Fusion

PUMPKIN ON LENTIL AND COUSCOUS GALETTE

October 6, 2013 By Asha Shivakumar

It’s the season of Pumpkins.

It’s very overwhelming when you move from a place where you are born, raised and have a big family to a place where you know no one. The rules, the grocery store, the weather, food and getting adjusted to a different way of living poses a challenge. It can can get very lonely if you don’t have anyone to talk to, spend some time on the weekends.

When I moved here, I was blessed with a great set of my hubby’s friends. They knew each other from early college days. Eventually, everyone got married in the group. Had kids almost at the same time. Growing up together and to see kids get along well, sure is nice thing. I don’t feel so lost anymore after a fun 17 years here.
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Spicy Mango Masala Chicken

September 29, 2013 By Asha Shivakumar

There are lot of words to describe food and 3 words for this chicken, ‘FINGER LICKING YUMMY’.

This recipe was definitely an accident, a happy yummy accident.

A few years ago, I had some mango puree sitting in the fridge after the mango lassi I made yesterday. I could never eat the norm, had some chicken drummets too. Mango chicken, why not right? Sounded great. After making a quick sauce and cooking the chicken, I gave it a try, and it as pure deliciousness. Definitely reminded me of something I ate years ago….

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STUFFED COOKIES – Pastry stuffed with nuts and dates

September 9, 2013 By Asha Shivakumar

Festivals are fun. Festivals in India are very colorful. Whats your favorite festival/holiday?

It’s one of those festive weeks for Indians. It’s called Ganesh Pooja. The festival of THE ELEPHANT GOD.
Throughout India, people celebrate this festival. It’s colorful, bright, with people singing,chanting, music screaming everywhere, it’s a beautiful atmosphere.
Kids dress up in their new clothes, visit family and friends. It’s a time when people unite in streets to decorate and it’s a big grand affair.

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THAI COCONUT CURRY SOUP- Spicy topped with NOODLES – 50th post and Giveaway/gift

August 16, 2013 By Asha Shivakumar

Yes, it’s my 50th post and I can’t believe I made it this far.

These last 3 months have been beyond what I could ask for. You being a huge part of it. Can you imagine that you work so hard on your recipe, your writing, your pictures, and you see 3 views? That sucks big time. I also saw that those views were mom’s, my teen’s and mine.

I remember when I was overwhelmed at the very thought and process of creating a blog. There were questions like ‘Honey, how can I make this picture bigger’ to ‘Nik, can you please teach me how to add links’. They seem simple right, but too much for me then. Technical details seemed to pass through me without touching me.
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SPICY PLUM BARBECUE SAUCE and Grilled Tofu – How I went from making sweet jam to spicy barbecue sauce

July 22, 2013 By Asha Shivakumar

Harvard takes perfectly good plums as students, and turns them into prunes – Frank Lloyd Wright

I was 7, I think. It was 19XX coughs ;)..

During vacations, my grandma whom I fondly called ‘Amma’ and the little me, each carrying a wire grocery bag walked hand in hand to our local fruit market. Just the BAG, brings back nostalgic memories.

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YUCCA and Red Quinoa Fritters with Saffron Aioli

July 18, 2013 By Asha Shivakumar

What came first the chicken or the EGG?

Summer for me is the time to laze around, sleep crazy hours and the time to socialize. My foodie friend and I have been planning a meetup for a while now.

The day came, and I was excited to have her home for coffee. I made these Peruvian inspired yucca fritters for her. Coffee was set in my small and cozy backyard. Got ready in my butterfly summer outfit, pinning my hair up and in summer sandals, was ready for some girly couple of hours.

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BEET TOMATO PASTA WITH PEAS MASALA

July 10, 2013 By Asha Shivakumar

Life is not worth living if I cannot have pasta or bread again-Monica Seles

The day starts off bright and promising.

After a month of being without a/c, yesterday the heavens opened and we feel cold, thanks to my new friend who fixed it.

Filled my elephant mug with strong hot coffee(which was a pure torture last couple of weeks). I sat by the window, slowly sipping away jotted my plans for the day. Little did I know then that plans work a bit differently every time.

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ZUCCHINI PIZZA WITH GREEN CHUTNEY

July 7, 2013 By Asha Shivakumar

“You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.”- Yogi Berra

Hi there friends, HAPPY SUNDAY!!

The story of two hours minus the boys.

Today, our home was silent from all the hustle and bustle from the kids. It’s been a

while. I remember years ago, that a two hour drive, watching a movie and discussing it later was a norm. The paradigm totally shifts once you have kids, we love all the chaos, but a controlled environment is fun too for couple of hours.

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Indian Chinese – Hakka Noodles street food style

June 1, 2013 By Asha Shivakumar

India- Land of Street Food

Indian Chinese is quite popular and combines the two cuisines to form one which has a tantalizing tone to it. This fusion has been there for a while now and we Indians just love it. With all the street food available, everyone has a favorite. I would hands down chose this, which brings back fond memories from my days back home.

One thing my cousin and I share is the love for food. The days before I got married, was something I will never be able to forget, who will right?? Mine was filled with laughter, food, company, tears and a lot of emotions. I stayed at my aunt’s place for sometime, which was a lot of fun and cannot be duplicated ever. My cousin and I would hold hands, talk for hours, walk on the foot path engrossed in our conversation not once being bothered by all pedestrians or the buzzing traffic around us. The best part we looked forward for was the food we were going to eat after our walk. A street vendor famous for his Indian Chinese was right up our ally so there we went, to order a plate of hot, steamy HAKKA noodles with hot and sweet tomato sauce drenched all over it. That ten rupee(25 cents) plate of goodness was every bit enjoyed.

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PINA COLADA Parfait with Mangoes

May 20, 2013 By Asha Shivakumar

Mango among fruits, pork among meats, tea among leaves.

We are in the midst of spring with weather acting very moody. Taste buds getting confused. It’s hot and I want something cool and quick. It gets colder and I crave for something baked and goey. But one thing remains constant, a want for a quick dessert. I recently discovered parfaits and it’s many variations. I’ve combined a lot of different ingredients and this one seems to be my hubby’s favorite. Although he has an aversion to coconut when not fresh…this one has passed his test.

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