because curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”
Walt Disney
And suddenly its done!
The moving is over and its time to unpack the memories!
It reminds you of the people you leave behind.
Sometimes, the places seem prettier from afar...but its always the people you leave behind!
But then "Pushpa, I hate tears!!!"comes to fore...
For times like this, there is chocolate!
And ,as you know, the best things in life are made of chocolate.
Chocolate bark...
Why it is called so...maybe,because it is...
Who am I to question the truth....
So we make chocolate bark.
The kids had to wait a long while (24 hours)before they could snap and eat the chocolate bark.
Agonising wait...
Roasted almonds and Peanuts and pure unadulterated chocolate.
Awesome.
And so,so easy!
for the
Chocolate Bark...
you need
250 gms semi sweet chocolate
3-4 tbsp ground sugar/honey
1 cup...less or more roasted Almonds and peanuts(unsalted)-Any nuts or raisins that take your fancy
1/2 tsp oil to grease a baking tray
Thats it!
Chop the semi sweet chocolate and place in a steel bowl and place over simmering water.Just ensure not a drop of water falls on the chocolate or it will seize.All it needs now is patience.
It will take at least 10 minutes before you can stir it around to get nice glossy melted chocolate.
You will need a little sugar to sweeten this glossy mix.
Does this work as a face pack???
Maybe..
Almost like snow ...over the ground...
Its been snowing over the in-laws' house in Shimla these last two days and friend Bhavna Panwar and her kids are also making minuscule snowmen(She is also now living in Shimla-not with my in-laws).
Trust the maker to send us to a place which is mushy and cold.
But, the silver lining...
The best part of Punjab ...Fruits.
The fruits look so bountiful and fresh and wholesome here...
And mix.
Did I mention the mutton chops and ribs.Ginormous!
The lamb in the eastern part of India is small,consequently, there are more bones and less meat when you cook a lamb curry there.
Here, it is a different ball game.
My pans and pressure cookers are small for the ginormous ribs.
Hmmm...Shopping!
In the meanwhile ,lightly grease the baking tray with the oil.
Keep Stirring the chocolate till it is almost cool.
Now pour into the tray and let it spread.
So the next morning...
Hit the bark for all you are worth...
And then...
While you are trying to save a few pieces for the pictures...gather your wits..Platter..
Lights...
Camera...
And Action!!
PS -this and a few more things were made in friend Kanchan Bhartari's kitchen,while I was packing up mine.
We spent almost two and a half years as neighbours together...
And we had fun!
We cooked together, we shopped together , we planned for events together ,our kids played and schemed and we gossiped together...
The best part of being neighbours..
Any time of the day or night, I could have walked up to her door and asked her for an egg or a cup of sugar or some coffee!
How convenient is that...
The most I also miss her for is her daughter...
Vicarious thrills ...Mahika Bhartari gave me.
I don't have a daughter...I have a roughly shodden, rude, temper tantrum throwing tweenager...so I took solace from Mahika.
That ,I will miss here!
Back to the bark.
Plated prettily...
That was all the effort this chocolate bark took.
Maybe snap happy chocolate...BTW, this is when I realised that the chocolate I was using is real good quality-Selbourn..it snaps with a pretty sound when you break it.
The cover does not say what % cocoa it has...but this tastes Divine!
Super easy and happiness guaranteed.
Now that I am back on track...
Here's to more stuff on baketitude everyday.
So what are you baking today???