3 weeks in India and I'm hungry!

My husband and I just spent 3 weeks in India. We stayed in a small village in Karnataka with an Ayurvedic doctor and his extended family. For 3 weeks we had 3 meals cooked by the doctor's mother. Breakfast was usually plain gruel while lunch and dinner were the same chipati or dosa with a some veggies. The food was simple and clean but by the 3rd week I was dreaming about what I was going to eat as soon as I returned home. Here's what we ate every day!

The chipati was actually called Roti, it was made without wheat flour. It was tasty for the first week but after that each time I sat down to eat I prayed for variety. I realized I'm pretty spoiled with food back home so I'm a bit more appreciative for the abundance that we have here in the states. The Mama of the house made a coconut chutney which I LOVED. It is just blended coconut, fresh cardamon leaves, mustard seeds, and chili flakes. She also taught me how to make Roti's.

The dough is rolled out onto a banana leaf than put onto a flat iron pan for 2 minutes on each side.

This was our house mother for last month.
She didn't speak any English but we were able to communicate our excitement when the coconut chutney and beet root was served.











During the last week in India all I could think of was our friend JB's bacon cheese burgers. I wanted one so badly that we planned our first real meal while we were still in India. I'm not joking when I say that JB's burgers are the best I've ever had. Here are pictures from our first day back. I had to use the camera on my phone so the pictures do not do justice to these scrumptious masterpieces. He used roasted onion, french cheddar cheese and thick-steak-like pieces of bacon to top the juicy meat. YUM!

I am so happy to be home and cooking again!

lunching on saturday

My favorite culinary friend invited me and some friends over on Saturday for lunch. He went to the farmer's market prior to us arriving.

I was supposed to pack and run some errands before my big trip to India on Monday. I figured I would go to lunch for an hour or two and then return to my chores. When we arrived there was delicious white wine, followed by champagne, followed by more wine. What chores?

We gathered around in the kitchen watching JB meticulously chop garlic and onions- there was no blood this time. He was excited that he didn't have to rush to cook and therefore moved with intentionality. He was deliberate and it became evident when we sat down to eat.

White wine sauteed the onions, garlic, clams and sausage. Tri-colored potato hash-browns topped with kale and Quail eggs! Warm bread soaked up all the extra juices.

There were 5 of us. We laughed a lot, we reminisced over our favorite SNL comedians that made the show what it used to be. We shocked ourselves with names from TV shows like, The Hogan Family and Valerie when trying to trace Jason Batemen's childhood career. My friend even got her shoulders rubbed from one of the guests- and then was asked out on a date!

Dessert inspired 2 of the guests to run to the store to buy marshmallows, Rice Krispies and ice-cream. Here's what they came up with....Ice Cream Sandwiches! Our glasses were always filled. Our bellies were full of delicious slow cooked food.

Lunch lasted 5  hours. Saturday was a good day.

here's what i'm looking for...

Please describe how a meal or particular recipe altered an experienced with others. Have you ever remembered a meal that marked a moment in time, difficult, sad, joyous etc.?


Your experiences may range from a dessert that led your dinner guests into a euphoric drunken dance party, or a dish you cooked for your friend who just lost a loved one. I am looking for a full range of emotional experiences where food became the conduit for human connection.


Please contact me with any questions!

Our first meal

I can't believe I have a picture of the first meal I ever ate with my husband.

I had met him about an hour before this meal for the very first time. He showed up at my door in Berkeley after driving 7 hours to meet me face to face. I invited him in, tongue tied and nervous, and insisted that we have a glass of champagne to celebrate our first meeting, and to settle my nerves. He was nothing like I expected, which made me overjoyed and terrified.

He was pretty much a stranger to me at this point so I invited my friend to chaperone us to dinner. We went to Christopher's Burger in Oakland. My friend was late. We sat in a booth, looking at each other. He said to me, "You're really pretty." I replied, "I had no idea you were going to be you."

My friend showed up. We ordered cheese burgers, some with mushrooms, bacon, and avocado, and lots of fries. We barely ate a thing, not because the food wasn't good.

We've been together since the burgers and now we get to be married!