When you hear "lavender", I'll bet the first thing that comes to mind is soap, air freshener or floral water. Quite fitting since the word comes from the Latin lavare which means "to wash". For centuries lavender has been associated with cleansing and purifying as it's believed to be anti bacterial, anti viral and anti microbial. Not the first thing you would associate with things you want to put in your mouth ;)

If you think about it in the remotest culinary sense, it may be herbes de Pro...

Hello my lovely readers and blogger buddies! I have been scarce the last week or so - it's exam season at our house and having two boys taking very important exams during the same week is nerve wrecking, to say the least. Sadly, posting and visiting all your gorgeous blogs, had to take a backseat.

But, (this is a good "but" trust me) I do have a treat for you today. My lovely friend Biren from Roti n Rice invited me to do a guest post on her blog, a little while back and of course I gladly ...

Quickies Cocktail Challenge Update : I am pleased to announce that we've now received  3  very interesting entries! Thank you very much and please, keep them coming. Send as many entries as you like, just remember to get them in by midnight of  September 27 2010 (ET)  - we're looking forward to shouting out the winner and showcasing a fantastic line up of entries on September 28 2010 (ET)  !! What's your motivation? A gorgeous cookbook! (take a detailed peek here) And now on to the day's post...

South Indian food can be intoxicatingly heady...... or overwhelming, depending on individual perception. The fact that I grew up being constantly assailed by smells of roasting cumin, simmering asafoetida, mustard seeds popping and curry leaves blistering in hot oil, from neighbouring kitchens, probably predisposed me to a passion for South Indian flavours. On any day, I would take them over the more well known and less assertive ones of North Indian cuisine.

food photography 101 tip no 1 - ...

Sometimes you just want it easy. That was the mood dictating yesterday's lunch.

Now, I don't usually give peas a chance. Really....did you think I would resist? They're round, tiny and have this tendency to roll around the plate, adroitly and annoyingly giving the tines of your fork the slip each and every time; the Frank Abagnale of vegetables. I know, I know...you're supposed to squish them against said tines then lift them to your mouth, but, I don't mix eating and exercising. I've been ...

I have been on a Indonesian food binge of late, inspired by Pierre of Little Hungry Heart and after a weekend of wanton indulgence in all things Indonesian (food my peeps....f-o-o-d) with my Indonesian (no less) husband not so very long ago, I still was not satisfied. Walking past my cookbook shelf a few days ago and catching sight of the cover of an Indonesian cookbook had me running to the market for the freshest, softest  squares of beancurd I could find, and peanuts for a luscious and spi...

I found myself alone at home yesterday - a very rare occurence for me. I can't remember the last time I was alone, since I got married and became a mother. It was a treat to potter about the apartment, doing exactly as I pleased, listening to Jeff Buckley, Ella Fitzgerald and Antonio Carlos Jobim, singing along at the top of my lungs, without eyeballs rolling left, right and centre, while sipping a little wine, just before lunch, in between the laundry, ironing and scrubbing.

Of course I l...

As much as any one of us loves to cook, and may well on any given day, eat, live and breathe food, there will be times when when you’ve had all you can take of microwave imploded frozen pizza, greasy stoves, kitchen conflagrations and dirty dishes. Don't tell me otherwise; you'd be a fibber. My friend Luca has rather more of such days than most, and is the inspiration behind this feast of a sandwich, that gives every indication of appealing to more than just fungi fanatics or (more or les...