Thursday, October 31, 2013

Happy Feeling :)

How the Queen's milestone b'day at the start of the month got pushed to the day before yours truly's b'day, i will not know. I am not complaining either...Departure Lounge made for an apt setting - jalapeno martinis and prosecco cocktail gave the evening a jump-start. Food was excellent - considering we must have tried almost everything on the menu - would love to whip up such crispy yet cooked brussel sprouts with chili and lime. MeltingPot for dessert was a let-down but i had my fill of chocolate covered straw-berries.
On the day itself, friends sprung a surprise. Thanks to LilC else they would have been stranded in the cold trying to wake up aspirin grogged self. Must say, they are a good-cooking bunch (not to mention artsy)...my first taste of Appams with potato stew, vermicelli upma, poori-sagoo, jalebis and an apple spiced cake with delicious sauteed apples. Amid all the cooking and eating, BigC posts a note for LilC...as if she could read and if she did, as if she'd listen...something tells me she made the note after checking it out for herself - "Don't Touch! Don't Lick! the CAKE!" Given the busy times at work, it was a happy feeling knowing they took out so much time. N made a pumpkin chocolate cake. Closed out with 2 spookalicious parties - what 12 year old requests "her" arugula salad for a b'day treat and how can it not be done justice given all the pomegranates and persimmons flooding the stores?!

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

All in a day's mail

It was a happening day as i went about the mundane task of sorting through the mail - Baby Appu's announcement card with a box of belgian chocolates, hand-painted postcard from H&M's travels south that took a month to reach, BigC's pony thank-you card from her friend and a hand delivery of Cranberry Gojju. Having missed my chance to make this last year given the short supply period of fresh cranberries, the first sight of them at the grocer's had me reaching for them with a purpose. As i asked the friend for the recipe, it turns out she had made it that very day and ferried some over so i could taste as i cooked.
season oil and saute 12 oz cranberries in it for 5-10 mins until mushy.
Add 2.5tsp salt, 3 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp chili powder, 3 tsp MTR rasam powder and cook for another 10 mins. Voila - lipsmacking goodness.
Cooked pepper chicken after a long time for a non-veg potluck. On a sunny sunday afternoon in October,  it transported us back home with the Biryani coming very close to Mom's.