Contemplations and Ruminations

These are the easiest cookies I've ever made, they bake in no time at all and they look cute, kids are sure to love them. All you need is 100 gms Maida A tablespoon of baking Powder 2 teaspoons Vanilla Essence 50 gms margarine (or butter, margarine is the cooking butter and it is unsalted) 30 to 40 gms sugar Milk as required Gems or M&M's So mix the butter and sugar together first (I used the crystallized sugar, did not bother to powder it). Then drop in the vanilla essence and beat it up. Add the maida and the baking powder and knead into a soft dough by adding the required quantity of milk. Once you get a soft dough, roll it into coin sized cylinders as shown below. Refrigerate this cylindrical dough for half an hour. After 30 minutes, chop off cylindrical bits and place them in a greased and floured pan, and just push down some gems on them. Here they are in a greased and floured pan, looking all colourful. Now lightly dip your fingers in milk and just brush them ov...

So when the construction work was going on at home, I collected some broken pieces of tiles, marbles, stones and other junk. Made this frame using those odd bits and pieces and then used metallic paint on it. By the way those are my siblings, this was taken during the holiday season, its one of my favourite pictures  (check the link to get a clearer view). I like the way the light falls softly on us, and I love the dress I am wearing (I call it my TCM dress) along with my favourite pair of jeans and of course I love those three funny people near me, they are all the entertainment I need... God in His infinite wisdom knew that I wouldn't grow up to be socially active so he created three crazy siblings who have no choice but to hang out with me and a whole horde of authors who create the characters I interact with on a daily basis. I sometimes wonder though how it would be to be at the other end of the spectrum... like going out to the cool places and hanging out with the hep and ha...

T he Italians who came up with the idea of layering a flat bed of leavened flour with a sauce and some simple vegetables sure created something great for mankind. Don't be daunted by the thought of making a pizza from scratch, this is a simple enough recipe and the looks of wonder on the faces of the people who bite in that first slice is what makes the whole process worthwhile. So let's get started... Ingredients for the pizza base : Dry Yeast :  about 6 teaspoons heaped Warm Water : a cup Maida : 2 1/2 cups Baking Powder : about 2 teaspoons heaped Vegetable Oil : 2 teaspoons (preferably Olive Oil) Salt : 1/2 a teaspoon. Take the lukewarm water in a bowl and drop in the 6 heaped teaspoons of dry yeast. Remember, the water has to be slightly warm, if it is piping hot it will kill the yeast and the dough will not ferment. After dropping in  the yeast cover the bowl and let is sit for 10 to 15 minutes. After the 10 minutes are up, the yeast will have dissolve...