Black-eyed beans with mushrooms

Adapted from Madhur Jaffrey

Homemade Indian food, with its bursting colors and rich aroma is a natural way to keep my family warm and comfy during the winter months. It is also a great tool to fight winter depression, which is so common, here in Scandinavia.  

It is a lovely, hearty, comforting food. It taste great eaten with simple basmati rice, naan bread or just alone. This time I’ve served it together with moong dal with browned onion, which is by far my most favorite quick Indian meal (I will post the recipe later). 

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from David Lebovitz

Carrot cake gives you a wonderful way to smuggle veggies into your diet. However it took me a while to find a perfect recipe for a real carrots-rich cake. I wanted to make an ultra delicious, yet healthy cake with loads of carrots in it. I also wanted my cake to be visually appealing – we do eat with our eyes after all! During my searches I’d bumped into some pathetic recipes calling for 3 medium carrots for the whole cake! That sounds like a carrot cake joke to me, doesn’t it? Other recipes were to rich with overwhelming amounts of butter and sugar. I didn’t want a cake which makes me think I sin when I eat it. Feeling guilt when eating is not what I particularly like. It takes away a joy of consumption. 

Finally, my carrot cake hunt is over. I have an honor to present a wonderfully delicious cake, so good you never would have guessed it’s also quite healthy and definitely not packed with empty calories!