Vesak Day (or ‘Buddha’s birthday’) is the celebration of the birth, enlightenment and death of Gautama Buddha. It is on this day that devoted Buddhists and monks in many East and Southeast Asian countries could be seen congregating at Buddhist temples to make offerings and say their prayers. Devotees believe that doing good deeds on this day and performing observances relating to the teachings of Buddha are pertinent to accumulating merits in their life.
It is a very plain, yet delightfully simple dish to make for ourselves at home. The topping of minced meat could go with many different types of flavourings and sauces too. I love my version of steamed tofu soupy and lettuce-drenched so that it becomes an all-in-one dish, to make for a humble home-cooked meal.
I used to drool at the variety of scones available at the Tesco and Sainsbury’s supermarkets in Durham – cheese, cranberry, sultana, plain, herbs etc. They came in all shapes and sizes too – round, hexagonal, triangular and sometimes squarish as well. One scone per day was all it took to make me a happy maiden at lunch. Those were the good old days…
We were tired from all the climbing during the hike, so our tour leader decided to call for a break at a forest shelter. He set down his picnic basket and whipped out many things from the rattan chest: one flask of coffee, one flask of tea, cups, saucers, teaspoons etc. The most amazing thing that he laid out was a huge serving of carrot cake. Everyone in the group took a slice of cake each and I could swear there and then that it was the most amazing piece of cake I have ever had.
Sadly, I have never had a chance to try out this dish in Germany during my previous trips to this land of sausages. The closest to this dish that I have ever had was the Bratkartoffeln (stir-fried potato slices) which was always available at the Wochenmarkt in Frankfurt. I can still recall the irresistible whiff of fried potato fragrance whenever we approached the market stalls. This lingering aroma must have frozen in time in my mind, thanks to the prolonged winter back then.
