A Tiger In The Kitchen

Karavalli (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.): Scratching An Itch

Something peculiar starts to happen whenever I go more than a few days without eating anything spicy.

Spirits start flagging; an irritability obliterates the charming and pleasant person I choose to believe I am. You see, in Singapore, where I grew up, almost everything is spicy -- dinner, lunch, breakfast, even high tea, an occasion that's often marked with curries and fiery noodles (and chased with clotted cream-slathered scones). Nothing is subtle; everything is jacked up with curry powder, peppers, tiny bird's eye chilis.

At home in New York, where I am master of my own meals, these cravings aren't a problem. But when I recently found myself at an artists' retreat in the snowy woods of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in the very fortunate situation of not having to worry about making my own meals for a few weeks, my demons started to emerge.

Thankfully, a friend had a solution -- there was an outstanding Indian restaurant in town, he said. It seemed like one that could certainly scratch my spicy-Asian itch. And while I was skeptical of an outstanding Indian restaurant existing in a not-incredibly-diverse stretch of upstate New York, I was desperate for a cure.

So, on a chilly Saturday, we piled into a car and off we went ...

Spicy Pickled Beets: Holiday Crunch

I've had the great fortune of not having to worry about making my own lunch recently.

Up in the woods of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., I wake up every day to breakfast and a prepared lunchbox, courtesy of a precious place that graciously gives artists (and misfits like me) space, time and food to create. (You can donate to the cause here. No, really. DO IT.)

I haven't forgotten my Let's Lunch friends, though -- so, just for a day, I'm coming out of seclusion to share a recipe for a holiday side that's a true knockout: Spicy pickled beets ...