Here's to more new recipes!

Be forewarned-there is no recipe in this post!

A few friends of mine had been suggesting that I post more vegetarian recipes...and coincidentally or telepathically, today I received two cookbooks as gifts from my dad and mum, and one of them was a vegetarian cookbook! Wow! I'm so excited about these two books, as now I have so many more recipes to cook from, and which I can now share with you all on this blog.

Both the books are from the Reader's Digest collection-and my dad must be one of the most prolific customers that Reader's Digest ever got-most of the cookbooks and other books he has gifted me has been from the Reader's Digest catalog. In fact, this magazine has been one of the mainstays of mine and my family's reading repertoire ever since I can remember. When I was a teenager, I remember chancing upon a stash of old issues of the magazine dating back to the 1960s, all safely stored in the family home attic. Although we still subscribe to it, I must say that the new editions lack the magic and charm of the old ones-I miss the condensed book section and the picture of the paintings that used to adorn the back cover. Now the back cover is filled with an advertisement instead and almost every other page is an advert! Call me an old-fashioned RD loyalist, that in spite of these bickerings, I still buy the RD for pure nostalgia and old-habits sake.

So about these two books-the first one is a pure gem- India's Vegetarian Cooking (A Regional Guide) by Monisha Bharadwaj. It is fantastic in that it has neatly divided sections for North, South, East and West and under each, subsections for Vegetables-Breads-Rice-Pulses-Dairy-Accompaniments-Puddings-Drinks and Snacks. Yippee! Thanks, Dad, for another thoughtful addition to my cookbook collection!

The other book is called Baking With Love-and I can't wait to get started on that one either! Its got sections on cakes, pies, tarts, cookies, muffins, breads, and pizzas. What more do I need? I don't think I will ever require another book on baking-and the illustrations are so mouthwatering too! Here is the cover-

On an aside, here's this cute little ladybug-shaped kitchen timer that's another gift from my parents. This not only looks great on my kitchen shelf, but I no longer have to keep an eye on the clock when cooking or baking.

I love sharing my favorite cookbooks and kitchen gadgets and I'm hoping all of you would also share what your favorites are. Let's have some fun-so put in your comments, people!