Happiness Quotient

A colleague told me this little incident, a jolly fellow, who seems to be a person with unimaginable normalness living a worry free life (if there ever was). He was on his bike on a cool Sunday afternoon going about his way when suddenly a lady in a car swerves and stops bang in front of him practically toppling him over from his Sunday afternoon cruise. A petrified silence later, just as a mini mob was gathering around, he decided to do something which a normal person wouldn’t. He smiled, he had a large smile on his face and that was all what was needed for that lady to get that color back on her face. She got off from her car; automatically the crowd dispersed as though assuming that these two knew each other and there was no major “scene” going to take place; and she profusely apologized for her misjudgment and they went their way, shaking hands, relieved that nothing untoward or disastrous had taken place.

Now fortunately no one was hurt but just a little shaken up, and ultimately, it left both parties with just a scary memory. What ticked in me was the fact that this reaction can only come from a content person. Look back, every time you lose your mind, short fuse your temper or merely snap at someone in anger, it’s all the bottled up frustration of a past memory, situation or experience. If one is truly content and happy, it shows, and it shows in every possible situation.

I try and keep a cheerful aura around me whenever I can, this could be anytime – from the drive to work in the morning with the music on full blast or when I sipping on my coffee during a short break at work staring out from my cabin onto the vast uninterrupted view of the ocean (thinking about what’s cooking next), or even in the maddening crowds in the train ride back home some day’s (yes, I admit with my Ipod plugged in). I have attuned myself into dividing my stress time during stress time and cheerful happy content times at any other given moment. I have come to realize that the more I keep this feeling around me, the easier it is to deal with the other elements of life. Yes, there are times when things are out of hand or uncontrollable, but there’s always a break and that’s the moment you should seize to shroud yourself in happy thoughts.

Cooking makes me happy; creating dishes makes me even happier. I am the most content when I am with my ingredients and kitchen. You can wake me up at an unearthly hour and ask me to whip up an omelet and I am raring to go (yes, it has happened one summer over at a cousins place, he did not know the “C” of cooking and that fat ass was hungry at 3:00am). I love getting creative with food, and it usually does snowball into a marathon session of crazy plotting and planning which takes the better part of my time, but the end result – accolades, which in turn – makes me happy!

A small creation I whipped up during a talk-a-thon with my photographer. We were tossing around ideas on what to shoot next (another major role player in my happiness quotient), I was going Asian she wanted to go “something on bread” and that got my creative juices flowing and decided why not combine both. This little dish I created, is quite a hit, though have to still make it for a larger audience, I’d definitely like you to try it out. It’s a breeze and sure-fire hit at your next cocktail do.

Ingredients:
1 French Loaf (Sliced thickly)
1 clove garlic (minced)
2 tablsp Sesame Seed oil (you can use olive oil)

Crispy Spinach Topping
3 large bunches Spinach (washed, dried and chopped into thing strands)
1 tablsp Sesame Seeds (Til)
1 Green Chili Sliced
1 tsp Sesame Oil (Or Olive Oil)
1 tablsp of – powdered sugar, salt and white pepper (mixed)
Oil for frying

Spicy Mushroom and Tofu Topping
6 white button mushrooms finely chopped
6 Babycorn – sliced diagonally into roundels
100gms – Tofu, cut into small squares
4-5 cloves – sliced garlic
2 tablsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tsp Celery chopped finely (optional)
1 tsp Red Chili paste
A sprinkle of five spice powder
Salt & Pepper to taste

Procedure
Mix the garlic and oil and keep aside (the longer it is kept the better it is)
Place the slices of bread on an oven proof tray and spread some garlic oil onto each slice.
Place under a grill and toast till lightly crisped.

For the spinach topping
Heat oil in a deep bottomed vessel and add half a bunch of spinach strands in the oil. Make sure you don’t add too much as the hot oil tends to spill over the sides if not in a deep enough vessel. Deep fry till the color changes to a dark green. Remove with a slotted spoon over layers of absorbent paper napkins. Fry all the spinach, this should leave you with about 1½ cups of fried spinach leaves.

In a wok, heat a little oil, toss in the chilies and sesame seeds, when the seeds crackle toss in the spinach and toss around, remove and sprinkle generously with the sugar-salt-pepper powders. Keep aside.

For the Spicy Mushroom and Tofu Topping
In a small wok, heat the oil till smoky, throw in the garlic and almost immediately add the mushrooms, after a quick stir add the rest of the vegetables. Toss around with the soy sauce followed by the chili sauce. Remove and sprinkle some five spice powder and keep aside.

To serve
Top each slice of bread with the stir fried spinach, top with the spicy mushroom mix and pop into the oven for a few minutes to heat it up a bit. If serving immediately, toast the bread right before tossing your toppings.

This dish is a bit over the top with fried spinach, but the finale is a yummy toasty crunch with a spicy soft topping.

O'-I-Live to make it happen one day

There is an interesting observation at Italian Restaurants abroad, be it a small or an extravagant one, the moment you are seated the exhaustive wine list is brought out, the concierge helps you with the selection, with his/her mind reading prowess, he/she can guess your taste, liking, mood and the amount you are willing to spend, saving you the trouble of going cross eyed trying to determine the best choice off the menu as it involves rapid eye movement between the wines and the little amount column on the right (especially if you have "company").

Now comes the other interesting part, the wine once brought out, uncorked, poured and tasted, the practice, as is observed, involves a small shallow white plate to be placed in front of you. The assorted bread in its individual basket having a wide assortment of baked delights is unwrapped from its warm and snug white cocoon, and then in one swift movement your pristine white plate has a pool of rich olive oil and a swirl of balsamic vinegar. This is indulgence at its best, your pick of yeasty warm bread should be dipped into the olive oil balsamic vinegar mixture and savoured fresh off the basket.

I love this tradition, it's much like a bowl of peanuts or cashews with your beer, back in our Country. Unfortunately, in India, even though Italian Cuisine has fast caught on, the tradition of serving the welcome bread basket (except in a select few places, very few, in my case, probably only one of which I am aware) with the above oil-vinegar concoction is lost. Understandably, Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar is no easy on cost, but the fact that Italian Cuisine Restaurants are highly priced and in vogue with times, it should be made mandatory to serve up this divine delight. So what if its supposed to be complimentary!

Of course you can have this tradition replicated at home. The next time you serve up pasta or even garlic bread, have this on your table to delight your guests and make it your own little welcome:

Bread

From you nearest bakery, pick up dinner rolls, a French loaf, baby round breads and a few packs of your local pau (this particularly tastes amazing).

Mix Butter and a minced garlic clove and spread on the inside halve of Dinner Roll, fold close and pop in the oven to warm for three minutes on high.

Mix Butter, Paprika and your favorite herb and smother in the baby round breads, close and warm with the dinner rolls.

Slice French Loaf into thick slices, drizzle a mix of olive oil, Tabasco and parsley (coriander) onto the slices and grill for two minutes.

Your local pau can be heated, as is, with a little butter and served warm

Spread a pristine white napkin in a wicker or bamboo basket, mix and match random breads and place in the napkin, add a couple of bread sticks in the corners, fold napkin on three sides, leaving one side open as an outlet to release the hot steam. Serve immediately.

Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar Serving 

As pictured below, I had got this bottle form one of those wine festivals in Goa, it was gifted to me by an Aunt who found the bottle quite quaint and thought it would be an innovative addition to my innumerable kitchen items. It was originally meant to be for wine, where it was to be used for chilling the wine by pouring it in the inner compartment and adding chilled water in the outer. Of course, I was super excited to be the owner of a typical Italian Olive Oil - Balsamic Vinegar serviette. The inner chamber now holds the highest quality Balsamic Vinegar, and super rich, extra virgin Olive Oil in the outer compartment.

Keep this on the table for your guests to individually pour out the olive oil  and balsamic onto their plates when you serve the bread.


Butter

One thing I give most high-end Italian restaurants in India credit for, is their choice of butter's served with the  Bread Basket. Every place has a distinct recipe and most of them go quite well with the assorted Bread. You can whip up some of them in your own kitchens and serve with your bread basket.

Garlic Butter: One of my all time favourites, whip softened butter till well blended, add 1 or 2 cloves of crushed garlic, salt and a sprinkling of garlic powder. With a spatula, cream the butter till well mixed and spoon out in a small bowl. Serve cold or at room temperature

Spicy Butter: Another exotic spreadable delight, In a mixer, combine one fourth cup of butter with 2 tablsp of  olive oil and lemon juice, process until well creamed, add garlic salt and chilli flakes and blend again. If you want it to be slightly more pinkish in colour, add a pinch of red chilli powder before blending once again. Spoon out in a small bowl and serve immediately.

Peppered Green Butter: This is an innovative creation. In a mixer, combine one fourth cup of butter with 2 tablsp of olive oil and few leaves of parsley or coriander, process until well creamed, add one chopped green garlic and freshly crushed pepper. Mix well and serve.