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Luscious Lemon Bars
Cutting the lemon / the knife / leaves a little cathedral: / alcoves unguessed by the eye / that open acidulous glass / to the light; topazes / riding the droplets, altars, / aromatic facades. – Pablo Neruda, A Lemon. What’s more beautiful than a bright, fragrant fresh lemon? And who better to somehow capture its very essence in words than Chilean poet Pablo Neruda? His ode poem A Lemon is like a song, a paean to this miraculous fruit. Give yourself a treat and read it. And should you want to continue immersing yourself in Neruda’s gorgeous language and celebration of the essence of things, I recommend splurging on All the…
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Nummy Naan
Khusrau baji prem ki khelun pi ke sangJeet gayi to piya more hari pee ke sang. (I’m playing a game with my beloved; if I win he will become mine, if I lose, I will become his.) – Amir Khusro. Bubbly, fresh, fluffy naan – that beautiful Indian flatbread not just popular in South Asia but all over the world. Derived from an old Persian word meaning ‘bread,’ naan’s first recorded history dates to 1300 C.E. Thanks to Indo-Persian poet and musician Amir Khusro, we know that naan-e-tunuk (light bread) and naan-e-tanuri (cooked in a tandoor oven) were cooked at the Imperial Court in Delhi. By the early 1500s, naan was…
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Sensational Sachertorte
“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” – Charles M. Schulz. It is on my bucket list to go to Vienna. And under that bucket-list Vienna entry there is a sub-entry to head straight for the Hotel Sacher for a slice of the “original” Sachertorte. Divinely rich, sinfully chocolatey, shiny and gorgeous, Sachertorte is one of those sexy, luxurious desserts you hear or read about (or see them botch pretty badly on GBBO), but no one seems to actually make just for the hell of it.