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C is for Christmas , C is for CAKE… always room for cake
“Nutty as a fruitcake” Always room for cake in our little home, and winter screams fruit cake, a cake we love to enjoy from December to February. This is the time for an annual tradition at our place. As long as I can remember, my mother always baked this cake over the Christmas holidays, year after year. It became part of our life, something we looked forward to every winter. Gradually it became a holiday favourite, and with vacation madness came to be known as New Year Cake as it never got made in time! Then I got married, and slowly baking passion took over my life. Gradually Mom stopped…
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COMING HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS:GINGERBREAD HOUSE WITH DARING BAKERS
“And I had but one penny in the world. Thou should’st have it to buy gingerbread.“ William Shakespeare, Love’s Labours Lost HO HO HO… Come home to the Daring Bakers, to a wonderful, fragrant, sweet smelling holiday home. This month we open the doors and hearts of our beautiful gingerbread homes to you. The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes. Making the gingerbread house…
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FRESH FIG TART WITH VANILLA SCENTED FRANGIPANE… Inspired baking!
“Why are we surprised when fig trees bear figs?” Margaret Titzel They weighed heavy on my mind, and the pressure was killing me. My SIL who had been visiting for the past few days had bought me some fresh figs from Pune since she knew how fascinated I am by them. The fact that figs are highly perishable creations of nature didn’t make life any easier. But the past few days had been a race to the finish, and I never got a chance to pay attention to these unassuming looking fruit, rather plain from the exterior. Finally got some time one afternoon to sit and browse blogs and almost…
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Fresh Ginger Cake and Fresh Ginger Chocolate Chip Cookies
“Nose, nose, jolly red nose, Who gave thee this jolly red nose?† Nutmegs and ginger, cinnamon and cloves, And they gave me this jolly red nose” Anonymous I’m on a GINGER high, or call it a roll, but my days are full of ginger. It’s a flavour, with sharpness, that I’ve come to love, and am surprised that the kids have taken to it so willingly too. Fresh ginger is far more pronounced in its gingery taste, and since it’s the season for fresh, wonderful young ginger root here, I’m taking full advantage of it! Ginger has proven medicinal value, and I have been using it as a base for…
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Mushroom Soup, Fougasse, Char-grilled Broccoli Salad… & Holiday Gift Ideas!
“I live on good soup, not on fine words”Moliere It’s time for a savoury break… short & crisp recipe as most of my family has been bitten by the flu bug. We have a house full of sniffles & coughs, and this soup is the call of today. This is also my Mom’s fave soup which she now makes more often than me. I put together this simple recipe ages ago, yet had to call her for the recipe yesterday because amnesia struck me!! It’s off for Meeta’s Monthly Mingle which is rightfully calling for warming soups this time. I think I am just about making it in the nick…
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Baking | ORANGE & OAT SCONES … Dial 101 FOR Scones
“Ooh, with a little luck — December will be magic again.” Kate Bush There’s something about scones. Quintessential, charming & endlessly enjoyable. A classic holiday platter ‘cookie’ of sorts that brings cheer to the table. I saw the recipe on my google reader a while ago & it was instantly love at first sight. What’s not to love about orange and oats in a scone? I made them recently, on my return from the FBC09, twice in fact, and both times they disappeared rather quickly. One lot was with pistachio nuts & craisins with a demerera sugar topping, and the other a walnut & craisin batch with a vanilla sugar…
