“What does a Cheesecake remind you?” To me it conjures the feeling of digging into soft snowy mountain, a refreshing dessert you really don’t want anyone to tell you about how much cream cheese, ricotta and quark has gone into making it. Just dig..eat..and repeat.
I am not much of a cream fan and try to replace the same in all my cooking & baking for good and also avoid gelatin in my recipes if the food is for the consumption of my family. Somehow Gelatin makes me feel unnatural, but …

‘Silence after the storm‘..the last few days of high decibel sound, screaming and running around the road to burst crackers has finally come to rest. Even the intermittent spell of rain did not dampen the spirit of festivity for my kids & hubby for whom my garage was the make shift center for bursting crackers. And no, I will not crib about the land, noise, water and air pollution which was left after the festival of lights was over. When I am not able to influence anyone in my home even after 16 years of marriage, against indulging in sugary sweets, oily savories and buying crackers at exorbitant prize (which could actually get me a dedicated server for God knows how many years) then who am I to complain…’to each his own’.

What Christmas is to any westerner Diwali is to all Indians. Fun, frolic and sweets galore is what Christmas & ‘festival of lights – Diwali‘ bring forth! A week’s time is what is left for Diwali and I could already smell the earthy aromas of melting jaggery, fragrance of cardamom and spices emanating from every direction of my house. Yes everyone in the neighborhood is busy preparing the traditional sweets and savories before time so that they can share the same with others on the festival day.

Celebrations never end in India, just when I thought that the hectic months of festivals are over, Diwali is round the corner. Time to indulge in sweets and savories again. I love to make sweets which are easy to prepare without compromising on good taste, my time & of course health. And I am planning to bake cookies or goodies which are light on sugar and oil instead of making those time consuming traditional Indian sweets this festive season.

“First there was a Fresh Corn Dessert a few days back and now there are two more desserts for the weekend..Hmm…do I smell some conspiracy” inquired the puzzled hubby. “Is all the sweet temptations for the digital SLR?” he smiled and replied to his own query after he noticed a sparkle in my eyes! The decision to buy this high-end digital camera has been put on hold for almost a year by the dear hubby. As he wanted to get completely convinced that I am really serious about my blog and will put the camera to good use before succumbing to my demands. And I saw my wish getting wings when he reached for his lap top to Google for digital cameras

There is nothing special in this dessert except the fact that I wanted to try my hands on Macarons. I do lots of baking but mine is restricted to just cakes, muffins, cookies and bread. Never got inclined to baking anything lying outside my territory. The pretty & colorful Macarons posted in many fellow bloggers got me attracted.

“What !! Exotic and healthy sweet, are you nuts!” is the reaction from a friend with sweet tooth. More often we associate exotic foods with recipes which are rich, takes time to prepare and need loads of work outs on Treadmill to shed those extra calories & kilos they add to the unwanted areas

Be it Malai Koftas, Ras Malai or an irresistible Black forest cake, they all bring in the same feeling of sheer indulgence. Nutty Delights are exotic and healthy at the same time since it is made with cottage cheese and nuts. But you must keep a watch on the numbers

These cute little delicacies of Cornmeal brings back the memories of childhood days. When mom would often involve us to make these laddoos and we used to unwillingly succumb to her demands for want of these scrumptious treats

A sweet is always welcome, and if the treat is healthy too, there is no stopping to indulge in it. This delicious and creamy sweet treat is made with brown rice which is a wholegrain and a much healthier option than the white rice. Benefits and uses of brown rice has been explained in my recent article Brown rice or White rice.