Winter Cooking :: by Mama

I have been thinking for some time that I should compile a cookbook of recipes that one can actually make here in Bangladesh.

It's not that the food situation is so terrible here. We are not starving, really. However, we have had to omit a number of recipes from our normal cooking rotation due to one or two key ingredients being unavailable. Mushrooms, for example. No more pasta with portobellos, or mushroom barley soup, or lentils with garlic mushrooms, or... you get the idea. So I've been looking for new recipes, and I've found quite a few that have quickly become family favorites. I thought I would post some of them from time to time, in case others would like to try them as well. [I plan to only post recipes that I have found online, so everyone can access them easily.]

One that we really love is Summer Pasta with Tomatoes and Chickpeas. Yes, I know that this is not summer, but winter is tomato season in Bangladesh. It's also the season for zucchini (more on those later) and, surprise, sweet corn. Soon to come: Ten Reasons Why Dhaka is Just Like Omaha. N0.1 is the corn; I am still working on the other 9.

This recipe does require a little legwork: the shop that sells balsamic vinegar does not sell pasta, the shop that sells pasta does not sell feta cheese, and tomatoes are usually best purchased from the market. Also, basil is not available in Bangladesh. (I know, oops.) We do have a small basil plant growing on the roof, or it can easily be left out. I actually left it out when I made this yesterday, because the plant is small and I would like to see it live to get bigger. Still, I think it turned out well:

And for dessert, zucchini bread! I used to have a great recipe for chocolate zucchini bread, but sadly, good baking chocolate is another thing that we cannot get here. No chocolate chips, or even chocolate bars that I could break up into pieces, except for one brand imported from England that is almost US$7 a bar. So, no chocolate, but still yummy. I am excited that all of these foods will be in season again in only six months, in the Western Hemisphere!

Happy new year!

Just wanted to wish everyone a (very belated) happy new year. Hope everyone's year is off to a wonderful start!

I do realize that we never mentioned anything about our holidays, specifically about the fact that we spent them traveling around India. This is partly because the people who read this blog (hi Mom and Dad!) have most likely already seen the photos elsewhere. It's partly also pure laziness, but we won't emphasize that part. If one of us gets a burst of motivation (maybe Kaya, since he has the most energy?), you may yet get a post about India. For now, we'll just say that all three of us had a great time, and that the highlight was definitely spending time with so many friends and family members.

The quote of the season comes, of course, from Kaya. We were looking at this Christmas card from his friend Phoebe's nanny --


-- when Kaya exclaimed, "Hey, look, they got a BABY for Christmas!!"

Well... sort of. I guess we know what he'll be expecting next year!