beginnings.

Greetings Internet!

To introduce myself, I will say that I am currently a 3rd year medical student (anyone who knows anyone in medicine knows that it takes over your identity the way Alexander the Great took over Persia... rapidly and quite, quite thoroughly). With all of the stress that is attendant upon said occupation, I decided to start blogging about the few hobbies that remain to me.

Namely food (both the making and the eating of it), fine wines and other tipples, politics, reading, and spirituality. 

That being said, I'm also a raging history geek (hence the funny-only-to-me Alexander the Great joke) and LOVE TV shows based upon fantasy and history, so you will probably also see some schoolgirl-level squeeing from me on that subject. 

Now that introductions are over, I suppose we can start with food. Being Indian and having a mother who has always enjoyed cooking and teaching how to cook, I've always loved food. There's something so very relaxing and satisfying about making food with your own two hands and then eating it. Since my mother is also  a doctor, I've also grown up with the idea that short-cuts aren't necessarily a bad thing, if used properly. Sometimes I make recipes from scratch. At other times, I make unabashed use of pre-made mixes. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. Certainly I would love to be one of those from-scratch bakers. I simply have no time for it. I would much rather make something and use a short-cut rather than not make it at all. 

That leads us to recipe (or perhaps suggestion?) number 1 for the fudgiest, most sinfully delicious brownies around with a bit of an Indian kick.

Take one package of Baked NYC deep dark chocolate brownie mix (I bought it from Williams-Sonoma... somewhat expensive, yes, but you will soon find out that these are most definitely special-occasion brownies). Make as directed on the box (fair warning, it will keep your friendly neighborhood cardiologist in business... it calls for a Paula-Deen-level amount of butter). Just before you are about to pour the batter into the pan, add approximately 1/2 to 2/3 teaspoon ground cardamom (to your taste). Freshly ground please! The purist in me shudders at the flavor loss that occurs when you buy preground spices. No need to roast, unless you prefer a stronger flavor (in which case you should add slightly less cardamom). Bake as directed and allow to cool. When eaten warm, the brownies remain a little light and I would think that they would be excellent with your preferred flavor of ice cream (I recommend coffee, which stands up well to the cardamom). They are also even more excellent the next morning, after they've been sitting in the fridge overnight to become incredibly fudgy. Enjoy!

Next up: saffron cookies with toasted pine nuts and childhood stories remade.