Awards

I've received a few awards and have been unable to acknowledge them on my blog all this while, apologies to all the award givers!

Thanks to each of you for considering my blog as well as me, worthy of these awards:

Rockin' Girl Award:


Thanks to dear Kalai and Meera for this award.

You Make My Day Award:

Thanks Madhavi for this one!

Yummy Blog Award:
Thanks Amrutha for this award. I'm glad you think my blog is Yummy :)

Beautiful Site Award & 2008 Best Blog Darts Thinker:


















Thanks Bhawana!

Brillante Blog Award:

Brilliant Weblog is a prize given to sites and blogs that are smart and brilliant both in their content and their design. The purpose of the prize is to promote as many blogs as possible in the blogosphere.

I pass this to every blogger out there, who blogs to make their blog brilliant in their own unique way :)

Thanks Easy Crafts :)

Award and a MeMe:

I was thrilled to know a few of my blogger buddies consider my blog “yum” worthy and gave me the “Yummy Blog Award”. Dear Cham of Spice Club and Anjali of SupremeSpice have sent this award my way.

“Yummy blog award is the award given to the blog with the most yummy recipes/photos”

Well, the award does come with certain ‘rules’, which is the best part actually.

Rules for the ‘Yummy Blog’ award Receiver:

The person who receives the award should display the "Yummy Blog !" logo on their blog and also the meaning of the award which is "Yummy blog award is the award given to the blog with most yummy recipes/photos".

The receiver should also quote their favorite yummy-licious :) dessert(s) that they have ever prepared/eaten. Don’t restrict yourself to any dessert, chocolate bars also welcome.Also the receiver should pass on the award to four other bloggers who's blog they find "yummy" and let them know about the rules :)

The list of my favourite desserts I’ve made or eaten? Here goes,

Trifle Pudding
Black Forest Cake
Fruit Crepes
Mixed Berry Soup
Cham Chams
Rasmalais

Now it’s my turn to pass this award on to more yummy blogs, I confer this award to:

Suganya of Tasty Palettes
Meeta of What’s For Lunch Honey
Sunita of Sunita’s World
Pastry Girl of Dessert First

Head to their blogs, you will know why they deserve this award! :)

I’ve also been tagged by Madhavi of Vegetarian Medley to do the below MeMe

1) LAST MOVIE U SAW IN A THEATRE?
Juno

2) WHAT BOOK ARE U READING??
Err…Err…. Everyday with Rachel Ray – RR’s cooking magazine, it is a book right? :D

3) FAVOURITE BOARD GAME?
The MAD Game

4) FAVOURITE MAGAZINE?
Refer to question 2… :)

5) FAVOURITE SMELLS?
Smell of the Earth with the first drops of rain ; Coffee powder; Oranges; Mom’s cooking :)

6) FAVOURITE SOUNDS?
Falling Rain, Chirping birds, kids’ laughter

7) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?
Loneliness

8) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN U WAKE?
Is it morning already???Sigh…..zzzzzzzzzz

9) FAVOURITE FASTFOOD PLACE?
Chilis

10) FUTURE CHILDS NAME?
Hehe, haven't quite thought that far yet..

11) FINISH THIS STATEMENT—’IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I’D
Start my own cake shop/bakery

12) DO U DRIVE FAST?
Nope.

13) DO U SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?
If you can call my hubby a stuffed animal, then YES!

14) STORMS–COOL OR SCARY?
Both – sometimes I’m fascinated and a sudden crash of thunder has me running helter skelter!

15) WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?
I’m yet to buy one.

16) FAVOURITE DRINK?
Mango and Chickoo Milkshakes

17) FINISH THIS STATEMENT-IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD…
I do have a lot of time, no issues with that.

18) DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI?
Yes

19) IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOUR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE?
Burgundy

20) NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS U HAVE LIVED IN?
Dallas, Atlanta

21) FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Synchronized Swimming and Figure skating

22) ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
She has a unique way of making her dishes look out of this world!

23) WHATS UNDER YOUR BED?
Cardboard boxes from our last move.

24) WOULD U LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN??
Absolutely!

25) MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL?
Night Owl

26) OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP?
Sunny Side Up

27) FAVOURITE PLACE TO RELAX?
On the couch

28) FAVOURITE PIE?
Blueberry Pie

29) FAVOURITE ICECREAM FLAVOUR?
Chunky Monkey (B&J)

30) OF ALL THE PEOPLE U HAVE TAGGED, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?
Well, let me tag them first!! :)

Now I tag the following people to do this MeMe:

Lavi of Home Cook’s Recipes
Kalai of Samaithu Paarkalaam
Pravs of Simple Spicy
PearlsofEast of Anyone Can Cook

Spicy Oven Fries and Hash Browns:

You all know what this post is gonna be about, the title says it all! :) It’s all about the delicious, versatile and can’t do without veggie (atleast for me!) -- the POTATO!

It is the International Year of the Potato, so let's dig into all the spuds we can! Look at some of the varieties available, here.

I won’t waste more time in endless jabber and get to the recipes right away. Fries and hash browns are my favourite foods whenever we eat out. I’ve made fries many times but the hash browns, this was the first.

Hash Browns

This is a very simple and easy to make dish with only a few ingredients. It makes for a lovely breakfast .

You will need:

I large Russet/Idaho potato peeled and grated (about 1 cup)

1 tbsp Oil

1 tbsp Sour cream

Chopped scallions for Garnish

Salt and pepper

Heat a wide pan with ½ tbsp oil in it. Add the grated potato and using a flat wide spatula press it into a flat even pancake. You can go all the way to the ends of the pan or stop right near the edges. Cook on low heat till one side is completely cooked and crisped about 5 minutes. Flatten as it cooks so that the grated potato binds well. Drizzle remaining oil on the other side while one side is cooking. When the underside is done, you should be able to lift the entire cake with one lift of your wide spatula. Flip, and let cook for another 5 minutes. This ensures the potato is cooked through and at the same time a golden crispy crust is created.

Slide onto a serving plate when done, season with salt and pepper while its still hot. Top with sour cream and chopped scallions. Serve.

Spicy Oven Fries

You will need:
2 large Russet potatoes
Salt and pepper
2 tsps Chilli powder
3-4 tbsp Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Peel potatoes and cut into half-inch thick slices (lengthwise) cut again into 1/2-inch thick fries. Place the potatoes into a pot with cold water and 1 tsp of salt. Bring up to a gentle boil and simmer until a knife tip goes through easily. Cook about 3/4 of the way through.

Drain carefully and put in a bowl. Add olive oil, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Toss well and lay out in 1 layer on a nonstick baking sheet. Bake until well-browned and crisp. Remove from oven, and toss with chilli powder. Serve hot with Ketchup or Ranch dressing (hubby’s favourite)

Hashbrowns and Spicy Oven Fries are my entry to the following events (yeah, there’s more than one!)

"The Potato Feast" hosted by Dhivya at the Culinary Bazaar

"An Ode to the Potato" hosted by Sia at Monsoon Spice

"The Potato - A Blog Event" hosted by Alex at Eating Leeds (Sending in the Hash Browns)

And it has been raining awards in the blogosphere of late, and another one has come my way. Sandhya has passed on the Excellence Award to me, thanks dear!! :)

I would love to pass it on to:

Rajitha of Hunger Pangs
TBC of the The Budding Cook
Laavanya of Cookery Corner

Mixed Berry Soup and an Award:

When Sunita announced the spice for February, I had no idea what to send in as my entry because I have never used Star Anise in my cooking before. I thought I would have sit this event out.

Meanwhile I saw this Berry Soup made by Giada De Laurentiis on Food Network. Much that the name sounds undessert like, it is a colourful and tasty one. The soup is flavoured with Star Anise and Cinnamon. I knew I had my entry for the event.

The original recipe calls for fresh fruit, but you can substitute with frozen fruit as well.

Mixed Berry Soup: (Recipe adapted from FoodNetwork)

2 cups dry red wine
1 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
2 whole star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
2 Cups fresh strawberries
1 Cup fresh raspberries
½ Cup fresh blueberries
1 pint vanilla ice-cream

Combine the wine, water, sugar, star anise, and cinnamon sticks in a large pan. Add all the berries. Bring the liquids to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently until the fruit is very tender, about 10 minutes. Cool slightly. Discard the star anise and cinnamon sticks. Transfer the berry mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Strain the soup through a fine mesh strainer and into a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate until very cold, stirring occasionally, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day ahead.

Place a small scoop of vanilla ice cream in the center of a dessert glass or soup bowl. Drizzle or pour soup over the ice cream and serve immediately. If using fresh berries, reserve some for garnish.

This makes for a satisfying dessert on any occasion. The dark berry soup over the white vanilla ice cream is perfect.

It was a race against time taking these pics, the room was just too warm and the ice cream didn't hold too long. I used 3 scoops, and you can see one scoop has already half melted :D I decided to swirl the soup and the ice cream to make it look a little presentable.

I'm sending this in the nick of time to "Think Spice – Think Star Anise" hosted by dear Sunita of Sunita’s World.

Now to the award; two dear friends have passed on the "Nice Matters" award to me on the same day. This is my first award and I'm so pleased :) Meeso of My Humble Kitchen and Lavanya of Home Cook's Recipes, thanks to both of you!!!!

“Nice Matters Award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world.”

I'm honored that my friends consider me worthy of this award:) Thanks again Meeso and Lavanya!!

Now my turn to pass it on to a few important people;

First, to dear Rajitha of Hunger Pangs, the first person in the blogging world that I actually became close to. I still don't know her that well, but her blog is on my must see list everyday. She is on a break from blogging now, hope to see her back soon! :)

Second, to dear Sunita of Sunita's World, love her pictures, recipes and everything she rambles about. She is one person whom I respect for her honesty and simplicity.

Third, to dear TBC of The Budding Cook, we connect on some level dunno which one though :-D