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.

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. 

Poverty is Richly Flourishing in the RICHEST Nation of the World

 

The video tells you all you need to know. But do yourself and those living and struggling in poverty a huge favor - vote as you ought to. As intelligent citizens not protecting just their own right and privilege, but also that of those not privileged enough. You too (we all, really!) could be rendered poor by circumstance, you too will then be needing anothers vote to protect your interest and help you out of your then situation.

El Naranjo mobile - Iliana De La Vega's Mexican Cuisine. Served with Honesty, Authenticity, Integrity, Style and Passion

The flavors Iliana De La Vega shares at her "humble" food truck in Austin, TX, are far from HUMBLE. There is NOTHING Humble or modest about what Iliana does. I say that in a good way. Her food has a personality that SHINES. A taste that SINGS Clearly, with HIGH Notes, deep LOW gut-pleasing tastes and pleasurable middle, side and any and all notes, flavors and sensations that come together bringing forth a culinary discovery, that speaks of a kitchen alchemy that needs to be savored, shared, celebrated and perpetuated. The only thing Humble about the experience Iliana shared with me last night, was perhaps the concept of savoring Haute cuisine around a food truck.

Delhi-Divine

An abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables has blessed the diets of those that care.

There is no reason ever to not eat well and share food prepared with a low (or at least lower) carbon footprint.

What world is this? Would the Mahatma be proud?

Ahmedabad airport, India, 03:54 AM, IST

With no airconditioning and a few pedestal fans, we are coping with life as it shows us the real India.

Humid beyond measure, I can feel my pores clogging and I know within hours from now I shall have pimples to show for the brilliant management that prevails in "emerging/emerged India". Is this the India that Mahatma Gandhi would have imagined in his wildest dreams? What would he say if he lived today?

Where are we?

Friendsville, MD is a charming mall hamlet. Nothing out of the ordinary. On our way home from West Virginia, we decided to try eating lunch in this small village. It was not easy finding a non-chain establishment on the highway. Something about the sign on the highway suggested we might find a local restaurant at this exit. And luckily for us, we did.

Mona Ahmed - A Classy Act, Sadly, Not Seen By Many

Mona Ahmed singing, Aao Kee Ham Tumko, Batayen Kyaa Cheez Mohabbat Hotee Hai (Come so I can tell you what love is really about) for Kaka (Sardar Mahijit Singh), Deborah (a friend visiting Delhi from Wales), Charlie and some other friends of ours. Mona Ahmed is considered one of the jewels of the Hijras of Delhi. A visit to her home is like a pilgrimage. This time around, it was late at night, after a meal in Old Delhi, and upon our arrival, we realized there was no light at her house. And that she and her gang of homeless, who she gives shelter to, were all asleep did nothing to alter our plans. Of course they woke up (such is Indian hospitality), and Mona sang a few songs for us and charmed all present.Welcome to India!

Old Delhi - A city that never gets old

 

There is a certain electric energy about Old Delhi, that is hardly found anywhere else in the world. Perhaps Djemaa el Fna in Marrakesh comes close. Purani Dilli as it is better known, was the capital of Muslim India from the 17th through the 19th century.

Shame! Shame! Shame! And we think India is a world player? Think again! At least not as far as culture goes....

Above is the glamorous (who are they fooling/charming?) fountain at the National Museum in Delhi. The capital museum of the capital city of India, dedicated to antiquity. But alas, if you come wanting to see pride in the over-the-top-rich heritage and national treasures of India, you will be coming to the wrong place. This could easily be the center for the study of dust, junk and incompatibility.