One Country One Dish Challenge

I started cooking few years back. It was occasional and only when something caught my fancy. When I lost my mom, it came upon me to cook for my father. He loves traditional dishes which were a challenge to me. Not because they are difficult. It's just that these recipes are not written down anywhere. The jumbled instructions and vague measurements threw me off. I fell back to the tried and tested recipes that my mom had taught me.

As I gained confidence, I started trying out new dishes. Turns out am not a bad cook after all. I mean, I didn't burn down the kitchen. That counts as something right? So now, I have decided to take a up a new challenge. Yayyyyyy! I think am in love with these zebra striped tables and the challenges are just an excuse :P Anyhow, I am going to try cooking one dish from each country. That's almost 200 dishes. But I have a whole life ahead of me, at least long enough to cook two ton dishes I hope. We already have a head start. Check it out.

One Country One Dish (5/192)

	Country	Cuisine	Dish
	India	Breakfast	Masala Dosa
	Lebanon	Dessert	Knafeh
	Turkey	Snack	Pide
	Japan	Lunch	Bento box
	United States of America	Dessert	Boston Cream Cookie Cups

Party in the USA

After one whole year, I could finally travel to the US and see my nephew. It was his first birthday, and I was thrilled that I could make it. He was sleeping when I reached my sister's place. The photos and videos are absolutely deceptive. He looked so tiny in person. When he woke up, I was cautious not to get too close and alarm him. However, he came right into my arms <3 No tantrums, no hang-ups. My life felt truly complete holding this little bundle of joy. My sister had selected 'The Lion King' as the theme for his birthday. We had brainstormed so many ideas over the past few months. I still couldn't believe I was actually there helping her with all the decorations. My brother-in-law got a lovely cake. They had ordered Indian food from a restaurant called 'Aahaar' and it was delicious!

I did not get used to the Michigan cold at all. I was eternally covered in sweaters and socks. However, my sister and BIL took me to all places possible. Since my sister couldn't accompany me at all times due to the baby, I would often go shopping alone. It was kind of fun. I switched off from work completely and tried to enjoy my vacation as much as I could. 
On weekends, we would go downtown or visit family and friends. My sister and I would shop in the malls while playing hide and seek with my nephew who was on BIL's watch. We visited a German settlement and it brought back wonderful memories of the time we spent together in Germany. On weekdays, when the weather was kind, we would visit the lake just behind their house.

It had already stopped snowing during my visit and I was kind of disappointed. To my surprise, on the last week of my stay there, it started snowing! The whole place was covered by a thick blanket of snow. I was finally able to tick off my bucket list item by playing to my heart's content in the snow. Dare I say that it may have snowed just for me because by evening, the snow had started melting and the next day there was no trace of it! And you think am joking when I say am God's favourite child :D

The days passed quickly playing with my cutie pie, annoying him, pampering him, and giving all my love to him. It was time to fly back. My return was booked via New York. And out of nowhere, Akka and I got a day to ourselves thanks to this wonderful uncle of ours who planned a city tour of NYC just for us. She flew with me to NY where we watched a Broadway Musical called 'The Music Man' featuring Hugh Jackman!! We then took a rickshaw ride to Times Square which is always buzzing with energy. We had dinner at Priyanka Chopra's famous restaurant 'Sona'. Finally, we rode the limo to the airport!! I have to go crazy with the exclamation marks because that's a lot of name-dropping. This has been the most extravagant day of my life I guess!

And that's how I was able to visit the US once more before my visa expires. I will always cherish this trip because I was seeing my sister and BIL after a tumultuous two years. I met my darling nephew for the first time and spent quality time with him. And I had one of the most exciting days of my life in NYC.

Bake the world a better place

The love for cooking runs in our family, especially on my dad's side. But when a dish turns out pleasing to the tongue and to the eye, it's a whole new level of joy. That's why I love making desserts. Desserts have a lot more scope for beautification. I still remember me and my sister trying to bake brownies in our microwave. We were in school then and we had managed to melt the brownie dish. Lol! Nevertheless, I did not lose hope. I moved on to baking cakes in the microwave and successfully managed to send it to the repair shop twice!!

After a lot of trial and error, I realised that I was following the recipe to the T but I wasn't using the right tools. When I completed ten years of service in my company, I was given a cash voucher. I decided to gift myself a proper oven. It has been a game-changer. I have been baking cakes, muffins, brownies and savoury dishes too. And they turn out so good every time. Over time, I invested in cake pans, spatulas, silicone moulds. I even bought flavouring agents and colours. It makes baking super fun.

But my dream of making aesthetic looking dishes is far from reality. It takes a lot of practice and I am not able to devote that kind of time to it. I hate wastage. Putting the frosting in a bag and not being able to use it to the last bit is sure to keep me up at night. However, I am not hanging up my apron so soon. I will continue practising and am certain that I will bake that elusive, pretty looking cake one day.