Black Beans Rice

I was a whiner when it came to doing homework. 

I would fling my backpack, I know not where, as soon as I got home from school. Grab a quick bite to eat and rush out to play. I would come home when it was dark, tired and happy.

Homework was a distant memory and it's revival brought on waves of nausea and related symptoms. I would shove it in the background and promptly forget all about it.

I did that right up until my MBA, Lisa (my BFF) would shrug her shoulders comically and tolerate my whining until she could bear no more, but being my best friend, she did not desert me, she stood by me and joined in. We would then drown our sorrows in Chocos biscuits ( a Kelloggs brand) or paani-puri. 

Why is this relevant here? Because some habits die hard......

The last time we had snowfall, it felt as if the city had braked suddenly and had come to a screeching halt. With that rude awakening, we planned on being well prepared for the next time.

Here's what happened, we were not prepared for snow, neither were most people and at the last moment, everyone panicked and hit the stores, the shelves were wiped clean of anything and everything edible and some non-edible.

M braved the icy streets and went grocery shopping only to be bitterly disappointed. No milk, no yogurt and left over bruised fruit. So he rummaged about and piled his cart with lactose free milk, one avocado and then tins of beans, black beans, pinto beans, garbanzo beans, cannellini beans. 

I gulped and silently bit back a smart retort and stocked the cans in the pantry, on the top most shelf, at the back. 

Shoved it out of sight, just like homework I did not want to tackle.

I remembered the stocked up cans the next time the temps dipped ....I decided to go for it, one can at a time. I had to use up those cans. I picked the black beans. 

A couple of months ago, I picked up Lakshmi Diabetes Rice. It is a low glycemic index rice. A friend on FB has used it and recommended it.
I made this simple, tasty and nutritious Black Bean Rice.
Makes a great lunch box option.

Adapted from here, with changes made to suit my taste.

1 cup Rice ( I used this Low GI Rice- cheaper at the Indian store)
1 can Black Beans (  I used slightly less as I had used the beans in another recipe)
1 medium Onion, chopped
1 large Carrot, peeled and diced
1 medium Green Bell Pepper, diced
1/2 cup (or a bit more, I eyeballed this) frozen Corn, thawed
1 tsp dry Oregano

3-4 hefty pinches of Red Chili Flakes (or just shake the container and add the flakes by approximation)
1 tsp Cumin powder
2 cloves Garlic, smashed / pounded roughly using a mortar and pestle or chopped finely
Salt to taste
2-3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
3-4 cups Vegetable Broth (low sodium)
Parsley, chopped , for garnish.

Wash the rice in several changes of water. Soak the washed rice in plenty of water and set aside for 20-30 mins.
In the meantime, dice the vegetables.
To cook rice:
Drain the water that the rice is soaked in.
I use my electric rice cooker, so I add the rice and the broth to the rice cooker and set it to cook. 

If using the stove top  method, combine the broth and rice and cook, covered, until the broth is absorbed and rice is cooked.
Once the rice is cooked, fluff it with a fork.
Heat a large pan/ wok , add the oil. Add the onion and cook until translucent.
Add the garlic, oregano and the chili flakes, cumin powder and salt. Mix well and saute till the raw garlic smell goes away.
Add the carrots and saute, add the remaining vegetables and cook until the veges are tender.
Add the beans and mix well, taking care not to mash the beans. Cook for a couple of minutes more.
Add the cooked rice and carefully mix it all together.
Cover and let the flavors mingle.
Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.

Notes:

The Rice: Broth ratio is high because I am using Low GI rice. This rice, no matter how much water I add, manages to absorb it all and still cook up fluffy and each grain separate every time.

The grain is thicker and chewier, but resembles Basmati.

IMO, this rice does not soak up flavors like Sona Masoori or regular Basmati does.

Chicken broth can be substituted for Vegetable Broth if you are non-vegetarian.

I rarely have parsley on hand, I skip the garnish part.

That's it for now. Stay warm and stay safe! Take care.

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Ragi Masala Dosa

My kitchen has been seeing a lot of activity in January, the blog not so much. I am still in limbo about getting a new camera. Till then I am relying on my iPhone. 

And then I also realized something more this month, when I was reading Nupur's OHS, I have been reading only cookbooks or about baking. I haven't gone through the regular fiction at all, picked up books from a rack and enjoyed reading it at all. 

I have read cook books ( and I do love reading those, no complaints) and getting hooked to Netflix and watching some good and some senseless stuff. 

And I don't want that anymore. I'm going back to good ol' reading. Go back to reading page after page, chapter after chapter an turning pages , smelling the book... okay, that dd not come out right... creepy! 

But, you get the point.

This month I also experimented with baking an egg less cake and I am thrilled that it was a success! I am overcoming that hurdle too. It feels great. 

And after a long time, I made dosas. I really did. We love dosas but the grinding  daal and rice on a small mixie jar is no fun. I take shortcuts, a small one. I soak and grind the daal and just add flour to the daal paste. 

This time around, I used Ragi (Finger Millet) flour. The dosas are perfect. 

You need

1 cup skinned Urad Daal

2 cups Ragi flour ( easily available at the Indian store)

1 tsp Fennugreek seeds

Water as needed

Salt, to taste

Wash thoroughly and soak the Urad Daal, add the fenugreek seeds in plenty of water for 8 hours.

Drain the water and grind the daal to a smooth paste (to ensure a smooth paste, add fresh water as required).

Add the Ragi Flour and mix, adding water as required to get a pancake like batter.

At this stage, those who prefer to add salt to the batter, stir it in, mix well and leave the batter to ferment in a warm place.

If you haven't added salt tot he batter, add it at this stage and give the batter a quick stir, to incorporate. Do not stir too much.

To make dosa, heat a non stick griddle / tawa on medium high.

Take a ladle of batter and pour it in the middle of the tawa.

Applying gentle pressure, from the center, spread the batter in a large circle, to make a thin and even crepe.

Drizzle a scant tsp of oil, butter or ghee around the dosa and let it cook till crisp and brown (in this case, the shade in the picture above, the nutella like shade). Flip and cook on the other side for a minute ( I like my dosa well made- cooked on both sides)

If you are making masala dosa, flip the dosa over again ( because we have cooked it on both sides) add masala bhaji in the middle and roll into a log. If you prefer serving masala on the side, make a triangle ( or a cone- I can never do that) with the dosa and serve with chutney ( or this one or this ) and sambar.

For the MASALA: ( and you can eyeball the ingredients here)

1 large Russet Potato or 3-4 medium Red Potatoes , boiled, peeled and roughly mashed

1 medium Red Onion, quartered and thinly sliced

1 fresh Green Chile

1 dry Red Chile, broken into two

1 tsp. each, Chana Daal and Urad daal

Few Curry Leaves

1 tsp. mustard seeds

1/2 tsp Asafetida/ Hing

1 tsp Turmeric powder

Salt to taste

Cilantro, finely chopped to garnish

A few Cashew nuts (optional)

1/4 cup frozen Green peas, thawed ( optional)

Heat oil in a pan.

Add mustard seeds, Chana and Urad daal.

As the mustard pops and the daals turn a golden brown, add cashew - if using and let it turn a light honey color.

Add the asafetida, chilies, curry leaves and turmeric powder. Add the sliced onion. Mix and cover until the onion is well cooked. adding a dash of salt when cooking the onion will speed up the cooking time. 

Once the onion is cooked, add the green peas and mashed potato. Add salt.

Mix well, cover and let cook for a couple of minutes. 

Take off the heat and garnish with cilantro.

The masala is ready to be stuffed ( or serve on the side) with the dosa.

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A baking adventure and Butter Cream Icing Recipe.

So! How is the new year treating you all? We are already in the third week of January and here I am.. a little late to be sure, but back, where I love being.
The weather has been good (though a little confused, I guess! I mean, this is Winter but, Dallas seems to think it's Spring already). We don't mind. 

It's too late for me to do a re-cap on 2013, so I will let that be, but I to want to highlight one thing.

2013 saw me baking and trying to decorate cakes. It started with a baby shower cake for an acquaintance who was expecting a little Princess and wanted a cake with flowers, almost like a bed of flowers with Mom and Baby in it.

I made the cake with 5 layers and with whipped and cream cheese frosting and a ton of royal icing flowers I made a cake topper ( The Mom and Baby in the stroller) out of gum paste and used flood icing  technique to color the cake topper.

The second cake was also a baby shower cake for a close friend who was due in September and was expecting a little Prince.

This was a layered chocolate cake with whipped cream in the layers and Whipped cream and cream cheese frosting. The cake was designed just like her baby shower invitation. I carefully cut the animal silhouette and traced it on parchment paper and then used it to make the animals. These were decorated using royal icing flooding technique. 

And in addition, a few more birthday cakes for friends or their spouses.I enjoyed that and in some remote corner of my mind, I started day-dreaming. Day-dreaming of doing this kind of thing often.
Then one day, I saw Sandra Lee do a show on some bake sale. Of course I day-dreamed of participating in one. Of course, I realized that it would not be as glamorous as hers, but that idea had taken root in my head.

Months passed, things happened and I fretted and fumed and cursed (a good bit) and life went on... school, homework, cooking and cleaning and some song-and-dance practice sessions thrown in between. Yes, you read right, song-and-dance, but for the son. It was a group performance for the DFW Maharashtra Mandal Sankrant Festival.
That was last Sunday.

But what made everything just, like.... like a dream come true was, an email I got from one of the Mom's in the group, she encouraged me to set up or participate in setting up a 'cupcake stall'. I was jumping around and biting my nails, all at once. After a bit of back and forth with her ( and constantly whatsapping M at work) I agreed.
I made my trusty vanilla and butter cupcakes. This time around, I made butter cream frosting (recipe below), which though on the sweeter side is a dream to decorate with and guess what? Everyone loved the frosting! 
I made regular cupcakes and then, as an experiment, I made 'cone cakes'. I made these using flat base ice-cream cones and filling them with the cake batter and baking them. They were a hit! They were sold out in minutes and  a few children were disappointed that they did not get any. (note to self: next time, whenever that is, make more 'cone cakes')

The regular cupcakes had a rose swirled on them (using the Wilton 1M tip) and then Sujata and I had made some pink butter cream roses, the night earlier, which were added on top.These were a hit with the little misses. 

My friend, Sonali, was a big help in coming to my aid on the day of the bake-sale, she helped me pack and sort and kept me motivated. 
M helped me haul everything to the venue and help set up and my Li'll S was my cashier. He was just perfect! A little over enthusiastic, maybe, but perfectly charming! 
He demanded tokens for the cupcakes people were just looking at, as I was decorating them, LOL! 

Overall, I am just so happy that everything went off so smoothly and was such a success. This little adventure has given me a bit of confidence in my abilities and that I can do something.
It has been a while since I felt like that. I have Smita, the mom from the group, to thank for it. I am glad she encouraged me to get into this.

I am looking forward to some more adventures like this! 

BUTTER CREAM FROSTING

2 sticks Unsalted Butter (at room temp.)
1 lb. Powdered Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
2 Tbsp Milk / Water

In a deep bowl or in the stand mixer bowl, add the butter sticks  and  beat on medium speed until the butter is soft and smooth.
With the beaters still going, slowly add the powdered sugar and combine.
Increase the speed a little and add the vanilla extract add milk / water (1 T at a time)
I sometimes add a hefty pinch of salt when I am making the icing. 
Beat until the whole thing comes together and looks smooth.
This icing has stiff consistency, perfect to pipe roses or other decorative flowers.

By adding water (a few drops at a time) you can change the consistency to medium which makes it perfect for swirling roses on top of the cupcake directly ( the white icing on the cupcakes in the picture above) or piping borders on cakes.

To make a thin consistency icing, add few drops of water, this is perfect to write on top of the cake.

That's it for this week and for my first post in 2014. Stay tuned for more, take care and keep smiling! 

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A city under siege......

The city is under a siege. A sudden drop in the temperatures and the city seems to have collapsed under it.

It all started on Thursday evening, when my friend and I had to pick up the kids after school. It was cold, very cold and a drizzle started, just as the car hit the main street. The kind of rain that hurts, when it hits you, sharp and icy, icy cold. A matter of 5 miles, which is covered in about 20 mins. (driving  normally and getting caught at some signals) took us about an hour. 

Driving home was about the same. 

Dallas, is afraid of such weather.

By evening, whatsapp was buzzing with questions, 'is our school closed tomorrow?'  No one knew the answer to that, but everyone seemed to have an opinion about how foul the weather was just about now and how it would worsen by the time the sun was up. 

The kids, however, were sure, there was no school on Friday. They stuck to that. 

Well, whaddya know? The kids were right! By 9:00 pm there was an IVR broadcast announcing that the school was closed due to inclement weather.

We woke up to a dazzling white morning. To people living in places where there is regular snowfall, this seems like nothing, and it is, nothing, but for a city, that knows little to nothing about snow, it comes as  a rude awakening. 

Men and women work from home, stores are swept clean of any and every vegetable, dairy, water and snack. Heaters are cranked up and the roads are clear, of cars, that is. 

Not many want to brave the snow and even worse, the icy streets. It's the icy streets that kept us indoors too. 

It is difficult, to sit at home and play and do stuff with an active 5 year old, who never seems to tire.

2 play dates and playing about in the scanty snow and freezing our axxxx toes  outside and the little one still showed NO signs of wear and tear. 

It was time to involve him in some activity that required minimal effort but good results and most importantly, kept him in one place for a few minutes.

On my last trip to the grocery store, I had, on a whim, picked up a roll of Crescent Rolls dough, the kind that comes in a tube. 

When it is as cold as it was outside ( it was about -7 deg. C, by the by, Celsius in the negative is so much more impressive then 2 digit Fahrenheit, no?), something warm, sweet hits the spot. Like Cinnamon Pull- Apart Bread.

I pulled out the tube of Crescent rolls (the one that makes 8 rolls, I think) from the fridge.

Pre-heat the oven t 375 deg. F ( as per tube instructions)

Melted about 2 tbsp butter

Ina  small bowl, mix 1/4 cup sugar, approximately 1 tsp Cinnamon powder  and 1/2 tsp Nutmeg powder

Clean and prep the work surface.

Pop the tube and pull out the dough. 

Roll out the dough on the clean work surface and pinch together the triangles to make one big rectangle

Brush the surface of the rectangle with the melted butter

Sprinkle the cinna-nutmeg- sugar evenly all over the rectangle, covering the entire surface. 

Here comes the part when you start the cutting and arranging.

It helps to have  loaf pan ready, greased and all.

Now, using a pizza cutter (which is the best way to cut it) or a sharp knife, cut 3 horizontal lines in the dough.

Now, carefully, lift one strip and place it on top of the other. 

3 strips piled on top of one another, think 3 mattresses piled on top of the other , just so we are clear.

Using the pizza cutter, cut the piled on strips in 4-6 squares, vertically, so they look like stacked pillows in a line.

Now pick up one stack at a time and place it in the pan, like soldiers in a line, not piled on top of one another. Just so we are clear on the placement.

Sprinkle any left over sugar on top and bake in the oven.

The tube says bake for 15 -17 minutes, but I took longer, about 25 minutes. 

At the 15 minute mark, the first pull apart was done, but inside, the rest was all soft and doughy, so I had to bung it in the oven longer. 

It may be my oven, so keep an eye after the 17 minute mark. 

Remove the pan from from the oven, click a picture while it cools and then devour.

It has the child's seal of approval.

Mission accomplished.

We still have a school shutdown and so it's time to do more stuff, indoors.

Stay warm folks! See you soon.

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Life happens.....

.... just because I cannot use s*** happens, in the title. After all, this is a food blog.

But this is also the space where I laugh, smile, reminisce, thank, whine, rant... you get the drift.

So things were going well, when I last posted, I finally began to believe that bad times were behind me. I was just relaxing into that mindset when, of course, fate has to go and blow the whole thing up in my face.

The first thing that happened was, I started slowing down, specially in the mornings. I would wake up to the alarm and start planning on my day in my head, but the moment I tried to stand up I felt shooting pain in my heel.

This was something that had started when I was visiting India, I had no time to think or do anything about it then. When I came back, I just ignored it, as usual. The thing with pain (and when it impairs mobility) is, you have to sit up (or down, in this case) and take notice.

Turns out I have Plantar Fasciitis. 

All my plans for a Thanksgiving Dinner with special friends is now postponed until further notice.

It sucks.

Just when I  thought medicines and a bit of care would settle that.... then I go ahead and suffer another set back.

On the day of my last post, we had a break-in, in our apartment and my Nikon DSLR was stolen.

It was a big shock for me and fair broke my heart.

This sucked even more.

Still does. 

Much as I'd like to forgive, I cannot and have (and still do, when I look at the place I kept my camera kit) roundly cursed the wretched thief (you know, the Hindi filmy drama types (polite version here), "main tujhe shraap/ shaap deti hoon, papi, bhrasta duratma, tu insaan kehlane ke layak nahi...chor, daku, goonda-mavali.. types. )

The whole process of research and evaluation and reviews and all that has to be gone through again, but this time, there is a bit of hesitancy. I am.... not ready. But I do want a camera.
I feel horrible, when I see my son sitting with a particular look on his handsome face and the fact that I cannot capture every detail of it, as  a memory, when I am old. My blog feels lost without it. I know I do not blog regularly, but I still need a good camera.

I do.

So for the time being, I will try and post recipes and take terrible pictures with my iPhone. 

I am also  trawling the blogosphere for recipes to try out. And that is why I love Pinterest. People everywhere are doing everything possible. My favorite section is the food and drink section, of course. I pin recipes, some that I want to try immediately and some in the near future and then some, I may or may not try, but boy! they look (and read) good. For example, a few weeks ago, I had a Soup, Salad and Sandwich lunch and made my favorite Tomato Soup
The recipe is fairly simple,
Blanch 5 Roma Tomatoes in boiling water, peel and puree ( I also sieve them to get rid of the seeds)
Chop 1/2 Onion
Peel and chop 1 Carrot ( I place the chopped carrot in a microwave safe bowl, add 3-4 Tbsp water and microwave for 2 mins. - till tender)
In a  deep saucepan, heat Oil ( I used Olive, but sometimes I just use Canola or even butter) and saute the chopped onion.
Once the onion is translucent, add the cooked carrots and stir them around for a while, add the tomato puree and about 2 cups of water ( I just use the regular coffee cups, not the real measuring cup) and add / crumble 1 Veg. bullion cube. Let it all boil. I use my immersion blender at his stage to puree everything to a smooth consistency.
Add 2 tbsp. sugar, salt to taste and dried Oregano and reduce the heat to medium and let the soup come to a boil.
Lower the heat and add about 3/4 cup milk while stirring and cook for a few mins longer (use 1/2 cup heavy cream, if you are not calorie conscious)
Serve hot with or without croutons and a dash of black pepper.

- Black pepper can be added  while cooking as well (with the oregano) unless you prefer it mild.
-If you have vegetable stock on hand, please use that instead of water ( or the veg. bullion cube).


For the salad, I adapted the recipe from here,and just adjusted the amount of peanut butter ( I get migraine with PB,but I still indulge, once in a few months). The salad is all that it looks, good and filling and packs in a good amount of protein and vegetables and makes it all so enjoyable. I am a recent convert to salads and am enjoying  different versions that can be made and thankful that it's not just lettuce (not that I dislike lettuce, but it gets boring after a bit). I have been toying with the idea of substituting almond butter for peanut butter so I can make this more often.      

For the sandwich part, I took the small liberty of calling a burger a sandwich. I found this burger patty recipe. Thyme is a new addition to my pantry, thanks to this wonderful recipe. The patties freeze well and can be re-heated and used when you want a quick, but filling and nutritious meal. 

I made these on my cast iron pan, which heats up quickly and brown the patties well with a crispy cover, just how I like it.
But now, I have a new grill and I am looking forward to making my burger patties (and more) on this.

I am looking at replicating the Panera Bread Panini which has sun dried Tomato Pesto and tomato and mozzarella cheese, oh yum!

Do you  have a grill? Please do share your ideas and suggestions in the comments section.

I'll see you all soon, hopefully with cheerful news and some yummy recipes and food adventures to share.
Till then, take care and stay warm!

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Apple Muffins ( Made with Oil)

Last week I picked up Cortland Apples at the store. They looked really nice, well rounded and plump, one that would tempt Snow White.

Cortland apples are snow white inside and are tart. Better suited for baking or making a chutney, IMO. 

 I decided to bake. Something simple. Baking is not my strong point. I have regular bouts of panic and a low self-image whenever I plan on baking, but of course, I don't give up. I follow every word of the recipe and watch the oven like a hawk every time I pop something into it. And they say baking is therapeutic. Hah!

So to start with, I searched high and low for a recipe that suited my requirement. Simple, required just 2 apples and I could use ingredients that I had at home.
I found just that!

I made these for Children's Day (celebrated in India on 11/14) for my little one (who takes it for granted that I can bake) and also (virtually) for young T (My BFF Lisa's son), who has touching faith in my culinary abilities. He rates my baking skills highly (and that, is what makes me want to bake, this innocent faith that the boys have in me).

I have modified the recipe slightly. For the exact recipe, click here. 

To start with, this recipe yielded more than 12 muffins ( I have a 12-standard sized cupcake pan). I'd say 16, maybe. So I made 12 muffins and  used a pie dish to make a smallish cake which was cut into wedges. 

1/2 cup Canola /vegetable or other neutral oil

1/2 cup Granulated sugar

3/4 cup Demerara sugar (original recipe calls for dark brown sugar)

1 large Egg

1 cup buttermilk

2 Cups Unbleached  All Purpose Flour

1 teaspoon Baking powder

1 teaspoon Baking soda

1/4 teaspoon Salt

**1 1/2 tsp ground Cinnamon

2 Apples (I used Cortland), peeled and chopped

Pre-heat the oven at 375 deg. F. Grease the pan or line it with liners and grease them and set aside.

Beat the Oil and sugar together. 

* The original recipe calls for using the granulated sugar and just 1/4 cup of the brown sugar to be mixed in butter and beat it till fluffy. I have used oil instead of butter and did not reserve any sugar, but creamed it all at once.

Add the egg and mix well, scraping the sides of the bowl as required.

Slowly add the buttermilk.

Add the Flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

Gently fold in the apple.

Add the mixture to the ready muffin pan / liners, dividing equally.

Bake for 30 mins or until a toothpick inserted, comes out clean.

Cool the muffins in the pan for about 10 mins and then on a rack.

Enjoy as a tea-time treat or in the lunch box or when you want.

NOTES:

* If you have reserved any brown sugar, sprinkle it on top of the batter and  then bake.

**The original recipe calls for 1 Tbsp. of ground cinnamon, I dislike a very strong whiff of cinnamon and therefore used just 1.5 tsp. 

These muffins are deliciously moist because of the oil and the apples, of course and mildly sweet.

(those who do not like fruit pieces in their food (as they tend to become soft) may not approve. )

The reserved sugar will provide a nice crunch when baked. The next time I will try it or make a streusel topping.

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Blondies

I am so glad October is behind me now. It was a month full of anxiety and stress, luckily, all is well now. It taught me many things and gave me many reasons to be thankful for in life. 

I learned to overcome my fear and face tough situations. Also to think on my toes. I learned who my real friends are. 

I am ready to relax and enjoy what is left of 2013. Diwali was like a fresh beginning and I was in good spirits and made Diwali goodies and enjoyed snacking, without any shame guilt. 

With 5 days of Diwali goodies and total Indian food, I wanted to divert my mind to something a little different. 

In an ideal world, I should have been eating salads and light meals, but... we do not live in an ideal world, do we now?

So I decided that the party had to go on, just in a different direction. 

Also it was Thursday, the day my little one has chess class after school and which means he and his 2 friends (who come back with me) are hungry after school. 

On most days, I carry fruit for them, it keeps them full until we reach home and they get their milk. but the bananas were kinda spotty brown, the kind that kids turn up their noses at. 

So it was simpler to make or bake something. Just that I had only 1 egg and I am not so confident when making egg less cakes ( and the one I have bookmarked needs dates, which, I did not have on hand) and I was itching to make blondies. There are any number of recipes online, just google and get it. After poring over a few, I went ahead and made these. They are VERY simple to make, a 5 year old can make them and I intend to let my little one do just that, next time- with 'dark chocolate chips' as he pointedly told me, several times (with each bite, to be precise). My excuse, I was in a hurry ( and to myself: where are those chocolate chips anyway? I know I have them, somewhere).

So if you are in a hurry and want to make something quick and sweet and tasty, try these. 

Blondies, for those who are wondering, are brownies, minus the chocolate. Dense, moist, gooey and oh-so-good that you want another piece! 

You need:

1 stick / 1/2 cup unsalted Butter

1 cup Brown Sugar

1 large Egg

Hefty pinch Salt (about 1/8 tsp)

1 cup All Purpose Flour

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence

Chocolate /Butterscotch chips ( or nuts, if you prefer them)

Preheat the oven at 350 F.

Grease a pan that you will use to bake the blondies in ( I used a square cake pan and sprayed it with non-stick PAM)

Sift the flour and salt and keep it ready

Melt the butter ( microwave it in short bursts), you want just melted, not bubbling ( that would be, almost ghee)

Add the sugar to the melted butter and beat until creamy

Add in the egg and the vanilla and mix well

Add the flour + salt and mix well

Transfer to the greased pan and bake in the oven for 25 mins ( or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean) 

Cool in the pan for about 10 mins and then transfer to a rack to cool completely. I left the pan cooling and went to get ready to go get the kids from school, no harm done. I sliced them in the pan and cooled them just a tad more, to pack them an go (and of course, take pictures).

-I carefully added butterscotch chips, each blondie had one, just so that there would be no comparisons when I handed them out to the 3 hungry ( and sometimes cranky) kids. Next time, I will add about 1/4 cup small semi-sweet chips and stir them in.

-Other options are, toasted nuts- chopped, M&M's.

-I got 16 blondies ( and I kept the edge on one side- as you can see in the pictures-for myself, I love 'em)

That's it at my end. and oh! I am planning a Thanksgiving party this year!  I am so excited about it, planning the menu and reading recipes..... What is happening in your part of the world? Drop in and leave a comment.
Hope you all have a sweet weekend ahead.

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Wishes come true, but be careful, what you wish for............

I believe it was in the 9th. grade, when I read the story,'The Monkey's Paw'. I still remember the chill of horror that descended over me when I first read it. Up until that time, I had never considered any 'side-effects' of wishing. 

Like everyone, I wished, in various degrees of desperation, for many things, some trivial, some not so. There came a short lived phase when I fasted and prayed, trying to sometimes please one God and sometimes another. 

Time brought with it, many changes. Studies, work, later, marriage and moving to the USA shortly.

Many people around me remarked how lucky I was. Maybe I was. But there were times, when I confess, this 'lucky' feeling did not mean a lot. Do you get that feeling too?

I missed my parents a lot. I met them 3.5 years ago, when we went to India, for my son's second birthday. I would keep begging them to visit us. They would say yes, something would come up and it would get postponed. I'd beg again, something else would come up, they would alter their plans. This went on and finally I started planning, daydreaming of what I would do when they visited me. I would dream of driving them around, going shopping with them. At times, I lost it, I would have imaginary talks with myself in the car, imagining them with me. I'd come home from a small holiday and when I spoke to my parents, I'd tell them how beautiful such-and-such a place was, how they would have enjoyed being there and maybe we can visit once they were here.

I would envy my friends when their parents visited. I just desperately wanted to see my parents. 

That was all. I just desperately wanted to......

Then on 4th October, I called  my parents, as usual, around 9:00 pm, knowing my father would be waiting to talk, before the news began. His cell phone was switched off. this was highly unusual. His cell phone is always switched on and near him. I called on the home number, sense of unease increasing with every second. My Mother answered the call on the 4th. ring. Her first 'Hello' sounded like she had been thru a wringer. 

With all my senses tingling (yes, yes, tingling sense is not just for spider-man) I tried to find out. All she said was, " oh, it's all okay, Baba is a bit tired today and has taken a tablet to sleep"  Sleep? why so early? I can understand him missing dinner but not the news, what is wrong?

And then in a slightly shaky and almost squeaky voice she said it was all okay. I knew she was not telling me something. I lost it. I knew something was terribly wrong and she was being very evasive. The last time she did this, my Father was in the hospital with a broken arm. I hung up on her abruptly and called my cousin and told her to get it out of her. After that , unable to sit still, I rang my BFF Lisa and asked her to find out too. 

Within 10 minutes, I had the information I wanted. Wanted, no... no!  This is something one NEVER wants to hear. But, I got the truth. My Father was in the hospital. He had suffered from a stroke, one, luckily confined only to his facial muscles and vocal chords. The moment I heard those words, my head started swimming. My cousin had to bellow on the phone to make me conscious of the fact that she was talking. I wanted to see Daddy. He is alive and in the hospital. I want to see him. Nothing else registered. 

Making a call and asking M to come home was the work of an instant. But what about everything else? What about Little S? In times like these, we realize who our real friends are. The minute my friends Sujata, Sonali and Sunanda heard of the news, they pitched in.

Within the hour, my plans were finalized. I was going to India, for 12 days. M and I got down to planning, you see, I had to have my VISA stamping done. Now those among you, who are on a VISA, like me, will know the trouble and anxiety that this topic raises. Paper work, documents to carry, photo copying, panicking. We placed a call to my co-sister and arranged for her to pay my VISA interview fees and then made the appointment, it had to be done the first week I was in Mumbai. By 8:00 pm, my ticket was booked and on Saturday morning, I flew back to India. As the boarding was announced, I called my Mother and told her I was coming. I did not want to say anything before that, she would have tried to convince me to stay back and wait as my father was getting better. I was not having any of that. 

My close friend picked me up at the airport and was very supportive throughout. Thank you. Exhausted and terribly anxious, I met my Mother at the hospital gate, who as she met me looked like a huge mountain-load of tension had rolled off her! As I stepped quietly in the room, I saw him, dozing, pale, his cheekbones standing out, a slight droop to the mouth that always smiled and made jokes and related funny anecdotes, a feeding tube inserted through his nose.  I had made up my mind to be strong and cheerful and oh, so many things!  All that flew out of the window at this sight. All I could manage was a "hello, Daddy" in a tearful voice and just hug him and weep. And he kept patting me, re-assuring me, even in that condition and saying he was going to be 100% okay. 

His vocal chords were affected. He had very little control over those. Little by little, after the first meeting I found out what had happened. My parents had gone to the doctors office, routine visit and when my Mom went to get the case-paper (like signing in), within seconds, my Father had had the stroke. Things happened rapidly, but Somebody up There, loves us! Help was also given with equal rapidity. 

I am so proud of my Father. He could not talk, but he wrote down everything that he was feeling and gave it to the doctors. They said it helped them diagnose and give medicines quickly. In fact, he did way, way better than a regular patient. The clarity of thought and lucidity of language left the doctors amazed. He was in the hospital for a week and getting bored. Oh yes! That's my Daddy. He wanted to go home and when the doctors started the semi-solid food and took that offending and intrusive feeding tube off and would sign his discharge papers, the first thing he told the nurse was to set the IV drip a little faster, he wanted to go home for dinner!  I did a little jig! 

He is home now, recovering a little more, with every passing day. I am back home with my boys. 

The two weeks I spent in India went by like the wind, full of tension and worry over my Father's health and at how M was coping handling Little S on his own, for the first time. 

I got to meet my parents, but not in the way I had imagined. Not the way I wanted to. 

I want to thank my dear, dear friends, from the bottom of my heart, for all their help. Without their support it would have been impossible.

While I was in India, I did not contact anyone, did not intimate anyone, I know you will understand, but I apologize for not communicating at all. My focus was different. 

For all those, who were not near to help- physically, I want to thank you for your concern and prayers, they helped. 

I am a *very* lucky girl. I have a loving family and loving, concerned friends who are with me, always. I cannot wish for more. 

I do not want to.

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Rewarding Sweetness!

EGG LESS OATMEAL COOKIES

A couple of weeks ago, M and I arrived at a decision, after a lot of dilly-dallying and needless to say, argument. We (read: persuaded by yours truly), decided to enroll our 5 year old for Religion and Language classes at the Hindu Temple.

And so begins our Sunday duty of taking the child to the Temple. I am not a very religious person but childhood conditioning has it's hold on me and I do know my shlokas and aartis. I want my son to know some too. But there is another motive to all this too. Reciting Sanskrit shlokas, I believe help in clarity of speech, specially when speaking the Mother tongue (and hence the language classes too) my son understands every word of Marathi I speak but refuses to reply  in the same language. He shrugs his  small shoulders in a comical way and declares it is too difficult. Humph! Okay! learn it in a class then!

What with school and homework on a daily basis along with other activities, he is one busy kid! There is so much happening around him, he is leaning to read and write ( spelling tests every week!), do math and science and social studies... whew! 

Caught up in all these activities, I sometimes forget how much he is learning and soaking up facts.

Just last week, we were driving back home after classes and I, with all the intention of striking the iron while still hot, blah, blah... started talking about what the 'Auntie' had covered in class, about God being everywhere. He looked thoughtful for a couple of seconds and then replied," like germs are everywhere?"

The husband and I burst out laughing. That's sweetness for you! That's innocence for you! 

Well, sweetness does not go unrewarded. And what better than to reward it with something sweet! I made a batch of egg less Oatmeal cookies that are oh-so-delicious! 

With the start of a new school year, I also made a few new friends. At the school bus stop. Waiting for the school bus ( which is always late, sigh!) has only one positive outcome, we get to know each other just a bit more.

On one such day, my friend, Samata, came armed with these fantastic Oatmeal cookies and oh my God! I wanted the recipe and she, the sweet girl, shared it.

 

These cookies are egg less, they have flax meal and they have oats. These are good! They also helped me to get over my fear of egg less baking. 

The cookies are crunchy and sweet (of course) and a slight tang from the cranberries make them a wonderful treat.  And to top it all, they are easy to make.

You need:

1.5 sticks Butter 

1 cup Brown Sugar

1 tsp Flaxseed powder/ Flaxmeal, blended with 1/4 cup of water 

1 tsp Vanilla 

3/4 cup Flour

1/2 tsp Baking powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Cinnamon 

3 cups Oats 

1 cup Cranberries
Preheat the oven at 350 F.

Cream butter and sugar together. 

Blend flax seed with water until foamy.

Add this  and vanilla  to butter.

Sift flour salt baking powder and cinnamon. 

Add dry and wet ingredients. Mix well.

Now add oats and cranberries

Line a tray / cookie sheet with parchment paper

Drop 1 tbsp of the dough, 2 inch apart. Flatten by hand.

Baked for 12-15 mins edges are brown n center is little wet.

Cool on wire rack and store in an airtight container

Enjoy ! 

Have a great weekend folks! 

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