Month: April 2010

My guilty pleasure.

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Everyone has a TV show that is their guilty pleasure. A show that brings you nothing but mindless entertainment (although one could argue that is MOST shows :)). The Hills, 90210, Gossip Girl are a few that come to mind.

When I heard about Vampire Diaries, I assumed that it would be a show that is so bad it’s good. But I was wrong..it is actually GOOD. Period.

A brief disclaimer: I haven’t been too caught up in the entire vampire phenomenon that’s going on. For the record, I have read all the Twilight books and seen the movies that are out, but that is mainly at the insistence of my friends. As an English major and an avid reader, I wasn’t really impressed with the books. So, I assumed that Vampire Diaries would be along the same lines.

The concept is similar, yes. A vampire falls in love with a human teenage girl. There is romance, drama, and a whole lot of blood.

But what I was most impressed with was the speed at which the story lines progress. It is fast and not long drawn out like most shows nowadays. Each story line is quickly and neatly wrapped up as the episode draws to an end, but in the last few minutes a new issue is brought up to keep you on your seats until the next episode.  With the fast pace that the show has adopted, I assumed that it would run it’s course rather quickly. But that has yet to happen. Every week, they are constantly introducing new story lines that are fresh and exciting.

Seriously, props to the writers (once again, the English major in me comes out :))!

If this doesn’t entice you enough to watch it, then let me tell you that the cast is one of the prettiest on television right now. Two words: Ian Somerhalder.  🙂

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$1 million from baking? Not bad.

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Baking is one of my favorite things to do.  Whenever I have people over, I love to bake something for them. Whether it’s cookies, cupcakes, or a cake..I enjoy it! (Red velvet is my favorite, just so you know :-))

A good friend and I never pass up an opportunity to bake.  We’re always on the lookout for new, fun baked goods to experiment with.  Lucky for us, I came across exactly that today!

I caught the end of Oprah’s show, where she announced the winner of Pillsbury’s Bake Off. The grand prize being one million dollars. Can you imagine? That is pretty amazing. Who knew that my insatiable cravings for baked goods is worthy of a million dollar prize?

Anyways, the winner was a woman from New Jersey whose item was Mini Ice Cream Cookie Cups. They look amazing and not to mention delicious! It also looks pretty simple, with room for your own creativity.

I’m excited to try them soon..perhaps at the next party/get together? (Hint, hint friends! ;-))

Thanks, Oprah!

Here is the recipe:

Servings: Makes 24 tartlets

Ingredients:

Mini Ice Cream Cookie Cups

  • 1 package (16 ounces) Pillsbury® Ready to Bake! refrigerated sugar cookies (24 cookies)
  • 4 tsp. sugar
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped Fisher® Chef’s Naturals® chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 cup Hershey’s® semisweet chocolate baking chips
  • 1/4 cup Smucker’s® Seedless red raspberry jam
  • 1 1/2 cups vanilla bean ice cream , softened
  • 24 fresh raspberries

Directions:

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Start to Finish: 45 minutes

Heat oven to 350°. Spray 24 mini muffin cups with Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray. Place 1 cookie dough round in each muffin cup. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Place 2 teaspoons of the sugar in small bowl. Dip end of wooden spoon handle in sugar; carefully press into center of each cookie to make 1-inch-wide indentation. Cool completely in pan, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix walnuts and remaining 2 teaspoons sugar; set aside. In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips uncovered on High 30 to 60 seconds, stirring after 30 seconds, until smooth.

Run knife around edges of cups to loosen; gently remove from pan. Dip rim of each cup into melted chocolate, then into walnut mixture. Place walnut side up on cookie sheet with sides.

In another small microwavable bowl, microwave jam uncovered on high about 15 seconds until melted. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon jam into each cup. Freeze cups about 5 minutes or until chocolate is set.

Spoon ice cream into cups, using small cookie scoop or measuring tablespoon. Top each cup with fresh raspberry. Store in freezer; let stand at room temperature 5 minutes before serving.

Mmm good!

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I just got the wordpress app for my iPhone..I love it! Now I can blog on the go.

So, I cooked dinner tonight! And yes, everyone who ate my food is feeling just fine. 😛

I made bowtie pasta, with red and Alfredo sauce together and another with pesto. I also made salad and garlic bread on the side.

I love to bake, but I’m happy to say my cooking skills have been improving!

In other news, Glee comes back tonight! Who else is excited? I definitely am.

My creation.

I love to dance.

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I’ve always loved to dance. Ever since I was little, I’ve been doing some sort of dance. At first it was ballet/tap, and then it was kathak, garba/raas, and Hindi film.  I haven’t been doing many dances post-college (besides engagements/weddings) and I miss it. I’m thinking of taking a Bollywood dance class just so I can be dancing again, on a regular basis.

Here is the video of a dance a group of friends and myself did at a wedding just last week.

Hope you like it!

Sick..again!

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For those of you that know me, know that I get sick pretty often.

It’s nothing serious, usually just a cold/cough, but to get one every few weeks is pretty annoying. The crux of it was last fall, when I had the swine flu. Now, looking back, it was pretty funny, considering my parents were in India and it was just my brother and I.

After that, I started sleeping with a humidifier in my room and it worked wonders.  But just two weeks ago, since winter ended (I love California) the humidifier was packed and put away in the garage.

This past week we were in Chicago for a wedding. Before we left, my dad got sick. Knowing my horrible immune system, I downed Airborne before boarding the plane with him. However, couple that with a few nights of no sleep, the cold weather, as well as everyone around me getting sick, I knew that there was not enough Airborne in the world to save me.

Suffice it to say, I have a cold and a cough..again. I’ve gotten sick enough times in the past year to know that my body goes through a pattern. I am currently at the stage where I can’t talk without coughing and that I have no taste buds so everything I eat tastes like cardboard.

Fun, right?

My first post!

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Hi!

So it just hit me today that I don’t have a blog..despite the fact that I studied English and Communications in college, spend quite a bit of time on the computer, and LOVE to write.  I don’t know why it took me so long to create one but I am excited to have a place to write.

Here are some things you can expect me to write about in the future:

  • Television. I love watching TV (favorites including Gossip Girl, Chuck, How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, and well..the list can go on!)  but I enjoy writing about them even more.
  • Books. I am a self-proclaimed bookworm. It’s gotten to the point where I have read every book on my shelf at least five times. I’m always looking for recommendations, so please send some my way! My favorite books would be: The Namesake, Water for Elephants, The Kite Runner, and Beneath the Marble Sky, just to give you an idea of the genres I like to read.
  • ..Anything else, really! Vague I know, but I will be writing about anything that catches my attention/I enjoy, with the hopes of sharpening my writing skills!

Hope to see you again soon. 🙂