging . Then just goes ahead and eats whats left. At the end of the movie, he simply walks out Out of his own home as well as their lives.

Cafe Ceramique, Oman. A great little place that asks- Would you like to eat first or paint first?

Some time back we decided to go to Cafe Ceramique in Muscat for a weekend breakfast. Must admit the fact that there was a very special offer was the real draw but we came back converted into Cafe Ceramique fans. For more reasons than just one.

Located centrally in the Bareeq Al Shatti Mall, Muscat.Cafe Ceramique is a cafe cum art-workshop. The highlight of the place would have to be the fact that the cafe serves food as well as offers customers ceramic pieces which they can purchase and paint at the cafe itself.They can then enjoy creating unique personalized gifts, keepsakes, dinnerware and home decor pieces that will be cherished forever. All one has to do is to pick a piece of ceramic off the shelf (that has many great pieces to choose from ) and let your imagination run wild. These are then painted, glazed, fired and soon ready for pick up. Once you select the piece you want to paint, you are given a paper, five colours and two outliners. These colours are handed over along with a sponge, water, and a set of brushes. Customers can paint away till they are happy and satisfied and once completed, the piece has to be left in the cafe for them to fire and glaze the piece (about seven days).Customers are are given a receipt which must be used to collect the piece.The pieces are microwave as well as dishwasher friendly and we were informed that the colours do not contain any toxins, so that everyone can eat or and drink out of them.

Baking in the oven

We are shown exactly how the operation works

The paints used

Bright and Beautiful

At our table- Puffy Paints Starters- a delicious salad and toasted bread Can't close before I tell you about our meal which we enjoyed thoroughly.

Called 'The Arabian Treasure', it had a range of Mediterranean favorites, Foul Medammas, Hummus, Grilled Halloumi Cheese, Zattar Crisps, Labneh with a choice of tea or coffee. So there it was- a truly memorable Arabian delight breakfast, topped with the option to paint.A really great way to spend a relaxed and fun morning!