New Month, New Look and 'nother New Start

Well hellloooooooooooooooooooo August and hello everybody. If you're half awake or half interested as you read, you've probably noticed a slightly new look blog today. As much as I'd like to flatter and impress, emphasise the fact that I did it just for you, dear reader, in truth, it was more of a 'can't get to sleep, too tired to read and already watched three movies, what shall I do next' type endeavour. Pah, I kid you. Change keeps up the interest, so I'm hoping those of you who’ve almost reached the end of your tether digesting my pointless rants and rambles will discover a renewed sense of enthusiasm :D Is it working? ;) So here it is, all shiny and new and brand-spankingly clean and I hope you like it. I've also added in a recipe page for the benefit primarily of friends who harass me for the secrets behind an authentic Indian curry (no names mentioned *ehem*Rob*ehem*). Those of you who know me, know that I am an absolute foodie. And as much as I love eating, I do love cooking too. In fact I prefer being on the cooking for rather than being cooked for end of the equation (unless mum is at the other end of that equation that is). Cooking is a little bit like listening to music in that you can almost always find something to suit your mood. Try some mindless, gentle stirring of risotto when you're worked up if you don't believe me. Try kneading dough when you're stressed, or beating cookies to crumb if you're in a particularly bad mood (then combine with butter, spread in the bottom of a cake tin and refrigerate, meanwhile combine whipped cream and cream cheese and sugar and vanilla, smother on top, set for an hour and there you have the quickest, most therapeutic cheesecake - in more ways than one - in the world!)

And so I've spent this weekend cooking pretty much. With family, with friends, and alone too. In between university and jobs, housework and errands it can be difficult to actually enjoy preparing food. Quite often it's just about working out the quickest way to produce something edible and then.. well eating it as quickly as possible too. So this weekend seemed like the perfect time to foray into the mystic world of Indian mithais, or sweets. Traditionally, an Indian meal consists of rice, dhal, at least 2 vegetable curries, roti, papad, yoghurt, small amounts of chutney or pickle, and a sweet dish to top it off, served in small steel bowls on a large steel plate. It’s called a thali. But in the rush of routine, you usually end up with just lentils, rice and chappatis, or a vegetable curry of sorts and rice and chappatis. We often resort to buying the sweets instead of going to the trouble of making them. So here’s my first ever - besan ladoos.

xxx