Rajani LaRocca

Award-winning Children's Book Author

Savor

As we near the end of the year, many of us take time reflect on this year and set goals for the next.

2018 has been a banner year for my writing career. I started working with my amazing agent, Brent Taylor, sold my debut middle grade novel, MIDSUMMER’S MAYHEM, sold a picture book, SEVEN GOLDEN RINGS, and…some other things I’m not at liberty to discuss yet.

The brand-new cover of MIDSUMMER’S MAYHEM was featured in this lovely blog post in which the bloggers, Julie and Thea, discuss coming up with an inspiring word or phrase to help set intentions for the next year. I love words! But when I tried to choose just one, I found myself feeling a bit like this:

Luckily, they also pointed out a website where I could find an inspiring word by simply clicking a button. I clicked. And this is the word it came up with:

SAVOR

Now, for a person as food-obsessed as I am, whose baking-centric MG debut is coming next June, that word was too perfect to be believed. But as much as savor applies to food, it also applies to life in general, meaning to delight in.

2019 is going to be full of exciting moments, and I’m going to try to savor them, to slow down and revel a bit when I’m feeling joy. But I’m also going to do my best to savor the not-so-great moments, when there are disappointments, or when the writing won’t flow and every word feels like a struggle. I’m going to try to appreciate the work, even when it isn’t easy. Because work is good in itself. And because I am privileged to be doing work than may end up as books for children. I’m going to savor that. Or at least I’m going to try!

Today I’m sharing a recipe for my favorite dessert in the world. It’s called Kesari Bhath, and it’s a delicious pudding-like sweet treat made with semolina (cream of wheat), saffron, sugar, and plenty of ghee. It also includes roasted cashews and golden raisins, and it makes an appearance in MIDSUMMER’S MAYHEM. I hope you love it as much as I do!

Kesari Bhath

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup fine semolina or cream of wheat
  • 3 tablespoons ghee, divided
  • 1/3 cup cashews
  • 1/3 cup golden raisins
  • 3 cups milk
  • a pinch of saffron threads
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp ground cardamom

Directions:

  1. Roast the semolina: heat a pan over low heat, add the semolina, and cook, stirring frequently, until it has browned and lost its raw appearance.This should take 5-6 minutes; pour semolina into a plate or bowl and set aside. Alternatively, you can buy already roasted semolina at many Indian grocery stores.
  2. In the same pan, heat 1 tablespoon ghee until bubbling. Add cashews and cook, stirring, until the are golden brown. Add golden raisins to the pan for the last minute or so until they plump up.
  3. Heat the milk in a large saucepan until it is very warm and tiny bubbles form at the edges, but don’t let it boil. Crumble the saffron into the milk, and stir to turn it a lovely pale yellow. Pour in 1/3 cup sugar and stir until it dissolves; pour in the rest and keep stirring until it is all dissolved. Stir in the cardamom.
  4. Slowly pour in the roasted semolina, whisking the whole time to get rid of lumps. Cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring the whole time, until all the liquid is absorbed and the semolina is cooked through.
  5. Add the rest of the ghee and stir to incorporate. Stir in the cashews and raisins.
  6. Serve warm and enjoy. In other words…savor!

 

Giveaway Time!

Enter below to win an annotated copy of MIDSUMMER’S MAYHEM, which will arrive on June 4, 2019…as well as a 2018 #MG debut of your choice to savor now!

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