And The Winner is....

Vanessa McGrady! Fellow food journalist and new friend.

She wrote back within an hour of my posting the quiz and got 19 out of 21 right. The two that she did not get were both about building complexes, understandably confusing!

A copy of The Essential Marathi Cookbook will be walked over to her tomorrow.

Because... it's a funny story. We've lived next door to each other for five years. Our family has seen her walking past our dining room window on her way to work, on her way home, taking her dog Lucy out, going to dinner.....

But we had never actually met her until a few weeks ago, just before I headed to India in March. She was having a garage sale and we stopped to talk. Then Keya helped her paint a dresser one Sunday morning. And while I was away, she & Sanjiv got to know Vanessa and her fiance, Steve better.

Keya is now in and out of their place on a daily basis. They've had dinners together. And, in what I consider wonderfully Indian fashion (given the length of the relationship), they have invited us to their wedding this summer! A dream come true for Keya -- she gets to be a flower girl at last!

Vanessa has written about food and travel and I hope the new cookbook will inspire her to explore Marathi food. We are looking forward to many feasts with her & Steve in the future, and we also wish them a lifetime of happiness at their new Shared Table.

A student of mine, Wasima also emailed soon after Vanessa. She had 18 out of 21 right. And she mentioned that her "hobby while traveling is taking photos of signs and product labels." She has a Facebook album of these images and has kindly shared the link. Check them out -- they're fun! http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=12714&id=1078985724&l=e7880132bb

And now.... the answers to the quiz:

1 - D

2 - R

3 - G

4 - O

5 - U

6 - K

7 - N

8 - F

9 - C

10 - I

11 - E

12 - A

13 - S

14 - T

15 - H

16 - Q

17 - B

18 - L

19 - J

20 - P

21 - M

Bon Appetit!