So I have never tried baking scones before. And, today I wanted to bake something, like really really wanted to bake something. Baking, for me, has become something like a stress reliever. When I bake it instantly lifts my mood. Of course it does havoc for my waistline, which again puts me in depression- it’s a vicious circle, you see! But, nonetheless, the smell of a freshly baked good gives me a high like no other. What the heck, we have one life to live- eat, drink, be merry and gymming will take care of the rest!
So, I hit my cookbooks, looking for something I could experiment with. I knew I wanted to make a scone. I had never tried one before and today seemed like the perfect day to try doing so. I decided to try Rose Bakery’s scone recipe. The original recipe calls for blueberries, but I had cranberries I wanted to get rid of- so cranberry scones it was!
Its pesto time! Had a couple of basil leaves left from the time I made Pizza at home, so pesto was the way to go. Generally pesto is made with pine nuts, but I did not have any on hand and it is difficult to find them in the place that I stay. Many people use walnuts as a substitute but I feel roasted blanched almonds are a better substitute.
Traditionally, pesto is made in a mortar and pestle. Some Italians swear that the key to a good pesto is chopping the ingredients by hand rather than in a food processor. But, well, chopping by hand takes time and I wanted a quick recipe. I will definitely try chopping by hand the next time I have time on my hand and let you know the difference. But, for now I am happy with my food processor made pesto!
The weekend was a lazy one. V and I spent it at home mostly. Last few weekends have been very hectic, so both of us enjoyed this one by just sitting it out and watching movies the whole day.
I also managed to clear my inbox- from 7000 unread messages to 0 unread! Do not ask how I managed to have 7000 unread messages- thanks to all the needless subscriptions I was tricked into keeping =/ but, finally, I am down to zero unread messages! And believe me, its a great feeling to open your inbox and see just 1 or 2 unread messages!! 🙂
We did get out of the house though during the weekend. Our microwave broke down last week. So we had to get a new one and thus, had to make a trip to Home Depot.
Now as the proud owner of a new microwave, I thought of making today’s lunch completely in it. My in-laws gifted me these two books on microwave cooking and both are wonderful books. This also is the start of a new section on the blog solely dedicated to microwave cooking. Microwave cooking is not only fast, but since food gets cooked in its own juices, it is full of natural aroma, texture and colour.
Another plus, which according to me is the biggest one, is that one ends up using only one dish for the cooking and the serving! I have always been apprehensive about using the microwave too much because of the radiation but the book guarantees no such evidence of it being harmful, especially since todays health standards limit the amount of micro waves that leak from a microwave oven to a safe level. So you have quick, healthier cooking with negligible clean up!
Today I made anjeeri gobhi. Its basically cauliflower cooked in a yogurt and dry figs paste. The end result was a pretty tasty dish and thanks to the microwave a snap to make!
This was my second attempt at microwave cooking. The first time I tried kadhai paneer with quite good results ( I do have to say that kadhai paneer made conventionally tastes better, but this wasn’t bad either. Plus, cooking in the microwave was really quick and clean!)
