Pumpkin Spice Cake

First, I don't know why I don't have a better picture of this cake. Seriously. I make it at least 74368912379324 times during the months of November and December. I found this one...from Thanksgiving I believe. It's still in the bundt pan...fail. I'll probably be making it sometime this week and will take a better, more appetizing picture of it and replace this one. Anyways, back to the cake itself. This is my world famous (and by world I mean the Houston/Katy/Sugarland area) pumpkin spice cake. I made it for the first time several years ago...can't remember when honestly. Anyhow, needless to say it was a hit. I started making it for Eid, Thanksgiving, the winter holidays in general, for Saadia's cravings, etc etc. The cake is delicate and smooth, yet lasting and powerful. It has a slight scent of ginger infused into it, which I achieve by grinding fresh ginger root with a mortar and pestle and adding it to the batter. It's a wonderful companion to coffee or chai, or just alone topped with a spoonful of whipped cream. Oh, and you can't just have one slice. Trust me.

What's in it:
-yellow cake flour mixture, eggs, oil, pumpkin, cream cheese, ginger, cinnamon, chocolate chips

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Toffee Brownies

Toffee + chocolate = DELISH. That is all. The dark chocolate of the brownie contrasts wonderfully with the light milk chocolate and crunchy toffee bits interspersed throughout the delicate 2 x 2 square. Each bite is more surprising than the last; and when it's all gone, you long for more. Unfortunately, I cannot say exactly what goes into making this delicious dessert, because it's a safely guarded secret passed on to me from another avid baker. However, I can say this: if you don't like toffee, you'll probably change your mind once you've had these.

Shrimp Fried Rice

Fried rice is probably one of the easiest, quickest, on-hand dish that anyone can make. I've never had to plan to get ingredients, which is awesome. It's like the gumbo of China...you throw in whatever you want and get a warm, hearty meal with minimal dish usage. I've been known to use a lot of various pans and bowls and spoons whenever I'm cooking. With fried rice, all it takes is one skillet and maybe a cutting board. Anyhow, with fried rice, you can pretty much add anything to it to dress it up. This is my brother's favorite dish, so I make it often, with it being slightly different each time. I saute the shrimp first for a minute on each side, remove it and keep the oil that's already in the pan and then cook the rice in there. The flavor of the shrimp then gets infused into the rice, making it much richer and tastier. Once you get the rice browning a bit, add the egg in the center and scramble it into the rice; then add everything else along with soy sauce. Bam. You're done.

What's in it:
-long white rice, shrimp, egg, peas, cabbage, soy sauce, sriracha hot sauce, cracked black pepper

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Chicken Salad

This is like crack-cocaine. That's what my sister said today during lunch. My other sister, Saadia (the one I made this for), came home from Nashville exactly 15 minutes after I added the celery on top. Perfect timing, I'd say. I remember having the most delicious mint chicken salad several years ago that some auntie made, and after that I wanted to make my own. I just threw together some stuff and, voila! You get an illegal street substance! I should sell this in alleyways now. It'll be a great way to pay for tuition. Anyhow, I actually don't like the process that goes into making this wonderful concoction of mayo and chicken. First you have to thaw the chicken, then cut it up, then bake it, then shred it, then add the mayo, and stir it, then add the spices, cut the celery, stir all that....it's tiring I tell ya! You'd think even with my new bionic shoulder it'd be easier. Wrong. However, it's totally worth it in the end. One bite, and I guarantee you'll love me forever. It's so versatile too. You can stick it between two pieces of bread, or in a sub, or on top of a baguette as shown below. That was from Thanksgiving this year. I made them last year as an appetizer, then it became tradition.

You just stick the chicken salad on top of untoasted baguette or French bread, then toast it for like 2 minutes, and the mayo melts a little...it's delicious, I promise.

What's in it:
-chicken, salt, cracked black pepper, mayo, paprika, oregano, celery, and a hint of red chili

Avocado Grilled Cheese Sandwich

This one goes out to the two people who inspired me to make this blog. It probably should have been the first post, but I just thought of it. Anyhow, I made this lovely sandwich a couple weeks ago thanks to a certain Shahrukh Gaziani. He made me make a grilled cheese sandwich, so I threw some stuff together and voila! Then, I posted it on certain Ali Hashmi's wall. He then got on my case to make him one. I never did...sorry. Then I got to thinking, I'm gonna be bored and doing nothing over break...why not entice these wonderful fellas with photographs of food made by yours truly? Might I add, this sandwich was the motherload of all things grilled cheese. The creamy avocado playfully danced with the melted cheese with a ripened tomato slicing through the menagerie of flavors and textures. All in all, eating it was the best 7 minutes of my life.
Thanks guys! =)

What's in it:
-12-grain bread, american cheese, jack cheese, cheddar cheese, roma tomato, chipotle guacamole        


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Chipotle-Lime Egg White Omelette

 Let's get away from the dessert-y breakfast items. This here is an omelette. It's versatile, it's easy, it's filling. Need I say more? The omelette is the basic food item anyone should be able to make, regardless of your culinary skill, gender, or ethnicity. Yes, even boys can make them. I don't like using yolk...ever. A) That's like wayyy too much cholesterol, B) yolk somehow gives me acid reflux, C) I don't like yellow omelettes...they look fake. So I dump the yolk and use the whites only.

The key to getting delicious and fluffy omelettes is shown to the left. If your egg batter doesn't look like that, don't bother. You need all those bubbles on top because that means you've incorporated air into the batter. The more air = more fluff. Simple? Wonderful. To get to that consistency, you have to use a fork or a whisk (something that has holes and can let air through), and you gotta beat it for a couple minutes reaaaalllyyy quickly. It's all in the wrist. You shouldn't be using your elbow or arm. Anyhow, you're probably still weirded out by the lime. LIME IN EGGS? WHAT?! You heard right. The lime gives the eggs this amazingly, wondrous, and moist flavor; and it's the
                                                                                     perfect bed fellow for the sharp chipotle sting.

What's in it:
-egg whites, salt, cracked black pepper, powdered chipotle pepper, garlic powder, lime juice

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Chocolate-Cranberry Pancakes

 I woke up to an empty house and decided to drown my sorrows in something delicious. I loooove making pancakes because you can pretty much do anything you want with them. With these I added some dried cranberries and dark chocolate chips to the batter. Then topped it off with maple syrup, powdered sugar , and more cranberries for garnish. I love misshapen pancakes, because that adds character to them. I know, you're probably thinking "WHAT?? Nazia actually LIKES things that aren't straightened out and in order??" Believe it or not, it's true.

To get them to be realll fluffy and thick as shown in the picture to the left, I like to add milk. It binds the pancake together much better. Also, make sure the pan isn't too hot. It should be at max temp when you put the batter on, but immediately, turn the stove down to medium heat. And only flip ONCE. You can ruin pancakes easily by flipping too much. Oh, and NEVER press down on a pancake. You might as well eat a crepe.

Cranberry Orange Muffins

Saadia was my inspiration for these, because she wanted me to re-create the ones from Starbucks. They're kind of difficult to get juuuuust right. It's hard to get the right amount of moisture in them, because the smallest error can cause them to become drier than anticipated. I've made them a couple times before, but they haven't been just perfect yet. The trick with these is to add the right kind of orange juice to the batter. It can't be pulpy or too bitter or too sweet. Simply Orange is a good one. DON'T try Minute Maid...that's too sour. Also, using dried cranberries versus fresh ones is better. Fresh cranberries tend to lose moisture when baked.    
I'll get these right one day.

What's in it:
-flour, baking powder, salt, butter, eggs, milk, orange zest, orange juice, dried cranberries, sugar

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Almond Biscotti

This is an old picture, but I decided to start this thing off with it. I plan on making 'em real soon anyways. These take a while to make; it's a process, but totally worth it. They don't last long in my house, especially with my dad. He says it's the perfect addition to his cup of chai. I've never made a bad batch, which is AWESOME. I mean, it's pretty difficult to mess up biscotti, not to toot my own horn or anything. But you have to literally forget them in the oven to mess them up. Who does that? If you forget that something in your house is running over 350 degrees F, then you probably shouldn't be able to have a house anyways. Just sayin'.


What's in it:
-flour, sugar, butter, salt, baking powder, eggs, vanilla, chopped almonds