tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987344021134364322012-02-08T22:15:42.015-05:00Dessert is my favourite part of a meal. It makes a regular day feel like a celebration. I also find baking very relaxing. I love the beautiful and delicious treats that are a result of my effort. Hope you try out some of my recipes!Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.comBlogger1081100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-88584268672266171682012-02-08T21:44:00.001-05:002012-02-08T21:49:13.748-05:00

My aunt makes the best dessert bars called magic squares. They have a graham cracker base and are topped with chocolate chips, walnuts, desiccated coconut and the star of the dish, condensed milk. I have really wonderful memories of eating these treats as a child (thanks Lalli Periamma!). Once my aunt taught me how to make them, it quickly became one of my favourite kind of recipes because it's

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-6504442542849568942012-01-02T12:42:00.000-05:002012-02-08T21:36:22.813-05:00

I made these caramel oatmeal bars with dark chocolate and almonds for my office holiday potluck. They were really yummy but a little goes a long way because they are quite dense. I initially came across this recipe and it sounded pretty simple but I decided to check out allrecipes.com to see if there were some recipes with feedback. I ended up using this one and adding some of my own tweaks to

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-60276505039992994422011-12-27T12:24:00.000-05:002011-12-27T12:25:13.387-05:00

My friends at work got me this awesome mini donut baking pan. I recently tried it out and loved the delicious results! Plus you can feel a little better about eating this sweet treat since it is baked instead of fried. You can tweak the base recipe (came from the back of the Wilton baking pan!) to include any of your favorite flavors. I made a lemon glaze version with sprinkles on top and a

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-26936767570884817152011-09-18T10:47:00.001-04:002011-09-18T14:43:02.915-04:00

For years I've been looking for the ultimate eggless chocolate chip cookies recipe and the search is finally over! What's the secret? Using flax seeds! Yup, you read that right. You can pack a (small) nutritional bonus in to your sweet treats! Flax seeds are rich in omega-3s, can help lower cholesterol and are good for bone health. Adding around two tbsp of ground flax seeds to your daily diet

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-87960609615022960882011-05-28T18:51:00.008-04:002011-06-01T21:58:43.605-04:00

My cousin Anita recommended this delicious recipe for chocolate crinkle cookies to me and it's definitely a keeper! I made a few tweaks to the original Betty Crocker recipe and one I found on allrecipes.com by including some instant coffee powder, cinnamon and dark chocolate chunks. The cookie is fudgy and soft in the middle and has a seriously intense chocolate flavor. It looks really pretty

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-17178750678849178292011-01-23T20:42:00.000-05:002011-01-23T20:42:10.988-05:00

Check out my recipe for eggless peanut butter cookies on Married to a Desi!

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-90566015747220907222011-01-09T10:33:00.000-05:002011-01-09T10:33:02.063-05:00

I made these yummy eggless almond puffs over the Christmas holidays. I've posted the recipe on Married to a Desi. Check it out!

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-28422130639439123452010-11-02T11:04:00.003-04:002011-03-17T21:12:29.533-04:00

Rasmalai is one of my favourite Indian sweets. My aunt makes the best rasmalai I've ever had. I got the recipe from her and I'm happy to say, it's pretty simple to make. The secret ingredient is ricotta cheese which gets flavoured with cardamom and saffron. This baked dessert has a nice crunch from pistachios, creamy texture of the sweet ricotta and the moisture from the rose-water flavoured

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-44977096298056507622010-10-16T20:14:00.002-04:002010-12-08T22:06:44.317-05:00

When I was trying to figure out a cool cake to make for my friend Av's birthday, I realized most of my cakes have been pretty girly. It took a lot of thought to make it more 'manly' and I think the wood grain effect on the top tier made it happen. To get a wooden effect I kneaded in brown food colouring to the fondant. Once it was an even cappuccino colour, I dipped a toothpick in the food

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-45076218997987067452010-10-05T23:23:00.003-04:002010-10-07T09:47:44.905-04:00

Peaches topped with caramel sauce and a sprinkle of coarse salt I love the flavour of caramel. Whenever there is a box of assorted chocolates around I'll always grab the one with a caramel center.  Today I tried making a caramel sauce from scratch. It was everything I dreamt it would be and more—sweet, buttery, creamy and the hint of salt makes it truly addictive. You can pour it on fruits,

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-6871756810109009872010-09-13T20:10:00.004-04:002010-09-14T22:11:59.781-04:00

I made a pear crisp for my friend Anjali's dinner party with some local (backyard) produce. It was the perfect dish because her husband is writing a paper on locally grown food for his masters.  It doesn't get any closer to home than your backyard. We planted a Bosc pear tree sapling when I was a kid.  It is now as tall as our house and produces bushels of pears every year.  The crunchy pears

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-42398540693552660402010-09-11T17:31:00.006-04:002010-09-12T01:07:49.095-04:00

Happy Ganesh Chathurthi! It is the birthday of the Hindu elephant-headed god who is prayed to before starting anything new because he will remove the obstacles from your path. In South India, devotees make kozhakattai during this festival because it is Ganesha's favourite sweet. It's a delicious steamed sweet rice dumplings stuffed with a caramel flavoured coconut mixture made with jaggery, an

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-10728564065944405542010-09-08T21:40:00.001-04:002010-09-08T22:17:20.527-04:00

We have the most delicious cherry tomatoes growing in our backyard.  It is so exciting to find the ripe red tomatoes and pick them.  They taste better than anything I've ever bought from the store.  The tomatoes are so juicy and burst with flavour in your mouth.  It is sweet and a little salty at the same time. These tiny red tomatoes are the perfect size to pop in your mouth.  It's a healthy

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-34875114230607462192010-09-04T11:33:00.001-04:002010-09-04T11:33:06.179-04:00

There are still a few weeks left for you to enjoy the fresh flavours of the summer.  The delicious taste of strawberries and lemon makes this dessert hard to resist.  It is creamy, fruity, bright and fresh and the perfect finale to a meal. I was looking for a fun dessert to make for my friend's birthday and I thought creme brulee would be quite elegant and fancy but when I saw the number of eggs

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-37208781568400586262010-06-18T00:28:00.010-04:002010-06-21T12:40:58.938-04:00

This is one of the best eggless cakes I have ever made.  I got this recipe from Nirmala Aunty when I went to her house to interview her kids for a podcast I produce called Keeping the Beat. After the interview, she showed me this wonderful recipe binder she had made for her children.  I saw her dessert section was full of fantastic eggless recipes and I asked her to send them to me.  I finally

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-20782523754665345292010-05-24T15:00:00.004-04:002010-05-24T15:29:04.552-04:00

I love the fresh bright flavour of lemon.  It is definitely the star of this recipe.  These lemon bars have three distinct layers-- a shortbread crust, gooey lemon filling and cake-like top.  This dessert was a hit at a dinner party last week.  People wanted seconds and even took the leftovers home!  My twist on this recipe from Joy of Baking is adding candied ginger to the shortbread crust. 

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-76279802366906448232010-05-21T10:02:00.001-04:002010-05-21T10:09:01.836-04:00

The best part of my coffee break is the snack that goes with it.  Biscotti, a twice baked cookie, is one of my favourite treats.  It looks so elegant and sophisticated no one would guess how easy it is to make.  The hardest part is slicing the cookies. Biscotti, an Italian specialty, was originally served with wine.  Now it is a coffee shop staple.  I love dunking the crunchy cookie in my

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-35081260215831441792010-05-18T17:34:00.007-04:002011-01-09T10:19:32.714-05:00

The first time I had English toffee was in Chicago a few summers ago.  I got it from the chocolate store in the basement of Macy's downtown Chicago which used to be the old flagship Marshall Field's building on State Street.  English toffee is a crunchy caramel layer coated in chocolate and topped with nuts.  Almonds, pecans and walnuts are popular toppings.  The sweet toffee, dark chocolate

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-66873067429919083202010-05-14T18:13:00.008-04:002010-09-12T01:07:06.569-04:00

Warm chocolate cake with a gooey, melted centre, served with vanilla ice cream.  My favourite combination.  The contrast between the warm cake and cold ice cream is so pleasing. I attempted this dessert today because a friend who is a total chocoholic came to visit my sister and Shankar.  This recipe, by Trish Magwood from Party Dish, is definitely a keeper.  I got it off the Food Network

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-13579514766835637142010-05-11T15:42:00.011-04:002010-08-25T12:03:36.851-04:00

My friend Maileen made these delicious oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and I had to get the recipe from her.  I love how these cookies remain chewy, even after a few days.I had the pleasure of baking these cookies in my sister's awesome kitchen.  It has beautiful skylights that let in so much natural light.  She has a deck outside the kitchen that overlooks a lovely pond.  The view is very serene

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-77225612434852517662010-02-26T08:48:00.005-05:002010-10-16T20:06:09.707-04:00

I went to the grocery store and thought buying some fresh fruit would help me beat the winter blues.  Strangely, I ended up buying a package of blueberries. I knew I wanted to bake something and decided blondies (the vanilla version of brownies) would be a great way to showcase the beautiful colour of the berries. A bottle of delicious maple syrup has been sitting in my cupboard waiting to be

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-85775662623916240242010-02-07T20:44:00.004-05:002010-02-19T16:36:56.685-05:00

My friend Julianne went to London, England and brought back some amazing orange chocolate chunk cookies from Harrod's. They were so delicious I had to try to make them. I adapted the lemon ginger cookie recipe and it worked out quite well. Here is the recipe. Ingredients Orange butter 1/2 cup fresh orange juice (juice of 1 big orange) 1/4 cup butter 1/2 cup butter 3/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup sour

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-31577326730730895682010-01-24T11:30:00.008-05:002010-05-18T15:36:59.836-04:00

I made some really delicious lemon ginger cookies. I combined some recipes I saw (lemon poppy seed cookies and lemon currant cookies), made them eggless and added candied ginger to give them a little kick. I saw the addition of sour cream in the lemon currant cookie recipe and thought it sounded really interesting. The tangy flavour of the sour cream paired really well with the tartness of the

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-84683243855493357072010-01-21T20:44:00.003-05:002010-10-16T20:07:54.981-04:00

I made this fall themed cake for my friend Seema's engagement party which was held on Thanksgiving weekend in October. The colours of the flowers were chosen to complement her stunning outfit. The gold at the bottom is made of ribbon which gives the cake a professional finish. The little flowers are made with a cookie cutter from my cake decorating kit. Each petal is scored with a little tool to

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-77460132786939511672010-01-16T14:28:00.003-05:002010-05-18T15:41:08.227-04:00

I love eating granola bars for snack. It always seems like a healthy alternative to other junk food that tempts me in the afternoon. I didn't realize how easy they are to make yourself. I have a very simple recipe that requires minimal prep and bakes in less then 30 minutes. It's also great treat to take to school or work. You can get creative with you fruit and nut combination. I used

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-59101774377169366382010-01-03T14:45:00.006-05:002010-10-16T20:08:33.718-04:00

My friend Sheena and her husband Scott came over for a South Indian lunch. In my culture it is customary to invite newly married couples home for a special meal. My mom made masala dosa, sambar and coconut chutney. I made a carrot salad with cauliflower and bean sprouts. In South India it's called carrot kosumalli or carrot kosumbari. It is a colourful, refreshing salad that is very simple to

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-66727915561634830052010-01-02T18:07:00.003-05:002010-01-02T18:44:18.645-05:00

I had the great pleasure of being my friend Sheena's maid of honour this summer. She had a beautiful outdoor wedding at her parents house in the picturesque countryside where she grew up. Her father had renovated their shed to host the reception. It was truly breath-taking to see the transformation of the space.I made her wedding cake and used her cobalt blue theme with a ribbon at the bottom.

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-15166241865170247042010-01-01T16:49:00.012-05:002010-05-18T15:39:54.314-04:00

I went to a wonderful New Year's party at my friend Av's condo to ring in 2010. He asked me to bring a dessert item. I started to think about what would make a good party dessert. It had to be something that people could pick up and eat easily. It also had to be unique and interesting. At first I thought I'd make pecan bars again but they are quite rich and sticky. I browsed some recipes

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-77243045498452450822009-12-30T10:28:00.019-05:002010-05-18T15:40:40.634-04:00

These crunchy satisfying cookies are very simple to make. They don't need much sugar because the coconut shreds are already sweetened. I also felt they are a little healthier because of the oats. I came across this recipe from my new favourite eggless recipe blog. I made a small adjustment and I think they turned out great. I replaced the granulated sugar with brown sugar and reduced the amount

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-13389441774477933562009-12-29T11:00:00.004-05:002010-10-16T20:11:09.044-04:00

This care bear inspired baby shower cake was for my cousin's wife Vani. The bears were made using a cookie cutter and the hearts were sugar confetti from Bulk Barn. I used two tones of blue for the bears and flowers to stay with the baby boy theme. The red from the hearts really pops out because the other elements are not competing for your eye. Our friend Anandhi hosted the shower. The menu

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-11197389557346638962009-12-26T14:41:00.000-05:002009-12-26T15:09:42.061-05:00

I made this pink henna design without a plan in mind. I just began piping icing freehand and letting the designs inspire me. I think that is generally how mehendi artists work. I've been seeing more henna patterns on cake lately. I think people like to blend their cultural background in to the cake designs for weddings. I used the star tip to pipe a flower pattern border edge. A pink and

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-21535128474815842102009-12-23T14:29:00.010-05:002010-10-16T20:10:39.218-04:00

I made these amazing pecan bars yesterday after seeing them on a blog dedicated to eggless cooking. It is actually a Martha Stewart recipe. It tastes as good as it looks. It is quite sweet and buttery so a little bit goes a long way. The crust tastes like a shortbread cookie. Ingredients Crust 1 cup and 2 tbsp tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature 3/4 cup light-brown sugar, firmly

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-41568350241684191302009-12-19T17:59:00.004-05:002009-12-22T13:35:17.667-05:00

This cake was my final creation for the Gum Paste and Fondant course at Michaels. The class really helped me refine my technique.The daisies were made from flower cookie cutters that come in the course kit. The petals were scored to give them some definition. The flowers made of gum paste harden better than ones made of pure fondant.This cake reminds me of spring. Something to look forward to

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-86773802633016927732009-12-19T11:51:00.010-05:002009-12-19T18:47:34.668-05:00

Geetanjali, one of my sister's close friends got married last year. I made her a cake and some cupcakes for her flower themed bachelorette party.I put some cute elephants on top of the cake because in my culture elephants are like good luck. People pray to the elephant god, Ganesha, who removes obstacles before you start a new endeavour.It was a vanilla cake with a mango mousse filling which I

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-8533724137306291472009-12-17T10:38:00.008-05:002010-08-25T13:34:28.783-04:00

This clown cake was made for a baby's first birthday. Jayen, my cousin's son, is the cutest baby in town (no bias on my end). I cut out some circles in various colours of fondant and piped two clowns on the top. The heads are made of plastic. You can buy them at Michael's or Bulk Barn. I've never been able to make red icing on my own (it always turns hot pink) so I bought a tube of red

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-1295409620152710822009-10-17T12:13:00.007-04:002009-10-17T18:29:09.025-04:00

This diya (clay lamp) shaped cake was made for a Diwali party I attended in Chicago last year. It was my first attempt at constructing a new shape.Diwali has so many happy memories for me like eating delicious sweets, getting new clothes and watching fireworks! My mom would always have sparklers for us to light up.Hope you have a joyous and memorable Diwali!

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-76001393292365406312008-01-03T23:21:00.001-05:002010-01-21T19:34:51.297-05:00

Happy New Year!I thought I would start 2008 with a post on something sweet and special which will hopefully set the tone for the year. I made chocolate truffles during the holidays when I read an easy sounding recipe from the New York Times.It was a lot more work than described in the instructions but they tasted really good. The truffles I made were bittersweet chocolate ganache coated with milk

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-48682323012894303122007-12-20T00:00:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:06.166-05:00

I went to Washington DC for American Thanksgiving. Shankar's brother and sister-in-law, Mony and Radhika have a tradition of hosting it.I was most excited to see the cutest 3 year old around, Sandhya. I had a great time decorating cupcakes with her. Radhika had baked some delicious orange chocolate cupcakes and I made a orange vanilla buttercream to complement it. The icing turned out quite well

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-22422504009196858492007-12-18T00:00:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:06.467-05:00

Kanchana has always wanted to decorate a cake with a mehendi design. We decided to use the base of the tiered wedding cake I made to experiment. Chocolate frosting was the perfect icing to get the mehendi effect. I think Kanchana did a great job even though she has never decorated a cake before. I told her some of the tips I learned from class about pressure control and bag handling but I

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-56590248432289212822007-12-17T00:00:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:07.331-05:00

I made a tiered wedding cake at my last cake decorating class. It was an amazing culmination of our course. Our instructor, Maria, was so sweet and encouraging and gave us great feedback and tips on how to make different cakes. I am so happy Renu and I took the class. We learned so much about the artistry behind cake decorating.I used fake flowers on the bottom tier but the top tier roses are

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-50041388983378656432007-11-19T00:00:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:08.069-05:00

I am taking Cake decorating course 3 right now which teaches how to use fondant and make wedding cakes! Our first cake was this beautiful gift box. The 3D ribbon adds a point of visual interest to the cake. The smooth texture of the fondant adds a very professional look to the cake as well. I bought Wilton fondant from the store. It has the texture of playdough when you have kneaded it to a

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-44311584755202518832007-11-08T21:32:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:08.578-05:00

I decorated a cake for Dinaz' birthday last month and brought it to work. A group of us went to her cubicle and surprised her with a cake and a rendition of Happy Birthday! She was definitely shocked. Maileen helped me with the assembly of the raspberries and blackberries. I think it looks simple but elegant. I had an idea to try to have some chocolate sauce on the side but it didn't work out

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-64622418482781267192007-10-15T18:04:00.000-04:002008-12-10T07:22:09.448-05:00

The Chinese Moon Festival was celebrated recently. It is a mid-autumn celebration about abundance and togetherness. Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia:"The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the two most important holidays in the Chinese calendar (the other being the Chinese Lunar New Year), and is a legal holiday in several countries. Farmers celebrate the end of the summer harvesting season on this

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-51513475307185899852007-09-17T06:02:00.000-04:002008-12-10T07:22:10.014-05:00

I baked some cupcakes for my team picnic last week. One batch was gluten free and the other regular chocolate. I tried to remember all the techniques I had learned from cake decorating class but I seemed to have forgotten a lot:( They still turned out pretty good though. The rosettes looked quite elegant and are very easy to do it. If you invest in a piping bag and a few tips you can create

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-54450765143000857882007-09-08T16:04:00.000-04:002008-12-10T07:22:10.629-05:00

My version of a healthier plate of nachos was inspired by sprouts. I was making this tasty snack and saw a bowl of sprouts and thought "Why not add a handful!". The result was excellent. The sprouts added great texture to the dish and complemented the tomatoes (which were incidentally from a co-worker's garden!).My plate included a little bit of cheese melted, some yellow and red tomatoes, a

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-62673430568964495742007-09-03T13:40:00.004-04:002011-08-09T23:34:44.085-04:00

Last month we celebrated Varalakshmi pooja at home. I love the alangaram that goes in to setting up the Ambal. I read an interesting description of the vratham in the article, 'Dawn of Prosperity', from The Hindu: "Literally translated, Varalakshmi means boon granting goddess of wealth. Married women, called Sumangalis visit each other's homes and gathering together, they sing bhajans while

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-40215822366760932252007-08-21T10:09:00.000-04:002008-12-10T07:22:14.020-05:00

My friend Tarek is going to Harvard Law School in the fall so a group of our high school friends went out for a farewell dinner! We went to Bahn Thai which is a beautiful restaurant downtown Oakville. It has a very small sign and large wooden door so it looks like an exclusive place. The decor is gorgeous with beautiful Thai wooden sculptures combined with modern accents. The food was also

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-25980527929742141482007-08-17T09:45:00.000-04:002008-12-10T07:22:14.848-05:00

Yes, I know it is August and I went to Paris in May but I still haven't told you all of the wonderful things I experienced there! So bear with me. I promise to entertain you.Le Petit Zinc in Paris was a very trendy restaurant that happens to also be a Parisian celebrity hotspot. However, when Maileen and I chose to dine there we had no idea how cool it actually was. Apparently we have great taste

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-3602256085367323222007-08-07T22:37:00.000-04:002008-12-10T07:22:15.711-05:00

Dalloyau, maison de gastronomie is a beautiful pastry chain in Paris. The day Maileen and I went they were giving out delicious samples of Croquembouche which are profiteroles or creme puffs dipped in caramelized sugar arranged into a large cone. They are kind of like the cone things (parupu thengai) you see at South Indian weddings. According to wikipedia, croquembouche means "a crunch in the

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-22855154884639829572007-08-01T18:35:00.000-04:002008-12-10T07:22:16.220-05:00

I wanted to have a unique posting for the JFI- Chilies event, hosted by Nandita from the Saffron Trail. Since it is my first time participating in a food blogging event I went and bought new cups to display my recipe in! So I'll begin by explaining the inspiration for my post. I had remembered seeing an episode of Everyday Italian in which Giada used chili oil in her chocolate

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-18931444256662263372007-07-30T16:55:00.000-04:002008-12-10T07:22:17.457-05:00

Some of the highlights of my Chicago trip were the food, the entertainment and the company. I had delicious guacamole at the Adobo Grill. It was made right in front of me and to my taste. The lady asked if I wanted it spicy or mild- I chose spicy of course! Chicago is a beautiful city with an interesting history. There was a fire in 1871 so when they rebuilt the city it became a hub for

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-3540585076223666122007-07-28T14:50:00.000-04:002008-12-10T07:22:17.765-05:00

During my wonderful weekend in Chicago, Kanchana, Shankar and I went to Vong's Thai Kitchen for lunch. It was recommended to us by Shankar's cousin Sriram who is an expert on Chicago hotspots.Our appetizer was vegetable crepe rolls. They looked beautiful and tasted amazing! It was so good we forgot to stop and take a picture:(For our main course, we tried a red curry and a yellow curry. They

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-52135240378449545712007-07-25T07:30:00.000-04:002008-12-10T07:22:17.919-05:00

I had the most unbelievable hot chocolate at Les Deux Magots, a cafe literaire in Paris in the Saint Germain des Pres area (where all the artists live). It tastes sinfully rich like pure melted chocolate! Best hot chocolate ever. Seriously.We also had the "Tarte Tatin chaude avec glace"- Hot apple pie with sour cream or ice cream. It is a signature French dessert and we found out why. It was

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-43908370931979132172007-07-19T07:30:00.001-04:002009-01-13T15:58:48.571-05:00

In celebration of the Simpsons movie coming out at the end of the month, I am posting the Venus de Milo statue I saw in Paris at the Louvre. Simpsons fans will recall the episode where Homer is accused of harassing the babysitter when he was simply drooling over the gummi Venus de Milo candy he stole from the candy expo."That is the rarest gummi of them all: the gummi Venus de Milo. Carved by

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-16844047201498421012007-07-17T07:00:00.000-04:002008-12-10T07:22:18.464-05:00

As you probably know, I am an experimenter when it comes to food. I don't usually follow a recipe. I think it is because I hate having to get all the ingredients together. I'd rather use whatever I have on hand. It seems to work out fine. Case in point, the rosti I concocted! It is very easy and super tasty. You can make so many variations based on what flavours you like (or what you have on hand

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-74064578464252319492007-06-28T12:30:00.000-04:002008-12-10T07:22:19.269-05:00

In Paris, there is a gourmet grocery store, Fauchon. It is very trendy and includes so many things: delicatessen, chocolates, grocery, gifts, self service bakery and full service café!Fauchon is named after the owner, Auguste Fauchon. It was opened in 1886 and is known as a leader in French gastronomy.I love the poster with the lips and bow wrapped around it. I guess because their treats are a

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-14782023467030592602007-06-25T23:07:00.003-04:002010-08-21T13:51:24.861-04:00

One of the most delicious shops Maileen and I went to in Paris was La Maison du Chocolat (the house of chocolate!). It was so wonderful! It was highly recommended by our guide books and I had even seen it in InStyle. We indulged with some glace chocolat (chocolate ice cream) and sampled some of their wonderful chocolate creations. One of the more exotic chocolates was called the Maiko and was

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-13391082556340233072007-06-14T21:40:00.000-04:002008-12-10T07:22:21.452-05:00

It was my manager's birthday so I decided to decorate a cake and bring it to work. I cheated a little and bought the perfectly rounded sponge cakes from Longo's as the layers. It is so handy and it is a great time saver. I have found that it really reduces the crumb control issues as well because the cake is well made. I got the vanilla sponge cake and poured melted chocolate in the middle layer.

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-50264117227837164102007-06-11T20:40:00.000-04:002008-12-10T07:22:22.406-05:00

Our first meal in Paris was crepes! I was so excited to eat cheese so I selected the crepe au fromage. It was cheesy goodness but I had trouble finishing the whole thing. We went to a small little creperie near our hotel. The lady made if fresh in front of us on a large circular metal surface. She twirled this T shaped stick thing to spread it around evenly. It was awesome. Then she cooks it

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-45462891488630875482007-06-06T22:54:00.000-04:002008-12-10T07:22:23.310-05:00

One of the most delicious desserts I ate in Paris was macarons. They are not like the little coconut treats you get here. They are little bites of pure heaven with chantilly (whipped cream) or ganache in the middle. The flavours are endless, vanilla, chocolate, pistache (pistachio), strawberry, caramel and so many more. They look and taste amazing. I found out they are meringue cookies which

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-64664532918910518962007-06-05T14:25:00.000-04:002008-12-10T07:22:23.816-05:00

On Sunday Renu and I participated in the Bike Ride for Heart fundraiser for the Heart and Stroke foundation. The city closes down the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway (the main city highways) and over 12,000 cyclists ride on it.We started training the week before by riding up one of the main streets up to Bronte Creek Camp grounds. This was about 30km so we thought we were in good

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-34943890638715258642007-05-02T13:39:00.000-04:002008-12-10T07:22:26.281-05:00

A few weekends ago, I went to dinner with some high school friends downtown Oakville to try out Cilantro, a Malaysian and International cuisine restaurant. We had a great time. The restaurant was very highly rated by the Toronto Star and by web reviews. We were going out to celebrate our friend Avninder's graduation and to see him off before he goes to Egypt for a month! What a great graduation

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-28829051223334891552007-05-02T13:38:00.000-04:002008-12-10T07:22:26.942-05:00

To celebrate Administrative Assistant Day at work my manager asked me to do some cake decorating because I've taken a few classes. At first I thought I'd bake some cupcakes but then I remembered our admin, Dianne does not eat wheat or gluten. I did a bit of research and found some gluten free cake mixes at Whole Foods! I decided to try out Pamela's Luscious Chocolate Cake mix. My manager also

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-52035537125483220142007-04-22T14:41:00.001-04:002009-01-13T15:57:19.716-05:00

Rose, Noreen and I went to visit Sheena for a wonderful Waterloo weekend. We had not been up there for a long time and it brought back memories of our good old uni days. Sheena and Scott have a lovely, spacious, beautifully decorated apartment. They were fabulous hosts and made sure we had an amazing time. We got very lucky with the weather and made sure we spent most of out time outside for one

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-62909339955039986182007-04-17T20:00:00.001-04:002010-07-18T00:07:33.998-04:00

On Easter weekend I went to the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana. My folks and I drove there early Friday morning and got there around lunch and went to see the competition. The music competition this year was huge. When I was a kid it took a few hours and was in one room. This year, it took all day, there were over 300 participants and about 4 rooms in which the judging occurred. Amazing! I think

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-24059048690073322872007-03-30T19:03:00.000-04:002008-12-10T07:22:37.550-05:00

This week was supposed to be my big finish for cake decorating class. Unfortunately, I got sick and missed Wednesday's make up class for course 1.On Thursday I decided I was feeling sufficiently better to attend. We learned a lot so I'm glad I made it. The most interesting technique was the basket weave. It looks pretty complicated but once you practice it a few times you get the hang

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-7620782577864813232007-03-27T22:45:00.000-04:002008-12-10T07:22:38.524-05:00

Kanchana and I decided to bake a cake and decorate it for our cousin Sheila's birthday. I was impressed that we created something so nice. Kanchana was the stylist and picked the colours we should use and I was the techical director listing off all the tips I learned in class. Our first masterpiece! We called it our Tiffany's cake because of our use of the Tiffany's blue colour.Last week in cake

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-42545760884849880402007-03-23T07:38:00.000-04:002008-12-10T07:22:40.092-05:00

I went to Montreal last weekend to visit Adonia. Her birthday is today (Happy Birthday Adonia!) so I thought I'd go up early and celebrate with her since she is coming home this weekend.We had a great time even though there was a snow storm on Friday night leaving 20-30 cm snow! She was not very impressed at my footwear selection I brought and had to lend me some boots to wear. Thank god that is

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-49354687038824747362007-03-21T16:21:00.000-04:002008-12-10T07:22:40.594-05:00

Today is my Mom's birthday! She is the best mom ever:) She is so cute and always thinks of nice things to do and buy for us. I'm sure when Kanchana comes to visit we will make a trip to the temple because that is my Mom's favourite thing to do. Here is a picture of us from Kanchana's wedding last year.Happy Birthday Mom! I love you!Here are the beautiful 2 dozen roses my Dad got for her!

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-37884552893190824342007-03-19T19:21:00.000-04:002008-12-10T07:22:41.669-05:00

Maileen came over and we made the most delicious Red Velvet Cupcakes. I saw a great recipe in the New York Times online and wanted to try it. It was from Elisa Strauss, the owner of Confetti Cakes in Manhattan. She was once a designer for Ralph Lauren but found her passion was in cake design Her cakes are really works of art!So our success was in the cupcakes and our failure lay in the icing. To

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-51173185096226740522007-03-12T23:27:00.000-04:002008-12-10T07:22:41.962-05:00

I was experimenting with some tofu on Sunday and made a yummy dish reminiscent of chilli paneer! I am not a fan of mushy tofu and it must be very flavourful! So this is what I did: Heat up 1 or 2 tsp oil in a pan, splutter cumin, add tofu slices, season with turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala, salt and pepper. Cook until the pan is dry and tofu has nice brown marks. Then, (

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-37409437189633824622007-03-11T20:05:00.000-04:002008-12-10T07:22:42.651-05:00

My folks went to visit my aunt and uncle in Ottawa this weekend so I had two of my old roomies from Uni over. The plan was to bake Red Velvet Cake (I had seen a recipe for it in the New York Times) but it didn't quite pan out. We made some other wonderful (ish) dishes though!Sheena came over in the afternoon. She is one of the first people I met at Laurier. We became fast friends and totally

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-8500198090782571252007-03-08T22:28:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:42.959-05:00

Adonia and I had this amazing Dulce de Leche dessert at the Green Bean downtown Oakville. I wanted to know what exactly it was and found a recipe for it on the internet. It seemed simple enough, so last night I got out a can of condensed milk and put it to the test. I was hoping to end up with an amazing caramel.It took sooo long. I was really worried about it exploding so I checked on it

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-35056262394379715022007-03-02T20:03:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:44.105-05:00

Class 3 was all about decorating cupcakes. We learned some great techniques for flowers and shells.My favourite was the adorable and easy clown! The plastic head really brings it to life. We also learned how to do a bear but I didn't have the right colours so I adapted it to a pig.I tried to make little babies with soothers like the picture in my course book but aparently they didn't turn out

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-8703527572418936192007-02-26T21:22:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:44.491-05:00

I wanted to experiment with boxed cake mix without eggs. I used a box of Betty Crocker's Devil's food cake and it turned out pretty decent. The cake was soft and crumbly. Instead of eggs I increased the amount of oil (from 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup) and added Kingsmill egg replacer (3 tsp for 3 eggs) and water (6 tbsp). I frosted them with an orange buttercream with a bit of cream cheese for tang (

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-48993733600676824212007-02-26T12:01:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:44.661-05:00

There is nothing better than coming home to an amazingly tasty hot snack after a long day at work. My Mom made me the most delicious paneer pakodas on Thursday. They were damn good. The batter was crispy and perfectly seasoned! The paneer inside was hot and soft. I wish I had a better picture to show you how good they looked. (I'm trying to work on my photography- please bear with me!) Here is

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-8778819902758813492007-02-24T13:57:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:45.910-05:00

Yesterday I went to dinner with some of my friends from high school. Maileen, Steve, Jen, Jason and I went to White Oaks Secondary School (WOSS) and Andrea, Tamara, Samina and I have been friends since middle school, River Oaks (what do you expect, we grew up in Oakville).We went to Spring Rolls at Erin Mills Town Center. A little tip to anyone planning to go- there is no entrance to the

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-55413942006333225762007-02-24T13:22:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:46.534-05:00

Wednesday was cake decorating class and the project of the week was Rainbow Cake. I thought that after class I would be coming home with a beautifully decorated cake....not so. Who in the world knew that this class would be so stressful! Lol. I was supposed to pick up Renu and go to class but traffic from Don Mills was ridiculous so I was late:(Basically, the class is to teach you various

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-24132609351934820812007-02-21T15:58:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:46.706-05:00

My friend Adonia is home for reading week from Montreal. I went to her house yesterday and had the most amazing butternut squash soup which she made from scratch! They should serve this stuff in restaurants! The salty smoked cheddar (from Whole Foods!) really added a whole new dimension to the flavour. I think that is what countered the sweetness of the apple cider.She packed me some to take to

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-20641714136597237042007-02-21T09:52:00.002-05:002010-01-21T19:31:48.815-05:00

I tried out a recipe Dinaz gave me for Aloo Achari. I thought it would taste good with fresh paneer! I was right. I love experimenting and trying new things. It is really fun to create something from your imagination and then see how it turns out.So here is what I did:Sauté some onion (Dinaz thinks you should only use green onions), green chilies, ginger, jeera, turmeric, garam masala, salt and

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-35120919685130295162007-02-20T11:32:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:47.646-05:00

I went to a Breakfast meeting held by the Women Executive Network at the Metropolitan Hotel, Downtown Toronto. It featured a panel discussion by 3 women who were part of the Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100:Trina McQueen: The first female host of W-5, CBC/Radio-Canada Director and former News and Current Affairs Vice PresidentCheryl Perera: OneChild Network & Support Systems Founder &

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-67642765776527252122007-02-19T13:13:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:48.976-05:00

On Saturday night, Abhi, Noreen, Renu and I went to see Faust by the Canadian Opera Company at the new Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. It was absolutely amazing. They have a program called Opera for a New Age in which people 30 and under can get discount tickets to see the opera and gain an appreciation for it. We took advantage of these $20 tickets (which go for $95-$275 regularly)

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-25861536666642689002007-02-16T10:03:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:49.494-05:00

Renu and I started our cake decorating class last week. I don't know why but for some reason I thought they would give us the cake to decorate. Man was I wrong. There is so much prep and homework for this class....I don't know what I've gotten myself into!! We have to bring it pre-iced and ready to decorate in class. Class 2 is Rainbow cake. We have to bring the cake iced in sky blue.I made the

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-81031879684539499462007-02-14T17:18:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:49.662-05:00

The ultimate lunch is one you don't have to make for yourself. My dad is so nice. He makes me fresh squeezed juice in the morning! The flavour of this month is grapefruit. It is such a delicious pink colour! He even packs it to go for me so I can have it at work. I also get a nice fruit salad and toasted sandwich (peanut butter on whole grain bread this week) too. My snack is pistachios. Yum.He

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-47856892941572666962007-02-14T14:28:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:50.083-05:00

I woke up this morning to a winter wonderland. There was snow as far as the eye could see. I wasn't going to try to be a hero and brave the roads to go to work so I called in a snow day! The schools were closed so Mom was home too! I decided to make something nice.I saw a cool post on another blog for buttermilk biscuits. I wanted to try it out but I didn't have any buttermilk so I thinned

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-55034239132008779962007-02-12T19:02:00.000-05:002007-02-13T09:41:10.199-05:00

I know not everyone is a Justin Timberlake fan but the man is hilarious-trust me on this one. He was on SNL and there are some clips on youtube. My favourites are Omeletteville and Homelessville. The Jessica Simpson one is good too (she is 'functionally retarded'). They took off the full skits from youtube for some copyright issues but there are still some left of the dance clips. That's the best

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-83524641848800564942007-02-12T09:29:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:50.424-05:00

Dad made me vazhakai chips last week. Lightly salted, deep fried goodness. They were seriously delicious. I was so hungry when I came back from work and it was the best snack as soon as I walked in. They are so thinly sliced. It takes a lot of effort and patience to do that. Dad- you are a good cook too! Don't want him to get jealous because I posted stuff about Mom. heehee. Look how thin they

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-92115248926702258822007-02-11T00:00:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:50.741-05:00

My mom wanted to give her students a nice treat for Valentine's Day. We decided to make them Caramel corn. We even found these cute little bags with hearts and cupids on them to pakage everything in. How adorable! The kids are also going to get special pencils that say "Happy Valentine's Day from your Teacher." Isn't elementary school the best. You get to have so much fun.Anyway, we used

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-57384207414601163122007-02-10T23:25:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:51.518-05:00

I baked some brownie cupcakes on the weekend. They were topped with vanilla icing and a butterscotch caramel swirl. I used a recipe I found on the internet for eggless brownies. It turned out pretty well. I used milk instead of water and I think it made a difference. Next time I will try it with some espresso. I think it will be a good flavour addition to complement the chocolate. I used

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-72009215532924840062007-02-04T16:46:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:52.695-05:00

My mom and I spent some time together and made carrot cake cupcakes with a delicious orange cream cheese icing. The cake was good but the icing was awesome. I got these really cute heart shaped cupcake silicone pans that inspired me to do some baking.The addition of orange was not planned but worked out beautifully! Initially I was thinking of adding some lemon zest to the top of the cupcakes

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-31375767575217379852007-02-03T16:02:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:53.073-05:00

I saw a segment on Rachel Ray about bottom of the jar recipes. She had one for the peanut butter jar and a peanut dipping sauce, a barbeque sauce one and one with salsa. I thought of a bottom of the yogurt container recipe! You can make whatever kind of raita or pachidi you like. Tomato, cucumber, okra...whatever. I choose boondi last night. I thinned it out with some water and milk. I seasoned

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-7164452584689373202007-02-03T15:47:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:54.245-05:00

My mom made mini adai last night. They were awesome. They remind me of blinis. Not that I have had one...I've just seen them on cooking shows. I think mini adai would make a cool appetizer. Instead of caviar you could put chutney or something. Kadugu (mustard seeds) would be funny. She wanted me to take pictures of the dry ingredients too. She is so cute! I like eating the maavu. It

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-40576921055315223082007-02-03T15:20:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:55.432-05:00

Last night I made homemade paneer. It was really good. I got the recipe from Dinaz. It is really easy to make. All you do is boil milk, then add yogurt and salt. Dinaz told me 1 litre milk, 1 cup yogurt and 1 level tbsp salt. I used half a pouch of milk to try it out. I got a pretty decent amount of paneer from it.It looks weird when the milk and yogurt separate. Its a pretty fast

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-45147517758469635552007-02-01T11:37:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:55.651-05:00

Adonia got me hooked on drinking white tea. It is like green tea but has a much lighter flavour. She got me jasmine flavoured white tea by Bentley, known as "The Champagne of Teas". It is really, really nice stuff. I have it in my cubicle at work and drink it in the mornings. It has even more of the wonderful anti-oxidants and health benefits of green tea! If you are into tea or want to try

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-31196745119291434172007-01-29T22:22:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:56.413-05:00

One of the best things about Rav joining Kraft is our daily carpool. We can use the HOV lane on the 403 which really improves the drive. I like to wave at the people stuck in the other lane but they can't see me because we are going so much faster.Here is a picture of her trying to hide from the prying eyes of the paparazzi.Here is another picture illustrating how crappy the drive is in the

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-63139335132679327022007-01-29T22:09:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:56.425-05:00

My work day is brightened by the wonderful lady who sits beside me. Her name is Dinaz Dastur and is one of the loveliest people I have had the pleasure to meet. My chats with her are so fun! They make my day. She advises me on my outfits and tells me what I can fix. This is always appreciated as I am getting ready in a rush in the mornings. She has the best rings and jewlery sets too.

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-68199894858758485982007-01-29T21:47:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:22:57.297-05:00

I went to dinner with my friend Noreen last Tuesday. We had a great time catching up. The food was so-so. I guess we were expecting it to be more exciting. The most interesting was the Mexican Fry Bread topped with beans and a tomato sauce. I think I would compare it to a beaver tail without the sugar (you know the kind you get at Canada's Wonderland). The nachos were ok….the guacamole

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-32123333566267062672007-01-21T14:03:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:23:00.484-05:00

Last night Rav and I baked sugar cookies and decorated them with the new icing kit I bought from Michaels. It is the kit for Wilton Cake Decorating Course 1. I'm thinking about taking it.It was fun but much harder than we anticipated. The sugar cookie recipe was from this Gay Lea recipe booklet/in-store advertisement Rav got from the grocery store. Here it is:Scrumptious Sugar CookiesWe

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-12561819646500841622007-01-12T11:36:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:23:00.688-05:00

I went to this really nice French cafe in Bath called Le Petit Cochon. My favourite part was the cute pig statue they had outside the restaurant. Isn't it adorable? I love the bowl beside it too.

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-798734402113436432.post-55961651978403419702007-01-11T22:15:00.000-05:002008-12-10T07:23:01.076-05:00

Last year I went to India for my sister's wedding. My bro-in-law took us to some very cool places in Madras. This was a big deal because all of my other India trips were mostly to see family and going to temples. That is nice to a certain degree but I am glad I got to see part of 'modern' India.One of my favourite places was Zara. It was a Spanish tapas bar! We had some great food and

Savithrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17374139630226358828noreply@blogger.com0