The Undiscovered Foodie

  “Chew your drinks and drink your food”,says Jay Shetty, former monk and social media superstar. What, pray tell, does this mean? He explains it as chewing so deliberately and mindfully that you grind your food into a liquid before swallowing. With drinking, instead of taking huge sips that empty your glass in two swings, take the liquid in with thought and care.  Eating, especially in America, has become some type of afterthought or race. How many times have we inhaled our lunch on a short break just so we can work longer? How many of us have eaten a meal in the car while driving, just to cut out the time it takes to prep, cook, eat and clean? Eating too quickly can have many negative effects, especially because it takes your brain up to 20 minutes to recognize that you are full. If you eat too fast, this signal may arrive after you have already overeaten. By eating mindfully, you eat with intention, and this can help you determine if you are eating out of actual hunger...

What came first, the chicken or the egg? An age old question that had me pondering for a bit longer than I care to admit. All I know is that I LOVE eggs and with breakfast being, quite possibly, my favorite meal, I kind of feel like I can’t live without them. I could eat them every morning but I force myself to put them in an “every other day rotation” and sometimes, will only eat one, paired with other goodies such as avocados, spinach and cheddar or feta and herbs.  I credit me dear friend Ali with introducing me to the Scotch Egg. Check out her youtube channel, Out-N-About with Ali, to get all kinds of fabulous tips on where to go and what to do and see in Las Vegas, often with a British spin (she’s a Liverpool gal- you’re going to want to watch all of them just for her amazing accent)! It was on one of her spots that I saw a high profile chef in Vegas cooking a Scotch Egg and I’ll admit, I was mesmerized. How had this egg connoisseur (that’d be me) not yet discovered this S...

  Red Bell Pepper. Mint-shallot. Ginger. Coconut. Chili. These are a few of my favorite chutneys (to be sung in the tune of “Favorite Things”)! So, what exactly IS a chutney, you ask? Well, if you look it up on google, it is described as a spicy/savory condiment made with fruits, vegetables, spices, vinegar and sugar from the region of India. Yikes! I cringed. Sugar? Vinegar? Fruits. NO, no, no!!!! This is NOT what I grew up with. Savory with spices, herbs and vegetables, YES! All the YYYEEESSSS. However, after calming down a bit, I had to accept that indeed, it’s true. Some chutneys are made with sugar and vinegar. Just not the ones you’ll fins in South India. And not the ones that came from my mother’s kitchen.  As I’ve mentioned before, growing up in an Indian/American household, I ate South Indian breakfasts every weekend (if not more) and this included the likes of dosa (which I featured in a previous blog), idli (steamed, soft, savory rice cakes), uttapam (a type of...

  Ever heard of the “Freshman 15”? If not, when teenagers go off to college in the US, in their first year, they are called Freshman and inevitably, they gain about 15 pounds due to their first time in life without mommy’s cooking and meal plans with endless buffets, etc. You mean I can have soft swirl ice cream after every meal if I want to? Yes, please! Well, along these lines, the latest phrase that has been coined is the “Covid 15”. Yup, you guessed it. That dreaded weight gain from sitting around at home and snacking while watching Netflix (or lets be real- too many glasses of wine!), for the past, oh…..YEAR. For me, it's the “Covid 13” and I’ve now been out of steady work for 13 months. Go figure. It’s not exactly known to be an auspicious number. Let it be known that I am not  proud of either one of these facts. I’m not an idle person by nature and I always stay around the same weight with about a 5 pound fluctuation so basically, last year kicked my ass.  I d...

Pasta is widely thought of as a “comfort food”. Warm carbs that are often rich and filling….we sometimes think of it as a cheat dish or an indulgence of sorts. I myself, love pasta, but have come to realize how much it can vary in flavor based on where you are and, well— the sauce. Here in the US, jar sauce is frequently the “go to” for a quick and easy dinner. Sometimes, families will add fresh vegetables or meat to a ready made sauce. I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with this (and I’ve done it myself!),  however, if you go to Italy, you will be hard pressed to find families dumping  sauce out of a container and into their pasta. Instead, fresh sauces are quickly prepared with good olive oil and tomatoes and the taste is elevated beyond proper description.  When I was visiting a friend in Reggio Emilia, Italy, many years ago, I was privileged enough to witness the preparation of a typical dish there called Pasta Pomodorini.  There are 3 things that r...

  I woke up this morning, missing traveling in an aching way. When travel is a part of your work, you don’t consider it a “luxury”. It simply becomes your norm. Not to say that that takes away from the magic of stepping foot on new soil or tasting your first bite of a new culture…just to say that, it’s a part of life, not the one week of life that you work for all year. Sometimes, the first thoughts when I wake up are memories of faraway lands and images of other worlds. This morning, I was thinking of Kerala, India and one of the freshest meals I’ve ever eaten, straight out of the backwaters.   My father is from Thiruvananthapuram (try saying that, three times, fast!), Kerala and although I had visited there 4 times, it wasn’t until the 5th time that we all decided to take a house boat tour through the backwaters. The name “backwaters” doesn't really give you the full picture of the stunning beauty of this maze of rivers and lagoons, lined with palm trees, colorful homes an...

  December 3, 2020 I was talking to a friend the other day about Las Vegas and all that there is to do/eat off of the strip. She mentioned that she has been to LV more than a handful of times and this information would be of interest to her. It turned out that her boyfriend was interested too. They wanted to know what “the locals” do. In that moment, Blog #12 was born. I am going to share with you, a few of the great restaurants, off of the strip, that I love (and are totally worth the $10-15 uber ride) as well as some hikes and other points of interest for my fellow, “I’ve been to Las Vegas a lot and need something new”,friends.  PLACES TO HIKE Red Rock Canyon. Red Rock is about a 45 minute drive from the strip and offers over 20 different hikes, ranging from easy to advanced in difficulty level. It’s desert beauty in all its glory and there is a stunning scenic loop for those who want to appreciate nature but can no longer partake in such activities. There is a fee to ...

My parents moved from India to the US in 1975 with a one year old daughter and I was born the following year. While they were fluent in English and had visited America prior to moving, almost everything about the American culture was new to them. My mother shared stories of not knowing where to put the soap in a laundry machine at her first laundromat and wearing saris and coats to work in a NYC winter. Like the weather and appliances, getting acquainted with American holidays also had a learning curve. Thankfully, my parents always had a culturally mixed group of friends (which can be hard when you are an immigrant) due to work and, well, just having an open mind. In fact, I always thought, why would you move to another country if you don’t care to acclimate to that countries cultures and ways? Well, almost any immigrant you ask would probably say that they moved to give their children more opportunities. Luckily ,(and with an outspoken kid who would ask a lot of questions) they not...

  Many years before I had the privilege of traveling all throughout Japan, I would semi-annually visit one of my favorite restaurants in Las Vegas, Raku. Now, for my local, foodie compatriots, I started drooling over Raku long before Raku Sweets even existed. I used to go after finishing 2 shows with “O” and I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I’d be dreaming of Raku’s tofu while singing Nostalgie and looking out at the 1800 (often filled) seats at the Bellagio Theater. The restaurant  is open until 2am, so I could still make a 12:15am reservation. It’s one of the few reasons I would EVER eat at that hour but the nice thing about traditional Japanese restaurants is that they serve proper portion sizes for a nutritious diet so eating dinner at 12:15 didn't feel quite so bad. Raku serves a combination of sashimi, appetizers, grilled items and noodles/rice. I am going to highlight 5 of my favorite dishes from this award winning restaurant, just off the strip in Chinatown, for you. ...