Sugar Cookies

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If you have been following the little I have been posting about my India trip, then you would know the last few months I have spent mostly traveling from one city to the other to attend one or the other of my friends’ weddings. My trip would not have been this stress free had it not been for my dad’s staff officers who made sure I had someone to pick me up and drop me off at the airport/railway station, who got up at 5 am to check whether I was up and ready to leave for the next destination, who made sure that I got a packed lunch or dinner for train journeys; in a nutshell, they are the ones who made sure everything else was arranged so I could enjoy with my friends or family. They went over and above their job and I know no matter how much I thank them it will not be enough.

I thought of sending them a small token of appreciation for the effort they put in and homemade cookies looked like the perfect thing to give.

Its the Air Force life that has taught me that family means more than blood relatives. So it did not come as a surprise when one of the officers to whom I gave these cookies said, that you don’t thank family. And seriously, that’s what these people are to me. Family.

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Panna Cotta with Roasted Strawberries

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I sound like a broken record but really, I am sorry that I have not been updating this space regularly. Most of Jan and the better half of Feb, I had been busy traveling and then when I finally touched base at my parents place and thought I would get back to blogging, the flu bug bit me. The meds have left me physically and mentally drained out and thus the absence. While I am still recuperating, I had thought I would share details of my travels in my next post but this dessert just could not wait.

This is the easiest dessert one can make. I actually made it in my half dazed sick state. So be assured, when I say it comes together in a jiffy, I mean just that!

Only woes one might face is getting the gelatin setting part right. I have had my issues with gelatin but I think I am slowly getting over my fear of gelatin based desserts. Or maybe it worked so perfectly this time because David Lebovitz calls this a fail proof recipe? Either way, it worked. In case you too have fears of the collagen derived food substance, you should read David’s post on how to use gelatin.

If you are looking for a completely vegetarian version, since some vegetarian have issues with gelatin being made from animal by products, then one can use agar-agar. I haven’t personally tried it but I read people have tried agar-agar in this recipe and it has worked for them.

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Slutty Brownies…..

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….because well what’s Valentine’s Day (or life) without a little sluttiness.

I keep complaining to V that we do not travel much and though the “we” do not travel much part still stands, I am officially tired of traveling. My 2013 till now has been spent living out of the suitcase, and this is when I don’t even work. Even though its not official traveling I still won’t call it traveling for pleasure any more because honestly I just want to sit at one place and stick to that place for at least a week, if not more!

In my last post I mentioned the places I would be traveling to- from Kolkata to Lucknow to Jaipur to Delhi to Chandigarh to Delhi to Corbett to Allahabad to Delhi to finally Arizona in March. I have already attended four weddings this year (these are the ones that were weddings of close friends- I am not including the other random people’s receptions I have attended in between). I am traveling to Corbett for the fifth wedding (and hopefully the last one for some time) tonight. From there I head to my parents place in Allahabad and will also be attending the Mahakumbh Mela that I talked about in my last post.

I wanted to share my Vipassana and “bharat darshan” experience with all of you, but an hour on the laptop today will not suffice. SO I will leave that for another day.

Today, I want to share these brownies that I had taken on my train ride to Kolkata for my friends who were also traveling with me.

I have no clue why someone decided to name these brownies slutty.

A choc-chip cookie dough layer. Whole oreo cookies layered side by side on top of the cookie dough. A rich chocolatey brownie batter poured on top of the two and a final sprinkle of crushed oreos on top.

Ummm…..I kinda understand the idea behind calling them slutty. Just describing makes them sound like quite a tease! Chocolate chip cookie, brownies, oreos all in one bite- slut galore in your mouth!

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