15 Marbles

Moments.Musings.Memories. ❤️Gathering little marbles from ordinary days and keeping them for our memory jar. ❤️

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  • Quick Banana Cake

    My daughter has an excursion tomorrow..her first actually.They are taking her kinder class to the zoo. After going back and forth,we I decided to let her go.S is still not convinced.But anyway,bottom line is she is going.And when I asked her what snack she wanted,she asked for Banana Bread.
    S loves it too.. but my only problem with Banana Bread is,how it gets hard and dense on cooling.I wanted it to be soft.So,I started out baking this cake.But as always,I was multi-tasking-making calls,chatting,mixing the batter! The baby cried too..so,I put her back to sleep..Anyway,to cut the long story short,I forgot to add the milk!
    And then I waited for the cake to get baked..Can I just tell you,its the softest banana cake I have eaten?And when you have a recipe quite by chance, you should write it down.

    Ingredients:

    1/2 cup oil
    1 1/2 cup flour
    3 ripe bananas(mashed)
    3/4 cup sugar
    1 egg
    1 tsp vanilla essence.

    Method:
    1.Mix oil and sugar and whisk.
    2.Add an egg to this and whisk more.Add the essence.
    3.Add the mashed bananas and mix well.
    4.Add the flour in 3 parts,mixing well.

    Bake at 180 deg C(160 fan-forced) for 45 minutes,till the knife comes out clean.
    Cut into pieces and store in an air-tight container(if it lasts that long!)

    Happy Baking!

  • Creamed Spinach with Corn

    Spinach and corn are two of my absolute favorite vegetables.I can eat them in any form.But the rest of the family – lets just say, they are not in love with anything green,leafy or yellow.The husband refuses to eat anything leafy..He gets mad at me for even garnishing food with fresh Coriander or Parsley leaves. Give it to him in a form where he can’t see the leaves, he will gobble it up.Recently,we went to a cafe for brunch and it dawned me that I am the designated salad eater of the family.The husband and the daughter,dutifully passed me the greens from their plates.

    Anyway,here’s my version of Creamed Spinach with corn 

    Creamed Spinach with corn  ( makes 2 generous servings or 3 medium serves)

    Ingredients:

    Baby Spinach leaves 200 gms

    garlic cloves- 2 nos.

    ginger- 1/2 inch piece

    green chili- 1-2 as per your liking

    Onion – 1 medium sized,finely chopped

    corned can-1

    Olive Oil -1-2 tsp

    2 tbsp cream(thick/lite-your choice)

    all spice powder- 1 tsp

    salt to taste

    Preparation:

    1.Puree’ ( spinach,garlic cloves,ginger,green chili) in the food processor.

    2.Heat a tsp of olive oil in a pan,add and fry the onion  till translucent( you can also use shallots) 
    3.Add a cup of corn( I used canned corn,after draining the broth and rinsing with water)
    4.Add the spinach Puree,salt and all-spice powder.
    5.When the raw smell disappears,lower the flame and add  the cream. Serve hot. 

    To give it an Indian flavor,when serving with Naan or roti,I just replace the all-spice powder with Kitchen King Masala Powder(MDH/Everest brand) and serve with rice or roti. Very quick and delicious..

    Do leave me a comment if you try this recipe:)

  • 4 months:)

    Oh my Laddu,
    What are you doing to the time??Really it hasn’t gone this fast,EVER! So you rolled over a good 1 week before you hit the 4 month mark. What’s your hurry,tell me? But you know what,for once,I am happy and not desperately looking for ways to freeze time and you,as you are. This last one month has been so exciting.. you are pushing yourself to a new level every day.
    You are not happy lying down anymore.Everytime,I put you on your back, you start lifting your neck and try to sit up 🙂 You naughty imp!So, these days,I have taken to propping you up with pillows and that makes you so happy.
    I am actually so thankful for all the extra pillows that we have in this house.Because God forbid,if I forget to prop you up on those pillows,you scream the house down. You have set new rules around here,the most important one being,that Mumma has to be in your line of sight ALL the time. So,when I am cooking, you and your pillows are on the couch lounger..When I am getting ready,you and your pillows are on the bed right across from the bathroom.
    Sweetheart you are turning into a whole new person..I cannot believe it that just a few months back,you were a tiny baby that we brought home. But you know what,even then, you knew your Mumma and you set the rules. When you were crying, the only thing that calmed you was if Mumma held you close and whispered in your ears..and even now, that seems to work like magic.One minute I have a screaming baby and the very next,she is smiling:)
    All that is fine,but,really Bubba,the other Big person is this house is your Papa and its alright if he holds you sometime..Yes Yes, I know you have been letting him rock you to sleep,last two days..but,we need more of those moments.I mean,come on… it’s not necessary to cry every time,I move out of your 10cm radius.And then,when I hold you, you are happy and smiling at all and sundry. Sometimes I want to see those beautiful smiles too.
    You, naughty monkey, you save the best of your smiles and deepest chuckles for your didi.Your big sister,comes up with funny tricks to make you laugh You chuckled for her the first time..Gosh!Your Papa and I stopped whatever we were doing and watched in awe.
    And not only smiles,you are a wild kitten,ready to bat your paws on Didi’s face,when she irritates you,by trying to eat your nose.You scream screech in anger irritation and want to bite her nose back! It’s the most hilarious sight. I hope I am able to laugh,later in life,when you get both get older and are driving me crazy with sibling fights!
    As of now,I will just revel in the love you both shower on each other,and thank God for blessing me with such lovely babies.. Gosh! I could just eat you up.
    On 23/11/2011 you turned 4 months.Didi was so excited,she kept telling anyone and everyone,who cared to listen,”Its Ananya’s Birthday.Say Happy birthday to her!”She insisted we bake a cake.We had a busy day that day and I was too tired.But,she wouldn’t give up.So,we ended up baking a cake-in-cup,which was quite a disaster..and decorated it with rainbow Marshmallows.I was too sad,for not getting/baking you a real cake..But,I promise you,when you can actually eat the cake,I will bake you the prettiest,the softest,most delicious smash cake EVER!
    Oh and I know, you hear this too often,that she looks like Aadi or Papa or Mumma.. and I also feel at most times that you look like didi did at your age, but you also have your own face and expressions and voice ..and they are so you,I can recognize it,even with my eyes closed..I know,it doesn’t make sense right now..but it will when you become a mom,then you will know the crazy ways,a mom’s mind works in!
    I’ll stop here with lots of love and cuddles and kisses and squooshes.
    Love you always,
    Mumma!

    And you my dear readers,I leave you with this:) Enjoy!
    Siblings rock!

  • Pretty little things..

    ….called Buttons 🙂 I absolutely heart buttons- of assorted colors,shapes and sizes. I hit gold when I found a pack of 100 assorted buttons in bright colors and cute shapes.
    I used them here and here they instantly upped the Cuteness factor 🙂
    Then,I made this card for a friend’s 5 year old.

    And how can I forget these gift bags that I made for Aadya’s 4th birthday.

    These were super-easy to make and such a delight to see a box full of hand-made goody bags:)

    Just made dots on the brown paper-bags- using acrylic colors and ear-buds.Wrote the names of the recievers using a felt tip pen. And then,the birthday girl ‘helped’ me stick the buttons on 🙂
    Linking this post to Artsy-Craftsy November 2011