What??!! I got an award???

I am so thankful to Harini for this surprise award that she sent my way.



Roopa of "My Kitchen Treats" started this award sometime back.
Well, I am to list my favorite and yummy-licious desserts that I have ever prepared/eaten. I am going to say that it would be my very traditional Shrikhand with Saffron and easy but very Royal Mango Mousse with Saffron.

Now comes the tough part. I have to pass on this award to 4 other blogs. There are so many to choose from :) I would like to pass on this yummy award to the following 4 awesome blogs -

Namratha of Finger Licking Food
Mythreyee of Paajaka
Mansi of Fun and Food
Madhu of Ruchii

Enjoy!!

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Rules for the ‘Yummy Blog’ award Receiver:

The person who receives the award should display the "Yummy Blog !" logo on their blog and also the meaning of the award which is "Yummy blog award is the award given to the blog with most yummy recipes/photos".·The receiver should also quote their favorite yummylicious :) dessert(s) that they have ever prepared/eaten. Don’t restrict yourself to any dessert, chocolate bars also welcome.·Also the receiver should pass on the award to four other bloggers whose blog they find "yummy" and let them know about the rules.

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Weekend with Roses

Weather has been great here in Los Angeles.

What else can be more relaxing than to sit on the swing, hum a song and just enjoy the roses with the beautiful blue sky in the background.

Orange Clove Pomanders

What a wonderful use of cloves.

To make a basic Orange-Clove Pomander, just stud a orange with some cloves and that's it.
Some even roll these pomanders in a mixture of Orris root powder and cinnamon.

Spices are not just for cooking but they are also used in Aromatherapy.
Cloves are considered to be very stimulating and are used in Aromatherapy for its powerful fragrance. Cloves are great stress relievers.

Banana Bread with Cardamom

I am one of those lazy bakers who bakes her breads from store bought bread mix :)
But I do give my breads some personality by adding nuts and raisins to it.

My kids love Banana bread and I very often buy this Banana bread mix from Trader Joe's.
I add some raisins or cranberries, some nuts to this mix. Then I add 4-5 drops of Cardamom extract ( Tea Masala extract works well too).
Bake according to the instructions given on the package. In about 1 hr you have a really yummy banana bread.
Serve it with a cup of hot tea.

Ayurveda and Spices

I have some very interesting books on Ayurveda and I like to browse through them when I have some time. Yesterday, I was reading about some Classical Ayurvedic formulas and found it interesting that a lot of them had one or more than one spice in its list of ingredients.
For example -

Hingashtak Churna - made of Asafoetida
Eladi Churna - Top 3 ingredients are Cardamom, cloves and Saffron
Lavangadi Churna - contains cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger.
Lashunadi Bati - contains garlic, cumin, asafoetida
Trisugandhi Churna - Cinnamon, cardamom

And the list goes on .
This just shows how spices play a important role in Ayurvedic medicine.

Clove Extract

Clove is a unopened bud of a tropical evergreen tree. Clove has long been used to fight bacteria, tooth decay and anesthetize tooth pain. Clove is also recommended for colds, cough, indigestion & vomiting.

Clove tea is warming, uplifting and is used to ease nausea.
To make Clove tea - add 1-2 drops of Clove Extract to your regular cup of tea.
Or, just add 1-2 drops of Clove Extract to a glass of warm water.

My Pink Rose

This year, among all our roses plants, my Pink Rose was the first to bloom.

About 2 yrs back, I mistakenly over pruned this beautiful rose plant of mine. And it went into shock. I thought that I lost this pretty pink. But, with extra extra care and love, this plant has come back to life this year and is back with a splash.

Books on Ayurveda

" The Complete book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies" by Vasant Lad

I bought this book about 6 months back. I liked how the Ayurvedic principles were explained in a very easy to understand style. This book shows how easy it is to incorporate Ayurveda in our daily life.

Spice up your Oatmeal

My daughter hates Oatmeal.
Me too :)

The other day, I added a few drops of Kesar Milk Masala extract to my daughter's Oatmeal and Ginger extract to mine. And it was amazing. For the first time, my daughter finished her Oatmeal without complaining.

Give it a try. Add 1-2 drops of Ginger, Cardamom, Kesar Milk or Cinnamon to your Oatmeal.

Shrikhand with Kesar Milk Masala

Happy Gudi Padwa to you all.

We celebrated our New Year with a yummy feast of Shrikhand -Poori.

I added 2-3 drops of Kesar Milk Masala extract to my Shrikhand. Kesar Milk Masala extract is a very aromatic blend of Saffron, Cardamom, Nutmeg and Curcumin. Just few drops of this extract was enough to make my simple Shrikhand into a very royal treat.