Monday, September 14, 2020

This Blog's Fourteenth Birthday - and Peanut Butter Biscuits with a Twist

I started this blog fourteen years ago, in 2006, on my father's birthday as it would make the date easy to remember. It had a good run for many years. Despite my declaring publicly and privately that I would 'rededicate' myself to this blog, it has only limped along at best, in the last four or five years. I don't eat as much or cook as much anymore and I don't know what to say. My father has moved on. The blog which shares his birthday has remained alive, primarily drawing breath from Search results, from a maze of complex technology and circuitry that keeps it on the Internet, maybe from the odd regular reader, and occasionally from an older, busier me who has found other hobbies and preoccupations. Yet, Me is unwilling to let go of it. 

I've always disliked blogging about the usual things (usual to me, anyway), and preferred to discuss new or experimental things. So when I hit upon the idea of using up some near-expiry-date peanut butter in biscuits, as my generation called them growing up, I wondered how I could make them my own. I had about a half cup of chukku coffee waiting to be used up so I added that in place of brown sugar. Chukku coffee is a mix of dried ginger (sonth in Hindi), palm jaggery and spices such as pepper, coriander and cardamom. I don't suppose there is any coffee powder added in the traditional recipe. At least, the few brands that I have tried from time to time do not list any coffee in the ingredients. But I see coffee listed in many blog recipes. I assume the original spice mix was meant to be used as a tisane.
I followed this recipe. The baking took much longer than the seven minutes mentioned there, double the time or even more. The only substitution I made was replacing the brown sugar with the chukku powder. Being only an occasional baker and this probably being just my second attempt at biscuits/cookies, I have to say this turned out really well. I patted myself on the back for being imaginative with the other ingredient, but of course, all it takes is a search to find several peanut butter ginger affairs all over the Internet. Oh well, mine's not plain PBG, it's chukku coffee!

PS: I'm on Instagram as @sra.srav where I record more of my daily life, hobbies and preoccupations that I mentioned earlier on.

16 comments:

  1. Glad you've kept the blog going. I'm the odd but regular reader who gets your blog posts in my feedly .
    I like the totally experimental flavour of most of your recipes.
    Meena

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    1. Meena, thank you so much for letting me know. This makes it worthwhile. I feel all warm and fuzzy and grateful! Hope you're doing well.

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  2. I'd like a try. And keep the blog and the spirit alive.

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    1. Thank you! Remind me to make them for you when you come here.

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  3. Does look interesting. May be you should keep the blog alive. Already two comments are here. I always read your blog, as I get an alert.

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  4. Thank you, loyal friend! What do you use for alerts? I think my blog thrived as long as Google Reader was there. After that I tried a few, but they didn't really work for me.

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  5. Sra, you helped me start my blog and I have limped from the start and that's just a meagre 4 years.You have done a great job so far and I definitely think you should keep going. I love reading your experiments in the kitchen, besides you have inspired me to keep going so happy WMSCA day and looking forward to many more.

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    1. Poori, thanks a lot for that heartfelt comment. I do feel enthused seeing these comments today.

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  6. I agree with the others, Sra. Need to keep your blog going. I love reading it. It's definitely not just a food blog.

    Why do the cookies look different?

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  7. I agree with the others, Sra. Need to keep your blog going. I love reading it. It's definitely not just a food blog.

    Why do the cookies look different?

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    1. Anna, I always saw it as a slice-of-life blog, food being the excuse for it. So I didn't even have a recipe index or anything despite a few advising me to have one. It's also one of the reasons why it's not as discoverable as other food blogs, I suppose.
      I've no clue why the cookies look different. Do you mean they are too dark? The recipe recommended seven minutes but they took much longer than that. This one in the photo is the third batch I baked. You have to make an impression on it with a fork. I felt like a baker giving it that extra touch!!!

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  8. If it hadn't been for your blog we would not have met! Good old days, those were. Many of us have now moved to other mediums for online interaction, but many of those still keep thinking about their blogs. I wonder what that pull is.

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  9. I know, ET! I guess it was something that we created other than what we did at our jobs, something we were passionate about and something that was our own in a way other parts of our life were not, possibly, I guess it's that way with hobbies and passions.

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  10. I tend to keep peanut butter even if it has expired. I got a huge near-expiry jar from a relative once and stayed okay till it was finished - well past expiry date.

    I tend to favour small jars, but bought a rather big one in the UK almost two years ago. I eat it every now and then because I feel enormous guilt at throwing away food.

    A Sudanese friend shared this recipe with me.

    Dice your salad items, use a few tablespoons of peanut butter, maybe half a lemon (or more, but taste first) and use your hands to mix the whole thing gently until the peanut butter looks like a sauce. Salt and pepper to taste. You could add toasted sesame/melon seeds etc at the end.

    I've eaten it a few times, tastes great.

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    1. I don't know why I didn't reply here, must have messaged you directly. I don't much like the taste of a peanut butter dressing or sauce in curries, I have tried it, too intense. Prefer a few crushed peanuts.

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