I am off on another adventure.  I am hoping that this one is even better than the last one.  India was quite an experience.  It was a place that I have been fascinated with for years.  I knew that eventually there would be a need for me to go there, but I really had no idea what I was in for.  Whenever I travel anywhere – it is always important for me to connect with the food.  It started in college when I travelled and I have continued that tradition.  Supermarkets are my museums, and finding just the right specialties of the region is what I am after.

When we were in India, we had a free night for dinner.  I didn’t want to go to a fancy restaurant, or someplace at the hotel – I wanted to experience some good local cuisine.  Fortunately at work, there are plenty of other people just like me, and when you work for a global company where people are always travelling, you can get some really good recommendations if you use your resources wisely.  There is an alias called “Food & Wine Enthusiasts” where there are over 1000 foodies just waiting to give you their thoughts and preferences on food and wine.  I sent a mail to the alias, and got exactly what I was looking for.  The restaurant actually had a website, although it pretty much just explained their safety precautions in cooking.  It was a vegetarian restaurant, so I felt safe about my seafood allergy.

The restaurant was in the old part of Bangalore.  It was actually an old house with 2 different restaurants inside.  There was a snack section, an a-la-carte area, and then a set menu where they just bring you food.  People hardly spoke English there, and so it took us a while to figure out that we were standing in the set menu area – we kept asking questions about the menu, and they kept saying “ALL”.  Finally we had figured it out.  When we asked how much it was – they told us 175 Rupies.  That equates to about $2.80.  How could we say no?  We were served bottled water, soup, curries, breads, rice dishes – it went on and on, and even bananas and ice cream for dessert.  It was a feast – and everything was absolutely delicious.

When I came home, I was craving simple food – and my girls were craving sweets.  Normally Rice Crispie treats is not where I would usually land, but I was up for something exactly like this.  Cooking Light had a whole section of these with all sorts of different options, and we decided to give one a try.  These were exactly what the doctor ordered – and the girls were super happy about having these in their lunches.

Ok – I have to go catch my flight – can’t wait to see what food is in store for me this week!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 10 ounces marshmallows
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 6 cups rice cereal
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate

Preparation

Melt butter and marshmallows over medium-low heat.  Add the cocoa into the melted marshmallows and cook for 3 minutes.  Add cereal, and toss well to combine.  Press cereal mixture into a 13×9-inch pan coated with cooking spray.  Heat chocolate in microwave at HIGH for 30 seconds, stir, and repeat until completely melted.  Drizzle over cereal mixture. Chill 10 minutes before slicing.

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