LIFE AND LEMONADE

(ok - we are testing this out ... can you comment?  I'm holding my breath to see if it got figured out/adjusted.  Humor me and comment JUST because ... to prove that it's working again?)




We went to Singapore about a month ago and one of the ABSOLUTE things on my list of things to do was a visit to Ikea.  I know.  It's lame to include Ikea on the list of things to do when you are in Singapore - the land of SO MANY THINGS TO DO!

The last time we were there (2010), I wanted to get some glass bottles for lemonade, but decided against it (I'd already exceeded our return baggage allowance) and they have been on my wish list for an entire year.

(Little did I know that I could have bought the SAME bottles here ... already full of lemonade ... to then reuse.  I wonder about myself sometimes)

I love lemonade.  I love it mixed half and half with iced tea ... I love it just barely frozen as a slushie ... I love it with beer (yep ... thanks Lynden and Tats!) ... I just love it.

What I don't love is the absence of decently priced Countrytime Lemonade drink mixes here in New Delhi.  You can find lemonade drink mixes, but it doesn't taste quite right and it comes at a price of about $8.00 USD.

It had been YEARS since I'd made lemonade by hand ... and the other day it dawned on me that it was the cheapest, easiest way ... and tasted FAR better than any old tub of powdered mix.

(yep, we took all of those seeds out)

The lemons here in Delhi are teensy ...

So teensy that little Mia can cup one in her hand and you'd never know she was holding a lemon.

Instead of halving 4-5 lemons and calling it a day, you can count on about 45 minutes of cutting, squeezing ... cutting, squeezing ... cutting, squeezing.  Oy.

Until I realized that 1/4 of these teensy lemons was about the size of my handy dandy garlic press.

Brilliant.

There is nothing better than fresh squeezed lemonade.

Well, there is the feeling when you accomplish something.  It doesn't have to be something huge.  It doesn't have to ring bell tones into the rafters.  It doesn't have to make the front page of the newspaper ---

When you set out to accomplish something, and you reach your goal, it feels good.  It tastes good.  It warms you up a bit and revitalizes you.

There is something to be said about starting a day with an end goal -- whether it be to lace up the shoes and run a mile, or put away all of the laundry, or figure out how to make an additional $1,000 for your favorite charity.

We all have a different size of box that we lay out for ourselves every morning.  I'd like to think that I can continue to expand the size of my box --- expand the size of the goal that I hold out for myself.

Accomplishment ... sweet success ... it's like fresh squeezed lemonade.

DIVA DINNERS

Whether you live as an expat with someone cooking your meals for you, or do all of the work yourself, you can't deny that having someone ELSE source the weekly list of recipes would be a huge help, right?

I have dabbled in my fair share of weekly menu planning ideas, processes, sources, but may have found the perfect combination of what our family will be using from here on out.

Enter Dining Diva Dinners.

The website is a bit difficult to navigate, but since I first found this blog, she has added archives, and the page on which the archives are located are the only thing you need to get started.

Archived weekly menus are listed to the right on THIS page.

What I like about what Susan has done ::

First, the recipes have been tried by her family.  They aren't just collated from the many recipe websites.

Secondly, she does pretty much ALL of the work for you.  With each week of recipes, she also creates a shopping list AND a prep calendar, showing what things need to be done the night before, etc.

Third, the majority of the recipes feature things that we can find here in Delhi, and the recipes are simple enough for Shanti to follow without much input from me.

Lastly, she includes some true comfort food recipes, as well as an "impress them" recipe each week ... perfect for when you're entertaining AND just need to feed those kids' bellies.  

Here are some of our favorites so far ::

Blue Cheese Butter (topping for steak)

1/4 C butter

2 T chopped green onions (or chives)

2 T crumbled blue cheese

Combine all items, blending well.   Just before serving, spread blue cheese topping on steak.

 

Grilled Salmon

Marinade:

1⁄2 c soy sauce 

1T minced garlic 

2T honey 

1tsp ground ginger 

Small onion diced or 1tsp onion powder 

Salt and pepper to taste
16-20oz salmon

(Serves 4)

Mix together all ingredients for marinade. Put in a plastic bag and add salmon. Marinate for 30 minutes, 45 max. If you do much longer, it gets too strong.

Pesto Cream Sauce

4 oz cream cheese, cubed 

1⁄4 c milk 

2T pesto

Cook cream cheese and milk in saucepan on medium (2-3 min) or until cream cheese is completely melted and sauce is well blended, stirring constantly. Stir in pesto.

 

 

 

 

Take a look around ... and then start your printer to work!  Her easy excel OR PDF downloads are easy as can be ... 

What do you think?  Do-able for your family, your kitchen, your time?

COOKING PARTY

I miss cooking.  I miss adding in the layers of taste that I know my family will appreciate.  I miss coming up with new and unique ways to fill their bellies and satisfy their souls.   I miss our Dinner .... Delivered where friends would share the cooking responsibility for the week and I miss even my attempts at once a month cooking.

So Pauline did THIS and I thought ... how fun is that? 

I hemmed and hawed about the best way to go about recreating the cooking party here in Delhi, and quite honestly forgot about it, save the "draft" post that has sat in blogger since the end of February.

Somewhere during a MAD (I don't need to keep explaining the acronym, do I?) gathering of teachers, the discussion came up about Catherine and her amazing cook.  Well, the discussion centered more around (1) Catherine and her amazing ability to cook, (2) her amazing recipes AND (3) her amazing cook.  

We started salivating and someone came up with the idea to join in someone's kitchen for a morning of sharing the load of chopping, cutting and mincing, and cook a meal together.

Introducing the first installment of MAD .... in the kitchen (otherwise known as Make a Dinner.  Get it? Cute, huh?)

Linda and her darling apron

Our fearless leaders, Christine and Catherine

Tracy and Vanita

Seriously?  We need THIS many carrots?

We spent more time laughing, talking and sharing crazy stories than chopping and grating, I'm afraid!

Asha and Christine, sharing tips and secrets

Not even 1/2 way through our first Make a Dinner installment and already, Linda is poring through the Singapore book to find recipes for our NEXT date!

Somewhere along the way, we were informed that Catherine was also a master reflexologist.  Amazing. Have you ever tried it?

The finished work of art

I've posted the recipes to the food we cooked over at "A Peek" -- they were simple, delicious, melt in the mouth and quite divine.


We talked about arm flab, teenagers and college admissions preparation, ghost stories, steamy expat drama and criminal escapades, we laughed until we cried, we shared our favorite restaurants and shopping spots.

We learned more about each other in our time together and created a new group of women to turn to in the future, not only for tried and true recipes, but also for advice when needed, a shoulder to lean on or a fellow sister to laugh with.

Recipe for a Make a Dinner Cooking Party

1 sharp knive per person
1 cutting board per person
3 hours of time
Two handfuls of amazing women
Pinch of love, effort and elbow grease
One bottle of champagne shared among 8 glasses



Spending time together ... as women ... in a kitchen is something that I no longer take for granted.  It is a place that I often found myself residing in when we lived in the United States.  I entertained in my kitchen, listened to my girlfriends share their struggles and the things that made them lose sleep at night.  I held nightly dance parties in my kitchen at 5:00 pm with my littles while they helped me cook dinner.  I hosted morning coffees with a couple of close women and we found ourselves leaned up against the counters, clutching our coffee cups and warming our hands through the ceramic mugs.

The kitchen no longer represents that warmth and comfort, as it is quite honestly no longer my own.  It was refreshing to get back into that familiar place where women folk rolled up their sleeves, got carrot shavings under their fingernails and waved our hands endlessly over the pots to get a whiff of the simmering loveliness.

After the meal was completed (largely due in part to the efforts of Christine and Asha!) we gathered around a table in the middle of Pam's home, to continue our discussions.  Most of the time we were talking over each other and all at the same time ... but instead of being noisy and chaotic, it was just ... refreshing. 


I'm so looking forward to our next Make a Dinner get together ... Singaporean style!

INTERNATIONAL SNACKING

It has been great fun to listen to the kids' requests for their daily snack at school.  Now that we're entrenched deeply in loads of different cultures and varied ethnic cuisines, their repertoire of choices has greatly expanded.

Gone are the days of cheesesticks and PB&J, now they also ask for some of the following.  I wanted to share them with you, along with the recipes, if applicable, so you could try some of them with YOUR littles!

AUSSIE APPLE

Not necessarily a snack with an actual recipe, but Kiersten shares an ingenious way to keep those apples from browning (assuming your kids eat the peel, that is!).  Our kids actually have fallen in love with these great containers from Tupperware.  Keeps the brown off AND I get to peel them for snack.

NORWAY SAUCE

Tony came home one day and said "I want Norway Sauce for snack tomorrow, you know, like Christoph eats."  I responded with a very puzzled look on my face, and asked him what Norway Sauce was.  Since he didn't quite know, but was insistent that he get it, I embarked on an email Q&A with Christoph's mama.  

Her response to my question was : "The sauce he means could be anything from Norwegian mackerell in salsa (red, tomato based!) or leverpostei which is a liver paste (pale brown n creamy!) . Or it could also be Marmite - which you may know already (black) ! Not sure of you can get the Norwegian stuff here, unfortunately ...Marmite is available everywhere, being British! Christoph loves it - as do many other Norwegians ! You may find something similar here - try to look for tinned fish in tomato sauce?"

So we went on a hunt to our local neighborhood market and found something similar to this :

Sardines, anchovies or tuna in a tomato based sauce works as a magical snack when served on a piece of bread!  Who would have known!

SUSHI TRIANGLES

Just as it sounds, only instead of perfect little rolls, the shapes are more in a triangle shape.  We haven't quite mastered this (do you remember me posting about trying to make it at home?  I'd post the link, but now I can't find it) but thankfully we can purchase them from the snack kiosk at school.

CHAPATI AND PEANUT BUTTER

Similar to a tortilla, this is the easiest snack ever!  Cut it into quarters, roll 'em up .. and eat them.  If you're interested in making them yourself, this is a simple recipe.

BEE BIM BOP

Tony had the pleasure of meeting an author, Linda Sue Park at school last year and immediately fell in love with not only her books, but her recipe for Bee Bim Bop.  We've made it several times and it will likely become a staple at our house, whether it be for snacks or for a full dinner.  You'll have to buy the book or get it from your library to try out the recipe!

and then back to our go-to snack choice that we love from our time living in the States ::

SALAMI WRAPS

Cheese Slices
Sliced Salami or other lunchmeat
4 oz of soft cream cheese
yellow, red or green peppers
olives 

(you can also put in any combination of items, cucumbers, carrots, celery, etc!)

Using the cheese slice as a base, layer all of the other items on top ... roll it up and slice.  Easy peasy.

What are your favorite snacks .... international or otherwise?

ON COOKING and SHOPPING

Soon following the question of "where will we live in Delhi" often comes "what will we eat?"

Rest assured, although you may experience frustration, it is manageable and possible to feed your family well and not too far from what they're used to!

Some of the first things you may be wondering ::

If your family eats beef, please note that beef (as you may be used to) is not sold in India, and instead you can often find buffalo meat, if you are resourceful.  While the taste/texture is different, it can often suffice as a substitute when those cravings hit.



There are several meat contacts to share with you, if you're interested, email me.

Often meat deliveries will be required to be made in bulk, and delivered to your front door.  Do exercise care when ordering bulk orders as you’ll need to freeze some for later use.  Be mindful of the possibility of needing to teach your cook how to properly freeze meat and invest in good quality freezer bags.

Chicken and mutton are readily available and you will soon find your favorite supplier!  You can easily specify which pieces you wish to purchase and request bone in or boneless!

Exercise caution when purchasing fish or seafood products during the hot months in Delhi, as contamination is likely.  Consider trying A.N.A., a service that ice packs caught-that-day seafood from Kerala and delivers to your doorstep.  ANA, 9899408911 or 4560-8738

Often, markets such as INA will have a wide variety of fish, but know ahead of time that the shopping experience can be daunting as often your selection is still swimming before you purchase, and the cleaning process may not be up to your standards.  Take care to rid the fish of all bones and make sure that you see that the seafood is cleaned thoroughly after you arrive home.

If you have children who may be sensitive, consider not taking them along for the purchase of meat and seafood. It likely will not be an experience they are used to, and can render that nights’ dinner pointless.

Nearly every market has a wide variety of vegetables, and you can also have organic produce delivered to your home, as well as arranging for home delivery from your local market.  The same concept of thoroughly washing applies to all vegetables/fruits where the skin is eaten. Bananas, mangos, papayas, etc. do not need to be as carefully washed as the inside fruit is what is consumed. 

Again, I have several contacts for the delivery of organic greens, vegetables and fruits, email me.  One that I can publish freely is The Altitude Store.

Another component of food and shopping is the luxury of having your grocery items delivered straight to your home.  Most local groceries have a minimum order (which is a minimal amount) and you can simply have a standing order for once-a-week sundries such as bread, peanut butter, milk, juices, etc. or call with specific requests. 



The most popular shops are ::


Le Marche
Modern Bazaar
Nature's Basket
Spencers


Whether you decide to employ a cook or do the food preparation yourself, you will soon fall into a routine on how to best provide sustenance for your family.  


In our household, we find it works the smoothest when I create a weekly menu for Shanti.  This saves undue stress at the last minute when one of us needs to come up with a plan for dinner.  It also helps to make sure that we are eating a good balance of various items (instead of spaghetti every night).


Questions?