Peas and Carrot Salad - Kids Lunch Box

American is a large country and the best way to truly see the country I hear and know is through a road trip. I know exactly what I want to do when I retire. Buy myself a RV and see the country at leisure. Sadly(not the age but the financial condition) that day is quite a ways off. But that should not stop me from thinking about it should it?

Another reason why RVs are on my mind is because I gave my first interview to a site that provides information on RV travel. This one might just come in handy when we do decide to take that long trip. Head on over there if you want to take a read.

Now the reason for this recipe,

Packing kids lunches in the mornings can sometimes get to be a bit like conjuring up magic. They have specific rules and regulations which makes it something of a challenge. Has to be finger foods like and also tasty and should include some sort of vegetables and the last one is my criteria not theirs. Some days I just don't have the mojo to be creative but I have frozen peas, carrots and frozen corn(but not this particular day). So this dish was born at 5:00 AM one day, not all that original but still. It turns out that this kiddy dish can be an adult meal as well because I saved some for my lunch box and it tasted pretty good at lunch time.

Green Peas and Carrots Salad
Ingredients
1. 1 Cup green peas (frozen or fresh)
2. 2 Carrots pealed and diced
3. 1 Cup of corn (I usually use frozen but did not use it this time)
4. 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
5. 1/2 tsp of pepper powder (more as per taste)
6. 1 tbsp or more of shredded Parmesan cheese (or any cheese)
7. 1/2 tbsp of olive oil
8. a pinch or two of salt

Method
1. Parboil the peas, carrots and corn with salt, drain and set aside.
2. In a pan add the olive oil and the cooked vegetables.
3. Add in the pepper powder, ketchup and give a good stir.
4. Turn off heat and sprinkle the Parmesan on top.

Pack a couple of slice of butter toasted bread for a simple satisfying lunch box meal.

Marble Pound Cake

When my mom was getting ready to leave to India after the summer baby sitting duties holidays, I asked my college age cousin in India what she wanted from here. Some background here. She wanted to start a cake shop even before she was old enough to go to college. You all know how it is back home, of course her ambition was shot down. The place where she suggested for a cake shop has one now and doing very well apparently.

Nothing akka came the reply. I was wondering in my mind if a good baking book would be a good idea. I was planning to send it as a surprise. I found a used Williams and Sonoma book on Amazon for about $5. When it came home I could not find the heart to part with it. I feel guilty but planning to take it when I go home to visit. I am not a big baker so me and DD2 spend a lot of time just leafing through the book. We learned the difference between genoise and ganache recently.

During the thanksgiving holiday we visited another friend's house for a dinner. I promised to bring along a cake. Pound cake was just too plain but a marbled one sounded a bit more posh. So that is what we set out to do.

I used the recipe from the book I chose to keep selfishly for myself - Williams Sonoma - Essentials of Baking. I love this book with recipes that look like even I could tackle.

The recipe made 2 takes one round 8 1/2 inch cake and a loaf cake (the one pictured).

Marble Pound Cake
Ingredients
1. 2 1/4 unbleached all purpose flour
2. 1 stick of butter brought to room temperature
3. 4 eggs
4. 1/4 cup of milk (skip the milk and add one more egg)
5. 2 tsp baking powder
6. 1/4 tsp salt
7. 3 tbsp cocoa powder
8. 2 tsp vanilla extract
9. 1 cup of sugar (recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of sugar)

Method
1. Beat together sugar and butter till it is light and fluffy (I used an electric egg beater)
2. Add in one at a time beating well.
3. Add in the vanilla.
4. Sift together the dry ingredients except the cocoa powder.
5. Add the flour a bit by bit to the butter egg mixture. Mix with a spatula or use the beater to mix it in gently. (Over beating makes the cake tough says the book)
6. Butter a loaf pan or a round pan and set aside.
7. Preheat the oven to 400F.
8. Separate the batter into 2 parts. Mix in the cocoa powder into one batch.
9.Pour the non-cocoa batter into the pans first.
10. Pour in the cocoa batter on top. With the knife make a few strokes.
11. Bake for 50-60 minutes till a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
12. Cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes or cool completely before cutting.