Friday, December 19, 2008

Blueberry and Papaya Syllabub...among other things!

"Nothing great is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig. I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen." --Epictetus




One fine day, I was reading a newspaper article on blogs, when a thought crossed my mind-why don't I start writing my own blog.Express my thoughts..share it with the world and make new friends. I toyed with the idea for long and almost forgot about it for sometime.Laziness could be accountable for this.. (head hanging in shame).


For the benefit of my new readers; I dabble in quite a few things in life--adventure sports like bungy and sky diving, travelling, trekking, painting,craft work,playing my guitar,singing, gardening, reading (I may be called a book-worm), writing my heart out, capturing nature through my lens etc etc. So I had to zero in on one thing, for starters. However,I decided on something new that I had started doing--cooking!


I have never really visited a kitchen other than mine own (after marriage), except ofcourse when the frantic cries of my mum demanding that I help her in the kitchen and her constantly reminding me that I could not feed my husband and in-laws (in the future) solely on the know-how of making Maggi/instant noodles; did I ever set foot (read 'dragging my feet') inside the kitchen. So after marriage it was mostly experimentation...(and whatever little knowledge I had gained while helping mum) in my kitchen...my lab...and my hub,my lab-rat. (Pardon me Darling!)


When I started cooking ,quite surprisingly I found joy in it... revving up dishes for my dear hubby and watching him enjoy those dishes were worth all the effort I put. So I started challenging myself and making things he liked or were his favourites...any dish..any cuisine..any drink! This desire went onto a different level altogether after a couple of months...and I decided to share my passion and new found joys with the rest of the world...hence the blog Zaayeka.It means 'taste'...the taste of life!


This post goes out to all who helped me when I was starting out this blog. Although I am still fairly new (just over two months old) and taking baby steps, I think I have learned to crawl on my own. I would especially like to mention a few friends who were patient and kind enough to bear with my no-tech knowledge self and guide me through.


Sudeshna (Here I Cook), Deeba (Passionate About Baking) and Arundhuti (Gourmet Affair) are few of them, who literally held my hand. There are others who encouraged me, stood by my side, awarded my efforts and complimented me, I would always be thankful to them. A need to mention those lovely souls who followed me, subscribed my blog, my readers....the very reason this blog is what it is today. Guys you know I am indebted to you!


Hope I keep getting the love and support and I promise to give back ten times more ! :D


I would also like to thank those who have been kind enough to award me-Sudeshna, Andhra Flavours and Usha.


Food Buzz accepted me on its roll...an honour! Jenn had been kind.


On another note- Are any of you having trouble with my blog page loading taking quite some time, or you are unable to comment as its showing some error message. Do let me know please!


I ask because I have made some HTML chnages like disabling the right click option, with all the blog-lifting thats happening around ( a few friends who have suffered), I want to be safe than sorry!



To celebrate the beautiful friendships I made Blueberry and Papaya Syllabub today.





'Syllabub is a traditional English dessert, popular from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. It is usually made from rich milk or cream seasoned with sugar and lightly curdled with wine or cider.'



Blueberry and Papaya Syllabub


Ingredients-
1/4 cup washed blueberries
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tbsp dessert wine ( I used a dash of citrus infused vodka)
1/3 cup caster sugar (depending on the level of tartness u want with the blueberries)
1/2 tsp finely grated lemon rind
1/2 cup cubed/diced ripe papayas


Method-


Combine the sour cream, wine/alcohol, sugar, lemon rind and blueberries in a bowl. Whisk well.
Place half the diced papayas in a serving glass and spoon over half the blueberry syllabub. Continue layering with remaining papaya and syllabub. Serve chilled.


I am sharing this sweet syllabub, which was inspired/transpired while chatting with an English friend now residing in Georgia, so off it goes to Ruth (of Ruth's Kitchen Experiment) for her ongoing Bookmarked Recipes.




19 comments:

  1. Now *that* is my kind of dessert!!!!

    Looks fantastic! You are kind too. :)

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  2. Wow, Navita, you have come a long way in just two months...Congrats on being accepted by foodbuzz and congrats on all your well deserved awards....you are doing a fantastic job ! I loved this desert that you have created, it looks so pretty and sounds delicious :-)

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  3. Jenn ur only being modest.Thank u.

    Usha...its such words that propell me!

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  4. This looks lovely Navita, I love blueberries, but not at all fond of papaya, but having it with a cream like this, I think i should not mind:-)LOL may be I will replace it with something else ;-)

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  5. it is indeed very nice of u to mention my name here navita.....u r doing a wonderful job n u deserve all the praises for it....:-)

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  6. This looks rich, tempting and new dish...will try it for sure...

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  7. I'm glad you stopped by my blog, as it gave me a chance to visit yours :) Your dessert looks great!

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  8. Woww...your blog is only two months old? That's really good. You're a good blooger! :)

    The dessert looks great.

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  9. *BLUSH* Navita...thank you for the gracious words. Congrats on being accepted by Foodbuzz & for bringing your blog up so beautifully & so quick. This is a wonderful way to celebrate...never made a syllabub, but it looks so refreshingly good! All the best always...much love!!

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  10. That is a very nice dessert, Navita! Great to know a little more about your interests too:) The papayas look more like mangoes (maybe because I love mangoes:))! Congrats on your awards!

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  11. I love the ideas of papaya and blueberries together. It sounds fabulous.

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  12. Navita... you deserve the awards and you have a great blog. I too toyed around the idea of blogging my recipes until my hubby pushed me to it. And now I am hooked on to it. There are so many thing s that I have learnt here. For example syllabub. Have never tasted it but looks delicious :)

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  13. Sure Soma, u can try with the fruit of ur choice.

    Thanks Arun, a darling as usual.

    Glad u liked it Meeso..I try!:)

    Thanks Turkish Cook!

    U inspire me Deeba.

    Actually yes Harini...now if I look at it...they do look like mangoes.

    Geri..it tastes good too.

    Yes Uj...our husbands should be awarded too..i guess.lol

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  14. looks delicious!
    join in the savories event going in my blog!

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  15. I was amazed with how far you've come along in two months, so here's an award for you!

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  16. Sure SriLekha..will check tht. :)

    Yippie..... Thanks Turkish Cook.

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  17. Congratulations on your very successful food journey, from learning how to cook to creating this wonderful blog!!

    The syllabub recipe looks amazing! It also reminds me of one of the funniest scenes in the book The Princess Bribe (which is ten times better than the movie, and the movie was pretty good). Buttercup was denying her love for Wesley and then relented, saying she didn't mean it, not a single syllabub of it, and Wesley kindly refrained from telling her that she meant "syllable" not "syllabub". ;)

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  18. Sounds delicious, would always appreciate fruit based desserts, papaya sounds healthy to me.....picture looks fab'

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  19. lol...that is hilarious Teresa!

    Malar, I am a fruitie- foodie :)

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