Hints of the familiar, amidst a crowd of unfamiliar. That’s everyday life. The constants change daily and the strange becomes ‘worn in’. Like rain in the summer. And cardamom in desserts. I find my mind split in two – half loves cardamom in all Indian recipes, even those that don’t call for it and the other half has heard of it in Scandinavia baking and sweet cooking.
Bounty of Deliciousness in a Box: My First & Last CSA box
It took me a while to find out what CSA meant and why people were so excited about it. Eventually I found out it was ‘Community-supported agriculture’ referring simply to a partnership between (small-scale) growers and consumers where by an exchange was made of cash or produce, for produce. I like it. Everything about it – seasonal, local, often organic and being woven into the fabric of a community. I smiled because I knew that I’d be hard-pressed to find anything like that in the Netherlands, till I read Gnoe’s Grassland – a Netherlands-based blog and discovered she received a...
Herb Poached Nectarines
It’s all about timing, life is. I am often shocked at the ‘coincidences’ that take place. Mind you, I don’t believe at all in coincidence, I am more a fan of the law of attraction. Me, food, you, we happy.
Palates & Palettes: Painting Backgrounds for Food Photography
Welcome to Palates & Palettes, a series of (food) photography posts exploring various elements of food photography because we savour the colours of the food as well as the ‘canvas’ it lays upon.
Daring Cooks make Pierogi in August
Sometimes I’m stunned by his partial food memory. He could have a delicious meal today and not remember a single component the following week. That’s my husband. Last year, he went to Krakow (Poland) and in true foodie style, I organised with staff at the hotel where he stayed to make sure he tried pierogi. On his return, I inquired ‘How was the pierogi’? hoping to hear some long description about the pastry and filling and all I got was, ‘Nice’. Thankfully he brought back a Polish cookbook which I’ve opened up for this month’s Daring Cooks challenge – to...
Steamed Plantain Pudding, Nigerian style
I love everything about food – the components, the assembly and the presentation. I enjoy experimenting with colour palettes and taste palates, textures and light. I love to highlight the net skins of cantaloupes and the bum cheeks of peaches, almost as much as I enjoy sushi and (cooking with) wine. I love highlighting the beauty of a dish but that’s not always real – the pretty food you see on this blog represents a tiny portion of my food reality – please don’t take it as the entire gospel. Many a time, I bite into a juicy peach and...
Cooking with fruit: Blackberries
I wonder if prehistoric men ever felt the thrill of foraging for food. Perhaps they, in that ancient manner of men viewed their hunting and gathering with purpose and nary a hint of frivolity: to sustain and to provide for themselves and family. These days and modern times, we forage, not for sustenance but for the love of it. For the thrill of picking your own fruit or vegetables and transforming them into some delightful (or not so ) dish. We adore the essence of it, learning food history and gardening techniques. Discovering when to pick fruit and where, not...
Cupboard Love: Barbecued Mustard Chicken
I’m swamped – family visits: 2 sisters, 3 kids. Fun but swamped. I’m writing in a hurry……knowing well my attention will be needed soon, and closing my ears to the deafening noise of 6 children!
Happy National Mustard Day
Please thank fine art daily for letting me know there was such a day designed especially for mustard and mustard lovers.