Celebrations ???

~ stargazersmemoir ~ Leave a comment

What does celebrations mean to us ? We celebrate birthday, celebrate anniversary, celebrate promotion, celebrate festival, etc etc . But this time for me the meaning of celebration is completely different .

We always start every new year with gala celebrations with friends family . We toast champagne, we dance , sing , blah blah . We always look forward for these months ( October , November & December)every year , the reason being these months welcomes numerous festivals , occasion which leads to fun filled celebrations not that other months do not have any occasions but these three months holds special place as we all are in little relaxed mode , in festive mind . So year 2019 was no exception . Jan 1st 2020 we cheered Happy New Year 🎊🎈🎆 to ourselves , to family to friends , did we think in our wildest imagination that what are we welcoming and who even imagined 2020 would be the year of darkness , anxiety, full of uncertainty not just for me but for the entire world ?

Every day bringing events which is breaking our hearts . We are in the phase of Covid 19 , this pandemic has shaken us from every aspect of life . With my broken heart when I see the numbers of deaths due to this pandemic , how the family members are coping as they can’t even meet or see the loved ones who are in death bed or they are infected . I can’t imagine the level of stress the parents or the family members are in when their daughter or son or wife or husband are serving in the pandemic. Helping the world not thinking about themselves that they might get infected . For me doctors , caregivers, genitors, scientists are real superheroes.

Not that I didn’t celebrate any occasion in March or April . I did celebrate but with a crying heart and with anxious mind thinking whether I’ll be able to meet my parents or not ever ? They are in other part of world and I’m in different part . With anxious mind thinking how the world will be after this pandemic?? Are we all going to survive ?? Is their any ray of hope or ray of light behind this dark tunnel?

As I mentioned few sentences above that I did celebrate the month of March -April . April the month where we commence our Bengali new year .You know I performed all the rituals that are required . Usually we celebrate this occasion with friends and family members. Since I don’t have any family members over here I have been celebrating with my extended family members and who are they , they are closest friends for last 19 years . This year was so different , not that I didn’t cook delicacies I did but with heavy heart anxious mind , not with my extended family members . I missed them tremendously and kept on thinking Are we all going to see the light in this darkness or is the new normal ?

Then I tell myself which I always convey to my heart all the time that there is always a good reason behind everything we might not realize now but for this Pandemic I’m not able to find any good reason .Though there are few good reasons which I convey to my heart and mind are :-

We have been taking our Mother Nature for granted . Deforestation, killing animals ruining the ecosystem , chemical hazards , pollutions and what not … and see how Mother Nature is punishing us and she is able to breathe. You can see clear blue sky , pollution free Mother Nature . But then again looking at the suffering of the entire world makes me wonder when this will end . Can we all learn and remember that if we can ever come back to our normal life we can be more human , provide more love and compassion to everyone including animals , trees and realize that Mother Nature is for everyone not act selfish , not behave as monsters .

I grow vegetables every year in my backyard and it gives me immense happiness, peace when I talk to them take care of them . But this is my hobby or I would say l love doing this that’s why I grow vegetables but my life doesn’t depend on this , imagine the farmers whose entire life is dependent on their growth of vegetations. The cyclone Amphan that happened in my native place , took away their entire life’s hardships by spoiling their vegetation field . To overcome this loss it would take for them another 10 years . When I think how are they going to survive , do they have enough savings for them to survive my answer is always no . I tell myself what’s the good reason here behind this loss . Nothing right !

You know I’m so so thankful for all the privileges god has given , for all the opportunities god has provided me . One thing I have realized that I’m not going to waste money in unnecessary shopping , rather I would use those privileges to help people who are in need , I’m not going to let negative people take my peace , I’m not going to waste my life thinking all sadness that I have and self pity . I would rather celebrate life . The opportunities of talking with my son for hours and hours. The privileges of sipping tea in the backyard with cool breeze touching your cheeks , that’s the moment. I don’t want to wait for any occasion to celebrate , I don’t want to wait for moments to celebrate I want to celebrate each second I have in my life , create the moment as life is too short , too unpredictable and too beautiful. Let’s not waste let’s celebrate our Mother Nature .

Here are few quotes which I came across :-

This is from twitter and from ShahRukh Khan

Cheers to the life , god has given and here I’m sharing a recipe which I love My all bong frens know this recipe but still I thought of sharing :-

It’s called Bhapa Doi ( steamed sweet yogurt)

Prep time :- 30 mins

Serves : 4

Step 1 :- hang a cup of whole milk plain yogurt .

Step 2 :- I used jaggery so melted 1/2 cup jaggery .

Step 3 :- pour the hung yogurt, whisk to give smooth plain texture

Step 4 :- I added little lemon zest to give that extra zing along with melted jaggery

Hung curd
Lemon zest
Mix melted jaggery.
The consistency of the mix.

Step 5 :- boil the water I used my dumpling container as I need to steam my desert .

Step 6 :- pour the mixture into four steam-able containers . Cover with aluminum-wrap.

Buttered the container. I used glass bowl
Topped with blueberries 🤪

Step 7 :- steam for 20 minutes

Here you go jaggery -lemon flavored Bhapa doi ❤️ enjoy .
I had my desert with dalgona coffee and I was awake whole night 🤩

Hope we all can cherish every second of our life and hope we all give our gratitude to our Mother Nature fir giving us ample privileges.

Heart and mind: the two integral part of us .

~ stargazersmemoir ~ 5 Comments

Hello my blog friends , sorry for taking so long to pen my thoughts . I have been struggling to resonate my ideas but I just didn’t feel like doing anything . Was Juggling with hell lot of ideas but my mind didn’t allow my fingers to type in anything. It’s been a year now, sighs , so I told myself what the heck I’m not going to pick any theme or topic to pen today . This time my fingers will follow only my heart and whatever it says I’m gonna write . So friends pardon me if I hurt you or if you think you can appreciate me if I’m able to give you a smile .

Do you ever have this kind of feeling when you just don’t want to do anything , anything means anything . All you want is to stay alone , don’t talk just gaze at the sky . I have this kind of feelings almost everyday . I know I’ll be judged or may be whoever reads laughs whatever it is I’m giving you some topic to discuss hahaha . See solves sole purpose of this blog which is tickling people’s mind and heart .

So a year passed couldn’t bring myself to live my life the way I would want like laughing , giggling , struggling , blah blah .

But now is the phase where everyone is going through rough phase which is Covid-19 phase . The most nerve wrecking phase. To bring life to normalcy my friends are doing so many virtual events so that we all can be involved in our passion and we don’t go inside any darkness . Kudos to all of them .But what will you do to the person who is already in dark.

For example , I love love to dance but when my friend added me to virtual dance group where she choreographed a dance which I just loved so much but my mind doesn’t allow me to practice , it doesn’t . My heart pushes me but my mind stops me . Wow two integral part of your body and they always fight . So does it mean that I’m not passionate enough ?

I love chit chatting but when my friends organized a virtual chit chatting session I didn’t join because I didn’t feel like having chats with anyone does that mean I don’t have any interest in chit chatting or I’m going through depression phase or I’m looking to fill the vacuum in life ?? Do you all have these feelings ? Guys guys stop raising eyebrows.

I know where this write up is heading, towards a phase of people’s life which is depression . Yes I know what you are thinking . Oops how can she be depressed she smiles , laughs all the time . I know right but I go through this phase a lot .

I get depressed when I see people judging you when you are not responding in social media and giving you the title of snooty . I get depressed when I see relationships are defined based on social media interactions . Couple of years back there was/were no social media but did we define relationship back then . I think bondage were so strong there was nothing to show to entire world whatever you did was for that relation. Looking at social media interaction and people judging you based on social media I find it very depressing.

I get depressed when I see people bringing their ego in relationship and spoils the relationship. Life is too short my friends and it’s very unpredictable at least we all know by this time .Embrace the relationship and appreciate what you have and don’t bring ego or social media to represent or spoil the relationship.

I wonder what we lack in life is good listener at-least that’s what I lack , everyone is so busy with their own thoughts that they hardly have time to sit and listen to you without judging you . I do have couple of friends though , who listens and don’t judge . You know when we go through tough phases that’s when you realize who are your true friends who really takes care of you and thinks about you. Sometime I feel if there was a place with people who lends their ears to listen to you and give that shoulder to cry on this entire world would have been so cheerful . No medicine can make anyone happy . Time , ears , shoulder , love , compassion are the key ingredients of life which you can give to others and you can acquire those ingredients to give it to others and not hatred , gossiping , judging right ? Just lend your ears to a depressed person and promise yourself whatever he or she shares you will keep it to yourself and convey these magical words to that person “I’m there for you , if you want to cry cry I’m there to wipe your tears “. These words will help that person to come out of darkness and do wonders . Help that person to identify the goal on what he or she wants from life .

When you end up having all the responsibilities and do-not have time or space for yourself that’s when I guess this feeling arrests you . When you are in jail of depression even if world permits you to have your life you can’t or you don’t want, as you start liking this jail . The reason I’m pouring my heart is because I want to come out of this jail and follow my passion of singing , dancing , writing . I really don’t want to waste my passion and I don’t want to regret in my life thinking what if I did that …. The first step I took was To make my heart and mind come to an agreement to allow my fingers resume my writing passion so here I’m back !!! Hopefully I’m able to tickle your heart and mind . And now it’s the time for your stomach as , if your stomach is happy you have a healthy wealthy happy heart and mind what say ???

I’m sharing the recipe which is like my soulmate . I can eat everyday , anytime , anyplace , in any circumstances and that’s called Momo / Dimsum/ dumpling / so on and on and sharing this recipe with you all , gives me immense pleasure and I’m pretty sure this would make you all happy .

Here are the steps :-

These are completely my own version . You can add any vegetables or any stuffings you want.

Finely Chop cabbages, mushrooms, onions .

Make a paste of ginger , garlic and green chili .

Marinate the grounded chicken or lamb with ginger , garlic and chili paste for 2-3 hours . Don’t add any salt during this time .

Then add chopped vegetables and salt . If you are making with chicken add little butter to give that juicy texture when you gulp the dumpling ummm your mouth will be filled with heaven and each and every cell of your body starts dancing . A complete moksha.

Chicken marinated with vegetables and ginger garlic chili paste .

I used wanton wrapper but you can also make dumpling dough at home .

How do make dough ,mix all purpose flour , salt , baking powder and water . Knead well so that you get a soft dough . Let it rest for 30 minutes . Make small balls and roll those small balls to give a tortilla shape.

Now fill the chicken mixture and give any shape . While you are filling dumplings start boiling the water so that you can steam the dumpling .

In the water you can add little garlic , chicken bone/ lamb bone or add some Vegetables and this broth can be treated as a soup which is a great combination with Momo . I love my Momo with soup and spicy chutney . I know I know how much you want to eat this right now . While penning this recipe My mouth is filled with water ( hahahaha)

    Momo is Momo steamer
    Yummy chicken Momo .

    You can make this completely vegetarian just don’t add meat .

    You can also make filling with boiled potatoes, spinach and seasoning . You can make seafood Momo too . You can freeze the prepared dumpling and just do shallow pan fry . So many variations right .

    Mother – the reality

    ~ stargazersmemoir ~ Leave a comment

    I know , my last post was way way back, what caught me motherhood. Running behind my kid phew , so I got an idea why not pen down something for all mommies.

    A mother is the most fakest character you can imagine you know why.? Because a mother even if she is hell tired or frustrated she will still make her kid(s) happy . Her body might be aching with pain but she will still carry her kid on her lap . Her heart might be sobbing or crying for so many other reasons but she will laugh smile play with her kid so that her kid gets a peaceful happy environment. That’s why I say mother is the most fakest person. Why we fake , why don’t we just cry our heart out when we feel like in front of our kids or yell show our frustration because we feel if we do so , it will sink our child heart . Mother’s child will become sad . Hmm , such an unrewarding Job isn’t it ?

    One day I was driving to work and you know the morning is the most Stressful time, as you have to make sure your kid is ready , you are ready , everything is ready for school and work . If you wake up 5 minutes late in the morning then your schedule is haywire . So while driving I was thinking man I have become a robot , all the I do is wake up get my son ready , get ready , go to work , just focus on work , then when the clock hits 5pm brain starts hammering that you have to leave now as you got to pick up son , take him to activities , make dinner, help him do his homework , play with him, shower and get him ready for bed. Phew my day still didn’t end , he has to sleep then forcefully I tell myself get your me time that’s may be by reading about some Bollywood gossips 😇 or watching some food channel . So a complete robot 😭 . Ahh ,so I asked myself what if someone comes and tells me go simran jee le Apni zindagi haha me being Bollywood , it’s a famous Bollywood movie dialogue which means go and live your life . I know what will be my reaction or action , I’ll just give a blank look as I really don’t know what is life ? I cannot imagine myself beyond this robotic life . So what realization , we all love our robotic life isn’t it . This is the life ! We are human , but how long , once your kid goes to college what are you going to do ? You will have your ample me time but then what are you going to do. It scares me . Wake up , we all need to have a hobby or grow some hobby that will make you a human again otherwise we all will turn into a zombie . You can do this . I was telling one of my colleague that don’t worry for a mother to sail in agile environment is easy coz the moment a woman turns mother she is in agile environment, there is no scope for water fall methodology. My blog friends , waterfall and agile environment are terms of software development , what to do can’t leave my work behind. You can develop a hobby or something interest which will make your brain active . Let’s grow some hobbies my friends . I’m yet to find out what will keep me busy when my kid goes to college.

    You know why I said few lines before that the motherhood job is a full time job but with no bonus or no promotion or no appreciation, do you agree ? Each and every passions or dreams takes a backseat to embrace the rewards or the promotions when your kid grows to a pure human being not making poor

    choices , helping others , walking on the path of honesty , taking of care of others feelings , isn’t 😍?

    So to all mommies here is the recipe from my kitchen to yours 😊💕.

    Shrimp stuffed inside pumpkin or bottle gourd or zucchini leaf

    Steps

    1. Finely chop onions , garlic, green chillies and coriander leaves .
    2. Make a paste of mustard seeds with grated coconut .
    3. Chop jumbo shrimp.
    4. In a bowl , mix shrimp , with chopped onions, garlic, green chillies, coriander leaves, mustard paste, salt to taste , pinch of sugar .

    5. Keep this mixture for 10 minutes aside.

    6. In a separate bowl, make a batter by mixing gram flour , turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt.

    7. Now stuff the shrimp mixture inside the leaf , fold it nicely and dip it inside the batter.

    ‘ 8. Now deep fry the fritters. It doesn’t take much time . Fry for 7-8 minutes , it’s done. Serve hot with white rice. Just try this finger licking food. You can present this as starter too.

    Cheers to all the mommies. Adious until I come back💕

    A trip to a princess dreamland 

    ~ stargazersmemoir ~ 1 Comment

    Kolkata , India visit rather Myka princess dreamland 
    When you leave your country for another , there are so many dreams , feelings you leave behind and travel to a place rather country which is completely unknown to you . You create your own world in that country but there is always a void in your heart, you miss your homeland , miss your home but still you move on with a smiling face .  I have been or rather I would say I would continuously fulfill all the responsibilities, dreams with a void heart . I get excited the mention of visiting India . Option given going to a exotic vacation over India , I always choose India , my princess dreamland .
    For me visiting Kolkata, India is revisiting my princess dreamland. My princess dreamland pampering starts with a bed tea along with reading telegraph newspaper aww I’m gonna miss reading T2 followed by yummilcious breakfast which ends with sweets. The day doesn’t stop their , either you go out for shopping or visit family members or just get a spa at home. Sitting on the balcony overseeing river Ganga and sometime just gazing at the rain shower and thinking how different is life here and their. Not caring about social life . Not caring about weekend parties , not that I don’t like parties but this dreamland attracts me more . Then I pinch myself and say this is dream because you are visiting and if you had stayed here permanently , life would have been the same or rather more tough . You know why I say more tough because I realised how tough is to go to work everyday in the jam packed public transport . If you are in the bus you don’t know what the man sitting just opposite to you is thinking about you . He might be raping you through his eyes or may be not. When you travel by train you don’t know whether you will reach home safe or not beacuse one push from somebody you handshake with some casualties as everybody is rushing to get one place to sit in the train and reach home as quick as possible . If you are traveling with your own car then you don’t know whether the bus will just hit your car and leave without even caring about the damage for your car. Be optimistic I say to myself. These are few darker side of my princess dreamland. Like every movie one character is bad and another Is good. This princess dreamland has hell lot of goodness which makes my heart a void Iheart . The sweet shops where people just go to eat kachori with cholar dal Yummmm in the morning or as a evening snacks !!! Indulging yourself in sweets , street foods and yet you get to experience world’s best cuisine .You see , we Bengalis just live for food and adda . You know what is adda sitting with your friends gossiping, discussing about politics , food , etc. It doesn’t matter how tired you are , people look forward for addas. 

    Loved and felt immensely proud to stand for national anthem every time I went to watch movies . My son even learnt Indian national anthem . 
    I’m going to miss my princess dreamland . You know I feel so insecure rather scared to go back to the reality because sometime reality is fake . Ever changing relationships , friendships and yes social network . I wish I could hold the clock and say please please stop let me not go and stay in this princess dreamland . 

    Since I belong to sweet dreamland let me share how to make rossogolla

    1. Cuddle the milk to make chena

    2. Knead well so that you can make small balls.

    3. Make Jaggery syrup and boil the chena balls.

    4 Rosogolla is ready

    Miss you my dreamland.

    The Strory of a leaf

    ~ stargazersmemoir ~ Leave a comment

    A leaf !! what is a leaf ? A Leaf, if its left alone it looks shabby or looks lonely on the tree but if the tree has full bloom of leafs, the tree looks beautiful, glorified and gorgeous. Thinking of this lonely life of a leaf, does leaf stops coming back to the tree or does the tree rejects her thinking she will leave one day!

    When I looked at this picture I got the feeling of “the only leaf”! The picture looked so beautiful. Looking at the picture I started having a very strange feeling.  A feeling of belonging or a feeling of loneliness! When you look at dark, dry , lifeless tree you feel sad at least I feel very depressed but the same tree gives me happiness  or motivates me when it has colors of green , orange , red , full of life .

    Look at the picture, everybody left her , she is the only one who is there with the tree but is she thinking that, I don’t think so, she is thinking my tree didn’t reject me or rather I’m still with my tree no matter what. I’m still trying to make my tree look gorgeous, giving some meaning to the tree but inside her she knows she will be gone soon like others did. She knows tree will reject her or rather wind will take her away one more time but she will come back again giving everything to tree and then she will be gone but one day will come, when the tree will be gone and then…..

    That’s the life. Some people will see life is like half empty glass or some sees as half full glass of water. When we have people around we don’t value. Like the leaf, she knew even if wind takes her away , she will come back and tree will be standing tall to embrace her but when the tree is gone then…. the space becomes empty …. The void !!

    What do we need in life, we need one ear which is always there to listen to you, listen to everything what you have to say without being judgmental or not thinking what a waste of time. A shoulder on which you can shed your tears or laugh out loud.  That ear and shoulder can be anyone in the world it can be your mom or your dad or your friend or your husband or your wife or your kid or anybody in the world. You don’t need 100 friends or 100 things to stay happy you just need these two . If you don’t have a listening ear and a shoulder then become one for somebody who doesn’t have, trust me you will be the happiest person. Value the person or people who had given you ear(s) and shoulder(s) when you needed him or her and that person didn’t make fun of your situation or your imagination or didn’t become judgmental or didn’t expect gratitude from you.

    There is a famous Bengali Poem (Indian song), the lyrics says “Jodi tor daak shone keo na ashe tobe ekla cholo re “the words says when you call someone to walk with you, if he or she doesn’t come then start walking alone. That’s harsh truth of life, you came alone to this world and you will go alone !! While walking alone if you find somebody cherish , value and if you don’t, walk alone on the path of life,  you can become somebody’s shoulder and ears.

    Life is to cherish what you have and not run behind or nag or whine for the things which you don’t have. Live for the moment who knows tomorrow you might not have those which you didn’t cherish or value.Smile and spread happiness around yourself.

    So here’s again cheers to life !!

    My healthy take on Bengali desert called Pati Shapta ( it’s kind of crepe stuffed with Mawa or coconut)

    Recipe :-

    Curdle the milk with Plain yogurt or vinegar or Lemon.

    Mix 1.5 cups of all purpose flour with non fat milk and fennel seeds. The consistency should be like crepe mixture.

    Slice Handful of Grapes and strawberries

    Strain the Chenna (curdle milk , remove the water and you will get a milk cheese ) Mix that with sliced fruits.

    Use a non stick pan , pour a drop of ghee (clarified butter) and pour the flour mixture. Let it cook for sometime and then stuff with the milk cheese and fruits mixture . Fold and let it cook for another 1-2 minutes.

    Once it’s cooked , pour the sugar syrup (I made the sugar syrup with brown sugar). Let it soak in the syrup and then indulge yourself. I was in love this desert  when I made and I literally kissed my hands.I’m sure this will happen to you .

    I just want to thank my friend (Ananda) who took this picture of a Leaf and my mind started to knit the story of a leaf. Sorry for stealing the picture .

    Cheers to Life

    ~ stargazersmemoir ~ Leave a comment

    Sorry my friends for taking so long. Howz life?

    Hmm ! Celebrated my 40th Birthday. Phew!! Am I sad  naah , I heard or rather read that life actually starts when you turn 40 . So, what’s Life? Life is beautiful , it  teaches you a lot. What did I learn in these 40 years or did I really learn?  That’s a big question,  do we actually learn???

    Okay,  so here it goes my lectures about life . You know I cherish my childhood  so does everyone . I remember each and every moment. Starting from first time cooking to first crush . Which phase of life I like or you like , I’m sure each one of us  have our own  favorite phase.  You know , I have realized as you grow old you meet people who are more complicated or rather you start thinking in a complicated way or you think too much loose your spontaneity .

    Sometime or rather most of the time reality is harsh , but you know I always try to find some positive value  from all the negative  that happens in life and I never loose hope. Let me share a incident that happened toady at my workplace. I went to the ladies room  and there was this lady who was sobbing terribly and I thought for a moment I should wait for her in case she needs anything or you know I wanted to be by  her side but then I looked at others , they seemed not to care or may be they cared but they didn’t wanted to show  or may be I thought if I wait for her I might be  intruding her personal space . I  followed others  and  did not wait for her . Then I grabbed my coffee and I kept on  thinking about that lady and believe me I hated myself that why didn’t I wait for her. Why didn’t I follow my heart. Then I went back  to check and that lady had left the ladies room. I felt really sad for her and for my behavior . That’s when  I realized how complicated  I have become , I think too much , don’t have guts to listen to my heart and I hated myself.  Had this situation been  years back I know what I would have done , would have just knocked the door and asked her “are you doing okay , do you need anything ?” , Wouldn’t have thought that I’m capturing her personal space.  So what have I learnt, always follow your heart , your instincts , don’t follow others when you know they are not correct.

    You know when you are a kid  you are a free bird ,  you are that innocent , for you black is black as we grow older we try to mix colors. I’m a open book anybody can tell what’s going on in my heart but trying hard or rather learning to maintain faces why , that’s what I have seen people doing  but realized not my cup of tea and yes if you are true to yourself or do not pretend people will love you for what you are . No human being is bad or good its our choices we make  in life that makes us bad or good , its our thinking that makes us modern or orthodox not money /education or cloths you wear . It’s us what makes us .  I read a quote in social media that you should talk to yourself  everyday  otherwise you miss out on a best friend and that’s so  true isn’t it !

    You must be thinking what happened to me , my promise was to take you to dreamy world and not show the reality or rather not give lectures what to do  and what not to do. In reality I’m pretending to act as 40 year old woman (ha ha)  but alas I know I cannot pretend , I cannot grow up , I’ll  go back  again to my dreamy world and will take you my  friends  to the world which is not complicated  and you can dream about anything like flying your car or anything  . Till then cheers to life , stay healthy , keep smiling , make others happy that  will make you happy and do not pretend.

    Oh yes my healthy take on the Sweetened Coconut balls (Nariyal laddoo). This is so delicious anybody can eat and its very healthy . You won’t feel guilty , I promise.

    Here are the steps :-

    1. Chop dried Apricots
      1. Benefit :- Rich source of Dietary fiber and Iron

    Apricot

    2. Roast desiccated coconut :

    Benefits :- Its unique combination of fatty acids can have profound positive effects                on health. This includes fat loss, better brain function .

    Coconut

     

    3. Now mix roasted coconut , chopped apricots with 2 tablespoon of condensed milk. Over here condensed milk acts as a binding agent.

    Condensed Milk

    Mixture

    4. Now wet your palm and make round balls from the mixtures . If you want to be more creative , insert lollipop sticks in each coconut balls . Refrigerate them till the balls are hardened.

    Coconut laddoo lollipop

    5. Now melt Dark Chocolate  and dip the hardened balls in the melted dark chocolate and sprinkle some sprinklers. Chill and serve.

    Chocolate covered Apricot coconut balls.

     

    Believe me its worth trying .

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Snowy Thoughts

    ~ stargazersmemoir ~ Leave a comment

    Happy New Year to all my blog friends!!  I know, I know I’m late this time, penning down my thoughts. You know why, because I have been trying to paint my thoughts on canvas and every time I try  I fail! Lol! So, one dream that  I’m a Celebrity Painter is shattered. In dreams also I can’t imagine myself as a painter, I’m such an awful painter (ha- ha). Kudos to all the painter/artist who paints their thoughts and makes the walls of the house/palace/mansion/museum/social networking site beautiful and colorful.

    So we had a snow storm and my gosh every time it snows I feel that nature has painted the surroundings so beautiful.  Everywhere it’s white like cotton and I love anything in white. It looks so pure and innocent.

    So I was driving back home and on my way I just glanced at the frozen lake and there were trees surrounding the lake , the trees looked beautiful. Each branch was covered with snow ,as if somebody took so much care to sketch the branches in white. I thank all mighty to provide such a beautiful planet “Earth” which has given and will give so much. The season changes and your life, mood changes too. Everyone, let’s try to save our planet!!

    Look at this , Beautiful

    Beautiful sketch by Nature

    So coming back to my imagination or you can say my dream, btw I dream 24/7 (ha ha). I was thinking that if I had a house boat and on one evening I’m just sitting  and relaxing on the deck facing the frozen  lake , sun rays makes the lake  shimmer like silver and in the middle of the lake there is a bonfire and the fire provides the bright red and yellow reflection . Imagine the mix of color silver, bright red and yellow. Wow how romantic! Isn’t it? Just imagine you are gazing at this beautiful view with a nice instrumental  in the background and don’t forget munching on a finger licking food with a sip of wine or cocktail. Aha, i’m just screaming with excitement and wish this dream I could make it real.

    So I thought of doing some research on the house boat  not that I would like to own one but definitely would want to spend one special evening all by myself and later on entertain friends and family. Sometime you really want me time and who wouldn’t want “me” time like this in a luxurious way. Yeah !!  that’s the expression I have right now, while penning down my imagination(ha ha).

    Here are some spectacular house boat .

    Now I am all rejuvenated by the dream I just lived  and its time to entertain my friends with one finger licking starter which I imagined myself gulping  while sitting on the deck facing the beautiful view.

    So my finger food is Bacon Wrapped Thai Shrimp and my background music which I always listen .

     https://youtu.be/SwK0GrLRcY4 

    Here are the steps  for the receipe:-

    • Marinate the shrimp with Thai Red Curry Paste , roasted cumin powder, chopped coriander leaves,  lime juice and salt to taste.
    • Refrigerate the marinated shrimp for 30 minutes.

    Marinated Shrimp

    • Now place the bacon and cut the scallions lengthwise.
    • Flatten the scallion and place it on bacon.
    • Now its time to place the marinated shrimp , shredded cheese.
    • Preheat oven to 350 f  and grill the bacon wrapped shrimp for 30 – 35 minutes.

    Marinated Shrimp on Bacon/Scallion

    Bacon and Scallion

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Bacon Wrapped Shrimp is all set !!

    • All set to gulp in. Ginger infused Mojito accompanied the dish .

      Bacon Wrapped Thai Shrimp for you!!

    For all my artist , here is the imagination which I wanted to brush , a female sitting on a chair on the deck facing frozen lake surrounded by snow covered trees , where her toes are more prominent  in the picture . There is a small antique end table which  has empty glass with a bottle of wine. In the middle of lake there is a bonfire which is half immersed  in the frozen lake . Frozen lake reflects the rays of sun and fire. Whoever can paint this imagination i’ll be so delighted and would love you to post that painting here.

    See you soon !!

     

    Spread Happiness

    ~ stargazersmemoir ~ 2 Comments

    The journey continues:-

    Right now you actually made me feel that I have become a celebrity and this is all because of you by providing me encouraging feedback and comments.  Thank you my blog friends,

    As I told you in my first blog each comments/feedback will lead to a new journey with a new thought process which will be translated into a recipe.

    So the beautiful year is coming to an end and everywhere people are in festive mood. Laid back environment at work place. It actually starts from October and ends with a New Year bash.  So I thought of choosing the month October why, it’s a month where season Autumn (fall) meets winter. Day starts with a pleasant sunshine and evening gives you a cool breeze, where hearts unite, the eyes meet while crossing the roads , hold each other’s hands to enjoy the moments of celebrations/festivals.

    Hmm, so I thought of doing some research and you know to my imagination I was amazed by the nature of festivals that’s been celebrated throughout the world. They are wacky, colorful, breathtaking stunts.

    Here are some wacky festivals which made me go crazy and these places got added to my destination wish list.(smiles)

    • Tubingen Duck Race which is a rubber duck race takes place in the River Necker. You know what is the number? It’s over 7000. Can you imagine? This happens to be almost the third of the population in Stuttgart city, Germany. So I have to make sure and please make sure if happen to visit Germany do visit in first week of October and don’t forget to get your Rubber Duck which could make you a millionaire. Why do I say so, the winner in the race gets €10.000. (Ha ha ha) and you become overnight celebrity. Cool isn’t it.

     

     

    Look at Thousands of Rubber Ducks

     

    • My next pick would be Diwali / Dushera , these two festivals which takes months of preparations. The two festivals signifies the victory of goodness over evil .  Each and every roads, streets, corners are decorated with lights, humongous idols of deities, people wear new cloths, every house would have yummy foods. Celebration is not for only one day it’s a week-long celebrations. People from all the class have smile and happiness on their face. Lights, colors, yummy food , deserts , new fashions and what not. People just forget their sorrows , grievances,  and hug their friends and families to celebrate these festivals. You should visit India during October to experience these wonderful festivals.  Here are some snippets.

     

    Durga Puja

     

     

    Dusshera

    Look at the happy face .

     

    Colors which spreads happiness and friends are the colors of life

    Vibrant Colors

    • The next pick is Halloween , wooooo scary . Trick or Treat. That’s what kids say when they dress up as their favorite character and hop house to house to collect their treats which are candies, chocolates, etc. I make sure to add some goodies along with candies. Kids love it. The houses are decorated not beautiful though, the more scary decoration, more fun.  I dress up as scary witch/vampire which I think I don’t have to dress up as I am already a wacky witch (ha ha ha). Let me share a funny incident which occurred with my first Halloween. I didn’t have any idea about Halloween 13 years back , so when kids knocked on the door for Trick or treat , didn’t have any candies to share rather I thought they have come to share the candies with us. So I picked a few candies from their bags while they kept on saying trick or treat (ha ha ha ) and I closed the door and felt very happy that wow kids have come to share their candies (ha ha ha). Now when I look back I just can’t stop laughing at my foolishness. I’m sure you are laughing like crazy.

    Booooo

    Scary

    There are so many other festivals around the world but these are my favorites.

    Since I’m a dreamer celebrity , so whenever I entertain friends/ family at my house , I feel I am throwing a Page 3 party , celebrities are coming , the paparazzi are waiting to get some click of their favorite celebrity. Like I’m welcoming my heart throb ShahRukh Khan (Bollywood actor), Russel Crowe, Julia Roberts , you know there is no harm dreaming like crazy. There shouldn’t be any full-stop to your dreams. I’m always ready to pose for shutterbugs so are my friends ,dress like celebrities and I make sure the evening is filled with entertaining actions and make them feel they are celebrities. (Smiles). Friendship is when you stand by your friends through thick and thin and entertaining them , making them feel that they are celebrities is the real mode of spreading happiness. 

    So entertaining friends/Families without a desert is incomplete that too when you are throwing a celebrity party, what say? Again an out of box desert which I thought of sharing with you all. 

    This desert got out of one of the famous street food in India and that’s Panipuri , some part it is referred as Gol Gappa, some where it is called as Puchka, others call as Gupchup .  You will find this street food stalls specially during Dushera/Diwali every five minutes of walk, people just indulge themselves to this street food. The stall becomes the place where hearts meet,  lovers come to get a glimpse of someone they love , friends  challenge each other who can eat more (ha ha ha ) Went back to your memory lane ? Or thinking yes, we do all these (ha ha ha )  .

    So what is this actually , it consists of a round, hollow puri, fried crisp and filled with a mixture of flavored water (pani), tamarind chutney, chili, chaat masala, potato, onion and chickpeas.

    I know , enough of creating suspense, here is the recipe for the desert . The desert unites salt and sugar like the month of October.

    Name : Lover’s Surprise

    Steps to prepare :-

    • Prepare a rabri :- This very rich dessert is made by heating sweetened milk in a large open vessel . As the layer of cream begins to form on the surface of the milk, it is taken off and kept aside. The process continues until the milk is exhausted. The rabri thus formed is extremely creamy and very heavy. I added some resins as well .
    • Store bought Boondi : – is a snack food made from sweetened, fried chickpea flour.

    Boondi

     

    • Store bought Pani Puri.

     

    Pani Puri

     

    How to serve:-

    • Make a hole in the pani puri , put the bundi filling and top it rabri. You can actually give the feeling of street by asking your guest to stand and serve them.                 Here how it looks

     

    • Lover’s Surprise

      P.S. :- Make sure you hit the gym or walk everyday for 30 minutes to stay healthy and happy. 

    Love your Dreams!

    ~ stargazersmemoir ~ 12 Comments

    Sojourn Chimera: The journey Begins

    “Don’t ever let anyone prevent you from dreaming. Imagination is one of our greatest gifts.”

    So I’m a dreamer, a complete dreamer. I dream about various creative roles, sometime I dream that I would be a great chef or I would be a great singer or I would be a great dancer or I would be a great writer. People think I’m mad or an unpractical dreamer. So I asked myself is it true? And I said to myself no dream is unpractical so why not combine all my dreams in one and make it real. You must be wondering who this crazy human being is. Why on earth I need to read this blog. I will say just waste two minutes and you will find that I am no one but the image of your dreams which is in oblivion. The dreams which make you feel like a kid, makes you feel like a celebrity. These eyes which will take you into that utopian world, helps to explore the lost you. That’s me.

     Featured image

    Why do I say so, because every human being dreams, dreams to become someone, to die someone who is worth remembering? Agreed? 

     OK now, why do I say combination of all dreams, this blog will have a recipe which will be inspired by a song/music or the innocent smile of a  baby or a snowy winter morning and each of this  will depict a story or a thought process which will translate into a recipe. Do you mind  to dance to the tune of a song. Don’t you think our actions are combination of someones dream? I’m sure there are millions of people who dream of so many things and ahh, no dream is unpractical. Dream gives happiness which leads to peace of mind and what else, food does the same magic. I’m sure you are saying come on start your thought process, I know you are restless and you have started hating me (smiles), believe me every feelings you have I love them.

     Ok let’s start the journey together  , so I was listening to this song today,  from the Bollywood ( Indian Film Industry) movie named “Life in a Metro”  and the song is “In dino dil mera”  and do you know what does this song say, it tells you to love yourself, take out time to love yourself.  While listening to the song I was thinking hats off to those lyricist who come up with new lyrics every time, hats off to the composers who come up with new music, hats off to those people who make you cry, laugh, motivates by their movies , takes you to the dreamy world, hats off to those people who think out of the box and enriches others life.  So I thought why not come up with something which makes you feel as a celebrity and who doesn’t want to become, right?  Which might motivate directly or indirectly to think out of the box and follow your passion. So let’s be a celebrity.  I made a desert which is inspired by the song and you know while preparing, mind and heart were dancing to the tune of the song. Imagine yourself biting on dark chocolate which had a topping of dried apricots, pistachios and raisins and while munching that, take a sip of sweet wine. Imagine the bombardment of flavors like bitter, tangy, nutty, sweet taste from dark chocolate, apricot, pistachio, almond, raisin and a kick from that sweet wine. Tell me do you feel the flavors, did I make you restless and I’m sure you want to make the desert and feel the flavors. I promise you will not be disappointed. Did we not treat ourselves as a celebrity? Don’t you think it was a beautiful journey together where we made a desert and treated ourselves as a Celebrity? Yes celebrity like actors portrays numerous emotions and this desert had number of flavors, so is it not a combination of everything? Did I not make everything real, all my dreams?  The combination of all the flavors  in the desert depicts the theme of the song.

    Love Your dreams.

    Why do I say love, anything you do with love you always ex-cel. So indulge yourself what you love the most. This is my passion and love to write and provide you some mouthwatering recipes and I know you all will love me J.

    If you hated this blog , type in my friend , I’ll take that as a positive feedback and as I am dreamer celebrity ,any criticism is publicity (smiles)

     If you created this desert and made someone feel like celebrity or made yourself feel like celebrity , pen down your thoughts , because that will be the inspiration of another thought process and creation of another food , another journey ,another dream ,together we will live . Ahh, a splendid journey.  Thanks for holding my fingers in the first baby steps of this journey of dreamy togetherness. We will walk many dreamy roads together…

     I know, now you want the recipe, scroll down J

     Mind it all the health conscious friends it is a very healthy desert and sometime treating yourself as a celebrity is worth trying.

     

    • Cut an inch thick lengthwise dark chocolate (I used Belgian dark Chocolate )
      • Nutritional value for dark Chocolate :-
        • Dark Chocolate is a Powerful Source of Antioxidants(this is one of the benefits)
    • Featured image
      • Top it with dried apricot (sliced), blanched pistachio (sliced), blanched almond (sliced) and raisins
        • Nutritional values for all the dried fruits and nuts :-
          • Apricots and Raisins: – Raisins and dried apricots, are dense sources of energy, vitamins, minerals, and anti-oxidants. Additionally, they are packed with several health benefiting poly phenolics anti-oxidants, dietary fiber, and other phyto-nutrients.Featured imageFeatured image
          • Almonds and Pistachios: – Those who consume almonds on a regular basis are at lower risk for developing heart disease. One study even found they actually help lower elevated cholesterol.
        • Featured image
        • A desert wine.
          • Nutritional value of sweet red wine :-
            • Since the skin is left on the grape for considerably longer during the production of red wine, red wine particularly is high in antioxidants. The risk of contracting diseases like cancer, certain heart conditions and diabetes is greatly reduced due to the presence of high quantities of antioxidants in the wine.

     Featured image

     

    Not much effort but yes truly blissful.

    Here how it looks

     Featured image

    See you soon.

    Disclaimer :-  Dessert wine is sweeter and higher in sugar levels as compared to other table wines. It is loaded with lot of calories as compared to the normal wine to the tune of 125 calories in a 3 oz to 5 oz glass. If someone is having chocolate dessert along with the dessert wine then he or she is obviously piling up lot of calories. In summation, make smart food combinations. Combine dessert wine with plain or low-fat biscuits and pastries. If your dessert is something rich and heavy like cake or tiramisu, skip the wine altogether. Drinking wine every day is recommended for a healthy life but do not overdo it. Limit yourself to a glass a day.