Yes, that’s what it will feel like: death. Death because you’ll feel like you’ve died and gone to heaven! Presented here is a pan of brownies made by my firstborn. Brownies that have both white AND dark chocolate chips in it. And served with a scoop of a premium chocolate icecream, I don’t know if there’s a word out there to describe what that tastes like. Perhaps death? This is TO DIE FOR, for sure!
Tag: Desserts
Pistachio Falooda: Serve it Chilled or Not Chilled!
So, the other evening, I was taken by a sudden urge to put to good use the ready-made mix of Pista Falooda-– the flavored milk drink with vermicelli and lots of dry fruits like pistachios, kaju, kishmish, charoli, and flavored with rosewater. It was a simple set of instructions: boil the milk, add the mix, bring to a rolling boil, simmer for a while, then let it cool and finally chill before you serve it. Well, I did all of the above except wait for it to chill. I didn't because I couldn't wait! And so, when it got lukewarm, I poured some into a tall tumbler and had it as is. The result: Lajawab!Â
And so, I am here to tell you that you don't always have to follow instructions all the way down to the last point. Well, let me qualify that statement: make that cooking instructions! Because sometimes, when you are bold enough to go off on your own and create your own little way of doing things, voila, you've invented something new! Which is exactly what I did: serving pistachio falooda lukewarm! Here's my glass for your viewing pleasure. My green bedside table on which I'd placed it makes it look even more attractive, don't you think?Â
Political Action and Paczkis on Fat Tuesday
So, how do you commemorate Fat Tuesday? And what is Fat Tuesday anyway? Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Carnival, or Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the period of Lent– a period of 46 days before Easter. Observed in the Catholic tradition, Lent is a time of physical sacrifice, a practice of self-deprivation in the giving up of things of comfort, especially physical comforts such as in the eating of meats, fats, sugars and such.
And so, as the tradition goes, Fat Tuesday is the last day or last chance to fatten up before the almost-seven weeks of self-imposed deprivation. So, what do you eat on such a day? Well, you eat the most indulgent foods, of course. And if you’re of Polish ancestry, you make and eat paczkis, pronounced poonch-ki. These are buns stuffed with a variety of sweet and creamy fillings. And if you happen to live in the Metro Detroit area, you know you will find an abundance of paczkis on this day, nay, on any of the days leading up to this day, that is.
So today, I happened to attend a meeting at work that focused on the big budget cuts coming our way, thanks to a new state administration. Not-so-great news on Fat Tuesday, of course, but what better way to take the edge off a miserable meeting agenda than a spread of traditional Polish Paczkis?
See for yourself what I mean. I chose one with a lemon filling. The pizza, by the way, was the deepest-dish pizza you could ever find: layer upon layer of veggies and cheese was what my slice was all about. And that salad was most refreshing!
Ambrosia, Thy Name Is Tiramisu
That’s right– it IS the food of the gods! Completely DIVINE is what Tiramisu is. And the perfect cake for a special birthday for a very special person. Incidentally, the simplicity of the ingredients and assembly is nothing short of genius: ladyfingers (which essentially become the spongy layers of cake), mascarpone cheese, whipping cream, liqueur, and chocolate shavings. This one is not home-made, but Whole Foods does a fantastic job. See for yourself:
Love In The Mail
It came out of nowhere. Well, it came in the mail yesterday. But it came unannounced and without notice. And when opened, it was brimming with love. Love from my parents who live in warmer climes several hundred miles away.
The box contained among other things, a number of egg cartons, which when opened, contained the most perfectly-made and absolutely divine rava ladoos– sweet balls made with cream-of-wheat, brown sugar, and dry-fruits (cashews and raisins).
Thank you, Mom and Dad, for loving me!
Christmas (Fruit)Cake 2010
So, this is another how-to post: how-to make a traditional Christmas fruitcake.
I had the pleasure of making one with my mother this past Christmas. Enclosed below is a step-by-step slideshow of the ingredients and the process of bringing them together that results in a most incredible cake that lasts for several weeks after it is made. The pictures are all captioned to tell a story. Enjoy!
Would That My Tongue
This is a post that was first published almost exactly two years ago, on Tuesday, December 30, 2008. I reproduce it now in order to celebrate the gift of life of which food is the expression of love, among other things. And especially since this blog has been created to be the repository of all things food. May it be that you receive as much joy in viewing this post as I did in making each of these things, and reflecting upon them.
As we wrap up another year, it is time to reflect on the time that has passed. Time that has passed us by, and how we have passed it. Our energies and emotions invested in people, places and causes that we believe in; our wherewithal employed in the life of our bodies and minds. Would that it were possible to capture the outcomes of all those investments! Would that it were feasible for our tongues to utter the thoughts that arise from those reflections!
But since our tongues fail us, we are masters of our own creations– to think through the year (and our lives so far) that we are exiting, even as we move forward into another new year– to conjure up for ourselves the moments and events that we would like to bring to pass. May it be that each passing moment (or year) leaves us with a sense of well-being, nay, satisfaction at the least, and fulfillment at best. May it be with a sense of such optimism that we enter this new year of our Lord, Two Thousand and Nine.
The poem? Well, Tennyson is another man after my own heart. I see in this piece not just a wistful reflection of moments of pleasures from the past, but of a life-affirming yearning of more such pleasures to come– pleasures that the tongue cannot utter. How beautiful is that? Yet despite the limitations of the tongue, Tennyson is still so skilled at conveying that which we thought could not be uttered! Walt Whitman, the great American man of letters, says this of Tennyson:
Tennyson shows more than any poet I know (perhaps has been a warning to me) how much there is in finest verbalism. There is such a latent charm in mere words, cunning collocutions, and in the voice ringing them, which he has caught and brought out…
Break, Break, Break
Lord Alfred TennysonBreak, break, break, On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!
And I would that my tongue could utter
The thoughts that arise in me.
O, well for the fisherman’s boy,
That he shouts with his sister at play!
O, well for the sailor lad,
That he sings in his boat on the bay!
And the stately ships go on
To their haven under the hill;
But O for the touch of a vanished hand,
And the sound of a voice that is still!
Break, break, break,
At the foot of thy crags, O Sea!
But the tender grace of a day that is dead
Will never come back to me.
And there’s another purpose to our tongues: the ability to experience the tangible. Which comes, many a time, in the form of glorious foods. Here are some home-made goodies that yours truly had the pleasure of creating and experiencing just this past week. Here they are, for your viewing pleasure!
Polelu (Po-Ley-Lu) Mom-Style
So, if you’re Telugu, you’ll know what these are. They’re called Pole (pronounced poley), the plural being Polelu. They’re essentially parathas filled w/ an exquisite filling of dal and jaggery. If you’ve had them, you’ve certainly LIVED. If you haven’t, well… I hope you do. 🙂
This stack was made by my mother over the recent holidays. She makes them like no other. That really is the truth and nothing but the truth!
Check out the slideshow below for step-by-step directions on how to make them. (Get a recipe yourself!) That’s my mom’s loving hand in the photos, btw.
