The Daily Tiffin

NO LANGUAGE TO CALL MY OWN

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Sun, 02 May 2010 13:12:00 +0000

Language is more than Language...

I should’ve known better. Both of my parents were raised in bi-lingual homes, their Yiddish-speaking Russian grandparents an important presence in their childhood homes, in their upbringing. They both studied Hebrew as well, lessons every afternoon, from an early age. But we were the lost generation, the first generation to lose that second language, raised strictly in English, second-generation Americans raised by parents who wanted to see us totally and completely assimilated. Looking around me as I was growing up, I saw, I heard only English. And took it for granted that that was the norm. One family, one language, fitting in.

Yet the more I have traveled, the more I realize that those of us raised with one language are the minority. When I moved to France, I looked around me and said “Wow! So many people who are perfectly bi-lingual! I feel so out of it!” Then we had two sons and moved to Italy with our now bi-lingual French-English home and that’s when it seemed to me that all of a sudden I was surrounded by tri-lingual families, English-French-Italian. And when we proudly added Italian to our list, I noticed just how many kids had a fourth language, Spanish, Swedish or German, as well. It seems that speaking only one language is not the norm, but rather the exception.

When we started out on this long and exciting journey that was raising multi-lingual, multi-cultural kids, we did our research and followed the simple rule, the rule that seemed to work: One language/one parent (for example: mom always speaks English, while Dad always speaks French) or one language/one place (for example: everyone always speaks English at home while French is spoken at school). Simple and it worked for us. Our sons could understand and eventually speak both languages, easily sliding in and out of one or the other as the situation called for and understanding that different people spoke different languages depending on where they lived. And when they were moved to Italy, they simply sponged up that third language with only a slight learning period and minor trouble. Perfect!

Yet, it couldn’t be quite that simple, could it? Little by little we realized that the boys, 2 years apart, handled the situation differently. Clem, the elder of the two, had already been well entrenched in and pretty well spoke both French and English when we moved to Italy while Simon, only a year old, may have understood but hadn’t begun speaking yet at all. When the boys were 5 and 3 and we decided to put them both in the Italian pre-school, Clem already understood a smattering of Italian and happily jumped into his new circle of friends waving his arms and repeating the same 5 sentences over and over again, just to make contact, until, little by little, he added to his repertoire. He also had almost 3 years of pre-school tucked under his tiny belt so felt completely at ease in his new surroundings. Simon, on the other hand, hadn’t mastered any one language completely yet, had never been to school and knew no Italian, so everything was thrown on his tiny shoulders at once. Needless to say, Simon uttered not one word for his entire first year of pre-school until the day he could speak Italian fluently. And then only to communicate. The strict minimum.

At home, on the other hand, he seemed to have mastered everything. His vocabulary in all 3 languages was wide and impressive, having adult multi-syllable words at his disposal and often correcting or translating for his older brother. While Clem, 2 years older, was a chatterbox and one of those perfectly normal kids who went through a few years of asking non-stop questions, all the Who? What? Why? and Hows? Simon never asked any questions of anyone. But then, why should he have? He seemed to have all the answers, following his older brother around and answering all of his questions, both the sensible and the nonsensical. He grew to love documentaries on tv, history, archeology and even politics, and could discuss these subjects with ease. He loved museums and traveling and discovering.

As time went on and their school years flew by and we eventually moved back to France, we saw a growing problem with Simon: trouble at school, bad marks when he knew his subject, grades all over the place, up and down, but never quite bad enough to have it suggested that he repeat a grade. Even his grades in English and Italian classes were lousy! And misery. Depression, Feeling small and insignificant and just plain miserable yet with a growing anger towards his teachers and a feeling somewhere of injustice. We took him from specialist to specialist, speech therapist to psychiatrist to psychologist to educator and we heard over and over again “Be patient. He’s a smart boy. He’ll find his footing and get over it.” And still things got worse. Inexplicable bad or mediocre grades, teachers’ reports describing a boy morose and silent or disruptive and insolent. A refusal to study, a shrug of the shoulders, a roll of the eyes and “What’s the point? They give me bad grades no matter how much I work and how well I know the subject!” And a boy not happy, hiding his emotions, rarely laughing and enjoying himself. So when things reached disaster point in high school, we hired private tutors, Math and Science, then History and French and Philosophy. And they loved him! They said he was personable, engaging and engaged, interesting and smart, took the initiative and asked lots of questions. Around the house he seemed to come out of himself, was happier, and talked more. His language even evolved from one word grunts to complete sentences! Well, we had always known he was smart, very smart, but why this Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde routine? Why one person at home and another at school?

Until this summer. He finally finished school, succeeded in passing his Baccalaureat exams and, whew, 15 years of misery ended and a weight lifted from his shoulders. And we finally found professionals who understood there was a problem, who finally listened and discussed. And tested. And we were struck by the results and the interpretation of these results.

The psychologist who did the testing sat me down next to Simon and handed me the brown Kraft paper envelope that held, we hoped and prayed, the answer to all of his misery and all of our questions. “Your son,” she explained, “speaks 3 languages, but he has never chosen one over the other. He has no first language, no language he has chosen to call his own.” And she continued to explain: With a language comes a culture and an identity: When one embraces a language, accepts it as one’s primary language, one embraces the culture that goes with it. One accepts an identity through which all else filters. Along with a primary language comes all the baggage, the nuances of expression, tone of voice, responses and reactions. And all other languages are seen, translated and understood through that first language and through that culture. On the practical surface and in a school context, this meant that Simon was constantly swimming between one language and another not only to find the right word, the appropriate expression, but the tone, the meaning as well. We knew that he had trouble processing information and then getting it out, expressing himself, but simply never understood why. Information went in but then got all jumbled up as it passed from language to language, word to image and back to language again, from verbal to written. It became garbled and he just had never developed the tools to transfer information easily and clearly from one part of his brain to another. We now understood why. So he transferred his energy to form rather than content: spelling or sentence construction rather than substance. What information he had came out as if spit onto the page. To his teachers it was obvious that he did indeed know his subjects but he was constantly penalized, punished for not expressing himself “as he ought”. Vicious cycle: bad grades even if I study and I know my subject so why study?

On a higher level, this caused another problem, social, cultural, because here, in France, he never felt comfortable, at home. He had become the proverbial Man Without A Country. Somewhere early on he had rejected the notion of “being French” most likely because the culture, the language, the school system had been forced on him and forced when he wasn’t ready and then he had been punished over and over again for not being “French” enough. So his anger grew, his sense of injustice, his feelings of persecution. And he turned that anger onto school. At the same time, he so badly wanted to identify himself with his American side, America, that land of gold, of sunny vacations, cop shows, the Marx Brothers, peanut butter sandwiches and brownies, but didn’t know how and just wasn’t in the right place to do it. So even that he kept buried alive somewhere deep down inside, feeding his discontent. Which led to a total rejection and disdain for anyone demanding that he “be French”, namely his teachers and the school system he found himself in. Vicious cycle 2: rejection of the culture he was living in leading to his sense of rejection by the system itself (his teachers) which made him even angrier at the system he was in and further rejection.

Hilda wrote a very lovely article in these pages about being a third culture kid, about fitting in, children for whom home is everywhere, home is nowhere. Our children, the children growing up multi-cultural, multi-lingual, the children of expatriates or mixed marriages or those who simply move around the globe, have an uncanny ease sliding from one place, one society to another, an actor’s ability to change languages, change personas as easily as they change clothes, an adult’s understanding of how the world works and that people are different everywhere we go, different but the same, and all it simply takes is a change of vocabulary, way of holding oneself, of dressing, of eating. Yet language is more than language. Children do indeed sponge up language after language after language and it is a joy to behold, but as we have learned so painfully, it goes well beyond that simple “Does he understand? Can he speak the language? How wonderful that your children will grow up multi-lingual!” It is a delicate balance of place, time, age and change. It is giving your child an understanding of just exactly who he or she is, their place in the world. It is finding a school where they will be accepted and their differences made to feel truly an advantage not a disadvantage, a weight, something to punish. Teachers as well as parents need to understand that not all kids are the same, that they need to be able to express themselves as they can and be helped along the way with the rest.

And more than anything, these children need to feel a sense of security and an even stronger sense of home.

This post was written by JAMIE

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Hooked On Noodles: Noodles-Vegetable Cutlet/ Patties

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:53:00 +0000

I have no idea how it is in the rest of the world when it comes to instant noodles, but in India, they’re the stuff of very fond (or not so good, as the case may be) memories for many people I know.

Nestlé’s Maggi 2-minute noodles have been in India for 25 years now. The fact that some boiling water and the contents of the packet is all it needs to serve oneself a plate of noodles is what makes it so popular. The addictive nature of the “masala” (or flavouring powder) that comes with the noodles and that they can be bought in every corner store also helps!

Since Maggi noodles takes just “2 minutes” to make, as their advertisements keep reminding us, they have been saviours to many a hungry student, unmarried people(and married ones too!) who couldn’t cook but needed to eat, and the harried mother who needed a quick snack for her ever hungry and demanding children.

Globalisation and development now mean that we have a greater variety of instant noodles, including Ramen noodles, those from.
Available in every flavour that appeal to the Indian palate, these noodles are now available also in “healthier” versions such as whole wheat and vegetable noodles.

While not really healthy food, these noodles are very popular and a taste that most children (and some adults) love. One way to handle this addiction/ instant noodle syndrome is to ensure that I buy it rarely. Another one is to hop on the instant noodle bandwagon occasionally.

By this, I mean trying to find ways to make those instant noodles a little more acceptable as food. This instant noodles and vegetable cutlet may not be the healthiest of foods but I think its not too bad as an occasional compromise.

These cutlets are a decent after-school or evening snack. This recipe is adapted from Tarla Dalal’s Fun Food For Children.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 to 2 cups instant noodles, cooked*

1/4 cup sweet corn kernels, cooked and crushed**

1/4 cup green peas, cooked**

1 to 1 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes

2 spring onions, finely chopped

1/2 cup grated cheese

2 tbsp milk

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

2 tbsp chickpea flour (besan)/ cornstarch

salt to taste

breadcrumbs for coating cutlets/ patties

oil for shallow frying

Method:

*If you’re cooking the instant noodles without adding the tastemaker that comes along with it, season the noodles with spices of your choice like turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, onion powder, garlic, garam masala, etc. Use these according to your preferred taste.

** You can adjust these 1/4 and 1/4 cups with vegetables of your choice. I would suggest that you do not use more than 3 vegetables in all; otherwise it might be difficult to persuade some children to eat them!

In a bowl, combine the noodles, sweet corn, peas, chilli flakes, spring onions, milk, chickpea flour/ cornstarch, cheese, breadcrumbs and salt.
Mix well and divide the mixture into 12 equal portions, and shape each into a well packed cutlet/ patty.
Coat the cutlets/ patties well with breadcrumbs and shallow fry in hot oil on both sides, till golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve warm with ketchup.
This recipe makes 12 cutlets/ patties.

This post was written by Aparna

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Quick Indian - Dal Chaval

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:26:00 +0000

Simple, everyday food. No elaborate masalas, no fancy ingredients......not even a garnish on this one! Yet, Dal and Chaval (Dal and Rice) says home to me like no other food does. I am pretty sure it is the same for anyone who grew up eating Indian food. A bowl of piping hot dal and rice......ok, maybe some papad on the side - my definition of a completely satisfying meal!

Dals are legumes (lentils, beans and peas) and are a rich source of protein and fiber as well as folate and iron. The legumes as well as the cooked dish is called dal.

A pressure cooker does a quick and easy job of cooking dals. However, many dals ( like masoor and mung) can be cooked in a saucepan within 20-30 minutes. Dals do tend to foam while cooking but you can skim off the foam and if using a pressure cooker, adding a teaspoon of oil will reduce the foaming. Dals can also be combined with different leafy greens (spinach, amaranth, fenugreek, collard greens etc), sour fruit(raw mango, tomatoes, tomatillos), squashes and crucifers (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli).

Most of the dals one buys in stores nowadays are free of debris and small stones but it is a good idea to give it a quick check before cooking and also rinse them well to get rid of any debris.

The most common way to season dal is by tadka (vaghar, chaunk, popu) where you heat some oil and/or ghee in a small saucepan and add spices (which differ by region). The spices infuse the oil with wonderful flavors and aroma and when added to the dal, elevates it to the sublime! You can also vary the consistency of the dal by adjusting the amount of water. The consistency can vary from dry, to puree-like, to thin and soupy.

My most favorite dal is my Amamma's (grandma) tuvar dal that she used to dry roast in a brass vessel over a wood fire, and then season it simply with salt when it was almost done cooking. The memory of that dal with feshly cooked rice and a dollop of ghee has me drooling even today. I can still see myself as a five year old, sitting on the floor in her kitchen while she roasted the dal - me chattering away in English (a language she barely understood) and she speaking in Telugu (which I spoke very little of), yet somehow managing to communicate and bond.

Dal

1 cup Pigeon peas (Tuvar dal). You can also use Red lentils (masoor) or split Mung dal.
2 cups water
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup (1 large) tomato, chopped
1 green chili
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp canola oil or ghee (or a combination of both)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
salt to taste

Wash the tuvar dal 2-3 times until the water runs clear. Pressure cook the dal in 2 cups water on medium heat for about 10-15 minutes. After the pressure is released, open the lid of the cooker and add more water depending on the consistency you prefer. Add the turmeric and start boiling on a medium flame. If you don't have a pressure cooker, you can use the red lentils (Masoor dal) which will take about 20 minutes to cook in a saucepan and will need about 3 cups water. The split Mung beans will take approx 30 mins to cook and will need about 5 cups water.

Heat the oil in a small pan on medium high heat. Add the cumin and once it starts to turn brown, add the garlic and green chili and cook till the garlic starts to turn golden brown.

Add the tomatoes and cook until they get soft and slightly mushy.

Transfer this mixture to the dal. Add the cilantro and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Serve with rice (preferably Basmati).

* You can also make this with a combination of dals (tuvar or masoor, moong, urad and chana) and add some finely chopped/grated ginger and chopped onions along with the garlic. When cooking beans, I also add some garam masala and cumin-coriander (dhania-jeera) powder.

Here's a recipe for a very simple, spiced rice that tastes wonderful with just about any dal .

Pulao

2 cups Basmati rice, rinsed 2-3 times in cold water.
1/2 cup carrot, chopped
1/2 cup green peas (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup corn (fresh or frozen)
1 inch piece cinnamon
3-4 cardamom
4-5 cloves
2-3 bay leaves
3 tbsp canola oil
salt to taste

Heat the oil in a pan large enough to hold the rice. Add the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and bay leaves. Once the spices start to change color, add the vegetables and cook for about 2 minutes.

Add 4 cups water and bring to a boil. Add the rice and salt. Once this comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low and cover with a lid.

Cook on medium low heat till done.

* I use a rice cooker for this. Add the rice, water and vegetables to the cooker followed by the spices in oil (described above) and cook till done.

This post was written by Bina

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Gluten-Free Almond and Milled Seed Banana Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Hilda) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 10:42:00 +0000

I have been having adventures with gluten-free foods lately. It's not that I need to eat gluten-free foods suddenly or anything, it's more that I first made and ate gluten-free foods about fourteen years ago thanks to my friend Chloe, who was having severe food allergies at the time, and remembered recently that gluten-free food could be quite lovely with its seeming resurgence on food blogs.
I always have some allergy and food-intolerance recipes handy just in case a friend who suffers from one comes over and, in this particular instance, I'd been wondering how different it would be to eat gluten-free banana bread having never tried that (but eating my regular share of gluten-packed banana bread).

I have an unabashed love of bananas; I think they may be the perfect food. I know some people hate them but, frankly, I don't get those people; it seems everyone in this house loves them so banana bread is always well received, and I've taken to trying different versions lately having spent so many years with a favorite recipe. We don't often end up with overripe bananas here simply because they're eaten up so quickly but, on occasion, particularly when one too many visits have been paid to the store, we end up with several sets of bananas and I have to use them up. You can of course freeze bananas so that you're not forced to bake with them until you're ready, just be aware that if you do the peel turns completely black though the flesh is unaffected.

Of course there's no dearth of gluten-free banana bread recipes on the web with all the gluten-free blogs, but there's no telling what recipe will look appealing to you when you do a search for something as popular as banana bread. I settled on this recipe from Gluten-Free Goddess for snacking banana bread and set about figuring out how I would make it with less almond flour. I love me some almonds but I didn't really want this to taste mostly of almonds and banana.

I've spoken on my blog about a milled seed mix made by Linwoods which is made up of milled flaxseed, sunflower and pumpkin seeds. I made gluten-free muffins with it and they were delicious; I actually thought the mix was milled nuts until I took a good look at the package; due to my having made so many muffins with it, I decided to make some gluten-free banana bread instead with what remained. I didn't have enough of it to make up the entire portion of "flour", so I ended up mixing almond meal with finely chopped hazelnuts and what was left of the milled seeds.

I was pleasantly surprised by the result. I thought it would be good but I didn't realize how good it would be, and the best part of it was that it was incredibly light and moist. The recipe below is the most basic version. You could of course add other spices, perhaps whatever mix you usually use in your banana bread. Karina's version calls for 2 cups of flour-substitute, I added a bit more because I had an extra 1/4 cup of milled seeds left in the bag; if you look at the comments on her post, people substituted all different kinds of flours, ground nuts, etc... so feel free to experiment with your own kind of flour or non-flour mix.
The next time I get a bag of milled seeds, I'm definitely making this banana bread again, along with a few dozen muffins. You never know when the urge to snack might hit you.

Gluten-free Almond and Milled Seed Banana Bread
adapted from the Gluten-Free Goddess here

1 cup (100g) almond meal

3/4 cup (75g) milled seeds

1/2 cup (60g) finely chopped hazelnuts (or pecans or whatever kind of nut you want)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp sea salt

2 large eggs, at room temp

1/3 cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil

1 cup (100g) light brown sugar

3 medium very ripe bananas, cut up, mashed

2 tsp vanilla extract

- Heat oven to 350F (180C).
- Grease a loaf pan very lightly. No need to flour it. (I used cocoa for the fun of it to see if it would make a taste difference, it didn't).

- In a small bowl, mix the almond meal, milled seeds, and hazelnuts with the baking soda, baking powder, sea salt and spices. Combine well. Set aside.

- In a large bowl, beat the eggs until light and fluffy; add the olive oil, brown sugar, banana mash and vanilla. Beat well to incorporate.

- Add the dry ingredients to the wet mix and beat for a couple of minutes.

- Pour the batter into the pan and bake for ~35 minutes or until done. A pick stuck in the center should come out clean.

- Cool the bread completely on a wire rack before slicing or serving.
It will keep for about 3-4 days well wrapped or in an airtight container.

This post was written by HILDA

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Savoury Vegetable & Cheese Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 16:07:00 +0000

Once upon a time, when my daughter was younger, she would eat almost anything I served her. Life was pleasant and meal times were very relaxed. Then she started growing up and arguments over silly things became the norm. Some of our mealtimes were fraught with tension, just trying to get her to eat.

Picture our dining table as a sort of boxing ring with both of us in our respective corners, verbally trying to make our points about food while my husband was stuck in the middle trying to referee the whole thing amicably. You get the general idea, and I’m happy to say this phase didn’t last for too long.

To be fair to her, she now does eat most vegetables without too much of a fuss. She really does prefer to carry home-cooked food in her snack/ lunch box than eat what’s served in the school canteen. I usually try to use this preference of hers to my advantage.
Sometimes I smuggle, hide or disguise vegetables and fruit in food she enjoys. She is sharp and smart enough to know what I’m doing while understanding my almost OCD (obsessive compulsive desire) to get her to eat “healthy”.
I must admit that I’m not always successful, but that’s life.

“Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie” according to Jim Davis. I would add these “vegetable muffins” to this quote.

My daughter likes muffins, preferably the sweet ones. These muffins have cheddar cheese and vegetables that she likes (and one that she doesn’t) in them. Yet she thinks these muffins are “okay”! “Okay” is her lingo for “it’s not bad, but frankly I don’t really like it”!
Actually, what she told me later was, “the texture is really great, and they’re very good for savoury muffins, but you know I don’t like savoury stuff". Then she gets up and gets herself some savoury banana crisps!!

In our home, these muffins are for evening time snacking, but they are pretty good for snack boxes to school. Add some milk and fruit and they make a filling meal too. They’re good on the side with tomato soup too.

I had some zucchini left over from another kitchen adventure of mine. I needed to use this up. So these muffins have zucchini, sweet red carrots and some very thinly sliced green beans in them.

Feel free to use whatever vegetable you would prefer, but I would suggest that using more than 2 or 3 vegetables in these muffins might be overkill as far as children are concerned. I find it helps if one or two of the vegetables used are those which your children like, as it makes it easier to sneak in the third “not-liked” vegetable!

You can use all purpose flour if you prefer, or only whole wheat flour. In my home I’m the only one who really likes breads and quick breads with whole wheat flour and I find that about half and half of both flours ensures a good texture.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp salt (remember the cheese has salt)

2 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp brown sugar

freshly crushed black pepper to taste

1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/4 cup oil (I use a sunflower-rice bran oil blend)

1 cup milk

3/4 cup shredded/ thinly sliced vegetables of choice

Method:

Put the flours, salt, sugar and baking powder into a big bowl and whisk together to mix well. Add the grated cheese and whisk a couple of times more to ensure the cheese is well coated with flour and mixed well.

In another bowl, whisk the beaten egg, oil and milk together. Then add the shredded/ sliced vegetables and mix well.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into it. Using a wooden spoon, fold the mixture together as little as possible, to blend well. If traces of flour are still visible that’s fine.
Over mixing the batter will result in tough muffins.

Scrape the batter into greased muffin tins and bake at 200C for about 30 minutes till the tops start browning. Remove from tins and cool on a rack.

This recipe makes about 10 very tasty and moist muffins, depending on the size of your muffin tins. Please make them at your own risk and be prepared to have your children declare these good, terrible or okay!

This post was written by Aparna

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Travelling with Kids

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 03:14:00 +0000

My Daughter and I landed in India early this month. It was indeed a learning experience even though we traveled quite a few times. Here are a few tips to remember while travelling with infants/toddlers.

1. Before you leave , ensure that you take your child to the doctor for a wellness check up. Make sure that all his/her vaccinations, booster shots are given.

2. Ensure that you take enough food for you and your baby. Keep in mind that you might get delayed or be unable to catch a connecting flight. The airlines have cut back drastically on the food size for all its travellers, Ask for more food if you need. Do not hesitate , they always keep a stash of bread and fruits, especially for pregnant women or for people who suffer from diabetes.

3. Keep ample bottles /sippy cups / straw cups for the entire journey as you may not be able to wash and reuse.

4. Keep at least more than 5-7 pairs of outfits that keep warm for your baby , they will come in handy if your child is not doing too well.

5. Make a list and keep a stash of all the baby's medication. Take extra stuff just in case.

6. Some pharmacies sell earplugs only for toddlers , in case , your child is above 2 years of age , do keep them with you , apart from cotton plugs.

7. Also you have lollipops for toddlers to suck during the takeoff . They are a good alternative to keep.

8. Always try to give the bottle first , and then go for the other alternatives , Make sure you don't overfeed the child. Feed moderately at regular intervals and dont force feed. Keep them well hydrated.

9. If you are travelling to a place which has mosquitos , these days you get organic mosquito repellents, keep a stock of them.

9. Most importantly don't panic , the more the parents panic , the less control we have over the situation, Its hard to think logically when your baby is not doing well or when its your first flight , but its very important for us to be in control. Try and be as cool as possible. They say your baby can sense your mood and it can affect them . Be cool and calm and don't hesitate to take help from the air hostess or your fellow passengers . If it works then go for it !

This post was written by Dee

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5 Reasons Why Pasta is Great for a Weeknight Dinner

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:36:00 +0000

When it comes to cooking something fast for dinner, Pasta is often on the top of the charts. And why should it not be? It is indeed a boon for the working women who have to dish out a decent dinner in less than 30 minutes, but you can even transform a lame pasta packet into something exotic if you have some time on your hands! Keeping this simple and short, here are the top 5 reasons according to me why Pasta is a preferred choice for weeknight dinners!

1. Availability & Storage
Evey supermarket store will carry pasta, even if it is in the most simplest Spaghetti form. In fact, even the mom-and-pop stores across the streets carry them at time. no matter where you live, and no matter what weather it is, you can always rely on a package of pasta to quickly whip up a Pasta Salad or some Baked Macaroni & Cheese!

2. Ease of Preparation
It is so simple, even a kid could do it (well, almost, if the kid is at least 8 years old!) Just boil a pot of water, add a teaspoon of salt and empty the pasta noodles into the crock pot. Cook for 10 minutes and you are done. When you are short on time, just add some ready-made Pasta sauce on the top, some Parmesan cheese, some fresh pepper, and you are good to go. Simple enough, right?

3. Budget-Friendly
This is perhaps the most important reason to choose Pasta for dinner. a 2 lb package of noodles can easily feed a family of 4 or 5. Add the cost of some sauce and cheese, and you'll still be looking at a family dinner under $10 - and that includes Garlic Toast too! That's even less than the cost of one person's meal if you go to a non-chain restaurant and order a single item from their menu! And homemade sauces are even cheaper, as you can make in bulk and store and keep for use later on in the month. Try making different kinds of Pesto Sauces, like this Cilantro Pesto, or the Walnut Arugula Pesto for affordable yet tasty variations.

4. Delicious to Eat
Pasta comes in so many shapes and sizes, that its easy to mix and match and create a meal that is delicious, yet different from last time. What I do is keep 5 basic sauce recipes on hand, and 5 different types of pasta packages at home. Then I keep alternating between the pairings. So one time its Ravioli with Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce, other time it is Fettuccine in Roasted Garlic Tomato & Wine Sauce, and yet another time it is the Vegetarian Spinach Lasagna!

5. Healthy & Kid-Friendly Too!
Homemade pasta can be quite healthy, contrary to what one might think, if you stick to a healthy Pasta Sauce recipe; using whole wheat pasta and adding nutritious ingredients like spinach, garlic and herbs that add to the vitamin, mineral and fiber content of the pasta, some cheese for protein, tomatoes for lycopene & nuts for omega-3 oils will actually give you a filling meal fit for your kids and your entire family. Plus, pasta comes in so many interesting shapes, tubes, tunnels, macaroni and more, that kids find it fun to indulge in the colorful meal laid out in front of them.

So, if you are wondering what to cook tonight, it might be a good idea to dish out some Noodles and look at one of the Pasta recipes above, then make your family a hit & healthy restaurant-style meal which will not cash out your pockets, and yet make for a tasty eating event.

Recipes & Photo Credit - Fun and Food Cafe

This post was written by Mansi

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Quick Indian - Nankhatai

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 03:28:00 +0000

These rich, melt-in-your-mouth cookies are a delicious tea-time treat. Or for that matter, a perfect anytime treat. Commonly known as nankhatai (pronounced naan-kha-taai) biscuits, one would usually buy them in in bakeries just like this one or from kharibiscuitwallahs - guys going door to door carrying huge tin trunks on their heads, selling nankhatais, rusks and khari biscuits. The trunk would open to reveal all the wonderful goodies neatly arranged in different compartments - square, oval and round shaped biscuits topped with almonds or cashews or pistachios or tutti-frutti, begging to be picked up!
Sometimes, when there was a surplus of ghee at home, we would send the ingredients to the local bakery to be baked into nankhatais. Much later, we got our first home oven - a contraption that sat on the floor and looked like a mini spaceship with a glass window on top! The nankhatais made at home were so good that we never went back to store bought ones again.

Nankhatais are easy and quick to make. All you need is flour, powdered sugar, ghee, baking powder and some cardamom. That's it. No fancy equipment for mixing either. Just toss everything into a bowl, mix with your fingers, roll into balls, flatten and bake. Super easy. A quick note about making ghee. It is almost like making browned butter or beurre noisette. Simply melt some unsalted butter in a pan, first on med-high and then on med-low flame until you see the solids settle to the bottom and turn golden brown. I don't bother with straining either. Just pour the liquid into another container and stop pouring when you see the solids coming to the rim of the pan. The liquid solidifies when it cools completely to room temperature.

Nankhatai

Makes 24 cookies

200 gms all-purpose flour (approx. 1 3/4 cups)
140 gms powdered sugar (approx. 1 1/2 cups)
110 gms ghee (solid) (approx. 3/4 cup)
1/2 tsp baking powder
cardamom – 8 (only the seeds –powdered)
Cashews/pistachios/almonds for garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Put flour, sugar, cardamom and baking powder in a bowl and mix well.

Add the ghee and mix until it forms a smooth ball of dough (You may need to add an additional 1-2 tbsp of ghee if the dough looks too crumbly).

Roll dough into balls and using your palms, slightly flatten each into a disc and arrange on cookie sheet.

Press a piece of cashew, pistachio or almond on top.

Bake at 300 degrees F for 15 mins (until bottom of cookie turns golden brown).

Let them cool completely before storing them in an airtight container.

* You can also make a saffron version by dissolving 1/4 tsp of saffron in a tsp of milk and adding it to the flour mixture along with the ghee and a few drops of yellow food coloring.

This post was written by Bina

When Popeye Doesn’t Quite Help Them Eat Spinach!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:27:00 +0000

Getting one’s children to eat what’s good for them must be one of the most difficult exercises in life, perhaps. I think every person who has ever put in this kind of effort deserves a special star on a walk of fame!

Our daughter proved quite early on, that she had very strong ideas about what she would and would not do. Despite this, we didn’t really have too much of difficulty getting her to eat as a toddler. We just faced the usual “I don’t want this!” or “I’m not hungry!”
Akshaya never was a fussy eater, but as she grew older she started developing strong dislikes for certain foods. While this was perfectly understandable, we had to ensure that these dislikes became the exception rather than the norm.

She didn’t (and still doesn’t) like many fruits. She will eat most vegetables but will not eat most types of salads. When told vegetables in their raw form in salads are healthy, her stock answer always has been “……but I’m not a cow!”
When we were growing up, things were different. We didn’t have a wide variety of foods/ cuisines to choose from and mostly ate whatever was cooked and served without too many questions. Our parents didn’t really have the time or inclination to hold too many discussions on matters regarding our food likes and dislikes.

A lot of us would have grown up being told how Popeye was strong because he ate his spinach and lots of it. If I had told my daughter about Popeye, she would probably asked me “Pop-who???”
Then I would have had to contend with the following kind of questions:
hy did she need to eat spinach just because someone else (who she had never heard of) did so?
Did I honestly think she would want to do something that was done by someone who looked like Popeye? And what was the deal with Popeye and spinach anyways?

As it turns out, it seems stories of Popeye and spinach are attributed to the publication in 1870 of a study by Dr. E von Wolf which mistakenly attributed to spinach ten times its actual iron content.

Children need all the nutrition they can get during their growing years and in amounts much greater than an adult does. It seems a bit of a paradox that most of these nutrients seem to be in foods that children need to be persuaded to eat!
So how does one get children to eat what’s good for them, without too much of a fight on one’s hands?

There is no “one fits all” solution to this question but we have, over the years, found some ways to get our daughter to eat healthier. We’ve won some and lost some.
Children being the fickle creatures they are, will tell you they love some particular food one day and then tell you that they don’t like it anymore, a couple of weeks later!
What is important is to start laying the foundation to healthy eating choices as early in childhood as possible, so that it becomes a habit. Here are some things that worked for us.

It is important to lead by example, because children pick up all our habits (especially the undesirable ones!) very easily. So if we tell our kids to eat up their vegetables, we have to do it too!!

In our home, we have certain mealtime rules and they apply equally to adults and child. One is that everyone at the table has to have a portion of whatever is cooked for that meal, even if we don’t really like it very much. This rule is something I grew up with and even though I fought it as a child, it has held me in good stead as an adult.

I used to take my daughter along when I went shopping for groceries, vegetables and fruit. She would help me pick out things and has learnt much that way. She is now quite adept at reading the small print on packaged foods.
She would also help me when I used to bake or cook dinner. She was always very happy to eat whatever she had “cooked/ baked”. This I found, along with the innate curiosity in children, was a great way to introduce her to a lot of foods.

Introduce your child to whatever tastes your chosen diet includes or allows, as early as possible. Once a child’s taste patterns and habits are set, it is not easy to break them. At the same time, it is important to recognize they have some definite foods they don’t like.
Variety at the table also helps, since a lot of times I find my daughter complaining that the food I cook is boring! This is where my blogging has helped as there’s more variety in my cooking now, though she insists that I now am more interested in feeding my blog than her!!!

Keeping them away from “undesirable” foods is a sure way to ensure that they always choose junk food as the taste of this is addictive! When Akshaya discovered junk food, that’s what she liked (and still does a lot of the time) more than home-cooked food.

So we make allowances for this when we eat out and then she gets to choose what she wants to eat. It has now come to the point where she does like home-made versions of many of these too. However, more often than not, the lure of a Pizza Hut/ Dominoes Pizza or a McDonalds proves too much to resist.
I have finally arrived at two largely fool-proof strategies that work for me. What strategists do in boardrooms isn’t a patch on our strategizing, as they don’t have to contend with unpredictable teenagers!

The first one is deviousness.
My daughter does not like fruits very much. So what I do is hide them or dress them up in foods she likes. So I turn fruit into fruit milkshakes, gelatos and ice-creams. I bake them into cakes and muffins.
Cakes have butter and sugar, but I can control how much of it goes into them and younger children and teenagers do need this in adequate amounts for healthy growth. I put oats in her cookies and bread.

Akshaya will not eat tomatoes, but loves pizza and pastas with my home-made tomato sauce. She loves macaroni and cheese so I make a version that’s full of vegetables! She doesn’t like spinach (yeah, Popeye wouldn’t work with her!), so I add the puree to chapathi dough to make “green” chappathis.
And the list goes on………………..

The other one is that I let Akshaya make some of her food decisions. She prefers to carry home-made lunch rather than eat at the school canteen. So I let her decide what she wants for lunch and this ensures she eats what she takes to school.
On many weekends, she decides what we should have for Sunday lunch and I cook it up as “healthy” as I can without “spoiling” it for her. (Though she feels I haven’t been very successful on this count.)
Of course, it is a wise mother who doesn’t use the “H” word in front of her kids!

I think I’ve rambled on long enough for now. I would love to hear how you all handle your children’s food dislikes and maybe learn a thing or two or three. As far as I’m concerned, mothers can never have enough “weapons” in their armoury!

This post was written by Aparna

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CREATURES OF HABIT

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:40:00 +0000

COUNTRY CAPTAIN

Aren’t we all? Work, school, family. Out of bed at 7, breakfast the usual café au lait with 2 pains au lait with just a dollop of cherry preserves each, a few minutes more in bed reading and chatting with hubby, then walkies for Marts. Strictly the same routine, over and over again, endlessly repeated. Mornings followed by work all day, dinner then a bit of tv, Marty hopping insolently from lap to lap deciding on which one of us shall be graced with his warm, furry company for the evening or if he’ll simply snort his discontent and slink back to his own cushion. Weekends cozy at home. Maybe a morning saunter to the market, basket in one hand, husband’s hand in the other, watching rugby (in season) or a run for Marty in the vineyards (in the other, sunnier season). Dinner out once a week, vacations spent at home.

There is something so comforting about routine, that old expected pattern, accustomed to what we will find each day. It all becomes second nature, a natural reflex, and we can concentrate on other things secure in the familiarity of knowing what will happen next, as comforting and familiar as our favorite worn-in pair of jeans or that old woolen blanket we wrap ourselves up in on chilly winter afternoons, our hands wrapped around a mug of steaming cocoa. We are all creatures of habit and as much as we love change and adventure, the excitement of the unexpected, the thrills and chills of risk and chance, we still prefer the ease and well-being of our little, everyday habits. In this mad, mad, mad world, what feels better than that?

Our eating suffers from force of habit as much as our daily routine. Don’t we always want the same cake every birthday? Don’t our holiday tables groan under the weight of the same bounty of goodies, the turkey and stuffing, mom’s this and grandma’s that, the same pies for dessert, the same cookies baked year after year to hand round to friends at Christmas? Maybe we call it tradition rather than habit, but habit by any other name is still a habit. Remember when we were kids? A bowl of cereal drowned in cold milk every morning before we biked off for school; Fruit Loops were grabbed every morning for maybe 6 months, then Cap’n Crunch, then Lucky Charms, but the basic routine never changed, nor did the current fad. The same sandwich and cookies were wrapped up and dropped into the brown paper sack for lunch, the same Ding Dongs or Little Debbies, always cream-filled chocolate whatevers, for the after-school snack. The same games played every afternoon with the same friends knowing that at 6:30 each evening we’d find ourselves scooting our chair – and always at the same place – up to the table for dinner. On the nose. We knew that one day a week dad threw steaks on the grill to go with baked potatoes and he would make pancakes for dinner regularly. Like a parent’s love, these daily habits made us feel safe and protected.

Why should my own little family now be any different than my family all those years ago? Breakfast, lunch and snacks are like clockwork and hands grab for the usual. Husband is happy when there is a warm lunch on the table at 1 but is ever so content with bread and cheese followed by a piece of fruit. Every day. Clem expects to find the same foods in the refrigerator each time he pulls open that door and complains loud and long if they aren’t sitting and waiting for him when expected. Persnickety son is the worst of the lot and the most stuck on habit. Obsessively stuck. He regularly hands me over his list of the foods he likes, the main courses he will eat, the desserts he will deign accept to taste. And always at the same time of day. A little too early and eyebrows raise and one asks “Why? What’s wrong?” They grab the same thing every morning for breakfast, the same thing every afternoon for snack. And going out “en famille” means the same, familiar pizzeria. The same cereal, brands of dried pasta and cookies grace our pantries, my hands automatically reach for the same flavor jelly and same bag of coffee at the grocery store, we are partial to the same chocolate cake, same snack quick bread and the same coffee cake and they are requested – and baked – over and over again.

When one is a food blogger, eating habits can get in the way. I try and feed my blog yet my family claims that they should come first! Make the same chocolate chip cookies again? But they are already posted on my blog, I need something new, something different, something unique! Arms are thrown up, eyes rolled, groans escape from lips and one or the other stomps off in anger and disbelief. I try something new, a gorgeous charlotte or a panna cotta or fruit instead of chocolate chips and all hell breaks loose! “But you know what we like! You know we want to eat the same things all the time!”

And dinnertime as well. No wonder it’s called comfort food: the couscous in winter, the Asian salad in summer, hamburgers on a bun with that side of fries once a week and homemade pizza every Friday night followed the day after by hot-from-the-oven focaccia made with the leftover dough. They feel comforted getting what they expect, are happy in the thought that it tastes just the same week after week. In a world gone mad, long, tiring, stressful days, being pushed this way and that by colleagues’ whims or teachers’ sudden demands, one a little too tired with the ways of the working world, the others just learning the ropes, living each day with the unexpected, the reckless and the impulsive, isn’t it nice to be able to step over that threshold, close the door – and the world – behind you and be greeted by the familiar, the warmth of a cozy livingroom, the comforting smells wafting from the kitchen, a mother’s smile or a spouse’s embrace, the warm, wet nose of a dog thrilled to see you no matter what and pull a chair up to the table and sit down to a meal you know and love so well.

Ever since the first time I made this traditional Country Captain, it has become a family favorite and a regular on our kitchen table. Warm, comforting, flavorful without being spicy so it fits everyone’s bill, easy and quick to put together, it is the perfect family meal simply served over rice, pasta or, as I have done here, creamy polenta. This dish, whose earliest reference was found in the 1857 Miss Leslie’s New Cookery Book, has a somewhat long history, but it is thought to be an English dish brought originally to the table by Sepoys, the Indian officers serving Britain in East India, eventually making it’s way to the United States. But the East Indian influences are indeed there – the curry, the raisins and almonds. It is a soothing, warming chicken dish with a deep, rich tomato sauce spiked with curry powder and garlic and sweetened by tender golden raisins or currents, the almonds adding a nutty crunch into the bargain.

COUNTRY CAPTAIN
Slightly adapted from Molly O’Neill’s New York Cookbook

¼ cup (about 30 g) flour for dredging
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 broiler chicken (3 ½ to 4 lbs/1 ½ to 2 kg) or equivalent weight in favorite pieces, well-rinsed and patted dry, excess fat and skin trimmed and cut into pieces
4 Tbs (60 g) butter or margarine
1 medium to large onion, finely diced
1 green bell pepper, cleaned and diced
1 red bell pepper, cleaned and diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 ½ tsps curry powder
½ tsp dried thyme leaves
1 can (16 oz/450 g) stewed or crushed tomatoes
3 Tbs golden raisins (or currents if you prefer)
1/3 cup blanched, slivered almonds

Place the flour and salt in a wide bowl and add a very generous grinding of black pepper, at least ¼ tsp and toss to combine. Dredge the chicken pieces in the seasoned flour to coat completely, shake off the excess flour and place the pieces on a piece of waxed paper.

Melt the butter or margarine in a large, nonreactive, heavy bottom pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chicken, just a few pieces at a time so as not to crowd, and cook until the chicken is browned all over, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Remove the chicken as it is browned to a clean plate while you continue browning the rest of the chicken.

Once all of the chicken has bee browned and removed from the pot, slightly lower the heat and add the onion, the peppers, the garlic, the curry powder and the thyme and toss until blended. Add the stewed tomatoes and stir, scraping up the brown bits sticking to the bottom of the pot from the chicken.

Return the chicken to the pot and push it down under the sauce. Add a bit of water just until the chicken is barely, but not quite, covered. Bring to the boil, lower the heat to low and allow the Country Captain to simmer (you can put a lid on the top but I usually keep it just slightly ajar) until the chicken is cooked through and beginning to fall off the bone – about 35 to 40 minutes more or less. Stir the sauce occasionally and add a bit of water if the sauce evaporates too much. You do want a thick sauce at the end.

5 minutes or so before the end of cooking, stir the raisins into the sauce. Serve the Country Captain over rice, pasta or polenta sprinkled with the slivered almonds.

This post was written by JAMIE

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Quick Indian-Chutneys

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 01:42:00 +0000

They bring excitement to a meal. Like the grand finale in a fireworks display, bursts of tangy, spicy and sweet lighting up the tastebuds. Often referred to as condiments or accompaniments, chutneys have their own special, much loved place in Indian cuisine. Chutneys took center stage in our house when I was growing up, and no matter what other special dishes were set out in front of us, it was the chutneys we would zero in on! And ofcourse, the street food! All through college, ignoring our pristine college cafeteria, my friends and I would head out the wrought iron gates to the carts with chaat and their green and tamarind chutneys, vegetable sandwiches with the spicy green chutney and Amul butter, vada-pav with the garlic chutney, and dosas with coconut chutney. No matter what we were eating, the common request always was "Bhaiyya, aur thoda chutney daloge?" Loosely translated, "Can you please add more chutney?"

Chutneys are eaten with any meal, starting with breakfast right upto a late night snack. They are usually made with herbs, vegetables, fruits or leafy greens and can be either raw or cooked. The consistency can range from thick spreadlike to runny and can be powders too. Traditionally, chutneys used to be ground or pounded using a mortar-pestle or grinding stone but thanks to blenders and coffee-grinders, chutney-making has become a fairly simple task. Most of them freeze very well too. I usually freeze them in ice-cube trays and transfer the frozen cubes into ziploc bags, taking out cubes as needed. They are great as sandwich spreads, dips and in grilled cheese sandwiches. Just let your creativity run wild!

Here are some of my favorite chutneys. The amount of chiles (both fresh and dried) in the following recipes will have your tastebuds tingling but will not set your mouth on fire or make your ears ring! I have used thai chiles in recipes calling for green chiles. If you are unsure about the amount of chiles you can handle, start with half the amount called for and you can always add the rest in the last few pulses of the blender.

Tomato chutney

Makes approx. 2 cups

Ingredients

6 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped (approx. 3 cups)

1 medium onion, roughly chpped (approx. 3/4 cup)

1/2 cup carrot, roughly chopped (optional) - It adds some color and sweetness

1/2 cup red bell pepper, roughly chopped (optional)
1 green chile

1 1/2 tbsp canola/peanut/other neutral oil

salt

For seasoning

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds

3/4 tsp cumin seeds

1 dried red chili
3/4 tbsp oil

Heat 1 1/2 tbsp oil in a wide skillet and add the green chile, red bell pepper and chopped onions. Once the onions start to soften, add the chopped tomatoes and carrots.

Cook on medium high heat, stirring occassinally, for about 10 mins till the tomatoes become soft and all the vegetables are cooked. Let this mixture cool to room temperature.

While the tomato mixture is cooling, heat the 3/4 tbsp oil on medium heat in a small pan. Add the fenugreek seeds and let them turn darker (a couple of shades beyond golden brown).

Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and dried red chili. Once the mustard seeds start to pop, turn off the stove.

Put about 1/2 cup of the cooled tomato mixture in a blender and add the seasoning to it along with a little salt.

Grind to a fine paste and then add the rest of the tomato mixture and this time, grind to a slightly coarse paste. You can taste and add some more salt if needed.

Cilantro chutney

Makes approx. 1 cup

Ingredients

2 cups cilantro (leaves and tender parts of stem), roughly chopped
1/2 medium onion, roughly chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
juice of 1/2 lemon or lime
1 green chile
3/4 tsp sugar
salt

Put the green chile, onion, cumin seeds, salt, sugar and lemon/lime juice in the blender and grind to a coarse paste. This helps the blades move easier when the cilantro is added.

Add the cilantro and puree to a fine paste.

Taste and add more salt if needed.

Variation: You can replace half the cilantro with mint and add approx. 1/2 inch piece of ginger or a clove of garlic for a cilantro-mint chutney.

Tamarind-Date chutney

Makes approx. 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients
3/4 cup tamarind concentrate/pulp
1/2 cup pitted dates, soaked in a cup of hot water
1 cup water
1/3 tsp cayenne pepper powder
1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar/jaggery
1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder
1/4 tsp ginger powder (optional)
salt

Blend the dates along with the tamarind concentrate and 1/2 cup water in the blender till you get a smooth paste.

Transfer to a small pan and add the other 1/2 cup water, salt, cayenne pepper powder, brown sugar, cumin powder and ginger powder.

Cook on medium heat until it comes to a boil. Turn off heat and let it cool to room temperature.

(Tamarind concentrate can be found in Indian stores as well as Asian stores. The Indian concentrate is usually very dark and looks a lot like thick molasses. It should be used in very small amounts. I use a product from Thailand that is similar to this and just love it! It looks and tastes like freshly made tamarind pulp)

Coconut chutney

Makes approx. 2 cups

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup grated, fresh coconut (I use frozen).
1/2 cup roasted gram dal (dalia) or dry-roasted peanuts
1 green chile
appprox. 1 cup water
salt
1 tsp tamarind concentrate or 1 tbsp yogurt or 1 tbsp lemon/lime juice
Seasoning
1 tbsp canola/peanut/other neutral oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp urad dal (optional)
1 dried red chile
a few curry leaves

Powder the dalia or roasted peanuts along with the green chile in the blender.

Add the grated coconut, water, tamarind/yogurt/lemon juice and some salt and blend to a smooth paste.

Tranfer to a bowl. Heat oil for seasoning in a small pan and add the urad dal, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, dried red chile and curry leaves.

When the urad dal turns golden brown and the mustard seeds start to pop, pour seasoning over coconut mixture and stir well.

Taste and add salt if needed.

You can find grated (shredded) fresh coconut in the freezer section of larger grocery stores as well as in Indian and Asian grocery stores.

This post was written by Bina

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Where are you from? - The, sometimes, unanswerable question...

noreply@blogger.com (Hilda) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:25:00 +0000

I’d like to talk about something a little personal, if I may, because I’m curious about what the rest of you who have experienced this in the past or are experiencing it now feel about it.

I’m sort of a third culture kid, although even that doesn’t really describe what I am. I didn’t go from one culture to another and then form a third culture out of that mix of experiences; I was born in one Iran, raised the first half of my life in France and spent the second half of my childhood in the US in California. I’ve often been described as being like an onion, my core is Iranian, my mid-layers are French, and my outer layers are American, though the skin is Iranian based on my looks, and I've described myself as a cultural mutt when asked "what I was."
I married a Pakistani who was born in Lahore but who, in terms of education, was raised in the United Kingdom, and in terms of vacation time was mostly in Saudi Arabia or sometimes back in Pakistan. He and I have funny arguments about the meaning of various words in American English as opposed to British English. I have two step-children, one who is half Pakistani-one quarter Kuwaiti-one quarter Swedish, and the other who is half Pakistani-half American. My ten month-old daughter, who is ethnically half Iranian-half Pakistani, was born in London, entitling her to a British passport to go with her various other passports and residency permits.

Where am I going with this? Well, I’ve always had an easy and a hard time fitting in. Easy because there were few ways in which to be entrenched, my parents not being big sticklers for tradition, hard because I could always see what the other side of the argument might be, or the way that those “foreign” people might interpret the situation. I think of everywhere as home and nowhere as home if that makes sense. Wherever I am, if I am there for a while and haven’t traveled, I start to feel antsy and homesick for another home. It’s disconcerting sometimes because I can be in a room of people who have very strong opinions about their country or their part of the world and it feels like this brings them a sense of security in something permanent that I have never felt.

That isn’t to say that I haven’t argued for my various countries of origin, as I actually did most of my life though I didn’t begin to realize it until I was in my late teens.
My French childhood friends would sometimes refer to me as “l’Iranienne” (the Iranian); to my American schoolmates I was a French “frog” first but became Middle Eastern when the Middle East would come up in the news which then often translated to my representing terrorism somehow; to my French friends I became “l’Américaine” who could understand the way Americans thought and behaved and probably was betraying French culture and tradition by assimilating somehow; on the round went until eventually there were so many arrows pointing from one place to the other on so many different subjects that I stopped trying to defend one culture to another as a function of where I was geographically. If people didn’t want to understand, that was their own problem, not mine, but the feeling of not belonging was only delineated more sharply by the ever-growing impossibility of taking one side and sticking to it.

So the question is, how do I raise my daughter to feel a sense of home that is, pardon the pun, foreign to me. The saying is that “home is where the heart is,” but that’s a bit trite and nebulous, isn’t it? I can certainly agree with the idea that my home is where my family is, but even though family is immutable, one still goes through life in one’s own head and is, in a way, alone. It’s likely that we will be traveling a fair amount as she grows up, partly because that is our wish and partly because our personal and professional lives require travel. Is the answer simply to make sure she has a thick skin?

You’re probably wondering how my stepchildren have fared so far, and my answer would be quite well, but I don’t know what it was, or perhaps wasn’t, that has resulted in their faring so well while being pulled in so many different directions. I haven’t had a long discussion with either one of them about this because I don’t think I was fully cognizant of the source of my discomfort until I was in college, so I don’t think it fair to bring this open-ended question into their lives, until they start to feel it for themselves, while hoping that perhaps it will never enter their consciousness.

I know that many of you who read the Daily Tiffin are expatriates in your own right, some having children and raising them in completely foreign cultures from your own, but wonder which of you were brought up in a couple or more different places, as I was, and feel like they have no country but, also, every country.
And, if you have children, are you finding that their experience of several cultures is similar to yours or different, or that they are affected in ways you couldn’t have imagined because their experience was not, in the end, what you thought it would be based on your own understanding of the nomadic life? Why don't you step into my office...

This post was written by Hilda

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OLD IS AS OLD DOES and Can we really be cool parents at 50?

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:01:00 +0000

Between school and careers, traveling and, quite possibly, selfishness, we are marrying older and having our children later than our parents and grandparents had them. This means that when our children enter their teen years we are pushing fifty or more. As our children are coming to terms with puberty and those turbulent adolescent years which bring the coming of adulthood, we are dealing with our own mid-life crisis, both of us passing over the rocky road of a life-changing period, coming to terms with a process that neither of us are really prepared for. And because of the bad timing, we end up bumping heads a little too often. Our kids are trying to look older, act older, appear older while we, yes, are trying to turn back the clocks. We are trying to wrap our heads around the fact that we have aged even if we don’t feel it at all, they want to grow up all the while clinging onto the safety of childhood. We color our hair and slip on something tight and try to deal with the withering look or, worse maybe, the eyes rolled heavenward in disbelief of our teen; the teen avoids the scrutinizing glare, the judgmental scolding of the parent when he or she appears in the hallway dressed in a similar uniform. The line between teen and parent of teen gets finer every year.

Remember when moms and dads dressed like moms and dads? Remember the good old days of TV families, like The Cleavers or Rob and Laura Petrie? You know, dads wore suits to work then changed into beige cardigan sweaters and slacks before the 6 o’clock news came on and moms wore shirtdresses or skirts and blouses, sweater knotted casually around the shoulders, looking so cool and collected while dashing between clubs and grocery store? Moms and dads fell into recognizable categories and there was comfort in knowing that when we got home from school we would always find the same thing every day. And moms and dads never crossed the line, stepped over into our teen territory either in their wardrobe, their activities or their language. We wore the bell-bottomed jeans, they wore the polo shirts and banlon, we biked with our friends, played board games, surfed and danced, they played bingo and bridge or Mah Jong, had cocktail parties and went on cruises. We listened to The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, they played Herb Alpert or Burt Bacharach LPs. Now the line is oh-so fuzzy and our roles are tossed topsy-turvy up in the air like balloons, blown this way and that, changing day to day.

I turned fifty this week. No matter how I saw it coming, it still surprised. The years pass and somehow I feel younger now than I have for a long time. But how to be a good parent when I feel so young, when I loathe playing the part of “a woman of a certain age”, the traditional mom? Changing times call for changing roles, yet I think that the younger generation is actually more uncomfortable with the setup than we are. We twitter and Facebook, we blog and we text. We chat with our girlfriends on Skype, giggling and gossiping like schoolgirls, laughing about hot musicians and hotter rugbymen, we hold hands with and kiss our husbands in public and while watching tv, we dress in the latest fashions, fashions quite possibly meant for younger women. And even while our sons’ friends say “Wow, your parents are so cool!” our sons wail “Why can’t you be normal like other parents?” Our tiny pleasures incite embarrassed glances, their friends only invited over when we are out. They shake their heads in dismay when they see us hunched over the computer, typing furiously, giggling hysterically as we tweet or update our status. And as I slip on my Doc Marten boots over my favorite fishnet stockings, hands are slapped against foreheads, as husband chases me around the house whooping like a crazy man, dog hot on his heels, as we fall in a heap onto the sofa and start making jokes about the latest celebrity gossip, they get up and silently slide out of the room.

Can we be the cool parent at our age or are we simply an embarrassment? Should we get upset each time they say that we just don’t get it, that we grew up in The Dark Ages and therefore there is no way we understand anything that they are going through, that we can’t possibly know how to correctly use any of the internet social sites? Do they resent our advice, our advice lost somewhere between 1960’s straight-laced parental thinking and cool 20th century ideas? Well, yes. But what’s new? I actually think that our teens are just going through the same old teen rebellion, that ages-old parental disdain not unlike what we went through at their age and secretly they are pleased that their friends think we are cool, are pleasantly surprised that we have a popular blog, are proud when their friends gobble down crazy mom’s cakes and cookies and beg for more. They laugh at our jokes (no matter how hard they try to suppress the grin), enjoy going on vacation with us and think it’s funny when their friends flirt with us (yes it has happened!).

So stay cool, keep on truckin’ (no, wait, that’s wrong…), allow yourself the same freedom of expression that they assume for themselves, laugh at yourself (and at them) long and hard and enjoy that youth for as long as you can hold onto it. One day, they, too, will understand and be glad that we taught them how to be content with what we have, who we are, what they are and what they can be. As I wrote in my birthday blog post: Time is fleeting, life is ephemeral, youth is a game. Enjoy it while you can. Everything else will fall into place.

And I’d love to share an incredibly delicious, luscious, lemon treat that we all ate with gusto on this most important of birthdays.

LUSCIOUS LEMON SOUFFLE PUDDINGS

Makes 6 individual soufflé puddings.

1 cup (200 g) sugar, divided
3 Tbs (45 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
3 large eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbs lemon zest
1/3 cup (50 g) flour
¼ tsp salt
1/3 cup (80 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup whole milk (I used half low fat milk + half light cream)
1/8 tsp cream of tartar (if you don’t have cream of tartar replace with a few grains of salt and a drop or 2 of lemon juice)

Preheat the oven to 325°F (170°C). Butter 6 individual ramekins or pyrex bowls.

Remove and set aside 2 Tbs of the sugar. Separate the eggs: place the yolks in a large mixing bowl and the whites place in a separate bowl preferably plastic or metal.

Cream the butter with the rest of the sugar (1 cup less the 2 Tbs) until blended and fluffy. Beat in the yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition until blended. Beat in the vanilla and the lemon zest. Add the flour and the salt and beat just until combined. With the mixer on low, beat in the milk and the lemon juice. It will be very liquid.

In the separate bowl with very clean beaters, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until foamy and then until soft peaks form. Continue beating the whites as you gradually add the 2 tablespoons sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form.

Fold the whites into the yolk/lemon batter just until incorporated and you have no more chunks of whites.

Using a ladle, fill the 6 ramekins with the batter almost to the top. Place the filled ramekins in a large baking pan (placing a piece of newspaper on the bottom of the pan keeps the water of the water bath from boiling) and very carefully (so as not to get any water in the lemon batter) fill the pan with hot water, so that the water is halfway up the ramekins. If you like, place the baking pan in the oven and then pour in the water; this will avoid you having to lift and move the baking pan after it is filled and risk splashing the water into the batter.

Bake for 40 – 45 minutes. The tops will be puffed up, maybe ½ to 1 inch (1 – 2 cm) above the rim of the ramekins, and a deep golden brown.

Remove the baking pan from the oven then carefully remove the ramekins from the water bath onto a kitchen towel. Allow to cool slightly before serving. Like a soufflé, the tops will sink a bit when cooling.

Serve hot or warm – they can be eaten later but are best when fresh from the oven or just slightly cooled – with a sprinkling of powdered sugar or a dollop of whipped cream.

These mini soufflé puddings are a cross between a soufflé, a mousse and a pudding: they will have a top layer of puffed, light as air soufflé and the bottom layer will be creamy, almost like a pudding. They are tart and lemony like the best of lemon pies but warm, light and soothing and oh-so elegant.

The soufflé-like top.

The pudding bottom.

They are also delicious after a day or two in the refrigerator, like a fabulous, rich lemon mousse.

This post was written by JAMIE

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Awakening Beauty- Book Giveaway !

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 02:34:00 +0000

Who doesn’t want to be beautiful ? Admit it or not , all of us want to be beautiful , Last year while I was visiting family in India , my 14 year old niece had asked me at least 35 times if she looked beautiful and when I told her that she was indeed beautiful, she was ecstatic. I am the best aunt she ever has !

Often , we forget how beautiful we are , so much so that I am surprised when people tell me I look pretty , I must admit I really feel weird when someone compliments me on my looks or skin may be because I think certain aspects of my face are not so good or even ugly. While I was reading this book , It really occurred to me that I as an individual should embrace all that I have , restore peace and harmony and love myself in order to feel whole and really feel beautiful inside and out.

Most of us lead hectic lives , a fantastic career , great kids and family structure , busy weekends , girls night outs , you name it we do it , but how many of us , stop for a minute , look at ourselves and say “I am taking good care of myself , I am happy and content , I eat well , I take care of my body , my skin and my face “ ? How many of us set apart a certain amount of time everyday just for ourselves ? Well , I’m sure not many of us ! We , women tend to put our kids , family and career first than ourselves , we are programmed that way ! But if even one person, after reading this article , puts away some time for herself everyday, Id be the happiest !

Listen to the warning signs that work against your rhythm , listen to the Hungry , Angry , Lonely , Tired (HALT) signs and work in communion with your rhythms. Remember that your life is supported by your rhythms and cause it to unfold. By understanding your rhythms, you develop a sense of self , an ever- increasing capacity for genuine love and an ever – unfolding beauty.

What are rhythms ?

Rhythms are nothing but the gentle waves of your inner world which is alive with thoughts and feelings.

How do you recognize rhythm ?

Sometimes by doing nothing and relaxing and gently breathing . A simple way to bring order in your rhythm is to bring order in your environment like cleaning and de cluttering the space around you , enjoying the beauty of nature , most importantly giving time to yourself and trying to cleanse your mind of the negative thoughts that are clouding you.

I truly believe what goes into your stomach should mostly be organic and local. I also believe what you apply on your face also has to be organic. I am willing to cut back on other things which are not so important and spend on things that I use for my skin everyday ! I support cosmetics which have ingredients grown bio dynamically or organic in nature.

What is biodynamic farming?

Biodynamic farming was introduced by Rudolf Steiner , an esotericist, philosopher , thinker , It is a scientific use of crop rotation , composting, integrated soil , crop and pest management keeping in mind the health of the ecosystem and in the early twentieth century

Biological practices banned all the use of synthetic substances such as pesticides and fertilizers chemical in nature and sustainable practices like using green manure , composting , cover crops , crop rotation and companion planting were incorporated.

Dynamic practices included intentions to increase the life force of earth and the farm in general. Some practices were herbal remedies or preparations applied to the soil, the leaves of the plant and compost of the plants to make the plants grow healthier and stronger.

Out of the biodynamic farming was born the organic movement.

Boosting your life force for energy and beauty

Rudolf Steiner says there is an energetic connection between people.Our thoughts , emotions and words are bundles of etheric energy. Susan West kurz , who is the author of Awakening beauty gives us some great insight into this .
She says “ Everyone who touches you with love , care or compassion elevates your life energy and contributes to your health and beauty. The opposite is also true.

Some tips to strengthen our health, improve our lives and develop our beauty.

1.Spend some time in Nature

2.Eat unprocessed plant food

3.Express gratitude and love throughtout the day especially when you drink water or bathe or shower. Water is a powerful healing medium.

4,Dance or do rhythmic exercise

5. Seek out therauptic massage and healing touch like Reiki and acupuncture.

6. Listen to beautiful , harmonious music

7. Use skin care products made of pure plant substances, preferably grown biodynamically or organically

8. Practice rhythm

In spite of all this aging is inevitable , which means we need to be more and more conscious o exposing ourselves to the sources of healing and beauty. The reason being when you reach your thirties , forties and fifties , the life force turns its attention from the physical body towards your internal development , namely wisdom , spiritual development. Therefore your health and beauty depend on the wisdom of choices and how well you care for yourself, both internally and externally.

Thank you all for taking a moment and reading what I wrote. I have written just a fraction of what I have read and understood from this book. All I can say is Take good care of yourself. Truly believe that sometimes if you have to put yourself first ,then you should do it in order to become a better person. I am speaking from experience, I have a 10 month old baby and its no small task to care for her , I have signed away my life to her and I am the happiest about it. I believe if I take care of myself , I can do a better job in taking care of her .

We , The Daily tiffin team are giving away Awakening Beauty – Dr Hauschka Way by Susan West Kurz with Tom Monte . Please leave a comment in the below comments section. Meeta and I will pick up the winner randomly and inform the winner and post the book in 7 days. Last date for leaving a comment is 25th Feb 2009.

Check out more details of the book on Amazon

The book has a lot of information about

Sustainable beauty practices.

Details about specific healing conditions.

The advantages of using plant products especially from Biodynamic and organic farms.

Great recipes for facial scrubs and best of all over 60 recipes for a healthy skin and beauty.

Note: Awakening beauty was used for reference and the above content is picked from the book. Thank you to Cercone Brown & Co, the publishers for sending us the book.

This post was written by Dee

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Can Healthy Meals Be Kid Friendly Too?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 09:07:00 +0000

I am Aparna, I write a vegetarian blog at My Diverse Kitchen and am excited to join the team at The Daily Tiffin. When Meeta invited me here, she suggested I could write posts related to "healthy kid-friendly meals".
While I am not an expert in this area, I have a 13 year old daughter who has a very strong opinion on most things, including food. Trying to ensure that she eats food which I deem healthy and she likes is not a very easy thing to do.

I am not an authority on child nutrition even though I did study biochemistry, nutrition and dietetics in university a long time ago. I have, over time, discovered (like many others) that no degree in anything remotely connected with health, diet and nutrition can prepare you for the task of getting your child or children to eat what you think is best for them. It is always about what they want to eat, which mostly is what you would prefer they didn't!

Funnily enough, I never had much problem with getting my daughter to eat when she was younger. She wasn't a very fussy eater though she could take hours to finish a meal. At that point she used to find the rest of the world more interesting than food, and often had to be reminded that she needed to finish what was on her plate!

At the age of 8 or so, whenever we went grocery shopping, Akshaya would check all the product labels to ensure that they were vegetarian, contained no trans-fat, preservatives or colour! Whenever we ate out, she would refuse aerated drinks insisting that she only drank water!!
In fact, I started baking a lot more at home because she didn't like the "funny" taste of store bought cookies/ biscuits and cakes.

Sure, she had her own likes and dislikes where food was concerned and there would be occasions when we would argue over her not eating something. A large part of the time reasoning things with her or giving in to her demands occasionally kept the balance going.

Then around the time she turned 10 something happened. Apparently, teenage sets in these days a lot earlier than it did in our times! And our daughter's food tastes and preferences underwent a dramatic change! She discovered junk food with a vengeance!
Pepsi or Sprite was so much "cooler" than water, traditional food just didn't have the "style" that a McPuff, a McVeggie or a McAloo Tikki from McDonalds did and how could a dosa (Indian savoury crepes) ever stand up to "ze pizza"?

One of my "healthy" vegetable burgers!

That's when the question "Can Kid Friendly Meals Be Healthy?" really became relevant for me. I am happy to have discovered that that the answer is definitely a "Yes!" Well, most of the time anyway.

We found ways to ensure that most of what our daughter eats is on the healthier side. This is not to say that she and I do not argue over what she eats. In fact, one of her pet peeves is her inability to understand why I have to cook and insist on her eating "healthy and boring" food! Actually, she does understand this but I think that she doesn't want to accept it, most of the time.

We have now arrived at a sort of compromise where she now accepts my need to ensure she eats healthy food while we accept her need to occasionally fulfill her "unhealthy" food cravings.

This post was written by Aparna

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Tortilla Española

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:19:00 +0000

If you take a potato, an egg and an onion, you can make culinary masterpieces. One of them is the incredibly popular Spanish tapas called, Tortilla Española. You can find this dish in Spain at almost any restaurant, bar and café. I add chorizo to my variation because you can add chorizo to almost anything and make it taste amazing. It's true, with the exception of ice cream, maybe. Chorizo is essentially a Spanish pork sausage that is packed with garlic and hot paprika (pimentón). It's spicy, but not overwhelming spicy, and is used extensively in Spanish cooking.

Tortilla has become ubiquitous across Spain, but is believed to have originated from Navarro, a municipality in the province of Asturias in Northern Spain.

You want to start off by peeing the potatoes, using a mandolin preferably, or a very sharp knife in order to get 1/8" uniform slices. This is important because you want your potatoes to cook evenly. If you don't own a mandolin, try to see if your box grater has a slicer option on the side -- they usually do. If not, you try and use your sharpest knife which will help make uniform slices a lot easier.

The best part of this dish is that it can be made at any time since these are all ingredients almost everyone has in their pantries at any given time. In Spain the tortillas are usually made in extremely large skillets and served by the slice at the tapas bars. They're so popular, in fact, that they have a special plate that was designed specifically to flip the tortilla over midway through the cooking process. At home I don't have this special plate, but any large flat plate will do the job just fine.

Recipe: Tortilla Española

ingredients

4 medium russet potatoes

5 eggs

2 Spanish yellow onions

Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for pan frying

Spanish Chorizo (cured not fresh)

Salt and pepper, to taste

steps

Remove the skin from the chorizo, dice and saute in a skillet over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes to render some of the fat.

Peel the potatoes and slice into 1/8" disks.

Peel the onions, cut in half, and slice roughly the same width as the potatoes.

Add plenty of olive oil to the skillet and add the potatoes and onions to cook over medium heat (stir regularly to make sure they don't brown).

In a bowl, whisk the eggs.

Once the potatoes and onions have cooked (i.e. potatoes are tender), drain the potatoes from any excess oil, and add the potato and onion mixture to the eggs along with the chorizo.

Add everything back to the skillet and cook until one side is golden brown. At this point, take a large plate, flip the tortilla onto the plate, and quickly invert the other side back into the skillet.

Finish cooking until the second side is golden brown and enjoy.

This post was written by Antonio Tahhan

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Easy Basic Chocolate Truffle recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:07:00 +0000

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and if you are not done with your fair share of Holiday treats, then here's another occasion to celebrate love by enjoying these delicious Chocolate Truffles with your loved one! Everyone loves truffles, and what I love the most is the fact that you can virtually make numerous truffle recipes, as long as you nail the basic Ganache recipe. Plus, you can easily preserve these candies for almost 2 weeks when refrigerated. So here's the easiest recipe to make Basic Chocolate Truffles - go ahead and find your variation by selecting any one of the suggested truffle ideas below!

Basic Chocolate Truffles
Makes about 1.5 pounds chocolate

Ingredients
1 cup Crème Fraîche (or heavy cream)
14 oz. Dark Chocolate (use very high quality, 70% cocoa, chocolate - or very high quality unsweetened baking chocolate.)
8 oz. Additional Dark Chocolate
11/2 cups Cocoa Powder (the highest quality you can find)
3 tbsp. Butter (optional)

Method

Making the Ganache:
1. Break chocolate into small pieces and put in a large bowl.
2. Bring cream slowly to a light boil.
3. Pour boiling cream over chocolate and keep stirring until all the chocolate has melted and the batter is uniform.
4. If you want to add butter, do so now, before the batter cools, and thickens.

When the ganache is warm it is very creamy. You can thicken it by whisking it for a few minutes, or by putting it in the freezer for 30 minutes or until set (it should have the consistency of fudge). You want the ganache to be just thick enough to easily form the truffle balls.

Making the Truffles
Using a melon baller or a small spoon, form rounds of the ganache and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. Let the truffles harden in the freezer for about 15 minutes. After removing truffles from the freezer, roll them between your hands into marble-size spheres, squeezing gently (try to do this quickly, otherwise they'll become too soft).

While you form the Truffles, Melt the rest of the chocolate in a double-boiler or in the microwave. Then Dip each ball in the melted chocolate and then roll it in the cocoa powder.

Variations:

1. Roll the truffles into ground pistachios to make Pistachio Truffles.
2. Soak some orange rinds in some Grand mariner or other sweet liqueur and add to the Ganache to make a special version.
3. Add hazelnut or Coffee flavor to the ganache then roll the truffles in ground hazelnut powder to make nutty truffles.

There, enjoy Valentine's Day with these delicious truffle recipes. If you are looking for more fun, try these Chocolate Truffle Cookies instead; they will leave an impression, guaranteed! And for a more memorable holiday, start your morning with breakfast in bed, serving these hot and healthy Strawberry Pancakes, follow with a delicious yet stress-free recipe for Baked Macaroni in Cream Sauce and end your evening with a glass of chilled Raspberry Ice Cream Float for dessert!

This post was written by Mansi

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Quick Indian - Pakoras and Bhajias

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:15:00 +0000

These deep-fried, absolutely addicting fritters made of chickpea flour and vegetables are one of the most popular tea-time snacks in India. They are quick, need just a few ingredients and are easy to make. Versatile too. You can use vegetables like potatoes, onions, cauliflower, eggplant green peppers, shredded cabbage, spinach and even hot, green chillies. They are also made with paneer and sometimes slices of hearty white bread.

Pakoras or Bhajias with a hot cup of tea is a combination that is hard to match! Especially on cold, rainy days. It brings back memories of coming home soaking wet during the monsoons and in the time it took to dry off, my mom would have some hot tea and a plate of piping hot pakoras waiting for me. In my house, the batter dipped vegetables were called bajjis (bhajias)and the ones made with sliced onions, chickpea flour and spices were called pakodis (pakoras). This terminology seems to be typical to the south while it is reversed in the north. Call them pakoras, pakodis, bhajias or bajjis. Or simply call them delicious!

Pakoras

Ingredients
4 medium onions, thinly sliced (approx. 3 cups)
1 1/2 cups chickpea flour
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 tbsp chopped green chillies
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper powder
1 tsp coriander powder (optional)
1/4 tsp garam masala (optional)
1-2 tbsp water
salt to taste
oil for deep frying

Method

Heat oil in a kadai or a small wok to about 375F. If using a heavy flat pan, make sure the oil is about 3 inches deep. This will prevent the pakoras from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Combine the sliced onions and salt in a medium bowl and mix well.

Add the cilantro and green chillies.

Add the chickpea flour, cayenne pepper powder, coriander powder and garam masala(optional). Add 1-2 tablespoons of water to make mixing easier.

Mix well and drop the mixture into the hot oil with a 1/8 cup measure for larger ones or scoop it with a tablespoon and drop in hot oil for smaller ones. You can also scoop up a small mound with your fingers and drop carefully into the hot oil (watch those fingers!).

Turn them over once they turn golden brown on one side and fry till they turn the same color on the other side.

Transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels.

Serve hot with some green chutney or ketchup.

Bhajias

Ingredients
Vegetables like thinly sliced potatoes, cauliflower broken into small florets, green pepper wedges, thinly sliced onions or eggplant.
1 1/2 cups chickpea flour
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper powder
1/8 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp carom (ajwain) seeds - optional
salt to taste

Method

Heat oil in a kadai or small wok to baout 375F. If using a heavy flat pan, make sure the oil is about 3 inches deep. This will prevent the bhajias from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Add the chickpea flour, salt, cayenne pepper powder, carom seeds (if using) and cilantro to a large bowl.

Add enough water to make a thick batter (I use a whisk). The batter should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and when you run your finger through the batter, the line should remain.

Dip the vegetables in the batter. one slice or piece at a time, making sure they are well coated

Drop into the hot oil and fry until they are crispy and goden brown all over.

Drain on paper towels and serve hot with green chutney.

Pakoras and Bhajias will become soft after a few hours. Reheating them in a 350F oven for about 5 mins makes them crispy again.

Thanks to my friend, Helen, for the the fantastic photography.

This post was written by Bina

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Modern Technology for Modern Kids

noreply@blogger.com (Hilda) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:38:00 +0000

What does it and will it mean to be technologically savvy if you're a child of the 21st century?

I've been thinking about this a lot ever since my little girl was born almost 10 months ago now. Last week there was an article in the New York Times about the difference in childrens' experience of technology as a function of the pocket of time in which they were born, with only a few years making the difference between children who think of a computer as something with a keyboard, and toddlers who think that if they touch the computer's screen something will happen as it does with their parents' iPhones and Blackberrys.

This was driven home by the fact that I have two stepchildren, a sixteen year-old and a ten year-old, and now an almost one year-old child as well, each of whose experience will have been vastly different by the time they are adults. In fact, I've been thinking about this for much longer than that because I keep thinking about conversations I used to have with my grandfather about the technological leaps he'd seen in his lifetime, which I'm sure is probably a conversation you've had with your parents and grandparents as well.
My grandfather was born on the shores of the Caspian Sea in 1916. When he was three years old, he was sent off with his nanny in a horse-drawn carriage in the middle of the night to Teheran, the family fleeing in front of the White Army, itself chased by the Red Army. In his lifetime, he saw cars go from a top speed of 40mph to over 250mph, radios were replaced by televisions, movies acquired sound and went from black and white to color, planes became the de facto mean of traveling long distances, the sound barrier was broken, the computer, video games and the internet were invented, the phone became mobile, man went to the moon, nuclear war became a real possibility, etc.... In conversations with me, he would often marvel at the things he'd seen come to pass, and I would try to understand what it was like not to have a television. At the time, it seemed absurd, to witness so much change, but the truth is that we are still witnessing that change, only we witness it at a micro level compared to the two generations before ours (I'm 34).

In my, and probably many of your lifetimes, the computer became personal and then became hand-held with the PDA and now the smartphones, video games went from the Atari (remember that?) to game consoles in 2 and 3D, the internet (and the reason you may be reading this right now) became a publicly used medium (and no, Al Gore did not invent it), films went digital and now with Avatar it looks like there will be many more movies in 3D, television went from the old cathode ray tube boxes to plasmas and HD, and even the phone, remember how the phone used to have rotary dials? Now we carry them around in our jackets and purses, listen to music on them, shoot pictures and video with them, and even give them verbal commands to dial a number. Crazy talk.

The difference between all of my kids when it comes to their understanding of technology and its possibilities will range from the sixteen year-old and nine year-old knowing that one types on a computer's keyboard, while my little one will probably not have to resort to such measures, when she can finally use one, and is most likely receiving the right kind of training by playing with the touch screen on my iPhone. It will mean that while the eldest has very restricted access to Facebook and other social media outlets, the youngest will probably communicate on the internet in ways I haven't begun to fathom yet, while the nine year-old will likely have a grasp of social interaction that is between her older brother's and her little sister's.
The sixteen year-old communicates largely by text messages, while conceivably my nine year-old and my little one are getting more accustomed to video-chatting, which may be a good thing in the sense that they are getting used to actually seeing people in order to communicate with them. Is this where this is leading us? Ultimately, the loop coming back around to being able to see someone's face when you are talking to them, albeit with the difference that physical proximity will no longer be a requirement. And knowing that this is one of the many possibilities coming up, is there a way to monitor and control your childrens' access or exposure to technologies as they become ever more ubiquitous and mobile?

I know that, ultimately, I've already been relegated to the stone age as far as the period in which I grew up, I mean, libraries to do research... who goes to those anymore? So the challenge will be how to keep up with my kids without seeming like the technology has gotten beyond my capability to relate to it and its possibilities. I am curious to know what those of you with children think about this, anyone want to share?

This post was written by Hilda

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LA GALETTE DES ROIS

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:03:00 +0000

A CAKE FIT FOR A KING!

The plate is set before me, the aroma of warm pastry and almonds whirls and swirls up and around my head. I inhale deeply and breath in all the goodness, the scent of cozy winter afternoons in front of a roaring fire, snowy days bundled up under a thick blanket, dog at my feet, a mug of hot tea in my hand and this delicacy, this thing of beauty placed before me. Layers upon layers of flaky golden pastry, its sugary, buttery flakes cradling a rich, rum-kissed almond cream in which hides a very special prize. And like all great French fashion, it comes with the perfect accessory: a golden crown.

Many of us are winding up the Christmas season by packing up the decorations, taking down the colored lights and disposing of the tree. The last of the turkey or ham has been sandwiched between bread and eaten, the fruitcake and panettone, the cookies and the stollen all devoured. The gifts have all been opened and enjoyed and the last card has been stamped, sealed and sent. Now is the 6th day of January, the Twelfth Day of Christmas, the Epiphany, Three Kings Day, the day, as the story goes, on which the Three Magi arrived in Bethlehem and carried gifts to the baby Jesus. To celebrate the occasion, the French fête this joyous occasion with a very special patisserie, la Galette des Rois, Kings’ Cake.

J-B Greuze, Le Gateau des Rois, 1774

We all know that many well-known and loved symbols and traditions of Christmas are originally of pagan origin: the decorated tree, mistletoe, the Yule log among others. In fact, during the early years of the religion, the Christmas festivities were actually pushed up to the end of the year to coincide with the Winter Solstice and thus overlapped the pagan Saturnalia, a most popular Roman celebration marked by rambunctious behavior, overall silliness and fun and games, somewhat more joyous than the usually solemn Christian celebrations. Little by little, the Christians absorbed some of the practices that highlighted these non-religious pagan festivities. It is thought that originally the day of Jesus’ birth, celebrated on December 25, was reserved for strictly religious observance while the Epiphany, January 6 was a day of celebration, the day of giving and receiving gifts, a day in which some of the less than religious practices were merged with the gift-giving of the Magi.

In France, this day, January 6, the Epiphany, is known as Le Jour des Rois, The Kings Day. And in France, this day is fêted by the eating of La Galette des Rois, the King’s Cake. This special cake of pâte feuilletée, puff pastry, filled with almond cream, frangipane, wasn’t always reserved for this day, but was eaten on most festive occasions when frivolity was called for. Little by little it found it’s way to representing the Epiphany and Kings Day. But did this grow out of the story of the Magi, the cake representing the Three Kings and their gifts or did it come from the Saturnalia celebrations whose parties were characterized by the tradition of the reversal of social roles in which the king became servant and the servant became king? Either way, tradition has it that a lucky charm, originally a, small fève or bean is buried in the almond cream before the top layer of puff pastry is placed atop the cake and then baked. When the cake is served, the youngest child of the party scoots underneath the table where he cannot see what’s on top of the table and as the cake is sliced the child shouts out the name of the recipient of each piece. Why? Because whoever finds the bean in his slice of Galette is crowned with the accompanying paper crown and is king for the day. And what is the role of the king, you ask? Why, to offer the guests another Galette! It’s a day of indulgence, frivolity and merry-making!

Legend has it that for quite a while the King, the person who had discovered the bean in his slice of cake, was obliged to buy a round of drinks for everyone in the room. But those who were too stingy to pay would often just swallow the bean with the cake to avoid being named, so somewhere during the 19th century the bean was replaced with a tiny ceramic charm, sometimes representing a religious figure but more than often not, a tiny charm simple or fancy. Collecting these charms soon became a craze and people today are known to search far and wide and spend crazy sums of money buying special charms for their collections.

A collection of fèves.

Beginning just after the New Year, glass cases in every French pastry shop are lined with Galettes des Rois, filled not only with the traditional almond cream but with chocolate or fruit fillings as well. Every year I buy one or two over the course of the week or two of their short-lived appearance and we all enjoy these wonderful, rich confections. But this year, I have decided to make my own! It starts with homemade puff pastry, easy to make although rather time consuming, or store bought if you like, and then simply filled with a luscious filling of ground almonds, softened butter, sugar and an egg and flavored with rum and vanilla, whipped together in the flash of an eye. And a fève of course.

Enjoy it, for the season is short.

GALETTE DES ROIS or KING’S CAKE
I referred to Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking for quantities and procedure and then adapted to my own taste.

About 1 – 1 ½ lbs (500 g) puff pastry or two store-bought rounds *
2 ½ oz (70 g) sugar
2 oz (60 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
1 large egg
2 ½ oz (70 g) ground almonds
¼ tsp vanilla
1 Tbs rum
Egg wash (I yolk whisked with 1 tsp cold water)
Icing/powdered sugar for dusting the top of the Galette.

* I followed this recipe which yields 2 ½ lbs (1 kg) dough and I used a tad more than half of the prepared dough.

Prepare the Frangipane filling:
Beat the sugar and butter together until fluffy. Beat in the egg, the ground almonds, the vanilla and the rum. Add more vanilla or rum to taste, if desired. Place the filling in a small bowl covered with plastic wrap or in a lidded plastic container and refrigerate until ready to use. It needs to firm up before assembly the cake.

To prepare the Galette des Rois:
Roll out the puff pastry to a thickness of ½ inch (1 cm) and not less than 3/8 inch, long and wide enough to cut out two 8 or 8 ½-inch (21 cm) discs. Using a cake tin or plate of about 8- or 8 ½-inches (21 cm) diameter and using a very sharp knife, trace and cut out two discs. Place each disc carefully on parchement-lined baking sheets, cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Stack remaining dough (don’t mash together into a ball as you would other dough), wrap in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for another use.

Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).

Remove prepared rounds of puff pastry. Choose one to be the bottom of the cake a gently press with your fingers the edges out a bit to enlarge the circle slightly. Remove the chilled almond cream from the fridge and mound in the center of the bottom disc of dough. Press it flat and out, using the back of a soup spoon, leaving about 1 ½ inches (4 cm) border of dough free around the edges. Press a fève, a ceramic charm of some sort, or even an old-fashioned dried bean or a coin into the almond cream.

Paint this wide edge of the dough around the almond filling with the egg wash. Gently place the second disc of dough on top of the filling placing the top and bottom discs edge to edge (so the edges meet all the way around). Press to seal.

Place a bowl upside down on top of the discs – the bowl should come up to ½ to 1 inch from the edges. Using a sharp knife held perpendicular to the table, cut into the dough to create a scalloped edge to the cake. Now carefully carve a design into the top of the cake. Cut a small circle in the center of the top dough disc and insert a chimney (make a chimney out of parchment or foil or, as I did, use an upside down aluminum pastry bag tip).

Brush the top of the dough with egg wash. Place in the hot oven and bake for 20 minutes until the pastry is puffed up and golden brown. If you think the pastry is browning too quickly, simply lay a piece of foil over the top.

Reduce the oven temperature to 400°F (200°C) and continue baking for an additional 25 to 30 minutes until the sides of the pastry are also golden and crisp.

Remove the Galette from the oven and move the rack up one notch. Generously dust the entire top surface of the Galette with powdered sugar then place the pastry back in the oven. Now bake for around 5 minutes until the sugar has turned to a golden and very shiny glaze. Stand next to your oven and watch because (as you can see from mine) it turns to the perfect glaze very quickly then in the flash of an eye burns! You must watch so you can pull it out of the oven just as the last of the top turns a gorgeous golden and not leave it one second longer.

Allow to cool a bit. Serve warm (not hot). Make sure there is a child under the table while the host cuts the Galette and then passes each slice as the child calls out whom to serve. Have a paper crown ready to crown the King who finds the charm!

This post was written by JAMIE

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MERRY CHRISTMAS...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 03:02:00 +0000

"From home to home, and heart to heart, from one place to another. The warmth and joy of Christmas brings us closer to each other."

Emily Matthews

Daily Tiffin wishes all its readers a Merry Christmas.
Have a great holiday season and a prosperous new year.

This post was written by Deeba

Are you interested in contributing to The Daily Tiffin? Drop us an email: thedailytiffin@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing your ideas.

A Time For Giving ... Bitter Orange Marmalade

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 08:54:00 +0000

It’s the time of the year that I like best. A time for giving, a time for sharing, and a season full of joyous spirit. Now is perfect for baking, cooking & gifting home made food stuff, and is a longstanding Christmas tradition. A tradition which is about giving, and not so much about getting. Baked goods play a huge role in celebrating holidays. Add fudge, praline, jams, jellies, relishes, homemade chocolates and life sparkles with festivity.

This is also the time of the year that the tangerine tree is laden with fruit & calling my name. I have a tradition of making bitter orange marmalade at this time of the year, packaging it in reusable jars that I collect through the year, and gifting them. I have a long list of bitter marmalade lovers who await their annual 'share'!

Most people in India grow these tangerine trees for it's ornamental beauty as the fruit is sour beyond belief. I make this traditional British-style marmalade with a recipe handed down from my mothers' friend. British marmalade is a sweet preserve with a bitter tang made from fruit, sugar, water and, in some commercial brands, a gelling agent. American-style marmalade is sweet, not bitter.

Bitter oranges originated in the northeast of India and neighbouring areas of China and Southeast Asia. During the first centuries of their empire, the Romans took a great interest in the fruit; however, as their domination of Europe ended, so did the cultivation of oranges. By this time, Arabs had established both themselves and the bitter orange in Spain. With the Moors' irrigation technology, the fruit flourished in the once-dry land.

Some believe that the British passion for the fruit – or rather, the fruit transformed to marmalade – began with a happy accident in 1700, after a young Dundee grocer named James Keiller took a risk on a large consignment of oranges that were en route from Seville, on a ship sheltering against a storm in Dundee harbour. The oranges were cheap, but Keiller couldn't sell them: the flesh was far too sour. His shrewd wife, however, used the oranges to make a spreadable preserve. The jars went on sale in Keiller's shop and soon demand became so high, the family had to order a regular shipment of oranges from Seville. By 1797 they had opened Britain's first marmalade factory.

Tangerines are easy fruit to preserve as jam, as the seeds are high in pectin content. This particular recipe has the seeds tied together in a tiny piece of cheesecloth & immersed in the ingredients during the process. I think it adds to the conventional bitter edge to the marmalade.

BITTER ORANGE MARMALADE

Ingredients:
Tangerines - 1 kg
Sugar – 1.250 kg
Water - 250ml

Method:
Sterilize 4-5 jam jars, including lids. Place a sterilized metal spoon in each jar (this ensures that the glass jar will not crack when the hot jam is poured in).
Halve the tangerines and deseed them. Tie the seeds in a small piece of cheesecloth and reserve them.

Snip the peels and pith included into strips with kitchen scissors.

Put the strips, with the pouch of seeds, in a heavy bottom pan on full heat. Boil for 2-3 minutes till the peel is tender, stirring constantly.
Add water and boil for 2-3 minutes. Now add sugar, stirring constantly.
Continue to boil on full heat for a further 10-15 minutes until the mixture thickens & the strips becomes translucent.
Drop a few drops on a cold metal plate to check if the jam is setting properly. After 30 seconds, it should congeal and look jellylike.
Put off the flame, discard the muslin pouch with the seeds and allow the jam top cool slightly, about 10-15 minutes.
Now pour the marmalade into the jars, and seal after 10-15 minutes. (Refrigerate if you like. I do because I make a batch that lasts me 6 months.)

This post was written by Deeba

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Quick Indian

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:57:00 +0000

A perfect example of an oxymoron! I bet it's what some of you are thinking. Especially if you believe a common misconception about Indian cooking; that it is complicated and time-consuming. In reality, it's quite the opposite. Just look at the delicious, quick and healthy Indian meals made with little fuss in millions of Indian home kitchens everyday. Food that makes its way into lunch boxes packed early in the morning, evening meals with family and leisurely meals with friends. You can do it too. It is not difficult, I promise!

The series will hopefully inspire you to cook Indian food in your own kitchen. The recipes over the next few months will be simple, vegetarian dishes that are typical to everyday meals-vegetables, legumes (lentils and beans), rice, breads, snacks/appetizers, chutneys and desserts. Don't be fooled by their simplicity though. Many of them are also great for entertaining, and show up on my table when friends just drop by and stay for a meal, as well as for formal parties.

All the recipes are fairly quick but factor in some time for prep work like chopping vegetables, soaking beans etc. You can, of course, use frozen vegetables when possible. Canned beans are really convenient but make sure they are rinsed well before cooking. As far as cookware and tools go, you will need a very basic coffee grinder for the spices and a blender for the chutneys. I know many Indian cookbooks suggest using a kadai (a wok shaped vessel) for cooking but it isn't a must. I use regular, heavy-bottomed pans (nonstick and stainless steel) and only use the kadai for deep-frying.

Spices

Any talk of Indian cooking is immediately followed by that of spices. The seemingly endless variety can be very daunting. It's true....there are a lot of spices used in Indian cooking in general. However, you don't need to have all of them in your pantry, and not all of them are used together at the same time. Usually, it a combination of just a few spices that go into the making of a dish. Speaking of spices, a wonderfully detailed explanation about individual spices can be found here.

The initial recipes will use spices that are easily found in your grocery store. As we move along, we will add others like fenugreek, asafoetida, curry leaves etc. that might require a trip to the local Indian or Asian store. You can buy most of the spice powders/mixtures readymade. I do. Except coriander powder and garam masala, which I make at home. It is really not hard to do and makes a huge difference to the taste. Garam masala is quite possibly the most recognized among all the Indian spice mixtures. Many recipes for garam masala are very elaborate and are jealously guarded secrets. Mine is simple and not a secret at all!

Garam Masala

3 tablespoons cumin seeds

6 tablespoons coriander seeds

1 1/2 tablespoons black peppercorns

3 tablespoons cardamom seeds

3 sticks whole cinnamon (about 2 inches long)

1 tablespoon nutmeg, freshly grated

1 1/2 tsp whole cloves

Method

Put all the above spices except the nutmeg powder in a heavy bottom skillet or pan.

Dry roast it on medium to medium-high heat stirring very frequently. Keep stirring till the spices start turning darker.

Take the skillet off the heat and transfer the spices into a plate to cool.

Add the nutmeg.

Once the spices come to room temperature, grind it to a fine powder in the coffee grinder.

Store in a bottle with a tight lid (I use jam/jelly bottles)

Herbs and stuff

Ginger, garlic, mint and cilantro are easily found in stores. You can use jalapeno, serrano or other hot peppers instead of the Indian or Thai chillies. The curry leaves will require a special trip to an Indian and Asian grocery store. I have found that the best way of storing them long term is by freezing. However, directly freezing fresh curry leaves results in the leaves turning black over time and also having an off taste. Flash-frying it first and then freezing works very well for me. Just remember to add the frozen leaves directly to the dish while cooking and not in the tempering oil (The moisture in the frozen leaves makes the oil splutter). When added during cooking, the leaves get rehydrated and look and taste very much like the fresh ones.

The following recipe can obviously be scaled up or down based on your needs.

Preserving Curry leaves

Ingredients
1 cup curry leaves
3/4 tbsp canola/peanut/vegetable oil

Method

Wash and dry the curry leaves (A salad spinner is great for this)
Spread them on a kitchen towel and leave them for about 10 minutes.
Heat the oil in a wide skillet (not nonstick). The oil should get very hot but not smoking
Add the curry leaves and stir lightly for about a minute on medium heat. The leaves will make a crackling sound and start turning crisp.
Transfer to a plate and cool completely.
Put in a ziploc bag and freeze for upto 6-8 months. (I have frozen them for a year with no loss of color and flavor).

Stay tuned because future posts are all about recipes that will hopefully have you cooking up a storm!

This post was written by Bina

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Baby Proofing...or how to Protect your House from your Baby

noreply@blogger.com (Hilda) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:34:00 +0000

Conventional wisdom has it that you are protecting your baby from your house when you baby proof it. Well, really you're protecting them from you and your bad habits... you know what I'm talking about: leaving change and small things everywhere when you clean your bags and pockets, the cables that, even when painstakingly separated, manage to get back into an impossibly tangled mess a day later, etc... as soon as you own up to that, the whole process of proofing will become more straightforward.
Once a baby is crawling or walking, making your home safe for baby is almost a daily chore. Here are some important things to watch for:

As soon as your child can sit up or be on all fours and therefore reach up and touch them or pull them down, remove mobiles or hanging items from his/her crib.

Keep any items that will fit into the palm of your hand if you close it, such as coins, small toys or pieces of toys, buttons, balloons, etc... off any surface that is at or below your waist level since a child who can sit up and crawl could possibly stand up and pull those items off a low table.

Beware of curtain or blind cords that hang, shorten them or position them on a hook high up on the wall so they are well out of reach of the child.

If you use doorstops (for example we have to have them everywhere here as our doors are fire-safety doors), buy the all-plastic all-in-one large doorstops or doorstops that are much bigger (e.g. we have a small bean bag door stop that is a bit larger than the size of our child's head) and absolutely remove plastic ends from non-plastic doorstops as those are a serious hazard and several infants choke on them each year.

Put away any chemical or hazardous substances preferably in high-reach cabinets with locks or put child-proof locks and other babyguards on any lower cabinets which might contain these items. Remember that substances hazardous to a baby include alcohol or medication of any kind.

Pad the edges of any item of furniture that has square or fine (and therefore sharp) edges. You would also be well-served to put any glass furniture (e.g. glass coffee table) in storage for a few years, or simply get rid of it for a more child-friendly material. We don't have glass furniture because, while I love glass tables, my husband fell on one when he was two, thankfully not injuring himself, but it was a close call and he now harbors a mild fear of glass furniture as a result. Anyway, we have a baby so case closed.

Cover all electrical outlet with child-proof covers. The more commonly found plastic plugs are easily pried out, particularly if you have an extremely persistent child (guilty as charged).

If you must have houseplants, place them out of the baby's reach and become very familiar with every one of your plants' names and potential effects if ingested. It's the 21st century people, if you're reading this you can google your plants; it takes a couple of minutes and could save you so much grief.

If you use a crib bumper, remove it when your baby can get on all fours as he might use it to climb over the side of the crib. Seems unlikely, but you don't want to find out the hard way.

Secure heavy stand-alone furniture such as shelves and commodes to the walls so your child cannot topple them if he/she tries to climb up on them. By the same token, try to hide or securely cover all appliance cords (IKEA has cord tubing for this specific purpose) so that your child cannot either pull table-top appliances off surfaces or items such as audio/stereo equipment off their perches - try to position those things far back and high away from your child's reach to begin with. If, by some miracle, you still have a VHS player or more likely, a CD player, find a guard to put in front of their "openings"; most of us are old enough to remember at least one baby "feeding" the VCR...

On gates and guards: If you have any heating units or a fireplace, position gates or guards to prevent the baby from crawling too close to them, for obvious reasons.
If you have any staircases that are more than two stairs, install a hardware-mounted gate, meaning a gate that fastens directly on the wall and uses a latch to open and shut, rather than a pressure-mounted gate that works through a mechanism of two sliding panels designed to reach the opening dimension and lock by pressure. Pressure-mounted gates are fine between two rooms on the same level but are not recommended at the tops of stairs.

Of course, these are not all the things you could possibly think of, but it's a good list to start with. If there are any other obvious things missing, please feel free to add them

With the holidays upon us, take care that your safety checks include such things as menorahs (brass and candles) or christmas trees (pine needles, ornaments - i.e. small breakable objects, tree lights, etc...).

Most importantly, if you feel overwhelmed at the idea of doing all of this, remember that you can do it progressively while your baby is still stationary and that just a bit of prevention can avoid emergency room visits later.

Happy proofing and Happy Holidays!

This post was written by Hilda

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TWO HOLIDAYS IN ONE

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:56:00 +0000

Tis the season to be jolly, according to one well-known holiday song. And it certainly is what with the swags of gaily-colored lights and the glittery garlands strung up and down the streets, the holiday music piped into shops and city squares adding a festive rhythm to your already bouncy step. Candy shop windows have become wonderlands of silver and gold, boxes tied up in plump velvet bows and crystal dishes filled with every chocolate delight. Toyshops greet you with fluffy cotton snowmen and jolly Santas prancing through the snow laden with gifts for all. Friends chattering non-stop about holiday meal preparations, the pies and the cookies, the turkeys and hams, the family flying in from the four corners of the earth to celebrate together amid laughter and seasonal joy.

And if you don’t celebrate Christmas? I know how easy it is to get swept up in the festivities, the bright lights and the wonderful culinary traditions. “I don’t celebrate Christmas” is often greeted with quizzical, confused looks and “Why not?” follows the surprise. For many, this holiday is universal, a sharing of love and human kindness, the excitement of decorating and the pleasure of giving and receiving gifts. Yet when raising children in another culture or religion, how does one balance the traditional/religious side of Christmas with the non-religious commercial side, that part of Christmas that kids see others celebrating, and often watch enviously from afar?

I have tried to raise my children in a Jewish home, yet they have celebrated the odd Christmas whenever they spent their winter holidays with their French grandparents: chopping down, dragging home and then decorating the tree, pulling out tiny figurines and setting up the crèche in front of the fireplace, hanging stockings and receiving Christmas gifts directly from the hands of Jolly Old St Nick (le Père Noël or better known as Tonton Claude!), and eating their fare share of Bûche de Noël and marrons glacés. We even had a small tree once or twice in honor of their heritage and their grandparents, but the real excitement and joy seeped into our house at Hanukkah time: the boys drew and cut out Maccabees and Assyrians when they were small, creating a cardboard version of the great battle scene in which the tiny Jewish army, made up of a band of brothers, defeated the powerful, well-armed great Greek Syrian army who were out to wipe out the Jews; and still every year the boys pull out these tiny figures and line them up on the dining room buffet, they hang glittery, shiny garlands of silver and blue and prepare the two Menorahs (one for each of them to light). This is the Festival of Lights, the holiday in which we are reminded of the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem by that mighty Assyrian army and the oil in the Holy Eternal Light that burned for eight days instead of one until more oil could be prepared. We therefore light candles on a Menorah, the special holiday candelabra, for eight nights, starting with one candle on the first night, and adding one more each night. On the eighth and final night of Chanukah, all the candles are lit. And, of course, there is a gift on each night, with the lighting of each candle. And lots of latkes, the traditional treat of Hanukkah, fried potato pancakes eaten with fresh applesauce.

Yet, how to deal with the Christmas season for those of us who don’t celebrate this holiday? Food is always my way! Bring in a little of that Christmas cheer by baking puddings and cakes, stollen, panettone, gingerbread men and whatever other little goodies and treats that can be baked and offered to your loved ones. The kids can bring in their friends to share in the holiday goodies or pack them up and dole them out to neighbors and colleagues. And why not mix it up? Here is my absolute favorite cut-out cookie recipe, buttery sweet and tender, never crumbly and dry: every year I pull out my Hannukah and Christmas cookie cutters: the Star of David, the Menorah and the Dreidl along with the sleigh and reindeer and Santa cookie cutters. Glazed and sprinkled with colored sugar or rolled in nuts or simply eaten plain, these are the best cookies ever!

This year I’ve made my traditional Hanukkah cookies, drizzled with white chocolate and sprinkled with blue, but for the Christmas in me, I’ve used my ruffled cutters in 4 sizes to create a Christmas tree. Once cut out, I brushed the edges of the shapes with a bit of beaten egg then dipped them carefully in crushed green pistachio nuts to give the idea of a fir tree. They baked up perfectly! I then sandwiched them together with “snow”, a fluffy lemony mascarpone-goat cheese cream with plenty of whipped cream folded in. I piled up the layers then sprinkled them with a little bit of gold sugar crystals and some gorgeous pink praline, a gift from Pam.

HOLIDAY CUT OUT BUTTER COOKIES

2 sticks (1/2 lb, 225 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
¾ cup (150 g) sugar
2 large eggs
¼ tsp salt
1 Tbs Amaretto (optional)
½ tsp vanilla – use 1 tsp if omitting the Amaretto
3 ½ cups (525 g) flour

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and the sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating briefly after each addition just to incorporate.

Beat in the salt, the Amaretto and vanilla and then about a third of the flour until smooth. Gradually beat in as much of the remaining flour as possible using the electric beater, then stir in the rest with a wooden spoon or a spatula.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. If you haven’t stirred in all of the flour you can knead in the rest quite easily. Once you have a smooth, homogeneous dough, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Working with about half the dough at a time, roll it out to a thickness of not less than 1/8-inch (no less than .3 cm), being careful that the dough is very evenly rolled out. Carefully cut out shapes with your cookie cutters. Gently transfer to a cookie sheet (I use unlined, ungreased cookie sheets with no problem at all). If you want the fir tree effect, just gently lift the cookies one by one, brush around the edges with a beaten egg, then dip in crushed pistachio nuts before placing on the cookie sheets. I also brushed my Hanukkah cookies very lightly with egg wash and doused them with colored sprinkles.

Bake for about 10 minutes. They will be set and appear cooked but they will NOT brown. You’ll know they are cooked because they will slide right off the cookie sheet when just nudged with a spatula.

Allow to cool. You can now frost them or drizzle with melted chocolate as I have done.

MASCARPONE-GOAT CHEESE LEMON CREAM
This is adapted from a recipe I found on Meeta’s blog What’s for Lunch Honey?

7 oz (200 g) mascarpone cheese, drained
1 oz (30 g) fresh, tangy goat cheese, drained
2 Tbs (30 g) superfine sugar
Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp Limoncello

¾ - 1 cup (about 200 ml) heavy whipping cream
Edible decorations (colored sugar, chopped nuts, etc)

Make the Lemon Mascarpone Cream:
Place the mascarpone, the goat cheese, the sugar, zest, cinnamon and Limoncello in a mixing bowl and beat until smooth and creamy. Chill.

Have the Lemon Cream, the whipping cream as well as the glass bowl and beaters for beating the whipped cream very well chilled before making the “snow”.

When ready to make the Cookies and Cream Christmas Tree, beat the heavy cream in the chilled bowl with the chilled beaters until thick. Using the same beaters, beat the Lemon Mascarpone Cream briefly (in a large bowl) just to loosen it and make it smooth and creamy after chilling in the fridge. Add the whipped cream to the Lemon Mascarpone Cream and beat briefly to blend and thicken.
To create the Cookies and Cream Christmas Tree:

Simply pile up the various-sized ruffled cookies which had been trimmed in chopped green pistachio nuts from largest to smallest, placing a large dollop of snow/lemon cream carefully in the center of each cookie round before placing another cookie on top. Decorate by sprinkling the snow with colored sugar decorations.

This post was written by JAMIE

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