Diwali

Rasika invited Brandon and I to a Diwali celebration downtown. I got to meet a bunch of her friends (many I recognized from school already) and hang out on the Riverwalk.

I asked Rasika repeatedly what the significance of Diwali is, and I never got a straight answer. Mostly she said "Oh, there's a big festival and... also food." (I can tell she really has her priorities in the right place.) But she did say eventually that, at the end of the evening, we would be putting floating candles in the river. This is supposed to happen on the day of the month when the moon doesn't show (I don't remember what the word for that is), and the candles are supposed to replace the moonlight. That's the most religious thing I got from her the whole evening. Otherwise it was "Oh, you have to try this food, and this one and this..." Which is right about my speed. Photo time!

I asked Rasika if people would be wearing traditional clothes, and she said yes, so I tried to wear my most Indian looking outfit, which admittedly was not that Indian, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Those of you who know me well will notice I'm wearing pink and sequins, both of which NEVER HAPPEN. I don't even remember where I got this top. I never have an occasion to wear it. Finally, an occasion.

We spent a great deal of our time discussing the food, trying different things and admiring the outfits other people were wearing. I discovered that Indian fashion is pretty much tailor-made for me. Explanation: I like bright colors, bold patterns, long shirts and 3/4-length sleeves, loose/flowy fabrics, shawls and scarves, light/comfortable/soft fabrics, bangles and other adornments. It's PERFECT. Indian fashion is effortlessly feminine, and conservative in its proportions (i.e. no cleavage.) I think I need to get in on this... Rasika? Take me shopping? Please? ^_^

So, after the food there was a dance show. They had a style of dance for each province in India. We sat on a hill under the San Antonio version of the CN tower (I can't remember what it's called) and watched the show. The crowd was pretty big.

I took a video of one of the dances from the province that Rasika is from, but my computer is acting funny. I might be able to load it later.

After the dances, we moved down toward the river to watch people light their candles. I took a billion pictures, it was so pretty. Unfortunately there was just enough of a breeze that the candles kept going out. All the same, it was very impressive.

After a while I sat down and started re-lighting the candles that went out. Rasika sat down next to me and said "You're really popular! Everyone's taking pictures of you!" So, I guess keep an eye out for me on flickr or other San Antonio blogs.

We had a lovely time. Rasika and I keep making plans, then breaking them. So I'm glad something finally worked out. And the candle ceremony was really pretty to watch. I told her that Channukah is also called "The Festival of Lights," but we just light the menorah, not an entire river. She laughed. <3

Myelin is a Busy Lady

We've been taking a lot of pictures of Myelin lately. She's slowing down in her old age, but she still manages to be mischievous and adorable.

And, as usual, we've been cooking. This was a last-minute dinner one night that ended up working out nicely. We fried some eggs in little red pepper cups with green onions, and some bacon and toast.

I also made beef stew this week, with mustard greens. Later I added corn and peas, and it cooked down a bit more.

Its juuuuuuuuuuuuuust barely been cold enough out lately for hot drinks, so I steamed up some milk and made a chai latte one night. The milk froth was PERFECT.

Love you!

Halloween!

So, we planned a Halloween party. I made lots of themed snacks, and put together a last-minute costume.

I invited 5 people, and 4 bailed. So it ended up being me, Brandon and Rory hanging out with WAY TOO MUCH FOOD. But it's okay, I needed a laid-back evening. It turned out to be really relaxing.

Photo dump!

I dressed as a 1950's housewife.

We went to the store in the middle of the day, but I didn't break character!

Foods!

Hot spiced apple cider with rum! 

Happy Halloween!

Wherein Amanda Learns that Layered Food is Magic

I figured it out. Any time I make any kind of casserole dish - or anything that needs to be layered and baked in the oven - Brandon freaks out. He either starts with "That's too much effort, let's make something else" or "What?! What sort of magic are you playing at? Mere mortals cannot possibly!" and then his excitement ramps up until the dish is cooked and he spends all week freaking out about how delicious it is.

This happened with shepherd's pie and chicken pot pie, and now he did it again when I decided to make lasagna from scratch.

Yum.

Romantic Dinner

Every now and then Brandon and I decide on a recipe that just begs to be had with a bottle of wine. And so the meal becomes a romantic dinner... at least, in my mind it does. Even if we don't do anything romantic that evening.

I searched through the pile of cooking magazines my mom had sent me for recipes to try and I was able to combine several into what became an extremely successful meal:

-buttermilk biscuits from scratch (by far the most technically difficult baking recipe I've ever put together)
-leeks in a fancy little vinaigrette and topped with a hardboiled egg
-lamb chops broiled and smothered in a rich butter flavored with pesto and sundried tomato


I got the idea to make flavored butter from Bon Appetite, they have a link to the instructions on their website: www.bonappetit.com/go/butter. The lamb chops recipe - although from a totally different magazine - called for butter flavored with pesto and sundried tomato. I cheated slightly and used pre-minced sundried tomatoes in seasoned olive oil.

Okay, this step isn't so lovely... But it tastes amazing!

We had some fresh herbs that needed using up, so I made an herbed butter too.

Another magazine clipping my mother gave me had a buttermilk biscuits recipe. This was, by far, the most technically difficult thing I've ever baked - and it turned out PERFECT. I couldn't be more proud. They are delicious, and pretty, and fluffy... Sorry. I'm just super happy with myself.

Next up are the leeks. I sauteed them lightly in butter and extra-virgin olive oil, then in dry white wine. Then I covered them in chicken broth and stuck the pan in the oven and let it boil down. I removed them from the broth when they were soft and covered them in a white wine vinaigrette with grainy mustard and parsley, and crumbled a hard boiled egg on top. This was another extremely complicated recipe that I never, ever would have come up with on my own. It was well worth the effort. Even Brandon, who does not generally like leeks, said they were the best leeks he had ever had and ate them happily. ^_^

The lamb chops I simply smothered in pepper and broiled, then melted the flavored butter on top. Easy-peasy.

Top it off with a strong, dry red wine and you have a romantic feast.

^_^