Happy Holidays

The above picture was taken by yours truly.

This morning when I stood on the weighing scale I reached a conclusion that the universe is conspiring to make me fat! I have a sweet tooth. I love all kinds of Indian sweets (called mithai) except Agra Petha and Karachi halwa. I will throw up even if I look at those two! I love jalebi…. I can eat and lose count of how many I have had. By the way jalebi and samosa is my favorite combination and so is the traditional Gujarati breakfast of "Fafda-Jalebi." I love gulab jamun, motichoor ladoo, mysore pak, kesari (saffron) peda, rabdi (thick sweet milk flavored with essences), kulfi, malai (cream) burfi, sandesh, Shrikhand, misthi dohi (sweetened creamy yogurt from West Bengal) etc. So basically sweets panning the entire Indian subcontinent. You name it, I love it! By the way I cannot believe the entries I found for desserts online. Some desi foodie must be updating Wikipedia. Those of you who are not from the Indian subcontinent you can read here.

When I was a child, my maternal grandmother would make these delectable sweets (including the amazing mysore pak and jalebis) but she was pretty strict about the quantity. She wanted to instill discipline in her grandchildren and also the fact that too much sugar is bad for your teeth. My grandfather would always sneak in something extra for us. It was his bribe so that we never tell on him to our grandmother the fact that he used to hide and smoke. My late grandparents were so cute together. Both are deceased now but I still miss them!

As I grew up and got more sophisticated in my taste I included desserts from other parts of the world to my list of favorites. Therefore, I absolutely adore crème brulee, cannoli, bakhlava, and even babkas (especially chocolate). Not to mention chocolate mousse, carrot cake, red velvet cake, white chocolate and macadamia nut cookies etc. At my work place during the holiday season two of our secretaries who are excellent bakers always get homemade Christmas cookies. One of them makes the most amazing rum balls. By the way there is nothing like alcohol to survive the craziness at my workplace. The other one came in this morning with a fabulous fare. I tried to be good but then I am only human.

If that is not bad enough, a few days ago our cleaning lady at work who is from Poland introduced me to the wonderful world of Pierogies. She had made spicy ones with sauerkraut filling and potato filling. Out of the blue she comes to my office with a box for me. I could see a layer of butter sitting lazily on the top and challenging me! I asked her why she went through all the trouble. She said that I have a nice heart and that she wanted to thank me (or rather give me a heart attack). I asked her what she was smoking to think that I was nice and that whatever she might be smoking would be illegal in this country. I informed her that I have a reputation to maintain as Ms. Mean and that she should not go around spoiling it! Anyway K and I binged on them and I asked her for the recipe. Of course I just love to collect recipes so K if you are reading this, I won't be making them anytime soon.

This morning I went to give her a Christmas gift. She had sweet pierogies, with a nice berry filling and topped with whipped cream and also some homemade cookies. I wanted to be good and not have them but hey! Tis' the season to be jolly. Therefore, I stuffed myself and now I am feeling rather guilty. I am a person who wants to diet, lose weight and stay slim and trim but people around me just don't let me be!

Anyway Happy Holidays to all of you! Hope you all make to Santa's nice list and not get any coals in your stockings.