Eating my way through June.

I agree I have been away for close to a month. But the thing is my hands were busy holding a fork and a spoon and sometimes a whisk, the mouth munching, the eyes salivating and well the mind was gainfully occupied thinking of what and when will be my next meal. Enough reasons not to show up here, right?

Without further ado let me share the month of June with all of you. Oh and it is going to be a long post so I suggest you get yourself a cup of coffee and make yourself comfortable.

Cooking up a storm

Well..just like every month (as expected) there has been a lot of action in the kitchen here and while I managed to click some of the things that made their way to our tummies...most made their way...way too fast to be shared here. Five spice orange cookies with candied oranges, a chocolate chip bread pudding, baby spinach, feta and pomegranate salad,a ratatouille, a beetroot, green apple and carrot salad, a Nutella cupcake and fruity yogurt parfaits both made entirely by my little chefling (MLC from now on) and more...

And pancakes. MLC has been bitten by the pancake bug. No, she clearly doesn't want variety when it comes to the recipe, you knows oats in one, buckwheat in another. Whole wheat with honey each time. But it has to look different. There is a design brief each morning. No circles, triangles, stars & moons this time. Only fairies, ballet dancers, pointy shoes and umm..an occasional Santa. Her verdict...I am doing okay.

Eating out

Amongst the numerous meals that our family had outside of our kitchen, two that NEED to be shared have to be the ones we had at Peshwa and Barrio Fiesta. The first was one was this really awesome & authentic Maharastrian meal & the second was lip smacking Filipino food. I am no food critic hence no review & snaps of what we ate (Also note: my fellow diners will kill me if each time we went out to eat and I began to take pictures:)) but if you trust my taste buds a bit do give these places a try.

Of food events, meeting people and some more eating

June also brought with it many lovely opportunities. A pity that I could only attend two of those. 

The first one was to meet and congratulate the amazing team at Baker and Spice. They invited me for the Annual World Environment Day Harvest Breakfast that brought their Farmers' market season to a close. Their philosophy is really simple  yet one that very few follow. Local, organic, fresh and homemade. So their menu keeps changing depending on what is in the season. You can know more about there here 

The day started pretty early and as I entered I was greeted by this lovely wooden long table that made me swoon;with food enough to feed an army. 

There was the mouthwatering classic shakshouka, their new green version made with zucchini that I simply loved, a to die for aubergine and pepper preparation called sabih, creamy hummus, labneh, freshly baked bread and croissants, peach parfaits and fresh orange juice,tangy plum & pomegranate spritzers to go along.

Lots of fresh produce all around, gigantic platters of salad and hummus that were too pretty to even touch. Had I made them I would have not allowed anyone to come near them but the people at Baker and Spice were  too kind.

It was a lovely morning spent breaking bread with fellow food bloggers, producers, people from the food world and friends. Big thanks to Angela who handles their PR and the entire team of Baker and Spice for the invitation and the warmth.

And ofcourse the very same night I had to recreate the shakshouka at home for my loved ones:)

See more pictures here

And now for the second memorable event.

That I love France is not a secret and at some point in life I would want to live there(DH are you listening?). So when Moustafa Mahdi extended an invitation to attend the Apéritif à la française there was no way I was going to let this pass. Arrangements had to be made for the little one to put to sleep early and her aunt watched over her so that I could sneak my way out on a weeknight to be there. And I am glad I did.

The Apéritif à la française is a celebration of french food and beverages where people who appreciate French art de vivre and those curious to learn more about it come together. This annual event is organized by the International Food & Lifestyle Marketing Group, SOPEXA, and is supported by the French Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry to promote the French gastronomy and Art de vivre. It was held on the 10th of June at the Westin Mina Seyahi. 

This year was its 10th anniversary and it was celebrated at Berlin, Copenhagen, Dubai, Hong-Kong, Milan, Montreal, New-York, Paris, Sao Paulo and Tokyo on the same date and at the same time.

It was a beautiful evening buzzing with people all of them having one thing in common; food. The stage was set and there was a large mouth-watering display of dairy products, breads, fruits, chocolates, biscuits, seafood, meat as well as wide selection of beverages including tea, bottled water, syrups, lemonades and more in very authentic French atmosphere.

Much thanks to the team at Apéritif à la française for their hospitality and Moustafa Mahdi for the invitation.

See the complete album here

Writing on food
And before I bring this long post to an end, Dubai please join me in welcoming a new e-magazine The Indian Trumpet. 

It aims to capture the colour,culture and chaos of India that Indians crave and miss. The first issue goes live on the 1st of July. So wish them lots of luck  and give them tons of love. I have a written a short food story for them which I hope you will enjoy going through.

That was my month in food. My desktop wallpaper reads, "Kitchens are meant to bring families together". Mine did. I wish the same for you.

Eat well. Stay healthy.

Images: Personal Album.While you enjoy reading this post with visuals.Please do not use them without asking. They belong to Orange Kitchens unless otherwise stated.