Daily – Page 50 – Sugar And Spice… Among Other Things

Waffles off the Griddle

Posted on December 11, 2018October 21, 2018 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

My first exposure to waffles came when I was invited over to my friends’ place for a weekend during my sophomore years. As we ate through buttery waffles with sliced bananas, honey and chocolate syrup that morning, it was like an answer for sugar cravings in the morning. Ever since then, I try not to pass on an opportunity to indulge in this decadent breakfast treat.

Ideally waffles are made from leavened batter or dough cooked between two plates that are patterned to give a characteristic size, shape, and surface impression. Something similar to pancakes, though distinct in its’ style. And over the years from its’ initial medieval origins, there are over a dozen different varieties of waffles around the world, with different batters and toppings. They range from being big or small, crispy or chewy, sugared or spiced to becoming side dishes like as ice-cream cones or simply as waffle burritos.

Source: Westfield Bites Place, Besant Nagar, Chennai https://www.pinterest.com/pin/450782243933298358/

Source: https://vk.com/pub_mdma

Source: http://www.hormel.com/Recipes/Monte-Cristo-Waffle-Sandwiches

Source: Waffle sandwich from Waffle & Wolf from https://www.thrillist.com/eat/new-york/50-american-eats-nyc-restaurants-things-to-do-in-new-york

Source: https://www.archanaskitchen.com/onion-tomato-dosa-savoury-waffles-recipe

Contrary to popular belief, waffles aren’t restricted to being served for breakfast. It can grace the table for lunch or dinner, depending on the mood of the day. Besides the savoury combination of chicken and waffles, other combinations like chili and waffles? Use your favorite cornbread mix and cook the batter in your waffle iron, then top with chili, sour cream, shredded cheese, chopped onions or can be had with eggs and veggies, or we can have a bit of both with bacon and maple syrup. The great thing about waffles is that they can be tailored to personal choices and make great desserts too. With the availability of the waffle iron, the ease of making waffles gives flight to fanciful combinations. Yet there are two rules to live by, warm the milk for the waffles and never stack the waffles while making else we’ll lose out on the crispiness.

The incredible simplicity of making waffles has resulted in it being blended with the local cuisine for instance waffles on stick with kulfi or as savoury waffle dosa. Although in the regular Indian households waffles have are still on the once-in-a-while menu list, trends are changing with more interesting recipes being experimented on. Additionally with waffle mix available and as waffles have excellent freeze options, they have become popular in the rush hour especially in the fast paced mornings. To quote Lauren Myracle, “You should eat a waffle! You can’t be sad if you eat a waffle!”

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Christian, Daily, Life, Personal Musings

Deprived by Doubts

Posted on December 10, 2018October 24, 2018 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

One of the most common ways that we deprive ourselves of happiness are “the doubts” that continuously provoke the mind. For instance, when we buy any expensive gadget or any item like a car, cell phone, dresses, cruise tickets or the latest laptops, we continuously skim and look for offers, plan on the pros and cons as well as try to budget and pray about it. Yet once we receive it, we often have a mixed response. Initially the thrill is there of the brand “new”thing and we try to explore it, use it and show other as well. Yet after sometime, when something else new comes up or we see something better, we then wonder if we should have bought “it” later or had waited for some more time for something better to come up or a larger discount on what we had wanted. The joy and happiness of the “acquisition” becomes negated by anxiety, worry, sadness and disappointment all because of our doubts.

“Give thanks in everything: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

Instead of turning onto the track of frivolous doubts and dissatisfaction, it would be better if we prayed about our choices, made our decisions wisely and first thank for the events that have happened. Each time the doubts creep into our mind, think of the days and the “whys” of our need. As long as what we have attained serves the purpose, neither the brand, model or whether scores of people have it really matters.

“Don’t ever doubt yourselves or waste a second of your life. It’s too short, and you’re too special.” Ariana Grande

If we indulge in every niggling doubt that lurks in the mind based on what we see, hear or assume; then we would never find time to be happy with anything. Instead if we learn to grow our trust and faith in His Grace that all things happen for a reason, even though we often assume it is only based on chance and circumstances. When we try to rejoice and find joy in the smallest things that we had wished for or had happened just like that, the good moments in the timeline of our memories increases and prepares us for the journey ahead.

Source:https://vk.com/public75290000

Source:https://vk.com/englisharoundtheworld

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Source:https://vk.com/englisharoundtheworld

Daily, Food, Quotes

Evolution of Pastry

Posted on December 8, 2018October 23, 2018 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“All food starting with p is comfort food: pasta, potato chips, pretzels, peanut butter, pastrami, Pizza, pastry.” Sara Paretsky

One of the most difficult comfort foods to master in the kitchen is the pastry. Unlike regular cuisine, all the measures have to be in exact precision, proportion as well as timing. Too much and too little handling damages it. Despite all this, mastering few types of pastry gives every “home kitchen cook” a profound sense of accomplishment as well as delightful treats on holidays for the entire family.

Pastry is different from cooking because you have to consider the chemistry, beauty and flavor. It’s not just sugar and eggs thrown together. I tell my pastry chefs to be in tune for all of this. You have to be challenged by using secret or unusual ingredients. Ron Ben-Israel

A dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter) that may be savoury or sweetened is what encompasses pastry. From sweet to savoury, many kinds of baked products are made of ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder and eggs, although the sweeter version are often known as baker’s confectionery. Pies, tarts, quiches and pasties are the common pastry dishes with minor variations that come under their labeling. Today with ready-made pastry dough available, homemade pastry as become a little easy especially when schedules gets a bit hectic.

Source:https://vk.com/pub_mdma

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To make a full-blooded puff pastry, you need time, you need patience, and you need precision. It’s all about the lamination: it’s all about building up the layers of butter, dough, butter, dough; as the butter melts, it creates steam, and that brings up the layers of the two doughs apart from each other, and that’s what gives it the rise. Paul Hollywood

From shortcrust pastry to puff pastries, the evolution of various varieties has been synchronous with time, tradition, locale flavours and culture. Like many of the desserts, the tradition of pastry making started off as early as the era of Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans. Although the initial pastry covers over dishes were not meant to be eaten but used for baking to keep the juices in. The medieval cuisine of Europe had a breakthrough with pastry chefs using shortening and butter to make stiff pastries as well as newer techniques like the raised hot water crust initiated in the 14th century. Unlike the earlier processes which had used oil, causing the pastry to lose its stiffness. Towards middle of 16th century pastry recipes have been written, adopted and altered to the local flavour and availability.

I was drawn to bakery and pastry. It’s the same discipline you employ in dance – you take the instruction, and you keep on practicing, seeking perfection. You never achieve it, but you strive. Ron Ben-Israel

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

Although the pastry making traditions were different in the East and the West with different types of flour even rice flour going into the mix for the former. With the advent of travel and international cultural exchange, in the 19th century the trends of pastry making in Asia began to include a bit from the West. Once considered as a mere cover for dishes to be thrown away; today with a wide varied range pastry has become portable from creative miniature arts to eye-catching centerpieces as well as a culinary sheet for rich creative toppings and fillings of colourful, edible and delectable delights adding a bit of sparkle to make fusion varieties along with the classic recipes.

“The fine arts are five in number, namely: painting, sculpture, poetry, music, and architecture, the principal branch of the latter being pastry.” Marie-Antoine Careme

With a wide variety of cultural diversity and advancement of technology, Indian kitchens have been experimenting with sweet pies, tarts, Bougatsa of Greece, Danish pastry, Baklava, Apple strudel among the gulab jamuns, jalebis and Chatti pathiris that we have had since our childhood. Personally for me, I think tarts or sweet pies especially apple pies are way easier even with lack of oven, as a pressure cooker or crock pot on stove-tops can suffice. Although pastry making can lead to a kitchen disaster if not done with care, the satisfied feeling makes the experimentation worth the effort.

“A pastry usually tastes better if it looks nice. A cream pastry, now that looks nice – in fact, there is nothing I mind as long as it looks nice.” Arne Jacobsen

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

Daily, Family and Society, poetry, Quotes

Bring the Warmth to December

Posted on December 6, 2018December 5, 2018 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

As the days go by, entering into the last month of this year brings to mind hours of being busy with festive, celebrations and thanksgiving. Despite being busy, the time can be considered well spent as long as we root ourselves in reality and open our eyes to what is happening around us, instead of getting completely lost in the gaiety.

“It is December, and nobody asked if I was ready.” Sarah Kay

The cold wintry days of December and the overwhelming feeling of the year end closing in, can be made warm by the human attributes of love and kindness. Amidst all the hustle and bustle, it would be better to not lose sight of the true spirit of humaneness. For then we would realize, that joys shared are memories to be cherished for rainy days of the future.

“I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old, familiar carols play, And wild and sweet the words repeat Of peace on earth, good-will to men!” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

Such a warm December. And so hopelessly cold.
Heartlessly stiffens under a crust of ice.
People are like cars. In the crazy bustle of the New Year
All are running somewhere. It is not clear why and where.

Here is a game. The one who knows the rules is playing.
There is no life outside the game,
everything is decided by skill and rank.
Who is not too handsome and not too smart – leaves the
game and lives on the side of life alone.

I used a little heat – warm up, and a little light.
I see a hearth in the temple and collect rags running.
But the guard at the entrance mutters to me that the entrance with tickets,
Who is rich and handsome, bought up places to the hearth.

Such a sad December. And so hopelessly cold.
All who thirst for warmth, all those who have not got a place,
In poverty there is hope for the goodness and mercy of God

Margarita Kolomiytseva

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

Daily, Food, Quotes

Cozy with Comfort Foods

Posted on December 5, 2018October 21, 2018 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“Some foods are so comforting, so nourishing of body and soul, that to eat them is to be home again after a long journey. To eat such a meal is to remember that, though the world is full of knives and storms, the body is built for kindness. The angels, who know no hunger, have never been as satisfied.” Eli Brown in Cinnamon and Gunpowder

After a tiring week or even on long weary days, there’s nothing more satisfying that indulging in something that calms the nerves, bringing memories of the best days of our life, as children or even as adults. No matter how “grown up”we may claim to be, everyone has their own brand of comfort or go-to food. Ranging from fried chicken to rice, french fries, bread pudding or caramel custard to scrambled eggs on toast, fish and chips or fried pakoras with ketchup to nutella on pancakes to simply ice cream; sweet, spicy or savoury the list is endless and varied. Yet there’s nothing more welcoming that digging into food that reminds us of good times, home or our mother’s kitchen, sunny skies and fun moments.

Food is a lot of people’s therapy – when we say comfort food, we really mean that. It’s releasing dopamine and serotonin in your brain that makes you feel good. Brett Hoebel

Source:https://vk.com/pub_mdma

While the usual taste of comfort might trend towards the homemade cuisine, each one of us have our own eclectic tastes. Contrary to popular belief, not all women love only chocolate and ice-cream while all men indulge in steaks, casseroles and soups. Each to their own is what I believe in. As long as that food provides a nostalgic or sentimental value, its’ worth having it in both the happy as well as the sad phase.

You can’t go wrong with relatively simple comfort food. It’s also about ease. Some cook to impress. I cook for people to enjoy the food. Al Roker

Although the downside of the comfort food is its high calories, it is worth the carbohydrate load as long as it is once in a while. That is one of the reasons why a long list of comfort foods is particularly satisfying. Whether the preparation is simple or complicated, as long as the feeling of nostalgia is attached to it; it fits the criteria depending on the mood at that moment. The blissful feeling after indulging the cravings can be better experienced than said.

Sometimes a little comfort food can go a long way. – Benjamin Bratt

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Daily, Food, Quotes

Fritters for Weekend

Posted on December 1, 2018October 20, 2018 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

You don’t want to make a steady diet of just lettuce. You don’t want to make a steady diet of fried chicken. Paula Deen

On a walk down the streets in India, the sight of stalls or shops selling fried pakoras or bhajji and the like are a common feature. Not seeing them would make the trip incomplete and less interesting. While it is National Fritter Day tomorrow, fritters have been the heart-line of Indian snacks or appetizers especially the savoury ones. The platter of fritter-like street foods is long with pakoras or bhajji, vadas and bondas to list a few.

Pakoras or bhajjis as they popularly called across most states of India are made usually from vegetables like onion, potatoes, chillies, cauliflowers; although banana, groundnuts, buckwheat, fish and bread pakoras are made. Making their global presence known, newer varieties of pakoras are being experimented with the local flavours like the Haggis pakora (a Scottish snack food of traditional Scottish haggis ingredients with the spices, batter and preparation method of Indian pakoras).

“So do not fritter away your days. Sooner than you fear, you will stand before a mirror in a care home, look at your body, and think, E.T., locked in a ruddy cupboard for a fortnight.” ― David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

Contrary to the meaning of the noun, fritters are something irresistible deep-fried delicious once-in-a-while treats. Fritters are fried foods consisting of batter or bread filled with ingredients of a wide variety ranging from sweet to savoury tastes. The fillings can be single or mix of vegetables, like onion, potatoes, spinach or cereals like cornflour or milk-based (cheese), meat, seafood and even fruits like bananas or apples.

“Little critters fried like fritters come out crunchy and divine.”- Gregory Maguire

Call them by any name, but fritters have been popular across many countries. From gorengan of Indonesia, Malaysian cucur, Nigerian akara, tater tots and Hushpuppy to name a few, each country has their own version of fritters.

“I don’t want someone shoving his views down my throat, unless they’re covered in a crunchy candy shell”- Stephen Colbert.
To add on to the quote, “or a frittery crunchy taste” sometimes.

Source:http://www.sophisticatedgourmet.com/2016/05/onion-pakoras-fritters/

Source:https://www.stayathomemum.co.uk/recipes/pancetta-and-vegetable-fritters/

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

Source:http://treasurecourt.com.au/menu/banana-fritters/

Source:https://www.goodhousekeeping.co.za/all-recipes/pumpkin-fritters/

Source:http://www.theafricangourmet.com/2017/02/west-african-garri-fritters-recipe.html

Source:https://vk.com/englisharoundtheworld

Source:http://www.travellingoven.com/2015/11/healthy-apple-fritters/

Daily, Family and Society, Photography Art, Quotes

Enjoy the Wave

Posted on November 28, 2018October 15, 2018 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“The story is about a little wave, bobbing along in the ocean, having a grand old time. He’s enjoying the wind and the fresh air-until he notices the other waves in front of him, crashing against the shore. “My God, this is terrible,” the wave says. “Look what’s going to happen to me!” Then along comes another wave. It sees the first wave, looking grim, and it says to him, “Why do you look so sad?” The first wave says, “You don’t understand! We’re all going to crash! All of us waves are going to be nothing! Isn’t it terrible?” The second wave says, “No, you don’t understand. You’re not a wave, you’re part of the ocean.” Mitch Albom

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

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One of the constraints of man is we focus a lot on our own issues forgetting that our existence is not by being alone but as a part of a bigger network. We devote our time and energy towards the end goal, little realizing that one day we will all crash just like everyone else. That is why the joy of the ride should be more important than reaching the final post. Although it is imperative to set down life goals for oneself, on the way to achieving them it would be best not to not forget that our journey is one among the billion other journeys taking place. During the intersections and the temporary stops, it would do good to greet others and smell the flowers, for although our destination is predetermined, we never control the entire route or the final stop.