Mex grocers Mexican evening at Lupita East

I have recently been cooking Mexican cuisine for the Flavours of Mexico event at simply.food. The cuisine is very veggie friendly with many vegetarian dishes that are both tasty and delicious. I love the spicy flavours that are part and parcel of Mexican cuisine and they are perfect to satisfy my Indian palate. Some of the Mexican dishes I have prepared are Quesadilla, Mexican Rice Arroz Mexicano, Fajita, Mexican veggie tart, Mexican corn salad and Tortilla wraps with beans

Couple of days ago I was invited together with two of my food blogger friend to a "Discover the taste of Mexico" evening by Mexgrocer.co.uk an online shop for authentic Mexican ingredients.The evening was hosted at Lupita East a wonderful Mexican restaurant in the heart of London's Liverpool street.

The evening started with drinks as we mingled amongst other foodies and we met out  hosts Katya Torres de la Rocha the CEO of Mex grocer and also the head chef Marco Cuervo of Lupoita East. We were invited to scrutinise their amazing range of authentic mexican Ingredients. The range included some finest and unique Mexican  products such bottled cactus, cactus tortillas, blue corn tortillas, an array of different chilis and sauces together with flours, refried beans and many other Mexican Ingredients.The range was spectacular, some even being gluten free and suitable for vegetarians.

Marco shared some wonder knowledge of Mexican cookery with lots of tips and advice on Mexican cookery, we learnt the secret of how to make a perfect tortilla wrap to how to roast and pound chillies for a delicious Habanero sauce. His passion for his native land Mexico oozed in abundance and his passion for Mexican cookery was very apparent in the lovely Mecicaanapes we sampled.

The canapes were Guacamole artesanal, ripe avocados pounded in a mortar and pestle, with tomatoes, onions and fresh coriander and served with crunchy tortillas chips made fresh in the Lupito Kitchens.Next we tried the Chicharron de Quesco, a crispy rolled cheese.Tostadas de Nopales was an amazing canape and one I have never tried before, it was tender baby cactus served over refried beans and a fresh salsa Pico de Gallo.In addition we tried the Harbenero sauce and warm chrispy cheesy tortillas. the sauce was smoky and fiery and simply delicious. It was seriously delicious and I have fallen in love with it.

For the non vegetarians there were many more canapes; Cochinita Pibil Tacos, this was made with slow roasted pork, served on corn tortillas with refried beans and red onions pickled with Habanero chillies. The chef was very kind and made us vegetarian version of this which was delicious.The other two non vegetarian canapes were Tacos Gobernador - soft corn tortillas with marinated prawns and Tinga de Carne Tostadas- shredded beef cooked with smoky chipotle chilli served on a bed of lettuce, creme fraiche and ranchero cheese.

It was lovely to spend the evening with my two friends Jagruti of Jagrutis cooking Odyssey and Tina of The Spicy Pear sampling the canapes that awere really delicious and enjoying the warm hospitality of Mexgrocer.co.uk and Lupito East. The evening was very informative and delightful and we thoroughly enjoyed our education and insight into authentic Mexican cuisine

 I would like to thank Mexgrocer.co.uk and Lupita East for inviting me and my friends to this lovely event and also for the wonderful goody bag that they gifted us. I have been inspired and I am going to make the amazing Habanero sauce as soon as I can get the correct chillies.You can purchase authentic Mexican grocery from the Mexgrocer.co.uk and to sample the amazing food you can visit two amazing restaurants Lupito East and Lupita Central.

Cinnamon and Apple upside down muffins.

The month of October brings with it chilly weather and an abundance of apples.My friend has an apple tree in her back garden and she gave me a bag full of cooking apples.Sour and tart they are perfect for baking with. I am sure most people will agree that Cinnamon goes hand in hand with apples and they are a marriage made in heaven.On my recent trip to the USA I bought a patterned muffin tray so it was the perfect choice to bake these cinnamon and apple upside down muffins.

Beautifully moist and fragrant cinnamon and apple upside down muffins that will melt in your mouth wanting a second bite, one will not be enough.

Ingredients:

Apple filling:

3 medium cooking apples peeled and finely diced
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon

Muffin Batter:

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground Cinnamon
360g  / 12 oz plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
4 tablespoons Rachels strawberry yoghurt
1/3 cup sunflower oil
3/4 cup water
240g / 8oz sugar

Icing:

2 heaped tablespoons icing sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon water

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees/ 180 degrees C
2. Toss the diced apples in 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and place in a saucepan.
3. Cook the apples on a low heat for 2-3 minutes until all the sugar has melted and the apples are just softened.(Do not overcook the apple pieces need to hold shape) Remove from heat and leave to cool.
4.Sieve together the flour, baking powder,bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon together in a large bowl.Stir in the sugar.
5. In a jug mix together the yoghurt, water, oil and whisk together.
6. Add the wet ingredients from the jug to the dry ingredients in the bowl and fold together with light hands.Do not over mix.
7. Oil the muffin pan using a pastry brush dipped in oil, this is important as we will need to make sure after baking muffins come out of pan without sticking.
8. Spoon a tablespoon of batter in each hole of the muffin pan.
9. Add on top of this a spoonful of apple mixture.
10. Add a second spoon of batter on top of the apple mixture. Muffin pan should only be 2/3 full.Do not over fill.
11. Place the pan in the oven to bake for 12-15 minutes.Once muffins are golden brown remove them from the oven and leave to cool.
12. To de mould the muffins, run a knife around the edge of the pan and turn the muffin pan over a wire tray and tap gently..
13. Add the icing sugar to a small bowl , add the cinnamon and the water and make the icing.
14. Make a paper cone with some parchment paper and fill it with the icing.
15. Place the cooled muffins onto a serving platter upside down and pipe some lines of icing over the muffins.
16.Before serving sieve some icing sugar over the muffins.

The cinnamon used in this recipe was sent to me by Cinnamon Hill and the yogurt used was sent to me by Rachels Organic.

You may like:
Banana muffins

Submitting to:
Lets cook with Apples

Five minute Tropical Trifle.

Do you ever crave for a sweet treat at the oddest times?? My cravings almost always occur when I am working late at night on my blog. This is when my tastebuds tingle for something sweet. This lovely tropical trifle is a five minute speedy dessert.(Of course it does not include the 30 minute photo shoot!!!:))

Creamy, delicious tropical trifle -Taste of tropics and faraway shores in every spoonful.

Ingredients:

100g Rachels Organic low fat mango yoghurt
90g / 3 oz small diced fresh pineapple
4 sponge fingers or leftover cake
Squirty fresh cream( the kind in an aerosol)
30 ml tablespoons tropical  juice(any fruit juice will do))

Method:

1. Get two tall glasses and place a sponge finger in the bottom of each glass.(You may need to break the sponge finger into two pieces.)
2. Spoon a tablespoon of tropical juice on top of the sponge finger. Add some diced pineapple on top of the sponge fingers followed by two tablespoons of mango yoghurt on top of the pineapple.
3. Add the second sponge finger, top it with a spoonful of tropical juice, followed by some more pineapple a finally some more mango yoghurt.
4. Finish off by squirting a dollop of cream from the squirty and add a final garnish of diced pineapple.

Thank you to Rachels Organics who sent me this scrumptious mango yoghurt that I have used in this recipe.Also not only did we eat all the yoghurt but we recycled the the empty pots to create Halloween treat gift pots. Check this video.

You may like:
Coconut Srikand

Round Up-Lets cook with Coconut

Thank you to everyone who participated in this event. Here is the wonderful round up of all the recipes:

Cinnamon Coffee and a Cinnamon Hill Cinnamon Review and Giveaway

I am not a big coffee drinker but occasionally I enjoy a cup of really milky coffee with lots of froth on it. I have been experimenting with spice and I have discovered this amazing coffee flavour which has become a real firm favorite of mine.

Aromatic spicy cinnamon coffee perfect for warming up on a chilly winter day

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons instant coffee
2 teaspoons sugar (optional)
100 ml  milk
100 ml hot water
Pinch of freshly grated  Saigon Cinnamon

Method:

1. Boil the water
2. Place milk in a large mug and grate some fresh cinnamon in it.
3. Place the mug with the milk in the microwave for 2 minutes, making sure it does not boil over.
4. Get two serving coffee mugs and add 1 teaspoon coffee and 1 teaspoon sugar in each mug. 
5. Add the hot water to half fill the mugs, stir the coffee and sugar until they are dissolved.
6. Remove the milk from the microwave and froth it up with a milk frother or whisk.
7. Pour the frothy cinnamon milk onto the prepared coffee.
8. Grate a little bit more cinnamon on the top and serve immediately.

Cinnamon is the peeled bark of the cinnamon plant grown across Asia. There are many types of cinnamon but the two most highly prized types are Ceylon cinnamon which comes from Sri Lanka and Saigon cinnamon which comes from Vietnam. Supermarket cinnamon generally comes from Indonesia or China.Cinnamon is used in savory as well as sweet dishes. It is very aromatic and sweet smelling spice that is generally associated with baking, desserts and puddings. However in a lot of Asian recipes, cinnamon is used to add to curries and savory dishes. To get the best flavor from cinnamon it should be freshly grated as and when needed.As well as culinary uses, cinnamon has many health benefits including reducing blood-sugar levels and lowering bad cholesterol, and it is a good alternative sweetener, helping with weight control. 

Cinnamon has been used in Asian medicines for digestive ailments for centuries.