My Legume Love Affair 35...

Three years ago, on a dull dreary day in the depth of harsh Eastern winter, I decided to convert my love for food into something more substantial..  How about sharing it? How about introducing my love to others? How about translating it to words? I always thought Food-Writing was sexy. Growing up in India, I collected that part of Sunday Times that featured glossy pictures of exotic foods and recipes. I borrowed my neighbors' Femina to peep into the recipes...I so much envied that guy Rahul Verma who wrote about street food in the Delhi edition of The Hindu. In fact I went out and tried a lot of his favorite vegetarian haunts.

So here I am, after three years, one sunny boy later I am still at it and enjoy it so much! Ever since I started blogging, My Legume Love Affair has been one of my favorite events and probably the most I have ever contributed. Not only was it so much more convenient to contribute because Legumes occupy such an important place on our table that we eat everyday, but also that Legumes are so versatile, be it appetizers, main course, desserts, sides or Curries. Legumes are always there. Now here is my opportunity to host this event. It has been a long wait, but definitely worth it.

For this event, 'Legume' is essentially 'fresh or dried beans, lentils, pulses, and/or the sometimes edible pods that contain these seeds, and derivative products like tofu or besan'. It does not include French legumes, which means any vegetable at all.  Legumes like tamarind, fenugreek, carob, peanuts, alfalfa, clover, peas,beans,lentil, lupins, mesquite, soy, peanuts are among some of the other edible plants in the legume family which ARE included in the event.

• All courses, cuisines and cultures are welcome. Vegan, vegetarian and non-vegetarian recipes are welcome as long as 'Legumes' are the star ingredient and the entries are in English.Recipes calling for a spoonful of legumes is not acceptable.
• Multiple recipes are permitted but limited to 10 per participant but only one submission will be counted towards the random drawing. 
• Use of logo is optional 

• Recipes from archives can be accepted ONLY if updated and re-posted as current.
• Entries should be linked to this post and Susan's host lineup
• Recipes from those who do not blog are accepted and are eligible the participants to win a prize.

 Please send me your entry to kannada.cuisine@gmail.com with the subject line ' MLLA 35' before 4th June 2011.

• Your name
• Location (necessary but will not be published)
• Your blog name
• Name of the entry/recipe
• URL of your post
• An optional photograph of the final dish that is  preferably resized to 400 X 300 (in pixels) or 300 X 400 (in pixels)

•  Prizes

1) Whoopie Pies : Dozens of Mix 'em, Match 'em, Eat 'em Up Recipes by Sarah Billingsley and Amy Treadwell. This prize is offered by Susan without influence at her expense, and she will also absorb worldwide shipping charges.  F.T.C. Notice: Susan does not receive any compensation from Amazon.

2) Hurst Bean Box - A case of six bags of the winner's choice of Hurst Bean products, suitable for every diet, sponsored by Hurst Bean. (Due to shipping restrictions, this prize can only be awarded if the winner is a U.S. resident.) F.T.C. Notice: In May 2010, Susan, at her request, received two Hurst Bean complimentary products which are not available for purchase in her local markets. Susan does not generally accept free products from Hurst Bean nor is she financially compensated by them.

3) Drawing Structure - If the winner is a U.S. resident, she/he will be the recipient of both Prizes 1 and 2 above.  In the event that an international winner is drawn, a second drawing will be conducted from the U.S. pool of entrants to ensure that the Hurst Prize is awarded every month.  In these instances, the international winner will receive the book, and the U.S. winner will receive the Hurst Prize.