ROSE AND HER MEMORY

Bleeding red, the petals of a falling rose; a yonder beauty left withering alone in a hurricane of desolate blows. A graceful danseuse under the summer rain, my charming rose once wore dew drops of diamonds, a celestial wreath adorned on her imperial frame. In her body seeped a circulating sensual rage; an innocent face, outrageous passion too raw for a layman’s taste. 

(Image credit: verywell.com)

No longer a reigning majesty, she was a fleeting miracle ruined by time’s ghostly fallacy. An outcast, a dethroned monarch with a halo of thorns, an agony across her forehead’s arc. Fading rouge, wiped out hues, reduced to a forlon art in ancient ruins. 

(Image credit: flickr)

Beautiful rose, it’s time to bid adieu, a much wronged widow in a funeral of grave solitude. While in your glory you had your army of devotees, how my heart aches to see your dying ashes scattered without a melody in the whirling breeze. My beautuful rose, on your death bed, shall I stand with folded hands, a lament in my lips, an ode to your memory, a moment of silence before you decide to leave me.

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QUICK BAKE CHICKEN MUFFINS

Baking has always been a personal stress buster. Today, I would love to share with you my old lunch hour menu, a loyal companion on my school satchel every Wednesday afternoon. Well, it’s so easy and quick to make, I can very well understand why I loved to whip it so often. All you need are some leftover chicken and potatoes from last night and a sultry hot oven.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE BATTER

• 2 eggs
• 1/4th cup oil
• 1 cup wholewheat flour 
  
• 1/4th tsp baking soda
• 3/4th tsp baking powder

FOR THE CHICKEN MIXTURE

•  1 1/2 cup shredded boiled chicken or last night’s leftover chicken chunks (shredded)
• 1 cup diced boiled potatoes (roughly crushed)
• 1 small tomato (chopped)
• 1/2 an onion (finely chopped)
• 1 green chilli  (finely chopped)
• Salt as per taste
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp coarsely ground pepper
• 2 tbsp butter 
• 1/2 tsp vegetable oil

METHOD

1. Heat oil in a pan
2. Add butter 
   Once the butter has turned hot and bubbly, add the chopped green chillies and sauté for 2 mins

   

3. At this point, add the chopped onions and stir until the onions have caramelised into a subtle golden hue
4. Stir in the potatoes and continue to cook it for around 4-5 mins. Since, it’s already pre boiled, it shouldn’t take much timeNow, incorporate the shredded chicken and sauté for 7 mins in high flame just so it gets the opportunity to crisp up lightly 
   
5. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until it softens 
6. Your chicken mixture is now ready to go into the cake batter once it has cooled down

CAKE BATTER 

1. In a mixing bowl, whip together the eggs and the oil 
2. Add the chicken mixture 
3. Finally, add the flour, baking powder and baking soda.
4. Fill the muffin moulds and put it in the preheated oven (180 degree C or 350 degree F) for 20-22 mins or until they are ready
5. Before taking it out, please do not forget to do the knife test in order to check if they are done to the core
   

   

You may carry these little golden goodies with you to your office, may be on a Sunday picnic trip, or even as your lunch option for college…the choices are plenty, and oh…they are very fulfilling as well, which is perhaps an added bonus.

If you like the recipe, please do leave your valuable feedback on the comment section underneath.

Until then, HAPPY COOKING😊😊😊

ATONEMENT OF A DYING HEART

I was adorned in dark remorse tonight, a thousand different laments of a forsaken dream. I longed for an atonement, my soul burdened inside a muffled scream. Grieved in the body by the pangs of a purported love, whiplash of misguided hope and a wicked touch, purgative prayers caressed my lips; clots of unseen blood, aching bones yet to crush.

(Image credit : mynewoldself.com)

I who was always so careful, how did i let you lead me into the bosom of your distorted nirvana? At which unholy hour, did I let your hellish flame craddle down my reverent harbour? Am I now reduced to the shadow of a sacrilegious cherub, a proclaimed sinner in our own paradise? 

(Image credit : burningpointministries.com)

Disrobed of honour, bare skin to appease your desire, am I your fine lady or the mighty creator of my own misery? If your mind could be inked on a parchment of magic, would it engrave words of purity or would it spill secrets of your treachery? The fault is regratably mine, the blind maiden besotted with your honeyed eyes. 

Hence, with humble all, into HIS embrace shall I voyage tonight, confess in his arms foolish words of our false delight. I shall beg with folded hands, for pardon, my sins painted in scarlet for allowing you to enslave me. In that moment, I shall hear whispers of an impending celestial doctrine to seed my divine tree. With this last beat of my heart, HE would promise to set me eternally free. 

(Image credit: catholiconline.com)

LOW EFFORT CREAMY CUCUMBER SOUP

A low key dinner affair on a night alone at home often asks for a high on flavour kind of a standalone dish, something that can easily compensate your otherwise lacklustre menu. 

This easy recipe with subtle flavours and a light creamy texture is both appetizing as well as light in consistency. The additional crunch of the cheesy bread slices give it an interesting twist and a fair complement to the simplicity of the entire preparation.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE SOUP

• 1 cucumber (diced)
  
• 1 small onion (chopped)
• 4 cloves of garlic (chopped)
• 1 green chilli (finely chopped)
• 1 tbsp butter 
• 1 tsp olive oil 
• 1 cup yogurt 
• 1 cup water
• 1 tbsp cornflour + 4 tbsp water
• Salt as per taste

METHOD

1. Heat oil in a wok; add butter
2. Once fairly hot, add in the chopped garlic and green chillies
3. Sauté until the garlic turns into a lovely golden hue
4. Now, add in the chopped onions
5. Sauté until the onions have properly caramelised 
6. At this point, add the diced cucumber pieces 
7. Cover the wok for 5-7 mins or until the cucumber dices have become soft
8. Turn the flame off; let the mixture cool on its own 
9. Once the temperature has come down, blend together the ingredients from the wok, yogurt and salt
10. Transfer the blended gloop back into the wok and turn the flame on
11. Add 1 cup water
12. Mix together the cornflour and water; add it to the simmering soup mix and let it come to a boil
13. Once it has reached a desirable thickness, turn the flame off

INGREDIENTS FOR THE CRISPY BREAD SLICES 

• 3 slices of bread
• 1 dice of processed cheese 
• 5 tsp butter
• Tomato ketchup 

METHOD 

1. Cut rings out of the bread slices using a cookie cutter or by using an upside down bowl with a sharp edge
2. Melt the butter (I usually microwave it for 40 sec)
3. Brush the melted butter onto the bread slices
4. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top along with a dot of tomato ketchup on each of the slices

Microwave the bread slices for 4 1/2 mins or until they have turned golden and crispy6. Serve with the soup 

Enjoy the fresh flavours and the creaminess of this soupy delight and please do leave your feedback and love in the comment section below.

Until then, HAPPY COOKING 😊😊

PHANTOM LOVE

Her body had the sort of a feral stance that knew not how to hide, a million pieces of magnanimous art, her skin had the glow of a newly adorned bride. The glance of a supernatural siren, hers was the kind of sorcery from some dark concealed land. A frozen heart that shall never love, her beauty was both a blessing and a tragic curse. 

(Image credit : abstract.desktopnexus.com)

Like the raging storm and burning fire, the moment he laid eyes on her, henceforth he was curtained in an irrevocable bond of wild desire. Right from the arch of her lips to the shadow of her hair, the artist belonged to the chasm of his fatal love, a wretched despair. 

Every night, his dreams would be beatified by the yearnings of a thousand different reasons to love, the quest for the holy grail who belonged to no one. He devoted himself to her and only her, his life now being a mere journey of beautiful calamities. 

(Image credit : saatchi art)

Never did he see her again, the colours on his canvas and her reflection  in his mind being the only path back to her soul. Sometimes, he wondered whether that elusive muse was just a deity in his troubled mind, for he was unsure whether a mortal life could even look so divine. 

(Image credit : abstract.desktopnexus.com)

Come what may, life or death, in his heart she was the resurrection of the undead, an underlying passion, a poet’s dream…and to her shall he shall return, whether in this world or some celestial zone in the afterlife. 

BURNT GARLIC, TOMATO AND RED CHILLI CHUTNEY

This morning I woke up to a pleasant transition in the othetwise balmy breeze outside my window. Today, it was a gentle tease, the sun itself was a subtle beauty, the leaves in the trees were leisurely getting bedecked into a new tint – the advent of autumn brought back a few happy memories. I indeed woke up to the craving of something more earthy, something with joyous colour, just like the colours of autumn – happy and mellow.

My thought automatically drifted to a luscious, gorgeously hued chutney that you can savour with almost any cuisine and which is equally easy to make. 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 raw tomatoes 
• 5 dried red chillies (split into half)
• 12 cloves of garlic 
• 1 1/2 tsp whole black pepper 
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil + 1 tbsp more to be put in the blender
• 1 tbsp sugar
• Salt as per taste
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup white vinegar

METHOD 

1. Soak the split dried red chillies in a concoction of 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup white vinegar for at least around 6 hours
2. Make slits in the tomatoes (this helps in hastening the boiling process)
3. Allow water to boil in a saucepan. Once the water starts to bubble, immerse the tomatoes in the hot water for around 12-15 mins until they have become soft and the skin can be easily peeled off
4. While the tomatoes are getting done in the simmering water, coarsely ground the black pepper
5. Allow the tomatoes to cool before you peel the skin off
6. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan and allow the cloves and the boiled tomatoes to char in the heat. 
7. In a blender, add the red chillies, charred tomatoes and garlic, sugar, ground pepper, salt, oil, and 3 tbsp of the water-vinegar mix
8. Blend together all the ingredients until smooth
9. Scrape out the chutney in a bowl of your choice and enjoy with steaming hot momos, spring rolls or noodles

Please try this out at your convenience, and feel free to leave a feedback. 

Until then, HAPPY COOKING ☺😊

THE BEAST

His whispered words echoed in ripples across the borders of mayhem in her mind. Promises of escapades in vivid shades of temptation ensnared her senses, taking her to a virgin territory of undefined yearning –  the want for a beast that could potentially shred her heart into a million pieces of dishevelled mess. 

(Image source : weheartit.com)

He had a reputation; the one of a kind hurricane that perpetually travelled with an undisclosed warning. Dangerous to the core of his devilish heart, he was summoned from the hellish fire of her own abandoned lair, an invited doom, a massive despair. 

Every morsel of wisdom that she has garnered over the erstwhile years reminded her to be guarded against such potent force of destruction. But that foolish heart of hers, it would always drag her to her unholy vices, the lust for love, the madness for a sense of unhinged sovereignty.

(Image source : wholeheartedleaders.com)

In his arms, she discovered meadows of capricious pleasure, an Isle of no judgement, the sort of wilderness that set her free. His caress on her skin etched letters of passionate love, his untamed fire thawing her frozen emotions. That provocative stare of his she couldn’t resist, it peeked through the chasms of her much guarded mystery.

Theirs was a secret love affair, an intense liaison between a proclaimed brute and an ignorant maiden. It was an insane adventure of magnanimous fervour, of forbidden territories and irresistible boundaries. 

She knew what lay ahead – an endless saga of distress and desperation. She knew she was in trouble, for he was her most cherished disaster. Lord knows she tried to pull herself out of it, every single night she battled and lost miserably. Alas, the heart won over mind and she continued her expedition across paths of impending danger, her impending ruin.

(Image source : Pinterest)

RED LIPSTICK

She was an exhausted soul battered with the ways of life, bruised in her skin and deciphering the world with her perpetually tired eyes. They would call her “the tainted one,” bequeath her dutifully with curses as she sauntered down the cobbled stone alleys in the dead of the night, her worn out heels dragging her feet to another hour of unloved romp.

(Image credit : Shutterstock.com) 

In secret little covens, away from their mirage of a “dignified” life, they would toss and turn her in proprietary claims, wounding her while healing themselves. In the dark, tears of despair and solitude would meander down her troubled face, praying hopelessly for a change. 

At home, a dying child would wait. The portrait of lust at night was a loving mother in broad daylight. Abandoned by all realms of hope, she found her Godly solace in the embrace of that frail child. A few borrowed months, a pitiable concoction of medical prescriptions, that poor thing was also destined to leave her. 

(Image source : pexels.com)

Once an insatiable dreamer, her aspirations lay crumpled in torn pages of an old diary, her guiding angels replaced by a gaping void in her history. Her reflection in the mirror before her was an assembly of her many avatars – a betrayed daughter, a deserted lover, a faithful mother, a weary shadow – she herself didn’t know which image was her final prophecy. 

(Image source : Pinterest.com)

Yet again into the dark she went, red lips and weary heart, winged eyes and a forgotten melody, torn apart.

SHAMBLES OF A FALLEN FORTRESS : DEAD MEMORIES

Where did you keep our memories? Is it still just between you and me? Are they still our fortress of love or did you ruin it brick by brick?

(Image source : Phobia wiki)

Do you still drive by the highway on a rainy Saturday night? When the radio plays that old song, does it still remind you of me? Does it make your lips curl into a smile? 

Do you still wear your ripped jeans? Are you still the same – your tousled hair, your guitar strings? Do you still care for the same soccer team?

(Image source : Pinterest)

How long has it been? Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night dreaming about me? Would you still sleep if that dream was indeed about me? 

Do you still hang out with the same crowd? Do they still poison your mind against me? How deep does the venom run? Do you still smoke your cigarette when you no longer wish to speak?

Do you still hope? Did you find your God? Is He forgiving? When you pray, do you even atone for your sins?

Do you still love? Is she very pretty? Does she hold your hand when you walk across the city?

Do you still recall? Our great summer love, our crazy dreams, our eventual fall? Do you still remember our fights? Me falling back into your arms, despite all that, every single night? 

What is it like travelling solo? Do you ever get lonely? Who do you call when you fall into the blue? Would you still want me to sing you to sleep? 

Why do I still wonder? Did you let me go? If you were to know that I am dead, would you shed a tear in my grave?

We all have questions, the answers to which would perpetually remain buried in the depths of our hearts. This post was my simple take on such unanswered questions. Please do leave a comment if you have ever gone through a similar phase. Thank you once again for stopping by my blog☺

RUSTIC OLD SCHOOL GINGER AND HONEY CAKE

I bet we have all spent a good number of our lonely blue days gorging on perfectly frosted boutique style fancy cupcakes. Yes, they are pretty as dolls; the very first sight is as majestic as though Cupid has hit the love arrow on that little piece of beauty rather than a handsome human. 

But then, sometimes when you want to go back in time, travel back to your mommy’s kitchen, you recollect those beautiful summer afternoons when the delicious smell of a freshly baked cake would drift across all over the place, warming up your senses and your soul. Today was one such day when I wanted to feel whole rather than delicate, happy rather than temporary high. And like an old obsessive thought, I had to recreate that old memory, or else I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything else.

Scroll down to read an old time kitchen classic, my memory with mom.

INGREDIENTS 

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups wholewheat flour
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup melted butter 
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4th cup honey
• 3/4th cup yogurt
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 1 tsp cardamon powder
• 1/2 tsp soda-bi-carb
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

GARNISH

• 1 tbsp sugar
• Peels of cardamom

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius 
2. Grease a round deep aluminium baking tin with butter. Set aside 
3. Beat together the eggs and the sugar
4. Add in the melted butter and oil
5. Whisk properly until the sugar has melted
6. Add the honey as well as the yogurt and mix well
7. Now add the grated ginger 
8. Finally fold in the flour, soda-bi-carb and baking soda 
9. Add the cardamon powder
10. Pour into the greased tin and tap once to get rid of any trapped air bubbles
11. Sprinkle about 1 tbsp of sugar all over for that subtle crunch and place the cardamon peels strategically on top of the batter
12. Put it into the oven for 45 mins

While you go through your favourite magazine or watch an episode of your favourite drama on TV, your pretty baby is all decked up and ready for you. 

Please don’t forget to leave a comment or your valuable suggestion. I hope you really do give this recipe a chance; you would never regret its moist wholesome feel

Until next time, HAPPY COOKING 😊😊