Have you seen the latest Cover of Vogue !!!!

The new face of fashion is ....A stunning Croissant! The Austrian beauty has the toughest hearts melting and swooning over her with cries of va-va-voom, très belle, plus s'il vous plaît! Would you look at that lift! That is indeed some sculpting! All 25 layers of lamination. So worth it. The style, the carriage, the beauty.... Perfection, mama mia! Croissant was recen

The new face ..... on the Cover of Vogue !!!!

It's official!! On the cover of Vogue, no less!!! The new face of fashion is ....A stunning Croissant! The Austrian beauty has the toughest hearts melting and swooning over her with cries of va-va-voom, très belle, plus s'il vous plaît! Would you look at that lift! That is indeed some sculpting! All 25 layers of lamination. So worth it. The style, the carriage, the beauty

Slipping into Comfort

It was a rainy Sunday. A day when hot chocolates and caramel swirls are the order. A time for hanging in Elizabethan cafes, noshing and sipping great coffee while casually lounging and... {This is a content preview. Please click on the link to see full post, additional photos and recipes.}

Living Every Day

I'll preface this post by saying it loud and there is no way of ignoring it. I am today what I was not last week! Last week was a load of sh*t packaged in a nasty brown box, tied up with bow of entrails. A series of painful kitchen accidents, dashed hopes, heartaches, cancelled itineraries etc. The good news is, I am still alive, not spontaneously combusting, and learning to l

A Fresh Beginning

Spring, when the buds shyly peek out and then blossom into gorgeous show-stopping flowers! A beautiful time of the year that signals rebirth, new beginnings.. a new lease on an old life. :) It is a season that gives reason to smile. Even the very unenamored cannot possibly be not swayed by the sheer beauty of nature at this time; clear blue skies, a fresh nip in the air that is neither chilly

Instagram - Spring

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This and that........ and Pantry Staples

So, I have been back from my mini vacation for almost a week now, and, I have been procrastinating on that promise I made you before I left. Truth be told, I am feeling a bit uninspired. I do have a bunch of photos and cool recipes to share but I just have not had the initiative to. Yes, I feel awful and blasphemous saying that but I am hoping, acknowledging and saying it loud will start the pro

Chill Pill

Yes, I know I have been missing in action a bit. I am just chilling and enjoying the burst of warmth we are experiencing over on the East Coast. And, ruminating over the twists and turns of life over a cuppa. I am off traveling for the weekend! I have loads of recipes to put up and some experiments to share! Will flood you guys when I am back. In the meantime, have a great weekend! If you

The secret of great meals - Lamb Chops with Polenta and Braised Swiss Chard

Spring has arrived! It is such a glorious feeling! Finally, it is warm enough to stroll through farmers' market engaging in meaningful conversations and finding out the back stories of the produce on sale! I have been many such trips and coming back with simple, fresh and ridiculously tasty loot! I will put up a post this weekend with recipes for fresh vegetarian meals. Spring is also t

Foodie Weekend in Umbria - Photo Post

Comfort wrap... Dal, Rice and Pickle

Once in a while, I have the urge to drastically de-clutter, clean, weed ... simplify, really! On days like these I crave the simplest of foods. No matter how far one has traveled or how much you have adopted another place as home, the simplest food is never a new love. It is always the one that has been in your memories since your first every memory. Because the innocence of the yearning and

One more day... One more life...

The phrase "one day at a time" can evoke different emotions and reactions depending on circumstances.... To those who fight for the chance of survival against a savage, ravaging disease, its meaning is as literal as it gets. For the patient and his closest, it is indeed about waking up another day, the hope of seeing another sunrise and catching another full moon, the attempt to smile throug

A British Easter.... Adopted

Half for you and half for me, Between us two shall goodwill be I am not going to write another post waxing eloquent (yes, I do think so) about traditions, so on and so forth. Truth be told, I choose to hold on to only those bits of traditions that relate to food...conveniently, as one may point out. However, especially off-late, I have peeling the layers of the self-ordained distance that I

Mornings...

Are probably ritualistic for most people.. In the last couple of years mine has changed significantly, since the iPhone came into my life. These are the first few waking hours of my every day ... - Alarm goes off - Snooze for 10 minutes - Alarm goes again - Asha reluctantly pulls away the wool over her eyes - Alarm stays insistent - Asha grudgingly shuts its off. It is a pho

Market Day!

I love farmers' markets. Even though I live in the middle of an corporate manifestoed city, I am happy to have places to escape to that are a throw back to what is good and from the land. The Union Square Green Market is place that evokes different adjectives in different people, and at different times. Years ago, when I went there for the first time at the highest heat of Summer, I thought

Gluten Free Lentil Pancakes

Childhood... There is so much to be said about it.. then, now and perhaps, always. Conscious and sub-conscious memories from that time affect and influence our reactions and perceptions all through life so much, that it is almost silly to not consider the importance of that age back then. :) Impressionable is what they usually say. What isn't usually apparent is the depth of it. The idea

Traditions.... and a Spotted Dog

This past week I was disturbed by the couple of trends that I have been trying hard to turn a blind eye to. First, is a series of ads by seamless.com, an online food ordering service popular in metro cities, that seeminglyblatantly encourages people to not cook at home or take lunch to work. Second, is the plethora of recipes found on the interweb these days that talk about 'individual'

Raw Nut and Fruit Bites

Stopping for a quick recipe update. Something that keeps me going during the day, be it for an after-run energy boost or a pick-me-up with coffee or just a bite of a little sweet after lunch... These balls are packed with protein and a boost of needed energy from natural sugars. Click for recipes -->>

Oat Biscuits [Flickr]

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DSC_0161-1 [Flickr]

ashafsk posted a photo:

Me time .... and Oat biscuits

I am a dreamer. I have a permanent second channel in my mind pursuing some form of fantasy... Often times, this channel is tuned firmly on food and the food related. At others, it is day dreaming about exotic places that I make very elaborate mental plans to visit replete with detailed notes. Oh and some times, it does descend into a mild form of neurosis on any number of topics ranging from

Germany ... A quick walk through the East

I will be brutally frank here. As sight seeing goes, East Germany was, perhaps, my least favorite of my four-country self-discovery European journey. But, that is not to say, that it did not add to my wide-eyed awed intake of the world at large. I discovered, as chance made it happen, much about myself... from about 10 years ago to now, a transition as seen through other eyes...

At Aachen [Flickr]

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Holocaust Memorial in Bonn [Flickr]

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Joy .. with Homemade Focaccia .. and a Giveaway from New Orleans

I am getting back into the groove of cooking and baking more at home, especially bread and enjoying every bite of what I eat because it was made at home, with love! :) My resolution to create from scratch only gets strengthened everyday, as I come across more and more blogs that talk about... For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my website, www.forkspoonnknife.com

Everyday...

I smile. I laugh. I cry. I play. I run. I stop and look over. I wink. and, it begins again. the process of being happy. finding the little me. finding the big me. holding hands and skipping together. letting go. letting in. living life. being present.... For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my

Winter Soup: Roast Parsley Root and Lady Apples

There is a thing to be said about long weekends. It really can go either way and it ends up being a lot of that way! Fortunately for me, a friend is visiting from the other coast and it went the right way. We caught up on the years in between, being across land and seas and a lot of missed... For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my website, www.forkspoonnknife.com

Breaking Bread

It's only love... Nothing special really. Actually, it is. No matter how many times it happens or how often. It is the same, but different. It is always new, always exciting, always fills me with happiness. Yes, I love baking bread. My joy is indescribable in simple words and... For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my website, www.forks

Weekend and White-Out coconut Cake..

I love Snow! I really, really do. :) It's ethereal! There is something fresh and pure about it. Of wiping slates clean. Of an another chance. Of finding the inner child, in sticking your tongue out to catch the gentle drifts. Of being oblivious, to all judging when you do... For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my website, www.forks

Inside a Restaurant Kitchen - Lacroix, Philadelphia

When you walk into the Rittenhouse Hotel in Philadelphia, you are instantly transported away into an era of understated indulgence. Oxymoron-ish as that may sound, the discreet elegance reminiscent of a bygone era is upheld in this stately hotel with notes of the European through a sumptuous... For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my website, www.forkspoonnknife.com

This and that.. and some recipes

- I finished the rest of that book. It was witty and cheerfully philosophical, all the way to the end. I would recommend it. - I am doing quite well at the eating-at-home department, even if I seem to be making a disproportionate amount of sweet stuff in the name of cleaning the pantry... such... For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my website, www.forkspoonnknife.com

Simple...

I am reading Eat, Pray, Love. Funny book. I mean the kind where one actually cracks up; sometimes you laugh with the author, sometimes just at the situation and it's even funnier when you put yourself in her shoes. The book also contains some nuggets worth remembering. The journey of a neurotic... For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my website, www.forkspoonnknife.com

Tuscany... A writer's muse

Art, in any form, is an expression of the creator's emotions. It is, however, surprising that much of creativity is borne out of the darker side. Paintings, poetry, prose, music, dance... seemingly resonate deeper with a good dose of loneliness, depression, sadness, broken-heartedness etc. I... For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my website, www.forkspoonnknife.com

Weekend Baking - Whole Wheat Currant Scones

G'Morning weekend! This is going to be a lazy one and as my plan goes, filled with food, made and eaten... :) It is also deceptively sunny and the outside 'looks' warm from inside my cozy apartment. Truth is, as the weather reports, it's not the coldest day yet this year (that was yesterday)... For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my website, www.forkspoonnknife.com

Comfort..

Brief poetic escapades aside, back to regular programming...! This is a stew that comforts in the cold of Winter :) Warm as a soft cashmere blanket on a cold, frosty day.. Gentle heat as welcome as from the burning wood at the fireplace.. Hearty as the expanse of the country... For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my website, www.forkspoonnknife.com

Therapy...

I walk through the sands of time putting one foot in front of the other Sometimes I move forward Sometimes I falter Sometimes I fall back Often times, I move in circles and go nowhere.. I stop, look back The sand has shifted, taking with it my feeble imprints on an ever-sifting... For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my website, www.forkspoonnknife.com

I resolve...

1. to come to a definite or earnest decision about; determine (to do something) 2. to separate into constituent or elementary parts; break up; cause or disintegrate 3. to reduce or convert by, or as by, breaking up or disintegration 4. to convert or transform by any process 5. to reduce by... For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my website, www.forkspoonnknife.com

Happy 2013!!! :)

May you find the "Pot of Gold" this year in health, happiness, laughter, family, friends and fun! :) Wish you a fantastic 2013!! For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my website, www.forkspoonnknife.com

Holidays...

It's the season for.... Festivity Celebration Happiness Giving Compassion Generosity Oh! so many things... But, most of all, indulging in good food and company (friends and family) without inhibition! Laughing unbidden and being thankful for being alive and able to... For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my webs

Festive!

Look around you.. Isn't it a beautiful time of the year?! Whichever part of the world you are in, the festive cheer is in and around you. It's impossible to stay sad or grumpy or anything negative for more than a moment at this time... All you need to do is look up and inevitably, see someone... For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my website, www.forkspoonnknife.com

Travel back in Time.... Budapest, Hungary

Do you remember when... You could buy eggs not by the carton but as many as you wanted packed carefully in paper cones? You could buy milk straight from the milk man in cans? You could taste real vegetables because they tasted of the soil and not the chemicals that made them so big? I... For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my website, www.forkspoonnkn

Eternal...

Does it exist? Is it really there? Or, is it all a metaphysical haze? Life disproves it time and again. Yet, why do we live in its hope? Every heart ache proves otherwise. Yet, why does it spring again anew? Perhaps, some things are... I suppose the question is figuring out which? Or... For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my website, www.forkspoonnkni

Silent Weekend - In and around New York

For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my website, www.forkspoonnknife.com

I say a little prayer....

My eyes were heavy... There was a feeling of being weighed down .. An invisible force holding my head low and shoulders hunched.. I stretched on my bed, looked out the window at the breaking dawn, not registering the inane beauty that was unfolding before my unseeing eyes... The night had... For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my website, www.forkspoonnknife.com

About Not settling in....

It has been almost a week since I returned to New York... Ostensibly, nothing had really changed around me. My neck of urban woods was barely touched by Sandy. As much as I missed the actual event, being thousands of miles away at the time, I had even little reminders of it in the UES life that... For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my website, www.forkspoonnknife.com

5 things to do in Rome ..... in Three Hours....

Ok, before you judge.. No, I did not plan to be there for such a short time.. As it was, Rome happened to be in transit, getting from Italy to Spain. On a foggy Umbrian morning, I bid a super early morning goodbye to my lovely friends, Juls, Regula and Simone as they went back home to Tuscany,... For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my website, www.forkspoonnknife.com

Spiced Carrot Cake for celebrating Autumn

Here I am... In Italy, having foodgasms every day. No, I kid you not! The sensory overload has just been resoundingly stimulating!! Even though my current tryst with this beautiful country is still in full swing, I have already been colluding with Juls to plot my return sojourns for at least the... For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my website, www.forkspoonnknife.com

A sinful Chocolate Torte with Orange Curd and Cherries

The torte is based on a recipe from BBC Good Food that was too good to pass up trying! Fair warning that it is a rich and intensely chocolate experience. The torte itself needs no embellishing and can be served as is, with, perhaps, a scoop of fresh sorbet. However, I had baked it for an... For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my website, www.forkspoonnknife.com

Autumn and Deutsche land...

Time for another quick summary of my last week....  Last week, I started in the East, Hungary. I moved on to the erstwhile Allied stronghold, West Germany and, then to the conflicted oasis within East Germany, Berlin. Politically, I shifted from communism to, first monarchy and then democracy,... For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my website, www.forkspoonnknife.com

The beginning.... And a sinful Chocolate Torte

I am typing this on a plane, on my way to my next destination in Europe, but, my heart still has yet to completely leave the last - Budapest and my lovely, gracious hosts for the last few days - Zita & Ivan. What a fabulous way to begin my month long sojourn with Europe! The sights, the... For the full story, photos and recipe, please visit my website, www.forkspoonnknife.com