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.

On any normal day my freezer stock more overripe and blackened bananas than ice cubes, more so because I like baking with bananas and love banana smoothies as a filling breakfast treat and always end up buying extra for the same. This Eggless Banana & Oatmeal Wholewheat Bread was yet another extremely moist and delightful bake for our Sunday breakfast. Since I did not get time to de frost the banana in the morning, I grated the banana and was happy to see a fluffy and evenly baked bread. Grated frozen banana did the magic here!

A sweet indulgence – making Fudge is very common during festivals and many religious ceremonies in India. Though Wiki defines it as a western confectionery, for me a fudge is what completes any Indian festivity as long as I remember. From the humble melt-in-mouth Besan ki chakki (chickpea flour fudge) to the more exotic Kaju Katlis (cashew fudge) Indian festivals are incomplete without these goodies. With loads of sugar, butter and milk to go into making these fudge, these goodies are truly a sinful indulgence!

Peanut butter fudge is high on calories but if eaten in moderation it could provide all the health benefits attached with peanuts in your diet. These Nutty Peanut butter Fudges are highly addictive and a word of caution is to keep a tab on the number of times you open your refrigerator

I like how versatile this humble grain Rice could be in various forms of cuisines world over. From more exotic Sushi to Risotto to the simple curd rice from South India, this ancient grain has come a long way. Though I am not a rice loving person, having married in a place where every day starts with rice and ends with it made me reinvent some of the very famous rice recipes here. Now my menu boasts of many easy to make and scrumptious rice recipes I learned from my MIL and friends here.

And yes if you are already bored with the time consuming & tedious cooking methods of your Risottos and the Shahi Pulav these quickies will win you over hands down

With the summer vacation coming to an end and the children gearing up for the school, the days are going to be more hectic and short. Gone are the days of late night outings and no wake up calls in the mornings. Hitler rule prevails again Need a good revision of lunch box recipes to be packed to school for the kids.

Okra and potatoes being the two most favorite veggies for my kids are often packed with Indian flat breads along with a fruit or fruit juice. The one recipe which wins hands down for my son’s lunchbox is this Peanut butter stuffed Okra.

Time flies when you are enjoying what you are doing and doing what you enjoy the most. And I thoroughly enjoyed my vacation at my native Udaipur. Learned to cook a few authentic recipes from mom, visited all the historical places which were in my wish list for long and most important met many of my schoolmates after almost 30 years!

Mom made these two versions of Stuffed flat breads or Parathas for my travel food. My kids dislike air travel and given a choice would always prefer trains over flights. They love to watch green fields, rivers, animals and villages over the dull and gray clouds so I booked for the flight for one way and came back by train.