Venetian Polenta with Swiss Chard

Somehow I have never been tempted with restaurants right across the street from our apartment in the past.  I don't have a solid reason but some hypothesis which I would rather not explain here:) Somehow, one fine Sunday night, with no desire to cook at home and company of my lazy legs, we found our way to have dinner at Spiritland Bistro which is right across the street from our apartment. It is a cute little, fine-dine restaurant with European style ambiance.  Their menu has large number of vegetarian options from many cuisines around the world (something that I have always dreamt of).  Food was delicious so much so that we ended up eating here again in less than a week with some friends!  Both the times, we tried their tasty appetizer - Venetian Polenta Cake.  Here is a reasonable attempt to replicate this dish in our own kitchen!

Baked oatmeal

As promised, I am here with a post on Baked oatmeal. Picky I am with what I eat. Perhaps like everyone else, I enjoy certain things cooked in a particular style otherwise they are avoided using my best possible behavior :)  Oatmeal falls in such a category. I never enjoyed oatmeal in its default form - served in hot milk- despite knowing its endless benefits.  A Bed & Breakfast place named Pomaika'i "Lucky" Farm at Big Island (Hawaii) served baked oatmeal which I throughly enjoyed.  Naturally, upon return to mainland, I began my hunt for baked oatmeal recipes.  After much needed browsing on internet and an experiment in my Kitchen,  here I present the recipe to you fellow readers.

Besan Ladoo

Wednesday mornings were special for a little girl as her mother would give her 11 Rupees  to get Besan Ladoo for lord Ganesha from a Mithaiwala (Sweet shop) next door.  On special occasions, she tried two varieties of besan ladoo after visiting  Ganesh temple on Wednesdays with her sister and brother. Time flies and now she enjoys Besan ladoo made by her mother-in-law (MIL) while remembering her childhood days. Then, one day thousands of miles apart from her memories, she attempts to make them with an andaaza (approximate) recipe -  remembering bits and pieces of how MIL moved the ladle effortlessly with a lot of patience and love and yet, thinking about the little girl running to the sweet shop.