Beverage

Fruit Popsicle and natural frozen treats

5:05 PM



“Memories of childhood were the dreams that stayed with you after you woke.” 

“Don't you wish you could take a single childhood memory and blow it up into a bubble and live inside it forever?” 

 These two quotes perfectly captures our never ending longing for the lost childhood. Those days when we had no worries and discovered new things on a regular basis and then coming to terms with those wonders with awe struck wide eyes. Now when am reliving those moments and see my kids facing the world with such vigour I smile to myself and remember my days.

 Summer in my childhood meant Having Phalsa berries at my uncles, Running and wandering in my Grandfather's huge orchard all afternoon, Washing our huge second floor terrace in the dusk with water and then spreading natural mats and gathering, chitchating and snacking together as a family and  Summer also meant Gopalda, a short dark ever smiling ice cream vendor in Santiniketan.
Coconut milk and Blueberry ice lolly
I first met Gopalda on my first day to school. I was in class II, and after we got down from the bus our neighbour P didi, who lovingly took me under her wings, lead me to Gopalda and bought 2 dudhwala ice cream for us (Milk popsicle). I still remember Gopalda's kind eyes smiling at me and asking 'Notun ele?' (Are you new?). After that like everyone, he became my favourite too. Whether we had money or not he would invariably give us ice creams and will accept whenever, whatever money we can offer him. 

Fish and Seafood

Alleppy Fish Curry

5:05 PM



"...and please don't use coconut oil for our food" I made the hubby repeat the same instruction one last time before he could put down the phone. 

We were about to board a houseboat for a 24 hours tour at the crack of dawn the next day and I was worried as hell what if they cook it with coconut oil. Not that we were not ready to experiment but the family of a dear friend and especially my own father was hell bent on that same fact. When it comes to food, my father is not ready to experiment and he makes it no secret if he doesnot like anything. Which is pretty much everything out of the very few dishes he likes to have. 

Even when it's Bengali food he is adamant to have it just the way he likes it. There is no room for experiment to add tomatoes in his Mutton curry or potatoes in his palong shager ghanto (spinach curry). and the fact that the man was on a trip after his heart surgery made me sick in the stomach just to think what if he does not eat and take his medicines on time.

Next day the trip started beautifully with us boarding the boat from our hotel balcony. That got the then 2 and half year sonny boy so excited that he could not stop giggling for a longest time. For breakfast they served us fluffy puris with sagu (a potato curry) and filter coffee. After the whole mornign activity of cruising through the back waters, getting down several times to get a fill of just down from the tree coconut water, buy freshest catches of the day or to buy souvenirs for the family we were almost famished by lunch time. On our  instruction the crew started setting the table.

Beverage

Blueberry Lemonade

8:41 PM


I have never been a summer girl all my life. Those hot, humid, tiring months never held much appeal to me. 

Until this summer that I am spending here in Chicago. 

It's like a season reversal between summer and winter between Kolkata and Chicago. The Summer is as soothing and sought after as winter in Kolkata and winter is as dreary and dreaded as Summer in Kolkata. And though with such soothing Summer, you don't need refuge in cold treats still the sight of colourful summer fruits and berries have restored my thirst to use them up in creative ways. Every time we are going to grocery shopping a few punnets of berries are being picked up. We loved them so much that most of them are finding their way to our cereal bowl, oats porridge, fruit salad or just on their own as between meal snacks.


Soup and Salad

Purple potato and Quinoa Salad

8:15 PM


I have been cooking and experimenting more than I usually do these days back in Kolkata. The whole day I just keep opening the fridge, touch the ingredients and wait for my daughter to sleep. And once she does I start working like a maniac, peeling some veggies here, whizzing some berries there. I do all I can to experience these new ingredients. In the hotel I could try only easy recipes like Guacamole sandwich or Chorizo rice. But now that we have shifted to an apartment complete with a big oven, microwave and a huge fridge my experiments is stopping within any boundary.

Last week while doing our veggie shopping I bought a small sack of gorgeous purple potatoes. Yes you heard me right, deep purple pretty potatoes and some Artichokes. I have neither touched or ate these two veggies before so I was definitely excited. My imaginations ran wild and finally decided on making a simple salad with Quinoa, steamed purple potato, sauteed asparagus in a simple Chermoula style dressing. For variation in texture I ended up adding a handful of sunflower seeds.

The artichokes were steamed for a simple snack with dip. We liked this new veggies but were not overwhelmed with the taste or texture the way we are with purple potatoes. It made us feel like small kids to discover something so unusual in colour yet so familiar in taste. We enjoyed our meal with a poached egg on top.

Desserts and Sweets

Instant Strawberry Panna cotta

9:34 PM


A big Hi from Chicago.
Well yes that is the reason of me being out of action for the last few weeks. Though I dint move here permanently still travelling with two small kids was a big task for me. Am glad that its over and for the time being am enjoying the weather here and not thinking about the travel back home with them alone.

In our 8+ years of marriage it has almost become an ritual to move places every now and then. We almost became habituated to this gypsy life where every now and then you get to live out of the box in a completely new place and need to start all over again from scratch. you dont get the comfort of your own furniture, the warmth of your own motherland but there is excitement to explore and soak a new place a new culture. 

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