Mishmash !: Musings-This n That..

Showing posts with label Musings-This n That... Show all posts

Sunday, September 7, 2008

It's Festival Time Again !

This morning when I got off the phone with my parents, I felt a sort of numbness……a numbness that comes out of an unsettling helplessness and painful realization that we will not be there at home with our families this year too, to be part of those celebrations around this festival time of Onam. The holiday spirit that spontaneously brings a refreshing mood amongst the family members…………utmost carefulness on the faces of the women making the shopping list and that last minute soft reminder to the men folk going to the market to buy only the freshest of the vegetables …………..the maddening crowd at those specially set up seasonal markets, Onachantha………unusually packed electronic shops lit with fluorescent lights and huge display boards with the special rates and irresistible discounts targeting the middle class………..families walking by the sidewalks carrying a handful of shopping bags from the city's best textile shops…………… the heaving flower markets selling various colours of marigold to make the ornately decorated floral carpet, Pookkalam though one cannot ignore the simplicity of Pookkalam made with 'naadan' flowers like mukkuttippovu, chemabarthippovu, chethi poovu plucked from one's own garden and backyard and sometimes from the fence too…… the phone bells ringing unremittingly with friends and relatives calling to greet each other………..a visit to 'Tharavadu', paternal/maternal houses ………..the overall rhythm of those festival days , the sound of the loved ones and the smell of the flowers and banana leaf and flavors of the feast just gets rekindled as I try to hunt for some familiar vegetables in this temporarily adopted foster home!!!!

We wish you all our readers a very homely and festive Onam……..enjoy these happy days with family and friends and ofcourse the elaborate feasts. And don't stain your Onakkodi, the new dress bought for celebration, while slurping that decadent Pradhaman/Payasam :) Well, this humble blog of mine, Mishmash! also gets its Onakkodi this year……a new template and new look :) Hope the readers of this blog finds this change pleasant!

Once again, festival greetings to all of you !

Luv
Shn

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Food Styling: Behind the Scenes! Some updates too…….

Hi All…..Thanks for checking on me ! I am very much in good spirits…Last week, my brain sent a request for vacation days off and could not deny since ‘she’ has been doing a good job so far :) Currently ‘she’ is chilling out, and ‘she’ will be back by beginning of next week :)

Well, I have given an update on my last post, Hot Crostini and one on Fish Curry-Central Kerala Style, as many have been asking for the pictures of Kudam Puli/Gamboge. I have uploaded a pic, followed by a small note on the same. Please check both.

On another note, ever wondered how they manage to get that “cheese pull” shot on a pizza, or a juicy steak, or a well groomed burger with its lettuce leaf and tomato slices looking like neatly stacked up books? Here’s some ‘interesting’ links I came across recently……..though one cannot make any judgements based on these links or generalize the information, it’s definitely worth for a light read : P

Thanks!
Shn

Thursday, May 31, 2007

I'm Back With A Virtual Haircut For You !!

Was the title tricky enough to bring you here ?? :) Well, you will not be disappointed, trust me! I was winding up the kitchen this evening after our dinner and I heard CJJ laughing out loud, sitting in front of the computer, with his headphones on, which is a very rare sight and after almost 2-3 minutes, I found myself giggling too!!! If you are curious and wondering what made us laugh and made me post this, go ahead and grab your headphone and listen to this cool and awesome digital surround sound clipping. DO NOT USE SPEAKERS and spoil the fun. For a second, think you are sitting on your barbershop chair and close your eyes and get ready for this Virtual Barbershop! It's surreal....Let me know what you think :)

Well, I am also sharing my all time favorite picture from our photo album. Whenever I look at this picture, it brings smiles on my face. Could anyone suggest a funny caption for this please ? :)

On another note, I did miss you all in the past few days......that virtual friendship....those funny comments we exchange......and ofcourse those great recipes and tantalizing pictures. Thank you all for checking on me. I am back and recipes, accompanied by stories and pictures, will follow as usual :)

Have a great weekend ahead!
Enjoy!
Shn

Monday, May 28, 2007

My system on a Go-Slow strike !!

Hi All,

Due to maximum resource utilization and low maintenance and low wages approach, our system is on a Go-Slow strike and we're trying to rectify the problem. Till then I will not be frequenting the blog-world much and I will be missing you all. Will be back in a couple of days !

Take care and Have fun !
Shn

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Pineapple Wine & A Snow Grotto!

Spring is here and winter is bidding adieus! Poets’ two favourite seasons to metaphorically drive home the idea that adversities and prosperities of life are seasonal. How can one forget the lines of P.B Shelley, one of the English romantic poets who wrote “O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?” How true !! It is again reinstated when Hal Borland quotes, “No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.” Isn’t it so synonymous with the dull days and happy days of life that come and go? Spring is the renewal of life and hopes and somewhere I read, "winter is door to spring...its a resurrection of hope " . I don’t think I can sum up this concept in any better way than these wise men did. Well, its time to talk about March winds, April showers and May flowers….spring cleaning and spring blossoms……the thought itself is quite refreshing ,isn’t it? :) But honestly, I do enjoy the winter days too, even though we all grumble about removing the pile of snow from the driveway and the slick roads and the icy winds and the dull days. It makes me all romantic, when the star shaped snow flakes tickle my face….waking up in the morning to see the nature covered under a soft, silky white blanket of snow…….the pine trees holding the snow flakes…goose walking across a frozen lake……the eerie look of the naked trees…..somewhere I see a pristine beauty during this season…..and one of those days I was lucky to capture a shot of this natural snow grotto that formed in a lake in our community. Thought it’s incredible and felt only a Virgin Mary is missing in there ;)

Now coming to the substance…. Well, I had a grin on my face when I read that pineapple was the chosen fruit for this month’s AFAM because I had something ready in my pantry, waiting for its turn to go into the spotlight! I am talking about "bottled poetry" here, yes, Pineapple Wine :) This is something I tried along with my experiments with Beetroot wine, which is my personal favourite as I get to enjoy the beet wine from the 16th day after its fermentation, where as I have to wait for more than 3 months to pour some of the bottled pineapple wine into my wine glass. And this recipe is for those who have the patience to wait that long and let me assure you, it’s worth the wait :)

Ingredients:

1 kg fresh ripe Pineapple
1 kg (50 oz) Sugar
1 tsp Yeast
½ tsp sugar
1 small Lemon
2 litre Water
½ cup warm water

Directions:

Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water with ½ tsp sugar and let it rise.
Wash the pineapple well and dice them into small pieces. No need to remove the skin.
Boil 2 litres of water in a big pan and dilute 1 kg sugar. When the water boils well, add the pineapple chunks and let it cook for not more than 4-5 mins and turn of the stove.
When it cools down, transfer it preferably to a Bharani or any earthenware container or a glass jar and add the dissolved yeast and lemon juice and stir well with a wooden spatula and keep the container airtight and store it in a dark place, for fermentation for 21 days. On the 4th or 5th day, open the container and stir it with a wooden spatula and let it rest till the 21st day.
After the fermentation process, strain it, without squeezing or crushing the pineapple at all, using a cheesecloth or muslin cloth on the 21st day and make sure that there are no residues; bottle the wine and rack them at room temperature in a cupboard and let it rest for 3 MONTHS allowing it to settle all the impurities and smells FRESH & PLEASANT at the end.

Tips:

Once the wine is bottled, it should be left in a dark shelf, at room temperature, for 3 months for sure, as the smell that results from the activation of the yeast with the pineapple is very overpowering and it is not at all suggested for serving during this time. Also, for the yeast to convert sugar into alcohol, it is mandatory to keep the oxygen out and hence make sure that container is airtight, during the fermentation period. The alcoholic and the mild fizzy effect also depend on the quality of the yeast used. Please ensure that the fermentation jars and bottles are clean and not filled fully; leave some room. It is also suggested to open the bottles once in 2-3 weeks to let the gas out, formed inside the bottles. After 3 months, you will notice all its impurities settling down, creating a thick layer at the bottom, and the wine will be refined and clear and smells fresh and pleasant and tastes GREAT!

So, lets pour some wine and raise a toast to Maheswari for hosting this wonderful fruity event,AFAM and also to Sushma for hosting the interesting Monthly Cooking Tipology event!

Cheers!
Shn

Saturday, January 13, 2007

Here’s a Toast...

Where do I start..hmm..Till two weeks back, I never thought about having my own blog spot until my husband seeded this brilliant idea of creating a space, where I can share the reflections from my kitchen. I still remember that bright summer day in my teens, when my parents literally dragged me into the kitchen to teach me to prepare two cups of tea and my image of lighting the stove from a distance as though it’s going to explode !!! Another recollection is the mail I received, just a week after our engagement, from my fiancée, my best friend CJJ, with a link from Pachakam.com. Poor guy, he had his own doubts about having some good home made food after marriage, knowing very well that the love of his life had not made any great improvement from the ‘two cups of tea and an omelet’ phase! And Ohhh..there pops up another image in my head where my MIL went speechless when I asked her whether one glass of green grams (as big as our water tumbler in Kerala) is enough for a side dish, for two persons for a meal !!!!!

And with all these above mentioned extensive knowledge and experience of mine, I started my cooking adventures with the notes I prepared, just two days before marriage, with the help of my aunt and Mummy and ofcourse, with the recipes from the great pachakam.com. Then followed innumerable STD/ISD calls to Mummy whenever I was in kitchen, sometimes struggling to differentiate coriander powder and cumin powder...and I can not remember the number of times I tuned to Food TV and other cookery shows. Fortunately, I had the beginner’s luck or I wonder if it was CJJ who was lucky !! But now when I look back I have gone too far from that teenage girl to this confident and responsible young (??) homemaker, diagnosed with the early symptoms of OCD, who can sure host a decent dinner!! And there when I am floating in the clouds, with all the confidence boosting compliments from our friends after relishing the food, here comes my CJJ with his funniest story of my first chicken curry and that chicken who got embarrassed in my kitchen seeing its final shape and am sure, that story is definitely a topping over the dessert for all our friends.

I don’t know how far I will be able to sustain this new found interest in blogging but as long as I have a bulldozer behind me, yes my CJJ, I will be sharing some of my experiments from the kitchen...and I start my first one here, raising a toast to my parents, my CJJ and to all of you, my friends !!

Luv
Shn