tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-113613122011-04-21T14:05:24.476-07:00This is a cooking blog created just so I can chronicle all my cooking experiments. I love to cook and to dine out. I am blessed with a partner who loves to do the same. So this site is dedicated to all in the pursuit of good food....Gininoreply@blogger.comBlogger421100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1137628610839546802006-01-18T15:53:00.000-08:002006-01-18T15:56:50.856-08:00

Hi guys...Today I decided to move to wordpress. Hopefully it will be a good move. We will see. So visit me here from now on.

Gininoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1137518574203338462006-01-17T08:56:00.000-08:002006-01-17T09:24:11.793-08:00

There have been innumerable posts about mattar paneer. VK of My Dhabha, Jen of Atabela and Tony of Anthony's Kitchen had blogged about it. And I was determined to make it soon, just that I was not as enthusiastic about making paneer. I didnt have the cheesecloth to drain the paneer or for that matter I couldnt even find any piece of cloth that would fit the bill. So on my regular shopping day at

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1136819842821344202006-01-09T07:06:00.000-08:002006-01-10T10:35:43.346-08:00

Had a lot of catching up to do after my vacation. It was a very hectic 3 weeks but time well spent. Got to eat food cooked by someone other than me and S and it was such a bliss! Havent cooked anything so far to blog about..so I thought I might share with you some of the stuff that accompanied me from India.First and foremost the star of the show is homegrown vanilla bean. For the first time in

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1134530080131732622005-12-13T19:08:00.000-08:002005-12-13T19:14:40.160-08:00

Officially my vacation starts today. I am off to Kerala for 3 weeks starting tomorrow. It has been a long awaited trip and the thought of seeing my family after such a long time is overwhelming. Hope to enjoy some home made cooking and some quality time with my family. For the New Year there are some ideas hatching in my mind regards my blog. I am thinking of doing some kind of a series, trying

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1134150168876912172005-12-09T09:36:00.000-08:002005-12-09T09:56:03.876-08:00

Todays dinner was S's responsibility. We had leftover butternut squash laying in the fridge from almost a month ago. A split down its middle declared that it was still good and looking fresh. We also had fresh pasta from the nearby Italian store. And we also had the recipe. So S ventured alone into pasta land and created this.How was the dish? It was nice and comforting. Just what we needed on a

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1133752322170900812005-12-04T18:52:00.000-08:002005-12-06T19:19:43.073-08:00

I was browsing through some blogs when I stumbled upon this post. Dont be misled by the post's heading, it is one great recipe! Anchovies are among the favorite things in our house. One of S's best recipes is his coconut anchovy chutney. He is in heaven when he is enjoying these little darlings. Anyway so when I saw anchovy mentioned in the recipe I was excited, and although S doesnt like

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1133468076578296632005-12-01T12:13:00.000-08:002005-12-01T12:14:36.596-08:00

Risotto for me was this gooey looking rice concotion that almost looked repulsive. Anytime I am in an Italian restaurant I have shied away from this concotion but recently I saw something on TV that made me want to attempt this dish. Just to know what all this hype about risotto was about. And so I tried and then I understood...It is more creamy than gooey and as the Italians say 'very comforting

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1133229771352447932005-11-28T17:26:00.000-08:002005-11-29T13:20:43.220-08:00

Thanksgiving has come and gone. I had a great day with friends and this was my contribution to the turkey meal. I wanted to make the torte the day before thanksgiving but was too busy with work and laziness prevented me from cooking. So we woke up early in the day and made the crust. Did the filling while the crust was cooling. Took it over to friends and I held this beauty in my lap all through

Kuttannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1132196000196968892005-11-21T13:10:00.000-08:002005-11-21T10:13:13.046-08:00

OK.. is it biryani or biriyani? I dont know the right way to spell it..and I dont care..as long as it tastes good. And the one I made this time was so good that I have decided to add it to the blog. It was the first time I ever made mutton biryani, and my friend for whom I made it liked it so much that she reminds me everyday to post it..and so here it is. This is how this saga began...My old

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1130276529728184212005-10-25T14:39:00.000-07:002005-11-07T09:31:33.280-08:00

Is there anybody out there who hasn't been bored by the 'regular'chicken curry. By 'regular' I mean the version that you always make, the one you know how to cook without looking up a recipe... I was almost beginning to hate chicken when suddenly I looked at the chicken in the freezer and "Chicken Jalfrezi"jumped at me. I had heard about this recipe but never tasted or seen Chicken Jalfrezi and

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1130276346473389462005-10-25T14:34:00.000-07:002005-10-28T11:48:48.716-07:00

Recently, we did a very daring act. We made a 7 course dinner. Although it seemed very daunting it turned out fine and definitely was worth the effort. The occasion was the wedding anniversary of our dear friends who are food freaks like we are. So what better gift than a homemade dinner. I did not manage to get photos of all the dishes as we thought of the pictures halfway through the dinner and

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1127138609286901462005-10-25T07:02:00.000-07:002005-10-25T15:05:11.080-07:00

Newly acquired curry leaf plant. This guy is now in a pot and is inside the house in an attempt to save it from the cold. Hopefully it will survive.Anyone who is from Kerala will know how abundant curry leaves are in every household. Neighbors feel free to come and pick the leaves off the plants and sometimes these plants even grow up to be medium sized trees. I lived in Florida for a few years

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1127138515676762372005-10-25T06:25:00.000-07:002005-10-25T14:49:30.976-07:00

This is a collection of vegetables brought back home after a visit to the house of a very dear relative.Almost every Keralite living in America and owning a house has a kitchen garden. And the list of plants growing in the kitchen garden is very predictable. They are peppers, eggplant, ladys finger or okra, pavakkai, snakegourd,payar and tomatoes.The pavakkai and snakegourd hanging from well made

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1126187923433622222005-09-08T06:37:00.000-07:002005-09-13T17:26:46.286-07:00

Dosa is one of my favorite breakfast items ever. Breakfast is one of the things I miss most about staying away from home. I remember quite fondly the trips to Kottayam town which would include a movie and then a stop for masala dosa accompanied by a crisp vada and a cup of filter coffee. Oh man, nothing could beat that! For some reason, I have failed in creating the right batter at home. Finally,

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1124294834574812102005-08-17T09:00:00.000-07:002005-08-17T09:07:51.070-07:00

I was reading this post on Slate about vanilla. I will take a serving of vanilla icecream over any other flavor any day. It is the simplicity of its flavor that makes it so elegant, I think. I have only used the vanilla extract as it is the more affordable option. My parents have a few vanilla plants growing in their yard, so I might be able to bring some real vanilla pods during my next visit

Gininoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1124215659281728272005-08-16T10:01:00.000-07:002005-08-16T11:58:46.266-07:00

I know that S used to make a lot of rasam during his bachelor days, but my experience with rasam is very limited. I don't remember my mother making a lot of rasam at home.Some of my good rasam memories are from when I visited my mom's sister at Trivandrum and also at my brother in laws house, and my worst rasam memories are of course from the hostel canteen. It has been almost 3 yrs since I have

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1123294122119421982005-08-05T18:48:00.000-07:002005-10-25T15:09:05.303-07:00

I was quite bored this morning and was just browsing through the TV channels when this show on food network attracted me and the show was on aphrodisiacs. The show was pretty good and as a result I decided to recreate some of the stuff at home. So when S came back from work, we started on a hunt for oysters. The two local grocery stores did not have any oysters, nor did Trader Joes. And then out

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1123249850732963552005-08-05T06:50:00.000-07:002005-08-05T09:10:18.280-07:00

This is what eventually became of the bittergourds.The ones that are sliced are now basking in the sun and are now one-fourth of their previous size and we are still enjoying leftovers of the bittergourd and coconut combo. Posted by Picasa

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1123248385648950162005-08-04T06:26:00.000-07:002005-08-05T09:05:53.036-07:00

So yesterday I was all ready to make some Goan fish curry when unexpectedly the front bell rang. It was one of S's friend who kindly took it upon himself,(bless his heart) to bring us some bittergourd or 'karela' or 'pavakka', all the way from New Jersey. These gourds are grown locally in a farm over there and these were handpicked. I am not sure if the non-Indian public is aware of this

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1122945750939390792005-08-01T18:22:00.000-07:002005-08-01T18:22:48.993-07:00

I am going to be off from work for the next 2 days and I feel inspired to cook but do not know what....I think I am going to hunt for some recipes in some blogs or I might turn to my minimalistic cookbook collection.

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1122854390652462212005-07-31T16:28:00.000-07:002005-07-31T17:04:17.140-07:00

So this weekend was the blessing of the house! In case you are wondering what the heck is this, in our Syrian Orthodox tradition, when you move into a new house, there is a prayer held and the priest blesses the house. The priest marks all the doors of the house with the sign of the cross. I am a fan of ceremonies and I immensely enjoyed it,although it was more of an emotional factor than fun

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1120845921188950182005-07-08T10:40:00.000-07:002005-07-08T11:07:24.536-07:00

When it comes to cooking, it seems like I am a hard core conservative. I hardly venture out from the original recipe and make all efforts to follow the recipe as it is. Although I want to try out risky recipes,atleast that look risky, I almost always chicken out from trying them. Satish is very different from me in the fact that he always try to innovate something in the dishes we make, although

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1120674709436036272005-07-06T11:31:00.000-07:002005-07-17T18:17:36.686-07:00

This was going to be our first entertaining session at our new home. And therefore it had to be something special. I used the new cookbook which I had recently bought from Costco, Soups, Salads and Starters from William Sonoma. It had gorgeous pictures and was well organised. So, I was browsing for some recipes in the book when I found a recipe for crab cakes. I also decided to do a potato leek

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1120673135425849602005-06-16T11:05:00.000-07:002005-07-08T11:11:15.513-07:00

>I did not realize how hungry and tired I was until a few minutes ago. Came back from work and was planning to make some chicken enchiladas for dinner, but I felt so tired that I could just lay down and sleep. S just called to say he is almost leaving from their after office party, but he said that an hour ago too..Anyway I called Colony Grill and ordered my favorite...for those who do not know

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1117073946871278202005-05-25T19:19:00.000-07:002005-05-25T19:19:06.873-07:00

Roasted strawberries with ice creamPosted by Hello

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1117073675097058402005-05-25T19:14:00.000-07:002005-05-25T19:16:09.290-07:00

This morning I woke up and had some tea which Satish had made before he left. Had some cold cereal and most of the day was spend in front of my laptop searching for furniture for our new house. And before I knew it, it was time for lunch. I was searching for some easy recipes when I found this recipe.This is what I had in my pantry and will form my ingredient list.Boston lettuce- 1 whole head ( I

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1115861018236243852005-05-11T18:16:00.000-07:002005-05-11T18:23:38.250-07:00

I used to be the person who would run to the internet for any recipe. The food network was the place where I used to visit for almost all my recipes. And I would only try out the recipes that were rated. But now after entering the world of blogging all that is changed. I usually search for recipes from my favorie blogs. Cooking with Amy has never failed to make me happy with my cooking results. I

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1114545827977210142005-04-26T12:43:00.000-07:002005-04-26T13:03:47.980-07:00

I am going to Florida for 5 days and before I left, I decided I couldn't leave without writing about the restaurant we were in this weekend. As usual we couldn't decide on where to go. But reading this review helped me make the decision. We had once gone to Ocean 211 before, but we had to wait 30min to be seated as we did not make any reservations and as were too hungry to wait we went to another

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1113925881156195532005-04-19T08:26:00.000-07:002005-04-19T10:09:49.250-07:00

I am a person who usually works three days a week and I am home for the rest four days. Typically, I am very busy at work and am lucky if I can manage some time for cereal. So, the days I am off I try to have something nice and hearty for breakfast.For some reason last night I felt like having some pancakes for dinner and I found a lemon ricotta pancake recipe from Amy. This has almost become

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1113571731564680802005-04-15T06:12:00.000-07:002005-04-15T06:53:27.246-07:00

This article on msnbc 'lovers of dim sum beware' caught my eye this morning when I was scouring through the news. I love dim sum. We are extremely lucky to have a friend who knows all the tricks of the trade when it comes to chinese food. I have gobbled dim sum that I dont think I would have even attempted wihtout his encouragement like beef intestine, snails etc. Dim sum is also very inexpensive

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1113533745251092172005-04-14T19:35:00.000-07:002005-04-15T08:16:06.560-07:00

Today was not a good day at work, and I believe that is reason enough to eat out. So we did.Another reason I like to eat out is that I always manage to bring home leftovers which I transform to lunch after a long day spend sleeping on my day off....So this evening, we went to Spazzio...the neighbourhood restaurant that never got my attention, but S had always wanted to go there. Though not often,

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1112139766356404642005-03-29T15:41:00.000-08:002005-03-29T19:39:33.620-08:00

Although I was off from work, I did not do anything all day. But by the time Satish had come home from work, I had found out a salad and sandwich recipe that I wanted to make and also made an ingredient list. I have developed a habit of cooking only after S gets home. But today he had a headache, and so after popping a couple of Aleve tablets and watching some TV, we headed to the grocery store,

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1112116113555945362005-03-29T09:08:00.000-08:002005-03-29T09:56:57.473-08:00

Attention sushi and fish lovers! Someone send me an article from Slate today about the 'real' the health benefits of eating fish.After reading this article, I certainly couldnot let it go without posting about it in my blog. I have always considered fish a healthy option and when some one says that "well, that might not be the case anymore", I am definitely not excited about it.I love sushi and

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1111968789582544902005-03-27T16:13:00.000-08:002005-03-27T16:13:09.583-08:00

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1111810531416377822005-03-25T20:15:00.000-08:002005-03-25T20:15:31.416-08:00

Biryani was a big delicacy when growing up..reserved only for those special occasions like Easter or Christmas, this dish took hours of preparation. These days biryani is available almost everywhere and there are restaurants totally devoted to biryani.One such place is the Biryani Merchant in Banglore. For me, biryani brings back mouthwatering memories of weddings and many more great occasions

Gininoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1111807353887115992005-03-25T19:07:00.000-08:002005-03-25T19:22:33.890-08:00

..Good Friday is here. Traditionally, we spend almost all day in church fasting, and when the services are over,there is kanji( rice with the broth in which it was cooked,)accompanied by few side dishes such as papad, lentils and a pickle. Usually the pickle is mango.Since I had to be working, by the time I got home S had made us some kanji and it is right now being served and I can't wait to

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1111701878654756522005-03-24T14:04:00.000-08:002005-03-24T14:10:10.183-08:00

Photo courtesy of AMGmedia Works Inc. It has been some days since I have done any serious cooking. The last major dish I cooked was the eggplant lasagna. That was one delicious meal. I was looking for some vegetarian recipes as I had given up meat for lent(something I am used to from my syrian orthodox christian background).Me and S devoured the lasagna with such fervour that it was ridiculous.

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1111343494386731902005-03-20T10:31:00.000-08:002005-03-20T10:34:10.386-08:00

OK..after months and months of deliberation I finally did it....I bought my first stainless cookware.I had put to work all the information I had researched on the net about finding the perfect stainless cookware....but they all come at such prices! I got mine from Bed Bath and Beyond and it is an Emeril cookware. Since I couldn't afford the whole set I had to content myself by buying one of those

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1111191861696390612005-03-18T16:24:00.000-08:002005-03-18T17:03:35.096-08:00

When I got the call on Wednesday night to bring something in for St.Patricks's day, I was lost! I did not want to buy anything from the store and there was no time to research recipes, and I definitely could not bring beer to work,especially with the inspection team that was in house. So, to end the crisis, my husband suggested that I take the pound cake that I had so painstakingly made during

Gininoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1110815435626937752005-03-14T07:19:00.000-08:002005-03-16T11:30:07.103-08:00

This weekend, thankfully we (me & S) were off from work. I spend the morning finishing my classwork and he had gone with a friend looking for a car. So, when we finally saw each other I was in the mood to cook something but he insisted we go out. I wanted Indian and he wanted Sushi...finally we decided on Indian food. These days I have a tendency to look up restaurant reviews before going

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1110595087339940402005-03-11T18:38:00.000-08:002005-03-11T18:43:46.336-08:00

I had only read and seen pictures about this vegetable when I was in India...So it has been only about 2 years since I have tasted an asparagus and it was love at first bite. I have tried only the fresh asparagus but I have seen them frozen and canned. I try to stick with fresh as much as I can..They are available all year round but may be a little expensive but who cares..it is totally worth

Gininoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11361312.post-1110489312551027222005-03-10T13:03:00.000-08:002005-03-10T13:26:09.770-08:00

Hi allI am sure there are many cooking fans all over....But being a good cook takes more than a burning desire to cook. It means getting the right tools, right attitude, and also a right partner...someone who will standby you when you buy all that expensive tools and cookbooks and will agree to taste the weird looking fish dish you cooked up..In my postings I will try to post some cool recipes,

Gininoreply@blogger.com0