Thursday, September 28, 2006

Wait - ing

Some WAIT to earn money and some, because they cannot find a better way to earn. There are others who WAIT bcoz they earn well while WAIT- ing and they do not mind this profession. They like to WAIT upon people, they like to serve... They like to take orders, and they love to remember the largest o' orders by heart. The other day, I chanced upon a lady WAITER... She was gud at her job. She WAIT- ED with perfection... She remembered our order by heart and she served her guests (read us) well...
Also, Skeets remembers having been to a cafe at Khan market in the month of March...We were two... PeaNUT and Skeeter... We entered hungry... All tables were taken up... We turned to move out. The lady (who was the owner of the place) stopped us, handed us the menu and very politely asked a guest to leave the table as she (the guest) was done with her food....We sat. She explained to us what exactly would we get if we ordered what we were contemplating t0 order... We ordered a sandwich, drinks. The food was good..perhaps because we were very hungry.... and the best part was that when we were leaving, she (the owner) was WAIT-ING upon other guests...STILL she had a SHARP eye on the door... She managed to shout bubbye--hope you njoyed the food.... THIS, is exactly what the subtle art of WAIT-ING is all about.
I would love to WAIT upon people sumday... at one of Reeta's Restros.

Dream on...

(The name of the cafe is not mentioned here because of the nature of the post)

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Dilli gol hai!!!

Yes dilli gol hai!!! Mere liye to gol hai... Wherever Skeeter goes she reaches CP...haha!!



The other day, the weather took a turn for good and the heavy downpour lifted everybody's spirits. Skeeter was working late... And was damn hungry...


Wenger's had been on the mind since days... So she headed there. Got herself 1 Blueberry Mousse, 1 Tiramisu and 1 Hazlenut Swiss roll.


The Tiramisu won the taste buds for its perfectly blended ingredients.

The day ended in a superb way... The drive from CP to North Delhi (windows rolled down) for which Skeeter passed through one of her fave stretches of road shall keep Skeeter in a good mood for many days to come...

Happy Blogging!!!

Friday, September 08, 2006

Buds taste...

Always, there is this reaction which you are required to give, when someone makes you taste something... Never say YIKES at the first go.
Wait!
Taste again...
It is not always that we can judge the taste of a particular food, at just one go.
If you sit back and think, you will be able to recollect many such foods that you did not like at all the first time you tasted them... Skeets doesn't know the logic behind this... All she can guess is... your taste buds are adjusted to like what you love to eat. The rest of the stuff, i.e. what your taste buds reject at one go...well.. you never know you might just develop a taste for just about anything. Skeets did... for a few new flavours of wafers, for bitter gourd, for yellow lentils (though Skeets still likes to tell herself she doesn't like them) and for loadza stuff that she can't remember.. not right now..

This also stands true in case of cuisines different from one's own culture. The key to developing a new taste is the art of appreciation.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

An Ode!
....to the Master Chefs.

Forks and Knives
Are your wives
Pans and Cauldrons
You call them your sons
Plates and Bowls
You play with them
Chopper the lopper
Your own daughter...
Serve, you do that pretty well
The smile on those satiated faces makes your heart sing 'Jingle bells'...


Have had this obssession for perfectly hand chopped food stuff...The other day chopped some veggies for mama...Was wondering where that obssession came from...Then came the answer... TV shows... Have seen chefs chop away the most difficult to chop veggies with such an ease.... Whew!!!
This post is an ode to the Master Chefs of the world...R, Kylie Kwong, Tarla Dalal, Chef Sultan.... hmmm all of them... Mama... the greatest of them all!!!

Monday, August 07, 2006

Yikes Maggi!!!!!


Yes I am talking about MAGGI!!!!!!!

Worst day in my life ever....Mama was not in a mood to cook. Everyone selected their options from the leftover food...Skeets opted for maggi and a cheese toast along with a tall glass of Tang to satiate hunger. Maggi always come first.So Skeets took out the pan, poured water and put it to boil. Added maggi and tastemaker(less than half of it). Took out a stirrer AND before her eyes were 3-4 small ants/worms ....Skeets doesn;t know what breed were they..so she can't call them a name...But m putting up the pics ...
YUCK! :( :( :( Have to write to maggi ppl about it...Recently had sent a big carton of Maggi to the sis...Hope nothing like this comes out of those...Skeets is too shocked to write more...

Friday, August 04, 2006

Simply Delhi!!!

The other day Skeets took the metro from North Delhi (Vishwavidyalya to be precise)...went to office (Central Delhi)...finished work and off to Dilli Haat in an auto. That was travelling from one end of Delhi to the other...whew! Skeeter's first in a few months...

Haat stop...
It was the last day of the Teej Mela at Dilli Haat..Did a round of the place and went to INA market opposite Dilli iHaat...You get everything from Shhitake mushrooms, bell peppers, red chillies (small ones which are not available with the neighbourhood veggie vendors these days), Bok Choy...you name it...love the variety and the freshness....
Apart from other stuff, Skeets got home Australian grapes...and made Grape Yoghurt...Here's how:
Slice/chop(as you wish) 3-4 Australian grapes
Beat the yoghurt(1 BOWL), add 2-3 spoons of milk
If your health and weight permit, add half a tablespoon of powdered sugar to the yoghurt
Then, add the sliced/chopped grapes
For the garnishing, place the sliced/chopped grapes on the top as well(see pic)

SERVES 1

You can add any fresh fruit of the season that you like in the same manner as above and if you have that kind of time,you can puree the fruit and mix it with beaten yoghurt. It will taste like the flavoured yoghurt available in the market.

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Tomatillos: Recipes and legends

Call them Tomarillos, Tomatillos, Promodoros, Tomatas, Tomatoes or what you please. Tomatoes are Tomatoes. Eat them raw, make yourself a Bloody Mary, put them in ur vegetables, make a yumilicious tomato Soup, extract their juice, make a pizza topped with Tomatoes, throw them on each other(as they do in Spain's Tomato fight)...You will never pass a single day without crossing a tomato in your kitchen(unless it is by choice).
Here are a two good uses, I put tomatoes to:

Bread Pizza
Take a slice of bread (white or brown), spread some tomato sauce on it. Top it with finely chopped Tomatoes, onions and green chillies. Top it all with mozzarella cheese and bake it in the oven, till the bread is crisp and the cheese, melting.... You can obviously add your own twist.... Instead of green chillies you can use red chilli flakes, or if you don't like chillies, put in a dash of oregano or top with olives.

Cheese and Tomatillo Grilled Sandwich
It is the simplest and quickest recipe. Put on your grill toaster. Meanwhile chop/slice a tomato. Put it on a slice of bread (brown bread tastes good with this recipe). Top with loads of mozzarella. For seasoning, either use peppercorns (freshly crushed) or oregano. Cover with another slice of bread. Grill for 2 mins till the bread turns crisp. Enjoy!
Legend & Trivia
The legend goes that tomatoes were known in some places, especially the U.S. as 'love apples', at other places as 'wolf peach', 'devil apple' etc. They were considered unfit for eating as people thought they were highly poisonous. Probably the strong odour of the leaves and stems made people develop this notion. However, this did not prevent them from using tomato plants as decorative plants. Ex-U.S. President Thomas Jefferson once ate a tomato in public to prove to people that it wasn't poisonous!!!