Grilled cheese open sandwich

Are you tempted to make them…read on if you are.

Just take half a cup of grated cheddar and add one small chopped onion and two chopped small tomatoes (scoop out the seeds and the juices from the tomatoes after slicing them into half and then finely chop them), two tablespoons of chopped coriander leaves , add salt and pepper to your taste.

just mix it gently with a spoon and put  two  tablespoons full on the slices of bread. Place the bread on the greased tray and put it on high rack of the oven and grill for just 4 minutes . Thats it.

Photography for me meant just freezing a moment for ever. I always took as many candid shots of friends and relatives in order to capture the activities in their height of action. I have been quite lucky with these candid snaps as generally everyone looked good and the whole scene was captured in totality.

    But ever since I have entered into this completely new and exciting world of food blogging , I just realized that atleast in terms of photography I stand no where.

    I looked at the photographs of these food bloggers and said to myself that this food looks out of this world and mine looks just out of the magazines our moms or maybe even grand mothers read.

    I tried using all those tools which enhance the photograph and phew ,thats some time consuming task.

Then I said to myself that a perfectly prepared dish would always take precedence over a dish that looks impressive but does little or nothing at all for the taste buds.

   But that’s the way I look at it. Today is the age for the best presentation and I need to work on that a lot more than anything else. Well I can’t change my camera that soon but I can start using the tools to beautify the food.Wish me luck with this new adventure.
   Just one of those candid pictures I was talking about....thats my daughter playing with the basketball...tried my hand at editing and cropping stuff...thats the best I can manage so far.

Spinach corn pulao

I want to try out something new this time.

I will not type this recipe the usual way…lets do something different just for  the fun of it.

1.        Soak one cup rice for atleast half an hour.

2.        Take a pan and add just two tablespoons of olive oil and the moment it gets warm add some cumin seeds and cloves. Add one sliced onion and stir fry till it turns just a light pink.

3.        Pour four grated tomatoes and add one heapful tablespoon of ginger garlic paste.

4.       Stir it for about five minutes till you feel that the quantity of the liquid is about one cup or little more. All this cooking is to be done on medium flame.

5.        Wash and drain the spinach. The quantity I used for this recipe was four chopped cups of spinach leaves….When I decide to give greens to my family I just add as much greens as possible.

6.        Add the spinach , rice, one cup of water ( remember that we already have one cup of liquid in the pan)  and the frozen corn ( about ¾ th cup)  all in one go along with the turmeric and the salt  and green chillies to taste.

7.        Cover and bring to low flame and cook till done.

8.        Serve with onion and tomato raita.

I agree with Laurent in the movie English vinglish that cooking is an art , like any other form of expressing the creativity within you and the quality or taste of your food depends on what level you have taken your creativity to.

    Each one  of us is creative in their own way, many have chosen their respective professions to express their creativity….take any job for example.

   Similarly even the simple act of making the daily meals is creative in its own light. If you are a home maker or a working woman, or a gentleman interested in cooking , I feel that each day you are creating something good by doing the simple task of making food for yourself or your family.

    Those of you who are not too fond of cooking….its ok. I can not  hold a paint brush properly, neither can I dance well, I can’t prescribe medicines for sick people but I can cook a decent meal and that is my art. I am sure you have a way of expressing yours and it doesn’t necessarily mean that you should like to cook and that you should cook well.

     I guess its just expected out of women to cook well but I think that everyone has a right to choose their way of expressing their love. I do it by making food but many others do it by patiently teaching their children mathematics and a whole lot of deeds which require utmost patience and dedication.

    So my dear friend, if you don’t like to cook or if you feel that your food is not praised by many , no sweat , each one of us is an artist , all we have to do is to find the right medium to show case our talent to ourself or if need be to the world .

Check out the pictures of"Ikebana "by my mother in my profile albums