Celebrating cultures and countries through cuisines.

I remember when we were kids, you had to either travel to experience food from different countries (which is ofcourse the best way to soak in both the culture and cuisine of any country) or the times when travelling wasn’t possible the only two cuisines you could try were Italian and Chinese where too we had a very few choices (at least that was true for me when we were little).

I feel our kids are so fortunate to be growing up in a world where they are exposed to cuisines from different parts of the world in whichever part of the globe they are in. Exposing our children to new cuisines broadens their definition of what “food” is, helps them understand how countries are diverse but still similar in so many ways, helps them appreciate the history and geography that surrounds the food and helps us raise adventurous eaters.

When the year began Sara and I came up with some new year food resolutions for her and invited all of you to join us (Many of you did! Thank you!). One of the four resolutions was to choose and try a new food from a country of her choice each month and I am so happy to report back that we are enjoying this journey that we are making with the help of our taste buds. She has a globe in her room and each month we spin it and choose a country. Throughout the month, we try to read up a little about that country, learn some new words, read about the local food, sometimes even draw the food and ofcourse try out new foods.

Then early this year with Chef Russell I got this fabulous opportunity to work with many many little chefs at the Young Chefs Club at Lafayette Gourmet. Each month workshop the children cook and cook what the world eats. In the last four months we have visited Japan, China, India and Italy and it has been such a great journey where we tasted fruits and vegetables from the different countries, smelt the spices, oils and cheeses, learnt about the food habits of the people who live there, saw the maps and flag. We even learnt a bit of history and geography and ofcourse “cooked” a couple of really simple recipes. Each time we worked with these kids they have surprised me for none of them said no to trying out something new. Some of them did not like everything they made but they never said no to tasting which is big win I think.

So today I am going to share what has been working for us with Sara to help her become a future world traveler:) I need to point out that we have had both victories and failures and I constantly keep reminding myself to see that as growth and not rejection.

Here are my ten tips to raise future world travellers sitting right in your very own city:

1. Start with what they like; their comfort zone:  Sara loves Italian so we began with that. Italian doesn’t mean only Pizzas but we made sure there was a pizza amongst the other things we tried. Also Pasta doesn’t mean only spaghetti and farfalle. So we tried the ravioli this time. We also tasted tomatoes with some balsamic vinegar (she loved it). We tried olive oil with some bread (she hated it). We made lots of bruschetta toppings (fun to put together for kids), rolled out fresh pasta (messy equals exciting) and we made a ricotta cake. But we didn’t do all this over one day. We did this in bits and pieces over one month. We didn’t make everything. We tried some at restaurants too along with a slice of her favourite pizza! So go with what works for you. Having an Italian evening does, do that. Spacing it out works, do that. Not comfortable cooking an unfamiliar cuisine, order in or go out the first time around. Absorb the flavours and then try something simple.
2. Visiting new restaurants: Two years back when we moved to Dubai we were so excited at the prospect of experiencing this city through all the restaurants it had and it was something of a fun project that we started at home. We called it Project 52. Each weekend the three of us would try one new place to eat. We didn’t have any cuisine in mind but over time Sara started loving the idea of this “game”. Where are we going next weekend and what food will be we eating made it exciting and over time she has become more open to trying out new foods. Oh yes, we are very much playing this game even now.
3. Books on food: There are some great books on food for children with stories about local food and food habits with fun illustrations, stories, poems and correct meanings and pronunciations of unfamiliar words. New books always get her super excited so if your little one is into reading then you must try out some bedtime reading on food with them.
4. Visiting food festivals: Most big cities today have a myriad of food festivals. At these festivals we like to pretend that we are both food tasters and food critics (At these festivals a lot of restaurants and food stalls offer smaller tasting portions; both free and paid) and Sara loves giving stars and comments on each of the things we try. Just so you know the adjective “disgusting” is also up there with awesome and “supercalifraglisticexpiadolicous”. If your city has no food festivals planned food courts, global villages and local haats is where you can head to.
5. Visiting international markets: These days thanks to so many people from different parts of the world coming together to work in a city far away from their homes we have a Japanese specialty store, a Pakistani grocery store, an Italian bakery, an Iranian shop and more all in one city. Where there are no stores there are international aisles in a big super market (Thai, Japanese, Mexican and Chinese aisles/shelves are pretty common now). Turn this into a game for the children. Select one recipe with them and ask them to write down the ingredients we require to make it and then go on a treasure hunt to buy all of them. Striking off each ingredient on their list and then making a new recipe is sure to get them excited
6. Potluck with friends: I don’t know of any child who will say no to a playdate (mine is ready to go for one even in the middle of the night). Children these days are fortunate to have friends from different nationalities or from different cities of the same country and that presents them with a great opportunity to taste what their friends eat at their homes. Every once in a while inviting friends over or going to their place with one dish from your country/city is another great way of observing what friends eat at home and how they eat.
7. Celebrating festivals: Food is such an important part of festivals and holidays across the world. Embracing festivals and cooking special traditional recipes and making into one big party always seems to work with Sara. Since she loves to draw and craft we also end up trying out a craft that makes for party décor. Food and décor both sorted.
8. Maintaining journals or “passports”: Writing down which countries they know about or are studying at school, drawing out its map, flag, sticking pictures of historical buildings, food they have tried at home or outside at a restaurant, food they liked and did not like, adding local currency, stamps (if you can get your hands on it), have they visited it in the past or would they like to will ensure your little one is well travelled even without stepping out of your city!
9. Watching delicious movies: I love watching movies that center on food. One of Sara’s favourite movie is Ratatouille. So what did we do next, we made some ratatouille! But then this doesn’t have to be restricted to “food movies”. When we saw the Sound of Music we took her to try some wurst and apple strudel. This always becomes a sort of a happy evening for us, pairing a movie we watch with her with food.
10. Lead by example:  Always remember only if they notice and feel we are truly enjoying this adventure will they be willing to become our partners in the journey. Our children learn more from what we are than what we teach them.

I hope these ideas and tips will help you raise “little travellers” and with summer vacations round the corner who knows you and we just might be going around the world in 60 days!

Do you have any ideas or stories that you’d like to share? I’d love to hear.

Images: If you like any of the pictures on the blog and would like to use those please write to me. I put in hours of work behind each post and would love to share it with you but it would hurt me if  use those without my permission.Just ask!  

Because she loves tea parties.

Sara likes tea parties. She loves “hosting” them. Most afternoons after school she likes to make tea for me. Sometimes her dolls join us too.

Often there are sandwiches, cookies and a pastry or two. I get directions on how to hold the cup, “with your pinkie out because a princess ought to behave like a princess”.

While “drinking” our tea I ask her how was school? There are days when she has a lot to tell. There are days when she doesn't. "It was good", she says. Then there are days like yesterday when she said, "Oh! it was very exciting". "Wow! Tell me all about it Sara", I said.

“I can’t remember what we did. But I remember it was very exciting!”

Umm. Alright.

But I digress.

I can’t remember if as a kid I loved tea parties as much as she does. Perhaps it has got to do with overdose of all the princess books she has been reading. Alice in Wonderland too.

A couple of weeks back she got back from school and asked if she could have her friends over for a tea party. "Tomorrow evening mamma. Like real tea, mamma. Wearing princess gowns".

"I will need to make invitations", she added. "They need to go out today. I will give it to them at the park this evening".

With very little time on hand we downloaded this free printable and she wrote out her friends' and her own name in a “Royal” font no less (Read: curly plus wiggly handwriting equals royal)

"But what will we serve Sara"? 

"It is my tea party, can I cook"?, she asked. "There has to be tea and cookies and those tomato squares that we made the other day".

We agreed. I did a little prep work the next morning so that she could “cook” after school.

Chocolate milk for tea in “royal” cups: Years back I was gifted these dainty china cups which I always ended up using for dips and desserts. We took them out and she helped me fill each one with some “tea”.

Teabag cookies: Because to make tea we need teabags and we also need cookies to go with it. I had been waiting for a chance to make these ridiculously cute teabag cookies ever since I saw them everywhere and now was my chance :) I prepared the dough in the morning and kept a teabag stencil ready for her to cut them out. From there on it was easy. While she dipped each teabag into the warm chocolate ganache I tried very hard to be okay with it not being “perfect” and not dipping it back in. For my little chefling's cookies were more than perfect in every way. I attached the tea bag labels (free printable) and she squealed with excitement.

Tomato, basil and goat cheese squares: These happen to be Sara’s favorite and I feel they are a nice change from the usual pizza/pasta for a kid’s party. Since they have both the tomato and the cheese the children are willing to try. Plus they look like “grown up” food which was perfect for her “grown up tea party”.  

I prepared the dough and sliced the tomatoes before she got back from school. We then cut them into squares and she adorned each square with tomatoes slices, a generous sprinkle of  basil and goat cheese. We painted them with egg wash and they went into the oven.

We also had some gooey brownies which were a surprise for the chef who had spent all afternoon cooking for her friends.

The girls had so much fun that evening. They sat on the chairs wearing their pretty dresses and dipped their teabags into their tiny cups. They drew teacups and kettles and milk pots and sugar pots and played some more pretend tea. They talked. They laughed.

My little girl was exhausted by the end of it all. "Was I good hostess mamma"?, she asked.

"The best", said her proud mum.

Does your little one like playing “tea party”?

For us this party was much more than just a game. See for yourself.

Sara learnt:

• It is nice to invite friends over and it is even nicer when the invitation is handwritten. It makes our friends feel special.
• There is a lot of work that goes into cooking for friends and family. It is exhausting but there is no greater joy than feeding your loved ones.
• Toys when shared with friends multiply your happiness.
• When you take care of your little guests you go on to become a great little hostess and get many many hugs from all of them.
• Lastly, when we pour too much of chocolate milk into a tiny cup we get a chocolate puddle on the kitchen slab which then trickles down to the floor and that means lots of cleaning :)

I learnt:

• All get togethers needn’t be planned. Yes, I am Monica types. Sara taught me a great lesson. Sometimes impromptu plans are way more fun than planned ones.
• What they make doesn't have to look "perfect". What is important is leading them to the kitchen and allowing them to touch, feel and see where their food come from. Trust me whatever they make with their two little paws will be beautiful and will leave you teary eyed. 
• You don’t have to necessarily DIY each little element of your party. Didn't I already mention I am Monica with a DIY obsession? It is okay to take help from others. These two ladies helped us with invitations and tea bag labels and tons of you inspired us to try out your super creative tea bag cookies.
• I love having her with me in the kitchen. The questions that she asks, the advice she gives me, the talks we have, the mistakes she makes and the mess she makes, All of this and more makes my day brighter.

Would you like to have a cup of tea?

Tomato, basil and goat cheese squares.

Ingredients

• 450 grams puff pastry (readymade is fine) I use this recipe
• One egg, beaten
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• 1 tsp of dry basil plus more for sprinkling later
• 2 tsp olive oil
• Salt
• 4 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 100 grams goat cheese, cut into tiny wedges

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and prepare a baking sheet with some parchment paper.
2. Roll out the puff pastry thin and cut it into squares or any shape that you like. We made ten medium squares.
3. Put them on the baking sheet and fold the sides of each of the squares to make a sort of slightly raised border (about 1 cm). Brush these borders with the egg wash.
4. Mix the garlic paste, olive oil, basil and salt together and brush all the squares with it.
5. Arrange the sliced tomatoes on the squares, overlapping a bit. About two to three slices per square. Bake for about 15 minutes. The tomatoes will be tender and light brown.
6. Take the baking sheet out and add a wedge or two of the goat cheese and sprinkle some basil on to each square. Return to the oven for another 7-8 minutes. The cheese will  be melty but will still hold shape.
7. You can serve it both hot or at room temperature.

Images : Personal Album. All images belong to orangekitchens and are subject to copyright. 

Lunch boxes, little hands & lovely memories.

Those School Days. Whenever I sit down and reminisce about them I am transported back into the world of polishing shoes at night, biology dissection lessons that I for some vague reason loved, that one time a really good looking young professor came to teach in an all girls’ school, running around the corridors, that annual day for which we practiced for months, those much dreaded quizzes and all of us waiting for the recess bell to strike so that we could take out those lunch boxes and finally get some much deserved rest. Most days the goodies in the lunch box were consumed much before the lunch hour.

Each year when the time came to progress to the next grade mum would take me to choose a new lunch box. Getting to choose that one box made me feel very grown up, very adult. My name and grade were written on it with a permanent marker and the lunch box was shown off to all on the first day of the class. Next came what would go into it. There were of course the favourites like the grated cucumber and carrot sandwich, parantha (Indian flatbread) with jam and vegetable poha (beaten rice with veggies) amongst many others that weren't rated that high. But to be honest I don’t remember a single lunch that I disliked. Perhaps it was to do with the fact that back then we had limited choices. There was also an occasional slice of homemade cake that was given as a special treat. And yes, noodles, which were a favourite with all of us.

Sharing our lunchboxes was what lunch breaks were made of. A dear friend’s lunch box was my favourite for her mum always sent homemade dosas with spicy red chutney. Food was what brought us all together at school. Food was how we understood our differences and similarities.

Move to April, when Sara began taking lunch to school. After we got past the challenge of getting all of the princess lunch boxes and water bottles ever manufactured the bigger challenge was staring me in my face; what to put in her lunchbox (she takes two snack boxes; a lighter one for the 15 minute break and a heavier one for the 30 minute break) so that it comes back empty like mine always did and also so that she remembers her lunch time as fondly as I do and makes beautiful memories around it.

Interestingly, what has helped me the most is getting her into the kitchen and letting her make “important decisions” like choosing what she’d like and letting her “make” her lunch every day. And now she loves it and helps me “cook” all her meals. Letting her take this decision has helped reducing her anxiety of what will be there in her lunch box the next day and become less resistant to new foods. It is usually something really small like choosing which vegetable or fruit would she like in her box or letting her choose between two fillings or wanting to take her carrots sliced or cubed. She once “made her own recipe” for a sandwich filling and that till date is her favorite. She is obviously very proud of her creation and makes it a point to remind me that the recipe is hers each time I make it for her lunchbox.

Helping me make her favourite whole wheat pasta salad with broccoli & feta for her lunch box

Of course it doesn't mean that I give her only what she decides to like! Each time I want to introduce her to a new food (Read: food she instantly said no to without even tasting) I pack it along with a current favorite. Makes me one happy mamma when I see a “new food” doing the vanishing act.

I also noticed that ever since we started planning and making the lunch boxes together it is helping her to make better choices. We've been talking about where her fruits and veggies come from, how brown bread is better for her tummy and fresh juice is so much tastier than the packed one (the difference between good food and the not so good food) When she is helping me decide the options she also learns (without me being preachy) what she needs to put into her body to be able to study/run/swim/do ballet/paint and build houses for fairies (With a third of a child's food intake for the day being consumed at school it is important that food in your child's lunch box provides the much needed vitamins and minerals for energy and growth).

Need to add:  That occasional store bought chocolate custard or pretzels are still very much part of our lunches and a little indulgence/ cheating is and should be part of childhood, agree? Us parents too). Along the way she is also learning that a lot of work and love goes into preparing each meal and did I mention her lunchboxes comes empty each day and leaves me beaming?

We also like to shop for her lunch together. Sara loves grocery shopping so much so that on our recent vacation she asked me if the grocery store guy was missing her & me! Yes, that is the kind of love I am talking about. It just makes her so much more willing to eat what she “bought” from her very own grocery list.

Do you ask your little one to “help” you fix her/his lunch? I’d love to hear your views on this and if you don’t then give it a try and let me know how it went.

Tiny Tasks

Here are some ideas to get you and your kids into making lunches together (All done under supervision & with assistance).

Age group	Tasks that they can do	Making it easy
3-6 years	Choosing between two fruits/veggies/sandwich or wrap fillings Deciding the shape they would like their food cut into or the lunchbox they’d like to carry the next day Oiling baking trays or sprinkling crumble toppings Rolling truffle balls/shaping cutlets Lending a hand with spreading jams or whisking a muffin batter	A pictorial checklist with items under each head like whole grain, dairy, fruits, veggies and snack will encourage them to ascertain their independence and also understand that they need one thing from each of the above groups in their lunch box.
6-9 years	Filling their own water bottle or a thermos for soup Washing and drying salad leaves, etc. Chopping ingredients with a child safe knife. Wrapping their food	Make good nutrition convenient for them by having snacks, fruits, veggies, proteins in designated boxes in the fridge. That is all they need to put together their lunch and you could take charge of the one big carbohydrate and the hot items that they will need to refuel their minds at school.
9 years and above	Encouraging them to come up with ideas to turn their leftovers from last night into a creative lunch.  Drawing up a weekly lunch plan with your help and chopping & semi preparing ingredients for the same Emptying and cleaning their lunch boxes and bottles	Setup a lunch making area where they can find everything they are going to need (lunch boxes, bottles, cutlery, napkins, zip-lock bags, foil, chopping board, knives, etc.). Also helps them learn the value of being organized.

Please note: A part of this story was originally written for BBC Good Food by moi. 

Eating Stories : I will not ever NEVER eat a tomato

I have this little sister Lola.
She is small and very funny.

Each time Sara picks up any of Lauren Child’s Charlie and Lola books it makes smile. There is something really adorable about the relation Charlie shares with his little sister, Lola. She of course is not an easy sibling to have and it is obvious that he loves her to the moon and back (or like Sara would say love you till Neptune, her favourite planet) which is why he is extremely patient with her and is always around to solve Lola’s dilemmas. She is a lucky sister, I hope she knows that :)

Coming to the book, I will not ever NEVER eat a tomato. Mum and dad are away and Charlie is struggling with feeding her sister Lola, a picky eater. The girl doesn't eat a thing! 

She says, “I do not eat peas or carrots or potatoes or mushrooms or spaghetti or eggs or sausages. I do not eat cauliflower or cabbage or baked beans or oranges. And I am not keen on apples or rice or cheese or fish fingers. And I absolutely will not ever never eat a tomato.”

Do you have someone tiny at home who tells you the same each time you put a dinner a plate in front of her/him? Then she/he has met her match and this book is just what she/he needs to read. Of course I can’t guarantee you that by the time you finish reading this book your child will start loving an avocado as much she likes her spaghetti. But I assure you she might just want to give everything you put on her plate at least one try. She might spit it out later though. Mine did. Mushrooms.

So Charlie needs to feed his sister Lola all that she dislikes and he decides to get really creative and renames them all in the hope that she will try at least some and may be even end up liking a vegetable or two.  Carrots become orange twiglets from Jupiter, peas become green drops from Greenland and potatoes become cloud fluff. She decides she likes these pretend names and agrees to give each of them a try and ends up liking them too. She is having such a good time playing this game that she asks Charlie to hand her over a red tomato calling it a moon squirter! Charlie ofcourse can’t believe his eyes.

Are the creative mommies & daddies, listening? If I told you that this book is what your kid needs to read then I need to apologize. It is actually a book that we as parents need to read. Show me a kid who doesn't want to eat clouds? My little girl loves ocean nibbles (fish fingers) for she wants to become a mermaid too and that is what mermaids eat. No debates on what the mermaids eat, OK?

If you like you can even plan some fun games it. 

• Ask your child what she/he likes and dislikes. 
• Prepare a tasting plate of some “new” foods for her and ask her to give them a try
• Ask her to come up with some imaginative names for the vegetables and fruits she likes and dislikes.

Before I end this post, let's hear what Sara thinks of Lola in this book. Picture this. 

• Lola says, "I will not ever never eat a tomato".
• Sara says, "I will always tomatoes. They are so squishy and juicy."
• Lola says, "But why are those carrots there Charlie?"
• Sara says, "What’s the matter with her? I always eat carrots. They are good for the eyes."
• Lola says, "I don’t eat peas. I don’t eat green things."
• Sara says, "So what if they are green, vegetables can be of any colour, it is their wish." 
• Lola says, "I am not keen on rice."
• Sara says, "How can someone not like rice? I love rice. I love plain rice too."
• Lola  says, "I do not eat mushrooms."
• Sara says, "I also do not eat mushrooms. They are yukh."

As you can see till the time Sara liked the veggies and fruits that Lola didn't like she had a great time giving a piece of her mind to Lola. But come, mushrooms they were best friends and were both right. Ha!

Here is something that I made for my Lola after we finished reading.

Lola sandwich and Lola’s favourite “pink milk” 

Lola sandwich
Ingredients

• Two slices of bread (I used brown)
• A filling of your choice (Mine was cream cheese, grated carrots & tomatoes)
• Cheese for the hair (I used cheddar)
• Flaked almonds and raisins for the eyes 
• Julienned carrots for the hair, nose and lips
• Flaked almonds and a hint of blue colour to make her clips

Instructions
1.Cut the bread into the shape of her face.
2.Make the sandwich with a choice of your filling
3. Assemble the rest of the features on her face. 
4. Put on her blue clips. I didn't have blue colour on hand so I took a blue M&M and with rubbed the wet flaked almond on it and the blue colour from the M&M transformed the almond into her blue clip.

Lola’ favourite drink, Pink Milk.
Ingredients

• A couple of fresh strawberries and raspberries, chopped
• Milk of your choice
• Sugar or honey if adding

Instructions
1. Blitz everything together in a mixer till it is all frothy and creamy.

I hope you relish reading this yummy book with your little chef. Oh and the illustrations like in all the other Charlie & Lola books are gorgeous and what I particularly liked was that the book has real pictures of food even though the names are all imaginary :)

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. 

A fresh plate: 2014

A very Happy New Year to all you lovely readers. I absolutely love new beginnings for they give us a chance to look back on how the last year fared, an opportunity to start afresh, several new possibilities to grow, to learn and to experiment.  

Fresh plates and clean slates I love them both. For I can fill up my empty plate with things I have never tried and write new goals on my slate.

These are my resolutions for the year with respect to food.

1. Bread making: I really would like to make 52 loaves this year. I did try several last year and I have to admit most have been just so-so. I have several books that have some very doable recipes and this Christmas I got another book that just might make my dream of baking and breaking my own bread more achievable. Do you have any online resources you’d like to share? I don’t think I will be making my own starter I will still depend on the good old dry yeast but I will be using my hands for sure. We’ll leave the starters for another year.
2. Make pasta from scratch: So I own a pasta maker and it has NEVER been used (Hangs head in shame). This year I’d like to take it out of its box and show it my kitchen. That I learnt how to make ravioli from Chef Marco Sacco should help.
3. Explore more of Indian cuisine: At home we love to eat a bit of Indian, a bit of Thai, a bit of Italian, a bit of this and a bit of that…you get the idea…right? And when I say Indian I mean Indian not just Butter Chicken and Dosa. kori gashi one day, khichra the next, Mum’s rajma chawal one day and my mil’s cholar dal another. But who am I kidding? Indian Cuisine is vast and even If I spend a lifetime exploring it I don’t think I would still be able to do justice to it. I have already made a little beginning in that direction though which I intend to share with you once I am allowed to (insert wink) and I am spending considerable time reading more and more about it; getting to know the history and the geography of the wonderful country I come from through food.
4. Blog more about what I am cooking with my littlechefling: Orange Kitchens is my space where I like to talk about what is on our table and in our kitchen. It is also a space where I like to share what Sara and I have been cooking and we do spend a lot of time in the kitchen but for some reason I fail to share a lot of it here. We make, we eat and we move on. This year I intend to mend that; just what the New Year doctor ordered. Reflect and repair. So you will see a lot of kid friendly recipes that they can help with and ofcourse that I hope they will relish.
5. Concentrating on Kids and their relationship with food: I’d like to devote a large part of my year working in that direction. I took babysteps last year by writing relevant food stories and conducting food demos where I talked about it but this year I intend to focus more on the subject of connecting the children with real food (the obesity and diabetes figures here at Dubai are really alarming) and also how it is very important and ofcourse fun it is to get into the kitchen. I have a little roadmap but it needs more work and I will be sharing that with you pretty soon.
6. Use more cookbooks rather than using the same ones over and over again: I own several cookbooks. I own more than 100 cookbooks. But you know what like a lot of you out there (please tell me you belong to this group) I end up using the same ones each time for they and I have made this little bond over the years. They are familiar and I trust them. They help me when life takes over and I have to get a meal on the table each night. But this year I am going to get to know my other “friends” a little better.
7. Try a new cheese each month: We are a cheese loving family. Right from my little chefling who knows her Cheddar from Gouda or DH who hearts the stinky old cheese, the more pungent, the better for him. But once again we stick to the familiar ones. This year I’d like to meet more cheese. One new cheese each month. Stand alone bites.
8. Reduce my dependence on packaged/processed food: I have already been working on this one for several years now and this year I intend to continue. Less and less dependence on the processed and packaged food. I admit some of it actually makes my life easy but today we have some wonderful healthy options that are both easily available and not so hard on the pocket and of course like I said earlier make one’s life convenient. Plus I have been following her for a while now and I have to admit I am hugely influenced by her writing.
9. Meal planning: Family, friends and work and several other things that one wants to somehow fit in those 24 hours; I love them all. But there is one thing that I completely detest; staring at my refrigerator and trying to decide what I am going to be serving that night. And I have observed that If I plan my meals in advance (we ofcourse eat better, reduce wastage, eat variety…the usual you know) it makes a me a happier and calmer person. The fact that I have most of my meals planned for the week always-always takes the pain (Read: Thinking) out of cooking away. Let’s admit it making three meals a day, each day is not always fun.
10. Eat breakfast everyday: While we are on the subject of making me feel like a better person (if not actually make me one :)) the last one is my personal goal. I have observed that I religiously start my day with a walk and my morning cup of coffee and then begin work and before I know it I have already missed breakfast (I work largely from home and working from home does that to some people like me). This year I am making a promise to no one else but me to have that breakfast that I make sure my entire family eats and that I usually miss.

So those were my foodie resolutions for the year and we will see how I fare at the end of the year. What are yours? I’d love to hear from you.

Eat well and stay healthy.

Image: here

Happy Diwali to you and yours.

Wishing all you awesome people a sparkling and a "green" Diwali and a Diwali full of lots of "mithai".

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

Books for Cheflings: Let's Eat by Beatrice Hollyer

Each night before Sara goes to sleep she gets to choose five books (I ask her to pick five and usually she picks up about eleven) to read with us. Post which she likes to "read" them by herself. 

She is very particular that just like on her mum's bedside table she too on hers has her mobile, a food magazine (the mag and Sara are of the same size;  a tiny one that came with the newspaper) and a photoframe! This girl...I tell you!

At four she already has her huge collection of books. And a lot of them are food related. I shared these ones with you here.

Her current favorite is Let's Eat! What children eat around the world by Beatrice Hollyer.

The book takes you to the homes of five kids who stay in different parts of the world (France, India, Mexico,South Africa and Thailand) and how each spends her day and during the course of the day what each one eats. 

Simply put the book talks about the cities/villages that they belong to, their eating habits on weekdays and over weekends and what they like and what they dislike. 

But underneath all this is what I like about the book more. The differences and the similarities between their lives and where from the child can learn a lot.

How each child helps her parents during mealtimes, how there are certain foods that each one associates with celebrations at home ( we all do that, don't we...irrespective of latitudes and longitudes), how its fun to go and shop for food and make the right and a healthy choice. And how food shared with family and friends always leaves with one with beautiful and lifelong memories.

The child begins to appreciate the differences as well. Not only the how each country has a different cuisine but also how life is different in the city and at the farm and the hardships that the less privileged ones have to face. 

The book is written from the child's perspective and has real life pictures of her/his life which my little girl loves. At the end of the book is a food glossary and also  favorite recipes from each of the kids. 

Sara says her favorite is AA from Thailand and she loves AA's recipe for the Thai fried egg. And each morning she cooks one for herself (without the fish sauce mostly) while her mum is busy screaming Sara we are getting late for school. Oh and we love to point out each country on the globe too. She also says that the bit about Thembe makes her sad for the little girl has to work really hard each day.

One thing to keep in mind is that obviously a forty page book can't do justice to all the different food habits and living habits of each country. So its more to expose them to something that is different than theirs rather than a detailed study on culture and food and certain classifications that the book portrays (not so well off in one part of the world).

The one on India did disappoint me. I think it may not be a bad idea for Sara and me to rewrite that bit soon:) 

About the author: Journalist,writer and newscaster she began her career in South Africa before moving to UK where lives now.Other books by her for children are : Our world of water and Wake up World.

Image: here and  a bad one taken with my phone.

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

Playing tricks with little Sara.

Today was Sara's first day at her new school. The poor baby got up (Read: was made to) at an unearthly hour; 0530 hours. 

On getting up she asked me why was she being sent to school at night! It was pitch dark. I told her may be it was God being mischievous with her by hiding the sun since it is April Fool's day today. That sure made her little eyes sparkle and soon she jumped out of her bed to make new friends at her new school.

I was ofcourse there to meet her at her bus stop in the afternoon and the little girl chatted nineteen to the dozen...new friends, new books, new class, new teachers...

She stopped talking only when her dry throat got the better of her which is when I asked her to go and get some cold Roohafza from the refrigerator.

"Its seems to be stuck in my straw" was her first reaction. All this while I was trying REALLY hard to maintain a serious face. And then her little eyes grew really wide..."you tricked me", she shrieked. 

Her reaction was priceless!

Now she is waiting for her dad to get back home so that she can play the same trick on him. Go make your little one all giggly and super happy today.

April Fool's Day Strawberry " Drink"

Serves 4 little people and makes them think that their mum is supercool.

Ingredients

One packet of strawberry jelly ( Or any other that you have at hand)

Two cups of water

Four straws

Instructions:

1. Boil one cup of water and dissolve the jelly mix completely.

2. Add another cup of cold water.

3. Pour into glasses and add straws.

4. Leave them to chill till set.

5. Wait for your little one to turn it upside down and go ooohhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Happy April Fool's Day. Did you get naughty with your little ones today?

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.

My little chef's cookbook collection

I have been reminding myself that I need to fulfil a promise I made to you several months back. Cookbook reviews. It was way back in February that I shared (and embarrassed myself in public) my precious cookbook/food memoir collection.  In the same post I also wrote that I would be talking about how each of these books has influenced my cooking style and my life in general (since most of it in any case revolves around food).

I have been struggling with it. Really. Sometimes it’s genuinely difficult for me to choose where to begin from and sometimes I have been plain lazy.

Which is when I thought, let me begin the review series with food books that a certain lady is very fond of. Of course she is very clear that the Nigella ones and all the baking books that her mum owns are her favourite. But when it comes to her cookbook collection (yes, she has her very own collection too!) the ones that I am talking about are her current favourites. And just like mum she likes to read her "cookbooks" at bedtime too :)

These books by Amy Wilson Sanger are a great read if like me you have a toddler at home who loves to "cook" in her "kitchen". These books are a great way to introduce them to cuisines of different countries. They have a very simple storyline, rhyming text and lovely bright illustrations to go with it. The books even have the correct meanings of all the unfamiliar words on its back cover and correct pronunciations too. 

Some of her favorite bits from the three books are:

• "A big burrito almost wider than my mouth". This is where she opens her mouth as wide as she can.
• "Miso in my sippy cup,tofu in my bowl". Both of us love singing this bit, I have no  clue why. May be the idea of miso in her sippy cup is what I find amusing.
• At last my tummy's full from all these "little bits of heart" and this is where she likes to touch her tummy and fall on the bed as if she just finished eating a meal the size of an elephant.

We also like to have the occasional dimsum, tortilla and some sushi while reading these.

About Amy Wilson Sanger: She is the creator of the Tricycle's best selling World Snacks Series for toddlers and lives with her family in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Other books by her: Let's Nosh, Mangia Mangia, A little bit of soul food, Chaat and sweets, 

Till next time, Adios my green amigo!

p.s. I am also going to be introducing a new page on the blog that will talk about books that revolve around food and are great for toddlers who are adventurous foodies. Essentially food books that Sara enjoys reading. Hope to see you there:)