Experimenting with pho!

Every time I visit the US, I resolve to do 2 things. To stay away from Indian food and to eat Vietnamese food every chance I get! I think outside of dal and roti, it might be my favorite cuisine yet! Its healthy and very vegetarian friendly. On this recent trip I stayed pretty true to this resolution...except of course when my cousin's mom-in-law (my cousin is married to a Punjabi gal) was cooking up true blue authentic Punjabi fare, I just could not pass it up! So aside from this one digression, I pretty much ate all non-Indian food. Not only did I get my fill of Vietnamese food, I came back armed with all the ingredients, the know-how and the determination to reproduce it in my Hyderabadi kitchen! Plus my recent Williams and Sonoma cutting board, knife and garlic press purchases, motivated me even more to head to the kitchen and start cooking in seriousness!

My husband's favorite is pho - a rice noodle soup in a steaming hot broth, garnished with bean sprouts, fresh mint, cilantro, basil, lime wedges, sliced chili peppers and fried tofu! And a dash of sriracha or hoisin sauce to pep things up a bit. My favorite is the spring roll, which is basically fresh herbs, chives, julienned red peppers and carrots, tofu and rice noodles all wrapped up in a moistened rice paper, and served with a peanut dipping sauce.

So how did my first experiment with Vietnemese cooking go...? Pretty good I think....here are some pics of the entire process...the prep work is a bit tedious, cutting and dicing all those veggies, but at the end it is so worth it.
Star anise, the first time I have used this and it made my kitchen smell just wonderful...it has a fragrant, spicy aroma!

Coriander seeds, cloves, star anise, onions, stock cubes, cilantro

Veggies...scallions, bok choy, mushrooms, green papaya, red peppers

Getting the stock going.....ahhh the smell! I also threw in some bok choy stalks for good measure!

Rice noodles

Ingredients for the peanut sauce.....rice wine vinegar, sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, peanut butter

Rice paper wrappers

Veggies ready to be wrapped

Ta da.....rice paper spring rolls with sauce

Pho is ready.....

The best thing about this meal besides the fact that is is healthy and easy to make, is that it is almost entirely fat free! I didn't use a drop of oil in the cooking today! This was the recipe I used for the pho, and this one for the spring rolls with some minor variations..you can pretty much put whatever veggies you want. The rolls were a bit tricky at first to moisten and wrap, and I had to toss a couple of wrappers, but once you get the hang of it is is as easy as pie. The peanut sauce was a concoction of all the ingredients....adding more or less of each to taste. I also added a bit of honey to sweeten it. Bon Appetit!

The fabulous 2 week wedding blur.....!

Ok my lovelies (am borrowing this word from Patty :-)...I am back, physically that is! I am happy, tired, exhausted and a mother-in-law! My mental state is still shrouded in a jet lag cloud...so am not thinking very clearly let alone blogging, but thought I should let you all know that I am back from a wonderful whirlwind vacation! It was one party after another....DC, then Seattle, then San Jose...non stop fun, food and frolic! We are still waiting for the official wedding photographer's pics, but I think I have enough here to give you all a sneak peek of what happened the 1st thru the 14th of September!

We arrived at JFK on the 1st, and spent a couple of days with my bro-in-law at Princeton. I was in a fog so all I remember of those 2 days was imbibing large quantities of food and wine and staying up late talking....! We took the train to DC on the 3rd, and while my husband slept all day with my son's dog curled up beside him, my son Gautam and I ran around madly finishing details for the wedding on the 5th.

4th Sept: Family bowling party at the White House Bowling Alley, yes, it helps to have a son working at the Pentagon! Waiting to get inside.....serious security clearance and all that!

The same place where Obama goes bowling...in fact his bowling shoes were there too!

5th Sept: Wedding at the Newseum. My son Gautam is to the left of the pic, his partner Andy to the right and their friend Parag, who was emcee, in the middle. You can see a wee bit of my orange sari to the right.....!

My fav pic

Yes, their beagle dog Penny was the ring bearer! She trotted in with a pink ribbon around her collar with the rings attached to them after the incredibly moving ceremony...at which point I was crying buckets and buckets!

Bangle centerpieces which became.....

take away goodies for the gals.....

9th September: Trip to Pike Place Market in Seattle...for old times sake!

September 10th: Reception in Seattle at my friend Krupa's house, going for the Mediterranean cabana look to gel with the food....it was Lebanese food...baba ghanouj, pita bread, cous cous, hummus, baklava.....

View of Lake Sammamish and the mountains

The caterers....and moi!

Drinks and dessert table

11th September: Party at cousin's place in Los Altos

My son, my cousin's wife, my son-in-law's mom Nancy, and me..I have no idea what I was gazing up at!

September 12th: Reception at my brother's place....whats a party without wine???

My fabulous son-in-law andy and his mom...all decked out Indian style!

All in all it was such a memorable trip...if I have one regret it is that I never got to meet Anu of My Dream Canvas, Priya of OUATT like I had planned, and I forgot to call Patty of Colors Dekor form Dubai airport....the duty free shopping completely engrossed me! I will have more detailed pictures and descriptions to follow soon! Its so good to be back in blogland!

Last minute packing frenzy......!

Ok so this is it....tomorrow this time I will be on my way to New York, and then on to DC for The Big Day...my son's wedding on the 5th of September, followed by a reception in Seattle and one in San Jose!! I am so excited, I am bursting out of my seams!!! Its been a chaotic week, to say the least....things always come down to the last minute no matter how much you organize and intend to get it all done ahead of time. For me anyway, I need the pressure of the last minute to get me moving!

I will be off the blog radar for a while, but hope to make up for it with gusto after I get back, with my new computer at my new blogging station. I will be reading YOUR blogs though...have to stay abreast of that! I am especially excited because I am hoping to meet Anu of My Dream Canvas in Seattle, and Priya of OUATT in San Jose! So wonderful to meet two people who were my very early inspirations to start blogging!

Here are some last minute shots taken over the past 2 days....the utter madness of packing for an overseas trip, and a wedding to boot!!!

Bearing gifts for all....

Trying to decide what jewellery to take....

Bangles galore....

And more....

And more...

Lucy trying to sabotage my packing

Aided and abetted by Junglee....

Travel documents

Medical insurance papers

Snacks, useful sustenance during those long layovers....

See you all back here on the 17th or 18th....as soon as I get over jet lag, I'll be blogging again! In the meantime, have a fabulous awesome September all of you!

Saffron and Silk Headquarters have shifted!

The S&S HQ has moved, I have a new office space.....inspired by Priya's post, I was compelled to re-evaluate my official blogging HQ and make drastic changes! No more sitting on the sofa with the laptop perched precariously on my lap, and then it getting so overheated I had to move it to the coffee table before my insides got fried, and then sit on a pillow on the floor....then hunch over and type, ergonomic blasphemy!! Of course to make the move I needed my hubby's help....so I had to convince him that a better blogging station would make for better blog posts, and consequently more satisfied readers, which would translate to positive comments and a happier me and therefore..a happier husband! OK, so maybe he didn't need that much convincing, but it did take a bit of pleading! And I had the perfect reason.....a new Apple computer (which should be waiting for me in California in when I get there in 2 weeks, yay!) needs a better home than a cooling pad on the coffee table! Plus, he has been wanting me to start a blog on his mother - who was an amazing woman...compassionate mother, singer, dancer, actress - which I said I could only do if I had a comfortable blogging station. I think all this perfectly logical reasoning touched his perfectly logical engineering mind and sort of clinched it.
So now instead of sitting here and blogging.....

I blog here...! Nice huh? Its a corner of our family room upstairs, but I have to be careful cos if back out of my chair too rapidly I will go hurtling down the spiral staircase into the library......!

The essentials...family pic, jar of pens and pencils, moneyplant.....

A closer look

Some yummy almond anise biscotti....

....for the times when my sugar starved brain has hit a blogging wall!!

I admit, not as nice and fancy as Priya's, but slowly I plan to expand and decorate...baby steps, baby steps!

The Golden Temple - the abode of God!

I am often asked what places I would like to vist in my lifetime. That would be tough for me to answer because the list is endless, but included in the top ten would certainly be the Golden Temple at Amritsar. Amritsar, the original name of first the ancient lake, then the temple complex, and still later the surrounding city, means "pool of ambrosial nectar." The Harmandir Sahib (meaning The Abode of God) or simply the Golden Temple, is the most sacred shrine of Sikhism. For the Sikhs, the Golden Temple symbolizes infinite freedom and spiritual independence.

It is a place of both stupendous beauty and sublime peacefulness. Originally a small lake in the midst of a quiet forest, the site has been a meditation retreat for wandering mendicants and sages since deep antiquity. The Buddha is known to have spent time at this place in contemplation.Two thousand years after Buddha's time, another philosopher-saint came to live and meditate by the peaceful lake. This was Guru Nanak (1469-1539), the founder of the Sikh religion. After the passing away of Guru Nanak, his disciples continued to frequent the site; over the centuries it became the primary sacred shrine of the Sikhs. The lake was enlarged and structurally contained during the leadership of the fourth Sikh Guru, and during the leadership of the fifth Guru, the Hari Mandir, or Temple of God was built. From the early 1600s to the mid 1700s the sixth through tenth Sikh Gurus were constantly involved in defending both their religion and their temple against Moslem armies. On numerous occasions the temple was destroyed by the Moslems, and each time was rebuilt more beautifully by the Sikhs. From 1767 onwards, the Sikhs became strong enough militarily to repulse invaders. Peace returned to the Hari Mandir.

The temple's architecture draws on both Hindu and Moslem artistic styles yet represents a unique coevolution of the two. Within the sanctuary, lies the Adi Grantha, the sacred scripture of the Sikhs. This scripture is a collection of devotional poems, prayers, and hymns composed by the ten Sikh gurus and various Moslem and Hindu saints. Beginning early in the morning and lasting until long past sunset, these hymns are chanted to the exquisite accompaniment of flutes, drums, and stringed instruments. Echoing across the serene lake, this enchantingly beautiful music induces a delicate yet powerful state of trance in the pilgrims strolling leisurely around the marble concourse encircling the pool and temple. An underground spring feeds the sacred lake, and throughout the day and night pilgrims immerse themselves in the water, a symbolic cleansing of the soul rather than an actual bathing of the body. Next to the temple complex are enormous pilgrims' dormitories and dining halls where all persons, irrespective of race, religion, or gender, are lodged and fed for free.

Here are some pics of the temple...you can see why its on my list of "places I have to visit in my lifetime" list!

 And here is a video from youtube where you can listen to a kirtan, or a chant, at the Golden Temple! Close your eyes and get lost in the music......!

Images via flickr and the Internet.