From Donuts to Delirium

Alright, I’m going to be taking a slight detour here off of my French inspired blog posts to share a little link love. Kavey, from Kavey Eats, a serious foodie with a naughty sense of humor, nominated my blog to share seven of my favourite posts as part of My 7 Links. If you are not familiar with her blog, you’ve got to check it out. She goes to all the coolest places and gives it to you straight. The girl knows what she is talking about, I assure you! I get loads of tips from her blog, but more than anything, I am forever indebted to her introducing me to the wonders of my favourite eva fruit: the yummylicious alphonso mango.  That was kind of a revelation for me. The point of this My 7 Links post is to “unite bloggers (from all sectors) in a joint endeavour to share lessons learned and create a bank of forgotten blog posts that deserve to see the light of day again.” Then, it is my job to nominate 5 bloggers to do the same.

Of course I think all my posts are simply beyond fabulous, but here are some that I am particularly proud of. Even though I will only be nominating five of you at the end of my post, I’d love you to leave me a link to any of favorites from your blog in the comments. I think we all have posts from way back that we wish more people got the chance to see. So you show me yours, and I’ll show you mine .

1) Possibly my favourite post on this blog was written after I was contacted by Carla from Daniel Boulud with the recipe for his amazing madeleines. This recipe was the greatest gift I’ve been offered as a blogger, and I felt honoured beyond measure to be entrusted with it. I am confident that it is the exact same recipe they use in the restaurant, because it tastes just like the madeleines you get at Bar Boulud. They are freaking amazing, housewife’s word of honour! I turn to them whenever I really want to impress. Eaten still warm from the oven, there are few deserts that come close. If there is only one recipe of mine you make, this should be it.

2) You’d never guess that after all the fancy food I’ve had the pleasure of scarfing down, that this one little hole in the wall place in Southall has what I consider my favourite food in London.  Sahanshah is nothing to look at, it’s dirt cheap at 35p a samosa (that’s like 50 cents!), and it’s vegetarian. Nevertheless, nothing fills my bottomless belly in the same way than their samosas and samosa chaat. Their amazing treats seem to speak to my heart like no other food. It is Indian street food at its finest. I consider it the most delicious comfort food ever, which is odd cause I’m not even Indian (although I do like to think of myself as an honorary Punjabi LOL. I like to say “I’m brown on the inside”). Everything there is good, but what I love to order is the samosa chaat with a couple of samosas on the side with a delicious yogurty mango lassi. For dessert, they do delectable gulab jamans, and their authentic sweet and milky chai makes an excellent accompaniment. Their crispy and super fresh samosas make me feel like I’m floating in heaven.

3) My best posts are about things I feel passionately about, things that make my heart flutter like a helpless damsel in a cheap romance novel: bagels. It is my Shahanshah equivalent across the pond, inexpensive (if you don’t count the plane ticket and the luxury hotel), but utterly transformative. Nobody does lovin’ from the oven like they do at Murray’s Bagels in New York City! Just thinking about them makes me giddy! Oh Murray my love, if I wasn’t married, I’d be after you in a heart beat! Even if you are really old, which I’ll bet you are, I would have you because you are probably super rich, and you make the best damned bagels I’ve ever tasted. You can make me a teeny weeny bagel that I will wear on my ring finger, just don’t be cheap with sturgeon buddy!

4) Sometimes, being a food blogger, I forget that food is not the only cool thing in the world. I try to remember that I used to have other hobbies… used to. Before my brain started to crumble like so much feta cheese, I had a real passion for art and culture. This is why I started writing my Cake & Culture posts. They are kind of a reminder to myself that I am more than just a beautiful housewife with a curly whirly piggy tail. Luckily for me I have access to one of the greatest cities in the world: London. There are so many fabulous shows and exhibitions, and I love an excuse to hop on the train and embark on an adventure. In 2009, the Royal Academy of the Arts had an exhibition of John William Watererhouse’s works. It was such a stunning and memorable collection. If I’m not mistaken, I think it was my first Cake & Culture post. I think if Waterhouse was alive today, he’d be reading my blog. He appreciated my kind.

5) My marvellous Martha Falker (also known as the Ottolenghi apple and olive oil cake with maple cream cheese frosting): how I love her! The most delicious cake I’ve ever tasted came right out of my own oven… with a little help from Yotam Ottolenghi, that is.

6) My Martha Stewart post: I admire Martha more than words can say. Going to see her show in NYC with my dear friend Little P (my best blogging friend evaaa) was something I will never forget … and I got some cookies (Oh Martha, why couldn’t it have been a car? Why?!).

7) Last, I leave you with an oldie but a goodie: my Churro Quest of 2009. Here I learned a very valuable lesson. It was kind of an expensive lesson, for Mr P that is. I had to go all the way to Barcelona, stay in a fantastic hotel (in a suite mind you), bask in the warmth and bright sunshine while admiring some beautiful Gaudi masterpieces, and eat tons of churros only to discover that I don’t like them as much as I thought. Yes, it is hard being me. It is just one disaaaaaastah after another! But life’s lessons makes for great blog posts.

I am passing this on to: Valerie at A Canadian Foodie, Faith at An Edible Mosaic, Olga at Mango & Tomato, Lisa at Lisa is Cooking, and Stevie from Weird Combinations.