I can't bake... but I bake!

I guess the title: 'I can't bake... but I bake' says everything doesn't it!

Baking is just not my things, I still try! mainly to overcome this "i cant bake' mindset and limitation and also since I LOVE desserts!

Of course, my Chatter Box, 7 year old v loves to bake aka: eat the batter, do the icing etc. Sumit avoids eggs in dessert so if i bake at home, I can skip/ substitute and make eggless desserts for him. My Little Lady, the 2.5 year old loved anything sweet!

So all the more reason to 'Try Baking'

Here is my 'Baking Experiment and Success Story'

Strawberry Crumble

Time to Prep: 15 minutes (Varies depending on how long your seven year old takes to mix and chop the berries)
Time to Bake: 30 Minutes

Ingredients:
Berry Mix:
Strawberries: Of Course!: 1.5 pounds hulled and quartered
All purpose flour - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Lemon- 1 tsp

For crumble:
Oats: I used rolled oats: 1.5 cups
All Purpose Flour: 3 tsp
Sugar: 3 tsp
Cinnamon: 1 tsp
Grated Ginger (Optional): 1.2 tsp
Butter: cold unsalted:3 tsp

Process
1. Pre-heat the oven at 375 F
2. Butter your baking dish, mix the Berry Mix ingredients and leave for 5-10 minutes
3. In a mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients of the crumble except the butter
4. cut butter in small pieces and rub it in with the crumble: the topping should look 'crumbly'!
5. Now layer the crumble on top evenly and bake

Eating:
Enjoy warm with Whipping Cream/ Vanilla Ice Cream

A day of Summer Bliss

Living in the mid-west, we are sort of 'used to' the idea that within a 4 hours driving radius, we really don’t get to anything SUPER FUN.

And if there are SUPER FUN, we have been there already! So it gets boring!

I miss east coast for that. When we lived in DC, within 3 hours we could hit the mountains to the beach or SUPER FUN stuff! And when I lived in sunny California, i guess I should not complete that sentence; else there will be an overflow of tears!

Anyhow, back to my Midwest, with July 4th fast approaching, we wondered what we should do! A friend said Lake Geneva, and we all said, Yes, why not (I have been there a few times already (5, but who is counting), it’s the ONE really nice place to head out from the city, and close enough to do a day trip too)

So it was 5 families, 19 people from the wonderful City of Chicago who headed with beach bags, picnic baskets and summer gear to Lake Geneva.

Only one major disappointment, who charges 7$ per person forbeach access, well Lake Geneva does! But I got over that, the minute my feet touch the soft warm sand! We found some place for all of us to sprawl, changed headed in the lovely water! It was wonderfully warm, the kids played on the sand, kept going in and out of the water. So did we, and so did our parents who are visiting from India.

The picnic baskets kept opening, more food, more fruits, more juices, more sugary and the grand finale: Samosa's and Kachori's on the beach after an amazing afternoon. It could not get any better!

This turned out to be one of those days, where every single person enjoyed themselves, the youngest being 2 and the oldest about 70!

Funny. Chicago has lots of beaches to choose from (free access), Chicago has lots of sprawling space, lots of ice-cream shops and definitely lots of fireworks. But, just the process of driving, going to some place simple with friends and family and no rush, missed nap times, sugar high, eating Indian goodies on the beach are totally worth it!

Here is hoping for more summers and more such simple outings.

I wish there were more such simple joys in the mid-west! I just need to explore more I guess!