The List: October 2013

In my corner of the world, October saw a fall in temperatures and a rise in festivities. Halloween is in the air with pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere and creepy decorations on lawns up and down the street. V and I were laughing at ourselves because the neighbors have strung up fake cobwebs but we've been shirking yard work for so long that we have real cobwebs stretched across the front of our house- really!

Eating

Jasmine rice! All these years, I've resisted buying this fragrant Thai rice because with 4 or 5 types of rice already sitting in the pantry, I did not want to add one more. Well, this month I finally bought some and can I just say that I'm smitten with jasmine rice now. It cooks up soft and flavorful- wonderful in East Asian dishes, of course, but equally tasty in pulao. Do you cook with jasmine rice regularly?

Enchiladas! I love enchilada platters in Mexican restaurants- the typical ones with fiery looking red sauce and a heap of lettuce and tomato on the side. Well, this week I made red enchilada sauce from scratch using some assorted dried Mexican chiles that I've had in the pantry for ages...and while the sauce was tasty, it was also 5 times hotter than I wanted it to be. Oops. Well, V won't eat spicy food so I'm working my way solo through this huge tray on enchiladas, and quite enjoying it too. This sauce, once I've tweaked it, will be completely blog-worthy so please stay tuned for a authentic(ish) red enchilada sauce coming soon to your friendly neighborhood Indian food blog.

Baking

Impossible Coconut Pie, pinned from here. Impossible pies get the name because a little flour is mixed right into the batter, but separates into a thin crust while baking (same principle as for the mini quiches I posted last week). Well, this particular recipe couldn't be easier, in fact I just gave the ingredients a whirl in the blender making it even easier. But the results, while tasty, were not mind-blowing. I made this as a birthday treat for my quilting teacher who loves coconut. Next time, I'll try another recipe for coconut cake or something. By the way, the picture shows the souffle-like pie billowing as it came out of the oven, when cooled, it deflated a good deal.

Oh, and I continued the apple baking fest by making apple cake and apple muffins. The cake was good but a little too dense and eggy for my taste. The apple muffins were wonderful- I cut the sugar way down. And the recipe said it would make 12 muffins  but actually made 16.

Reading 

Image: Goodreads

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. The book tells the story of Ursula Todd, born in England on a snowy February night in 1910. Well, in the first chapter, tiny Ursula is stillborn, perishing with the umbilical cord wrapping around her neck. The very next chapter tells a different version of the story, one in which the doctor made it through the snowstorm and clipped the cord just in time, saving her life and letting her grow up. And so on and so on, the book asks the question: how would life change if a different choice had been made, if circumstances were different and life took a different turn? This novel is written in a very unusual style, bouncing back and forth in time and storyline, but it grew on me quickly and I will be thinking about it for a long time. I highly recommend this intelligent and well-crafted book. Not necessarily a light read (after all, anyone born in 1910 faced two world wars before they reached middle age, if they even reached middle age) but well worth your time and mental space.

Making

An apple hat and matching scarf- a birthday gift for Lila's little friend who turned two.






Fall yarn wreath, pinned from here. It was fun to make and easy as can be (I

used push pins to fix the flowers- no glue needed) but I should have used a larger wreath form- it is way too small for the door. Oh well. I'm still sending it and the coconut pie as pins #4 and #5 to Trish's Pin It and Do It challenge.

Laughing at conversations with my two year old.

Lila (making stirring motions): Lila's cooking.
Me: Oh, what are you making?
Lila: Making bananas.

Me: Hey, baby Lila!
Lila (in same tone of voice): Hey, baby Mama!

Planning a small Diwali party. Now where did I put those diyas and tea-lights...

Supporting my friend Bala's art. I knew Bala briefly in St. Louis and we've been friends since. She's an incredibly generous soul, has rescued dogs and birds, and she's trying a recipe from every country on her blog. I still remember the veggie sushi she made for us almost three years ago.

Bala sent me my little one this sign as a gift
when she was born-
it hangs proudly in her room.

Those familiar Indian art forms of rangoli, kolam and mehendi- Bala interprets them on canvas. I am mesmerized by her mandalas and kolams. For years, she has donated paintings to raise money for various worthy causes and is now raising money to go pro. I am cheering her on and spreading the word! Please read her story and support her if you can.



Nicest thing that happened this month: A very sweet reader named Rashmi read in my book survey that I don't have an e-reader and promptly sent me one that she isn't using any more. It is very fun to try an e-reader for the first time, but more than that, I was so touched by this generous and spontaneous gesture.

October was a lucky month because I also won a quilting book and an online quilting class in blog giveaways. Inspired by all this generosity, I looked around for a couple of things to share in turn. Nothing as big as an e-reader but if you'd like to put your name in the hat for these little gifts, please fill out the forms (there are just two questions in the form- so I know your e-mail contact). I'm afraid I can only ship within the US, but please feel free to enter on behalf of family/friends in the US if you live elsewhere. I'll randomly draw winners on Sunday, November 3.

Giveaways!

1. A Marathi book written by a group of pediatricians (my mother co-wrote and edited this book) called Balahaar Margadarshika (guide book for children's nutrition). It has dozens of kid-friendly recipes, informative articles and cute cartoons. You will need to be able to read Marathi in order to use this cookbook! Put your name in the hat by filling this form.The giveaway is closed- won by Uma.

2. One of my favorite books, the Number 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. I bought this copy in my library's annual book sale and it is in great condition. Put your name in the hat by filling this form.The giveaway is closed- won by Prathima.

3. A scarf: I knitted this soft and squishy blue drop-stitch scarf for no one in particular, and saved it in my "gift box". Maybe you'll enjoy it this winter? It is fairly short, but would look nice cinched with a brooch or tucked under a jacket collar. Put your name in the hat by filling this form. The giveaway is closed- won by Jui.








How did the month of October treat you? What are you eating, reading, making, planning, and laughing at? What was the nicest thing that happened to you all month? Share in the comments, please and thank you. Happy Halloween and Happy Diwali to everyone who's celebrating!

Crust-less Mini Quiches

No chit-chat today (shocking, I know)- just a quick recipe that I made this morning for an event at work. It turned out well and I wanted to jot it here before I forget the approximate proportions.

This is a big batch of crust-less mini quiches (but the recipe can easily be halved) that are perfect for breakfast, snacks or as appetizers. It is a take on these mini quiches that I made a while ago and had almost forgotten. Oh, and they are much less work than these other mini quiches I've posted before.

There is a lot of flexibility in this recipe, this is just the way I made these today...

Crust-less Mini Quiches

(Makes 24)

1. In a skillet, saute 1 medium minced onion in a little olive oil.

2. Add 6-8 cups of vegetables diced small (I used mushrooms, broccoli and zucchini) and your choice of seasoning (I used salt, oregano, paprika, cumin...) and saute on medium-high heat until the veggies are tender.

3. Let the vegetables cool down.

4. Preheat oven to 375F.

5. In a large bowl, beat 7 or 8 large eggs. Stir in the cooked veggies, more seasoning if you like, 4 tbsp. cream cheese (cut roughly in small cubes), 1/4 cup whole-milk yogurt, 1/3 cup of shredded Parmesan and 1/3 cup of shredded cheddar. Sprinkle mixture with 1 cup flour and 1 tbsp. baking powder and fold those in.

6. Spray 2 muffin tins well and ladle the mixture into the 24 wells.

7. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until puffy and golden, and a knife inserted into the center comes clean.

8. Serve hot or at room temperature.

See you next week with The List for October!

Apple Pie for a Crowd

(...and an apple cake that you'll want to hide and eat all by yourself.)

Clearly, I'm going to town on the crisper full of apples that we bought in North Carolina. They are exquisitely crisp and sweet, perfect for snacking on (Lila likes apple slices slathered with peanut butter) but as a baking enthusiast, I had to try them in some recipes too.

There's nothing like the smell of baking apples to remind me that Fall is here. Well, that and the metric ton of dead leaves clogging up the yard that I'm trying my best to avoid raking.

The first recipe I tried was Dorie Greenspan's French Apple Cake from David Lebovitz's blog. What's a French apple cake versus an American apple cake? Well, instead of the traditional and much beloved pairing of apples with cinnamon in American desserts, this cake is flavored with rum. Not to confuse a French recipe with an American idiom, but this recipe simply hits a home run.

The cake is made of very basic ingredients, along with a dash of rum, as I said before. I used Bacardi Gold rum which sits in my pantry all year round only to be used in fruit cake. My only modification was to use 1/2 cup sugar instead of 3/4 cup. The apples are so plentiful that the batter is merely a coating for the apple pieces. This cake was a delightful treat, with soft chunks of apples in a cake so light and tender that it almost tasted like custard. I don't have much of a sweet tooth but I honestly kept coming back and stealing chunks of it all day.

The second recipe came about when I needed to take a dessert to a gathering. I was longing to make apple pie but a pie only serves about 8. Normally. In my house, it serves 2 or 3. Anyway, I discovered that there is such a thing as a slab pie, that is, all the layers of a pie baked in a larger format like a 9 x 13 pan or a half-sheet pan.

I found a recipe that called for pie crust to be patted into the pan- seriously makes things easier. Here's my tweaked version. This apple slab pie was an absolute treat, especially served warm (leftovers can be easily warmed in the microwave oven).

Apple Pie for a Crowd

(Adapted from this recipe)

1. To make the crust, combine the following, cutting the butter into the flour.
1.5 cups flour
1.5 sticks cold butter, cut in small pieces
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar

2. Add ice cold water a couple of tablespoons at a time and mix until the pie dough just comes together. Pat this dough into the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Put the pan into the freezer while you make the rest of the layers.

3. Crumb topping: In a bowl, mix the following, again cutting the butter into the rest of the ingredients.
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup almond flour
2 tbsp. sugar
4 tbsp. cold butter
Pinch of salt

4. Apple filling: Peel, core and chop 6 apples. Toss them with 1/4 cup sugar, juice of 1/2 lemon and 1 tbsp. cinnamon.

5. Preheat the oven to 375 F.

6. Assemble the slab pie: Pour apple mixture into the pan and level it off. Scatter crumb mixture evenly on top.

7. Bake for an hour or until the filling is bubbling.

These two recipes were both pinned to my Sweetest Things board and are Pins #2 and #3 for the Pin It and Do It challenge.

My Sewing Machine and A Sneak Peek Into My Sewing Room

As I'm learning to tame the beast that is my sewing machine, I've discovered the vibrant community of sewing and quilting blogs written by people who generously share tips, tutorials, advice and inspiration. So, when I stumbled on this post asking for sewing machine reviews, I decided to jump in and contribute a review about my sewing machine.

What brand and model do you have? I have the Brother CE-5500PRW Project Runway™ Limited Edition Computerized Sewing Machine.

How long have you had it? I've owned this machine for 2.5 years. But the first year I owned it, I did not use it at all. I only looked at it anxiously from time to time before putting it back into the closet.

How much does that machine cost (approximately)? I bought it for $135.

What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)? I use it for piecing quilt tops, quilting and simple sewing projects like wallets and bags and pillowcase dresses.

How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get? I sew two or three hours every week, on average. So the machine gets fairly light wear and tear.

Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does your machine have a name? My machine is called Big Brother. I definitely like my machine- Big Brother is my buddy and we're learning to work together!

What features does your machine have that work well for you? The machine is simple to use. Changing thread, loading bobbins, changing needles, changing feet was all easy to learn. The drop in bobbin is very convenient. The machine has 50 stitches or something ridiculous like that, but I only tend to use the straight stitch and the zig zag. My sister (who sews professionally) used the machine for a month when she was visiting me and she liked it very much.

Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine? I found it very difficult to sew multiple layers on this machine. Buying a walking foot has made this a lot easier, so I highly recommend buying a walking foot if you buy this machine.

I've used my quilting teacher's Bernina once or twice, and using that very high-end machine gave me an experience of driving the Cadillac of sewing machines. So I understand that Big Brother is noisy and not as smooth as some machines are!

The throat of the machine is small which will make it a challenge to quilt anything bigger than a crib sized or possible twin sized quilt. It works for me because I have no intentions of making big quilts.

Would you recommend the machine to others? Why?  I would certainly recommend this machine to beginners. Before you start sewing/quilting, you have no idea how much you'll use a machine and whether you'll end up liking these crafts, and it does not make sense to buy a high-end machine. I like to start small and work my way up.

Brother makes very inexpensive machines that have good features. I have read many reviews that the machines are not durable and not sturdy and this may well be true, but so far mine is working well.

Do you have a dream machine? If I'm still sewing and quilting avidly 3 years from now, I might splurge on a refurbished Bernina or Janome.

This is where where Big Brother lives:

I've been having great fun converting our spare bedroom into a sewing room/studio for myself. It is hard to describe the pleasure that comes from having a tidy, bright and cheerful space devoted to creative pursuits, and this is where I now do most of my sewing and blogging. Knitting is done strictly in front of the TV but the knitting supplies and other craft paraphernalia do live in this room!

This space was inspired by photos of countless sewing rooms that I've seen on blogs and on Pinterest. My sewing room came together via lots of purchases at IKEA and some generous hand-me-downs from my quilting teacher- she gave me the ironing board and the thread rack.

Click on the photos to enlarge them.

By one window is the sewing/cutting table, where Big Brother sits. The table is big enough for a cutting mat. V was nice enough to mount the thread rack onto the side of the bookcase so that thread is just at arm's length when I sit down to sew.

There are stacked bins for my fabric. I've decided that I can only have as much fabric as can fit into these bins. When I mention this to quilter friends, they just laugh out loud.

I have plans for the blank wall at the back- I want to make it a design wall like this one. Designs walls are very helpful for laying out quilt blocks to "audition" them.






By the other window is a small desk- and this is where much of One Hot Stove is written.

I learned a new technique called paper piecing and made this dog as a sample. Somehow the droopy ears reminded me of Dale and so I put it in a frame and it sits on my desk.

My mother and sister gave me several adorable block-printed cotton fabrics from India. I put them in thrifted wooden embroidery hoops and now this cheerful grouping makes me smile every time I look at it. This has got to be the easiest wall decor project ever.

It turns out that ironing seams is one of the most important steps in sewing and quilting. When I come into the room to sew, the first thing I do it to switch on the iron.

I spent my entire lifetime trying to avoid ironing by buying wash and wear clothing or cheerfully wearing crumpled cotton clothing- it is the one chore I hate with all my heart. And now here in my sewing room is an ironing station. A place devoted to nothing but ironing! As Alanis Morissette would say, "Isn't it ironic? Don't you think?" "Iron"ic! Get it?? :D

This ironing station was inspired by this one that I pinned here and is Pin #1 for this month's Pin It and Do It challenge. Psst- if you're looking for motivation to try something you've pinned, it is not too late to sign up.

I found this button rug at IKEA and just couldn't resist buying it for the sewing room.The tapestry was a gift from my parents- they bought it on their travels through India. I think it is Pipli applique work from Orissa.

Duncan likes to drape himself decoratively on the rug.

My button jar. It makes me inordinately happy. 

 Have a wonderful Sunday and I'll see you be back on Tuesday or Wednesday with an apple dessert. 

Berry Parfaits, and How Children Succeed

Here's a simple treat that was Part II of Lila's birthday celebrations, this time with her classmates and teachers in the daycare center. When I mentioned that I was bringing treats to Lila's class, it led to an interesting discussion with two of my quilting friends (both of whom happen to be much older than me).You see, they assumed that I would bring in cupcakes with frosting and sprinkles and I had to explain that we're in an era when cupcakes (and other sugary treats like cookies, candy and juice) are banned from her school, along with nuts (allergy concerns) and grapes, popcorn (choking hazards) among other things. And you can just forget about the frosting and the sprinkles.

My friends rolled their eyes a little- no cake for kids; that's just sad, they said. I could almost hear them sighing in relief that they raised their kids in simpler times before the food police came into power. Listen, I get what they're saying, and I also get what the school is trying to do. Being a parent or a teacher is a tough job because you're always trying to strike a balance and do the right thing (without there being any consensus on what the "right thing" is).

Desserts in moderation, to be enjoyed on special occasions- I'm completely on board with that, and my child gets to enjoy sweet treats. You bet I'll bake her a cake for her birthday. Rather than labeling foods as "good" and "bad", I hope to help her develop a positive relationship with food. Rather than banning sugar and thereby making it a "forbidden fruit" that she seeks out when she's away from my supervision, I try to encourage a taste for wholesome food so she ends up preferring it to the processed stuff.

I also understand that we live in an environment that is saturated with cheap, sugar-laden food, and in light of there being classroom celebrations almost every day, I completely appreciate that the school administrators try to point parents towards treats that are relatively nutritious and safe for all the kids to eat. They are trying to disengage the equation of sugar=fun.

So this is the treat that I came up with. It meets all the rules and is a sweet treat all the same. I made parfaits, which is a rather posh name for something so simple.

To start with, you need some vanilla yogurt and some nut-free granola. Both can be store bought but are simple enough to make at home. These are quantities for 12 parfaits.

Vanilla yogurt: Stir 2 tbsp. sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla extract into 3 cups plain whole-milk yogurt.

Nut-free granola: Toss 1 cup oats with 1/4 cup raisins, 1 tbsp. maple syrup, 1 tbsp. olive oil and a pinch of cinnamon and salt. Spread on a greased baking sheet and bake at 300F for 20-30 minutes, until golden brown. Let it cool.

To assemble the parfaits, simply layer fruits, yogurt and granola as shown in the picture. Any ripe fruits will do, but I used strawberries and blueberries because they are Lila's favorites. I used mini round food containers (found in every supermarket). They have a 1/2 capacity which is just perfect for a toddler snack and are transparent which makes for nice-looking parfaits because you can see the layers. They can be sealed shut for transport and I found to my great delight that these cups fit perfectly into a muffin tin for safe, upright transport to school! And I was able to freeze the empty muffin tin before putting in the cups so they stayed cold on the ride over. Yes, I'm channeling Martha Stewart here.

The berry parfaits were enjoyed by the kids and the teachers and it was very sweet when Lila came home with a paper birthday crown and said over and over again, "Teacher singeth happy birthday Lila".

Image: Goodreads

On the same subject of parenting, I read an interesting book recently- How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character by Paul Tough. The book asks the question, what factors go into making a child grow into a successful adult? And it turns out that while cognitive skills- language, math, pure IQ and thinking ability do matter, what matters even more is character skills such as self-control, curiosity and the ability to deal with failure and to persevere.

To me, this book was interesting from two perspectives: One, as a parent, how do I cultivate these meaningful character traits in my child? Two, how do we as a society establish educational programs so that children from all backgrounds can succeed and grow into more productive citizens? The book has no magic answers but it contains interesting research, case studies and plenty of food of thought.

Many parents are obsessed with academic success, starting with that baby Einstein nonsense in infancy. (As an aside, I always roll my eyes when I see a car with a "My kid is an honors student" bumper sticker and I always snicker when I see the one that says, "My dog is smarter than your honors student".) I am fairly sure that my kid will learn to read, write and count sooner or later. I'd rather help her develop a strong sense of ethics and self-discipline and mental toughness.

Books like these are complex so I am noting down three take-home lessons for myself. By the way, if you can't get a hold of this book, here's a good summary.

1. Strong parental nurturing in early childhood is strongly correlated with character development. So hold your babies and bond closely with them. Be warm and responsive to your little ones. Babies who are securely attached learn to cope with stress and this benefit lasts for a lifetime.

2. In adolescence, in contrast, coddling a child and protecting them from failure is not the right approach. They should learn to take risks, face failure, analyze why they failed and learn from it. Interestingly, children of very affluent parents who grow up facing no adversity are more likely to be maladjusted teens.

3. Steep the child in a culture of good character. Treat these traits as being as important, or even more important, than getting good grades.

That's it, friends. Have a wonderful week and see you in a few. Oh and don't forget to share your favorite parenting wisdom in the comments. We can all learn from each other.

"The List" September 2013

The first two "list" posts here and here were so much fun that I'm making this a monthly feature to recap the noteworthy moments of each month. You'll see that my definition of noteworthy covers everything from vacations to laundry detergent. What is life but a collage of moments big and trivial? Of course the very best part of these posts is when you, dear reader, chime in and tell me what's going on in your life so don't be shy.

So here goes, the list for September 2013.

Baking Lemonies= Brownies minus chocolate plus lemon. I followed this recipe. It is a drop dead easy recipe that comes together in minutes and boy, was it a success. I made a batch for Lila's teachers and one of them said to me that it was the best thing she had ever eaten- I'm not making this up. OK, she may have exaggerating a little bit but yeah, you can be sure I'll make lemonies again.

My only modifications to the recipe were to replace 1/8 cup of regular flour with almond flour- this small change added lots of texture and flavor to these melt-in-the-mouth treats. And I used lemon oil and fiori di sicilia (a citrus vanilla baking extract) which added a little something something.

Cooking pineapple relish. I bought some fresh pineapple for a party and forgot to cut and serve it. So a couple of days later, I cooked up this dish on the fly; it is something in between a pickle and a chutney. Does such a thing have a name?

The recipe for pineapple relish in short: Heat oil, temper with mustard seeds, curry leaves, asafetida, methi seeds. Add fresh pineapple cubes, salt, turmeric, chili powder, a good bit of jaggery. Let it simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pineapple is coated in a thick sweet-tangy syrup. Cool and store in the fridge for 3-4 days. This relish jazzed up several rice and dal meals for me.

Reading The World According to Bertie (44 Scotland Street #4). After a slow start, I'm finally sinking my teeth into this series by A. McCall Smith. Next on my list is Khalid Hosseini's And The Mountains Echoed. I feel a strange mixture of anticipation and dread about starting this book. Because he's a terrific story-teller but his stories tend to be haunting and, well, sad. Do you ever get this feeling?

Watching Craigslist Joe- a documentary about a guy who spends a month living only off free stuff found via Craigslist. Totally random, often touching and hilarious. October Sky- a feel-good inspirational movie (based on a true story) about a high school kid from a small mining town who decided to build a rocket. Is "You can achieve your dreams if you try hard enough" a trite theme for a  movie? No, it isn't. In fact, I like to be reminded of this as often as possible.

Oh, I finished the first season of Orange is the New Black- how can something be so funny and so disturbing at the same time? And for total time-pass watching, I've been enjoying Psych and 30 Rock.

Quilting: I made this quilt for Lila's little friend who also turned 2 this month. There's a town on the front, with houses and roads and buildings and such. He can snuggle under it at night and run cars on it during the day.

Experiment of the month: I made laundry detergent using this recipe. I grated the soap bar, then used an immersion blender to make the "laundry sauce". I've only used it for 2 or 3 loads of laundry but the results have been good so far.

Highlight of the month: We went to the Smoky Mountains for a weekend getaway and enjoyed some gorgeous views. And came back with a crisper's worth of North Carolina apples. Got any must-try apple recipes?

Low point of the month: Our poor puppy Duncan got attacked by another dog in the dog park. The other dog had him by the scuff of the neck and would not let go. I am perfectly useless in an emergency; I stood there and screamed in sheer panic. And when I bent down to do something about the situation, I got kicked in the head! Oy vey. Not to worry, everyone has survived and all is well. Duncan came away with only a small cut on his neck (nothing short of a miracle) that we promptly washed and dressed. On the positive side, he loved coming with us to the mountains. He is such a doll and we are just so thrilled that he is part of our family.

Supporting Asha for Education's Work an Hour 2013. The idea is to symbolically donate an hour's worth or more of your salary to fund education programs for kids in India.

What a month it was. Tell me, please, what have you been baking, cooking, reading, watching, making this past month? Did you try any strange experiments? What was the highlight of your month? And I truly hope you had no low points this month at all!

A Popular Curry, and Much Bookishness

Matar paneer- peas and cheese in a rich sauce of tomatoes and onions- has a proven reputation as a crowd-pleaser. It is a darling of Indian buffets in the India Palaces and Spice Huts of the world, and a popular choice for feeding guests in Indian homes from coast to coast. Everyone knows how to make matar paneer, right?

Just in case you feel like the world wide web needs another version of this popular curry, here's my recipe, as adapted to the ingredients and tools in my kitchen. Some Indian curries use nuts (usually cashew nuts pulverized into a powder or a paste) to add thickness and richness to gravies. Almond flour is a staple in my kitchen because I use it sometimes in baking, and I thought of using it in this curry, with excellent results. Also, I use an immersion blender to grind the sauteed onions and tomatoes into a smooth sauce, and that means there is no blender/food processor bowl to wash.

Curries that need grinding and blending are generally considered a hassle to make (in Marathi we use a pithy phrase for this: vaatan ghaatan) but these two short-cuts make this a quick curry. If you'd rather not use paneer, tofu or potatoes would work well instead.

Edited on Sept. 26: When I posted this recipe, I forgot to include one important ingredient- the kasuri methi which gives this curry that much sought after "restaurant taste". Sorry for the omission- and it is now corrected.

Matar Paneer My Way 

Peas and Paneer (Indian cheese) in a Tomato Onion Nut Sauce; serves about 4

Matar paneer with jeera rice to sop up the sauce

 Make the sauce:
1. Heat 2 tbsp oil/butter/ghee.
2. Roughly chop 2 large onions and saute them until lightly browned.
3. Add salt to taste, 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric, 1 tsp. red chili powder (or to taste), 1 tbsp. kasuri methi (dried fenugreek) and 1/2 tbsp. ginger garlic paste. Saute for a few seconds.
4. Add 1 cup tomato puree and 1/4 cup almond flour and stir fry for several minutes until the sauce thickens.
5. Add a cup of water. Using an immersion blender, carefully puree the mixture to a smooth sauce.
Add the peas:
6. Add 2 cups green peas (I use frozen peas, thawed) to the sauce, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add some more water if required to make the curry as thick or thin as you like.
Add the paneer:
7. Saute about 2 cups bite-sized paneer cubes in a bit of oil in a separate pan until golden brown and add them to the curry.
Finish the curry:
8. Turn off the heat. Finish the curry by stirring in a handful of minced cilantro, the juice of half a lemon and 1/2 tsp of your best garam masala. These final touches "make" the curry so don't skip them.

* * *

For some Monday time-pass, I'm following in Trish's footsteps and taking the A to Z Bookish Survey started by The Perpetual Page Turner.

Author you’ve read the most books from: Jhumpa Lahiri, P. G. Wodehouse, Agatha Christie, Alexander McCall Smith...

Best Sequel Ever: Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling

Currently Reading: Love Over Scotland (44 Scotland Street #3) by Alexander McCall Smith

Drink of Choice While Reading: Chai- always and forever.

E-reader or Physical Book? Physical books. I don't even own an e-reader.

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School: Umm...Bertie Wooster? LOL

Glad You Gave This Book A Chance: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Hidden Gem Book: A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote

Important Moment in your Reading Life: Arundathi Roy's The God of Small Things came out when I was a teenager in small town India, hungry for books but without any real access to them. By some miracle, the tiny neighborhood library got a copy right away. I read The God of Small Things in a day or two and was dazzled by it (still am). This was an important moment in my reading life because for the first time, I read a "grown up" book the same week it came out and formed my own opinion of it- saying this is an amazing book for these reasons, and only later read the critical acclaim for the book in major newspapers and magazines. It made me feel like a mature reader.

Just Finished: How Children Succeed by Paul Tough. I'll write a review and synopsis of this book in a couple of weeks.

Kinds of Books You Won’t Read: Pulpy romances and all that vampire stuff. Actually, there's a lot of stuff I don't read.

Longest Book You’ve Read: A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth. Although last month I read Stephen King's 11/22/63 and that was a very long book as well.

Major book hangover because of: Hmm- it has been several weeks/months since a book really rocked my world.

Number of Bookcases You Own: People who visit my home like peeking at the bookcases- because looking at a person's book collection is a good way to learn more about them. Except in my case, it won't tell you much at all. 99% of the books I read are borrowed from the library and promptly returned.

Having said that, I do have a couple of bookshelves for my cookbooks and knitting/quilting books, and for V's Calvin and Hobbes collection.


The bookcase on the left is the most beloved and well-used bookcase in our home and it belongs to Miss Lila. It is pint sized just like her and all of her favorite books live there. She knows a couple dozen books by sight, brings them over to read and can put them back. She knows that if she brings a book over, I will drop everything that I am doing and read it to her.

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times: How To Talk So Kids Will Listen...by Faber and Mazlish. I'll trying to memorize this book before my kid grows up!

Preferred Place To Read: I read in bed most nights before I drift off. We have an oversized couch in the living room and I like to fold myself into a corner of this couch and read.

And I love reading here on the porch to the soundtrack of chirping birds and rustling branches.



Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you’ve read: 

“From that time on, the world was hers for the reading. She would never be lonely again, never miss the lack of intimate friends. Books became her friends and there was one for every mood. There was poetry for quiet companionship. There was adventure when she tired of quiet hours. There would be love stories when she came into adolescence and when she wanted to feel a closeness to someone she could read a biography. On that day when she first knew she could read, she made a vow to read one book a day as long as she lived.”
― Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Yup, what she said.

Reading Regret: That I give up on books too easily- I probably miss out on some good books because if they don't engage me within 20 pages, I put them away.

Series You Started And Need To Finish: I need to catch up with several detectives, including Maisie Dobbs, Inspector Gamache and Flavia de Luce.

Three of your All-Time Favorite Books: Where to begin? I'll cheat and tell you three books that my two year old can't get enough of- From Head to Toe by Eric Carle, Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and Mr. Brown can Moo! Can you? by Dr. Seuss .

Unapologetic Fangirl For: I'm not the fangirl type, frankly. I either like books or I don't; I don't worship any authors.

Very Excited For This Release: I rarely know what the new releases are- I'm still catching up with books that are years or decades old- but I'm looking forward to reading Jhumpa Lahiri's The Lowlands. I liked the excerpt in The New Yorker.

Worst Bookish Habit: I never use my cookbooks! Every time I'm looking for a recipe, I run to my computer. Poor neglected cookbooks.

X Marks The Spot (Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book): I looked at my shelf of cookbooks and the 27th book was Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day by Hertzberg and Francois. And umm, I haven't baked anything from it yet.






Your latest book purchase: I bought  Ed Emberley's Complete Funprint Drawing Book for a friend's child last month. This is one of my favorite books to give as gifts to the preschool set.

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late): I covet my sleep too much. Books can wait!

If you feel like doing some bookish time-pass yourself (and who doesn't?), please take the survey in the comments, even answering just a few questions if you like!

Edited to add: My darling friend Shoots took the bookish survey and I had to include it in this post so here it is!! She's read Anna Karenina and she reads books in English, German and Bengali. Overachiever, much? Plus, she's super cute. 

Author you’ve read the most books from: Enid Blyton. Agatha Christie, Satyajit Ray, Ruskin Bond, Jeffery Archer, Arthur Conan Doyle  are a close second (err...there are some more, but I'll stop now)

Best Sequel Ever: All Things Wise and Wonderful (James Herriot). Harry Potter is a very very close second

Currently Reading: The best reading-lion school stories (My translation of the German Die schoensten Leseloewen Schulgeschicten) and an old Durga-Puja edition of my favourite Bengali children's magazine (Anandamela)

Drink of Choice While Reading: Usually nothing because I either read in bed or on the train but I'd love me a cup of hot tea if I were to read on the sofa

E-reader or Physical Book? Physical books, every time. 

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School: Errr... Dick from Famous Five (I know, groan!) 

Glad You Gave This Book A Chance: The Immortals of Meluha by Amish

Hidden Gem Book: A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian by Marina Lewycka. I found it in a second hand bookstore and I love it (It's nothing about tractors ;))

Important Moment in your Reading Life: Starting to enjoy Bengali literature

Just Finished: Living Free by Joy Adamson

Kinds of Books You Won’t Read: Soppy romantic stories, weird Sci-fi and horror flicks

Longest Book You’ve Read: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Major book hangover because of: Two Lives by Vikram Seth. I found it very powerful without being pushy. Ditto for A Thousand Splendid Suns. But I wouldn't quite describe them as being a hangover... A Rainbow Nation and Freedom at Midnight (both by Larry Collins and Dominique La Pierre) made me sit up and take a long hard look at modern civilization. 

Number of Bookcases You Own:  Two big ones here and about 2 large ones back at home ;) 

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times: To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee 

Preferred Place To Read: I usually read in bed and on the subway but that's more out of necessity. I would love to have more reading time in the Englischer Garten (Central Park to Munich)

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you’ve read: 

A quote that inspires me (my crude translation from Bengali): "I ask, not for you to protect me from adversity, but for the strength to face adversity with courage..." Tagore's Gitanjali

A quote that gives me all the feels, so to say: "I am not the only man to seek his fortune far from home, and certainly I am not the first. Still, there are times I am bewildered by each mile I have traveled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept. As ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination." Jhumpa Lahiri, The Third and Final continent (Interpretor of Maladies)

Reading Regret: I read too fast. I really need to slow down and savour the books

Series You Started And Need To Finish: 44 Scotland Street, though it didn't quite catch on as much as The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. The other would be the Lord of the Rings. I didn't make it past The Hobbit. 

Three of your All-Time Favorite Books: To kill a mocking bird, The Namesake, A collection of Satyajit Ray's works called Shera Satyajit (translated that would be the best of Satyajit)

Unapologetic Fangirl For: I don't know if this would qualify me as a fan but I do find myself defending J.K. Rowling everytime someone trashes the Harry Potter series ;)

Very Excited For This Release: I don't follow new releases really but I am looking forward to the new works from Khaled Hosseini and Jhumpa Lahiri

Worst Bookish Habit: I sometimes buy a book on a whim and then don't finish it because it didn't engage me within the first 15 minutes. I know, that's what libraries are there for ;)

X Marks The Spot (Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book): I looked at my shelf of "children's books" and the 27th is The Valley of Adventure by Enid Blyton. The Great India Novel by Shashi Tharoor is the 27th on my "books for grownups" shelf.

Your latest book purchase: I bought  several books on the same trip - Enid Blytons, Agatha Christies, Living Free and Hullaballo in the Guava Orchard being a few of them

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late): I do this far too often for my own good. I think the last one might have been an Agatha Christie (Parker Pyne investigates, this despite the fact that it is a collection of short stories!!!)

A Second Birthday Celebration

V and I can hardly believe this is true, but our little girl is turning TWO. Lila is growing into a little person with a very definite mind of her own. We celebrated this weekend with a simple party at home, with a few close family and friends. This year, time just got away from me, V was traveling, we were juggling too many things, and the party was put together with the minimum of time and fuss. I just wanted to get a few basic things right: (a) plenty of food, (b) a tasty cake and (c) sew some party favors.

The Menu was a light dinner and completely mismatched as you can see! I was hoping there was something for everyone. We had watermelon cubes, blueberries, red pepper hummus with pita chips, veggies with ranch dressing, Thai inspired quinoa salad, bow tie pasta tossed in a white sauce, tortilla roll-ups, matar paneer and jeera rice. No cuisine left behind, that's what I say. Next week (or sometime in the next few weeks), I'll post my recipe for the matar paneer.

I'm no fan of disposable party ware so we bought sets of reusable plates, cups, utensils earlier this year and will use them for picnics and birthday parties for years to come. I don't have a problem with washing a pile of dishes after a party at all, and it saves a ton of waste.

The Cake: On the hunt for a cute and easy to assemble cake, I found this cute fishie made with a 6 inch cake and a dozen cupcakes. So sweet and clever. And easy to serve.

I had invited several of Lila's daycare teachers, not know how many would actually be able to come, and wanted to have plenty of cake to go around. It seemed like the right occasion to try this recipe which makes a whopping 36 chocolate cupcakes. The recipe title says "far-from-disaster cake"- at first glance, this doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement. In reality the cake was an unqualified success- the exact opposite of a disaster.

All you need is a very large mixing bowl, the one I used should almost be called a basin rather than a bowl. I followed the recipe closely and my only modifications were:

1. Instead of buying a pint of buttermilk (and wondering what to do with leftover buttermilk), I added 1 tbsp. white vinegar to milk to make "clabbered milk" and used that in place of buttermilk.

2. I did not buy any fancy chocolate, instead using Trader Joe's semi-sweet chocolate, the kind that comes in 1 lb bars.

3. Because kids would be eating these cupcakes, I skipped the hot coffee and used hot water instead.

The batter came together quickly and I poured it into a 6 inch cake pan (not a very common pan size but I found one at Michael's), 30 cupcake liners and still had enough left over for a bit in a loaf pan. The oven was simply crammed with chocolate cake.

The frosting was a strawberries and cream frosting: I pureed about 10 ripe strawberries with a couple of tbsp. of jam in a blender and folded it into whipped heavy cream. Add some sugar if necessary and there you go. It makes for a light and very delicious frosting and the combination with chocolate cake is a match made in culinary heaven.

The frosting was slapped onto the cake and cupcakes and then I placed a blueberry as the fish eye and strawberry slices as the mouth. The poor fishie may look very imperfect (I've made my peace with my poor cake decorating skills) but this cake/frosting was a tasty mouthful. Definitely something I'd make again and again.

The Party Favors: Lila is an adventurous kid. Her mottos in life: Why walk when you can run? Why sit when you can climb? This results in a dozen bumps and small falls and boo-boos on any given day. Using this tutorial on Bubbles and Bobbins, I made Lila an owlie rice pack. Let me tell you, these rice packs are excellent TLC for those minor boo-boos when a child's feelings are hurt more than there being any physical injury. Now when Lila has a boo-boo, she'll start bawling and ask for owlie. Clutches the owlie, pats it on the hurt spot and there, she's all smiles again. With the success of owlie, I made a whole parliament of rice owls (that's really the collective noun; I didn't make it up) to give as party favors to her friends. I included the cute poem (also on the tutorial blog post) which explains that the owl can be used as a hot/cold pack.

We debated about whether to put a "no gifts" request in the invitations, but decided against it because gifts are a big part of the fun of childhood birthdays. Besides, I always feel disappointed when we are invited to birthday parties and asked not to get gifts, because I love picking out or making birthday gifts. So Miss Lila was showered with useful and thoughtful gifts, including a gorgeous board book, a doctor set, a giant sticker book, a metal water bottle and a Mrs. Potato Head (remember the potato head toys? I loved mine as a kid). She was also given a beautiful handmade quilt- I'll take a pic once I hang it up.

Lila ran around with her little friends and stuffed herself with cake. This is pretty much the best kind of celebration as far as I am concerned.

Did you have a fun weekend? And I would love to hear about how you like to celebrate birthdays. Have a wonderful week and I'll see you next Monday.

Corn Chowder

Yesterday Labor Day here in the US, a holiday for the worker bees. We had no plans so we gathered some friends together for a get-together, potluck style. I made some sandwiches with chutney and tomatoes and lots of soft butter. And a pineapple cream cake- by making this basic yellow cake in a 9 x 13 pan, then drizzling it with pineapple juice (drained from a can of diced pineapple in juice), and topping with vanilla whipped cream and chunks of pineapple (from the aforementioned can). It was very simple to assemble and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Here's another recipe I tried last week. Corn chowder- a thick, sometimes milky stew of corn- has been on my summer recipe bucket list for a while. Fresh corn is flooding the produce aisle these days and last week I finally bought some. Cutting kernels from ears of corn seems like a tedious task but only takes a couple of minutes when you get down to it. I use a sharp knife to cut the kernels, then run the back of the knife down the ears to squeeze out the "corn milk".

I looked up several recipes for corn chowder and ended up making my own recipe up as I went along, based on what I had on hand. This is one of those simple heart-warming soups with fresh vegetables in a creamy, savory broth.

Corn Chowder

1. Cut the kernels and corn milk from 3 ears of fresh corn and set aside.

2. In a pot, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil.

3. Saute 1 medium finely diced onion until translucent.

4. Add 3 chopped cloves of garlic, 1 medium chopped carrot, 2 medium diced potatoes and stir.

5. Add 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour, 2 tbsp. nutritional yeast and 1 tsp. herbes de Provence (or your choice of seasoning) and stir for a minute.

6. Add corn kernels, 4 cups water and bring to a boil. Simmer until the veggies are tender.

7. Add 1 cup milk. Bring to a boil. Turn off the heat.

8. Stir in 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy the week! I have a busy month coming up but hopefully I'll be back here next week.

Mid Summer 2013

When I did a what's-going-on-in-my-life post a few weeks ago, I had the best time reading your comments on what everyone has been up to. So here we go again...we're in the last month of Summer 2013 and this is what I am...

Eating seasonal goodies, such as peaches. This year we've had very unusual summer weather in GA. It has been so wet that the peaches are waterlogged- huge but bland. We had a house-guest from Israel last week and I wanted to make her something very Georgia, very Southern. So I made this peach cobbler using peaches from a nearby orchard and it was a wonderful dessert with vanilla ice cream. Very simple and fun to make too.

Today, I used a bunch of peaches to make peach salsa. It is chilling in the fridge waiting to be taken to a party later today.

To make the peach salsa, just mix together:
- 3 ripe peaches, peeled and diced. The easiest way to peel ripe peaches is to drop them for a minute in boiling water and then remove them into a bowl of ice water. The peel slips right off.
- 1 yellow/red pepper, diced
- 2 avocados, peeled and diced
- A bit of minced onion and cilantro
- Salt, cumin, chili powder to taste
- Lemon juice if the peaches are not tangy

Serve with a bag of tortilla chips or eat it as a salad if you want to be all goody-goody.

The other seasonal, local thing I'm eating too much of:

Boiled peanuts. Now this is total deja vu for me. I grew up in a peanut-growing part of India, and we devoured boiled peanuts every time the harvest season rolled around. Now after a couple of decades, I'm living in peanut country again, and what joy it was yesterday to cook a pressure cooker's worth of raw peanuts in brine. They taste soft and sweet/salty and have a mealy texture. I'm told they are an acquired taste. V is very indifferent to them and a friend told me she hated the texture. Never mind, that just means there's more for me :)




Reading Stephen King's novel, 11/22/63. It is 800+ pages long so I might still be reading it by the time next summer rolls around, hah.

Other notable reads from the last month:

Image: Goodreads

The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny. This is one of the books from the Inspector Gamache series set in Quebec, Canada. It kept me interested from beginning to end, with a good plot and a fascinating setting in a secluded monastery that reverberates with Gregorian chants. This book is a good choice for cozy mystery lovers.

Image: Goodreads

These next three books are for middle grade readers but each one was a thoughtful and meaningful read for me. So I would say, read them with your kids and read them for yourself. Wonder by R. J. Palacio is a book about a 10 year old boy named August who was born with a rare and severe facial deformity. After years of being home-schooled, he steps into fifth grade and out into the world. We all deal with our insecurities when we go out in public and stepping into August's shoes for a while is an eye-opening experience. What a beautiful, uplifting story this is. A must-read for you and your kids.

The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright was a real treat in the cozy, Enid Blyton style. The book is set in the 1940s in New York City and is about a family of 4 siblings who decide to pool their meager allowances and take turns going on Saturday adventures. The book is a small lesson in anti-helicopter parenting, in letting children figure out how to amuse themselves and come up with creative solutions to their small problems.

Black and Blue Magic by Zilpha Keatly Snyder was also an entertaining read about the summer adventures of a boy who is stuck at home helping his mother run a boarding house in the 60s while his wealthier neighbors move to the suburbs. I loved these three books about kids who are given the freedom to be resourceful while still having a strong and stable childhood in all sorts of different circumstances.

If you enjoy books in this genre, check out NPR's must-read 100 books for ages 9-14. I'm 2 decades removed from that age group, but this list is a veritable goldmine of books that I want to read (such as The Giver and Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret) and many more that I have read and loved (A Tree Grows in Brookyln, The Secret Garden, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and so on).

Two for the Road by Jane and Michael Stern. This is a couple who has spent decades traveling around the United States, looking for interesting and tasty food finds along America's highways and back roads and small towns off the beaten track. They started doing this as fresh college grads without much of a life plan and have been doing it ever since. I really enjoyed this book of essays about their meanderings. There's some really random stuff in here- about bad hotel rooms and interesting menus, about eating 12 meals a day to record as much as they could on their road trips. And there is some stuff that is very touching, such as when a very rural town's population came together to keep a cafe and a community alive.

Making more quilts, what else?

Watching episodes of Psych, the comedy mystery series when I'm in the mood for mindless entertainment. The best thing I watched last month was a documentary mini-series: Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking. This is absolutely must-see TV. And guess who shares the narration with Dr. Hawking? The dishy Benedict Cumberbatch. I also started watching Orange is the New Black- a tragi-comedy about life in a women's prison. It is engaging, a little disturbing, definitely raunchy. I don't know if I like it yet.

Planning Lila's second birthday party. It will be a simple affair at home with snacks and music and cake, of course. I asked Lila, "Do you want a butterfly cake or a fishie cake?" and she earnestly replied, "OK".

Celebrating the fact that my BFF Neighbor Girl passed the bar exam in her very first attempt. I've always teased her at being very good at lawyerly BS and now she can earn a living doing it. Call me if you need a defense attorney- I can get you the family and friends discount ;)

That's all, folks!

Please tell us in the comments: What are you eating, reading, watching, making, planning and celebrating these days?