Ep 14: June 2018: Paris Picnic Club by Shaheen Peerbhai, with illustrations by Jennie Levitt

Suraj was travelling that weekend for a quiz and Shub missed her flight to Bangalore. First flights out are a proven pain in the rear, and well, out-station quizzes are out-station quizzes. I was sitting on my swing, sipping some coffee, cat and cookbook on my lap, when Shub messaged. One thing led to another and we had a menu for dinner planned.

Lots of seasonal fare for Americans and Europeans means a hefty grocery bill for those of us in India, but heartwarming illustrations and homely recipes all the way! I went to Paris for a couple of weeks a very long time ago and remember pigging out (oh, haha) on variety of cold cuts and lots of wine, but

Shub is vegetarian. So we kept it simple. I made some fennel crackers with year old spent grain flour and some caramelized onion tarts with some farmer’s cheese I’d brought back from a work trip.

I also made the sauce for the amalfitana tartines and also (also) made some meatballs and ordered a sourdough boule the following day. Shub got vegetarian ‘meatballs’ and some Brownie Cookies. I served those up with black sesame seeds and salted caramel.

So, my first cookbook club meet in Hyderabad as just two people but cat-approved and super-delicious! You can see more in my stories and posts on Instagram. Here’s to many more meets cross Pune and Hyderabad!!