For the love of food and travel

I love oatmeal. For me, nothing says "good morning" like a warm bowl of creamy oatmeal. And many of us know that oats is beneficial in numerous ways if we include it in our diet everyday.  I've always tried to include oats in our food....be it in dosas and idlis or in breads and cookies too. Mr. Peter and Miss J enjoys it all, but our little man is not so easy to please.  Oatmeal cookies are one of the classic cookies made and eaten all over the world. And it tastes awesome when there are raisins in them. But....if you're not fond of raisins, you could replace it with some chocolate chips. I love the wonderful cinnamony aroma that fills my home when these goodies are baked.  A popular theory for the origin of oatmeal raisin cookies is that they descended from Scottish/British oat cakes. In war times, soldiers would carry oat cakes to battle with them for boosts of energy during battle. The first recipe for these goodies was written by Fannie Merritt Far

Sometimes I'm in a mood for some cleaning up. I know, it sounds crazy.....c'mon, I don't think anyone likes to do it. But, honestly.... once in a while..... I do get into the mood to clear away all the clutters and make room for some new things. So, it would be our wardrobes one time or another time it would be my kitchen. It's always a starting trouble....but when I do get it started...I go on a cleaning spree....and thankfully, Mr. Peter doesn't come in my way. And at the end of it.....when everything is done I feel so glad and content. So why am I speaking of my little madness here??? Well I had to clean up stuff from my computer, the other day.  With so much data stored up....the processor was slowing down.....all gizmo stuff! It was getting hard to work on it. So had put my mind to sort out a lot of things and organise and backup all of the data.......to erase the unnecessary and save the needed ones. And while in that process, l spotted some old snaps

There was a food fest week held in our little man's preschool, couple of years back. Basically it was to showcase the different kinds of food eaten in different regions, particularly in India. Since this was happening during the snack time, main focus was to provide small snack items for the kids. So there were North Indian snacks on one day....then South Indian, East Indian and West Indian. The fifth day was Fun Food Fest.  Since the moms volunteered to pitch in for each day....I chose the fun food day. And decided to give mini muffins with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. You can imagine the sparkle in every kids' eyes when they saw these little goodies.  The name “muffin” either comes from the German word “muffe” or from the French word “moufflet”, meaning soft bread. A muffin is an individual-sized, baked product. It can refer to two distinct items, a part-raised flatbread and a cupcake-like quickbread. The flatbread is of British or European derivation, and date

Have you ever had that moment when you feel "bored" to make the same old rice & chapati and some regular gravies or curries to go along with it.  I keep getting those moments ALOT!!!! So here I am, again....making something different for my family for dinner....Quiche.  This dish tastes yumm, when it is warm....and I was waiting for the time when all of us (I mean, Mr. Peter & the kids) were home for dinner....at the same time. Usually, it's difficult to have a meal together as a family at the dining table, especially on weeknights....but this day, they were all home. And that prompted me to make Quiche. Although quiche is now a classic dish of French cuisine, quiche actually originated in Germany, in the medieval kingdom of Lothringen, under German rule, and which the French later renamed Lorraine. The word ‘ quiche ’ is from the German ‘ Kuchen ’, meaning cake.  The original ‘Quiche Lorraine’ was an open pie with a filling consisting of an egg and

There's always room for dessert....especially when it's just a bite!! Little bites mean you get to sample more! Why have one big slice of cake when you can have a petite parfait, a tiny tart, a cute cake, a mini mousse and, well, I think you know where I am going with this! These adorable mini chocolate fruit cups make a delightful addition to any dessert table.  The ingredients are easily available....... all we need is chocolate, some cupcake paper liners, honey, fresh cream and colourful fruits. I used kiwi, peach and pomegranate here. I love the colour combination of green, yellow & red. Ingredients: For the Chocolate Cups: 100gms Dark Chocolate (Chopped) Cupcake liners (about 25 - 30 small size) For the Filling: 1 Cup Fresh Cream   Fresh Fruits (I used kiwi, peach & pomegranate) Honey Method: Melt chocolate using the double boiling method on stove top.( or melt it in the microwave.)  Now comes the fun and messy part......and this is where Mis

I absolutely love mini desserts. And making little desserts......gives me immense joy. I had got these small glasses from my mom long back and always wondered what I would with them.  But when I started making miniature desserts using these glasses....it has been a regular thing at most of the get togethers and parties that happen at home. So during one of those special occasions, I made a mini dessert with panna cotta and raspberry jelly. I really like the colour combination of red and white.  It appeared very "Valentiny" (if that's a word). It looked fabulous.....tasted great.....and my guests were happy.  So here's the recipe: First step is to make the raspberry jelly. You can use the ready to make packs, that are easily available at the markets. Just follow the instructions on the pack....and the jelly would be ready in minutes. And pour them into little glasses.  Now for that presentation look. Place the glasses diagonally in a large serving plat

Singapore is an amazing country. It's a fabulous place for a vacation, especially with kids. There are just so so so so many attractions and things to do in Singapore. I am sure you could spend a couple of weeks and still leave Singapore with more things on your list for the next time. It is just such an easy place to visit with a fabulous transportation system and with English the common language. It is also neat, tidy and orderly.  The English name of Singapore is an anglicisation of the native Malay name for the country, Singapura, which was in turn derived from Sanskrit: Simhapura ; simha is "lion", pura is "town" or "city", hence the customary reference to the nation as the Lion City. We visited Singapore back in 2013. It was a very special trip because it was my first overseas vacation with Mr. Peter & our kids. It was the kids' first trip on an aeroplane too. Our little man was less than two years old then. Sadly he doesn