

Reviewing My Fellows in Fine Dining
Good evening everyone! As I promised you last week, here are the reviews for two local Indian food establishments. My partner made a wise observation that perhaps it doesn't make so much sense for me to review my "competition," since I am not likely to be impartial. As usual his insight completely took me by surprise, but made perfect sense, once I thought about it. I had originally begun writing reviews, not as a means to slyly denigrate other chefs, but to give my readers a


Reviving the Archives
It is amazing how time works. I felt inspired to make a menu containing the first two entrees you see below. When I went looking back in my files for the links and photos for these recipes, I was surprised to see that the last time I had made the Sweet Potato & Lime soup was very nearly a year ago. I ended up using two other recipes from that old menu, as they just seemed to fit. I was also surprised to read the first two lines of that 2015 newsletter: "This morning I wanted


Speak Life!
Before we get down to food, I would like to do what I usually do, which is share with you all something that happened to me during the week. I aim to share something meaningful and significant, though it may not necessarily be anything large. Last night, however, I did get to do something large and exciting. My son and I, along with 9,998 other people, went to the Time Warner Cable Arena in downtown Charlotte to see the Toby Mac Hits Deep Tour. Toby Mac is one of the most suc


Unexpected Heroes Wanted
This evening I attended a lecture by my teacher, Bir Krishna Goswami, on a fascinating topic - that of the archetype of the hero and his or her journey from a mundane situation, through an adventure of unknown lands and experiences, only to return to the world of the familiar, a changed person, equipped with boons that benefit the world at large. This journey was codified by Joseph Campbell, the world-renowned mythologist, who combed the mythologies of the world's great cultu


Catering to the Divine
My holiday was wild and wacky and full of adventure. After the very full two days of cooking for Govinda's, Thursday was packed with work and then two different kirtan events. The second one, an evening of community kirtan at Triangle Yoga in Chapel Hill, was a magical, musical extravaganza that I am sure will be well-remembered by those who came. A full video of my band, Samadhi, performing a chant can be found here. Then the next day I had work, a quick but meaningful kirta


Birthdays and Re-birth Days
The time has come to reflect on the year that has almost completely passed, introspecting and taking stock of who I was and how I showed up this year. This time of year is especially profound for me because my birthday is New Year's day, and as I age I find birthdays to be a good reminder to take a personal inventory. This has not been an easy year, but then again, maybe none of them have been. ;-) Yet as I was reflecting yesterday to a friend, there are those of us who consc


The Honor of Eating
So many recipes, so little time! Thanksgiving is a particularly wonderful holiday to cook for because the entire holiday centers around eating. During other holidays, you squeeze a meal in around other activities. However with Thanksgiving, there is nothing much else happening besides cooking and eating. Of course, for many folks, this is a time to get together with and celebrate family, and that is all done... When? While cooking and eating! I'm telling you, this scenario is