Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Bathroom Deep Clean


Before you follow the Clean Bathroom Effortlessly in less than 10 Minutes regimen, 
make sure you do a thorough Deep-Cleansing first.




1.     De-clutter : Make sure you throw away any unnecessary things. YES! Minimal basics is the key to having a clean, hygienic and clutter free bathroom. All you need are a few basic essentials, toiletries and regularly used grooming products.  Remember “Less is More!!”

2.      Deep cleansing : Do one last deep cleansing thoroughly with disinfectant bathroom cleaner, laundry detergent and bleach if required. Scrub each and every nook and corner of the bathroom well with a brush and rinse off with water for a sparklingly clean toilet and say goodbye to laborious cleaning for good! :)

3.      Touch ups : After the bathroom dries completely, examine if any touch ups are required, like cement or silicon fillings or fixing cracks which may give way to germ-growth.

4.      Clean Cleaning materials : If your cleaning materials are in poor shape and are dirty in the first place, PLEASE throw them away and get new ones! Make sure you rinse the towels in plain water after every use, wring it and hang to air-dry. Wash them thoroughly with detergent, twice a week. Fresh, clean towels are inevitable. If it smells awful, it's either time to give it a deep-washing in hot soapy water or discard them for new. If you are lazy to wash them every day, keep a set of 5-7 towels, throw them into a bin after every use and wash them together so that you have another set of clean towels for the next week.

5.      Clean the Drains : Particularly three places. The drains in the sink / washbasin, the bathtub, and the common drain. Once you see the water draining out a bit slow, or it starts getting a bit stinky, it's an indication that the drains are clogging up. Give those drains a good preventative cleaning to keep them clear of oil or grease, and hair clogs. Make sure you pour in some Drain opener or you could go by the environment friendly method - Pour in 1/2 cup baking soda down the drain, followed by 1/2 cup white vinegar into each. The mixture will foam up. Allow that to sit for 8-10 minutes and then pour boiling water down the drain. If you are using powdered or liquid drain openers, be very cautious and follow instructions given on the bottle.

6.      Frequency of Cleaning :  Your frequency of cleaning depends on the use. If you have small children, make sure you clean daily. They touch almost every place of the bathroom in the struggle to reach out. If you have quite a few members using the bathroom, make it a point that you give a quick wipe with a towel once or twice a day and share the task with other members. A clean bathroom should be everyone's need!

Now you are all set and ready to follow the 'Clean Bathroom - Effortlessly' regimen. Click on the image below to follow how.. :)


 Clean Bathroom Effortlessly in less that 10 minutes


Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Spicy-Egg Pancakes

Healthy, quick and simple, Spicy, Egg and Whole-wheat Pancakes
My Recipe

It's good to be back home.. :) I said this in my last post as well, didn't I? Well, just when I thought we wouldn't be travelling any time soon and was settling down into a routine, here we go again! ;) I envy those bloggers out there, who have a new post on their blogs every other day or week, while I am here gathering myself back to track, literally lost at times not knowing where to restart from, forget what I have in stock in my kitchen, and even worse, have trouble getting back to the normal sleep pattern for days together.. Well, I am not giving up this time.. I am determined to do a post without a heave.. :D Thanks to all those encouraging personal messages from my blog followers, who really look forward to my posts.. :)

This was a recipe I shared on a fellow blogger's blog some time back. Well, with her permission I am posting it here once again for those who haven't come across this recipe until now..  

My husband loves pancakes, given in absolutely any form.. He even loves the South Indian Oothappam! Therefore, I tried to combine both the tastes into this inventive fusion recipe, which thankfully turns out to be yet another favourite of his.. :D An extremely simple, healthy and fancy pancake, that does not really require any side dishes. If you were looking for something new for a lazy weekend breakfast or brunch, then you must give this one a try! :) Well, cut off the 'Spicy' from this recipe and your kids will love it! Try this for their school lunch or as an after-school snack too! :)



Ingredients :









Onion
-

1 large

Tomatoes
-

1 medium sized

Green chilli
-

1 or more (depending on your preference)

Fresh ginger
-

1/2 inch piece (skinned)

Cilantro / Coriander leaves
-

2-3 stems

Curry leaves
-

Couple of leaves (if you like)

Salt
-

To taste

Cumin seeds
-

1/2 teaspoon (Roasted)

Turmeric powder
-

1/4 teaspoon

Fresh eggs
-

3

Whole wheat flour (Aata)
-

1 cup

Water
-

3/4 cup

Oil
-

1 tablespoon for batter and as needed to grease pan.


Preparation Method :

Into a chopper, add the Onion, Tomatoes, Green chilli, Fresh ginger, Cilantro, Curry leaves, Cumin seeds.


Add the Turmeric powder, eggs and salt.


Add the flour and water.


Pour in the oil and give a couple of blitz. We need a batter that's smooth as well as, has chewable bits of the veggies in it.


Heat a pan, grease it on low heat and pour two ladles of the batter and spread.


Oil the top and sides and turn the pancake over and oil the other side as well if required.


Cook until both sides begin to brown and the ends crisp slightly.



Fold into two or three and its ready to serve.


This is a snack by itself. You could also serve it with curry. :)


Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Cook Lentils Faster


Croissant Pudding

Simple warm Vanilla Croissant Pudding with ice-cream
My version


Hi! :) Back after a long break.. Had been living out of a suitcase on and off for more than two months now. That sort of a life is sometimes great, 'coz for me, travelling is endorsing a change as a much needed evolution. ;) New places, new experiences, new environments, new lifestyles and so on.. But, getting back home for brief halts, unpacking, washing laundry, trying to sort work into track and then packing afresh for yet another journey, puts my other side of life to an imbalance.. Jet lag, sleepless travelling, adapting to new climates and new tastes, adjusting into different sleeping spaces and above all living out of a suitcase kind of makes me less resilient and miss being back in my own space of life.. I crave to get back to a normal routine life, wherein I can settle down, sleep peacefully on my own bed, relax and be able to think, have an organized life, catch up with family and friends, have time to unleash my creativity and above all COOK!! When cooking something new doesn't happen and I am overloaded with so much to finish and catch up on, blogging too hauls off!! Don't get me wrong.. ;) That's not an excuse I am making.. :) Just informed why I go missing sometimes!! :D 


Well, coming back home is a warmth to the heart and so I am here with a heartwarming recipe as well.. :) Extremely simple indulgence.. Welcome back to my kitchen! :)

Ingredients :







Plain butter croissants
-

3 medium sized
Fresh eggs
-

2 nos.
Sugar
-

50 g
Salt
-

A pinch
Fresh cream
-

100 ml
Vanilla essence
-

1 teaspoon
Full fat milk
-

100 ml
Butter
-

To grease the baking dish




Preparation Method :

Grease your baking dish with some butter.



Tear apart the croissants into chunks to almost fill the dish.


Whisk up the eggs in a bowl. Add the sugar and the salt. Give that another quick blend.


Add the fresh cream and whisk in.


Add the vanilla and milk. Whisk all that well.


Pour the mixture evenly onto the croissants.


Press down and let the croissants absorb in the mixture. Allow that to sit for 2 minutes and then sprinkle some sugar evenly on top.


For best results, I'd recommend baking this pudding in an oven. However, if you do not have an oven, you could also bake this in a microwave. But, I cannot guarantee a light, fluffy pudding with a crisp surface in that case. It might turn out a bit soggy when baked in a microwave.


Preheat  the oven in either case on 180 degree centigrade. If you are baking in the oven, bake on 180 degree centigrade for 20 minutes. If you are using the microwave, bake on 200 degree centigrade for 10 minutes. Again, baking time could vary in different microwaves.


Its best to have this pudding warm.


Scoop out some pudding onto a plate. Serve with some nice vanilla ice-cream. MMmm... True indulgence! :)