Questions & Answers

Hiiiiii*waves out to Elizabeth* Thank you for tagging me,my dear friend and the creative owner of http://foodandthriftfinds.com/ I always love reading your posts,they are so creative and original and always have that special Elizabeth touch,the person I am now getting to know,through these wonderful and fun activities that we have been participating in lately. Please everyone do visit her blog,if you are on the look out for some yummy recipes with exotic ingredients ,this is the place for you :)

1. Are you a vegetarian, or have you thought about being one?

 No,I am a big time carnivore,I did try  becoming a saint in '94 and stayed off non-veg for an year,and concluded that I am a complete slave to my taste buds:(

2. Who inspired you to cook or bake?

My mother and my aunts are excellent cooks and I was always fed very good food,so when I moved away from them I knew I had to cook the way they did. I never missed an opportunity to watch them cook & play with all the ingredients ,so I guess all that stayed with me,and I learnt my way around when it was time for me to cook.

 I would attribute the baking skills( if I have any) to my husbands stint at Haldia ,west Bengal. Haldia back then in the year 1991 used to be a major set-up of Indian Oil refineries and a couple other factories. We could just barely buy the basic stuff from one of the grocery stores, and cakes and fancy breads were  things of  a different world. So it was almost mandatory to bake in Haldia. There are many names that instantly come to mind who have helped me to learn the A B C's of baking: Ritu Uppal,Vibha Jhavar, Sadhna Mutreja,Vandana lal .

3. How do you celebrate Christmas?...or a favorite holiday of your choice?

I am a Hindu by birth and Diwali is to me what Christmas is to the Christians .The celebration is mostly centred around being with the family and enjoying the festivities which revolve around the food,gifts,new clothes,  decorations,and mainly fire works.The fire works is a a big part of Diwali celebrations back in India. I  must also mention here- That I attended a convent /catholic school through out, and Christmas was the second big festival and attraction for me. Our school left no stone unturned when it came to Christmas celebrations . So I grew up enjoying and cherishing both these big holidays.

4. Do you prefer to celebrate New Year's Eve with friends and/or family, or prefer to ring in the New Year quietly, and privately, at home?

Ours is a small family- me ,my husband and our daughter and we do not have family in this country,therefore celebrating New Year at home is not a bad idea provided there are plenty of friends ,music and dance to welcome the new year :)

5. If someone were to ask you to bring dessert to a party, what would you bring? Store bought, or homemade, and if you were to make homemade, what would you make?

I would prefer to make something at home,and it would mainly be decided around the rest of the menu and the guests. If the guests include plenty of kids then I would prefer to make a cake with some fun icing. I also don't mind buying something from the store- but it would have to be some special dessert which has a cult following .

6. How will you celebrate your next birthday?

My husband was very generous and took me to Alaska on my last birthday :) My next birthday  in 2011 is going to be just before our daughter leaves for college as a freshman and I would love for us to do something fun and memorable. I had not even thought of it actually until you asked me this question .  Honestly-We are such a last minute kinda  family.

7. Do you have a New Year's resolution-and will you be sticking to it?
YESSS my new year resolution is to continue writing the blog apart from loosing some weight, and staying fit by regularly exercising. I hope to stick to all of this as I have done in the past years :)

I am now tagging 12  and 2 more of my blogger friends to answer this same questionnaire. I enjoyed answering these questions and my dear friends, I hope you will have fun doing this:

banaras ka khana

Kitchen Corner-Try It

! Vazhayila !

Darjeeling Dreams

Food Mazaa

Healthy Gourmet

Kurinji Kathambam

Tasty Appetite

Pappu's Kitchen

Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes

Priya's Feast

RecipeGrabBag

Taste as you Cook

TREAT & TRICK