Foodastik Fun at Lakshmi Lunch home.

After the excesses of Christmas , Thanksgiving (yes!! in that order) New Year, it was a relief to take a break  for a few days  . It also gave us some time to prepare well for the Post New year lunch at the Shiv Shankars.. 

It was the Weekend  Foodie Group’s  first  meet of 2014 .With a Chattakari theme to give it a kochi

flavor, the table was beautifully dressed in blue tinsels with a menu card detailing the lavish spread. 

How to test a Steak!!

The staycation at Sir Baniyas island passed all too quickly. A fantastic project initiated by Sheikh Zayed which really highlights the immense love this  great man had for animals.. to actually create a Jurassic park like island where animals could roam freely  and in the process help in the conservation, rehabilitating  of many creatures that are on the brink of being endangered.   I will probably write more about it  at a later stage but while there, I came across an interesting article on Steaks and thought I would share it with the Foddie gang ..

The way the cookie crumbles ...

The onset of winter brings about a craving in me for cloyingly sweet food.. not that I don't crave sweet food all year round :-) The feeling that winter is around, just heightens the craving and also gives one a license for indulgence. The body needs to burn more calories just to stay warm .. right.. if it is wrong, its just not your turn to comment....

‘Brilling’ at the Green Community

The first barby of the season and what excitement it created from what to prepare ,what to wear to what to expect!!(Psst camels)  There’s no better place to kick start it than 542 Chamomile lane. What with the top of the range Webber and a fantastic Pit master  in full form with efficient aides , platters and platters of marinated cuts to be brilled (not sure if  grilled or barbecued is the correct term) it was truly a night to remember. Hunger pangs of course started early on and it was fun to see the debate going on about what to start throwing on to the Barby.

The Can’t Go Wrong Christmassy Carrot Cake

Thank you Lakshmi!! After a very long time I got into a baking mood and decided to make my favourite Can’t Go Wrong Carrot Cake today.   It’s always my first choice for dessert and with a cream cheese topping, its divine. The carrot cakes at the patisseries and bakeries are usually nicely spiced and a tad heavy for me if you know what I mean. I am not a big fan of the spice standing out in a cake or desert and therefore you will see most of the desserts that I make usually have very little of those and therefore understated.

Liver Roast for Christmas

Christmas round the corner and its only natural that everybody is brushing up their gastronomical memories from the past to see what yummy dishes can be recreated for the coming season

Christmas trees, Santa and   gifts these are a few of their favourite things that immediately come to  mind

To Blog or not to blog...

Pressure. Pressure. Pressure.

Pressure comes in many forms. Stress from work and the never ending ‘To do’ list, where the more you do, the more there is ‘To do’. Stress from relationships, where absence makes the heart not fonder, but more stressed. Add to this there is blood pressure, the constant monitoring of which is a full time activity.  The pressure of decisions: to eat or to exercise, to cook or to canter, to shop more or shape up. And then there is pressure, tremendous pressure, gentle, but inexorable, persistent and relentless, to write on the blog.

Apricot Pudding ....Kerala Style

I was not born a foodie. Neither did I grow up as one. My mom can narrate stories (horror for her, I am sure ) about how difficult it was to make me eat.  I grew up as the ‘thin girl ‘, with all of my hundred aunts giving my mom tips on how to make me healthy!  And then I got married. If someone tells you, marriage changes your life, that would be an understatement.   Cooking de-stresses him ( seriously !!)  God has a weird sense of humor, I should say ! He looked down at me and said ‘not enough ’and gave me a group of friends for whom life revolves around food.

The Land of the Gurkhas!

Seeing that  the gastronomical experience in Nepal has been well documented ... I thought I would spin one on the other highlights of the trip......

5 wonderful  days…...the awe inspiring  Himalayan ranges, trekking through thick forests,  rafting on frothy rivers to the spiritual Pashupatinath & Bhaktapur , Nepal for me, was also an opportunity to tick a few boxes off my bucket list and face a few of my fears.

Nepal .. We came, We ate, We conked out..

It has been quiet on the foodie blog front. But hey it’s been a very active period for the group exploring nature and connecting with nature in Nepal. Nepal filled us with a plethora of varied activities. Getting up at 4AM to see the sunrise over the Annapurna range, the sun unveiling the Fishtail peak in a seductive dance of light and clouds, white water rafting to explore the silken but awesome power of water, Zip Flying to beat nature at her own game of gravity, Paragliding over the expansive valleys of Pokhara .. the group had it all and that too with the blessings of Lord Pashupathinath in his high abode in Kathmandu..

Cena Perfetta con Giuseppe Verdi

In the end, It turned out to be the perfect belated anniversary celebration for M and I, thank you Philippe .

A gala dinner concert celebrating the 200^th birth anniversary of Giuseppe Verdi also marking the launch of the Rigoletto  pen( dare I just call it that and not (in a posh accent) ‘a writing instrument’ ??) from Montegrappa. 

For me, Montegrappa meant nothing until the invite was brought home the day before in a typical Mahesh fashion. ‘’Listen, we have an invite to this thing tomorrow and dress code is ‘’Elegant’’.  So, that meant a day of frustration, turning my wardrobe upside down looking for Elegance. (Sadly missing from my pile)  Going back to this Montegrappa , so is it a wine, Mahesh? It certainly sounds like one.  I was very quickly enrolled into a basic Montegrappa 101   course and was enlightened.

Zimble Yummy Black Pomfret Curry

Just back from a weeks travel through a couple of south Indian cities. The abundant monsoon of the last couple of months seems to have retreated and has been replaced by a balmy but welcome heat and a gentle breeze. Though busy with non-stop travel and meetings one has to stop to admire the plethora of food aromas that waft through the busy city roads, especially when one passes by the busier parts of the city like the bus stands and the railway stations. Trivandrum at one end of India can be the start of a life long passion for marvelling at the variety and diversity of food.

Down the road to Yas

As a precursor to Nepal..

How does one define a Road trip??

Wikipedia defines it as “any journey taken on roads, regardless of stops en route, typically long distances traveled by automobile”. I think the definition should be changed slightly. It should read as any distances traveled by automobile/s with good friends, good cheer , good food and drink.

So the drive up to Abu Dhabi yesterday evening (19^th Sep 2013) was certainly a road trip, ticked all the boxes and even had the grand old Tom Jones at the end of it as well. What more can we ask for? O yes that we got the passes for freeee. Icing on the cake!!Thank you M @Du.

Its Green – Lets go.

Weekend Loaded Spinach salad

There is nothing to start off a great lazy weekend meal than a crunchy salad full of flavor, color and aroma. The right kind of salad gets the system going…. as John Fowles may have put it

            “Eyes, nose took in their fill, 

             Tongue drooled in anticipation;  

             Brain treasured up the whole”.

Sushi Night

Sushi night anyone? 

(Not Nobu)

Weekend Orange and Almond Cake

Desserts are the best part of any meal in my opinion. It brings the whole experience of dining to a wonderful end, while ensuring that the conversation still flows. Whether it be the Perfect pie or flan ,Glorious Gateaux, Magical Meringues or all Manner of Mousses, there’s always  an air of expectancy after a meal even if we are all so full….

Good food is magical. It can lift your moods high, create ever lasting memories, transport your imagination onto far way locations, bond with enthusiasm, tastefully merge art and science and provide never ending themes and variations to explore throughout ones life. It makes cultures and nations proud and prod its explorers to stretch the boundaries of knowledge and wisdom. It allows you to confirm and rebel at the same time. It transcends eating – a mundane necessity for survival – to higher planes of meaning and pleasure. To see the world in a spoonful of the best that one can dish out…