Anup and I love road trips and we have been lucky to have made a few of them together! Looking back, each trip has memorialized the way we were back in those days! Our first road trip was when we moved from San Jose to Dallas. In fact, we had bought our first car, a used Toyota corolla, just so that we could make that road trip! Call it a bold move or sheer stupidity, but we thought that an 1800 mile road trip would be the best way for us to get some driving practice! So we bought our car 10 days before the road trip, and every evening, Anup and I would go out driving. We only practiced on the bus route 81, which was the bus ride Anup used to take every day to get to his job. This was our … [Read more...]
Easy Dessert Recipe – Yogurt Cardamom Tart
Ideas are like pizza dough, made to be tossed around. - Anna Quindlen I compare creative cooking to painting. If you give a blank canvas and paint to a few different people, the end result is certainly going to look different for everyone. The same applies to cooking; all of us at the culinary school would start with the same ingredients, but the final dishes we all came up with reflected who we were as individuals. Towards the end of the program, we could tell who had cooked what just by looking at the plate! Isn't it beautiful that we all get to express ourselves in a creative way every day, and put ourselves on a plate? All cooks are like kids with crayons! Traditional Indian food is … [Read more...]
Orange Marmalade Hand Pies
“To avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.” ― Aristotle I envy the people who are not afraid of looking like a fool. Anup is one of those people. If he has a new thought or idea, the first thing he wants to do is share it with people. He can take rejection in a stride. It's not that he is just unafraid of rejection, it is as if he is not even aware that he is being rejected. That to me is a blissful state of mind. I have seen him celebrate his failures. "Remember that time I wanted to buy a yacht, hire doctors to work on it and market the service as a vacation at a hospital? Remember that?" I, on the other hand, have struggled with fear of rejection for as long as I can … [Read more...]
Falafel – Healthy Baked Millet Falafel
In my last post, I wrote about how my mom is a regular reader of my blog. She even has a dictionary to look up the meanings of certain words and ingredients which have different names in India. After I post a new recipe on the blog, my mom and I invariably get on the phone and discuss the recipe. We have made an intriguing discovery through these discussions - most of the ingredients I use are what we would consider "poor man's food" in India. Millet, Barley, Flaxseed - all these grains were considered to be "inferior" to the more polished or processed grains like Basmati rice. Back in India, "rich" ingredients like Basmati rice were reserved for special days or when a guest was dining … [Read more...]
Vegan Dessert – Chocolate Mousse with Sweet Potato
"Dating" is a foreign concept in India. I was looking up the literal meaning of dating and came across this on Wikipedia: While the term dating has many meanings, the most common refers to a trial period in which two people explore whether to take the relationship further towards a more permanent relationship. "Trial Period", you say? No wonder then "dating" didn't take off in the land of arranged marriages! There are no trial periods - either you want to marry a girl or you don't. Okay, I know I am being a bit harsh here. The concept of dating has indeed started in the metros in India. But for the most part, even now, a guy and a girl cannot publicly admit their liking for each other. … [Read more...]
Quick and Easy Dessert – Raw Cheesecake
Indian Marriages confuse western folks. Unlike western marriages, ceremonies in India are loud, multi-day, drawn-out events. In the western world, the bride and groom are the stars of the ceremony. Both of them get to plan everything about their wedding - the venue, the flower arrangements and the honeymoon. Things are not so simple in India, where both families have a say in every aspect of the event. The bride and groom might not even know most of the people on the guest list! My western friends find the topic of Arranged Marriages especially bamboozling. I have seen some of them spread their eyes so wide open when I talk about arranged marriages, I worry about their physical well-being. I … [Read more...]
Gluten Free Muffins – Apple and Cinnamon Muffins
I don't think there is any dispute about which is the best part of a muffin - it's the muffin top! You can tell a lot about a person based on how they eat their muffin. The calm and heedful carefully detach the top of the muffin and put it aside to savor later. They want to end their muffin eating experience on a high note; these are the people who believe in delayed gratification. The impulsive, on the other hand, lack the patience and take a big bite out of the muffin top! A muffin can also be used to test the bond of a relationship, just ask a couple to share a muffin. You certainly hope to see two happy people beaming with joy a few moments later, but do cross your fingers! In … [Read more...]
Gluten Free Snack – Healthy Amaranth Flour Crackers with Cauliflower Dip
Maybe it is just Vancouver, but I feel like everyone around me is turning into a foodie! Vancouver has always been a foodie town, but lately, I find people here are super conscious about where they buy their produce, what they cook and what restaurants they frequent. Being a food blogger is like being a drug dealer in a town of addicts. Maybe that's not the best example, but you get the idea - it is good to be a food blogger in Vancouver! When I am not cooking or eating, I like to research and read up about ingredients I can use in my recipes. I recently came across a superfood I had never cooked with before - Amaranth seeds. The more I read about this ingredient, the more excited I have … [Read more...]
Poached Pears Coconut Milk Ice Cream
I still remember the day my dad brought a chubby little baby to me at the hospital, and told me that she was my sister! My parents had been getting me ready to welcome a baby girl for months, but it all got so real when she was in my lap. I didn't know what to think of this baby with big brown eyes and no hair! For some reason, the moment she was in my lap she started crying on the top of her lungs. I was sold on the idea of a beautiful, happy little baby sister. I was so upset with her crying that I started crying hysterically too. My little sister, Lopa, is all grown up and we are celebrating her birthday today! Ice cream has been one of her absolute favorites ever since she was a baby! … [Read more...]
Vegan Dessert – Papaya Mousse
I consider myself a flexitarian - I mainly eat vegetarian food with some poultry and meats. My diet has evolved over the years as I have learned more about nutrition, and have grown older! Lately, I have been a fan of raw foods - smoothies, salads, and even raw desserts. The basic premise of eating raw is that it retains most of the nutrients in the food. Our bodies can digest raw foods much more easily compared to cooked foods. I like to throw in a few raw-foods-only days every month which helps me cleanse my system. Raw dishes are also easy to put together, so on the days I am eating raw I have more time to do the things I love - like blogging! I have seen some of my friends start … [Read more...]