A Brown Table

chocolate raspberry whole-wheat biscotti

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Sharma) — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:26:00 +0000

Instead of saying that I do this occasionally, I'll be honest and say that I do this often, more so than necessary. Whenever, I walk into the grocery store, I'll invariably stumble upon some ingredient that will pique my curiosity and of course, I'll end up picking it without really giving much thought to what I would/could do with it. This is exactly what happened when I saw a bag of these freeze-dried raspberries at the store last week, I just had to have them! Eaten straight up, they can be quite tart! However, I still had a bag of dried berries to deal with. For a while, I've been wanting to try baking berry flavored biscotti. The problem was the liquid content, biscotti needs to be dry and crisp, and fresh berries would be too moist and they would reduce the shelf-life of the cookie. But these freeze-dried raspberries could avoid all of these complications! There I was sifting flour and mixing a batch of biscotti batter. The batter got colorful while I...

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rhubarb lentil salad

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Sharma) — Wed, 15 May 2013 03:31:00 +0000

Last weekend, we visited Grayson County in Virginia which is also home to the picturesque Mount Rogers. Now for some reason, I have always had a little bit of a love affair with the sign that marks the camping site, it's absolutely gorgeous and I finally realized why. The sign always reminds of the camping signs in the old Yogi Bear cartoons! Our trip was fun, judging by the way I ate several homemade farm-fresh bread rolls every morning that I loaded with cream cheese. I'm the kind of guy that loves dunking things like buttered bread and cookies into my coffee or tea and it seemed completely justified at the time, since we were at the Sells' farm for the entire weekend. This is rhubarb season and instead of focussing on the many traditional rhubarb desserts (which I do love), I opted for a light and refreshing rhubarb lentil salad. By the way, strawberry rhubarb cobblers are still one of my favorite rhubarb-based desserts. I was lucky to convince Shelly to give me...

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kumquat ginger sorbet

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Sharma) — Sat, 04 May 2013 22:53:00 +0000

Thank you so much for all the kind birthday wishes, I had a wonderful and fantastic week. The celebrations began early last weekend over brunch with some of my closest friends in the city. Later towards the end of the week, we celebrated for one last time with my friend Tyler's family at a delicious French restaurant in Bethesda called Mon Ami Gabi. The food was great and the company spectacular. What more could one ask for on a special day (week) than to spend some time with people that I care about dearly! Each year around birthday time, I get myself a special gift, something that I really want but I could do without. This year was no different and I picked myself an ice cream maker that I have had my eye on for a very long time. It was one of those things that I know I certainly didn't have place to store but felt that it might be useful appliance to own. My opinion changed quickly after my first experiment with it, to hell with kitchen space economizing theory, I did indeed...

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chocolate butter cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Sharma) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 19:57:00 +0000

This is that special time of the year when I carb load for a few days, no not for a race or marathon or any other sort of event that requires athletic prowess it's a simple way for me to celebrate my birthday. Each year, I make myself a different sweet treat/s, something that I've wanted to try/make all year round but avoided as a preventative measure to protect my waistline (The relationship between aging and waistline length is a direct proportion, at least for me). Ageing is an unwanted artifact of birthdays, as you cross a certain threshold (at least in my case), you have to learn some self-control. Taste and eat a little and occasionally indulge your tastebuds. Come birthday week and I will indulge every wicked dessert fantasy that has crossed my mind and make up for all those times I have been good. One would assume that I might want a cake on my birthday, while I won't say no, this year I have a different opinion. Heck, I've made myself...

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yogurt and coconut curried mussels

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Sharma) — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 15:03:00 +0000

Back in Bombay we ate plenty of seafood, probably about two to three times a week. Fresh fish would be delivered right to our doorstep by a local fisherwoman with whom my mom would always bargain for a better deal. They would go back and forth with each other trying to get the most of the deal that was to be struck between them. I think this was also probably how I learned to haggle, though not as efficiently. I would excitedly watch the assortment of fresh fish, shrimp, and crabs that filled her large basket. On some days we would eat clams stewed in broth while on other days, pan-fried mackerel seasoned with a concoction of spices. Oceans away here in D.C. we are lucky enough to have a fresh seafood market and I really do need to take more advantage of this gem. It's nice to have a source where you can go and literally "fish through the fish" and pick out what you want for a good price. On our latest trip to the market, we picked up a fresh bag of mussels in...

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indian-style beet burgers

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Sharma) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 21:00:00 +0000

Sometimes when things get a little tough, you need a bit of a break and a breather. You need to stop for a second, calm down and relax, breathe in and then reevaluate your environment. This is exactly what I did this week just to calm my nerves and ultimately hope for the best. Fortunately, I got to unwind a little bit when we decided to take a walk down to the national monument to view the annual cherry blossoms. The blossoms are in full bloom this week and people from all over are here for the festival in D.C. It's definitely crowded here! The flowers are a light pretty pink or white though I honestly have to admit that don't think I have ever smelled any sort of scent from them. Nevertheless, they are gorgeous to look at and cheered me up. Apparently you cook quite a few things with the blossoms, there is a plum vinegar pickled cherry blossom flowers/Sakura preserve available which means that I've got a new ingredient to my list. Now, if only I can get my...

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cardamom and saffron olive oil pound cake

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Sharma) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 17:23:00 +0000

Happy belated Easter everyone and I hope y'all had a good long holiday weekend. Instead of hosting an Easter Sunday brunch I chose to host a dinner for the premiere of the third season of my favorite book/tv show Game of Thrones. Needless to say, there was plenty of food to represent the seven kingdoms though I might have overestimated on the amount of food this time. Still, leftovers are great because you get a couple of days off from cooking during the week and I am using the extra time to catch up with reading or any other activity that has been in desperate need of my attention. I baked an olive oil pound cake for the dinner along with a few other desserts. This is a very simple cake recipe, the cake crumb is moist while the texture is light and airy. That is exactly the way I like my slice of pound cake, of course with a hot cup of tea or coffee. Pound cakes are what I think of when people say a rustic everyday cake or dessert. Though they were originally...

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oven-roasted carrots with fennel

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Sharma) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 17:29:00 +0000

Over the weekend, we had the pleasure of attending the wonderful wedding of our friends, Adam and Daniel. It was romantic, fun, intimate, and inspiring. There were joyful tears and laughter that filled the celebrations in the room. The wedding was amazing and we were happy to be a part of their special moment. There is something special about spring weddings, they remind me of hope and strength. I always think of the brightly colored flowers that begin to sprout above the sometimes snow-covered soil. They seem resilient and ready to flourish displaying signs of what wonderful things are to come as the temperatures get warmer. Each spring I hope that I will have stunning daffodils in the garden but they seem to avoid me. My gardening skills need a bit of fine tuning. By the way what was up with the snow we had on the East Coast earlier this week, it's spring! There is absolutely no need for anymore snow now. Spring gets me super excited since it heralds the onset of...

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saffron and almond filmjólk

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Sharma) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 16:34:00 +0000

Last week, I fell in love twice. Yes twice, the delicious first time happened when I sat down to eat at Little Serow. Even if you have to wait in a line to be seated (they only seat a few people every day and don't take reservations), it is every bit, well worth the wait. The restaurant's menu is inspired by northern Thai cuisine and every dish is a wonderful delight. The menu is fixed and every plate really does lives up to its expectation of being an explosion of flavors that will transport you to a delicious plane of spice, heat, and textures. We had a continuous supply of fresh crisp vegetables and sticky rice to go with our unique dishes that included a diverse variety of meats from fish (catfish and snakehead fish), chicken, and pork cooked. I am really not surprised that Chef Johnny Monis' Little Serow made it to Bon Appetit's America's Best New Restaurants in 2012. If you are ever in the Washington D.C. area, do try and make some time to visit this amazing treat in the city....

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buckwheat oatmeal raisin cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Sharma) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 15:14:00 +0000

One of the many magical moments in an Indian household is tea or chai time. By some sort of strange ingrained habit we would drink tea somewhere around 4 or 5pm every evening. There would always be some sort of assortment of cookies, sweet buns, pastries, savory chips or crackers that you could dip into your hot chai. It was the equivalent of a short pre-dessert session before dinner, since we rarely ate desserts after dinner. These days however things are different, I occasionally indulge in a cup of tea in the evening and I really don't keep a stash of cookies or desserts stacked away. The big reason for this is my fondness for cookies to be fresh and warm, right out of the oven. This also means that when I do have a hankering for a cookie or two, I'll be scratching the walls of the pantry like a cat. Last week, I had such a craving for one of my favorite cookies, the oatmeal-raisin kind. The kind that's almost like a good granola bar without the excess doughy feeling yet...

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quinoa kheer

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Sharma) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 01:47:00 +0000

Here's a different take on something traditional. I love kheer, when I think of desserts that are homely and comforting, kheer is somewhere up in my top five. To me it evokes, simplicity and flavors that are characteristic of Indian cooking but that make. The best way to describe kheer, would be a sweetened porridge of milk and basmati rice with dried fruits and nuts served chilled. As much as I love it as a dessert, I have also been known to eat it at breakfast. Some people describe it as a pudding but I personally find it closer in texture to a porridge than a pudding. The rice is cooked till it is so soft that it breaks and almost falls apart to give that delicious soothing texture when you savor a bite. That is exactly what I've tried to do here with quinoa and the results are equally delicious. Cooked quinoa has such a delicate soft texture and works wonderfully well in this recipe. Just make sure you wash the quinoa thoroughly to get rid of the bitter saponin...

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carrot-stuffed amaranth and whole-wheat flat-bread

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Sharma) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 18:14:00 +0000

Last week was a week full of lucky events, one of which involved these beautiful rainbow carrots (and a couple of gorgeous beets) that were absolutely delicious. In my attempts to be adventurous, I tried to plant a few carrot seeds last year, with the hope that I might get some rainbow roots to eat but luck and the Garden Gods were literally not rooting for me. Thankfully, if I keep seeing these carrots at my local Whole Foods and maybe even the Farmer's Markets this warm season, I won't have to depend on the forces of nature and a very obnoxious family of squirrels that occasionally frequent my garden. At home, I've been a bit more experimental in the kitchen trying out all sorts of newer varieties of flours that I rarely cook with. A few months ago I tried a very delicious and inspiring amaranth flour based muffin which had such a delicate and tender crumb texture that I instantly fell in love with the taste and knew at some point that it would be...

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parsi eggplant pickle

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Sharma) — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:55:00 +0000

Ever since it arrived in the mail a few weeks ago, I've been completely absorbed by my copy of Niloufer Ichaporia King's "My Bombay Kitchen", which is probably one of the best cookbooks that I have read in a while. Niloufer weaves a rich tapestry of story and food to describe one of the most unique and ancient cultures in the world. She walks you through the origins of the Zoroastrian people in Persia and their subsequent migration to the shores of India where they established themselves into the well-respected Parsi community. The book is complete with photographs of her childhood and family along with descriptions of some of the customs and cultural elements. Of course, beyond the amazing collection of recipes, she talks about food and its importance among the Parsi. This book is more than just a cookbook, it is a fascinating account of people, history, culture, and food and it should come as no surprise that this book received the coveted James Beard award in...

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rose cake

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Sharma) — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 18:01:00 +0000

Happy Mardi Gras! However, once Fat Tuesday is gone this will also end up as the week of all things sweet that are pink and red, so I thought it would be appropriate for me to share a recipe that displayed the colors and mood of the week. Personally, I am not much of a big Valentine's day person, I prefer if people loved and sent me gifts on each of the 365 days of the year versus just one day. Plus the "holiday" these days is way too commercialized and over priced, so I tend to avoid it. But this week I too will have a pink colored week with this delicious rose petal flavored cake and I hope you will enjoy it too! Ever since I baked my rose and cardamom cookies for the cookie swap, I've been besieged with thoughts of baking a rose-themed cake sans the cardamom. I wanted a soft, tender and moist cake that would just simply smell and taste of fresh roses. Rose water is a very mild ingredient when it comes to fragrance but if you can get your hands on a good...

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aduki bean and black lentil soup

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Sharma) — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 20:20:00 +0000

All I can think about right now is Mardi Gras! The parade, the music, the food, the drinks, and of course a nice holiday (only for the folk of NOLA), these are the specifics of what I miss. Unfortunately, I will not be in NOLA this year to celebrate this fantastic tradition with my friends. However, we did get a little close to eating some King Cake last Sunday for the Superbowl, my friend Tom baked a delicious Ravens/49'ers themed King Cake stuffed with chocolate at one end and sweetened pecans at the other end. Of course, a cake like that was gone in a matter of a few hours at our Superbowl party. I'll be honest, I am not a big football person and I watch the Superbowl mostly for half-time and the advertisements.Once that passes , I get a little bored but thank goodness for all the food and friendly company! We did a Cajun themed football meal this year and I prepared a spicy Cajun crab dip and a spicy shrimp remoulade from my copy of the Brennan's cookbook. If...

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north indian-style scrambled eggs

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Sharma) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 03:38:00 +0000

This has been a week of delicious breakfasts and brunches and my favorite meal was the dim-sum brunch we partook at the China Garden restaurant in neighboring Rosslyn. We pretty much gorged ourselves while savoring a wide variety of dim-sum served fresh off little carts that passed by our table. It is so hard to control yourself when there are so many amazing and fascinating flavors, shapes, and colors to try and that was our excuse to overeat. If you are ever in the D.C. area, this is definitely a place worth trying. Just make sure you get there at least 45 minutes before the restaurant opens, the waiting lines are generally long, though they do move pretty quickly. With all this talk of breakfast and brunch, it would be only be fitting that I share this recipe with you. This is perhaps one of my favorite North Indian breakfast recipes that we ate quite often at home. To me this is also probably a fun and flavorful way to begin the morning with a delicious plate of hot...

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chicken sweet-corn soup

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Sharma) — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 18:18:00 +0000

I miss spring/summer and all the fresh produce that comes with the notes of warmer weather. However, till then I realize that I need to buck-up and work with what comes my way on the East Coast. Of late, I have been craving all sorts of delicious foods from all over the globe. Some new to my palate and others familiar friends to my taste buds. Bombay/Mumbai is a melting pot of several different cultures and even countries, consequently this has led to the fusion and evolution of several different cuisines. One of my personal favorites, is Indo-Chinese food, where Indian flavors and spices come together with some Chinese dishes that make them wonderful and unique. There are a couple of places in NYC that do serve this authentic menu, one of them being Chinese Mirch. The food here is great and worth stopping by.Whenever wet and cold weather strike, I always turn to this soup. Chicken sweet corn soup is a very popular dish in Indo-Chinese restaurants in India and is also...

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whole-wheat biscuits with nigella-butter glaze

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Sharma) — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 18:27:00 +0000

I generally try to enlist myself in a resolution list for the new year but this year I never put much thought into it and I guess my resolution is to simply go with the flow! The past few days have also been somewhat of an intense start to the new year. My father was hospitalized and underwent surgery, thankfully it all went well and he is making a good recovery. Biscuits are one of my favorite southern treats , they are quick breads since they do not require a rising time before baking. I like my biscuits smeared with butter and marmalade or with a little tapenade while I sip my coffee at breakfast. However, as much as my heart encompasses a passionate fondness for these delicious baked delights, I have never made them at home, until now. I came across a whole-wheat recipe for drop biscuits in Amy Boyce's Good to the Grain. The recipe did not involve the laborious and time-consuming stages of chilling or folding and rolling the dough, and I was immediately drawn to out....

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Travel Photo Essay: December at Mouth of Wilson, VA and Burnsville, NC

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Sharma) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 18:20:00 +0000

This trip made me realize how thankful I should be for having internet and cellphone access. We spent our Christmas at the farm at Mouth of Wilson, VA and then New Year's Eve at a cabin in Burnsville, NC. Both trips were so much fun but having limited internet access made it hard to post any of the photographs from my trips, so here is a very image-heavy post for you! I'm sharing some of my favorite moments with you that I think and hope you might like. Once you get used to certain technologies, it is appears to be so hard to break free or even deal with limited access but it is completely doable. In the end it was totally worth the time to get away, relax and enjoy nature. Oddly enough, we were hoping for a white Christmas in Virginia but ended up with rain, while back home in D.C. the news showed the roads and houses covered with plenty of snow. We did get a bit of snow on our final day in Virginia and drove through it to North Carolina to my friend Alex's...

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Happy Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Sharma) — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 15:39:00 +0000

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apple and carrot soup with cilantro-peanut chutney

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Sharma) — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 17:52:00 +0000

I started my holidays a little earlier than anticipated since we decided to finally take on our pending bathroom remodeling project and I'm relieved that it's finished. No more drilling and hammering noises and pesky dust issues! Since, I've stayed at home for the bathroom project, I decided to finish up wrapping all the gifts that we need to take down with us on our trip this weekend. Honestly, I am not a big fan of wrapping gifts, sometimes I get them right and on other occasions, I simply don't. It would be much easier if there was a standard rectangular shape box for every gift versus all the other random shaped toy cartons that I have come across. With all the hustle and bustle of the calorie loaded holidays parties, I've been opting for very simple, easy, and refreshing meals at home. This is one of my favorite recipes that I have grown to love and appreciate this year. This apple and carrot soup has all the fresh flavors of the season. The soup by...

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the great food blogger cookie swap 2012: rose and cardamom cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Sharma) — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 16:44:00 +0000

When I decided to participate in the The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap of 2012, I had no idea that this would be a huge and useful learning experience on cookie issues that I normally do not think much about. I mean the part about what cookies are great for shipping, their longevity, and how to package and ship them. But first let me tell you a little about this amazing swap, fellow food bloggers, Lindsay and Julie are the brains behind this wonderful cookie exchange party that takes place on the internet. The swap is open to food bloggers and this year there were several hundreds of us that participated. The idea is simple with a few rules to follow, you basically sign up and at some point in the weeks to follow, you are sent the names and address of three random food bloggers to each of whom you must ship out a dozen of your cookies. The cookie recipe must also be new to your blog and you have to publish the recipe on a particular date. You will also receive a dozen cookies each,...

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browned butter and red wine brownies

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Sharma) — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 17:53:00 +0000

December is going to fly by so fast, I just know it! We have been out and about with all the holiday parties and celebrations that it seems like Christmas will be here tomorrow. Thankfully all my gift shopping is complete though I still have a few gifts to be wrapped and all my Christmas cards to write and mail and I hope to get to it sometime this week. December is also probably when the bulk of my baking and sweet preparations occur. 'Tis the season for sweet and savory foods, literally! My oven provides good evidence for this since it has been in daily commission since the past two or three weeks and I think it will stay like that until the end of the month. Last weekend I hosted a birthday brunch and instead of baking a cake, I did something different. I baked the birthday boy some brownies. This is a very easy recipe that I've adapted from Alice Medrich's Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts. This is my new favorite holiday dessert that I plan to make for...

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baath cake/ goan coconut cake

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Sharma) — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 02:59:00 +0000

It's finally feeling a lot like winter, the winds are chilly and almost every leaf that was once green and had turned a fiery shade of autumn is now lying on the sidewalks. Even my precious fig tree in the garden has lost most of its leaves and looks like a naked elongated branched creature protruding out from the ground. Cold weather also makes it way harder for me to get up early in the morning when all I want to do is curl up and stay warm under the covers. Thankfully, the holidays make winter fun and it gets me excited for all the things I can do. For me, cooking and baking all sorts of special holiday recipes that I grew up eating or for that matter even venturing out into unfamiliar culinary territories makes it fun. An even more special moment for me is when I surprise my family and friends with some of my favorite holiday desserts. This year will be no different, I've already shipped some stuff out to a few people that I know will be surprised and hopefully happy when they...

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slow-cooker goan chicken coconut curry

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Sharma) — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 14:15:00 +0000

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I had a great time spending it with my friends while we ate and drank copious amounts of good food and wine. At about 7 or 8pm, the tryptophan-induced sleep kicked in and we were all extremely tired and sleepy. If I remember correctly, by the time we got home and walked the dog, our eyelids were too heavy and we were so tired to sit up and watch any television. I am thankful that we get Friday off or it would be terrible to go in to work. Still, I am amazed as to how some people have the stamina to go and wait in lines for those insane Black Friday Deals at all the stores the night before. I really don't think I could do that after such a large meal, so more power to those who can and I hope they score great deals. After a delicious Thanksgiving dinner and a very busy time cooking, I think most cooks like me would prefer a simple and easy meal with hardly any prep work. This recipe is exactly how I remember my grandmother's...

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