There is an old marathi song .. Arre Sansar sansara ,zasa tava chulivar .. aadhi lagtat chatake ,mag milte bhakar ! For those who dont understand marathi .. well i wont spoil it by translating .. :)
Last night all i got is 'chatake' :). Baking is the most frustrating when everything is perfect and put in the oven but then the sight inside the 200 deg rectangle is just not encouraging. The preparations ,the filling, the dough .. everything was perfect.. The baking .. screwed up ! I was totally dissapointed when Asha had to remind me of the Marathi song. Hey wifey that really was encouraging at a point where i was almost about to blast my oven. So thank u !!:)
3 things about the outcome of baking .. uno. Color , dos. texture , tres. smell
The cheez cake had all the three in the right amount. The quiche .. nothing ! this was my second time to fail. I gave myself a benefit of doubt by convincing me that its the oven that fucked up. I may just go in for a change in my otg. We plan to bake for happines.
Self Check - really need to keep my mind cool in the kitchen when things are looking a little downside !
Friday, May 28, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Rising from Guilt !
'Guilt' got the better of me. The 'kitchen run' took a back seat and we decided to indulge. For me indulgence in food has always meant only one thing in Mumbai .. Stella. The fine dine italian restaurant in 'The Leela'. There is no equal to the iternal bliss i feel there, as i sit in silence, slowly relishing the pure joy of real italian cooking.
On Tuesday night it was stella ,it was the same top notch food .. but my mood was screwed !! As asha sat there taking pictures of every order that we got, i envied her happiness. I used to be like her in all our previous occasions here. This time I was not myself. Something kept on going in my mind ... and I felt guilty. I loved the food but could not really enjoy it. I felt i had to be in some place else .. where ? my kitchen i said to myself. I did not mention it to her as it wudve spoilt the evening. I also realised that for me to enjoy really expensive food I must feel that I deserve it. Obviously that night i did not.
Neways .. after having spent nearly 48 hrs in depression (that meant eating 4 scoops of vanilla at a stretch ,having a lacchha paratha with galawti kebab and eating a galaxy hazelnut everytime i saw one) I was back in my kitchen last night again. That explains why m i writing today. The time spent with cooking is directly proportional to the words written here i guess.
I finally did try the Salmon Philly Cheez Cucumber sushi and gave it to some guests too. I did not want them to like it. I just wanted them to taste it. I somehow feel I am the guy assigned to promote the cause of sushi. 'eat and then decide' thats what i tell every one who makes a 'what is this' face everytime he spots a sushi.
So guys if the 'packaged sushi' is the only sushi u come across .. do not eat it. U may just end up hating it for eternity. Eat it fresh from the makers hand. Chances are u may just say yes the second time !!
I wont make any promises to myself about cooking..I hate north indian food and i will not let depression make me eat it. So the buttom line .. Cook for happiness !!
Hasta Luega !
On Tuesday night it was stella ,it was the same top notch food .. but my mood was screwed !! As asha sat there taking pictures of every order that we got, i envied her happiness. I used to be like her in all our previous occasions here. This time I was not myself. Something kept on going in my mind ... and I felt guilty. I loved the food but could not really enjoy it. I felt i had to be in some place else .. where ? my kitchen i said to myself. I did not mention it to her as it wudve spoilt the evening. I also realised that for me to enjoy really expensive food I must feel that I deserve it. Obviously that night i did not.
Neways .. after having spent nearly 48 hrs in depression (that meant eating 4 scoops of vanilla at a stretch ,having a lacchha paratha with galawti kebab and eating a galaxy hazelnut everytime i saw one) I was back in my kitchen last night again. That explains why m i writing today. The time spent with cooking is directly proportional to the words written here i guess.
I finally did try the Salmon Philly Cheez Cucumber sushi and gave it to some guests too. I did not want them to like it. I just wanted them to taste it. I somehow feel I am the guy assigned to promote the cause of sushi. 'eat and then decide' thats what i tell every one who makes a 'what is this' face everytime he spots a sushi.
So guys if the 'packaged sushi' is the only sushi u come across .. do not eat it. U may just end up hating it for eternity. Eat it fresh from the makers hand. Chances are u may just say yes the second time !!
I wont make any promises to myself about cooking..I hate north indian food and i will not let depression make me eat it. So the buttom line .. Cook for happiness !!
Hasta Luega !
Monday, May 24, 2010
'All u can eat' night !
In the film ,'Julie and Julia', Julie Powell takes up an assignment to complete the 455 recipes from a book in 365 days. How she goes about it is what the movie is about. Cooking after the initial 'honeymoon period' with the food, starts to feel like work. When u know that u have to get home from office and also cook ,coz unless u do ,u might just sleep hungry ,the 'dining out' option is hard to resist.
Last night I found myself face to face with 'I am starving and I dont want to cook' situation. I nearly convinced myself and Asha about venturing out but at the end it was Julie who spoke to me. She said "its tuff ,but u gotto do it". Oh ya we kinda stuck to it.
Last night's menu planned - Spinach & Mushroom Quiche + Tomato basil Bruschetta (what the fuck happened to sushi ???!!!)
Actually made - Tomato and Basil Bruschetta
All Credit goes to Asha .. the Julie in my life !!
Oh yes .. ur aspiring chef here pretty much did nothing last night. It was more like ,i shall give her all the peace in the kitchen for once !! :-)
Oh ya we have our creative tiffs on a wide range of serious issues .. how much sugar shud go in the cheez cake to the flame of gas under the pan on which the lovely bread is changing its color :). Last night the kitchen belonged to her. Its just another way of saying .. I was a little too lazy to make an eggless quiche (monday is an all veggie day).
Its true .. as much as i enjoy to cook ,I love to eat. I have been really holding up the veg sushi options for a long time now. Coz i know, i wud just not eat more than one. So there it goes .. love ur food and then make it better than most restaurants in Mumbai .. u will end up being someone like me !
I know what u might be thinking. Finally after all the talk i did not cook .. :) Hey but look at the brighter side ,I did not go out either. :)
Today i dont have the 'veg excuse'. However due to eating sushi for 4 days in a row last week ,i am not particularly inclined on it today. But then the inclination always comes when that first bite of 'fish in sushi' is felt.
Last night I found myself face to face with 'I am starving and I dont want to cook' situation. I nearly convinced myself and Asha about venturing out but at the end it was Julie who spoke to me. She said "its tuff ,but u gotto do it". Oh ya we kinda stuck to it.
Last night's menu planned - Spinach & Mushroom Quiche + Tomato basil Bruschetta (what the fuck happened to sushi ???!!!)
Actually made - Tomato and Basil Bruschetta
All Credit goes to Asha .. the Julie in my life !!
Oh yes .. ur aspiring chef here pretty much did nothing last night. It was more like ,i shall give her all the peace in the kitchen for once !! :-)
Oh ya we have our creative tiffs on a wide range of serious issues .. how much sugar shud go in the cheez cake to the flame of gas under the pan on which the lovely bread is changing its color :). Last night the kitchen belonged to her. Its just another way of saying .. I was a little too lazy to make an eggless quiche (monday is an all veggie day).
Its true .. as much as i enjoy to cook ,I love to eat. I have been really holding up the veg sushi options for a long time now. Coz i know, i wud just not eat more than one. So there it goes .. love ur food and then make it better than most restaurants in Mumbai .. u will end up being someone like me !
I know what u might be thinking. Finally after all the talk i did not cook .. :) Hey but look at the brighter side ,I did not go out either. :)
Today i dont have the 'veg excuse'. However due to eating sushi for 4 days in a row last week ,i am not particularly inclined on it today. But then the inclination always comes when that first bite of 'fish in sushi' is felt.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Salmon Bagel & Cheez cake
Lead Actor - The lady in the house
Supporting Cast - All those who feed off her hands
Dillema - What to cook.
I see my mother and now my wife(since we are home alone) faced with this dillema every night. Well I still being most of the time in the supporting cast get to only see it from a distance. Although I know how it feels to be faced with this question of 'what to cook' I still only have the task of feeding my sushi cravings every night. The ladies however need to feed stomachs. Believe me its very different !! Different and Difficult
So I wud just like to start todays posting by taking a bow to the 'Main Leads' in every house !!
On a sunday evening we were at one of our favourite spots in the city. The Godrej Nature Fresh in Bandra. Now if u r a gourmet foodie theres no way you can miss the godrej outlets that have sprung up in the city. This is the only place where I actually enjoy shopping.
Like I said earlier, the salmon fillet even after the slow relish got over in two servings last week. The last serving was a near perfect slice of sashimi on saturday night. I was in godrej with the sole purpose of replenishing my salmon for the sushi experiments i was to conduct during the course of this week. On our way to godrej we just played with the idea of makin a cheez cake at home, It was only after taking the 226 gms of philladelphia cheez in my palm did i think we could actually make our first cheeze cake. On my way home ,i felt a little guilty towards my Sushi experiment and promised myself to use the cream cheez for my sushi as well.
Salmon - philly Cheez - Cucumber - I had everything for a new sushi but then I also had one more thing. The Bagel !! I cudnt resist feeling its softness and the smooth underbase. I had eaten a cream cheez salmon bagel years ago and did not really chearish it and ended up paying 300 /- My cheez and salmon cravings which only get satisfied in Norway ,shouted loud last night. So i cut the bagel put the cream cheez and .. topped with salmon slices and .. !! The bagel which was originally bought for a monday morning breakfast ended up feasted on the sunday dinner table.
I sat contended in my living room without the television listening to spanish music selected by Asha to add to the mood. Oh ya it was the perfect cullinary evening .. but there was the climax and it was being worked on by her in the kitchen. "The cheez cake is made" the voice called. It was more of .. Hello Who is going to help with the cake ?? Well It was then that i rememberd about the cheez cake. It says that baking requires precise measurements topped with correct temperature and time. If these basics are managed the result would always be yumm !
Last night we pretty much messed up with all the three. But the result still was yumm !! To all u cheez cake lovers .. never eat a flavoured cheez cake .. rather eat your normal cake with a accompanyin sauce. Yesterday it was fruit of the season sauce .. Mango !
I realised last night ,a succesful baking experiment is more satisfying than a gone well cooking experiment. Coz in cooking you get to taste ur stuff at so many points during the process. In baking .. its only the before and after. Before it goes into the oven and after it comes out.
We are glad ours came out well !! :)
Sushi ! I will get back to u tonight again !
Heres a basic cheez cake process.
- Philly Cheez 4 parts , 2 parts White unsalted butter (parsi diary) , less than one part sugar, Condensed milk 1 part. Whisk whisk whisk dont use an electric device .. the more the pain the sweeter the result. :)
Now when the mixture is consistent and smooth then whisk 2 eggs into it. Make sure the Oven is heatin up at 180 deg Cel ( we got it at 300 deg celcius due to the metric system mess) ..
Line up the base and sides of the bakin utensil with butter and later dust some flour (courtsey asha) then grind ur marrie biscuits and mix it with butter 1/3rd of Marrie . Coat the base with the biscuit and butter mix.
Pur over the mixture and bake for 45 mins till the surface is nice and brown. I like it this way.
Bon Appetit !
Supporting Cast - All those who feed off her hands
Dillema - What to cook.
I see my mother and now my wife(since we are home alone) faced with this dillema every night. Well I still being most of the time in the supporting cast get to only see it from a distance. Although I know how it feels to be faced with this question of 'what to cook' I still only have the task of feeding my sushi cravings every night. The ladies however need to feed stomachs. Believe me its very different !! Different and Difficult
So I wud just like to start todays posting by taking a bow to the 'Main Leads' in every house !!
On a sunday evening we were at one of our favourite spots in the city. The Godrej Nature Fresh in Bandra. Now if u r a gourmet foodie theres no way you can miss the godrej outlets that have sprung up in the city. This is the only place where I actually enjoy shopping.
Like I said earlier, the salmon fillet even after the slow relish got over in two servings last week. The last serving was a near perfect slice of sashimi on saturday night. I was in godrej with the sole purpose of replenishing my salmon for the sushi experiments i was to conduct during the course of this week. On our way to godrej we just played with the idea of makin a cheez cake at home, It was only after taking the 226 gms of philladelphia cheez in my palm did i think we could actually make our first cheeze cake. On my way home ,i felt a little guilty towards my Sushi experiment and promised myself to use the cream cheez for my sushi as well.
Salmon - philly Cheez - Cucumber - I had everything for a new sushi but then I also had one more thing. The Bagel !! I cudnt resist feeling its softness and the smooth underbase. I had eaten a cream cheez salmon bagel years ago and did not really chearish it and ended up paying 300 /- My cheez and salmon cravings which only get satisfied in Norway ,shouted loud last night. So i cut the bagel put the cream cheez and .. topped with salmon slices and .. !! The bagel which was originally bought for a monday morning breakfast ended up feasted on the sunday dinner table.
I sat contended in my living room without the television listening to spanish music selected by Asha to add to the mood. Oh ya it was the perfect cullinary evening .. but there was the climax and it was being worked on by her in the kitchen. "The cheez cake is made" the voice called. It was more of .. Hello Who is going to help with the cake ?? Well It was then that i rememberd about the cheez cake. It says that baking requires precise measurements topped with correct temperature and time. If these basics are managed the result would always be yumm !
Last night we pretty much messed up with all the three. But the result still was yumm !! To all u cheez cake lovers .. never eat a flavoured cheez cake .. rather eat your normal cake with a accompanyin sauce. Yesterday it was fruit of the season sauce .. Mango !
I realised last night ,a succesful baking experiment is more satisfying than a gone well cooking experiment. Coz in cooking you get to taste ur stuff at so many points during the process. In baking .. its only the before and after. Before it goes into the oven and after it comes out.
We are glad ours came out well !! :)
Sushi ! I will get back to u tonight again !
Heres a basic cheez cake process.
- Philly Cheez 4 parts , 2 parts White unsalted butter (parsi diary) , less than one part sugar, Condensed milk 1 part. Whisk whisk whisk dont use an electric device .. the more the pain the sweeter the result. :)
Now when the mixture is consistent and smooth then whisk 2 eggs into it. Make sure the Oven is heatin up at 180 deg Cel ( we got it at 300 deg celcius due to the metric system mess) ..
Line up the base and sides of the bakin utensil with butter and later dust some flour (courtsey asha) then grind ur marrie biscuits and mix it with butter 1/3rd of Marrie . Coat the base with the biscuit and butter mix.
Pur over the mixture and bake for 45 mins till the surface is nice and brown. I like it this way.
Bon Appetit !
Saturday, May 22, 2010
every night .. sushi night !
I was not sure where and how exactly to initiate the process of writing. Out Of my impatience i just wrote what impulse got me and hit the Post tab.
I hope to get better with time that is if i continue to write :)
Want to be sushi centric and let the ball of rice take me wherever it pleases !!
Salmon when eaten raw gives me the ultimate subtlty in taste. I finished my last stock of the 100 gm fillet that i had in my freezer last night. Today I am left with the tuna mayo mixture .. the crabstick .. and the rice. Lets see how it goes tonight since i've pretty much tried everything with the limited resources available. I am waiting for that perfect avacado to start with the all veggie yet delicios sushi ! Ya i am a strong believer that sushi is not for veggies ! I need to break the belief !
Will post some pics soon !
I hope to get better with time that is if i continue to write :)
Want to be sushi centric and let the ball of rice take me wherever it pleases !!
Salmon when eaten raw gives me the ultimate subtlty in taste. I finished my last stock of the 100 gm fillet that i had in my freezer last night. Today I am left with the tuna mayo mixture .. the crabstick .. and the rice. Lets see how it goes tonight since i've pretty much tried everything with the limited resources available. I am waiting for that perfect avacado to start with the all veggie yet delicios sushi ! Ya i am a strong believer that sushi is not for veggies ! I need to break the belief !
Will post some pics soon !
It started in Colombo
It was one of those times when u see a food joint in a chic mall and probably just walk past , thinking its too expensive. With me it was this and also that the only thing on its menu was something that I had only heard of till then .. Sushi !
I had promised myself the year before while limping my way thru a mall in Bangkok .. 'will never think of a mall as an object of passing time' .. I had stuck to my promise for a year. (shopping if enjoyed can act as a anaesthesia) for me however malls are associated with immense mental patience(with a woman) and physical pain (walking aimlessly). However that day I cudnt hold up to the 35Deg in Colombo. My Shirt needed to be taken off my back .. so Odel(the most upmarket mall in town) was it.
As i strolled directionless thru the mall and passed the Sushi Bar for enuf number of times to notice the interior the number of people working there. I felt a similar pain in my legs .. I dont clearly remember but as it was the heat that took me in the mall ,it was the pain that prompted me to enter the Sushi joint on my 5th Passage.
Japanese written in english was still latin to me. I was never so confused in a food place ..how can u eat raw fish i thot !! considering that this was my first real stint at food out of India ,i gave myself some credit and settled down.
When totally confused in a restaurant .. leave it on the guy who takes ur orders. Let him decide ! Just tell him how much do u have to spend and let the ball roll. in less then $ 3 i had my first attempt at Sushi in the summer of 2003.
I read somewhere .. good food gives u a kick that can b only bettered by an orgasm. that day it seemed like with another $10 more I wud get an orgasm in Colombo !
I had promised myself the year before while limping my way thru a mall in Bangkok .. 'will never think of a mall as an object of passing time' .. I had stuck to my promise for a year. (shopping if enjoyed can act as a anaesthesia) for me however malls are associated with immense mental patience(with a woman) and physical pain (walking aimlessly). However that day I cudnt hold up to the 35Deg in Colombo. My Shirt needed to be taken off my back .. so Odel(the most upmarket mall in town) was it.
As i strolled directionless thru the mall and passed the Sushi Bar for enuf number of times to notice the interior the number of people working there. I felt a similar pain in my legs .. I dont clearly remember but as it was the heat that took me in the mall ,it was the pain that prompted me to enter the Sushi joint on my 5th Passage.
Japanese written in english was still latin to me. I was never so confused in a food place ..how can u eat raw fish i thot !! considering that this was my first real stint at food out of India ,i gave myself some credit and settled down.
When totally confused in a restaurant .. leave it on the guy who takes ur orders. Let him decide ! Just tell him how much do u have to spend and let the ball roll. in less then $ 3 i had my first attempt at Sushi in the summer of 2003.
I read somewhere .. good food gives u a kick that can b only bettered by an orgasm. that day it seemed like with another $10 more I wud get an orgasm in Colombo !
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