Cheese n Tomato Swirly Buns

I wake up each day, wondering what to pack in my child’s lunch-box! I prefer non-messy finger-foods, but they aren’t always filling. My Little Prince hates sandwiches, and you already know about my exceptional roti-making-skills! Therefore I often resort to jam-triangles (er, a fancy name for two slices of bread with jam spread inbetween them and cut diagonally into two halves), or rolls (again, paratha rolled like a cigar (oops) along with fresh fruits/vegetables/salad and a tiny pot of Yogurt.

So when I saw some cute little tomato buns on display at the Bakery section of a superstore, my heart skipped a beat! They looked (and tasted delicious!) and were rather filling too. Inspired by the lovely chefs I know I decided to come up with a recipe to make these on my own.

Those of you who know me, also know what a ‘fantastic’ cook I am (Hick! Please take that with a bucket of salt!). And this recipe (Ahem… my own, by the way :-)..pulls collars up!) is so utterly easy, that even a Baking-Duffer like me cannot go wrong. Seriously!

When my little prince tasted the Swirly Buns, he said ‘Mummy, these don’t look like the store ones, but they taste quite similar’ J Good enough for a first attempt, huh?

I hope you do try it!!

What I think you need to have:

1) For the bread/roll:

2.5 cups of flour, 1 cup of warm water, 1/2 spoon sugar, 1 spoon salt (I prefer my food a little less salty, but feel free to add more if you wish!), 1 tablespoon Del Monte EVOO (extra virgin olive oil). 1 tablespoon of butter (I can’t measure out xy.z gms for nuts 😉 but again, feel free to add more if you like), 3/4 spoon dry-active-yeast (I bought the yeast that you add directly to the flour, and not the one that needs preparation. So if you are using yeast that needs to be proofed, then do follow the instructions on the pack 😉

2) For the cheese n’ tomato spread/filling:

I believe life is too short to waste time making tomato sauce from scratch!!! Blanching tomatoes, peeling and grinding them.. argh..takes the pleasure out of cooking doesn’t it?! So do take the smarter way out and use good quality ready-made store-bought pasta sauce. Like Del Monte pasta sauce (You can use any of the Del Monte range, but I prefer tomato-garlic – which translates to ‘Siliciana‘), Grated cheese, a handful of Dried herbs, and if you want, a few drops of milk for  basting (you could use egg, but I chose to go completely veggie on this one). I actually found the Swirly Buns go a little soggy if you baste them. They turn out light and fluffy if you don’t baste them. Up to you of course!

What I think you should do:

As always, mix all the ‘bread’ ingredients in a bowl, knead into a soft dough and leave it covered with clingfilm for about 20 mins until it has doubled in size. Then knock down the ball of dough, and roll it out into any shape. Rectangles would be nice though. (I got 2 big size rectangles for this quantity of flour.) Now slice these into thin LONG strips. Or make one medium length strip, and slit it into two halves (length-wise) to make it one looooong roll.

Onto each strip, spread some Del Monte pasta sauce, throw in some grated cheese and dried herbs. Now roll it inwards like a circle. Once you get a cute little Swirly Bun, top it with a generous spread of pasta sauce, more grated cheese and a pinch of dried herbs again.

OPTIONAL: Brush with a drop of milk or egg-wash if you like, but certainly don’t let them get soggy! I didn’t brush/baste it, and it turned out great anyway!

Now the dear husband decided to try his hand at the Swirly Buns and made an interesting variation, of Italian Pasta + Swirly buns 🙂 He included a few bites of lovely little Tomato+Basil Tortellini  and a dash of Pesto and made this huge dinner-roll 🙂 that tasted awesome.

Cheese n Tomato Swirly Buns and in the Right-hand top corner, the pasta Swirly Buns 🙂 ready to go into the oven.

Pop these pretty little Swirly Buns into the oven (180 degrees, 20-25 mins). And voila! You have an amazing-looking-and-tasting batch of Swirly Buns!!!

Take a look at these babies!!!

And on the inside…

 

The Swirly Buns are good to eat hot or cold! Pack these rolls into your kid’s lunch box for a lip-smacking snack 🙂

They make a nice accompaniment to soups as well. Or WTH, just munch on them while wasting time on Facebook 😉 😉

I think the shelf-life should be quite good. Unfortunately, I never get to find out, as they get polished off the day I make them!!

(PS: I am sending this as an entry to the Indiblogger Del Monte contest) (https://www.facebook.com/worldfoody).

Yo Partner!

‘And they lived happily ever after…’ – I’ve spent many a summer afternoon buried in fairy tales and adventures woven in a red-coloured hardbound, rather worn-out copy of Grimms. Three decades later, I had the privilege of visiting Disneyland Paris. Who said Disneyland was for kids?? I loved every bit of it, especially the parades where Princess Jasmine, Snow White, Cinderella and the likes were dressed in all their finery. With a deluge of thrilling rides (rain too!), good food, shows and parades, the trip was a dream come true.

However whenever I think of my trip to Disneyland Paris, one particular incident, a person actually, stands out in my mind. We had exhausted two days at the Disney resort, and were at the Marne-la Vallee-Chessy station, waiting for our train to arrive, so we could make our way back to London. The savvy travellers that we were, we decided to reach early (though the station was hardly a few minutes away from the resort!) and waited. And waited. And waited some more! But our train was nowhere in sight! In the meanwhile my little son, all of 4 years, managed to trip, fall flat on his face, and cut his lips! Murphy was right, you know? We needed the first-aid kit, and guess where it was? Right at the bottom of our bags! So, while we haphazardly unpacked, dug into and re-packed bags that overflowed unimpressively with  dirty linen, we heard an announcement that the train had arrived at the platform. There began our race!

We gathered everything we could find and stuffed it back into the boxes, grabbed the wailing child and ran like hell all the way to the platform, that was (in)conveniently a long flight of stairs down! However, the gates were closed! Panicking, we looked around and found another gate at the opposite end of the crowded station. Five minutes to departure. An entire length of station to cross! So, for the second time, we ran. Ran. And ran. Voila! The second gate was closed too!

Now with less than a minute to go for the train could depart, realisation dawned upon us! We were supposed to have checked-in through the security gates way before, when the announcements were being made cleverly in French. All we knew of French was the ‘kiss’ and that a guy called Sarkozy had a really hot wife! Just kidding!! We did not know ‘any’ French (well, we knew about Sarkozy.. bah!)! By then it was too late. We watched helplessly, as the picture-perfect train chuffed out of the picture-perfect station.

Our marathon wasn’t over though. We ran back all the way to the customer service desk. Imagine, to our surprise, a Mexican guy, aged about 30, was also carrying a bag and hurrying towards to desk. He too, had missed the train, exactly like us. Yo Partner! We sighed and cribbed in unison! Then we jointly explained the situation to the customer service officer. We had missed the last train to London. We had no place to go, no other trains to catch that day! Luckily, the Mexican spoke French, and kept gesturing to our poor baby with the bleeding lip, and garnered sympathy from the officer. He was relentless, sincere and so genuine!

We were so touched by his evident concern. Here we were, fellow passengers in the face of adversity, connected simply, by an invisible thread of humanity! This is exactly where life teaches us valuable lessons. In faith, in partnership, etc. Truly, humanity knows no boundaries. Colour/race/country…nothing matters as much as brotherly concern for another person in trouble!

Pic courtesy huddle dot com

The officer was a really kind gentleman. He offered a solution! Catch the local train (that was leaving in 10 minutes from the local station that was at the other end of this international station) to Paris Nord station, and catch the last Eurostar train from there to London! Yippee!!! We all but clapped with glee!

But wait! He added something in fluent, rapid French. The Mexican listened carefully. By that time, he had stopped gesturing to the bleeding lips. He stared at the officer. And back at us. Then, back at him. He wasn’t even attempting to beg for help any more!

And without a word, he made a rapid dash towards the exit that led to the local train station!!!

Perplexed, we waited for the officer to explain. He said, slowly and clearly, ‘There are only two seats left on the last train from Paris’. And there were 3 of us adults, and one bleeding child. So THAT was why our Mexican Partner ran for his life!!!

Anyway, with no hard feelings, we dashed too. Racing pulse, swollen lips.. we were quite a sight by the time we boarded the local and reached Paris Nord station. The check-in queue was winding all the way down from the first floor! We were quite sure that by then, the kind Mexican had hitched a ride to the station and was comfortably grabbed one of the two remaining seats on the train to London! Like I said, no hard feelings! We managed to reach the staff in-charge, who were incredibly kind, and who also checked us onto the train.

In true Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge style, we RAN towards the train, tugging child and luggage, and boarded it just a second before the doors shut!!

To our utter surprise, guess who jumped in just after us? Our Mexican friend!!!!

Huffing and puffing, we made our way through the aisles, and found our seats, co-incidentally next to each other. We sank into our seats, heaving a huge sigh of relief.

Then, our friend turned towards us, flashed a huge toothy grin 🙂 and gallantly did a High-Five. ‘We did it!’, he added.

Yo Partner!! Ofcourse ‘we’ did! So much for teamwork. Remember those life-lessons I told you about.. the ones on faith, partnership..yada yada.. er, let’s just say, they were lessons best unlearnt!!

But hey, it made one hell of an interesting tale for the Indiblogger Expedia contest, didn’t it?

Past Promises, Forgotten Futures (Fiction)

*** If you happen to like my post, Pliss to Vote on Indiblogger, here: http://www.indiblogger.in/indipost.php?post=34664 *** Thanks 🙂 ***

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(This is purely a work of fiction, but I believe this is what most women go through at some point in life! Some survive it, while many don’t get to ever live their dreams. I hope this post will act as a catalyst to those who fall in the latter category.)

‘Cngrts!’ – the phone beeped with this simple message. She stared at it, rather uncertainly. Who was this from? What were the ‘congratulations‘ for? Try as she might, she could not recall anything specific worth ‘celebrating’.

Anjali looked around her apartment… ragged grey sofa, cushions encased in faded Rajasthani mirrored covers – received six years ago as a wedding present, cream flowered curtains that had turned a unique mixture of brown and grey, over the years, toys scattered all over the floor, the kitchen sink overflowing with dirty utensils. She was not poor. Only chaotic.

It was all she could do, to not cry when she looked into the mirror. She looked a tired, balding mum struggling in her fourties. Interestingly, Anjali had turned just turned thirty. That very day, infact!

Voices from the past echoed within the walls of her mind.

‘Congrats, Anjie babe, well done!!’

‘Hey Anj, awesome.. you’ll come out with flying colours…’

‘Anjali, we are so proud of you, dear!’

Best friends, classmates, parents… they were all congratulating her on her graduation day. She had topped the MCA batch, and had the best job on campus, as Project manager in a reputed IT organization. She was to even wed the next month.

Her thoughts went fleeting past from that day of euphoria, to a year ago.

A stressed husband, two active children who drained her of every ounce of energy. Her career was now a thing of the past. Life revolved around baby-feeds, changing dirty nappies, making visits to the doctor, and arranging playdates. The only friends she had were other ‘mommies’.

‘This is it, Abhi. I cannot take any more!’ – Anjali cried reproachingly.

‘But you wanted all of this, didn’t you?’ Anjali crashed some crockery into the sink, in response.

She was tired. Completely dependent, financially. Diffident, and terribly overweight. She had even started to stutter while talking these days, and didn’t understand why. She had been so eloquent earlier. At times, she even hated herself.

‘I will change my life around. Wait and watch!’ she promised to herself. And to Abhi. He merely shrugged, ‘What’s for dinner, honey?!’

A look of steely determination flashed across Anjali’s eyes. She quickly ran to her bedroom before the moment could pass, took out her mobile phone, and feverishly typed out an SMS. Once done, she wiped away her tears, and went back to serve her family dinner.

The  phone beeped again, jolting Anjali back to the present.

‘Cngrts on yr new job!! Cngrts on losing wt! – Anjali’

She peered at herself in the mirror. Shabby. Unkempt. She glanced around her apartment. Ditto!

She was supposed to have hired a nanny. She was to have searched for and found employment. She was to have hit the Gym. All this, over the last year. However, none of this had materialised. Mundane chores had got the better of her, and she had lost sight of her own goals.

As she looked closely at herself, reality hit her. And hit hard. She had lost sight of the beautiful future she could have had, if only she had kept that vital promise to her past.

Anjali slowly pulled out her phone, and dialled a number. And then, two more, in quick succession. The first was an employment agency. Then, her old nanny. And finally, the local Gym that had been hounding all the residents with glossy brochures featuring ‘super-(wo)men’ 😉 with six pack abs!!

She washed her face, combed her hair and got down to revamping her resume.

It was time again, to make a new promise. One she would keep. She took out her Docomo One Touch Net phone, and typed out a new message.

‘Congrats Babes, This time, you Really did it. Love ya! – Anj’

She set the timer to a date twelve months from then. Yes, she would receive her own timed-SMS a year down the line. This time, she would re-arrange her Life – the way she wanted it!

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Folks, this is an entry (fiction) for the Indiblogger ‘Tata DOCOMO OneTouch Net Phone’ contest, which explains why I used the name so frequently in the post 😉 They boast of a feature called ‘timed sms’ which to me, sounded exciting. I assumed one could send an SMS scheduled for some date/time in the future, and wrote this story based on the assumption.

Voting begins tomorrow, so If you liked this post, please do vote!!

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To read more fiction, please click this link.

Lazy readers like me, please click this link to 55-word fiction 🙂

Avant Garde Awards – Nominations List 1 and 2

Came across the Avant Garde Bloggers Awards on Facebook, and landed there to see the variety of categories under which we can nominate fellow bloggers.

So, here is my first list of nominations:

1) Best Off-Beat Post -(by) Saurabh: http://stuffilearnttoday.blogspot.com/2009/11/luck-jury.html

2) Best Movie Review Post -(by) Mayuri Sharma: http://diemos.blogspot.com/2009/11/movie-review-de-dana-dan.html

3) Best How-to Post -(by) Dreamer: http://gawdsowncountry.blogspot.com/2009/12/how-to-achieve-zero-figure-with-minimal.html

4) Most Humorous Post -(by) Mayuri Sharma again: http://diemos.blogspot.com/2009/08/rakhi-ka-swayamvar-aftermath.html

5) Best Satirical Post – (by NONE OTHER THAN) Quirky Indian (the King of satire): http://quirkyindian.wordpress.com/2009/10/28/there%E2%80%99s-no-stopping-progress/

6) Best Travel Post – (by) Swaram: http://thesongoflife.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/straight-from-gods-own-country/

7) Best Travel Post – (by) Pixie: http://mytakeoneverything9.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/yercaud/

8) Best Visual Post – (by) Monika: http://monikamanchanda.wordpress.com/2009/12/10/where-i-secure-my-place-in-mommy-heaven/

9) Best Poetry Post -(by) Ozzymandias: http://autophony.blogspot.com/2009/12/history.html

10) Best Poetry Post (again) -(by) Piper: http://mishyroy.blogspot.com/search/label/attempt%20at%20poetry

11) Most Networking Blogger – Our very own Kishan Kanhaiya : the one and only Hitchy Bhai! http://hitchwriter.wordpress.com/

12) Most Responsive Blogger- Our Don Solilo: http://mesoliloquy.wordpress.com/

(I need to track down all those posts that made me think, laugh, and ROFL and send in my next list of nominations soon!)

Those of you who would like to add nominations please hop over HERE.

(Need I add, that if you found any of my posts interesting, please do nominate!)

Danke!

Here goes LIST TWO:-

1) Best off-beat post – (by) Solilo: http://mesoliloquy.wordpress.com/2009/10/09/does-obama-deserve-the-nobel-peace-prize/

2) Most humourous post – (by) Salil Ravindran   http://www.salilravindran.com/2009/07/no-excuse-for-no-exercise.html

3) Best header-  Monika : http://monikamanchanda.wordpress.com/

4) Best ‘How-to’ post- (by) Ordinary Guy     http://quintessentialhope.wordpress.com/2009/11/11/the-advanced-guide-to-cutting-your-fingers/

5) Best Poetry- (by) Mystic Margarita   http://mysticmargarita.blogspot.com/2009/06/kind-eyes-behind-pair-of-glasses-curly.html

Indiblogger and Indivine again

Hey Peepals,

In case you are an Indi-Blog-ger and are checking out the latest posts on IndiVine, please do ‘promote my post’ titled ‘The Two Minute Tikka’ which I am quite sure, you lovely people, have already read.

Here is the link:

http://www.indiblogger.in/indipost.php?post=5269

Thankooo.

xx

(P.S: Have a good weekend!)

Indiblogger and me

I do like Indiblogger. Not because they have given me a good rank. My rank, infact falls, every month, and is down from 79 to 65!!

But I do like the fact that (a) they provide a decent platform for bloggers to share their work. And (b) the Blog of the Month contests.

Talking of which, my blog has been nominated this time (don’t ask by whom!! I helped myself 😉 ).

So, in case you haven’t already seen your favourite blogger listed there, or haven’t cast your vote for someone else already, please do vote for me.

Here is the link to VOTE.

And this is the title of my blog: ‘I am no writer’ by ‘Pal’

These are the links to the posts that I dare categorise as ‘poetry’….he he!

1- The Ghost (all you lovely folks have already been very receptive to this spooky post)

2- A walk in the rain (this one will make you go ‘awwwwww….’)

3- End of the road (this is my favourite)

4- I yearn (this isn’t mushy at all, go ahead and read it)

5- Holi hai (wait..there’s a twist here..its not about Holi after all!)

On another note, many of my blogger friends have been nominated too. Ozzy, Pushpy, Shail, Aaroo, Tikuli, Prats (to name a few) … so if you choose to vote for them, I won’t get back at you – at all 🙂

You can vote for upto 5 favourite blogs. So pliss to remember to vote for my blog, also titled ‘I am no Writer’ 🙂

OK then, so in case you haven’t done so already, please log into your Indiblogger account and vote!