DMBLGiT September 2012: The Winners

Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph ~ Matt Hardy

Ever since the announcement of the event, entries have poured in from all over the world. Thanks to all the participants and the judges who took out time to be on the panel and select the winners. With so many deserving entries, it was indeed difficult deciding the winners. Check out the DMBLGiT Sep2012 Gallery to see all the entries of this edition.

So without further ado let me unfold the suspense.

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Part 1 - Overall Winners: The overall winners have the highest scores in all three categories combined. 

Overall First Place:  

Mango popsicles by Pamela

Overall Second Place: 

Pisang Ray by Vania 

Overall Third Place: There is a tie

Water melon juice by Asri

 Overall Third Place: There is a tie

Fried flaky pastry with tuna filling by Tika Hapsari Nilmada

Part 2 - Edibility, Originality, and Aesthetics Category: Each picture was scored in three categories: edibility, originality, and aesthetics. The photo receiving the highest total score in each of those categories, excluding the three overall winners, is the specific category winner. 

Winner Edibility Category: 

Donuts by Vanessa

Winner Originality Category: 

Egg Yolk by Soma

Winner Aesthetics Category: This prize is shared by 3 

Hazelnut Cookies by Marcello Arena

Winner Aesthetics Category: This prize is shared by 3

Grapes by Reshmi Mahesh

Winner Aesthetics Category: This prize is shared by 3

Raspberry Lemonade by Kankana

Congratulations to all the winners!

New to DMBLGiT? Read  the announcement post from earlier this month.

Read here to meet the judges for this month’s event.

Check out the  DMBLGiT Sep2012 Gallery to see all the submissions for DMBLGiT-August 2012

**Next months DMBLGiT will be hosted by Monika Topolko of Bake Noir

Tangy Spiced Cilantro Chicken Wings with Yogurt Cilantro dipping sauce

The George family loves Chicken wings but wings that you get in restaurants and sports bars are laden with MSG or some other unnatural ingredients which are usually deep frying if not double fried. Chicken wings are innately high in calories so I wanted to make them as healthy as possible, thereby leading me to bake my dish. 

The weekend was approaching and we were planning to spend most of it at home relaxing, especially with the past few hectic weekends.  So to kick start our Friday night, I planned to make these lip smacking chicken wings -  tangy, spicy and "addictive-ly" delicious! It was accompanied by this fabulous dipping sauce that helped to just brighten up the whole dish!! 

The keys to success here is to marinate the wings overnight so that the marinade flavors get infused well into the meat. Another point to note is to bake the wings until they are browned and done! Don’t forget to prick the wings with a toothpick before you pour the marinade. 

Yield - 20 wing (approx)

Ingredients

2.5 lb – 40 oz (1.13kg) – Chicken wings

¼ Cup - Yogurt

¾ Cup – Cilantro, chopped

3 Tablespoon – Lime juice

¼ Tsp – Lime zest

8 – Green Chilly

2 inch – Fresh ginger

10 clove – Garlic

¼ Tsp – Turmeric powder

½ Tsp – Ground pepper

2 Tablespoon - Oil

Salt

Directions

• Add all the ingredients except the chicken wings into a blender and blend into a smooth paste
• Prick the wings with a toothpick.
• Reserve 4 tablespoons of marinade and pour the rest of the marinade over the wings
• Marinate it overnight in a non-reactive dish.
• Preheat the oven to 375F
• Spread the marinated wings on a baking tray and bake for 30-35 minutes
• While baking the juice from the wing will run out.
• Take the tray out after 35 minutes and reserve 4 tablespoons of the juice. Discard the rest of the juices
• Turn the oven setting to Broil and return the wing to the oven.
• Broil on either side of the wings until they are browned.

For the dipping sauce
Ingredients

4 Tablespoon – Marinade

4 Tablespoon – Cooked juice from the wings

2 Tablespoon - Yogurt

Salt to taste 
Directions

• Mix all the ingredients together and serve it with the chicken wings

Notes and Tips

• Marinate the wings overnight so that the marinade flavors get infused well into the meat. 
• Bake the wings until they are browned and done
• Don’t forget to prick the wings with a toothpick before you pour the marinade. 

** Dont forget to participate in the Bob's Red Mill Giveaway!!!

Bob’s Red Mill Giveaway

I wanted to take a moment to pause and thank all my readers, well-wishers, facebook fans and friends who have always encouraged and supported me with their comments, review and feedback. Please keep the reviews coming as I value them a lot and is what keeps me going!

As a simple token of appreciation for all your efforts I am hosting a Giveaway. I am really excited about this as this is going to be the first giveaway on my blog and I would like to thank Bob’s Red Mill for sponsoring it. The gift pack consists of 4 Bob’s Red Mill products which are Gluten free and worth $25.

Giveaway Gift pack includes:

1. ORGANIC Quinoa Grain
2. ORGANIC Brown Flaxseed Meal
3. GLUTEN FREE Chocolate Cake Mix
4. Whole Roasted Hazelnuts

How to enter?
1. LIKE LifeScoops on Facebook  (The Like button will be on the top right corner)
2. Leave a comment in on this post to let me know that you participated which will help me pick the winner :)
3. SHARE this "Giveaway announcement" on YOUR Facebook page or timeline (http://lifescoops.blogspot.com/2012/09/bobs-red-mill-giveaway.html)


Details
• U.S. and Canada Only. (If you are not a US or Canada resident feel free to enter the giveaway for a cousin, relative or friend here)
• One winner will be chosen at random from all of the comments/entries posted here on this post.
• Be sure to do the 3 mandatory things to enter the giveaway.
• Giveaway ends on Thursday, October 20, 2012 at 11:59 PM EST.
• Winner will be contacted via email supplied in the entry & will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.

Homemade Wholegrain Pancake Mix

A recent change in my daughter's daycare schedule had my husband dropping hear earlier than usual in the morning, and so I was compelled to pack breakfast for her. Planning for her breakfast took me a while as I was committed to keeping healthy as well as appealing for her, which can be an arduous challenge! Since I leave to work at dawn each day, I had very less time at hand and desperately needed easy and quick recipes. 

Well, necessity is the mother of invention and I somehow came up with this wholesome and quick recipe, comprised of whole grains, Chia seeds, Flaxseed and Chopped sunflower seeds. Now breakfast is a breeze and I am content that she is eating healthy.. 


You can serve the pancake with Honey, Maple syrup, Homemade Blueberry sauce, Nutella, Peanut Butter or any other syrup of your choice. 

Other Pancake and Waffle recipes on Lifescoops:

• Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancake
• Easy Pancake
• Cinnamon Wheat and Oat Waffles
• Healthy Whole-grain Waffles with Blueberry Sauce

Homamade Whole grains Pancake Mix Recipe

Yields: 6.5 Cups (approx.)

Ingredients 
4 Cup - Wheat flour
2 Cup - Oats
1/8 Cup - Chia seeds
1/8 Cup - Flaxseed powder
1/8 Cup - Chopped sunflower seeds
4 Tablespoon - Baking powder
3 Teaspoon - Baking soda
1 Teaspoon - Salt
4 Tablespoon - Sugar

Directions

• Add Oats into a food processor or blender and pulse it until you get course flour 
• Chop the sunflower seeds 
• Mix all the ingredients together and keep in an air tight container. 
• Store pancake mix in the refrigerator for future use 

Buttermilk Pancake Recipe: 
Yields: 5-6 pancakes

Ingredients
1 - Egg
1/2 Cup – Milk (add more if you like think pancakes)
1 Tsp - Oil
1 Cup – Pancake Mix (Recipe from above)
1 Tsp - Vanilla
1/4 Cup – Buttermilk

Optional Ingredients
Pumpkin spice
Cinnamon
Blueberry / Banana / Strawberry

Directions

• Beat the egg in a bowl. 
• Add the milk, oil, buttermilk and Vanilla and stir 
• Add the pancake mix. 
• Heat the griddle and pour 1 ladle of batter. 
• Once the lower side is cooked flip the pancake and cook the other side. 

Notes and Tips

• This a great holiday gift. Pack the pancake mix in individual jars and a gourmet holiday gift is ready for your friends and family!
• You can use any of the optional ingredients mentioned above and jazz up your pancakes.

Chipotle Quinoa, Egg and Spinach in Ham Cups

I had lined up quite a few recipes that I planned to work on over the weekend. I was all pumped up with my grocery shopping all done and all set to embark on a cooking spree over the weekend. But then, early Saturday morning my phone rings; a very unusual time for me to get a call but my sweet sister does have the habit of disrupting my weekend beauty sleep. As I hesitatingly picked myself up from bed to grab the phone, I felt something really different, a feeling that something was just not right. I was right- It was my sister indeed but she had called to inform me about the sad demise of my paternal grandmother. 

A strong lady of substance, a phenomenal cook, an incredible writer and an informed human being, liked by all who knew her - that was how we would describe her at her prime. My past blogs may have had numerous mentions about her culinary magic and the lessons I have picked up from her.  She was very inspirational to me, always welcome with her pragmatic encouragement in whatever endeavor I was involved in, be it studies, life or even cooking (though the only help I was to her during those days was with chopping vegetables).

Many of her old time favorite recipes have left an indelible mark on me and I crave for those culinary delights even today, for instance her  rich Plum cake, Christmas pudding, Sweet mango chutney which she used to serve with the yummlicious Biryani,Vanilla Custard Ice cream, Fish crumb fry, Meat Cutlet, Meatball Curry etc. make me drool each time I think of it and I honestly think the dishes that used to come out of her kitchen just can’t be beat. 

Today, I just want to say “I Miss you Ammachy!!” May you rest in peace, in the arms of our almighty Lord! You have left us with so many warm memories that we will cherish forever. We will always love you!.

The versatile recipe that I tried today can be served as an appetizer, breakfast or as a snack. We actually had it for dinner tonight, with some fresh tomato salsa, vegetable salad and warm bread. 

Makes 12

Ingredients 
24- Thin Ham slices
6 – Eggs
½ Cup – Quinoa
8oz – Fresh Spinach, chopped
¼ Cup – Onions, chopped
½ Cup – Red pepper, chopped
1 Tbsp – Garlic, grated
¾ - 1 Tsp – Chipotle in Adobo sauce (Refer notes)
1 Tbsp – Ketchup
1 Tbsp – Cilantro, chopped
¾ Cup – Grated cheese, divided (I used Havarti, cheddar and Pamesan)
Oil
Cooking spray
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions 

• Preheat the oven to 375 F 
• In a non-stick sauce pan, heat 1 ¼ cup of water to a boil and add the Quinoa. Cook for 12 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed. 
• Take saucepan off the stove and cover with a lid; let the Quinoa puff up in the steam. 
• While the Quinoa cooks, heat some oil in a sauté pan, add onions, garlic and sauté until golden. 
• Add chopped spinach 
• Season with salt, ketchup, pepper and Chipotle peppers
• Cook until all the water evaporates and take saucepan off the heat. 
• Beat the egg in a bowl and incorporate the cooked spinach mixture, Quinoa, cheese, red peppers, Cilantro, pepper and salt 
• Use the cooking spray to grease the muffin tray 
• Take 2 slices of ham and place it in the muffin tray, covering most of the area at the bottom. Ham is going to act like the muffin liner here ..yummy!!
• Spoon in the egg and spinach mixture into the ham 'liners'. 
• Top it with grated cheese 
• Bake for 18-20 minute or until the toothpick test comes out clean when inserted into the muffin 

Notes and Tips 

• Chipotle Chilies in Adobo sauce is available in most grocery stores, usually in the canned food section. The Chili is spicy so adjust according to your palate. You can discard the seeds to reduce the heat level. 
• The ham is usually salty so adjust salt in the filling accordingly 
• If the edges of ham start to burn in the oven just cover the muffin tray with some aluminum foil and continue baking for the recommended time period.

On a final note, today is  the last day for submission of entries for the DMBLGiT Sep 2012 event. I am so glad it was a success as we received so many beautiful photographs from all over the world which can be viewed at the gallery. I thank you all food bloggers and enthusiast who took part and also who spread the word. The winner will be announced on my blog on September 30th, 2012.  I am also planning a Giveaway on my blog shortly so stay tuned :)

 Sending this recipe for Monthly Mingle hosted at Jenn Cuisine

Meet the Judges - DMBLGiT Sep2012

I am extremely privileged and honored to host such an amazing event and to interact with such talented food bloggers from all over the world.

Without further ado, let me introduce the DMBLGiT Sep2012 judges, who have gracefully agreed to spare their time to help judge the wonderful contest entries.

Please visit their space and take a look at their amazing work!

DMBLGiT Sep2012 Gallery
Annoucements,Rules and Details

Keep the entries coming!!

Cheers,
Shema George

Giulia Scarpaleggia - Juls’ Kitchen | Facebook | Twitter

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In February 2009 I started blogging at  Juls’ Kitchen, to give voice to my passion for food, subsequently learning to express it through words and images. Now Juls’ Kitchen is a diary of my life in Tuscany seen through my experiences with food. In January 2012 I turned my passion into a job: now I am a freelance food writer, I develop recipes for magazines and food companies and I am a Tuscan cooking class instructor for foreigners and Italians. In other words, I cook every day, I take photos when there’s enough light to do it, I write too much and I eat with pleasure. I have fun and enjoy every single moment, cherishing every day.

Nami - Just One Cookbook | Facebook | Twitter

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My name is Nami, and I was born and raised in Japan and now live in San Francisco.  I’m a stay-at-home mom to two wonderful children and have a food blog called Just One Cookbook.  I discovered food blogging in early 2011 and it changed my world.  It allows me the opportunity to meet many unique foodie friends from all different countries, as well as to share easy home cooked Japanese recipes with those who are interested in Japanese food.  As part of blogging, I became deeply interested with food photography and I’m always looking to improve my food photos.  I’m thrilled to be able to judge the work coming in for DMBLGiT this month.

Naomi - Bakers Royale | Facebook | Twitter

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Naomi - Wife of one, mother of one, friend of too many and a neurotic queen to the household hamster. On my blog,  Bakers Royale, you will find my reviews of other blogger’s recipes after I have tried their posted creations. The idea is to chronicle what I love, what inspires me and of course what is drool worthy enough to repeat over and over.You will also find my own baking creations and experimentations.Without formal training in the art of baking, I’ve armed myself with an abundant reserve of passion and determination for baking and creating. Hopefully when it comes to my own creations, you will see more successes than failures. But as I tell those in my life, you don’t have to be the best—you just have to be your best. With that in mind, I will be showcasing my failures as well with the idea that through feedback and comments you can steer me right and inversely I can do the same for you.Aside from my kitchen wanderings, you’ll also find bits and pieces of me stumbling my way through life as a wife, as a mom and just as somebody who is happy to be on a path with no end in sight.Lastly, I have an awesome 9-5 job at a cancer diagnostic company that rocks

Prerna Singh - Indian Simmer | Facebook | Twitter

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I am a food photographer, blogger and the face behind the popular Indian food blog  Indian Simmer. I spent most of my childhood in a few small towns in central India – a time I fondly remember for Rotis straight off the clay oven and mom’s cooking with produce plucked right from the farms. I went to business school in India to get an MBA and worked in the advertising industry for a few years. Six years ago I moved to the US and now live with my husband and a naughty three year old daughter who keeps me on my toes. I love traveling, exploring new cuisines and then trying them in my kitchen to later share them with the world. I started my food blog in early 2010 as a way to share the recipes I developed and was soon drawn to food photography as a medium to present these recipes. Since then I have been fortunate to have my blog and recipes featured on some reputed food sites like Food Network and The Huffington Post. Indian Simmer was nominated as a Best Food Blog 2011 finalist by Savuer magazine and I am in the process of writing my first cookbook which releases towards the end of this year.

Announcing DMBLGiT September 2012 - Food Photography contest

I am extremely thrilled and honored to announce that I am hosting one of the most prestigious food photography contest in the blogosphere known as DMBLGiT (Does My Blog Look Good In This?) for the month of September! 

Conceived by Andrew of Spittoon Extra, DMBLGiT is the longest running online food photography contest, dating back to 2005, each month showcasing a wealth of talent from food bloggers all over the web. It is open to all bloggers who have posted a food related photograph and is hosted by a different blogger each month. An amazing group of extremely talented judges (who will be revealed later this month), that have been truly kind to accept my request to be on the panel, will review the submissions and choose the winners for several categories. Each of the winners will receive a beautiful DMBLGiT badge to place on their site!!!

Rules

·         Only one food/drink photograph may be entered per person.

·         The photograph must have been taken by you.

·         The photograph must NOT have any text or watermarks.

·         The photograph must have been posted on your blog between August 1st through August 31st, 2012.

·         The deadline to submit your entry is Thursday, September 20, 2012 (your local time zone).

Review and scoring

The panel that comprises of awesome, brilliant and super talented judges will review the photographs and score them based on the following three categories:

·         Aesthetics: Composition, food styling, lighting, focus, etc.

·         Edibility: “Does the photo make us want to dive in and eat the food?”

·         Originality: The photograph that catches our attention and makes us want to say “wow!”, displaying something we might not have seen before.

Three overall winners with top scores in all three categories and One winner in each of the three individual categories will be chosen, making the count of winners to a total of Six.

Submitting entries

Email your entry to lifescoops [at] gmail [dot] com with subject as DMBLGiT and the following details:

1. Your name
2. Your blog’s name and URL
3. Title of the photograph
4. URL of the post containing the photograph
5. Camera and lens used
6. Your location ~ optional
7. An attachment of a single qualifying food or drink photo in jpg format, of no more than 500 pixels in width. Photographs must be text/watermark free.

* Please note that by submitting a photo, entrants agree to their photo being re-displayed and altered in size on the host’s page, the DMBLGiT September 2012 gallery on  Picasa and on the SpittoonExtra DMBLGiT page.

DMBLGiT September 2012 Gallery

All submissions will be posted to the DMBLGiT September 2012 Gallery.  Entries will be updated to the gallery each day that they are received.  Make sure you check out the gallery for all the beautiful entries.

Please feel free to leave me a comment, if you do not see your food photograph submitted to the event featuring in the gallery within 72 hours of submission. Check out the gallery for last month’s entries and winners at Sihi’s amazing website  A Wandering Ladle.

Interested to host a future event?

If you are interested to host DMBLGiT in the months to come, please contact Andrew with “DMBLGiT Host” as the subject line.

In case you have any questions about this month’s event, please feel free to leave me a comment.

Winners will be announced on Sunday, September 30, 2012.

So get ready, mark your calendars for the deadline, send in your clicks and spread the word .

Reminder: The last day to send in your entries to the contest is Thursday, September 20, 2012.

Looking forward to all the wonderful entries,

~Shema George

Easy 3 minute Chocolate Nutella Mug cake (Egg free)

Curb that sudden chocolate craving in less than 3 minutes, with this quick, warm, moist and delicious goodness-in-a-mug!! If you are like me and get hit with this sudden yearning for some chocolate cake at night or at an odd time of the day, but just get overwhelmed at the thought of extensive baking, waiting and cleaning, then this is just the perfect panacea for you. 

  

WHISK -> MICROWAVE -> EAT within 3 minutes!!!... Now doesn’t that sound awesome? I know!!  And that is exactly why I am so excited to share this recipe with you. 

I have been trying to perfect this recipe for quite some time and now i think it’s time to share it with all you fellow choco-holics. Do keep in mind though, that this could be really addictive as I have been relying on this quick-fix more and more, simply because it is SO EASY !!!

Serve 1, Yields 1 Mug

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp - All-purpose flour (Maida)
2 Tbsp - Unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tbsp - Oil
1 Tbsp – Nutella (Chocolate Hazelnut spread)
3 Tbsp - Yogurt
2 Tbsp - Sugar
1/8 Tsp - Baking soda
1/8 Tsp - Salt

Optional Toppings
Powdered sugar
Fresh seasonal fruits like strawberry
Whipped cream
Ice cream

Directions

• Add all the ingredients into the cup, and mix with a fork until everything is incorporated well. Do not over-mix
• Microwave (at highest power) for 1 to 2 minutes. (Keep an eye on the cake while it is cooking. If the cake tends to overflow, just take the cup out of the microwave for a few seconds and return it back  to continue cooking. 

Notes and Tips

• If the mug is small, the ingredients might overflow. I used a 300ml microwave-safe mug.
• Cooking time differs with the microwave and the power setting you have. So keep an eye on the cake while it’s cooking. I just had to cook mine for a little over a minute. If you overcook, you will end up with a dry, rubbery cake
• Do not over-mix the ingredients.
• Keep an eye on the cake while it is cooking. If the cake tends to overflow, just take the cup out of the cup for a few seconds before returning it back to continue cooking
• You can also make this cake in Ramekins but make sure you use less cake batter. 
• You can substitute Nutella for Peanut Butter