Focaccia and another attempt at making a Video Tutorial

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Focaccia The novice Housewife

Before leaving for Canada, I had the chance to stock up on a few recipes for the blog. I did not realize that staying with family and  such a hectic course schedule would leave me with not much time to spend on the blog. And hence my absence. And also why I haven’t been able to reply to your messages and mails. Sorry! I’ll get to it soon!

I also had the chance to shoot another video tutorial. I thought it looked fine when I shot it, but when I came to Canada and tried working on it, it just did not feel right. I would work on it a few hours, not like it, trash the project and then start the next day again. There are actually four versions of this video that I made and none of them turned out to be what I wanted.

But, I am still posting the video because I love this recipe for Focaccia bread. It’s from Peter Reinhart’s book the Bread Bakers’ Apprentice and not that I have tried other Focaccia recipes (one of my friends’ told me the one on Annie’s Eats site is pretty good), with this recipe I never really felt the need to try another one. It does require you to plan a little ahead of time, but if you truly want a crusty outside and a chewy inside, you do need to take that extra step. Kind of like Peter Reinhart’s Pizza dough. Believe me, it’s one of the best pizza dough recipes you will ever try. And so is this recipe for Focaccia bread.

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Dad’s Spaghetti with Meat Sauce Recipe

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spaghetti sauce-1spaghetti noodles 4 by 4spaghetti sauce-5

I have mentioned on my about me Page about my Dad’s Spaghetti Sauce and how good it is. And not that I have tried plenty of other homemade spaghetti meat sauces to compare with (I have only eaten his version), but still believe me, will you please, when I say its really good. My dad hardly ever gets in the kitchen, probably because my mother is an excellent cook, but when he does, he does a darn good job of it.

My dad is in the Indian Air Force and when I was in first grade he came to the US for a course. After he completed the course my dad took some time off so that we could travel around US and also visit my mom’s brother in Canada. Now in Canada they release this annual Milk Calendar, where they feature recipes which are “ready in 45 minutes or less, include at least 1 cup of milk, and meet the recommendations of Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating”. My mom, being the avid cook she is, flicked many Milk calendars from her brother’s house. And the recipes from these calendars made way into our home. The spaghetti sauce recipe I am sharing today is one of them.

I do not know how it got to be that my dad started cooking this recipe from the Milk Calendar. I don’t remember him cooking anything before he started making this spaghetti sauce. Like I said, he hardly ever entered the kitchen to cook. But somehow he decided to try this recipe out on his own. And then from that day onwards this recipe was his thing. If I remember correctly my mom made the same sauce once, but I think I told her that Papa makes it better. I know, I was a mean kid to my mom. :/

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Mexican Pasta Salad

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Mexican Pasta Salad

A cloudy and windy Saturday (Sadly, no rains though)

A walk to the theatre to see Man of Steel (which I enjoyed watching)

A lazy Sunday spent meal planning and grocery shopping (my first time doing a meal plan for the week)

And, eating this mexican pasta salad for lunch today. All of this and more made it a weekend well spent. 🙂

The first time I made this easy pasta salad was for my coffee group friends and everyone enjoyed it. In fact it got my friends’ kids’ approval as well, and one of them is only 15 months old. And I think anything that gets a kid’s approval is a recipe to keep. Just make sure you reduce the spice to make the recipe more kid friendly.

mexican pasta-3

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