‘I don’t need the bread, but it’s nice to do something creative‘. ~ John Goodman. My daily normal Indian meal has no place for yeast bread, I like my chapattis and rice with curries and other accompaniments. But then ‘creative & therapeutic‘ is what baking is to me and I love my breads and cakes for the same reason.

After years of baking I still feel ‘yeast challenged’ every time that I bake something and feel jittery to see the outcome. This month when Abby Dodge asked us to bake a Peasant Boule for #baketogether I instantly grabbed the challenge in order learn more from my fellow food bloggers and bake my own Peasant Boule as well.

Born and raised in Israel with a strong Indian Jewish ancestry this AFBHLS guest has spent half of her life in United States. Her awesome collection of Mediterranean, Indian and some unique recipes on her blog speak a lot about her command over these cuisines. Meet Shulie a wonderful food blogger from Food Wanderings, a passionate food writer and a skillful photographer.

From seducing your taste buds and letting your gastronomic juices overflow to enticing you with those delectable recipes on their blogs, they have done all this and more for long. And just when you thought you were going strong this time with your diet plans they make you go weak on your knees with those stunning food pictures of multi layered double cream frosted chocolate cake on their blog.

“Madam we have a few exciting and new organic products on shelf this month” greeted the man in the shop. “Thanks shall check it out” was my quick & meek reply to the much baffled salesman and he understood that I wanted to be left alone during one of my monthly visits to the health stores nearby.

Never did I know that I was in for a surprise, yes I spotted Goji Berries! I looked at the salesman who was probably a bit upset with my reply and smiled. Yes, I am holding one of the most nutritious and powerful super foods in the world – Goji Berries!

And from the day I got my hands on these wonder foods, I am on a ‘Goji spree’. It is as if I want to make up for all that I lost for so many years without these berries.

I am on a Goji Spree, yes this wonder berry is omnipresent in all my meals. Goji on my breakfast table with oatmeal porridge, in lunch along with yogurt Kadhi and in dinner too with my pulav recipe! Goji berries which were evading me till date are now proudly occupying the most coveted place in my basket during my monthly trip to the health store.

I had my first shot of Barley when my mom thought I needed extra energy to pep up myself after my pregnancy. And Barley water used to be the regular alongside the loads of other tasteless, bitter and weired food on my plate Never thought I would develop a liking for this grain. Thanks to internet I am loving it all over again!

My pantry now proudly displays this wonder grain and my breakfast table is always filled with a few dishes from it,  Barley flavored water being the most common amongst all.  And to add a few more flavors in my cooking, got a mail from the editors of a famous social site for Indian blogs BlogAdda that my blog Lite Bite is being featured on their Home page Motivating indeed..

Life without Sugar is really hard to imagine. The irresistible black forest cake you love to indulge in, a decadent Ras malai and the scrumptious ice creams without sugar! Many relate sweet food as mood booster and an anti depressant. Ever tried gifting a spicy bun to your loved one on your date instead of the sweet chocolate bar…

‘Make hay when the sun shines’ And I did the same with the surplus almond meal I had. Baked almond & Oats cookies with it with the extra almond flour left after my first stint with the macarons . And I am in love with these healthy, chewy and nutty cute cookies with my hot chocolate drink in morning breakfast.

It just struck to me that I have not posted any bread recipes using the yeast till date. The first time I baked a bread was way back in 1984 during my 10th board exams. I wanted to divert myself to something more exciting and appealing than the boring and lifeless formulas and equations of chemistry And bread making was one such area.

I did bake a bread and my mom took it to her office and asked (or forced, should I say) everyone to taste and pass on the comments to me. I came to know much later that while I passed in good colors in my board exams, my bread sank

Still whenever I bake a bread I have butterflies in my stomach. More often I opt for baking my breads with leavening agents (baking soda) which is much easier and quicker, rather than baking with yeast.

One of the most ancient foods known to us – Honey, is a nature’s gift to mankind. This translucent, viscous and golden beauty is highly acknowledged for its healing properties. A great source of carbohydrates, it has a natural fruit sugar and is a delicious alternative to white sugar due to the color and flavors it imparts to the food.

A bottle of Honey is a must at all times in my kitchen shelf. And I find it really hard to resist licking a teaspoon of it whenever any recipe requires me to unscrew the bottle of this golden liquid