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…!
Ricotta Coconut Cake {glutenfree}
I gave in to the flow of it all. I let myself be led by what happens in my day rather than striving for something that inevitably led to me being frustrated. And, allowing the space to come to me.
It is difficult, because, when I get that little window, all I want to do is sit down and have a cup of tea in peace. But instead, that is the time, I can feed myself in a rush, cook something for dinner, do laundry (and that included folding the clothes), get errands done that need relative quiet. After all that is done, I sometimes find time to cook and shoot something for the space. Those moments feel like magic!! Oh! they do, they do! Especially, when the fruit of the labor is cherished for longer than the labor itself lasted.
This cake is one of those wonderful fruits.
Tamil Ven Pongal - Peasant but Divine :)
Pongal is a harvest festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu and dedicated to the Sun God. Intrinsically pagan, it is a four day festival that marks the celebration of everything related to agriculture. The day celebrating the harvest itself is celebrated throughout the country but the other days are unique to the Tamils. The word ‘pongal’ means boiling over and many of the offerings of this festival involve just that - from milk to new rice.
We typically make sweet and savory offerings to our Gods and on this day, it is typically two different rice dishes, akin to sweet and savory puddings/porridge - chakkarai pongal (jaggery-rice pudding) and ven pongal (white pongal or rice-lentil porridge. The savory version, I love!
Time for Soup! Broccoli and Sweet Potato with Cheddar Sour Cream
Cream of broccoli soup has a particular special place in my heart. I did not grow up eating soups and my first soup like dish was a ramen, which, is not the same as the creamy soups of the Western half of the world. The first time I had ‘soup’ soup was when I moved to NYC, in the company cafeteria, on a cold Winter day - Cream of Broccoli. It was cream of broccoli. It was delicious. Mass-made and self-served with packet oyster crackers, yet delicious! And, I distinctly remember wondering how they creamed broccoli! LOL.
Venice - A Worthy Intrigue
When I think of Venice, I think of a lady dressed in a flowy velvet dress with a black gold eye mask, walking down an alley looking back at you with mysterious smile and a sparkle in her eyes….. One makes an attempt to follow her. She laughs a tinkle and jumps onto a passing gondola and forever skips out of your reach even as you just make the landing where she was not a moment ago. Yet, her laughs echos and rings in your ear forever thence…. You never manage to catch or catch up with her and yet she will always be with you as a memory that always brings a smile and lifts you up!
I feels this about Venice today…. Truth be told, I visited Venice at the lowest point of my life.