When I was about 10, my parents bought me an yellow dress for my birthday. It was a knee length yellow and white striped thing, with puff sleeves, and, plain yellow bib like flap on top and skirting at the bottom. The bib and skirting were embroidered - "Sweety" and "But Naughty", in sprawling cursive letters. It was my favorite dress for many years; even when it faded and frayed, and, I outgrew it in height. I loved the color, such a happy tone but more than that, at that time still an introvert, I thought the writing was terribly clever.
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Cool as a Tamarind...
in drinks, Food & Drink
Tamarind is a common spice you see in Indian and Asian cuisine, especially those closer to the Equinox. In the right amount, it lends a subtle sourness that instantly makes your mouth water and want to eat more. I took that more-ish tanginess and balanced with sweetened syrup, soothing lemon balm and refreshing citrus to make this Summer Cooler that would be great with a barbeque, sitting under the shade of a tree reading a book or just served from a big pitcher whilst sitting on the porch/stoop and seeing the world pass by....
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This fruity frozen dessert pairs beautifully with this gluten free peach pound cake!
Roast Sugar Plum and Ricotta Ice Yogurt
in Dessert, Food & Drink
In class recently, we discussed "Flavor" as an objective tool and how to measure it as a function of certain parameters. Our professor, Peter Klosse, a restauranteur and academician, argued that if you can separate Flavor the object from Flavor the experience then we can create a language of understanding that can unite and bring together people! What a wonderfully fascinating idea??!! I was really taken by that concept of using science to find a way to connect and hope to explore it more...
Anyway, ice cream was one of the examples that we choose to look into....
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Gluten Free Peach Pound Cake
in Dessert, Food & Drink
I have for you, today, this wonderful loaf I had baked before I left for my travels. It is based on my gluten free adaptation of the Florentine sponge. You could say I was gearing up for my trip to Italy. But, really, I used that because it is one of the best cakes I have ever had to date as just a cake, one that needs no frills and certainly no icing. More importantly, it is a phenomenal recipe for going gluten free.
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Whipped Goat Ricotta + Figs - An affair to remember
in meals, Food & Drink
It is a simple thing. Come Summer and it is time to let the real fruit shine.
I have always had a fascination with figs. In India, I only had access to it in the dried form and that was rather expensive. So, it was a treasure that I occasionally got to indulge in, only in the form of sweets - Anjeer Burfi. A paste of dried figs wrapped in a cooked cashew paste. A delight all its own!
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