Shocks and Shoes

Outfit Post - Shades of Purple

9:48:00 pm

My 200th Post: Recipe for the Week – Chocolate Éclairs (Baking Partners Challenge #11)

3:12:00 pm

I’m back after an unintended break!! It has been raining like crazy here J. Cub started big boy school, then he got new specs and then he got sick. Whew!! When you are a Mom, there’s no saying how 24 hours pass you by!!

So back to today’s post, which is also my 200^th Post!!!! And I love that it’s related to food!! The 11^th challenge of the Baking Partners group, which I attempted at pretty much the 11^th hour J. I almost cancelled this month, but then at the last minute, I decided to give it a try. And though the result wasn’t fantastic, it was better than average!

I don’t think I’ve ever actually had éclairs and reading this recipe brought back a lot of unpleasant macaron memories. Anyways, after doing some research, no one seemed to be complaining much about them, so I dived right in. I used the Joy of Baking video as a base, she explains everything in it quite clearly.

Note: After the macaron debacle, I didn’t want to waste too many ingredients, so I made just about 8 mini éclairs. You may, of course double the quantities. The main component is the choux pastry, which is then filled with pastry cream and then dipped in a chocolate glaze. Make the pastry cream in advance, preferably even a day ahead.

(This makes 8 mini éclairs)

Pastry Cream

What you’ll need:

150 ml milk

2 egg yolks

25 g granulated sugar

1 tbsp flour

1 tbsp corn flour

1/2 tsp vanilla

What you’re going to do:

1. Heat the milk and turn off the heat just before it begins to boil.

2. Beat sugar and egg yolks with an electric beater till thick.

3. Sift flour with corn flour and add to egg mixture & whisk till you get a smooth paste.

4. Add the hot milk, and keep whisking as you add to prevent the eggs from cooking.

5. Place the entire mixture in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking all the time.

6. When the mixture gets quite thick and smooth and not lumpy anymore, turn off the heat. Stir in the vanilla.

7. Put the cream in a bowl, and cover with cling film, making it touch the surface of the cream so that you prevent the formation of a 'skin'.

8. Cool to room temperature and then chill for at least 2 hours.

Choux Pastry

What you’ll need:

33 g flour

¼ tsp sugar

1/8 tsp salt

28 g unsalted butter, cut into pieces

60 ml water

1 large egg, lightly beaten

What you’re going to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 200° C and put the water and butter in a saucepan on low heat.

2. Once the butter is melted, turn up the heat and bring to a boil and then turn off the heat.

3. Mix flour, sugar and salt in another bowl. Add this to the butter mix and stir well.

4. Put the pan back on medium-low heat and stir constantly till it forms a smooth ball of dough and pulls away from the sides of the pan.

5. Put the dough in a heatproof bowl and beat with an electric hand beater on low for 2 minutes to let out the steam. Let it come to lukewarm. It looks a bit crumbly at this stage.

6. Add the beaten egg to the lukewarm dough, a little by little and beat till smooth. The consistency of the batter/dough goes like this: Curdled->Paste-like ->Forming a bird’s beak when beaters are lifted.

7. Put the dough in a pastry bag with a plain tip.

8. Prepare the baking sheet. On plain paper, draw 2” lines, separated by about 1.5”. Place a sheet of parchment on this, so that you can see the lines through the parchment.

9. Holding the pastry bag at an angle of 45°, pipe thick lines about 2” in length, and curve the tip upwards when you reach the end of the line.

10. Once all the éclairs have been piped, brush some beaten egg on the éclairs, simultaneously flattening the uneven parts.

11. Bake for 15 minutes at 200° Celsius and then reduce the oven temperature to 180° C. Continue to bake for a further 25 minutes till the pastry shells are light brown all over. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

I love how well they rose!

Chocolate Glaze

What you’ll need:

28 g semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped

30 ml cream (I used Amul fresh cream)

1/8 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 tbsp honey

What you’re going to do:

1. Heat cream till it almost starts to boil, remove from heat and pour over chopped chocolate. Stir till chocolate is completely melted.

2. Stir in vanilla and honey.

Assembling the Éclair:

1. Cut off the top part of the choux pastry.

2. Dip the top part into the glaze, let the excess drip and then leave to dry on a wire rack.

3. Fill in the bottom half with the pastry cream. Top with the dry top half.

My choux were really light, and browned. But I think I could do with a little more baking, since they were a bit difficult to get off the parchment. The pastry cream on its own was a bit sweet, but together with the pastry and the glaze, it was lovely!! So, although not perfect, I’d say they were pretty good! So glad I decided not to miss this Baking Partners challenge J. Now isn’t that a great way to celebrate 200 posts?? :-D

Food, Malabar

Mini Post – Random Food Pics

9:30:00 am

I don’t think this qualifies as an ‘official post’. I just wanted to share some pics of the food I’ve had on some of my recent travels J.

First up, is the Traditional French Chicken Soup from M Grill at Focus Mall, Kozhikode. It. Is. Heavenly. Honestly, you reach a level of bliss on having it. Mind you, it’ll fill you up physically and metaphorically, so you’re not going to have much space to eat anything else. Which is a pity, because their Alleppey Chicken Curry is also to die for.

This pic is of the Chicken Pasta and Sweet Corn Chowder that I ordered from Au Bon Pain at Mantri Square Mall, Bangalore. To be honest, I had heard a lot about this place and had great expectations, but felt a bit let down. First of all, they charged us for a coffee we never ordered and then didn’t serve us the fried egg that we actually ordered. The rest of it wasn’t really impressive, though the garlic bread wasn’t half bad.

Fruit Freeze at Taco Bell, Mantri Square Mall, Bangalore. This was super yum and super refreshing, especially during the hot day that we visited there. A slight synthetic tang exists, but not enough to spoil the slushie experience. Definitely recommended.

Next is tea at Costa Coffee at Phoenix Market City, Bangalore. Again, not really impressive, though Cub’s Cold Coffee was better. Somehow, I prefer the stuff at good ol’ Café Coffee Day.

We had lunch at Square Ruth from the Food Court at Phoenix Market City, Bangalore. Cub had a double Cheeseburger which wouldn’t fit into his tiny mouth, so I had to remove one of the burgers. It was okay – the burger was juicy, the bread was soft, but I found the cheese a tad salty for my taste.

I ordered a Spaghetti with Meatballs from Square Ruth as well, which looked a bit messy. The sauce was too tangy – there were too many tomatoes in it!! The garlic bread was quite good – nice and crusty on the outside, soft and fluffy inside, with a perfectly herbed garlic butter on it.

Now for some of my recent cooking shenanigans. I tried out homemade Oreo ice cream with this recipe. It actually tasted good, but wasn’t as soft as store bought ice cream. I think I’m doing something wrong with the whisking technique.

Homemade wholewheat pizza has become a mainstay at our dinners nowadays. It really is so easy; make two pizzas at once, and freeze/refrigerate one for later. I especially love this version I made with paneer and mushrooms.

Since we’re talking about food pics, have you guys checked out my Pinterest boards – I’ve got lots of foodie stuff going on there!! What’s more, you might even find yourself pinned!

So there ends my little foodie post. Have you guys been to any of the places I’ve mentioned? How did you find the food there?

Source

Fashion

Post-Shopping Ban Haul :-)

3:00:00 pm

It has been so long since there's been a shopping related post on this blog. As I mentioned, I had been on a shopping ban for the months of March and April. While I wasn’t a 100% successful, I did manage to restrict myself to just a Fabindia kajal, costing Rs. 125. In my books, that’s pretty good J.

Contrary to what I thought, I didn’t go crazy without shopping. Unsubscribing from various shopping mailers was largely helpful, as was shopping within my wardrobe. It really helped me realize what was actually needed and I made a list when I went shopping again. I stuck largely to it, except for some jewelry J.

I got these kurtas from Westside. I loved both of them for the details on the sleeves – one was worn on my birthday, and one on my anniversary.

I had a Flipkart gift voucher, which I spent on these Carlton London ballet flats. I’ve always wanted animal print ballet flats, and I fell in love with these on first sight.

The material is a nice satiny fabric and I like the added bling J.

Lingerie – I was desperately in need of new stuff, I also got a sports bra from Jockey that is an added motivation to work out!

A nice shiny belt from Westside with a gold buckle.

I got these jhumkas from a store in a Kozhikode mall. They’re perfect for all my Indian wear (which is most of what I wear)

I recently discovered an online store called Giggles. On further inquiry, I realized that their physical place is actually very close to where I live!! So luckily I got to see all their stuff in person before buying. My sister got a bunch of things, and here’s my haul:

A chain with little tricolor rings:

A crown ring and a flower ring.

Do check out their facebook page here. They have a lot of cute stuff which are very reasonably priced.

I’ve switched from my Maybelline BB Cream to Garnier. It’s too soon to compare them, though.

Picked up this fish coaster at an exhibition and got a blue mug to match J.

I got an Itsy Bitsy voucher as a result of winning the Animal Crafts Challenge hosted by Artsy Craftsy Mom, and I ordered a bead board, among other things.

There are loads and loads of crafting stuff at the Itsy Bitsy website. Just looking at them will give you tons of ideas.

This post has been in the drafts for a while, and I haven’t included my birthday and anniversary gifts. Let’s just broadly say they include clothes and jewelry :-D.

Were any of you on the shopping ban? How did you fare?

Personal

Monthly Goal Update – May 2013

6:28:00 pm

It’s raining!!!! Finally, after all that oppressive, oppressive heat and blazing sun, it’s suddenly cloudy and wet and quite cool. Perfect time to bring out all those samosas J. Oh wait, I’m supposed to be eating healthy – remember my goals?

Well, speaking of goals, let’s get to my performance in May. Being my birthday and anniversary month, I did celebrate a little, but on the whole I have been eating more carefully. I can say that my tummy’s capacity has come down and I feel fuller faster. I also don’t let myself get too hungry, lest I go all cave-woman and pounce on the first sugary/carb-laden thing I can find. So let’s see how I did, shall we?

1. As mentioned above, I have been more aware about what I eat and have been eating sweet stuff very sparingly.

2. I have been working out 4-5 days a week. I have also gone up a level on my Total Body Workout CD.

3. I have been waking up automatically before 5:30 a.m. Now, even if I want to sleep in, I simply can’t!! So, I’m forced to get to bed before 10 if I want to wake up without a headache.

4. Cub and I have been spending a lot of quality time. (See point 4 in the ‘Down’ section below.)

5. About being more caring and less nagging – hmmm. I think I’ve cut down the nagging, but mainly because the Hubs isn’t home much :-P. But seriously, I did take some extra trouble to run errands for others and I have taken a more ‘understanding’ approach towards Cub’s tantrums. Honestly, how do other Moms deal with school vacations? Or is it just me?

1. While I have been more careful about restricting unhealthy food, I haven’t been too diligent about including the good stuff. Hence, my fruit and green tea intake were low last month.

2. I also have the when of my meals to take care of. Hubs has been working late and so our dinner times have become delayed as well.

3. I don’t want to mention my deep cleaning failures but since I’m appraising myself, it needs to be done. (Hangs head in shame)

4. Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but blogging has taken a back seat. That’s what happens when your boisterous kid is home all day for the vacation and appoints you official ‘Boredom-Curer’. And if one of his hands is in a cast, you also take on the jobs of ‘Railway-Track-Builder’, ‘Lego-model-builder’ and several other assorted titles.

5. My prayers are not as regular as I’d like them to be, though I’m trying to get them in line.

6. Job hunt still unfruitful. I can’t help feeling there’s something I’m missing here. Like I’m waiting to suddenly bump into someone or see something in the paper.

7. I’ve read just one book last month. Even my magazines are piling up on my bedside table.

My time management skills are strictly average, and I hope to have a better report regarding that next month.

So how has May been for you? We’re reaching half time in 2013, so are you halfway through with your goals?

Source

books

Book Review – Once Upon the Tracks of Mumbai

11:16:00 am

Title: Once Upon the Tracks of Mumbai

Author: Rishi Vohra

Plot: Babloo has been diagnosed as autistic, schizophrenic and psychotic, which has left his traditional middle class Indian parents with no clue as to how to deal with him. After taking longer than usual to complete his college course, Babloo doesn’t have a clue either – about what to do with his life. Menial jobs suggested by his father don’t work with him, since he feels that destiny has more in store. All he knows for sure is that he loves Vandana, the beauty of their rail side colony, but doesn’t know what to do about it. As his life seems to hit an all time low, something happens that transforms Babloo’s boring life into something much, much bigger. Is this destiny’s big break for Babloo? Will this make his dreams come true?

Review: This book is author Rishi Vohra’s debut novel and is not a bad effort at that. The first half to three quarters of the book tend to drag along, slowly planting you in the midst of Mumbai, among all the bustling trains and crowds and noise. That, in my opinion, is the best thing the author has accomplished in this book – created a perfect stage. Mumbai actually feels like it’s come alive through the descriptions of the various areas, stations and even of the different people. The characters have been colored well, and you feel like you’ve either seen or heard of people like them in real life. Few people are painted completely in black or white, and even the minor characters have distinct personalities.

Babloo, the protagonist, is a friendless man, a victim of assorted mental problems. Given that, I feel the book would have made more of an impact had the narrative been in the third person. It’s not that Babloo isn’t a well etched character, after a while, you even get used to his blank staring; but the narrative sort of gets a little mixed up when talking from Babloo’s standpoint and when it shifts to the lives of the other characters in the book.

Another impressive feature is how the author has got a pretty good understanding of the female psyche. And that is not a minor feat for a man!! I could completely empathize with Vandana’s situation though I’d have liked her to have a little more gumption. But I guess that’s okay since the story is, after all, Babloo’s story.

As it is, the plot is an interesting concept, but like I mentioned earlier, it takes a while to pick up the pace. Rail Man’s entry is the catalyst that takes it into page turner territory. I wish he had appeared a little earlier in the story so that we could relish a few more of his adventures.

Verdict: Worth a read. Perfect for a long train journey, when the sound of the train’s wheels on its tracks provides the perfect background score.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book for review purposes, but all opinions mentioned are my own.

Baking Partners, Food

Recipe for the Week – New York Style Pizza (Baking Partners Challenge #10)

10:15:00 pm

If you’re one of my long time readers, you’ve probably seen a few pizza recipes here already. But this one is a ‘New York Style Pizza’ and hence different from the ones featured. Allow me to explain.

Most traditional pizzas have a thick crust, sometimes filled with cheese, sausage etc. But New York Pizzas are hand tossed so that they become very thin and flat. As a result, you have to almost fold the slice to get it into your mouth, since it is unwieldy to eat like a regular pizza.

As for the pizza I made, I didn’t hand toss it since I didn’t want to risk tearing the dough. Also, I couldn’t make it as wide and flat as required, since it then wouldn’t fit into my oven.

As with all other Baking Partners Challenges, this was again a completely new recipe for me and I enjoyed researching and finally, making it.

The recipes for both the crust and sauce are adapted from Serious Eats and have been recommended by Archana of Tangy Minds.

(All quantities mentioned below are for two medium pizzas which serve 3-4)

For the Crust:

What you’ll need:

2 ¼ cups all purpose flour

¾ tbsp sugar

1.5 tsp salt

1 tsp instant yeast

1.5 tbsp olive oil

225 ml lukewarm water

What you’re going to do:

1. Sift the flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a bowl. Whisk together till well combined.

2. Add the olive oil and water in stages, forming a smooth dough.

3. Knead well till the dough is completely smooth and passes the windowpane test*.

4. Divide the dough into two balls and place in two separate bowls, covered with cling wrap. Refrigerate for at least a day and up to 5 days. I left it in for 24 hours.

5. Two hours before baking, take out the dough, form into smooth balls by pulling in the dough towards the centre at the bottom. Place in separate mixing bowls, cover tightly with cling wrap and leave to rise till doubled.

6. Preheat the oven with the pizza stone inside. I don't have a pizza stone, so I used an inverted baking dish. Place it in the oven and then preheat to 260 deg Celsius.

7. Take your pizza peel and flour it well. I don’t have a peel, so I used a plastic chopping board.

8. Take a ball of dough and pat to form a small, thick circle.

9. Press down the middle with your knuckles, all around the circle.

10. Toss the circle into the air a few times, till you get the desired size. The dough should NOT tear. Well, at least that’s how you’re actually supposed to do it. I did try, but not much. So I just pulled and stretched gently in this direction and that, till it reached the size of my baking dish.

Now you’re ready for the sauce and toppings.

*Note: Window pane test - This is basically to check if you've kneaded the dough enough so that gluten has developed in it sufficiently. Just take a small ball of dough, smooth it and then stretch it to a thin film. It shouldn't tear and should allow light to pass through, a.k.a. a window pane. It took me about 15 min to reach that stage with this amount of dough. Check here for more.

For the Sauce:

What you’ll need:

400 g firm red tomatoes

1/2 T butter

1/2 T olive oil

2 cloves garlic, grated

1/2 t oregano

1/2 t chilli flakes

salt to taste

1 t dry basil

1/2 onion chopped

What you’re going to do:

1. Blanch the tomatoes and peel them. Roughly chop instead of pureeing to a paste to keep the sauce chunky.

2. Melt butter with olive oil, toss in garlic, onion, oregano, chilli flakes and salt and fry but don't brown.

3. Add the chunky tomato puree and basil.

4. Simmer till reduced by half.

Final Assembly:

What you’ll need (to top two pizza bases prepared as described above):

2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

Salami as required

½ cup sliced green olives

1 tsp oregano

What you’re going to do:

1. Spread the tomato sauce on the base in circles, leaving out the edge.

2. Sprinkle ½ cup cheese over the sauce.

3. Arrange the Salami on the cheese.

4. Sprinkle ½ cup cheese and distribute the green olives on top. Sprinkle oregano over it.

5. Shake the peel/board to ensure that the pizza is not stuck to it. Open the oven door and slide the pizza off the peel/board and onto the pizza stone/pan. You might need a wide spatula to help with this.

6. Close oven door and bake for 12-15 minutes at 260 deg Celsius.

7. Try to see if the bottom of the pizza has browned, and the cheese is bubbling. That’s a sign that it’s done.

8. Repeat with the other pizza. Let pizzas cool for 10 minutes and then slice and serve.

I served this predominantly non vegetarian pizza with a simple broccoli salad, recipe of which I got from here.

It was a lovely, satisfying meal, and all of us really enjoyed it. Cub is a huge fan of homemade pizza now!! As for me, now that I can make pizza at home, I find the commercial ones too salty for my taste, and just thinking of the calories that come with them is enough to make me go up a kilo J.

Have you guys ever tried a proper New York Pizza? How was it like?