Baked to perfection

Cooking has suddenly become my new obsession. The healthier the better actually. From merely collecting loads of recipes, I've finally started creating my own dishes. Baked bacon pasta, bean and cauliflower casserole...The helpless tasters being the husband and son, most often like what they consume. But they may be suspected to be partial to the cook -- their only food provider.

Blame it on the cooking channel but I've now realised that cooking is really all about presentation. I'm not just talking about Nigella Lawson. Of course a good looking chef can make or break a tv show, but I think a neatly presented salmon bake is just as important as a well prepared slice of the same fish.

Of course I have miles to go before I can reach the cooking standards of my mother and some of my aunts and uncles. I'm not even going there! For now I'm happy to try a new dish every other day and hope that the effort isn't in vain.

Like most busy mothers, I have no time for laborious dishes which involve hours of careful monitoring of portions and such things. If its in my cooking cabinet and is approaching expiration date, I bung it in. I know that doesn't sound appetising to most people but it somehow makes all the difference when you've actually created a good platter of something without another trip to the super market. No fancy gadgetry or cooking ingredients needed. Just keep it simple and most often you won't regret it.

While I'm at it, I have to say that being miles away from my mother's stove I really long for a bite of any of her mouthwatering meals. From crab curry to spicy paya curry, there is something unique about any mother's cooking. Mine is exceptionally outstanding and maybe I am biased but many friends have endorsed the same through the years. One friend even went to the extent of saying he'd like my Mom to make her kulfi recipe for his wedding! Now you can't manufacture those feelings. They come from the heart or rather from the tastebuds.

I guess you only realise how much you miss home and the hands that make it home when that first bite of your mother's cooking hits the palate. It can take you back to your childhood and make you long to be forever fed.