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Monday 19 October 2015

In a pumpkin state of mind !!

I like everything about Halloween.. The spooky , scary , horror stuff .. And seeing kids dressed like witch and wizard .. from the costumes to the candies , Halloween is fun filled time.. Halloween is new to me (only after moving to UK and now Oz )  .. I only watch people celebrating it and enjoy..  For all those who celebrate it , have a safe and spooktacular Halloween !!

With Halloween mood setting in , there is pumpkins everywhere. Although,  I don't celebrate Halloween ( All Saints day !! ) , it would be unfair to turn blind eyes to those huge , round , orangey luscious pumpkin waiting to be tasted.. Firstly , me and my hubby are not big pumpkin fans.. So if I was gonna use them , it better be tasty ...

You all know what I like the most .. Yes , its coffee.. So trying pumpkin spiced coffee was the best idea !!! Spiced coffee sounded so interesting ..and pumpkin cupcakes for a budding cupcake fan ( my son :P )  I was all set to try it.. I always turn to Sally for recipes.. Like always , she has never failed in giving the best recipes ...  Please find the link below for the coffee ..

http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2015/09/14/homemade-pumpkin-coffee-creamer/


Alright yes, I tweaked the coffee version a little to match my needs.. Firstly pumpkin pureeeeee ... I made my own .. I didn't buy the can. When I put the pumpkin in the oven , that's when I realised why so many people like it .. The smell was gorgeous .. much better than baking chocolate cake or bread.. It is like a crossing a road and smelling freshly ground coffee.. hmmmm .. Heavenly..  And then pumpkin spice .. I didn't get it in my super markets . So, I used all spice powder ( ground ginger, nutmeg & cinnamon ) . I used my milk frother instead of whipped cream.. Pour this creamer into your coffee ... Simple yet so good.. Smells great and is strong with coffee and spice flavours..

Reminds me of the fall season in UK ... Halloween always fall during the Fall ( Autumn season ) .. It matches the spooky mood.. with dried leaves all over, dark & windy evenings.. This coffee would have certainly matched the seasonal tone  and want for something warm and spicy :P .. Its spring here in Oz.. Nevertheless , this coffee is so damn delicious .. Worth it in any season ..  Who wouldn't want the house smell like heaven.. It happened again when I baked these cupcakes ... Cupcakes and coffee .. What a combination !!! 




My palate is definitely becoming gourmet ... If you are like me , willing to try different things .. go for this pumpkin spiced coffee at your café.. You will positively crave for it :-) ..



 

Tuesday 13 October 2015

Death before Decaf !!

Decaf is a topic I have been meaning to discuss for some time now . Today I stumbled upon this meme " Death before Decaf " and decided its time ... There is more caffeine in my body than blood ( honest truth !! ) And I especially like to read the many studies affirming the positive impact of coffee  on our health :P. However, it can be addictive because of the caffeine. Why am I ( of all people ) thinking decaf ?



I wanted to keep my caffeine intake low on account of my continuous effort to ward off excess pounds :P ( some of us are always on diet , aren't we ??? )  .. Others, such as those with kidney disease or anxiety disorders, may need to avoid caffeine all together. Whatever your case may be, if you are considering decaf you need to read this.

The first and the foremost to consider is whether decaf contains caffeine. While there may be variances in coffee, decaf certainly does contain caffeine - just in lower amounts. If you are not supposed to have caffeine , decaf is not the option. As few amounts of caffeine might add up to more than the limit end of the day..

After so much thought I decided to try decaf. Tough decision for a coffee lover. They say decaf would still be the same as coffee just without caffeine .. The first day when I drank decaf in the morning , I realised I was still sleeping.. haha jokes apart , it didn't give me the push or the wake up call to my cells .. So technically it didn't satisfy one of the most important reasons of why I drink coffee ( I have many reasons actually !! ) ..

Another main difference I felt was the sweet taste of coffee.. I mean really sweet ..I generally add a small teaspoon of sugar to my coffee.. so the decaf I tried was extra sweet coz the powder I used make the coffee tasted sweet.. Now , that's a complete no no.. But I am not the one who gives up so easily on any idea until it works.. so started investigating ( oh ya ! you can imagine me with googly spectacles and a magnifying glass in hand :P )

Certain Decafs are made using Swiss water process or carbon dioxide extraction, both of which are quite harmless. But most decafs employ chemical solvents such as methylene chloride (forget the name - it is a toxic compound and suspected carcinogen ) or ethyl acetate to strip caffeine molecules from the green coffee bean. This ethyl acetate adds a sweet fruit flavour. Now that explains it..So the next time ( I doubt that .. ) I sure would check the label for the process of decaf ..

Decaf didn't gimme the energy and the pleasure that actual coffee  gives.. I was once a person who could drink anything that was close to the taste of coffee ( be it hot water :P ) . But now I have grown to like its aroma, taste , flavour. So my satiety quotient has changed . And I read that coffee drinkers live longer than non coffee drinkers ( I mean really.. Do you want the link :P ) . Do I need to give you more reasons for my solid cup of java ....


Wish I had done this investigation before I bought that big jar of decaf :-(..I don't really know what you have decided after reading this , I sure have decided DECAF not my cup of tea ( I mean coffee :P :D )


 

Wednesday 7 October 2015

Bitten by the travel bug !!!!

I generally am not a person who would write about my trip or a vacation because that involves writing about myself and talking much about my experience which I think I am not very good at . But today, I am gonna write about my trip to the Great Ocean Road. You might ask why.. Because , this was such a perfect trip. I have gone to a lot of places ( not a lot , just a few actually :P )  in different countries. This trip and the location was by far the best . I shall explain why as I take you through my journey.



Lot of our friends suggested we make the journey from Melbourne and stay overnight near twelve apostles and return the next day. I would suggest you to give a full weeks time for this journey in a practical world. Each attraction on your way is worth it. You need time to devour the beauty of the small little towns and their laid back seaside life. Two days were just not enough. Well, we didn't try to squeeze in all the attractions in two days. We still wanted a relaxed trip. Especially with our 3 year old son along we didn't want to rush things ( can we ? even if we want to .. ufff these kids :P )

We ( my hubby Mr. S , my son Atharva and me ) went during public holiday in Victoria. So it was crowded ( trust me , I haven't seen so much crowd in any of other Australian beaches ) . We had slow moving traffic before entering the Great Ocean Road and in the Otway forest area.. Traffic could be a pain usually but not in this journey coz you had scenic beauty and A.R Rahman and Ilayaraja music to entertain you .

So, we started our journey of the Great Ocean Road ( GOR )  from TORQUAY, the gateway of GOR . It was surfers heaven . A view from the top looked like little penguins and dolphins waiting to become one with waves.. Little kids floating with their surf boards made me regret not having learnt swimming :P . They seemed to have so much fun in the water catching waves and some sun and sand. Nevertheless I had so much fun watching them :-)



Then , we went to Anglesea. It is a quaint sea side town with a vast expanse of white beaches. It was  perfect for my son to build his sand castles ( that is what he came for :P ) . We had a nice little picnic there letting my son enjoy playing in the sand and wetting his legs in the sea. We had a tough time bringing my son out of the beach..

With a heavy heart and promise of seeing more beaches me and my son left Angle Sea and we drove straight to twelve apostles to be there for sunset. It took three and half hours of visual treat to reach twelve apostles. There were lovely looking small towns in between but remember we didn't want to rush and squeeze things in this trip. When your eyes get tired of seeing the blue sea , white beaches and rocky mountains , you start seeing tall green rainforests in Otway. Immerse yourself in the mesmerising beauty of tall trees and ferns.

As you emerge out of the green comes blue sees again . Finally we landed at Twelve Apostles which is iconic limestone cliff and crumbling pillars. Yes crumbling , there are only seven and half pillars left. I wondered what could be so beautiful about limestone structures .. Trust me , it is nature at its best form. Completely divine and scenic beauty. You can see the structures in golden colour with red tinge of the setting sun and mystic rays . It can make anybody poetic and artistic .

We stayed at Peterborough near the Apostles. The next morning, we rose early to enjoy the pleasant walk to the Apostles and climb down Gibson steps . Unfortunately , due to high tide the steps were closed. I have to mention about this small little town.  It had a small estuary / backwater near a park. Oh my God, that was heaven for my son. He spent good 3 hours running up and down that ankle high , I mean his knee high ;-) water . He built castles , decorated it with weeds and shells (very few though ) and knocked it down too... I was basking in the sun with a lovely tall cup of coffee ( thanks to my kind hubby ) without worrying about my son . My son jumped with joy and was finally tired of playing in the water. It was mission well accomplished for me and my hubby.



We started back to Melbourne and on our way back we went to The Arch, London Bridge and Loch Ard Gorge. On the way, we asked a stranger where does that route lead to , she replied " I don't know , but whatever that is , it is beeaauutifulllllll " .. I think that explains it all. You don't need to know the name of the place , the various attractions etc.. Whatever it is , it is beautiful and picturesque..

Now you see why the trip was perfect. It satisfied all our needs especially our little masters ... We couldn't cover a lot of small towns on the way like Lorne , Apollo Bay , Warnambool etc. They all looked pretty enticing and enchanting ... ( calls for another trip Mr.S .. hehehe ) ..