While getting suitably worked up over a Watergate special on PBS I stewed up a great Indian concoction courtesy of Neelam Batra (The Indian Vegetarian). I would give the recipe, but, sorry, I'm not going to violate copyright.

But, in reverse engineering it, it has this

1/2 pound black garbanzo beans
lots of water to cook them in
a good amount of salt
standard amount of raw ginger for Indian recipes
whatever kind of peppers you might like to make it hot or not hot
a tich of black salt (kala namak--sorry no web page to help out that is easy)
a correct amount of channa masala (either homemade or store bought)
green onions
tomatos
ghee (or whatever your flavorful oil you like)
cilanto

Sorry, but that is as close as I'm going to get. The picture looks a bit squirrely, but trust me, its tasty.

Where's the bread recipe?
I'm sorry I'm not so fancy. But I do like grilled cheese with fresh basil!
I'll try and think of a recipe, though.

Crispy, Spicy Tofu and Peanut Slaw

Well in the rush of hunger, I didn't get any photos taken of our dinner but there are photos on the recipe page.

I've made this once before and the family raved and requested it be made again, soon. I serve it as a main dish because of the tofu and peanuts. I also add a garnish of fresh cilantro and lime wedges. We think it improves with some time spend in the fridge, it needs to get colder and the cabbage releases some more juices to mix with the peanuts to make a peanut sauce.

Next time I will add some Chinese noodles.

Mascarpone Cheesecake

Yesterday I made Mascarpone Cheesecake, with a slight variation. The stores around me didn't have any Mascarpone, Italian sour cream. I used more cream cheese. But the cheesecake turned out light and fluffy anyway. It was probably cooking it in the bain-marie.

I made a simple syrup of one part water to two parts sugar with some lemon zest and juice and cooked until it coated the spoon. I then added blueberries and sliced plums.

The cheesecake is light, not too sweet with a taste of lemon. The blueberries and plums give it texture and zing.

Here's a slice of my cheesecake.

Inspired by Saturday afternoon cooking shows, I now introduce to you my cooking blog. Check in every so often and see what's cooking. There will be photos, recipes, links to more recipes, stories about cooking, family tales, and who knows what.

This is going to be fun.