Butterflies in my stomach

Sometimes it’s cool to talk about my feelings, about food. To be

perfectly honest, I have never been a fussy eater, myself.
Early childhood was spent weaning on rich creamy milk from water
buffaloes, and an occasional treat of palm sugar brought a big grin on
my baby face.
In my good old school days, food was a resource leading to play.
Waking up, was half the fun! The whistling sound of the pressure
cooker, marked the dawn of another, school day. While someone was
busy dabbing more vanishing cream on the half asleep face, tepid
spoonfuls of rice and lentil soup (Kedgeree to a Scottish soldier)
would flow swiftly down my hungry tummy.
School lunches were brief elements of surprise, bringing out mums
creativity and talents in home economics. Growing up on half ripe
bananas and fragrant guavas in a tropical country would sometime be
replaced by toasted sandwiches filled with spicy potato and peanut
fillings. (It was always a treat to open the Tiffin –box at the at the
stroke of lunch hour and unveil the much anticipated secrets).Rare
celestial occasions would lead us to buy lunches, from the canteen
stall that traded in various fried, quirky assortments, which included
tamarind sticks and jhal muri(spiced puffed rice).
The graduation into the heart of my mum’s bengalee kitchen was a
slow transition. It all began, with hiding amongst the pleats of mum’s
sari while playing hide and seek, and often tumbling into a sack of
flour, or an inquisitive fish head. Beads of enthusiasm graduated me
into podding peas, and picking spinach leaves, in winter and
religiously guarding bales of drying wheat germ from peckish stray
crows in the summer.
My first recipe, at the tender age of five was a cold refreshing glass of
sherbet(Drink), mixed on a hot summer afternoon, when mum was
busy catching up on a little dose of siesta. Brewed meticulously out of
freshly squeezed lime juice, mixed with generous spoonfuls of rock
salt, and sugar whisked into an ice cold bowl of freshly drawn well
water, it was a welcome break to the sweltering heat.
Cooking from scratch

Dear,
“Kitchen whisk-kids”,

Why I love to cook, is because I always feel hungry!!!!!

Cooking is something that any one with an open mind and the
willingness to learn can do.
The recipe is pretty simple:
Put in some safety, sprinkle a few skills and fold in some great fresh
ingredients….
And never hesitate to taste your own food. Yummmmmyyy.

In the next couple of “Kiddy-pies”, we will be learning some

important safety and cooking skills while acquiring special treats for
life.
Happy Cooking.

…………………………………

Playing it safe

Every good Chef needs an assistant to answer his/her questions.

No matter how experienced you are in the kitchen, make sure you talk
to your parents and have them around before raiding the fridge,
slicing with a knife, working around the stove, and electrical
appliances as food processors, and mixers.
Cooking is a great way to stretch your creativity, by making new
recipes and polishing on your mathematic skills by confirming dishes
according to portion sizes.
Before we forget:

*Make sure your work area is well lighted and there is plenty of fresh
air.
*Make sure your floor is dry, slip proof and you are wearing safe
shoes covering your toes, incase anything falls from the surface.
*Wear protective heat proof clothing, and cover any hair with nets.
*Wash your hands before starting to cook, and wash them every time
you have handled any meat or fish products.
*Cold foods need to stay cold and hot foods hot, to prevent growth of
harmful germs.
*Keep your knives sharp, and dry and store them away as soon as the
job is done.
*Always put handles of pots and pans facing inwards to avoid
accidents.
*Use oven mitts to handle hot food coming out of ovens.
*Always be alert, and keep an eye on the food.

Who does what?

Always have your parents on hand, to watch over you.
If you are,
3 years old. You cold wash fruits and vegetables, tear lettuce and stir
dressings.
4 years old. You could grease cake pans, peel eggs and mash bananas
with a fork.
5-6 years old. You could measure ingredients, set the table and
garnish food.
7-8 years old. You could help plan the meal, beat ingredients with a
whisk, and make a salad.
9-12 years old. You could open cans under supervision, shred cheese
and vegetables and make simple “Kiddy-pies”.
Slurppppyyy Ker now Ker now smoothie

Cornish wild fruit and cardamom lassi

Enough for 4, thirsty Cornish Miners

INGREDIENTS

 1 Punnet ripe strawberries, rinsed

 1 Punnet ripe raspberries ,rinsed
 25 g white sugar
 2 cardamom ,podded
 60 ml whole milk
 235 ml low-fat yogurt
 100gm Cornish clotted cream
 3 ice cubes

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut 6 strawberries into small pieces and set aside. In a blender,

place the remaining strawberries, raspberries and sugar; blend
on high speed for 30 seconds. Pour in the milk and blend
another 30 seconds. Add the yogurt and blend on high speed for
1 minute. Blend in the clotted cream, and refrigerate.
2. To serve, place 1 ice cube in each of the glasses and pour in the
lassi. Top with the strawberry pieces, powdered cardamom and
serve.