A Beautiful Mess

Rack of Lamb

One of the reasons why I cook more often than I bake is that I have no patience. Actually, maybe it is not patience. I just can't be bothered with recipes. Really can't be bothered. My relationship with food has always been instinctual. I look at food and I cook what comes out of me. I have been lucky that more often than not, the food is edible. Tonight though was a bust.

The Single Woman's Leftover Dilemma

Stuffed Zucchini

One of the things that always happens to me is leftovers. This is no surprise because cooking for one is a delicate walk between not wanting to cook at all and eating out or cooking and having to eat the same thing over and over again. The thing with me is that I don't mind eating the same thing over and over again. The repetitive eating is actually one of my coping mechanisms for singledom. I make one pot of food and I eat it for lunch over the week. Sometimes, I do that for dinner as well.

However since Ramadan started and I am only eating twice a day, I really feel like I ought savor the food I am eating. So I have taken to cooking every night. My Suhoor meal is pretty much the same thing each time because I treat is as a functional meal. For Suhoor or the pre-dawn meal, I eat overnight soaked oats. By the time Ramadan is done, I will be glad to go back to my smoothies and breakfast pizzas.

Haymarket Mushroom Dream

Mushrooms!

Last weekend, one of my friends, decided that we should go to Haymarket Farmers' Market in Boston. Haymarket is not really a traditional farmers' market because the food there is not artisanal and sellers are not farmers. What makes Haymarket special is the abundance of fruits and vegetables for cheap, really really cheap. One has to be careful though to ensure that they are getting good items because the items there are not exactly known for being fresh. My number one Haymarket rule is not to buy anything in bulk. If I can't cook it over the next couple of days, I won't buy it from Haymarket.

Watermelon Lemonade

Watermelon Lemonade

One of the things that I really enjoyed when I went to Mumbai with my mom was the drink culture. Every time we went to a restaurant, they would serve us a new drink known as a 'Welcome Drink'. These drinks apparently were most from cordials but each drink was different from the last and the next. As someone who abstains from alcohol, I really appreciated the creativity that went into creating these non-alcoholic options. I also enjoyed the variety offered.

Ramadan: Three Days In

As I sit here to type up this post, I am already in my PJs and partly nodding off with an overstuffed belly. It is the end of Day 3 of Ramadan and I am still getting into some sort of rhythm. One of the things that I have been thinking of all day is what a huge change in lifestyle that I am going through with Ramadan. I feel like when we talk about Ramadan, the focus is so much on the fast and the lack of food or water. There is more to Ramadan than not eating.