Summer Express Cooking Event

Good food takes time to cook.I cannot dispute that but conversely, less time should not mean bad food, should it? If we have the time and inclination to spent an hour or more laboring over the stove, with or without help, I am all for it and I even do indulge in it on the weekends. But for every meal to have taken that long,(which can very well happen given our penchant and joy for cooking), is not possible.

I really appreciate my mom and her generation who wake up at 6am and have an elaborate breakfast ready, along with most of the lunch and a part of the dinner planned out before the rest of the household is even awake! On weekends, she would get everything done and even be ready to step out shopping too by 10 am!! So while I appreciate anybody who can do that (share your secrets, please!!), I prefer to sleep in on the weekends and laze it out.



So this event is all about good food and speed. Maybe contradictory but doesn't have to be. This is an exercise for me too as I have never timed my own cooking and have just played it by the ear(or taste in this case).

Well, since I have a handful of takers willing to make an express meal, lets make an event out of it. I am not big on events as I am a sporadic blogger and very easily miss deadlines in the midst of the week. This being my first chance at hosting as well organising, bear with me if there are glitches..Please do participate and make it a success..

So What Is the Event About?
A meal to be made in anywhere from 10-30 minutes, start to finish (clean up time not included :)). You can use semi- homemade products, such as ready made rotis and tortillas, frozen veggies, or precooked chicken or left over rice.(No, you can use frozen pizza as a meal or order take out chinese.) A part if the meal can be premade if you link back to the recipe for that too.
It can be from any cuisine, eastern or western and can have any level of spice and can be any type of cooking...grilled, baked, fried or steamed. It should be a balanced meal,having a bit of the different food groups:
vegetables/fruits ,grains or carbs, and animal or vegetable protein. You should have one main entry with a photo and post it on your blog. Additional tips and meal ideas would be welcome(a three line description would be enough) as part of your post.

To participate in this event:
1. Email me at malluspice@gmail.com your entry with your name, your blog name, blog url, and your permalink by or before the announced deadline.

2. In your post, please include a link back to the event post to complete the circle.

3. Even if you do not have a blog, I am sure most of you are not short on ideas, so you can email me with a small photo and written recipe directly and they will be posted here.

4. The deadline for the entries is August 10 2007.

The Round Up:
The round-up will be posted on the weekend following the deadline.

Update 7/25/07:
As i am getting more and more queries, the idea itself is getting crystallised in my mind. Most of us know lentils(dals) are easy to cook with prior soaking as is dosa/idli/appam etc easy to make with prior soaking and grinding, so even though those entries are welcome, lets try to go beyond that and make it more challenging.
Lets try for both kind of entries: those which fall into the planning category... so u can give suggestions on how to plan ahead... and those which truly are made without too much planning, for the best thought of plans often fall apart. I am sure all you talented chefs/cooks out there have a lot of ideas, so get going.

Update 8/7/07: The deadline is extended to August 20th as I want more of you to think and come up with instant dishes.:)