Breaking bread & Happy Thanksgiving!

This post is way overdue. But it is such a treat. Every thanksgiving I make a mental note of all the people and things I am thankful for in my life. My family, friends, people I meet, my little doggy Walter and all the lovely experiences and of course all the meals I shared.

Earlier this year my younger sister tied the knot with her beau of several years. We were all excited to welcome Christian in our family. In the midst of throwing her a surprise wedding, I got a chance to watch Christian make some fantastic breads. This one was my favourites. Its a thick, grainy, nutty, superbly textured, goes well with cheeses and tomatoes or olive oil and balsamic vinegar, makes a great cold cut sandwich bread. Its even yummy just by itself given its innate sourdough flavour.

Whats also amazing is how wholesome, fresh, local all the ingredients were. The final bread perfectly encapsulated the goodness of what it was made of.

So presenting Christian's Brown Rye Bread with lots of grains and seeds

Christian, Janu, mom & dad

Brown Rye Bread with lots of grains and seeds

Sourdough Starter Culture

Stir the Sourdough Starter Culture with a spoon

Transfer culture to jar big enough to fit at least 1 liter

Add warm water to 1 L

Mix thoroughly

Set 100-200 ml aside -> this will serve as your next sourdough starter culture

Feeding and Storing the sourdough starter culture

Add 1/4 cup of rye seeds/berries to the saved starter culture

Add 3/4 cup of rye flour 

Fill with warm water to 500 ml total

Mix thoroughly

Transfer to glass jar, cover with saran wrap and leave out on the counter for 6-8h (in winter or a cold apartment warm up the oven just a tiny bit - not more than 40ºC, shut it off and place the culture in the oven to grow)

I'd advise the place the glass jar with the starter culture in a bowl in case the culture is super active and it spills a bit

Preparing the dough

In the kitchen aid bowl, add the remaining ~850 ml from the diluted starter culture

Add 2 cups of dark rye flour

Add 1cup of white flour (unbleached)

Add 1/4 cup of flaxseed flour

Add 1 cup of 7 grain cereal (whole foods, bulk section)

Add 1/4 cup flax seeds

Add 1/4 cup of millet

Add 2 handful of sunflower seeds

Add 3 teaspoons of salt

Allow to mix in kitchen aid

Consistency should be like thick cake batter - if too thick, add a bit of water

Preparing the baking form and the bread for baking

Oil the stoneware bake form

Add rolled rye flakes to it

Pour bread batter into stoneware form and distribute evenly with spatula

Add rolled rye flakes on top of batter

Push down some rolled rye flakes to the side of the stoneware bake form - this will prevent the bread from sticking to the form after the baking and allows for easier removal of the bread from the baking form

Cover the top with another baking form

      TIP: layer the top baking form with parchment paper to prevent stickiness

Let the bread rest for 6-8 h

Baking the Bread

Bake the bread at 350ºC or 180ºC for 1.5h, DO NOT preheat the oven

Remove bread, let it cool a bit and remove bread from the bake form

ENJOY!

Place the Starter culture back in the fridge

Note: I found a step by step recipe on how to make the Rye sourdough starter culture

Some local breadmakers I follow in Mumbai:
Saee's My Jhola 
I recently ate Nikhil's Olive bread. See his recipes here on Nonchalant Gourmand
Or pick up a fresh loaf from The Baker's Dozen

This video making the rounds on the internet bought a smile on my face. It such a heartwarming combination to see Jon Bon Jovi, Taylor Swift and none other than Prince William groove it out on Livin' on a Prayer. See for yourself.

Of Days Gone By- Chicago and Le Creperie

I moved to Chicago when I was a young fledgling all of 22 years old with stars in my eyes and dreams to touch the sky. Well in Chicago thats not a very hard thing to do. All you have to do is take the elevator up to the 103rd floor of the Sears (now called Willis) Tower. I lived in Chicago for almost 9 years. It would be a cliche to say I knew every alley and every corner but it is true I did. I made the city my home, I was an expert on its neighborhoods, its architecture, its art and museums. I taught for 6 years and the best part of that job was to expose my students to the myriad cultures that make up this city. I fell in love, I broke my heart, I made the best of friends and carried back with me a life time of memories when I moved back to India. There was not a day that went by when I reminded myself that I was lucky to live in the most beautiful city in the world.

I was really excited to share this city with my parents who were not able to visit me whilst I lived there. We rented a place off Airbnb in the Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago for a few days. I took the opportunity to share with them what my life had been when I lived there. My friend Justin who has just had a baby took a day off and hung out with my parents and me. We did what we always do- Wander.

Wandered through the Art Institute of Chicago, wandered through Millenium Park, wandered under the giant bean by Anish Kapoor, discovered a lovely installation in the park by Jun Kaneko, lunched at one of my favourite haunts- Le Creperie and wandered through the beautiful Bahai Temple in Evanston. And finally had dinner with his lovely wife Julie and baby Wyatt at their home in Evanston.

This post is also a tribute to the French cafe Le Creperie. It is part of Chicago's European heritage and adds to the diversity of that city.  Located on Clark off Diversey, it was one of the first few restaurants that I ever ate at. There is a lovely movie theater across the street and I would catch a movie at the Landmark and then dinner or lunch at Le Creperie. It was one of those places I could safely go on a first date, meet friends or just spend an afternoon with a book and a cup of coffee and some crepes. Le Creperie has a lovely outdoor verandah that is an absolute delight to sit in late spring to early fall.  Its walls are adorned with famous posters of the French Art Nouveau, maps of the lovely cities of France. In my mind it was a perfect French cafe, inviting, warm and laid back. Back in the day, it was also my first experience with savoury crepes and I was delighted by the various lovely combinations on their menu- spinach and cheddar, mushrooms in white sauce, ratatouille, curried chicken with mango chutney, beef bourguignon which can be followed by dessert crepes of lemon and sugar, nutella and bananas, dark chocolate and many more.

Well sadly, this Chicago establishment is soon going to shut its doors by the end of this month. So if you are in Chicago in the next week or so- do go to this beautiful little cafe and enjoy a crepe. Another tragic piece of news I read recently, the owner who ran this place for over 30 years just lost his son. We met his beautiful wife Yasmina who waited on us that afternoon. She was so sweet and friendly and by the end of the meal she gave my mom a hug.

There will be a bit of the European charm that will be lost with the closing of Le Creperie.

The Hancock Tower and Lake Michigan- on top of the world

Braving the glass ledge

The bravest of them all

Cantilevered on the 103rd floor. The lovely Calder at night

My favourite- A Sunday in the afternoon on the island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat

Detail of the Water Lilies by Monet

The Art Institute of Chicago- My home for 9 years. The finest collection of Impressionists in the world.

The bridge by Piano connects to Millenium Park by Frank Gehry

It never gets old- the wonderful Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor.

A surprise discovery- Jun Kaneko in the park

Delicious Detail

Delicious detail 2

The most fun place to be in the summer

The Crown Water Fountains

A modern take on old European Fountains

Le Creperie and its quaint gingham tablecloth

The outdoor patio and the beautiful warm interiors

My friend Justin and the lovely Yasmina

A mix of crepes- my all time favourite- curried chicken and mango chutney, a broccoli and cheddar

At beautiful Bahai Temple in Evanston

Wedding Photography session on the grounds of The Bahai Temple

The incomplete with the transcendental

My mom and Yasmina

Our prayers and condolences are with you Yasmina. Do take care.

Just heard this song the other day. It sounded so fresh and new that I did not realise it was from the 70s. Seems to go with the theme of this post.

Nana's Japanese Cafe- A Hidden Gem, Alfred, NY

Alfred NY- the quaintest little town I have ever been to. I think its the contrast from Mumbai that I love so much. The absolute opposite in every sense.  Nestled in the mountains of the northern Appalachian, it is the home of the famous Alfred University. I have family up in Alfred. Hence, I have spent many a summers walking up the hilly country roads, along the farms and lakes, or the trees turn shades or yellow, orange and red in the fall and thanksgiving and Christmas meals staying warm eating wonderful goodness my aunt cooks while the world turns while outside.

This blog started in Alfred a few years ago when I nursing broken ankle. The first few recipes are from my aunt's kitchen.

I took a summer course of 3 months in 1998 to learn glass blowing at Alfred University. Now summers in Alfred are wonderful, it never gets very hot. It rains every couple of days and everything is lush green. On the weekends there are wonderful trails to discover, lovely little caves and waterfalls - Stonybrook and Watkins Glen. Niagara is a two hour drive and Corning (glass lovers) is an hour drive. Everytime I go to Alfred, its a home away from home. Its my safe haven in a country that was my home for 9 years.

Nana's Japanese Cafe was my go to lunch place while I was blowing glass in Alfred. It is a unique little cafe run by a Japanese lady called Nana. On a street of typical college restaurants and bars that serve sandwiches and pizzas, I found Nana's fascinating, healthy and not very expensive. Nana's was my first encounter with Japanese food. Here, I cried out in pain as wasabi burnt a hole in my nose like I had no idea what struck me. I was in love and totally fascinated by Sushi rolls, makis, inoris, the flavor of miso, udon noodles, ramen. Imagine - in this little Village of Alfred, I learnt to love the flavors of homestyle Japanese food. The cafe is simple and homey, with an eclectic mix of wooden tables and chairs, ceramic pots for decor.

So on my dad's birthday I decided to treat him and mom to one of my favourite places. It was such a sweet surprise to see Nana's smiling face behind the counter. I told her I used to come to her cafe 16 years ago. She gave me her biggest and warmest smile, came over to our table and chatted with my parents. We ordered her famous bento boxes that come piled high with salad slaw in a ginger soy sauce, teriyaki- chicken or tofu. Her tofu is perfectly crispy on the outside and soft inside. Rice in a sweet vinegar, beans in sesame, a California roll and slice of watermelon. I ordered my favourite miso with tofu soup, a mixed plate of sushi, an inori roll and steamed edemame. The food was wonderful, light and flavourful. It was mixture of color and texture plated on beautiful raku ceramics.

Sitting in Nana's on a rainy afternoon reminds me of the book Kafka on the Shore when the protagonist runs away to this little town to live in a library. Nana's is such a gem in the middle of nowhere Alfred.
I thought the song Runaway by Yeah Yeah Yeahs goes perfectly well with this meal.

Massive pine trees

The houses on Main Street

A little stream and a wooden heron

Quaint little Nana's Japanese Cafe

Blueberry soy smoothis & the deadly wasabi

Tofu and udon in a miso broth 

Lovely to see Nana after all these years

Bento boxes- tofu and chicken

Noodle soup and  3 kinds of sushi

Our lovely meal

Dad's birthday lunch 

Completely wiped out 

The backyard

My wonderful uncle & aunt, mom & dad

The age old Japanese Maple tree- almost 27 years old