Romantic Manifestation

I enjoy a good meal……….sometimes cooked by me. I did have this barrier before of not really liking what I cooked….but everyone enjoyed it. At least pretended to and hyped it pitying my weak heart. May be when you know what goes behind making a thing you lose the flavor of it. Because you have seen the unfinished and the raw state of things chopped, mixed, mess! Compared to the final product. (i m pretty neat otherwise..) other than hiding my methods of cooking there is another reason why i would like to cook alone so that i can pretend to be on a cookery show on TV as some great chef doing the right thing and knowing the correct terms. but all i say is" aisa karna hai aur phir vaisa karna hai". After all the does and don'ts, you pull things together and make this perfect meal for the people you care about. And hope that they will enjoy and relish it. Another thing about me cooking is that I don’t trust myself and memory...Naa!!. I have to have a recipe on a paper nearby and I m dead serious about the quantities. As for my mom it doesn’t matter at all. She doesn’t refer any recipes even if she does, she never does exactly what it says, Does her own thing. I think that’s what makes her food so wonderful. Food which we all love and identify our homes & hearth with. Flavor that is so customized to the 5 of us. Food that suits all of our different tastes or otherwise. It’s a huge task… And then there is me. Well my food is tasty. Most of the times. (There are bad days. Ok Everybody has them. But let’s not talk about them) the reason i no more have the barrier about liking my own cooked food, the idea is to know the ingredients you use and the processes of cooking and also the after efects. knowing what each of their capabilities are, what tastes and essences are given out under certain conditions and how their properties change or reach a different level. which i think is the key to cooking a delicious meal. hah! not that i have mastered it. i don't know professionally but it's my own sweet little way. I respect and like most of the spices...but the sexiest of them all I think is the Cinnamon (dalchini) just some dry brown sticks with delicate heavenly woody aroma, I have been hung up on cinnamon tea for a while, also apple cinnamon ice cream. It has the tendency to give a luxurious and sensual feel at the same time to anything. I think even green Cardamom does that, without it most Indian sweets are incomplete. The colour of fresh capsicum (Simla mirchi) is so gorgeously glossy green also tomatoes are so vibrant to look at. Garlic, I can have them raw & also enjoy wasting my time peeling them. Ginger and garlic are both electric tasting in nature ,combination is most powerful & I think and is always a big hit! Cloves (laung) hit the taste buds hard resulting instant freshness. Another restricted one is asafoetidia, little works wonders. Turmeric, something about the earthy yellow and the scent feels pure and clean I guess cause of my Indian roots. Others are mint leaves; curry leaves, honey, tamarind, yogurt, mustard seeds-… ‘mustard seeds; Smaller than all seeds, but when it falls on the tilled earth it produces a large tree…’..oh! sum thing I jus remembered…..-to name a few. I have tried some other cuisine’s but Indian is cheaper and everything is easily available. After all my sightings in my “break” time I have grown to be fond of cooking to certain degree. The taste of food prepared with care and love of cooking creates wonders in daily life; make magical ordinary days…..!!