Holiday celebrations for all....

  

For anyone who has read my October post on Halloween, it will come as no surprise that when it comes to celebrations involving children.....I go a bit overboard.

So, with December's festivities, the madness was expected to turn into mayhem. I think between the OWC Carnival, the Sunday Soul Sante, the I Love Indiranagar Christmas Carnival, the Christmas tree decorations kids party at my place, a visit to Leela Palace's tree and gingerbread house, I possibly covered every Christmas themed event within a 5 km radius....and had as much, if not more, fun doing it....as my kids!!! 

I must add that the "real" gingerbread house you see on the top right came from a playdate that my son was invited to - apparently, I am not the only one who gets super spirited in December :).

To end the year on a high note, we (the Pre kindergarten kid' parents from my younger son's school) decided to co-host a "Pre-K Christmas Party" in a  children's park.

As a reminder, I have lived in the US for over 10 years and done the whole Rockefeller Center Xmas lighting thing in NYC, stood in freezing (and this no exaggeration!) cold in downtown Minneapolis to watch the Holidazzle Parade, done cookie exchanges with friends, etc. etc. But, to tell you the truth, the enthusiasm with which this party was undertaken by all the parents - really left me amazed!

It made me realize how far as a generation we have come. Today, we truly embrace the cultures, traditions, the big and small nuances of different religions with so much gusto. It is heartwarming to know that my son goes to school with children of parents who embrace each other's beliefs in a truly loving way. As parents, we all want our children to grow up being embracive, non judgmental and global citizens.

It started with a small thought...which morphed into a meeting at a coffee shop....and then just like a snow ball....it kept gaining momentum and whole lot of beautiful ideas.

 

This "little" list, cumulated into a memorable afternoon at the Children's Park where the children got a chance to get some "Xmas themed nail art" done, make handcrafted snowmen using cookies and paper, decorate a large tree, write their names on decorations and hang those on the tree to be taken home as a keepsake, decorate their own cookies with lots of sprinkles, take home their personal gingerbread house goodie bags, run around with home made pinwheels, and - hold your breath - "a visit from Santa"!! A Santa who came in great spirits and gave each of them a personalized book!!

 

  

One of the most touching aspect of the event was the inclusion of representatives from a charitable organization (www.karunashraya.org) which provides hospice for cancer patients. The children were able to get tattoos from these representatives and the parents were in turn encouraged to donate towards the charity. All in all, it truly gave children the complete picture behind the term "spirit of giving".

In regards to the food, let me just say on the onset that none of the above are from my kitchen. These are all showcasing the wonderful creativity of the moms who all got goodies to share for the kids and their parents (thank God for that!). We also had chips and dips, veggies and fruits, pizzas, jam and cheese sandwiches, cookies etc.

A Christmas celebration, that was made meaningful by the participation of all......could there be a better way to start the holidays for our kids?

So, happy holidays to all and I truly wish all of you a joyful and healthy 2014!!

 

Cold nights and warm desserts.....

During my trip to Edinburgh a few years ago, I realized that there was one dessert for which I was willing to let all thoughts of calorie count dissipate.  I was willing to add a few inches to my waistline. In fact, I also sent my husband hunting at 10 p.m. for my daily fix of that warm, wicked and delicious sweet.

Yes, I am referring of course to the sticky toffee pudding!!! Staying at "The Balmoral", eating at Michelin star restaurants, walking on the Royal Mile's cobbled stone path towards the castle - and all I wanted was to end the evening on the sweet note of a warm pudding with tons of caramel flavor topped with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

Something about the combination of warm and cold in sweets is truly exciting for me - maybe its because I grew up in Calcutta. A place somewhat famous for the innovative combinations of warm and cool desserts. I have so many amazing memories of attending weddings with my parents in the months of December. The sequence of events at these weddings used to be the same for me. First, I had to see what the bride wore (yes, clothes have fascinated me from a very young age :) and then my father and I would head over to the dessert section of the food tables and chalk out the ones which would be our top picks after dinner. You can actually say that our dessert selections decided how much, if any, of the main meal would be eaten by us :). For those unfamiliar with Calcutta and its culture of weddings, I can explain it very simply to you - "more is better and nothing but the best". So an average wedding feast in a typical north Indian wedding would have at least 10-15 appetizers, 40-50 main and side course options and at least 15 dessert selections. And I am NOT exaggerating!!! To say I was spoilt for choice is an understatement. The idea of warm malpuas (sugar syrup soaked pancakes) with cold rabadi (a milk based sweet) or piping hot gulab jamuns (Indian style milk solids sweets) with kesar pista kulfi (Indian nutty ice cream) or freshly made jalebis (spiral shaped gram flour crisps) served with cooling rasmalai (spongy milk based dumpling) - make me want to book the first available flight to Calcutta (it is December, remember!).

Before I give you this amazing recipe, I must add a big thank you to my dearest neighbor/friend, G Aunty, who found it in a coffee table book in course of her visit to Scotland.....I am ever so grateful for this one....and all those who try this pudding will be as well!!!
 

 

Sticky Toffee Pudding

(makes 8 portions)

 

150 gm Unsalted Butter

150 gm All purpose Flour

100 gm Granulated Sugar

50 gm Brown Sugar (my modification)

150 gm Stoned Dates (chopped fine)

300 ml Boiling Water

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Baking Powder

2 eggs - slightly beaten

1/4 tsp Salt (my modification)

 

Pre-heat oven to 100 degree Celsius and grease a 13" baking dish

 

Soak the chopped dates in boiling water for 10 minutes

 

Cream the butter and sugar till the color becomes light

 Add eggs, flour and baking powder

Add the dates, water, salt and baking soda

The batter will seem fairly runny...

 

Place in moderate oven (100 degree Celsius) and bake for about 45 minutes to 1hour until golden brown and firm to touch

 

 

Sticky Toffee Sauce

 

I used the recipe from BBC's Good Foods website for this sauce. Having tried a few different options, this worked best for me.

 

250 ml Cream

80 gm Butter

80 gm Brown Sugar

 

Mix all the ingredients and heat on moderate high and whisk regularly to get an even sauce

 



Make some holes in the cake and pour the sauce on top.

 

Put back in oven under broiler for 3-5 minutes (monitoring continuously). Take out and allow to cool down. Serve warm with either vanilla or butterscotch ice-cream!

 

This is one dessert, where the pictures really don't do justice to it's taste....try it and get hooked for life!!

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keep it "real"....

Have been noticing a lot of posts/video uploads on Facebook (FB) and receiving forwards via emails/whatsapp about people living more in the "virtual" world vs. a "real" one.

Upon further introspection, I realized that I was one of those folks as well....one who seems to have become a combination of a voyeuristic surfer and a sufferer of FOMO (fear of missing out)...whose hands feel almost itchy without a phone to play around with....whose idea of a "historical" person was one who, God forbid, moved around without an internet data plan....who was guilty of enjoying the "likes" notifications on FB and felt empowered by others appreciation and comments on her posts/updates/photos etc.

Don't get me wrong. I think these are all wonderful things to do...to the extent they allow us to still live in the "real" world with the blood and flesh people who surround us. Can you imagine the frustrations of a patient describing his ailments in great detail to a doctor, only to be interrupted by the sudden jarring noise of a mobile ringing; or a lovely gathering of family/friends being overtaken by a person taking a call and making those who specially came to celebrate feel unimportant; or asking your son to keep quiet as you finish typing your latest "thoughts" on FB? Sadly, I do.

Why am I going on about all this? Well, the thought came to me that this "virtual" somewhat "nice-to-see-but-not-available-to-you" world of FB travelers, eaters, romantics, sport enthusiasts etc., could make all our lives so much easier!! Using this application of virtual logic towards food, can we enjoy food through simply looking at their beautiful, mouth watering pictures?

A world of "No calories, No fat, No cost - just a whole load of salivating"...

So this time, instead of sharing recipes, I give you some pictures and you tell me....are these enough? Or do you want more?

 Corn pancakes - Indian style w/cilantro chutney

 

Homemade pizza with caramelized apples and onions

 

 

 Beetroot salad with basil and feta

 

Figs stewed and roasted with spice blend

 

 

 Vegetable sizzler with garlic bread

 

Apple bread topped with avocado salad

 

Are we really okay living "virtually" or do we want to dive in and take a bite out of life?