Holly Jolly Christmas

Hope you are having a wonderful time and enjoying your holidays.

Sharing with you some traditional goodies that are part of the American culture for the Christmas Holidays -

1) Eggnog - Eggnog is a sweetened dairy-based beverage made with milk, cream, sugar, beaten eggs (which gives it a frothy texture), and flavoured with ground cinnamon and nutmeg; alcoholic versions also exist with the addition of various liquors, such as brandy, rum, and whiskey.

2) Cookies of all different kinds - do read the post on Monster Cookies posted here few months back.

3) Fruitcake - is a cake made with chopped candied fruit and/or dried fruit, nuts and spices, and optionally soaked in spirits.

4) Gingerbread - is a sweet that can take the form of a cake or a cookie in which the predominant flavors are ginger and raw sugar.

5) Puddings

* Plum Pudding - is the dessert traditionally served on Christmas day.

* Persimmon Pudding - is another traditional American dessert made with persimmons - known to the ancient Greeks as "the fruit of the gods" and is the edible fruit

6) Pies

* Apple Pie

* Mince Pie - contains minced meat with apple as a base.

* Pecan Pie

* Pumpkin Pie

* Sweet Potato Pie

7) Meats like Roast Turkey and Ham

8) Drinks include Hot Chocolate, Apple Cider, Wines, Champagne

Have fun and a happy new year to you all

Whats on your mind???

Hello people, how are ya all doing eh? Hoping you are all fit and fine. I wonder how did you guys manage to take care of yourselves whilst the cookers of Ambrosia were away. Its just that all the cookers of Ambrosia have gotten busy just around the same time. Just a quick apology for the sudden disappearing act. But hey we are back after a month long hiatus.

So so....this ones not a recipe, not a restaurant review, not some nutrition facts or any tips. Instead how about you particiapte in this post by telling us what's the first thought / thoughts that comes to your mind right now when i say the word 'FOOD'

U wanna know what crosses my mind.....Cookies and Cream ....yippeeeeeeeeeeee me craving for cookies and cream n its 10: 41 pm here and its snowing like crazy but I dont care I am going to pick up a tub of Cookies and Cream.......anyways wanna share? So tell me what r u feeling like right now...come'on quick......everybody at ambrosia is straving...its been over a month now that we talked about food eh....drop in your comments in the mean whhile i'll just get some yummilicious ice cream for moi..

Monster Cookies

All the cookers are in transition at this time - so the delay in this post.



Here is an interesting recipe for MONSTER COOKIES by our second guest blogger - Carolinagal. This recipe includes the Oatmeal that Princess Mia wrote about in the last post.


3 Eggs
1 cup sugar
mix
Half box light brown sugar
mix again
Add 12 oz Peanut butter (12 oz. is about 340 grams)
1 stick of butter softened to room temperature (1 Stick = 1/4 pound or 113 grams or 8 tbsp.)
mix all together
Quaker quick-cooking oats (I usually buy the 18oz container and use about half to three quarters of it)
mix all together
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 tsp Baking soda
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup chocolate chips
M&M's - a few (or Cadbury Gems )
stir all in together
Place equal size portions on parchment lined cooking sheet
Preheat oven to 350 deg
Bake 8-10 minutes
Do not over bake unless you prefer Monster Charcoal.


They are called Monster Cookies BECAUSE they have all the 'good' ingrediants.
You don't HAVE to add raisins and M&M's (Gems) if you don't want- they can be substituted with more chocolate chips.
You can also add crushed walnuts if you want - the more creative the better.
For those who are allergic to peanuts, simply eliminate the peanut butter.
This is great recipe if you have an office party the next day, and you are asked to bring something. Once you have all the ingredients ready, it takes about 10 min to put everything together, and another 10 min to bake. And everyone will LOVE these cookies!!

Enjoy!

(P.S. I have asked her to include how many cookies this particular recipe will make and if she has any information on the calorie content - will include the information in the comments)
- Recipe by Carolinagal
- Presented by Ceedy.

Power packed Oats

A lotta people these days are getting health conscious inne? A lot of are readers here are also on a low cal diet inne.....so this ones specially goes out to all the people who go gymming, are on a diet or are thinking of die-eating and ofcourse for all those who have just been putting on weight reading all the Ambrosia posts ......So lets talk about oats today.....

So for those of you who have only heard of white bread n cheese n whole cream milk....lets see what are oats eh?

Oats are grasses that produce grains just like wheat, barley, rice etc. Oats grow on stalks, with kernels more widely distributed along a looser tree-like framework. They are very popular in the West and slowly catching up in the East too. Its very popular in the health food movement cos of its high nutritional value. Oats are high in protein, calcium, fiber, vitamin E.

Why should you have Oats?

• Lowers LDL 'bad' cholestrol which in turns reduces the risk of heart diseases. The fibre absorbs excess fat and flushes it out of the system curing constipation also.
• Highest protein content amongst cereals , which is equivalent to soy protein which has been shown by WHO to be equal to meat, milk & egg protein thus boosts energy. 

• Stabilizes blood glucose levels, balancing blood sugar levels by eating fibre rich food helps mood swings & depression. Oat meal rejuvinates the endocrine systems & enriches sexual pleasure as it matures the nerves. 
• Some fatty acids, antioxidants & vitamin E present in oatmeal slow cell damage n reduce risk of cancer. 
• Being low in fat and salt is a good source of iron. 
• Contain high calcium content thus good for heart, bones n nails. 
• Can be used as a substitue for cornflour, thus can be added in soups & gravies as a thickening agent.

BTW Oats can be eaten as porridge, oatcakes oatmeal cookies. Oats can be found in cold cereals like museli n granola being partly cooked in the mill can be consumed with fresh or dried fruits & yogurt.

FYI - Oats are used for brewing beer and also to feed cattle n horses.

- Princess Mia