Feeling Christmassy

Nishant & Silja setting up the tree

So I have moved out of my home, and staying at a friends' for a month or so. Missing my old apartment, missing Ram, and sweet Loki. But now I am enjoying the company of little Schnuggi. Tiny and extremely shy, her favorite spot to hide is inside the rice cooker.

Off late she has taken a fascination to one white snowman ornament hanging from the Christmas tree. She jumps onto the couch and tries to pull the toy. She loves the tree. In fact my friend rescued her from the streets this same time last year, and she snuggled up under the Christmas tree and refused to come out, like it was her home. I guess she was their Christmas gift last year. So it's that time of the year again.... wine, carols, fairy lights, the Boney M holiday playlist. And little Schnuggi head popping out of the Christmas tree!

My last month in Mumbai, and I don't know if I'll miss the city much, (although it's been very good to me professionally and personally) but I'm quite sure I'll miss my friends and furry buddies. 

in high spirits

Christmas cupcakes

Ram made so much fun of me. I got a box cake mix, and I was trying to substitute the eggs with buttermilk. That's what all the websites said! Half a cup of buttermilk for an egg. IT DOES NOT WORK. The first batch sank, didn't cook and tasted horrible. Simply put, there is no 'better' substitute for egg, if the recipe calls for it. Luckily I had used only half the cake mix, and for the next batch I followed the instructions and used the egg. They turned out very light, moist and fluffy.

Shortcut chocolate icing: Melt a bar of chocolate by popping it in the microwave for 30 secs. Add couple of cubes of butter and a tiny amount of milk, and stir till smooth and silky. Spread generously over cupcake and leave it to set for 5 minutes in the fridge. I used an almond walnut chocolate, for a nice crunch.