November has been mostly on the up and up! This has been by far the busiest months for the blog in while! It was also Diwali, and Natasha and I finally took a vacation that wasn’t marred by the Pandemic (Yay!). With that in mind lets talk about the Highs and Lows!

Highs

• Natasha and I launched a brownie sale! It began in October but we did an encore weekend of sales right before Diwali. It was so much fun (read: hectic)! We did everything from building the content, manage clients, bake, and delivered them to people all over the city! In two weeks, we baked 120 boxes / 720 brownies in two weeks! So happy that we did this but I do know that the foodservice industry is painful. I am happier making content than making food haha.

• Speaking of this, we are exploring another sale in December. It’s like we enjoy the pain haha. Here’s hoping the smell of the brownies disappear from the walls before we embark on this new project.

• My full-time job has been going very well! Through the pandemic, we struggled to survive but we now see a little glimmer of hope. To a point that I got to hire two new members to the team. November also marks me completing two years at my firm and a partnership in the company (funnily enough the first pair of stocks I have ever owned)!

• November also saw Diwali celebrations. While it was a somber event, its always fun to meet the extended family for the night. The highlight of the day: playing with a Nerf gun for the first time! Honestly, the kids of this generation really have the best toys ever. I’m pretty sure I broke the gun but don’t tell my cousin.

• Natasha and I took three days off to take a luxurious trip to… wait for it… Chandigarh. The city is beautiful and literally, none of the popular spots were closed. Luckily, our hotel was connected to a mall which meant all the carbs and trashy TV for 3 days. Best. Trip. Ever.

Lows

• Realising that we are on Month 12 of this year is filled with mixed feelings. There were things that I wanted to nail down that may not have happened but for sure, there were others that took its place

• Dieting is still an uphill battle. I have been working out like crazy. I’m off alcohol, but the weighing scale is still hating me! I’m starting to feel very unhappy with my body but I hope this gets better as we move forward.

• With every month, COVID just tends to get scarier. I now know people who have either directly suffered or have lost people because of the disease which is scary. Living in India, communicable diseases are always a point of conversation but economic class and access always acts like a bio-septic shield against them. COVID has really proliferated amongst everyone indiscriminatingly making it something that constantly worries me. Here’s hoping the new normal starts normalising for us all because the limbo we are in right now just doesn’t.

Winters in Delhi means two things: Smog and eating a lot of dried fruits. My favourites are raisins and peanuts. Dad usually gets us peanuts that are dry roasted in their shells and we just sit and eat them all. Through the winter, we can easily consume kilos of peanuts and this recipe is an homage to all that peanut. In essence, these sesame peanut noodles are nothin but a Chinese peanut sauce drizzled over fettuccine noodles. Its a simple recipe with subtle flavours of sweet, salty, and spicy. The only spice that you might have to search for is Sichuan Peppercorn— a potent variant of the black pepper that numbs and zings on the tongue like pop rocks reacting to saliva. It’s definitely an acquired taste but do try it before you choose to omit it from your spice library! As always happy cooking and have a lovely December!

Glimpses from the week

Ingredients

250 grams noodles (I went with Fettucine), cooked

2 green onions, chopped

Peanut sauce

1/4 cup natural peanut butter

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons Chinkiang vinegar (Chinese Cooking wine. Optional)

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon ginger, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn powder, toasted

1 cucumber, cut into thin strips

2 carrots, cut into thin strips

sesame seeds, toasted (for garnish)

Method

• Boil noodles according to instructions. Transfer cooked noodles into a colander, rinse with tap water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

• Combine peanut butter with 1/4 cup pasta water in a small bowl. Stir with a spatula until the water is fully incorporated and it forms a smooth paste. Using warm water helps the peanut butter thin out and form a silky paste.

• Add light soy sauce, Chinkiang vinegar, honey, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and Sichuan peppercorn powder. Stir to mix well. You can make the sauce ahead of time and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours before mixing, so the flavours will be more evenly blended.

• Transfer cooked noodles into a large bowl and add two-thirds of the peanut sauce. Toss with a pair of tongs to coat the noodles evenly with the sauce.

• Garnish with cucumber, green onion and sesame seeds.

• Serve at room temperature with the remaining sauce.