The Plum cake project - Post 1

Ever since I saw the film Julie and Julia, I've been trying to do a cooking project and write a blog about it. It's fairly obvious that I'm not following a Julia Child recipe book, and I hardly have the finesse and writing skills of Julie Powell, but here I am, with an objective. I'm going to make entries in this blog about the progress of my Plum cake project. Although I'm hardly Michelle Peters Jones to maintain a cook book blog (You should check her blogs, she's my multi talented Arsenal loving friend. She's awesome and I'm serious), I'm going to give this a try.

4 Weeks, 1 Dish, that's my goal. The plum cake. Christmas is never complete for Indians without a Cherry Plum cake. I don't know the origins of the tradition, but if there's no Plum cake, then it's a fraud Christmas. After celebrating yet another fraud Christmas, to placate the effect of dismantling my Christmas tree, I've decided to make the darned cake myself.

Well, I get by with a little help from my friends. I'll get more assistance as this goes on, but as of now, I've soaked the raisins and the dates in rum and wine. Bacardi Black Rum and Yellowtail wine with a cup of daised raisins and dates. Soaked and left in room temperature for 3 weeks. Today's date 4th January.

Cake making date is tentatively set for January 22nd.

Click here for pictures of Plum Cake

It's that time of the year

It's that time of the year to rip apart the Christmas tree :(

Normally, New year is the time for new resolutions, renewed vigour in almost everything including work, relations, practices, lifestyle. Most of these gets a facelift, at least till the end of January. It's a time for enthusiasm (even if misplaced) and genuine hope. Somewhere down the line, we tend to screw it up, but this new feeling lasts for at least a couple of months.

If there's one turn off about New year and January, it's the removal of the Christmas tree from the living room. The festive spirit of Christmas actually lingers on for me till I actually remove all the decorations and the Santa in the tree, stuff all of it in the little containers, arrange them in one big cardboard box and slam it upright against the wall. That's when it truly hits you, you'd have to wait for at least 11 months to hear 'Jingle bell rock'. For all of the commercialization of Christmas and artificial whipping up of shopping spirit by the retailers, there's just simply no time like Christmas. Even with thanksgiving when whole of America goes into the big shopping spree, Christmas is unlike no other. With new year closely following and most of the clients and office sleeping through the last 10 days, it's truly 'that time of the year'.

Here's my Christmas tree for 2010. As much as I like the new year, and the renewed hope in everything, I've come to dread the time when I have to remove my Christmas tree. Especially when we all put it together with much joy and fanfare. Maybe this year, I'll just leave it on till the next Christmas. Maybe then, I can moan about how there's nothing new about Christmas 2011 from the other months.

Before I end, Happy New year all. No resolutions this year, after my abject failure of writing one blog a day in 2010. I'm searching for a totally achievable resolution of the year 2011. If you find it, let me know.

I must also say that the start of the year has been promising so far. Football results have been good, although Giants haven't made it to post season again. Everything might just change as office starts tomorrow. On the brighter side, there's no corporal punishment in office. Not yet.




Just to make sure that we all don't miss Jingle Bell Rock......