Weekend and a cup of Mugicha

Random Question - Have you ever wondered what $30 can buy you? Here is a sneak peak at one of my $30 spends this week, I dare say well-spent….

Groceries $24
(a) 8 bottles of Perrier (Pink Grapefruit)
(b) 1 500 ml Seville Olive Oil
(c) 1 Stainless Steel Water Bottle with flip top (For K2)
(d) 2 Ian’s Organic Go-Bars (Apple Pie)
(e) 2 Godiva – Milk Chocolate Pearls with Cafe Latte
(f) 1 Pringles Mini – Sour Cream and Onions
(g) 2 Pringles Select – Bold South Western
(h) 1 Nescafe Clasico Instant Coffee
(i) 1 Casbah Organic Couscous Pilaf
(j) 1 Sonoma Soap Company – Lavender Reserve Hand Soap
(k) 1 Nature's Gate Sun Block Sunscreen Lotion, Tropical Scent, SPF 30

Farmer’s Market $4
2 Boxes 7 Oz Shelled Walnuts

Restaurant $2
1 Piping Hot Cheese and Loroco Pupusa

Summary : I am a careful shopper who tries to go Organic and Natural but don’t believe you have to pay an arm and a leg for it.

Friday was a very relaxed day…we ordered Greek Take-Out of healthy chicken and lamb Gyros and greasy but yummy French fries. A trip to Whole Foods – some fresh produce, an amazing deal on Santa Cruz Lemonades, some Habenaro Cheese, some beer and 3 bags of Terra Chips later….we trooped over to the bakery section where the super excited K2 got to pick out a cookie of his choice (a blue star shaped sugar cookie)…we went home and relaxed to some TV. Saturday I gave K1, some down time and took K2 to the library for a puppet show about the “Princess Mermaid”…it was lovely. We hung out in the library for a while and then went over to an Asian Grocery Store for a couple bento boxes for the lil’ guy. We picked up a couple boxes and my eyes fell on this barley tea …Mugicha …I picked up a bag. I also picked up a bag of instant cereal with 36 black grains for the little guy. He ate a bowl of the cereal for lunch yesterday and dinner tonight (along with a Mooli Parathas).…we spent a fun Saturday evening with N1, N2 and B over for dinner…A1, R1, A2 & R2 came over later in the night and K2 and A2 had a lot of fun playing together (they go to pre-school together).

Father’s day was relaxed – a relaxed lunch at Whispers Café ( I had my Huevos Rancheros, K1 had a typical American breakfast (eggs, links & pancakes) and K2 went French with a sweet crepe with bananas, strawberries & Nutella)…we did our trip to the Farmer’s Market (for a change both K1 and K2 were with me)…we got red onions, green garlic, a cauliflower head, blackberries, strawberries and some sweet potatoes.K1 and I went for the evening Yoga class and now after a relaxed dinner with the “Next Food Network Star”, I think these weekend warriors are ready to conquer this week…

How was your weekend?

A Day in my Life

We are settling down to the maxim “The only thing that is constant is change”…the past month has been hectic to say the least. K2 has been in school fulltime and from constant lunch box planning, to taking K2 multiple times to the pediatrician (ear infection, throat infection, antibiotic course, allergies to antibiotics…don’t ask and I won’t tell more) …to keeping my family fed, to grocery shopping, to fixing errant tires on my Prius, to attending 5.00 AM calls, cranking out complex spreadsheets and 4 hour long work meetings in the morning…I wish I was Jeannie (remember the old show) and get things accomplished with a blink of the eye. Yet, I wouldn’t trade my chaos for peace and quiet…as with this chaos comes an added comfort that “Life Happens”…when I get thrown curve balls; I am learning to deal with them.

Blogging got lost somewhere along the way. Yesterday, I was thinking where the hours went and realized that some of them did go in doing things that were important to me -we try and eat dinner together every day, occasional walks down the beautiful trails by the house, library visits, K2 and I going to the farmer’s market together, a couple hours of reading or TV snatched in between the laundry and the meeting marathons…and those are the things that have helped me keep a positive perspective.

K1 took K2 to Oakland Zoo for 4 long hours on Saturday, hours that I got to myself doing nothing. I turned off the ringer on the home phone, turned on the fan and took a 2 hour nap, after which I had a date for an hour with a book by Nani Power “Ginger & Ganesh” and then I sat and watched a re-run of “Medium” and ate half a pint of ice cream (ok fat free sorbet…if we are checking)… it was a satisfying experience. We went and pigged on Chaat on Saturday evening (Pav Bhaji, Bhel Puri, Sev Puri) and then came back home at 9.30 PM and went out for a 40 minute walk…On Sunday, K1 and I went for a Yoga class together, between the excruciating Warrior Poses and the complex Wheels, I rediscovered the fact that I missed the regularity of the body challenging Yoga classes that had been a part of my routine.
I took K2 to the library where he picked up Jurassic Park and he loves the “scary dinosaur movie” and yes I have been a lax parent ignoring the PG warning on the cover…I did watch the movie with him and close his eyes at the appropriate times. K2 and I also went to the Farmer’s Market – Radishes, Tomatoes, Squash, Red Onions, Baby Potatoes, Asparagus, Broccoli, Peach, Plums and Oranges were among the produce we picked up. We also got a dozen Organic brown Eggs from Olivera Egg Ranch (K2 wanted the purple Barney Eggs but I convinced him Salted Duck Eggs weren’t my thing :)). Our last stop in the Farmer’s Market was Beckmann’s … where we picked up Asiago Cheese and Jalapeno Sourdough Loaf, Asiago Cheese Foccacia , Double Chocolate Cookies, Coconut and Almond Cookies and Pumpkin Bread. Dinner on Sunday night was Pav Bhaji (Bell Peppers, Green Beans, Potatoes, Carrots, Green Peas and Cauliflower), the above mentioned Jalapeno Bread and Jicama Salad washed down with Perrier.

Yes, Monday was back to the jungles again with the routine, yet there is an anticipation that I am getting a handle on doing this with K1 and K2. There is a hope that K2 will build up his immunity and not fall sick as often and the net of it is – there is no one else I would rather be…thinking of scenarios and situations that are not to be…I like my life exactly the way it is and am grateful for being given the option to experience it…So a day in my life – ain’t that rough a deal folks !!!
And what do you know, by the time I blog about last weekend…its already time for the next weekend…Hello Friday Night…here I come!

P.S - All the pictures are pictures of my neighborhood, captured with my trusty E72 and mailed to self via MFE (mail for exchange). Do you see the lone heron (eastern great egret) in one of the pictures waiting patiently for supper.
P.P.S - Did you know that a Heron in mythology teaches humans the value of watching and waiting in order to get what you need. In other words, heron teaches us the value of patience. It is not a passive patience, but an active one. We wait in our lives to grab opportunity when it arises, it is not a passive patience waiting for life to happen to us...interesting perspective ain't it.

P.P.P.S - Ovi Mail – 10 million and counting - http://bit.ly/9MWmtt

A pot full of Barley and Taking a stand

The past 2 weeks have pretty much whizzed past non-stop. Workwise things were busy. I spent a week in Finland and the weather was cold and sort of waiting to welcome summer...no trips to the farmer's market for 2 weeks (which is a pretty unusual happening for me)...I did go down to the Farmer's Market today my picks - half a pound of fresh walnuts, organic brown eggs, peaches, strawberries, Jicama, Brocolli Crowns, Carrots and Mushrooms. Last weekend was also pretty hectic. I got back on Friday...realized that there was no milk in the house...so picked up milk and a zhu zhu hamster for K2. We spent the evening eating Indian take-out and me catching up on some down time with K2. Saturday saw us at a Kiddies Concert in the morning that K2 seemed to enjoy...dinner was at Yan Can Cook = Sizzling Sichuan Shrimp, Kung Pao Chicken and General Tsao's Chicken (so meats galore)...On Sunday we went down to L's son's 5th B'day. It was wonderful seeing my college friend (even weirder seeing her sister G after 17 years...I don't think she recognized me...). L had organized a fun animal show which the kids absolutely loved. K2 got to touch an Albino python (see picture) and a lazy tortoise...he was so excited.

The week saw us get some news on the office logistics (our new offices will be in Sunnyvale). K1 and I get to carpool again...he is not too excited about carpooling with me but I am glad to have a carpool partner. I met a "good friend" for lunch one day in the week. A question she asked me has kept playing in my mind most of the week - Are you not uncomfortable with conflict?

I think we human beings have conditioned ourselves to play nice and avoid conflict. I think when the situation warrants it I am usually very even keeled and amenable. Yet one thing I learnt pretty early in life was that when it comes to Ethics there are no shades of grey...I have over years conditioned myself to not give people BS or I don't tolerate BS. Let me list the pros and cons of this approach -

Pros

1. I have been happy with my personal and professional choices as I have stuck by what I believed in
2. Long Term Peace of Mind
3. Confidence
4. Belief in one's own personal integrity (and that contributes to 3.)
5. Long-Term Happiness
6. Stable Blood Pressure :)

Cons

1. Conflict
2. Some Awkward moments
3. Perceived Political Harakiri (usually worked itself out and did not have a long term impact)

Yet, I think to sweep issues under the carpet and not address them is unhealthy to our self esteem and mental balance. We do not deem ourselves important enough to "treat ourselves right". So to my dear friend (you know who you are) - Take a stand! Yes it is uncomfortable, hard too...but in the long run it is the ONLY way forward.
My weekend was relaxed - I watched 2 wonderful Miss Marple movies - Murder is Easy and Why didn't they ask Evans? I have a 10 Disc Poirot collection to go through that I am super excited about. I cooked us a pot of barley today...truely a labor of love. I washed and soaked "long cook barley" in a pot of cold water. I put it in my multi-purpose fuzzy logic Rice Cooker for a quick cook (which takes an hour). I make enough to last through 3-4 breakfasts. How do I like to eat it?
Slightly warmed with warm Almond milk, toasted walnuts and almonds, date pieces, a dash of cinnamon and sweetened with agave nectar...it is really something else!
How was your weekend?

The Story of a Degchi....

It was a cold blustery sort of a day…a day when all you wanted to do was leave the heater on and curl up under the warm down comforter…wishing for a cup of garam chai laced with elaichi and adrak ( cardamom and ginger). Not typical of the sunny California mornings promised when you try to justify the abnormally high state and sales taxes for living here…this spring has been a rainy one. And I for one don’t like the rain too much…at least not all the time. I needed some comforting, so I reached for my wonderful “degchi”…what is a Degchi you ask me? Well a Degchi is one of those earthen/brass/copper pots not very deep but wide dishes used for cooking the most delicious foods …mine is made of anodized iron but is as reliable as the one my grandma had….and I can also broil with it in the oven …so perfect for those desserts, frittatas and curries which need to go into the oven.
Honestly I was in no mood for spicy food…I needed something sweet. I did have a gallon of Organic Whole Milk in the fridge….so with no thought in mind, I soaked a handful of basmati rice in water and let the gallon of milk simmer in the degchi…after about an hour on simmer, I roughly ground the rice with a mortar and pestle and put it into the milk along with a small spoon of ground elaichi powder (cardamom powder) and sugar to taste…I let it boil and then brought it down to simmer…it simmered for almost 4 more hours on the range…simmering down to 1/5th the quantity from before….the consistency almost one of rabri…thick, creamy…soul satisfying. I took a small bowlful and came back for seconds and thirds…honestly I had made this dish as a treat for K2 but I kept going back for more ( so did K1)…at the end of this endeavor, we had warm creamy wonderful “Kheer” which took us back to the festival days in India.
Speaking of K2, I wonder where he learnt his negotiation tactics from …from negotiating toys, candies, DVDs from the libraries….the little guy has it down pat…when all else fails he turns on the water taps…which works 100% of the time on Dad and 50% of the time on Mom. I have a few ground rules I operate under –

• I set clear boundaries and limits for K2 – For eg. He can sit on the counter and watch me cook and talk to me but he can never ever touch the cooking utensils or the range unless I am in sight and I let him. And he is usually very good about it


• I give him options – even for something as simple as dinner, I give K2 3 choices and let him pick what he wants to eat. Takes the negotiation element out of the mix, as I let him pick what he wants to eat and he feels sort of in control – and honestly I offer options that are easy for me to whip up -- his current favorite food is Egg Dosas


• I treat him like I would an Adult – K1 laughs at this tactic of mine…but honestly I think this 3 year old gets things better than K1 gives him credit for…I just wish he wasn’t a sponge for my wonderful word repository while driving --- he seemed to latch on to the S*** word very quickly. I am trying very hard to stop cursing and I think I am succeeding a little bit


• I am consistent with him – consistent eating and sleeping time…there are certain behaviors which get him praises and certain which get him time-outs. He doesn’t like me being unhappy with him and tells me constantly – Don’t worry Mommy (I have graduated to Mommy from Mama…don’t know how much I like that) I will be a good boy.


• I try to make it a win-win situation for both of us. At the end of the day, I feel crappy if K2 is sad…so I try to make it work. There are times when I have to say “Enough Already” and walk away…but he has taught me patience.

I think my lessons in negotiation learnt from this precious and precocious 3 year old will hold me good stead in “getting to yes” in my job.

What are your weekend plans? I just plan to chill at home. I will probably stock the fridge for K1 and K2 for the week as I am travelling this week to Europe on work. I made a spicy Corn Salad yesterday with Fresh Corn from the Farmer’s Market and Grilled Poblano Chilies. I also picked up a pound of Fresno Chilies that are destined to become “Chili Pickles”. The fridge is stocked with Apples, Strawberries, Mangoes and Grapefruit…so hopefully the boys will not starve. I am sure K1 does not stress out so much when he has to do his business trips….I am looking forward to being back home the next Weekend for Mother’s Day. Happy Mother's Day in Advance to all you wonderful Moms out there...

Sweet Dreams and Good Night Folks!!!

In the past years, I have made a new friend. Her name is “Insomnia”. She insists on visiting me in the night, overstaying her welcome every night. Taking me to places I don’t want to go, talking about things that should be irrelevant and unimportant in bed – To-Do Lists, Little Ego Tussles, Health Related Worries, Deadlines, Planning for the week ahead, K2’s lunch box, the best use of the vegetables in my fridge…the list goes on. Finally, when she is ready to leave me, I fall into a tired restless sleep and wake up tired and with a constant crick in the neck (I blame that on K2, who insists on sleeping in the crook of his mommy’s neck…he gives a pain in the neck a new meaning).
Last week with K1 away on one of his many trips…I had K2 finish his routine and tucked him in and watched him drift away instantaneously to sleep. I got my computer out and started working for the next couple hours, walked the dog and was getting ready to go to sleep…suddenly Jinx (the cocker spaniel) set up an unholy barking for 15 minutes and I heard some creaks and noises in the backyard. The absolutely unflappable, will of steel suddenly became a bundle of paranoia and I ended up calling 911. A really nice officer came by and checked the backyard and concluded it was probably a raccoon rummaging through the garbage…anyway net sleep yesterday was about 3 hours…I think I closely resemble above said raccoon with deep dark circles under my eyes.
Anyway coming back to the topic of Sleep (or my lack of it), last month, I decided to take back control of my sleep patterns and here are some of the techniques that I have tried that have worked for me –

• I am very caffeine sensitive. So I try to avoid anything with Caffeine after 1.00 PM in the afternoon. I don’t drink Coffee, so this means no green/black tea after 1.00 PM
• I eat dinner by 8.00 PM.


• I relax in bed and read a story to K2 and try to limit night TV in the bedroom


• I tried drinking a warm glass of almond milk ( no luck with this one)


• I have started taking a couple times a week a homeopathic pill Calms Forte’ and it seems to help me sleep restfully.

This weekend was extremely relaxed. On Friday, we had a simple dinner of White Beans Soup with a pizza from Whole Foods (Full of Life Flatbreads). K1 was not a fan of the pizza but I liked it. Saturday saw us having lunch in a new Indian Restaurant called Koriander. We both enjoyed the lunch immensely. Dinner was a Beckmann’s Sourdough Baguette toasted with some habenaro cheese and some Thai Vegetable Soup (With fresh corn, cauliflower, carrots and red bell peppers, laced with Coconut Milk)…it was a soul satisfying meal. Sunday was a lazy day with a trip to the Farmer’s market – I picked up some new potatoes, Shallots, Taro, Broccoli, Carrots and fresh crisp Somerfield apples. Ketan was enamored with an Afghani food stall and we picked up a sweet jalapeno relish. I have picked up two editions of “Vegetarian Times” and have a relaxed afternoon planned….How was your weekend?

In the quest for that perfect cup…

You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. ~C.S. LewisI have a confession to make – Caffeine and I are no longer good friends. This happened about 5 years ago, after a cup of Joe or a chai tea latte I tossed and turned the entire night. Giving up on coffee wasn’t hard…I never did like that stuff much anyway but what broke my heart was giving up on the pure sheer pleasure of a hot cup of Indian black tea laced with milk and sugar and flavored with either ginger or cardamom – slowly seducing the senses to wake up and check out the sunshine outside, inviting me to walk out to the balcony and listen to the birds chirping and smell the wonderful fresh morning air…pure bliss!
I will let you onto another secret, despite knowing that Green Tea is good for me, I never did really get used to the taste of green tea – and yes I have tried many. In the past couple years I have gravitated towards herbal teas. I will go over my chronological favorites –

2006 – The year when we were waiting for K2 to appear, I was hooked on to Tazo Chai (http://www.tazo.com/) and my two favorite herbal blends were Refresh ( main note was peppermint) and Calm (main note was Chamomile). I liked to drink these teas with honey.
2007 – I was walking in the mall when my oversensitive nose caught a whiff of tea interlaced with blueberry…intrigued I walked into “Teavana” (http://www.teavana.com/)…I was hooked on the sampler cup of the Blueberry Bliss Rooibos Tea. I absolutely loved the sweet nutty and fruity flavors singing to me … I ended up buying an 8 oz box for over $25 (the special tea tin was $10) and walked out of the store dazed…that was probably more than anything I had spent on tea in the past. I liked to enjoy this cuppa tea with German Rock Sugar Stir Sticks …it really made me feel like I was somewhat taking care of myself, after spending the entire day working, taking care of an infant, stressing about the above said infant’s food and “other” habits.
2008 – I discovered Mighty Leaves (http://www.mightyleaf.com/). What grabbed my attention first were the beautiful silk pouches…my tea of choice was “African Nectar”…a robust Rooibos blend and it was a wonderful companion for almost a year.
2009 – This was the year where I introduced a little bit of Caffeine back into my life; what with early morning meetings and work overload…a girl needed some help. My go-to tea when I had time was “Society” (http://www.societytea.com/). Not really a spectacular tea but a tried and tested companion. It tasted wonderful brewed the Indian way with just a hint of ginger or cardamom and the best part…my mom made the tea for me ( and that my friends is the perfect way to drink a cuppa…over daily advise and chit chat with mom).
2010 – This is the year of experimentation. I am off Caffeine again…kills me when I have to get up early mornings for conference calls but I am surviving. The teas that I am experimenting with are green teas (infused with herbs). I recently purchased some of Zhena’s Herbal Teas (http://www.gypsytea.com/). The ones I am drinking right now is called Pink Tea for Women’s Health, Cacaoberry and Acaiberry (along with Green Tea, Rooibos is one of the key ingredients). I am not 100% sold on the taste but am getting there. I love the fact that its Fair Trade, 100% Organic, their tea tins while pretty are 100% recyclable.

I love to steep my tea exactly per instructions and then a minute more (I like it a little stronger). I add some honey and am ready to settle down for some downtime… How do you like to drink your tea?

For Breaking Up is such a hard thing…

It takes a couple seconds to say Hello, but forever to say Goodbye…Anonymous

As Eric Clapton says it in the Song “Blue Eyes Blue” –

I thought that you'd be loving me

I thought you were the one who'd stay forever

But now forever's come and gone

And I'm still here alone ( truth is I found someone else)

It was the winter of 2002, a rainy day when I made that first call…the result was magically instantaneous…Cable TV and High Speed Internet from a ethereal entity called “Comcast”. The price was also right…I continued this relationship with Comcast for 8 long years…two years back I moved to their Triple Play Package – Phone, Cable and Internet. Initially it felt like the panacea to all my issues YET as the honeymoon period passed I felt pretty dissatisfied with the relationship. All promotions were geared towards new customers; the monthly bill slowly kept creeping up. I ignored it for a year, I was too lazy (or maybe too preoccupied) for a change. This month I finally made a change. We moved our phone service to Vonage World 2 weeks back ($25/month, Call 60 countries including India for free). Yesterday, we moved our Cable TV over to Dish Network ($30/for the first year). We have decided to keep our High Speed Internet on Comcast for the time being. Yes, it did take a little bit of juggling to get all the services lined up and get everything up and working. Even though saving money was not the main criteria, we did end up reducing our Cable/Phone/Internet bills by 50% a month (almost $100)

This week has been quiet…what with K1 traveling. K2 has been wonderful and we spent some time in the evenings working on alphabet puzzles. The progress has been slow but K2 is learning his alphabets. Dinner yesterday was food from a Sichuan Restaurant – Asparagus Fried Rice, Kung Pao Fish, Dry Cooked String Beans and Mu Shoo Vegetables for K2. K2 seemed to enjoy the spicy fish and asked for more which was very heartening. Saturday Weekend Lunch is Hot Parathas (Whole Wheat Flat Breads cooked with potatoes, broccoli and carrots), Salad (Persian Cucumbers and Baby Red Radishes) and Yogurt. I will be going over to the Farmer’s Market tomorrow to pick up some fresh produce. Monday is a vacation day for me, so I will probably take K2 to the zoo…what are your weekend plans?