Galentines Soirèe With TheWoodenSpoon

 Normally on the Valentine day, I sleep. 

That is the best thing for me to do although I am happy for the people who celebrate love. 

But what I was not aware is that there is special day to show love to your girl friends too... no.. wait.. don't get ideas... this is love for friends whose company we enjoy and this is celebrated on Galentine day

Did you know? I didn't. 

Actually being single, I am always scared to show my love to girls.....although I do like all my friends and they care for me too.

So now that Nupur Varma of @thewoodenspoonbynupur invited me to a  Galantine soirèe, the first thing I did was to google it and I learnt that  Galentine's Day is a "day for women to celebrate their friendships with their lady friends." 

Essentially, the meaning of Galentine's Day is Valentine's Day for your gals" Made famous by Amy Poehler's Leslie Knope in the TV series Parks and Recreation, this fictional holiday has gained a lot of traction in the real world ever since the initial “Galentine's Day” episode aired in 2010.

 I was surpised that this day is celebrated around world since more than 10 years now and I was not even aware of it.

Okay! Better late than never.

So sweet of Nupur Varma of @thewoodenspoonbynupur to include me in this event and she asked me to bring a friend too.


The invitation card was stylish too and it was hand delivered with  a gift hamper that contained hand made sauces, chocolates, and personalized apron and personalized wooden spoon.

That set the mood..now I was sure that it was going to be an event I shoudn't miss

So on 10th february,  (actually it falls on 13th Feb) I reached the venue at Pedder road, Nupur's beautiful home decorated with pink baloons and selfie board.

 There was a great selection of finger food, all tongue tickling...her food was visually appetising. Nupur had paid attention to every detail and everything was done with much love and style, there was a perfect ambience, and there was beautiful crockery for serving and eating.

Nupur M Varma has travelled around the world exploring different culture, heritage and food. She felt the need to popularise the world's cuisine and bring it to people's home. So after endless trials and extensive research, she has developed a collection of simple to use recipes of delicacies from exotic places as far flung as  Switzerland, Burma, Vietnam and also grandma's secret recipes from different parts of India. Her recipes have been improvised where neccessary to suit the needs of the modern kitchen and the time constrained office-goers.

After few sessions of selfies and group pictures, we moved to the section of the room to watch the workshop. Nooper was kind enough to share the detail and useful tips while making Sushis, Salads and Tirmisu. Then it was our turn to try our hands on the recipes and reproduce the same.

 Although it seemed easy when she conducted the workshop, but it was an effort for me..but yes..I did learn something new and even brought back home my creation of Sushi and salad for my family to share with.

It was a wonderful evening, meeting new people, relishing tasty food and then bringing back more gifts neatly packed for us to feast on.

An unforgettable evening indeed

What I learnt
Strawberry feta salad
Spicy avocado sushi
Sushi rice
Spicy mayonaise
Tiramisu

Recipe of Tiramisu( as shared by Nupur Varma

Ingredients

200gms Mascarpone cheese

200gms Fresh Cream

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup strong coffee

250gms Sponge cake

2tbsp Coffee liquer(opt)

Method

1. Whip the cream until it forms peaks

2. Beat the mascarpone and sugar until smooth. Add 1/4 cup coffee and beat until incorporated

3. Mix the coffee liquer and camp coffee into the remaining coffee

4. Fold the cream into the mascarpone mixture

5. Soak the sponge fingers into the xoffee mixture and line the bowl or glass with them

6. Pour the mascarpone mixture over the sponge layer

7. Freeze for 4-6 hours

8. Garnish with coffee powder

9. Serve chilled

Sadak Chaap At Mumbai

Sadak Chaap literally means street-marquee, or an urchin who grows on streets (sometimes it was also used as an abuse term for the person who has nothing to do). Nevertheless it’s an interesting name for a restaurant that serves vegetarian street food.

Till date, it has five outlets spread across Mumbai, and you can enjoy their meals at Khar, Chembur, Malad, Powai and Versova and now it is spreading its tentacles still wider to reach other cities of India finding its new outlet at Ahmedabad.

Sister to Sindhful restaurant at Khar (an authentic Sindhi Food that also includes non-veg), Sadak Chaap started as a pure-veg take_a_away service at Khar, but sit-down outlets at Powai, Chembur, Malad and Versova  gained its popularity because of the crispness of fried food that tastes best when eaten  instantly and also the pleasure of enjoying Gola Sherbet the traditional way at its’ Powai outlet. It has options for Vegan too.

The food that is served at Sadak Chaap is unique, it replicates the taste of the non-vegetarian meat with similar marinates on meat substitutes to give those authentic flavors and there is a huge variety of  vegetarian dishes introduced  periodically on their menu.

On my recent visit to its Versova outlet, I enjoyed an hearty meal. This outlet has interesting ambience, walls adorned with interesting posters and the collage of the kitchen articles used in early 50's. It has self Service counter but you still get help at the tables.

I started with a spiced buttermilk  of mint, chillies and ginger and that set my mood.

This was followed by Chaap of different flavors

Pepper Aghani Chaap

Afghani Chaap

Barra Chaap

Honey Potatoes

KFC Fries

Stuffed Mushrooms

Tandoori Paneer

Pineapple Chaap

This is the perfect venue for vegetarians to feast on. Gone are the days when people at parties enjoyed just Paneer or Potatoes as starters.

Kulcha Chole

Tava Rice Puloa

The food of Sadak Chaap is often enjoyed at grand parties with great variety of exotic finger food that include Mushrooms, tofu, Mock-meat, Paneer and many other veggies disguised into non-veg delight but actually are pure veg.

desserts

Party orders are taken at their Khar outlets, take-away options are available all over Mumbai through Swiggy or Zomato but if you wish to meet your friends at kitty parties, their outlets at Versova or Powai are the best options.

Follow them on their insta handle @sadakchaapmumbai

Follow my U-tube for live interview of visitors at Sadakchaap here

Seminar On Taste Of America

 At 11:30am sharp, I entered Mahogamy room at The Club to be greeted warmly by Saloni and Sam. It was nice meeting foodbloggers,chefs, and influencers (who are beginning to feel like an extended family) with the common goal of love for food.

Over the cup of coffee and light snacks, we warmed up, interacting with people in the room, exchanging visiting cards and catching up with news. Everybody present were invitees gathered under one roof to discover the taste of America that included products like walnuts, hazelnuts, lentils,  WashingtonApples, pears, blue berries, pistachio and poultry products

The session started with the welcome note by Mrs.Saloni Malkani followed by introduction of Taste Of America by Ms Rhiannon Elms followed by other speakers who gave us an in-depth peek into US Products.

The seminar on Taste of America was all about how the US products can be integrated into Indian market, focusing on its nutrition value and how it can be incorporated into daily diet and in Indian cuisine at home.

Sumit Saran spoke about the power of USA pears and WashingtonApples.  We were transported virtually to apple  and pear farm that spread over 16000 acres in region of Washington and to farms in Oregon to show the harvest and treatment of Hazelnuts, Pistachio and Blue Berries.

The apple and pear growers are committed to minimising environment impact and ensuring that orchards are still growing for generation. They evaluate every variety's color, weight, pressure, sweet level, size and condition before and after harvest.

Pears are fat-free, cholesterol-free and sodium-free that help reduce heart diseases, risk of some types of cancer and is essential for normal cell growth and repair.

Thus the health benefits of each product were discussed in details and it was very insightful information.

Next Sachin Khurana and Shruti Gupta highlighted the versatility of USA pulses in Indian cooking/baking and about California Walnuts felicitating wellness goal. We watch one more video of Walnut farm in Oregon, its' harvest and how they pass through different process of cleaning, washing and sorting before they are packed and shipped.

There was a live demo by chefs of 'The Club' who used the 'The Taste Of America' products making it interesting by gathering iceberg, Olives, Basil leaves and Mint into a large glass and inverting it on the salad plate, then placing cherry tomatoes, Cranberries, Hazelnuts, Walnuts around the glass.. the glass was carefully lifted leaving the greens covering the nuts. This was then coated with balsamic vinegar and cheese. Many members from the room walked up to the salad station to get the taste. (I wanted to eat all of it)  Yumm!!

Shorya Kapoor introduced USA blueberries, as a super-fruit that delivers crave-worthy flavors packed with beneficial nutrients, including phytonutrients and four essential nutrients: fibre, Vitamin A & C, and manganese. It is very versatile food and besides having it fresh, dried, frozen or in liquid form (as in beer) it can be incorporated in desserts, smoothies, ice creams, dips and even in soups and curries. It is also used in many beauty products.

Peush Narang spoke about Oregon Hazelnuts, its indulgence in a nutshell. All the attendees were asked to scan the site no55825155 or visit www.menti.com to participate in the quiz that has queries such as 'What comes to your mind when you think about hazelnuts?' And 'Were you aware of hazelnuts were from Oregon state in US'? Unfortunately not many were aware because most of the imports of India are from Turkey although it is found in small quantities in Himachal Pradesh wild trees near Pargi Valley and is known by its local name of 'Thangi'.

A brief introduction on US poultry in India was by Riya Singh to promote US poultry products such as Chicken, Eggs, Turkey and Duck. The taste for duck and turkey is not yet popular amongst Indian although turkey has made its entry in India during the festive season of thanksgiving. During Lunch hour, I did enjoy turkey with cranberry sauce and roasted vegetables. It was so delicious!!

There was a small Q&A session between Sameer.M and Anurag Katriar on current food trends in India and the future of eating out. Mr Anurag feels that people now prefer to use fresh ingredients in their cooking and are focusing more on the methods of cooking. He feels that people who frequent restaurants are now all casual diners who look for good vibes and good taste. More and more people are talking about Vegan diet and healthy food. Before the Indian food had too much of spices but now its is about flavors.

Listening to so many food stories at the #seminar on #TasteOfAmerica, hunger pangs took us to terrace adjoining the Mahogany room whereby there was a spread of delicious meals cooked with US products that included walnuts, pistachio, cranberry, WashingtonApples, Turkey and all the ingredients that we had talked about during the seminar. It was nice cloudy afternoon and we enjoyed the meals at the tables chit chatting and enjoying the meals

After lunch, we had a small chat with closer friends, few photo session...and then.(sincere thanks to dear Meeta of chiselled_meals for a ride back home) with delicious goodies of walnuts, pistachio, cranberries, fresh red apples, pears, an apron and lots of pamphlets to learn about the ingredients (thanks to @Tasteofamerica for The gift hamper)

Many thanks for an enjoyable afternoon with @foodbloggerai and @usconsulategeneralmumbai.

Some more reading about this seminar and interesting recipes at Indrani Sen's Blog.