Ringtones for your Iphone

1. Right click on the song
◦ Select “Get Info”
2. Hit the “Options” tab
3. Check both the “Start Time” and “End Time” boxes
4. Specify what time interval you’d like to use as your ringtone clip
5. Click “OK”
◦ Make sure the song you want is still highlighted
6. Click on “Advanced” in your menu bar
7. Select “Create AAC Version” or “Create Apple Lossless Version” (Make sure your iTunes “Import Settings” are set to “AAC” or “Apple Lossless” and not “MP3″)
8. A duplicate copy of your song will appear in iTunes - this new song will have the same filename but shorter “Time”
◦ Go back to the original song and uncheck those “Start Time” and “End Time” boxes
9. Drag the duplicate song to your Desktop
10. Once the duplicate song is copied to your Desktop, delete the duplicate file in iTunes
11. On your Desktop, rename the file with the “.m4r” file extension - Use the new extension
◦ This turns your song file into an iPhone ringtone file
12. Your “songname.m4a” file should now be named “songname.m4r”
13. Drag the newly renamed .m4r (songname.m4r) file back into iTunes
14. Drag the file over the “Library” column and release when “Library” becomes highlighted
◦ You have to delete the duplicate song file (Step 12) otherwise iTunes won’t import your new .m4r file
15. You should see your new ringtone under “Ringtones” in iTunes
16. Sync your iPhone to get jiggy with your new iPhone ringtones!

Idly Chutney

For Idly:

Ingredients:
par-boiled rice (raw) 1 cup
urad dhal 1/4 cup
flat rice (Poha/avalakki) 1 tbsp.
fenugreek seeds 1/2 tsp.
salt 1/2 tsp.
1. grind the above adding water to form a thick batter.
2. leave it over night for fermentation (during winter- add 1/2 spoon of sour curd)
3. grease the idli plates with butter/ghee and pour batter into the sockets.
4. pressure cook it for 15 minutes.

For Chutney:

coriander 4-5 sticks

green chillies 8 (small size)
coconut 1/2 cupfried channa dhal 1 cup
salt to taste

1. grind the above to form a smooth paste
2. for tempering: head 1 tbsp of oil in a seperate pan,
add:
mustard seeds (1/4 tsp),
urud dhal (1 tbsp), curry leaves (4-5 leaves),
red chillies (3 nos.)
and cook till urud dhal turns light brown.
3. add the above mixture into the paste and mix well.

Tiramisu

This is a classic Italian dessert. The name translates to "pick-me-up" (in the idiomatic sense).

Ingredients:

8 oz mascarpone (~225g)
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs, divided
12-18 ladyfingers (Savoiardi, not lady's finger)
1 cup espresso (minimum)
1 Tbsp liqueur, typically marsala or rum (optional; I omit it)
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (minimum)

1. Mix the egg yolks, sugar, and mascarpone until very smooth.
2. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
3. Briskly beat 1/5th of the meringued egg whites into the custard mixture; stir until an even texture is reached.
4. Gently fold the remaining egg whites into the custard.
5. If using liqueur, mix it into the espresso.
   
6. One by one, soak the ladyfingers in the coffee, trying to make sure they absorb a fair amount of it without becoming soggy. Layer them in the bottom of the serving dish.
7. When a layer is complete, cover with a layer of the custard mixture.
8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 until the custard is gone, making sure to finish with a layer of custard.
9. Ideally, allow the tiramisu to be refrigerated for several hours before serving to allow the coffee to infuse into the custard.
10. Immediately prior to serving, dust the tiramisu with a medium-thick layer of cocoa powder.

Notes: this should serve 4-8, depending on serving sizes; the recipe doubles trivially. The most finicky portion of this relatively-simple preparation is the soaking of the ladyfingers; too little coffee and one ends up with spongy biscuits that are hard to cut, too much and one has a puddle of coffee in the bottom of the dish. It can be helpful to err ever-so-slightly on the side of caution and then let it sit overnight to allow the custard and coffee to more thoroughly soften the biscuits.

Mary Poppins!

Tuppence a bag :(

Date Pecan Bread

This is a sweet quick bread; very rich and very dense.

Date Pecan Bread

Ingredients:

6-8 ounces dates, chopped
1 cup water, boiling
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cups sugar
1/2 tbsp vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups flour
1/2 tbsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

1. Place chopped dates in a bowl and cover with the boiling water. Let stand for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8" or 9" bread pan. Line the bottom with baking parchment, and grease this as well.
3. Cream together butter, sugar, vanilla, and eggs in another bowl.
4. Add dates and water to egg mixture.
5. Sift (or simply mix) together the baking soda, powder, and flour. Stir this into the egg mixture just until incorporated.
6. Stir in pecans.
7. Spread into loaf pan.
8. Bake for one hour or until a toothpick or knife inserted into center comes out clean. Optionally, for a less browned top, cover with foil after 20-30 minutes.

Fırında sütlaç

Fırında sütlaç (scorched Turkish rice pudding)

Ingredients:
1 tbsp rice (heaping)
1 1/8 cups water
2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream*
1 tbsp cornstarch**
1/2 tbsp rice flour**
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch salt
Cinnamon and/or pistachios to garnish (optional)

1. Place rice and 2/3 cup water in small saucepan; cook over medium heat until all water is absorbed. Remove from heat
2. Place milk and cream in medium saucepan with cooked rice and salt; bring to a boil over medium heat.***
3. Mix rice flour and cornstarch in a bowl; add 1/2 cup cold water, and stir until smooth.
4. Gradually stir starch mixture into boiling milk; stir constantly for 10 minutes.
5. Add sugar; continue stirring over medium-low-ish heat until desired thickness is achieved.****
6. Remove from heat, and pour into broiler-safe dish(es); place under broiler until surface is browned.
7. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours; if desired add garnish before serving.

* Base recipe calls for 4 cups milk and no cream. I have never gotten the pudding to set up with only milk.
** This can (and probably should) be increased in a manner directly proportional with the desired thickness, and inversely proportional with the preparer's time and patience.
*** If one is going for a long-cooked thick pudding (i.e., one that will properly set up), especially if one isn't going overboard with starches, it may be helpful to use a double broiler to avoid burning the rice and to minimize required stirring.
**** Cook until pudding approaches desired thickness or patience approaches end. Some further setting will occur while cooling, so this is subjective, especially given leeway with starches. Bare minimum is 20 minutes. I usually go 2-3 hours. Seriously. But then, getting baked items to set up properly is the bane of my culinary existence.

Ladies Finger curry

1. grind the following (masala):

coconut- 1tbsp
poppy seeds - 1/2 tsp
Bengal gram- 1/2 tsp
garlic- 1/2 tsp
chopped onion-1
tomato-1
dhanya powder-1 tbsp
chilli powder -1 tsp
coriander leaves (optional)
tamarind(optional)


2. fry ladies finger (10 chopped) (till the stickiness disappears) in hot oil.

3. in a separate pan, fry onion(2tbsp chopped) in hot oil till it turns light brown. Then add the masala into it and cook for 20 mins

4. add the fried ladies finger into the masala and cook for 5 minutes.