Panfusine

After this past bone chilling cold winter, I'd promised myself that I would not say a word or whine about the weather no matter how blazing hot the summer got. Now, I'm beginning to think that I may not have to worry about breaking that promise. The cold weather never seems to be ending! This time of the year brings with it a slew of  some special produce produce. Blink & they're gone for the year. While I wait for the first bunches of ramps to make their appearance,  I'm enjoying the bountiful supply of fresh, tender green garbanzos. There's no dearth of dishes that this delightful produce can be the star of.  Grilled and served up with a sprinkle of sea salt, or, sauteed with fresh coconut & slivers of raw mango, spiced up with a fiery tempering of mustard & curry leaves. The list could go on & on & on... I'm addicted to Hummus, but often succumb to picking up a tub from the supermarket simply because when ...

Some of the most elegant breads I've come across seem to have Japanese origins. Take the Hokkaido milk bread for example, The pillowy softness that we only see in those mass manufactured monstrosities that have a laundry list of ingredients, of which half are synthetic man made preservatives - The Hokkaido milk bread has all the great qualities of 'Wonder bread' without any of the ghoulish preservatives. This months bread, picked by Aparna Balasubramanian from 'My Diverse kitchen' is yet another wonder from the Japanese bread basket. The 'Melon Pan'. Lets first dissect the name  - Its a Japanese dish with no ingredient even remotely associated with melons of any kind, and its referred to by the Portuguese name for bread 'Pan' - Go figure! The crackly rough looking surface of the bun was supposedly said to resemble the surface of a cantaloupe, hence the presence of the term Melon in the name. In reality, this crinkly surface is a cooki...