Perhaps its the cold winter air. Perhaps its the beautiful leaves desperately clinging on to half barren trees. Perhaps its the familiar aromas of childhood that greet me on the way. Perhaps its the multitude of women racing past, freshly painted lips & high-heeled shoes that take me back to my days at work. Or perhaps its my new-found happiness, in a vibrant store. I love my long walk home.
After dropping my kids at the Care each time, I choose to walk. The road is a long one and I would be lying if I say that it doesn’t wear me out. But the prospect of building up little experiences on the way are far too exciting to overlook. The magic of this journey lies in its contrasting visuals. Starts on a busy street filled with shops, restaurants & cafes and ends up through winding lanes that are buried under mounds of dry fallen leaves. You can almost hear the universe whispering in your ears ‘Slow down’. Between the two different worlds lies a restaurant. Too early for it to open at that time of the morning but the smell of cardamom & ginger hangs heavy in the air. I am instantly transported to my place of birth.
But the highlight of the walk is a grocery store that specialises in fruits and vegetables. As soon as I step into the store, I am mesmerised by the colourful array of fresh produce. I hop from one to the next filling up my basket, my head brimming with ideas. We are already quite lucky to have access to great local produce anywhere in this country, but this market particularly takes my breath away for its wide selection of local & gourmet fruits & vegetables. The other day, I spotted herb pots and I could have clapped my hands loudly as the thought of growing my own rosemary and thyme struck me. And what do you think…I bought them all! So I have a little herb garden to take care of now. My aromatic little garden!
I am not a huge fan of pumpkin but I am beginning to like it lately. Pumpkin desserts were always welcome. Sugar has the power to transform everything..literally. What do you think? I know you have been missing Sugar on my site for a while now…as much as I have. Someone wrote to me recently. ‘Where are the DESSERTS?’. Do bear with me. Sugar is very much present in my life & coming back on the blog. With a vengeance!
Grilling gives pumpkin a nice flavour & look. This salad has Middle Eastern flavours and is vegetarian. For those unfamiliar with Tahini, it is a paste made out of ground sesame seeds, used extensively in Middle Eastern and Greek cuisine. It is available in most supermarkets these days. Non-vegetarians can add your favourite meat..grilled chicken, shrimps or prosciutto. I love both Feta and Pine nuts so they go into all my Middle Eastern dishes.
So that is my long walk home, shortened by the personal connection I make with the world, sharpened by the all the beauty I take in, enlivened by the little bag I bring back with joyful anticipation of what I might achieve today…on the other side…
Of the long road home..
Grilled Pumpkin, Red Onion and Feta Salad with a Tahini Dressing
1/2 butternut pumpkin, peeled and thinly sliced
2 red onion, cut into thin wedges
A handful of baby spinach and rocket leaves
3 tablespoons of Feta cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon pine nuts
1 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Tahini Dressing
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Tahini
1 teaspoon castor sugar
salt and pepper.
Brush the pumpkin slices with olive oil, salt and pepper. Heat a grilling pan (or a non sick frying pan) over medium heat. Place the pumpkin on the pan and grill for 1-2 mins on each side (the time will depend on the thickness of the slices) till tender (but not too soft to handle). Transfer to a plate. Grill the red onions in the same way till soft. Remove from heat.
Place the pumpkin, onions and leafy greens in a large serving bowl. Add the crumbled Feta and pine nuts. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and serve.
To make the dressing, mix all the ingredients together except salt and pepper. Season to taste.
You can never have too many recipes of good salads. Great flavor pairing in the dressing.
Yes the choices are unlimited! Thanks Lail.
wow a little herb garden!! That is a such an amazing thing to have!! I am sure you will enjoy having it 🙂
Oh and i loved this salad too!! I think i’ll start with your salads 🙂
I am totally in love with the herb garden Pankti, though my knowledge in very limited in this area. I hope you do try out the salads:-)
Over here, its not save to walk, especially where I live and work. Crime rates so high and I was robbed few months ago, lock stock and barrel. I had to hand over my handbag when a knife was up on my throat.
But I know how it feels walking and enjoying the beautiful scenery where you are. The salad is so vibrant, the colors and the taste. We seldom have salads because our style of eating is mostly stir frys. That said, we welcome such interesting salad.
Nava – that is really scary! I’m glad you are safe & fine! TC.
Nava, the thought of it is freaking me out. I wonder how you would have dealt with it. I hope and pray that you never have such instances in future. Thank you for your kind words.
This salad looks gorgeous!!! And healthy too.. I hardly add salad in my diet, but my Hubby will definitely will like this. Going to surprise him with this recipe coming weekend! 🙂
That is very sweet Dhanish especially when you don’t eat it yourself. I love my fruits and vegetables fresh more than cooked hence my love for salads. Thank you!
This looks great and quite easy to make as well! I’ll have to try it!
I hope you do give it a try. It is really quite simple and tastes great. Thank you:-)
Very nice salad, so colorful like the tree. Love all the flavors in here and I am a fan of tahini. Fresh herbs are the best
Love tahini too..wait till I post my tahini sweet treats:-) Thanks Evelyne!
Awesome salad.. Loved the cute garden too Sonali..
Also, please collect your Liebster award from me..
http://kitchenserenity.bblogspot.in/2013/06/its-liebster-time-again.html
How sweet of you to think of me Nilu. Thank you for all the support:-) Visiting soon!
Sonali, I like your writing style – It has this classic touch and there is a poetic sense combined with literary flavor all over!! Love it. Also what can I tell about the clicks – very colorful and perfect. The leaves and fruits shot is WOW!!
I have heard of Tahini from a cookery/travel show which showcased middle east in TLC. And that is a very nice addition to the already colorful palette. But i have never tasted rocket leaves, and we don’t get here either!
Growing herb garden is just what is needed when one loves cooking!!
Lovely salad.
You made my day Pavithra! You always have such wonderful things to say.
Rocket has a peppery taste so lends itself well to salads. I know a lot of things are not available or come at a premium where you are. I had a similar feeling some time back when I would be looking at the lovely pictures in food magazines and international cookery shows but wonder how I would substitute them in the recipe. With the way the world is progressing in terms of food, perhaps there is hope.
Your landscape is s different to ours right now! We just got done looking at what you are experiencing now. For us it’s green and lush and rainy. I find it fascinating.
I was glad to read that you are not a pumpkin fan! Me too! I like butternut but probably because we call it butternut squash here :)The other pumpkins, like the jack o lantern types, not so much. I am not a sweet pumpkin fan either.
Your salad looks beautiful! Perfect fall flavours and colours going on. It’s so vibrant and I do like the ME flavours.
Nazneen
Thank you Nazneen! Its funny how we are experiencing different scenes & scenery at the same time. Given a choice, I would pick Spring & Summer anytime. The reason I don’t like pumpkin is that it turns to mush in no time. But with caramel or maple in a dessert, I love it! Hope you are enjoying your season:-)
I love your creativeness on this dish…in fact on all of your dishes! Even your desserts! Pumpkin is one of my favorites! (=
Thank you so much Gloria. Food allows us to to experiment and be creative, I guess that’s why we all enjoy everything about it. Its not easy…research recipes, develop them, shop for ingredients, take photographs and write about it too. But see, how much we bloggers love it:-)
This salad and its colours are absolutely beautiful 😀
So creative!
I love your pictures and recipes, they are mouth watering. Would love for you to share them with us at foodieportal.com. Over at foodieportal.com we are not photography expert snobs, we are just foodies, so pretty much all your pictures will get accepted.
Ah yes, nicely put, everyone.
This salad is gorgeous! I love the perfect blend of colours! 🙂
http://www.rita-bose-cooking.com/
Your food photos are amazing. You can share your mouth watering photos with us at foodienewz.com. foodienewz.com is a new food sharing site and we actually try our best to promote your food photos. At foodienewz.com all your food photos will be published without any editorial review so I really hope you come and join us.
Just checked in to see what was new. I relaly the photos of Ben and Jenny, but my favorite is of you and that purple doughnut. But of course there was a good picture of some old guy in a Pendleton hat and sunglasses. Who is that unknown mystery man????? Great work Raya. I am very impressed with your work.Grandpa Bob