Baking Memories: Sugar Cut-Out Cookies

There was a lot to celebrate last weekend. It started off with our traditional harvest festival called Onam, followed by my wedding anniversary and my daughter’s birthday. Days are passing by so fast and our routine and lifestyle are getting hectic …And I keep reminding myself to slow down to make memories for my little princess, which will last for a lifetime. And she is growing up so fast!! I remind myself to take time and focus on life’s simple pleasures, which is just enough to create an everlasting bond with my daughter.

So last weekend we created some baking memories. My five year old decided to bake some sugar cookies. So we got down to it and decided to give away these cookies as a token of appreciation to the kids who came to celebrate her birthday. We ended up having a fabulous time and I enjoyed watching her excitement.

Baking these cookies are absolutely stress free… you just need to plan ahead… and get your ingredients ready! So here goes the recipe

Serves 20
 
Ingredients

• 90g unsalted butter softened
• 100g caster sugar
• 1  egg      
• ½tsp vanilla extract
• 200g plain flour
• ½tsp baking powder
• ½tsp Salt

Method

In a bowl sieve together flour, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl whisk butter and sugar till pale. And then beat in egg and vanilla extract.

Add the flour to the butter mix till dough is formed. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for at least an hour.
Preheat the oven at 170 degrees C. Roll the dough out on a floured surface

Cut out the cookies with different shaped cutters and transfer these on a baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper. Roll up the trimmings and repeat the steps above to make more cookies.

Bake these for 8 to 12 minutes until golden. And then transfer them on a wire sheet to cool before icing.

 

Sugar icing

This icing is super fast and easy and you just need two ingredients! It gives a perfect glaze for your cookies

·         1 Cup Powdered Sugar

·         4 tsp Milk

Method for Sugar Icing

1.      Mix the powdered sugar and milk with fork till smooth. If you like thinner consistency you can add more milk or thicker by adding powdered sugar.

2.      You can also add food colour to the icing and pipe in a icing bag and decorate the cookie or use a knife or spoon to spread the icing.

3.      Immediate after spreading the icing, add sprinkles right away as the icing will begin to dry immediately.

4.      Once the icing on the cookies is set, you can start to pack them in cute give-away boxes or store them for yourself.

 

Packed in small gift bags



and packed in good bags that I made from brown paper bag, ribbon and doily

 

I hope you get to create some baking memories with your loved one!!! And I would love to hear about your baking adventures.

 

 

Images are clicked by me

 

 

 

Lisa Corti Home Textile

Even when I am on a tight budget there are a few things that I don’t mind splurging… no no ... not jewelry… its textiles and handlooms. I always had a soft spot for textiles that beautify interiors like bedspreads, table cloth, quilts, and table-runners, because it gives life to any home décor. Last night while browsing on the internet I came across this beautiful store that swept my feet away. It’s called Lisa Corti Home Textile Emporium, based in Milan, by Italian Textile Designer, Lisa Corti. Her designs and prints are eye popping, unique and beautiful mix of colours that strike a balance with interesting combinations.  She mainly draws her inspiration from different cultures and from her travels, especially India. Her store is an eye candy for sure to a textile-lover and I hope to visit some day.

Click here to browse through her store and products…. Wishing you all a happy and dreamy weekend!!

 

Image copyright Lisa Corti

 

 

 

 

 

Ria's Collections

A great food blog requires tried and tested recipes, beautiful photos that will make you drool and good writing skills that will keep your readers engaged. Ria’s Collections is one such popular blog that has all these goodness. The author, Ria Mary Mathew, is a busy mom, a cook instructor, an award winning blogger and a student once again. She is from Kannur, Kerala and based in Minnesota. Five years back I accidentally found her blog as I was searching for a good cake recipe and then there was no turning back for me. Her blog has simple and exotic recipes of cake, savory and other global dishes and she speaks for her passion for cooking through her stories and memories. I have been chasing her to reveal her inspiration with us and she was so gracious to take some time out from her busy schedule for us to share her blogging success story with us.


Ria, Tell us something about yourself.

To make it short, I am a person who believes in quality over quantity. I am a severe case of OCD and I repeat doing the same thing over and over again until I get it right. Even though I love to cook and bake, there are so many kinds of food that you will never see me eating!

 

When did your passion for baking and food begin? And what was your inspiration to start your food blog?

I started cooking from when I was 3 years old. Cooking and baking is in my blood. It’s the first thing that I turn to when I am happy or sad. For me, food plays an important role in creating memories. So, kitchen is my happiest place in our house.

I used to have a recipe diary from when I was a little girl. Every recipe that would capture my attention with its photographs or description would find a place in it. Therefore it was natural for that diary to grow bulkier as the years went by. My cousins and I would exchange recipe notes via emails and when my little brother saw me frantically typing recipe after recipe, he asked me why I didn’t start a food blog which would make things easier. The rest is history.

 

Have you taken any formal training in baking/cooking? And do you experiment in baking and cooking?

 I was trained under the watchful eyes of my mother growing up. I experiment a LOT in my kitchen and almost all of them have been delicious. Now, after all these years of cooking and baking, I can easily figure out if a recipe is good or not by just reading through the ingredient list and quantity. So disasters are very few.

Currently,I am a student at Le Cordon Bleu specializing in Baking and Patisserie.

 

Your food photography definitely stands out. Have you had any training in photography? Any tips in photography for fellow bloggers?

Thanks! No, I am a self taught food photographer (if I can call myself that way!). I always shoot in natural light and try to keep the props to a minimum so that the food is the main focus.

Browse as many websites as possible which focuses on food photography. See what they do to bring their food to focus and then try to develop a style of your own. In a photograph, food looks good in smaller quantities and on smaller plates/bowls.

 

What is the most gratifying aspect for blogging?

It is the network that I’ve built over the past 7 years. I have readers all over the globe and I am in constant touch with them. When they try out my recipes and write to me to tell me about their experience, it’s immensely satisfying. It helps me realize how wonderful it is to share something good with others.

 

Do you have any other passions apart from blogging and photography?

Family, of course! It is my first priority any day!

 

What are your future plans? Can we expect a cook book?

Once I graduate, I want to gain experience from working under experienced chefs and then maybe a few years down the lane,when I am confident enough,I will start something on my own. I don’t know if it’s going to be a bakery or a café .It will be something that will give me enough freedom to take a vacation whenever I want to!

Cookbooks…hmmm. I would love to write one but that needs a lot of dedication,focus and hardwork. I don’t know if there will be one in my near future as I am literally drowning in homework and test papers from school!

Here are some of her popular recipes and pictures... please click on the caption of each picture for the recipe

 

15 Minute Puff Pastry

Baklava

Checkerboard Mini Rotis

Honey Chili Potatoes

Iced Italian Cream Cake

Pidi Ularthiyathu

 

 

 Thanks Ria for sharing your story with me and my readers and wishing you all the best with your current course. And I do hope to meet you in person in the near future!

 Please click here to hop on to Ria’sCollections and enjoy her recipes.

 

Images via Ria

 

 

Kumarakom Lake Resort

Do you want to enjoy a heritage retreat in a paradise in God’s own country? Kumarakom Lake Resort is the place to be. It’s one of the most beautiful resorts that that has a blend of south Indian architecture, lush greenery and the stunning view of the Vembanad Lake. I was just blown away by the beautiful waterscapes. And there was tranquility everywhere. The most interesting feature of this resort is the meandering pool that links to all the cottages.

Here are some pictures that I managed to click during stay there

Meandering pool

Vembanad Lake

Loved this beautiful flower arrangement

View from our cottage

 

 

Ethnic décor



a small shop full of traditional treasures

This is a restaurant reassembled from a 300 year old kerala home, which is an eight sided mansion

In the restaurant you will find these beautiful pillars and wooden carvings

Beautiful paintings adorned the resort

Stunning Waterscapes

Loved this mural painting in our room

 

 

 

Intricate designs on these traditional door locks

Images are clicked by me



 

Cochin Files

I am back after my short vacation.... the holiday blues continues but excited to be with you all... My each visit to Kerala always offer something different to experience...The recent vacation to Cochin, was something to remember. It had a bit of everything... a traditional Kottayam Christian wedding, an unexpected funeral of a great man who left a legacy to remember, a baptism...  quality time with family, catching up with some crazy cousins, a getaway to a resort on the backwaters, hogging on yummy food like appams & stew, beef fry, karemeen fry (pearl spot fish fry), ethakka fry (banana fritters) and to top it all ... Hot chai and rains.... it was just perfect!

Here are some pictures that summarizes my vacation

beautiful aerial view of Cochin

backwaters

Wedding house in Kottayam

 

 

Cherpunkal Church

Kumarakom Lake Resort

 

Beautiful Table Décor for Jayden's Baptism

Miss the rains!!

 

Beautiful paintings from a Delhi based artist

a walk in the clouds.... back to Muscat

Images are clicked by me


 

Artist of the Month: Deepshikha Mammen

I have always wondered why abstract and minimalist art is so appealing. I believe it’s because the creativity within the artist is just flung on to the canvas which illicit new imaginations within the viewer. It’s filled with exciting monochromatic palettes of bold colours, textures and basic shapes, breaking away from the traditional form of painting. And these elements attract an emotional response and imagination from the viewer. It’s my pleasure today to introduce Deepshikha Mammen, an abstract and minimalistic artist, whose work reflects a distinctive style with emotive use of colour.

 

Have a look at her beautiful work and scroll down to know more about Deepshikha and her art journey.

Tell us a bit about yourself

I am from Haryana but born and brought up in New Delhi. The earlier years of my schooling were from modern school Vasant Vihar New Delhi but later I shifted to Welham girls’ school in Dehra Dun. I completed my Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Stephens College and that's where I met my husband who is from Kerala. We lived in Melbourne for 8 years and now we are back in India with our 2 Sons.

How did your journey as an artist begin?

My journey as an artist began from the time I saw my mother paint. At age 2 I was introduced to paints by her and loved the idea of filling a crisp white sheet with colours. I always thought she was brilliant. I painted away right through my school years but stopped in 1996. After 1996 it was only in 2010 that I had the courage again to paint. It was in Melbourne after my kids were born that I felt like painting again. My husband’s encouragement made me walk down to the art store down the road from our house and from there I began my journey as an artist once again. Since then my mother, my husband and his family have been a great source of encouragement and support.

How do you define art?

For me art is an expression of a moment or time. It's a feeling and a though which I put on the canvas. Art is beautiful. It is the frame of your mind. You can get to know a bit about a person by walking into their homes and learning about them through their choice of art and deco. Art defines people. It defines you.

What medium do you work on? And what's your inspiration for your work?

The medium I work with is acrylic on canvas. It's a fun medium and basically very easy to work with. My work is inspired by 2 people as of now 1 being the late artist Mark Rothko and the 2nd being my mother Renu D Singh. I have learnt a bit from both their styles.

What is the most challenging aspect about your work?

Selling my work is the most challenging aspect for me. This is mainly because I am not a very social person any more as I was a decade ago and art is something which needs to go places. This may sound strange, but sometime I find it hard to part with some of my own art work! But reality is that you cannot keep it all for yourself even if they are your favourite pieces.

 What is your creative process like? And what keeps you motivated?

 "Colours" are what keeps my creative process going and they are the main motivation behind my art. They are beautiful even in a jar.

Have you had any exhibitions? What have you found to be the best way of getting your art noticed by buyers?

I have never exhibited my art at fairs and studios. It's sold primarily through word of mouth. People buy my art and hang it in their homes and their friends and relatives contact me after viewing my work. My husband and father in law forced me to put up my work on the web and initially I was reluctant but am glad now since it reached others who I have never known.

Any tips or words of wisdom for inspiring artists who want to pursue a similar career?

I am too small an artist to give wisdom to inspiring artists ...but as a person who is having fun with colours the only tip I can give them is this - "paint when you are happy and paint when you want to relax. Don't let criticism of your art ever stop you from painting".

 

Thanks Deepshikha for sharing your art journey with us and inspiring us to unleash our imagination!!

Please click here if you wish to get in touch with her and click here to hop on to her website to view her work.

 

Images via Deepshikha Mammen