Ahaa.. finally its here – the Summer Holidays, time we all look forward to year after year! Trip to home town, loads of  ‘me time’ to relax and also to complete all the pending tasks I have been procrastinating the whole year wearing the shield of ‘no time’

My euphoria is but short lived, the very next day of the holiday and the mom is busier than ever. Library, cricket coaching, dance classes, piano lessons…and repeat. Well, as a good mother I also need to keep my children engaged and make their holiday more productive. Till then..’me time’ can wait.

“Try the dual flavor vanilla & chocolate cereal or this new variety of cereal in the shape of Planet & stars…and this one….” Phew..shopping for children’ food could be  so distracting than compelling due to endless choices in the same. These myriad choices do make life easy for busy moms with almost no cooking, quick & fuss free breakfast options in the market. But in the bargain I feel we loose on the natural and healthier foods and food products which were available a few years back.

Cereal was certainly not our bowl of breakfast in the growing years during late 60s and early 70’s. And then when plain cornflakes was first introduced in India it became a fashion statement and was welcomed with open hearts in many homes.

Versatile dips & spreads which could be made quickly and peps up a meal instantly are my all time favorite. Ubiquitous green chutney with fresh coriander & mint leaves in my refrigerator tops the chart by all means. Yes, I eat it with my flat breads, use as sandwich spread, on crackers, tarts, Khatti rolls, pizza topping…and so on.. Hummus is one another favorite of mine, a refreshing & healthy dip prepared with chickpeas or Garbanzo beans. The recipe is often twisted & tweaked to come up with yummy surprises..well..almost always

There are times when I prefer & rely more on my ‘quick fixes’ in cooking over the original recipes. The handy ‘quick fixes’ I invented for my convenience during the last 20 years in my kitchen are easy and more fun do with whatever is available at that particular day in my kitchen. And this Cocoa Brownie is one such recipe when I run out of chocolates…well, not exactly run out, but am raided of…want to know how?

Cozy family weekend when everyone crave for a scrumptious dessert and there is no signs of the chocolate bars I hide in refrigerator for a surprise Sunday dessert. Yes, this happens quite often at home, my two naughty pirates never get tired of raiding my refrigerator of all that is ‘Chocolate‘..chocltae chips, chocolate sprinkles and even the dark unsweetened chocolate cooking bars!

Pasta, noodles, pies, pizzas…no, these are not the food that I could relate my childhood memories with. I was introduced to these food quite late in life. It was when I started to work, living independently and cooking on my own that I craved for eating out during weekends. And these carbohydrate and calorie loaded food were quite a stress buster and a good remedy to homesickness.

That was a phase I suppose, as now when we are in our forties both me and hubby prefer eating simple and light Indian food. But wait…this was only till our children grew and joined us on the dinner table! Now the menu in my kitchen often drifts from Indian to global on weekends as I surrender more often to the demands of my children who love these carb food. Times change or rather we change for the sake of our children. Now that both mom & dad don’t mind an occasional binge and dig into Pastas or have a bite or two of that cheesy Pizza just to be one with their kids

Strawberry is a fruit which brings smile to my face and saliva in my mouth ever time I see a pack in my supermarket. I just love the sight of these vibrant looking, dimpled chin Strawberries wearing curly green caps. As soon as I get my hands on them I start visualizing what will I be making with them…(if there remains some).

When I saw Scones on the Daring Baker challenge of this month by Audax, I knew exactly what I will be using my little babies for. And what a wonderful treat these Strawberry scones are to have it on my breakfast table!

Time flies when you are having fun! If year 2010 was more about me and my recipes on Lite Bite, 2011 opened new vistas in terms of my blogging career, personal growth and to treasure some lovely foodie friends across the globe.

The endeavor which started just to keep myself busy while the kids were in school has now taken me completely in its stride. What with hours of browsing ‘how to topics’ on writing, photography, web design, SEO and the likes, apart from trying out  recipes which are lite and just right for good health. And yes, this non techie mom who was even scared to look at the HTML and PHP codes some time back does a little bit of editing on her own now

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

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.

‘Count your blessings’ …Oh yes, have been doing the same quite often since I started my blog. One such blessing is the countless foodie friends I get to connect through Lite Bite and other social medias on line. We have a good time sharing our passion for food, exchange recipes, discuss personal developments, point out mistakes, rectify them and grow together. The generous support that most of the bloggers shower for each other is commendable.