A Life of Spice

Words I never thought I would utter.. I am in PEOPLE magazine (India edition)

Monica Bhide — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Never, ever in a million years… I never thought I would ever be in People magazine. And there we are. It is the India edition and I am so grateful. And now… YYAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! OMG!

Lobster for Leos, Cookies for Capricorns

Monica Bhide — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:31:29 +0000

This sweet little book, by astrologer and celebrity chef Sabra Ricci, showed up in my mailbox a couple of weeks ago. After reading and cooking from so many serious cookbooks, I was curious to see if this fun and whimsical book would stand up to the kitchen test. LOBSTER FOR LEOS, COOKIES FOR CAPRICORNS: An [...]

Essay: An ode to whole roasted chicken

Monica Bhide — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:13:00 +0000

If you are looking for a recipe, then you wont find it here for this chicken. I am not sure there is one since each time I make this chicken, it is a little different but it always has one element that is the same – it is comforting. I never grew up on whole [...]

Mooo…. i scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream

Monica Bhide — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:00:00 +0000

I tasted Moorenko’s ice-cream about a month or so ago for the first time and let me just say that there has been no looking back. My kids adored the ginger ice-cream and I must say that they have good taste! I interviewed Susan Soorenko about her love of ice cream and how she has [...]

Aromatic Spice Blends

Monica Bhide — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:27:29 +0000

So thrilled to share with you yet another amazing woman who is following her dreams and has created her own line of custom spice blends. Virginia-based Deepa Pakte is a super geek (I am happy to say!) and has a Ph.D in Microbiology with two post doctoral fellowships in Applied and Basic Immunology. So why the [...]

“New Chicken Soup for the Soul” YAY!

Monica Bhide — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:38:00 +0000

Mid-Day Mumbai reviewed my first e-book and they called it the “new Chicken Soup for the Soul.” Makes me so happy!!! Thank you. BUY NOW MID DAY REVIEW: BUY NOW A sampling from “In Conversation with Exceptional Women” includes: Ruth Reichl, former Editor in Chief of Gourmet and former restaurant critic of The New York Times: “I wish [...]

Dear Writer: What are you selling?

Monica Bhide — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:14:07 +0000

What are you selling? I have been thinking about this a lot lately. For many folks, especially those in marketing and business, this post may be a no-brainer and for that I apologize. But for many of us, especially writers, I think this warrants some thinking. I am not a marketing person and not a [...]

Roasted pumpkin with yogurt

Monica Bhide — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:48:35 +0000

I met the very talented Indian chef Vicky Ratnani when I visited his restaurant, Aurus, in Juhu, Mumbai. A frequent guest on Indian TV, chef also hosts some really fun shows of his own on NDTV: Do it sweet and Gourmet Central. He was telling me about his wonderful recipes and one in particular peeked [...]

Raghavan Iyer rocks with his new line of spices

Monica Bhide — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 08:30:00 +0000

Chef Raghavan Iyer late last year announced: “Turmeric Trail, a vibrant new line of roasted spice blends created to celebrate and bring the spirit of India to your kitchen. Turmeric Trail is launching with four signature blends, representing four distinct regions in India; Garam Masala. Mumbai Masala, Madras Masala and Chai Masala.” I was lucky [...]

10 lessons I learned in 2011

Monica Bhide — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:26:24 +0000

At the end of each year, I usually try to do a post about all the lessons I have learned over the year. I was looking over the blog for the past year and decided to post some of the links that share things I have learned this year and also share with you the [...]