Something Nordic

Recently, I attended a few events at the NORTH Nordic food festival hosted by Honest Cooking. It was a practical exposure to Scandinavian food. Prior to this festival, my experience has been limited to restaurants in New York like Aquavit and S'morgas Chef, which are great outposts of the cuisine. But, I was excited to partake in real Nordic chefs cooking real home cooking adapted to this soil. But I am running away with the story. Let me start again.

First, there was a demo; With Norwegian Salmon and Halibut. Chefs Neal Fraser and Greg from LA showed us how to gut a whole fish and fillet into the fatty and searing pieces. It was interesting to see how the technique is similar yet different for the two as the latter is a flat fish. It is also an ugly fish! But, true to the idiom, it is rather tasty. For a flat fish, unlike a regular side swimmer like salmon, you fish comes apart in four section rather than two whole sides. Very informative. I don't know when I am likely to break down a whole fish in the near future but I am armed and ready! I plan to go fishing off the

coast of Brooklyn

soon. So, perhaps...! ;-)

Next we used that freshly gutted fish to prepare an array of crudos, tartare, seared bites and risotto. It was a fun evening, the chefs were friendly, my group of four was cool to hang out with and we ate a lot of good food. We snacked on a basket of grapes along the way. Watching food cook is very hunger inducing, I say!

The other event I attended was a wonderful dinner cooked by

Chef Sasu Laukkonen

at a pop-up restaurant in LES. He brought with him his signature hay smoked onion rings. Borne out of serendipity and a kitchen accident, in his native country, he stumbled upon a way to make the humble white onion taste like bacon. It wasn't quite porky tasting with the NY hay but it definitely lent a meaty punch. The entire dinner was wonderful of course but I was most impressed by the effortless elegance of clean plating that we have come to expect from Nordic styling. I watched him and his team plate about 100 plates for each course; their efficiency, exaction and perfection was indeed remarkable! And, this was all done amidst friendly banter, co-mingling with the guests crossing into the kitchen space on the excuse of taking photos {me..hehe} and in general fairly more chaos than in a regular kitchen.

I also met another Sacndinavian chef at the dinner, whose restaurant

Acme

, I plant to visit sometime soon. Will keep you posted on that. For now, I leave you with my memories of the festival.

My Hometown Guide - Brooklyn

This post is in collaboration with Honest Cooking Magazine and Fiji Water as part of their My HomeTown campaign. For this post, I am going different and using only photos taken with my iPhone. Today, I am sharing a few of my favorite foodie spots in

Brooklyn, New York

New York is synonymous with the best, especially in the arena of food. Where Manahattan has glory, Brooklyn has heart. I am always amazed to find such dedication and persistence to food beliefs here. Food business owners here, I find are very social and willing to engage in conversation about what they stand for rather than simply peddling their wares.

Some say, there is a bit of elitism in this borough and a touch of uppityness. Like the French that is a misconception. Brooklynites are passionate but open-minded, they are not lofty just very assured of their beliefs. There is indeed the hipster in here, but, bear in mind a hippie is one who is unconventional and one who follows his/her own path in life. And, that is what being in Brooklyn stands for - the freedom to be yourself in spirit and not care about the material.

With that introduction, I am going to dive into some of the places in my ‘hood where I spend oodles of time in for the food, atmosphere, interesting people and overall fabulous experiences every time!

Coffee & Breakfast - Gorilla Coffee and Kos Kaffe

Brooklyn is the veritable coffee drinkers haven to the point of being rather snotty about it. Yes, you may have your ear chewed off by coffee maniacs, but, really if you want good coffee, this botough provides a lot of access to it. Dotted across Park Slope and Williamsburg are several coffee shops each serving their unique blends and characters. I talk here about two that are my favorites in Park Slope.

Gorilla is of the first real coffee places in Brooklyn. By that I mean, cafes that cared about coffee and understood the bean for more than just its caffeine. The complexities of flavor, the earth the beans come from, the effects of the roasting and brewing processes both chemically as well as on the palate.

The espresso creations (my favorite being the cortado or piccolo or gibraltor as it is variedly called) are punchy not from the acidic, weakness characteristic of Starbucks but rather the rich, heady indulgence of a relaxing drink. Stop by here for just a cuppa or come sit here and enjoy the view on to 5th avenue.

Kos Kaffe Roasting House is my neighborhood haunt. You’ll find me there atleast 3 days a week and every weekend! They roast their beans on location in small batches and the weekly offering varies. While their latte art is very simplistic, the depth of flavors in each cup is immense.

What makes this place especially conducive to repeat visits is the staff’s friendliness and a very welcoming ambience. There is a lot of space, and free wifi. At any time, there are a dozen people sipping, eating and working away. A small but well executed food menu entirely helps the experience. The menu focuses on locally soured and made. The pastries are fantastic. My favorite breakfast here is the granola with yogurt, local honey and apple compote, and, an any time of the day meal is the grilled cheese sandwich. Simply amazing!

A sip of something - Wythe Hotel and Brooklyn Brewery

On a cool Spring day or a hot Summer one Williamsburg offers you several choices to spend your day in leisure with your friends. The Wythe hotel has both a restaurant and bar downstairs with retro ambiance and a much more conversational rooftop lounge. The cocktails are well punched and the view from the balcony is spectacular. On a clear day, one can catch a sprawling view of the borough into the city.

My other favorite watering hole is the Brooklyn Brewery. Sometimes, the wait to get in can be a test of patience but it is well worth it. The beers are brewed here and there are always crafty blends available on tap.

Brooklyn Brine and Pickle Shack

The borough has a general penchant for local business and along 4th and third avenues, there are quite a few of them that have sprung up in the recent years.

The Brooklyn Brine is a pickling factory just off 4th that for years has catered, to restaurants and retail customers, intense, pucker-worthy, sour, spicy and sweet pickles. In October of 2014, they partnered with Dog Fish IPA to open Pickle Shack and added to the changing landscape of 4th avenue. PIckle Shack is a vegetarian and mostly locally sourced restaurant that I accidentally landed in during the first week of being open. I have to say I was blown away by their offerings.

It is a small place that offers some very creative items on the menu and some super popular ones like fried pickles. My recommendation would be the burger with cashew cream and the simple amazing pies with coconut ice cream.

East Williamsburg and Green Point

Williamsburg is lot more than Bedford Avenue. Walk East and you will stumble across neighborhoods that are still held in their traditional immigrant and artistic roots. Dotted along the landscape are small Polish bakeries with awesome breads, tiny ethnic restaurants and really cool boutique food stores. I recommend Rye Restaurnt with its prohibition era look, comfort food, awesome basement bar and the best happy hour deal with their signature Old Fashioned at $5!

Heading East and North has a distinct warehouse and industrial look and feel, that can take you through unexpected jam sessions, opens onto the densely packed area of Green Point. The latter is now becoming the hot bed of gentrification and much before the real estate became appealing, the place has been a culinary haven. The juxtaposition of East European immigrants and new thinking food business brings an interesting confluence of appetites to this area. Mentionables here are Lokal, Anella

NiteHawk Cinema

You may be surprised as to why I mention a screening theatre in this list and I assure you it is for good reason. Night Hawk is not your regular theater. Ok it is, but it also hosts a series of movie and food tastings, called Film Feasts, that are simply well thought out and executed.

The movies are not always recent but the food and cocktails (or spirits) paired are themed with the film being screened. When they screened Gangs of New York last year, they teamed up with The Dead Rabbit to create signature cocktails and a tasting menu that was timed with the key moments and characters of the film.

That is my list of foodie recommendations in Brooklyn for today. I had to really try hard to stick to just five. Well, ok I snuck in more than that but well, I have so many to share! If you absolutely love a spot in Brooklyn, I would be thrilled to hear about it and visit the place.

--------------------------------------

Gorilla Coffee

97 5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217

gorillacoffee.com

Kos Kaffe

251 5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215

koskaffe.com/

Pickle Shack

256 4TH AVE, BROOKLYN, NY 11215

pickleshacknyc.com

Rye Restaurant

247 S 1st St, Brooklyn, NY 11211

ryerestaurant.com

Nitehawk Cinema


136 Metropolitan Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11211

nitehawkcinema.com

{Disclaimer: This is a Sponsored Post by Fiji Water for the #Myhometownguide campaign. All opinions expressed are my own and I received no remuneration from the food places mentioned in this post}

Conrad Hotel - Dare to Pair with Mount Gay Rum

I recently attended a tasting dinner that featured pairing with

Mount Gay Rum

at the

Atrio

restaurant in

Conrad New York

as part of their Dare to Pair series.

One hears frequently about beer, wine, and, less often, cocktails paired with food. The latter is typically not as much a harmonized menu as a table side collaboration with the mixologist/bartender (if any good). That is to say, that the cocktails are paired by the diners as they go along rather than it being a concerted effort by the chef.

In context of that, and given

1. I am not a particular fan of cocktails, except for a precious few that I slip into.

2. I prefer wine to accompany my food as I find it ever more sippable and I have a better palate for it.

3. I love rum - Mount Gay XO is one of my favorites, and, much like whisky, I tend to sip on it slowly without any accompaniment other than good company. It is my unwind spirit.

Needless to say, when I heard of this series, my curiosity was piqued. So, I went.

In a private tasting room overlooking the Hudson, the evening began "

Dark and Stormy

" and then we plunged directly into the fine tasting Mount Gay Black Barrel neatly paired with succulent oysters topped with rum jelly. This was a stunning pair and the best of the evening. A fine tip that I picked up from the national ambassador for Mount Gay was that a few drops of rum intensifies the delectability of oysters. So next time you are at an oyster bar, move over white wine, here come the gentlemen and ladies of the saloon!

Over the course of the evening, we tasted tuna tartare, pork tenderloin with freekeh falafel and finally a upside down pineapple cake paired with sazerac, XO and, finally the 1703! The cocktails were well crafted and the rum was sublime (and abundant) as you would expect from the maker. We were regaled by stories of rum making, the skills of the master blender as well as how to best enjoy the spirit.

My verdict on the food is that the components of the plates need simplifying. Spirits have a strong flavor statement and it is imperative for the food accompanying to have a solitary strong note that complements the drink. From the successes of the evening, the best pairings were those that were clean and uncomplicated. The opening course sent a strong, promising statement, which, unfortunately, got diluted by the end of the meal. The mango puree in the tartare was too sweet and would have served better, incorporated as chunks with the tuna, and, the pork plate had too many components. Given the higher sugar palate of spirits, the food need more acidity to create a magical balance.

Having said that, I applaud Conrad for, indeed, daring to pair spirits with food and showing that it could be done. It was a very enjoyable evening and I learnt a few new ways of appreciating a beautiful, smooth spirit such as rum. I look forward to what the chef has to offer as the series evolves.

For this run, they have two more in the series -

Pairing with Hudson Whiskey, which, is a brilliant locally distilled whisky - March 19

Pairing with Remy martin - April 24

Tickets are $110 per person

{Disclaimer: I was invited as a guest of Conrad Hotel for this tasting dinner. All opinions expressed are my own and I have received no further remuneration for writing this article.}

The Truth About 'Cleanse' and Wellness

Fact: The juices were very nourishing and well balanced.

Hello February! I can't believe you are already here! January was such a whirlwind with most of the month packed with friends from far and flying far and celebrating. I spent a little over 2 weeks in the air and in India, visiting five cities in that short span and packing in many more days worth of food in to me, just like I said

here

!

For all that love of food, my body, however, just decided to remind me of my age and that I cannot quite keep on packing it in without consequences. For one who is very conscious about her health and eating well, there are times that I find myself embarrassingly parking away my sanity in an obscure place and ignoring with ostrich like stubborn-ness. India is wonderful land for mostly non-GMO, quality food that is entirely free of artificial growth hormones and other ragingly unhealthy things you find rather common in the Western world. Yet, if you eat too much of even the best that the land can offer, you will have indigestion! There I said it. I, a well informed, perfectly aware food lover made a complete fool of myself.

My only redeeming quality is that confession above and a pact to get back on track as much as I could when I got back. I was there for work as well which made things harder. Chefs feel rather forlorn if you send back their plates untouched however good your intentions.

So, anon, I was back, I chose to go on a juice diet

. My rationale had absolutely nothing to do with 'dieting' but more a 'cleansing' and to provide a relief to my overworked digestive system. With that in mind, I constructed recipes that were nutritious, filling and incorporated all the major food groups in natural form.

Originally, as I talked about it over the waning days of my vacation in India, I was confident of a 7-day cleanse. A touch of reality saw me paring that to a 3 day, 3 meal experiment at the end of which, I would reevaluate and perhaps rejig it to 2 juice meals with a solid one mid-day.

I lasted 6 juice meals

. I had a minor break on the 2nd evening and a complete melt by mid-day of the third. And, then I went back to regular programming.

Nonetheless, this experience was a great source of learning about and for myself as well provided me some insight to this whole juice cleanse thing.

Once I tweeked the quantity, my body was fine with the actual amount I was consuming, provided I ate a whole avocado for a mid-afternoon snack. I reasoned that I was eating raw and fresh, so it was ok. Besides, from experience, I know that pureeing avocados with other things, doesn't always work well on flavor or texture but they are a very good source of fat that was otherwise low in content in my juices.

Every juice I made, had a carb element (fruit, oats), protein (vegetable) as well as fat (nuts). They were all vegan and gluten free; in effect nutritious.

My problem with sticking to it was that

I just missed

EATING

! The thing is, I really missed chewing my food and relishing the flavors of every bite that I worked on. The juices were tasty and packed with flavor, as I made sure, but they just were no substitute for real, solid food. By the second day, I was looking onto that avocado with such desperation while barely holding on my resolve for a few more hours until I just decided that it was ok to eat a bit of pasta and ragu for dinner. Because,

the prospect of having another liquid meal was simply downright depressing!

So, judge me not people. I like to chew.

Nevertheless, not withstanding the texture of it all, the whole experiment brought to my notice the real elephant in the room -

Wellness

.

I am not disdaining juice diets as fads. They probably work as diets. I was expressly trying to NOT lose weight, the concept does not afford that luxury. You

will lose weight

. By the end of day 1, I started feeling some effects of ketosis kicking in my body and then I realized that however full I felt at meal time, I had to fill myself again in another 3 hours. Besides, I probably chose a really bad time to attempt it anyway, given the general jetlag fatigue was not helped by this experiment. And, it is freezing cold (as by photo 1) So, the gist of it was that I was not very happy and I realised there are

better ways for me to get well

. Also, as I learned in the process, the cleanse breaks down even the insoluble fibers, depriving your body of those needed for a well-oiled bowel system.

That brings me to real issue. Of eating well. Of being conscious of what I am putting into it but ever more so of how I feel towards food. My relationship with food is not functional; it is a deep, riveting passion. Going on a

juice diet, for me, was like saying "

Let's have skinny sex

"

. No can do! I mean, is there even something like that?! I could not disrespect my love like that. I am usually a very healthy eater and I don't have to punish myself for straying once in a while. I just have to get back on track, maybe tweak it to be a bit more healthy to adjust but stay with food as I am meant to be :-)

Having said that, these smoothies are great as alternative breakfast some days because they are quick to whip up. The more savory one are great as first courses or even as shots/shooters for a cocktail party. And, once in while, they are fine as a meal too! But, if you want to do the diet and are ok with having juices all day, then these are great for making sure you are well sustained.

I'll leave you with a couple of articles worth a read -

• This empirical research by twins sheds light on the age old carb versus fat debate.

• If you want to cleanse, I think these recipes are absolutely fantastic, budget friendly and will not leave you feeling sorry for yourself.

• The business of the $5bn juicing industry.

2013 - The Year in Review

What a year this has been?! It felt like it sped by but, really, it did not. Looking back now, I can feel every moment of the year in the same pulsating heat of the moment then.

Twelve months ago, there was no way I would have predicted how this year went and least of all, my big move from Manhattan to Brooklyn and how much I love it here now! This year has been filled with pleasant surprises and some not-so-welcome ones that nevertheless always had a silver lining. Even this month has been an especial roller coaster testing me as a person.

I am happy I have survived and am going to walk in 2014 smelling of roses and with plans to plant a metaphorical garden!

As far as this site is concerned, it was indeed a landmark year completing five years of existence and in that time seeing several reincarnations as I worked on figuring out who I am and where I wanted to be. This was my medium of expression. I wrote essays here about introspection, analysis and metamorphosis; words tumbling out needing an outlet to gain meaning. Thanks to all who supported me in those questioning moments and reached out to make me feel a part of an incredible community.

I pushed myself this year to do somethings that I hadn't before and in general experiment in life. As I close the curtain on 2013, it feels right to share some of the highlights of the year with you...

Partnerships and Published Work

SANDALS RESORTS

,

ZONIN WINES & LE CIRQUE

,

WHOLE FOODS

,

SPENSER MAGAZINE

I can now call myself a

journalist!

Yes! This is one the biggest accomplishments of the year. I am a

chosen contributor for

The Daily Meal

and write for independent magazines. This year, I also widened my client work base and have partnered with passionate providers and purveyors. For a complete

list of my clients

, click

here

.

Experiments in Food

STUFFED EGGPLANT

,

LENTIL PANCAKES

,

ALMOND TORTE

,

PEAR & OATS SHORTCAKES

The thing about growing older and being fairly aware of your body is that, over time, you realise that you can't really eat & drink all that you could in your twenties and be just fine the next day. I am not allergic to any food type but I do contend a preference for certain items not being in my diet on a regular basis, including yeast, gluten and package cow's milk. So, that meant experimenting! I switched to almond milk and am now playing with raw milk. Will let you know how the latter it goes. I started making more gluten free and vegan meals. And, in doing so, not only rediscovered some of my past (Indian cuisine is largely gluten free) but also had a ton of fun playing with my food!

Farmers Markets and Seasonal Produce

RAMP SCONES

,

PEACH LATTICE PIE

,

ROASTED PLUM ICECREAM

,

LEEK AND TOMATO GALETTE

,

CABBBAGE RELISH

Pledging to a healthy lifestyle means eating what should be eaten rather than what can be eaten. I am reading Omnivores Dilemma now. If you have read it, you know what I mean. Even if you haven't, I think it's common sense to try to eat local and seasonal, so that the body gets the most when it needs it. So, in that effort, I signed up for the CSA again this year, supporting a farm in upstate NY. I also did my grocery shopping from farmers' markets, real seafood stores and local butchers. Surprisingly, I found that contrary to popular belief, this lifestyle is no more expensive than buying from grocery stores. It does however mean that I have plan what I get when because, well, market dynamics are a reality (Saturday markets are more expensive than weekday ones). All in all, a year of fantastic eating!

Certifications and Classes

STACKED FRENCH TOAST

,

HANDMADE BAGELS

,

CROISSANTS

This year, I took my first class in food. Really! I have never studied anything other than science or numbers. Even my attempts at learning French were a bit half-hearted. I did an intensive certificate course in Bread Baking at the International Culinary Center in May. It was a time in my life of much disarray and the course was just what I needed to get back some perspective. I learned so much and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of class. It is ironic that I found that I am mildly unhappy with gluten but the techniques and tips I picked up on the course with stay with me for a lifetime. Plus, I have now have a certificate too! Ha!

Experiments in Photography

The camera has always been my friend. This year I tried to break away from the standards of styling and express my whimsies through my photographs. I love black and white photos and I realised food and life is beautiful in binary tones. I also enjoyed giving in to spontaneous ideas using things of practical use as unintended props. So much fun and so much learning! It only goes one way! :)

So, that was my 2013.

Wish you all a fantastic end of year! May your hearts be filled with hope and your mind with dreams for a fabulous year ahead!

xoxo

Asha