Black & White Wednesday #52

Black & White Wednesday celebrates its first birthday. This event, which is the brainchild of Susan of the Well Seasoned Cook, is a great forum to look at some of the clicks in B&W and which celebrate food nonetheless.

This week's gallery is being hosted by Susan herself. I am sending across this B&W click of one of my favourite glasses. These also featured in the In My Kitchen post for the month.

 Wishing many more solid years to BWW.

In my Kitchen, September 2012

After I resumed blogging after a gap of 2 years, one of the first things was to "roam" around the blogosphere to discover what I have been missing. And during such a "trip", I came across this very lovely blog - Fig Jam and Lime Cordial. Celia, who is the proud owner of this blog, does a monthly series - "In my Kitchen". It is amazing to go through this series every month and have a peek into what are the lovely ingredients she has in her kitchen.

I have been regularly reading "In My Kitchen" posts every month, and have been thinking of joining ever since. After spending a weekend clicking photographs, I would like to share a few things in my kitchen this September.

In my Kitchen...
...are a set of Kulhads (traditional handle less terracotta cups). I have got these specifically to serve Phirni which I believe tastes best when eaten straight from an earthenware cup. Hope to blog about it soon.

In my Kitchen...

...are 3 new pickles. My husband is an ardent lover of Indian pickles and loves to pick new flavours from the market. We now have Tenti Dela pickle (fruit of a tropical plant), Jackfruit (gifted to my husband by dear friend R) and Mixed Veg. as you can see that these get consumed fast! These are new additions to an amazing collection of 15+ pickles

In my Kitchen...

...is a box of sweet tamarind which I love (sorry for the bad picture!)

In my Kitchen...

...is a beautiful wooden tray with brocade work. This was a gift from my sister-in-law's family during my brother's wedding.

In my Kitchen...

...is a block print Runner which now adorns my Dining Table (and surprisingly goes well with the tray!)

I hope that next time I will be able to capture much more of what happens in my kitchen every month. So what is happening in your kitchen?

Two Years?

Yes. Two years exactly.

So what happened to me in these 24 months? I kept a cook (gasp!) to make my life simpler, got more involved in work.

And became a Mother. How amazing it is type those words. My daughter, my bundle of joy, is now 7 months old. And everytime I come back from work, she gives me a welcome which makes me realise that the centre of my world has shifted.

So what about those experiments in my kitchen (which is ruled by my cook now?) They do happen, though not as frequently. But I am determined that I will blog. Cook and take photographs and blog.

In the meanwhile, thanks a lot for keeping my blog alive. And writing in to me. I appreciate all the comments you left behind.

See you soon.

Favourite Menu for Guests

When there are guests over, and you do not have time to think (or do not want to spend time thinking) what to cook, what do you do? Do you order from outside, or is there a menu which you bank upon?

Guests for dinner. What is the menu?

For me, it is usually the latter. There is a menu which I have made at least once for each guest who has been invited over for a meal. In fact, its become a kind of family joke, esp with my Mom.

Mom: So, what's the plan for the weekend?

Me: We have invited a few friends over for dinner.

Mom: Great. What are you planning to cook? Or are you ordering food?

Me: Hmmm. We'll order the snacks. But I'll be making the main course. Not sure what to cook.

Mom: I know what you are going to cook. *Giggles*

Me: Hmph!

So, the menu turns out to be Matar Paneer, Gobhi Alu, Boondi ka Raita, Puri and Flavoured Rice. Yup, I find it the easiest to cook and does not require any advance preparation like lentils / beans to be soaked overnight.

No recipes today (maybe later), but just a glimpse of what I cooked when we had guests a few days back!

Table is all set...

Matar Paneer and Boondi ka Raita

Gobhi Alu

"Salad" - Tomato, Onion and Carrots

Hot Pooris

Flavored Rice

Dessert anyone? I rely on ice cream. 

What about you? Which is your favorite menu?

Note: This meal was prepared by two people - my dear hubby and me. Hubby prepared the raita, "salad", made the pooris (except frying) and set the table beautifully. 

Taking a Break

Hi Friends,

I shall be on a break for a few weeks. February seems to be an extra busy month, and with too many things on my plate (pun intended), blogging seems a bit unlikely.

I hope to return by the 3rd week of February. Till then, sharing with you the picture of the wonderful Gajar ka Halwa that I have been hogging on since the red juicy carrots have been in season.

A better pic, and the recipe to follow as soon as I return. Take care.