Valentines day is here. I am sheepishly smitten by this too. Though I am yet to understand its essence on this day cause I painted my house red for the year not just for this day. Last week, I did the a Tomato & Beetroot soup which many believed was a V-day post but ironically it wasn’t. It was bright with the red popping out so I think that is the global norm for Love today. Show your love to the world ! Sigh. This is my actual V-day post but a rather intimate one and somehow the photography has gone dark and sombre with the mood of my writing.I am doing a Beet red velvet cake which has been inspired from this post of new york times.
I want to revive orthodox love back again. Its only for me and certainly not an idea for the readers. I am yet to find the definition of true love because love while growing it was all homogenous. I would have a five rupees bet with my sister if we ever saw our parents say “I love you” to each other. Their love was read between the lines I guess maybe more on clothing lines. We studied in a convent we read about shakespeare’s love and the world seemed oozing with amorous love. But I think for all the children growing up in the 80s I think love was felt more than heard. Our parents tended for each other, worked harder and their love was dissolved in everyday life.
Today love for your hubby comes on Facebook post, its quantified by lengthy proses on love. It visible to the whole wide world. Love for your boyfriend comes from the Instagram selfies. Your friend is just a tweet away while children enjoy the limelight at toddlerhood. Their first smile, to the last stumble, marks on the billboard and the massive birthdays hoards all gets a place in cupid’s diary.
I yearn for the letters which lovers wrote,those bedroom whispers when couples devote, that hardbound album photograph at the lovers point and the silent prayers for the good report card.
Amorous love is momentary while the true connection is lost in its obscurity. We talk so much about our moment in love socially but did we actually savour the love for that moment? A simple question I ask myself.
I have always mowed my lawn to set my boundaries and hoping to do so in the future too. It is my orchard of love and I nurture it with my love and care. This is my sacred space in my real life.
Just a thought for every reader, understand love in your real life and socially it can follow.
A few lines I read from verse by Megan faulkener made me think again and again and rephrase my current thoughts on love.
‘I remembered a truth: what lives in the orchard, what we carry within us, will fall just as surely as it will rise; rot just as it will grow. The sweet exists within the bitter and the bitter within the sweet; the stone, the heart; the branch, the limb; the shadow, the light; all one in the same‘ and to end it is still mine!.
- 3 medium beets
- 170 grams butter
- 180 milliliters buttermilk
- Juice of 1 large lemon
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 200 grams plain flour
- 3 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa powder
- 1 ⅛ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 350 grams granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- Basic Cream Cheese Frosting
- 250 gm full fat cream cheese
- 250 gm unsalted butter
- 625 gm icing sugar,sifted
- Preheat the oven to 175C.
- Peel the beetroots and pressure cooker them for two whistles. Then cut them into tiny chunks.
- In a food processor, chop beets to pieces about the size of finely diced onions. Measure 1 cup and set aside (remaining beets can be reserved for another purpose). Return cup of beets to the food processor. Purée with buttermilk, lemon juice, vinegar and vanilla until smooth.
- Sift together flour, dutch cocoa, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until soft. Slowly add sugar and beat until creamy and fluffy. Beat in eggs in a jug separately, then slowly add to the mixture. Ensure scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
- Alternate adding flour mixture and beet mixture to butter mixture, alternately in one thirds while beating for 10 seconds after each addition. Scrape down the bowl after each addition of the wet ingredients.
- Line the cupcake moulds into the cupcake tin and slowly fill them to 2/3 of the moulds.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes,depending on your oven. They are cooked when the tops look dry and springy.Leave it cool on the wire rack before frosting.
- Place the cream cheese in a bowl and beat until smooth and creamy.
- Place the butter and third of the sugar into a separate bowl and cream until pale and fluffy.Another third of the sugar and repeat. Add the remaining sugar and beat again,scraping the sides of the bowl to ensure no lumps remain. Add the cream cheese,a little at a time.Chill until form enough to pipe.
- Top it with a few cake crumbs.
Your post touched me…Gorgeous clicks, love the post completely!
This is exactly what I was hoping for! Red velvet cake with natural colour..this looks just perfect! ❤️
Hey Sneha,
Howz you! I am so glad you like it!
Beautifully written Roy, there is something I feel belongs to me here, something common. Never celebreated Valentine’s Day its just a common day for me. Loved your clicks! gorgeous!
Hello Jayasri,
I am so glad you like it. Its about everyday love and you will find it as you work towards it in your each day’s efforts. For me its love is within us.
Beautiful blog. The photographs are great – I must try this recipe!
Thank you Jacqueline. Let me know if you need any help.
Such a beautiful post! I totally agree to you regarding our parents… Their love was silent yet strong even during the tough times and that explains why they hold on for so long. We are growing in an age where it has to be expressed and shared to the whole world so when we have spouses or partners who don’t know how to do it, it feels like as though we are “unloved”. 🙂 These beet red velvet cakes are calling my name… awesome clicks too…
Hi Rafeeda,
I tend to always respect what others feel about love. I like all the pictures where people speak of love for their loved one. But only for me as a person I think love is sacred and within me.Thank you for the lovely write up
Gorgeous pictures!
Deep, thoughtful write-up.
A delightful post.
People are in a never-ending rat-race of showing off their material possessions, love for dear ones. When did we become so self-obsessed and why?
Hi Nusrat,
Time and again I have told to myself to respect the inner sacred peace. I do have a loud personality but there are certain things I like keep hidden and safe. Love is one of them.