“And please make it 100 plus cookies’ added hubby dear hurriedly. “We have been browsing loads of scrumptious recipes on your wife’s blog for long but nothing has come to us, is she really making all those that we see in the pictures, sir?” was the query from one of the co-workers from his office which made me go for this marathon baking session. When your reputation as a food blogger is at stake numbers hardly matter

After pondering over the quality vs quantity of the numerous recipes I had in mind, I zeroed upon these Lemony Shortbread.

A sugar free Date Brownie…at the time when you wish no one talked about diet and all that you need is to indulge & make merry! Oh yes, even I am gearing up for my festive baking, eagerly waiting to share my goodies with friends. This recipe  was there in my mind for long and I just thought of sharing it for the year before I take a plunge with you into my sinful indulgences

Sometimes a simple and easy recipe with a tongue twisting name can make you a winner. And when I was confused as to what to take for my weekend pot luck party, this scrumptious & cheesy Quesadilla did it for me. I used the normal cornflour (very fine variety) for the recipe here and am able to bring the taste and texture of an authentic Quesadilla to a certain extent.

If you have never used cornmeal or cornflour before I suggest you make the Tortillas with wheat flour first, as there is no gluten in cornflour which makes it difficult to handle and roll out into thin circles.. Keep reducing the quantity of wheat flour and increasing the cornflour in the recipe as you get more confident dealing with the not so friendly cornflour dough

If marriages are made in heaven so are prized friendships! This post of mine reinforced my belief in the said statement, with some cherished friends in my booty Want to know more…well this is how it happened. A good blogger friend Nelly is getting married across the country and I wish I could organize a virtual party for her.

Conceptualizing the Virtual Party; I do organize real time parties quite often for large gatherings but an on-line party…well, have never done anything like this before. I was a bit apprehensive organizing a virtual party with fellow food bloggers within a short period of time. DM’s to a few Tweeples were sent and I was overwhelmed to see all of them responding positively to this idea. We made a small group and started exchanging mails sharing our views about the whole concept.

Rain and water logging outside the house means no play and no friends coming home, only a hearty dessert can bring cheers to the dull faces of my children. A dessert in which I can engage them to bake minus the mess I might face as aftermath. Hmm..a muffin or a cookie look easy to bake but then sifting the flour, kneading, perfect consistency…nope, forget it. Bread Pudding…yes it could give them a false feeling of baking something without much fuss. Easy and literally a child’s play recipe, nothing beats a warm bread pudding on a rainy day, a perfect comfort food for any time.

And as expected they wanted chocolate in their recipe and added cocoa to their bread pudding. The chocolate custard bread pudding you see in the picture is assembled and baked by my children, I have to admit that I did polish off half of the Ramekin from their share

“Pumpkin..what..don’t tell me it has pumpkin in it?” I baked this wholewheat pumpkin coconut bread for the 14th wedding anniversary of my friend and did not reveal the ingredients till the last piece was left. It was a delightful surprise for my anti-pumpkin friend, who never cooked this humble veggie in her kitchen and believes that a pumpkin is no good than scaring crows and keeping the evil at bay

In most of pumpkin bakes the veggie is first cooked or baked to get pumpkin puree and then added to the batter but I avoided that step…lazy…Hmm..sort of.

Naan – a popular flat bread from South Asia, always reminds me of my college days in Delhi. The time I traveled quite frequently to my home during weekends and used to eagerly wait for the bus to stop at those high way Dhabas (makeshift village side eateries) for some scrumptious meal. Charcoal smoked Naans hot from Tandoor (clay oven), generously smeared with fresh butter and served with whole creamy lentils, yogurt raita and sliced onions…Mmm. Although I often make Naan at home but nothing can beat that authentic taste of charcoal infused slightly charred stuffed Naan. If only I knew that a food blog is on the anvil…I would have asked him the recipe for sure

Rajma-rice, a plateful of sliced onion in vinegar, a few books in hand, hot debate on current topics and our dinner would be over in no time. This was the regular evening routine for a bunch of close friends during the college days we spent together away from our homes in Delhi, hardly missing out on homely food. We would stop by that open Dhaba (makeshift restaurant) with a very few chairs spread under a tree and wait for our piping hot plate of Rajma-rice served by this rugged looking pot bellied man who cooked & served the same meal throughout the year. At times he served us Rajma with Naan and a dessert which looked like cooked rice in sugar syrup during festivals to make sure we remain his loyal customers. Must say that I have never been able to cook nor have eaten better tasting Rajma than that.

“No Pancakes, no Parathas, no Upma and no Sandwiches please…we want something different for breakfast tomorrow” my son made a demand last night. “We are ready to wait for a little extra time mom, so no excuses” my daughter informed with a blink. First half of the night was spent turning from one side of bed to other, thinking about that ‘something different’. Why not take one ingredient each from all the breakfast recipes and …Yes I got it, now sleep tight Zzzzz…

Wholewheat from parathas, semolina from Upma, yogurt from pancakes and veggies from sandwiches and here I am with this healthy yet ‘something different‘ on a lazy Sunday morning breakfast table…Tada! Big smile on their faces and I know that the effort of baking this delightful savory cake is really worth taking

With all the major Indian festivals coming to an end with Diwali, my kitchen counter & wok heave a sigh of relief. No more fudges, sweets and savories, its just my simple meal and me. Change in season has finally made the rain god smile bringing respite from the heat. I wanted to bake something which could be a wholesome munch with my evening tea while lazying around on my favorite easy chair watching rain from my open terrace, and Biscotti was the final choice.

Biscotti is thin sliced cake which are baked twice to make it crisp and also to increase the shelf life of these goodies.