Life and Spirituality

An iron wok W hen one has lived in a home for near twenty five years as I have in mine, and when the home has store rooms, attic, closets etc. one ends up collecting a lot of stuff that one does not need every day or even for years. Over the last several years it became so that if we needed something for an odd purpose suddenly, it was found somewhere in the home itself. As a result I had begun avoiding going to the market to collect more. Nevertheless, when one visits a market for a stroll, one spots something aside from daily necessities that would make one’s living more comfortable or healthier. Today I chanced upon a small iron wok from a traditional gypsy iron worker by the road side and snapped it up. The woman wanted five dollars for it but with a bit of bargaining brought it down to three. We have a large one at home used on rare occasions but not a small one that is useful for regular cooking. There are smaller aluminum ones in the kitchen but fearing that they ma...

N o good kitchen is complete without a good selection of cooking oils or fats. But, there are so many to choose from and the information out there on which are the best is confusing. Hope this note would help the reader in making a better selection THREE FACTORS THAT DETERMINE CHOICE OF COOKING OIL OR FAT The three factors that decide which oil or fat to use in which recipe depends on: Health Cost Taste While good health cannot be sacrificed neither can good taste of food we consume. Cost of oil used also  matters for most except the very rich. TRADITION VS SCIENCE IN SELECTION A human uses traditional practices prevalent in one’s area in selecting the best cooking oils. Aside from this, humans are also influenced by various recommendations from scientific bodies or health organizations that are put out from time to time. My own personal decision in this regard is to value traditional knowledge more than scientific knowledge or advisories...