Strong and black, straight from the French Press

Freshly brewed coffee, my bitter, but sweet obsession. Oddly, this extraordinary concoction never managed to keep me awake.

One of my most unforgettable memories as a child is the coffee treat we got few times every month. Maybe it was a really happy Sunday, or just a day my mom felt sorry for her little girl gulping down her giant glass of Bournvita milk, just to finish it off as quickly as possible.

2 glasses of milk everyday: A widely accepted and regularised misery every child was put through. So, getting a coffee on these rare occasions, even though it was just another glass milk, was cause for celebration.

Coffee has always been a drink for grown ups. And our parents and their parents came up with ingenious methods to keep us away from big-people-drinks like tea and coffee.

To make up for all the times you were denied coffee as a child, drink a double shot of espresso, or pour it over a scoop of ice cream if you are feeling fancy.

Coffee & Me: Not a one sided love story

We all have that one friend we don’t speak to everyday. He is that constant in our lives, who gathers and saves a bouquet of comfort, love and warmth, ready to dispatch it to your location, when you need it the most.

Coffee is that friend for me.

I always say that I love food, and food loves me. I cannot help it, I don’t even force it, but it works, because I think it is destiny.

While I too believe that coffee, specifically black, is a taste that develops and blossoms slowly over time, I also believe in the natural and in-the-moment occurrences and coincidences.

Of all the coffees I ever tried, I do not remember having disliked even a single one. Maybe it is my unending love for coffee, or simply, an unbiased acceptance of every unique taste. As I said, it is indeed a wholesome relationship.

Daily Cravings Ft. Fresh Brews

If I got one rupee for every coffee craving I had everyday, I would be a millionaire by now.

Alas no one pays you to dream about coffee, but a girl can hope, right? And why not? Because all hope is not lost as yet! One day, one very fine day I will get paid, just to sip on coffee. But until then, let’s keep writing (and buying).

Coffee for me has been the easiest and fastest craving to satisfy. How difficult can it get? All you want to own, is a way to boil water and an unlimited supply of instant coffees, and you are set!

But this was only for the everyday cuppa. What about all the fancy brews that take their own sweet time, both hot and cold. The classic slow and steady filter coffee, sourced right from the farms of Chikmagalur, or the spiced up Turkish coffee brewing away swiftly as the modern machine hums softly in the chic kitchen.

Coffee is not demanding, but neither is it a pushover. Instant coffee is the quick fix that we all need on busy days. But our traditional filter will make us wait and wait until the craving in us causes an explosion.

Which reminds me, I started making my filter coffee before I started writing my blog. Do you think it’s done, or will it make me wait me more?

Getting fancy, the Masterchef style

What do you make for a birthday cake when the birthday girl doesn't eat chocolate?

Birthdays without a decadent chocolate cake are unimaginable, at least for me. But the world is vast and we can find all kinds of people, those who like chocolate and those who don't. So, when you host a surprise birthday party for your aunty who prefers every other flavour over gooey chocolate, you turn to the inexhaustible and tasty Tastemade and Masterchef's master bakers for inspiration. And man, do they never disappoint!

A tip to never run out of cooking inspiration? Become the world's best e-eater. Because if content is King, then delicious content is King Kong.

What is a recipe if you don't make it your own?

My plan started with a simple apple flavoured cake - sweet, moist chunks in the batter and a golden crust on the top. But being the over-the-top foodie I am, I thought, "How can I make it more magical?"

The endless trips to Instagram's slices of foodie posts have taught me one thing: Apples and Cinnamon are the best of friends, closer than even the Burger-Fry duo. A mere image of this bewitching fusion had me running to the nearest convenience store for a bottle of cinnamon. With a rich aroma of cinnamon enveloping the warm cake, my recipe now had the zesty spice it needed.

Out came the soft butter; put together with chunky brown sugar and the dashing cinnamon, a Super Filling was ready to be layered between the two dense cake loaves.

Who can you trust, if not the All Powerful Gut?

Eating begins with the eyes and the nose. So, while the aromatic sensation was taken care of by the intense but warm cinnamon, my cake was still a little underdressed. Looking at the half full basket of apples, I realised that there was no such thing as too many apples.

Much like every time I cook, I went ahead with the feeling in my gut and began to chop the rosy red fruit into thin slices.

Stove on and sugar in pan, the juicy slivers went straight atop the flames. It was time to caramelise! Couple of minutes over the stove and voila! My cake had the perfect topping.

Food hacker tip: Leftovers in pots and pans are glowing with potential. All you have to do, is look.

The caramalised apples left behind golden splashes of sugary goodness in the pan. Non-watchers of Masterchef would leave it behind to be cleaned later, but it is a different game for the fans. Pro Masterchefs are always looking to add contrast and excitement to their creations, and a crunchy topping is right at the top of the ladder.

I did what had to be done and was now ready with a wholesome cake, full of warmth, flavour and sugary crackles.

Apple cake with cinnamon butter filling, topped with caramelised apples, with a side of crunchy candy. Impressive, isn't it?

Chopsticks and Ramen

I eat every kind of noodle with chopsticks. It takes me straight on a plane to the Land of the Rising Sun.

Just like every other Indian kid, my slurpy journey too, began with the classic Maggi and the fancy, flat oddball, Top Ramen. Fortunately, my noodle-y habits soon escalated to good Chinese cuisine, all credited to my father who travelled to China for work all year round and ‘Mainland China’, a restaurant just a short twenty minute drive away.

It was at the age of 10 that I learned to use chopsticks. That night, my brother and I sat at a round corner table in Mainland China desperately trying to pick up small peanuts with our chopsticks. Little did I know the role these pairs of chopsticks would play later in my life.

Pro tip: Learning to eat with chopsticks at fancy restaurants is a great idea, only if someone else pays for the meal.

Guilty pleasures

Fancy luxury restaurants are my biggest guilty pleasures. As a young child, it was Chinese from Mainland China. Today, as a grownup, it was a one-time-only visit to Kofuku for their wonderful Japanese cuisine.

Being a student, it is impossible to keep up visits to places like Kofuku. But the hunger for fancy food never leaves the true foodie. And the urgency to satisfy this desire has been my goal ever since.

Luckily I never had to wait too long too have my next bowl of ramen. And though it was not served in pure white bowls which subtly screamed luxury, my ramen-loving tum was content.

How does one indulge in such fancies and not be left with an empty wallet?

If a delicious heaven is what you dream of everyday, do not fret. You will find your way, just like I did. If you are anything like me, be it any time of the day or any situation in any kind of place, your eye will scan the environment hungrily for the slightest hint of instant flavourful delights.

Being an e-glutton can take you places. Just like it took me to a store with two alleys worth of instant ramen.

An instant noodle recipe for instant euphoria.

Not trying to sound like an advertisement, but this is the way to put it across instantly (sorry*).

Feeling posh at home on a late night in your pyjamas is easy, and affordable too. All you need is large bowl, one packet of instant ramen, a pair of chopsticks and a functioning kitchen, equipped with your basic veggies and spices.

While the food-loving species may be lazy in other parts of their lives, we are quick on our feet when it comes to our favourite foods. So, a 10-minute cook is something we are all ready to tackle, especially when the result is steaming hot bowl of ramen and soup.

Even your sleepy self can attain this delicious treat in 5 easy steps:

1. Stove on, water boiling.

2. Noodles out of their packets and into the piping hot water.

3. Instant flavouring waiting anxiously on the side, just like you, dear hungry human.

4. Grab those chopsticks, or a fork if that’s how you roll, because its time to mix.

5. What are you waiting for? It’s ready already!

As is mine, so excuse me as I go enjoy my bowl of ramen.