Indian As Apple Pie

The word tofu has a lot of power. It has the power to induce disdain. Nose-wrinkling. Repeated diatribes - especially from hard-core carnivores. Oprah is a famous one that comes to mind. I've never seen someone recoil physically as much as she does even at the mere mention of eating the stuff. Then the audience laughs knowingly. Everyone nods in agreement, and a sacred pact between carnivores is again silently affirmed: nothing - especially not tofu - will threaten the ability of anyone to eat and enjoy their meat. In my mind I liken the reaction to NRA members discussing...

As a young girl growing up in an Indian home outside of Philadelphia, we had what every other family (or so I thought at the time) had on the block: a patch of mint growing in the backyard. It was off to the side under the kitchen window, along the house itself and purposely planted in a barren dirt patch. This small spot of green would swell by the minute in the spring and summer - after, mind you, surviving the onslaught of winter. Nothing can kill mint. If you've ever grown the stuff, you know that it's as aggressive...

Today, as I rifled through Neha's homework - my contacts practically dried out after a jet lagged-induced power nap at 6 p.m. - I came across a stack of construction paper strung together with curly yellow ribbon. On it were the words, "Thank You" handwritten and a little crooked in red marker. Almost as an afterthought I opened it up and found a stack of notes and pictures addressed to me. It took me a minute in my drowsy state to figure out that these were from the kids I did a demo for two weeks ago on Indian food....

For some reason broccoli has become a symbol of what American kids should eat but don't. That is, along with other greens like spinach and brussel sprouts. Commercials show kids trying to feed their pets their greens under the table and moms hiding their kids' broccoli under fatty and unhealthy mounds of fake melted cheese. Books supposedly for children talk about how the characters prefer cake and ice-cream over broccoli and other vegetables - one book even talks about a little girl not wanting to eat anything green. Back in 1990 we even had a President throw a public temper...

I became obsessed with my girls' lunch boxes at the end of last school year. It was June and I volunteered to be a room parent on Neha's kindergarten field trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo. Things were going great until we stopped for lunch.   The teacher sat all the kids down in a grassy area by the flamingos and asked everyone to pull out their lunches. Neha opened hers and instead of digging in like the other kids, buried her chin into her hands. She looked down and looked thoroughly dejected. "Neha. Why aren't you eating?" I asked....

"So...If I eat this then do I get dessert?" asked Neha. "No. You have to eat everything. The rice - the yogurt AND the dal," I repeated. "Ohhhh. But I just took a taste of the dal and I don't like it," said Neha. "Right. But, I just heated up a second type of dal and I think you'll like that one." "I don't like that one either. So, if I eat just the rice and the yogurt can I have dessert?" Ahhhhhhhhhh....It's never ending. Trying to get Neha (6) to sit down and eat her meals. But, I'm determined....

I'm done. Exhausted. Pooped. I've been cooking since 7 a.m. Well, either cooking ... buying groceries to cook .... or playing with the kids to get them tired enough to go to bed sooo I can cook some more.Here's what I have so far:Simplest of Simple Yellow Dal (came out great - look at Sophie's review in last post) Cauliflower in Red Sauce (Really came out bad. The original recipe called for a can of diced/peeled tomatoes and I feel like the canned adds too much sweetness to Indian food - any thoughts? That's going in the trash as I...