I’m besotted with millets currently. It is the latest health fad in India – albeit one that makes really sense compared to, say, the quinoa craze. Millets have been and should be the first grain of choice for daily consumption right up there with wheat and rice (if not above them too!). They’re hardy little …
I think you know of my love of braided breads. They’re so much fun to make and they bring a smile to whoever you’re serving it too. Additionally, they serve the wonderful, all-important purpose of reassuring you about your creative skills. About the fact that you are capable of more than just… going about your work …
I love braids. I’ve had long hair since I was a kid. In fact, I don’t even remember cutting my hair short or sporting any hairstyle except mynatural length. The most I’ve done is trim it now and then. My hairstyle continues to be the same for the last two decades! How boring is …
“Hey, I’m in India for a wedding. I’m free late tomorrow evening. Can you come over? And yes, I’ve got your book.” A message from my cousin’s wife I had been waiting for. Last year, hubby went to London on an official trip and I handed him a wish list of baking items (ingredients, tools, …
I have a continuing affair with nice sounding names. Make that names of dishes. Say Pinzimonio. Feels nice? Say Bruschetta. How about Poricha kootu? Or Chocolate Nutella Nut Butter Pie??? Get what I’m saying? If I like the way the dish is pronounced, I’m already sold! Just saying the name out loud lifts my spirits. …
I’m sooo happy to be blogging again! I’ve put up just a single post this entire year. But to make up for it, I’m going to be blogging this whole month and I hope this will be the much-needed kick for me to blog more regularly. I’ll be blogging the whole of September alphabetically, with …
The other day, I’d left the shaped bread dough out in the balcony early in the morning for the second rise. Silly me, I left it at ground level (the pan sitting on a folded blanket as the sun up yet that day) and went about with my morning chores. A while later, I rushed to …
No cookie could ever get cuter. Or be easy pick-me-ups at a party, even where there are kids! It was the last week of April and I was to leave for a nice long vacation to Pune and Mahabaleshwar. It was to be a big family get-together at Pune. My nephews (five naughty fellows in …
Brownies are such a decadent treat by themselves – rich, dense, fudgy and deeply chocolatey. The Oreo in these brownies makes them even richer. If you love Oreo, you will LOVE this brownie. I was expecting a distinct Oreo effect here, but the cookie beautifully melds with the brownie. So, when you bite into the …
“Picking fresh cherries off the trees!” My brother-in-law’s FB status message declared. My BIL and his family were vacationing in, the cherry and apricot capital of the country. Fresh cherries? Wide smile on face. Picking them off trees and eating them? Wider smile! Also, a tinge of jealousy and a ray of hope. “I’m …
A couple of months ago I’d taken my son to a story-telling session – not a patchy one done by me, but a proper professional one. I dropped him at the venue and looked at my watch. Yay! It was 6.05 pm and the session was to end only at 7 pm. Which essentially meant … Continue reading
I run a home-based baking venture called Lotsa Lavender where I bake healthy cakes, breads, cookies and other desserts on order. I took a break after the birth of my second son last year and am yet to start taking up orders again. About two years ago, one particular day, I had an order for … Continue reading
(PS: Lotsa Lavender is the name of my home-based baking venture) It was a Sunday morning. Surprisingly, I woke up early that day, much before hubby or sonny boy did. I lazed in bed for some time and when I could laze no more, I got up. There was a loaf of bread I’d baked … Continue reading
I love to tell stories. It is probably evident from my posts. And while telling stories to my boys, I like to use small props, modulate my voice, and even run around to act out the story. My elder son and I enjoy these story sessions, although he doesn’t have much patience with long stories. … Continue reading
Have you seen that WatsApp forward where this totally stressed out mom is sitting locked up in the loo staring at her phone while her kids are hard at work demolishing the house? I’m sure many of you are smiling away nodding their heads thinking “Hell yeah! That’s so me!” Well, I’m guilty of having … Continue reading
I checked my watch – 9.28 am. Yes! We’d made it in time. Well ahead of time actually. Two minutes is a LOT of time when you are a mom. And those two minutes take on a whole new meaning when you working against the clock in the morning rush to get your older one … Continue reading
Oh, the advantages of being pregnant! When you’ve loaded your shopping basket with as many fruit and vegies as you possibly could carry and join the queue at the payment counter, the people in magnanimously make way for you to move right to the front. Even the tottering white-haired uncle in front you … Continue reading
Isn’t it exciting when you’re trying a new recipe? One that’s fool-proof, that your friend makes often and you totally love and is simple to boot? So, this fried of mine makes this yummy caramel sauce that she uses as a sandwich spread for her son’s school snack box. Since cutting out white sugar … Continue reading
The hall was absolutely silent as the speaker went on to an interesting part of his discourse – Krishna’s dance atop the multi-headed snake Kaliya. “Appa, I have a doubt,” my son whispered into his father’s ear. The two of them had gone to a religious discourse-cum-bhajan session themed around Krishna last weekend. My husband … Continue reading
We aren’t the surprise-giving kinds – the husband and I. The other wives in our friend circle often reach out to us to plan surprise birthday parties for their husbands – photo collectibles, specially planned dinners, midnight surprises with a group of friends, funny gifts delivered by unexpected people at unexpected places – you name it … Continue reading
“Is there something cooking in there? I can smell something cheesy!” The half-asleep husband saunters into the kitchen at 4.30 pm on a Sunday afternoon while I’m hurriedly trying to finish the dish, while mentally setting up the balcony to shoot the dish. “Yup. I am. And yes, it’s got cheese. But don’t talk to … Continue reading
There are those crazy weeks – you decide ALL the wardrobes could all do with an internal facelift, the whole kitchen deserves rearranging, furniture be swapped between the bedrooms, that big coffee table that’s occupying more space than serving any real purpose could actually be thrown out of the house and that it was high-time … Continue reading
I know, I know! Cinnamon is supposed to be paired with apples and overripe bananas are supposed to be mixed into cake batter and sent into loaf pans to bake. Even my son knows it. He’s all of three, by the way. But sometimes dementia can strike early. Like when you buy apples and … Continue reading
Blogging Marathon #51; Day 6 Month-long Baking Marathon: FIRE UP YOUR OVEN Week 2 themed on Sourdough bakes The best part of reading any book you love is getting to live (or relive) in your mind the lives of the protagonists. I don’t know if others feel this way. But I almost always assume … Continue reading
Are you tired of reading the words whole wheat and 100% in my post titles? Well, I myself am! But I really am at a loss to name these posts myself. I’ve posted a lot many loaf recipes. And there are more to come. All of them have whole wheat. Most of them are 100% … Continue reading
That euphoric moment when you attempt something you’ve never done before and the results turn out beyond your expectation – this brownie was all of that. It all started last January. My tryst with organic, whole-grain baking that is. I got a phone call from someone who asked if I could bake some 100% whole … Continue reading
My three-year-old boy brought his friend, the neighbour’s kid (a four-year-old fellow) to the balcony the other day when I was hurriedly clicking pictures of a loaf of bread I’d baked. It was amongst the last few pictures and I’d sliced up half the loaf and arranged the slices on a tray. Since the knife … Continue reading
It was 9.15 pm and the phone rang just as I was planning to take my son into the bedroom to sleep. Okay, Now, my son’s no early-to-bed kind of guy. But that day he’d missed his afternoon sleep and was really cranky. “Hello!” “Hey, I’m leaving from office only now and I’m terribly hungry. … Continue reading
I feel a little overwhelmed right now. And I’ve been in kind of a daze these last few days. The Grand Annual Bake Sale – you could call it THE most happening bake sale there ever could be – happened on Saturday. And Lotsa Lavender (my home baking business that I run with my friend … Continue reading
This is part 3 of the series I’m writing for a Facebook bakers group. BLOGGER TUESDAY ALERT – week 3 100% whole wheat Hot Chocolate rolls with Dark Chocolate chunks (I know, the name’s a mouthful, but so are the rolls!) Are you one of those who love cinnamon rolls, but always secretly nursed the wish … Continue reading
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