pinchof_foodcrush

Right now, the times we are going through are unprecedented!! We, or our parents generation haven’t seen anything like this, so everyone’s learning it on the go. Every family has a different way of coping up with it, but the base line is to stay indoors and maintain social distancing!!  I see many families around me. Everyone by now knows keeping patience and calm is the only thing we can do. To maintain this calm - I have seen this pattern where people apart from there daily routine are doing such good work. We actually need all the positive vibes around.  So I have joined this group in my complex who are very enthusiastic planters. And you should see the beautiful blooms and greens they all share in the morning!! It always brings fresh smile on my face looking at the greenery and what wonders people are creating in their small balconies!!  Plus it is always such a treat to see life thriving in various forms!!  I love plants and so I too have my share of them i...

Now this one is an interesting story!! Ri-sooooooo-ttttooo!! Well, when I had it at a restaurant, for the first time, long long back - I kept wondering.....it was very much like plain mushroom cheese rice....made sticky and bland....for chotu bacchus at home!! 😁 Over the years, the taste developed, and I tried making various variations of it. And don't laugh - my “at home risotto” was made with basmati rice!! 😈😈😂 Finally, thanks to this lock down, through a friend I happened to be in a group which was delivering arborio and jasmine rice. After a lot of thinking and googling, I went ahead with Jasmine rice. And I must tell you the results were super awesome!! Over the weekend, it was all Ri-sooooooo-tttooooo and fried rice and rice with stir fry!! Hmmm yummmm combination.  If you have not tried it yet, please go ahead and try. The best part of cooking anything at home, is that you know what’s going inside!! So, I made the recipe little Indianised 😄.  Nothing to follow here...

   Cheesy pockets with jalapeño slices!!  After a lot of baking and experimenting. I came across this one!! Right combination of everything and no guilt trips!!  Try it!!  Recipe :  Wheat flour - 360 gms  Lukewarm Milk/water - 300 ml Yeast - 1 teaspoon  Rock salt - 1/2 teaspoon Sugar - 1 table spoon Honey - 1 table spoon Butter- 2 teaspoon Curd - 2 tablespoon  Seeds - garnishing ( sesame etc)  For filling - grated cheese with fresh or canned jalapeño slices. Prepare and keep in fridge.  In this recipe you can use milk for extra soft bread.  Whether you use water or milk - bread comes out really well. I prefer milk, thinking its good for children. First prepare yeast.  For that take lukewarm milk- put measured sugar in it. Add yeast. And leave it for ten mintues. It will get activated n swell up nicely!!  In the mean time prepare other ingredients. In a bowl - put all wet things together. If yeast is ready, thn put tha...

CoB  Hi there,  So, here back again!!! 😄 Recently, it was friend’s birthday and I thought of baking a cake for her. It was my another first try with the “ eggless” cake.  Though I have been baking for long time, but just kept it restricted to simple tea cakes. Never ventured into the exotic varieties!! (However, always loved gobbling the good home baked  cakes wherever I could. 😉😝) One of my cousins, who is expert in baking cakes, even with her super busy work schedule -   heavenly to eat, and total treat for your eyes - cakes baked by her are divine!! Yummmm!!   Well, a little bit of  “ bake your cake” and  “eat it too” inspiration came from there too. So, it wasn’t totally kids who pushed me into this, if I had so much “maatratava” in me, I would have surely been crowned “The mother of the year” 😆.  Anyway, multiple factors, one being lock down - I started this more for the need of bread, pav, buns, and pizza base. That all came out ver...

One of the first few recipes we tried - and whole family loves it - was - Japanese milk bread!!  Now I cal l it “Magic Moo bread” at home 😆 !! I have tried umpteenth variations of this, and realised, that, for this bake, you cannot change bread flour with any other flour!! Yes, with wheat flour also it will come out good, like any other whole wheat bread, but with bread flour, it tastes heavenly!  And for using that “bread flour - maida  🙈 ”    I justify myself,    by thinking out loud- at least it’s home baked, no softeners, no preservatives, no taste enhancers, no chemicals....blah blah blah .....and my kids say - “ramblings of the mooo”.  🤣 Check out the recipe and share your version too!!  Bread Flour - 290 gms Milk powder - 10 gms Egg - 1  Milk - 120 ml warm milk  Butter - 30 gms, room temperature Sugar - 42 gms castor sugar  Yeast    - 7 gms Magic paste (  Tangzhong  as it’s called) - 30 gms bread f...

So, when it all started - Kids were a little confused!  Is it possible that we cannot order from outside - and why?  Weekends were like - at least (l repeat “at the least!!) one meal coming from outside, and rest of the time in-house help to cook anything  😬 . And we all have gotten used to of this lifestyle for many moons now.  It was different during our times - yea yea yea blah blah blah - “same old grannies story  😅 ” - that’s my daughter’s reaction!! So, won’t repeat it here  😆 .  Anyways, keeping in mind, that junk food as it is, is a concern, I tried to play it well with the safety issues sixer!!  So the stories - “and they were/are true” - about how it’s not safe to order at all, went down, pretty well.  Say, It’s the need of the hour, and, it also solved my underlying concern - “no junk food.”  😇   In Hindi we have that phrase for it - “Ek teer do nishaane.”  😶😝 Wow!! What a bliss it was - for initial 2 days!!...

This is the start of an adventure; a pinch of my food crush ! Hey there,  So much for a pandemic and here I have jumped from kitchen experiments, to food porn, to basic website, to now blogging!! And yes, not to forget, the school goes on, and I love it so much!! Considering myself very lucky to get all the best things in life, even in a situation like this.   I heard someone saying - " I don't bless the pandemic but it has taught me to go on and on.....".  Yes, this pandemic has been a blessing in disguise!! For many of us have realised what we are!! and what we can do!! without help around!! And for me, believe me 😁, its always been a "little push" that works wonder!! (Ask my parents!!) Food is my ultimate passion. May be people around me kept telling me that, but some how I could never relate to it. And like many other good things, we have realized in this pandemic, I too realized that cooking is my ultimate therapy to be happy and rejuvenated. Also gives a ...