The Novice Housewife

21Dec 2012

Rough Puff Pastry

Since the world doesn’t seem like it’s ending today, and since the in-laws are at work and the husband is at the dentist, I figured its the best time to sit on the computer and post something on the blog that has been neglected for far too long now. Its been almost two weeks since my last blog post, but with my current schedule of traveling, socializing and erratic net connections, I just haven’t been able to find enough time to devote to the blog.

Today, too, its going to be a quick post. Kind of befitting the recipe that I plan to share. I have, in the past, shared a recipe for homemade puff pastry. And also made mille feuilles and aloo puffs with homemade puff pastry. But, sometimes certain situations arise where your mom invites some guests over and swears there’s store bought puff pastry in the refrigerator and asks you to make the mushroom tarts you constantly rave about, only to see that the puff pastry she so confidently had said sits in the refrigerater is actually a packet of phyllo dough. The phyllo dough is then used to make some channa dal cocktail samosas by one of the three cooks in the house leaving you, the blogger (who your mom has, of course, bragged about to the guests), to think of an alternative way to shine. True story.

Its situations like these that this rough puff pastry comes to your rescue. And you will be pleasantly surprised by the flakiness you can achieve in just a matter of few hours, as opposed to the waiting and turning and folding of actual puff pastry that takes two days to get the desired result. Of course if you want to be all professional about it, the real deal puff pastry is the way to go. But if you are short on time this rough puff pastry recipe is the ticket.

02Jul 2012

July Recipe Swap: Vegetarian Spring Rolls

Shumaila ⋅ 14 Comments

A new month and with it comes a new recipe swap.

This time Christianna of Burwell General Store asked us to give our take on Oregon style coleslaw.

We have had a coleslaw recipe swap earlier as well. That time I had given an indo-chinese take on the recipe. This time too I am doing an Indo-chinese take on the recipe.

I don’t know why, but there is something about cabbage that always makes me think of chinese food. Maybe because of its use in chow mein noodles. Or in manchurian. Or in spring rolls.

Growing up I loved spring rolls. My mom would hardly make them at home, but we would get them at the Air Force Mess parties and I would always feast on them. The filling always comprised of cooked chow mein noodles mixed with finely chopped veggies like carrots, cabbage and bell peppers that were sauteed in soy sauce, vinegar and ginger garlic paste. The wrappers always made from scratch.

04Mar 2012

March Recipe Swap

Shumaila ⋅ 16 Comments

For the month of March, our Recipe Swap group split in two for the first time. While one half would continue posting the first Sunday of the month, the other would now be posting a different recipe the second Wednesday of the month. Its a big change and I hate that the group is splitting, but the change means newer members- newer perspectives and interpretations of two different recipes each month. In a nutshell, the change means a lot of creativity to be inspired from throughout the month. And that’s a change I am looking forward to.

I chose to be part of the group posting the first Sunday of the month and honestly I was glad that I was, because it meant I had to swap a Pizza recipe.

The idea for the Recipe Swap was born out of a Vintage cookbook find by Christianna. Christianna decided to make her own recipes inspired by those in the cookbook. She also got a bunch of talented bloggers (and me) in on the idea and now, the recipe swap has been on for more than a year, each month the bloggers dishing out absolute delights that showcase their creativity. Of course, now the creative juices will be flowing into cyber space twice a month, starting this March.

30Jan 2012

Caramelized Onions, Mushrooms and Gruyere Tartlets

Shumaila ⋅ 9 Comments

I love Michelle’s site- The Brown Eyed Baker.

In the past I have made the portobello pesto pizza adapted from her site, and it was wonderful.

Coincidentally (although it was not intended) I chose another mushroom recipe from her site to try.

Last week, it was my turn to host the weekly coffee meets we ladies of our small town have every Friday.These get-togethers are my lifeline and thanks to the amazing group of people I have met through these weekly affairs, living in this town has actually become enjoyable.

While browsing through FoodGawker for some appetizer ideas to make for my friends, I came across these caramelized onions and mushroom tartlets. One look at the recipe and its rave reviews, I was sure this is what I had to make.

I love mushrooms.

And caramelized onions. And Gruyere.

And I loooooooove puff pastry. So I knew these would be delish.

11Jan 2012

Garam Masala Tuesdays: Chilli Chicken Bread Pizza

Shumaila ⋅ 8 Comments

Off lately, I have been very lazy with blogging and especially with GMTs.

Its not that I had nothing Indian to post yesterday. I had plenty to post. It’s just that the whole of yesterday I spent cuddled in the bed with my book.

I recently found out about Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games.

I got the book from my friend on Friday, but could only start the book on Tuesday. And that’s why I wasn’t able to post anything yesterday. The book had me hooked and I just could not put it down! Not even for blogging.

Yes, that happens!

If you haven’t read the books, you should now!

Seriously, get it!

03Jan 2012

Garam Masala Tuesdays: Roasted Stuffed Potatoes

Shumaila ⋅ 8 Comments

I started this blog in July 2010 mainly as a way to keep myself occupied and also to document the recipes I was trying as a newly wed. It helped, that as a result, my recipes would all be at one place. But, very soon it became my lifeline.

Now, being at home all day with nothing much to do is not fun at all. And more so if you are thousands of miles away from where you have been born and brought up.

Being home all day, with no job, no kids to take care of, makes you feel worthless as well.

This blog helped change that to a great extent and for that I have you all to thank.

It gave me an identity. People who I have never met know me. They don’t know me as V’s wife- but they know ME. And that counts for something.

06Jul 2011

Garam Masala Tuesdays: Tokri/Katori Chaat Station

Shumaila ⋅ 6 Comments

So, I had an awesome 4th of July weekend. We went to the Grand Canyon. Spent the night in Sedona. Had a day trip to Flagstaff. Watched a Bollywood movie and thoroughly enjoyed it. Saw Transformers: Dark Side of the moon. Weren’t too impressed by it. On our way back home, got caught in a major dust storm and thunder showers. Overall, a tiring but fun weekend.

The weekend started with a night out with my girlfriends.

Now, the thing about me is that I just can’t hold my alcohol. My drinking capacity on most days is just a glass of wine. On certain days its a little more. But, most of the days its just one glass. When my body is a little brave, I can hold in 2-3 glasses. But, some god-forsaken days, I try to be braver than usual. And those days are followed the next day by a very horrible, sickening feeling called a hangover! The girls’ night out was one such day- where not only was I braver than usual, I was trying to be smart as well and mixed my drinks! Now, mixing drinks is a no-no especially if you want to avoid really bad hangovers. But, that night I tried to act too smart with my alcohol. And like anyone who tries to act too smart but actually isn’t- I fell down real bad the next day.

06Jun 2011

Five and Spice’s Mushlafel

Shumaila ⋅ 6 Comments

Baby, do you miss me
Now that I’m gone, yeah

No, no I am not gone. I am still here just took a one week break from blogging & cooking. What’s with the song then, you ask (well, even if you didn’t I will still continue to explain. You have no choice but to listen or actually you do- you could leave this page. But, don’t! please!)

This was the song I used to listen to when the first guy I was seeing broke up with me (It was a short lived relationship- you know, the celebrity love kinds- lasted a week in actuality- but at that time it meant the world to me!).

I am sure you have never heard of the song, nor would have I, had I not been in the phase where every love song sounded like it was just made for me- every single word resounding of my story, my pain, my love, my heart break and well you get the drift.

Get the DJ to play our favorite song
‘Cause it’s what keeps me holding on
Baby, do you miss me
Now that I’m gone

Ok, it’s cheesy, but to a girl with a broken heart it was music! (FYI my taste in music is not that bad, it was just a phase!)

Now that I look back on those days, and knowing how things turned out thereafter, I laugh at the things I did after the break up. I used to listen to this song hoping that the guy misses me (yes, I was a love struck newbie and a break up was something entirely new to me) Of course he never thought of me, his updates on hi5, (that was the time hi5 was the thing like how today’s Facebook is) and gtalk/yahoo/msn status proved otherwise.

I do think people had it better before the digital age arrived, especially when it came to break ups. If the person of your interest moved on there was no way to know. You could live in the imaginary world and think that you are the only person he is thinking of, dying to talk u but embarrassed to come up and say he made a mistake, that he was sorry. But, alas, this is the digital age. In today’s world, you are bombarded with pictures of the person in question with a new love in his/her arms. There goes your delusional world where you were the only girl he ever loved.

Thank god, though, that those days of heartbreak are gone. They were torture! I am sure you know the feeling, don’t you?

C’mon you went through it too, right? Crying and listening to mushy songs hoping that would ease the pain. Dreaming of the phone ringing and your ex telling you how being apart from you has made him realize how good he had it with you and how you were the only person who ever understood him. You went through all that too, right. Right? Don’t tell me I was the only loser??

You did nothing of that sorts? When it was over, it was over for you- you moved on graciously?

Really?

Umm…

So did I!

Ha! Got u! I just made all that up. Nope I did not listen to songs while getting over crushes. Or check out my exes photos as if I was a stalker. Nah! not me! In fact, I was the one who broke up with the guy! Really.

(shifting uncomfortably)

Um…

(embarrassed smile)

Really I was messing with you. Honest.

Anywho.

So, yes, I have been absent for the longest time ever. Well, I don’t know if you guys missed me but I missed blogging. I finally went to the doctor who told me that I had a sprain and it would take about 4-6 weeks to heal. It sucks because I just got my exercise thing set and was enjoying it and pretty soon would have seen results, but now have to take it slow. That’s one reason I couldn’t blog. I was resting my ankle. Trying not to do much work. I also got a slight stomach upset in between, and that too on the day we got a new toilet seat installed in our bathroom. (See, this is why I started the blog- to document my life in snippets so that some day I look back and read and I will come across this particular blog post and know- yes! this was the time I hurled! So bear with me because these details are important..these are the things that make my life interesting.)

So while others remember so and so day as the day they did such and such fun activity I’ll remember the past week as the time I inaugurated our newly installed toilet seat by hurling into it!

Yes I am aware that by talking about toilet seats and stalking exes on orkut/hi5/FB I don’t put on a good case for me and sound like a loser.

I still do maintain that I was joking about the snooping around hi5/FB thingy.

Seriously you don’t do it?

Me neither!

Was just messing with you again!

24May 2011

Garam Masala Tuesdays: Samosas Revisited

Shumaila ⋅ 14 Comments

I know! I know! I have posted about Samosas before. So why again today? Well, there are quite a few reasons why I return to these delectable fried babies.

For one, a lot of you weren’t following my blog when I first blogged about Samosas. Yes, I am aware a lot of you out there still don’t follow my blog, but I have to admit, without compromising on my modesty, my blog following has increased a bit from when I last posted about samosas. So, its only right to post it again as many of you missed out on it the first time!

Another reason why I post again today, which is probably the main reason- I think this recipe needs to be a part of Garam Masala Tuesdays. Samosas are the most popular tea time snack in India and a favorite when you have guests over and thus deserved to be here at GMT. It would be a crime if I don’t talk about them in my weekly Tuesday posts dedicated solely to Indian food.

Plus, I wanted to see if I could improve on the recipe and even though the previous one was great, these are a notch better- well, the crust has been improved- no more bubbles on the samosa (well, significantly less) and perfectly crispy! (Note: you will see a lot of difference in the quality of pictures taken then and now. Please don’t be too harsh- I was just learning then and continue to do so even now. We have to start somewhere, don’t we!)