BEST OF 2007, MY 100TH POST AND A SURPRISE!!!

I reminisce how I came into being a blogger. It started off from my visit to Kerala, n my strong urge to learn more of Kerala Cuisine, n then my fervent search on Google for Mallu Recipes, n then me stumbling upon a world of mallu bloggers who maintained impressive blogs & blogged not just about Kerala Cuisine but also various other Cuisines.

The world out there was mesmerizing. Food - a subject which has always been soooooooo very close to my heart, is a fiery passion within me - is so loved by many others, who share the same passion & zeal. Ladies (…& some Gentlemen too!!) who are from all walks of life – professionals & homemakers - n from all parts of the World, coming together in the Cyber World, with one sole aim –raving about their passion – FOOD. I was completely gripped by the world there, n there was this strong urge inside me – if only I could also be a part of this wonderful world ………then there was another voice inside me – " forget it Shella, do you think you could be like those girls, are you out of your mind, don't go on to make a fool of yourself". The voice asking me to be a part was more compelling than the one which hindered me from doing so…..n so with inhibition in my heart, I browsed the templates, thought of a name to give, thought of an address, carefully chose my words – there was a lot of caution considering the sense that I have to at least look decent, if not "wow" in the Blog World, but at the same time, somewhere I had the feeling that this is not going to last much longer……..its just going to fade away.

My first post on 9th Aug' 07 was a random one, n my visit to other blogs led visitors to mine. ……n so started my journey – one post followed another. And I would check almost every hour to see if anybody had visited and left a comment. A comment on the blog meant a feat during those early days, and believe me they still mean a lot.

I have to whole heartedly thank Anita of "My Treasure My Pleasure" who was the first one to hold my hand n add a link on her Blog to mine – it gave me such a sense of joy, then there is darling Seena of "Simple & Delicious" who showed me the way to the Food Blog Desam, and then there is Cynthia of "Tastes Like Home" who added me to her Feeder & left a comment that she wouldn't want to miss anyone of my recipes – she really made my day, n is a sweetheart.

The concept of taking a pic from my mobile camera did not appease me, n hence 2 /3 of my earlier pics were downloaded from the net – which reminds me that I have to mention it on the relevant posts, but slowly I began using my humble mobile to click those pics. As of date I have mastered the art of making the best use of it. Believe me, 99% of the pics on my blog are courtesy my friend – the Nokia 6630.

For about 5-6 posts no-one in my real world had any idea of what I am upto, then one evening very diffidently I opened the page and let Rajeev lay his eyes on what I had so lovingly created. The joy on his face was more than a triumph. His exuberance filled me with so much courage & he said that he was so proud of me & encouraged me to go on. That was the final push that I needed.

To my utter delight, I was gifted with a very beautiful Sony 8 Mega Pixel camera for this very purpose from my husband, its another thing that owing to the pressures on my time, I still continue using my Mobile due to its utter convenience, i.e. availability at all times n all places, ease of downloading thru the boons of technology (Bluetooth).

I have always wanted to be a good baker, but my earlier catastrophes in the oven lead to me to believe that baking is not my cup of tea – but the Blog World had such tremendously talented bakers that my inner baker struggled to come out & give it a shot once more. Since then, I have been giving a shot at a few cakes n muffins, n though there have been disasters yet again, but I am getting more gutsy by the day, to not let it go so easily.

The most embarrassing incident was when I had Rajeev's friends over at my home working on a Project late into the night, n I had a request from hubby dear to bake a cake for one of them Kunal (we all call him KP fondly) who was celebrating his birthday the next day, n it would be past 12 a.m. by the time they would leave. As luck would have it, n something for which I really wanted to kick myself, I tried my hand on a new recipe, n my inexperience with the oven n the ingredients that go into it, resulted in an awful bake – the cake tasted good, but refused to bake from the inside. Poor guy, he nonetheless cut the cake, n everybody was gracious enough to pick on the sides of the cake n yet say "the cake tastes good bhabhi"!!! I so adore them all for that night……but that made me resolve on one thing for sure, half the ingredients before trying your hand on a new recipe. I am so sorry KP, n I will surely make it upto you one day (hopefully your next Birthday) with a more edible cake. I was terribly sorry to waste so much of stuff, but I managed to cut the cake n microwave it to cook it fully & passed onto a needy boy on the streets – who I am sure must have enjoyed my disastrous baking.

I am yet to try my hands at more non-vegetarian cooking owning to the fact that my hubby is a preferred vegetarian, but he is very sweet to gulp down a chicken or a fish here n there only to please me. I love him for that n much more – for waiting patiently to lay his hands on the food (however hungry he might be) so that I could test his virtue of being patient, while clicking at various angles & lights of the food. Being a witness of all those disasters while baking, n yet maintaining a muffle over the food that went waste (he is highly averse to wastage of any kind), for sensing the need and surprising me with the camera, for being a walking advertisement for my blog, for being my critique n helping me with valuable suggestions – the list is endless, n I love him n thank him for being there and bearing with me.

I have to thank my mother-in-law for being such an excellent guide & truly teaching me how to cook. Sharing her age-old secrets, n at the same time constantly learning new things and passing them onto to me. She always inspires me to try something new. She is the best mother-in-law a girl would ever want to have. If I ask for more, I am going to be a greedy pig. I also miss my father-in-law so very much. He would have been really happy to see my blog & surely make his wise contributions. May his soul rest in peace.

I have to thank my mother, who is an excellent cook, but has been constrained because of both her own & my father's dietary restrictions. I totally owe it to her for passing on her skills to me. I still remember days when she used to bake excellent cakes, she could never go wrong. She would let both me & my brother lick the remnants of the chocolaty batter from the dish in which she'd mixed it. As a youngster, I remember sitting down with her late into the night, preparing Christmas goodies, ghujia, namkeen, rose cookies, donuts, murukku, ginger wine, in a span of a week or so before the D-Day!!! Those were really fun days. I miss them sooo much, n know that they will always remain engraved in my heart, n really hope that I shall be able to pass on these traditions to my children someday.

I love my Dad for being there with a "bahut acha banaya hai mere bete ne (my child has made this excellently)", n always nodding with approval, be it a piece of s#@$ in my perspective. He would never ever discourage me by saying its bad, n I love him for that.

I have to thank my friends who have borne the brunt of my experiments time n again, especially my friend Diji who has given her honest opinion from time to time, n at the same time encouraged me to try my hand at new things.

In 2008 I plan to make my blog look more presentable, organize it a bit & do more and more of newer cuisines & newer dishes n most of all – make new friends n build a better relation with my blog buddies.

Finally I have to thank all of you for your utter patience in reading this long post (i.e. if you have read it…..n not wandered away in the midst) & for all my blogger friends, without whom I probably wouldn't have reached this 100 th Post. Yes this is my 100th Post. If it wasn't for your love & encouragement & your comments I would have long ago strayed from the blog world to my own diminutive world of cooking.

And on the final note – ahem, ahem – I had sent my entry of Chocolate to the Hotel Chocolat recipe competition & it has been selected as the most appetizing recipe!!!! Yipeeeeeeeee. I have won myself a copy of their 101 Chocolate Recipes and a box of exotic chocolates, n most importantly they shall be publishing the recipe on their official Website. I just received a mail from them, n the goodies are on their way. I shall be posting pics of the goodies received when the packet gets to me (that's the least I can to share my goodies virtually with you wonderful girls), n a link to the recipe when it is published on the site.

On that happy note I take this opportunity to wish each one of you – ALL OF YOU – I am not taking any names lest I leave anybody out, n I would hate to do that – a whooping New Year filled with love, joy, peace & prosperity. God bless!! And a biiiiig hug.

I am also sending this entry to Nupur's for her Event "The Best of 2007". I really dont have any dish to swank about, & I hope Nupur will accept this nonetheless!!