Catching Up

 

Can't believe four months went by without me even thinking about this blog, leave alone posting. Goes to show just how mentally occupied I was with a thousand other things, right from a much-needed family vacation to a wedding in the extended clan.

But as I scroll through the photos on my phone, I realise there are things I'd like to document for posterity and share with the world. So here goes... a month-wise update seems appropriate.

August

Was a momentous month as the first-born started college.

September

After a long hiatus, I painted bottles again for a local fair. Zero sales notwithstanding, it felt good to reconnect with the old art form again.

October

Was the month of festivals, right from Durga Puja to Diwali. The youngest wore a saree for the first time, and loads of bonhomie and good food marked the various celebrations.

November

As we celebrated two decades of a life spent together, the much-awaited family vacay finally happened.

December

A wedding and get-togethers meant lots of occasions to go out and soak up some fun in the sun. But the real pleasure lay in a flower-filled home full of fragrances from festive year-end baking.

At the end of the day, it is the small joys that give the most happiness! 😊

Quarantine Baking

The Covid-induced lockdown pushed a lot of us to finally try our hands at things we had always wanted to make but weren't getting around to. For me that one item which I really wanted to try was bread making.

In the early days of lockdown, there was no yeast available so I started by substituting with curd. The hot weather aided fermentation, of course. Yummy garlic bread was the outcome.

Once the first attempt was successful, there was no looking back. Hubby ordered yeast online and baked a neat loaf himself.

Now focaccia, using veggie toppings from the kitchen garden, are my favourite.

Along with bread making, another recipe that everyone loved and chipped in with, was bread pudding. Made out of stale slices, the final result is quite an appetizing dessert.

Though I had been baking vegetable gratin for years, a simple recipe using eggs that was shared by a friend made me take my skills up another notch. While I use white sauce for the inner layers, the egg-cream-cheese mix on the top takes this gratin to the next level.

All in all, the quarantine has been a great foodie party for us as a family, and no one is complaining!