Dark banana bread

Disclaimer: This is a mushy post.

Mushy, because its banana bread for one.. LOL and mostly because its my sweetest friend's birthday today..my sole reason to bake this bread. She lives in India, across the ocean from where i live, but that does not stop a small celebration at home here. Reason to load up some extra calories perfectly :)  Best friends , BFFs? Well i think the concept is a bit archaic now ,with both of us on the other side of 30's ;) And yes, 'best' does not capture the higher superlatives at all , nomore!

Words are less as i try to pick some threads, from the remeries of a colorful tapestry, our friendship has been. 

A classical dancer by choice, she and i met during our post graduate program in Mumbai. A butter fingered me , met this prim and proper girl from the land of ghazals and ghalib. A poet too herself, i credit whatever i understand in urdu prose, to her. The first whiff of independence, just out of our respective homes then-  i endearingly remember siting and talking for hours on the edge of her building's uppermost terrace where she rented an apartment. Haven't called her yet to wish ,but frequently our birthday conversations start with what budding double digit the other is rollicking on. Its a tradition now, to tease and giggle. Talking of traditions, we made a pact to celebrate and host birthdays for each other at a restaurant called Pizzeria, facing the bright Marine drive, when in Mumbai.. and we did keep up to it too. The varied discussions later by the sea, on life love career choices .. i remember we totally discovered an algorithm on love .. naive certainly :)  And , how can i forget the ice cream sandwiches at rustomjee's on our way back to churchgate station, those were yum yum!

Hmm ,it's all so fresh ..even after a decade, just  like.. some wet mud on a potter's hand, feverishly working in his own barn.

We were starkly different, complete opposites.. but life has a way for setting up pieces in a jigsaw like one can never imagine.. and here we are today, so connected not literally but in our thoughts and well wishes, that a phone call or an email does not matter really. Wishing you a happy happy birthday my friend, hope u have a  long peaceful and an absolutely beautiful life..

Chilled cucumber and dill soup

The temperatures are soaring by the Gulf. Humid and hot is the way of life in the summers here. But looking at the glass half full, i feel its the best time to get in shape, run and lose those chubby cheeks. Thus running strong, eating healthy and reading a book was my motto for the day, yesterday. After completing a great run in the early evening, a bowlful of cold cucumber soup with an adventure e-book by the name - When the tiger roars, came into limelight for a perfect supper by my own.

Baby button mushrooms in fresh coconut gravy

A simple experiment which yielded very refreshing yet complex flavors. We called this our south indian and thai plate in one :) 

The story : This week's shopping landed me with loads of fresh dessicated coconut, some of which i used for my coconut chutney.The site of still more coconut (phew!) ,coaxed me to randomly enquire for ideas from a friend. She generously shared her recipe with me. Here's how i recreated the same in my kitchen. 

Vegetarian Gumbo and Black bean quesadilla with minty sour cream

This winter we went on a road trip from Dallas to New mexico-- the land of hanging 'ristras',which is mexican for bunch of long red chillies. And incidentally yesterday,i  sited these Egyptian red chilies- pictured above ,in a hypermarket here and.. bang! did life flashback? indeed it did :)

The fiery red looked so pretty that i cudnt muster myself to cut chop the chilies just yet..still oogling them , totally chilli-struck!  lol. But the memories that flashbacked gave me a reason enough to recreate what we had at this mom and pop store in downtown Santa Fe- Bean quesadilla with piping hot vegetarian gumbo. It was perfect to soothe us on that cold snowy night then.

So here's how i recreated the entrees for the two of us last night.

Eggless chocolate mousse

I am ecstatic today ! This recipe has empowered me in a strange way as i am the one keeping tabs on my dessert police.. my husband now. lol. The culprit is captured and the proof of his crime is what u see above:) 

What's with men not liking sweets , may be liking but how on earth not overindulging ;)  Mini mousse is what i made when we invited some work friends home recently. Made it again today and we clinked clanked our way to a satiated and a happy weekend.

Columbus would have celebrated his discovery of America sometime in retrospect and but I celebrated mine right here right  now.. on discovering another guilty sweet tooth beside me ;)  Still intoxicated with the flavors , here's the recipe to the luscious little chocolate devil.