Mousakka

I absolutely enjoy preparing these quick and easy meals.  They are perfect with a glass of wine and a green salad.  So for a this Greek dish, all you need is to cook the mince and the bechamel sauce and slice the eggplants.  Then its all about layering the three items and putting it away in the oven whilst you chat with your friends.

Believe - a post by Angela

Here is a post by my dear friend Angie a professional singer, model and dietician - loves dogs, a good cup of tea and Alferns:)  Enjoy...

A lovely trip to Himachal in October end of 2013 left me with just one thought...BELIEVE

The JAJA's covered two gorgeous places in Himachal :Andretta and Mcleodgunj.  Not to mention a quick stop at my dear  Kitty and Dexter"s place in Gurgaon which was an exciting stopover laden with eerie tales some of which were quite touching.

Golden Carrot Cake



One of the yummiest carrot cakes I have had is on my trip to South Island, New Zealand.  It was at the historic Arrowtown that was famous for its gold-mining.  A town that felt straight out of a movie set,   quaint streets lined up with shops, a bright red telephone booth, a homely cinema hall that also houses a little library, cobbled bylanes, classy cafes and warm and welcoming bakeries.  Our cameras wouldn't stop clicking as wanted every thing in our photo album.     

Pages of My Memory

Just like the wind that carried
a whisper that wasn't heard
Or the innocent smile
that could not hide the fear
Just like a heart full of love
consoles the eyes filled with tears
I see my reflection that ain't very clear

Alone amidst these mountains
The sun shinning in my eyes
Feel like your arms around me
And the warmth of your smile
Just shout out into the valleys
Those echoes do not lie
Is it you or am I dreaming
I don't care it just feels right

 

Sexy Claws

It is hard to find some large heavy crabs in the markets often.  Then there is always the temptation to try out a new recipe with crab meat but when the crabs get home I can only think of eating them in traditional goan preparation called Crab Xec Xec or cooked with some Recheiado masala.  So this time it was Crab Xec Xec a red gravy using roasted coconut.

Swedish Tea Ring

Swedish Tea Ring

                              

After having tried the Chelsea buns, the Swedish tea ring seemed easy.  And easy it was.  My nephews were over and I look forward to cook something for the boys.  I helped two year old Kieran,  plonk himself on the kitchen platform right next to where I was working.  He watched me knead the dough as he dangled his tiny feet and entertained me with his blabber.  As the dough was resting, Keagan, Kieran and me got busy reading the story of the 'Seven Little Postmen' and 'Hansel and Gretel' and some more till it was time for me to get back to my dough.  I let the boys do some colouring whilst I started putting the swedish tea ring together.

Sweet & Sour Notes

Saturday evening, we finally watched 'Ek Tha Tiger' which seems to have crossed the 200 crore mark at the box office.  Definitely not the kind of movie I would ever watch, but since my brother had worked on the background scores we decided to go watch.