Cumin and Black Pepper Ghee Shortbread

When we came to Kuwait some 7 years ago, we lived in a different, much older building that overlooked a busy and bustling shopping lane.  Most of my days were spend filling up forms and applying for jobs or cooking up storms with food network always playing in background. You could find me, either mimicking Nigella Lawson while stirring my pot of stew, or practising my British accent every time Gordon Ramsay came on. Those were the shaping years of my cooking style and opened up a whole new world of food for me. I cooked 5 meals a day, dessert included.

One such December day, when whole of Kuwait was enveloped in fog, I starred down at the large hoardings of sales and flickering red and blue lights, keeping cozy with warm, dark and hot chocolate mug in my rabbit fur socks (which are now buried deep into suitcases of memories), while Jamie cooked a Christmas feast on television. I snapped out of my trace, eager to cook. It could be his darling lisp or sheer passion for food, that inspired me to cook a Christmasy feast that day.

Harissa Spiced Beans With Eggs

When I started this blog some 4 years back, I couldn't imagine myself eating egg even slightly underdone. I have written a whole post on it, and here we are today, I love to eat my eggs under done specially if they are fried, poached or baked. Except for of course this egg curry which is a staple in my house requiring hard boiled eggs. Another food I have been averse to is refried beans mostly because I always ended up trying them from a can and the awful texture and smell put me off even before trying it. Four years since and to say this refried bean inspired baked egg where the yolks are best kept oozy, is a family favourite just reminds me why I love coming back to blogging.

After reading this post by Heidi of 101cookbooks on maintaining a long term blog, it got me into thinking why I blog. I have been (in internet terms) been blogging and maintaining this blog for a long time despite it being very different from how Heidi does or the scale of it for that matter!