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?

Got a Date?

The alarm goes off noisily at 6.30 AM. I wake up grumpy (do you know anyone who is happy and chirpy in the morning…I don’t)…I stumble out of the bed and soon hear a “rumble in the tummy”…I make my way to the kitchen and go to the fruit box in the refrigerator. The past month has been an experiment in breakfast smoothies – Avocado Shake, Pear/Apple in Orange Juice, Pear/Apple/Orange in Almond Milk, Pear/Apple/Kiwi, Banana/Apple/Almond Milk, Mango/ Fat free Yogurt – I have worked at least 20 of these combinations – some of them hits, others near misses. I usually try and get my son’s breakfast done before I get my own breakfast started. I am posting the recipe for a smoothie that makes me smile in the morning (and you betcha that’s a hard thing to do!)…reason for my smiles is it puts enough calories in the morning in my little guy to keep the “little Energizer Battery” going for a couple hours.

Coincidentally there is an event in the blog sphere ("Serve me some Juices, Shakes, Smoothies" hosted by the lovely Madhuri@cookcurry nook) that I wanted to send this recipe to …if you want to know more about the event go here

Note- If you are calorie conscious - this is not the recipe for you. I invented this shake as a high power pow-wow breakfast for my extremely picky 3 year old.

Pow Wow Date Shake

8 Oz Whole Milk
4 Pitted Medjool Dates (Soaked Overnight)
1 tbspoon Trader Joes Unsalted Creamy Almond Butter
1 Medium Banana

Give the above mentioned items a whir in the food processor of choice ( I make mine in a Rocket Blender and it works fine). Pour into a tall glass or in my case son's sippy cup. Enjoy the luscious creaminess of the banana with the sweetness of the dates and the nuttiness of the almonds…makes you want a glass of your own (yup! I snuck a taste). If you are wondering on calorie count – about 500-600 calories – brilliant for early morning breakfast on the go (or in my case K2).
It has lots of good nutritional value with 50% of DV Potassium, 9 gms of Fiber, 32% of DV Calcium and 12% Iron. It is high on Fat content due to the whole milk and almond butter which you could easily eliminate but for my toddler, I choose to keep it high in fats for the time being.

My smoothie of choice is – Nature’s Peak (Paradise Fruit Medley) – this is a blend of kiwi, peaches and mangoes with Almond Milk (I usually don’t even need to sweeten it – I add a teaspoon of raw organic agave nectar to sweeten if needed).

Now if I can invent a dinner option that works as well as my morning short cut for K2 – I will be a happy mom. I think he is warming up pretty well to Trader Joes Ravioli (Chicken Sausage with Sun Dried Tomatoes) and the Black Bean and Mushroom Taquitos…as my Dad says it – Take it one day at a time.

Note - Picture of the smoothie and the smoothie maker (K2) courtesy my Nokia E72

The Enlightened Plate

I have been in a “Funk” – there I said it…I moped around a lot – thinking why us, worried, questioning life’s purpose (no answers yet), a constant dark cloud over my head (think Eyeore in Winnie the Pooh, if you don't have kids don’t even bother visualizing), I have gone about things on auto pilot since November…telling myself that I will get out of it and things will get better. I don’t think I am the kind of person given to depressions, terrible mood swings or tantrums – I keep my mind and self pre-occupied and busy and really sweep negative emotions literally under the carpet (not a very healthy thing to do).
This week I was mentally categorizing my personal and professional life and realized – on things that I “could” control or change – I wouldn’t do one thing different – I absolutely love my new job and the new connections that I have made, I love the level of diplomacy and tact it has taught me and I love the fact that I am truly stretching myself and learning something new. On my personal life – I have been able to achieve a work/life balance…spending time with my son who is fast growing up, K1 seems busier and more stressed than normal but I am assuming that will smoothen out in the next couple months, we have been focused on living simple and eating healthy. I traded down my car (a spiffy Lexus IS 300) for a wonderful Prius 2 years back …I shop more at the Farmer’s Market…if I didn’t have a brown thumb and a small backyard, I would try to grow some fruits in my backyard. Yet, it is the things that I can’t control that put me into the “funk”…however that is not my story to share. However, when I see a loved one’s positive approach to life and adversity…I realize that is real living. If you think you are a victim, you shall feel like a victim. I especially loved a recent article I had read by David Servan…very inspirational. If you want to read it is available here.
I very loftily did not set any New Year resolutions for myself this year. Yet as the year progresses I have set a mental checklist for myself that I need to well what else…check off!

1. Get Organized - Declutter, Declutter, Declutter ( sell off K2’s old stuff that I am clinging on to, give away things at the Salvation Army or just trash)


2. Go to Yoga at least 4 times a week – this one is critical


3. Eat Healthy - I think I am there with this one. But think I am too hard on K1 and K2 in terms of diet and need to loosen the belt a little bit and let a little bit of meat (chicken, fish) into the mix. Not always worry about nutritional value or antioxidant value – just go with the beat…If I want to have a Nestle Triple Chocolate Drumstick – then I will go ahead and have one….of course I won’t have it every day…but that one drumstick will settle the noisy cravings for a while.


4. Live Simple – no fancy cars or expensive gym memberships or branded accessories…I came into this country with two suitcases and guess what! I was super happy ( I am quoting my friend P here)…I would much rather focus on the non-material things in life for now (in the background of course we will pay up our mortgage debt, squirrel away some savings for retirement, put some money away for a college fund for K2)


5. Focus on the now vs. worry about the future – I want to take a long hike, a trip to the zoo, I want to learn how to swim like a fish, I want to watch whales, I want to go on a wild life safari, I want to write a book, I want to learn how to bake scrumptious vegan cup cakes, I want to take a trip to India and go down to Goa with the family (K1,K2, my parents, K1’s Parents and our siblings)…and I am going to figure out how to get all these done this year without letting work deadlines and my own virtuous other self talk me into not doing the “fun stuff”.

Do I think I am out of the funk…don’t know yet…but I do have a go forward game plan. I did go to the Farmer’s market this Sunday and my loot was – A bright bunch of Yu Choy Sum (lots of yellow flowers), Garlic Greens, Broccoli, Carrots, a head of fresh Cabbage, One large Daikon Radish, a bunch of small red radishes, a head of cauliflower, Somerfield Apples, Pumelo, Quail Eggs (my son wanted the baby eggs and he has been faithfully having four scrambled up every night) and Jalapeno Foccacia (from Black & White Bakery). I cooked home quite a bit this week; here is a rundown of what I made – Banana Bread, Curried Pinto Beans, Broccoli and Cabbage Stir-fry, a simple salad of Persian cucumbers and red radish (dressed with lemon, salt and pepper, Besi Bela Bhaat (see what that is here), Potato Raita, Stir Fry of Yu Choy with the garlic greens…truly an enticing & enlightened plate…what’s on your plate this week?