Home Alone making paranthas, salad & pizza and thinking of all things sweet & scary!

by

So I am home alone for three nights.

V had to go for some office stuff to Texas, and I am left home alone.

This is the first time I am staying alone in our house. And I was very nervous about it. Our town is quite safe. So I was not scared of somebody breaking in (although, I made sure all my windows were closed and do not laugh, but I also put a chair/stool in front of the front and back doors. Just in case someone does decide to break in, I will be warned by the noise. Too much of CSI does that to you!)

Like I mentioned, I am not scared of someone breaking in (you are rolling your eyes, aren’t ya?), but all the horror movies I have seen have made me a little scared of the paranormal- ghosts to be more precise. So that you are sure, yes, I am an adult. But I have an overactive imagination. A very overactive imagination.

I remember after watching the movie The Ring , I slept with my lights on for a month, imagining the girl ghost in the movie standing next to my bed every time I switched off the lights off and then even when the image of the ghost left after a month, I continued sleeping with the lights on, thinking the ghost would get pissed off that I wasn’t sacred anymore, and would be tempted to scare me off.

Yes. Overactive. Imagination. Mine is.

So, how I always do when I am alone, the first night I slept with the lights in my room on. And with the TV on. And the bathroom lights on. And the hallway light on. And the living room light on. With the phone in my hand every time. I felt really bad that I was wasting so much electricity, but honestly I could not help it. This is how I slept last night as well. Today though, my protector, my husband, will be back home, and I should live in a world less scared of the evils it possesses. (I repeat- do not roll your eyes! or laugh! Please?)

Besides being scared at night, the other thing that was bothering me about being home alone for three days was the food situation. With V gone, I knew I would not feel like cooking for one. I knew I would be cooking Maggi noodles for lunch, dinner, and well, even breakfast. But, I did not want that. So, instead, as soon as V left I made it a point to pre-make things. I made the tomato feta pasta salad. I made the topping for the artichoke spinach pizza and also had the necessary leftovers for the chicken paranthas I had packed for V before he left. The maggi packets are left to be eaten some other week.

This post has no recipes. It has links to some of my previous recipes though. And all of them are good. Some are quite old, some not so much.

Chicken Paranthas

Read More →

Lavender Chiffon Birthday Cake

by

It was my birthday yesterday and finally I turned 18 (or so I would like to believe..sigh…how I wish that was true!!!). Christmas is over but the hang over is still there. The weekend was spent in Vegas (I know- life is gooood!!). It was my first time there and after a long time I had so much of fun! Three days of drinking, eating, drinking, gambling, drinking, shows, lights and did I mention drinking?! Came back late night 26th since V was working on Monday, 27th – my birthday. Called people over for cocktails and cake- it was supposed to be a surprise but V had to tell me since the house was in a mess after the long weekend. So much for the surprise!

Luckily, the cake was already planned. A few days back I discovered Deeba’s blog, and was floored by her baking skills. The moment I laid eyes on her version of the Lavender Chiffon Cake, I knew this was it- this was the birthday cake I had to make. Impressed with the whole look of the cake I decided to replicate it. I tried my hand at the firm white chocolate ganache decoration too with a mango motif design, though with not much success. Of course, Deeba’s cake looks so much more beautiful and wish my pictures were as good (I should have photographed in day light- but the cake got ready in the evening, just in time for the party). Looks aside, the cake was excellent- just baked, it was springy to touch like a chiffon cake should be, and light as a feather! So what if my photography and decorating skills aren’t that good! As they say, you learn from your mistakes and am happy to come out of this as a more experienced decorator- I promise next time would be better.

Read More →

CHOCOLATE CHIFFON LOAF CAKE

by

A light and soft chocolate chiffon loaf cake flavored with orange liqueur. A simple and easy recipe, perfect for any occasion.

hocolate Chiffon Loaf Cake

Edited to add on April 30, 2018: This recipe for chocolate chiffon cake is super easy and yields a fluffy, soft and moist chocolate cake. Addition of orange liqueur elevates the taste of this chocolate chiffon loaf cake taste even more. Feel free to skip it in case you don’t have any on hand. While the top most picture on the post is the most recent, the one directly above went with the original post that went live on November 18, 2010. I am happy to say that I have learnt a lot about photography in the last few years and I hope I continue to grow and never stop learning.

Original Post:

So, we are back to just the two of us in our house. Said bye to V’s parents on Sunday and came back home to an empty house. After one month of Mom’s cooking lessons, catching up on family gossip, Papa’s watering the garden, and celebrating festivals together, V and I are both alone again in the house. From being so busy to not find time to log on to the net, I now have ample time on hand, and of course, back to having nothing to do in the afternoon. Which means- I am back to blogging :)! And, that too with a chocolate chiffon cake! There couldn’t be a better way to come back!

This cake is very, very soft- like the name suggests its like chiffon- light and soft. The recipe is adapted from Classic Home Desserts by Richard Sax. I couldn’t find vanilla essence in my house, which came as a shock to me, because its never happened that I don’t have a bottle of vanilla essence in my pantry. So, instead I used a teaspoon of Godiva chocolate liqueur (like I needed an excuse for doing that!), notching up the cake a little.

hocolate Chiffon Loaf Cake

CHOCOLATE CHIFFON LOAF CAKE
 
Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Serves: 1 9 inch loaf
Ingredients
  • ⅓ cup unsweetened Dutch- process cocoa powder (in case, dutch process cocoa is not available, switch the baking powder called below for 1 tsp baking soda)
  • ½ cup boiling water
  • 1 tsp instant coffee powder
  • ¾ cup cake flour ( I have used all purpose flour too with good results, though cake flour is ideal)
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil (use an oil which is neutral in taste)
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp grand marnier (optional)
  • 4 large egg whites
  • Pinch cream of tartar
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 180 C/350 F. Line a 8 by 4 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
  2. In a bowl sift the cocoa powder. Add boiling water and instant coffee. Whisk till blended. Add the oil, egg yolks, vanilla and grand marnier to it. Whisk well.
  3. In another bowl, sift the flour with the baking powder and ½ cup of the sugar.
  4. Add the cocoa-water mix to the flour mix and stir till combined. Don't over mix.
  5. In a grease free bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tart until soft peaks.
  6. Gradually add in the sugar and beat whites till stiff peaks.
  7. Fold ¼ of the beaten egg whites to the chocolate mixture, to loosen the batter.
  8. Gently fold in the remaining batter, making sure to not deflate the whites.
  9. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan; smooth the top.
  10. Bake until toothpick comes clean when inserted in the centre of the cake, about 50 minutes (start checking after 40-45 minutes, depending on your oven)
  11. Cool cake in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert and let cool to room temperature. Enjoy!
Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe