Suvir

New year, new thinking, new beginnings, new recipe, new tastes - new life! A reflective guest-post by Ellen Tarver

I’m making my peace with food. And I won’t give up. 2012 will be a year of adventure—learning from both successes and failures—and of new tastes and discoveries.

I’m more determined than ever to leave the children’s table behind me, to care about what I eat, and to shop in the produce aisle and not the frozen foods section. What an exciting year this will be!

This is how I ended my blog a year ago, when I wrote about how Suvir Saran’s recipes and encouragement had changed my life and awakened and educated my palate. And I was right—2012 was a year of great culinary adventure and excitement.

Vegetarian dishes to be thankful for and get comfort from

PARTY CAULIFLOWER

Gobhi Masalam
Serves 4 to 6

Panditji used to make this dish for my mother’s very fancy, annual dinner parties when I was a child.  I loved those parties: the table would be lavishly set with our best china, silverware and linens and we all feasted on a vast array of exquisite foods complemented by Panditji’s best pickles.  I make this now for special occasions because it never fails to impress. 

Woman in Command - Betty Osborne at 80

Betty Osborne is a proud New Yorker (Brooklyn born and raised in LI and VT, now living in Upstate NY). NY is lucky to have her as its daughter. She is the kind of citizen that would make any nation or people proud. Happy to serve her own and those unknown. Service like this is not found today. People serve to serve their own type. Her's is a type that is So-American and yet today, So Un-American. 

Winter - Solitary confinement (almost) and a surprise gift, lead to happy cooking (and thinking)

Thrilled to have spent a few days at the farm last weekend and the early part of this week. The highlight was having an advance copy of Kristine Kidd's book sitting at the kitchen counter. Now I have reason to cook, even if alone and for none but myself or Charlie when he is also at the farm. Weeknight Fresh & Fast: Simple, Healthy Meals for Every Night of the Week is a wonderful cookbook with great recipes and attractive photos too. Best still, these are the creations of Kristine, the very talented and gifted food editor at Bon Appetit whilst Barbara Fairchild was the editor-in-chief. Try these recipes and you will eat happily, healthily and without fuss. 

You can follow more of what Kristine does by visiting her blog.

Vermont by Jack Tiggleman

Thursday was our last full day with Charlie and Suvir, and we spent it in Vermont. How did the week go by so fast?

Grilled vegetables in a jiffy

Those that know me well know I am a vegetarian who is rather fussy about what vegetables he eats. I LOVE all vegetables. But I am not one to eat all vegetables cooked by everyone. Certain veggies need a very special hand in my mind to be fit for me to enjoy. Zucchini and Squash are two such vegetables. This week has been a lucky one for me as far as these vegetables go.

Tis' the season of Jam

You know there is no reason to be lazy when nature is busy gifting us edible treasures that deserve our labor, care, kitchen-wizardry and ought to be preserved for the year ahead. When Brian Talmadge of Black Lab Fruits and Vegetables out of Greenwich, NY emailed me with news that he had black raspberries waiting to be picked, it took me no hesitation to say that I wanted at least 20 pounds. That led him to say he would pick what he had and that I come the next morning. That was Wednesday and today it is Friday morning. Between then and now, we have preserved about 34 pounds of fruit and are now awaiting 30 pounds of sour cherries, and then raspberries, blueberries and blackberries and peaches, plums and apricots. Granite●Ware always comes to my rescue. America's favorite porcelain on steel cookware, it is an essential for those into canning and preserving. Better still, it is affordable and makes preserving easy on the pocket and so much better for the body than preservative-laden jars from a market. I could go on... and I shall.....The joys of summer!

Who needs meat?

When Marry Ann Joulwan invites us to dinner, we know we are in for stupendous food. And most importantly, we know we will eat well, eat without fuss or frills, but eat beautiful food that is incomparable in taste and satisfying beyond description.