Pistachio Loaf with Drippy Icing—wishing you a very merry, and a happy, happy!

It’s Christmas Eve and there is a feeling of beauty and magic and holiday all round.

Everyone seems to be on vacation from work with the busy-ness of last-minute shopping, family get-togethers, nights in front of the fire, holiday soirees, lingering dinners, and family traditions.

And while on the topic of holidays and celebrations, I am a little wistful for festive cheer and fairy lights and snow and a trip to Paris (ah, yes!), but most of all, mistletoe.

Double Chocolate Chunk Peanut Cookies

It is the night before. 

There is a spirit of magic and holiday all around the world.

And in all the feeling of excitement, I am home alone, enjoying a few days of vacation from work, while soaking up the beauty and magic in the air, and catching up on a few lovely things.

One of my very favorite things during the holiday season—besides the cozy late mornings under the blanket, sleeping ins, and the romance of late night movies with many cups of coffee—is baking up a storm in the kitchen.

Eggless Strawberry Melting Moments—melt-in-your mouth sandwich cookies for the holiday season

October whirled by quickly, and can hardly believe it is November. 

Sweet, sweet November with its brisk freshness and excitement of utterly lovely things—cool nights with cozy cashmeres and warm woolen blankets, strong cups of chai in the morning, and many memorable evening with scented candles and the intoxicating fragrance of fresh roses.

Nutella Lava Mug Cake

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Featured on The Huffington Post Kitchen Daily

There’s an air of expectation in February, and everyone else is joining in the celebration. For Valentine’s day, that is.

I’ve always considered Valentine’s as a holiday for kids, particularly teenagers, than for adults. Just the same, I was inspired to share in the moment with a special recipe—a treat for your sweetie, or your own sweet self.

Keeping up with romantic spirits, this special occasion deserves nothing less than a luscious dessert. With chocolate, of course—the aphrodisiac and quintessential Valentine’s treat.

Plateful is One! And I Say Thank You With This Intensely Chocolaty Mini Hazelnut Brownie Cake!

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It has been one year ho! Quite the year indeed.

Full of surprises, full of promises, full of discoveries. And, dotted with beautiful memories all along. One full, charming year since the debut of Plateful. Yes, it is Plateful’s first birthday, er, anniversary—whatever.

The journey has been exhilarating, challenging, educational, to say the least. Somewhere along the route all this recipe sharing, prop hunting, styling and framing for photography, and the communal joy of connectivity gathered momentum and became my way of life. A guilty pleasure. All thanks to you.

Chocolate Puddle Cookie — gluten-free, grain-free and dairy-free too!

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I had planned to post this recipe before Christmas. But somehow, inevitably, my plans went awry. So here I am two days after the festivities, wishing you and yours a belated Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays with a batch of special cookies from my kitchen to yours to ring in the New Year.

From intricately decorated cookie varieties to beautifully frosted cakes, the holiday season inspire us to indulge in all manners of sweet treats, right? I for one have been slightly obsessed with baking sweets this month. If you remember, I started off this month with chocolate caramel slice and now I’m ending it with chocolate walnut cookie. Rightly so. Just don’t brand me a chocoholic, I really outgrew my chocolate craze a longtime back.

Chocolate Caramel Slice — the perfect holiday treat

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This is it. A December day.

The signal that the year is drawing to a close, at last.

It's a magical season. Of fairy lights. Of plenty. The joy of holidays, festive cheer and age-old traditions. Yet, this is just a fleeting end. Before the beginning of a new cycle—new hopes, exciting possibilities, reinvigorated dreams. Yes!

A Banana Walnut Bread to Celebrate Friendship

Featured on Foodista Blog of the Day: November 22, 2011

We are in mid November. Sweet, festive November.

Everything is gorgeous right now. Especially the weather. It rained last week, which is like awesome in this part of the world.

Well, I’m not here to talk weather. Not today. I’m here to celebrate—friendship and birthdays. It’s the season to be thankful. To honor the occasion, I want to tell three awesome people—Tony, Hazra, Shaily—who celebrate their birthday this month, how much I value their friendship, how grateful I am to know them.

Better times, bitter times, fun times. And sometimes it’s just the thoughts, or companionship.

Anzac Biscuits — syrupy, chewy, crunchy Aussie classic; eggless too

*Plateful and this recipe was spotlighted on Foodbuzz daily featured (12.10.11). Here's the extract: Today's Foodbuzz Featured: Plateful and ANZAC Biscuits. Seriously gorgeous photos! Take a look: http://ow.ly/6VxUe*

The weather has taken a turn for gorgeousness after the torrid summer heat. Although this seasonal change is not marked by glorious colors of the fall foliage here in the Gulf, it’s hard not to miss the other signs from nature. The afternoons are balmy and more summer like and the evenings pleasant with crisp breeze. Even more amazing is to notice how incredibly quickly and early the night falls. Fall is a season of change, and oh so beautiful.

Chicken Puffs — light, crisp, flaky pastries stuffed with spicy chicken filling —a stunning starter for any occasion

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Featured on the Kitchn delicious links

Would you believe me if I told you how everything keeps happening at such great pace that I find it challenging to keep up with the swing? Oh yeah, it's true. Or that's how I feel at least. With no surprise. As expectations run high this month; heat index is at its highest; and we are in the middle of spiritual, physical and mental restrains.

Preparing for Iftar usually takes up a lot of my energy, thoughts and time. The highlight of the day being the table laid for a memorable meal with family and friends—sometimes elaborate, sometimes simple—by sunset.

Strawberry Crumble — a bit tart, a bit sweet, a bit warm, a bit cold

….and a whole lot delicious!

We are talking baked strawberries. Warm, bubbling berries topped with sweet, crunchy crumble. With sticky, ruby juices oozing out, ahhh. And graced by a generous scoop of soft melting vanilla ice cream. Oh boy!

It’s so easy to make and pretty darn good. A warm, rustic dessert with notes of vanilla, cinnamon and caramelized sugar. Yummy.

Mini Pizzas with Bread and Pastry Crusts

I have intermittent access to the net of late, and I’m technically frustrated, too. Talk about being whacked, yikes. And what timing! It might sound cheesy to admit that, ever since I started blogging, I login anxious to see what happened in the world of weblogs while I was away. I remember experiencing similar feelings when I was active on facebook —  silly, eh? Tell me about it! Please bear with me if it takes a while to get in touch with you, visit your blogs and post new recipes. Hopefully, the internet issue will be resolved soon. Thanks for understanding.