Apple Crumble

I have always made apple pies and read how it was simpler to make a crumble. So when I saw the poor apples languishing in my fridge as I attended to the grind at office, my heart went out to them.Feeling for the apples was one thing and baking something is an entirely different thing all together. 
The weekend quickly vanished in a haze of cleaning, stocking up for the week ahead an settling things down to battle the work week ahead. Determined not to abandon my intentions, I pulled out my trusty glass baking dish even as I washed the apples and roughly chopped them. 
Now, the recipe called for "peeled and cored" apples. I've always made my apple pies with the skin on (and it comes out good every time). So to save some time, I left the skin on and chopped the six apples.

I took a cup of brown sugar and put it on the apples while I started preheating the oven.

I quick squish later, the apples were in the pan. I put in some powdered cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg. Soon the apples were bubbling away and stewing in the released juice.

While the oven was being preheated and the apples were stewing, I started making the pastry. I started by pulling out a hunk of butter from the fridge and sliced off 100gm. Next the sliced got cubed...

I took a cup of flour(maida) and a quarter cup of brown sugar...

The pastry is supposed to be kneaded as little as possible and mixed using two butter knives. Of course I did nothing of that sort and just squished things together with a fork. Works fine. As long as you don't knead the flour, we're good for short crust pastry. When the flour mixture looked like crumbly little beads, I knew the pastry was ready.

Next I layered the baking dish, with some oats and a few raisins. This would lift the baked end product better and give a little 'raisiny' surprise at the end of the experience.

The apples were now done well and I quickly forked the it into the baking dish...

The pastry now went on top and the trick here is to resist the temptation to the pat it down.

After baking for about 30 min the apple crumble was done. Eating the crumble while it was  still warmish was a treat. The top layer is beautifully salty and a little crunchy which quickly prepares you for the cinnamonny sweetness of the apple and the plumped little raisin at the end.

It's quite difficult to finish the entire crumble by myself (and uncharitable to boot :P). So, next morning my colleagues at work got little clumps of the crumble (except the ones in the throes of some or the other 'diet').

Quick Tomato Carrot Stir Fry with Soya Sauce

This is one for the morning when I am loathe to cook and yet I want something that helps the taste-buds as the lunchtime beckons.


I started with a medium sized onion (about and inch and a half in diameter). This quickly got chopped into four and then another slice through the middle. A quick slap with the palm gave me little pieces that would add texture to the dish. A few cloves of Chinese garlic (easy to peel) got gently smashed by the blade and then roughly chopped next.

A couple of smallish tomatoes got chopped next

The carrot take a while to dice but once done I popped it into the microwave for a couple of minutes to soften them while everything else got started.

The garlic went into the hot oil and quickly started getting caramelized...

The onions went in next and got tossed around briefly to coat them with the oil to get the garlicky flavour on them but not too cooked since I wanted them to retain the crunch.

And then the tomatoes joined in while the microwave started beeping to remind me that the carrots were ready...

After adding the carrot I put in a wee bit of dark soy sauce to add some salt and the overpowering taste of soy...

A little shake and a minute later my lunch was all ready to be packed into my trusty Tupperware lunchbox.

Carrot Sesame Basil Salad

It was one of those days when I just could not bring myself to cook anything in the morning. Also I did not have much in the fridge.
So I pulled out a few carrots and three sachets of the of ketchup.

The sliced the carrots...

...and then got out some iceberg lettuce and basil leaves that I had in the fridge...

I quickly chopped the basil...

...and then mixed half of the basil with the shredded lettuce...

I did not want the carrots to be too much of a 'chew' in the carrot, so I microwaved the carrots for a minute and then mixed the rest of the shredded basil with this.

I'd mixed them separately as this way the basil would mix better I thought. 

After this I started making the dressing. I cut and poured all the ketchup into a small bowl...

... then I put in a teaspoon of dark soya sauce...

... and added a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar...

I tossed everything together, added the dressing, and then topped everything with sesame seeds and some kalonji.

It was time to pack the salad and then quickly rush off to office after this.