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
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.
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.
Layered Nachos
Life has been nothing short of busy and hectic for the past couple of weeks - random work calls and guests took up a lot of my time + since I have so much free time on my hands, or so I thought, enrolled O in various activities; so being a chaperone is a job in itself.
I have quite a few blogs lined up but haven't had a chance to put my thoughts down and publish them. I'll start with this one.
Few weeks ago, O and I were bored and decided to whip up this layered Nachos while hubby was away. It was quick and fun since O got a chance to help me put it together. It made me realize how much he enjoys the cooking process and has been a helping hand ever since :)
Quickie Lunch: Salad
I quickly wanted to share what I had for lunch yesterday - Just a simple salad that's also easy on the eyes :)
Gorgeous
Fall season is beyond beautiful and so easy on the eyes...cant say it enough. I love and adore fall and everything about it.
Quickie lunch: Chutney Sandwich w/ apples & Yogurt
I'm usually a light salad with fruits kinda person for lunch; but the other day, I decided to make myself a sandwich of whatever was available in the fridge - I had no ketchup, mayo, dressing..etc..so I decided to use up my Coriander chutney for this sandwich - sautéd some onions and green papers, added a layer of lettuce, and had an absolutely delicious lunch - Instead of chips, I cup up an apple with a side of Greek Yogurt :-)
Having a boy vs. girl..RANT.....
I'm one of those very 'rare' women nowadays who's blessed with a boy - I say rare because every single friend that I have is blessed with a girl, if they're pregnant, they're hoping and praying for a girl.
It was different for me - maybe because I had a nephew who is super duper fun, very intelligent, easy going and all that jazz, I always just wished for my first born to be a boy. Maybe my nephew was an excuse and I just really wanted a traditional family of a boy and a girl..I don't know! whatever the reason maybe, I just knew that I wanted a boy during my pregnancy.
We all know that having a boy or a girl is different (obviously) - it somehow changes the energy, the dynamic of a family. From personal experience, I do know that boys are much more energetic but definitely not as fussy (easy going). Girls are relatively less energetic (but still exhausting as any child would be ;) but pretty fussy. Boys are easy but boring to shop for, whereas girls are harder yet fun (and expensive) because of all those options available ;)
Which brings me to my point - There's nothing more I hate than those "oh, you poor thing you don't have a girl" comments or looks - I LOVE (sarcasm) when people assume that I'm somehow missing out because I don't have a daughter. I know in reality, they're planning and prodding for their next child of the opposite gender (boy), then why make a fuss about me having this amazing, fun, easy going child who happens to be a boy?
I've been told to my face, that my life is incomplete because I don't have a daughter, and that if I haven't yet, I should plan for another child, specifically a girl. I've been told that it's nice that I have a little boy, but I'm completely missing out on 'real parenthood' because I am not 'blessed' with a girl.
The only thing I can do is laugh at those people's ignorance. I'm very much 'tit-for-tat' person and could give them a list of what they're missing out on but, I'm sure they already know ;)
The most important thing in life of parents, parents to be and those who wish to be parents is to have a healthy and happy child - everything else doesn't matter, shouldn't matter and will go down the drain as soon as they grow up and start talking back ;) Those precious girls that everyone wishes that I had will probably be walking around in daisy dukes in a few years while the parents are standing there helpless. And those boys will start going through puberty sooner than a mom would like and....well, you know what ;)
/Rant OVER/ ;)
It was different for me - maybe because I had a nephew who is super duper fun, very intelligent, easy going and all that jazz, I always just wished for my first born to be a boy. Maybe my nephew was an excuse and I just really wanted a traditional family of a boy and a girl..I don't know! whatever the reason maybe, I just knew that I wanted a boy during my pregnancy.
We all know that having a boy or a girl is different (obviously) - it somehow changes the energy, the dynamic of a family. From personal experience, I do know that boys are much more energetic but definitely not as fussy (easy going). Girls are relatively less energetic (but still exhausting as any child would be ;) but pretty fussy. Boys are easy but boring to shop for, whereas girls are harder yet fun (and expensive) because of all those options available ;)
Which brings me to my point - There's nothing more I hate than those "oh, you poor thing you don't have a girl" comments or looks - I LOVE (sarcasm) when people assume that I'm somehow missing out because I don't have a daughter. I know in reality, they're planning and prodding for their next child of the opposite gender (boy), then why make a fuss about me having this amazing, fun, easy going child who happens to be a boy?
I've been told to my face, that my life is incomplete because I don't have a daughter, and that if I haven't yet, I should plan for another child, specifically a girl. I've been told that it's nice that I have a little boy, but I'm completely missing out on 'real parenthood' because I am not 'blessed' with a girl.
The only thing I can do is laugh at those people's ignorance. I'm very much 'tit-for-tat' person and could give them a list of what they're missing out on but, I'm sure they already know ;)
The most important thing in life of parents, parents to be and those who wish to be parents is to have a healthy and happy child - everything else doesn't matter, shouldn't matter and will go down the drain as soon as they grow up and start talking back ;) Those precious girls that everyone wishes that I had will probably be walking around in daisy dukes in a few years while the parents are standing there helpless. And those boys will start going through puberty sooner than a mom would like and....well, you know what ;)
/Rant OVER/ ;)
O's meal - Gujarati Thali
It is very typical in a Gujarati household to have a full-course meal pretty much on daily basis - that full course meal includes but is not limited to: Dal (Lentil soup), Sabji (Mixed Veggies), Roti (Tortilla) and rice (usually white) along with that, there's usually papad, a pickle, a sweet dish and several other things served!!
In our Gujarati household however, this meal is a rarity - We hardly ever go out of our way to cook an 'elaborate' meal especially for dinner - there are times though, when I crave this meal; the other night was one of those nights, where I craved having full-on Gujarati meal like my mom used to make day in and out - so I went for it :-)
Seen in the picture: Dal, Sabji (potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes), Butter Roti & Rice
DIY: Eye cream
I learned about this new, inexpensive, extremely versatile and all natural way of making my own Eye cream in the comfort of my own home using only 2 ingredients through a friend - I've been making my own and using it ever since and couldn't be happier. this "eye cream" is so versatile, and actually does work. The majority of us want eye creams to target fine lines, wrinkles and dark circles; this eye cream does exactly that and even helps with my tired "mommy eyes" puffy ness, etc.
The only ingredients you will need are: Evening Primrose Oil & Vitamin E oil (Also an empty container - I just washed & sanitized my Clinique Eye cream's container)
The evening Primrose usually comes in Gel caps - What I usually do is make a small 'batch' at a time which lasts me for a long time - I use about 5 to 6 Gel caps of Evening Primrose oil and and 5 heaping drops of Vitamin E oil - mix them really well together and your Eye cream is ready. I even use it on my entire face sometimes.
Just to be safe, I googled Pros & cons of both of these ingredients prior to using it just to be safe and I suggest anyone who is thinking of using it do the same.
The only ingredients you will need are: Evening Primrose Oil & Vitamin E oil (Also an empty container - I just washed & sanitized my Clinique Eye cream's container)
The evening Primrose usually comes in Gel caps - What I usually do is make a small 'batch' at a time which lasts me for a long time - I use about 5 to 6 Gel caps of Evening Primrose oil and and 5 heaping drops of Vitamin E oil - mix them really well together and your Eye cream is ready. I even use it on my entire face sometimes.
Just to be safe, I googled Pros & cons of both of these ingredients prior to using it just to be safe and I suggest anyone who is thinking of using it do the same.
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