Monday 30 January 2012
Here is the round up for the spicy hot Indian dishes you came up with and its a brilliant one with dishes from all over the country, all heated up with those wonderful spicy chillies. After the round up, don't forget to head over to Lyndsey's blog on the 1st to check out the theme for February. I personally can't wait to see what it is!!
To the round-up we go!
Sunday 22 January 2012
Did you know that this blog is four years old this month? Yes, I must admit it took me by surprise as well, especially since I am the queen of 'why-do-it-today-if-it-can-be-abandoned-tomorrow' philosophy.
Well, darn it all, I did do it in the end. Admittedly, I didn't post very much in the first year or so, mainly because I was wandering the world in a sleep deprived fog of motherhood, holding down a full time job, and basically being a hamster on a wheel trying to keep all the balls in the air (I am also the queen of mixed metaphors, hehe)
My original reason for starting the blog was really simple. After my appearance on Masterchef, I started receiving a ton of requests for the recipes I made on the show. Instead of emailing everyone who asked a recipe, I decided to start a blog, and post up all the recipes on here. So why call it Food, Football and a Baby? Well, refer to the paragraph above. I was so sleep deprived, I could barely function, let alone think of a cool name for the blog. So I called it after the three things that defined my life at that time. Food, of course. Football, of which I am still a passionate fan (Please, Gunners? Please? One trophy to console us all after six years? Please?) And the baby, who is of course, no longer a baby, but will always be my baby, if you're getting my drift?
Things have moved on in my life since those years of course. Two years ago, almost to the day, we upped and moved from England to Canada. And suddenly, for the first time in my life, I had time. Sleep, of course, was a little longer coming by, but time I had. I started blogging more, with a purpose. Well, mainly to keep me from going loco, as I adjusted from being someone who was always on the go, to someone who was a stay-at-home-mum. And I freely admit, I struggled with it at first. My job and education, so far, had been my identity. And to let that go, and surrender financial control to my husband was a really, really hard transition for me to make.
I look back on my first year here in Canada, and I cringe to think what I must have been and sounded like. I hated the cold, and the fact that my family and friends were so far away, and, as I put it, I basically sat indoor and sulked. The next year, I realised that sulking would do me no good, so I went out and started to get to know people. I took a few leaps of faith, and suddenly I now have friends who are on the way to becoming really close to me as well.
Well, darn it all, I did do it in the end. Admittedly, I didn't post very much in the first year or so, mainly because I was wandering the world in a sleep deprived fog of motherhood, holding down a full time job, and basically being a hamster on a wheel trying to keep all the balls in the air (I am also the queen of mixed metaphors, hehe)
My original reason for starting the blog was really simple. After my appearance on Masterchef, I started receiving a ton of requests for the recipes I made on the show. Instead of emailing everyone who asked a recipe, I decided to start a blog, and post up all the recipes on here. So why call it Food, Football and a Baby? Well, refer to the paragraph above. I was so sleep deprived, I could barely function, let alone think of a cool name for the blog. So I called it after the three things that defined my life at that time. Food, of course. Football, of which I am still a passionate fan (Please, Gunners? Please? One trophy to console us all after six years? Please?) And the baby, who is of course, no longer a baby, but will always be my baby, if you're getting my drift?
Things have moved on in my life since those years of course. Two years ago, almost to the day, we upped and moved from England to Canada. And suddenly, for the first time in my life, I had time. Sleep, of course, was a little longer coming by, but time I had. I started blogging more, with a purpose. Well, mainly to keep me from going loco, as I adjusted from being someone who was always on the go, to someone who was a stay-at-home-mum. And I freely admit, I struggled with it at first. My job and education, so far, had been my identity. And to let that go, and surrender financial control to my husband was a really, really hard transition for me to make.
I look back on my first year here in Canada, and I cringe to think what I must have been and sounded like. I hated the cold, and the fact that my family and friends were so far away, and, as I put it, I basically sat indoor and sulked. The next year, I realised that sulking would do me no good, so I went out and started to get to know people. I took a few leaps of faith, and suddenly I now have friends who are on the way to becoming really close to me as well.
Thursday 19 January 2012
Me and healthy are not words that go together very well, as Kay will attest. But I've certainly been trying to eat a little healthier every day. This quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) salad is everything I like in a salad.
Quinoa is, what foodies would call an ancient grain. Not only is it packed full
of protein, but, according to Wikipedia, it contains 'contains a balanced set
of essential amino acids for humans, making it a complete
protein source, unusual among plant foods' I've talked at length about how
I struggle to get more protein into Aditi, especially as she doesn't eat meat,
and now refuses to eat fish as well. I first came across this salad when I did
the butter
chicken live blog session. Knowing that I probably wouldn't have any time
to do a salad, I asked my friend Addie to bring one. He brought this one, and I
loved it so much, I had to try and recreate it. Addie very kindly gave me the
recipe. I modified it a bit, as I didn't have a few things and I also added a
few more child friendly elements (read, raisins, amazing what a raisin or two
can do for the 'tryability' of a dish). I also used my homemade Madras
curry powder, rather than the generic one called for.
The end result was so
good, that this is a dish that is going to be on our everyday menu a fair
amount. Who said healthy eating means boring? This salad has amazingly great
flavour. Spicy, tangy, sweet and nutty, it encompasses everything, and each
bite elicits a flavour packed taste sensation. I absolutely adore the Indian
elements of this salad, and it appeals to my whole ethnic-local approach. Its
quick to put together, and I love the fact that it can be adapted to pretty
much anything you have in the cupboard. Eating a little healthier just got a
little more easier!
Saturday 14 January 2012
As I've mentioned before in this blog, I am an information addict huge consumer of news. Not only do I read about three Canadian newspapers, I also read a couple British newspapers, the BBC News site and a few Indian newspapers. Indian newspapers are not always my favourite, as I find that they tend to dramatise everything (that may well be an Indian trait, like my own, hehe) but one of my favourite Indian newspapers is The Hindu, which really does approach news in a dispassionate manner and I enjoy reading it and catching up with everything going on back home. It also reminds me of my childhood, when my dad, in the interest of educating us bought this newspaper every day, despite the fact that he enjoyed reading the Times of India better. I appreciate your sacrifice, dad :-)
One of my favourite columns in the Hindu is its Life and Style section. I browse through it fairly often, as I know that there will always be something in it that will catch my fancy. Which is where I came across this intriguing article and recipe for this Taar Korma. I was straightaway fascinated by the history of the dish, and enamoured by the photograph that accompanied it too.
Even though I've lived in India for over twenty years, the depth and breadth of regional Indian cuisine continues to amaze me. Its entirely possible to have lived most of my life there without knowing about, say, Rampuri cuisine, for example. Of course, once I had read the article, all I wanted to do was go out and research everything to do with them. This style of cuisine emerges from the princely state of Rampur in India. Rampuri cuisine owes its distinctive edge to a combination of Muslim and Mughlai traditions, along with spice blends, while traditional, are unique to the region. The Mughlai tradition passes itself on in the liberal use of nut pastes, saffron and the 'dum' style of cooking, while the use of meats like mutton are usually part of the Muslim tradition. As is usual in India, however, recipes have been passed on through the oral tradition, rather than written down. Of course this makes it difficult for the likes of me, sitting here in Canada to try and access them :-)
Tuesday 10 January 2012
My secret vice, Britannia Little Hearts Cookies
I am a huge fan of Melissa's blog Eyes Bigger Than My Stomach. She has this amazing knack of writing things that resonate with me almost immediately. Recently, she posted this really lovely post that she titled 'Confessions'. When I read it, I had to laugh out loud at many places, because that really is how I feel many times.So, as everyone knows, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? I loved her post so much, I asked her if she would mind if I wrote a similar post for my blog. Kind soul that she is, she didn't kick me to the kerb (she did tell me to knock myself out though, maybe that was the message) Hehe, I am being obtuse here.
So yes, this is a deliberately self-indulgent post. But hey, I didn't do any of those yearly round-up posts, so I think I am entitled to one indulgence a year, surely?
PS - For last year's self-indulgent post see here :-)
Thursday 5 January 2012
Well, 2012 has started off with a bang!
To start off with, some of my recipes on how to cook winter vegetables with an Indian twist have been featured on the website Cooks United. If you haven't already, check out this interesting recipe sharing website. Not only does it have an impressive list of interesting recipes, but also a lively discussion forum where you can ask and answer questions about cooking and baking. Along with the forum and recipe collections, Cooks United also features a magazine section, with articles, features and tips on cooking for the season and techniques. You can sign up to interact with other like minded souls, or just browse through their collection of recipes, the dessert ones in particular are to die for. You can save, exchange and rate recipes as well. What more would a dedicated foodie want?
Its only been a week or so, but the post I wrote about kids and restaurants has had several comments and has incited a really lively debate. I seem to have struck a nerve, particularly with parents, about the way in which kids are treated in restaurants. I wanted to confess that that particular post has been sitting in my drafts folder for a long time. It took a tweet from a fellow mum on Twitter about her experience at Ikea, to get me to hit publish on that post. I am quite glad I did, in a way. Its been cathartic, but also at the same time, has brought about several reactions from people that I didn't expect. Thank you to all those who took the time to read and engage with the post. I have every intention of responding to all the comments, but that will probably be another blog post in itself.
To start off with, some of my recipes on how to cook winter vegetables with an Indian twist have been featured on the website Cooks United. If you haven't already, check out this interesting recipe sharing website. Not only does it have an impressive list of interesting recipes, but also a lively discussion forum where you can ask and answer questions about cooking and baking. Along with the forum and recipe collections, Cooks United also features a magazine section, with articles, features and tips on cooking for the season and techniques. You can sign up to interact with other like minded souls, or just browse through their collection of recipes, the dessert ones in particular are to die for. You can save, exchange and rate recipes as well. What more would a dedicated foodie want?
Its only been a week or so, but the post I wrote about kids and restaurants has had several comments and has incited a really lively debate. I seem to have struck a nerve, particularly with parents, about the way in which kids are treated in restaurants. I wanted to confess that that particular post has been sitting in my drafts folder for a long time. It took a tweet from a fellow mum on Twitter about her experience at Ikea, to get me to hit publish on that post. I am quite glad I did, in a way. Its been cathartic, but also at the same time, has brought about several reactions from people that I didn't expect. Thank you to all those who took the time to read and engage with the post. I have every intention of responding to all the comments, but that will probably be another blog post in itself.
Monday 2 January 2012
Much as I love the holidays, all that sweet stuff and baking and endless parades of chocolate, cookies and cream gets to me after a while. So what better way to (not) detox, than by cooking up a spicy Indian storm?I am privileged this month to be hosting Lyndsey's Sweet Heat Chilli Challenge. For those of you who have no clue what I am talking about, the lovely Lyndsey blogs over at Vanilla Clouds and Lemon Drops and is a chilli-ophile :-) Every month a new theme is announced for the challenge, and the only requirement is that your recipe entry needs to have chilis/ chillis/ chilli peppers or peppers in it. Any kind of chili is accepted, mild or hot.
That said, this month's theme makes it really simple to have chilli in your recipe, as its that perennial spicy favourite, (East) Indian food. Indian food is one of the most popular cuisines in the world with reason. It can be hot and spicy, or with just a hint of heat and a myriad of spices. Hot, spicy and comforting, what more do we wish for? Any way you look at it, you cannot go wrong with it, especially after a month-long orgy of sweets, chocolates and decadent desserts.
So pull out those spices and grab those chillies and let's all be honorary (or real) Indians for this month :-)
The Rules:
More about how to enter. There aren't that many hard and fast rules, and most are really simple.
- You must mention Lyndsey's original post, Sweet Heat Chilli Challenge in your post and also a link back to my announcement (Sweet Heat Challenge # 4 - Let's Rock Indian!). Use of the logo would be nice, but is not mandatory.
- There are three ways to enter this challenge -
- The easiest way is to use the Linky List at the bottom of the blog post. Just click on the 'Click Here to Enter' line and follow the simple instructions.
- You can also email me your entry. Just send the link to your recipe post + a picture, if you wish, to michellepatriciapeters@gmail.com and please remember to CC in Lyndsey at vanillacloudsandlemondrops@hotmail.co.uk if you are using this way to enter. You don't have to email if you add your link below, as both Lyndsey and I will receive your entry.
- Leave a comment with a link to your entry in the comments section. Please note that I approve comments first, so it may take a while for your comment to appear.
- Tweet your recipe using the hashtag #sweetheat and I will retweet any that I see. You can also tag me or Lyndsey in your tweet (@michpetersjones or @LyndseyFleenor)
- Post on our blogs' Facebook pages if you feel up to it as well. Here's my Facebook page and Lyndsey's page.
- You can create your own recipe or make your favourite recipe but please credit the original source if using someone else's and you must write your own directions for the recipe.
- You can enter as many times as you like. The more the spicier.
- The round up will be on the 30th of January and you have until the 29th to enter. Entries will close at midnight on the 29th January (Canadian Mountain Time)
So, what are you all waiting for? LET'S ROCK INDIAN!!!
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