To ease the tension and soften the drudgery of daily life (I sound pathetic don 't I) I took inspiration from a cookery show and a blog and attempted 3 dishes yesterday and today.
Above is pita bread and hummus from the Middle East. The Mayer Family Blog ( they are missionaries in Spain)was the electronic inspiration here.
The hummus was excellent. I have made it before.Learnt it from Anju who made it with Lebanese bread.
BUT... my pita bread was quite a flop I must confess. I could not get hold of the right dry active yeast. I walked miles to 4 speciality stores which stock this kind of commodity. Two did not have any yeast, the packet in one store was out of date.The last one had a small packet but did did not work properly. So my bread turned out hard and crunchy.If only I had Fleischman Yeast, my dough would rise properly.
My poor Mom tried to eat it but gave up as her teeth would not cooperate.
I didn 't mind it as it was the work of my hands. And Sheba enjoyed it thoroughly.
This is an Indonesian rice dish called Nasi Goreng.It turned out to be really good.I did not have some of the Indonesian ingredients , I made an adapted Indian version which suited us very well.I saw an Indonesian chef make it on TV.
This is gnocchi. Today I saw a 17 year old Indian boy make it on TV And I said to myself, if this kid can make it, so can I and plunged into it like an Italian grandmother.It turned out to be really good. Sheba also fell in love with it.
18 Fertilize my soul:
Amrita! I am going to mail you some Fleischman's yeast! I am. I think I still have your address around here somewhere, too. :o)
That is so sweet of you NE Iowa Mom.Thank you.
I remember your quail falling from the sky like in the Old Testament.
My Mom had quail in her childhood, says its really delicious.
Pita, hammus and falafel - I am off to the local Egyptian place for lunch now! :)
Please come to my home and take up residence. the palates of my husband and 2 sons have suffered much too long. And they still have good teeth if the right yeast is not to be found!
Love the pics, the post, the humour! Blessings, dear sister.
What beautiful presentations of yummy dishes! Your pita looks perfect, no one would have known otherwise! Your humor is just as delicious as these dishes!
Amrita, you are an artist. I love the way you arrange the food for your pictures - it always looks so pretty. It looks like it should be in a magazine.
Amrita,
I have to give you full marks for being a great at stress management:)))
Julia
I loooooove gnocchi!
I was wondering what are traditional Indian dishes and you've gone all international on us! :)
I like ethnic food but am not familiar with Indian food.
Oh Hi Julia, cooking is a real stress buster, but it should n 'nt bust my stress too much otherwise I will burst at the seams.
I would love to come and cook for you Sita. If i was living in the West i would have loved to take this as an occupation. Here in India for a woman of my class, it is unthinkable, I would be frowned upon as a 'kaam wali bai" or household maid.LOL
Michelle you must share a borsct (spelled it wrong) recipe with us.
Renea I try to mask my cooking by at least displaying it attractively, if the package is right maybe the product will sell.
Hi Nagaraj, I can never make dosas like you do, mine are not so thin.My sister makes very good felafel.
Amrita, all your dishes look yummy! Wish I had some ... :-)
Dear Amrita,
you are a giant among women. Fighting for your church, looking after your mom and still have the surplus to go on making delicious, new dishes. "Busy being born" Dylan calls the ones who will always learn new things.
The food looks so delicious.
(Gotta brag a little about my mom. Serina made her some wok dinner this summer. When we visited two weeks ago, she had carefully written down the recipe and made Gunnar and me a tasteful dinner. She is also a genuine trooper.)
I think the will to learn is closely connected to the power to survive.
God bless you both in your Martha and Mary chores, in addition to the responsibility for your church.
¨From Felisol
wow! i wanna come to your house for dinner!
Hi Amrita--I don't know why I never commented on your blog before, but I always read your comments on Rebecca's blog. As far as food goes, the only thing that grabbed me in your list here is the gnocchi. No garlic, no onions, no peppers--that's what I need.
Hi Amrita;
YOu are so cute...for a minute I tried to imagine you as an Italian grandmother...making your gnocchi. Sounds like fun, better to cook to keep the time, than to worry or cry...and in the end you have something to feed you or the dog, right?
*and you are not old enough to be a grandmother Amrita!
big hug;
Kimmie
mama to 6
one homemade and 5 adopted
Hi Amrita,
Thanks for the many kind comments You leave on my site.
Although I seldom comment, I've followed your blog since the day you began it.
As you know, I'm putting the final touches on my book about our local fire department; those heroes dart into a burning building to rescue folks in a flash... But for years and years, you have cared for your elderly mother and aunt, hands on day after day, I think you are a true hero.
Good cook too.
John
Thank you John, your 's was the first blog I ever read , before that I never knew what a blog was.
It was good to read about your CERT program and how Ginny and you met that waitress you helped many years ago.
Oh my...I love Indonesian food...that is my absolute favourite cuisine and I could eat it morning, noon and night. I did giggle about the Pita bread......
Hi Amrita! You present your dishes in such a beautiful way - loved it. I've tried hummus and liked it very much, along with pita bread. The more garlic, the better. The rice dish looks yummy, too. I had to laugh when I imagined you plunging into the gnocchi like an Italian grandmother!:-) Everything turned out so nice!
Wanted to say hi and remind you of my prayers.
hugs,
Vicki
Post a Comment