Becky Crocker

Many of you know Doug and I completed a massive renovation about one year ago on our home in Grosse Pointe, Michigan.    We ripped down the back of the house, created a modern kitchen with a heated floor, mudroom and great room.    All decorated, custom window treatments and more; we decided to move to India.    I admit, I have never been the best homemaker.  I am good at organizing, planning parties, chosing the items from Costco that taste homemade.   However once our new kitchen was completed I had visions of cooking in my double ovens, five pots simmering at one time on my new cook top and all my pals sitting at our countertop drinking a good bottle of red.   

My mom in our kitchen- wine in hand!

Fast forward six months and we are in living in Bangalore, India.   While our home is in the most prestigious neighborhood in town, Palm Meadows, the kitchen is far from what we were used to in the US.  As a family, we are the new kids on the block.  Moving in, finding our way, figuring out what we forgot to pack and how much small things make us happy.   The other day I bought some new placemats and napkins and felt like my kitchen got a make-over!    Our kitchen here is equipped with cook top (4 small gas burners that you light with a lighter, I have not yet learned this skill), small fridge and sink (no garbage disposal).    We have a microwave and just added a counter-top oven.   Cookies and fresh breads are returning to our lives.   The kids are now super efficient at scraping their plates, we have learned to make all sorts of things on the cook top and thanks to grandma, a Smokey Joe Weber now brings grilled shrimp, chicken and burgers to our menu.    The kids are not looking so skinny anymore and we have moved back to an American diet, all are happy.   Our American favorites include El Paso taco kit with minced lamb (I haven't told the kids, they think it's ground beef), tiger prawns in our our Alfredo pasta helper and chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

My counter top oven, only $150USD

Our Smokey Joe Weber $29 USD in the States, over $200 to buy in India
(this is on our 2nd floor terrace)

Doug is now our menu planner and cook, as we fired the last one.    I am not sure I want another one as I am pretty happy with his cooking as it usually involves a good wine pick or a gin & tonic.     I still struggle with making boxed chicken noodle soup in this India kitchen or getting the filtered water running.  The days that the power is out are particularly challenging; no electrical outlets work and no hot water flows from the tap...good thing that Domino's delivers.    My goal is to teach the kids to cook for themselves and avoid all future contact with the India kitchen.