WORLD'S EASIEST COLD SOUP

“God, it was hot! Forget about frying an egg on the sidewalk; this kind of heat would fry an egg inside the chicken.”
― Rachel Caine
 

I put this recipe together last year in July and kind of forgot about it. It's 42 degrees in Delhi today and everything I've written below is ringing true again so I think this is the right time to start talking about cold soups:
 

You may have noticed there haven't been many recipes up of late. I could give you a lot of reasonable answers - work's been hectic, a lot of old friends are in town this summer, I suck at time management. All these are true but none of them are really why I've been keeping away from the kitchen.

It's the weather.

I've never thought about the weather as much as I do in Delhi. Every season seems to be competing to debilitate you. Now that the scorching, dry heat of summer seems to have faded I'm drowning in what feels like 100% humidity. My hair has taken to doing a fantastic Lion King impression and even a couple of minutes out in the sauna that is this city leaves me crying for air conditioning. Or a de-humidifier. None of this is conducive to toiling before a stove. So here's a recipe that doesn't need you to.

Lovely, cool, minty cucumber soup that you can drink by the gallon in this icky. sticky heat.

 

Serves 2

Adapted from the NYTimes

 

What you’ll need:

1 large cucumber (peeled and cut into chunks)

1 cup yoghurt
Handful of mint leaves (stripped off the stalk)
Black pepper to taste
Juice from 1 lime lemon

How to:

1. Throw everything into a mixer and mix till it’s a paste. Add water or milk if you want the mix to be more watery.

2. If you want it really smooth you can pass the soup through a sieve but I really like the texture of the little bits of mint.

3. Chill and serve garnished with mint leaves.

  

So I was looking through my notes and saw that I've done a cucumber soup before (and forgotten all about it). If you want a variation of this soup or just want to laugh at one of the first posts I put up on this blog, you can take a look here. I don't know whether to laugh or cry, it's ridden with typos and frankly just embarrassing but I guess there's a little bit of pride on how far this blog has come. Maybe next year I'll get to be embarrassed by this post.

NOW PLAYING: WITCHES OF EAST END WITH DOUBLE CHOCOLATE ESPRESSO COOKIES

 “Most people buy the highest quality television sets, only to watch the lowest quality television shows.
”

― Jarod Kintz

 

Next in my list of shows I'm watching is Witches of East End, a sort of Charmed beta version. I loved Charmed when I was a pre-teen with no friends and an embarrassingly high CGPA in New York. Alyssa Milano's crop tops and wedge heels held more sartorial significance for me than Sarah Jessica Parker ever would.

 

So back to Witches of East End, 2 sisters with little in common (one works in a library, the other at the local dive - yeah they aren't subtle on this show) discover they're actually witches. Their powers have been kept secret by their mother for a very complicated reason I'll let you watch the show to figure out. Unsurprisingly, upon discovering these powers the sisters set about trying to navigate love and life while fulfilling their destiny to be super-duper queen bee witches. A process which costs them a few friends - people die quite regularly on the show but the tone never dips below cappuccino froth. The show would drown in its own clichés if it wasn't for the hot, hilarious (and oft naked) Aunt Wendy who lights up every scene she's in.

 

The women are the usual, as witches on TV go, but their characters are more full and funny than most. Unfortunately the men are mere props for them to cast spells on, around or for. Basically a good old fashioned soap that doesn't take itself too seriously for when you want to swap out your day to day drama for some magical gobbledegook.

 

Will you be entertained? 4/5

Does it make sense? 2/5

Is it full of good looking people? 4/5

Is anyone going to get an Emmy? 1/5

 

Just like Witches of East End, these double chocolate espresso cookies make for a great guilty pleasure. The coffee offers a nice, strong, background for the crunch of the cookie and the puddles of chocolate chunks to play.

Makes more than a dozen big cookies

Recipe adapted from the Naptime Chef

 

What you’ll need:

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 ½ cups flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp espresso powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

How to:

1. Preheat oven to 170°C.

2. Throw butter and sugars into a big bowl and whisk till light and fluffy. Add an egg at a time, mixing till you have a smooth batter.

3. Mix together all the dry ingredients in another bowl and whisk nicely so it’s all well combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet slowly making sure everything is nicely mixed in.

4. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Note: I don’t use chocolate chips because I find them too waxy. This might be because I haven’t found a good brand to use yet. I prefer taking cooking chocolate (try Morde) and chopping it up as small as possible. If you don’t want to chop so much then put the chocolate slab in a bag and beat it with a hammer till it splinters into small enough pieces. This has 3 benefits – 1. You can use up the chocolate sitting in your fridge and don’t need to buy another product because lord knows baking is expensive enough, 2. The random shapes give the cookie a much more grown up and rustic look instead of the preciousness of those silly little chocolate chips, and 3. The uneven chunks melt into puddles of chocolate within the cookie for a much richer taste.

5. Roll into cookies and bake for 10 to 12 mins.

Note: I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, rolling these bastards into cookies isn’t as easy as it seems. Stick them in the fridge for a little while to firm the batter up, use a spoon to scoop the batter out and keep your hands floured. With all these precautions you’re still going to end up making a mess but you’ll realize how much harder it would have been without doing all this.

 
6. Let them cool completely before devouring.
 

RESTAURANT REVIEW: RARA AVIS, M BLOCK MARKET, GK II

For Francophiles and Romance

 

I visited Rara Avis way back when it first opened and loved it. I took pictures and everything but never got around to writing the review. My friends will tell you this isn’t uncommon. As of 23 January 2014 I have about 38 restaurant reviews pending (this review will finally end up being published on 21 April 2014 by which date I no longer have a handle on the number of restaurants I need to end up reviewing). The problem with restaurant reviews is that they take so much longer to put together than recipe posts and I’m always second or third guessing myself. I mean I may have liked the place but that’s no guarantee other people will. What if my calling some food out is just evidence of my uneducated palate?

Vagaries of taste aside I’m not beyond believing that even with the best of intentions a place could have a bad day. What I’m trying to say is that it’s really hard to applaud or condemn a place publicly and even harder when you have crazy PR machines blasting great reviews of mediocre establishments across social media. Rara Avis has been widely appreciated and these days that gets me worried. I never know whether it’s because of quality, a hyper PR agent or because the owner knows a couple of magazine editors till I get there and place my order.

This elaborate justification of my restaurant reviewing insecurities is all in furtherance of my trying to say that none of the last 3 paragraphs apply to Rara Avis. I really, unequivocally like this place. Sometimes it’s just so simple.

 

Looks Like

The long walk up is worth it but if you read my reviews you know I love balconies and terraces. Rara Avis has a gorgeous, lazy, retro-Parisian feel to its rooftop with its exposed bulbs, foliage and adorable accents – the perfect casual, romantic setting for French food.

 

Tastes Like

 

I guess I’d describe the menu as French cuisine for beginners. Authentic enough but without the intimidation levels that food from this region usually brings on. The Le Chevre et la Laitue (Warm Goat Cheese on Croutons, Bed of Salad) is a heap of crunchy, happy salad leaves tossed in a tangy vinaigrette with a gorgeous dollop of rich goat cheese. If you’re feeling adventurous (and aren’t on a diet) try the La Douzaine d’Escargots (Snails in Garlic Butter) in its quaint serving dish, each snail in a little pool of garlic butter to call its own. Follow these up with the conventional, comfortable Cordon Bleu (Stuffed Chicken Breast with Ham, Mushroom and Cheese) or my personal favorite the delicate Truite Buerre Citrone (Trout in Lemon Butter).

There’s an interesting selection of desserts which I frankly can’t comment on because the first time I went to Rara Avis I ordered some seasonal special which was pretty bleh and so on my repeat visit I didn’t bother with the dessert.

 

 
Feels Like

The staff is genuinely warm and helpful. Usually atleast one of the restaurant owners is always around tending to the guests and stopping by to chat with each table. Rara Avis makes me believe that there are still people out there personally invested in the business of serving great food and not just in the business of running a restaurant.

DEVILS ON HORSEBACK

"Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon." Doug Larson

 

2014 is going to have to be a year of paring down. Not so much because I'm evolving to be less materialistic but because I realize the amount I've saved after 4 years of working is embarrassingly small. I have somehow managed to spend most of the last 4 years in a cubicle and all I have to show for it is a lot of mismatched junk jewelry and a vitamin D deficiency.

 

Since turning 27 without owning a single, saleable asset is absolutely shameful I'm going to try to mend my ways and be more frugal. This process will be difficult because I'm prone to be over the top with everything I'm involved in. I tend to get carried away. It's a personality type.

 

But from 2014 restraint and simplicity are going to be my watch words. I'm starting early with this incredible classic appetizer. I love the name, the perfect opposite of flavor profiles - sharply, salty bacon with sweet, rich prunes and the fact that you only need 2 ingredients. I dare you to eat just one.  

 

Serves 3

Adapted from Martha Stewart

 

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

8 slices bacon

8 prunes

HOW TO:

1. Preheat oven to 200°C.

2. Wrap the prunes with a strip of bacon. Secure with toothpick.

 

 

3. Dunk on to a baking tray and stick in the oven for 15 mins.

 

4. Flip it in the middle so the bacon cooks evenly.