Memories Unlimited

Yay!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jayashree..!!) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:25:00 +0000

Yay my 2 tb hard disk is shipped! I hope to be receiving it by next week!!

I have a bunch of pics n data to be transferred from my Mac!

Also have to dig my older external hard disk for some high res pics from my recent trips! Was browsing thru some old picasaweb albums n seemed to like a few on my revisit! I hope I have those pics in my hard disk n I ve not deleted due to low space in my current disk!

Keeping my fingers crossed! I should also organize the pics! Meaning have to remove many unwanted pics that are occupying space! Don't know when i ll have that time!

Listening to some of my fave songs while lying along with t n waiting for her to sleep! I was listening to skandha sashti kavasam after a long long time! Kind of listening to it 3-4 times a day in the last 3-4 days! I recently downloaded that song n transfd into my iPhone! It's almost like t's sleep song now ;)) when I play that song she comes n lies next to me! But after few mins she ll want to run n play n even dance to that song ;))

It's getting chilly every day ;(( but still managed to step out for a small walk with t for some 30 mins this morning! She jus wants to stay out all day!! Tough to get her into the house after the outing!!

Been watching many movies random ones on Netflix again :)) jus some junk time pass! I don't know which tv show to start watching! Feel like starting something! ;))

Alright ll go n eat! She's slept!! I didnt cook anything major today! Jus lil tomato onion fry! Actually boring to cook jus for me :( Also might experiment some splash shots if I have time!

Wow super fast week

noreply@blogger.com (Jayashree..!!) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:33:00 +0000

It's Friday tomorrow!!!! I m super excited! Can't believe time went by this fast! I don't know how! Nothing major done this week! Yet it's Soo fast!!!

I m jus back from Walmart after some left over shopping! Skipped Indian store as I wanted to try a new one over the weekend with a!

Last night a's friend had come home for dinner! I made dosa ratna cafe sambar! It turned out so tasty!!

Jus made vangibath! Yet to eat! Thought ll put t to sleep n then eat but that s not working so might end up eating n feeding t n then let her sleep! Even I might crash with her in that case!!!

A is not coming home for lunch for the last 3 days! He was bored with home food for lunch it seems n wanted to eat out! I let him do that jus to see how long he can do that!!! And I get more time too ! I mean cook at my leisure n cook anything I like!

Alright as I m writing t has almost slept I think! I ll use this opp to finish some work!!!

Oo I got some glasses to do some experiment with splash shots. Might try in a while!

Super fast sunday!

noreply@blogger.com (Jayashree..!!) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 15:19:00 +0000

Sunday is done too:((
this day was pretty fast! We went out to one Thai place for lunch! Food was yummy!!!

Since there was a lot of paper work to do for a we returned back after lunch. It became 330 by then itself! Then after getting back home I decided to drive to the Indian store.

After getting back home had some cleaning up to do then gave food to t n now lying down with her. Once she sleeps I should go n break my head about dinner. Don't know what to make:((

I didn't watch anything last night. Crashed off in the next 15 mins! I ll be doing the same today too! But I feel like watching something :(

One of the best way to put t to sleep is calm her slowly n play some soft songs in the radio n she ll doze in few mins!!! But that calming part is so difficult for me! I should learn that art from a!

Time pass iClick today! ;))

Slow Saturday!

noreply@blogger.com (Jayashree..!!) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 02:49:00 +0000

Ooooo how much sleepy I m :(( Its only around 830pm n I m dozing already :( I want to stay up n edit few pictures n watch some movie or something in the tv.., I m lying down with t n listening to my fave songs in the radio n I think in this rate I ll be the first to crash than t!

Today was a lil lazy n slow day! I m feeling like this after a long long time! Nothing major...did some simple brunch n most of the time went off in playing wii n with t! Then went for a jlt drive in the eve n picked up samosa from some chaat cafe! If only I knew we ll end up buying some chaat We might ve gone to the usual chat place! It was like we drove some 45 mins to pick those samosas! They were tasting jus ok or below average too. I so badly wanted to eat some Indian chat suddenly! Else might ve stopped at my fave corner house bakery n picked up something!

Then after dropping us home a went to pick some nice dinner for him from a new Indian restaurant. I was so full from the not so good samosa itself! Meanwhile i finished ts dinner! Then had lil leftover of ts dinner n some fruits! So didn't join a!

All of a sudden i feel like watching some comedy scenes or lollu Sabha types! Might do that if I m awake!

Last night too we picked our dinner out! I ordered from madras pavilion after a while! Then ended up watching luck by chance! I love this movie a lot! One of my favorite Bollywood movie hands down. I don't know why many ppl don't like it that much like the way me n a does! I ve lost count how many times I have seen this movie! still loving it!! The acting is Soo good by everyone!

We are planning to go out for lunch tomorrow n then might stop by at a's friends place for a while. I want to go to some nice thai place! Been sooo long!

Yay finally t crashed before me!!! I ll use the time to watch something!

Time pass low res iPhone edits! Pics clicked using my canon during my India trip early last year!

Yay it's Friday tomorrow!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jayashree..!!) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:44:00 +0000

Yay! It's Friday tomorrow! I went to krogers n also a lil drive jus like that after that n got back home! Today a had plans to eat out. So I made something simple for me n t n stepped out in the morning. Once I started driving I was back to my normal self! Fear disappeared! Tomo planning to drive to the Indian store!

I didnt click pics today. I was so busy n occupied with t! Time jus went off jus like that!! It was lil chill today although it was in 60s! So I didn't step out as well!! I was occupied in watching the office as well! So more time pass!

I m sooo excited that it's weekend again! No major plans have some studying to do then a has some documenting to do. So mostly ll be occupied in that this weekend n may be some movies too. I hope we don't eat anything from out this weekend! I might try making something interesting this weekend to kill the boredom!

Also will click something interesting this weekend! :) I m sooo happy all of a sudden!!!!! Don't know why! But I m liking it:)))

Photography week

noreply@blogger.com (Jayashree..!!) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:03:00 +0000

This day was so good too! I got to click few pics today as well!! Liked few too! Yet to transfer n check in my full screen.

The weather s sooo awesome. That made me go out in the eve with t n click pics! Today too I went once with her without her stroller n then with her in her stroller! It's working out good!

I ve been postponing going to the Indian store n krogers! It's 2 weeks since I went to Indian store n 1 week since I went to krogers! Now ll ve to go tomorrow or Friday! All of a sudden the fear is come back again.. I mean driving fear!. ESP after my sisters visit I hardly drove. But planning to step out tomorrow n again day after to get the confidence back!

Awesome today !

noreply@blogger.com (Jayashree..!!) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 03:44:00 +0000

Today was more productive than yday! A big thanks to those lovely sparrows n squirrels that kept me so busy till noon! Also thanks to my cute angel who let me click pictures!

I m in love with the weather here. Tooooooo good! Unbelievable that it's jan! I went for a small walk early this morning! Lovely decision! Saw so many squirrels! Although I didnt take my canon with me, I managed clicking with my iPhone!

Later clicked a bunch of pics using my canon from my balcony! One of my happiest days !

All of a sudden received 2 job opening calls today evening! One closer to Boston n one closer to Philly. I m now confused which to focus! Personally like the Philly one better. Anyway will have to first study for the interview n then see about all other alternatives.

Jus some time pass click with my iPhone! Will post some from my canon in my photography blog n fb page!

This day!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jayashree..!!) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 02:59:00 +0000

This day was awesome n lil productive! Productive in many ways! The weather was lovely the whole of today! in the evening I stepped out for a small walk inside the apt with t! Clicked few pictures. But couldnt concentrate on clicking cos I had to keep an eye on t all the time. Then we got back home n I was experimenting few shots at home. Then again decided to step out with t n my camera. This time I put t in her stroller. So that I could click few pics peacefully! It worked. I got few decent pictures!

Then came home breaking my head thinking about dinner! Then made pasta. It's one of our all time fave dinner! Don't mind eating it for dinner all days! Made with sun dried tomatoes n lil half n half today!

I was suddenly thinking about posting an ad for home made food in local website..,but didn't do it. Anyways I won't make much money for the time I ll be spending. A feels I could spend that time with t instead. I kind of want to do...jus for time pass. Might consider once t goes to play school!

I feel I m not upto it to put up ads for freelance photography! Mainly lack of proper time. After t starts play school I ll ve lil flexibility. Also that way I could improve n learn better.

There is no luck with my job hunt :((
I get few calls but nothing happens.

I might crash anytime soon after editing atleast one pic from today's click. Lil eager to check out although I m sleepy already.

Dal makhni

noreply@blogger.com (Jayashree..!!) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 03:35:00 +0000

Ingredients
Black urad dhal - 1 cup
Red kidney beans - 1/4-1/2 cup
Soak n pressure cook with salt.
2-3 tomato - puréed fresh.
Ginger - 1 inch pc
Garlic - 3-4 pods
Green chillie - 2 pc
Bay leaf - 1
Cinnamon stick- 1 inch
Cloves - 2
Cardamom - 3pc
Oil - 1tbsp
Butter - 1/2 stick
Half n half - 1/2 cup
Jeera - 1tsp
Kasuri methi - 1 tbsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Cilantro - chopped to garnish
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Grind ginger garlic cinnamon cardamom clove green chillies into fine paste.

In a pan add oil n lil butter n add jeera let it crackle then add the paste n lil turmeric if you want. Fry for few mins then add puréed tomatoes n chillie powder, corriander powder, salt, mix well n let it cook well. Close lid. After few mins when the tomatoes bubble well add some water from the cooked dhal. And some more butter. Close lid let it boil well. After few mins add dhal n mix well. Kerp stirring 4-5 times in 20-25 mins. Close lid. Cook in medium flame. Add kasurit methi n coriander. Mix very well. Add half n half in end n sim for 5 mins n turn off. Add more butter n half n half for more richness. I added lil more of vitamin d milk instead of half n half. It was good!

Last weekend!

noreply@blogger.com (Jayashree..!!) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:05:00 +0000

It's another Monday already! sometimes weekdays seem so slow. Weekends are over in no time! It was like jus fri evening n so soon it's Monday again.

The weekend was quite good! Nothing major! Jus home some nice cooking n then some movies n going out. We went to a's friends place on Saturday n had some nice time! Wish we were staying a lil closer so there would ve been time for kids interaction often!

I made some healthy sandwich n fried Maggi last night! So yummy!! Picked linch from our fave mediterranean grill..! We jus went to see the ducks n other birds in my apartment last evening, I clicked few pics. Wish we stepped out 15-20 mins earlier! It was past sunset already! And I didnt take my tripod do many pics were shaken.

We saw a time to kill n drive this weekend. Kind of liked drive. Time to kill was not that good n not worth so many stars.! Drive was ok. I wouldn't rate it 8 might give it 5.5 types.

Yay!! I finally installed photoshop cs5 in my Mac! Kept getting some kind of error every time I try n I gave up. All of a sudden felt like installing it again n it worked! As of now i have the trial version. Will consider buying full version soon! Yet to try my hands on with pictures. Will do them shortly. Have to get extra hard disk for my pics. It's occupying so much of space. already my old 500 gb hd is almost full with movies n some pics.

Alright so hungry now ll go n eat my lunch! T slept jus now!

Enchilada

noreply@blogger.com (Jayashree..!!) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 02:44:00 +0000

Ingredients -
Red kidney beans - 1 cup soaked n pressure cooked with salt or 1 canned beans.
1/2 cup chipotle enchilada sauce
1/2 cup mild salsa
1/2 cup puréed tomato or finely chopped tomatoes.

For salad
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 onion finely chopped
1 tomato finely chopped
1 cucumber finely chopped
1/2 bell pepper finely chopped
2 tsp vinegar Squeeze
2 tsp honey
2 tsp lime juice
Salt as needed

In a large mixing bowl add all the above ingredients n mix very well. squeeze lime in the end.

For guacamole
3 avocado peeled n mashed (take the seed out)
1 tomato chopped
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp black pepper
Cilantro - few leaves
1/2 lemon juice
Kosher salt - as needed
Refrigerate unused portion of guacamole.

Grind all ingredients together into fine paste, add kosher salt n lemon juice in the end mix well. can add 1 pod garlic if needed.

Flour or corn soft tacos
Cheddar cheese
Sour cream

Method
In a pan add lil olive oil n add cooked beans n stir well then add tomato puree n salsa n chipotle sauce n mix well. Since salt is already added in beans no need to add more. Cook for 6-7 mins turn off the gas.

In a baking tray place the tacos n fill with cooked beans, salad n guacamole n close it from both sides n add desired qty cheese on top. Bake in 350f for 15 mins. Serve with sour cream on top. Can even bake without salad inside n add it in the end with sour cream.

Friday night!

noreply@blogger.com (Jayashree..!!) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 01:15:00 +0000

Yummy home made enchilada n guacamole with sour cream n mild cheddar - my awesome Friday dinner !!!! Ll settle with some good movie to watch soon!!!

Will post recipe shortly !!!

Today!

noreply@blogger.com (Jayashree..!!) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:47:00 +0000

Today was good! It was like I woke up jus now but it's bed time already!

Woke up with a lil headache in the morning n that became terrible by noon. So made some quick lunch n then after a came he offered to take me to krogers as I had some stuff to buy..n we had called couple of a's friends for dinner tonight.

After getting back from krogers I slept off too with Tvish for an hr. then felt a lot better. After waking up had a lot of cleaning up to do. As I did not do anything since morning.

Then decided to make risotto for dinner. Asked a to pick garlic bread from krogers. I promptly forgot to buy it although it was one of the important stuff that I wanted to buy! Then as an after thought i made banana bread too! I ve become a master in that! :)) I made with jus 2 eggs this time n only egg whites. Still it was good n soft! No major difference in taste n texture! :))

Risotto turned out good today! But sad thing was I added extra half n half n Parmesan today :( . I was kind of forced to add extra cream as I added a lil too much salt. Taste was awesome in the end! Yay! There is enough risotto left for a's lunch Tomo! N lil for me too! :)) jus gotta make something fresh for t!

T had fun fun time when they were home n refused to sleep even though it was past her bed time n kind of slept jus now. But glad she slept for 2 hrs this noon!

She s become naughtier by the day. I m having so much fun with her at home these days!!!!

Yay! It's Wednesday already!!! It's soon gonna be another weekend!!!!!!!!!!!

I was thinking about watching some movie now but giving that thought up n might crash. Will keep the movie for weekend. T ll anyway be up by 7 no matter Wat time she sleeps in the night.:( will use every possible minute to sleep!!!! :)

Photo blog!

noreply@blogger.com (Jayashree..!!) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:58:00 +0000

I created a photography blog in blogger n Wordpress! I know this one is already almost like that but I also write many personal ramblings here so wanted to dedicate a space exclusively for my pictures! I crated the blog long back but never updated it. So cleaned up old contents n updated fresh!

Here you go! Feel free to give feedback on any pictures if u like or don't like!

http://memoriesunlimitedphotography.wordpress.com
http://memoriesunlimitedphotoblog.blogspot.com

Anniversary weekend!

noreply@blogger.com (Jayashree..!!) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:36:00 +0000

The awesome weekend is over now n we are back to the regular mon-fri routine from tomorrow! :(

Friday was our 4th anniversary! Woo should I say it's 4 yrs already or is it jus 4 yrs? I mean it's in good terms only many times! It's like I ve known A for a long long time almost like forever!!!!

This year we rented a beautiful cabin in McCurtain county Oklahoma! In broken bow/beavers bend state park area!! Awesome place! Defly one oft favorite places I ve visited in the recent pat! Man I wish we had gone here when my sis was here instead of that south padre island! I ve read about this place before n i actually never bothered to look at this place mainly cos it was jus 3.5 hrs from here! This time I was looking for some 4-5 hrs drive max for the weekend n found some 2-3 options. Then suddenly this place stuck me. There was good reviews about this place from many ppl! It was a sudden last min plan..!! We were lucky to find a cabin.. Ppl plan so many months in advance or what? I was so surprised to see many cabins were gone already..! It was infact a very normal weekend.. and nothing spl too.. The weather was also cold... i was expecting to see many more vacant cabins..!! But surprisingly 90% in many sites were booked - i mean the ones with good views. The best best time to go here is around fall! You ll see awesome colors! This fall I m sure gonna go here if I m gonna be in Dallas!!!

Our cabin was awesome too!!! It was actually a 2 bedroom duplex!(duplex was a lil surprise to us.. we were looking for one floor only cabin but didnt mind no of bedrooms..! mainly cos we didnt want T to keep going up n down n more tension for us as well as we should always be behind her!) It was big n very spacious! So t had awesome time!! She loved going up n down in the stairs..!!!! The weather was good too but a major disappointment was I couldn't get sunset pictures cos of this damn clouds :((( it was too good n clear in the morning until noon when we went out. I never expected it to change in 4 hrs! There was this huge cloud that blocked the sun from coming out n also it did not rain. We stepped out of the house at 4 n drove for around 1 hr and yet no luck the could jus didn't want to move. We went past the cloud n saw the sun but damn there was no proper lovely wow view types to stop the car n step out. So we turned back. Then got back to the cabin at around 6. We went around the state park again. I m not so lucky in capturing birds I think. Never spotted one.,and if i spot it ll fly before I could capture.

This morning we left at around 1045 from the cabin. I don't know what's with this but we encountered fog on our way back from Oklahoma this time too! It was jus like how it was when we left from ouachita forest! The only thing was it was not so high! But the fog made this place look lovely!

We made several stops n reached home at around 430. We stopped by for sometime at Hugo lake state park. It was Soo awesome. I surely wanna visit this place again! And it's too close!

Here ate few pics from my iPhone will post from my. Canon later! It's some movie time now!!!

random unknown

noreply@blogger.com (Jayashree..!!) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:21:00 +0000

The house is soooo empty..
As of now i know only one thing that i am missing my sis a lot. i had a great company at home. Wish there is someone around all the time. I earlier used to think that i will not need anyone as long as i have my internet/laptop/camera and TV. But now i am totally wrong. i need people around me. i dont need too many too. Jus the few ones who like my company and vice versa (my good friends n family) I also feel - if am gonna have close ppl visiting me for a short time only - its better they dont.. cos they create so much pain when leaving back. May be a day or 2 doesnt matter but few weeks surely matters a lot.

T is getting tooooo bored now. Now that her chitti has left, she is jus behind me all the time, and i dont know how to entertain her. I get bugged at times being behind her all the time. She doesnt want me to sit in front of my laptop for a long time.. and i am feeling bored if i dont sit in front of my laptop! I know she needs company and attention. I hope she gets admission into the playschool soon. I am more keen on the one that is closer to my home. There is one that is available immdly but its far off. i dont want to drive 30mins one way to drop her off n then pick her again. The one that i like is jus 10 mins away max! I have been calling them since november end and no luck yet. I hope to get admission by feb batch atleast. Few schools are booked till April 2013. :o they book the school first and then have the baby or wat? :o!!! if i get the admission in the school closeby and if T likes it too, then we might not need to shift to a different area for some more time. But if its not working, we ll have to consider moving shortly. But i hope it clicks. I dont want to move again :(.

The weather is so weird here. Its cold one day and so warm the next day. Sometimes it doesnt even feel like its winter. Ok, no complaints here about the temp not being cold, but its surely weird to be in 70s in Jan!

Back to grind

noreply@blogger.com (Jayashree..!!) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:59:00 +0000

My sis has left back today :((( I m feeling toooo bored n missing her a lot! We had awesome time here. Made some new dish every day n kept going out every single day n I was totally busy! I don't know how the time went this fast.

I clicked many pics of her with my new lens. Loving the lens do far! I have a bunch of pics to edit. The more I click people with this lens the more I am missing a good external flash. That's in my wish list next. Will have to check for the price n buy one soon.

We made yummy Mexican, Italian, Indian n Thai cuisine at home every other day! Baked banana bread 2 times in a weeks time. It turned out so yummy both the times! She got me a baking bible!! I ll soon start baking more from that book! It all look so delicious n tempting!

T had best best fun with her! She used follow my sis everywhere n sometimes try to do everything she does ! She ll also be bored from now. I m the only one to hang out for now. I m not lucky with her play school admission yet :( damn they have such long wait times. I m hoping to be lucky by this month end atleast.

I am back to regular grind too from today. A will be missing some variety dinners now. I made boring dosa for dinner tonight. Also made him eat idli for breakfast. Poor guy. Was in no mood to make anything interesting today. Also made some loads a idli batter n kept. Surprisingly I am bored of idlis n dosas all of a sudden ! Even with my yummy molaga podi!!:o I
Somehow want to finish this batter at the earliest n might not make the batter for another few weeks.

I m my sis a lot :(( wish she had stayed for more days or atleast closer for me to visit her often :( I m not in mood for anything now :(

Vegetarian Lasagna!

noreply@blogger.com (Jayashree..!!) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:53:00 +0000

Yahoo, i finally made this today for lunch! :) Ofcourse with my sis's supervision..! Now i am thorough and can make it alone by myself next time!
This time i used the Oven Ready Lasagna.Last time i made with plain lasagna and it took more time to get boiled.

Ingredients
1 pack Lasagna - Cook as per the instructions of the pack.
Olive oil - 6 tbsp ( spread across lasagna, spinach n tomato base)
1 medium box baby spinach
1/2 can crushed tomatoes
8 green olives cut into half
1 yellow onion finely chopped
1 zucchini sliced
2 pods garlic - ground with 1tsp black pepper
3/4 edam cheese shredded (can use mozarilla if its not available
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1 spoon sambar powder (Sssshhhh... dont tell anyone that you are using this in an italian food ;))
Salt as needed
Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce - half Bottle approx
parsley to garnish
Chilli flakes to garnish

Method
In a pan heat olive oil (2tbsp) add add lil butter (1tbsp) ground garlic pepper n then add onions n stir well when cooked add zucchini let it mix b get cooked, then add the crushed tomatoes n olives n salt as needed. Then add tomato basil sauce mix well n let it get cooked. Close lid. Can add eggplant before adding tomatoes if you like. And cook well. In parallel in a big vessel boil spinach with lil olive oil (2tbsp) n salt as needed n once cooked drain the water n grind it with sambar powder n cumin seeds(optional) (its mainly to have dome good taste, else it ll be too bland) to fine paste. Keep it separately. Check on the tomato sauce. You can add half n half to it at this stage ( you can limit to the amount of cream you like) and mix well n let it cook for few more mins n turn off heat. In a baking tray grease with remaining olive oil n place 1 layer of single lasagna sheet make how many ever columns ur tray can handle. Then top with tomato base layer first then cover it with a layer of lasagna sheet. Then top with shredded Edam cheese. Close with layer of lasagna sheet n top with spinach then close with lasagna sheet n top with lil more Edam/cheddar shredded cheese (incase u have more of tomato sauce or spinach you can keep adding layers. Make sure to spread cheese on top of the final layers sheet. If u still have more tomato sauce keep it aside n use it on pasta for next day or so. And if u have spinach u can eat it raw or keep for next days meal with rice!

You can limit the amount if cheese you want to use. You can still get a great taste with less cheese!

Don't forget to preheat oven in 350f. Keep the baking tray when it's loaded n cover the top with aluminum foul( I forgot to do it today, no harm if u boiled the lasagna well but it matters if u use oven ready lasagna) n bake for 20-25 mins.

Can garnish in the end or jus before loading tray into the oven!

Then take it out from oven n let it cool for 5 mins before serving!

I am not gonna go to any Italian restaurants from now on! I can make all the yummies at home n mainly with less cheese n cream!!!!

Gardenia pasta

noreply@blogger.com (Jayashree..!!) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:08:00 +0000

Ingredients -

Any Pasta of your choice - 3 cups Cooked as per the packet instructions.
Olive Oil - 2 tbsp
butter - small piece.Around 2 tbsp from the stick.
1 Yellow onion finely chopped
2 pods garlic finely chopped
1 Cup Green peas - microwaved for 3 mins if using frozen
few brocolli florets cut small
1 Zucchini grated
1/2-1 cup spinach finely chopped
4 tbsp of pesto basil sauce
1/4 cup tomato puree
1/2 cup half n half or whole cream
Parmesan Cheese - as needed
basil to garnish
rosemary to garnish
parsley to garnish
chillie flakes - optional to garnish
salt as needed

Method -
In a pan heat olive oil, butter n add garlic n onions, let it cook well till it turns golden brown. Add zucchini, brocolli n spinach n let it all cook well. Add tomato puree n salt n mix well. Once its all cooked, add the peas n stir well. Add pesto sauce n mix. Add salt as needed. Let it cook for few mins. Can add shredded cheese of your choice if needed. Add half n half n mix well(can use whole milk too). Add the cooked pasta n garnish with the italian herbs. Mix well n Serve. Can top with Parmesan Cheese on their plates if needed.

Punjabi Chole

noreply@blogger.com (Jayashree..!!) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:59:00 +0000

My sis made this yummy chole last night. It turned out really awesome. I was lil skeptical about adding milk n not grinding tomatoes in chole.. but after eating what she made yday... i changed my mind. It was too tasty. Before making i thought there was too much qty n surely gonna be leftover for todays brkfast... but surprisingly it was all over last night itself! :)) We ate too much..!!! Infact we did not even add tamrind paste or raw onions or even lemon juice.. it was so tasty even without them!! The best part about this recipe is there is no grinding involved!!!!

Ingredients -
White Channa - 2 cups soaked in water n pressure cooked with salt n 2 cloves
1 big Red onion finely chopped
2 medium tomatoes finely chopped
2 pods of garlic finely minced
2 green chillies thin long sliced
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp ghee
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp jeera
1 tbsp chole masala
1/2 tsp corriander powder
1 tsp or more of chillie powder ( suite your spice level)
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
milk - 4 tbsp (any milk of your choice - half n half for more cream version)
salt as needed
cilantro to garnish
tamrind sauce for topping - optional
lemon juice from half lemon - optional.
method
in a pan heat oil n ghee n mustard n jeera, let it crackle. then add green chillies and garlic n stir well and add onions n keep stiring till it turns golden brown. Then add the tomatoes. and add the spice powders. Stir well and let it cook. Tomatoes n onions should be cooked well. Then add cooked channa with the water (remove the cloves) n mix well. Let it cook well. After few mins check the consistency of the chole - if its too watery, add lil half n half n mix well. if it is not too thick, add some milk n stir well(Can use yogurt too instead of milk). Let it cook for 5 mins, keep stirring. Turn of heat and add cilantro and squeeze lemon juice if needed. Can add tamrind sauce on top n mix well and garnish with some raw onions on top (optional again!). Serve with Rotis, yogurt or Rice.

Risotto

noreply@blogger.com (Jayashree..!!) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:41:00 +0000

Yay!!! I made it for lunch today!!! It turned out good!! I did not add too much half n half n no Parmesan today. But that will give more taste obviously. If u r a first time maker do add lil more half n half (1/2 cup) n Parmesan tooo for awesome taste. The below ingredients serves 2 comfortably n 3 if u r not too heavy eater.

Ingredients
Arborio rice - 1/2 pckt
Yellow onion - 1
Garlic - 3 pods
Pepper - 1 1/2 tsp
Vegetable stock - 2 cubes
Water - 1.5-1.7 liter approx (may be 5-6 cups I m not sure.. Since i used kettle to boil water, I know the qty in ltr)
olive oil - 3 tbsp
Butter - 1/4 cup
Mushroom - 4 finely chopped (optional)
Green peas - 1 cup(microwave for 3 mins if using frozen)
Salt - as needed
Half n half - 1/4-1/2 cup
Parsley - to garnish
Rosemary - to garnish

Method
In a big pan add water n vegetable stock n let it cook till it boils. Cook in medium heat.
In a pan heat oil n butter n add finely chopped onions n stir well n then add the ground garlic n pepper mixture n mix well.
Add the mushroom n mix again n let it cook well. Can close lid for few mins. Then add the peas. Add salt n stir well. Add rice, lil butter n olive oil .. n add the boiling water lil by lil n mix well.
Keep stirring, it's the key. If the rice absorbs existing water add more water n repeat till the rice is cooked well. Once the rice is cooked, add lil parsley, rosemary n stir well. Add half n half n let it cook for 8 mins or so n turn off. The whole cooking time is around 60 mins. can add Parmesan cheese too for more creamy option. Keep stirring regularly till its cooked. So it doesn't stick to the wok.

Can serve with garlic bread on the side;))!!

Funny Tvish

noreply@blogger.com (Jayashree..!!) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:51:00 +0000

The best place to put her to sleep is the super market!! She slept so well there. She has not slept this well even in her comfy crib at home! ;)))

After she woke up from her sleep she was excited to see that we were still in the store!;))) she had awesome time talking to her Chitti n other kids around!!!

Then we went to Walmart too n she had total fun time in that game center there!! She didn't want to get back home! She ran around the whole store, blocked many shopping carts etc! Cos of her cuteness ppl spared her even if she was on their way! Otherwise that's it!

Ooo btw we made yummy enchilada yday! Okay sis made ! I learnt! It was awesome! Ll post all recipes next week onwards! Today I am gonna make risotto! :))) hope it ll turn out good!

Crazy busy week

noreply@blogger.com (Jayashree..!!) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:35:00 +0000

It's a very crazy week. We always end up having less time n more things to do. I don't know how last 5 days went by. Nothing major but yet busy! A n S wanted to go to six flags for weekend but I was not ready for it. My sis was ok ok for it. But I grabbed her to my side ;)) so ended up spending more time n money in the malls ;))) it was total time pass!! One day went off in going to Ikea only!

S made yummyyy yummyyy risotto one day n my sis has thought me 2-3 versions of pasta! Will share recipe shortly. I wanna try them once on my own before I share.

We are planning to try some Mexican food Tomo.

We saw Sourcecode, primal fear n presumed innocent almost back to back. Awesome movies. Source code was the only one we had not seen earlier. The other 2 we had seen before but didn't mind watching it again for them.

s left back today. My sis ll be for another week n I hope time goes very slowly till then. We have plans to do many things but less time again :(

I clicked some pics of my sis in my new lens. Will have to edit them sometime next week or so.

I m gonna try n upload one pic per day from tomorrow n if possible ll give a small narration about the pic too.

I m now waiting for t to sleep so I could go n clean up n watch some movie. The weather was bad today. Hope it's better tomorrow. I wanna step out n click some portraits. Loving the clarity if this lens. It's too sharp n awesome.

I hate winters. But this year in Dallas is lot lot better than I imagined. I m waiting for march soon for spring. I hope I m not here this summer.

Baking evening!

noreply@blogger.com (Jayashree..!!) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 03:02:00 +0000

Today was an awesome day!! Had yummy food thru out!

Made sooper soft idlis with tomato chutney n molaga podi for breakfast. Then made sooper nice sambar rice for lunch with raita n evening made sooper yummy banana cake n veg puffs for dinner! The whole house is smelling so wow! The banana bread turned out soooo awesome! I never expected it to be this tasty!!!!!! Sooper yummy!!! And topped it with maple syrup n butter! I don't like maple syrup but this combination was so good!!!!! I changed my opinion about it!!!!

I added a lot of walnuts n raisins!!! Sooper awesome! You should surely try it! I made it from laurainthekitchen.com. I m typing from my iPhone so I don't have the exact link! She has a variety yummy receipts to try!

Unfortunately I forgot to click a pix today. Cos it was over in no time! 4 of us attacked it immdly! It was survival of the fittest situation ;)) I m sooper happyy!!!

We are having ball of eating time with yummies everyday! Tomo I might bake almond cookies!!!!

T is having ball time with her Chitti n chittapa!!!! She s dancing n laughing all the time! Yday in her doc checkup her ped said she's seeing a very well behaved 18 month old after a very long time! Even I was so surprised! T was a doll yday! She cried for hardly 5 secs after her vaccination n then took her bandaid off n started playing!

Except for this Indian cricket comedy this evening was awesome!!

LA i misssssssss you

noreply@blogger.com (Jayashree..!!) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 04:16:00 +0000

ooo man... i suddenly realized LA is the place i wanna settle if i am gonna be in US longer. Not even NYC. I was jus trying to think of some negative points about LA in comparison with NY n i could not find any. It wins hands down mainly for the weather!!!! And all the beaches around!

Now i want a job in LA or A should get a proj in LA. i want to move there this year somehow..!!!!