Revisiting- Food for Thought Turns 1 and a Ramadan Special

Its now three years since I started 'Food For Thought', but here Im re visiting the first anniversary special.

Time flies and here we are on the 25th of June, 2014. (Oman time) Today, its exactly one year since I started 'Food For Thought' and this also happens to be my 50th post. I've had a really great time writing each and every one of these posts and my journey through this year has taken me to kitchens in France, Oman and India in addition to my very own.

However, 'Food For Thought' is not merely about cuisine- I have also tried to share my love for art and culture through some of these posts and am fairly satisfied with the outcome. I've received feedback from readers as well as many of the restaurants and locations that I've featured. Best of all, I know for a fact that I've learnt a great deal as well! Top of mind, I recall the three sessions I had at Paul Muscat, with Pastry Chef Mohammed Kessrwani who unhesitatingly shared his Chef's secrets, special tips and allowed me to ask him "anything at all". Similarly, a Chocolate fondue making experience at the Al Bustan Ritz Carlton, the delightful new Anar Cafe, Caramel Bakery, Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, I could go on and on....

A special occasion ought to be marked by something special and I'm going to try and do exactly that. Oman is currently in the grip of Football as well as Date fever and we are enjoying the very best of both. There are so many uses of dates in recipes and over a period of time, I will share some of these with you. Meanwhile, here's a glimpse at what most of the date palms in Oman look like at the moment.

Ripe for picking As mentioned in my previous post on Pre Ramadan musings, I'm going to to write about some of the Ramadan Specials that various hotels and restaurants in Oman will be offering during this one month period.I will also try and get into the kitchens of some of these places and watch the chefs at work creating the most amazing delicacies and share that with you as well. To start with, I've got some special Iftaar recipes which Erika Anggreini, the Public Relations Manager at the Al Bustan Palace, A Ritz-Carlton Hotel has very graciously shared with me. The first one is a Rose Water Rice Pudding served with Mango compote Rose Water Rice Pudding Ingredients · 114gr Arborio Rice · ½ Ltr water · ¼ Tblspn Salt · 1 Ltr Milk · 57g Powdered Sugar · 118 ml Heavy Cream · 60 ml Rose Water · 1 tbspn Cardamom Seeds Procedure Combine water, salt and rice.Cook until rice is tender, adding milk, cream and sugar and continue cooking on low heat until it becomes a pudding consistency. Add the rose water & cardamom seeds and cook for 10 min. Finally, chill before serving. Mango Compote Ingredients · 4 Mangoes · 2 Oranges/ Juice · 100gr Powder Sugar · 1 Vanilla bean stick Procedure Cut two mangoes. Place all ingredients in a pot and caramelize for about 10 minutes, then blend to make sauce. Once the sauce has chilled, cut the remaining two mangoes into small cubes and mix in with the compote. In a bowl serve the rice pudding and mango compote garnishing with pistachio crumbs. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx And here is a great Summer cooler, a very special Ramadan inspired beverage also from the Al Bustan itz Carlton. This is Coconut Ice Tea which is really simple to make. Try it, I'm sure this will immediately become a family favourite! Coconut Ice Tea · ¼ cup of coconut puree · 8 black tea bags · Lemon for flavor · Sugar · Ice cubes Fill a blender with ice and blend all the ingredients. Finally, sit back, relax and enjoy!

To close for today, here's wishing all of you Ramadan Kareem and peace, happiness and joy in the month ahead and looking forward to hearing from you on what else you would like to see in Food For Thought. The Taimur Mosque -Muscat

Easy to make Strawberry Muffins

Food is not about impressing people It's about making them feel comfortable." said Ina Garten, in 'The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook and thats exactly the way I approach cooking or baking. For me, the food that I cook has to be quick and tasty. And I'm positive that many of you feel exactly the same way. In this post, I'm talking about home made strawberry muffins. They could also have been presented very simply but, I'm choosing to present the 'dressed up' version.

Easy to make Strawberry Muffins Ingredients for 8 large muffins 2 cups all purpose flour 1 cup sugar Half cup chopped strawberries( frozen/fresh) 2 whole eggs 250 gms butter 1/2 cup milk/yogurt vanilla essence 1 tsp baking powder Method Prepare the muffin tin with greased and lined muffin tins.

Mix all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix and gently stir the wet ingredients- butter, eggs, vanilla and strawberry essences, in another dry mixing bowl.Make sure that the mix is uniform and not too thick or too thin. Slowly fold in the chopped strawberries and keep the prepared mix aside. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ones and fold in gently to get a uniform mix. Bake in a preheated oven at 150 C for 25/30 mins and insert a dry toothpick to see if the muffins are ready.

Keep on a wire rack to cool . Once the muffins have cooled, dust with icing sugar and decorate with edible sugar decorations. Sit back and enjoy these anytime treats accompanied with a hot cup of tea or coffee and make sure you share them with friends and family. Then watch their faces light up with joy!

Revisiting a Chocolate Fondue Demonstration and High Tea at the Al Bustan Ritz Carlton, Muscat

Just yesterday I came across this great little post on a site called 'Thought Catalogue'. It was aptly titled '15 things we should stop making a big deal about'. Something about it struck a deep chord and made me re-read it to understand the real essence of what was being said. I'm quoting two of the most meaningful lines here "Ordering dessert when you really want dessert. Or that you want to finish all of your dessert, or that you cleared your plate because you were hungry..Life should be a balance between things that are good for you, and things that you genuinely enjoy, and you shouldn’t feel the need to excuse yourself or make a light joke about being “bad.” Then this morning I went into the Al Bustan Ritz Carlton Hotel in Muscat for a Chocolate Fondue demonstration followed by High tea and these lines seemed perfect! Life really has to be a balance and I know I will always keep it that way.There will have to be a time to write, a time to click photographs, go out, spend quality time with family and do that little bit for people who need it. The Al Bustan Ritz Carlton, Muscat For all the ladies present, the highlight of the morning was the Chocolate Fondue demonstration set up by Executive Chef Jergen Sodemann and his two young assistants Kevin and Julia who took us through the short and sweet steps involved in making three kinds of chocolate fondue. Executive Chef Jergen Sodemann shows us the superb Ritz Carlton Chocolate cake which we then got to eat- It was in a word, superb! Kevin then started the demonstration by showing us these bags of fabulous chocolate ( of course, we all got to eat the chocolate). The three types of chocolate fondue that we were privileged to watch were the Manjari, Tanariva and the Dulcey chocolate fondues. Bags of the best quality chocolate used to make the chocolate fondue For those of you who are interested in trying it out, here is the highly acclaimed original Ritz Carlton recipe for the Manjari ( Dark) Chocolate Fondue Boil cream and glucose together. Pour over the dark chocolate . Start using a spatula to create an emulsion. Keep aside Vacuum into a bag and preserve in chiller for a week Ready to serve with these mouthwatering options The taste of the pudding is really in the eating! The fabulous High tea that followed Did that make us feel really happy? I'd say Yes. So would the fifty other ladies who joined us for the event.And before closing, I will share my favourite quote on chocolate by Dave Barry."My therapist told me the way to achieve inner happiness was to finish what I start. So today I have finished two bags of M and Ms and chocolate cake. I feel better already!" NB- Revisiting an older post and loved reliving the experience