don't leave me tropical thunder

I know some of you may have forgotten that i even know how to write anymore... but thank you for bearing with me and my continued non blogging rut. just so you know, it's definitely not due to a lack of inspiration, more of a lack of taking pictures and the write up and the recipe ... maybe just blogging in general for the time being. i must confess though, you all have provided inspiration enough and i have been secretly and quietly visiting your blogs, just don't have it in me to comment or say a congratulatory thanks or show some excitement and gratitude... forgive me fellow bloggers and readers.

Well, recently, i went on an amazing trip to Belize. there is SO much i want to say but i feel that no matter what i say, it could not do justice to the beautiful people and country. it's a tiny little country but the food and the people and the views make up for its demure size. if there is only one reason to visit, i would have to say go and see the gorgeous people... they are of mixed cultures and ancestry... indians, natives, caribbean, african, chinese, lebanese. so much intermingling to produce one of the world's most beautiful population. and not just beautiful from the outside. they are some of the most hospitable and endearing individuals you will come across.

We stayed in a rented condo beachside on the island of San Pedro... remember that old Madonna song... 'La Isla Bonita'... this is the island she was on when that song was written. i so know why she dedicated an entire track to this island. it is just love love love. serious island lovin....

The food is as varied as the people, i thought i may have a hard time finding vegetarian food, but even in the most remote areas, it was not an issue .... they are used to having backpackers and the like - vegetarian and vegan dropping by as well as the island's large Rasta population which are predominantly vegetarian as well. On a sidenote... i fell in love with a gorgeous young Rasta street side fruit vendor selling this fruit that looked like chestnuts... something called boucanaboi... maybe Cynthia may know the correct spelling... he was sweet enough to cross the busy street to sell us some delicious fresh green coconuts. he macheted off the tops and inserted a straw and gave us each one. it was perfect in the hot afternoon sun.

of course, i must mention the delicious Marie's hot sauces and the tasty cold Belikin beers which are made on the island and sold there exclusively, that we assuredly indulged in much too often.

there is a lot more to write about my fabulous trip, but for now i leave you with the photos of the beach and the fruit... i DID shoot a photo of the handsome Rasta boy, but my cousin lost the SD card.... still so UPSET about that!!!!

Oh, and did i mention that you are allowed to drink at the tiny little airport while waiting for your plane, on your plane and in vehicles?! more reason to pack it up and MOVE....



boucanboi - this is fruit which resembles a chestnut... it needs to be peeled and then you eat the inside which is very fibrous...



look at him go!! this was a view from a treehouse bar which had the most amazing food...



one of the main shopping streets on San Pedro island.... only golf carts and private taxis are allowed i believe...



view from the condo... imagine being lucky enough to wake up to that every morning!!!


Listening to: Madonna's 'La Isla Bonita' of course... going to follow it up with Beenie Man....good times, good times...

Street grub 101 - Mumbai pav bhaji

I know, I know, I was supposed to be writing up some recipes using that wonderful POM juice, but one of them requires Prosecco and I keep forgetting to replenish my stock so please bear with me while I tempt you with a bit of the ultimate street food of Bombay - pav bhaji and we will get to the POM soon enough.

I'm originally from Mumbai (Bombay) in another life, so I can safely say that in my mind at least, it is not what I think of when i think of the exotic east, spice markets and magic. Morocco and Fez in particular, represent these things to me... however, Mumbai has it's own sort of 'filmi' allure shall we say. When I say 'filmi' I am referring to the Indian commercial film industry, otherwise more famously known as 'Bollywood'.

With all the recent frenzied interest stirred into mainstream America movie-going by Slumdog Millionaire, what dish could be more representative than pav bhaji? It is a culmination of sorts of things that would otherwise be disposed of. Think vegetables at the end of their life, wilted, speckled with bits of black, softened and ready to be thrown out. This is exactly what the pav bhaji vendors do... go around buying up all the leftover, ready to be thrown away veggies to create a delectable masterpiece.

You will find this recipe comes together easily and with little fuss. What you will need is the veggies in the photo as well as some peas, garlic, a small can of crushed tomatoes and some spices - powdered and whole. Oh, and if you have a pressure cooker - wonderful... this will make it come together painlessly. Using the same amount of vegetables as in the photo will yield 6 servings.

It may seem like a lot of steps, but it is fast. What you will need to do is:

• peel and chop the potatoes and drop in the pressure cooker.
• chop the eggplant, carrots, bell pepper and cauliflower and place in the cooker
• add a cup or two of water, some salt and turn on the pressure cooker for 20 min or 4 whistles until vegetables are cooked through
• when the pressure cooker has cooled, drain a bit of the water and mash vegetables to a pulp

While the cooker is going:

• in a large deep pot, heat 4 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of oil
• add a cinnamon stick, 8 cloves, 1 bay leaf and 4 dried red chillies
• add chopped onion, garlic and salt and cook until onion is softened about 6 minutes
• add 2 teaspoons of pav bhaji masala, 1 teaspoon of garam masala and 1 teaspoon red chilli powder and stir until spices are incorporated about another 2 minutes
• add chopped tomatoes and cook until softened about another 7 minutes
• add the can of crushed tomatoes, the mashed vegetables, a cup of peas and salt
• cook on low, covered and stirring every few minutes for 15 minutes to fuse it all together
• when it is done, squeeze some lime juice into it and garnish with cilantro
• serve with crusty bread, onion and more lime

What is going on?

It feels wonderful to be back. I missed all of my fellow bloggers and have a ton to catch up on. I just needed a moment shall we say? I just needed to scream to the world, 'Can I please just get a fucking second!'. So I've been taking that extremely awaited and way too short second. That short second just happened to last a few months in my case.

So what's been going on? Well, I changed positions at work, went on a short cruise, went through a tremendous personal loss, went on an exhilirating trip visiting family and friends in the northeast and then had a very special person return home. My garden has been seriously neglected the past few months. I've been meaning to plant some asparagus, methi and fingerling potatoes, but ask me if I've done anything. I did however, get a gorgeous lime tree that i've planted in a large container out in the back. I just love looking at it even though it's very sparse right now. My fish are okay, although I think the algea eaters are freezing their butts off and will unfortunately come to pass soon. So many things going on! In the words of my friend, "It's cold and it feels good to be alive!" There you have it.

Oh and before I forget, I have to thank the wonderful people at POM! They were so generous to share some of their delicious and beautiful as well as healthy juices with me. I will post some recipes shortly that incorporate their pomengranate juice in several recipes.

On another topic, can you guys believe it snowed in Houston?

Gold Spot coasters

I'm gonna say it - my grandma is a hoarder. She keeps everything. When we went on our India trip earlier this year I found these coasters in the kitchen. Funny, I never remember seeing these before. I thought it was pretty hilarious she kept these. At the same time, I was glad she did because they bring back so many memories of some of the earliest Gold Spot marketing campaigns.

For those of you who haven't been to India, Gold Spot is an orange flavored soft drink similar to Crush or Fanta. It's really fizzy and extremely carbonated compared to the soft drinks you find here. They stopped manufacturing it and selling it awhile back so it's now become a novelty of sorts.

What are some of your hidden kitchen treasures?

working lunch

I work everyday just like many of you. The daily grind is both exhilirating and annoying. Exhilirating because I enjoy what I do and love my boss. At the same time a little annoying because I have to go in instead of being able to work from home. Also annoying because I'm so not into fast food and prefer something from home. Usually it's leftovers, but this morning it was a toasted almond butter and honey sandwich on 7-grain bread, a red delicious apple and some craisins and apricots. I was able to pack my lunch while making my morning chai.

What's in your lunch bag?

dudhi na muthiya

These are the dudhi na muthiya my mom made for breakfast when they were over a few weeks back. They are really simple, healthy and really really delicious. Every Gujarati has their own version so a lot of the ingredients are to taste and are optional. This is generally served for breakfast along with some piping hot ginger tea.

What you do is - grate a dudhi or even a zucchini or some other squash, add some salt and then squeeze out the liquid, then you add some whole wheat flour, crushed ginger, garlic, green chillies, a few tablespoons of semolina or rawa and besan, salt and a pinch of sugar, some turmeric and lemon juice. Bind all this together with the water that was squeezed out earlier from the dudhi.

Then you form them into logs and steam for about 20-25 minutes and then cut them into small pieces and do tadka or tempering of : oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, asafeotida, dried red chillies and sesame seeds.

This can be served either hot or warm with some yogurt for dipping.

tofu kebabs

It's been a crazy summer here. Hot as Hades to put it nicely. The heat is untolerable and unbearable to say the least. When it's 95 deg, everyone's all happy and confessing how lucky we are that it's "not that hot". What the...???? Are they serious?

Well it couldn't be summer without a little bit of grillin' right? I made these tofu and veggie kebabs. I made tandoori paste from barbeque masala, garlic, ginger, amchur, garam masala and green chillies and mixed it all into yogurt and soaked some pre-pressed tofu and chopped veggies. Serve with biryaani and naan.