Sweet Lime Yogurt Cake

I have a toddler whose favourite phrase is "i don't want food", translated into the vernacular, of course. His entire diet consists of milk and three different semi-solid foods which he eats day in and day out, with no change in the menu. When people wonder why the mom who dabbles in a food blog cannot get her kid to try a sliver of anything new, without said toddler throwing up his entire last meal; the irony is not lost on me either. As realization keeps creeping in on how unnatural it is for my 2 and 1/2 year old to have never eaten cake, or chocolate, or ice cream (or almost every other food that toddlers take for granted) in his whole life, my enthusiasm for new foods keeps ebbing away. 
But then, in life, new doors open from unexpected quarters. My sister's son turned a year old last week, and thankfully, he was a normal kid not averse to trying out new foods. It was the perfect opportunity to wake up the hibernating baker inside me. So i plunged into the opportunity with much abandon. It felt great to get back into action and accomplish a little something. And the best evidence of the cake's success came when it was polished off by the little one's parents and grandparents within minutes after the birthday boy had his first taste. Delighted me!

Baked Samosas - a party snack

While i am idly browsing through food blogs, songs from the movie 'Baazigar' reach my ear from far. Suddenly i feel nostalgic for a Shahrukh movie. I feel an urge to write, sudden inspiration from an unexpected source. I used to be a big fan, used to enjoy the silliness; i have become indifferent. I can't claim to be a fan anymore when the last movie i watched on the big screen was some five years ago and that too in a movie theater in London. There it seemed important that 'Billu' be given his due. Back in India i don't care; I can't make time. I should go watch his next release, just for old times sake. Anybody wanna go watch with me? And sponsor the popcorn ? Or some samosa?

No Bake Eggless Mango Cheesecake - Indian version

This will make people go wow and firmly establish you as a great home cook. This mango season and you need to quickly find an excuse to make this. So you can make it a few more times before the season ends. And once you do, you might want to grab as many mangoes as you can and stuff your freezer with them, so you can make it again and again throughout the year. Considering how great this looks with minimal effort, this is sure to become your fall-back item for parties, celebrations or potlucks. You may even want to invent a few celebratory events. The toddler didn't fall flat on his face today. Yay! Let's have cheesecake.

My first party with homemade snacks

We don't get many visitors at my home. When they do come, they don't stay long. When they do stay its usually unplanned and with no time to cook a meal at home. We'd suddenly realise it was dinner time and order some biryanis. And this was never for more than four people. You can now safely assume that i don't have much experience in entertaining people at my home. You can also probably imagine how tensed i was when i had to host a pre-planned snacks party for eight and it was expected that whatever was served would be made by me.

Garlic dough balls

Turns out i am a very sensitive person. I will ask you to give me your honest opinion about something and if you honestly agree with my point of view, all is well. If instead you were to tell me you don't like what i did, i can get cross with you and pretty upset too. This state of being may not last for a long time, but that is the first state i get into. Of course i know better than to let you know i was upset. Because you see, after everything's said and done, i still want only your honest opinion. If you found out i got upset, and you really have a regard for my feelings, i can never trust your honesty again the next time you agree with me. The lesson to be drawn from this is that sensitive people have no business asking for honesty. And if honesty is really your thing, you have no right being sensitive. Unless you are me and you are stuck with both, you just gotta learn to live with one honest opinion at a time.