Its such a pity that so many of us are quiet freaked by the idea of being by themselves; rather, spending time with themselves. I don't know how being by yourself got such a bad rep! She who never needs a teeny bit of alone time just to pause or work thought bubbles, I salute. Me, on the other hand hanker for some me-time every now and then and get quiet cranky if not allowed, so if you know me, it is wise to just let me be. I promise you, its not about you.  

Over the years I have been carving out some rituals that allow me this tiny break every once in a while. Whether it is to watch that movie no one else wants to or just sit in a cafe and  jot down some thoughts or read a book... But my all time favorite ritual is bus rides! Drifting off in thought as thick as the traffic, is my ultimate favorite. No one but me and a moving bus! Which gets me to my ultimate pet-peeve: chatty co-passengers while sharing a ride. Shush you! Its me time. Its sacred. 

Alas, no one gets it.

But I just outdid myself in this department by taking a weekend trip, with me!

OK, I'll confess it wasn't intended that way. The boy and me have a penchant for quibbling right before every trip and we kept with tradition. Hah!

So after moping through all of Saturday, I woke up Sunday morning all huffy and gruffy and decided, sod this! I am making this trip by myself. So what if I can't sleep alone in my loud city apartment...let alone in a quaint cottage surrounded by forest atop a hill! I'll be fine.

And fine, I was! Better than fine. Way, way better.

BREAKFAST WITH A VIEW

THE PERFECT READING SPOT

READING WITHOUT INTERUPTIONS

I would love to know if any of you have you done anything like this. Do you think its weird and pitiful? How do you manage to snag some alone time?

Hope you had a terrific weekend.

Love

S

Pancakes is not a food native to me. It does not remind me of cheery Sunday mornings of my childhood or my mother's house. I don't possess a secret family recipe. But somehow, pancakes have come to be my breakfast de choix of adult life, spelling comfort and decadence and luxury. I blame over-exposure to American sitcoms.

Anyhow, last year, when I had to go glutten-free for a few months, the biggest blow was not being able to eat pancakes on Sunday mornings. After tolerating lots and lots of whining, my boyfriend forwarded me one of those internet forwards about two-ingredient pancakes. I had seen those but was totally convinced that it won't work but I was WRONG. The concept is GENIUS!

Click on the image below to get the recipe. I have tried these and they kept me happy for a long long time. I would add:
a glug of vanilla extract, a pinch of salt and fry on a non-stick pan thinly lined with butter. So easy, so yummy! And quiet guilt-free. The banana adds so much sweetness and juiciness that you don't miss the syrup, at all!


But every now and then greedy me craves the real stuff. Fluffy, spongy cakes doused in maple syrup...*dreamland*

Now I don't believe in deprivation and support moderation instead. So in honour of pancake day, I am sharing my DIY dry-mix which is the fastest way to make the fluffiest pancakes that will brighten a dreary, hungover Sunday morning.

For my easy, effing cheap, chemical free ready mix you'll need:

500gm flour
3 tbsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4tbsp vanilla sugar

Put everything in a jar and tumble. Store normally; no need to freeze. These keep good for a month or two months happily. But why would you store these that long?!

Now, a lazy girl would dump a cup of dry mix, one egg, a cup of milk, a dollop of butter into a mixer jar and give it a few good whizzes. Give the whisk a stink eye. Open jar, check, add a glug of vanilla and whiz some more. That's it. Ladle mixture straight from the jar onto the non-stick pan lined with a little butter. Enjoy with syrup, custard, jam, nutella....ah, its endless!

Just promise me you won't feel guilty while enjoying these babies. Adopt moderation not deprivation and that is my key to guilt-free happiness.

Love
S