Little curds are shy. They make their first peek in the first week of June. A little late to bloom but here nevertheless. Will this tiny bloom make it through the raging temperatures of July and August?
cheddar curds of cauliflower – a glimmer of hope in trying times
This is our Cheddar Cauliflower a.k.a Orange Cauliflower. We planted 4 of them in April. This specific plant is growing to win. The orange cauliflower resembles cheddar cheese curds and grows bountifully in spring and fall. The sweetness of spring makes them cozy up in their leafy green and lends to a rounded, sweeter cauliflower. The hotter months make them bolt to the sun.
This particular variety is not as common as its whiter cousin. The orange hue is caused by the presence of beta-carotene and renders a creamy, cheesy touch to any dish without the lactose effects of actual cheese. Cauliflower plants (white, orange, and green) are great for making soups and roasts. These orange varietals are an absolute element of surprise than the rather usual white cauliflower.
This cauliflower is my positive ray of hope in a world shrouded with pain and suffering at the moment. Every time I walk by my garden, I talk to my plants. But particularly this one. She makes me believe that there is always hope. And hope is a good thing.
Now I wait to see this seedling grow into a burst of sunshine from my home garden.
My husband and I were reminiscing over our childhood memories on New Year’s eve. Living away from your home country makes you go down a burrow of memories from time to time. Is it because we miss our homeland so much? Is it to remind us of who we are and where we come from? Some of those cherished memories almost always revolve around food.
Iconic Foods from Madras/Chennai
Some of the iconic foods we totally miss from our hometown Chennai are the following:
The infamous Iyengar bakery puffs in Dhandeeshwar Nagar, Velachery
Anything from Shakes n Creams in Adyar because there was nothing of the kind back in the 90s. (Side note: also the Bajji Kadai right next to Adyar bakery and shakes n creams)
Samosa chaat, khandvis, pav bhaji, and dhoklas from Shree Mithai/Gangotri
Alsa Mall parathas
Just plain ol’ idli, dosa, vada sambhar from Karpagambal Mess in Mylapore.
Wheat Halwa from Gomathi Shankar T Nagar.
Anyone from Chennai would know exactly what I’m talking about. These places remain iconic even today. They hold a special place in every Chennaiites heart. NRIs love to visit these spots on every visit back home. If you are visiting Chennai and want to eat some delicious food from down-to-earth spots, the above list is it!
Honey Cake from Chennai
There was one more item in that list that we spoke about that day. It was the honey cake sold in bakeries across Chennai that my husband seemed to remember from his childhood. I have to admit. I have never eaten cakes out of our local bakeries mainly because we were more into hot snacks than cake. There were a few sweet dishes that made a regular appearance like the mysorepa, pastries from Adyar bakery, and halwas from Kanyakumari/Tirunelveli. But never the infamous honey cake.
I have passed a gazillion bakeries in Chennai in my childhood and have seen those squares of cake laden with a bright red jam and freshly grated coconut placed carefully in glass boxes for the world to see. Nevertheless, it is not something I have tried. Kar had his own doubts whether he would actually like the red jam if he were to try it again.
Altering Ingredients to Suit our Adult Tastebuds
So I decided to recreate this special cake for my husband’s birthday. Instead of the gooey red jam and coconut, I decided to make a simple vanilla cake with an orange honey glaze that seemed like the perfect swap for our adult tastebuds. This is also the first year that our mandarin orange tree gave us oranges. They obviously had to make an appearance in making this special cake.
Love for Bundt
Thanks to the slew of festivals in the last quarter of 2020, I knew that a frosting-laden cake wasn’t going to make an appearance for at least 6 months. I opted to bake the cake in a stunning bundt cake pan from Nordicware. This recipe makes a little more than 4 mini bundts. I poured the excess batter into a muffin pan and tweaked the bake time.
Notes:
You can also make some simple syrup. Poke a few holes in the cake using a toothpick once it is out of the oven. Put the simple syrup onto the cake a tbsp at a time and allow it to absorb the moisture before using the glaze to make it extra moist!
Speaking of cakes, I have an easy winter cake recipe that is the perfect addition to your tea time routine. Check it out and leave me your comments!
