For the love of food and travel

Do you have overipe bananas in your kitchen or pantry or fruit basket or wherever you keep your fruits? Are you thinking to throw them out? Don't throw out those soft, over-ripe bananas. You might not want to look, peel and actually eat them, but if they aren't too far gone, you can turn them into a wonderful, (and healthy, may I add) easy to make treat--banana bread.  Banana bread is a quick bread whose main ingredient is mashed bananas. Ripe or overly ripe bananas are ideal to use in banana bread because the riper a banana becomes, the sweeter it gets.  Bananas were first found in Malaysia and migrated, with the help of travelers and traders, to India. Alexander the Great is said to have introduced the banana to the Western civilization.  The origin of the first banana bread recipe is unknown, though some speculate it was originated in the 18th century by housewives experimenting with pearlash. The term "pearlash," refers to potassium carbonate, which was

Kentucky Fried Chicken aka KFC, used to be my favourite food when I was young. Almost every weekend my Dad used to take my kid brother and me to this fast food joint and we would have the bucket meal of fried chicken with the buns, french fries and the coleslaw. This menu was our standard order every time we went there.  It's been so many years.....decades maybe, but still this is one fast food joint we have to visit atleast once a month.....even now. Miss J and our little man loves it too. For me, it's not just the juicy crispy chicken that's delicious, but also the cold coleslaw that it comes along with.  Coleslaw (also known as cole slaw or simply slaw) is a salad consisting primarily of finely-shredded raw cabbage and dressed most commonly with a vinaigrette salad dressing. Prepared in this manner, coleslaw can be pickled for up to four weeks if it is stored in an airtight container. Mayonnaise is also commonly used. The term coleslaw came from the Dutch ter

We have a little group of friends and family in this city that we live in, and in this group, every month, there is at least one birthday to celebrate. And if not a birthday, there is definitely Christmas, Onam, Valentine's Day or Easter celebrations. So now you know where I'm going with this......there's always at least one party every month.  It's exciting to plan a party......and the most important part of this planning is the food section. We try to fit in a good meal which can be eaten by every guest - young & old. Finally, to end a fabulous meal....desserts are a must!!! Chocolate is always a winner here.  One of my favourites is the chocolate ganache tart. It is a crispy, buttery tart shell filled with a velvety-smooth dark chocolate ganache. It's very easy to prepare and tastes awesome....and can be made by anyone new to cooking or baking. Ganache is said to have been invented sometime in the 1850s when a chocolatier’s apprentice accidentally

Do you know that feeling when you're really really really thirsty?  Would a lemonade or a coke suffice? Nope!!!  Nothing quenches better than water.  At that moment you realise that water is the best drink in the world. It's a same kinda feeling when it comes to a classic cake. You would have tasted a number of pastries, marble cakes, fruit cakes, jelly cakes, ice cream cakes.....but a classic buttery plain vanilla is just out of the world. This cake has a wonderful velvety texture with loads of butter and a lovely vanilla flavour.  It is fluffy, moist and a super easy-to-prepare cake.  The term "cake" has a long history.  The word itself is of Viking origin, from the Old Norse word "kaka". The ancient Greeks called cake πλακοῦς (plakous), which was derived from the word for "flat", πλακόεις (plakoeis). It was baked using flour mixed with eggs, milk, nuts and honey. In ancient Rome, basic bread dough was sometimes enriched with