Tried pizza balls?
As far as Instagram Reels on cooking go, the handle @albert_cancook brings together all the right ingredients: comedy, user requests, pop culture references and a lot of food. Albert uses quick, bite-sized videos—with a hint of ASMR—to try different recipes from around the world. On his YouTube channel, where he has around 1.93 million subscribers, Albert says: “My channel is dedicated to the creation of recipes and the preparation of various dishes from around the world. It has short videos in which you can cook from scratch in an easy manner.” There’s no shortage of pop culture either: In recent months, he has made everything from the pizza balls recipe from Dr Strange in the Multiverse Of Madness and the Death Sandwich from Regular Show to the French dish ratatouille from Pixar’s Ratatouille. He occasionally dabbles in Indian food too—making butter chicken, with no food colouring or sugar, and puris with chana masala. — Nitin Sreedhar
Scent of a home
I would like to think I splurge more on home fragrances than I do on myself. When I came upon Mangaluru-based company Ekam’s range (Ekamonline.com), I felt I had struck gold. If you would like your home to smell like the forest, of rain, wet trees and crushed leaves, Ekam’s woodsy Teakwood fragrance oil is the one for you. I was introduced to this masterfully blended oil by my neighbour, whose home not only looked straight out of a décor magazine but also smelt divine. With top notes of citrus and nutmeg, floral and spicy middle notes and distinctly woodsy base notes of cedarwood, musk, sandalwood and vanilla, the lingering aroma when you use Teakwood fragrance oil is the delicious rounded notes one cannot get enough of. Their Noir fragrance oil with musk, vanilla and patchouli tones is perfect for an evening house party. I have also tried their candles and eau de parfums and can confidently say the brand delivers on the promise of high-quality fragrance products. — Nandita Iyer
Colour your room
If you have even the slightest interest in design and home décor, Redecor is the game for you. Beautifully rendered photo-realistic rooms come alive through your choice of walls, floors, upholstery, rugs, art and more to finish five challenges every day to satisfy (mostly made-up) “clients” who have certain preferences—once a day, though, you get to choose your own style and go wild on one room. Meanwhile, the game clubs you with nine other designers as other players vote for your designs; if you win, you get in-game cash and a box full of materials that will help you up your game. Despite the slightly competitive element, this is a super- relaxing game with a very active online community on Facebook, with several real-life designers who share tips and inspiring designs. And it’s free to play unless you buy the monthly season pass; each month has a theme, which keeps pace with actual global design trends. So go on and flex your creative muscles—at least it’s better than playing Candy Crush! —Shrabonti Bagchi
Composting made easy
Afew things lie on the periphery of my to-do list for home. These need extra time and effort, which is impossible when you have to meet work deadlines. One of them was composting, until my husband ordered a home composting kit from the brand Stone Soup. I didn’t have the bandwidth to learn how to do it, so this kit has been extremely useful. It comes with a porous bin, readymade compost and bricks with coirs for plants—all lifesavers. Almost all the wet waste from the kitchen goes in there and after about three weeks, it yields the most nourishing fertiliser. The only downside is the size: At 15 litres, ours is a little small for daily use. A larger, 20- litre one would have been a better choice. Despite this, however, it has been a rewarding experience so far. The fertiliser is used for our house-plants and the results are evident when the lemon tree sprouts leaves, the tulsi gains height and the bougainvillea blooms. —Jahnabee Borah
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