Saturday, January 13, 2007

Weekend Dog Blogging, Weekend Jabber

Dale, the official mascot of One Hot Stove, is making an appearance today, after many months. He is settling well into his new home, and every weekend I'll try and show you a little bit of his new life in St. Louis. Dalu's favorite thing about the new home: the sunshine that streams in through the huge windows! Dale is a sun-worshipper, every morning he catches the first sunbeam that comes in, and follows it around all day, napping here and there. See that lovely tan he has acquired? :)

A convenient square of sun right by his bed...
DaleSunning1

After a while, it is too much work to hold up his head (who turned on the gravity??)...
DaleSunning2

Later, a nap in the patch of sun right by the radiator...two sources of heat on a cold winter morning!
DaleSunning3

Please go visit all the puppies at the Weekend Dog Blogging round-up over at Sweetnicks!

And time for some weekend jabber...

Everyone who loves coconut (or even likes it just a little) should definitely visit Ashwini, who did a brilliant job hosting the Jihva: Coconut event. See the round-up for over 70 delicious coconut-ty soups, snacks, curries, desserts and more! I was excited to see dozens of recipes in the round-up that I cannot wait to try for myself. I already made Indosungod's Eggplant in a buttermilk sauce and it was absolutely delicious, even with my less-than-ideal substitution of dried coconut powder for fresh coconut.

The explosion in Indian food blogs over the past few months is so delightful...for me, it is a peek into home kitchens from many different regions of India. This is the sort of opportunity that money cannot buy! Every week, I try and make a couple of the delicious recipes that I see on other blogs, Indian or not. A few days ago, I made Cabbage Rice using the recipe shared by Vani of Mysoorean. The recipe calls for cooking shredded cabbage, then tossing it with delicious "palya powder" (Vani's mom's recipe) and cooked rice. Simple and delicious! A regional home-style recipe that I will make often.

So, do you prefer the food of "India" or of "Bharat"? What's the difference, you ask? "G" from the new Missouri blog Vyanjanaa tells us in a great little essay.

Speaking of Missouri food blogs, I have added a little list of the "St. Louis and nearby" food blogs to the side-bar. It is a small but vibrant community! Actually, Alanna organized a little treat for the St. Louis-and-nearby food bloggers in October, a wonderful food-styling and photography workshop, which I managed to attend even though (a) I was on a blogging break and (b) not even living in St. Louis yet! It was very exciting to meet many of the local bloggers, and also to meet a much-admired food blogger in person, Kalyn, who was a guest at this workshop. Kalyn has written a synopsis of the workshop, in case y'all want to read about the fun that we had!

Finally, congratulations, Kalyn...her blog, Kalyn's Kitchen, won the Best Food Blog: Theme prize in the 2006 Food Blog awards! I am so happy for you!

Whew, that was a lot of yackety-yak on my part...but then, I have much to talk about after a long break. Hope you like the weekend jabber section, and enjoy the weekend, everyone!

12 comments:

  1. "Jabber away" ... it's just to have you blogging again!

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  2. I'm so honored to win the award, and really touched that you care enough to mention it. It was so fun meeting all the St. Louis bloggers. I'm jealous; there are only three other bloggers in Utah that I know of, and two aren't really posting much.

    If any of the St. Louis people ever come to Utah, be sure to let me know! (There is great skiing here, and lots of summer fun too.)

    I agree with Alanna, nice to have you back.

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  3. Nupur loved reading this post. Thanks for letting me know how the Mor Kozhambu turned out, for a first timer you did pretty good, I had quiet a few trial and errors before I had a handle on how not to break the yogurt.

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  4. Hey Nupur! Jabber away! Loved the post AND Dale!
    kya mast hai re Dale! ekdum jhakaas!!
    Another eggplant recipe... will look it up and make for the hubby! Thanx :D

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  5. Hi Nupur,

    I have been reading your blog for many months now but it's the first time I'm posting. I love your blog - it brings back memories of of home (Bombay) and my Aji who was a divine cook. She had a simple love of cooking and I see the same in you.
    I'm glad you're back from your hiatus!
    Prachi

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  6. What a cute dog! And I totally comprehend his sun-worshipping ways. Something about upstate NY winters... we don't see the sun for months!

    I'm excited to read about your new life in St. Louis. My husband is from there and we go to visit his family every year. His parents live in the suburbs, but his sister lives in Soulard, which is one of the coolest neighborhoods anywhere!

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  7. i think that's a totally cool idea, tossing in bit and pieces of the different parts of your life throughut the blog. i'm gonna try that too.

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  8. I want to live Dale's life!!!
    Thanks for linking to JFI round up Nupur.

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  9. I am glad that you liked my essay and thanks for mentioning it.

    PS: The past few weeks in India, I have been exactly like Dale -- following the sun around the house and garden!

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  10. Thanks for stopping by, Alanna!

    Kalyn, it is such a well-deserved win...you are helping so many people to make more informed food choices and live a healthier life.

    Indosungod, thank you for the recipe!

    Hi Manasi, yes, Dale is quite the handsome hero :) oh Manasi, I wish you would discover the joy of eating eggplant, it is such a divine veggie :) :)

    Thanks for leaving a comment, Prachi. And thank you for all the kind words! Glad to bring back some happy memories.

    Thanks, Bazu! I love Soulard although I have only visited the place once. Come meet Dale (and me) in person next time you are in STL!

    Jacob, your drawing are awesome! Glad you like the "jabber" segment.

    Me too, Ashwini! Oh, to be fed and walked and to have your poop scooped on top of all that :) :) (Sorry, maybe I should not be saying that on a food blog).

    I can imagine, Gunjan! Although, in India, we usually move from shade to shade instead :)

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  11. I love your dog! He's sleek and beautiful! He follows the sun too, huh? So does my cat Ginger. Especially in the mornings-the only time she gets up is to stretch and move a few feet to where the sunlight has moved!
    Glad you liked the cabbage bhath, Nupur.
    I thought u were in NYC, for some reason, not St Louis.

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  12. Hi Vani, thanks for stopping by! Yeah, Dale is quite shiny and cute :)
    I was in NYC until just a month ago, just moved to St. Louis.

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