Caring For Long Hair and Dry Hair.

Long hair is not really hard to maintain.Long, beautiful hair is so rare these days.All you see is brittle, dry and damaged ,short hair these days.We all seem to be too busy to  grow our hair ,so we choose to cut it short and torture it with styling products and harsh shampoos.
Or some of us are exposed to extreme heat or cold , chemicals in the water and in the air around us.Whatever it is it , it causes some damage to our hair and dry our hair .Here are a few hair care tips for dry hair .

What is dry hair?
Dry hair is hair that is dull, frizzy and lack moisture.Dry hair is susceptible to tangles, split ends , breakage and damage.

Causes of Dry Hair
Dry damaged hair is caused by three reasons:

Environmental Damage: sun, heat, cold , pollution (dust etc)
Mechanical Damage: Blow drying, straightening Irons, hot rollers
Chemical Damage: perming, colouring, shampooing too much and harsh shampoos, high mineral content and other chemical in water.

Hairloss is caused by many reasons- dandruff, not getting enough nutrition, extreme heat and cold, and damaged caused by straightening and perming .Hair loss can be controlled by having  a well balanced meal, proper exercise and following a few healthy hair care tips -EVERYDAY


Here are a few tips that I have tried myself  .These tips are for preventing  hair loss, dry ,damaged hair.



Oil your scalp and hair.

There are two ways to do this:

Hot oil treatment
There are many oils out there.The ones I have used are coconut oil, Almond oil and Olive oil.These are really good for the hair and help to improve hair texture and also regrowth of new hair.This makes your dry , frizzy hair looks silky and glowing.Dont expect results overnight.

Heat the coconut oil or Olive oil and apply the warm oil (NOT hot oil.eventhough the names says hot oil)to you scalp and leave it on for about an hour and wash your hair with a good shampoo.Dont let the oil stay for than 24 hours.This collects dust and may lead to more hairfall.Repeat this 3-4 times per week.(I've tried this)

Get a hot oil treatment bottle.These oils come in bottles and you may find it in supermarkets or places where they sell beauty stuff. All you have to do is place the oil bottles in warm water and let the oil warm up and then apply this on your hair.Leave it for a while and then wash off.


Another oil treatment
Apply oil on your hair.Get 2 towels  and soak it in HOT WATER. Squeeze out the water( this is the tricky part.How do you squeeze out hot water from a towel without touching it and not getting burnt?) and then wrap you head with it.When this towel cools down, take the other towel and wrap it on the head. keep doing this for about 10 mins.This method helps to absorb the oil .
(This I have tried)


Apply henna
Mix henna powder with the following ingredients:
lime juice
a little bit of coffee powder
tea leaves
curd
gooseberri powder(nelli powder)
10 drops of coconut oil
1 egg

Mix the above mixture except the eggs and leave it overnight.Next morning add the egg and apply on your scalp and you hair .Cover with a shower cap and leave it on for about an hour.Wash it off .Use a herbal shampoo to wash it off. If you have dandruff use only the egg white.
I have tried this.Dont use henna if you have chemically straightened your hair or used or coloured your hair.
( I have tried this too)


Use a good shampoo and conditioner thats suits your hair type.
If you have dandruff use an Anti-dandruff shampoo.Dont share your hair brush with anyone.This is to prevent your dandruff from spreading to other people and also to prevent somebody elses dandruff from reaching your head.Always wash your hairbursh atleast once a week .Add your anti-dandruff shampoo to the water and wash your hairbrush with this.Leave it out to dry.

If your hair is dry and damaged( damaged caused by perming and colouring etc) use a shampoo thats made for these hair types.

Dont over wash you hair.Shampoo only  3-4 times per week.If you must wash your hair everyday , use a
mild shampoo.

Dont forget the conditioner , especially if you have long hair.This helps to keep you hair silk and tangle free so you spend less time trying to get knot out of your hair and preventing more hair loss.

Homemade Conditioner for Dry Hair.

Beat an egg white and mix it with plain yoghurt.Apply this on to your hair.It conditions the hair and heals hair damage and makes it smooth and shiny.

Mayonaise is also a good hair conditioner for dry hair

To give you hair a healthy shine.Beat an egg , add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and half a teaspoon of vinegar.Mix it and apply on your hair.Cover with a shower cap and leave on for 30 mins ad wash off.
( I have tried this but I didnt use vinegar)


Use a Wide Tooth comb.
Always use  a wide toothcomb to take knots out.
Do'nt brush wet hair.
Do'nt over brush your hair


Dont blow dry too much.
Try to air dry as much as possible.If you must blow dry it use it on the lowest setting


Try to minimize using chemicals (like colouring, perming ).
Perming  causes a lot of damage to your hair and make it look dull and lifeless.If you have damaged your hair then its best to get it cut short or trimmed and then let you hair grow again.The new hair will look better than you damaged hair.


Cover your head when you go out.
This protect your hair and your head from too much exposure to pollution(dust, smoke) and also protects you hair from damages caused by the sun and heat.


Get a trim
Hair with split ends do'nt look pretty.Always remember to trim your hair atleast once in 3 months or when needed.


Reduce the use of too much hair styling products
Dont use too much hair mousse, hair gel and hair spray as this can irritate you scalp and lead to hair damage.
This can make your hair look dry and brittle.
Hot rollers, flat irons and blow dryers leads to dry and brittle hair.


Dont massage too much.
Sometimes massaging your head too much will lead to more hair loss.



Eat a well balanced meal.
Diet plays an important role in good hair , skin and a healthy you.
Include a lot of spinach , and other green leafy vegetbles into your diet. Drink plenty of water (1 litre) a day.
Take a multivitamin if your not getting enough fruits and veges in your diet.

There are only a few tips here but many more out there. I will write more on how to care for long hair and hair loss very soon.Until then try the few tips here and eat a well balanced meal and pretty soon you'll see a difference in your hair.

If none of these tips are working or if you have very badly damaged hair visit a salon or a professional and get advice or treatment for your damaged hair.



Remember prevention is better than cure.

Yummy Cupcakes



Phototgraph by: Maya (thats ME!!)


While I was continuing my Cake decorating class, my couzin told me about a one day cupcake lesson.

Seven yummy cupakes.I decided to join but she did'nt....I was glad I joined it.







 



I learnt 7 cupcakes...Delicious and soooo yummy....mmmmmmmmmm

Vanilla Cupcake with Traditional Butter Cream Frosting






Velvet Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting





Creamy Caramel and Chocolate Cupcake





Cafe Parisienne cupcake



 



Warm White Chocolate Cupcakes

  



  

 

Melting Marshmallow Cupcakes



   

Warm Chocolate Brownie Cupcake
This is a chewy brownie-not the cake like brownie.
Sooooo yummy.



Oh so deliciousssss................I guess I'm done with cake classes.I've learnt enough cakes.Now I need to bakes these cakes and see how it turns out.

But before that I have to finish the tips on 'Caring for Long hair' .

Reminder to all my friends: Remember to ask me for cupcakes next time we have a gettogether.

Cake class : Day 3

Today we learnt more cakes. My book is a mess.I keep writing down everything she says.I need to rewrite my notes and there is sooo much to practice- piping flowers, border.

I have'nt still finished the topic  'Caring for long hair''.That  is taking longer than I expected.

Ok here are the cakes we did this week:
Butterfly, pooh, Ben 10, Blue car , Doll cake, Anniversary/engagement cake .



Butterfly cake




Pooh : This can be made into a teddy bear, a baby shape cake, monkey, and many more.




Car



BEN 10

Doll cake: you can make cinderella, snowwhite, Bella and many more using this method.

Anniversary Cake, Birthday cake for an Adult





The cakes all lined up.We all take photogrpahs.



After everyone has finished taking photographs, the cake is cut (the most saddest part) and each get a share of  the cake.



YUMMY CAKES......Mmmmmmmmm

I think if I have a cake shop(inshallah) I would call it

"The little cake shop''

naaah thats too long...anybody have a good name for my cake shop?

My first cake class

Finally after looking for a good cake class for the past 4 years, I joined one 2 weeks back.
Its a Diploma in cake decorating and Sculpting.Not what I was exactly looking for but I joined because I want to learn to do my own cakes with icing and  flowers .

The teacher did her cake course at Wilton( in USA) so her techniques are a combination of  Wilton methods and a few local methods as well. She takes only about 10 students per class so its not crowded and we get to ask a lot of questions . well I'm the only one who ends up interrupting ,most of the time, to ask questions. Since I'm  new to cakes I have LOT OF QUESTIONS. I still have more to ask

One question I missed last week is : "After I make the cake mixture and I'm unable to bake it( due to a sudden violent thunderstorm .Seriously this happened to me but I manage to bake it before the thunder started) , how long can the cake mixture be kept?' (anybody reading this blog know the answer?????)

The first lesson was all about basic cakes for beginners : butter cake,Ribbon cake, marble cake, chocolate cake and sponge cake.Its the same old recipe but with a few tips and hints on how to do it the PROPER WAY.

I learnt to make soft delicious cakes that melts in my mouth.....Yummy.



So this week we learnt 7 cakes .First class was how to make the cake .Second was how to do the icing and decorate it. The cakes were:

Popcorn cake, Pizza, Burger, Clown, 1st Birthday, Basket of Flowers, Santa (but she told us how we can turn the santa into a teddy bear, a girl, a boy and a monkey as well)

POPCORN: Another version is the popcorn bucket



BURGER: with french fries and Ketchup.

 

 

CLOWN CAKE
My favourite

 

PIZZA

BASKET OF FLOWERS

SANTA

Next weeks ,we are learning more cakes .

With a little practice I guess I could be starting my own Lil cake shop in the future (inshallah).For now I'll just stick to baking cakes for myself , family and friends.If anyone wants a cake or cupcake done for a special occasion at an affordable price call me up .

When I mean any special occasion, 3 tiered wedding cakes  that you find in magazines and on tv's are out of that list .

BREADS: Garlic bread and French Bread

This post is  dedicated to my friends and anybody who cant cook, learning to cook or struggling to cook



Garlic Bread

My favourite bread

Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

• 250 g flour
• ½  tsp salt
• 1 tsp yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 oz butter- melted
• 1 tbs milk powder
• 2 tbs crushed garlic
• ½ an egg
• 3 oz cup water

 1. Mix flour, sugar, yeast, salt, milk powder , eggs, melted butter,

       garlic .

2. Next add water and knead the dough for 10 mins using your palm and dragging it onto the surface .

3. Roll the dough flat and toll it like a Swiss roll and let it rise for 15 mins.

4. Apply beaten eggs on top ,sprinkle with sesame seed(optional)

 bake it  in 180˚ for 15 mins or until the bread is done.

5. Once you take it out. Apply butter on top while the bread is still hot

French bread 

Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Same ingredients and method as garlic bread but do not add garlic to this.

HOW I MADE GARLIC BREAD

First I got all the stuff ready: eggs, yeast, butter, milk pwder,measuring spoons.

Next I added all the ingredients into my Kenwood stand mixer and turned on the machine .Its easier than making the dough by hand.



Dough is made .I usually take it out and knead it by hand for a few minutes .

 

Make sure to flour the surface when you are kneading the dough.Next roll the dough flat-but not too thin and roll it like a swiss roll.

The bread brushed with beaten eggs.Sprinkle sesame seed on top.



3 strand braided dough in the oven





Braided bread after its baked



D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S garlic bread......soooooo tasty.
You can cover the bread with foil the last 10 minutes(while its baking) to prevent the bread from turning brown.

A simple way to turn french bread into garlic bread: Just add crushed garlic to softened butter and leave it for about 30 mins or more.The butter will have a garlic flavour.You can spread this on french bread and put the bread in the oven on high heat for abt 5 mins.



Its time for Dinner.Almost 8 'o' clock



 

 

Garlic bread , Stir fried veges, chicken curry and fried fish.Not exactly the perfect combination but everybodyenjoyed this menu. 


I enjoy making bread .
Homemade bread tastes sooooo GOOD.
Try it  



COOKS NOTE: you can turn a plain French bread into a garlic bread by adding crushed garlic to butter and leaving this for a while. Apply this  garlic-butter to French bread and put the buttered bread in the oven for 5 mins on high heat.

Check out you tube for videos on how to make pleated breads(how to shape your bread dough into pleats) and other shapes for your bread .

VIDEOS ON HOW TO KNEAD THE DOUGH

How to knead the dough

VIDEOS ON SHAPING YOUR DOUGH

3 strand braided bread

5 strand braided bread

How to make braided bread with 3, 4, 5 or 6 strands

Shaping the dough

Scoring French Bread


 



Spicy Potatoes and Stir Fried Vegetables.

This post is  dedicated to my friends and anybody who cant cook, learning to cook or struggling to cook :)


The spicy Potatoe recipes is an Indian Dish I got from the cooking site Manjulas kitchen - Manjula’s Kitchen is your home for Indian Vegetarian Recipes and Cooking Videos.
I serve this dish with rice, and chapatis as well.

The Stir Fried vegetable  recipe I got from All Recipes . I serve this with rice, french bread and sometimes noodles.

Spicy Potatoes



 This is an Indian dish that’s  spicy , tasty

and easy to cook.





Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net


• 3 Medium red Potato( or any other potato)
• 2 tbs oil
• ½  tsp Cumin seed
• 1 tsp Crushed coriander seed
• 1 tsp crushed fennel seed
• 8-10 fenugreek seed
• 1 tsp shredded ginger
• ¼  tsp black pepper
• 2 green chillie , seeded & sliced lengthwise
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbs chopped cilantro( coriander leaves)

1. Cut potatoes into wedges. Boil about 4 cups of water. Add salt and

the potato to it

2. Boil the potatoes until they are tender not mushy. Drain water and

set aside

3. Heat oil. Add cumin seed and as it cracks add coriander seed,

fennel seed, fenugreek seed, ginger. Stir fry for half a minute

4. Add the potatoes to this and  stir fry until golden brown.

5. Add salt, black pepper, green chillie and roast for a minute.

Turn off heat and add lemon juice and cilantro. Serve hot.

COOKS NOTE: prepare this dish at least 15 mins before dinner (not longer than that) .Tastes best when served hot and as soon as its done

Stir Fried Vegetables

An easy and tasty vegetable dish that I often make at home. A good side dish to serve with rice and French bread.




Michelle Meiklejohn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  Ingredients:

• Carrots
• Red and green Bell Pepper
• Onion,sliced thin
• Beans
• Baby Corn
• Few mushrooms(cut into two or use it whole.I preper button mushroom)
• ¼ cup water
• 1 tbs Soya sauce
• 1 tsp cornflour
• Pepper( the powder one)
• 2tbs ginger and garlic paste
• 2tsp sesame seeds- roasted
• 
  

Mix water, soya sauce, seasoning, cornflour until smooth. Set aside

Heat 1tbs oil in a wok.Add onion,carrots and bens and stir fry for 2 mins.Then add the rest of the Veges and stir fry for 5-7 mins until they are tender crisp.

The veges could be  stir freid separately as well.

Another method: you can boil the vegetable for 2 mins and then stir fry them.Make sure you don’t over cook them .

Stir soya sauce mixture.Add this to the vegetables and bring to boil in medium heat for 1 minute.Sprinkle with semame seed before serving

This dish is best when served immediately.

 

COKS NOTE: You can use cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and even spinach .

You can make this dish with only beans and carrots as well.Make sure to change the name to Bean and carrot stir fry .

Recipes: Chicken Palandy and Salad with Cream Dressing

This post is  dedicated to my friends and anybody who cant cook, learning to cook or struggling to cook :)

Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net



"This is a chicken recipe that my family loves. Its easy to cook and tastes good"

"The salad with cream dressing is also one of my favourite recipes."

Chicken Palandy

I love this chicken recipe. A cookery class recipe

  Marinade 

• 1 kg Chicken
• 2 ½ tsp salt
• ½  cup curd (or 3tbs curd)
• 3tbs tomato puree or tomato paste
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp turmeric

Mix all the above ingredients And marinate it for 3 hours

and boil it.  Dont add water when boiling the chicken.

If you want to get more gravy ,then add water and boil the chicken.                                

   Once the chicken has boiled halfway you can take them out  and

deep-fry. Or else add 3 tbs  ghee and 3tbs oil and pan fry it until it turns golden

  brown.

   

    Tempering

• 3tbs ghee
• 3tbs oil
• 1 tbs ginger and garlic paste
• 2 B.Onions
• Handful of Mint leaf
• Handful of Coriander leaves
• 5 green chillie-cut lengthwise
• 2 big tomato
• 2 eggs-slightly beaten

1. Pan fry the chicken in the ghee and oil until golden brown.
2. To the same pan add the G&G paste, onion, green chilie tomato and then add the chicken piece and mix it. If there is any gravy left over from the boiled chicken add it as well.
3. Then let it boil for 2 mins.
4. Next add the beaten eggs and let it cook for 2 mins.
5. Turn off the flame and add the coriander and the mint leaves.

COOKS NOTE: adjust the seasoning to your taste. you can add more water to the gravy while boiling the chicken to get more gravy. Once you add the eggs the gravy thickens. My family can’t eat a meal without gravy  so I adjust the recipe .

Salad with cream dressing



Paul / FreeDigitalPhotos.net



·        6 red raddish

·        1 green pepper

·        Small Zuchchini

·        1 carrot

·        ½ pineapple

·        7 cherry tomato

·        2 tbs parsley

·        Olives

·       Baby corn

·        Apple

·       ½  tsp salt

·       ½  tsp White pepper

·       Lettuce

Salad cream

• 1 tbs boiled yolk-sieved (I dont usually use the egg yolk)
• 1 garlic crushed
• ½ tsp salt 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tbs vinegar
• ½  tsp ground mustard
• 325 ml fresh cream
• ½  tsp white pepper

1. Cut the vegetables into cubes.

2. Beat all the cream ingredients with a whisker until the cream thickens.

3. Arrange the lettuce inn a salad bowl/dish and add the vegetables to it.

4. Pour the prepared cream over it.

Or leave the vegetables and the cream separately.

So the guests can pour any amount of salad cream onto their

Salad.



Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net



COOKS NOTE: you can add mayonnaise to this salad recipe instead of the salad cream. keep salad cream refrigerated  until  meal is served .or serve it immediately