So I got the most awesome things for my birthday today (I turn 23!). Celebrations got an early start yesterday morning when I got two packages in the mail. One was the Ottolenghi cookbook that Hilda sent me (for the giveaway I won a few days ago) and the bigger surprise was a pack of three books I’ve had on my wish list for months from Flipkart. THREE books! I remember the first time I emailed Tapas, I was whining about their high prices for cookbooks when compared with Amazon. Now is when I bite my tongue for drawing that comparison because Amazon certainly won’t remember my birthday! Thanks, Tapas.
(L-R: Ottolenghi Cookbook, Barefoot Contessa – Back to Basics, Ratio, A Sweet Life in Paris. Those in India, head to Flipkart)
Orangefoodie gave me the most unexpected gift. After a fun day together just as we were saying goodbye for the day he asked me to look into the car boot where I found this HUGE box – I ripped it open to find a LE CREUSET saucepan! It was quite dark so I asked him if it had a lid. “Ya one of them has a lid”. WHAT? One of them? Ran back to the boot and ruffled things up to find a Le Creuset baking dish. I still can’t believe I’ve gone from owning zero to two pieces of Le Creuset in a day.
Every time I’d go through the kitchenware department I’d ogle at the gorgeous, gorgeous Le Creuset cookware. Never did I expect him to go and buy the expensive cast iron cookware. I’m a happy, happy girl now! Not just that, he even remembered an old Google doc I’d created with a list of movies centred around food and downloaded all of them for me to watch along with Top Chef, Iron Chef and Good Eats (we’re Food Network deprived here, people).
At home my parents gave me a “Best daughter” card and my sister got me a pair of jeans I’d been eyeing for a bit! She even decorated the place with streamers for me (love you sis!).
Oh and I made a chocolate walnut mud cake for myself in the morning. I couldn’t stop myself from cutting one sliver after another and wolfing it down – it was so good. Recipe in a day or so. Sorry my lovelies, orangefoodie hijacked the entire cake after the birthday and I finally got my hands on it today (10th Nov!). It’s still so delicious and a little crumbly now but I’m thoroughly enjoying it. However, its feeling shy to be photographed and I think I’m going to have to make this again soon, just to share the recipe with you.
PS: Please excuse the excessive use of exclamation marks. I’ve tried hard to curtail them.