Rain, Girl Friend and Coriander Pesto

Not necessarily in that order, but it has been a great end to the week (not to mention the approaching long weekend) . I met Cynthia today for the first time, and it just felt like I've known her for years. (We've made plans to meet up tomorrow at Adoniya; hopefully Aarav lets her). Girl gossip after ages felt so therapeutic and time just flew by. Before I knew it, it was quarter to eight and I realized I had to get home before Masterchef Australia.

On my way home, it started to pour and pour it did! All the way back, my mind was constantly thinking of pasta and I was actually dreaming of the cilantro pesto pasta I had at Egg Factory, Bangalore a few months ago. I knew I had to have this today. This is not authentic and I quickly put together this dinner from whatever ingredients I had at home. (Alright, I just finished drooling over Simon Hopkinson and now Nigella is on TLC making me drool further - it's a purely dessert show today)

For the pesto: (I'm not giving exact measurements here, because I just went with whatever I had)

a bunch of coriander
a few mint leaves
a fistful of cashewnuts
one bulb garlic
dried chilli flakes
some parmesan
and olive oil

Grind all this in a blender, until it becomes a fine paste. Add more olive oil if required.

Cook the pasta (I prefer spaghetti) until al dente; My owl timer was really useful tonight.

In a pan, add olive oil and saute some onions and capsicum on high heat; (I wish I had mushrooms). Add salt. Add the drained pasta and mix through.

Finally add the pesto and mix well. Retain this until the heat spreads through.

Serve the pasta with a good amount of Parmesan grated. Dig in.

This is one of the best ways to finish off the left over coriander and mint. 

Eco Cafe, Chamiers - Eat more with your eyes

Chamiers has always held fond memories for me. My first time there was at the property right opposite to where it is now. The outdoors were amazing especially post monsoons.

It was at the Eco Cafe that I had my first sip of spicy hot chocolate after wading through some heavy rains way back in November 2010.

Today was very hot in Chennai and I was too sleepy. I'd left work early so I could catch up on some sleep before I headed to Eco Cafe. I woke up with a start, to find that it was already quarter past 6. I didn't want to rush through the traffic, with what me being an almost-victim to an unabashed auto driver yesterday. Surprisingly all lights turned green and I just zoomed ahead and had reached Chamiers in under 15 minutes.

First one to arrive, I just wandered a bit, trying to get some pictures. Slowly the foodies trickled in. There were an overload of DSLRs around. There was a tripod and Doc had the external flash too. It was tricky shooting inside the cafe, as it was dimly lit in yellow. Flash made things worse, and I was a little rusty to shoot without flash. So, pardon my jaundiced pictures. (Kamalika - picasa link here - https://picasaweb.google.com/103933428096344757675/EcoCafe)

If I had to rate the food based on presentation, Eco Cafe would score a perfect 10. Unfortunately, we just can't eat with our eyes. :-)

The food was ordered in random; obviously we weren't fine dining.

The veg chowder soup, was crumbly and the right temperature. (The soup bowl was chipped. Chamiers to take note - you really DO NOT serve in chipped bowls). Bruschetta was crisp and thankfully didn't soak with the tomatoes. I quite couldn't figure out what the other toppings were. You just can't go wrong with the potatoes - the wedges were perfect. (Eh.. well, I did mess up the aloo capsicum once and S was kind enough to tell me it was okay, but I felt super guilty throughout that day)

The chocolate almond milk was too nutty with the almond flavor overpowering everything else.

I'd always liked a pasta salad, and the ingredients here were interesting. Roasted aubergines, zucchini, bell peppers, thyme and balsamic. It was total let down when a forkful was eased into the mouth. The aubergines weren't roasted and were completely raw. Pasta was under cooked (I know pasta has to be al-dente, but this was one below al-dente). Neither was there thyme, nor balsamic. The flavor was lacking.

The cinnamon-apple cake is usually an all time favorite but today's piece was cold and probably old as well. It didn't feel fresh. But hey, the spicy hot chocolate was just perfect as always ! The waffles were right on the money - neither too crunchy nor too soft, with the honey doing the honors. The pancakes were good, so was the maple syrup. The chocolate sauce on the waffles had a benadryl-y flavor. Something was just not right with the chocolate sauce.

The club sandwich was decent. The penne pasta with mushrooms and pesto had too much pesto and olives. In a nutshell, every dish had one ingredient that was over powering (mostly the pesto / olives) and we couldn't quite catch the flavor of the other ingredients.

That said, the mushroom risotto with ratatouille was perfect. Perfect risotto, not too soggy not too dry and not too many mushrooms. The caramel custard with oranges by the side, was pleasing to the eye, and to the taste buds as well.

I'd go there again for the spicy hot chocolate and perhaps for the sandwiches and the waffles and of course for the laid back ambiance. Slightly over priced, and over powering flavors in some of the dishes could be a sore point with the Eco Cafe. Having said that, I'd certainly recommend Chamiers for the sheer joy of sitting in a quiet environment and sipping the hot chocolate on a rainy day.