Banoffee Pie with double dose of 'ffee' for Swati n Richa

Does working in different business verticals, being on different floors stop us[Swati, Richa and me] from being upto monkey business..... We are at it again... take a look for yourself....
The double dose of 'ffee' was for Coffee and Toffee.... both of which are a fav with us.
Swati and Richa have both moved on to different workplaces..... This post is being pulled out of my drafts folder to say.... Miss you guys...

Thanks Swati for the totally yummy n healthy salad you sent across for me :)

Banoffee Pie

Ingredients

2 Ripe Bananas

1 Tin Sweetened Condensed Milk

250 ml Double Cream[Whipped]
2 tablespoons Coffee Powder

Coffee Powder or Chocolate Chips for decoration.

For the Base:

1/2 packet Glucose Biscuits [abt 100gms]

60 gm Butter [softened, not melted]

20gm Grain Sugar

Method:

For the Base:

1. Crush the glucose biscuits finely [not to powder], mix in the granular sugar.

2. Bind them together with the softened butter till the mixture is course. [i use the back of a spoon, you could use ure hands if you like]

3. Place this on the base of the dish in which you want to make the pie and serve.

4. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

For the Toffee:

1. Put the condensed milk in a heavy bottom pan and gently bring to the boil stirring continuously so mixture does not burn.

2. Boil till it is a light caramel.

3. Don't over do it as it will make the toffee too hard.
4. Split the toffee into 2 bowls, add the coffee to 1 bowl and mix well

Assembly:

1. Slice the bananas over the biscuit base.

2. Pour cooled toffee over sliced bananas, using the 2 separate bowls in layers.

You may want to do a double layer aswell for the love of the banoffee.. :-)

3. Beat the cream until stiff and cover the toffee

4. Chill (it's very important)

5. Just before serving sprinkle Coffee powder or chocolate chips for decoration.

Verdict

Swati: Thank you !! :* heaven on earth....

Shuchi:

Before she ate: Woohoo...i luv surprises :))

Waiting !!

After she ate: Banofee wid da twist.....i am lucky to eat the whole thing coz dad does not take bananna n mom has too much of cough n cold....both of them hd a bite each.....now da whole thing is for me...yippee :))

Yummmiiiillliiiooouuusssss :)

'Circle of Life' Lemon Cookies ~ Farewell Richa and 2010

Richa of 'My Impromptu Self' is a good friend from work. We wrote 'Starry Chocolate Brownies' together. Her guest post for my 200th post celebration was 'The Sweets Fairy'. Today was her last day in office..... With her farewell.... I bid 2010 farewell too.....

I made “Circle of Life” from lion King cookies for her in her favourite colour... Purple... :)

“Circle of Life”
Music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice
Performed by Elton John

From the day we arrive on the planet
And blinking, step into the sun
There's more to be seen than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done

Some say eat or be eaten
Some say live and let live

But all are agreed as they join the stampede
You should never take more than you give

(Chorus)
In the Circle of Life
It's the wheel of fortune
It's the leap of faith
It's the band of hope

Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle, the Circle of Life

Some of us fall by the wayside
And some of us soar to the stars
And some of us sail through our troubles
And some have to live with the scars

There's far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps the great and small on the endless round

(Chorus repeats)


Wishing you all the BEST..... :)
Always be your impromptu self.....

The Sweets Fairy ~ By my Guest Richa

This is my celebrations for reaching 200 blog posts.... A lot of you will wonder, why am I not making something fancy to celebrate it. Getting to the 200th post has been a journey full of wonderful people who walked with me in life and some joined me thru the blog world.

So I thought of having an event called 'Celebrations' where I would open out my blog to some of my friends who would share some parts of their journey with me as Guest Posts......

This post is by Richa of Life is Like That. She's a bubbly, effusive and passionate product manager at naukrigulf.com. She's written about how we've met later in the post.

She's a complete foodie, who writes from her heart and has fun to the fullest. Her writing inspired me to take part in a writing event called Blog-a-Ton. My singular entry was 'Escape', while she's written many amazing ones. Her creativity never ceases to make me wonder.
We took part in another food fiction event 'Of Chalks and Chopsticks' where we were suppose to weave a story around what we cooked. I did what I do better, baked Star and Heart shaped Brownies and Richa wove the story 'When Star Met Love'.

Her enthusiasm is totally infectious... Can hardly find a long face around her. These monkey muffins are such a good representation of her. She's a complete i-m-p from the hills. She's the sort of person who cooks for people she loves, for her too cook something for me was such a touching thing. Thank you sweet little girl. May all your starry dreams come true :)

A small something for the Indian readers of Richa.... She will select 1 lucky commenter to win complimentary meal vouchers of Curry Leaf, Defence Colony, New Delhi. It's an Indian restaurant from the house of Moets. So be sure to leave a note at the end of this post with your location. Readers in other countries can share the same with anyone in proximity of the restaurant.

Richa Writes.....

I always believed in angels who did magic, in Santa Claus who tucked candies in socks, was so sure that they exist. It was her, who proved me right. I call her the "Sweets Fairy". She makes yummylicious deserts for her special people (you sure need to be deserving enough to be in that list).

We work in the same office. The first time I met her was when she offered to help me on a MS excel sheet. It had nothing to do with her, but she spent time on it, figured out the problem and mailed me back. I liked her. But the next time when I asked her to help someone else, she told me "I helped you because your boss is a friend. It is not for any tom-u know what-n-harry. That's when I loved her. She's straight forward and doesn't have any qualms about what people think.

Then one day, I read her blog. The pictures were so tempting, had to stop myself from eating my screen. Fir kya tha, http://thevariable-nachiketa.blogspot.com/ (now http://crazyoverdesserts.com/) was bookmarked. And whenever I would want to tingle my taste buds, all I had to so was click and read. It went on, I read, I commented. And finally one day I got to eat the yummy desserts (yes, that was the focus :P ). That was the day and am a H-U-G-E fan. Not just for the taste or the presentation; but the way it was served too. Even at work, if she brings anything, the spoons, the dishes would be in place. I've had Pineapple Upside Down Cake, Caramel Cake, Banana Chocochips Muffins and Mango Cheesecake etc. The best I've ever had was the Trifle Pudding in Shot glasses, which she's still not posted on her blog(Nachi, I'm still waiting for this post). Her love for baking is true and long nights is common for her, to bake something special for a friend/ family or a loved one.

Our conversations are not just limited to food or blogs. She is my favorite destination when I need to rant or seek advice. And yeah, if ever the office seems too dull, I just have to descent two flights of stairs to get some pep and humor back.

Nachi, this is for your love of baking, for my love of writing; for the cakes, desserts n muffins I have eaten, for the conversations we've shared; for the person you are and for the respect and love I have for you.
Keep writing, keep baking and keep smiling. This world sure needs more people like you :)

And hey... you always cook for us. Here's my silly effort at cooking - 'Egg Biryani', especially for you...
Coming from me, it is a big deal; as I come from a family where no one even knows how to boil an egg, forget making a dish out of it, cause they are vegetarians. But I tried and here it is:

Egg Biryani
Adapted from Awesome Cuisine



Ingredients:
Basmati rice 2 cups
Water 3-1/2 cups
Eggs 6
Onion (thin-sliced) 1 +1(for garnish)
Ginger paste 1 tsp.
Garlic paste 1 tsp.
Green chilli (thin-sliced) 2
Cloves 2-3
Black pepper 6-7
Green cardamom 2
Red chilli powder 1 tsp.
Coriander powder 1 tsp.
Garam Masala Powder 1 tsp.
Cumin seeds 1 tsp.
Vegetable oil 4 tbsp.
Salt to taste
Chopped coriander leaves



Method:
1. Heat oil (3 tbsp.) in a pan. Add cumin seeds, green cardamom, cloves, black pepper and the bay leaves. Fry for a minute. Reduce the heat.
2. Add sliced onion(1), green chilli, ginger garlic paste and fry until light golden brown.
3. Add red chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala and salt. Mix well.
4. Add rice and water. Stir well. Cover it and cook for 20 miutes on medium heat. Slowly make the rice upside down once, while its getting cooked.
5. Meanwhile keep three eggs for boiling.
6. Take the remaining three eggs and beat in a bowl. Add salt to it and beat again.
7. Heat oil (1 tbsp.) in a pan. Pour the beaten eggs. Continuously stir it and cook until golden brown.
8. Cut the boiled eggs into rings (thin slices). Arrange in the corners of the serving dish plate.
9. Once you are done with the rice, add the scrambled eggs to the rice and slowly mix it taking care that you do not break the rice grains.
10. Put the rice in the centre of the dish plate.

Garnish with coriander leaves, fried onions and serve hot.

Starry Chocolate Brownies

She is known as the 'Star' at work.

The moment she enters office, faces brighten with a smile, people look up from their screens to hold her bright gaze and say a hello. Her clothes are always the happy shades and she smells like cool sea breeze.

Her playlist is loaded with songs that are peppy and loud.
Her desk, ah!!, is the most vibrant, with pictures and pieces of her life which is full of color.
But there is one drawer which is empty. She opens it several times a day, mostly when people are out on breaks, peeps inside and shuts it back.

And for few moments, her smile is off, and a deep shadow covers the white in her eyes. Sometimes, few friends have caught her doing it and they asked what is it? "Her heart" she jokingly says; which is empty and that is the truth. She still misses it; the feeling of being loved unconditionally!!!

"Ma'am, a bouquet for you", the office boy said, placing the brightest tulips on her desk. Who would have sent these, she wondered.

There was a note:

"I love you,
not only for your smiles and happy banter;
or for your attitude and confidence;
but for that innocent girl, inside the woman you are.
The one, that wants to be loved, not just admired;
wants to be caressed, not just complimented;
to be held and cared for."
Can I love you, for the rest of our life with no questions asked?

- From the grey desk across the floor!!!

She looks up, and smiles. Her sparkling eyes catch him looking at her, with hope and affection. She nods, 'Yes'. He smiles. She puts the note in the empty drawer. She knows what she is going to bake for their first date :)

"When Star met Love"

This entry is for the food fiction event "Of Chalks and Chopsticks" hosted by Aquadaze at "Served With Love" Spun a yarn yet? Hurry, you have another day left.

My star love Daksayani [my kid sister Who you would see a lot of in my blog] is a little chef in the making... her apron has D-A-K-S-A-Y-N-I embroidered on it.... She's not allowed to eat chocolate but sneaked in a fingerful and the G-L-E-E on the child's face was blissful...

Thanks Richa of Life is like that, for helping with the story :)

This post is being sent to “KIDS DELIGHT” by Pari of Foodelicious.

Starry Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 sticks butter
2cups white sugar
4 large eggs
1cup AP flour
1 tsp salt
½tsp vanilla



Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease a 9”x9” pan.
3. Melt the chocolate[reserve some for garnishing] and butter and mix well. (Can be done in a microwave, heating and mixing every 10 seconds until just melted. A double boiler also works well.)
4. Add 1 cup sugar to the chocolate mix, and stir.
5. Beat the eggs, vanilla, and 1cup sugar until frothy (about 3 minutes).
6. Slowly add the chocolate mix to the eggs, stirring to avoid cooking the eggs.
7. Gently fold in the flour and salt.
8. Pour the mix in the baking pan and level it out.
9. Bake for about 30 minutes or so, until the center is mostly dry when a toothpick is inserted.
10. Let cool before trying to remove from the pan.

You can read some more food fiction at:
Beguni -- ar Ashare Goppo by Bong Mom, In An Instant, Pickle & Fiction Both by When My Soup Came Alive, Cheese Capsicum Onion Pizza and Chicken in oyster sauce and Red - the endby Served With Love.