Raindrops!!

Raindrops on a cobweb!!

Raindrops over a fallen leaf!!

Eggless Fruit Cake

Festivity is in the air!!

Here is my Christmas Baking for this year. I adapted this from Aayi's Recipe. Thank you!
This is an egg-less cake with some dried fruits and nuts that would make our taste buds want more.

Ingredients:
All Purpose Flour- 1 cup
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp
Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tbsp
Butter - 4 tsp
Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp
Milk - 1/2 cup

Fruits & Nuts - Chopped
Prunes - 1/3 cup
Dates - 1/3 cup
Raisin - 1/3 cup
Cashew - 1/4 cup
Almond - 1/4 cup

Method:
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Add the dry ingredients to a bowl and mix them.
- Melt the butter in microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute and add the dried fruits to them.
- When it cools add it to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix them.
- Heat the milk in microwave for about a minute and add it to the mixture.
- This will give a mixture of a sticky consistency.
- Grease the baking pan and transfer the contents to it.
- Bake for 30 min until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Cool it in wire rack, slice and serve!

Merry Christmas & Happy Baking!!

Beautiful Blue

Shrubs on barren land

Shot with Miniature  effect.

A Pine Cone!!

A fallen pine cone, near Lake Tahoe.

Fall above me!!

Up above you were in green,

All the way sprouting dream.

Then the wind struck you hard enough,

And it hurt you bad enough.

You began to turn oldish,

And even gold-ish.

Changing colors all around,

And giving up on the ground.

Even at the pinnacle of life,

You are the beauty of faith.

Showing us in bounty,

That change is lovely

In all its style.

Two more to go...

                       No sooner we see Friday in our calendars, a big grin shines on our face from one end to another. We toil all over the week and wait for those two magical days of rest (which we assume) that crosses even before we greet for Saturday. Even after we know this dirty truth we still wait like dogs with their tongue hanging out for bones. We always to to extend the Friday as much as we can by going for a movie, taking to a friend after a long time, sitting idle in front of a television and stare at the clock to make sure it doesn't move further to Saturday (which it does devotedly). If I had two hours extra, I would be like this kid. :)

If only I had two hours extra, I would,.....

1. Talk to my friends with whom I have not been in touch with lately: We all dream to get back our college days, be amongst friends with our 11th hour exam preparation, surprizing friends on birthdays with cakes even though we never earned money. We were happily enjoying the bliss of life in between maturity and responsibility. We get busy with our lives as days pass  by, we earn and become responsible but never find time to spend those precious time with friends.

2. Be a company: Being with our parents is itself a bliss, they don't expect us to be a rich person, all they need is our presence. Even though I was near them for sometime I dint realize its significance, now I know how much I want to be with them just to chat our minds, helping mom in her kitchen, working on Sudoku with dad as soon as we get newspaper, read some books for my grandma.

3. Regroup: We are not always the ones we want to be. As situation comes we change our color like a chameleon. I would like to sit and think about my previous mistakes and make an attempt to set them right. We are all good, all it takes to be a really good is a little bit of courage to stamp our ego and move further.

4. Walk silently on a busy road to watch people get on with their work will bring varied thoughts in my mind. I would also go for a stroll at the beach just to stand and stare.

5. Would definitely spend more time with my hubby. Hope he gets the extra two hours too :)

6. I would like to contribute to our community by spreading the awareness about recycling and proper disposal, I found a video in which a team of youth were renovating a very smelly wall on roadside in Bangalore. I would love to do a similar job in the place I live.

When Surf Excel Matic - Get smart, gives us extra hours to relax is like a double bonus, never worry about our laundry stains and have peace for those two hours.