Making New Friends with Arusuvai, Two Jihvas, and A Bit Of Kitty Love
arusuvai surprises from shaheen
A package arrived to spice up my dull work-week ~ Arusuvai from Shaheen of the delicious blog Malabar Spices. Missing from the photo above are the two *huge* yummy chocolate bars she sent along with the savory seasonings — my daughter and her friends made short work of the candy! 
Arusuvai Friendship Chain began with these lovely ladies: Latha and her family at The Yum Blog along with Bharathy of Spicy Chilly and Bhags of Crazy Curry. It was introduced in the US by dear Latha of Masala Magic. Thanks to you all, once more for this fun idea!
Along with the chocolate, Shaheen sent these lovely bright red South Indian chillies. And the “mystery” was a batch of her special biryani masala ~ so fragrant I could smell it even before I opened the package! Thank you so much Shaheen, for all these wonderful treats! I can’t wait to make a real biryani 
I am still having problems with blogging. WordPress has rolled out some interesting new features which I am still learning — but I am so frustrated because I can’t always upload photos with the new setup! Therefore I haven’t been blogging much. I’m still ‘live and kickin’ so hope things are back to normal soon! One delightful discovery I did make this week is A Tribute To Pedatha, a new blog from dear Jigyasa and Pratibha, authors of the beautiful Cooking At Home with Pedatha. They jumped right in too — hosting the May 2008 installment of Jihva — “Jihva For Love”. How fitting
~~~
The kitties have been resting comfortably in this fickle near-spring weather… a few crocuses have bloomed and it’s time to be thinking of garden seeds once more. I can’t wait!
pinkie ~ lounging around
daisy is ready for a vacation…
Lastly but certainly not least, I hope I am in time for April’s Jihva For Garlic, hosted by Mathy Kandasamy at her lovely blog Virundhu.
This is an extremely simple dish, hardly even a recipe, but one that turns pungent garlic to mellow earthy goodness. I am sure many of you have seen it before: roasted garlic.
With this new dashboard, I am photoless for garlic if I hope to make the deadline 
UPDATED with pics on April 15!
roasted garlic on green depression glass
Spritz or drizzle a little oil on a fresh head of garlic, and bake at 300F until soft — about 20-30 min. Allow it to cool slightly before squeezing the soft, buttery garlic from its skin. You can mash it and use as is, or add salt, lemon, or any other seasoning that strikes your fancy. Delicious added to soups or stews, or just as a spread for warm bread.
buttery golden roasted garlic, ready to spread on toast
Thank you Mathy, for choosing delightful Garlic for Jihva!
Srivalli said,
April 6, 2008 @ 2:07 am
Thats wonderful …cute kitta!
Thanks Sri, so glad you like!
Sri, I just passed by your link (from this comment) and where is your blog??
Nupur said,
April 6, 2008 @ 6:19 am
Oh my, those dried chillies do have a gorgeous color! And I bet you will have a feast with that aromatic biryani masala (in my mind, biryani= party).
How cute are those kitty cats? Have a fun Sunday, Linda.
Come on over for biryani, Nupur! I’m glad you liked the kitties, thanks
Hope you have a great week — I have to run catch up on One Hot Stove!
Indosungod said,
April 6, 2008 @ 7:58 am
Linda can’t wait to see the Biryani you are going to cook up. The upgrade to any software for some reason seems to donwgrade our work
Good Luck with that Linda. I have to try roasting them garlic, looks fantastic when I watch on TV.
This one wasn’t an upgrade, ISG, but beggars can’t be choosers! Seems to be improving tonight. You’ll love roasted garlic on toast or veggies! Oh, and the biryani’s all ready. You can come over with Nupur
arundati said,
April 6, 2008 @ 8:52 am
happy arusuvai exploring!! and love the pics of the kitties
Thanks so much, Arundati!
Siri said,
April 6, 2008 @ 10:36 am
The chillies loos fiery Linda and I hope u’ll have fun with the biryani masala..
and many thanks for the letting us know about the new blog of Jigyasa and Pratibha and wow they wud be hosting JFI May!!.. I am excited.. 
take care Linda and hope u solve the wordpress problems and blog more!.. btw u were on vacation right?.. Hope u had a blast!
Siri
Oh, I’m glad I made a big biryani! I’m answering these comments backwards. Nupur and ISG are already coming over, join them Siri!
I think JFI will be special with Jigyasa and Pratibha, too
And yes, I was on vacation and did have fun, thanks! I hope to be around more — must catch up on your blog! 
Siri said,
April 6, 2008 @ 10:36 am
Oh, in the above comment i mean to say - the chillies *look* fiery!.. spelling mistake!
Kaykat said,
April 6, 2008 @ 2:23 pm
Damn! Can’t believe I missed JFI-Garlic - especially when I could live, breathe and eat garlic
Your kitties are *so* cute! Hug them for me, please?
I love garlic too, KayKat — and you can consider the kitties hugged
Thank you for the kind words! 
Saswati said,
April 6, 2008 @ 3:26 pm
Waiting for your Biryaani post Linda….hope the wordpress problem gets solved soon
Hi Saswati — thanks! I finally made the biryani *and* got it posted! Feel free to come over for a bite!
Vani said,
April 6, 2008 @ 9:19 pm
Love the kitty pix! They both look very content. Biryani powder sounds interesting. Looking forward to your post about it.
Hope the wordpress trouble sorts itself out!
Hi Vani, and thanks — it’s looking a little better tonight. Glad you liked the kitty pics
Shaheen’s biryani masala was really great! Saved you a plate, too 
Jayashree said,
April 7, 2008 @ 5:48 am
With some salt added to the garlic mash, you could probably use it as a spread….
Hi Jayashree — yep, I added salt to it, just a little. I’ve also made it with lemon juice for a little tang
richa said,
April 7, 2008 @ 4:35 pm
love that roasted garlic
Yummy, isn’t it Richa?
musy said,
April 7, 2008 @ 10:00 pm
Those chillies look HOT! i hope the wordpress thing sorts out for you.
And thank you soooooooooo much for sharing Pinkie and Daisy’s pictures-they are really adorable
Meow to them both =^.^= 
Daisy reminds me of my darling cat that i had when i was lil’.
Btw, that rice bread is gonna’ be the next bake for me, its an amazing idea and lovely recipe, esepcially because you presented and shared it with so much love.
Hi Musy dear, and thank you so much for your kind comments — finally I can get in here to reply. Pinks and Daisy send their meows back
I hope you enjoy the rice bread — one of the few things handed down to my by my mom
Jihva for Garlic: Roundup « V I R U N D H U said,
April 8, 2008 @ 12:40 am
[...] Roasted Garlic ~ from Linda of Out Of The Garden [...]
Pel said,
April 9, 2008 @ 2:36 am
What a nice collection of goodies! Cats look yummy too…
LOL!!
sia said,
April 9, 2008 @ 10:38 am
linda, i hope u sort out the prob with new features of wordpress and come back with wonderful biriyani
cant wait to see ur post for this month’s JFI too 
hugs to u…
Hi Sia dear — thanks for your good wishes
The biryani’s all ready, c’mon over! 
Shankari said,
April 10, 2008 @ 1:35 pm
I am waiting to see your next post with biriyani
Saved you a plate, Shankari!
meeso said,
April 12, 2008 @ 4:49 pm
Awwww, I love the cats!
Thank you, Meeso
Pritya said,
April 24, 2008 @ 1:13 am
Wow Linda, We liked being mentioned along with the two snuggly beauties….look forward to a lot of tribute recipes from you.