Yesterday I was in a mopey kind of mood..getting irritated about everything,feeling sorry for myself.SD asked me if something was bothering me or was it just PMS! I started to say something…but he came forward and gave me a hug and that made me feel a little better.
I spoke one of my Besties in the morning and that was nice,I was distracted for a bit.I hung up and was feeling mopey again.
I called up one of my other Besties and spoke to her at school pick up.. again I perked up.. but when I hung up that feeling was back.
Later when SD went for his cricket practice,I worked out and ended up being super-sore.The kids wanted pasta so I made that for them and there was some left-overs from lunch and when SD came back I asked him,what he wanted to eat for dinner,so I could cook that.He took one look at my face and asked me to rest and made us both some maggi with his own special twist..and it was the most delicious meal ever.
A little later I was talking to a friend and when I mentioned I was trying to put Nanhi to bed,he teased..that it was his wife’s job. Another friend I was chatting with said something about being clueless about changing his 1 year old’s diaper.And I just laughed it off…
And then as if right on cue,SD came and took Nanhi off my hands,so I could talk to my friends in peace.And I realised,how good I had it.I cannot tell you,how quickly my mood changed then… I didn’t feel sad or dejected anymore..all I felt was this warm fuzzy feeling..and ohh!So much love for SD!
And he did get some extra brownie points for letting me eat the last ice-cream cone in freezer.. sometimes a girl needs her chocolate ice-cream..and if a man can share the very last one with her,when he is craving it equally bad.. he needs to be appreciated.. he needs to be put on the pedestal!! He deserves a special blog POST! 🙂
That’s why this post had to be written..:)
Love you,SD!
-
-
A simple ribbed Mug Cozy.Thanks Pooja for deciphering what I thought was complicated!!;)
Its funny ignorance leads to fear.I didn’t know how to knit an i-cord and I was so scared to try it…It sounds so silly now!! An i-cord is the simplest knitted object(?) ever!!I think it would make a cute gift..what do you say?
Ohh an update on the squat challenge : I couldn’t do my squats yesterday..So today I did 30 squats and 30 ab crunches..Anan kept hopping on and off me in between!!LOL!Ohh and the cutest thing EVER- When I was doing my squats,Anan was doing them with me and groaning and counting too!! And now I am sooo sore..C.A.N.T W.A.L.K!!!!
-
Ms.Aadya was going to the zoo today and its sort of a tradition in this house that Mumma has to bake her something special for such occasions.I asked her what she wanted and she said,”Carrot Cake”..So,that’s what I baked. I have to tell you,it was quite an experience,cracking eggs,when I had my own cheer-leading team of midget sized people! With every egg that I cracked,the girls cheered..I whisked and they sang and danced..:) I had only just creamed the oil and sugar and Aadi wanted a taste.Nanhi didn’t like the look of the creamed brown sugar,but she threw a tantrum because only didi got to taste it!! Oh! the joys of sibling rivalry!
So,the recipe-this one calls for oil instead of butter.My mom was forever looking for ways to replace butter with low-cal options,so you can imagine her joy when a friend told her that she could replace butter with vegetable oil.Since then all the cakes in our house were made using vegetable oil.And every now and again,I play around with the basic recipe to add flavors.
Without further ado,I present :
Ingredients :
Yields 1 Glad BBQ pan (29cm X 19cms X 5cms)
3 eggs
1 and 1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup chilled water
2.5 cup self raising flour
2.5 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup chopped nuts(almonds,walnuts,cashews and pistachios)
1/2 tsp baking soda
a pinch of salt
1 tsp cinammon powder
1 tsp nutmeg powderMethod:
Pre-heat the oven at 180 degs (160 fan forced). Grease and sprinkle some flour on the cake pan.
Cream the oil and Sugar together,making sure that all the lumps are broken.Add one egg at a time.Add the flour,walnuts,carrots,salt,spices and the baking soda.Mix it together gently,adding little water at a time.
Pour the batter in the baking pan and bake for 30-40 minutes,till the fork comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and let it cool..Once cool,you can frost the cake and garnish it.I used Philadelphia Frosting It was divine and for garnish I used chopped nuts(walnuts,almonds,cashews,pistachios)
If you want to make your frosting from scratch,I totally recommend this recipe from Taste.com
60 gm cream cheese
30 gm butter,softened
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
3/4 cup icing sugar.Place cheese, butter and vanilla in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until pale. Gradually add icing sugar mixture, beating until combined.
So quick and it turns out so nice and fluffy..ohh yumm!I still remember the first time I tasted a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting at starbucks in a Borders Book store in Delaware and my first reaction was..umm why cheese? But with every mouthful,I liked it a little better..and now I can’t think of any other frosting that will compliment a carrot cake as the Cream cheese.
That being said,I know my daughter and though Aadya insisted on the CC frosting,I knew it that she wouldn’t like it.I let her taste it,before I frosted the cake..she did and when I asked,she said..hmm not bad…I frosted the cake,she waited patiently and then worked her way through her piece slowly..very slowly..and then,she said,looking extremely shattered..’OK Mumma..I need to tell you the truth about the frosting..I don’t quite like it’
SD and I couldn’t stop laughing..I removed the frosting and she gobbled the cake up.
But she is like me.. she is warming up to the cream cheese.. every now and again,she wants to take a little lick of the frosting…
I heart this cake..because its so light and moist and not very sweet.Its just perfect to school snack or after-school snack or even great with the afternoon cuppa.I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do..If you try the recipe,please leave me a comment tell me how you liked it:) and also send me pictures,so I can add them to my reader’s pictures page!
-
Its that time of the year..In the last two years our list of gift-giving has grown and the most important people on that list are Aadya’s teachers and why not,after all they spend so much time with her,nurturing her.Last year’s teachers were even more special,because they watched out for her,even more,specially since I had a new baby and they were my support system for her.So,I wanted to give them something special,something with a personal touch.After a lot of thinking,I came up with these goodies baskets for her Kinder teachers-
They contained-Christmas tree cookies(that Aadi helped make),Rocky Road Fudge,Chocolate Candy CookiesOhhh! so yumm!,Chocolate brownies,some Hershey Kisses and hand-painted candles and a card that Aadya made. They were so happy to recieve these. I also made smaller goodie boxes using noodle boxes,filled with Rocky Road and Cookies. Those were for her activities instructors.
Here’s a pic of my little Princess and the finished gifts..She was so proud of her mumma,she made it a point to tell all her teachers that her mummy made all the things all by HERSELF!
I thought I should spread some Christmas joy and what better way,than with some chocolate.
Here’s my recipe for Rocky Road fudge:
Ingredients:
500 gms of semisweet cooking chocolate( chopped )
200 gms of mini marshmallows
1/2 cup unsalted roasted almonds-chopped
2 tsp butter.Method:
Grease and line a 9″ square cake tin.
Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler,taking care not to burn it.Add the marshmallows and roasted nuts,mix well and immediately transfer it to the baking dish.
Allow it to cool either at room temperature,till its firm or cool it in the refrigerator.
Once firm,cut it into squares and store in an air-tight container.Tip : For Roasting Almonds: Line a cookie sheet with some baking paper and spread the almonds in a single layer on the baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes at 160 degs.Keep checking the nuts,as soon as you get the beautiful nutty smell,remove it from the oven to prevent it from burning.I love roasting my own almonds only for this reason..the aroma lingers on for a long time.
Hope you enjoy this Fudge as much as we did 🙂
