Adrift

I want to stop, but I know I never will

I want to pull back, but I keep trudging still

I'm petrified and alone, my mind overwhelmed
I want to float awhile, but I'm sinking myself in.

Lollipops(Hard Candy)

I am making hard candy for the first time ever. I am never comfortable around boiling sugar, and I have frankly no clue about all the different stages sugar goes through. But this time around I decided to make a candy basket for my cute li'l niece.

There are a lot of recipes out there, mostly using corn syrup. But it's not easily available here, so I used honey instead, and a dash of lemon.

Just when I thought I had a candy thermometer, it turned out that the maximum temperature it reads is a 110 deg C, while I need somewhere around 160. So I had to use the old method, where you drop a bit of the boiling sugar in cold water and see if it becomes brittle.

The recipe is from here : http://makethingsforkids.blogspot.com/2011/08/make-yummy-old-fashion-lollipops.html , I just added a twist of lime to it for flavor.

The following is a great resource if you don't have a candy thermometer: http://candy.about.com/od/candybasics/ss/candytempsbs.htm

I found some plastic thing with rounds in it, I cut off the edges of three of the circles and used it as a lollipop mould

Others drying on greased butter paper, without a mould

I don't have a picture of the finished candy yet, as they are still drying out(fingers crossed, they'll turn out ok). You will get to see the candy basket soon!!

*Update: I totally messed up the caramels I was planning to add to the basket....To top it, I pulled a few lollipops before they could set(impatient me), so now all I have is 3 good ones.....and no time to make more....so bye bye home made candy basket...it's not your time yet !!! But I will make another attempt quite soon!!

Snapshots from Saurashtra...In the pursuit of food

We had Kathiyawadi food (Saurashtra is also called as Kathiyawad) at Amidhara Resort at Gir.

A typical Kathiyawadi Thali looks like this

Bharwanu Ringana(Stuffed Green Aubergines)

Tomato Sev Bhaaji

Baajre ke roti ( Flat Millet bread)

This is served with fresh white butter and fresh Jaggery, that is made from Sugar cane juice and tastes heavenly)

Ras waale Aloo(Potato curry)

Moong Khichdi (Rice cooked with soaked Green gram)  served with Ghee(clarified butter)

Gujurati food at Dwaraka(at hotel Damji)

Other foods in the region

Saurashtra is dotted with shops that sell fresh snacks, like Chivda, Samosas, Patty, Pedhas and chikkis. It is also famous for a large variety of ice-creams in vivid flavors like Rajbhog. It's worth taking just a culinary trip to Saurashtra for their different savoury and sweet foods.

Snapshots from Saurashtra...Part 2(Porbander, Dwaraka and Rajkot)

Porbander....dotted with shops, all closed (on Sundays)

The town square, with Mahatma Gandhi at the center..

His birth place

Beautiful three storeyed house

Snapshots from Saurashtra...Part 1 (Junagadh, Gir and Veraval)

A Vav(deep well) at Junagadh fort. It's one of the earliest known Vavs and is cut from a single rock.

A Bavdi...(smaller well)

We spotted a Neel Gai at Gir quietly grazing. (Asian Antelope) It looks like a cross between a cow and a deer.

And lions, lazing around in the sun..