the cure to homesickness

Back home, I have been very frugal with my coffee. I would make my coffee at home, put it in my coveted thermos, and bring it to work. I hated the idea of spending money for coffee that I could make myself, exactly the way I like it. Since moving to my new home, I have not yet purchased a coffee maker, so I am now visiting my local coffee shop. I have had the pleasure of being served by the nicest baristas! There is an on-site coffee shop where I work, and the baristas are all Filipino. After good-naturedly grilling me about why I don’t know Tagalog, then grilling me about me using my reusable thermos instead of a disposable cup, I have been making this a daily routine. They also have treats – my favorites so far are the “date twist” and “zaatar croissant”. The other day I decided to try out another coffee shop. I met a Brother from India, who cooked up a nice cup of Turkish coffee for 5SR (about $1.33 USD). We ended up talking about a variety of topics – how long he has lived in the country, his goal of going on the Hajj with his mother, religion in India, how Muslim women dress in the USA, life in Saudi Arabia, and the like. But the biggest surprise was when the barista asked me if I had breakfast yet. I thought he was trying to get me to purchase a food item. Then, he walks out of the back room with his aloo paratha. He says that it is “Indian Breakfast” and asked if I would like some. Now, obviously this man did not know who he was talking to! I told him about my father’s and how I was taught how to make it as well. In the end, despite me trying to not accept the treat, I walked out of the coffee shop caffeinated and with a bag of aloo paratha and some halva! Now, it may be homesickness, but this Brother’s potato bread was the best I have had in a long time. Before I left the USA, I really wanted to get a thorough lesson about how to cook all of my favorite Pakistani dishes. There was not enough time to do this, but we did cover aloo paratha (or as we have Americanized it to be “potato bread” or “potato treat”). Watch and learn…

Dates on a plane

I love plane food, especially when it involves international flights. Unfortunately, my last few adventures have not gone so well as I have been having difficulties with obtaining my vegetarian meal option. This time I thought I was well prepared. I ordered my "Asian Vegetarian" meal well in advance, double checked once on the telephone, and triple checked at the check-in counter. Unfortunately, "these things happen", the flight attendant said. My meal was not on-board and I opted for the fish, since I have been a wavering vegetarian (I know, I shouldn't even call myself vegetarian at this point). The best part was our first treat. A date skewered on a toothpick was served with a small cup of Arabic coffee. I originally thought this was thick tea, as the coloring is not dark brown like American coffee. The date was absolutely delicious and a bit cold from being refrigerated. The tea was served in a very small cup and was heavily scented with cardamom. We then were given juice choices - I had the mango. My main meal tray tray comprised of: a salad – tomato, iceberg lettuce, one olive, shredded carrots, and Heinz Italian dressing; roasted eggplant and baked fish with spicy garlic tomato sauce over rice with parsley and mustard seeds; potato salad topped with two fresh shrimps (this dish reminded me very much of a Japanese dish, right down to the mayonnaise salad); caramel cheesecake; a roll with butter; and bottled water. For breakfast the next day, I choose the cheese omelet with hash browns (I discarded the non-pork sausage link). Served alongside was fruit – grapefruit, grapes, pineapple, honeydew; a croissant; one roll; a wedge of foiled soft cheese, two jellies; orange juice; coffee; and bottled water. To end it all, when the plane was coming in to land, hard candies were passed out to help with the ear popping. I choose grape (purple).

Hot Chocolate

I attended my first NYC Food Crawl: The December Hot Chocolate Crawl. The pictures speak for themselves... For more information, click on the title of this post or visit nycfoodcrawl.blogspot.com

Leftovers

A simple dish to start out the morning. Looking in the refrigerator I spot a pot of leftover risotto. Leftover risotto is a wonderful thing - sticky and moist, it can stand up to a good pan fry. [Rice is always a good leftover staple, think fried rice.] The original swiss chard risotto was very basic, made with Arborio rice, swiss chard from the garden, and (store bought) vegetable stock. This morning, I formed small patties of risotto, dipped them into an egg wash, then into breadcrumbs slightly seasoned with parmigiano reggiano, salt, and pepper. The patties were then pan fried in olive oil. Slightly crunchy on the outside, warm and still moist on the inside.

Summer BBQ

I can’t remember where we heard of barbequing pizza - I know we didn’t invent this, yet many (most?) have never made their own, let alone tasted grilled pizza. Since I am not a baker and am fortunate to live close to Arthur Avenue, I buy my dough at Madonia Brothers Bakery. For $1.50, you can make 3 pies that fit on a Webber grill. No mess, no fuss, and absolutely delicious. Although we cheat and buy our dough, we go all out with the toppings. Often times, we BBQ for a small group of friends. The beauty of this is that everyone creates their own. It is then cut into pieces and we all get to taste each other’s masterpieces. We recently had a friend visiting from Japan. During his visit, our toppings included: fresh mozzarella cheese (from Casa Della Mozzarella on 187th); sautéed broccoli rabe, capers, fresh tomatoes, arugula, and sautéed mushrooms (all vegetables are from the Arthur Avenue Market, the capers from Fairway’s famous olive bar). This time, we rolled the dough on semolina flower (from Teitel Brothers). The result was a much crisper dough and it was easier to handle. We surprised our guest during this, as he thought that when we said we would have pizza for lunch we would be getting it delivered. I feel obligated to share pizza when guests from out of town come to visit, usually opting for Lombardi’s. However, we only had 24 hours with our dear friend. And honestly, you can’t get more authentic NYC pizza then grilling it in the backyard. Our good friend just celebrated her birthday out on the North Fork of Long Island. We were honored to be selected to cook Sunday’s lunch and assembled “Team Pizza”. A wonderful challenge, as all cooking must be done outdoors and for a large, hungry, demographically awesome crew. Part of the team made the dough, while one member rolled out the dough (with semolina flower), and one grilled up the pies. We all participated in the selection of toppings and made various combinations. Unfortunately, we were so busy cooking that we did not take any photographs. Hopefully, someone did who is reading this and will forward them to me so I can post them. In the case that we have no pictures to share, please let your imagination run wild… We cooked 24 pies for 20 people – something we have never done before! Toppings were as follows: fresh heirloom tomato slices and fresh arugula (all from Sang Lee Farms, Long Island); grilled potato slices in olive oil, garlic, and rosemary (potatoes and rosemary also from Sang Lee Farms); fresh garlic; fresh red onion slices; grilled red onion slices; capers; fresh mozzarella and ricotta salata (from The Village Cheese Shop, on Love Lane in Long Island); tomato sauce; and finally, some leftover “vegetarian sausage” from breakfast. Readers, if I am missing any toppings please let me know! This was a well-oiled pizza cooking team (pun intended)! We made too many combinations to list here. And, to my understanding, none of the omnivores complained that it was a vegetarian meal.

Post-Elopement Celebration(s)

Our post-elopement cake was made by Luci Pina of Fashionably Cake. I was turned onto Luci's work after tasting a delicious wedding cake she made for my cousin. She was wonderfully accommodating to our desires - we wanted a tropical theme to match our wedding in Hawai'i. The result was a Puerto Rican Rum pound cake with a large mango filled layer, a guava filled layer, and a small pineapple layer. We were able to have the guava layer made without rum to allow those who do not partake in alcohol to indulge as well. I am not much of a dessert person (I will almost always go towards the savory, spicy, and salty over the sweet). But as you can see, this cake can change your mind too. cake is also featured on the interactive feature from "With This Burger, I Thee Wed" Reader's Wedding Food interactive http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/06/18/dining/20090618-wedding.html?ref=dining

home cooking

As many novice bloggers, I have yet to learn the art of regular postings. However, I hope to gather much data for a upcoming post. Today we will feast on home cooking, a fine blend of Filipino, Pakistani, & Western foods created by myself, my father (labeled as a frustrated farmer and cook by some), and my mother. While I am vegetarian, there will be traditional (non-veg) foods and some vegetarian adaptations. Plenty of desserts, including a "wedding" cake that features a halal tier. I'm getting hungrier as I type. Looking forward to eating and sharing the results soon.