That meme thing!

I'm getting ready to leave for the Bahamas early tomorrow morning. Instead of packing and thinking about my trip, I'm blogging away..tsk..tsk..tsk..such is the addiction.

My friend, Amy, tagged me for the latest meme doing the blog rounds around the world. I think it originated as a general books meme but has now turned into one about cooking and is called Five Favourite Books.

1. Total number of books I own:
No idea but I know I have 69 cookbooks.

2. Last book I bought:
I just started a Book Club with my friend, Shivani, and we're reading The Kite Runner this month. I still haven't finished the book but it's been one of the most engrossing stories I've read in a long time. Khaled Hosseini has a real gift for story telling and I know that I will be eagerly awaiting his future books.

3. The last book I read:
A few weeks back I completed The Mango Season by an Indian author called Amulya Malladi. The story is about a Telegu Brahmin girl in her late 20's who lives in the Bay Area with her American boyfriend. She goes home to Hyderabad after seven years to break the news to her parents that she is going against their wishes and will be marrying her boyfriend. The book is a quick read. What I loved most was how Amulya weaved in recipes into the narrative and really made me experience the mango season through her descriptive prose.

4. Five Books that mean a lot to me:
Like Amy did, I'm going to stick to cookbooks. I have to say it was really hard to choose from my collection of 69. I'm listing those that I find myself referring to time and again. Here they are:

Tapas, Spanish Appetizers -- this is one of my most prized cookbooks. Those of you who've been to the annual tapas parties we hosted on the 432 Quartz deck in California know first hand how delicious these recipes are. Remember how tasty the patatas bravas were? And how utterly divine the marinated sweet red peppers? For the rest of you, trust me, if you buy just one more cookbook, let this be the one.

Lifco's "How to Cook?" by Vedavalli Venkatachary -- this is such a gem that it's not even available online :)
Given to me by my dad, this is my source of inspiration for pineapple rasam, coconut sevai, kancheepuram idlis and carrot halwa amongst a host of delicious TamBrahm food that I grew up on and attempt to replicate in Manhattan.

The Fondue Cookbook (Hamlyn) -- this was the first book that I relied on for a dinner party when I first moved back to the U.S. five years ago. I use it every year when the weather gets colder and veggies and cubed bread dipped in cheese is all I want every day!

The Tomato Cookbook (by Christine France) -- this is the ultimate guide to a classic ingredient. I love tomatoes and I find myself browsing through this book very often for ideas as varied as moussaka and piperade with crostini.

And finally, my beloved, Naked Chef, whose autographed copy of Jamie's Dinners is my essential weeknight cookbook.

5. Which 5 people would you most like to see fill this out in their blog?
Rumy because I'd love to know more about her reading habits, Manish Vij because I'm just getting to know him better through his blog, Nish because she's probably reading some really cool books, Larry because he's such a cool dude and finally, my Dad, just because I love that he blogs.

Phew, this post took one helluva long time. Now I'm really ready for the beach!