The White Ramekins

food & photography

Strawberry Orange Lemonade

by

strawberry & orange lemonade

“Who says you need summers to gulp down the icy cold lemonades”, I reiterated this to myself thinking it doesn’t really matters if summers aren’t still here. Ideally, the season should have been upon us by now, but I think, with a couple of thunderstorms and some snowfalls in higher  up the mountains, it is delayed by a couple of weeks probably. But you know that cravings can’t be delayed. I have been sipping onto icy cold drinks in my office lately, stealing away quick breaks from work in the afternoon; could it be a glass of fresh orange juice, an ice tea or even a large tumbler of iced coffee for that matter. And then I realized it’s the right time to make lemonade at home. Right when you’ve got fresh juicy strawberries and fragrant oranges from the Spring season. Another excuse to make something with the seasonal produce! This recipe has got no rules and is really dead simple. It’s just about eyeballing of ingredients and make your own concoction. And as this recipe doesn’t involve any cooking of fruit, it would stay good in fridge for a couple of days only. A quick blending of all the ingredients in a liquidizer and all you get is lovely and refreshing lemonade. Besides being cold and refreshing, it is full of vitamins and minerals from the real fruit. So, go for it, before these lovely berries and oranges disappear with the soon fleeting Spring.

strawberry & orange lemonade

strawberry & orange lemonade

strawberry & orange lemonade

strawberry & orange lemonade

strawberry & orange lemonade

strawberry & orange lemonade

Strawberry & Orange Lemonade
Strawberry & Orange Lemonade
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients
  1. 750 gm strawberries, washed, hulled & cut in halves, about 4 cups
  2. 2 Oranges, juiced and rind separated
  3. 1 lemon, juiced and rind separated
  4. 3/4 cup honey, adjust based on your preference and sweetness of strawberries
  5. 4 cups of water
  6. Ice
  7. Strawberry slices and mint leaves. to garnish
Instructions
  1. Put strawberries, orange juice, rind, lemon juice and lemon rind, honey and 1 cup of water in a blender and blend on high speed.
  2. Strain the mixture through a sieve.
  3. Add remaining water and ice.
  4. Serve chilled in glasses with strawberry slices and mint leaves as garnish.
The White Ramekins http://thewhiteramekins.com/

 

Whole Orange Semolina Cake With Rosemary Syrup

by

whole orange and semolina cake with rosemary syrup

I am back with yet another cake recipe this time. In my first post this year I mentioned (although, I have said this umpteen number of times  previously as well) that I love to bake cakes. Simple cakes with no fuss recipes are the kind of desserts which I am always ready to whip up. It brings happiness to me more than anything else.

whole orange and semolina cake with rosemary syrup

And being a food blogger, I feel imperative to bring together the seasonal fresh produce into my cakes and bakes. Whenever I go to market for buying the groceries, my eyes keep looking for the fresh produce which is available right there in season for the reasons a) seasonal fresh produce have the power to transform a good recipe into a remarkable one without much of an effort needed and b) they are economical on the pocket too.

whole orange and semolina cake with rosemary syrup

whole orange and semolina cake with rosemary syrup

T’is the season of oranges! We get loads and loads of them in winter, and of different varieties too. They are vibrantly colorful and deliciously juicy, which are definitely needed to perk your mood up on a cold mauve day of winter. A dear friend of mine has a beautiful crop of these tiny little kumquats every year during winters. And she is gracious enough to offer me these beauties almost every year now.

whole orange and semolina cake with rosemary syrup whole orange and semolina cake with rosemary syrup

They are hellishly pucker-y yet amazingly fragrant. I candy them, make marmalade with them and add them to the cakes too. This time I combined them with other sweet variety of oranges and made a whole orange cake with them. This is not the first time I am making a whole orange cake. I have tried the Nigella lawson’s recipe a couple of years ago and that was just amazing. That one was gluten free too.

whole orange and semolina cake with rosemary syrup

But this has got semolina in it and is sweetened using orange and rosemary syrup. This being a syrup cake, I believe has got the Turkish influence. It’s a cross between an pudding and a cake. And did I mention that it has got no butter or oil. Probably, it gets the natural fat from the orange skin which goes into making this. And that makes it quite lighter in texture. Taste wise it is very similar to the orange and kamquat gluten free cake, which I had made previously. This has got marmalade like bitter aftertaste, which gets mellowed down by the sweet orange and rosemary syrup which is soaked into. 

whole orange and semolina cake with rosemary syrup

Whole Orange Semolina Cake With Rosemary Syrup
Whole Orange Semolina Cake With Rosemary Syrup
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
For the cake
  1. 600 gm oranges (mix variety)
  2. 1 tsp baking powder
  3. 6 eggs
  4. 200 gm caster sugar
  5. 150 gm fine semolina
  6. 150 gm ground almonds
  7. 1 1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
For the syrup
  1. 600 gm sweet oranges
  2. 100 gm caster sugar
  3. 125 ml water
  4. 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
  5. 2 tbsp orange flavored liqueur (optional)
  6. 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
For the cake
  1. Place unpeeled oranges in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil. Boil covered, 1 1/2 hours or until oranges are tender; drain. Cool.
  2. Preheat oven to 180 degree C. Grease a 9 inch springform pan line with parchment paper.
  3. Trim and discard the ends from the oranges. Half the oranges and discard the seeds. Process oranges into a smooth puree, including rind.
  4. Beat the eggs and sugar in a bowl for 5 minutes or until thick and creamy. Stir egg mixture into orange mixture. Mix in the baking powder.
  5. Fold in the ground almonds, semolina and rosemary. Spread mixture into a pan.
  6. Bake cake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Stand cake in pan for 45 minutes before turning onto a cake plate.
  7. Make rosemary syrup (instructions follows).
  8. Spoon hot syrup over warm cake. Serve cake warm or at room temperature.
For the syrup
  1. Remove rind from one orange with a zester into thin strips and remove rind from the other orange using a vegetable peeler into long broad strip. Juice the oranges.
  2. Place sugar, water and juice in a small saucepan over low heat; stir, without boiling until sugar dissolves.
  3. Add the orange rind and rosemary sprigs and bring to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes, until syrup thickens. Remove from heat, add liqueur if using.
The White Ramekins http://thewhiteramekins.com/

Roasted Beetroot & Orange Salad

by

Roasted Beetroot & Orange Salad

With the weather getting warmer day by day, I have started hankering more on to light and refreshing foods. I have been eating fresh fruits and salads all throughout the day. Yeah you got that right, I am trying to be more disciplined, while it comes to packing multiple tiffins full of multiple kind of fresh fruits and nuts. This has lasted for 3 weeks now, and I am glad and pretty confident that I’ll continue this for the entire summer this year. Sounds like a new year resolution, which we all know, have got their own unknown fates…ha?

Roasted Beetroot & Orange Salad

Yeah, it might sound like that, but I’ll try to stick around as much as I can. And that is why, I have been buying a lot of fruits and veggies for salads these days and keep my stock full. Oranges and beetroots have stayed for longer this year. We are still getting fresh and lovely produce. This is a salad recipe which I created out of leftover oranges and beetroots on a Sunday afternoon, when I was done with my Ciabatta baking project {recipe coming soon}.

Roasted Beetroot & Orange Salad

That rustic bread baking took almost my entire weekend, but I was happy with the results, though I was tired of cooking something else. So, I threw in some whole beetroots in oven to let them roast and cool. I sliced some oranges and jazzed up the salad with a handful of fresh mint leaves.

Roasted Beetroot & Orange Salad

To added the saltiness, I added some feta cheese and some nuts for the crunch and wrapped up this healthy extravaganza with a honey chili vinaigrette. The flavors came around so well, it was one of a super simple and refreshing salad and nonetheless incredible. I ate some of the leftover salad from the fridge in the evening, and I think it tastes better while cold. Definitely a keeper for those hot summer days!

Roasted Beetroot & Orange Salad

Ingredients

4 small beetroots
2 oranges
handful of fresh mint leaves
40 gm feta
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup clear honey
4 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp chili pepper flakes
salt to taste

Directions

  1. Wash and wrap the beetroots in aluminium foil and roast for 25 minutes in a 230 degree preheated oven.
  2. Let beetroot cool wrapped in foil.
  3. Meanwhile, make the dressing, by mixing olive oil, honey, vinegar, chili flakes and salt in a bowl. Keep aside.
  4. When beetroots are cooled enough to handle, peel their skin and slice into flat discs and layer in the serving platter
  5. Peel and slice the oranges and layer on top of beets. Sprinkle with mint leaves, feta and chopped nuts.
  6. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and or serve by the side.