2012, in Books!

[Originally posted at my other blog – The Green Tea Evenings]

A super-good year for books... I touched a number that I only dreamt about touching.
Reading 120 books in 12 months is a big deal, especially to me.
That means an average of -
10 books per month
2.5 books per week 
a book every 2 days
All this combined with a very demanding job, and another demanding hobby... well, I felt like I ran past the finish line of a marathon as I closed my 120th book earlier today.

[Do check out my book list by clicking on the pic above]

It was indeed like a marathon. I started off with great gusto, I grew disillusioned in the middle, I told myself that number doesn't matter(which didn't till I finished my 100th book, after which it was merely a challenge I threw to myself to see if I could touch 120!), I drew inspiration from other readers, my elbows ached with all the book/Kindle-holding I did, and when the finish line was visible there was exhilaration and excitement, and when I finally reached the magic number after some huffing and puffing, I was overjoyed. And am overjoyed because as I hit the number, I also know that I enjoyed and savored each book, even the not-so-good-ones.

Biskoot, as we call it…

As mentioned in my previous post, Mom and Maami were visiting us earlier this month.
My Maami is this super-awesome-homemaker-cook-woman who is like the encyclopedia for anything related to Udupi Brahmin cooking. All our cooking prowess can be directly or indirectly attributed to her, and we still refer to her when in doubt for anything related to Tulu cooking. So when she was visiting, I had a list ready - a list of all the things I'd ask her to make for me , stuff that I've been craving for a zillion years. Mom ensured that we had the raw material (some of the stuff isn't readily available in Hyderabad and they got it all from Hidingala, our hometown), and together they cooked them all for me.

This is one of such awesome but simple dishes only my Maami can make. Yes, its not a traditional Udupi dish (yeah, her repertoire of dishes is vast, as I discovered recently), but we literally grew up on these biscuits(pronounced Biskoot, just for the Tulu touch :) ). The recipe has been handed down from generations of housewives, I believe, and is one of the simplest methods to bake a biscuit or a cookie, in this case.

Story of the puree… ;-)

I know I haven't been blogging, but then, I've been busy. Busy holidaying, falling sick and having family over. And when family is around, I make sure that I do not even enter the kitchen. Only that way will delicious food enter our stomachs.
Last week, Mom and my Maami (Aunt) were visiting, and I wanted to showcase some of my baking to them both. Also, after the stuff I've been binging on from the start of the month, I wanted to make something healthy for us all, something that even I can eat without making a face or feeling guilty.

Spinach & Cheese Muffins

I know, this blog has seen better days. But good times are here to come, I hope! :)
And to kick start that, here's a nice breakfast muffin recipe. Healthy, packed with nutrients and eggless!

My kitchen help is back, after a long holiday of 4 months during which I had to cook all meals of the day - breakfast, lunch and dinner. I slacked off often and felt guilty about providing the husband with a decent meal. Its tough to have a full time job, and still cook all three meals of the day, especially if you want all three of them to be healthy and fresh. I know, a lot of women do that, but am certainly not in that lot! Sad, but true! And I realized it pretty early in life! :-)