Of Chai and Friendship...

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born." - Anais Nin



My friends just left after a lovely session of catch-up. They had been over in the evening for a cup of chai. I do this often. A friend or two comes over after work and we catch up on each other's lives over a nice cup of hot chai, glucose biscuits and anything that I have made at the moment. I have waxed much here, about the importance of "Tea time" in my life and this is one of those...

I cherish these little casual yet intimate sessions with my friends. Our conversations traverse varied topics from gossiping about the world in general, venting out frustrations in our lives and people in it to getting to know intimate details of our personal lives, providing support, words of advice, or just an ear...

Today, we talked about old friendships and how some last through life and its inevitable changes; some ties change but still remain strong, some fall through the cracks, some stay on just in memories and some others fall apart due to irreconcilable differences that somehow cropped up...



We talked about forgiving, forgetting and letting go; something I am still learning to do. I forgive but rarely ever can forget; not because I voluntarily choose to hold onto incidents in my memory but because memory just happens for me. I remember everything - from the trivial and utterly insignificant to the momentous and should-be-forgotten :)

As I write this, I think of people in my life, who had been such a significant part of it at one time.. people I shared my laughter, joys and sorrows with, people with whom I shared my hopes and dreams. Today, they aren't part of my life as much... for no particular reason other than life happened and took us in different directions. We drifted apart, priorities changed, new friends were made and old ones slowly forgotten.

I want to reach out again to those who were once very important in my life. I apologise for not doing a better job in keeping in touch and hope to be good in the future. I would love to have you all back in my life....

"A hug is worth a thousand words. A friend is worth more." - Jasmine Fitzwilliam



I made these Candied Lemon & Fig Chutney Biscuits for them today. The chutney is from Le Pain Quotidien (fantastic Belgian coffee shop) and I used biscuit mix for the base. It's super easy and if you want a last-minute, quick appetizer, this one is a good candidate!


Candied Lemon & Fig Chutney Biscuits

1-1/2 cups Bisquik mix
2 T canola oil
1/4 tsp baking powder
2-1/2 T Chutney (you can use any savory or sweet flavor you like)
1/2 cup milk

Mix everything together to make a tart like dough. Roll into an 8 inch log. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for alteast 30 minutes.

Pre heat oven to 450F. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet. Remove log and slice into half-inch rounds. Place the rounds half-inch apart and bake for 10 minutes until the crust is just golden.

Cool on rack. Serve warm.