Know Your Food

Do you really know your food? There is a popular saying that goes “you are what you eat”. And if we don’t know what exactly we eat, we are definitely missing something. Food is as fundamental as it gets and our relationship with food has been changing every year. I came to the US back in 2008 and just under three months I put on 8 pounds. It was shocking for my mom to see myself 8 pounds heavier. Back in India, I was never overweight and she always thought I was not eating enough. Now as I recall, outside…

Til-Gul / Tilachya Wadya / Sesame Candy

तीळ गूळ घ्या गोड गोड बोला! Makar Sankranti, marks the transition (Sankraman) of the Sun into Capricorn (Makar) rashi on its celestial path. Traditionally this has been one of many harvest seasons in India and being agriculture based community, harvest season and festivals always go hand in hand. Known by different names, it’s celebrated all over India. In Maharashtra, we celebrate it by exchanging til-gul laddoo and halwa as token of goodwill and we fondly say “तीळ गूळ घ्या गोड गोड बोला” which means “Savor this sweet Til-Gul and may the sweetness fill your thoughts and speech”. The Til-Gul literally translates to Sesame…

Homemade Pineapple Jam

Simplest Jam made with Exotic Ingredients When I was little, one of my favorite treats were fresh pineapple. A pineapple is a seasonal fruit in India so finding ways to preserve it for rest of the year was quite natural. The obvious was Pineapple Jam; still my most favorite! I like it crunchy and not spreadable like store bought ones. So I prefer not to blend it. If you plan to keep it for longer which is so hard since it’s so tempting, you can use some preservative. But for me simple sugar syrup works best. Many recipes ask for…

Butternut Squash Soup

Hearty Soup for cold winter days The best thing I loved about butternut squash is that it’s practically indestructible. It lasts for months (as long as you store it in a dry, cool place) I was instantly attracted to buy a butternut squash and I did think of making soup on the very same day. The day did arrive only after few months. I peeled it and was pleasantly surprised to find it in a perfect condition. And hence the story of my butternut squash soup ended on a sweet note. Trust me, peeling it is the hardest part. Adding…

Happy and Healthy 2013!

New Year New Habits source:lafitness.com The start of January brings with it bold declarations about what’s going to be different in the coming year. So what was your new year’s resolution? Are you still on it? I read a post on Facebook which said “I wish to open a place called ‘Resolutions’ which will be a gym till 31st Jan and later will be turned into a bar, that’s called money making business”. Resolutions are self made promises and often ‘I wish …’ statements, some do take them seriously but for many they are meant to be broken. For a…