Peach-Plum-Apricot cobbler

I made this most-delicious-dessert-we-have-ever-had with a bag of these summer fruits gifted by a neighbour who happened to visit the hills to beat the heat.. it was melt-in-the-mouth and finger-licking-good!!

We had it with vanilla icecream.. yumm!!

Here's the recipe at : http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/summer-stone-fruit-almond-cobbler.aspx

I had halved the recipe and we(four adults) finished the whole batch in two servings!!!

Birthday card for a Special Someone

Hi all.. With the scorching summer waving goodbye and making way for monsoon winds and rain, there seems to be a lot of cheer around! Kids are coming out to play after a long dreary time and seeing them play makes one feel good and playful too :-)

Here's a little card I made for a special someone a couple of months ago.. The kraft cardstock and Lunne patterned paper was bought at Ananda Stationery Store a few months back when I made a trip to Chennai. The cupcake is handmade with scraps which I handcut and embossed.. The 'frosting' was done with Faber-Castell 3D outliners (Pearl) which I had in my stash for a long time.. I had planned to give it a nice piped design but it so happened that the tip was dried out and everything came out in one BIG blob when I unplugged it.. so, there goes my design ;-( But I like this look too.. don't you?
The 'cherry' is a spare button that came with one of my kurtis :-)

Here's a  closeup of the cupcake:

Bagels with Cream Cheese

V LOVVVES bagels.. He has a few every time he goes to the US and almost everytime we go to a Dunkin Donuts outlet.. This one has been on my must-try list for a long time but I was a bit apprehensive about getting the texture right (my nemesis in baking!) But when I did dare try, what a treat we had that Sunday morn for breakfast!!

Made the bagels and the cream cheese from scratch.. Will upload the recipe soon.. if you'd like to try it sooner, please check Peter Reinhart's recipe on Epicurious and Yummy Tummy for the Cream Cheese! Both are a little time and effort-consuming.. but worth it, really!!