wine and cheese and hors d'œuvres

oranges

Surprisingly, or not quite surprisingly to be honest, here in the US, no one calls an orange an orange. they are always valencias, or navels, or clementines, or tangerines... or something else. I don't recall which these were. but they looked pretty, and they were very juicy.

garden salad with buttermilk dressing

There's something very comfortable in the thought that one can just walk into his backyard and pick a salad. As S knows more than anyone else, I have a love-hate relationship with garden salads. I still, at times, need to convince myself that a bowl of uncooked vegetables/greens can be food. Nonetheless lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, blueberries and pickled artichokes with a few sprigs of chervil and sour grass and buttermilk dressing can be very quick (read 15 minutes to pluck, wash, chop and arrange) and surprisingly delicious. My favourite bit in this is the buttermilk. It's light on fat, and has a nice delicate taste with a light smoky finish.

Caprese Sandwiches

My version of the Caprese Mini Sandwihes , that Elise did on my favorite food blog , Simply Recepies. I love the Idea, and since In India we make "Roti's"/Flat Bread at home evry day, his is a easy no brainer.

I used, frozen dough that I had made a few weeks ago for making Pot sticklers and what ever was available. Getting the mise en place ready is the trick as every thing is assembled over the flat girdle/Tava used for making the breads.

Frozen Dough , Thawed, Rolled into Flat Breads - 100 Gms
Grated Mozerella Cheese, I used Kodai Cheese - 2 tbs
Basil, Oregano, Crushed Chilly Flakes, Coarse Sea Salt- By Taste
Zero Oil !!

Elise suggests that we marinate the Salad, and I have done that version too, and its delish, but usually i just assemble this in under 15 mins. I just went ahead on an instinct, and just to complete the mean, I added a dollop of hung curd, which is almost the consistancy of ricotta with drizzled honey.

I have been trying to eat light and well, and in the last six months, lost 10 kgs ( Checked today morning, it still stable at 10!!), and I just don't understand why people eat cardboard tasting meal supplements, when all they need to do is learn how to create a simple easy and quick meal.

Tried doing multiple images on this post , including a Collage with the step by step

Tomato Salad with Aioli and Herbs

Easy does it! Just like this Salad I did a few days ago for lunch..Ripe tomatoes quartered, in an aioli, some dried basil and oregano, a dash of tang from a lime, frozen cold meats crushed, cools the salad, as you plate and serve.

Oh, the salt has to be Kal Uppu, or Coarse Sea Salt, none of the flakiness and chemicals from free flowing Iodised salt ..I can't afford Fleur De Sel , so have been using this traditional salt as a finishing salt or just salt, and you can feel the difference.

The Aioli, Salt, Garlic, Extra Virgin Olive Oil , and a whole lot of work on the pestle and mortal as you slowly trickle down the oil. I do not like to add anything else, most folks will add eggs, but does reminds of Mayo, and I am not a big fan.

The Dash of green you see, is some left over pesto, I had done a few days ago, just completes the composition, Don't you think so ?

Enjoy!

dinner

lunch

breakfast

I am not particularly a fan of vegeterian food. However, S and I decided to have a light dinner tonight. It turned out rather nice.

Fiddlehead Ferns with Fenugreek

Celery and Mushroom soup

The Curry in the Closet

Now that's one aspect of the blog that, I am guilty of neglecting. When we created the blog our intention was also to cook and share. So it's time we set this right and also start blogging about our food.

A and I share a different, yet similar culinary heritage. We are fortunate enough to have grown up, in a part of the country where the food and produce is distinctly different. So it was no surprise, that A and I bonded instantly, over fermented fish et al. when we were both looking for flatmates.

I think food is all about creating memories, new, old, good times with family and friends, a bad dinner..it all stays with you. So when you cook you try in some ways to recreate and relive these moments, well at least the good ones.

As with many a people, away from their homes and lands, food was all about reliving memories of home, and along the way I am sure we created a few that will remind us of our home, The Curry Closet.

PS: The mast head was taken in the flat next door, I had borrowed the empty flat kitchen for a big dinner thrown for some friends. I was getting my mis en place ready and had mounds of chopped tomatoes, onion, garlic and herbs..and A was all over the colorful spread. We got one lovely picture, with a Green chilly on a pile of chopped tomatoes...and that my friends is what you see on the mast, of The Curry Closet.