i-PROBONO AND A NUTELLA CAPPUCCINO

“While we do our good works let us not forget that the real solution lies in a world in which charity will have become unnecessary.”
― Chinua Achebe, Anthills of the Savannah

 

I know a lot of corporate lawyers who are looking for a chance to help out but aren't sure where to start. i-Probono is a great way to dip your toes into the pro bono world.

"i-Probono is a non-profit online network connecting organisations in need of legal assistance with lawyers and students who want to use their legal skills for the public good. The network's global outreach enables people to engage in projects from around the world and allows organisations to source assistance across jurisdictions. This is the first website of its kind for the international pro bono community, bringing people and projects together to give organisations the support they need and volunteers the experience they want. Organisations working for the public good, such as charities, social enterprises, NGOs and advocacy groups often need help with legal matters, but legal expertise is an expensive resource that often requires pro bono assistance." (From the i-Probono website).

The process is simple, just sign up and create a profile setting out your practice areas/ areas of expertise and they'll match you up with organizations that require your services. Check out their website here (http://www.i-probono.com/).

The perfect start to any work day, pro bono or billable, is this decadent chocolate-coffee blended Nutella Cappuccino.  
 

Serves 2

Recipe adapted from Alyssa and Carla

 

What you’ll need:

2 cups of milk

3 -4 tbsp Nutella (put more in if you like)
½ tbsp espresso powder (or more if you want it stronger)

 How to:

1. Pop milk into a saucepan and let it simmer.

2. Pour milk into a blender with the rest of the ingredients and blend. Pour most of the drink into cups.  

3. Blend the remaining milk at high to froth it up and top up your mugs with the froth.

 

FANTASTIC FRIENDICOES AND AN UNEXPECTED STRAWBERRY SALAD

“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”
― John Bunyan

Friendicoes began in 1979 in a tiny room with a curtain for a fourth wall, no electricity or water. Within a week they had 27 dogs and 12 cats in residence. Today, the city shelter is triple its original size and they have a country sanctuary to house animals who need lifetime care while also running 4 spay / neuter clinics to help control the stray dog population in Delhi and Gurgaon. There are ambulances on call for emergencies, a hospital for strays in Delhi, a well-equipped clinic /path lab for pets and a mobile equine clinic for working horses and donkeys. They also look after and find homes for abandoned and rescued animals.

All of this adds up to a ton of work to help out the animals that we often forget we share this city with and these guys can use all the help we can give them. Along with fundraising events, you can check out their website (http://www.friendicoes.org/ or their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/friendicoesindia ) and volunteer, foster, adopt or sponsor an animal. Also helpful would be fundraising activities or donation drives (for old newspapers, furniture, mattresses, wheat and dal) to help this incredible cause. Just because your schedule or lifestyle doesn’t allow you to keep a pet doesn’t mean you can’t help make a four legged furry out there really happy.

Happiness like the best food is usually just that simple. This super simple strawberry salad, is an explosion of happy tastes, sweet, salt, tart and peppery.

Serves 1

Recipe adapted from Good Food Magazine

 

What you’ll need:

 Handful of strawberries (chopped into bits)

Salt
Pepper
Juice of one lemon

How to:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Serve chilled.

PRODUCT REVIEW: I SAY ORGANIC

I choose a lazy person to do a hard job because they'll find an easy way to do it.

- Bill Gates

 

How cute is their van?

 

Trying to eat healthy often seems impossibly hard and I'm a very lazy person. Unfortunately my advancing age has made it obvious that I can't survive on a diet of just beer and cake. I try to order grilled chicken or fish when I'm eating out but I usually fail so the only option left is to try to eat as healthy as possible when I'm home.

From my conversations with nutritionists I understand the biggest problem with our diet is how little raw vegetables and fruits we're eating. The only way I can figure to add raw vegetables is to eat salads but ordering a salad at a restaurant makes for a pretty huge stomach bug risk in the summer/monsoon. Salad leaves aren't easily available in local markets and all of this makes I Say Organic a godsend - they have a wide range of organic produce, including fruits, vegetables, cereals and some miscellaneous seeds, honey etc. All of their products are organic and delivered straight to your doorstep. The website is super easy to navigate and you can either swipe your card or pay cash on delivery. My favorite feature is that you can choose the time slot you want delivery to be made - this way you can schedule exactly when you're home and want to get your groceries. Also, if you don't have any idea what to do with the vegetables you've ordered, check out their cute blog for healthy recipe ideas. You can order from their website (http://www.isayorganic.com/)

INCREDIBLE IDIA AND A BOWL OF PEA SOUP

 

“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.”

― Martin Luther King Jr.  

 

The idea of IDIA (Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access) was started by Shamnad Basheer (ex-Professor of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS)) as a movement to eliminate inequities in access to higher education. Statistics show there's a shocking dearth of diversity amongst the students clearing entrance tests for most national law universities, the IDIA team was set up to help change these statistics. Their main aim is to provide access to resources required to crack the CLAT to students from marginalized communities and regions, who wouldn't be able to get through the exam otherwise.

 

Local IDIA Chapters have been set up across the country which have started an intensive training programme for students who are interested in pursuing law as a career. IDIA also selects students for the training program through its exam called IDIA National Aptitude Test which is held every year in several centres across the country. Contact Diptoshree Basu (INAT Coordinator) at dbasu3@gmail.com to find out how you can contribute, that is through donations, volunteering or maybe even mentoring some of the students that IDIA is trying to help.

 

 

I thought an appropriate pairing for the inspiring work being done by IDIA was this nourishing but simple Pea Soup - they're both good for you and good for your soul.

 

Serves 2

 

Recipe Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

What you’ll need:

 

1 cup shelled peas

 

2 onions (sliced)

 

2.5 cups vegetable stock

Note: I usually melt Maggi cubes into hot water for this but I’ve heard they may contain MSG. Explore other brands of stock cubes to find one you like.

2 tbsp olive oil

 

1 tsp salt

 

1 lemon (juiced)

 

Red chilli powder to taste

 

Oregano/Thyme/ Rosemary/ Parsley or whatever seasoning you prefer

 

 

How to:

 

1. Pop olive oil into the container you’ll be using. Heat the oil a bit and then add the onions, stir while they soften and caramelize.

 

2. Add the peas and stir till soft. Add the stock and the rest of the ingredients (except the lemon juice) and let cook for about 15 – 20 mins.

 

3. Puree the mix and check the seasoning. Adjust as per taste.

 

4. Add a squirt or two of lemon juice and serve.  



PRODUCT REVIEW: WINGREENS DIPS

The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.

- Oscar Wilde

 

 

Chips and dip are the easiest snack in the world but sometimes there isn't even enough time to mix hung curd and condiments. My quest for readymade dips led me to Wingreens which seemed readily available in grocery stores. On doing some reading I discovered that Wingreens is run by the Women's Initiative Network which works to empower women through training and sustainable employment in the agricultural sector. WIN also works on the conservation of water resources and on improving soil quality by helping farmers with drip irrigation, composting, water harvesting which also helps increase agricultural productivity.

Their products include fresh produce, potted herb plants (like fresh oregano, thyme, mint etc) and freshly dried herbs and spices. My favorites though are their dips. The Tomato Salsa, Rosemary Hummus and Garlic Dip are flavorful and punchy. The Basil Pesto, Dill Tzatziki I found oily and a little bland. Check out their website for more details (http://www.wingreens.in/).

THE GOOD PEOPLE AT GOONJ AND MEXICAN MOCHA CRINKLE COOKIES

“No one has ever become poor by giving.”
― Anne Frank, diary of Anne Frank

 

I think we all want to do good. I believe most people would like to leave the world a better place than they found it. Sometimes this life we're trying to better gets in the way of our efforts at improvement. Our good intentions can get buried under smaller but more numerous daily distractions. Unfortunately the world we live in makes ordering pajamas from a different country easier than helping the one we live in. Thankfully, people like the ones behind Goonj can inspire and remind us to do better.

Instead of throwing out your old stuff check out the Goonj website for the donations they accept and considering passing these things on to the people who need it more. They do excellent work reusing old clothes through their donation and Cloth For Work programs. They're also working to collect relief material for those struck by floods in Assam, Bihar and West Bengal and trying to forge long term strategic relationships between well off urban schools and rural schools. You can read more about their exceptional work at their website (http://goonj.org/).

Whether you just want to donate some things or some money, do reach out to this outstanding organization to see how you can help. One of the easiest but most effective things to do is organize a clothes drive to collect old clothes from our friends and acquaintances - me and my friend have tried this with enormous success.

Remind yourself of how much good we can all do if we put our minds to it and bake yourself these celebratory cookies once you're done. They're lovely, crunchy, sticky, spicy and chocolatey all at the same time and very, very easy to make.

 

Makes about 20 fat cookies

Recipe adapted from A Spicy Perspective

What you’ll need:

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup powdered sugar
2 cups flour
1 ¼ granulated sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp instant coffee granules
4 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla essence
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 pinch red chilli powder

How to:

1. Whisk together the cocoa, granulated sugar, coffee, cinnamon, red chilli powder, baking powder and salt. Add the oil and mix together.

2. Add the vanilla and eggs - beating the batter till smooth. Refrigerate for an hour or 2 to firm up the batter.

3. Preheat the oven to about 170°C. Pull out 1 or 1 ½ inch balls of the batter, roll into balls and then roll the balls in a plate of powdered sugar.

Note: This rolling into balls business is not going to be as easy as it seems. This is the problem with most recipes. People just write stuff like “roll into cookies and bake” like it’s simple without telling you that this is going to be a fudgy mess that refuses to hold any kind of shape and destroys your manicure. So the best way to go about it will be to flour your hands lightly, use a spoon to scoop out the quantity you want (a heaping teaspoon is about right) and to use your fingers to scrape the batter off the teaspoon and into the powdered sugar. At this point use the sugar to give you traction and roll the dough into a ball.

4. Plonk on a greased baking tray and bake for 10 mins. Let the cookies cool completely before trying to scrape them off or eat them.

GOOEY CHOCOLATE FILLED CHOCOLATE COOKIES

“To do good is noble. To tell others to do good is even nobler and much less trouble.”
― Mark Twain

 

There's nothing more exciting for a writer (even a lowly food blogger) than somebody appreciating your work. Thank you so much to everyone who's ever bothered to call/ write in/ message words of kindness. You have no idea how much motivation it offers to someone who spends most of their time worrying about spoons and spatulas. It's easy to feel stupid or like you're wasting your time while everyone's employed at something more lucrative but every compliment lights the way.

 

To spread the sunshine, here are some food writers I love to follow, who are doing amazing things out there in the big, bad blogosphere:

 

1. Tongue Ticklers: Also run by someone who juggles foodblogging and a day job, this site has incredible vegan recipes with some mindblowing food photography. There are lots of Indian food blogs out there but very few with this level of aesthetic polish.

 

2. Sugar and Charm: An old favourite, I've been following Eden Passante and her beautiful family's adventures in California for over 3 years now. A very pretty, very pleasant, very feminine blog filled with design inspiration, photographs and mouthwatering dessert recipes.

 

3. M Loves M: Mara puts together some really charming outfits, simple recipes along with some great photos on this simple but elegant blog.

 

4. Passionate About Baking: Another Indian blog and this one has some hardcore, over the top desserts! Delightful to look at but a little intimidating to try, a lot of these recipes are on my ambitious to do list.

 

5. Sinfully Spicy: I realize I gravitate towards girly, dessert blogs and since we can't survive on cookies and cobblers alone, I'm going to end with this blog that has some seriously delicious savoury dishes.

 

One thing all these blogs have in common is the superlative food photography, I wish I could intern with one of them to figure out how they do it! These are of course just 5 out of the hundreds of food blogs out there and maybe I can make this into a more regular series where I get you more lovely links.

 

The only problem with the world wide web is that it stretches so far and while I'd like to send each of these talented blog owners a batch of these decadent chocolate cookies with gooey chocolate filling, I can't. I made these for a lunch my parents threw and realized that you never grow out of the desire for a crumbly, chocolaty, overload. Or at least my parent's friends haven't. And I haven't either. These are their own reward.
 

 

Makes about a dozen cookies

Adapted from Good Food magazine

 

What you’ll need:

200g dark chocolate

2 tbsp butter
1 egg
¼ cup sugar
¾ cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
About a cup of Nutella

How to:

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C.

2. Melt the chocolate and butter together.

3. Whisk the egg and sugar till light and fluffy.

4. Stir the flour and baking powder together. Sieve it in batches into the egg mixture. Chill the dough for 30 minutes to firm it up.

5. Now for the tough part, make 2 inch balls out of the batter and roll it into a fat little circle. Spoon the Nutella into the centre and fold it up like a gujiya. Try to ball the batter into a little bit of a circle so that it bakes into a cookie shape.

Note: As you know, as I repeatedly say, there’s no great value in making food very pretty. It’s best to focus on making it delicious. This cookie is going to be a gorgeous, deep chocolate beauty and nobody is going to judge you if it’s not a perfect circle.

Try to work the Nutella in the best you can, the more you can fit in, the better the cookie will be. Don’t worry about getting the shape perfect. I started out trying to make a dimsum sort of shape but I wasn’t able to work that one out so I picked this half moon instead. Eventually I’d manipulate the half moon into a sort of circle but you can see the cookies aren’t perfectly round even in the end.

6. Seal your little chocolate dimsums and refrigerate them again for about 10 – 20 minutes.

7. Plonk the cookies on a greased baking tray and bake for 10 minutes.

8. Let cool completely before devouring.

  

 

SNIPPETS: WHERE WE TRY TO MAKE NEW FRIENDS

I have to confess I never thought this blog would last this long.

I thought it would be one more thing I start enthusiastically and quickly tire of. I know it's only been 8 months but I'm still as excited and nervous about putting a post up as when I started in June. I  feel terrible if I'm not posting things regularly (and I know I havn't been) or if something doesn't turn out looking the way I want when I hit publish.

In 8 months I think I've barely managed to get the basics together - the blog presentation, font size and post format. It's going to be a long time before I manage to master sufficient technology to make this mess of food writing presentable. But there are moments I consider milestones (which most right thinking people would probably consider obvious glitches).

Anyhoo, barrelling on with the things I've learnt:

1. I really like taking pictures but it's shocking how mediocre I am at it and also how *@#&*$% difficult it can be. It seems easy. Just hit the round button on the top of the camera but don't even get me started on how much I obsess about lighting. It's why I hate all my restaurant review photos - I usually go out for dinner and all these places with soft, warm, romantic lighting just end up looking dim and vaguely orange.

2. Recipe writing is really hard. Till a friend pointed it out recently I realized I never mention how many people a recipe will serve. I know that's really obvious but it didn't even strike me and now of course I'm mortified and can't believe I missed it.

3. I worry about strange things. This is true for me generally also but now I spend a lot of time being anxious about whether I should specify cup measures or gram measures. I'd like to use cup measures because I assume anyone trying to cook will at least have a cup at hand but I can't be sure these are standard measures and if it's a fancy baking thing I don't want you to buy all those expensive ingredients and end up with a puddle of flour and eggs because the proportions don't work. Wow. That was a long sentence. It's because I worry.

Apart from my fears (there are many more which I won't bore you with now) there are things which make me really happy about this blog. No, it's definitely not it's wild popularity (it is the world's smallest food blog I'm sure).

Starting to write restuarant reviews has been a lot of fun. I really enjoy it and since I eat out a lot it's nice to put my two cents in. I apologize to all my lunch and dinner companions for my embarrassing, tourist-y photo taking every time we go out. So there are definitely going to be more of these. Also I'd love to hear if you disagree. I mean it's great if you agree but I'd be really interested if you had a different experience at these places.

Also, guest posts! Love 'em! Not just because I'm lazy but because when someone is doing something awesome I want to tell everyone! So far I've introduced you guys to Vrinda who has contributed very many exciting recipes I wouldn't have the courage to try, Lekha who with Danish has her own blog that I love, Radha and her lovely blog and Aashmita's adorable illustrations.

I'd like if this was a more regular thing so expect to see more blogs I love, people I admire and projects which I think are interesting. It might not all be food related but then I promise to supply a recipe so nobody forgets this is the world's smallest food blog.

ROSEMARY AND THYME DINNER ROLLS

“The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight...

Breadmaking is one of those almost hypnotic businesses, like a dance from some ancient ceremony. It leaves you filled with one of the world's sweetest smells... there is no chiropractic treatment, no Yoga exercise, no hour of meditation in a music-throbbing chapel. that will leave you emptier of bad thoughts than this homely ceremony of making bread.” ― M.F.K. Fisher, The Art of Eating

 

 

MFK Fisher was a genius.

 

I've been thinking of getting into baking bread for a while and putting it off because it was too intimidating. Then I found this great blog by Chef John Mitzewich http://foodwishes.blogspot.in/ which has hundreds of really well edited video recipes. Anyway now bread making is becoming a little bit of an obsession and I've been making rolls and loaves every weekend. The only problem is that I don't have an electric mixer yet and to knead this baby by hand is crazy hard.

 

Anyway, back to the recipe - the video format was specially helpful for this dinner roll endeavour because it let me see exactly what the dough should look like at different stages. Very useful when you're trying something new and cooking blind since you're not entirely sure how to get to the photoshop-perfect-end-photo you see in a recipe. (Unlike the really imperfect end photo here - please don't be discouraged by my amateur, yellow, blurry pictures).

 

These rolls are a great first step into bread making and baking. They're so pretty and the rosemary and thyme together smell amazing.They're also light (unless you plan to add more butter to the recipe - I would never say no to you adding more butter to anything) and most importantly they taste great. Replace with oregano or any other seasoning you like. This would pair perfectly with an otherwise heavy meat dish or a pasta plate.

 

So here's the video recipe for the dinner rolls: http://foodwishes.blogspot.in/2012/12/rosemary-honey-pull-apart-dinner-rolls.html.

 

Some notes on things I did differently from the video and some general thoughts:

 

1. I did all the kneading by hand (first with a whisk then with a strong wooden spoon and finally by hand). If you don't have an electric mixer this can be quite an effort.

 

2. I didn't have fresh rosemary and thyme so I used a couple of tablespoons of dried seasoning and it worked perfectly well.

 

3. Don't just ration out 3 cups of flour for this. For my dough to get to the right state I ended up using a lot more plus extra for flouring surfaces etc.

 

4. This is a time consuming process so if you're planning it for a party or an occassion it's probably best prepared in advance and warmed up for the event.

 

5. Bread making (specially if you're kneading by hand) is messy so get your apron on.

 

Oh and many many thanks to Mythili for finding me the foodwishes blog! I really need to make a batch of this and have it sent over!

THE PERFECT CHEESE PLATTER

In advance of party season, here's a great post from Elsie + Emma's beautiful blog on how to put together the perfect cheese platter! If you don't intend to start putting together cheese platters you might enjoy their gorgeous photographs and other diy projects.

LEKHA'S BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS

Writing a food blog didn't turn out to be as glamourous as I initially imagined it would be. Actually if there is one lesson I've learnt in life it is nothing is as glamourous as I initially imagined it would be. So instead of breezing through champagne lunches where I sample caviar I spend most of my spare time trolling for recipes on the internet. Every day I read many,many recipes which span from so simple as to be ridiculous (hot chocolate = melt chocolate and add milk) to the completely absurd (make chips out of carrots - I tried it doesn't work. Don't bother with eggplant either).

I'm not complaining but it's wonderful sometimes to have a friend forward a recipe! This way I know it works and I get to write about friends which is always happy!

Thanks so much for sending me this recipe Lekha! Also everyone please go check out the amazing writing Lekha and Danish have been putting up at http://reviewerswithoutborders.blogspot.in/. (The whole mosaic format is so sexy by the way - you must tell me how you do that)...

Find below the wonderful Srilekha Sridhar's breakfast of champions - the way I made mine looks like crud but it tastes amazing and is so simple that you have no excuse not to try it..

 

I've dripped more jam on top of mine but I understand normal humans don't consume so much sugar

What you'll need:

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 slices bread

Sandwich filling (cream cheese, jam, whatever)

1 tbsp milk

Pinch of salt

Lemon juice

Butter

Lekha:

I love breakfast foods for dinner, so I thought you might enjoy my favourite dinnerfast recipe: it's basically a french toast, but you toast a whole sandwich instead of a single slice. I don't know how popular this is, I discovered it on a Nigella website. Her version was all fancied up with berry compote marinaded in balsamic vinegar and emu feathers and whatnot, mine's a little more lowbrow:

 

1. Grab two slices of stale bread and slather them in peanut butter, cream cheese, normal cheese spread, marmalade or literally any sandwich filling and make a sandwich.

 

You can cut off the crust, but I don't because I love how french toasted crust tastes!

 

2. Whisk an egg, 1 tbsp milk, half tsp vanilla essence and a pinch of salt together. If you are using a "salty" filling like peanut butter or cream cheese, you can afford to add a bit of sugar to your egg mixture but skip that if you are going with a sweet filling.

 

Otherwise it can get cloyingly sweet!

 

3. Soak both sides of the sandwich in the egg and allow it to soak in the eggy goodness for about 15 seconds per side.

 

4. Cook in butter on a skillet till golden brown.

 

BAM it's done! All under 15 minutes and that's if you're slow!

 

Pro-tip: A squeeze of lemon juice on french toast does miraculous things!

 

SPREADING BLOG LOVE!

A colleague of mine is leaving (and now my cubicle will be empty!) and I really wanted to do some farewell baking. I wasn't sure what would be most appropriate so I went with "everyone loves chocolate" and it worked out great!

The recipe for these amazing brownies comes from a gorgeous recipe blog I stalk regularly:

http://ifmacancooksocanyou.blogspot.in/2011/03/blooming-brilliant-brownies.html

There's lots of great stuff here to try (for beginners and otherwise) and I love the clean, super user-friendly format (something I'm still trying to figure out)!

I have a whole list of things from here I'm going to be trying soon so expect more inter blog love!

Also, bye bye Adithya! Here's wishing you luck for everything to come!



S.V. Adithya Vidyasagar (a.k.a SVAVS)