Happy New Year & a 2nd birthday

End of the year and here I am for what has become customary (for the last 2 years) to wrap up my culinary experiences and wish my blog baby a Happy Birthday :-). I started blogging 2 years back on a nippy, dark evening on the last day of the year with no set goals or lofty ambitions. We had recently relocated, moving away from familiar surroundings, leaving behind friends, trying to set up yet another home away from home. New work, new school, new weather among many other 'new's. As always, we persevered as a family, settled in, made new friends, continued contact with old friends and also picked up some changes to our lives. Blogging was one of them, the urge to write, to share what I knew and also learn from others pushed me into this very public and open domain where I shared stories real and made up, opinions & thoughts - always my own. All in all, it has been another extremely satisfying year. I didn't post as many recipes as I did last year as I found a balance and rhythm to blogging that suited me personally than going after anything else. And then there were days when I simply was lazy to write too :-).

This blog is my creation, and I am proud of how it has turned out so far. At the same time, I acknowledge the support and love showered on me to continue doing this by my family, friends and all of you readers. Thank you once again for brightening up this little space of mine with your visits, comments, feedback and queries. Looking forward to interacting with everyone for a long time to come.

I have many traditional and new age recipes lined up in the coming days, so don't be a stranger to this space of mine, keep visiting and drop a line when you get a chance. But for today, there is no recipe, just good wishes for a great year.

Wishing everyone a New Year filled with many positive vibes! Stay Happy, stay healthy, stay positive.



Photo courtesy: Think and Think again

Share some love with people you know and strangers too because it always finds its way back to you!







Happy New year and a celebration

'There is so much that has been written, by people so much more professional than I, that I wonder what the hell I am presuming to do, anyway" ~ Julia Child

Exactly my thoughts as I deliberated for many months before finally taking the plunge last year. It has been an awesome journey of cooking, clicking, writing about and posting them on the blog. I have morphed from a handful of this, pinch of that to measuring ingredients by Tblsp,Tsp and cups, making sure I try & test every new recipe before I write about them. The best part has been getting to know other people who are as passionate about cooking as I am and take so much time and effort to share family recipes and their wisdom with anyone looking for it. Here is a big Thank you to all of you as Sattvaa turns a year old today, I honestly feel accepted in this virtual World and feel happy to share a tiny space with so many other food bloggers made possible because of my readers and their comments.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year

As I look back on the year gone by, so many things stand out and here are some quirky ones to enjoy on your New Year's eve.

Scene 1: early morning, at home in the kitchen.
Me: I need some kisses
BH with an 'I am not up yet' look: What??
Me: I mean the Hershey chocolate kisses.
BH with understanding dawning on his face (may be it is the coffee kicking in): Oh!
Me: And I don't have any.. (almost whining)
BH: So you can go get them from the store.
Me: I need it like 'NOW', badly
BH bad on comprehension: Is that like an early morning craving?
Me (snapping): No, you silly. I need them now so I can get the dough ready and set them for making cookies later, it has to rest for a while.
BH now all ready to go to work: Oh, this is a recipe for the blog, well you will have to get it later I guess unless you want to go now.
Me (all nice): Can you possibly get a packet of Hershey's kisses and then go to work?
The man is surprisingly nimble on his feet and has vanished from the kitchen and the next I hear is the door shutting and car starting.. Well, I had to change some plans to go get my ingredients later on in the day.

Scene 2: Daughter comes home famished after a long day at school.
DD: Amma, I am hungry.
Me: Food is all ready, wash up & come.
DD sits eagerly at the dining table ready to start digging and I am arranging the plate under the light with a camera in hand.
DD: Amma, haven't you already taken enough pictures?
Me: Just a second kanna, I think this light and the plate looks prettier than the pictures I have already.
DD: <Grump>

Scene 3: Sunday brunch time, daughter has just got up and ready for the brunch.
DD from the bathroom: Amma, are you making dosa?
Me: Yes
DD: Is it masala dosa? (such a gifted child, smells food from a distance and identifies it)
Me (smiling): Yes putti
DD: I call dibs on the first one
Me: Sure
DD hurries from the bathroom and rushes to the plate with the neatly arranged dosa & chutney.
Me (pointing at the other plate on the side): Take that one if you are ready, I need to take a couple of pictures of this one and then give it you.
DD: Amma, that dosa is torn on the side (as if she eats the whole dosa in one bite without breaking it to pieces) and doesn't look good (such aesthetic sense)
Me: Then wait until I am done taking the pictures and you will get the good looking one.
DD: <<Grump>> and <<Humpf>>

Scene 4: BH comes back from work and announces that he has asked a few friends for dinner on the weekend. 
BH: R was asking for your puliyogare, he said it was delicious and wanted it.
Me: Can I make BBB instead?
BH: Why, don't you have the ingredients? I can get them tomorrow, he seemed to like from the last time and specifically asked for it.
Me: Oh no, I have enough pictures of puliyogare and I already have a draft ready to blog about it, I will make something else.
BH: huh!

Scene 5: Taking a stroll in the mall with BH & daughter, we pass through a Japanese tea shop
Daughter: Amma, look at his tea pot, isn't it cute? it will make a great prop for one of your blog pictures.
BH: Right, take that entire set and the shop next door has indoor lighting, you can hold it under different lights and see what looks best.
Both of them are snickering as I walk past with my head held high.

I am sure many of you food bloggers go through similar situations at your homes, but here is to my family for standing by and cheering me on with my passion that is bordering obsession, I love you guys for all your patience through those indeterminate wait periods when you are hungry, love you for tasting all my experimental cooking and giving your honest feedback, love you for just being there.

May everyone have a wholesome life fulfilling dreams

Outside of the small nest we have here, my family from far have done quite a bit of cheer leading for my blog. Amma has been my #1 reader from the day I started blogging and rarely does a day go by without her leaving a comment on the post. My FIL was game for every dish I prepared this time around and enjoyed most of them though they contained ingredients unknown to/not favored by him. Nammamma though neither independently navigates the blog nor reads all my posts is always my source to go to when in doubt, I keep querying her especially on traditional recipes and don't let her off hook when she pleads she doesn't remember. My internet shy sister regularly reads all my blog posts and talks about them on the phone and reminds me about forgotten dishes that I can blog about. My brothers follow my blog on facebook and drop in to read the anecdotes more and recipes less on the blog which then becomes the thread on our phone conversations. Small gestures mean a lot and I am happy they indulge me in my passion.

Outside of the blog world, 2012 has been a lot of changes for us as a family, settling in a new place, DD making new friends and continuing with her outside school pursuits. We also saw a lot of happy events and shocking incidents through the year. We laughed when things were bright and cheery and shed a few tears and said a prayer when things were bleary and sad. 2013 is a new year, a fresh new book yet to be opened and we hope for it to be pleasant and blessed for all. May we not have any replays of Connecticut or Delhi and let it be filled with Joy & Hope for all. I will see you with new recipes, new chitchats starting tomorrow.

May life be pure and peaceful

Wishing you and yours a Happy, Prosperous and Blessed New year!!