March 9 - Pav Bhaji :)

 You can easily find out something is wrong with me if I am cooking continuously and that too out of the regular rice and veggie stuff... Pav Bhaji it is and you can imagine the surprise of the OA when I make this for the kid's lunch box early in the morning.  I think I am seriously sick :-p

March 8 - Lazy No Cooking Day

No prizes for guessing this food lump in my plate considering our family is great at one-pot meals and better still any and every type of upma.  The OA makes broccoli, spinach, upma with lots and lots of chillies.. yumm!!!

March 5 - Spicy and home-made

Life is good for people like me who have friends who know you love to eat and hate to cook ;).  The friend made some at home and brings them over.. Love!!!

March 2 - Pasta Salad

Made pasta for kids lunch, added Trader Joes Veggie mix, a few sauces and jalapenos for a yumm breakfast for self.

Feb 27 - Pongal Temple Style

For a family who goes to temple to eat good food and see God in that order, I have never made katt pongal at home.  Thanks to Vah Chef and his wife, my life has become simpler.  I love the authentic Sailus food recipes but with the ease of looking them cook, Vah Chef video it is that guided me through.

Yum, one pot meal :).

Feb 25 - Cooking With Onion :)

Since the kid had been to the Isha kids camp this summer, the usually if-left-to-her-choice-never-touch-a-veggie kid did not want to eat onions anymore declaring it to be nonpranic.  OA being the experiment master he is decide that there is no harm taking out the onion.  Me being the lazy cook with one less thing to cut was happy.

Then starts my crocodile fest, to make the gravies without onion 😛.  After 7 months comes the onion at home in cooking, so it is an occasion to remember.

Feb 21 - Mommy cooks..

I completely shock myself some times in terms of my cooking.  In an attempt to empty my pantry of the stuff that I buy that I hardly use, found a bag of rice flour, usually I would have given it away to friends but the sudden cook bug gets me unaware and I end up making these gatti chekkalu.  The kid and her friends and of course OA loved them a lot but too much of oil and deep frying like always left me drained.

That said, I remembered my ammamma a lot who made loads and loads of savories and sweets and snacks for us with so much love and never complained once.. from pounding rice with hands to having no gas stoves, they did everything without mumbling and here I am, all I had to do was mix and fry, feeling as if I am done with my dose of cooking for the next 10 days or so... aarrgh.

Feb 17 - Takeout

Had a promotional card from CPK and as usual no mood to cook, so we get a take out.. our usual me the Crunchy Thai Salad, spicy buffalo cauliflower and two in a bowl for OA and Curly mac for the kiddo...

I had been a bit busy the whole day and when I check the news there is this floor test already... another all nighter for the politically crazy me..

well, News is reigning supreme at home these past 10 days at home...

Feb 12 - A Not So Lazy Sunday

Another snow and rainy day, the kid crazy as she is about sledding goes to sled yet again for hours...

and I have done something I haven't done ever in my life, (this might even seem criminal to those indulging moms who cook to the whims and fancies of the kids), in spite of the kid loving it so much.

Tadaa... so yours truly makes puri along with hotel style koora from Vah Chef's wife's recipe video :)

I am not really sure if I would do it ever again though!!!

Feb 10 - Crazy Cook

Those who know me know how much I hate cooking.  The easier the better any day if it comes to me to cook.

There was some leftover rice and some boiled vermicilli, both in small quantities not sufficient for a meal for two.  The kid got pizza, so the lazy me opens up Grand Sweets curryleaf paste, saute it and add some peanuts, chillies to spice it, salt to taste, add the boiled vermicilli and then finally add up the rice, toss it for a few minutes.. simple.

My logic if we can mix noodles and fried rice why not semiya and sonamasoori, crazy but it did taste good enough and tadaa no leftovers!!!

Feb 3 - Sugar-rush evening

On some days we give in to our cravings and go to Coldstone Creamery and eat to our fill, too much of sugar that I am actually put off for a month or so and then we repeat the story..


The most colorful one for the kiddo, chocolate devotion for OA and vanilla-yellow
cake-white chocolate for me always.

Eating Out - IHop

The kid has a standard menu wherever she goes, Mac n Cheese or Grilled cheese sandwich with orange juice and add a smiley face pancake if it is IHop..

and I have a standard too, Tuscan Scramble :), so when we go there it is our "usual".

Eating Out - Moroccan and Mediterranean

I love experimenting various cuisines but due to lack of company end up going to the same old same old, Cheescake Factory and CPK as the kid loves it there..

Found this lovely place called Fez, the food and ambience is perfect..

The baklava is toooooooo good, the best I have ever eaten.

A different taste!!!

We have heard in our Isha workshop about goat milk and how it is easy to digest and a better alternative to cow's milk.  After a lot of contemplation, picking up and placing it back on the rack later, one fine day last week we decide to bring it home and test.

Verdict... ewwww!!!  We used it in Tea, could not have a sip of it in spite of no odd smell or anything but the very thought that it came from the stinky goats I had seen as a child was so revolting that I could not dare it.  OA did however complete his cuppa and decided no more ever.. his being the same reason..

The "Jugaadoo" me did try to make curd, 'cos I can gobble up anything remotely curd and in stead of throwing away the remaining tried to set curd, it took a lot of time and it was very shaky and jiggly, not completely set... and this time I did try a spoon and promise myself I would never ever ditch our good old gaay maataa :) as long as I am in US.

#6 - Diets :)

There are times when the crazy OA has some specific requests suddenly... complete raw diet, keto diet, Atkins, half-cooked, half raw, you name and he will come up with some crazy thing which might go on anywhere from a day to a week to a month...

In a way, it is much much better than those fasting days when he gets hungry and then crazy and we tend to fight like mad dogs because of his super cranky unreasonable fits of anger masked hunger..

Day 78/March 19 - Life Saver Fluids

Nothing but water/liquids help us flush out the toxins in the body.... 

Day 73/March 14 - Fruit Up :)

eating healthy... eating fruits... getting there gradually..

ఆరోగ్యానికి మంచిది ఏది నాలికకి నచ్చదు అంటారు అది నిజమే, అడ్డమైన గడ్డీ గాదం నమిలే పంటికి ఇవి ఎందుకు ఆనతాయి కాని కొన్ని కొన్ని సార్లు అలా పాటించేస్తూ  ఉంటాము, ఇలాగే ఎప్పుడు ఆకులు అలమలు తింటూ ఆరోగ్యంగా ఉండాలి అని కోరుకుంటున్నా 

Day 63/March 4 - Leftover Management

egg fried rice the OA made as a surprise breakfast for me.. yumm!

మిగిల్పోయిన అన్నం తాలింపు వేసుకోవడమో, పులిహోర చేసుకోవడమో చేస్తూ ఉండే దాన్ని నేను ఎప్పుడు, ఈ సారి OA  కొత్తగా చేశాడు , బాగానే ఉంది తినడానికి, కాని ఎవరైనా చేసిపెడితే ఇంకా బాగుంటుంది  

Day 57/Feb 26 ~ Healthy Eating?

with an Indian twist...

ఈ బొమ్మలో ఆకులు అలమలు గట్రా చూసేసి నేను ఇది తినేస్తున్నాను అని భ్రమించేస్తున్నరేమో.. నేను కాదు.. OA .. బరువు నియంత్రణ అనే కార్యక్రమం చేపట్టాడు ఈ మధ్యన, అందులో భాగంగా ఈ తిండి అన్నమాట. 

Day 56/Feb 25 - Blurr!!

This is how I finished cooking lunch for today...

ముందుకు వంగితె కారిపోయే ముక్కు :) దీనితోటి నా వంట.. గృహిణి లక్షణాలు మెల్లిగా వంట బట్టేస్తున్నాయి మరి.