Happy Valentines Day!
I proclaim ‘cranberries’ as the new love berry.
There you have it! That’s the gist of this post.
You see I feel the cranberry is very underrated red fruit. So, I am resurrecting its glory in these scones and making it the centerpiece of my day! Now, the thing about them is they are indeed hard to love. There is an acid tartness to them that you either fall head first for, or, decide there are easier fruit to lust after. But, if you look at the whole package and beyond the cutting first taste and look how it melts and loses its hard exterior to become a soft, succulent package with just a little love (and heat), you can truly appreciate it’s worth.
Oxtail Stout Pot Pies
Many of the books I read as a child were by the British author Enid Blyton - Famous Five and Secret Seven series. I loved them! These kids were having so much fun and solving mysteries to boot! I lived vicariously through their fictitious adventures. But, sprinkled liberally in these books were mentions of British foods! Pies, jams, puddings, teas .. so much more. I fell in love with these delights, without an inkling of what they were or ever having sighted most of them!
Since then, I have developed a lifelong reverence of pies - sweet at first. But, as I grew older and got into more classics and Victorian/Edwardian fiction, the savory kinds. Bakewell tarts, Spotted dicks, cherry pies, steak and kidney pies, stout pies …
Remembering Whence I Came and Egg Puffs
Somehow, since moving here and the puff pastry becoming ubiquitous, I had forgotten my own humble origins. How a bite of a simple pastry could make my life feel rich and sumptuous. Because in the 10 minutes that I took to eat the egg puff (for at least an hour after), I forgot about how I was the awkward one in class, that my skin was too brown for a fairness obsessed culture, that I had no pretty clothes (OMG! that horrendous high waisted jeans I had! :O), that I was the weird kid in class who wore so big an A-line skirt that it looked like a ball gown because my mother chose the cheap tailor. No, for those minutes, I felt equal to the nobility who probably were the only ones who could have afforded such a pastry, only 50 years prior!
But Instagram brought it up! That community of food obsessed and passionate rekindled me. It all started with Giulia’s post on the Puglian rustici…!
Ingloriously Rich
Today, I am here to say that you can make one of the most basic and super popular masala curries, without all the fuss and hoopla of long list of masalas and, literally, with pretty much what you probably have in your pantry, especially if you grill!
Now, I call that Ingloriously Rich! Of Flavor, Spice and all things Niiiiiiceee!!!
Don't believe me? Check out the recipe! And, if there is something there that sounds suspiciously difficult to find in your kitchen, call me .....!! {naughty!} ;-)
Green Quinoa Dinner
I have a confession to make. For almost two years, I have been burnt out. That is why this blog has been unpopulated or atleast infrequently populated.
Earlier, this year, actually as late as March, I finally accepted all this and myself. No, I am not the person, who wants to cook everyday. I am not the person who will therefore post here or on social on a dependable frequency. Yet, I am the person, who will enjoy the time I choose to spend in the kitchen. I am the person, who will henceforth acknowledge I don't feel like cooking and ask for help or order in. I am the person, who will have frozen food at home, so I can get to eat something quick.
I am the person who will continue to share with you, what I am enjoying, what I am inspired by and what makes my palate sing.... Like this simple green Spring filled bowl!