5.31.06 Midweek Munchies

Last Thursday when I was shopping I was driving along my normal shopping stop path when I looked to my left and found a new store NAMESTE INDIAN FOODS, it is a small grocer with kitchen, but the kitchen was not open yet. I was so happy to have been able to find rosewater, finally! I can now make the Rosewater Baklava on Bryanna's blog... well I will when this class is over. I also found black salt, dried mint leaves, ground cardamom at a good price as well as whole cardamom (i love this spice), indian naan bread, rose sirup, and twp prepared heat and eat box mixes: alu muttar and channa masala. I hope these have authentic flavors even though boxed mix won't come close to real fresh prepared food.

Here is a great link on Indian Food, that includes restaurant etiquette. I thought it was neat, so I am posting a link. FOOD INDIA LINK

ALSO, I had to eat out once last week. The Indian Palace (the place I wanted to go) was closed for the day, the sign on the door said "family emergency", so I went around the block to a little greek restaurant. I got a huge pita with falafel and hummous and veggies/ pineapple choices were available in a salad bar. It was a one person kitchen and only open for 2 1/2 hours at lunch and supper time only. I spent less than five dollars for a self dressed pita and a peice of baklava. There were four wonderful variations of the baklava, I got one that used maple syrup and mgarine, it was coated with shredded wheat and had carmelized like nuts in the center. As I was waiting in line to order, the person behind me said that the owner/server/prep cook made the pitas and baklava herself, she can only make so many so once they are gone - that's it! I felt priviledged. The inside eating area was small, so I went outside and ate at the little tables on the sidewalk in front.

I also made a b**f style seitan roast on Monday (no class this day). I freeze portions so one roast lasts awhile. I like these for a fast meals and will be using some for AU JUS style sandwiches this coming weekend. This is DH's favorite meal. I can't say I crave meat when I make this, but I sure do like them for their ease of preparation as well as versatility in cooking. I also like that I can make a whole 5 lb roast for less than $2 and that is including the most expensive of flavor variations. Making it myself helps me stretch dollars and get a good variation of protein. My next post will be about seitan roast.

I miss having the time to read and respond to my favorite food blogs to my hearts content, try new foods, be at home... next week is my last week away for this class. However, I have been able to partcipate in a spectacular multicultural education program at an inner city elementary school, the teacher of this after school program won teacher of the year award last year... I was priveledged to see why. I have gained much understanding about the global world our children will be/ are living in.

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