A Birthday "Cake" Post

It's my birthday today and yet this post is about the cake and not me. Over a few years now the birthday excitement is all fizzed out - I think from the time I stopped receiving many many gifts from many many people. :)) ;)

Anyway, that's not the point. The point is I baked my own birthday cake. Successfully. Without screw ups (ok, one little screw up. what's the fun without me going wrong somewhere?!). And it tastes good too!

Before I indulge you with the pics, I have to, HAVE TO mention where I got this recipe from. Since the day I saw this cake feature on Nandita's blog, I had to try it. However the day never saw light until today. It's super simple, super tasty, super fun and super eye candy to make Choco Vanilla Zebra cake. The simplicity of the recipe is what made me want to try my hand at it.

With the given measurements I was able to bake two cakes, One is the original form and one in a loaf pan, since , my pan size was smaller than what Nandita might have used.

Freshly baked

The Loaf Cake

How I decorated it!

How she helped me display it!

How he fought for it!

Reminded me of marble cake amma had made many years back

Day 30 :: End of Blogathon 2014

It's time to pull the curtains, for Blogathon 2014 is over! 

It's been wonderful staying connected on daily basis. I am humbled by your response, encouragement and feedback. Nothing can be more rewarding than people telling me that they read my blog. Yes I am saying this for the thousandth time perhaps. But I just cannot justify my feelings on each of your dear comments. 

I enjoyed the journey and wish you did too. I will be back for sure. Now it's time for some blog siesta! 

Goodbye folks! 

Day 29 :: Happiness, it's your responsibility.

I like such quotes. The ones which don't put others before you! Enough has been said about thinking about others and spreading happiness around. What about us? Why is it not a priority to do what please our core? Why when we think of doing something for us, we are made to feel guilty? Why are we given examples of those who do things better than us? Why are we compared? 

Obviously a whole lot is just clueless what I want to say... But there I just said it! 

Day 28 :: That moment when

It's 11:45 pm and you realise you have not yet updated the blog! 

:D I decide to write about something in the morning and by the time I reach this page, I change my mind. People anticipate what my blog topic will be for the day, but in reality, even I am not aware of what I am going to say until I actually begin writing! Call it spontaneity or impulsiveness or plain unpreparedness, it is always that. I have no idea myself. 

Blogathon is a big task. The one which you can understand only when you undertake it. This time I decided to take it one day at a time and not think of the entire 30 days process. Hence this time it was one easy(ier) project than the previous two! 

There is a certain kick in doing the Blogathon. It is a challenge that needs to be proved to oneself and not to the world. Blogathon is a learning activity, a process. It is an exhilarating event that flushes out many thoughts and feelings in one go. 

The reason why I started this was just to see if I can do it. Rather it ended up being a big annual event in my blog. 

Yes so as long as this blog is alive and me too, there shall be blogathons. At least an attempt to stay true to my blog commitments. 

Day 27 :: Guest Post By Yatika

Yatika! One of the two crazy girls that I recently met. She writes, but yet t have a platform of her own. Though I am pushing her to get one, she is yet to heed to my advice. Hence, i proposed that she feature on my blog as a guest blogger, and here's what she has written on being a new girl in a city and successfully completing 1.6 years at an IT company!

Wishing her all the luck and good times in future!
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Yatika's Post



It all started precisely one year and six months back. This ordeal was no less than joining an Army Camp. A girl with no hopes of standing on her feet came to this city. She was shy and scared. It was her first day to get up early by her own. It was her first day to iron her clothes all by herself. It was her first day to fetch a bus herself. It was her first day in IT Company. It was her first day to live independently. There was shriek inside the girl's heart. She was astonished by a new city, a new experience and a compeletely new life that she would live fearlessly now. She was friendly yet cautious. The year passed and so did she; she passed the test of being independent. The actual ordeal starts now. She is not a mommy's girl. She is not that happy-go-lucky girl. She is mature now; understands people; fights for herself; follows 'Ignorance is a bliss' quote religiously. She knows what to do and when. She knows it all. 
Now that she has all the rights to spoil herself a she is the owner of her deed, she is really confused. She doesn't know where she is going but she likes the direction. She is just going with the flow. She is standing at a junction from where there are multiple roads. All of them tempt her. She is happy to go anywhere. But..ohhh..She doesn't have the ticket. She has to earn it. She has to choose the best road for her. She has to analyse what she is good at. She has to find her talent that is still under wraps. She has to walk this road all alone. It's her responsibility now. Family, Career and Passion: Which one to choose? Answer: Just go with the flow. If she wants to choose one then she has to put her best foot forward. it's not a cake walk. She is thinking and she is thinking a lot. Everyday she changes her mind. She is not able to focus. The final verdict is in her hands and she has to live upto it and then life would always be 'la vie en rose' Somebody said some wise words to me. 'Each and everything in life is compensated. If you do good, you will get the best and if you are being bad then worst is waiting for you in the other room.' I am waiting for my 'best'(I hope its the best only..fingers crossed) to come soon.
Well..that's how life is. We run, we fall, we rise, we fall again, we learn, we try again, we drift away the dust and try again and then one fine day, we succeed. Everyone has the same story. Nobody is born perfect to take all the best decisions in life.

Day 26 :: This is exactly how I feel!

Day 25 :: Recipe Post - Aloo Beet Soya Tikki

Another of Aarnavi's dabba experiments. It was again veg day for Aarnavi's tiffin and I wanted to feed her with something nutritious. Ooops, do I sound like a mother now?

Aarnavi does not readily eat a new thing offered to her. So I have to disguise it and then feed it to her. Once she likes the taste, then she is hooked on to it.

Aloo Beet Soya Tikki

Ingredients

One medium size potato boiled and mashed
1/2  a beet grated
Soya Chunks, soaked till soft in hot water with little salt, and then shredded to small bits (you can keep large bits if you enjoy biting into the chunks)
Whole wheat bread crumbs
Red chilly powder - according to taste
Turmeric - according to taste
Coriander Powder - according to taste
Garam Masala - according to taste
Salt
Finely chopped coriander leaves

Method

Except the breadcrumbs, combine all of the above. Check the taste. You need to adjust the taste accordingly, because as you add the bread crumbs, the final patty will taste blander than the one without the crumbs. So make sure you have added the powders a little more than what you want for the final taste.

Make small roundels and flatten them. Keep them in the fridge for minimum 20 mins. Shallow fry until crispy on both sides. Serve with chutney/ sauce.