Tag: food photography

Posted in Daily, Food, Photography Art

Waffles off the Griddle

Posted on by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

My first exposure to waffles came when I was invited over to my friends’ place for a weekend during my sophomore years. As we ate through buttery waffles with sliced bananas, honey and chocolate syrup that morning, it was like an answer for sugar cravings in the morning. Ever since then, I try not to pass on an opportunity to indulge in this decadent breakfast treat.

Ideally waffles are made from leavened batter or dough cooked between two plates that are patterned to give a characteristic size, shape, and surface impression. Something similar to pancakes, though distinct in its’ style. And over the years from its’ initial medieval origins, there are over a dozen different varieties of waffles around the world, with different batters and toppings. They range from being big or small, crispy or chewy, sugared or spiced to becoming side dishes like as ice-cream cones or simply as waffle burritos.

Source: Westfield Bites Place, Besant Nagar, Chennai https://www.pinterest.com/pin/450782243933298358/
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Source: http://www.hormel.com/Recipes/Monte-Cristo-Waffle-Sandwiches
Source: Waffle sandwich from Waffle & Wolf from https://www.thrillist.com/eat/new-york/50-american-eats-nyc-restaurants-things-to-do-in-new-york
Source: https://www.archanaskitchen.com/onion-tomato-dosa-savoury-waffles-recipe

 

Contrary to popular belief, waffles aren’t restricted to being served for breakfast. It can grace the table for lunch or dinner, depending on the mood of the day. Besides the savoury combination of chicken and waffles, other combinations like chili and waffles? Use your favorite cornbread mix and cook the batter in your waffle iron, then top with chili, sour cream, shredded cheese, chopped onions or can be had with eggs and veggies, or we can have a bit of both with bacon and maple syrup. The great thing about waffles is that they can be tailored to personal choices and make great desserts too. With the availability of the waffle iron, the ease of making waffles gives flight to fanciful combinations. Yet there are two rules to live by, warm the milk for the waffles and never stack the waffles while making else we’ll lose out on the crispiness.

The incredible simplicity of making waffles has resulted in it being blended with the local cuisine for instance waffles on stick with kulfi or as savoury waffle dosa. Although in the regular Indian households waffles have are still on the once-in-a-while menu list, trends are changing with more interesting recipes being experimented on. Additionally with waffle mix available and as waffles have excellent freeze options, they have become popular in the rush hour especially in the fast paced mornings. To quote Lauren Myracle, “You should eat a waffle! You can’t be sad if you eat a waffle!”

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Posted in Daily, Food, Quotes

Evolution of Pastry

Posted on by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“All food starting with p is comfort food: pasta, potato chips, pretzels, peanut butter, pastrami, Pizza, pastry.” Sara Paretsky

One of the most difficult comfort foods to master in the kitchen is the pastry. Unlike regular cuisine, all the measures have to be in exact precision, proportion as well as timing. Too much and too little handling damages it. Despite all this, mastering few types of pastry gives every “home kitchen cook” a profound sense of accomplishment as well as delightful treats on holidays for the entire family.

Pastry is different from cooking because you have to consider the chemistry, beauty and flavor. It’s not just sugar and eggs thrown together. I tell my pastry chefs to be in tune for all of this. You have to be challenged by using secret or unusual ingredients. Ron Ben-Israel

A dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter) that may be savoury or sweetened is what encompasses pastry. From sweet to savoury, many kinds of baked products are made of ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder and eggs, although the sweeter version are often known as baker’s confectionery. Pies, tarts, quiches and pasties are the common pastry dishes with minor variations that come under their labeling. Today with ready-made pastry dough available, homemade pastry as become a little easy especially when schedules gets a bit hectic.

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To make a full-blooded puff pastry, you need time, you need patience, and you need precision. It’s all about the lamination: it’s all about building up the layers of butter, dough, butter, dough; as the butter melts, it creates steam, and that brings up the layers of the two doughs apart from each other, and that’s what gives it the rise. Paul Hollywood

From shortcrust pastry to puff pastries, the evolution of various varieties has been synchronous with time, tradition, locale flavours and culture. Like many of the desserts, the tradition of pastry making started off as early as the era of Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans. Although the initial pastry covers over dishes were not meant to be eaten but used for baking to keep the juices in. The medieval cuisine of Europe had a breakthrough with pastry chefs using shortening and butter to make stiff pastries as well as newer techniques like the raised hot water crust initiated in the 14th century. Unlike the earlier processes which had used oil, causing the pastry to lose its stiffness. Towards middle of 16th century pastry recipes have been written, adopted and altered to the local flavour and availability.

I was drawn to bakery and pastry. It’s the same discipline you employ in dance – you take the instruction, and you keep on practicing, seeking perfection. You never achieve it, but you strive. Ron Ben-Israel

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Although the pastry making traditions were different in the East and the West with different types of flour even rice flour going into the mix for the former. With the advent of travel and international cultural exchange, in the 19th century the trends of pastry making in Asia began to include a bit from the West. Once considered as a mere cover for dishes to be thrown away; today with a wide varied range pastry has become portable from creative miniature arts to eye-catching centerpieces as well as a culinary sheet for rich creative toppings and fillings of colourful, edible and delectable delights adding a bit of sparkle to make fusion varieties along with the classic recipes.

“The fine arts are five in number, namely: painting, sculpture, poetry, music, and architecture, the principal branch of the latter being pastry.” Marie-Antoine Careme

With a wide variety of cultural diversity and advancement of technology, Indian kitchens have been experimenting with sweet pies, tarts, Bougatsa of Greece, Danish pastry, Baklava, Apple strudel among the gulab jamuns, jalebis and Chatti pathiris that we have had since our childhood. Personally for me, I think tarts or sweet pies especially apple pies are way easier even with lack of oven, as a pressure cooker or crock pot on stove-tops can suffice. Although pastry making can lead to a kitchen disaster if not done with care, the satisfied feeling makes the experimentation worth the effort.

“A pastry usually tastes better if it looks nice. A cream pastry, now that looks nice – in fact, there is nothing I mind as long as it looks nice.” Arne Jacobsen

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Posted in Daily, Food, Quotes

Cozy with Comfort Foods

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“Some foods are so comforting, so nourishing of body and soul, that to eat them is to be home again after a long journey. To eat such a meal is to remember that, though the world is full of knives and storms, the body is built for kindness. The angels, who know no hunger, have never been as satisfied.” Eli Brown in Cinnamon and Gunpowder

After a tiring week or even on long weary days, there’s nothing more satisfying that indulging  in something that calms the nerves, bringing memories of the best days of our life, as children or even as adults. No matter how “grown up”we may claim to be, everyone has their own brand of comfort or go-to food. Ranging from fried chicken to rice, french fries, bread pudding or caramel custard to scrambled eggs on toast, fish and chips or fried pakoras with ketchup to nutella on pancakes to simply ice cream; sweet, spicy or savoury the list is endless and varied. Yet there’s nothing more welcoming that digging into food that reminds us of good times, home or our mother’s kitchen, sunny skies and fun moments.

Food is a lot of people’s therapy – when we say comfort food, we really mean that. It’s releasing dopamine and serotonin in your brain that makes you feel good. Brett Hoebel

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While the usual taste of comfort might trend towards the homemade cuisine, each one of us have our own eclectic tastes. Contrary to popular belief, not all women love only chocolate and ice-cream while all men indulge in steaks, casseroles and soups. Each to their own is what I believe in. As long as that food provides a nostalgic or sentimental value, its’ worth having it in both the happy as well as the sad phase.

You can’t go wrong with relatively simple comfort food. It’s also about ease. Some cook to impress. I cook for people to enjoy the food. Al Roker

Although the downside of the comfort food is its high calories, it is worth the carbohydrate load as long as it is once in a while. That is one of the reasons why a long list of comfort foods is particularly satisfying. Whether the preparation is simple or complicated, as long as the feeling of nostalgia is attached to it; it fits the criteria depending on the mood at that moment. The blissful feeling after indulging the cravings can be better experienced than said.

Sometimes a little comfort food can go a long way. – Benjamin Bratt

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Posted in Daily, Food, Quotes

Fritters for Weekend

Posted on by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

You don’t want to make a steady diet of just lettuce. You don’t want to make a steady diet of fried chicken. Paula Deen

On a walk down the streets in India, the sight of stalls or shops selling fried pakoras or bhajji and the like are a common feature. Not seeing them would make the trip incomplete and less interesting. While it is National Fritter Day tomorrow, fritters have been the heart-line of Indian snacks or appetizers especially the savoury ones. The platter of fritter-like street foods is long with pakoras or bhajji, vadas and bondas to list a few.

Pakoras or bhajjis as they popularly called across most states of India are made usually from vegetables like onion, potatoes, chillies, cauliflowers; although banana, groundnuts, buckwheat, fish and bread pakoras are made. Making their global presence known, newer varieties of pakoras are being experimented with the local flavours like the Haggis pakora (a Scottish snack food of traditional Scottish haggis ingredients with the spices, batter and preparation method of Indian pakoras).

“So do not fritter away your days. Sooner than you fear, you will stand before a mirror in a care home, look at your body, and think, E.T., locked in a ruddy cupboard for a fortnight.” ― David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

Contrary to the meaning of the noun, fritters are something irresistible deep-fried delicious once-in-a-while treats. Fritters are fried foods consisting of batter or bread filled with ingredients of a wide variety ranging from sweet to savoury tastes. The fillings can be single or mix of vegetables, like onion, potatoes, spinach or cereals like cornflour or milk-based (cheese), meat, seafood and even fruits like bananas or apples.

“Little critters fried like fritters come out crunchy and divine.”- Gregory Maguire

Call them by any name, but fritters have been popular across many countries. From gorengan of Indonesia, Malaysian cucur, Nigerian akara, tater tots and Hushpuppy to name a few, each country has their own version of fritters.

“I don’t want someone shoving his views down my throat, unless they’re covered in a crunchy candy shell”- Stephen Colbert.
To add on to the quote, “or a frittery crunchy taste” sometimes.

Source:http://www.sophisticatedgourmet.com/2016/05/onion-pakoras-fritters/
Source:https://www.stayathomemum.co.uk/recipes/pancetta-and-vegetable-fritters/
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Source:http://treasurecourt.com.au/menu/banana-fritters/
Source:https://www.goodhousekeeping.co.za/all-recipes/pumpkin-fritters/
Source:http://www.theafricangourmet.com/2017/02/west-african-garri-fritters-recipe.html
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Source:http://www.travellingoven.com/2015/11/healthy-apple-fritters/

 

Posted in Daily, Family and Society, Food

Origins of Pain Perdu

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“Dip a slice of bread in batter. That’s September: yellow, gold, soft and sticky. Fry the bread. Now you have October: chewier, drier, streaked with browns. The day in question fell somewhere in the middle of the french toast process.” — Tom Robbins

To add on to the quote above, add a little sugar before you fry the bread and with a glass of milk to go, November has come and almost gone.

In the morning chaos, one of the easiest options for a quick breakfast (besides cereal, oatmeal, eggs and bread) is the french toast. French toast is a dish made of bread soaked in eggs and milk, then fried. Alternative names and variants include eggy bread, Bombay toast, German toast to name a few. Yet the name is a misnomer as the recipe didn’t originally come from France. The Apicus, a collection of Latin recipes dating to the 4th or 5th century have the earliest reference to French Toast where it is labelled as simply aliter dulcia (“another sweet dish”) which breaks down the steps of the recipe to “slice fine white bread, remove the crust, and break it into large pieces. Soak these pieces in milk and beaten egg, fry in oil, and cover with honey before serving.” This recipe has been modified and carried to German, England, Nordic areas as well as Italy.

The usual French name is pain perdu translated as “lost bread”, reflecting its use of stale bread. Known for its ease in making and simplicity; sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla can be also added to the mix. Alternatively, the bread may be soaked in wine, rosewater, or orange juice either before or after cooking. The bread is then fried in butter or olive oil until browned and cooked through. Day-old bread is often used, both for its thrift and because it will soak up more egg mixture without falling apart.

“The things that you did with parents, whether it was spending every Sunday morning with your dad and eating French toast and watching Popeye, or decorating the Christmas tree with our mother – these are memories that help you be happy.” ~ Leonardo DiCaprio

All said, bringing breakfast to the table from different parts of the world makes the morning light, quick and interesting; in addition to the fact that the kids will love the change once in a while.

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Posted in Daily, Food, Quotes

Treats like Cupcakes

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“The little cakes were iced in white, with golden yellow icing roses on top, and instead of ice cream there was sherbet that was a rainbow of colors in each dish. Jane Louise Curry”

Uniquely suited for the modern food culture, cupcakes are known for its portion controlled size, easy baking, inexpensive, delightful as well as edible art which allows us to splurge on the calories without being guilty. With origins traced to early 19th century, the original cupcakes or fairy-cakes were simple cakes about the size of teacups though the fairy-cakes were made slightly bigger. Although the classic vanilla, chocolate flavoured or chocolate topped icing are standard, flavours as well as the topping designs have become more elaborate, decadent and even weird at times. that followed the basic rule of numbers with measurements as cups.

“In my mind, there was nothing better than a cupcake with a funny little twist. I liked bold pairings of fresh ingredients slathered high with decadent, old-fashioned waves of icing- organic pear and chai tea cake topped with vanilla-ginger buttercream was one of my current favorites. But Lolly St. Clair had more classic taste, and so I’d made an array of delicately flavored Meyer lemon, vanilla, and mocha cupcakes for the benefit.” ? Meg Donohue, How to Eat a Cupcake

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There is cup cake and then there are cupcakes. No, both aren’t exactly the same. The “cup cake” refers to a cake whose ingredients were measured by volume (using a standard-sized cup) instead of being weighed. The recipes where the ingredients were measured using a standard-sized cup can also be baked in cups; but they were more commonly baked in tins as layers or loaves. Later as the use of volume measurements was firmly established in the home kitchens, these recipes became known as 1234 cakes or quarter cakes. They mainly have four ingredients: one cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three cups of flour, and four eggs; making them less rich and less expensive than pound cake.

“When you look at a cupcake, you’ve got to smile.” -Anne Byrn

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The craze for cupcakes had picked up with the varying varieties available for many occasions besides having them at any time of the day as well as easily portable (remember rushing for the train with cupcake and coffee in hand). A quick office meeting or a tête-à-tête with friends; cupcakes and coffee go well with each having the freedom of their own topping. Elaborate cupcakes have graced receptions, wedding banquets as well as minor celebration parties. For weight watchers and chronic dieters, cupcakes are the answer to prayers for resolving the sugar cravings. Any kids parties, quick desserts or fast baking, cupcakes are life savers and yes, they can be made in pressure cookers too. Not to forget the designs and colours of cupcake toppings an icing, which have launched their own line of food photography art.

Cupcakes are like having life in delicious bite sizes. To quote Laurel Nakadate, “A cupcake is like a great pop song. The whole world in less than three minutes. And it’s impossible to have a bad cupcake. In New York you walk everywhere. So I’m always looking, always on the eternal search for the perfect cupcake. I take them very seriously. It’s like hunting and gathering for me.” As the best things in life come in small packages, cupcakes join my list of sweet delights. This makes promoting the Small Business Saturday with cupcakes worth the time and effort.

“Coffee makes it possible to get out of bed. Cupcakes make it worthwhile.” ~ Unknown Author

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Posted in Family and Society, Food

Culture of Fast Food

Posted on by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

The rise of the urban development has been directly proportional to the growth of fast food culture.

In 1951 Merriam-Webster had recognized the term “Fast food” as “of, relating to or specializing in food that can be prepared and served quickly” or ” designed for ready availability, use or consumption and with little consideration given to quality or significance (adj.)(noun)”. Although contrary to popular belief, fast food has been there since the times of the Romans. The cities of the Roman empire had marketplaces like the Forum with food vendors who sold baked goods and cured meats to the urban population living in “the insulae” (similar to multi-story apartment blocks). Functioning more or less like a simple eating establishment, bread soaked in wine, cooked vegetables and stews later on were available. The trends continued through the ages and the civilizations as seen in China of the 12th century where fried dough, soups and stuffed buns were snack foods. Meanwhile the markets of their contemporaries in Persia (now Baghdad) sold processed legumes, purchased starches and even ready-to-eat meats. Moving ahead during the Middle Ages, large towns and major urban places like London and Paris had numerous vendors with stalls of ready to eat dishes such as pies, pasties, flans, waffles, wafers, pancakes and cooked meats. With the rapid industrial revolution, booming of towns, progresses in the food and science industry, the ready to eat meals underwent rapid changes, for better then but worse now. Along with the era of colonization, wars, immigration and emigration , the fast paced food industry had picked up in leaps and bounds.

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Not everyone necessarily needs new things all the time and creative designs. It’s good to have luxury restaurants and fast-food restaurants. You need both. Rei Kawakubo

From prepackaged food sold at convenience stores, street vendors, filling stations to fast food outlets, the entire scenario revolves around quick service when “on the go” preferring finger food to “the cutlery food”. “Take-away” or “take-out” with “drive-through” options, all started off as the fast-paced life took over with people working two to three jobs, lack of provisions or money or time to cook the regular meals. Of late, the development of technology has allowed one to order food through the smart phone applications.

You can do good work simply staying up all night and eating nothing but junk food, but probably not in the long term. John Mulaney

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Despite the popular assumption that fast food and junk food are the same, they are not. True although there is an overlap between the terms, they are not entirely substitute terms. Fast food refers to the fast assembly process for the preparation of the food, where food is ready in a matter of minutes. Junk food is labelled based on the little nutritional value of the food which is high calorie, high sodium with or without high saturated fat, sugar or salt content.

I follow my own advice: eat less, move more, eat lots of fruits, vegetables, and grains, and don’t eat too much junk food. It leaves plenty of flexibility for eating an occasional junk food. Marion Nestle

While the taste buds are tempted and cravings are fulfilled, on the downside the price to pay on the long run with risk of colorectal cancer, obesity, high cholesterol and depression to list a few. As good things always come in small packages, to downsize the portions, space out the intake and nutritionally substitute the fast food as well as retaining the taste are the few of the tricks to tackle the constant pull to it.

“The problem is when that fun stuff becomes the habit. And I think that’s what’s happened in our culture. Fast food has become the everyday meal.” Michelle Obama

As we mark any occasion or dining out with fast or junk food, keeping it in moderation makes us guilt-free to enjoy the pleasures once in a while. As been proven time and again, too much of anything spoils the fun.

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