bg4Its not that I have been absent because I don’t have recipes to share (in fact, I have quite a few piling up), it’s just that I have ten thousand things going on in my mind right now, and since each thought is more absurd than the next, I just wasn’t able to blog. Probably not blogging for so long has got me in a blogging rut as well and hence the writers’ block or whatever this is. But I guess I just need to jump back into it.

Kind of like cooking. For the first three days back from Canada I cooked absolutely nothing, relying solely on the frozen buffalo chicken wings and spicy black bean burgers that V had stocked up on while I was away for our meals. Three days later I took baby steps to cooking and now I am back in full swing (on most days). Except that on Monday I cut my finger real bad and had to go to urgent care to get my skin glued back and a tetanus shot as well, which left me more or less incapacitated to do anything and gave me an excuse to just louse around.

Now since I am better and I do have a lot of things to share, especially about my trip to Canada I thought I will just fill you in with all the stuff I learnt and made during my two month course at Bonnie Gordon College, and since I am not in the mood of writing too much (yup, this is when I am not in the mood), this one will be a picture heavy post. The picture on the left at the top (the very first pic of the post) is the cake I did as part of my Haute Couture assignment. We had to be inspired by haute couture and translate it to a cake. I chose to do a cake inspired by an Indian designer duo’s collection (Meera and Muzaffar Ali’s Jamazeb Collection). I really wanted to do a lehenga cake and thought it would be fun to practice the fabric like draping on the cake.

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Eggless Apple Tart The Novice Housewife

Oh blog, how I missed you!

I really loved every part of my cake decorating course except for the traveling (that was the worst part- 2 hours bus ride one way was just way too much for me). But now I cant wait to get back home, which I’ll be in another three days *doing a happy dance*. And to be very honest I missed blogging, (the whole setting up and photographing for the blog included) and the blogging world in general with all its talented people. I missed it all! I missed you all!

Besides the traveling (which, as mentioned before, I hated), the course was all that I hoped it to be. I am still not perfect but I learnt a lot in the past two months and met a bunch of gifted people and am so glad I finally decided to do this course. I had mentioned in my previous post that I was intimidated by my classmates but as someone pointed out in one of the comments on that post that its a blessing since I get to learn not only from the teachers but from my course mates as well, that’s exactly how it turned out to be. I am so blown away with the talent that my friends from class have and its great that I got to be in the company of such brilliantly talented people.

I will be sharing pictures of what I did in my course and then some of my stay in Canada soon, but today I wanted to share the recipe of this eggless apple tart that I made yesterday. Just because its that good. And good things should be shared ASAP.

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Gluten free Microwave dhokla The Novice Housewife

Dhokla is a very popular snack in India, and although its from the western state of Gujarat its a favorite across India. It is a plus that it is also gluten free. A lot of snacks in India are made from besan or gram flour but unlike most Indian snacks that are fried, this one is traditionally steamed. But the version I am sharing today is one that can be made in the microwave and is quicker and slightly more convenient.

I know a lot of people are against the use of microwave and even though I try to avoid it, sometimes for certain things I do use it. Especially for making quick snacks like these.

I also know I have posted a recipe for Microwave dhokla before (long, long before- which reminds me I completed three years of blogging on 28th and unlike the first blogiversary and my second blogiversary, I completely forgot about this one!). But this recipe is slightly different from the previous one I posted and in fact I like it better. Probably because of the fresh ginger that is mixed into the batter, unlike the paste used in the previously posted recipe.

The recipe is from my mamiji (my mom’s brother’s wife). My mamiji is an excellent cook and an even more amazing person. She is an inspiration. At 50 plus age, she decided to go to nursing school. Having never had a science background in school, she took up this challenge and with a family to take care of (my mom’s parents also stay with my uncle’s family and it can be quite challenging sometimes to take care because old people can be as stubborn and as demanding as kids), she still managed to complete her course and is now working as a lab technician. To get back to studies after such a long break is trying enough but to take up a subject you have no prior knowledge of is, in my opinion, absolutely incredible and kudos to my mamiji for having the resolve to go through with it.

And thanks to her, finally after a long break, I am able to share a GMT recipe with you. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have been. 🙂

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