The base recipe is along the lines of the Slovenian Easter Buns – Velikonocni Kruhki which I had done last year during the spring time. Yes this time in spirit of the advent of spring; of the light, bright, and the cheerful; hoping to bring it on soon with these blooming flavors.
Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wah), is used as a whole grain, & has been an ancient food that is cultivated in South American Andes since at least 3,000 B.C. It has been a staple food of the native inhabitants. “The ancient Incas called quinoa the “mother grain” and revered it as sacred. Each year at planting time it was traditional for the Inca leader to plant the first quinoa seed using a solid gold shovel!” (Quinoa from Andes, has great information on Quinoa).
Remember those Archie’s Galleries back in India? Valentine’s Day always stir up very special memories for me… all those times of courtship, of holding hands and spending hours browsing “Love” cards in the gallery along with other Love smitten college kids before the Valentine’s day. As silly as it sounds, it still puts a smile in our hearts:-) Yes I was 18 then… many eons ago, a part of that crowd in Archies as the Love Bug had bitten me too. Over the years the Archies cards have made ways to short sweet handwritten notes and little appreciations for one another. Many seasons have passed ( no we are not bald & old yet) - the aura & warmth of those intense flaming times still remains strong between both of us. I would say, given a lot of time thru’ the day we would make everyday our Valentine Day.
What a strange sounding Translation! Anyway…
India has a large repertoire of sweets. Some sweets are consumed all over the country whereas some are only typical to a region. Traditionally, a lot of Indian sweets are prepared with milk, sugar & flour. In India sweets play a very important role in the culture. Every happy occasion, every ceremony, & festival is marked by distribution of sweets. Just like a box of chocolate, or a bottle of wine is brought in as a gift, a regular form of gift in India is a box of sweets.
Back to Pre School basics – Red & Blue makes Purple. For almost a month I had been brainstorming to cook something purple or black. Harini’s (sunshinemom) FIC event of this month almost made me loose my sleep. Whenever there is a challenge, I do not feel like cooking something which I have done before. It is always more fun to experiment & come up with something new. Thats the whole purpose, isn’t it?
Talking of Dum Aloo…There are some hundreds of ways to make Dum Aloo. In West Bengal it used to be a must dish served for weddings with “Radhaballavi” (lentil stuffed puri), and I loved the slight & subtle sweet taste of that kind of dum aloo.
Also during fall/winter time, when there would be small new baby potatoes, & the peas in the shell, my mom would make peas kachori and dum aloo with the bite size potatoes. It used to be an all evening activity when we would all sit and shell the peas and rub the potatoes to skin the already peeling skins.
Stuffed Pear in Spiced Orange Sauce
The Only Lonely pear stared back at me from the fruit basket. And I did not feel like eating this fruit at all. I knew if I was another day late, it would start having the stale brown spots. Well to save this little soul, I tried out this yummy fruity dessert. Long long time back I had come across a recipe( I do not remember where), which called for baking pears with the dessert wine Asti. I did not have any, so I just cooked up this easy way to boil it in the orange sauce. (I always love anything with orange or orange zest.)
The “Saas Bahu” combination is supposed to give the creeps:-D However my mom-in-law is one of the most wonderful people I have ever come across and I could not ask for more. Getting married when I just stepped in to my twenties… I thought and moved with caution, but immediatley she helped me get absorbed in to the family and more than all, amazed me with her exceptional cooking skills. Over the years I have learned a lot of what she cooks, especially the ones which are loved and craved by my hubby.
This is a refreshing drink as good as a dessert. Try it as a healthy & nutritious breakfast drink too.
Ingredients:
Almonds
Preparation:
Soak the saffron threads in the milk for about 15 minutes to release the color and flavor.
Add all ingredients including the milk and saffron in the blender and blend till frothy.
Note: The longer the saffron soaks, you will get a light yellowish color.
Enjoy!
