Serendib Kitchen

Kavi’s had a bit of a stomach bug the last two days and hasn’t been eating much and it’s made me a little anxious because if I love you and you’re not eating well and I can’t feed you, I can’t think straight… (but I try to keep all that to myself so my anxieties […]

As part of my birthday week celebrations, and since we were up near the area anyway (taking the kids to Foster Beach), I finally stopped by the new Sri Lankan-owned restaurant, Cafe Nova. Their regular menu is a mix of Indian and Sri Lankan dishes, so you can get samosas, if you like (and they

Kevin did most of the cooking for the Venezuelan refugee lunch on Friday, while I was at the beach with the kids. He made rice and beans, but the main entree was carne mechada, a Venezuelan shredded beef dish. Typically it’s made with skirt or flank steak, but since we were quadrupling the recipe (to

We did some cooking for the Venezuelan refugees this weekend — Kevin actually did most of it, but I did make polvorosas. These are little Venezuelan shortbread cookies — the name means ‘powdery’ and the cookies have a powdery / sandy texture — crisp on the outside and powdery on the interior, delicious with a

(Continuing from previous post, last post in sequence). So after all that, I needed a dessert for the refugees, right? I was originally going to make polvorosas (Venezuelan shortbread cookies) with the kids, but our schedule didn’t really work out for that. And I was really intrigued by a dish called majarete — sort of

I admit, I haven’t been really paying much attention to the Venezuelan refugee situation. I don’t always follow the news, and especially in the summer, when I’m not teaching, I’m not generally listening to NPR on a commute, etc. I’d seen a few comments on local community groups, but it was only when I saw

(Continuing from previous post) It’s nice to have accompaniments to the meal, and one dish I know I love is fried plantains, platonos maduros. I figured at least some of the refugees would love them too. Platonos maduros is eaten all over South and Central America, with regional variations — in Venezuela, they like to

(Continuing from previous post.) This was an easy dish to make for the refugees — I wanted a Venezuelan salad to go along with the pollo guisado, rice, and beans. (Oh, I’m not going to detail making the rice, except to note that I used both of my big pots AND a rice cooker. )

I don’t really think of myself as an inventive chef — most of what I do is just trying to find and share great recipes, with perhaps a little refining to my tastes. But I admit, I’m pretty proud of the flavor combination in the Dragonfruit Nebulae chocolates. Kavi and I both find these addictive,

I think I just call these chili-chocolate roses in the shop, but I feel like they want a name. Fiery Love? Burning Love? Blazing Love? Although it’s just a hint of chili, really, so it’s not so fierce as all that.