Birthday Thoughts - Jabber or Wise ? You decide...

Why do we celebrate Birthdays ? Iam not trying to be clever or something but these thoughts swept by as I was driving the other day. Well for one it marks the day we entered this world. Thats the most reasonable and straight forward answer I could come up with. What did we do - JUST POP OUT from Mom's womb. Thats it ! For anything it should be Mommy's day. So for every child's Birthday we should congratulate his/her mom (Happy Mommy's day!) and may be give her flowers ... let her cut the cake ... for all she underwent to get us out into this world.

Well Well... I know by now you must be muttering .. " Oh there she goes ... trying to say something smart ". Actually no... While I understand we do have one universal Mothers day for celebration... I just thought it would be a nice day to be that extra kind and acknowledge mothers. :)

Anyway to be honest like everyone I enjoy that day every year. Special treatment, gifts, cakes, flowers... C'mon who doesn't like it. This year I was not very particular about it just because I realised - Iam not getting any younger! Ouch... that hurts. But still it is nice to feel that extra special. This year I wanted to go a bit further- Thought to seize the day to check out how life is going. Do a little introspection. Come up with some resolutions. Forgive my mistakes, be proud of my achievements and ofcourse look for improvements. Afterall this is the day you came in and it does leave a special mark as it is YOUR new year. Don't you think it is more meaningful than a calender new year?!

Go ahead feel that extra special, but take a step further and see how you can make your life more meaningful to you and lastly never forget your mother amidst all the fun as she is the reason you are seeing this day !

Idli Disaster

We all have good days, bad days and "the usual routine" days. But sometimes bad days hits you in a way as if it was designed to be the worst - whatever you do has a negative impact. I have had bad days at work - I even remember the date November 27, 2006 - Monday : every thing I did , talked , reported was error ! Well.. you learn, and move on.

Last night was a disaster. I made the worst idlis in the world. May be I could have been awarded - " Best prize for the most awful idlis anyone can make". Well... we all have disasters in the kitchen, especially when we start a fresh. I have had my bad days in kitchen but I shrug those off because of the excuse " It is my first time". First time it was for me with idlies. But my ego doesn't allow me to shrug this one - Hello... Iam a South Indian for God's sake ! How can a " thachi mammu" (curd rice) like me go wrong with idlies ? This is like a North Indian making bad phulkas or Italian making bad tasting pasta !

To be honest, in my 2 years of cooking record, I have not made Idlis. I did not have idli cooker / moulds at home till now. Yesterday I wanted to try my new idli cooker. Try I did - and ended up with half cooked idlis. Well , all I can think of now that may have gone wrong is my urad dal quantity and the consistency of batter. Hmmm... even a chocolate cake that R got for me at 11 PM last night to compensate did not pamper me. Anyway now that I have returnted to my sanity, I will surely give my try until I make idlies like my amma - soft , fluffy like a " mulla poo" ( Jasmine Flower) without any baking soda added ! I promise to follow up with a post. :)

We all write about the fancy dishes that we make, proudly showcase artwork, achievements, but c'mon... we are human beings and we make mistakes ! I thought why not vent out my frustration.

So much for my first post after blogging break !

Cartoon Credits: http://www.feebleminds-gifs.com

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Update:

Tip to use the leftovers:

As I mentioned the reason for my disaster was slightly more urad dal which made the dough overly fluffy. In case that happens to you, just add some roasted rice flour (or any rice flour) and make either dosa or Uttapam. I added some rice flour, grated carrots, onions , green chillies, made some mini uttapam, gave it a new look and the dough was over in 30 minutes !

Also I disguised the half cooked idlis too - you wanna know ?! - I cooked them for a longer time in the cooker, till they were holding their idli shape, then I put them in the fridge overnight. Next day, I mashed them, took a nonstick skillet, seasoned it with a teaspoon of oil, mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves, sauted some chopped onions, added the mashed idlis, a teaspoon of molagai podi (spice powder), sauteed for a while and devoured it with a dollop of yogurt!

Did you think I will give up and waste food ! Sorry, No wasting entertained . :)

On a BBB - Brief Blog Break

Short break - Will be back soon! :)

Weekend Venture Series: Recipe for Banana Cake

This is a follow up post to my Banana - Almond Cake. I tweaked the original recipe taken from Simply Recipes. I will post the original and my twist to it. You can follow any one or modify as you like it. There is no limit to creativity !

Original Recipe from Elise:

Ingredients:

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
1 egg, beaten1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup of flour (Maida)

Method

No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

My little twist to the above:

Ingredients:

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup Almond Butter (or Canola Oil if you don't get or like Almond Butter)
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
No eggs
Cardomom powder - 1/2 tsp
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup of Multi grain Pancake Flour or You can also use Whole grain pastry flour

You can also crush some nuts like almonds or raisins and add to the cake batter before baking.

Follow the same method stated above.

Hope you enjoy your cake !

A quick peek into the strange list

I have always wondered what those ingredients mean ? Iam talking about the long list of strange sounding ingredients on the flap of your frozen burgers. We don't welcome Frozen / Packed foods to our home very often. But I do have maybe a pack of noodles or burger for any emergency ( that happens when my mood is sour ! ). But I think a lot before getting them. I have purchased such veggie burgers from TJ twice in last 2 years. But Iam always skeptical and lost when it comes to the list of ingredients. This article explains the unknown. Looks like once a while should be okay if not highly nutritious. At least I won't collapse eating this ! :)

Hunger Attack ... Binge Eating and a Rip off....

It is 4:30 PM , you are at work. There is a feeble grumbling noise. Very feeble that you don't notice. The clock is ticking and you are working your way through. It is 6 PM now. You are almost done for the day. You realise that you hear another grumble and for this time it is more powerful. You become aware - Your stomach is grumbling with hunger ! All you can think of now is FOOD. Just about anything.

Iam positive that every human being goes through this Snack Attack every single day. It happens to me . I come back home frantically searching for some food. Tear apart the refrigerator. Iam usually good when it comes to eating consciously . But this is the time my brain just doesn't listen to me. It becomes a slave to the tummy.

Today when I was going through this hunger battle - I ended up going to a Mexican joint . Ordered a burrito in a bowl (lots of beans , veggies and low on fat) . I ate like a glutton. When my stomach calmed down and my brain got back to normalcy . It all came back to me. I paid $ 7.99 for a bowl of not so fresh veggies , old beans that is soaked in preservatives and rice which God knows when it was cooked ! Was this all necessary ? How do I handle this ?

I should do something to attack the Snack attack ...!