With fall just around the corner and the apple picking season on in orchards in Arizona, V and I thought of showing my parents to the Apple Annie’s orchard in Willcox this Sunday.
Sunday being lazy days, made us doubt our decision to go (it was a two hour drive to the orchard and we are lazy people). But our experience last year to the orchard and the near-by vineyard was so much fun that we decided we must show them the place before my dad leaves on Wednesday for India.
To kick start the apple-y mood, and to make space for the freshly picked apples we would bring back from the orchard, I decided to make apple crisp from the store bought ones in my refrigerator.
It’s India’s Independence Day and though I would have liked to post something Indian today, its also the reveal date for the Secret Recipe Club. And true to the Indian personality, I’ll give more importance to another country than ours. And I don’t mean it in a mocking way. I think that’s something about Indians, a testimony seen in their past: they have always welcomed foreigners, their ideas and their culture with open hearts, absorbing it in with our own. This has resulted in a great influence in every aspect of the Indian life- most predominantly our food. And that’s what makes India so unique.
As one of my friends PB (from the garlic noodles fame) put on as her FB status:
“Can’t imagine what would my life be without jalebi & doodh, butter chicken & garlic naan, being stuck in traffic for hours, cribbing about the infrastructure in this city, alloo tikki in chandini chawk, my 3 am friends spread around this country, my fav city delhi, over the top expression of love among family…list is endless!!would I wish were born elsewhere??…nah…can’t help but feel partiotic!! Independence day is around the corner:)”
I remember when we were in school, 15th August was marked by flag hoisting, patriotic plays and songs being performed by us school children, a thought provoking speech given by the chief guest and then distribution of sweets to all the students and an overall feeling of being a proud Indian citizen!
This day also makes me even more proud of being born and brought up in a defence environment- dad’s an air force fighter pilot, brother a Naval fighter pilot, father-in-law a retired air force officer, grandfather a retired police officer and several others of my family in the defence. I am the kind of person who appreciates the efforts of all these individuals and others who serve the country every day of the year, but on Independence Day seeing others appreciate the sacrifices of such individuals, makes me even more proud of my family and privileged to be part of them. Jai Hind!
Anyway, coming to the secret recipe club (the brain child of Amanda).
This month’s assigned blog was Bizzy Bakes. Chaya’s emphasis here is on what she calls QED – Quick, Easy and Delicious recipes. In her words,
I find cooking and baking to be comforting and I truly enjoy all aspects of the culinary arts including the clean-up.
Chaya also has another blog: My Sweet and Savory that focuses on Chaya’s growth as a cook, and includes a variety of recipes and techniques.
Chaya also features Ina’s Garden a popular biweekly linky, on her blog Bizzy B. Ina’s Garden is a place for “all things Ina”. And being a fellow Ina Garten fan, I had to pick up a recipe from Chaya’s Ina’s garden post. And I found just the recipe, Indonesian Ginger chicken.
