Memories and how food plays a really important part in relationships

Think about it for a moment and you will understand exactly what I mean. Food plays such an important role in every aspect of our life. For instance, if there's a celebration we try to come up with the best or as might be the case, the most appropriate menu for the occasion. Alternately, if someone dies anywhere in the world, the close family and friends organize a 'wake' where good food and drink is served while people gather around in memory of the departed soul. 

Food is also something that can really taste best when eaten in company. For me, the term 'breaking bread' with someone beautifully depicts a scenario where good food tends to taste even better with good company In fact, I'd go so far as to say that even a pastry and coffee or a croissant and a coffee had with a friend is something that becomes really pleasurable and many a time, truly memorable. Top of my head, I can recall at least ten instances when I've enjoyed the meal/coffee so much more because of the company on a particular day. Then there are some food memories which are very dear to one's heart by virtue of the fact that they centre around the food that either someone cooked for you in a way that was really special or then it could be about a savoury or sweet dish that you cooked for or shared with someone and he/she loved it best just the way you made it.

                 An Arabic bread basket- At the Shangrila Bar Al Jissah, Muscat

Which then leads me to a chain of bitter sweet thoughts. For instance, I can never eat sweet rice, or better known in Punjabi as 'Meethe Chawal' without remembering my grand mother in law, 'Beeji'. For Beeji made the best Meethe Chawal in the world as far as I was concerned. And always, always made it for me whenever I asked for it. Never mind that I was a married lady and she was already in her seventies when we first met.. 

I can also never eat 'Kadhi Pakore and Chawal' ( a yogurt and gram flour based Punjabi dish) without remembering Jairam, my parents' cook for over thirty years who made the most delicious Kadhi on earth.As also my friend Amrita in Muscat who made sure that  she personally delivered a box of her special home made Kadhi to our home whenever she made  it. I can never eat a peppermint without drinking water right after it to check if my mouth really feels cool because that is exactly what my 'long lost and never found again friend,  Christine Bose from my school in Calcutta used to do. I can never drink 'Elaichi' ( cardamom ) tea without thinking about my beautiful mother Biba Satinder who I lost some time back  because she always drank hers that way.Or dip a Marie biscuit in that same tea without remembering how she only wanted me and not her nurses to help her drink that cup of tea when she was critically ill in the ICU...

I could go on and on but I find that I actually have an ache in my chest remembering some people close to me who are now deceased, so I think I will stop here. But not before I say that what really brought on this chain of thought in the first instance was when I was making Rajma Chawal (a North Indian delicacy made with red kidney beans cooked in thick tomato based gravy)  this morning,  when I remembered a friend of mine, Akhila, who passed away in the prime of her life some time back.

 For whenever I made 'Rajma' or 'Maa Ki Daal', I would always send her a big bowl, or better still, drop it off to her place personally because she said that it was the best she'd ever eaten.....

NB - This is a repeat post, just felt it was still so meaningful 

Food For Thought-Love eating at a buffet ? What happens right after?

Say you go to a lovely buffet lunch or a dinner.Where the table is groaning with a delightful spread.And you love the look of it all. But even more, you love the taste of it all.. So you do, what most of us would naturally do in such circumstances. Eat just a a little bit or possibly, a lot more than you would normally. Which is fine, because it really is an exception. But have you ever thought of what happens to all that lovely looking and tasting food after that?

Well this is what I learnt recently and it really made me wake up to a new reality, one that I wasn't aware of earlier. For instance, in Oman,there is strict food and hygiene regulation since food standards of freshness, cleanliness etc are very carefully monitored by the concerned authorities.So it follows that all the food after an event, ( particularly all non veg items) are just put into big black garbage bags.Then just thrown away!

Makes me really wonder, is that too much of a good thing? Or then, how many hungry people all over the world, could fill their stomachs and get a peaceful night's sleep? Questions, questions, questions... With few, if any answers.....

Enchanting Himachal- Moods, Shades and Views-My video on You Tube

On a road trip to enchanting Himachal in the month of April we are discovering  some fabulous views, moods and shades.

The weather is unbeatable- a slight nip in the air in the morning and cold on some evenings. In fact,day before yesterday when the temperature was 24 C I remember saying it was rather warm. Hey Presto, it rained the very next day and how! The temperature dropped by about 8 degrees instantly and we are back to feeling 'normal'.

We are based at Gables, a beautiful colonial hotel in Mashobra which is a part of the Club Mahendra network and head out to a different location everyday.

Surrounded by beauty all around

Apple trees with beautiful white flowers and orchards all ready for the season which begins next month.

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Walking past these beautiful sights is absolutely delightful and one just cant get enough of the weather, sights and fragrance..

     Apple orchards getting ready for the season

And the trip has just begun....

For an anytime treat, try these easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Easy to make Chocolate chip cookies

Some of our best memories can be traced back to what we ate when we were out for a picnic, the weekly outing with our parents or even  the milk and cookies Grandma gave us when we went to stay with her. And when we think of cookies, the thought of chocolate chip cookies can never really be far away. As far as I'm concerned, they can easily be classified as an 'anytime treat' since they work equally well  with tea, coffee or milk.

So when I had an opportunity to try out this easy recipe for chocolate chip cookies,taken from a recipe book and tweaked a little to give it my personal twist, I was rather pleased when they turned out quite well. 

So here it is, the easy recipe for chocolate chip cookies. I got twelve large cookies in this batch and if you make them slightly smaller, you could easily get between 16-20.   

Ingredients

250 grams soft butter

• 150 grams caster sugar
• 40 grams cocoa powder
• 300 grams plain flour
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150 °C/300 F and line a baking sheet with parchment  paper.
2. Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl and, when you have a light, soft, whipped mixture, beat in the 40g / one-third cup cocoa powder   when that’s mixed in, beat in the flour with the bicarb and baking powder. 
3. This mixture is  soft and sticky  so you should first roll them into balls, then slightly flatten into thick . Place them well spaced, on your baking sheet.
4. Bake for 15 minutes and take out of the oven . Leave them to cool and remember that they will continue to cook as they cool.
5. Remove the baking sheet to a cold surface and let it sit for 15 minutes before transferring the biscuits to a wire rack.

Pour yourself a larger mug of tea or coffee, sit back and enjoy..

1. PS-The best part about these cookies is that they can be kept up to a week. All you need to ensure is that they are stored in an airtight container so that they stay soft and chewy in the centre while being slightly crisp on top.

Thoughts on Approaching Autumn

Beautiful Mashobra

"There is a harmony in autumn, and a lustre in it's sky.
Which through the summer is not heard or seen.
As if it could not be, as if it had not been!" 

(Percy Bysshe Shelley)

And who would not agree?

Autumn- When summer leaves us, and we approach the year's end.

When the leaves on the trees start changing colour, and there is that very slight nip in the air...

Autumn in France

Or did we imagine it?

When sunsets become even more beautiful, and make us want to watch them just that much longer....

When we start debating, do we need to delve into our wardrobes again, for could winter really be far behind?

When a Caramel Machiatto with cinammon scones is just irresistible....

When festivities abound..... wherever you may be in the world.

When every photograph you take has just that "teeny weeny" sharper edge.....

And finally, as George Eliot once famously said, "Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."