Healthy Morsels - Coming Soon...

Three girls, three different personalities, crossed their ways in Germany. They had one special thing in common among others - they are great foodies!! The trio, Umm Mymoonah of Taste of Pearl City, Reshmi Ahmed of Lecker and Yummy Recipes and Aysha of SchmetterlingWords, got inspired by each other, to learn about food and healthy diet, different dishes, different cuisines, from cooking to baking, started blogging and sharing our culinary expeditions with the world. We have tread a good way so far, but being the lady of the house, the quest to consciously feed the family with healthy yet tasty food has always been a sweet challenge to us.

The human body and mind, when it comes to food, are faced with different needs at different stages of our life. A balanced diet is essential for a healthy body and a healthy soul. Our ancestors have understood this simple mantra very well and laid importance in the art of food making and healthy diet. A Tamil proverb goes, 'Unave marundhu', meaning 'Food is medicine'. A proper nutrition itself is a medicine and works preventive against diseases. This shows how important food is for a healthy life. Today's life is more complex than the life some 50 years back. The fast pace of today's life just makes it more important than ever to take care of our eating habits.

With just this goal, we as a team, are now embarking on a "Healthy Morsels" journey, carrying along with us, you foodies on our board, hoping to run a tight ship and aiming to benefit every member of the family at all ages. The whole idea of "Healthy Morsels" is about sharing the wisdom of good nutrition and healthy life style with the global community. Not everyone of us is a doctor. Neither are we all dietitians. But still, we can learn from each other - from the hidden treasures of family traditions, from the hearths of learned professionals and from the indispensable expertise that comes with experience - the key to a healthy life.

Knowledge shared is knowledge gained. Are you all ready for this exciting ride with us??

About the hows, whens and whats, just stay tuned for a few more days…

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Fig Rolls

I wonder at what auspicious time I wrote my last post. Since the very next day, the winter in Frankfurt is being severe. It snows and it is unbelievably and unbearably cold. Sometimes there is no snowfall, the sun shines, yet it is unbelievably and unbearably cold. I wear several layers of clothing, the heating is on the upper high, yet it is unbelievably and unbearably cold.

Tja, with such low temperatures ranging around -6 C to -14 C even during the days, what can one expect? I have heard, the lakes in Frankfurt parks have frozen and people are playing, skating, etc on the frozen lake. I'm yet to see that during the weekend. I hope the river (River Main, a tributary of Rhine flows through Frankfurt) doesn't freeze. My colleagues optimistically add, "It is not that bad yet, you know!!". However, I see huge ice blocks floating on the river and I'm just scared. :(

These are the times, I hate going out or doing anything at all. I just want to cuddle up in the bed and sleep all the time. It takes me extra will power to get out of the bed, get ready and go to work. The thing I hate the most is the 5 minutes I wait for the bus, shivering in the cold, wiping my nose every now and then. Whatever it is, once I get to office, sitting at my place with a cup of warm tea and enjoying the snow fall outside the window does not fail to amuse me. :)

Fine, enough of my blabbering and over to the post. This is another entry to the most awaited Blog Hop Wednesdays. This time, I got to visit Vaishali's Ribbons to Pastas, an excellent blog with a variety of finger licking goodies to try out. I very much wanted to try a dish from her Sindhi cuisine, which is something very new to me. But, due to time constraints, I rather picked up a simple dish. This is an easy to prepare sweet/snack, yet very very nutritious. I hope you would remember my Dry Fruits Burfi, that I prepared a few days back. There were some dried figs left over and with these Fig Rolls, I found the perfect use for them.

I followed the original recipe almost exactly, however I would provide it here. For step by step instructions, please refer the original recipe.

Preparation Time: 15 mins
Makes: around 15 pieces

Ingredients:
Dried Figs: 200g
Dates: 5, chopped
Mixed nuts: 1 cup (pistachios, chopped almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, etc)
Ghee or Butter: 1 Tbsp

Method:
Cook the figs with very little water in a microwave for about 4 minutes. Blend the figs in a blender. Heat ghee in a heavy bottom pan. Add the blended figs to the pan and roast for a few minutes. Take off the flame and let it cool. Now add the chopped nuts and dates to the fig and mix well.

Roll the mixture into logs and cover it with a fresh foil. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. Just before serving, take the logs out. Cut them into pieces and serve as a snack.

Verdict:
The fig rolls were very tasty and packed with nutrients. We both really loved them and I would be making them again when I buy figs next time. The choice of nuts is entirely yours and you can make them with those available at hand. I have garnished them with powdered hazel nuts. Another variation would be to roll them as small balls instead of logs. And then again, roll them over coconut rasps. Oh! I just love this idea!! Thanks to Vaishali for the lovely recipe.

Sending this to Blog Hop Wednesdays - Week 14, hosted by Radhika of Tickling Palates and to Anyone Can Cook Series 41 of Taste of Pearl City.

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