mr. mayer.

guess what! my hubby is taking me to see john mayer tonight and i couldn't be more excited. and we'll be enjoying him from the 6th row!

dear john and isaac,
i love you both and can't wait to spend the evening with you.
love, emma.

boyfriend.

i love boyfriend jeans. i bought a pair from old navy for dirt cheap this spring and i wear them like crazy. the other day i was at my parent's house and needed to borrow some jeans to make a quick trip to the mall {i was wearing some really cute sweats} and my mom let me wear her pair from the gap. they were so soft, stretchy and comfortable. i desperately want a pair of my own.

Jonna Mudda (Jonna Sankati) ~ Sorghum Ball

Jonna Sankati (Jonna Mudde) ~ Sorghum Ball
Ingredients :

Sorghum Flour (Jowar Flour) : 1 cup
Rice : 1/2 cup
Water : 4 cups
Salt to taste

Method :

Wash and pressure cook the rice in 2 cups of water till 3 or 4 whistles. Switch off the flame and wait until the pressure go off. Bring two cups of water to boil. Add the cooked rice, salt, sorghum flour to it and mix well. Cover with a lid and cook on a low flame for 5 minutes. Wet your hands, take a portion of sorghum mixture and shape them into a small round ball. Serve with vegetable stew and chopped onions.

Minty Spiral Bread

My new love - nope, am happily married and very much in love with hubby after 11 years of marriage, thank you:-). Am talking about breads.  My humongous sweet tooth makes me bake cakes and desserts ever so often. The smell of vanilla or the sight of chocolate makes me hunt a cake or dessert recipe and get it on my table as soon as I can. But breads calling out to me - hey, this is new!!  My first attempt at baking bread was a disaster, my second one, the Masala Bread was successful. The third attempt, though the same recipe, had me and my  family polishing off the last crumb. I had never imagined myself baking breads or poring(read salivating) over bread recipes. Aah.. the sheer magic and pleasure of home baking!! Am I so glad I have started baking breads...

Baking breads(oh,forgive me, for the repetitive usage of the phrase so often in one post), I think, has one huge advantage. You get to satisfy your craving for baking without the sugar overload or without having to mark days in the calendar to check if its been a decent gap between the sugar and possibly high fat  intake in the guise of a cake or dessert.  Am enjoying my tryst with yeast tremendously and looking forward to a long love affair with breads...

After baking Masala Bread, I had promised my Dad that I would get him some of the same the next time I baked. I tried the basic bread recipe from Champa again, with a little twist,( literally:-) and out came from my oven a delightful Minty Spiral Bread.

You can find the original recipe here. This is what I did.

Ingredients: 

• Warm water - 1 Cup
• Sugar- 2 TBSP
• Oil - 2 TBSP
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Active dry yeast - 2 1/4 tsp or 1 packet
• Bread flour or all purpose flour - 3 - 3 1/4 cups (I have used 3 cups)
• Mint leaves 1 1/2 cups, washed and finely chopped(Use parsley or coriander with garlic instead if you wish)
• Green chillies, slit lengthwise, 2
• Salted butter, softened - 2 tablespoons

In a large bowl, combine warm water, sugar and yeast.(I started with 3/4 cup water as I had planned to add onion and then decided to skip it, I have eventually used approximately 1 cup of water)  Let it sit for about 10 minutes or till frothy. Now add the salt, oil. Mix well. Slowly start adding flour to make a smooth dough. Knead for 10 minutes.

Coat with oil, cover with a clean kitchen towel and let it rest for about an hour or till double in volume.(Mine took a good 2 and a half hours, whew!) A series of mails to Champa before I finished baking this bread and thanks to her for replying to all my mails so patiently.

Heat a teaspoon oil in a pan, add the green chillies and the mint leaves. Saute. Season with salt and take off the fire. Discard the chillies.(you could use pepper powder instead)

Grease a 9 X 5 pan( I have used a smaller one). After the initial rise, deflate the dough gently. Here I took about 3/4 part of the dough( you can use the entire dough if you are using a 9X5 pan I guess), rolled it into a rectangle, approximately 8X5''.(a bigger rectangle depending on the dough and size of the tin) Spread the butter evenly over the dough, and then the mint mixture. Make sure you spread it just up to the edges. Roll up the rectangle and pinch the short ends to seal. Place in the greased tin, seam side down. Cover with an oiled aluminum foil and let the dough rise in a warm place, till double. Mine took almost 2 hours again.

 Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C( 375 F.) When ready to bake, place the pan in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Lower the temperature to 160 degrees C (325 F) and bake for another 15-20 minutes( I have baked again for 5 minutes as the loaf is small) or till the crust is nicely brown and bottom sounds hollow when tapped. If you feel it is browning too fast, cover loosely with an aluminum foil and then bake. (Do this after the first 20 minutes of baking) Cool on wire rack. You could brush with some milk or milk and oil mixture before baking to get a nice color.

When still warm, brush with butter to get a softer crust.

This time, I made sure the loaf was out on the cooling rack after 10 minutes of  getting out of the oven. It took a lot of resolve to resist from slicing it when it was warm. The loaf came to room temperature, at last! Hubby and son(way past his bed time, but waiting for a slice of bread:-)  waited till the mandatory pics were shot. Oh, yumm.. was the reaction, it was truly one wonderful bread, the flavors of butter and mint in the fresh bread unbelievable!!

I did take the bread to my parents' place the next morning.  I wanted to share my small loaf with half the world...My Dad was a happy and proud man having tasted a slice of home-made bread for the first time ever, baked by his daughter!! Yay, yay, me the first baker in the family:-) More breads coming up on Cakes And More!!

This bread goes to Champa's Bake Off

 

hi hello.

we're back from our relaxing weekend, it was perrrfect. we even stayed an extra night to extend our fun and it was really rough to come home. my mother-in-law recently hung the quote pictured up in the cabin and i love it. i feel so centered and connected after time away from the hustle and bustle. how was your weekend?!

Baked Alaska Cupcakes - Daring Bakers Challenge

Brown butter baked alaska cupcake = delish

This is my first attempt at a Daring Bakers challenge and although the outcome, Baked Alaska cupcakes, were phenomenally tasty I managed to cock it up somewhat by getting too excited and not reading the instructions properly. All I can say is I blame being sick - as I read the instructions while off work sick for two weeks and deciding what to make. There was a choice of a baked alaska or some small petit four type things - I immediately decided, obviously, to make baked alaska cupcakes.

The actual challenge had two mandatory sections - the ice cream and the brown butter pound cake. This is where I mis-read and thought you had to make the ice cream and a brown butter cake. Which is what I did ...oops.

Anyhow I did three new things for this challenge; I made my own ice cream, I made brown butter (without burning it) and I used a blow torch, and kept both eyebrows and my fringe!

my very vanilla'y ice cream getting its final whip

First up was the ice cream. I used a recipe from July's edition of Good Food Magazine for vanilla ice cream (recipe here). I successfully made the custard, which I'd been dreading, then as I don't have an ice cream machine I hand whisked it every couple of hours till it was time for its final electric whisk and then went to bed at about 2am! I added extra vanilla too as I love the taste of vanilla and it came out really well - a few ice flakes but it tasted better than any posh store bought ice cream I've bought so I am chuffed with it for my first attempt.

Next up was the cake. Obviously I should've made the pound cake that I now know was compulsory but I didn't. Sorry, again. I however used a basic cupcake recipe but instead of using boring old butter I first browned it following instructions on Chow, with a little help from Bea of Bea's of Bloomsbury on Twitter and let it cool slightly before making the cupcake batter. The smell as these were cooking in the oven was amazing. And when they came out they smelt slightly toasty and nutty - I couldn't wait to try one and scoffed one when they were quite warm and burnt my tongue. Again my gluttony is foiled and punished.

The rest of the cakes were put safely away in tins until the next day when the meringue was whipped (using the egg whites from the eggs used in the ice cream which I'd frozen for these!) and my brand new blow torch was filled and ready to go!

Me with the blow torch browning my first baked alaska! SO exciting!

My lovely husband had suggested I'd either burn the house down or end up doing something stupid like scratching my head while using the torch and ending up bald - well *raspberries* as I managed to blow torch nothing but the meringue toppings.

Browning not burning!

This is where we fall down a little again - we got no pics of the baked alaska cupcakes innards - for two reasons. One, we were too greedy and wanted to eat them as they smelt and looked delicious and two, I totally forgot. One bite and all I was thinking was YUM, my mind thought of nothing but the next bite.

Manny's baked alaska - yes I let him play with my blow torch even though he mocked me

Manny's blow torched beauty

We scoffed a couple of baked alaska cuppies each and then I made 4 with a bit of lemon curd, topped with meringue. Again, delicious. (Note: We didn't eat them all in the same day!). The rest of the cakes we ate plain with a cup of tea. The left over egg whites were piped onto baking parchment and placed in the oven and came out an hour later as gorgeously gooey treats which we had the next night for dinner with Chantilly cream! It was a bit of a sugar filled couple of days!

Lovely lemon meringue cupcake

I really enjoyed taking part in Daring Bakers even if I did cock up a bit of it - hopefully they don't throw you out for mis-reading!! And I've learned that burnt butter in cupcakes is a taste sensation - something I shall definitely be doing again soon!

Beerakaya Kandipappu Koora ~ Ridge Gourd And Yellow Lentil Curry

Ingredients :

Ridge Gourd : 2
Onions : 2 small sized
Handful of yellow lentil
Mustard seeds : 1 tsp
Chana dal : 1 tsp
Urad dal : 1 tsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1/4 tsp
Cury Leaves : 2 stems
Oil : 2 tsp
Salt to taste

Method :

Put the yellow lentil in a pressure cooker and sprinkle very little water and cook till 3 whistles. Turn off the flame and wait until the pressure go off. Wash, peel, chop the ridge gourd into small pieces and keep aside. Peel and cut the onions into small pieces and set aside. Heat two teaspoons of oil in frying pan and add the mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal and let them splutter. When the seeds stop tossing, add the curry leaves and chopped onions. Fry the onions till they get light brown golden color. Now add the chopped ridge gourd, salt and turmeric powder. Mix well, cover with a lid. Let it cook completely. When it's done, add the yellow lentil and red chilli powder. fry for another two minutes and serve hot with roti or steamed rice and dollop of ghee.

weekend getaway.

today we're headed to our cabin for a relaxing, technology free weekend - just the two of us. it will be lovely to have my hubs all to myself free of business calls and the distraction of the internet {we're both a little addicted...} happy weekend!

Pudina Pappu Chekkalu ~ Mint and Rice Crackers

Ingredients :

Rice Four : 2 cups
Fresh Mint : 1 small bunch
Split Bengal Gram (chana dal) : 2 tbsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil

Method :

Wash and soak the chana dal for 2 hours. Remove stems, wash and grind the mint leaves into paste and set aside. Bring two cups of water to boil. Add salt, one table spoon of oil, mint paste, rice flour, soaked chana dal, red chilli powder and combine. Allow it to cool. Divide the dough into lime sized balls. Place the dough ball on a oiled plastic sheet and shape into a thin circle. Heat oil in deep frying pan. Deep fry the dough circles in hot oil till they turn crisp and light golden color. Remove from the oil and store in a air tight container.

I asked for a cupcake not a crapcake

MasterChef started last month in the US on the Fox Network and typically American it looks overblown and a bit more annoying than the UK version. Although I much prefer their version of Gregg Wallace - their very own chubby presenter Graham Elliot. Yes their chubby presenter can actually cook not just shovel food in his mouth. He was also my favourite in Top Chef Masters, and yes I'm addicted to Food TV. Alas their other presenter is even more irritating than the cardi wearing John Torode, Gordon F'ING Ramsay - do America realise there are other chefs out there?

Anyways the reason I'm mentioning Masterchef is because in one of the episodes they are challenged to make a stunning cupcake using an amazing table of decorative excitements - not sure I'd go that far, the frosting is in a TIN ffs.

You can watch the clip and see the cupcakes that Gordon so elloquently, and rather predictably, called crapcakes here. Although you can't really argue with his description when you look at the rather melty mess above.

I'm sure this show will be on UK Food or the Food Network for us all to enjoy soon.

sundance.

on tuesday night isaac and i partook in one of our favorite summer activities, the full moon lift ride up at the gorgeous sundance resort. we did it when we first started dating {see it documented here} and we've loved going ever since.

it is so romantic to ride the lift together in the cool, dark night enjoying the beauty of sundance. oh, i just love it! they are doing it one more time in september, so if you're local you really must go.

also, i am also very excited to tell you i have been featured on the fabulous blog pennyweight today! elise was so kind to ask me to participate in her wanted this week series and i was completely thrilled! go see my current fall fashion wants here. have a lovely thursday!

Dondakaya Koora ~ Simple Ivy Gourd Curry

Dondakaya Kura ~ Thondekai Palya ~ Kovakkai Poriyal ~ Tindora Curry

Ingredients :

Chopped Ivy Gourd : 1/4 kg
Onion : 2
Mustard Seeds : 1/2 tsp
Chana Dal : 1/2 tsp
Urad Dal : 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves : 2 stems
Turmeric Powder : 1/4 tsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil : 2 tsp

Method :

Wash and cut the tindora into small pieces and keep aside. Peel and chop the onions into small pieces and keep aside. Heat oil in a vessel and add the mustard seeds,chana dal, urad dal and let them splutter. When the seeds stop popping, add the the curry leaves, chopped onions. Fry the onions till it gets light brown color. Now add the chopped ivy gourd, salt, turmeric andsprinkle little water. Mix well, cover with a lid. Cook over a medium flame till the tindora is tender. Then add the red chilli powder and fry for another 2 minutes. Serve hot with rice and dollop of ghee.

s'mores cookies.

these cookies are quite the treat. when i saw them on picky palate i got really excited, i love s'mores. although i'm becoming more and more of a scratch cupcake girl, i do love a good easy cookie made with a cake mix.
ingredients:

1 box devil's food cake mix
2 eggs
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup melted butter {1 stick}
3 hershey's chocolate bars, cut into rectangles
1 1/2 cup mini marshmallows
1 1/2 cup graham crackers, cut up into small pieces

directions:

1. preheat oven to 350. in a large bowl mix the cake mix, eggs, brown sugar, and butter until combined.
2. with a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. press cookies into little discs to flatten slightly. on each cookie press a chocolate bar, a couple marshmallows and a couple graham cracker pieces. bake for 11-13 minutes or until cooked through.
3. remove and let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. serve with milk and enjoy!

my cookies turned out a little bigger than planned, so next time i'm going to load them up with more marshmallows and graham crackers {the mallows are the best part!} these babies were a huge hit. you really must check out picky palate for more yummy recipes {thank you cousin katie for introducing me to it!}

also, i posted a yummy recipe over at just cook already that is a perfect end of summer meal. go take a looksie.

Orange Yogurt Cake - Oh-so-delicious!!!

A spate of unsatisfactory bakes- that's what happened to me in the past couple of weeks. Like a row of flop movies- Aaw, poor joke here, excuse me:-). A souffle which rose - but not high enough, a genoise which did not seem tall enough to make a birthday cake out of, a chocolate cake which got the perfect ganache drape, but I messed up with the decoration- too big an 'Oops' to make it to the blog. My dessert did not set well enough to slice it, Agar-agar - u let me down:-(. Add the extremely temperamental electricity supply in Namma Bengaluru - would put off the most passionate of bakers I guess. Power supply seems to be so much more consistent in the past few days- Touch-wood!!

Yesterday after a long time, my oven smiled on me again. Whew!! I had seen this Orange Yogurt Cake on Pavani's blog here and had instantly bookmarked it (among scores of many many recipes, don't know when I will ever try them all!!). I love oranges in a BIG way, I don't know how many dozens of them I ate when I was carrying my first one - so much that hubby started worrying about it:-). Oranges in bakes is something I absolutely adore. I had oranges in my fridge and this seemed the perfect recipe to try - low fat, quick and super easy.

It was easily one of the tastiest tea cakes I have baked- super spongy, moist, refreshing and deliciously zesty. Thanks Pavani for sharing this recipe and reminding me of the forgotten Martha Stewart website. This cake is something which is going to be on my favorites list for a long time to come..

You can find the original recipe here.

Makes one 8-inch round cake

• Unsalted butter, softened, for pan
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons powdered sugar( only 2 tablespoons go into the batter)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest, plus 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large oranges (1 zested into thin strips, both segmented)
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius(350 F). Butter an 8-inch round cake pan. Sift flour, 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, the baking powder, baking soda, salt. Whisk together yogurt, oil, orange zest and juice, egg, and vanilla in a bowl. Fold in the wet mixture into the flour mixture. Pour into pan. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.  Dust one table spoon sugar on top of the cake(optional)

This cake tastes delightful by itself and needs no frosting . yeah, the glaze I have used here was purely for the kids. No- it was for the kids and the blog pictures;-). 

My verdict: The perfect tea cake, will surely make this again, taking care to add only 2 tablespoons sugar (I overlooked this small detail in the original recipe, one tablespoon was for dusting on top) into the batter. Too late I figured out why the cake tasted a wee bit sweeter... nevertheless it was a wonderful cake.

The only shortcoming in the cake: the smallish size...sigh..!!

This cake goes to Champa's Weekly Bake Off 

Butter Lane hearts butter!

When we visited New York last year we stayed about 10minutes walk from Butter Lane and took full advantage, visiting on numerous occasions to pick up some of their fabulous cupcakes. They were so good we intended to take a box home but we were slightly delayed at JFK and ate them there instead - what a great way that was to say goodbye to NY.

So today I was very excited to read on Cupcakes Take the Cake that Butter Lane are featuring in the new Lurpak ad campaigns by Saatchi & Saatchi. I thought it was going to be a follow up to all those giant advertising posters that appeared earlier this year with slogans such as "one off's are baked not bought" (I'm still slightly confused re these 'cupcakes' - they are naked). Then I read again....

Saatchi & Saatchi London has launched its first campaign for Lurpak since landing the global account for the premium butter and blends brand earlier this year. The account covers all markets across the world except the UK. DAMN

The TV spots are part of a documentary film made by Saatchi & Saatchi, featuring Pam Nelson, co-owner of the New York bakery ‘Butter Lane’, telling the story of how Lurpak butter helps the cupcakes she makes “the best on the planet”.

Shot inside the bakery in the east Village, Pam Nelson talks about how she quit Wall Street to make cupcakes and enticingly shows and describes quality ingredients being put together to create a little piece of heaven, exemplifying the quality of the Lurpak brand.

It is the first in a series of films that will be created from around the world focusing on people who are passionate about the food they create (where butter is an essential ingredient in their famed product) and have an interesting story to tell

You can watch the advert here and be warned you'll get some serious Kitchen Aid envy at the beginning.

Oh and Pam isn't lying - they really are the best cupcakes in the world!!

lucky you.

don't we all just love my blog header?! i know i do. ha! i've talked about it before here, but i just love jenna and her blog designs. and guess what! she is giving away a custom blog header over on her blog q.a. design. isn't that fabulous!

head on over to her blog and enter! i just love giveaways.

Beerakaya Perugu Pachadi ~ Ridge Gourd Yogurt Chutney

Ingredients :

Chopped Ridge gourd : 1 cup
Curd : 1 cup
Green Chillies : 1 or 2
Red Chilli : 1
Mustard Seeds : 1/2 tsp
Chana Dal : 1/2 tsp
Urad dal : 1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds : 1/4 tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1/4 tsp
Chopped Ginger : 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves : 2 stems
Few Fenugreek seeds
Salt to taste
Oil : 2 tsp

Method :

Wash, peel and chop the ridge gourd into medium size pieces and set aside. Heat two teaspoons of oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds. urad dal, chana dal, fenugreek seeds and let them splutter. When the seeds stop tossing, add the green chillies, red chilli, ginger and curry leaves. Fry for another few seconds and add the ridge gourd pieces, turmeric, salt and little water to it. Mix well, cover with a lid. Let it cook completely. Switch off the flame and allow it cool. Combine the cooked ridge gourd mixture with the curd and mix well. Serve with steamed rice or roti.

Other Names : Heerekai Mosaru Bajji, Beerakaya Perugu Pachhadi, Peechinga Thayir Chutney

restless.

{image found here}

don't you hate it when you can't fall asleep because your brain won't turn off?! it used to happen to me all the time during nursing school because i couldn't stop worrying about all the things i needed to get done. well, for the first time in a while my mind just wouldn't stop last night and after trying to count myself to sleep and tell myself i wasn't that hungry {i was starving}, i just got up.

i have been wanting to go through my closet for a few weeks now to organize and take some items over to plato's closet to make a few bucks but every day i kept finding better things to do. well, last night after getting up for graham crackers and milk i started going through my closet. i decided to part with some real beauties but i just have to accept that i won't wear them this fall. my philosophy is if i didn't wear it last year i'm not going to wear it this year - time to say bye bye. so here i am, sleepy as can be from being up so late going through my closet...but hey, at least i got something done!

isn't the closet pictured amazing! i would kill to have such an organized closet full of colorful, unique pieces. some day, some day.

i love treats.

{weheartit}

well, it's monday again. i'm okay with it because all my days are pretty much the same, but i sure do love the weekends. on friday night i worked and afterward came home and was tucked in my bed doing a little reading when i heard our door open. i quietly said "hellooooo?" and my husband came running into our bedroom. he surprised me and came home early! he wasn't supposed to be home until sunday evening. that little sucker sure knows how to make me happy. we stayed up way too late so our saturday was pretty relaxing. it was full of yoga, lunch + gelato with my lovely cousin {dallas let's go back for birthday cake gelato asap, so yummy}, naps, reading, and kraft mac and cheese for dinner. oh, and no bake cookies. i saw them on a new favorite recipe blog - the girl who ate everything - and i had to make them for a late night treat. yum.

how was your weekend?!

Some recent cupcake'ing fun

This was my dinner a couple of weeks ago in Peter Jones when I went to collect my brand new blowtorch. The cake was nice and fresh, but the topping was like a hard fondant - not really worth the calories. But the view from the upper floor restaurant is fabulous!

A rather delicious cupcake from yesterday's visit to the Skin exhibition at the Wellcome Collection. The cake was the best thing about the trip. The exhibition was rather boring and then someone made me spend what felt like HOURS in the bookshop. The blueberry cupcake was from the Peyton & Byrne cafe in the foyer. The frosting was luscious - melt in the mouth mousse-like texture and incredibly fruity and flavoursome. The cake itself was plain vanilla I think. I have a feeling all the cakes are vanilla, and its just the frostings that are flavoured - they are very tasty though.

We also visited the Peyton & Byrne cafe briefly last weekend - we were meant to go to see the Skin exhibition but were a bit late but managed to pick up a couple of cupcakes and a cup of coffee.

I opted for a lemon cupcake and Manny had a chocolate one. The frosting on Manny's was like a ganache and fantastic. My cupcake was very tasty, but a little old - perhaps not fresh that day.

Next up from a recent(ish) trip to the delightful Ms Cupcake's stall at Greenwich Market. I'd been off work sick for nearly two weeks, only leaving the house to go to the doctors but on one of last days off I managed to drag myself out to see Ms C and it was totally worth it.

I had a cherry bakewell which was amazingly fruity and moist, and Manny had the rolo which was was absolutely gorgeous (I had allowed a wee bite).

As I've said before I am really amazed at how gorgeous Ms Cupcake's vegan cupcakes are - they are so moist and tasty - unlike some of the other vegan cupcakes I've tried.

If you're a cupcake lover I recommend you give them a try asap to see if you agree with me. I'm pretty sure you will.

I can't remember if I mentioned these when I bought them a couple of months ago but just in case check out my gorgeous Matryoshka measuring cups from Fred (which I bought via Amazon). They are adorable and look ever so cute in my kitchen. The only thing I've used them to make so far was my attempt at the chocolate vegan cupcakes from the Bleeding Heart Bakery's cookbook which alas ended up straight in the bin. I was a bit disappointed at the time but now I read online that the books been the cause of many problems for people so its not just me. This is the second incredibly disappointing baking book I've got this year and is now unfortunately relegated to my "looks pretty but don't use" along with Eat Me (yuk). I also feel a bit disheartened when I keep reading that these books are meant to be inspiration rather than baking books - I buy books for recipes. I think the same has to be said of my recent Lily Vanili book - more inspiration than recipe based with the 5 recipes it contains.

Finally, and I have to really admit to being an utterly bad person here. About 3 months ago I received a lovely package from the lovely Tram at Sweetdee's Cupcakes and I totally forgot to blog about them. Aren't they adorable. The notebook is just perfect for carrying around in my bag and writing about my cupcake adventures and the little card holder is just too cute! I love it. I've not tried Sweetdee's cupcakes yet but hope to in the near future.

Varalakshmi Vratha Naivedyam

( Naivedhyam Platter )

Naivedhyam Menu

Pulihora
Poornam Boorelu
Vada Pappu
Kamal Bhog
Bobbatlu
Semiya Payasam
Chakra Banalu
Rava Kesari
Beerakaya Bajjilu
Paala Poorilu
Chitti vadalu
Teepi gavvalu
Paanakam

thank you!

thank you all for the congratulations on my new job! i start mid september and can't wait! last night my mom and i ventured to the mall to buy a baby gift and i picked myself up this striped embellished t from the gap as a little "go me" gift. i haven't shopped in months and it felt sooo good. i am definitely one of those girls who gets a little high from a new purchase. can't wait to have a little more disposable income once i start working as a nurse...

happy friday!

My favourite sandwich - avocado, cheese and red pepper

God, I deserve a holiday. And perhaps even a medal. Moving house is really hard. And I hate packing. And buying is extremely stressful. I have someone moving in literally on top of me on Saturday, and  anything could still potentially go wrong with the sale, leaving me homeless. On top of all this hassle, there's been work, which has been a bit challenging of late (this is a good thing, I know, but I'm tired), and we can't forget the emotional fallout from the disastrous break up of a five year relationship... I can't wait to be just that little bit too hot all the time, to stay up too late drinking wine and listening to crickets, then sleep in, knowing I have nothing to do on any particular day except read, eat, walk and swim. That's except on Wednesday, when I have to be very aggressive with some tomatoes. Yup, we're going to La Tomatina. I am just not sure how I feel about being covered head-to-toe in tomato pulp

There's been a few blogs recently that have talked about toast and sandwiches, so I decided to join the club, and share my favourite sandwich recipe with you. This was introduced to me by my friend, Simone, who's mum invented it. Now, the original is toasted, and that version is better on ciabatta. The one up there is rye bread with avocado, garlic salt (this is non-negotiable), gouda cheese and marinated peppers. Ideal for an easy work lunch, or snack, though you will get sticky fingers so it's best eaten away from the computer!

just a little news...

i got a job!

and not just any job, the exact job i was hoping for on the children's surgical unit where i did my capstone this summer! i can't tell you how happy/relieved/excited i feel! i feel so proud that all my hard work as a student paid off. nursing jobs are hard to come by for us new grads and i feel so blessed to have one. hip hip hooray!! i can't wait to start!