Even though I have always mentioned that my kids are picky, I am grateful for the men that I have in my life. Whether it’s HD or B, they love to eat experimented dishes. I don’t need to worry about them not eating if I am upto making something different. I know many women don’t have that liberty. If the man of the house won’t eat, naturally you won’t be inclined to make dishes as such. Whether it’s the Baked Rice Casserole or the Fish Pie, which don’t even have any remote Indian tastes, it was accepted wholeheartedly and finished in my house, Alhamdulillah. But yes, the girls crimp their foreheads and eat a little – they love naadan food, but I really don’t care. They need to get used to have a maverick ummi who likes to experiment at times. 😀 Moussakka was something that I had…
Sour Cream Cheesecake
Stress takes away the sweetness from everything. Don’t you agree to me? Of late, there has been too much stress in the air – whether it’s internal or external. When everything around you seems to project negativity, it slowly seeps into your positivity and thoughts, how much ever you try to push it away. It affects even more when the person involved is in your close circle. I am literally hoping, InShaAllah, that whatever is causing the stress will melt off. I have seen in the past that whatever we worry about, Allah opens up certain doors and then you are wondering, “Why did I even stress?” I have this habit of watching birds as I get stuck in traffic. The season is changing, so you get to see a lot of migratory birds. I always look at them with a lot of hope. Looking at them reminds…
Pear Cinnamon Cake
So after two plain Hot Milk Cake and Chocolate Buttermilk Cake, let me present you a full on, mouthful bake! I love baking with fruits and it is evident with the amount of cakes that have fruits included in it. My first and only pear bake was this one, which I totally loved, so when this recipe was posted by Ms. Zanam Fijas on a FB group, I had to save it up and try. It is definitely one of the rare recipes that I baked as soon as I landed up on the recipe! 😀 As far as I am concerned, it was that tempting! Cinnamon is a beautiful spice. But it can be a turn off too, if not used in the correct amount. Somehow, I hate the taste of cinnamon in bakes that we get to buy from outside. I feel they are just too…
Chocolate Buttermilk Cake
Sometimes, I feel the vacation hasn’t really helped me get rid of the tiredness. Or is it that I really need to tweak my timings? It feels like my chores just take away the joy of my time. For the time I wake up till the time I sleep, there is a constant rush of activities going on – whether it’s packing the kids’ lunch box to prepping my meals to getting stuck in traffic to work – which is Alhamdulillah a blessing, I must say! – to the traffic back, and then working out and then going home to more chores that never seem to end. At times, it drains up my energy, but then I tell myself that there are people who look for the kind of life that I have. Always, the other side is greener, isn’t it? 🙂 I am now trying to see…
Hot Milk Cake
It’s been long since I have done a three back-to-back series. Since I have been doing the Blogging Marathon on and off, I had decided to give the series some rest. Also, my drafts are dwindling so it may mean that I won’t get three drafts that go with a theme. 🙂 Thankfully, this time I do have some from my drafts, so let’s push it through! With the climate slowly getting better, the mood for coffee and cake pushes up in the evening. I love simple cakes, no icing and all. You may have a look at all the cakes that I have on the blog and notice one thing – not many have frosting on it. Even though frosting makes a cake look and taste better, somehow I like plain cakes. They are easy to make, quick to eat and frosting is always messy! Call me lazy……
Malva Pudding ~ My Guest Post for Paarulz Kitchen
It’s been ages since I have done a guest post. When Paarul invited bloggers to feature on her blog, I took the opportunity hands down. She wanted the post to appear last month, but thanks for lousy net back home, I wasn’t able to get back to her as soon as I wished to with her requests. Finally I am appearing on her page and I am so glad! The inspiration for making Malva Pudding came when Sayana posted about her tryst of eating the pudding at a buffet and then trying it at home. Her post was so tempting that I kept dreaming about making it till I finally got to make it! 😀 Malva Pudding is one of the luscious desserts that South Africa has to offer. I have no clue why it is called so, but I love how the name of the pudding sounds…
3-Ingredient Nutella Brownies
I am working on a few of my last posts before I proceed on my annual leave. Every year, usually I schedule a few posts for my readers and go. I have never left the blog empty in my absence. I have been mentioning from the beginning of the year that I am facing a lag in my blogging mood. Alhamdulillah, I have a lot of drafts and some intermittent cooking that has filled my blog and hasn’t shown up as yet. But you may have noticed that from having posts every day barring the weekends, the frequency has now gone down to three posts a week. It was my way of slowing down, breathing in and breathing out… Of course, the blog did cause me to burnout. I am putting in a lot of efforts in trying out new recipes, clicking and saving them up. Unfortunately, it…
Sticky Date Pudding
After a lot of deliberation, I got to doing the Blogging Marathon #90 this month. Two reasons – this month-end, I am travelling home and I won’t be able to participate. Also, September is the mega marathon, and I won’t be able to take that month as well, considering I will still be in my holiday off-mood. So I thought, instead of giving a long break, I will jump in and do it this time. I wasn’t sure how I am going to handle it, but wanted to do it, come what may be. The first theme I chose was “Single Serve Desserts”. I had far too many ideas and it confused me all the more. I tried to keep it as simple as possible not to defeat the purpose of the theme. 😀 With everybody exercising portion control these days, desserts being made for single servings is…
Lemon Chia Bundt Cake
As we age, our taste buds change as well. Have you noticed that? There are some foods we were so fond as children, but as we grow, it falls out of favor. That happens vice versa too. As a child, I was more inclined towards anything with chocolate. I see that trait in my elder one too. For Rasha, cake and ice cream is chocolate, nothing else. Slowly, she is admitting coffee as a flavor too. But nothing else qualifies. But now I seem to prefer more fruity flavors in my cakes and desserts. I totally love any banana bread, apple cake and even cakes with pear and apricot. They are just so delicious that I can sit and have a few slices without a stop. How many of you are fond of fruity flavors? Do drop in your comments below and tell me your choices, I would love…
Baked Yogurt Curry Chicken
I love quick fix meals. All of you must be knowing it if you are regular readers of my blog. Anything that just needs a mix and cook qualifies as a super easy meal for me. I found this recipe in the same booklet which had the Malai Chicken recipe. I have been eyeing it for so long, but I have no clue why I didn’t try it earlier. I truly believe now everything has a time, right… 🙂 The beauty of this recipe is that you don’t have to slog in the kitchen for too long. We are having peak summers and standing in the kitchen is becoming a nightmare. I haven’t experienced this kind of heatwave in all these years. I am attributing my hotter-than-usual kitchen to the construction that is happening in the little stretch facing the area. It used to be an open car…
Medovic/ Medovik | Russian Honey Cake
Ramadan and Eid, all came and went. I have no words to say. The feeling of emptiness and numbness is real. The difference in the atmosphere when the devils are tied up during Ramadan and when they are free is totally to be felt. We had a very silent Eid. On Thursday night, we went over to a friend’s house to apply some henna and came back really late, so we hardly slept for an hour and a half. Then up and awake, to get ready to go the masjid for the Eid prayers, breakfast at my ammayi’s house and eventually we stayed there for lunch too. It was my cheat day after so long, but I made sure I didn’t go overboard, hehe… Ate whatever was in offering but very limited portions. The second day, we started our Shawwal fasts. For those who don’t know, here are…
Ghorayeba ~ Arab Shortbread Cookies
I can’t mention how relieved I am. My blogging mojo has just not picked up as much as I would have loved. Last year Ramadan, if I filled my drafts with as much as clicks I could take before the sunshine vanishes, this year, I have done nothing. My blog is moving with drafts that I had clicked last Ramadan – I am being very honest here! This Ramadan, I have been time tight and locked. Over and above that, I have no mood to click anything new or cook anything new. I am sure, this too shall pass… So when I put up the Muslim Food Blogger challenge post for this month, which is based on the theme “Eid Specials from Around the World”, I searched up a bit and pinned up on my kitchen notice board the easiest cookie recipe in the world! But I procrastinated…