THE KITCHEN AFFAIRE

Its Christmas!!! Merry Christmas to all my dear friends and fellow bloggers :) And this is my 100th post. Whoppiieee.. Isn't that awesome? I know. I feel so great. And to celebrate, I baked these yummy Banana Choco - Chip muffins from my dearest friend Gaya3 's blog - My Pressure Cooker . Holidays are heaven. No doubt. We just got back from our lil' vacation to the picturesque ski resort of Santa Fe & Taos, New Mexico. It was amazing. Perfect place for the christmas holidays --- It was white Christmas.. The whole place was covered by a soft white blanket of snow. I know that a lot of you guys live in places where it snows during most of the year. But my friends, I come from Texas or going further down, I come from South India where you never see even a flake of snow. Here is a pic from the trip. :D  Ingredients Bowl 1 All-purpose flour - 1.5 C Sugar - 1/2 C Baking powder - 1 1/2 t Bowl 2 Ripe bananas (about 2 large - mashed) - 2 C Egg

The spirit of Christmas is everywhere. The twinkling lights on the Christmas trees, decorations on the mantles, angels and reindeer dancing in the front yard. Aww.. I love this season. Hubby and I enjoy driving by the beautifully decorated residential localities. Even the malls and streets have the holiday mood. And a lot of parties too ;) Its so much fun to meet all your friends and have a great time together. With so much holiday spirit around us how could I not bake anything!! And here I am baking or making the perfect Christmas treat "The Gingerbread Man". :) Aren't they cute? So here is a fresh batch of gingerbread cookies for all you folks out there. Lets welcome the holiday season :) Recipe : Simply Recipes Ingredients Unsalted butter, room temperature - 1 stick or 8 T Brown sugar/ Jaggery - 1/2 C Honey - 1/2 C All purpose flour/ Maida - 2 1/2 C Ginger powder - 1 T Cinnamon - 1/2 T Nutmeg powder - 1/2 t Black pepper powder - 1/4 t Baking po

Last day I was expecting a friend of mine for lunch. So I thought I need to make something special for her. She loves rice so I thought the best way to treat her would be by cooking a rice dish for her. When I thought of a rice dish, the first thing that came into my mind was the Vegetable Pilaf. Vegetable Pilaf is among the dishes that I keep experimenting with again and again and againg. :D Until now I did not feel that it was good enough to be showcased. :) This time it came out just the way I always hoped for. The aroma was awesome and so was the texture. We loved it. Here is the recipe for all you guys out there :) Ingredients Basmati Rice, Uncooked - 3 C Onion - 2 C Carrot - 1 C Green beans - 1 C Green peas - 1 C Ginger garlic paste - 1.5 T Green chillies - 3 Cumin seeds - 1 t Bay leaves - 2/3 Cloves - 4 Cardamom - 1" Star anise - 1 Mace - 1/2 t Turmeric powder - 1 t Red chilli powder - 1 t or as per taste Water - 3 C Salt - to tasste Oil/G