Hearts in the Right Place – An Appeal for Help & Heart (y) Centered Cupcakes

The hoopla for Valentine’s day is hard to miss. I’ve never believed in making monuments of days and dates. I would like to, like a lot of people, turn my nose up at a lot of what is now the genius of the guys up at marketing who manage to put the pressure on everyone to express your love with diamonds and roses and other such stuff…. but i couldnt this year. What with my writing for a newspaper and all… i had to do a valentine’s day special and i brought out the pink hearts with a vengeance!

On the sharing love bit… if you like me have been inactive (blogwise that is) you may/maynot have heard of the fund raiser drive by this very dear blogging friend called Siri for Vaidehi Ashram in Hyderabad. She is like a woman possessed and it is so inspiring to see how her passion to really make a difference has resulted in this ashram recieving donations from bloggers and readers accross the world. For me who feels emotional even about inanimate objects, i cannot even imagine being alone in this world and not having anyone or anything to call my own. Vaidehi Ashram in Hyderabad is a safe place for girls where they are provided  an environment to live and study and given some semblance of family and community.  The world as it is, is a harsh place, add to that the knowledge that you have been abandoned for whatever reasons, is reason enough to feel battered. But here is a place that will help you and care for you. And then there are people like Siri who dont just sit back and wonder why something cannot be done, but actually do it. Several bloggers are sponsoring beautiful prizes for the raffle and there is really a wide variety to choose from. plus its all for a good cause… You can get all the details about the Fundraiser here and please click here to buy a raffle ticket. 

What can you to to help?

Its as easy as buying a raffle ticket. Each Ticket for the raffle ticket is for $10 (INR 500). Buying multiple tickets will give you a better chance of winning the prize you want.

How can you Buy the Raffle Ticket/s

There is an easy to use link to make your payment. All you have to do is make a payment via Paypal or credit. 

You could also email Siri at info(dot)siri(at)gmail(dot)com to check about making donations in indian rupees.

When you have completed the donation process, please email Siri at  info(dot)siri(at)gmail(dot)com with confirmation of your payment and specifying the raffle prize you are interested in.

Escapades is making a small contribution to this fund drive. A Box of assorted handcrafted Chocolate Truffles made by me. there are 10 boxes to be won and shipping is within India. Code is RF3.  

If you are not a resident, you can nominate an indian resident to receive the chocolates. Chocolates have literally changed the way i think about work, and yes i do this for a living, but i know each piece is carefully handmade and will put a smile on the face of the person who will taste its pure indulgence. I really hope you will be moved enough to do your bit….you have until Feb 25th to participate in the raffle. Goodluck!

Handcrafted Chocolate Truffles (10 boxes to be won) the raffle code is RF3

Back to Valentine’s Drama… and if you forget all the hoopla, these beautiful cupcakes are so pretty, that i couldnt get myself to eat them without feeling bad! if pink and hearts dont rock your boat, please try it with any other colour or shape….

this is a basic cupcake recipe that i tweaked a bit.

Heart Centered Cupcakes

Butter – ½ cup (unsalted at room temperature, if using salted butter, skip the salt)

Sugar – 1 cup (powdered in a blender)

Eggs – 3 (at room temperature)

Baking powder – 11/2 teaspoon

Baking soda – ½ teaspoon

Vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon

Salt – 1/4 teaspoon

Maida – 1½   cups

Milk – ¼ cup

Red food colour – 1 teaspoon

Method: 

In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar till pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat well till completely mixed. Add the vanilla and beat some more.
Sift the Maida with the salt (if using) baking powder and baking soda. Mix in the Maida and the milk alternately, 1/3 quantity at a time. Mix this lightly and do not over mix.
Take ¼ of this batter and mix in the food colour. Spread this into a flat baking tin and bake at 180 C for 20 minutes or till a tester comes out clean. Cool this cake, when completely cool, using a heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out hearts and set aside. You can use the scraps for a trifle pudding or cake pops.Line a cupcake mould with liners, using a round spoon, put about 11/2 tablespoon of batter in the liner, stick a baked heart into it and add 1 tablespoon of batter over it. Repeat till all the batter is used. Bake at 180 C till done (about 20 minutes).

Cool completely before serving the heart surprise cupcake! Cut to reveal the heart if needed.

As I write this, there has been an outpouring of grief amongst the blogging community over the untimely passing away of Raji, better known as Miri of Peppermill. I admit that i didnt know her personally. I came accross her blog (it was hard to miss) but i didnt intereact with her much. Never once thought she was ill. She leaves behind a 6 year old daughter and her husband. I wish them the strength to bear their grief. Through all the tributes, I have gathered that she was a vivacious lady who faced life with a beautiful smile and not once let on about her health issues. When I wallow in self pity, I hope to be strengthened by her and her life…. not knowing her, is purely my loss…. RIP.

Adieu….2008……Welcome….2009

As this year comes to a close….i bid adieu to a dear friend… a friend who tentively stepped in….who i took some time warming up to….. who spent every day with me….was a part of what each day brought…..the highs, the lows, the successes and the not so successful….and now, it seems like a dear old  friend……2008, thank you for everything that you taught me…. I bid you goodbye with fondness……and wait with excitement for what 2009 will bring us all……

its going to be a quiet time, with friends to share the last of this year and usher in the new year…..

I wish you the love of friends and family,  much laughter, peace, love & joy, the friendship of true friends and the courage to face all else that life brings with it……cheers to everything that 2008 was and all the hope that 2009 brings.

Half a Decade …. and Counting

A white train, veil and an entourage….. a dapper groom, awaiting his bride at the altar, a church full of people, singing …..and a priest waiting to say “I now pronounce you Man and Wife” ………..

Whatever else I dreamt of, this montage was never to be…… in its place instead, was a terrible excitement that we would finally spend the rest of our lives together…….hoping that the frayed nerves would hold up till everything was over….making all of the arrangements……staying at the venue till a few hours before the reception to get everything done…..i telling you my feet were paining in those ridiculously high heels (because k is a foot taller) and you asking me why I wore them in the first place…. You grumbling over how many more hours of handshaking was in store and me asking you to shut up and smile since pictures were being clicked…..

five years then seemed like such a long time…..now I can’t remember when it flew past…..knowing each other as long as we have, it seems like forever….. in a nice way!! In the end it isn’t about what we did, or how we spent time, or where we’ve been and what we’ve achieved…..

To know that I will always come home to you…..that I share my life with you…that marriage wasn’t the end of all that we wanted…it was just the beginning of what we have together….to know that we don’t have to be Siamese twins…..that we can be our own people…..with opinions and ideas fiercely our own…. That it’s ok to not agree on anything and yet know that that’s the way it is going to be…..that we are chalk and cheese….that we don’t have to share anything…..religion, language, culture, interests or even food….and yet, we share the life we have together…..to take a line out of Jerry Maguire, “you complete me”….

I am so glad I found you K…..if I had to do it all over again, I would……and not change a thing….Happy Anniversary!!

Trifle pudding

Amma and her sister peddi were big clippers and collectors of recipes…..peddi worked as the Assistant Librarian of a huge library and often, magazines and periodicals trashed by the library would make it to the house….also at church there was a library run by the womens group….people would borrow books and magazines and also donate what they had already read…..plus there were the recipes in the daily newspapers…..womens weekly, womens world and some other foreign magazines I vividly remember…..i think somewhere on my loft, still is an ageing file with yellowing cutouts from years of this indulgence…..Not just recipes, they would collect knitting patterns, sewing projects and household tips…

Every once in a not so often while we’d have western style puddings, cakes, stewed fruit, jams and marmalades, casseroles, meatloaf, roast etc….….(they said it helped preserve the excitement and exclusivity of the preparation….but I think it was more to do with the time they had and the availability of ingredients….) we’d eagerly wait for a festive occasion, birthdays in particular cos we could request what we wanted….and hope that foreign returning relatives would be invited for a meal where the food laid out would be kicked up a few notches to suitably impress the relatives!! I always loved this extra dressed up meal….the stainless steel utensils would be swapped for my grandmother’s precious dinner set(the guests had to be really important to get this out of the cupboard!!)…or sundry glass bowls would make an appearance …. What we would be eating from was fully dependent on who would be eating with us!!

In all of this, trifle puddings were my absolute favourite…I think it was because it contained almost 4 of my favourite desserts….cake, custard, jelly and fruit!! Think amma also chose it based on the fact that most of it could be made the previous day, and two of them, the jelly and custard is made from a packet….. and simply assembled in a jiffy when needed…..infact the cake would be made a couple of days earlier ..…. I’d hang on…under the guise of “helping”….watching hawk like if any goldspot (fizzy orange drink like fanta….made in india, but the company was bought over by coco cola) was left in the bottle so I could get a few sips…. (no we grew up not surrounded by fizzy drinks…it was a really rare treat)…..extra custard, extra jelly and fruit would be devoured….all this for peeling a few oranges and apples!! I think I developed my sweet jaw from childhood, because I don’t have many memories of food….though all good….but I distinctly remember occasions by the desserts served….and I would wolf down my food (getting as subtle as possible glares from amma) and wait impatiently for dessert…… I think I can choke on the memories (not the custard silly) every time I make a trifle pudding!!

This one was made when we had some friends over for dinner….i could have avoided the cream looking like a lump on top had i not squirted it directly from the carton!! in the hurry to finish taking a picture, I didn’t get the best ones….orange flavoured jelly is my favourite….i siphoned off the leftovers and substituted them for dinner on two consecutive nights!!

yellow….for sunshine, hope and spirit

when i heard of Bri’s fight with cancer…..i was taken back to my childhood…..my mother’s younger brother had cancer of the mouth….and it went undiagnosed till it was too late…..i remember my mother and her sister, selflessly caring for their brother….through his chemotherapy that came too late, through his deteriorating health and the helplessness that they felt to see him suffer like that….this was over twenty years ago…yet amma cannot forget…and i suspect forgive herself, for not having the means to afford timely treatment for her brother…..i now can see so clearly, all those silent tears that were shed….with the hope that he would will himself to get better…it wasnt to be…..the disease had battered him and it was too late…..

i am amazed to see the smile that shines through bri’s eyes…as she bravely battles cancer….i am amazed to see the spirit and goodwill of food bloggers, well wishers and family and friends who are willing her to focus on her healing…..

Bri of Figs with Bri is a young woman diagnosed with breast cancer at 28 and underwent treatment that included a mastectomy, chemotherapy…..however, unfortunately, two years of relatively good health later, the cancer is back, only this time it has metastasized to other parts of her body. At the age of 15, Bri lost her 41-year old mother to the disease. Now, she’s waging what will be a battle to win this war against breast cancer.

it is wonderful to see the love and support that she receives, and is heartening to see her acknowledge all of that through her pain……Click:Jugalbandi’s monthly photography event this month is in honour of Bri, there is also a raffle with wonderful prizes thoughtfully sponsored by friends and fellow bloggers and a fund raiser to help raise money that Bri will need to explore all kinds of treatment available to ad in her fight against breast cancer….i am very happy to report that the fund raiser is going well……but it can not be too much and is on till the 15th of july….see how you can make a difference …….bri needs all the support she can get to help her focus on healing and to find a treatment that works best for her….her insurance does not cover alternative methods of treatment that may strengthen her fight against cancer……..to know how you can contribute, click here….

yellow….for sunshine, hope and the wonderful human spirit….more importantly….for Brianna….we are cheering for you. get well soon.

Baking Escapade # 15 – Giving a gift….of love

One of the things I have been thinking about increasingly, is how people lived before technology completely took over their lives…..put me within closed doors for a day with no internet, telephone and oh ok…as a last option, the television and you will come back to a really mad person….. I myself am a product of the generation before and after cell phones….i should know!! Hell I worked in telecom for a good 6 years!! and am amazed, that for a nation that took almost a century to get used to a landline phone, we took to cell phones with a vengeance….yet I don’t think life will come to a standstill with or without one of these gizmos…. For one till a few months ago I refused to carry one after quitting my telecom job where it was company given and hence compulsory……….( I am referring to cell phones merely as a technological application that’s become integral to our lives…..i am sure the internet, ipods and other such have as big starring roles)

Have you off late observed people when they wait? At coffee shops, airport lounges, bus stops, on the road, at malls, at theatres…just about anywhere at all…..9 out of 10 times, they will be talking, messaging, playing a game on or simply fiddling with their phones (most likely) or laptops or ipods if they are carrying one…..no one just sits fiddling with nothing (and no we won’t consider pocket billiards played by the men folk)…doing nothing…. Just plain and simple waiting….have we become unable to manage our time, or solitude? I don’t know….. I know I get damn restless if I don’t have my phone nearby, cos I don’t know what the day entails (I am a queen of to – do’s remember?), what reminders I have set for myself…..what a disaster the day will be if I don’t remember them all….

So at such a time……when you can’t deny that technology has made it so much easier ( hell I am a blogger no??) ……….it’s such a refreshing thing to celebrate the birthday of my aunt….my mother’s cousin…she completed 86 years a few weeks ago…..lets call her E……a remarkable lady, now frail but (touchwood) in great health….she’s someone I marvel at….except for shaky teeth and very little hair, and of course wrinkled skin, she has no ailments….no diabetes or blood pressure or even a problem with her eyesight!! She’s lived a tough life….bringing up and supporting a large family of siblings, taking whatever lemons life threw at her and making lemonade…..marrying, having children, seeing them grow and spread their wings……they are grandparents now…..rarely will you see her without her smile…..always a kind word….she will even enquire if my mother in law’s maid is regular ( and not in an intrusive manner)….full of love and concern…go to visit her and every other sentence will be punctuated with “what will you eat ma? Have something no?”…what I find most remarkable about her is her ability to remember dates, wedding anniversaries, death anniversaries, birthdays etc of more than 100 people….without any calendar, reminder or to do list……anyone in the family is sick and E is the first one to make an appearance, bearing fruit (or whatever else you can eat)…..death in the family and she will be by your side to keep vigil and comfort you….and difficult as it may be…..has been faithfully attending church twice every week for almost all her life…..and I am not talking about lip service….she will kneel and pray for family and the huge extensions for more than an hour twice a day…..i don’t look at it as a question of faith or the lack of it…even as a practice, imagine kneeling!! For an hour…..imagine that kind of passion for what you believe in!! She’s like a ready reckoner!! If you are confused about how you are related to so and so…..can’t remember an important date or occasion, need a ear to listen to you or anything else that others don’t have the time for, E is my one stop shop….my lady for all seasons!!

I baked this cake for her…and she couldn’t believe I made it at home….she doesn’t know that I blog, so I didn’t tell her she will be making an appearance….happy birthday!!

p.s: Aunty E’s birthday was on the 25th of march….and i wrote this post, overwhelmed by our meeting a day later…..it lay languishing in my drafts, till yesterday, i saw the theme for JFI which is love…..i think there can be not better entry from me than this….so off this goes….to JFI which is celebrating Love….what a fantastic theme…what is food if not prepared with love?? JFI is the brainchild of Indira, this month being hosted by two wonderful women Pratibha and Jigyasa at Pedatha…..

p.s: in other stories (which will make this post even more lengthy!!) i have been swamped, stumped and drowned with love and appreciation!! this beautiful lady and i have discovered each other with a vengeance, a day is incomplete without us saying hello…and much time has been spent chatting (on the internet) on stuff which makes us believe we are in the same room, sitting accross each other with cups of chai (hurrah for the virtual world….err i know this is in total contradiction to how my post began)…..i got this wonderful package with some heady stuff from her….methkoot powder (in the bottle, sans the lid….i had to open it before i could take the pic…my mother was hounding me for a taste), some yummy sesame-peanut chutney powder, mango murrabba (which is a sun dried pickle), an assortment of flavoured teas, and seeds of african marigold which she says “will bloom into the brightest of orange flowers” (amen)….when they do nan, they will fill my home with your love…..thanks….

the second one was most unexpected…..my dear namesake, tantalised me with a comment, then on

chat,shealso called me and i didnt believe it was her, also i was in the middle of some shopping, so i think i was a tad rude…..but the gift from gurgaon stumped me totally….i came home after an ill planned afternoon(scorching at 41 degrees C) shopping trip, dehydrated by the heat and disgusted by the autowallahs to find a parcel on the table…..for a flash second i thought it was self addressed….then realised it was not….apart from the same name, we share the most bizzarely similar emotional and personal qualities…..down to our handwriting!! she saw this post of mine and wanted to let me know….and built the package around it!! a pack of my beloved potato flakes, some all purpose cooking paste, fake chicken legs (oh!! she remembered from our first conversation!!) and home made yummy nankhatais (which again didnt make it to the pic cos they got demolished)

and now to Deeba, my dear dear friend, inspirational baker, super mom and enthusiastic comrade!! one mail and i was presented with a gift of the most wondrous Thai basil….and before i could write a post to thank her, she gives me this award…with some kind words too…..the basil is growing well and so is my admiration for her…..this is the second award from Deeba…thank you girl!! you sure sent me into the orbit of happiness with this one!! muaah!! (there will be another post to pass this on…)

woo hooo…i think this is enough love to spin me around for a while….so i will put a fullstop here and leave you with the recipe for the cake!!

Baking Escapade #12 – Whole Wheat Hot Cross Buns

Festivals make me so home sick…brings back memories and I crave for all the halla gulla of yesteryears…..Lent however is a period of penitence and reflection, meditation and abstinence….it is also mostly bang in the middle of financial years….and spread over 40 days which makes travelling to the other city to be with the family not a viable option….as a family we aren’t very ritualistic, however there are some things that we do follow….but being on my own, many things do get diluted….i try to keep the spirit as true as I can, giving the symbols and rituals a miss…..

To signify the 3 hours from 12 pm to 3 pm that Christ was hanging on the cross, worship and meditation services are held at that time….as kids, it was such a challenge for amma and peddi to prepare us kids to sit in church (quietly) all that time….they would arm themselves with colouring books, biscuits and a bottle of water to keep us occupied when we were really little, and later a strict warning and a stare would suffice to fix us….of course once we got involved in what was happening around you, this treatment was suspended…..one constant of the good Friday service, was the promise of Hot Cross Buns from a very famous bakery next door…..infact such was the demand for these HCBs that people would sneak off mid service to get their booty and avoid disappointment later…with about 5 large congregational churches within a 2 kms radius, this baker knew when he’d be in full demand…. After the intial enthusiasm, I began wondering what the big deal was all about the HCB….to begin with, they were’nt very different from the buns we got all year through…the cross that was marked on it, usually was so leathery, you’d have to gulp water to help swallow it….(obviously I developed a critical eye very early!!)….but traditions being what they are, we simply continued them…..this year however, it was different ……….On one day, two posts from two fabulously talented bloggers with cult following (i meant her…and her)…that’s what assaulted me a few days before Good Friday…. I did my usual internet research and decided; homemade was the way to go this year!! With K working like there is no tomorrow, and work being a little less than usual, I had enough time on my hands…..Thursday was spent reading and re-reading the recipes…and mentally planning the course of action…..i fear baking…all last year, and whatever posts you see on my blog, are the results of a very nervous person…I don’t trust myself to do well…for me baking is something that is still not my best buddy…….add yeast to it and you have a proper nervous wreck on your hands….. While I can mask this very well with people around….i prefer to indulge in my madness when I am on my own….. each project therefore is a test of nerves….successes are a delightful surprise …. I spend lots of time at blogs with fabulous bakers…hoping to draw courage from them….

So gallantly I walked into the kitchen….literally had my hands in a knot while the yeast took its own time to rise…. I didn’t set out any of the stuff I needed till the yeast was frothy, because there would be less to clean up if the first step failed….i wasn’t sure if the yeast would rise at all….and when you are standing over the bowl of warm water and yeast pellets, willing for it to froth up already!! Time passes excruciatingly slow…. Rise it did….not as I wanted …all frothy and all…but I figured it will work….i substituted whole wheat flour for APF for the entire recipe….didnt have currants so just added raisins….and prayed that the dough would raise itself and double up….friends B and J (no not the world famous bloggers) called and said they’d come over and spend the night….and I hadn’t seen them in a long time so I wanted to see them too….when they arrived, I had just about set the dough to rest for the first rising…. I wonder if they noticed I was like a cat on a hot tinned roof all the while….till dinner…and later when we sat chatting too….every now and then I would pop into the kitchen to do something of the process….and finally made the buns and put them in the oven…….the smell of freshly baking bread…when it fills the house is indescribable……I think it would make it to the top three on a list of “these are a few of my favourite things” for me……. Its difficult to escape….the aroma mixed with the spices…..it can momentarily calm the most nervous person!! While I accepted the compliments for the aroma that spread through the house, I still didn’t know if I would end up with buns or bricks….. after all that tension!! Buns it was!! They had an angular shape because of spreading out a little on the baking sheet….but other than that, they looked lovely…like tanned beauties….and the texture!! It was crumbly and had a grainy texture…. it wasn’t spongy like APF bread is…but more like a cake….the spices lent just a bit of sweetness to it….tasted fabulous with a light spread of butter…. By the time I came back from church on Friday, the folks at home had eaten more than half of the buns….that is compliment enough for me….i think I will continue this as my own tradition for good Friday….the buns, minus the crosses will be baked again in my kitchen….they make a very filling breakfast…and because they are ever so slightly sweet, don’t need anything in the form of a spread….i was also happy that whole wheat could be successfully used in this….this one is a keeper….by the length of this post you can make out how excited I was!!

Recipe followed is from this wonderful site here with some changes of course… so here is my version…. You can also see nandita’s version here and meeta’s here

The year that was 2007 ….

Today’s the last day of this fabulous year….and tho I hate to see it go; I am filled with hope for the year that 2008 will be…. In many ways, 2007 has been a defining year for me…. If you read my other blog you will know that there have been many firsts for me this year…..things that I gingerly took a step forward to and they firmly became some of the best things I ever did…… this blog for instance…..for much time I was a lurker and trawler of food blogs and looked at them with amazement and awe….and then with one uncertain step I plunged into it…..not knowing if I would be read at all…yet the want to be part of this celebration of all things food was too strong for me to ignore….. I watch with amazement as the modest numbers go up on my stats counter…. More than anything, I am happy with the people I have met and the familiar comfort I feel when I know I am part of this tribe that celebrates food just like I do….the people I have learnt so much from, who’s recipes I have tried with much success, today I am so much more sensitive to what I eat, cook and try out…I am more observant of ingredients and flavors and most of all am willing to try out anything atleast once….of course K accuses me of not cooking for him but for the blog these days…. but then I guess all spouses of food bloggers suffer from the same malaise…..

Apart from a look back and nostalgia, Nupur called out for the best of 2007….. so here it is…..with less than 50 posts and almost those many recipes …..my top ten recipes of the year….these aren’t in any particular order….they’ve graced my blog, table and parties…. Its great to be able to revisit them and share them with you…..

Truffles and homemade chocolate

For the contribution they have made to my life this year, truffles and homemade chocolates they deserve pride of place on this list….chocolates in a way liberated me…from the shackles of identity, possible depression and self belief….they made me do something I loved and enjoyed, brought me a lot of success….much more than I’d have hoped for and even put me on tv!! Chocolates made me choose what I wanted to do…. Enjoy what I chose and reveled in the success that was 100% my own…..they have made me believe in a lot of things I never would have thought possible and put the crown on this fabulous year that 2007 has been for me personally……..

Date and fig ravioli

This one was truly a masterpiece…it is a show stopper and became so popular that I have already made it 3 times…. The light melt in your mouth crust….The ever so slightly sweet filling, the flavours and textures that mingle and make you savour it…. Ravioli…I am glad we met and made acquaintance….the best part is that filling can be varied both sweet and savoury…

Tarts and biscuits

For the sheer simplicity of ingredients and procedure, cookies and tarts make it to my list…again the tarts can be filled with a variety of things both savoury and sweet….makes for a simple yet well appreciated home made gift….it made me believe I can bake much more than bricks!!

Buns

This was a second attempt and met with much success…infact I ate a piece out of each of the 12 buns I baked just to make sure they really turned out as good as they looked…. It was my first attempt at bread of any kind and savoury baking….filled the house with that warm delicious smell that only bread can bring

Muffins

Whole wheat and apple…with very little butter and full of wholesome goodness….these little ones were a big hit…and called for repeats….

Choco pinwheels

Simplicity is the key that I look for in baking particularly because I am a novice baker….and I feel less nervous tackling cookies rather than cakes….. so chocolate pinwheels takes pride of place because it qualifies on the simplicity factor…but fools you with its beauty…. This is a recipe you can make dough out of and freeze till you are ready to bake…..

Idiappam and stew

Making this was so much like starting the blog…you wacth from afar with awe and respect…then take the plunge and never believe you are going to come into your own…. But you do…and it always surprises you!! Idiappam and stew has been like that for me… its simplicity bowls me over…perfect comfort food, and fix for all seasons

All things kababish!!
the beetroot and hara bhara versions of what I dish out with alarming regularity are just a couple of ways to bring nutrition to the table…who can refuse a cutlet when offered? I haven’t encountered anyone till date who does…. Imagine nutrition and taste in one package….

Dynamite heaps

spice powders…or chutney podis make it to the list due to their sheer versatility…. They can spice up happenings like none other….idlies, dosas, steaming hot rice, bread and sprinkled on veggies too…..they are time savers and deliver a substantial spice kick

Molagootan

One of the simplest dishes to make and soothing on the palette and the digestive system….from my training under MIL dishes, this one takes the cake for simplicity, appeal and wholesome goodness….

As I went through the picture files, I have realized that I could have put up a much better show with all that I hoarded….so to more frequent and better posts in the new year then!! As I look back on the year of food blogging, I am so happy with finding and being a part of this world…. To meet so many people with similar interests….to be able to find almost any recipe that you are looking for…. With step by step instructions and pictures of real food…. to know that you are one with a tribe of people who don’t think it is weird to discuss kitchen ingredients….to see a little bit of everyones life at the table….peeking into personalities and homes and lives….we are interwoven in the strongest bonds of all….food…..of blog events, deadlines and celebrations!! Of not being able to wait till you post…taking endless pictures, editing and agonizing over them….of the reassurance in the form of comments and feedback….it brings joy known only to a blogger….

I also learnt so much about healthy vegetarian cooking…. That it doesn’t have to be drowning in oil and masala to tickle your tongue….

I learnt that tho this is part of my life for long time now….i need to let go of an all consuming obsession…. Infact in a surprising manner, this blog has helped me put so many things into perspective…and because its out there for the world to see….it has meant a deeper commitment to many of the decisions that I have made….

So in the new year, I hope to explore much more than I thought I would….to cook better, wholesome and innovative meals….to experience once again the joy of creating a meal or a dish … to eat healthier….

A big thank you to all my friends, family …..thanks for being there and for being you…

A warm hug and a huge thank you to you – my readers …………. thanks for coming back to Escapades…for holding my hand through these first few steps…..for all the feedback and encouragement, I am grateful….truly and honestly…..for appreciating all that I have attempted…. escapades has a little bit of me everywhere….and if there is something in particular you’d like to see here, please do let me know….

Finally….to K…my soulmate…. Who painstakingly sat through my bouts of cooking, serving, clicking, surfing, writing and posting…who became my unofficial photographer just to make things easier for me…. Who has valiantly tried to answer the barrage of most inane questions like the 3^rd degree…. For being the taster, appreciator of all my culinary escapades…. You know what I want to say to you….

Have a great end to this year everyone……and have a fabulous new year, filled with all that you truly want….may we find answers to the questions we want to ask…and happiness in all that we do…. Have a wonderful new year!!

Cheers!!

To the stars in the sky and our dreams!!

Airline food anyone??

On Saturday as I sat between two gentlemen enroute Bangalore aboard the jet airways flight, I wondered what was in store as the snack they’d serve……considering the stray dogs outside a few airports in india almost wag their tails when they spot me and the bouquet of airlines I travel by, I know what to expect…and I surely am not in the least bit expectant of good food on a domestic airline, I know that for the 40-80 rupees that the airline pays the five star kitchen for the meal, there is painfully little you can actually buy in the said hotel coffee shop… considering the food is cooked at least 24 hours earlier, there’s little the staff can do except reheat it to death before they smile their plastic with too much blusher induced cheekbones smile, pleasantly asking you as they roll the cart down the aisle, (they cant help it, I am not judging them….i am merely making an observation)…what can I serve you sir / ma’am, veg or non veg? here you go sir / ma’am, enjoy your meal sir / ma’am…..

I get airsick behind the wing, so the only seat as far in front as I could get on the stopover flight was the one that had me sandwiched between a man blissfully asleep, spilling out of his seat onto mine and hogging all of the armrest to my right with a man warned not to sleep during landing and take off on my left because we were in the emergency exit……and was trying his best to amuse himself with the clouds outside the window

I’d just had time to eat some breakfast and apology of a sandwich for lunch and was famished enough to look forward to the food on an airplane by the time I was seated in it at 4 pm. I’d spent the previous few hours booking the ticket, closing up the house and packing for this surprise trip. I don’t miss an opportunity to pop by to see my mother, that this flu induced trip made me pine for her some more was making the plane fly too slowly……. both the gentlemen on either side of me refused the food and I looked like the glutton who wanted to eat so as to tell the story when I reached home…every bit desperately hungry I couldn’t care about public opinion…… I asked for the veg meal and carefully untied the complicated knot on the cutlery, spread the napkin on my lap and pulled back the foil…….with as less movement as I could….didnt want to wake my right side neighbour and the leftie was finding solace in the clouds so I could have some privacy with the meal

The snack menu usually has a sandwich / idly/ vada/ cut pieces of dosa / uttapam or similar savoury snack, some fruit and a dessert of some sort….i was horrified…at first glance…..what i was staring at it looked like atleast a few days old idly, dried, revived and fried with some onions and something unfathomable in the way of a spice powder….i forked some into my mouth, scared that it would bounce off the fork and land on the laps of my co passengers….. and wasn’t disappointed….it was tasteless and so I let it be….moved onto what looked like two pieces of white tyre….it was…..flubbery paneer…half cooked and tasted like what I think rubber tastes like…I was ready to burst into tears…..the aloo bonda that sat next to these two albinos was the only thing I could swallow……before I had time to react, I told myself that this wasn’t in the least tough, was warm enough and I had to eat lest my head pounds me to death…..almost tasted gourmet after the first two encounters with the food…….i tried my best to precariously open the little dish which I thought would have the fruit….. it contained something chopped and brown with what looked like a tadka….actually it looked like pieces of wood…..it tasted pretty close to wood too…this time i was sure it would waltz off the fork and land on my neighbour….what I suspect spent its life thinking it was dhokla, turned out to be wood in disguise drenched in chutney…..i closed the coffin…oops lid and let it lie….by now the lumpy excuse for chocolate mousse tasted divine….i sipped the packaged orange juice which I thankfully saved for the last to wash everything down, folded back the offending food in the foil and sat back hoping they’d clear the tray faster than I could cry……when the lady politely remarked “you’ve hardly eaten anything” I couldn’t hold back and said in my most solemn voice “I tried my best”. It wasn’t her fault…but it wasn’t mine either….i mean I know its precariously placed to serve a decent meal when you’re bleeding revenues, but serving cut wood is hardly the option…I mean a chutney sandwich would’ve been fine in place of the dead idly…..i have rarely been so scathing of my observations…mostly I refuse food…and I realized that I was doing the right thing….but what if you are really hungry?? And hey…I was paying for this wasn’t I ?? i felt so cheated…..did they think in their bid to compete with all the low cost carriers that anything would do? that no one would notice? or worse still that the customer could be taken for granted?? I wonder if anyone reads the feedback forms that are filled and does it make any difference…..i don’t know…..what I know is I will continue to refuse food on this airline….i’d rather allow my head to pound me to death till I reach a place I know wont make me cry because of what they serve…..

Baking escapades continue chocolate class update and turning a year older!!

With all the things happening around me and threatening to engulf me, the one thing I really missed was my blogging….not just posting….i haven’t cooked up anything worth a post, but taking a peek into all the kitchens that I usually do……I turned a year older on the 9^th and this time decided that I wouldn’t fall apart freaking out….if I don’t feel it, I don’t look it right?? With the internet playing such a major part in everyone’s life, I spent a good part of 3 hours cumulatively on the phone and responding to messages….its great to feel so loved….we’d planned on a quiet do ….cos hadn’t I mentioned that K is kitchen challenged and the last thing I wanted to do on my birthday was to cook and clean up after people ….. so a quiet dinner with friends it was….K gave me some snazzy gifts that left me smiling like a Cheshire cat….so all that hint dropping worked in the end!!

The update on the chocolate making classes is that there’s been terrific response…. I have two per week as I’d planned and they’re going well…… am quite happy that I have worked out a schedule and am able to put the house back in shape within the hour of the class getting done with….its fun to watch people take tentative steps towards chocolate and its very satisfying to see them leave so happy…one participant even got her four year old to call me and thank me for teaching his mom to make chocolate at home…his favourite he said was white chocolate!!

Yesterday I made a huge batch of chocolate which I will donate to the church. On my birthday, the priest came home to pray for the family and wish me…this apparently he is doing voluntarily and visits at least one member of the congregation a day…on special days…I was so touched that I offered to make chocolate hampers which he could give them…. I said he should call me once he runs out of them so I can replenish the stock….he was thrilled at the idea…..so my first batch is made, packed and ready to be sent to the Church…..mother of course thinks I will get the best seat in heaven for this gesture, I am not convinced that the one above can be bribed with a little home made chocolate!!

On K’s request I made another batch of Jam tarts. This time with proper tart moulds….i went shopping to stock up on chocolate making supplies and ran amuck in the store….i picked up baking dishes and an icing bag with a few nozzles to experiment …so beware…I shall be subjecting you to all my experiments!! (atleast visually!!) all in all I’ve had such a busy time that I have not realized that its almost the weekend already!! Which in a way is really good…cant remember a time I was this busy even when I worked at a corporate job fulltime!!