Greetings on this Monday morning, from my cold and frosty office. I work in a place where the heating goes on regular mood swings...some days it's warm and some days it's cold. It could also be that the building is old and the heating system is not so efficient. Whatever the reason, my fingers are little frozen sticks that make it hard to type. I don't know about you, but I had a pretty fun weekend. Friday night my husband and I made homemade pizza and watched The Back Up Plan which I thought was hilarious, but definitely turned off the baby button for me..at least for now. Then on Saturday, a friend of mine invited me to celebrate Diwali (The Festival of Lights) an Indian holiday which is apparently one of the biggest holidays celebrated in India. We were among 7 other non-Indians, amidst around 120 Indians. The atmosphere was buzzing from the moment we arrived. A little note about myself here: I totally thrive hanging out with other cultures and experiencing different cultural celebrations, food and traditions. I have always been this way and tend to flock toward people that are not from my country or that are from a different ethnicity. I love it! I feel at home in some way. So on Saturday night I was totally in my realm. The smells though (being from America) can still get to me. I tend to find strong body smells hard to handle, but thankfully there was incense burning so that covered the other unpleasant smells. As the festivities begin, I was so excited at what I would experience throughout the evening. The Indian people were really proud of their nationality and culture and traditions. As the night progressed, the one thing I was really looking forward to was the food. The first thing we were served, was vegetables, covered in flour, deep fried to make a sort of clump, which you were to dip into the mint chili chutney served with it. You can imagine...me not being India or ever having been in India that my mouth was quite on fire with the spice, but the taste was amazing. If it didn't leave a burning sensation on my lips, I would have downed that chutney, nevertheless, I left the remaining bit to be thrown away. After this "snack" the dancing program began, with several dances and solos (accappella). It was lovely, the women in their punjabis and glittery outfits dancing around was like being in a Bollywood film. After this came the main meal, which was so yummy. Chicken curry, rice, naan bread, and other things that I had no clue what they were, but were incredible. Again though, the burn on my lips was terrible, but the food tasted so good I could hardly stop eating. The whole night was such a wonderful experience and I was so privileged to celebrate with these people. The rest of the weekend sailed by and suddenly it's Monday...my normal baking day!
For today, I have chosen a simple and well known recipe...Cinnamon Buns. I have already blogged about these before when I made them for myself a few weeks back, but I thought they would be a perfect treat for this November day. It's cold outside, but hot buns make you feel so cozy inside. And since I am baking for 40 people, buns are easy to bake in quantity.
Now I need to get back to other things before lunch time.
Until my next entry...drink some hot cocoa and enjoy the glories around you!
Barefoot and Baking in the kitchen
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