Dahi Vada.

Tis' the season!!! Wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas and happy holidays :)

Yet another dish that's so not expected in this season.  The other day, kiddo was watching some random videos on YouTube and came across a recipe for Dahi Vada.  He got so tempted and asked me if I could make him 'Daahi Vora' lol

I of course, could never say no to that - the fun part was that he got to help me make them - we soaked the lentils together, grounded them together and helped me dress them up once they were done cooking.

Needless to say, he loved it!

Friday musings

It's Fridayyyyyyyyy!!  Kiddo's winter break starts today so we get to spend loads and loads of wonderful time together.  It's finally starting to look like Winter Wonderland thanks to all the snow we got overnight just i time for Christmas :o)

Looking forward to having a few friends over to celebrate the Holiday season and then go see and spend some time with family!!!

I love random quotes and musings - This week I was feeling rather inspired and spiritual and these caught my eye -  I definitely think they apply to me at this point in my life.  

Meal in pictures: Kona Grill

The other night, we ended up having dinner at Kona Grill.  It's not too far from our place but I had surprisingly never been there before - The food was delicious - ambiance was great and they offered plenty to keep the little ones occupied so the adults could enjoy their meal :)

Avocado Rolls with OH SO delicious Honey cilantro dipping sauce -  Soooo Yummmmmy

Margharita Flatbread Pizza - Yuuuum

Sushi - Need I say more :)

Pad Thai - was ok..

Might as well..

This world might as well come to an end with natural calamities - I sometimes feel we might be better off that way than to see the world crumble slowly but surely.  What is happening in this world? People have completely lost it - we have no respect left for a human life.  Everywhere you look, there's major crime being committed and the unfortunate thing is, hardly anything is being done about it.

Human trafficking, homeless children being sold, kidnapping, murder, rapes, shootouts, gangs, killing in the name of religion and peace, you name it, we're immune to it - and surprisingly, it's women and children who suffer the most.

We have been screaming about gun control issues for god knows how long - but the unfortunate events keep taking place, we keep grieving the loss and then jump right back into the routine of things as if nothing happened.  As long as it doesn't hit home, it's not really our problem, right?

I was scared shitless to send my little one to school - and was so relieved to find out that the gates and doors to his school are on a lockdown during school hours.  As long as my little world is safe, I don't need to worry - but is that really the right attitude?

A girl in India's capital is gang raped in a moving bus and then beaten to death, left on the streets to die.  Newspapers went crazy with the headlines for the first couple of days, but now?? things are back to normal - let's wait until the next big crime is being committed.

My heart aches for all the victims and their families.  I feel as though we should as a community d something to put a stop to all this; and then time passes, and I get comfortable in my little bubble again.

Bhakharwadi..

I am so so sooo proud of myself - I feel like I've come a long way as far as cooking is concerned!! Bhakharwadi is one of my favorite snacks to munch on and I was able to successfully make them at home.  Just the right crunch and taste!!! YUMMM..

Friday musings - Motherhood

Motherhood is an indescribable, unreal and just overall a very satisfying and fulfilling experience - I don't think anything can quite compare.  I could never imagine myself as a mother but now that I am, I don't know what I would've been doing if not for my kiddo.  While our children will inevitably grow up and may never want to see us again (hopefully not) but it's amazing while it lasts and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat if I could.

Here's why: My 3 year old and I were having a conversation this morning and he was just melting my heart with his little stories told with a lisp..so naturally, I told him, 'baby, you're my HEART'.  To that he instantly replied, 'Mommy, you're my OVAL' - 

PRICELESS :-)

Speaking of which, here are some Friday funnies to start the weekend with a bang!!! TGIF

Happy 12/12/12

So here we are.  In the last month of the year and today happens to be the last sequential date of the century.

A lot of predictions were made - supposedly, the world was supposed to end at exactly 12 or 12:12 on 12/12/12 - thankfully, here I am, writing this blog late in the evening so clearly - world is intact and we can move forward and wait for 12/21/12 now :o)

Pandit Ravi Shankar unfortunately passed away today at the glorious age of 92 - funnily enough, MTV India posted about his demise but with the picture of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who's very much alive and kicking :o)

Speaking of whom, Sri Sri lead a worldwide Meditation at exactly 12:12 today.  There are plenty of videos and pictures on the Internet as well as YouTube for those interested in more information about it.

Another fun fact that I read online - December 12, 2012 is exactly 6 years, 6 months and 6 days from June 6, 2006 (06/06/06)

There are plenty of new reports with a ton of fun facts, but these were the only ones that really caught my attention, or rather interest :o) Hope your 12/12/12 or rather Wednesday was fun filled :)

Watermelon cups

This is sooo not the watermelon season - but seeing them at Whole Foods the other day brought back cravings since it's kiddo's 'favoritest ever thing ever'.

After he helped himself to more than enough watermelon, I decided to once again make sort of Fruit cups/Watermelon cups, whatever one feels like calling them  - I used to make these quite frequently and had even posted a recipe in one of my older blogsnot that it requires one, but still :-) I basically cut watermelon into bite size square chunks, make a small hole in the middle and stuff that with various fruits/whatever is available on hand.

Being the desi that I am, sprinkled a bit of Chaat masala on mine :-)

Potato chips Sabzi..

This here is a quick, easy and delicious Sabzi recipe that I learned from my MIL - It's my Father in Law's favorite sabzi so she makes it quite often.  I made a few changes to suit our palate and it's a perfect bland of sweet & sour, spicy & salty.  

Potatoes are cut in French fries style and sauted along with cashews, raisins, poppy seeds and sesame seeds on a very slow frame until thoroughly cooked!! seasoned with salt & a bit of garam masala.  Quick and absolutely delicious!

TGIF musings..

100th blog post

Yayyyy....!!!!

This is a huge milestone for me - I cannot believe that I've reached 100 posts - took me long enough..haha!!  There's so much that's happened in the last couple of years (since I started blogging) now that I think about it.  

I started blogging in 2009 about food and recipes which didn't excite me as much so then switched gears into mommyhood once I had my baby; I started blogging again as a way of keeping track of my kiddo's milestones and fun moments.  That also got old pretty quick (man, I have a very short attention span)  So, just thought about writing anything and everything in general :) 

It is so much fun blogging - it is such a fun and creative outlet for someone who wants to put their thoughts, ideas, frustrations, etc.. into writing - I communicate much better via writing than anything else, so this is a perfect medium for myself.

I've also been getting emails/messages from people who have stumbled upon this blog and have stuck around since they enjoy it :)

Thank you to whoever chooses to read my rants and for coming back time and again :o)

Here's to many more!!!!!!!!

Instant Handvo..

Hubby and I finally went to watch Life of Pi the week it came out - I had heard so much hoopla around the movie that I felt somewhat disappointed after watching it.  It was a great movie no doubt; but I have seen better movies - Visually it's a treat but do feel that movie drags at times.  Maybe it's because I so loved the book that I felt that movie can't ever be compared, whatever the reason maybe - I liked it but didn't LOVE it nor did I think it was the best movie ever.

Lately, I feel like I'm lacking inspiration -  I haven't been able to put my heart and soul into doing anything productive lately (with the exception of cooking)

I have been trying out various recipes that I found through google and they've been super quick and yummy.  One of the recipes that I tried was Instant Handvo (found here)

It was super quick and delicious - I sprinkled mine with a bit of EVOO & granulated sugar (old habits die hard)

Tale of 2 soups..

Winter is the perfect time to enjoy all things HOT!!  I love my hot chocolates, Chai Lattes, coffees, and soups.  

I'm not much into baking or even making long, slow cooking recipes - but sometimes, you just have to make an exception.  In the last few weeks, I've managed to whip up 2 soups that were absolutely delicious only with ingredients available in my fridge.  

This soup, I just put together with whatever I had available, and it turned out to be Mintestrone Soup

This was another soup that I made for a guest which was delicious but required a bit of slow cooking to develop the flavors.  It was all devoured before I realized to take a proper picture, but did manage to catch one with my phone of a small batch that I got to enjoy.  It's just carrots, beets & tomatoes cooked, ran through mixture & seasoned with a bit of cayenne peppers, s&p.

Random..

This month has been eventful month with kiddo's along with couple of other kids' birthday parties, diwali parties, trip to Chicago sickness, etc..

I just got over my 2 weeks sickness when O came home with a pink eye - when he recovered, hubby fell sick again - and It looks like I've picked up kiddo's pink eye as of yesterday..ugh! waiting for this phase to be over and SOON.

It's been the most slowest and laziest week of my life - Never have I ever felt so dull, lethargic, moody, and just blah overall.  I did not feel like going out, talking to anyone, going anywhere, doing anything - I just wanted to lay there on my sofa and have TV on all day and not even watch it. I hardly cooked, cleaned, or did anything else.    I did experiment with one recipe (Pizza - desi style) and it was horrible - I think i'll stick with my tried and tested recipe as this pizza just tasted awful

It was Thanksgiving break for the kiddo so he got to lazy around with me throughout the week - We had a fantastic time with family over Diwali so just felt lonely and depressing upon coming back - We ended up doing absolutely zilch for Thanksgiving - not that we celebrate it anyways, but we ended up watching 4 movies back to back and didn't even mind it ;) We also put up Christmas tree which was fantastic - kiddo loved helping me with it and he admires it every single day.

We are looking forward to life returning to normalcy with O starting school again and me getting back into the routine of things with work, planning, organizing etc.  We plan on watching Life of PI this week so hopefully, I'll be able to write a review on that.

Weather has been super cold so making us feeling even more dull.  We are looking forward to December as obviously Christmas is just around the corner and hubby and I are planning a get away for a few days :-)

I am about to hit my 100th blog post :0) - Small joys in life <3

O's lunch: Potato & Chutney sandwich

I had made Aloo parathas one night and had a bit of mixture leftover - I generally don't like to throw food away unless absolutely necessary and usually find ways to use up leftovers with new, quirky recipes that I like to either invent or 'google'.  

For lunch the next day, I decided to make a sandwich of leftover potato mix, used coriander chutney for taste and served it with a side of avocados.  kiddo loved the bit of a spice kick he got with the chutney which balanced out nicely with bland taste of avocado :)

Happy Diwali & Saal Mubarak

A very happy Diwali and Saal Mubarak (Happy New Year) in advance to my blog - clearly, this Diwali will go down the drain this year for me - Just what I get for being so excited about Diwail this year for a change; I have been super sick since last week and keep getting worst instead of better.

I am trying really hard to keep my energy up for my kiddo so that at least he gets to enjoy it - Here are some glimpses of Diwali from our household!

Diwali...

Diwali is just around the corner - Normally, we go to a couple of parties, hang out with friends and that's pretty much it - this year however,  I cannot contain my excitement because I want to do everything we used to do as kids so that my son gets to enjoy it and gets the meaning of purpose of Diwali as well. WHAT IS DIWALI?

I look forward to making a Rangoli, lighting diyas, arrnanging pretty things around the house, make yummy food, hanging out with friends, going to the temple and most of all bursting up some firecrackers in our backyard.  

Quick lunch: Sprouted Moong Beans Salad

I always have a frozen 'batch' of Sprouted moong in my freezer - It's a quick fix for any of those days when you need to whip up a quick salad, soup or even parathas.  Sprouted Moong is very nutritious so is good any time of the day.  

I whipped up a quick salad by sautéing moong in a bit of EVOO with tomatoes; added cucumbers and also added a tempering of cumin seeds along with jalapeño peppers because I enjoy a bit of kick.  

Salt & pepper is the only seasoning I needed - it was quick, simple and absolutely delicious. 

Happy Birthday O!

A very happy 3rd birthday to the most handsome, beautiful, loving, charming, sweet, laid-back, hilarious, crazy, smart, etc..etc.. kid that I know!!!

O is without a doubt the love & light of my life - when he's with me, I do sometimes wish for a break from all the craziness; but when he's away from me, all I do is think about him or things revolving around him.  He's the center of my universe and I've no clue what I was doing prior to him being in my life.   

He is the sweetest 3 year old ever - he's so considerate, so loving and such a flirt.  I love him to death and wish him nothing but the best in his life.  

I love you kiddo..and as much as I hate the fact that you're growing up so fast, I am proud of the fact that you're growing up to be such a beautiful human being.  I hope you light up others' lives like you light up mine.  

Learning process..

Having a preschooler means you have to review all your 'lessons' all over again - the schools and world today is super competitive so it is imperative that the kids start learning as much as they can as early as possible.

I have your average kid at home who has the attention span of an ant.  On top it, he's a typical boy so would rather jump from table tops and counters and walk around in action hero outfits and 'fight' all day.  It is very hard for me to get him settled down and get some 'lessons' done.  It is however, important that I do - I've learned over time that it may seem like he's not interested but he's almost always paying attention to everything I'm saying and is pretty quick to pick up words and ideas etc.

Anyway, no matter what, I try to get at least 3 - 5 lessons in a day.  We usually sing songs, learn about days, date & month, do one craft project, work on our numbers and shapes and a bit of flash cards (I have the hardest time with this).

He's pretty good with days of the week - he knows what month we're in and knows his ABCD's.  He's got the colors down so we don't review those anymore.

I try and incorporate some fun activities in our lessons.  He loves all things arty and crafty.  We usually either color, paint or do a cutting and glueing project where he can work on his fine motor skills.  We also play a bit of 'sports' either in or out of the house depending on the weather.  he's mastered the art of throwing a perfect ball and catching.  He also loves playing with play dough and make imaginary shapes.

We also dance and sing and just go crazy especially on those depressing days..Anything and everything that's stimulating to the mind is what we love to do :)

Happy Halloween!

From ours..to yours!! Enjoy today with lots of candies & quality time with the kiddos

Quickest recipe: Shrikhand

While my hubby doesn't have a 'sweet tooth' per say, he does share a special relationship with Shrikhand - as in, he needs to have a spoonful of Shrikhand with his 'desi' meals.  We usually have store bought Shrikhand in stock; but on Dussera, we did not have any sweets in the house, so I googled recipes for making Shrikhand (hoping and praying it would not be too complicated).  To my surprise, not only was it not complicated, it was the most simplest, easiest yet tastiest recipe I've come across - no more store bought Shrikhand in our household!!  This is the recipe I followed.

R.I.P Saanvi Venna

So is it the money that's root of all evil you say? My heart goes out to the parents of this beautiful little girl and her grandma who were killed by a money hungry jackass!! may he rot in hell.

10 month old baby killed

Pumpkin Carving..

If it isn't yet obvious, Fall is a favorite season of mine; amongst many things, we get to enjoy several festivals/holidays back to back and we get to do various fun activities..pumpkin carving being one of them.

While I've always enjoyed carving a mean pumpkin, this was an official first for O.  He wanted to make a smiley face pumpkin so that's what we went with :)

Here are a couple of collage shots of our pumpkin carving session and then the finished product. :) It was great fun and we're thinking of carving another one since O enjoyed it so much.

Happy Dussehra

Shanti rastu 

Tushti rastu 

Pushti rastu. 

Peace. Contentment. Prosperity. Blessed Be. 

Happy Vijaya Dashmi.

O's first baking project: Banana Bread

It's projects like these that make me appreciate blogging.  I can keep this as a memory for my kiddo forever (hopefully).  

O's really been into assisting me in cooking lately, so I thought of doing a baking project together; we had a super ripe banana ready to be eaten or wasted so thought of making a banana bread.

Since we don't eat eggs in our household, I had to do a bit of search to find that perfect recipe that would give me the end result similar to the original recipe and I believe we found it - We used a recipe that calls for no eggs or BUTTER! which can be found here.  We just cut the recipe in half and substituted walnuts instead of almonds and completely omitted raisins since I've never had raisins in Banana Bread.  

While I measured out the necessary ingredients and handed it to O while gently guiding him, he did all the mixing, pouring, smashing, etc.  

I completely give him credit for the way this turned Banana Bread turned out - we devoured it tonight as a dessert with some Vanilla ice cream and it was Delish!

O excited looking at the finished product.