Saket Vora

No, this isn’t about the Krispy Kreme Challenge. Today inadvertently ended up rather food-centric. Not that I made anything fancy. I did make some sweet tea that I enjoyed later. Simon tried a mint sauce for lamb that he hasn’t made before, and then enjoyed a refreshing chilled mint tea made with a handful of fresh mint leaves and a splash of lime.

We were in the living area watching Food Network (our apartment essentially could have just five channels: CNN, FoxNews, ESPN, Comedy Central, and Food Network), in particular Alton Brown’s Feasting on Asphalt show and Iron Chef America. We talked about food, like we often do — if I haven’t mentioned it before, Simon is the most accomplished chef I’ve had as a housemate (sorry Jordan, no contest here but you get points for trying). Some serendipitous moments — moments after I was extolling the virtues of a good sweet tea after making it for the first time out here, Alton exclaims to the camera how he missed sweet tea. I had asked Simon if he knew how to make a risotto, because I want to learn how and possibly add it to the list-of-dishes-I-can-make-without-looking-at-a-recipe. I’m currently at about a dozen. My mom? Like 784 at least. Sure enough, the secret ingredient in Iron Chef America was rice, with risotto making many appearances. Simon had mentioned some crayfish-like animal with a fancy-sounding name and it showed up in the AB show. There were a few more like this. Alas, no mint was used. He described a meat pie stand in Woolloomooloo, a suburb of Sydney, called Harry’s Cafe de Wheels which has a huge following. The owner signed a several hundred year lease a long time ago and as a result is the only food stand in Sydney, because recent city ordinances have banned the rest. Woolloomooloo was a blue-collar, dock worker’s area that has been transformed into a Soho-like trendy spot, and Harry’s simple food stand is a nice foil to the three-star and Michelin rated restaurants just down the road from it. I told him of  the Indian snack stand (think the equivalent of a hot dog stand, only 100x better) in the neighborhood of Matunga, where my mom was born and brought up, that has been at the same street corner for 30+ years.  The AB show showed a simple hamburger place in which the current chef had been working for 35 years. What a different life…I can’t really wrap my head around that.

This summer I want to add a few dishes to the list. I’ve mentioned the risotto. Mike offered a fried-rice recipe after I said that for some inexplicable reason, despite having a rice cooker, I rarely make rice at home. I always forget to put it on before I’m ready to eat. I’m going to stop buying salad dressing too. I’ve gotten to know of the versatility (and power!) of good balsamic vinegar (both normal and white) from Simon (he loves the stuff) and a quick inspection of our kitchen reveals all the ingredients needed for a vinaigrette. What other recipes should I look into?

When I think of people and food, I first think of Mom (with a capital M) for obvious reasons. Beyond relatives, Mary Elting ranks right up there..a vivid memory to this day from my undergraduate years was being invited to a dinner party at Mary’s house in Raleigh and seeing that beautiful European pizza oven. She is very creative and is always trying new things out….Which reminds me — she and Matt are taking part in the famous Race Across America bike race as members of the support crew for the team representing the Portola Valley Presbyterian Church. This group is supporting the Peninsula Habitat for Humanity and heading up one of the big projects out here. They are leaving this Wednesday! Check out the websites and follow along at their blog.