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Crusty Cranberry Raisin Bread (No knead)

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      Who does not like to taste a crusty loaf of bread straight out from the oven.Most people stay away from making bread, thinking it takes a whole lot of baking skills  to make a professionally looking bread.  If you are not pressed for time, this recipe is for you, There is no kneading required, we just let gluten does all the hard  work for us. All you need is all purpose  flour , salt , yeast and the dried fruits/nuts you are planning to add. Its amazing with these simple ingredients, you will be able to make a perfect bread. One of the important step in the process is to make the dough  sticky, that moisture will help for gluten to work  its magic over time and form the bread. I have made different verity of mixed dried fruit  bread loafs, by far this is my favorite combination, sour Cranberries will balance the sweetness from raisin and pecan will add the nutty flavors to the bread. Its perfect to eat with a good French Brie (triple cr�me ) or with any sweet jams like   Orange
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Steamed Clams in Beer with Chile and Cilantro

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Steamed Clams in Beer with Chile and Cilantro Steamed Clams in Beer with Chile and Cilantro Steamed Clams in Beer with Chile and Cilantro A perfect Beach Day @LongBranch,New Jersey It�s a perfect sunny day in New Jersey. After spending hours in the beautiful Long Branch beach, it�s time to head back home. One of my favorite things to do in summer is to go to the beach. If it�s dip in to  the water  or just lie down and soaking up the sun  on warm sand  or just strolling on the broad walk, I will always find my 'Happy Place'. These Jersey Beaches are super clean, township does a good job of maintaining it. I would highly recommend to check out Long Branch, Belmar or Ocean Grove for anyone needs a beach day.  I can never get enough beach days in my calendar as summer goes really fast.  On our way back home, we stopped at the sea food market to get a bag of Little Neck Clams to make it for dinner.  I love clams either steamed or baked, all I need is a good crusty bread to soak up
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Chipotle Spiced Chicken Burger without a bun (Gluten Free)

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I love my burgers lean ,soft and chewy! If you want to eat healthy , looking for something lean  but with little bit of a spicy kick, then this burger recipe is for you. One of the reason I gave up on store bought patty is that it has so much fat/chemicals  in it and does not have any flavor on them. Who needs to eat tasteless frozen burger when you can make it at home  healthy and tasty. I buy the leaned minced chicken from Amish market  in Kingston. Their meat is always tastes like real meat, hormone and anitobotic free. I know it sounds like a paid endorsement, trust me I don't get paid to promote their products,  there's a big difference in your burger when you use fresh meat over the store bought frozen ones. Now , As per the spices added, you can cut down if spices are not your thing. I really love the heat from Smoked Chipotle powder and Crushed Red Pepper flakes . Coriander powder adds light curry flavor to the burger along with sweetness from cooked onions. If you n
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Papaya and Stawberry Smoothie

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Papaya and Strawberry Smoothie @https://healthygourmetfood.blogspot.com Summer is here! What a better way to begin the day with super  healthy Papaya and Strawberry smoothie.  Papaya is one of the latest super food craze here , but if you are from a tropical country , its one of many trees you grow in your back yard. Its very easy to grow and low maintenance, you will get papaya all year around. I remember  plucking Papaya from our backyard for either make a salad or just eat it as fruit. It's mildly sweet and  very light in texture, just taste more like a melon. You can find the Papaya's in most supermarkets under the  fresh produce section. But not all chain stores carry it, I get mine from Whole Food, they are freshly imported from Mexico. The key to get choose a good papaya is to look for a medium ripen, firm bodied one, you can see little bit of yellowish spots in the skin of the fruit. In a good summer day, it will be fully ripen in next day and when you open it will be b
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Coriander and Pepper Crusted Pork Chops

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    Pork chops were not  a regular dinner menu in our house growing up, being an islander, we love our freshly caught Tuna and Sardines from the fish market every morning. But occasionally on Saturday's, my mom would stop at the butcher down the road and pick up a good center cut pork for making a roast or a stew. My favorite is always the grilled coriander /pepper crusted pork chops. Those days, specialty food like Dijon mustard, ketchup were not readily available in all stores. We had to make most ingredients like mustard paste from scratch, it was lot of work but they were always freshly made from local organic spices. We would marinade it overnight to absorb the flavors and grill it in on the wood fired clay oven outside. After few minutes in high heat, Pork chops would come out perfectly chard with thin spiced crust, the smoke given by the wood burning also make the chops more flavorful and irresistible. We would all sit outside by the mango trees and eat away the chops with b
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Spicy Beef Stir Fry (Korean Inspired)

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Beef Marinade When you are in a time crunch and need a quick stir fry one pot recipe for dinner, this is my go to beef stir fry recipe. It's packed with protein and vegetables, you just don�t need to spend hours in the kitchen preparing varieties of dishes. I love Korean cuisine, if it�s the kimchi, noodles, stew or BBQ meats, all of them have strong spiced flavors from fermented chili paste balanced with tangy/sweetness from soy, sugar, and ginger/garlic marinade. You can use any type of beef, including sirloin, flank steak. I used chuck beef for this recipe because it�s more flavorful and also less expensive than other cuts. I usually buy fresh beef from our local Amish market, its grass fed, hormone /chemical free and leaner in fat. This recipe is super easy to do and you will be amazed at the flavors. All you need is a bowl of plain noodles /rice and a glass of semi-sweet red wine to go with. Servings: 4 Prep Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Ingredients: 1 pound beef (t
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How to make Masala Vadai (Crispy Lenthil Cakes)

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? ? Before Frying Masala Vadai/Parippu Vadai is considered as one of the popular street food in Sri- Lanka. This dish always brings back the happy childhood memories for me.  As a kid growing up in Sri-Lanka, My mom would always take me to Wallewatte beach for our evening walks and getting piping hot Masala Vadai and coconut chick pea mix from street cart vendor was my favorite things to do.(besides screaming and jumping over the waves).  I don't know if it was the salty air, coconut oil or the additives in the food, it always tasted better than any fancy restaurants I had dine in Colombo. I tried to mimic the taste in my head with this recipe, it came out pretty darn good, really crispy and spicy with lots of green chilies inside. Cooking time: 20 minutes Preparation time: 2 hours Ingredients: 1 cup of split peas dal (Channa Dal) 2-3 dry red chilies, crushed (1 tsp red chilli flakes or 2 green chillies) 1 piece of ginger, minced 1 small onion, finely chopped 1 strand of c
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