When it comes to Dalmatian cuisine, nothing really embodies all its principles quite like brodet does. Deriving from the old Venetian word brodeto, or “broth,” brodet itself is very simple to make and versions of such seafood stews are found all over the Mediterranean. Traditionally, a variety of fish ranging from thick white to oily is used but in this simplified albeit delicious version, we’re using ingredients readily at hand with a few tweaks here and there to make truly memorable. The concept behind the recipe is summed up quite nicely here, A fish must swim three times – once... Continue reading

What does summer remind your off? For me, it's about cold suppers, salads, flip flops, ice cream, rolling in the ocean, damp towels and ofcourse the quintessential shimp boil. Now mind you, this could be a crab boil if you wished but I simply don't have the patience for shelling itty bitty crabs any longer. Snow crab legs, no problem but working for 2 hours to get half a cup of meat? Thanks but no thanks! An hence the shrimp boil. A week at the beach just wouldn't be the same with0ut this lovely. Spread the newspapers on the table... Continue reading

First off let me begin by explaining that I have taken a huge liberty with this recipe. NO. SALTED. COD. Before you proceed to bite my head off let me be clear that is because of my utmost love for bacalao that I cannot bring myself to purchase the sorry excuse of bacalao that is sold in little wooden markets in the supermarkets near me. Because I have been ruined. By these beauties in the mercados of Spain and Portugal. These incredible pieces of salted cod are pricy and well worth every cent. They simply melt in your mouth after... Continue reading

If you're looking for a hearty, rustic farmland fare this St Patrick's day, look no further. This meal-in-one-pot broth is full of meat and veggie goodness including the healthful and oh-so-Irish pearl barley and split green peas. The split peas turns the soup into a thick mushy base in which is nestled the meat and delicious vegetables like leeks, carrots and turnips. Cabbage is added at the very end just until it wilts. I love adding lemon juice at the end because I think it makes great strides to balance the minerality of the turnips and is not traditional. One... Continue reading

We all know the benefits of eating vegetables but finding fun and interesting ways of including these in the dinner menu can be a challenge. I for one, hold to eating whole foods and not ‘faux’ foods and so I tend to cook with the whole vegetable. Radishes, the long white ones found in the Asian market is not a veggie we easily reach for in produce aisle. But this unassuming, slightly pungent root vegetable packs more health benefits than you may suspect - aiding digestion, fat burning and being low on the glycemic index, it’s a negative calorie food.... Continue reading

The older I get the more I realize that the ongoing conquest for perfection is futile. The conquest for excellence now is a whole other matter and one I believe in aspiring to. But this endless pursuit for perfection, will land me in the loony bin. For me, my bête noire will always be the exasperating & often losing relationship with my weighing scale. Which brings me to the whole point of the ‘futile endeavor for perfection’ conversation. And so I try and focus on ‘excellence’ – making the very best effort in making the best decisions for the my... Continue reading

2018 is only 14 days old today and what a fortnight it's been! Arctic blast with negative temps, the threat of thermo-nuclear annihilation & the constant barrage of tweets from a very 'stable genius'. Needless to say, I've been a bit slow welcoming the rise of this New Year - more like an otter. I have also been hiding from you all. For the simple reason that I have no business posting a luscious cake as my very first post of 2018. What am I thinking?! I know you want salads and soups and paleo and Whole30 but all I... Continue reading

If you're still on the fence and looking for an amazing, knock-their-socks-off kind of appetizer for Christmas, here's one you'll love! I love these fritters because in putting this recipe for an upcoming cooking class, I've got rid of all that tediousness with one bowl eggs, one bowl breadcrumb, dip in sequence blah, blah, blah and instead it's an all in-one mixture that goes straight to the deep-frying! And guess what, no one will be the wiser! If you love crab, the 1 lb. lump crab meat will make a nice size appetizer serving for 6-8 people which is great... Continue reading

I tend to take my inspiration wherever I can get it. But sometimes it come easy, infact right from my refrigerator! Enter, candied blood oranges a.k.a. aranciata rossa from Sicily. On our trip a few years ago, I had bought back a circle of this delicious stuff from one of my favorite and one of the oldest chocolate shops in Sicily, Antica Dolceria Bonajuto and because as you know, everything we bring back from travels far and wide falls into the 'simply precious' category, I've been waiting to unwrap this beauty when inspiration struck. It's a serendipitous coincidence when inspiration... Continue reading

If you recall, I first mentioned this beet salad when I made it as a side for my herbed lamb sirloins a couple of weeks ago. This salad is a result of what makes me peevish at restaurants; order a beet salad and 9 times out of 10 it gets served with a whole bunch of greens, radicchio and what not and a couple of slices on roasted beets buried in the midst. I don't know about you, but when I want a beet salad, I want beets to be the star of the show! Hence this dish... A little... Continue reading

All that's orange is not pumpkin or squash! Think carrots! And if you think that's an odd choice for a holiday dip, wait until you taste it. This dip is gorgeous with strained Greek yogurt, labneh, added fresh herbs and that crucial spice, fresh roasted and ground cumin. The star of course, is loads of matchstick carrots that come in those lovely ready to use little baggies (work smart, not hard!) and is sautéed in olive oil and a touch of salt. Once they are completely limp, they're ready to use. This recipe came together for the Thanksgiving class I'm... Continue reading

I'm getting all geared up for my Thanksgiving culinary class that begins next weekend. It's always great to come up with fun and new ways to dress up old ingredients. On this particular day, I was working on a beet salad and thought it would be quite nice to serve lamb with the earthy flavors of beet on the side and creamy mashed potatoes to even the playing field. The beet salad is coming your way soon because I think it's lovely and unexpected way to enjoy beets (no Frisee greens with this one folks!) But the highlight here is... Continue reading

As I sit here trying to recall my first introduction to Moussaka, I draw a blank - because it seems as though I have been preparing this dish for as long as I can remember. I do however recall without a doubt, the day I was guided from preparing a mediocre Moussaka to a great one! (I say this with all humility) It was six months after I had given birth to our firstborn. My friend Aliki who is Greek, had also delivered her baby around the same time so our sons were no more than a few days apart.... Continue reading

If you've never had potatoes like this before or even heard of these itty bitties let me just say, these will prove a revelation! Growing up, I've eaten deep fried versions of these taters common to Sindhi cuisine and simply known as 'tuk'. But times have changed and for most part, we no longer tend to deep fry everything that comes down our merry way. So same concept, but roasted. I'm using baby potatoes (creamers) which are first cooked in boiling water until they are tender and easily smashed. Liberally salted - salt and potatoes are match made in heaven,... Continue reading

Dear Reader, It’s been close to 8 years since I have been sharing recipes and cooking tips with you on Weave A Thousand Flavors. Thank you for sticking with me all these years as I have home-tested each recipe, published each blogpost & taught culinary classes for Adult & Community Education. All of it stems from my deep love for good food and honest cooking that I love sharing with you. I have been incredibly fortunate that my culinary path has brought the most amazing people into my life. From James Beard award winning Chefs to incredible home cooks in... Continue reading

Everyone should have in their arsenal a low maintenance, throw together type of soup that you can make in your flannels while chugging away on your laptop. This is ‘the one’ for me. It's insanely delicious & needs nothing more than a whole chicken (defrosted), onion, salt, pepper, eggs & lemons. Chuck the chicken in a pot with copious amounts of water, cook the orzo in the broth and finish with lemon and eggs. I love that getting the pot on the stove gives me straight 1 hour – 15 minutes before I even have to mess with it. That... Continue reading

Funny story how this recipe came together. When I was teaching my high school camps in July, I planned on teaching a zucchini salad with avocados. I had purchased one of those mega bags of avocados with a dozen. As it sometimes happens though all signs indicted that the avocados were ripe and should have been at peak, each and every one of them was rotten and brown on the inside. So I was faced with 16 hungry looking teenagers and the need to improvise! We roasted our zucchini like we would have any way and then raided the refrigerator.... Continue reading

At work today we hosted a delegation of culinary educators and chefs from China. And yours truly had to come up with a recipe for breakfast that could feed a crowd - of 35! So this week, my family and folks at work have been patiently critiquing the fruit of my labor before the big production. And I've got to say it after all that effort it went really well. For one I had a blast, we worked together as a team and if all the lovely compliments was anything to go by, this dish hit the spot. A French... Continue reading

I'm so happy to be back with you all! And please be patient while I disappear again for a week or so. All my shenanigans will end once the kids go back to school but until then it's come and go time for me. It's been an absolute roller coaster ride this summer and I have been trying to tackle new projects like this one - travels & teaching teens culinary camps as I do each year. It's a wonderful experience but one that leaves me a little exhausted after 2 weeks of non-stop teaching. Having said that, I wouldn't... Continue reading

I have to be honest, I don't get folks who don't love mussels. If you love shellfish, then what's not to love! That briny meat is so good in a myriad of ways - in a wine sauce, with tomatoes, without them, with chorizo, beans, potatoes..I could go on and on. So if you love mussels as much as I do, this one's going to be right up you alley. Finely chopped up onions, garlic and carrots sauteed in olive oil, a liberal splash of wine, glug of cream and of course mussels. The cream sauce pairs so well with... Continue reading

Love a good chicken dish for sopping up loads of delicious gravy with crust bread? Then look no further. Cook this Basque style chicken and it will leave you in a state of euphoria! This Basque chicken uses just the most delicious set of ingredients – chicken legs – for that juicy dark meat, delicious smoked Spanish chorizo sausage, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, herbs, smoked paprika, FINO sherry (a classic and one I consider a staple in my pantry) & topped off with artichoke hearts. All of this comes together in just a fantastic medley of flavors that will leave... Continue reading

Seared tuna is a marvelous thing. If you like tuna that is and especially if you like it rare. In my home, this is the stuff of dreams even with the kids. The Basque aren’t big on spices and certainly not on using a ton of ingredients. In fact standard fare in a Basque kitchen will use onions, peppers and garlic as pretty much the basis of most foods and with the exception of a ton on good quality olive oil and the freshest ingredients and produce known to mankind & not much else. The tuna in this recipe is... Continue reading

You'll be hard pressed to find a more beloved vegetable among Bengalis in India than Poshto. Poshto roughly translates to poppy seeds and refers to the singular ingredient that takes an array of vegetables, envelopes it in its creamy paste and turns it into something spectacular. You've often heard me brag about my mother-in law's excellent culinary skills. So on a recent visit, when she was cooking some wonderful dishes for a dinner party, I stood around handy with a note pad and camera and scribbled and clicked away. There are many veggies that are used to make poshto though... Continue reading

These delicious eggs are inspired from past travels New Orleans and the great culinary traditions that makes Nola, simply NOLA. Crawfish, those little suckers that are delish to make and a killer to peel. I have to be honest, the day I take up knitting is the day I’ll have the patience to peel these. I think Mr. Hubby would have a much easier time of this than I would. I can see him patiently sitting at table painstakingly peeling these and sharing pieces with all of us at the table while I would be out of there by shell... Continue reading