If there is one thing the viral Japanese cheesecake teaches you, it is that joy doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s the quiet revelation that a treat can be assembled, not laboured over. That a few thoughtful ingredients, layered with a little patience, can feel like a small luxury.
Deconstructed here but when it all comes together, it trully is a decadent chocolate bar. The Dubai Chocolate Knafeh Pistachio Bar somehow went viral and I was keen on giving this my own homemade twist.
As winter wraps its comforting embrace around us, there's nothing quite like the warmth that comes from a family gathered around a table. In the heart of this season, we are currently finding solace in shared moments, laughter, and the aroma of freshly baked treats.
It made a lasting impression and it deeply fulfilled my soul. Madame Maillard brought it out in a cast iron pan not much larger than a dessert plate. The sides were puffed up like a soufflé and browned on the edges, and the juices of the fruit left a blood-red trail within the ridges. Peeling off some waxed paper from a small ceramic bowl she pulled out of the fridge and to my delight, she formed the perfect quenelle of Crème Fraiche and carefully placed it on top of my very first cherry clafoutis.
Rhubarb, for many, is an acquired taste, often not acquired till adulthood. I did not acquire the taste until a few years after I moved to Germany. Rhubarb is the harbinger of springtime, and like Spring it is transient and delightful.
As a child of the 80s, the crème caramel was the epitome of all desserts for me. As a daughter of an hotelier I spent a lot of the 80s giving into the gentle jiggling charm of this dessert. Somewhere into the 90s the dessert disappeared from its pedestal of fame. Apparently the crème caramel had occupied a huge amount of space on restaurant menus around the world for a large part of the 20th century and probably had to make room for the liquid nitrogen dessert trends that took the 2000s over by storm. Or how about the fusion of any two ingredients possible – cronut or cruffin anyone?
Sustainability: we all talk about it and we all aim to live by it. For all our good intentions do we understand what it really means and how to achieve it?
“Eating with pleasure but with responsibility towards all human beings worldwide and for the next generation” – probably is the best way to bring the idea of sustainability onto the table.
Ever since we made these Almond Butter and Blueberry popsicles – we are very much addicted. Even though our summer here in Weimar is not as exemplary as we would like it to be, we are still getting a few sunny and warm days in between grey cooler days. Nothing however, seems to dampen our mood this summer break! We are enjoying it to the fullest with our popsicle creations. These all fruit tutti frutti popsicles bring on the best of the summer days.
Ever since our return from Alaska the weather has been a bit of everything. From warm sunny days with a cooling breeze, to hot humid days similar to those in Dubai or even monsoon-like summer rainy days reminiscent to Bombay, to cool autumn-like mornings. It seems Mother Nature just is having trouble deciding on which weather to shower on us.
Peonies, scoops of ice cream, dances through the sprinkler, warm summer rains and juicy strawberries. All the things that are making summer a blast for us here in Weimar. Those end of year exams are done and dusted for my son, my last workshops and events for the first half of the year are under the belt and we are gearing towards summer break in just under a week.
When people find out or realize that food is not only my hobby but also work – that I blog about food, shoot and style food and obviously cook with a lot of food – they are often curious about the kind of cuisine I cook at home. Probably expecting me to define myself to one specific cuisine – probably Indian. They are often fascinated when I tell them that I truly enjoy blending ingredients to give a variety of different flavors in combinations that come together often as an idea or experiment.
To me it never really feels like summer until cherries arrive in the markets. Cherries announce the beginning of the stone-fruit season and for me this kicks-off my favorite fruit season of the year. For a short time cherries are the stars before apricots, peaches and plums arrive and take over front row.
When one has spent a little time in Thuringia it is easy to understand why the Thurigians are so attached to their roots and are patriotic to this region. It is beautiful fertile country covered with rolling hills, thick lush forests and it boasts of rich cultural history. The story of the Leuchtenburg castle probably ideally depicts this devotion and dedication often found in people here. The Leuchtenburg is one of the most beautiful castles erected on a mountain in Germany. Unfortunately, during the GDR it was neglected and after several misused purposes the castle was supposed to be auctioned off in 2007.
„Stay till Diwali!“ Last week my dad wished a few times. I wished we could …
A list of tasks to complete, must dos, deadlines to meet and unfinished projects to complete ran down like a matrix in my brain. Now as I sit here back in Weimar listening to the wind howl outside as the rain batters against the windows, I am thinking I wish I did.
It’s been a while! I’ve been missing around here for the past several weeks – I know but my thoughts have been here. Summer has taken control of me and all my time. While we are enjoying the long warm days and evenings, I’ve been engulfed with several projects and photo jobs that have dominated most of my time. It’s been a very interesting time around here.
Here in the Northern Hemisphere we are celebrating the arrival of spring. Temperatures are rising and there is a general air of “Happy” around everyone. When it comes to food spring really is my favorite season. It even gives autumn a good run for all its variety. Probably because after bleak and somber winters, there is so much freshness around at this time of year that it is hard not to cave into the abundance and variety available at the markets.
The year is 1895 at the height of the Belle Epoche, a time filled with great optimism in France. Paris boasts of its newest acquirement, the Eiffel Tower, lighting the blue touch paper in this “beautiful era”, where science and the arts are seeing a period of development and innovation. The rich and famous celebrate this age buoyantly, traveling in their fancy cars and rejoicing with good food, wine and champagne.
The Holiday time is often brimming with emotion, where anxiety, cheerfulness and the grey areas are entwined with each other. There will be some who have happy memories of Christmases past, while others face a painful time to endeavour. We all have memories and experiences in our lives that make us who we are.
In need of some comfort and warmth. As the temperatures drop I am craving an inner warmth and a soothing comfort. They say it’s going to snow this week. I am frantically rubbing the sparkly rhinestone sandals I bought in Dubai hoping that we’ll have a miraculous burst of summer. Damn the snow!