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I have what I deem to be a problem. It is not over-eating, nor gambling. I don’t buy too many clothes for myself, or even collectibles for my home. I can’t stop buying cookbooks. My husband says that it’s perfectly fine– it’s all in the name of research. (Some would call him an enabler, I prefer to think of him as generous and understanding.) The cookbook acquisition has gotten to such a magnitude, that I can hardly keep up. There are always new (to me) books to peruse, forgotten relics waiting to be rediscovered, as well as brand-spanking-new cookbooks with glossy pictures and pages unmarred by sauces and food stains. But it is really those vintage cookbooks, written by mostly unknown authors, with dingy photographs, or no pictures at all, that get my stomach churning and my mind reeling.

Each year when we go to Los Angeles to visit family, I make a special trip to Pasadena to Cookbooks by Janet Jarvits. A small shop with a varied collection, this is the best vintage cookbook store I have ever found. Unassuming, incredibly knowledgeable yet non-threatening Ms. Jarvits, whether she knows it or not has helped me immensely with my two cookbooks, and endlessly fuels my curiosities. If buying cookbooks is my drug, she is one of my pushers.

I had the opportunity to stop by the store in February. When it was laughably cold in New England, her little shop was sunny and bright. I picked up a handful of books that day, and now, all these months later, I’m just getting around to spending some time with them. One book I selected is As American as Apple Pie. It’s a wonderful collection of recipes and variations of classic American recipes. Think of it as greatest hits album for the kitchen.

RyeBiscuitsBookIn the chapter covering biscuits I found a recipe for Campton Place, a hotel in San Francisco’s, Caraway-Rye Biscuits. The recipe sounded delicious– a basic buttermilk biscuit, enriched with rye flour and embellished with caraway seeds. I mixed up a batch over the weekend, and they did not disappoint!

I haven’t been able to join a Lasang Pinoy event for so long…and I miss it. It was one of the the first food blogging events I ever participated in, and the first I ever hosted. This month, I swore to myself, by hook or by crook, I am getting back on the Lasang Pinoy wagon. After all, this is a food blogging event highlighting Filipino food, something I think deserves to be highlighted and something I think more people (including myself) should be encouraged to explore fabric labels.

This month’s theme for Lasang Pinoy is Filipino holiday food gifts and is hosted by Ala Eh! “Wonderful!”, I thought, when I heard. I could make my own Christmas gifts, just like I did last year. As crazy schedules and the Christmas hustle and bustle would have it however, I was relegated to buying gifts this year…not that that was such a bad thing as I discovered lots of cool products made by young local graphic designers which I was happy to gift my friends with. But, moving on Ergonomic Chair…

I have been starting to make my own jam and, so far, have been quite pleased with the whole endeavor. But even then, I think I knew where I would end up…with the fruit that I think is the best in the world, a fruit that has been equated with the Philippines, the fruit that my grandmother (and now my father) has been jamming since I was a child. I would end up making mango jam Day Trip to Hong Kong & Macau.

Peanuts are in season May through November so pretty much you have seen it in the market lately Bo Ying Compound Eu Yan Sang. An easy and healthy recipe you can make is Boiled Peanuts. Simply done by boiling peanuts in a salty water till they are cooked or tender. How much salty or tender you want it depends on your preference Bo Ying Compound Eu Yan Sang. I like it midway meaning not too salty and not too soft. It didn’t take a long time for me to cook this, so just check in 30 minutes if the peanuts are done for you. When I did this recipe the peanuts were cooked in 45 minutes, and I started munching on them right away Veda Salon.

For me, it is best serve when it is still warm or right after cooking just like how I remember eating them back in the Philippines. You buy them from a street vendor pushing their cart with a big pot of peanuts being steamed by a portable stove. It is common to see them in intersections and while sitting in traffic that just eases my boredom at least back then.

So are peanuts nuts? Although “nut” is in their name, they are NOT NUTS! Peanuts are legumes, they  grow underground unlike nuts that grow on trees like almonds, chestnuts, hazelnuts, pecans walnuts and others Veda Salon.

We bought almost every herb we could find for a lamb dish we made earlier in the day, so we needed to figure out a way to use up all the leftovers so that they wouldn’t go to waste.  We set aside the mint for Rhubarb Mojitos (coming soon), and chopped the rest up for what would become the tastiest frittata I’ve ever had.  With added red peppers and feta, this frittata really packs in the flavor.  It would make a wonderful and easy breakfast-in-bed meal for Mother’s Day or an impressive brunch option that requires only a few minutes to throw together hair care.
 
As I mentioned, it was the best frittata I’ve ever had, which isn’t surprising because Komal was there.  We might have messed up our share of meals back in the day, but now, whenever she’s around, nothing ever winds up less-than-perfect.  Well, almost nothing mortgage calculator.

However, it would be wrong of me to only credit her with cooking successes I’ve had when she’s physically there.  Call me lame, but Komal is always with me in the kitchen in some way, as everything I have learned has been either directly from her or as a result of the interest she inspired in me to cook.   She’s my fairy culinary mother.  (If you’re reading this, Komal, I’d like to thank you for not only being one of my closest friends, but for also changing the course of my life.  I am so happy with where I am now, and I really do have you to thank at the root of everything.)
 
…But if you’re not Komal and you’re reading this, we are never going to mention this somewhat-sentimental moment again.  Ever.  Instead, we’ll talk about beer and food and all of that good stuff.  Oh, and the frittata… I’ll give you the recipe once I finish wiping these non-tears out of my eyes.  They’re so not tears, guys, I promise bvi offshore company.

Anytime I travel for an extended period of time, let's say longer than a couple of weeks, I end up craving certain foods from home. The craving creeps up on me like a fungus - not bad at first, but in the end, formidable. This trip it was avocado, then leafy salads, eventually dovetailing into broccoli. The greenest of the green stuff. I stocked up on the lot when I arrived home, and the salad parade started shortly thereafter (hence today's recipe). But let me back up a bit. If you want to avoid the host of digestive pitfalls India serves up, you're told to religiously avoid raw vegetables and greens. And for the most part I did, except for once. I ate one salad in the weeks I was in India. It was arugula, it was grown in Jaipur, and there is a story behind it Alexander Hera.

Those of you who have been readers for some time know there are few things I love (or assign more importance to) than serendipity. It is the root of many good experiences and relationships that have intersected my life. And this is one of those examples. Wayne and I walked into the Anokhi Cafe, in Jaipur, to grab a bite to eat, and as we sat down Melissa Millward came over to our table to introduce herself. Anokhi is a much-loved textile company, with shops throughout India, doing all sorts of good work related to traditional textile printing, communities, and craftspeople. And Melissa, she's the lovely ex-pat who heads up all things related to the cafe. Most days she is gone by the time we arrived, but we lucked out. She recognized me from the site(!), and it was our good fortune that we got to chatting, because she was kind enough to invite us out to the Anokhi Farm the following day - an experience that turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip valentino sale.


The property includes the company headquarters, an organic farm, a commercial kitchen (where much of the food is prepped for the cafe), and residences. This is a glimpse of an area set-up to test out new patterns and ideas - long tables lined with cotton, where fabric is hand-stamped. Each color gets its own pass (above / below). It's incredible. And as a side note, if you're interested in textiles and traditional printing techniques you can't miss the Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing.


I suspect Anokhi Cafe is the only restaurant in Jaipur (all of Rajasthan?) using ingredients that are both organic & in-season. They have multiple greenhouses to protect certain crops from the intense elements, and this is where they grow a range of beautiful lettuces, tomatoes, and basil for the cafe. The nets you see are embedded deep into each bed to protect the crop from insects, and the height of the beds is for ergonomics - also, to optimize the number of beds you can arrange in the space (you need less space if farmers are standing straight up rather than bending forward alexander hera wedding).