Food, Travel, Books and More

Happy Makar Sankrant!

2012-01-15T09:36:00.001-05:00

My first post in the new year :) the new year begins with lots of hope for health, wealth & happiness! Today happens to be 14th January. Each day on this year, folks at home celebrate Makar Sankrant. At home, ma will prepare tilgul ladoos (sweet sesame-and-jaggery balls), distribute them to neighbours & family while saying 'tilgul gya, godd godd bola (meaning 'take the sweet, and then talk

Picture post: An eve at Boston Common

2011-11-14T18:06:00.001-05:00

Some pics from our trip at the end of September to Boston Common, an awesome park in the middle of Boston city. It was heartening to see this HUGE patch of green (the park is almost 50 acres in size!!!). The park plaque: would you believe how old this park is? A super place to relax and get in touch with nature One of the many views from the park It was end of September

Take a break!

2011-11-13T18:28:00.001-05:00

Really. Especially the mums. I came across this touching article on cnn the other day: http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/08/moms-you-deserve-to-take-care-of-yourselves/?iref=allsearch Anthony Youn, a plastic surgeon in Metro Detroit, recounts an ER case of Mildred, an elderly woman who let her breast cancer progress too far because she was too busy taking care of her family. Money was an

Season's greetings: Phirni (Indian rice pudding)

2011-10-07T15:30:00.001-04:00

Its festive season everywhere. Folks back home in India just finished celebrating Navratri and Dussera. For my non-desi friends, Navratri (nav= nine, ratri=nights) is the festival of nine nights. Every year, around this time, people in different parts of India celebrate for nine nights the awesomeness thats called the 'Divine Mother'. Traditionally, its the harvest time in India and the

Eggless baking: Orange cake

2011-09-27T12:48:00.002-04:00

Anyone a fan of citrus? I am. I just love the C-family: the lemons, oranges, limes! Their light flavours & aroma lend themselves perfectly for baking. Besides, I get tired of the regular cake flavours quite easily- choco and vanilla don't interest me any more so orange and lemon bakes always excite me! Also, having a set of parents who belong to the 'vegetarian-converts-but-still-enjoy-cakes'

Blog Ctrl+Alt+Del!

2011-09-22T16:44:00.001-04:00

Ctrl – Alt – Del Three Pillow Set @ Etsy.com After more than a year, I am back on the blogging scene. Oh how I missed my blog-o-baby all this time!! A lot has happened in the last one year: -am now a proud mum to a 5 and half month old boy. All this time, everyone told me how much of hard work it is to raise a child and I never quite believed them. 5 months, 22 days after the little V aka

Container gardening- Fresh fenugreek!

2010-07-27T01:33:00.001-04:00

I have been meaning to do gardening for a while now. I mean, if I get a chance to pick and choose fresh food right from the garden at anytime of the day, why wouldnt I want that? Couple of issues though- first, we live in an apartment, so all I have is a little balcony. And second, I have never ever dabbled in gardening, so who knows whether I have a green thumb or not??Anywho, one of the first

Back from the blogging coma!

2010-07-14T20:26:00.004-04:00

Cant believe its more than 2 months since I wrote my last post...if there is ever such a thing as 'time flying', I guess this is it! I have been away from my blog-o-baby for way too long..not that I wanted to neglect it; nor that I didn't have enough material to write about or ideas to share (in fact, have way too much to write and share) but I just haven't had a chance to put pen to paper..or

Mum's the word

2010-05-09T22:45:00.007-04:00

Picture from: www.wallpapersphere.comWhen I think of her, I think of her faceHer face which is now etched with wrinkles and linesLines so lovely- of age, of laughter, of worries, but mostly of love,Love we share since the day I was born (and even before)When I think of her, I think of her handsHer hands which are now weary from years of workWork all day- from the start to the end and then to

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

2010-04-21T15:42:00.008-04:00

For once, I am going to cut my crap and get to the point. You know how I babble and babble before coming to the actual food recipe? Not today! Here’s a recipe that is:-Healthy-Tasty-Easy-Filling-Literally hassle-free-Quite different from the usual soups-Kids-friendly? (my guess is 'yes' but you tell me)I got the recipe from Jessica, our lovely nutritionist at work, who brought in a big pot of

A matter of perspective

2010-04-12T16:32:00.000-04:00

I notice it first when I am brushing my teeth at night.My heart skips a beat. I tell myself that it cannot possibly be true. Its these 'yellow' North American lights, I tell myself. They can cause you to see things that aren't really there! I blink. Then blink again. But it just wont go away! N stands behind me brushing his teeth. Maybe I should tell him what I see? I dread his reaction though.

Poll verdict

2010-04-11T13:41:00.005-04:00

After my rants in the last post, here's what my readers had to say about my blog:- Everyone loves my writing (yooohoooo...shammi kapoor ishstyle!)- Almost everyone would like to see me post once a week (fortunately, no one chose the option 'never ever' so that gives me a yooohooo!!!)- As far as the preference for post topic, people seem to like all four categories (though there was a marginal

Lessons learnt and a poll

2010-03-30T16:25:00.020-04:00

Anyone wondered where I have disappeared of late? Not really? hmm, doesn't help my ego you know? Did no one miss my posts and writing and food? REALLY?? Well, its been a good nine months since I started my baby blog..whew! And in the last nine months, I have posted 50-odd posts: on topics close to my heart. So what have I learnt?- I am lazy.I can barely manage a post a week- this is my

Book review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrow

2010-03-10T20:07:00.009-05:00

Back of the book says:January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of WWII, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her new book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she's never met, a native of Guernsey, the British island once occupied by the Nazis. He'd come across her name on the flyleaf of a secondhand volume by Charles Lamb. Perhaps she could tell him

Lazy lamhe: Eggless rawa cake

2010-02-24T20:33:00.017-05:00

Its Olympics time in Vancouver..the city is buzzing with excitement and energy since last Friday as the gracious host for the 2010 Winter Olympics. I have this whole week off from work (can you believe my luck??) and plan to do a big NOTHING these 5 days!!!I have put my foot down and told N that I will be doing no things he wants and only things I want (didn't go too well at first, but when he

Book review: 'The death of Vishnu' by Manil Suri

2010-02-11T16:15:00.002-05:00

Back of the book says:'At the opening of this masterful debut novel, Vishnu, the resident odd-job man, lies dying on the staircase he inhabits, while his neighbours the Pathaks and the Asranis squabble over who will pay for an ambulance. as the action spirals up through the floors of their building, the drama of the residents' lives unfold. Mr. Jalal's obsessive search for higher meaning; Vinod

Shrimp primavera pasta

2010-01-29T19:24:00.003-05:00

Until just a few years back, the word 'primavera' would have sounded quite distant to me...I mean where does pasta and primavera fit in with daily desi food like varan-baath (i.e. dal-rice), kolambi aamti (shrimp curry), right? My biggest leap by far for 'change-from-the-routine-ghar-ka-khana' would have been the North Indian palak paneer or rajma masala.But coming to Vancity has changed all that

A trip down the memory lane

2010-01-26T02:28:00.011-05:00

Just as N and I sat down for our dinner last night, he announced that there was nothing interesting for us to watch over dinner. For any 'watching-TV-while-having-dinner' critics out there, we have tried the so-called 'let just talk- no more TV' tactic...it lasted for exactly 5 mins...the forced talking made us feel like idiots..and on came the idiot box!Anywho, last night, N and I turned to

Signs of growing up: karela (bittergourd) bhaaji

2010-01-17T21:46:00.020-05:00

It's pretty funny, isn't it? The very things you think as a child you will 'ban' once you grow up are the things you enjoy as an adult. Take karelas (or bitter gourds), for instance. I hated them when I was little, but I have been enjoying this bitter veggie in the last few years. I don't know when the change happened but seems like a sign of me growing up (N doesn't agree veggies should be the

First 13 days of 2010: Never Let me go, 3 khans and amazing art

2010-01-11T23:22:00.021-05:00

Time please!That's what we yelled as kids if we needed a breather while playing [or in my case, cheat by asking for extra time :)]...20-odd years later, I still want to cheat and ask time to give me a breather. 13 days in the new year have already passed. What the heck?? I haven't done any-any-any!thing in the last 13 days except laze around and waste time with my one and only bakra N. One thing

WIPGYOR series: Red is for tangy prawns curry

2010-01-01T02:26:00.000-05:00

I started my WIPGYOR series with a Goan dish and I am ending it with one too. The traditional Goan shrimp curry I make at home is a coconut-based one. But as I said before, we use too much coconut in our food so I am always on the lookout for some interesting alternatives. Which is why I decided to try Mahek's tomato-onion based prawns masala curry. Click here to go to Mahek's blog about Goa...

WIPGYOR series: Orange is for yummy carrot soup!

2009-12-31T01:44:00.007-05:00

Vancity is pretty chilly these days. Of course, its not half as bad as last year...we had to brave knee-deep snow around this time last year..and though its not that bad this winter, its still quite cold. Most of the days its cold cold rain all day and on a few days, frosty roads make us slip and slosh all the way to work! So what better than than a yummy, healthy carrot soup to add some warmth

WIPGYOR series: Yellow is for Khaman Dhokla

2009-12-29T21:43:00.008-05:00

I used to enjoy dhokla once in a while in India. Especially when it came with the typical Gujarathi chutneys made from papaya and green chillies..yum!Ever since we came to Canada, I have tried out several recipes to make a soft, spongy dhokla but all have been utter failures. Results have ranged from hard-as-a-rock dhoklas to started-as-spongy-but-lost-the-way-midway dhoklas. In fact, I had given

WIPGYOR series: Green is for Paneer tikka masala

2009-12-28T21:27:00.008-05:00

Isn't green a beautiful colour? Say the word green and the first thing that comes to my mind is lush green meadows, serenity and beauty! Anyone ever wondered why people turn green with envy? :)For my rainbow series, I decided to make some paneer tikka masala. This recipe is loosely adapted from a cookbook I got from the library called 'curry lover's cookbook' by Mridula Baljekar. It is a fairly

WIPGYOR series: Pink is for Strawberry smoothie

2009-12-28T01:59:00.007-05:00

Remember about my earlier post on N and my breakfast banter? My search for quick, tasty and healthy breakfast ideas led me to this strawberry smoothie recipe! Here's one powerhouse of a smoothie recipe that sure kicks off your day with a punch!Recipe:1/2 cup fresh/frozen strawberries3 tbsp vanilla yogurt1 tsp sugar (skip or add more as per your taste)1 cup milkSimply blend everything together