Petpujo and Adda: Quick breakfast Idea

One Billion Rise, Valentine’s Day and a Sweetheart Warm Chocolate Sandwich with vanilla ice-cream, for my Sweetheart:

Come February and all shop window turns red. It breaks the monotonousness of January. January is New-year and February is Valentine day. I do not have many thoughts on Valentine’s Day. Should I celebrate it or should I not? Well some celebration most often is not about what I think but what person in relation to the celebration feel. Like my mother loves the NEW thing called mother’s day (not so much about father’s day though). She thinks that as a mother they are never given the importance they deserve hence a day like that, although very pseudo, pushes people to think about their mother. My father on the other hand hates the idea of father’s day and will always give a sarcastic remark if we happen to wish him. He says that he is loved always and does not need to be reminded. As for me, well I am not like some ‘political party’ (I am not naming them as next thing you know they have given a supari to get me. They are mad anyway and does not deserve mention here ) who venture into moronic endeavour of breaking card and gift shops and start teaching Hindustani cultural as opposed to western culture to us janta. I am also not like ‘paint the house red with red heart shaped balloons’ and ‘will not be with you in case I do not get my Valentine’s Day surprise of my choice’. I am like ‘let’s not make R feel left out on a day when rest of world is going crazy trying to impress each other’

I find commercialisation of all thing called ‘love’ little stupid really. It was after all made popular by Cards Company to sell more cards and gifts. But if someone wants to celebrate it just the way we do with birthday, anniversary or even puja and Christmas, I see no reason to stop them. I love my birthday precisely because that is only one day in year where I can blackmail my friends in buying me things that I want. So what’s wrong with V day?

Like I said, I love to see that R is not excluded from the red love, also like to make my mother and brother and A feel special on the day who like to feel special, well who are special. They are anyway. But sometime, it is nice to say that aloud, with a hug and with a call and maybe cooking something special (which I do any way every day). But to be honest, I would be just me like every day, living and loving people around me.

Having said that there are some interesting things happening on 14^th of February 2013. One billion Rising Campaign ( See http://onebillionrising.org/) to stop violence against women is taking place all over the world this year on 14^th Feb . Violence against women seems to a never ending fight for many of us. This year the rape incident in Delhi saw 1000’s on road in Delhi and other part of the world. I went to protects across London with other men and women. Pioneered by author of Vagina Monologue, One Billion Rising is a promise that we will rise up with women and men worldwide to say, "Enough! The violence ends now”.

My organisation is taking part in the event in London and we have taken part in making a movie on women and girls fighting violence. Many of the women I work with or have worked with have come forward, shared their story and helped in making the movie. Please join us with your loved one and make it a success. Here is the link for the page:

http://www.onebillionrising.org/page/event/detail/startarising/4v7g8

What can be better way to express your love? I will surely be there with R celebrating our fights against violence, with other men and women of the globe, cheering for our every day success to stop violence against women, and paving way towards a world free of violence against women and girls. Are you going to be there?

Food forms an equally important part in bringing people together and celebrating life. While I am excited about One billion women’s rise, our film, rally on 8^th March and talk on 9^th March at south bank centre in London, I am also excited about cooking some easy, low cost but interesting V day dishes for my loved ones. To start the celebration I have made ‘Sweetheart Warm Chocolate Sandwich with vanilla Ice-cream ‘

I am sending this recipe on Priya’s Versatile Recipe for Valentine’s Day Recipe Contest. Please fine the details of the contest here

Ingredients (For one Serving)

4-slices of Bread, any bread would do, I used white for the colour

2-tablesppon melted chocolate

1-Egg

2-teaspoon sugar (depending on taste)

2-tablespoon full fat milk (you can use skimmed milk too)

2-scoop good quality vanilla ice cream

Cinnamon sugar to sprinkle

Colour fruits for garnishing (I used pomegranate for being red and grape as I had them at home)

Oil to fry

Method

1. Break the egg, add milk and sugar and beat well

2. Cut the bread in heart shape ( using either heart shape biscuit cutter or by drawing like me)

3. Spread the melted chocolate on bread and make a sandwich

4. Heat oil in a pan

5. Mix egg and milk and sugar

6. Soak the chocolate sandwich in the egg

7. Fry the sandwich until both side is golden brown

8. place on plate with two scoop ice cream, fruits and sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top

9. Serve while the sandwich is warm so that they ice-cream melt when eating together

10. Impress your loved ones and Start a lovely V day celebration !

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Breakfast with R on A sunny sunny morning at home. a little over exposed photo but the sun is so rare here that did not feel like editing the snap. the sunshine overflow

at 23:37

Oriental Sticky Sausage Sandwich ( Veg/Non-veg)

Saturday was sunny. Great start of a weekend. For the first time I realised that, we do get some sun light in our new home. This is the first time we are staying on a ground floor property. To be honest, I am not that happy about it. Out last home……. when we saw it for the first time, we fell in love with the place instantaneously. We lived there for 4 years with so much love. In many sense it was our first home together after marriage. This is not the case with this house. I took it almost out of necessity. On top of it, when we moved in it was dirty, broken and ill maintained. Horrible agency and landlord who does not want to spend money to spend on the up keeping of the home. Horrible weather, no sun makes the house look dull and dark. Two naughty and undisciplined kids upstairs (I am not one of those people who think all children are god like or angel) keep jumping around and playing football over our head. And the horrible soundproofing ( yes we hear can people upstairs snoring at night or even f**ting … do not laugh.. I am serious) does not help the situation at all. They make me go mad, especially when I am back from office or just about to go to bed at 11pm, suddenly they start jumping (don’t they go to school? Shouldn’t they be in bed by 8pm? ).

But magic happened. When I opened my eyes in the morning of Saturday- at the corner of my bedroom window, thought the heavy curtain, I could see glittering golden sunshine, almost peeping. And when I walked to the living place, there it was-sunshine. Entire house looked different. I moved all the net curtains (horrible, as it is they are) and the house looked so bright, open and warm. I could see trees and bright blue sky. Finally I felt at home again!

Such a glorious day- it had to be celebrated. We had a lovely breakfast together sitting on our dinning table from where we can see people walking by, went out for a walk and coffee, watched TV together in the evening, made coffee ( just like the way we used to do when we are students, beating the coffee with sugar to make cappuccino) and then had lovely dinner with two absolutely new and simple dish .

The list of foods that we had yesterday is very interesting and very simple to make. We started the day with Sticky Sausage (vegetarian) Sandwich, Lunch with Easy Peasy Chicken Pulao and for dinner, rice with spicy fried fish, Onion Thoran, Pumpkin cooked with coconut, Makha Makha Aar Mach, red lentil cooked with drumsticks and last but not the least Pineapple Chutney (Bengali Style)

For the recipe of Easy Peasy Chicken Pulao click here

For the Recipe of Spicy Fried fish, click here

For the recipe of Onion Thoran, click here

For the recipe of Pumpkin cooked with coconut, click here

For the recipe of Makha Makha Aar Mach, click here

For the recipe of Bengali Pineapple Chutney, click here

Oriental Sticky Sausages Sandwich for breakfast (For two) given below

Ingredients:

6-Vegetarian Sausage or chicken sausage or pork (which ever you eat or prefer)

3-tablespoon dark soy sauce (this also works, as salt. so do not add salt unless your soy sauce is reduced salt version)

2-tablespoon sweet chili sauce

1-teaspoon pan roasted sesame seed

6- Slices of bread (brown or white depending on taste)

1-teaspoon oil

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan

2. Halve the sausages (it should make 12 pieces. You can make smaller if you like )

3. Fry them in the oil until brown, should take about 4/5 mins in a non stick pan

4. Add the soy sauce and cook for while

5. Add the sweet chili sauce and the sesame seeds cook until sausage is nicely cooked, sticky and fluffy

6. Meanwhile toast the breads ( I used pan as I do not have a toaster)

7. Now lay four piece of sausage on a bread and cover with another bread

8. Now hold them with your hands and give big a bite!!!!!!!!

9. Then ymmmmmmmmmmmmm blissssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

at 21:43

Baked Vegetables Toasties with Eggs

It is weekend. I get up with lovely sunshine falling on my face and with the remains of a lovely dream. I am not usually very keen on going to the kitchen in the morning. I love my morning quiet, calm with a light Darjeeling cuppa. Maybe a book or maybe just looking outside from my window keeps my mind occupied. Otherwise a chatterbox, I do not like to talk in the morning. I like my mornings to be just mine- before the hustle bustle sips in.

Today of course is a different day. R is at home and has been already screaming on phone much before I could get off the bed, the property dealer coming to check the property and my client has decided that she is going to dictate my life. And then of course the hunger pangs that follows from a over active start of a day. Hence an early entry to the kitchen –to make a proper breakfast. Again, like most of my cooking, this is a very simple, healthy but no compromise on taste recipe that I just made up - magic!

Ingredients:

6-slices of brown bread (or white or you can also use baguette)

1-onion thinly slices
1-small carrot, thinly sliced
½ -red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1-tomato, deseeded and thinly sliced
4-eggs (optional or you can use less eggs. Our egg consumption is very controlled so I did not mind using 2 for each of us)
¼-teaspoon black pepper
30gm cheddar shredded
2-tablespooon coriander sliced
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Pre heat the grill in 180c

2. Line a baking tray with parchment paper

3. Line the breads on the tray

4. Spread equal quantity of all the vegetables and onion on the breads

5. Sprinkle the coriander on them

6. Beat the egg with black pepper and salt

7. Spread equal amount of egg on the each bread

8. Grill for 5 mins or until you smell of warm bread

9. Bring the tray out and sprinkle the cheese on the breads

10. Bake until cheese melts and breads are crisp

11. Eat with ketchup/chili tomato sauce and a lovely cup of tea or coffee

Have a lovely weekend!

at 11:11

Grilled Fig with Yoghurt

The fruit stalls now are full of gorgeous purple colored figs and I am so tempted to buy them. However, I never buy them as I know that it will be total waste as we will end up not eating. But yesterday I just could not resist the temptation of the rich color of the fruit and brought two of them for breakfast today. And voilà!

This is what I did this morning:

1. Pre heated the grill on 180c

2. Cut the figs in cross and pressed from the bottom so that they open up like flowers

3. Put two dollops of butter on each fig’s centre

4. Scattered some nuts piece (any nuts should so. I used cashew)

5. Sprinkled one teaspoon of sugar

6. Sprinkled some cinnamon

7. Sprinkled one teaspoon of dark soy sauce

8. Gilled in oven for 5/8 mins

9. Served it with some yoghurt

And it was magic. The subtle tartness of the yoghurt with the sweetness of the figs and then caramelized nuts together with very very little salt from the soy sauce was wonderful. Then of course the fragrance of cinnamon with caramelized nuts was just awesome. Try it please. I promise it will be worth experiment . I would love to serve it not just as breakfast but as light dessert after a heavy dinner!

at 23:39

Galia Melon Salad- Breakfast made easy

We went for the Olympics yesterday for women’s final at centre court, Wimbledon that starts at 2.20pm. However, in the morning we received a sms (or text as Londoners say) informing us that mixed double will be played at the centre court prior to women’s final and should start around noon. It was already 7.30am in the morning and Wimbledon is far from our home. And, R needs to reach everywhere well (well, very well) before time. On top of it, for months, Transport for London has been motivating people to “stay ahead of the games” and we have taken that very seriously. Therefore, we decided that we should leave home by 9am.

It is a Saturday and I hate to eat my cereal on a weekend. With leaving bed to having my tea to taking shower, I only had less than an hour before we leave. I had nothing in the fridge from which I could make a quick breakfast other then the Galia melon. Therefore, I decided to make a breakfast salad with it. Galia is hybrid melon from honeydew and cantaloupe cross. It is sweet, spicy and flavored, more like cantaloupe then honeydew. It is at its best in the summer and is very easily available in all stores and fruit sellers. A medium Galia Melon has as little as 200 calorie, no fats, no cholesterol. A Very healthy and a very quick salad- just what I wanted for yesterday

Galia Melon Breakfast Salad

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 15mins