And so this afternoon, I finally finished my "Sugar-paste and Fondant" workshop ..
Have immersed myself in the art of making sugar flowers, because have an insatiable desire to learn new things and also because I love flowers..
Especially daisies ...
They make me happy ..Very happy..
Flowers always, and I mean always, put a smile on my face...
So for the past three weeks..
With a few holidays in between ..
I have made flowers and more flowers..
Roses, Carnations, Asters, Poinsettias, Azaleas, Lotus, Daisies,Lilies Blossoms etc..etc..
How it should curl or twirl...
I have done ruffles and crimps and borders....
Learned how to make a wedding cake..
NO NO have absolutely no intention of getting married..
This is for the other suckers...ha ha ha ..
Learned how to make caramel..
How to air-brush flowers...
Pipe dots that look like lace, make pretty pieces of lace out of royal icing, make butterflies , that I'm crazy about and basically everything that makes the outside of a cake ...
As pretty as a "Woman in Love"..
Yup..Because a woman in love, looks beautiful because of what she holds inside her...
That her smile speaks in a language you may never understand...
Her eyes light up with embers nobody can extinguish..
And I feel, in the same way, if you can translate , into a form how yummy the inside of a cake is, then well, you have learned some "MAGIC" in life...
He is patient and always has words of encouragement..
And in these past 3 weeks , I have not only learned , how to decorate cakes and make them beautiful inside out, but also learnt a little more patience...
Because when you learn Sugar-craft...
you need patience...LOTS OF IT ...
So you see, in my (fantastic or crazy...take your pick) opinion, the out side of a cake is very much like a woman is love...
Very very beautiful, intricate, fragile and brimming with an unparalleled glow..
But if you do not handle her with a lot of love, care and loving attention....
She will crack under harshness or neglect, just like the beautiful sugar-paste flowers or an over exposed Fondant, (which keeps the beautiful essence of the cake protected like a loving arm wrapped protectively around the one you love...)
And all the richness and flavour and essence of love that she holds inside her , will lose some its fragrance and wholesomeness due to exposure to the harsh elements ...
So in my conclusion...
Please do go and learn at least one thing in life , that challenges you and makes you happy..
To me , I'm blessed that I get a chance to explore various roads in my life...
Fall in love..
Drink wine...
Smile...
Believe in magic, only then can it stay alive..
Let water flown under the bridge ...GO...
Laugh, even if no one is cracking any jokes...
And love your self...
And thank the one above , before you go to sleep , for everything...Regardless...
And treat everyone with as much love and care as possible...
You never know , if you ever gonna meet them , ever again...
So yes, I love all that I learnt from Fabian...
And yes I love spending time with flowers...
Now I need to get down to practising , all I learnt...
And put it all to good use..
Till then...
I will stay , happy and smiling...
And will walk a mile..
And will talk , as much as I do...
And make you laugh , like only I can...
And sing my favorite songs...
And chase butterflies..
And put daisies in my hair, smile and squint at the sun..
And sit by a lake so blue...
And wave out to the puffy clouds passing by..
OK I'm stopping ...now..
Or Mini, Jaya and Sandy, will again shake their beautiful heads and and toss their tresses and roll their kohl lined eyes and say, "The girl has lost it"...
Well frankly, "I have"...
P.S. Call Fabian (9820521374), if you want to learn , all this really amazing stuff..
Yet another absolutely fabulous cake! yumm :D
ReplyDeleteI believe in treating everyone with as much love and care as possible too...that feeling of love and happiness one gets inside..is just beautiful
so a woman has t be in love with someone or with herself to be beautiful? having lost all the richness and flavour i held inside me due t exposure to harshness and neglect.. i feel scared t b handled by anyone..yet want t b handled....
ReplyDeleteOk,I must tell you this; I'm new to this blog,got to know about it,via last Sunday's HT Brunch issue.Maria, your writing and your way with words has made me smile every time I read any post of yours!Your words are so effortless. You're beautiful inside out :)
ReplyDeleteDear Ifrah,
ReplyDeleteExactly...
Dear Aashi,
My dear in my opinion, you must always keep yourself open to love, just because you met a frog, does not mean, the world is full of them, infact i feel bad for the person, who loses out on the love of a woman..
Open your heart....
Its better to have loved and lost , than never to have loved at all...
Dear Martina,
Yeaaah..... thank you so much, and please do keep visiting...
It's a yummy cake. The colours are so different but appealing. Love ur every post. U r truly blessed.
ReplyDeleteOh Maria you don't know how desperately I was looking for a good instructor for sugar craft. Girl you made my day!!Definitely calling Fabian. Thanx for the cell no. You are a sweetheart.
ReplyDeleteOh and BTW the cake looks fab :D
hiii maria d cake looks extremely fabulous especially d flowers ... u r truly amazing :)
ReplyDeleteAlso thank u for d advice yesterday i m surely goin 2 try one of ur recipes :)
ReplyDeletethis is beautiful :) you should start a cooking show of your own shot in your own kitchen
ReplyDeletehttp://currymasalaandmore.blogspot.com.au/
AS I write this I am super duper la la blooper chaddi blooper tired. started the day with a kickass spin class and in between tried a new kind of fitness class called Kangoo fitness where you wear these special shoes that make you bounce around like kangaroos. Total core workout and then a hour of Zumba. The weather is finally shining in these parts. 22 degrees finallyyyyyyyyy. We all do need to constantly learn and discover something or the other. The cake ofcourse looks fab and you are as fabulous as ever, doing new things and inspiring. Ta ta, off to make nimbu sherbet for my gang.
ReplyDeleteDo you reply to comments?
ReplyDeleteMaCy
It was super fun ... Doin d course with you .... Ur love for food and life's most simple things ... Make you so special .. And it waslovely to be around with ..... God bless Handsome Zeke and Princess Zene .....
ReplyDeleteDear Gopinath,
ReplyDeleteThank you sooo much ..
Dear Simple Baking,
My pleasure...please go and learn...more the merrier..
Dear Antara, so what did you cook and how did it turn out...
Dear N,
Ha ha ha ...I would love to...
Dear Sneha, I really need to work out, the amount of sugar and cake I have eaten these past three weeks..is just not funny..
And need a favour from you, have a friend of mine, coming to Toronto to settle down, she has two kids and just needs someone who will be able to guide her and tell her what all she could do..
would that be possible...
Dear Macy,
well if you do write to me, I do reply...
Dear Erica,
It was fun Erica, hanging with you, complaing about our thumbs , eating icing , and tasting different flavours and ofcourse the lovely food in the middle...
Hope to bump into you again ...
Its been recent that i have been following ur blog... n i have actually developed a liking towards cooking since then... thank u :))
ReplyDeleteDear Maria,
ReplyDeleteI tried two of your recipes your Simply Irresistible Brownies and the Red Velvet Cake. They were simply amazing !!I have taken down Fabian's number too because I've been wanting to learn the art of fondant making for a long time so the next time i am in Mumbai,I will do a class with him and come back to Mahabaleshwar and try out the beautiful flowers that you've done....though i'm not very patient...With your lovely writing which comes straight from the heart , you"re truly inspirational and someone with a lovely heart !!
Sapna
Maria maria,
ReplyDeleteSure it's possible. my email address is sneha@rogers.com. You can tell her to email me and I will correspond with her. Did a flashmob today to the song Turn up the music. We are doing a faishon show in june to raise money for Cancer. My gym is doing it. It was a fun sunday learning how to walk like a model and it is tough. The weather s shining and a picnic is waiting and a princess (mine) is watching me write. btw this is the so called princess talking. You are really pretty!
Maria,
ReplyDeleteI have been a regular on your blog for a little more than a year now. I had googled for a recipe and one thread leading to another ended up at the door steps of your delicious world. Your blogs are like a big beautiful french window into your kitchen and your heart in turn. I am so so so glad for that Serendipity!!! Have been a HUGE fan of yours since your MTV days. It's a pleasure to explore your delicious world! Please keep the recipes flowing....from the heart!!! :)
Dear Maria,
ReplyDeleteReally loved reading this. My late mum-in-law (your dad's cousin- Audry D'penha) used to do wedding cakes. Im now in Sydney- Australia and I too went for a short cake decorating cakes, just love doing it.Here is the link to my decorated cakes
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.405671529932.178956.766759932&type=3&l=9425f6231f
Sooo happy and excited that you are decorating cakes too. August is my daughter- Shiloh's 5th Birthday and she wants a Rapunzel (Tangled) theme.....so the cake is gonna me Rapunzel's tower.....hope it turns out good. Planning to try your Red Velvet Cake resepie too.
Best Wishes,
Suzette DPenha
Mariaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa,
ReplyDeleteWhat a pill. Not you. You know who (Tava, dava)I was bored at work and she came as a distractin at the right time. ekdum paresh rawal from Judai. Ye kaunsa tv hain, colour hain ya black and white, kabhi liya, warranty hain kya. chalu hota hain kya. and on and on and on. Oh what all lunatics you attract. Me included.
Loved your article about Woman in love.... cakes are just the perfect example to portray what we feel. Great piece, and lovely cake too :)
ReplyDeleteAnshi
loved the post Maria..as usual very heartwarming and fun filled!! much love!
ReplyDeleteZ
""Please do go and learn at least one thing in life , that challenges you and makes you happy.."".. just love that.. couldnt agree with you more!! have been wanting to learn sugar flowers for the longest time.. u know who's gonna be calling fabian!! :) Thank you for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteI have been following your blog ever since I read about it in TOI.The cake looks absolutely fabulous.I love reading your blog and I think you are not just amazing about food but you are a very thoughtful writer too.
ReplyDeleteHey Maria, Just recently found your blog and have been going through all your old posts and recipes. But while I was at it just wanted to drop in a line to let you know that I am so loving it. I have a four month old son and am resorting to cooking to handle all the changes that have happened to my life and body. and you have quite a collection here. thank you
ReplyDeleteI see such a growth in the way i comment on your blogs. it has gone from polite , hello maria you blogs r great to yo maria wazzzz up to meri maria to mari maria. it's been what................... only a few months since i started chewing your brains on twitter and the blog. I feel like i know you like karisma in the trailer of dangerous ishq (Dangerous has to be said in a proper gujju accent) now try again Dangerous Ishq.
ReplyDeletewow..another milestone in writing as well as cooking.
ReplyDeletehow can you be so flawless..??
gosh..i am thrilled..i have started loving you..you are so amazing..
and the cake seems to be so yummy..mhhhmmm..
i wish for you to live happily ever after..signing out..bye.
Dear Maria,
ReplyDeleteWell said a woman in love can overcome anything in the world----doesn hav to b in love with a man for that---love urself and allow others to accept n respect u in return!!!
Dear Shraddha,
ReplyDeleteSo what have you cooked lately...
Dear Sapna,
You will love creating stuff, go ahead , do his class...
Dear Sneha,
You did go for her ....
Dear Nutan,
I'm liking the big French windows into my kitchen and heart ...
Dear Suzette,
Wow next time you come down , please teach me some stuff too...
Dear Anshi,
Thank you
Dear Z,
Thanks..
Dear Baker in disguise,
Hope you made that call and going to learn...
Dear Journo Angel,
That's a very unusual name....
Dear Minal,
Hope you cooking up a storm...
Dear Prakhar,
That's awfully sweet, thank you ....
Dear Neelambari,
Absolutely....