Grrr.. Am so bloody irritated...

Really.. Really.. Irritated.. For no reason at all..
Just don't feel like working.. Just don't feel like doing anything..
Wanna scream at the top of my voice.. Aaaarrrggghhhhhh!!!

Theory of Relativity...

Doesn't time seem to stop when you are in your hometown..


Take today for example. I woke up at 7am. Was out of my house in half hour. Met a friend and went to a relative's place. Then got my hair cut and joined my sister for getting greeting cards. Finally shopped for a Christmas Star. Reached home. and finished off writing the Christmas cards and the stars. Did all this by 1am.




Really wish I could find a job in my home town...

French Toast..

French Toast is a very simple to make breakfast item. It can be made as both a sweet as well as a savory dish. Stuffed French Toast is basically two pieces of French Toast that have been stuffed with bananas, strawberries or other fruit. It is usually topped with butter, maple syrup or powdered sugar.

To make French Toast, take two eggs and beat them lightly. To it, add half cup milk, a few drops of vanilla essence and half a teaspoon of cinnamon powder. (if powdered cinnamon is not at hand, just boil the milk with broken pieces of cinnamon stick and strain it; which is what I did. Remember to cool the milk to room temperature before using it; else it’ll cook the beaten eggs). Mix well.

Take bread slices, dip them in the mix and place on a very lightly greased (egg ensures it won’t stick) frying pan or girdle. Cook until both sides are browned. Use slightly older bread as it’ll be dry and will prevent the toast from getting too soggy and breaking off.

The cooked slices can be served with a variety of toppings such as jam, butter, honey, maple syrup, ketchup etc... It can also be topped with powdered sugar, fruit or syrup.

Important to have it hot. Tastes bad when cold.

Puttu...

Couple of days back I made puttu. Puttu is a very common mallu breakfast dish. It can be made with both rice as well as wheat flour. Puttu with hot steaming kadala curry or sweet banana and a cup of hot tea brings back so many memories. It is a very simple and healthy dish consisting of the flour with layers of grated coconut, steamed in a cylindrical vessel called puttu-kutti.

pic courtesy: HOTDishes

To make puttu, slowly add warn water with a little salt to the flour till it forms tiny lumps. Fill the puttu-kutti with it, adding layers of grated coconut in between. Once fully filled, close the top of the puttu-kutti and load it over the vessel and steam it till done.

Other variations include, steaming it in bamboo stems or coconut shells (chiratta puttu)

Well, since I donot have a putti-kutti, I opted for the easy way out which is buying a pack of instant puttu-podi. Just add equal quantity of hot water to the powder and stir for a minute with a fork. Leave for it to set for five minutes and its done. It tastes pretty much like a normal puttu except I didn’t add the grated coconut. Sprinkled it with sugar and had it with bananas.

Nowhere like the homemade ones, but craving satiated for time being!!

Quickie Dinner..

Was too lazy to labour for dinner. Just boiled rice, lentils and peas with salt to taste.

Had it with curd and some tangy tomato pickle.

Yum...

Healthy (read bland) Pasta...

After gorging on beef and going Godzilla on pastries couple of days ago, I’d decided to cut down on calories and tried making an oil free pasta. Very simple to make and not too bad on taste; though my friend told me it was quite bland to her tastes (you can add pepper to make it spicy)

Boil the pasta in good amount of water (about 4 times the quantity of pasta) with salt to taste. Boil veggies and keep them aside. Use a colourful mix of veggies like carrot, peas, capsicum etc.. Since I was going fat/oil free I didn’t make the traditional white sauce. I plainly reduced milk with corn starch and for taste added a spoon of Maggi mushroom soup powder. Mix the boiled pasta and the vegetables with the sauce and you’re done!!

Quick & Easy Pancakes!!

I love pancakes. The sweet and eggy taste makes for a perfect lazy Sunday breakfast.

Not made them from scratch yet and the few times that I’ve made them, I’ve used Betty Crocker Pan Cake Mix. The recipe on the box is quick and simple.

Beat eggs and milk together and then slowly sift in the flour; all the while stirring so that lumps are not formed. Mix well to make a smooth batter.

Heat a pan and pour in a ladle of batter onto it. Spread the batter by turning the pan. Do note that the pan needn’t be greased as the egg in the batter prevents it from sticking (as explained by a good ole friend). Cook on one side till the topmost layer of the batter solidifies and then flip it. Cook till it turns a warm yellow.

Have ‘em hot with fruits, honey, maple syrup or strawberry syrup.

Whenever I make pancakes I usually make copious amounts of batter so that I can satiate my cravings as soon as they come. It can be stored for upto 4 days in the fridge.