Few awards,a Tag,some info and just bla BLA bla!!

Let me warn you before hand,there's no recipe to share today.Now before you go "nahiiiiiiii" like a Bollywood heroine,let me assure,I might just add a food pic or a recipe below this post[there..I got you interested,didn't I?]

Its been a while since I did a non-recipe post here[I have too many recipes to share,I guess:)].I have been showered with awards and tagged too by few of my blogger friends and after a slight nudge,[ok,reminder] from one of those,I felt I have to give that sweet gesture its due credit and here I am with an exclusive post just for that:).

Ria of Ria's Collection-my tweet partner/confidante,Ramya of Simple Vegetarian recipes,Minu of Chettinad Fiesta,Mandira of Baking Buddies and Kanchan of Kitchen Gossip have passed on these sweet awards to me.Thank you folks,I feel as happy as a three year old who got her candy..Love ya people..:)

Prasu of Prasu's Kitchen and Sireesha of Mom's recipes have passed on these.Thank you so much and I appreciate the gesture..:)

Now on to the Tag-

1.What is your current obsession?
Baking has been an obsession for the last few months and then Twitter..:)

2. What are you wearing today?
A salwar kameez

3.What's for dinner?[I am doing the tag now,so whats for Breakfast would be more appropriate:)]

Idiyappam and Stew.

4. What’s the last thing you bought?
Some baking stuff-Chocolate slabs,Choco chips and baking tray

5. What are you listening to right now?
I like the songs from the latest Hindi movie Kaminay--dhan tana..;)

6. What do you think about the person who tagged you?
I've been tagged by a wonderful bunch of food bloggers..:)

7. If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?
Good ol' Ernakulam[count this too,I am obsessed about that place..;)]

8. What are your must-have pieces for summer?
I have summer all year through in Chennai...sigh.So cotton clothes..mostly salwars,FabIndia Kurtis..the works..;)

9. If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
Since Ernakulam would sound repetitive,I would say Bangalore??[yeah,I am quite boring;)]

10. Which language do you want to learn?
Sweet Marathi..:)

11. Who do you want to meet right now?
Ammaaaaa:)

12. What is your favorite colour?
Pink..:)

13. What is your favourite piece of clothing in your own closet?
My Sarees are precious,my favorites would be the cute t-shirts I recently got..:)

14. What is your dream job?
A Baker..??:)

15. What’s your favourite magazine?
Anything which would keep me occupied..Readers Digest & Good Housekeeping tops the list.

16. If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on?
I would use it to spend a nice and cozy dinner with hubby and probably buy something for him too..;)

17. What do you consider a fashion faux pas?
Wearing a size too small..!!

18. Who are your style icons?
My teen icon was Karisma Kapoor,I loved the way she dressed[post Raja Hindustani:)]

19. Describe your personal style?
Comfortable yet trendy clothes which suit me:)

21. What are your favourite movies?
I just cant pick one..

22. Give us three styling tips that always work for you:
Kajal,lipgloss and a comb..always does wonders..:)

23. Coffee or tea?
Coffee..:)

24. What do you do when you are feeling low or terribly depressed?
Cry for a while[YES] and then talk it out with hubby[that always works for me],he is my punchbag and counselor..:)

25. What is the meaning of your name?
Spiritual..:)

26. Which other blogs you love visiting?
Soooooo many to chose..:)

27. Favorite Dessert/Sweet?
Chocolate cake with Ice-cream..;)

28. Favorite Season?
Rainy season..;)

29.Which is your dream destination?
Paris

30.Mandira's additional question-What is the one dish that you have tried and tried and still now managed to get right?

Butter Cookies..any which way I make them-without measuring-I sometimes eyeball the measurements,still it comes out perfect..:)

Some info-

I've been getting lots of mails/scraps regarding information about my baking and the stuff I use.Though I do not consider myself an authority to answer all those questions since I am a beginner baker myself,I feel if my answers help people to start baking effortlessly,then my job is done.

First and foremost - The oven I use- I bake in my IFB Microwave Oven.Initially,I did the baking in the microwave mode,but later on I started baking in the convection mode and I have got perfect results,almost like a normal baking oven.I have heard people say that baking is uneven[esp Cakes] while it is done in the MW,but I have never encountered such a problem.

Baking tins I use- I normally use metal tins for baking.Glass dishes don't work so well while baking in the convection mode.It always helps if you grease and line the pan before baking cakes.

Baking chocolate I use - I have not much experimented with this.I've used them to make chocolate flakes and then recently made ganache,thats all.I use a brand called Marco.It is a cheap alternative to the regular baking chocolates.However,if the recipe requires you to melt the chocolate and all that,best is to go for Morde or Selbourne.

Butter I use - I almost always use Aavin butter[unsalted] for all my baking needs.If not,Amul or even Nilgiris brand of butter works well.But Aavin is better and economical:).

Cream/Whipping cream I use - We only get Amul cream here,so can't much experiment with that one.It is hard to whip Amul to peak stage,but if the climate is cool and you chill the cream,the bowl,beater blades etc,you'll get near perfect results.I recently purchased a whipping cream powder which works like magic.Its hard to go back to Amul:).For ganache however,Amul works best.

Flour & other stuff I use - I use Maida or all purpose flour since self raising flour or cake flour is hard to find here.I use any brand,whichever is available-no brand favorites here.Baking powder is Weikfield and baking soda is a loose packet from Nilgiris-make sure you replace it every month-better if you buy it in small quantities.

Photo editing tool I use - Picasa and always Picasa.I believe I take below-average pics[:)]and I take help from Picasa to make them look appealing.Just google for help on how to use picasa and you'll get each and every info you need.Mail me if you need any more tips..;)

I hope it helps..:)

Now,here is the food pic I tempted you with in the first line.Food pics from a Cooking class I recently attended.I am still to try the recipes at home though..:)