PINT OF WARM MILK

It’s Been a While…

…since I posted here. The whole of spring and summer were spent going through some big changes in life. I wish I had posted here though, I would have loved to check back and see through my words my emotions.

Aside from job changes and all that, I have been trying out new recipes which I am very excited to share here. My only problem is my Canon DSLR camera isn’t working anymore and I haven’t had time to get it fixed or replaced. It is the second time that my camera has been giving me the exact same issue so it’s very frustrating. In the meantime, I might have to try taking photos with my iPhone.

And for the first time ever, I am enjoying autumn and looking forward to winter!! I don’t know what changed in me but I am glad to be feeling this way. I am looking forward to dressing warm in cozy jumpers. Spending more time indoors means I will have more time to write here which is another thing I am looking forward to do. Glad to be back :)

Photo by Simon Matzinger.

A Fun Update / Winter

My Diet
Mostly consists of warm soups and stews. I especially love adding dry lentils because it gives the soup great consistency and adds so much flavour. A simple one I make is adding split mung beans and black/french lentils with beef and potatoes. Cooks in about an hour and so good with fresh bread. Another one of my favourite soups that include lentils is Ash reshteh.

My go-to clothes
As mentioned here, I have been wearing ribbed and striped sweaters a lot. They go very well with jeans and trousers. Since I cannot wear a lot of layers under a fitted sweater, a simple trick I learned to keep myself warm without adding bulk is to wear a merino wool base layer. Merino wool is great because it’s thin but still keeps me warm.

The best show or movie
I recently watched a French movie called ‘Custody’ on Amazon Prime. It’s about a divorced couple fighting for custody of their son. The father wants joint custody but the mother wants sole custody because she claims her ex-husband is violent. The movie is very intense—I was sitting on the edge of my sofa with my heart beating faster by the minute. If you have time, this is a must watch.

Currently reading
I just started reading this book. I picked it up because as a teenager I loved her Shopaholic series and whenever she comes out with a new book, I try to get my hands on it.

P.S. More updates here and here.

Ash reshteh photo via; Striped sweater photo via Zara; ‘Custody’ photo is a screenshot from the movie; Book photo via.

Will You Watch The Oscars?

Will you be watching The Oscars this Sunday? I used to be very excited about The Oscars—having hosted many Oscar viewing parties. I would try to watch all the movies nominated for Best Picture before the show and be eager to know if the movie I liked the most wins the Best Picture award. This year, I don’t find myself looking forward to The Oscars or any other award show. To put my reason in simple words, I think award shows have become very predictable.

The last couple of Oscars lacked any surprise and frankly very boring to watch. The same people in the same category win in every award show such as the Golden Globe, SAG, BAFTA, etc. and end up winning the same category at The Oscars as well. I watched the Golden Globe and I feel like every other award show after that has felt like I am watching the same show over again.

I might end up watching the Oscars on Sunday night, albiet without any excitment. I have watched some of the movies nominated for Best Picture and from the ones I have, I really liked “The Favourite” so I will be rooting for it. Have a great weekend.

Top photo is a screenshot from Gabbeh. Although an old movie and not nominated for Oscars, I watched it last October at The MOMA cinema and was the best movie I watched last year.

This Concrete Mosque is A Work of Art

How stunning is this mosque? I love mosques that are beauttifully decorated with floral motifs but this simple concrete one is my new favourite. With its wooden dome and 99 smaller concrete domes, it looks so serene and beautiful.

Have you watched “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat” on Netflix? You probably already have but I only watched it last week–yes, I am late. What drew me into watching the docuseries was its title Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. It is a very clever title because I do think that great food has the perfect balance of those four components. Samin Nosrat’s show explores 4 basic keys to wonderful cooking. I watched from one episode to the other mesmerized by everything until I reached the last episode, which talks about Heat. I was let down by that episode and here is why.

The first three episodes are about fat, salt, and acid. All three of them are shown as ingredients which are essential in good food. Samin visited three different countries that make or use those basic keys masterfully– Italy for fat from olive oil, Japan for salt from soy sauce, and Mexico for acid from salsa. These episodes were perfect and I thought since they are on ingredients the last episode, Heat, would be also be about ingredients such as spices or chillies that add heat to food. It turned out to be on fire. In that episode, she talks about fire being essential to great cooking, which I do agree it is. But do everyone not know this already?

I do think that great food has a perfect balance of heat from spices. The three places Samin visited in the show–Japan, Italy and Mexico—use heat from spices masterfully in their respective food. Wasabi in sushi, dried red chillies in pasta and, jalapenos in tacos. Of course, there are many countries and cultures that use spices but I am just giving an example of the places she explored in the show. I think that not exploring heat as an ingredient in the form of spices was a missed opportunity.

I strive to achieve the balance of salt, fat, acid, and heat in my cooking because that makes food go from good to great. An easy example of these four keys in one dish is Bolognese. A great bolognese has all four keys perfectly balanced. Acid from tomatoes, salt from sea salt or parmigiano reggiano, fat from cheese or butter and heat from dried red chillies. My favourite dishes that have the perfect balance of these four keys is Ghormeh Sabzi and Beef with Spinach and Chickpeas.

I did enjoy the first three episodes of the show thoroughly and I would highly recommend it if you haven't watched it already.

Photo via Netflix

Currently Obsessed: Striped Ribbed Top

This winter, I have been wearing tight-fitting ribbed sweaters more than thick ones, even though the latter will definitely keep me warmer. Perhaps the reason is I desperately crave something colourful and fitting under my big jacket. The ones I love most are stripped sweaters in two or three different pretty colours. Here are some I am eyeing…