5easy breakfast recipes

Well once again its recipe time but these are some easy breakfast recipes some are the well known common recipes and some are my own creations.Ever been in a situation when you are short on time and your kids are creating a fuss over what they want to eat for breakfast well these will bail you out of the sticky situation..

RECIPE ONE
cheese toast

you will need

4cheese cubes shredded
half an onion chopped
half a tomato chopped
1green chilli chopped
toasted bread
milk
ketchup

Take a cup of milk in a pan and add the cheese to it cook on medium flame till the cheese melts,the cheeese milk paste should not be too watery nor too thick so if required you can add some more milk accordingly,once done switch off the burner and add the tomato, green chilli and onion to the paste now spread it on toasted bread apply a line of ketchup on top and its ready to serve.

RECIPE TWO

eggless pancakes

you will need

1 cup maida (all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon ground sugar
1 teaspoon  cinnamon grounded
2 teaspoon baking powder

2tablespoon butter
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

In a bowl add maida,sugar,cinnamon,and baking powder mix it slightly, now add milk,water oil and vanilla mix it but not too much the texture should be lumpy,keep it aside for 5minutes. Put a flat pan on flame and add the butter to it once the butter melts pour the melted butter into the batter and mix,in the same flat pan pour 1/4th cup of batter for each pancake and cook until bubbles are formed flip side and continue cooking till both sides are golden brown.

serve hot with honey,or nutella choclate,or fruits and maple syrup as a topping.

RECIPE THREE

Cheese rolls

serves-2
you will need

125gms cottage cheese
3slices of bread
coriander leaves chopped finely
green chillis(to taste)
salt to taste
2pinches of red chilli powder
vegetable oil

Soak the bread slices in water for 2seconds and then squeeze the water completely. In a bowl add the cheese,the damp bread,coriander,salt,green chilli and red chilli powder  mash well,now make small about 2 and a half inches in length rolls from the batter and fry them in steaming hot oil,do not turn the rolls until light gold else they might break..Once light gold you can flip sides and fry till golden brown.wipe out the excess oil with a paper napkin and serve hot with ketchup and green chutney.

RECIPE FOUR

potato omlette

makes 1

you will need

half potato peeled and sliced in thin round pieces
2eggs well beaten
2pinches red chilli powder
1green chilli chopped
half tomato chopped
4tbsp green coriander chopped
salt to taste
3tbsp vegetable oil


In a bowl take the beaten eggs add salt and red chilli to it and keep aside,take 1tbsp vegetable oil in a flat nonstick pan,spread out the potatoes on it and cook on low flame till one side of the potatoes in golden brown,now flip the potatoes and pour 1tbsp oil in the pan follow it by pouring the beaten egg on the potatoes, add the chopped tomatoes,green chilli,coriander and cover the pan with a steel plate let it cook on low flame,keep checking the omlette once the omlette looses its watery consistancy remove the lid flip the side of the omlette pour 1tbsp oil  onto the pan while doing so cook for another 2mins on low flame.
serve hot with plain or toasted bread and ketchup

RECIPE FIVE
cheese cabbage sandwich

you will need

3cubes cheese shredded
1/2cup milk
1cup finely sliced cabbage
bread slices cut into halves(corneres removed )

Pour the milk in a pan and add the cheese to it cook on low flame until the cheese melts,once done add  spread thick hot cheese paste on a sliced  bread and add sliced cabbage on top ,place the other half of bread slice  on top,serve it with hat and sweet tomato chilli ketchup .

DONT TAKE PAIN FOR GRANTED

Watching television the other day a show called my wierd disease or something like that, i realised how fortunate we are to feel pain.We take the pain we feel for granted and never realise how important is feeling pain in our life and i mean physical pain the pain that we feel when we are pricked by a needle or the pain we feel when we fall off the stairs and have our arm or leg fractured.The show i am talking about was bringing to light the story of a little girl 6years of age suffering from a rare disorder called congenital insensitivity to pain .For some reason in this disorder the connection between the nerves that sense pain and the brains recognition of pain is not there,the little girl when she was 3years of age poked her eyes with her finger so much that her eyes got partially damaged she now wears specially made glasses which are taped on to her by her parents so that she doesnt poke her eyes again,the reason she poked was because she couldnt feel any pain while doing so and it was like a normal activity for her like rubbing our palms together may be for us.once she suffered a fracture and it went un-noticed for a week because she didnt feel the pain and her parents coudnt tell until the fractured limb started to swell.
"We decided to pull her teeth because she was mutilating her fingers," her father said
 By the time she was 2½, she had been injured and hospitalized multiple times. At age 2, she broke her jaw and didn't know it until infection caused a fever. To treat the infection, she had to be on  medication for six weeks.
"You'd look away for one second, you'd look back and she'd have her fingers in her eye You're watching your child go blind right in front of you." her mothers words
Its a curse to not feel pain,because pain teaches us alot in life.god forbid if someone suffering from this disorder gets an electric shock they wont even understand whats going on.To not feel pain may seem like a boon to many of us but in reality  for those suffering from it its nothing more than a curse.
i am not taking the name of the little girl in the post and the interview of the parents is courtesy http://www.abcnews.go.com/

AM I FAT?

   
kareenas pic  courtesy http://bollywoodcelebden.com/

In the times of size zero and six pack abs the pressure to remain fit and maintain a good physique for both men and women is quite high,i am a fairly sized woman a uk size 8figure yet i go to gym 5days a week and slog away,its more of a habbit for me now more than anything the fact that it allows me to eat everything and remain a size 8 apart from the great health benefits that comes with exercise..I get amazed watching girls who are probably a size zero running on the treadmill for an hour and above and then making their way to the weights section followed by a rigourous abdominal workout and when you talk to them you realise that these girls weighing not more than 45-53kilos are actually trying to loose weight. Often in the locker room i have heard them asking each other after dressing up am i looking fat?it makes me wonder whats wrong with this world and the youngsters today.My neighbour who i know since she was in class 11th in a delhi school a sweet bubbly teenager weighing around 90kgs would often tell me after coming back from school that while walking home some guy on a bike shouted out to her moti (fat)i wonder is being fat a crime?i understand that it leads to health problems but does that give any stranger a right to call a person fat?I know of people who jokingly call their friend a chubby girl with a beautiful face moti(fat)or how much will you eat look at your size all in good fun but do these people passing such remarks even in good fun realise what they may be doing to someones self esteem or confidence for that matter?My niece who delivered a baby 5days back is already asking the doctor when can i hit the gym again and is constantly fussing over her weight gain, is this size zero which seems to have become a social disease stopping her from enjoying her first few months with the newly born?My daughter weighed around 80kgs during her school days i was of course concerned but i never pushed her after hours at the gym she lost some 22kilos and still shes constantly trying to diet along with her workout routine and questions me everyday mom am i fat?Am i over reacting or is this really a big problem?

lemon/orange cake

Well here is one more recipe but this one is not low fat or healthy..though you can substitute the sugar with honey but i think in this case using honey as a substitute would be as good as having a cheese burger with diet coke instead of normal coke..but then again drops of water make an ocean..

you will need

2eggs
rind of 1orange or rind of 2lemons
100gms custard powder
100gms ground  sugar
100 gms butter
125gms maida(all purpose flour)
1tsp baking powder

beat the eggs,orange rind or lemon rind,ground sugar and custard powder with an electric beater,and keep it aside.now melt the butter and once the melted butter cools down a bit add it to the already beaten mixture.add the maida and baking powder to this and mix well.
put some butter paper in a pan or you can take some oil or melted butter and spread it all over the pan you plan to bake the cake in and pour the cake mixture in the pan and bake in a pre heated oven.

once baked you can enjoy this cake with tea..and if you want to add some icing on it please let me know it will be my pleasure to guide you on it..my cakes waiting for me..

my fusion low fat pasta recipe

So is my love for pasta,till now i shared a love hate relation with my favourite dish pasta..everytime i dined out i tried my best to resist this rich dish oozing out carbs and hidden calories that would eventually make its way to my love handles..but a couple of days back while strolling down the aisles of le marche i thought of a way to make this foe called pasta a friend..though this recipe is very similar to the indian pasta version of onion tomatoes and macaroni..bt theres a twist and that is it does taste italian and its extremely healthy..you must try it as well if u are a foodie like me but wanna watch yout weight.

time required-30 mins
serves-4
you will need

200gms whole wheat penne pasta
1 small red onion cut length wise
1teaspoon chopped garlic
1bunch spring onions with bulbs chopped
2medium sized tomatoes chopped
5pieces of babycorn thinly slices
8pieces of brocolli
1teaspoon chopped garlic
2teaspoons olive oil
1tbsp ajina-moto
1tbsp red chilli sauce
1tsp black pepper
1tsp vinegar
1tablespoon white wine
salt to taste
1tsp mixed herbs(available at any super market)

to begin with fill up a saucepan with water add the pasta in it along wid 1tsp salt and 1tsp oil and let it boil till the pasta is soft then strain out the excess water and keep the pasta aside..

heat the remaining 1 tsp oil in a non stick pan add red onion and pepper to it saute for 2-3mins or until the onion becomes tranlucent,once done add chopped tomatoes,garlic,ajina-moto,salt to taste and cook on medium flame until the tomatoes are fully cooked and the water dries out.now add spring onions along with the bulbs,brocolli and babycorn,the spring onion will release some water keep the heat on medium until the water dries out and then cook on low heat for another 5mins or till the spring onions become a bit soggy and dark in colour while doing so add vinegar, chilli sauce ,and wine you can also use vodka insted of wine if you want and if you are a teetotaller you can completely skip the wine..add mixed herbs to it  add pasta to this mixture cook for 30seconds and voilaa your pasta is ready..you can add parmesan shavings to it in the end but i generally skip this step..

serve hot with garlic bread
sllluuurrrrrrppppppp

          copyright(c)alka narula

MATA HARI THE SPY WHO WASNT

Mata Hari who was executed by firing squad in france in october 1917,is probably the most famous spy of all times.shes reknown for her beauty,her numerous millitary lovers,her provocative oriental dancing,and,above all her espionage.yet in fact she was not oriental,or even a spy.Mata Hari was the stage name adopted by a plump,middle aged dutch divorcee named mrs.margaretha macLeod who left her alcoholic scottish husband in Netherlands East Indies now known as indonesia and opted to become a dancer in Europe.

INNOCENT VICTIM most historians now accept that,far from being a spy,Mata Hari was simply an innocent scapegoat-shot because the french govt.wanted to cover up its military inaptitude by manufacturing an all powerful ring of german agents.

Human Cloning VS Avatars

My grand dad though a god fearing person but an atheist had a great deal of influence on me as I spent  hours, listening to his stories and often he would talk about Hindu gods. He was not quite convinced with our half human ,half animal gods nor he was convinced with immortality theory. Though he is no more but he did leave a confused mind behind that mind wanders in search of the facts and that is me.

Recent claims of human coloning,and research on immortality drugs by  scientists have left me confused about Avatars ( The mystic beings who take birth on the earth at precise moments in order to help man and show him the way from his ordinary mortal state to an enlightened consciousness.)  , and evolution of life on earth.I have often wondered about theory of half human ,half animal and  immortal  Hindu Gods . If we go by Darwins theory of Evolution "From the invertebrates came the fishes. From the fishes the Amphibians and from the Amphibians the Reptiles. The Reptiles in turn gave rise to two separate classes the Aves (or the birds) and the Mammals. And ofcourse in mammals the final step in evolution (atleast as of now} was Man."

In fact in the study of the manifestations of Lord Vishnu, better known as the Dasha- Avatars suggests that , the earliest known life on the earth was of amphibians in the water, from where the progress was chronicled and was followed by a life sustaining not only in water but progressed to some extent on land. The Lord took shape of a tortoise. (Koorma-avatara). Amphibian became semi-amphibian, and then an animal in swamp or slush. Lord became a Boar and this animal progressed to half-human in the shape of Half lion + half-human (Nara-Simha) , the path of progress took the half human to full human shape. The next avatar was that of a Dwarf (Vamana) The process of progress of Dwarf  to a full human was natural, but with a wavering mind, uncontrollable, and acting without reasons ,he came to be known as Parasurama, a man without control.. Slowly the man became perfect,always giving importance to the penance than the pleasure ever respecting the guru and the elders and remaining dutiful to others wherever he was and he came to be known as Rama. And then the perfect human form emerged in the form of Krishna ,who was known for his cleverness and ability to think and win. A person of intelligence, taking decisions to suit the situation and ready to fight. Ready to mediate, and ready to love and ready to be loved. Tranquility, submission, passion for peace is the next step from achieving everything. He was Buddha.The cycle has to end, so that it can start again. Kalki(Anti Christ), they say will come to destroy the world. So that evolution can take place again. I tried to  understand rather convince my self although,debating within my mind untill Scientists claimed that an artificial human can be created by cloning  The technology of cloning mammals, although far from reliable, has reached the point where many scientists are knowledgeable, the literature is readily available, and the implementation of the technology is not very expensive compared to many other scientific processes. For that reason Lewis D. Eigen has argued that human cloning attempts will be made in the next few years and may well have been already begun
I end the post here much confused in my mind, whether to believe in the theory of Avatars or Evolution or Cloning , it certainly is beyond my comprehension.