Jams and Chutney

Plantain Tostada with Apple Chutney

November 8, 2022 By Asha Shivakumar

Quick and Tasty Plantain Tostada with Apple Chutney. Tostadas can be used as tortillas too. It’s gluten free, perfect for people with allergies. It’s fresh and delicious. Top it with beans, chicken, tofu, salsas, SO Good!

It’s just another day… and you’re just doing what you need to do.

You’re getting things done, and the day moves forward in this continuous sequence of checklists, actions, and respites.

But at various moments of your routine, you pause and take a good look at your surroundings.

The scenes of your everyday life. The blur of this all-too-familiar film.

And you can’t help but to wonder…

If there is more to it all.

For some reason — this country, this city, this neighborhood, this particular street — is the place you are living a majority of your life in.

And it is this thought that allows a daydream to seep in….

Salvadoran Sweet Bread / Semitas De Dulce (Sweet Stuffed Bread)

May 15, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

This Salvadoran Sweet Bread / Semitas De Dulce is a traditional bread stuffed with panela/jaggery. A delicious twist on the classic recipe is to use your favorite jam as a filling.

You have to taste the culture to understand it.

We travel for many reasons. To explore, for love, for glory, for adventure, for thrills, to get away from reality, to relax. For the new and the familiar, for sensory thrills and serenity, for socialization and isolation, for risk and reward, for the journey and the story and the secrets. I travel for all these reasons. Which is all just another way of saying that I travel to eat….

Roasted Garlic and Onion Relish in pickling spices/Bruschetta

April 19, 2017 By Asha Shivakumar

It’s National Garlic Month! Here, the Gilroy Garlic Fest is considered the Ultimate Summer Food Fair. So today, I have Roasted Garlic and Onion Relish. It goes great with pretty much everything. Top it on bruschetta like I did here, or add it on burgers as a relish, or even top it on a broccoli and pea soup to bring it all together. It’s a relish you will be eating in spoonfuls.

Happy mid week!!

Fun Fact. Did you know that Gilroy, California is known as the garlic capital of the world? It is, although China is said to be the biggest producer of garlic.

Gilroy, a short drive away from where we live hosts the biggest festivals that the little town sees every year. It’s in the midst of the scorching hot summer. It’s the Coachella for garlic lovers. There’s even Miss Gilroy Garlic and her court, ensuring a garlicky good time.

…

Bruschetta with Persimmon Chutney

November 4, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

Happy November!!

There’s something about the cooler weather, twinkling stars as early at 6.00 p.m., and all the festive pumpkins and persimmons in the grocery store. Everything screams of holidays, parties and food. Everyone gets in the mood of perfecting their pies, the sides and their birds.

The appetizers are some of the last to be remembered. Don’t you think?

I have a great one for you. Just make a lot of it and have some bottles of chutney ready to go for your guests, they’ll want it.

…

Quick Pumpkin Butter with Cardamom and Ginger – Pull apart Bread

October 23, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

It is the season of festivals for Indians. Starts around September and goes on till mid November.

‘Ayudha Pooja’, that’s what we celebrate in the Southern Part of India this week. It is a very interesting festival. Ayudha means weapons/instruments. On this day, we pay our respect to all the regular household items we use. Knifes, screw drivers, hammer, calculator, you name it, if we can keep it for prayers, we will.

…

Pesto with Candied Balsamic Cashews on Focaccia

October 14, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

We still are wearing our open toed sandals and sundresses. I think we are going to jump to Winter, skipping Fall. There is not a lot of foliage here. The only sign of fall are the squash and pumpkins.
I miss the chill, we need some rain.

On the bright side, I found some beautiful tomatoes in Cali and it’s crazy 91 degrees.

…

Mixed Fruit Jam – And A Trip Down Memory Lane

August 3, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

It’s 9.00 a.m. The sun is shining through the kitchen door. I see my grandma, Amma as I fondly call her, sitting in her tiny kitchen by her tiny stove cooking away. My parents and my uncles were getting ready to leave to work. It was little four-year old me, snaking around the six footers, giving up on them, who landed at a safe spot next to Amma in her kitchen. Her kitchen, the abode of sweet smells, yummy food and seasoned pickles, was my favorite place too. I loved to watch Amma do her abracadabra. Amma noticed through the corner of her eye that I had come close to her for her dedicated attention. She grabbed me and gave me the most wonderful hug while whispering a secret into my ears. This afternoon, we were on a mission…… Eventually, the office goers left home, and Amma and I had to leave too. I know where I will be going, she asked me not to tell anyone.

…