Stuff-free holidays

Holiday gift giving is a pet peeve of mine. People have way too much "stuff" - useful stuff, useless stuff, stuff to create an entire island in case we lose Florida due to climate change (I learnt this is the correct scientific term for global warming). During the holidays, it is important to realize that it is okay to not give/receive gifts, especially considering these hard economic times. Just say no.

http://www.grist.org/advice/how/2008/12/09/index.html
http://www.grist.org/feature/2007/11/20/say-no/

After all, isn't it better to relax, and spend time with friends and family than to run around like crazy from store to store, mall to mall, buying and returning stuff?

I know I sound like the grinch, but I hate the holiday season. I hate the fact that it gets dark so early. I hate the excess eating and drinking. I hate the excess consumerism. I hate the fact that people are so stressed out... I hate the fact that people drive like maniacs in parking lots.... okay, let me stop there before I get a pie thrown in my face. Let me end on a positive note.. I love the fact that this is the time of the year to reach out to friends that we normally lose touch with through the year... And who doesn't love the days off from work? And finally, I do have a soft spot for holiday lighting eventhough it is energy-wasteful.

I hope V will write an article about saving prudently for the future and what learnings we should keep past this economic downturn. He is good at pragmatic stuff like that, unlike me, who gets riled up over things.

Madras Filter Coffee!

Like typical Madrasis, my parents cannot function in the morning without their cup of filter kaapi. And I feel nostalgic just thinking about the wonderful aroma, the sounds of the sizzling hot water poured into the filter and of the milk boiling over.

Amma has bequeathed me with a small filter that I do use occassionally, but it gets used mostly when my parents visit me. I still have to treat V one of these days to a hot cup of filter kaapi, since he has asked me many times already.

For those who don't know, Madras filter kaapi is a special type of latte. It is 3/4th volume hot milk, and 1/4th volume coffee decoction made with the filter shown below, and sweetened with sugar. To get the full experience, one must drink it as hot as one can handle it. So, it is typically served in a "dabara-tumbler" (stainless steel cup & saucer). One pours it from the cup to the saucer to cool it just enough to make it drinkable, and this process also creates a delicious frothy foam on top.

So here's the main implement, the kaapi filter.

To make the coffee decoction - use Turkish ground (fine-ground) coffee, and stuff it in the top section and pound it down with the sieve-like cover with the handle. Place the top section on the bottom section. Pour hot water over the sieve and close the lid. Wait 5 - 10 mins for the decoction to brew and collect in the bottom section.

I submitted this post to Chitra Amma's Kitchen which is hosting a Kitchen Treasure Hunt event! What a wonderful idea!

Koh Samui and The Monkey

We love to go into the City whenever we get a chance. This year, since we were in town for Thanksgiving, we decided to drive in to the City for dinner. After pondering over several choices, we voted for Koh Samui and the Monkey in SOMA/South Beach. We made an appointment for 6:30 PM, but we got there at 5 PM itself since we got there straight from watching the Bond movie. However, we got a table with no problems. What sweetened the evening even more was that we found free parking on the street right in front of the restaurant! The inside of the restaurant is nicely done with some quirky and some beautiful antique items from Thailand. From what I understand Koh Samui is an island in Thailand, in which there is a world-famous monkey theatre.

Service was very good, and we got good guidance on the menu. The menu was vast, and quite interesting, and also, they were willing to make a vegetarian version of any item on the menu. We ordered 2 appetizers - the fresh spring rolls, and fried sweet corn patties. Both of them were exceptional in presentation and taste. Just look at these corn fritters in the little baskets.



Our tea was served in tiny cute elephant cups that I immediately wanted to take home with me. However V pointed out that they were not that ergonomic since the wide brim made the tea go cold very fast. Besides they cost around $14 per mug!! Oh but they were so cute!

Our friend, D, decided to go vegetarian, as she often does when she is with us. For the main course, between us we ordered the Pad Thai vegetarian, the Pumpkin Curry (in keeping with the Thanksgiving theme) and Spicy Tofu stir-fry. We got a side of brown rice to go with it.

My favorite was the Pumpkin curry (V had his side of cashews as usual), which came inside a pumpkin and had chunks of pumpkin in it as well. V really liked the Spicy tofu vegetarian stir fry since it had a lot of basil. The pad thai was okay, but we still cleaned it up.

Well, after all this, you wouldn't think we had space for anything else! But the dessert menu looked so alluring that we had to get something. D got the Chocolate Mousse cake since she likes it rich and chocolatety! V and I decided to split the flaming banana dessert that came with a side of coconut icecream. Yum! All in all, a very satisfying evening. We probably stayed there for a good 2 hours, chatting with D whom we hadn't seen in a while. We gave thanks for the good friends we have in our lives.

Acorn Squash - Raisin bread recipe

What's a holiday dinner without a Winter Squash delicacy on the menu? Even though we had Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant, but I still baked some goodies to share with friends and neighbors. While I was rifling through my recipes, I spotted the old, tattered and stained sheet in which resides my banana-walnut bread recipe. A friend gave it to me several years back and since then I have made it countless times, always with great success. Whenever V and I find the bananas we bought are too icky ripe to eat, I throw them in the freezer and use them later for banana bread. Trust me, it makes the best banana bread.

This time, I decided to make a slight variation to this time-tested recipe. Okay, maybe not so "slight", considering the variation was the main ingredient, i.e. the bananas. I swapped the bananas out with acorn squash flesh. Ooh, the beautiful peachy color of the dough and finally the bread itself was so enticing. The baked squash aroma and the taste were also out of this world. V and I had this for breakfast almost for a whole week. So here's the recipe for Acorn Squash - Raisin bread, it makes 2 loaves.

Dry ingredients:

1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch salt
1/2 cup raisins


Wet ingredients:

1 medium sized acorn squash
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 buttermilk or yogurt
1 tsp vanilla

Method:

To prepare acorn squash:

1. Wash and microwave the acorn squash whole for 1 min
2. Cut into 2 halves and remove the seeds
3. Lay cut side down in a microwavable dish with 1/4" of water
4. Microwave on high for 8 - 10 mins
5. Let cool. Scoop out the flesh. You will have around 2 1/2 cups
6. You will need only 2 cups for the recipe. Sprinkle some brown sugar on the rest and enjoy with a spoon!)

Make the bread:

• Pre-heat oven to 350C
  
• Mix all dry ingredients except raisins in a large bowl
  
• Add the wet ingredients including 2 cups of acorn squash flesh
  
• Mix with an electric hand mixer
  
• Add the raisins and mix
  
• Butter and dust 2 loaf pans with flour
  
• Divide dough into the 2 loaf pans and bake for 1 hour until a knife inserted comes out clean
  

See WHFoods website for the benefits of eating Acorn squash and other winter squashes.