‘Life is full of surprises. Just say ‘never’ and you’ll see.’ I did say ‘never’ to this Samsung Notebook after posting my entry for a recipe contest by Del Monte. And today when I open the parcel marked with ‘Winner - 1st Prize’ I understand that it takes more than just magic to make any dream a reality. These are the moments when all those unseen tiny efforts you put in to keep your passion alive seems worthwhile.  Thanks Del Monte and IndiBlogger for making it happen! The winning recipe a  No-Bake Chocolate Brownie is an easy treat you can make well ahead of time during festive season.

Some news travel faster than lightening. I found myself standing near my oven, baking goodies for friends way before the feeling of winning this pretty Notebook could sink in

“Mom, today is the last day of practice session, make some good Pizzas, all my friends have been asking for long, and please don’t add too many veggies...keep it simple and crisp” informed my son taking out his cycle from the garage. I knew it was going to be a long & hectic day. For I need to drop my daughter in school for the last drama practice session in morning, bring her again, dress her up and then leave her back in school auditorium for the evening annual day function.

And making Pizzas in between…Hmm.

The next day I received a small paper from my son with a note “You make the best Pizza, thanks for the wonderful treat, Aunty“‘ signed by all his friends. A precious moment of highest appreciation and recognition I live for!

Whole wheat buns/Baatis and Litti Chokha – the two most rustic regional recipes from Indian invoke a mixed emotion in me. If the later brings back the memory of my carefree days the former reminds me of the insecurity I felt during my childhood. Unable to cope up with the work pressure and childcare my working parents arranged for a 60 something nanny to baby sit me. The most prominent features I could remember about her is her wrinkled face, bony rough hands and the white muslin Potli (pouch) she used to bring daily from her home for her lunch.

She brought these unevenly round whole-wheat buns/baatis neatly packed in a white muslin cloth or potli every day. Hand pound wheat flour to make the buns, firewood used to cook them and fresh ghee smeared over those baatis revealed the hard life of villagers. I used to get scared when she lifted me with her wrinkled hands but loved to bite on those savory buns she brought. The feeling of insecurity of taken care by a stranger was somewhat subsided with these delicacies she brought each day.

This regional recipe of Litti Cokha from India brings back the memory of my carefree childhood days. After living in a secured colony of central government quarters for many years, mom wanted to live in her own house and she bought a ground near a picturesque place in Udaipur. The place was very near to where we were currently staying and me and my brother used to visit the site every evening after school hours to  monitor the activities in the construction area.

Each day as soon as the clock struck 5 PM, all the workers would stop working, gather at a common place and begin their evening activities of fun and cooking food together. After freshening up with the water stored in a small tank, men folks cut wood to light the fire for cooking and the women share the work of kneading the dough for Litti and prepping for the Brinjal Chokha.

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!

“Crackers can be addictive!”  Hmm.. never knew till I baked these Flax seed wholewheat crackers for myself. Ragi, Millet, cornmeal, oats and Quinoa in the pantry pushed this super food to a corner. After a long hibernation that packet of shiny brown Flax seeds finally moved out from my refrigerator. And when I was thinking to bake something with my tiny treasure, got a call from mom.

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

“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