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Category Archives: FOOD
The Guilty Baker: Orange-Cranberry Mini Muffins
Just as procrastination inspires industrious bouts of housecleaning, guilt brings out the baker in me. I had been flying solo all week, while my husband basked in Florida on some pretext of simulating NASA satellite software (why couldn’t the tests … Continue reading
Posted in Baking, Family Life, FOOD, Humor
Tagged cranberries, mini muffins, muffins, orange, pecans
8 Comments
Simply Soup: The Fragrance of Fennel
The lady at the checkout counter of the local grocer stared at the stout-bulbed feathery fronds with a mixture of perplexity and annoyance. Guiltily, I explained, It’s fennel. What do you do with it? she countered. I looked behind me at … Continue reading
A Double Dose of Dosas: Two Southern Indian Crepes
The gum-chewing, bored looking US customs officer gave me an expert once-over as I dragged my world weary rag tag family towards the airport exit. “Any mangoes, miss?” I have a theory that men in uniform have been trained to … Continue reading
Posted in FOOD, Humor, Indian food, Spices
Tagged Adai, Cabbage, Coriander Chutney, Crepes, Dosa, Masala dosa
15 Comments
The King of Fruits: Making Green Mango Rice
It has been said that India has only two seasons: Monsoon season and Mango season. While the monsoon replenishes Indian soil, mangoes are food for the soul. Did you know that India holds 40% share of the world mango production? … Continue reading
Practically Perfect Pilaf
When my children were little, of an age that believed that mothers had eyes in the back of their heads, I was (like Mary Poppins) “practically perfect in every way”. While those days have passed forever, there are still some … Continue reading
Posted in Family Life, FOOD, Humor, Indian food, Spices
Tagged Basmati rice, pilaf, practically perfect in every way, pulao
17 Comments
Of Hartford and Homemade Red Rooster Sauce
“Do you take Hartford?” The elegant sari-clad matriarch nodded kindly in my direction as I filled my plate at one of those pot luck events that brighten the dim memories of my postdoctoral tenure. I puzzled over the query for … Continue reading
Posted in FOOD, Humor, science, Spices
6 Comments
Memories of Moosewood and Enchanted Broccoli Forest Soup
When I arrived in the US at age 21, more years ago than all the digits on your hands and feet, I was in for a culinary disappointment, if not a culture shock. Indeed, the shock was on the other … Continue reading
Posted in FOOD, Humor
Tagged comfort food, cream of broccoli soup, moosewood cookbook, vegetarian soup
14 Comments
Chickpeas for Comfort: Spicy Channa Masala
Have you ever been transported back in space and time, to a place now lost to you forever, by a jog to the senses: word, a sight or taste? For me, a simple Channa Masala brings back memories of chilly … Continue reading
Posted in Family Life, FOOD, Indian food, Spices
Tagged channa masala, Chickpeas, chole, Dehradun, potatoes
5 Comments
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme: My Sundried Tomato Pesto
Robust and rubicund, this sundried tomato pesto pays homage to Simon and Garfunkel and is my answer to never having enough basil for pesto through the dreary days of winter. Gather ye all herbs while ye may, Old Thyme still … Continue reading
Bitter is Better: Fabulous Fenugreek Leaves
Triumphantly, I produced my find of the day, Trigonella foenum-graecum, much like a conjurer hopes to elicit oohs and ahhs for pulling the proverbial rabbit out of a hat. It was a perfect specimen, clover –like leaves of pale green, … Continue reading
Posted in Family Life, FOOD, Herbs, Humor, Indian food, science, Spices
Tagged Alu Methi, bitter greens, Fenugreek leaves, potatoes and fenugreek, Trigonella
10 Comments
madame scientist's not-so-mad musings 