Month: May 2023

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A Cinematic Adaptation of A Feast of Serendib

I get a lot of spam related to A Feast of Serendib (I think because it was hybrid published, and that put me on a list somewhere), from people who claim that it has great potential and they want to partner with me to publish it.

Which I think basically always means they want me to give them some thousands of dollars and they’ll make vague promises and do nothing effective to sell more copies — it’s actually super-annoying, and I particularly hate that they call my cell phone with these spam approaches.

But this was the funniest approach yet (via e-mail this time) — because, you know, it’s a COOKBOOK:

*****

“I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to inquire about the film rights to your book that is stated in the subject line of this email. I believe that your work has tremendous potential for a cinematic adaptation and I would love to discuss the possibility of a collaboration between our respective industries.

As you may know, our production company has a successful track record of adapting popular books into compelling and critically acclaimed films. We have a team of experienced filmmakers who are passionate about bringing great stories to the screen, and we believe that your work would make a fantastic addition to our portfolio.”

*****

I’m now trying to figure out HOW you’d do a cinematic adaptation of my cookbook.

• let Maitreyi Ramakrishnan dance for you, while she gently plucks the rose petals for a traditional rose petal salad?

• next Kumail Nanjani (shirtless, of course) and Hassan Minhaj will have a vehement debate in the kitchen, about whether or not potatoes belong in biryani?

Maybe it could be done after all….

(EDIT: Here’s the book! https://serendibkitchen.com/a-feast-of-serendib/)

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A Cake We All Love

The Carleton let us bring in our own birthday cake, so I made Kavi a cake we both love: Sri Lankan butter cake, done ribbon style, with a mango-peach glaze, lemon curd, fresh strawberries, and passionfruit buttercream.

(This isn’t exactly the same, but very close, if you want to try making it yourself: https://serendibkitchen.com/…/sri-lankan-butter-cake…/)

The Carleton staff person was very complimentary — she said it was beautiful, and when I demurred, she said, “No, really! And we see a lot of cakes!” They ate some afterwards, and said it was delicious too.

🙂 🙂 🙂

I’m still not the neatest cake decorator, but fresh pansies from the garden cover a multitude of sins. Someday I will learn how to use an offset spatula properly (it probably would have helped if I hadn’t been too lazy to go down to the basement and dig up the cake turntable…)

I didn’t actually remember to take a photo of the finished cake! But here is a slice, at least.

That’s it for party pics for tonight, I think. I’ll get some Conservatory pics up tomorrow, although we also had a professional photographer there, so there’ll be another set of nicer pics in a few weeks.

So many pictures. My family is a little photo-happy. 🙂

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Mandatory Short Eats

If you’re going to have Sri Lankans over, short eats are pretty much mandatory. I think I have rolls and mackerel cutlets down, but my patties still need work — they look fine when waiting to fry, but when we fried them, they didn’t puff up properly — I think we may have over-worked the pastry dough. And my filling was a little bland. Apologies to those using my cookbook! Must continue practicing, clearly.

The problem is, the only way I have the patience to do this kind of fiddly cooking, is if I have people helping, and it’s particularly nice when they are people who already know how to do it, like my sister and cousins…clearly, they just have to visit more often!

We also baked Kavi’s birthday cake — Sri Lankan butter cake, done in a ribbon style, hence the mixing color into the different layers…

Thanks for the middle-of-the-night cooking help, Sharms Murraj, Natalie John, and Michele Jayk!

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What Does Edible Mean, Exactly?

One of the interesting aspects of working with edible flowers is the question of ‘what does edible mean, exactly?’ There are lots of plants where if you consume a large amount, it may make you ill, but a few petals won’t hurt you at all.

I’m not a doctor, or an herbal expert, so generally if you see me using flowers in cooking, please don’t take it as an assurance that you can just go ahead and cook with them willy-nilly — do your own research! And please take extra care if you’re pregnant.

But all that said, a few petals of mountain bluet (centaurea montana), considered an astringent herb, are lovely on a lime & rosewater shortbread cookie, and according to Texas A&M University, the flowers are edible. I think you’d be safe scattering a few petals in a salad as well. I wouldn’t make a stir-fry from the plant, though!

“An astringent herb, its flowers have been used as an ingredient for eye ailments such as conjunctivitis and corneal ulcers as well as for minor wounds and ulcers of the mouth. Flowers are edible. Extracts of the plant are used in shampoos and conditioners. Dry flowers for pot pourris. Centaurea is named for Chiron, a centaur known for his herb knowledge and who first introduced Centaurea as a healing plant.”

https://aggie-hort.tamu.edu/…/pla…/Centaureamontana.html

Recipe here: https://serendibkitchen.com/…/lime-rosewater…/

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Chocolate-Tamarind-Chili Scones

The tamarind lends a complex fruity note to these chocolate scones, and the cayenne is just enough to leave a little heat on the tongue. You can, of course, skip the cayenne if you’d prefer!

(If you don’t have a mini scone pan, you can cut and shape these by hand, and bake on a regular baking sheet, placing them quite close together. If you pop them in the freezer for 30 minute before baking, they’ll hold shape better.)

2 3/4 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup cold butter

2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 T tamarind paste
2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
1/2 t. cayenne
1/2 c. chocolate chips for drizzling

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Spray mini scone pan with Baker’s Joy (or butter and flour pan, which will be kind of a pain).

2. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Chop butter in small pieces and cut into flour with a pastry cutter (or with your fingers) until mixture resembles coarse meal. (It’s fine to have small lumps.)

3. In a medium bowl, combine remaining 5 scone ingredients, beating eggs lightly. Pour into dry mixture and stir with a fork until a soft dough forms.

4. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead a few times. Cut into 16 equal pieces and press into the cavities of the pan.

5. Bake 20-25 or until medium brown. Let cool 20 minutes in pan, then remove from pan to wire rack and cool completely. Serve warm, with coffee or tea.

6. Optional: Chocolate drizzle. Melt chocolate in double boiler on stovetop or on low power in microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until melted. Drizzle chocolate (spooning it into a pastry bag or plastic bag with the tip cut off makes it easier) over the top, and let dry until set. (Or, if you want it more indulgent, dip the scones in melted chocolate!)

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Pistachio & Rosewater Mini Scones

Took a little time for baking this morning, futzed with this recipe — it’s a little better now. 🙂

Pistachio & Rosewater Mini Scones

Delicate and fragrant, with a little nutty goodness to add to your morning or teatime. If you don’t have a mini scone pan, you can cut and shape these by hand, and bake on a regular baking sheet, placing them quite close together. (If you pop them in the freezer for 30 minutes before baking, they’ll hold shape better.)

2 3/4 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup cold butter
1/2 c. chopped pistachios
1/2 c. dried edible rose petals, plus more to decorate
2 large eggs
1 T rosewater
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 t. lime zest
1/2 cup milk

Glaze:
4 c. powdered sugar
6 T water
1 T lime juice (or substitute water for a plain sugar glaze)
1/4 t. salt

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Spray mini scone pan with Baker’s Joy (or butter and flour pan, which will be kind of a pain).

2. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Chop butter in small pieces and cut into flour with a pastry cutter (or with your fingers) until mixture resembles coarse meal. (It’s fine to have small lumps.) Stir in pistachios and rose petals.

3. In a medium bowl, combine remaining 5 scone ingredients, beating eggs lightly. Pour into dry mixture and stir with a fork until a soft dough forms.

4. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead a few times. Cut into 16 equal pieces and press into the cavities of the pan.

5. Bake 20-25 or until medium brown. Let cool 20 minutes in pan, then remove from pan to wire rack and cool completely. Serve warm, with coffee or tea.

6. Optional: Glaze. In a medium bowl, combine powdered sugar, water, lime juice, and salt. Line a baking sheet (with sides) with parchment. Pour glaze in, then dip scones in glaze. Remove to wire rack to dry. Alternately, drizzle glaze over the top.

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Cookies Iced for Kavi’s Party

Mostly me, but with some help from Kavi and Kevin. Not perfect — the icing was a little too liquid, so some blurring of the details. But the overall effect will be charming, and this is just for friends and family, so it’s fine. 🙂

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One Cookie Done, Another Fifty to Go

Well, I didn’t get through ALL the computer work on my list, but the vast majority of it, and I got an extension on the last thing ’til tomorrow, so when my brain starting melting at 3 p.m. — teatime is usually about my limit — I switched to baking for Kavi’s party instead.

Kevin mixed up the cookie dough and the royal icing, and I got to do the fun parts. 🙂 One cookie done, another fifty or so to go…

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Feeling Very Kitchen / Garden Witchy

Collected redbuds yesterday and made redbud syrup — I think I have enough to include one in each of the spring treat boxes (which I’m finally getting ready to ship out). (Had a nice chat with a neighbor while collecting redbuds, whose five-year-old was delightedly running around the fairy garden parts — hi, Savannah!)

I’m feeling very kitchen / garden witchy this morning — pictured below, dandelion syrup, muscari syrup, and lots of redbud syrup. Use them in cocktails / mocktails, drizzled on pancakes or ice cream, etc. and so on.