Hello Friends.....

Hi friends, Remember me…..May be not as it’s an enough span of  gap to forget a name or a person. But a hearty thanks in advance to those still remember me…First let me wish you all a Happy New Year,  though its late, not so late to wish . Last year was so hectic and busy for me that still the busy schedule of those days trembles me with a feel of exhaustion. I got shifted form USA. Then got fully heads into decorating my small dwelling place. Working with various kind of workers here, is the most tedious job I understood, as time is not so important for them. Syncing each of the worker with the other and fit them into my schedule was really the hardest job I have ever  faced. My hubby was then out of the country. All  responsibilities were on my head. My daughter's school, the interior work progression  and on  the other hand, the  preparation of my own sister's marriage in the same town, made me a machine to work like a maniac. But touch wood everything went nicely and I give some credit to myself as all alone I completed two big projects of my life yet - Decorating my home and arranging my sis's marriage.

So, Friends here I am back again. I can't assure about my regularity. But hopefully you are going to see me again in intervals.

 Wish all happy Blogging.

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The Tactile Aesthesis

Hello every body!!! How you all are doing???? I am not back yet in this creative blogosphere. Still struggling with the new settlement, hopefully this will be the permanent one, in Kolkata. I just wanted to make my lonely blog a bit active. So here is a short  story for you. Hope you will enjoy it.

This is my daughter when she was just 2 & half days old.

Her old aching limbs needed earnestly a fresh air walk. She locked the door and went out to relax in the fresh breeze for a while. She had a small shaded trail guarded by big green trees in her apartment complex, which she felt the only treasure remained in this concrete world. The air was no fresher to inhale but still the trees worked as the catalysts to strain out the pollution and spread the freshness in the area. Burden of thoughts, leaned down her head and her eyes aimlessly followed the path and suddenly got stuck on a feather. A feather with a colour of yellow and black and the length might be a palm long. She knew this bird, but didn’t know its name. She often saw it from her kitchen window, humming in the trees, flying from one branch to the other. Her heart suddenly felt with joy and the 9 year old child jumped out of her and picked up the feather in no time. Her life within a fraction of moment dated 50 years back when she was a desperate feather collector and was awarded the first prize in her school project for her feather collection. She rested her body on a lonely bench on the side of the trail and felt her pounding heart which was though little bit exhausted with the brisk walk, much more excited on getting a suddenly found treasure. Her wrinkled and trembling fingers touched the soft surface of the feather. The delicate and smoothness of the feather just injected a weird kind of sensation in her whole body and it went straight and hit her heart. She felt a different kind of happiness and relaxation. A different kind of excitement started to run through her blood. She was holding the feather with the utmost care she could give it to. She didn’t want to distort the shape of the feather or any of its barbs. Her aged limbs were trying to gather all the power to give it the full comfort. The touch sensation of the feather infused new life in her senescing body. Again it took her to the moment when she first held her daughter in her arms. The little bundle of joy made her whole life blessed. Though she was young enough at that time, her hands were trembling too then. Her heart was beating fast with a fear that might be her touch would hurt her little soft baby. Today she was feeling the same first motherhood experience after so many years just after touching the feather. Her heart swelled with happiness and the joy flooded down her cheeks just alike what she felt that moment when she first had her baby in her arms. The two ages suddenly commixed with a new age and all her burdened soul, her burdened age energised with a new light of power to live life. She touched the feather in her cheek and closed her eyes, she felt like touching her newborn baby. She sensed the same joy and ecstasy. Her charged body headed towards home. Now her hands or limbs were not trembling nor were her limbs aching any more. She went straight to her room and grabbed for a secure place to keep the feather. The mere feather was not a mere feather to her anymore. It’s the source of power to live and sense the precious moments once again. Her excitement could not wait for a moment to share about her treasure and the tactile sensation with her husband, who would be back any moment from his job and her grown up married daughter who calls every day at night.

""Happy Blogging""

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Truffle Shuffle

Those who are shivering in the unexpected fall in the temperature, those who are imploring to get rid of the warm clothes soon and feel the warmth of the nature god, here, what I am going to say will surely wake up the green-eyed-monster sleeping inside the deep dark chamber of their heart. Here in Irvine, California, we are festively celebrating the 83 degree F in the middle of winter. Blessed we are not letting off the chance to enjoy the drastic change of climate to the full pit. The open malls and parks are worth seeing. You will just feel that the whole town has burst into one place with summer clothes on. The jovial and excited sound of the people playing the music of happiness and like a contagion it will directly rap your heart. And sooner or later your soul will feel the glory of that glee and feet tapping on the music of mirth . This is how a full bright smiling weather can change the whole spirit of the world. That what I realized today. For us, we are feeling too lucky to enjoy the summer line before we leave the Golden state of USA. People in the cold poles, are you not envying US ????

Day before yesterday I made Swiss Roll with cream cheese filling. A bit of the filling was left and I wanted to use it soon before the time comes to trash it. So I made this dessert, which hardly took 5 mnts to make, and tasted too good. I named it Truffle Shuffle to give it a poetic touch. Hope you will surely like the recipe. And this recipe is mainly consecrated to calm down the green-eyed- monster off screen…:P

Truffle Shuffle

(For 3)

Ingredients:-

Cream Cheese - Approx 4 ounce (room temperature)

Sugar- 1/4 cup

Truffle- 6 piece

Pink colour(optional)- a bit

Whipped cream for the topping.

Chocolate Syrup (optional)- for decoration

Coloured and chocolate Sprinkles- for decoration

Method:-

1. Cream the cream cheese along with sugar very nicely till both equally blends together.

2. Separate the cream cheese in two halves.

3. Dip a tooth pick just a bit in the colour and add the colour with a half of the cream cheese. Fold nicely to make the colour evenly blended in the mixture.

4. Take three shot or small glasses. Pour the chocolate syrup in thin lines in the walls of the glasses.

5. First 1 table spoon of white cream cheese in each glass. Pour a truffle and then 1 table spoon of the coloured cream cheese. Pour some coloured sprinkles and another truffle. Top the glass with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles. The divine dessert is just ready in a minute.

Note:-

I used store bought truffles. But If you want to make homemade truffle Here is the easy recipe.

Sending this to the Lets Celebrate Sweets- Chocolate hosted by Veggie Hut and started by Nivedita.

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Simple Vegetable Pasta Soup

“Good soup is one of the prime ingredients of good living.  For soup can do more to lift the spirits and stimulate the appetite than any other one dish.”

Louis P. De Gouy, ‘The Soup Book’ (1949) 

Among all kind of foods, I consider soup as one of the most healthiest, tastiest and the easily made dishes. I am not talking about the canned or the ready-to-make soups but purely the homemade ones. After a tiring day, a bowl of hot healthy soup makes our day to start over again. It helps to regain the power of energy which we have shaded all day long and gives the taste of heaven in just a single sip. Of course if it is a tasty soup indeed.:)  

Our dinner will not be completed if a hot bowl of soup is not served. In my parents house, I could not recall a day when a bowl of soup was not served. My mom is a wonderful cook and I should mention my dad too, whose cooked food make you smacking your fingers and the plate till the end. My mom's way of cooking or rather its better to say the motto of cooking is "Less spice makes healthy foods". Dad's motto of cooking is "More spicier more tastier". From my mom, we (my sister and I) learn the traditional Bengali cooking and from dad, we learn the fusion style of cooking and also at the same time we are introduced with the different tastes of the world which our dad loves to experiment in his free times and we love to devour them in no time.

So my sister and I are grown up in the custom of gutting all kind of foods and both us, for this reason, grew up a passion to taste and cook any kind of food. But this tradition, of having a bowl of soup before dinner, vanishes for meanwhile when I got married. In my In-laws' house a bowl of soup is more fancier than a habit. So after I became little quondam in there, to introduce my own choices, the first thing I started the soup before dinner. Now it has become a wont for my hubby and for my daughter, to make their meal satisfied if they have a bowl of soup prior to the main course meal.

 When I was going through my recipe list I found no soup recipe is listed yet. That means no post on any soup. So today I am going to post a soup recipe which is very easy to make, filling, refreshing and comforting in anytime.

Simple Vegetable Pasta Soup

Ingredients:-

Vegetable Stock/ Water- 3 cups

Boiled Pasta- 1 cup

Assorted Vegetables cut in to small pieces - 2 cups (Like- Green Peas, Beans, Carrots, Bamboo shoot, spinach, etc. )

Spring onion/Scallion separated- 4 sticks

Garlic chopped- 1 table spoon

Ginger chopped- 1 tea spoon

Salt , Sugar and pepper- As per taste

Vinegar- 1 tea spoon

Oil/Butter- 1 tea spoon

Method:-

1. In a deep dense pan pour the stock/water, the vegetables and vinegar. Add salt as per taste and boil till the vegetables become semi tender. Take it off the stove and reserve.

2. In another pan heat the oil/ butter. Add the garlic, fry till it turns brown. And the white part of the scallion and sauté for 2-3 mnts. Add the ginger and the pasta. Fry for a minute. Add a pinch of salt, sugar and pepper. Then add the green part of the scallion and pour it in the reserved soup. Boil for couple of minutes. Serve hot and enjoy.

Note:

1. If you want make it a nonveg sopu then use chicken broth in stead of vegetable stock.

2. Add boiled chicken and fry it along with the garlic. And add an egg at the end of cooking the soup to give the texture of an egg drop soup.

3. If you want make it little bit hot add a finely chopped green chilli along with the garlic.


Sending this to Sameena's SOUP RECIPE event.

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Salmon Florentine Phyllo Cups

Wish you all Happy and Healthy New Year. Little late, but not so late to cheer. How did you start your new year? Did you wait till the midnight bell melodically sings the new year song? I missed the auspicious moment of the shift. But welcome the brand new year with a blast and with new promises. Last year the most remarkable thing and a long lasted dream had been fulfilled, that was, I tried Ice Skating. And on the same time I also promised to never wear the Ice skates again in my life.

From my childhood skating was one of the dreams which I always wanted to try for. But that never materialized as both my mom and dad are too scared with the thought that if I skate I am going to break my bones. I loved seeing the Ice skating ballets in the television and used to spend many nights dreaming myself skating and dancing with some elegant moves.

The Ice Skating Ring at Sea World, San Diego, California....

Any way, after coming to USA I felt my dream a bit closer and my husband not so rigid in this affair. Moreover he is also quite interested in Ice skating. Last year when the winter knocked the door and the artificial Ice Skating rings built up in various places, we decided to try our potentiality in this field. Last year the day before Christmas we went to Sea world (famous theme park for the sea creatures and shows) and the first thing we did, bought the tickets to Ice Skate.

My daughter and me in the ring....

Whenever I have seen people on the ring so fleetly skating, the moves gave me the feeling of a free bird flying in the sky. The gestures of the moves always made me to feel the taste of freedom. A freedom, free form every thing just tasting the beauty of life and the rhythm of romance. This kind of sublime feeling I always wanted to feel and taste.

Before starting this new action I am too confident and determined that when I am on floor I am going to win the podium. I will just turn in to a swan princess and will make everybody stuck dumb with the graceful dancing poses. But all the confidence and determination just went in vain within a second when I wore the Skate shoes and put the first step in the Ice skating ring. I stayed in the ring for less than an hour and was not able to leave my hands from the side bars. I never thought in my dreams that the floor could be so slippery. I never thought in my dream that I would not be able to step a single move without holding any thing. On the other hand my husband and my daughter they tried few steps without any support. But the over confident Me, skated many steps, only holding firmly the side railings. A weird scare was injected in my body, in my blood and all my limbs had a eldritch sensation which kept on giving me goose bumps and made me weak in every move. After coming out from the ring I felt like I got a new life again. I felt so relieved like I had survived from a great danger. I promised that not in my remaining days I am going to try this action again. But I will surely train my daughter in Ice Skating and will see me through her rocking the floor with majesty.

In this new year I made a new dish which I have never made before and would liked to share with everybody.

SALMON FLORENTINE PHYLLO CUPS

(Recipe adapted from www.athensfoods.com)

Ingredients:-

Salmon Fillet- 1/2 lb

Spinach chopped- 1 cup

Tomato chopped- 1 medium sized

Tomato - 12 sliced in thin pieces

Garlic chopped- 1 tea spoon

Ginger paste- 1 tea spoon

Onion chopped- 1/2 cup

Vinegar- 1 tea spoon

Plum Sauce- 1 table spoon

Salt , Sugar and Black Pepper- As per taste

Oil- 1 table spoon

Shredded cheese- 3/4 cup

Phyllo sheet- 1 packet

Method:-

1. Boil the Salmon Fillet with little bit of salt and the vinegar. Drain the fillet and reserve.

2. In a skillet heat the oil and then add the chopped garlic. Sauté it till brown then add the onion. Let the onion fry till it turns brown add the tomato and the garlic paste. When the tomato will become soft add the spinach. Cook it until it gets tender.

3. Mash the salmon fillet with a fork and add it to the spinach mixture. Add salt, sugar pepper and plum sauce and cook till it gets a dry texture. Cool it and then chill.

4. Take the Phyllo sheet. There are two rolls in the packet. Unroll the sheet. I cut each unrolled sheet in six squares. You will get total 12 squares.

5. Pre heat the oven in 350 degree F.

6. Take a muffin pan. Grease it and gently put each phyllo square inside the cups with a light press. Now put the Salmon filling in each cup with an approx measurement of 1 table spoon. On top of each cup put a sliced Tomato.

7. Bake for 25mnts. Then take the trey out and put the cheese on the top of each cup and again bake for 10-15mnts more till the phyllo cups turn brown.

8. Serve hot with sauce and salad.

Note:-

1. I have done a mistake. I put the cheese right in the beginning, I started baking the cups. For that reason the cheese became over cooked and didn't get the melted creamy taste. Please make sure to put the cheese before 10 mnts of the total given  baking time.

2.You can serve it as snacks or starter and you can also devour it as the main meal.

3.Please read the instructions well on the packet of the Phyllo sheets before using it.



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Chocolate Ganache Topped Cheese Cake

 Another hearty healthy feast has gone. But the festive spirit is not yet flamed off. Rather it is getting energized to welcome a brand new year. Christmas is the indication to wind up a year and to welcome another year. But wrapping and unwrapping gifts are all not done yet.  It's still to welcome a bunch of new gifts and grand party with your near dear one to toss the glasses in celebration of the new year .

 For us (my husband and me, daughter is too small to feel), the festive scenario is quite different. From past three years we end a year in packing and start a year in packing and moving to another land. We hardly feel the enjoyment of the new year. We hardly feel the spirit of shopping, buying gifts, et al. As for us, we keep on trashing things and weighing the suitcases to avoid the over weightage fine. Last two times we spent a huge bulk of money in giving fines as we are bound to make the suitcases over weight. This time we are determined not to spend any extra buck in fine. So we are just keeping on trashing all our favourite and unfavourite things with a  loaded heart every day. Our house is not getting decorated to welcome a new year. But We are taking off all the decorations to completely clean our house before we leave.  May be some of you will think that it’s a great fun to spend each year in a new land. But its not a boon to us at all. Mainly when you have a lil kid at home. We always keep crossed our fingers in the anxiety how our baby and her health will react after reaching to a new country. But this is what we call Life. A challenge that we have to accept every time.

 Any way, Now let me come to the recipe which today I would like to share. This is one of the most favourite desserts of my family which I am bound to make every week. Very easy to make and the taste is truly divine. I adapted the simple Cheese Cake recipe from Cooks.com and then added my twist with a layered Chocolate ganache on the top which gave the taste of the tangy cheese cake a sweeter version. Each bite melts down in your mouth and give an ultimate satifaction of a chocolaty creamy penchant.

Ingredients:-

For the Cheese Cake-

1.Cream Cheese- 8oz /1 packet (room temperature)

2. Eggs-2

3. Sugar-1/2 cup

4. Vanilla essence- 1/2 teaspoon

5. Ready made pie crust

For chocolate ganache-

1. Heavy cream- 1 cup

2. Milk chocolate- 1 &1/4 cup(grated or morsels)

Method:-

Cheese Cake:-

1. Pre heat the oven in 350 degree F.

2. Beat the cream cheese until soft. Add sugar and vanilla essence and mix all together nicely. Add egg one by one and beat till all the ingredients and nicely get mixed and turned in to a creamy texture.

3. Pour the mixture in the pie crust and bake for 40 mnts or till a tooth pick pricked in the cake comes out clean.

4. Take it out and leave it to cool down.

Chocolate ganache:-

1. Heat a pan and pour the cream. When the cream will become warm add the chocolate. Keep on stirring on a low heat until the chocolate melts and mixes in the cream nicely. Let the sauce make semi thick and then pour it on the cheese cake as a top layer.

2. Refrigerate the Cake over night to set. Decorate as you wish and serve.

Note:-

1.I got small bowls of ready made pie crust which are perfect for the party treats.

2. I am not sure whether cheese cake is available in India or not. But I was searching in the net and I came out with these tip. If we blend the cottage cheese, after straining of the water, till it turns in to a creamy texture, it can become a good substitute of cream cheese. I have not tried this tip yet. But will try it once I am back in India. One more thing to remember if your are using lemon to make cottage cheese then don't forget to rinse it thoroughly under cold water to get rid of the smell of the lemon.



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Wish you Merry Christmas with Checkerboard Cookies

Wish you all a very Happy Christmas. Hope some of you are having and some of you already have a gala Christmas Feast along with all the mouth watering dishes and surprised gifts from Santa Claus with your family and friends. Though the Christmas bell has started to ring few weeks back of the respective day, when the house started to become fully aromatic with the small of baking cookies and cakes, buying gifts and packing them with colourful papers and shifting them in to decorated bags especially for this very day. The decoration every where is worth seeing. Even for my lil daughter's sake we also bought an artificial Christmas tree, decorated it to feel the spirit whole heartedly.

This time I tried this Checkerboard Cookies which came out real nice and tasty, though the visual satisfactory part of the checkers are not up to the mark. But still for a first time attempt it's not that bad too. I adapted the recipe from Here and this video also helped me a lot to make this cookie.

Note:

I am not writing the ingredients and the procedure again only to save my time as I followed the recipe more or less the same way it said. But would like to mention the variations I made. I made all the measurement of the ingredients half to make a small amount of cookies. I didn't use the lemon extract. I added an egg. As long as you will keep the dough in the refrigerator it will be easy to handle.

Once again wish you all Merry Christmas and a Happy new year in advance.

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Pancake Roll

I prepared and took the snaps of the Pancake Roll, when Priya of Priya's Easy n Tasty Recipes, announced the Pancake event, a decade back. And then I totally forgot to post it and to send it for the event. I am like this. Due to my forgetfulness I rarely participate in the events. Today while spending few moments with the old memories I suddenly found the snaps which I treasured very nicely in my web album. Before I forget again I am posting it right now. Priya this is for you. This is a very common breakfast at our home. Both my daughter and hubby like it very much. Very easy to make and taste too good.I think it is also common in your kitchen too. Let me share how I make.

Ingredients:-

Pancake:

• Flour-1/2 cup(approx)

• Milk-1/2 cup

• 2 eggs

• Salt- As per taste

• Sugar- As per taste

Filling:

• Chopped Tomato, carrot and cucumber-2 cups

• Mayonnaise- 1 table spoon

• Italian seasoning- As per taste

• Black pepper-As per taste

• Grated cheese -1/2 cup (optional)

• Salt & Sugar-As per taste

Butter/oil to fry

Method:-

1. Mix all the ingredients written under pancake and make a nice and smooth batter. If you feel its too watery then add little bit of flour more. Or if you think its too thick then add little bit of milk.

2. In another bow mix all the ingredients written under Filling. And mix well together.

3. Heat oil/butter in a non stick pan. Pour the batter onto the pan, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Flip the other side when its done. Take a spoon full of filling and pour in a line on the pancake. Then fold the right side then the left side in roll shape.

4. Serve hot with sauce.

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