Awards # New 3 in 1 FB page # hugs

Big hai to my dear co-bloggers !
Was literally away from blogsphere for about 2 weeks or so....and am I not really glad to have received 2 awards during that time.

The VERSATILE BLOGGER AWARD

 

by pretty-patty Pooja of "Being Beautiful and Pretty" blog. A place worth visiting where she writes about home remedies , product reviews, makeup tricks , latest fashion trends ..... anything and everything....and....

 

 

the AWESOME BLOG CONTENT AWARD

 

by Aara of Sweets & Spices.  Knowing her was a very pleasant surprise. Writing to her that I was her latest follower, especially after going through her perfectly white instant rava idli's , the reply what I got was of someone who was a "silent follower" of my blog, ever since she started blogging!!! That was indeed surprising.

 

 

Of course, i agree there will be many people out there, who wouldn't want to be shown out as followers, and its one's own personal approach, i truly acknowledge that. But with me, I am more than happy to know it if you like my space....atleast, it will take me to your space as well.

 

So, for Pooja and Aara,

 

 

 Thanks  a bunch, both of you !

 

 Also in here, officially, introducing to you, my new facebook page -

 

THE PICK'Y BANK.

 

The links to my 2 blogs and the rest are all now in one space under 3 different albums :

(food blog links)

 (non-food blog links)

 

(musical notes and pictures)

 

Thanks to all who pulled in their suggestions and ideas - really really appreciate it. For you all as well....

 

 

oh well  ...i'll RESTART !!! ;)

 

Back to the award..the rules...

 

The Versatile Blogger Award

 

1) If you are nominated, then you are awarded the Versatile Blogger Award

     (received with thanks)

2) Thank the person who gave you this award (done, with a hug)

3) Include the link of their blog (done)

4) Nominate 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award (below)

5) Finally, tell the person who nomiated you (done) & things about yourself.

 (about myself,well... I have written quite a bit on my previous Leibester Award post. It's in here)

The ABC Award

 

The rules are simple:

1) Add the ABC logo to your new blog post (done)

2) Write one word or a phrase about yourself that begins with A, B, C, etc.

        (  Well for me, i take "b" for being " blessed" )

3) Nominate some blogs (below)

4) Leave a comment on their blogs to let them know. (definitely !)

 

My nominees for the Awards are:

 

1. Remya Elizabeth of Remya's Baking & Cooking

2. Rafeeda of The Big Sweet Tooth

3. Amelia of Amelia's Dessert

4. Asha of Food, Fashion, Party

5. Chitra of Indulge

6. Meena Kumar of Elephants and the Coconut Trees

7. Nawal of Love from Kitchen

8. Sonali of Sonali's Kitchen

9. Tinku of Daily Chores

10. Priya of the Humpty Dumpty Kitchen

11. Manju of Manju's Eating Delights

12. Akila of Learning-to-cook

13. Vidya of Akshaypatre Recipes

14. Shibi of Flavz Corner

15. Shella of Kitchen Art

 

And, the 15 of you receive not one, but both these Awards ! PLUS...PLUS....a virtual hug too !!..

ooh..think my PC, rooter and the net connection got hanged trying to passover the "HUGie - buggie" .

 

Think this would be the only way out to reach it to you ;)

and I , get a "like" on my fb page in return ?? ( not a bad deal, yeah??)

 

Will be back soon with some "sweet" recipe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



ADVICE PLEASE ....

Hey friends...

think i need some advice from you.
You (most/some) of you are definitely aware that i have 2 other pages other than this, in the "pic" series.

quick picks - where you are now - which is on cooking and recipes exclusive.
pick quicks - right next door , (opposite of Quick Picks) ..yaani..anything other than recipes.
and the other one is in facebook -
note'y pic's -  which features some childhood musica"notes", written "notes" and pictures. (now you get what's in this name ;)

 

And...what i have been thinking the last few days...
what if i merge all these three together into one?) Planning to do that in the facebook page..so that it gives links to both the blogs as well...along with the notes and pictures and music already in there)

What would you suggest ? But, in that case, will I have to change my fb page name to something else ...coz, the current one "note'y pic's"  will not seem to get well with the contents to the page if i do.

Now..dont tell me to name it "sambar" or "avial picks" coz, it will be all the  "picks" at one place... :p

confused..should i really merge it together ?..as i was not much keen on having a facebook page for my cook blog...and if i eventually do..then, the name of that page.

Any help ?? advice..dearst co-bloggers ??

Crab sticks and Pineapple - salad variations and some very honest doubts

We had a Salad Competition organised by the Ladies Forum of our College Allumini some time back and my entry was Crab Stick and Grilled Pineapple variations.

 

 

The times that you feel like doing something...but again, get no idea what . (same as in the previous post on Rose'y Chicken Puffs) So, the best option is to roam around the Super market, browsing all that is on the racks, believing something will click. It was during one of the "market browsings" that i happen to see this  pack of "crab sticks" in the freezer section. That did sound interesting, coz I had never bought it before .So, that was it, crab sticks with something...for the competition.

 

an innocent doubt..don't you agree ??

 

 

Crab sticks (imitation crab meat, seafood sticks) are a form of kamaboko, a processed seafood made of finely pulverized white fish flesh (surimi), shaped and cured to resemble leg meat of snow crab or Japanese spider crab.


 

Recommendations on the packing is to have it as such, (after defrosting, that is). But, to the Indian taste buds, it definitely will be bland. So, I gave a slight fry to these sticks in 2 table spoons of olive oil and dashed some pepper and dried herbs atop (optional), for  a flavour. Do not be too rough , and do not fry it for more than a minute or two, else they shread into fine strips.

 

Now, that the super market browsing is done, next is the online browsing..on what to do with these. and finally...decided to pair it with pineapple.

 

Option 1 :
Individual serve portions of flavoured crab sticks with grilled pineapple . These could go as an appetizer as well.

hummm... next.
 

*Cut the pinepple into thin strips almost to the same length as the crab sticks.
*Make a sause mix - sweet chille sauce + barbaque sauce + pepper powder + salt
* Brush the sauce mix on these cut pineapple strips and grill till done. Not too dry, they should still be juicy.

Arrange in small wine glass with some salad greens around to keep it in place, with of course, the additional low cal benefits of thyself.



Option 2: Mixed mayonnaise salad
Pineapple (plain, not grilled)
Bell peppers - green, yellow, red, orange
(Cut the above into small pieces)
Crab sticks (flavoured, as above), cut and shredded

Mix everything with low fat garlic mayonnaise (or any flavoured variety of your choice), sprinkled with some pepper powder and salt to taste.

I used Bell Pepper cups for presenting the mayonnaise salad. Cut the peppers (one colour each) into half, fill it with the salad, topped  with few cut pieces of the peppers  in the centre. Red cuts over the salad in the red pepper bowl..so so. 

The platter now awaits the judges.

 



A very justifiable answer, by little Ms. Pussy...and my salad variation platter did win a prize in the competition. ;)

So until next ..you all have a great time !!!

A bunch of roses - puff pastry with chicken filling - tutorial

 

That was a gift by the boys for their dad, on Father's Day.

 

It was a working day and all that I knew on my way back home from work was that I need to make something for him, but , what was that going to be..well...i didn't know...

 

Couldn't go for a very elaborate meal as I had just few hours to decide, execute and complete the process. A cupcake bouquet..that was my initial thoughts, with icing resembling flowers.

 

Anyways, just on an instinct, decided to get one of these...

 

.....the rotessorie chicken . It is available literally at every corner here and the best part is that its the most handy when in times of "timeless cooking" .

(no wonder we call it "narkathilae koyi"..in malayalam..)

Anyways, it was almost 6 pm and i still hadn't decided what I need to make. Had the chicken, and so, gave up the idea of the cupcake bouquet. It definitely will take some time, and my husband need to go to bed early these days as its summer and being in the Construction field, his work begins at 4 am in the morning.

 

And you..are in that kind of a state where you are just walk around, doing nothing... looking at things, believing that some idea would eventually  bloom in your mind.

 

Digging into the freezer, saw this pack of puff pastry sheets, unopened, and almost nearing the expiry date in a few months time. So, puff pastry and chicken...need to come up something with these two. Chicken puffs ?? Chicken roll ?? Aaah..not cool enough as a gift, yeah ? At some point, your mind takes you to a bouquet of roses made of flattened left over bread, which you had come across on some blog, but couldn't recollect when and where. Alright..that's it...decided..and the time was ooh..way past 6:30 pm. Had to get moving fast.

Thats how it goes :

Thaw the puff pastry sheets.

Sprinkle some wheat flour (atta ) on the rolling board and on the pin, lest the pastry sheet goes stuck to the surface.

Cut circles of few various sizes. Larger one for bigger flower, smaller circle for small flowers.

Remove the skin and mince the grilled chicken ..really small. That's some hands silently grabing a few bites off the cutting board. And for the knife..well..yeah 1 i am still old fashioned in many ways. We call these knifes "pichatthi" in malayalam, and I stil prefer to use these types compared to the new stylish ones. My father gets these cusotm made and does a few pieces extra for me, to bring over to Kuwait.  

 

Mix the finely cut chicken pieces with few tsp's of (well.whatever sauces/ dressing that you can find !)..easier to put it that way. I used the ones above.

 

Dust a plain surface with flour, place the pastry circle and make cuts on it.

 Number of cuts = number of petals.

Place a spoon ful of the chicken mix at the centre.

Wrap each petal cut around the chicken filling.

 

Apply some water at the edges of the petals for them to stick together.

 

Shape the edges of the petals slightly outside to resemble roses. Your flower is now done.

 

For the basket...

 

 

Cut thin strips of the pastry sheet and weave .

 

 

Trim the edges off in a semi-circular shape and place a thin rolled strip of the pastry along the edges to form a border. Transfer carefully, to the baking tray.

Cut small leaves of the remaining rolled pastry and assemble the basket.

 

oooh..sorriee !!!

Egg wash

 

 

i know..this does seem yuck !!!..but , it definitely is doing a good job; cant you see :D

 

Pre-heat the oven to 150 deg C and bake till golden brown.

 

 

The kids made sure that they did a good part of the making by themselves, coz, it was THEIR gift, and with me clicking all the way in between...did end up taking quite a lot of time doing this that we had to pull the DAD out of the bed to receive his gift. Anyways, it was defintiely not past 12 pm, so it was still the Father's Day.