Images

Experimental Cookies

Image January 21, 2014 jcisnowjs 5 Comments

One Cookie….. Two Cookies…. Three Cookies

That’s how Otu (My 2 yr Old son) was counting cookies by watching a “counting for kids video” running on TV. Suddenly, I started hearing “Cookies, Cookies…. Mamma….I want cookies”.

First it was just Otu, and within seconds two more monsters Tisha and Renne joined him. Ratio of Power just got shifted to 3:1, in fact 3:0, because, I don’t have any say, when all three kids unite against me 😛

Only reasonable thing to do next was to convince them that they will shortly receive some cookies. On that note, I was wondering why do kids always want that particular food item, which just got out of stock. :O

So, I went ahead and made some plain chocolate chip cookies. But, nothing is plain when it comes to cooking. Problem being, I try something new every time I make something. So what new now? Well, you have to read more to know that.

Here is the simplest Recipe for chocolate chip cookies.

Ingredients –

2 ¼ Cup All Purpose Flour

1 tbsp Baking Soda

1 tbsp Salt

1 Cup Butter

¾ Cup Sugar

¾ Cup Brown Sugar

1 tbsp Vanilla Extract

2 Large Eggs

2 Cup Chocolate Morsels (was out of them, so used butterscotch morsels)

1 Cup chopped Nuts

Method –

Preheat the Oven to 375 degree F.

Mix Flour, Baking Soda and salt.

Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in another bowl. Add eggs to it, one at a time, mixing thoroughly.

Mix the flour mixture with egg mixture.

Add morsels and nuts, stir well.

Now make small rolls and place them in baking sheet.

Oven time.

Bake for 9 to 11 Minutes.

Let them rest for 2 minutes, and Ready to go.

But, what was new that I talked about? Well, it got more to do with presentation.

So, instead of chocolate, I used butterscotch morsels, for the one thing.

Next to do was use shredded coconut. For this, roll your small cookie dough into shredded coconut, and then bake.

Third, I used my pineapple jam, as filling. Just placed a half spoon of it in the middle. Baked and done.

Fourth, I used chocolate syrup to do some fancy work on some of the plain cookies.

Fifth, did some mix n match.

After 10 minutes, Otu and Tisha were jumping and clapping seeing their cookies in different flavors. Renne as usual has by now forgotten about the cookies, and was busy destroying one of my book. Next mission, save the Books.

P.S. half of the cookies were finished in an hour 🙂

Books, Health, Spiritual

The Human Aura Astral Colors And Thought Forms

Image January 17, 2014 jcisnowjs 6 Comments

The Human Aura Astral Colors And Thought Forms

(By William Walker Atkinson)

It’s hard to finish a Non Fiction, specially harder when you redevelop your fetish for watching television shows. Still, I can say proudly that despite all the above hindrances I completed three non fictions this month. Namely “Chakra Balancing”, “The Secret” and now “The Human Aura Astral Colors And Thought Forms”. Strangely, I have to read all three of them simultaneously, as all are related to each other in some way or other. In order to understand the one, you should know about the other. That’s why it took me so long to post a book review. (Read my blog post on Chakra Balancing here).

Nevertheless, here I am. I completed “Chakra Balancing” and “The Secret” first. Human Aura I read about on and off, as required while studying the previous ones. Today, when I completed it, I realized just how much wisdom there is just lying in plain sight around us. So much energy and life, meaningful things that we completely ignore and rather focus on some trivial materialistic things.

Coming to the book, it begins with revealing what is actually Human Aura or Prana or Aabha as we call in Hindi. Prana is the Vital essence, The Life Force. This Prana Aura does not only reflect our being, but it reflects on what we are? What we are thinking? What state we are in? More importantly, how we are communicating with the universe?

When we feel something or are going through a particular emotion we are projecting that feeling through our Aura. This is mirrored in so many different colors, each corresponding to various feelings out there. I have dealt with the same in one of my previous post “The Color Of Love”. This topic is so vast though that it can not be covered in a single post. In the book, each color is explained with its corresponding state. Even the hue, tint and shade of a color make a huge difference towards the Aura visualization.

But, what is the so called Feeling that gets projected in these Aura’s colors. It is our Thoughts. Our thoughts who are manifested in our Aura in the forms of colors and vibrations. Vibrations that we send to our universe. They not only affect us, but also the persons who come in contact (not necessarily touching) with us. Have you ever thought how you feel sad in someone’s company, or why a Hospital always feels like a Morgue, or a playground feels like freedom? Have you thought, why did you label someone as a positive person and some as dull and boring or a pessimist? Most of the times what we feel about others is what their thoughts are projecting about them to the universe.

Another interesting aspect that this book talks about is about healing through Aura Magnetism. Healing with the help of a strong magnetic Aura is pretty old phenomenon. I have heard of many saints and god souls who have helped others by just touching them or giving them the life energy; Prana. This works on the same concept as Aura Projection. I have tried my hands at this too, and that too successfully. Cheers!!!

This book has dealt with many such concepts related to Human Aura, but still this subject is too vast and knowledge is so ancient that one can not fully capture it in one book. For a beginners sake this book is pretty good in answering some of the basic questions. Good introspective read. 🙂

Random

Story of Few Unwanted Hairs

Image January 13, 2014 jcisnowjs 4 Comments

I love photos. Love watching them, love clicking them and love being in them(only when I am looking awesome). Point being, I love Photos.

Now, what did a photo has to do with Unwanted Hairs?

Well, long story short, I was watching wedding photos of a friend. She was looking damn beautiful! On this note, why do every girl look so beautiful on her wedding day? Why not everyday can be a wedding day, as long as looks are concerned. :O

Coming back, she was looking beautiful in each of her photograph. I was admiring her each posture, her smile, her dress, venue, flowers, everything was so beautiful. Beautiful, until I saw long black and very visible hairs on her hand. (yup, only hand). She was sitting with a flower bouquet in her hand, those long hairy arms, suddenly an image of a hairy male (Anil Kapoor to be precise) popped in my mind with a wedding dress and a flower bouquet in his hand. The girl who was looking so beautiful to me, suddenly she was not. Am I that shallow? 😦

I am generally not. I don’t judge people based on their looks, dress or size n shape (except when we are talking about their brain size). I started questioning myself, why is this bothering me too much? What’s wrong with having hairs on your legs or arms (going no further)? Why do we women torture ourselves (I actually feel pampered when I do so) to get a clean waxed look? Is it just for looking good to others? What is the need to have waxed legs, even when you are not showing them?

Maybe, some of us ladies won’t get so bothered about it. I know men would do. They would prefer a female who is clean, waxed and not at all hairy (That’s my perception of males :P). So, do we wax ourselves for the opposite sex? Maybe. But, is it the only reason?

Thinking of it, it’s kind of ritual now for females to go for a full bikini wax just before their wedding. All know the reason. 😛 Then why didn’t my friend did so. Was she trying to make a statement? Or was she too busy that she totally forgot about it. Or it doesn’t matter to her at all. :O

Maybe, it’s all three, or maybe none. Well, for me I can say that I prefer a clean and waxed look, but it’s because I like it that way. Body hairs feels dirty and unhygienic to me. Maybe hairs on someone’s hand do not contribute much towards unhygienic mess, but it’s my pick to be hair free. Frankly speaking, underarms hairs disgust me more. Have seen some ladies with hairy sweaty armpits in gym, and it’s gross. Really gross. Female or Male long underarm hairs are a complete no no. But still, it’s a personal choice and should always be. So, it should not bother me if someone else has a different belief. Well, lesson learned. (self talk helps 🙂 )

I saw those pics again, and this time, it didn’t bother me. Not at all. She was looking beautiful with a broad and confident smile on her face. 🙂

Photographs

Snow Fairy in Town

Image January 8, 2014 jcisnowjs Leave a comment

Snow Frenzy

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Food, Kids and Me

A Three Minute Cake for My Sweetie

Image January 6, 2014 jcisnowjs 4 Comments

My baby Tisha turned three, and all that she was bothered about, was her birthday Cake. So, we booked a Tinkerbell Cake for her Birthday party, which was on Saturday. Big Problem : Her birthday was on Friday, 27^th December.

We wished her, pampered her in every possible way on Friday, but she was still not in the Birthday mood. We took her to an animated movie, got new clothes for her, gave all the attention that she deserved on her special day. Still, she was like “No, It’s no Birthday”.

What’s a birthday, without a cake? She was right. So, I decided to bake a small cake for her. Small because in my family no one seems to have a sweet tooth. We don’t like eating cakes. Even my kids don’t like eating sweets much. All that Tisha wanted on her birthday was to cut the cake, not to eat it. 😦

I have baked cakes before, but this time I wanted to try something which is quick and easy to make, taste doesn’t matter. (I am not gonna eat it, so why does it should matter 🙂 ). I was going through all the cake recipes, when I stumbled on this easy to make 3 minute chocolate mug cake. Voila!!!!

Recipe is down below.

Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour (Maida) – 4 tbsp

Sugar – 2 tbsp

Cocoa Powder – 2 tbsp

Egg – 1

Milk – 3 tbsp

Butter/Oil – 3 tbsp

Vanilla Extract – ¼ tbsp

Choco Chips – 1tbsp (I was out of them, so didn’t use)

Method:

Add and mix all the dry ingredients.

To this add Egg and mix really well.

Pour in milk and oil as well to make it smooth.

Make sure there are no lumps.

Add Choco chips and vanilla extract. Mix well.

Put this mixture in a Microwave safe Mug. (I have used a bowl, to have a small cake shape)

Microwave it for three minutes on high.

And done. 🙂

I used some M&Ms and chocolate for decoration. All it took to make this cake was 5 minutes.

Some friends also joined in the small celebration and Tisha cut the cake happily. Icing on the cake, it was not bad in taste. Although, it was not as good as a cake baked in Oven for half an hour, but still it was a quick fix. Tasted okay, looked more than okay. Happy Ending. 🙂