FND: Disaster Friday! (Chocolate Fudge Cake)

Ok, so I've decided I'm going to cook something new every friday after work, a dessert mostly. Something easy and preferably containing chocolate! And this is the first attempt.

So, while looking for an easy no-bake, I found this Chocolate Fudge Cake recipe. It looked really easy to make and really yummy!!

After work, I went to the neighbouring stores and got all the necessary supplies.
After that came the preparation. This recipe required crushed biscuits, which I thought would be easy to do i.e. to crush the biscuits. Alas! It took me the over an hour to crush them all into powder. Now that I think about it, I guess I could have broken them with some heavy object, instead of breaking each biscuit with my hands!
Anyway, after that I peeled and chopped the almonds and broke the chocolate bars into pieces, which was the easiest part of the whole recipe,

After that, I had to mix the chocolate and butter in a utensil. Till this step everything was going well.

The next step involved mixing in the powdered biscuits and almonds. I guess I should have stopped after pouring in only half of the powder, but like a fool I went and poured all of it! This is what it looked like after mixing.

When actually it should have looked like this:

Well, there was nothing I could do at that time since I was out of chocolate, and more importantly butter! Anyway, I kept the mix in the fridge and the next day got the extra butter and chocolate, melted it and and put maybe a quarter of the whole mix into it, It looked very much like the mixture above, although not that dark since I used mostly milk chocolate, with a little bit of dark chocolate.

In the fridge it went for the rest of the night. When I checked the next day it had gotten harder, although there was a fine yellow layer of butter at the top. I guess I used too much butter.

Anyway, I removed the layer and tasted it. All I can say is it didnt taste as bad as it looked! The butter had given it a slightly salty taste, not unlike Reeses Peanut Butter cups! I mean I could have done a lot worse I guess!

This is the last bit that is remaining, and I'm gonna finish it after this post.

I'm gonna try this recipe again, since it still looks really attractive, hopefully with better luck!

Bon Appetit!

The Great Gatsby - The Movie

Will you still love me when I'm no longer young and beautiful
Will you still love me when I got nothing but my aching soul
I know you will, I know you will
I know that you will

Ok, so I love reading books, fiction mainly, no exclusively! Non-fiction does not interest me much, except for books by Bill Bryson, and some other authors whose names I cant recollect. You see, I love drama, and real life (at least mine) just doesn't have enough of it! That's what leads me to books.

However, I've missed out on many classics, which I ought to have read in my childhood, and so am catching up now. And when I heard that a movie based on The Great Gatsby was gonna release soon, I went and got myself a copy of the book, so I could read it first and then watch the movie.

So, I started reading the book, but due to lack of time, I couldn't complete it by the time the movie was released, and so went for the movie before reading the book, a first for me!

• I liked the movie, I really did.
• Liked the way the camera kept sweeping across the landscape.
• Liked all the party scenes, all the colors and lights and people
• Really liked the haircuts of the ladies!
• Amitabh Bachchan was a waste in the movie, I mean he wasn't really required, was he? I'll have to complete the book to know for sure. 
• The end was a little depressing, but I'm really gonna have to read the book before saying any further.
• I've been watching Downton Abbey which is set in UK, and just realized that this movie is set in the same time frame, but in the USA! 
• Loved Leonardo DiCaprio & Carey Mulligan as Gatsby & his long lost love Daisy. I read somewhere that many others were considered for the role of Daisy (even Scarlett Johansson), but CM was perfect.

 

• I cannot get over how young Leonardo DiCaprio looks! I mean the he must be in early 40s or something, right 'ol sport'?

  

Found this on Google Images: :D :D

• And most of all, LOVED the music. Got the album the day after watching the movie!

Some of the songs that have stayed with me were:

Hot summer nights mid July
When you and I were forever wild
The crazy days, the city lights
The way you'd play with me like a child

- Young & Beautiful, Lana Del Ray

A hauntingly beautiful song. A quote I read somewhere (I think it was said by the Music Producer for the movie) sums it up nicely:

"I think it’s an unusual song, because on the one hand, it has romance and tells a love story, but at the same time, it’s filled with real yearning and melancholy, which I think is at the heart of the story"

********************

We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to, I go back to black

- Back to Black, Amy Winehouse

Another really good song, I thought it was an original song, but its actually a cover. It was written by Winehouse and Mark Ronson. Apparently it was inspired by a boy-friend, who left her for an ex-girlfriend, leaving her going to "black" with drinking and depression.

 ********************

 Book review coming up as soon as I finish reading it...

Mumbai: Days 2 - 4

There was a time
I used to look into my father's eyes.
In a happy home
I was a king, I had a golden throne.
Those days are gone,
Now the memory's on the wall.
I hear the songs
From the places where I was born.

- Swedish House Mafia

Ok, so for the next three days I really was a queen, as I always am when with my parents. After the big party, my parents, who were also in Mumbai that week came to pick me at the hotel. We had a quick photo session in front of the water fountain thingy, and then left. After a long long ride around Mumbai in the auto (everything was closed due to the bandh, even the malls), we finally got off at the Infinity mall, and had the best movie experience! Had a quick lunch and were back at the guest house where they were staying. It was a far cry from the hotel I'd just stayed in the previous night, but it was home for now.

The next day I had my quarterly doctor's appointment, which went pretty well except for the fact that a Thyroid problem was detected in my blood test. Since I was doing well from the looks of it, she (the doc.) asked to repeat this test in a month, preferably at another place, to verify the results. So, although I was a bit disturbed with this new problem initially, I have since decided there's no use in worrying about it now when it is unconfirmed. I will worry when there is actually something to worry about!

After another quick lunch at a nearby place and a hunt for the best concealer, we went home and rested (read lazed) around for the rest of the day. The next day we were told we had to vacate the room, since due to some mis-communication the room had been booked only till the previous day. So, we moved across the city, from Andheri, to Dadar into a a nice hotel. Ma was feeling pretty sick by now, due to something she ate. So we stayed in the hotel the rest of the day.

Continued at: http://pitchdarkroom.blogspot.com/2013/07/mumbai-day-5-wedding-day.html

Snack Time!!

Ok, so I've been eating a lot these days, like really a LOT! Thought I'd share pics of some of my currnet favourites. Will go on adding as my tastes change.

Apples: Although this is a full one, due to dental issues I cut it into many tiny pieces and eat.

M&Ms:

Gummy Fruits?: Thought I wouldnt like them, cos I dont really like Gummy Bears, but I was pleasantly surprised. Thanks Adi! And for the M&Ms and all the other chocolates and everything! Muah!

Walnuts & Almonds: My latest food craze! I read somewhere that almonds and walnuts are really good for the brain somewhow. Apparently all foods shaped like a body part are good for that body part; like kidney beans would be good for your kidneys. Hence the walnuts!

 

CCD's Dark Passion: Last and the Best!

 

 

 

My mouth's watering now, off to eat!! 

 

Mumbai: Day 1 - Bachelorette Party!!!

Ok, so I've had a  busy busy few days last week. Was in Mumbai for a college friends wedding and also then met my parents and went for the quarterly Doc's appointment. Details follow...

Friend "P" was getting married, and she was the first of the college bunch to be married. So, there was much excitement and all! Planning for the Bachelorette party had started months ago!!
We left Pune early in the morning (6.45 AM) by Neeta Volvo, which BTW, are most unreliable (Our earlier bus -  6.15 AM  - got cancelled and we were informed just the night before the journey about this!), and reached Mumbai Airport by around 11 AM. We'd booked a hotel for the night of the party, and what a hotel!! A few pics:

Entrance of the hotel:

Close-up of the Waterfall thingy:

 Jumping on the couch as soon as we entered the hotel:

Opposite side of the couch:

View of the cafe from the corridor on our floor:

So, this was one of the poshest hotels I'd ever stayed in, and we took our time exploring the place. Went out for a quick lunch, and had a near-death experience with a crazy-fast auto driver!! Got back and we were off to bed, except for one who had to work from home! Poor thing.

After the restful nap, we were woken by the working lady's loud conversation on the phone to some aunt!!I know her whole life-story now! Everything! We then left the hotel to buy some juice/sprite, chips, etc. But owing to the Bandh in Mumbai, had to search and search until we finally found some shops that had these things! Phew!

Got back to the hotel and started prep for the party, on the to-do list:
- Make a poster saying Welcome
- Mix the drinks
- Blow the balloons (which were not really balloons!)
- Clean up the mess in the room
- Put up the posters/balloons

Only once everything was done did we allow the bride to enter the room. The poor thing was waiting in the corridor, and talking to us through the door for a long time till we were ready! Must've looked funny to people passing by!

As she entered, she was welcomed with a garland of balloons, a drink, soap bubbles and loud shouts. We had her change into the t-shirt made for her, and then put on the sash and garland. And after a round of shots, the games started! Planned were:

- The Questions Game (Questions on how well they know each other, every wrong answer had her taking a vodka-cranberry shot).
- Pin Ups (A naughty variation of the traditional pin-the-donkey's-tail).
- An educational game on how not to get pregnant (involving a banana and the balloons)!

The games were a lot of fun, but she got too many answers wrong in the first game, and so being pretty much sloshed by the end of all the games, went to sleep. And it was only 11 PM!
Anyway, the rest of us were doing ok, not too high, so the party continued, with a bit of dhak-dhak, and lots and lots of pics! As it got later, it got more personal, talking and catching up. All that talking made us hungry, and with no other option we ordered Dominoes.

The hand-made cardboard invitation to the party:

The glitter drawing on the T-shirt:

Creating/Decorating the main poster:

Finally it was hung-up:

The disappointing cup-cakes:

I finally went off to sleep at around 3 AM, though some of the others were still awake, since one had a flight early in the morning and so had to leave by 3.30 AM, another left at 5 AM, and the others by 9 AM, till there were only the three of us left when I got up! We had to scan every square inch and clean up the entire room on waking; there were a lot of of balloons (which weren't really balloons) around, and tiny cardboard heart and stuff like that.

Later the three of us went for the complimentary breakfast for two (I know!). Everything looked really good, but apart from the scrambled eggs, there wasn't anything special. Still, seeing that we didn't pay for the third person, it was very generous of them!

Entrance to the hotel cafe for breakfast:

 

Continued at  http://pitchdarkroom.blogspot.com/2013/05/mumbai-days-2-4.html