For the love of a child : Bread Rolls

Some mothers are kissing mothers and some are scolding mothers, but it is love just the same, and most mothers kiss and scold together. ~Pearl S. Buck

Circa 1983
The little girl rushed home in the heat…a sense of anticipation in her every step. Evenings were the time when Ma kept Tiffin ready for her. It was always a taste adventure – Piping Hot Tomato Cheese Pizza, Spongy Cake with Pink Icing, Spiced Beetroot Cutlets and Samosas. On the days that Ma was busy and could not make Tiffin she got the sponge cake from Iyengar Bakery, Tapioca chips from Hot Chips or Hot Puffs and Ginger Snaps from Adyar Bakery. The little girl never remembered a day when she came back to an empty home…there was a smiling welcome, a hug and a kiss and a hot plate of food…to her that Tiffin from Ma signified love…transcending any other emotion.

Circa 2010
The little boy sits in his car seat…it is 6.30 pm and there is a sense of anticipation in his face, His Ma is fighting her way home in the heavy highway traffic mentally preparing a viable dinner plan for him. The options were limited as the above said little boy is still not used to the Indian spices that Ma uses in her cooking. She decides to make a quick couscous pilaf and a broccoli stir-fry for the little guy. However, when Ma reaches home, she sees the loaf of fresh whole wheat bread lying on the counter and is reminded of the wonderful Bread Roll that Ma used to make for her. Piping hot and fried…oodles of taste and love…washing her hands and face she quickly starts preparing Bread Rolls for her little boy. When the little boy enters the house 15 minutes later and shouts – Mama, where are you? She beckons him to the kitchen, makes him sit down and gives him a plate with 2 piping hot bread rolls. He asks her – who made this? And she smiles and says –Bunny Rabbit asked Mama to make Bunny Rabbit Ears for you.His wolfing down the food gives her an immense sense of satisfaction.

She realizes that she is just  continuing that cycle of love…

Bread Rolls aka Bunny Rabbit Ears

Ingredients

4 Slices of Whole Wheat Bread
1 Large Boiled Potato (crushed)
½ Cup of Frozen Peas
½ Cup of Grated Carrots
1 Shallot (finely chopped)
A handful of fresh chopped Cilantro if you have it
Oil to Pan Fry
Masala: Dry Roasted Cumin and Coriander Powder, Amchur Powder, Turmeric Powder

Method

Soak the Bread Slices in Water, Squeeze out all the water and keep the bread slices on a napkin sheet

For the filling – Take 1 spoon of Vegetable oil in a cooking pan. Add the Shallot (or onion) and then the turmeric and cumin and coriander powder. Add the boiled potatoes, peas and carrots, Cook the mixture till the carrots are done (about 3-5 minutes). Add Salt to taste and Amchur for a tangy bit. Cool the filling

Now take one slice of bread. Add the filling to the center. Roll the slice of bread. Roll it and with your hands seal press all sides (see the finished bread roll for a better idea).

Pan Fry in a shallow frying pan with vegetable oil. Serve hot with ketchup and love.

I am sending out this recipe to a couple events happening in the blog world –

(a) A dish starting with B :Akila’s Kitchen

http://akilaskitchen.blogspot.com/search/label/Events

(b) Kids Delight - Finger Foods : Spice your life

http://spicingyourlife.blogspot.com/2010/09/announcing-kids-delight-finger-food.html


(c) Of Chalks and Chopsticks : Seduce your taste buds

http://seduceyourtastebuds.blogspot.com/2010/09/ready-for-another-round-of-food-and.html

For more information on these events please do go ahead and check out the soulful food blogs maintained by these lovely ladies, that this working mom faithfully browses through at the wee hours of morning…Insomnia you say…well that is the topic for yet another blog :)

P.S: If you do try this dish, do let me know how it turned out for you. I have been blogging almost 2 years now and the comments are few and far in between…almost makes me want to stand on a soap box and shout out – Anybody out there? Anybody in the www space who actually cares about my blogs?

P.P.S : For the photo connoisseur this picture was hastily taken with my trusty Nokia E72 and mailed to self via Mail for Exchange. And yes, it tastes way better than it looks :)

Blue Whale Sighting...

Blue Whale:  (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal and at over 33 metres and 180 metric tons it is the largest animal ever known to have existed.

HALF MOON BAY, California, October 6th -- Researchers are trying to determine how a pregnant blue whale that washed up on a beach in San Mateo County died.


The 80-foot whale came ashore on Saturday in a rocky area at Bean Hollow State Beach in the unincorporated community of Pescadero. Her fetus was about 50 feet from her body.

-------------------

Getting there wasn’t easy,

Once we got there we wondered why we even embarked on the journey.

She lay there…

Dead, Unmoving...

I turned away my face…

The smell and look of death overwhelming

Yet you realize that life went on,

Even when right next to you it had been snatched away,
Cruelly…
From one who hadn’t even been given the chance to live…

(The dead whale had a 6 month foetus calf which was 17 foot long and lay not too far from the mother)

Moral Dilemma: A Heart to Heart

I pack K2’s lunch box with a heavy heart. He still does not look 100% recovered from the flu and my mind is wracked with guilt. He comes up to me with a smiling face and says – Mama, I feel much better now. I stand at the door and wave him Good Bye! I quickly wrap up things at home and get on with work. When I get to work, my mind is consumed for the next 4 hours with spreadsheets and business proposals. I think about my son briefly at lunch time, hoping that he has finished the lunch box I packed for him today (K1 commented that he would eat it if it was his lunch box: Tuna Sandwich, a handful of nuts & prunes, Sweet Potato and Beets Chips, fresh grapes (purple, green and flame) and half an organic cookie).

I skip lunch and keep working till about 2.00 PM which is when the rumblings in the tummy make this Winnie search for a pot of honey…hunger assuaged it is back to spreadsheets and calls for the rest of the day. You ask me where is the Moral Dilemma: Well here it is…there are times when I am at work when I wish I were with my Young Un’ and there are times when I am with my Young Un’ when I would rather be at work staring at my computer or problem solving…does that make me a negligent employee or mom…I guess this is a question thousands of working mothers beat themselves up with…the thought that they are not 100% present and frankly overcompensate...

The past 2 weeks just whizzed by…a travelling husband (along with other parameters) made the first week whiz by followed by a Birthday party on Saturday of my close friend’s daughter and then yet another B’day party on Sunday…last Monday saw K1 sporting a 102 fever, rushing between dropping K2 off to pre-school, getting to work, getting off work, preparing some dinner for K1 and K2, and picking K2 up from pre-school saw a tired me make my way to the airport for a flight. I got back home on Wednesday night and took Thursday off …Friday saw the little tyke fight the same flu his father had…thus began the tiring weekend…I love my K2 and spending time with him, but there are times when my mind wants to shut down and rest and not answer incessant questions – why did you give me brown rice? Why is the sky blue? Why is Jinx (our cocker spaniel) black? Are you getting angry now? ; as much as I love spending the 45 minutes every meal time to make sure my son has a balanced meal (of sorts); or giving him a bath and wiping his rear, listening to his whines and pouts and occasional tantrums; his trying to wriggle out of nap time and the constant repeats of “Green Eggs and Ham” both on TV and book reads to him in the night…sometimes this “working mom” needs a break (and she really feels guilty for feeling this way). However, if I had to buckle down and choose between – working full time OR stay home with K2 I would pick the latter any time…I am glad that I don’t have to make that choice. I am even more glad that despite insane work hours, changes &commutes, travel & tendonitis and a growing baby the balance has been kept (albeit sometimes by the skin of the teeth)…and this sense of guilt, this dilemma of enjoying my work when K2 is sick will pass…I am reminded of my mother's choice to give us 100% of her time...I applaud it and then wonder if there are times when she regrets it...I share with you a picture from two and a half decades ago of a mother and a daughter where I am sure the mother went through the same thought process that her daughter is going through now...

BTW, isn’t Wednesday wonderful…still two days of work and lots to accomplish but the growing sense of anticipation for the weekend to come? We ordered K2’s B’day cake…my little guy is turning 4 and he requested a Kung Fu Panda cake (a change from the Madagascar request a month back). We are hoping this weekend is a quiet time with long walks, more animal sightings, some good food and lots of close time with family and friends.

A Lazy Sunday...

Dinner last night  was at P.F. Changs where I gorged myself on faux chinese food in an extremely relaxing environment ( I guess some of my relaxation was due to not having to plan dinner). Morning saw us taking a walk down the bay and there we saw a  humming bird sit in the trees waiting for something...

We had a relaxed breakfast with some cardamom chai and muesli and then we went to the Farmer's market. We get our bread, cookies, banana bread ,scones and pies from this vendor

The best ever babaganoush from here

Here are the wonderful vendors who give me my fix of purple broccolli, new potatoes, garlic, brussel sprouts, shallots and beets.

And the wonderful vendor who I have been picking up eggs from for the past 6 years - hen eggs, quail eggs and sometimes duck eggs (never baluts!)

We then went to the Whole Foods for some staples and they were celebrating their 30th B'day.  We saw some leopard sharks, touched some Star Fish who had come out to join the festivities from the Marine Institute

Krish snagged himself a melon sorbet...which he ate about 2 spoons of and then mommy finished the rest. Now back to planning for the week...

How was your Sunday?

The Story of the Lost Baby Sea Lion & the Enlightened Dal

Why did they ever invent “Back to School Nights” …Yeah! Yeah! I can hear you muttering tracking social, communication and developmental needs but have you thought of all the jugglery this mom has to do to ensure that she is prepared for this above mentioned “back to school night”… finish Friday early morning calls, work on spreadsheet for a couple hours…realize it is time for lunch and grab a little something to eat…wrap up work, plan dinner, prepare snacks for K2. When K1 and K2 got home rush out with hurried instructions on dinner for the boys…pick up A and in peak traffic make it (almost) in time for the first part of BTS Night…hear the school director talk about all the Do’s and Don’ts – Do get in time, Don’t make kids wear flip flops, Don’t over pack lunches (oops!)…after which we got to meet the teachers. K2’s teacher is a DOLL…she keeps him in line teaching him important life lessons , while making sure he eats all his lunch…I am grateful for that.

Saturday Morning saw the 2Ks and me walking the dog down the bay and we spied a lost little baby sea lion…I tried the Marine Institute to see if they would rescue it, it kept ringing to no response…after which I called 911. I waited around for a while after which I needed to take K2 to the library for a late morning show. He got to watch the Red Panda Acrobats in action. It was amazing watching the talented Wayne Huey go through the act and it is at times like this that I am glad that we have access to so many wonderful activities. A quick lunch of Quesadillas and Cheese Cake and K2 is ready for his nap…

This week I tried an Express Meal and it made me feel so happy and full that I wanted to share the recipe (and the love) with you of this warm comforting dish which literally took me 10 minutes to make (of course in my trusty pressure cooker, if made in a Dutch pot it would probably take about 30 minutes)…interested in buying a pressure cooker, check out Amazon (If you have money to throw around then Kuhn Rikon is the way to go). My pressure cookers are all Indian…ones that I picked out myself and carried back from India (cost me between $20-50 and last a while). Anyway coming back to what I made, I call it the Enlightened Dal...K1...the non vocal critique said this was the best Dal he had ever had

Ingredients

1. 1 Cup Red Lentils (Masoor Dal) – soaked for a couple hours will make it cook faster
2. 1 Carton Low Sodium Creamy Organic Tomato Soup ( I used the one from Trader Joes)
3. 8-12 cloves of Garlic (finely chopped)
4. 1 Habenaro (finely chopped)
5. 1 Red Onion (finely chopped)
6. Spices – Sprinkle of Asafetida (hing), ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder
7. 1 Lemon, Chopped Fresh Cilantro

• Heat one teaspoon of ghee
• Add Asafetida, Cumin and Turmeric Powder, when it turns fragrant add in the onion, garlic and habenaro and slowly cook till caramelized (not burnt)
• Add the Red lentils and mix for a minute or two
• Add the contents of the soup carton.
• Pressure Cook for 4 whistles or cook in Dutch Pot till the lentils are cooked through and extremely soft.
• Add salt to taste, Squeeze lemon, Add Chopped Fresh Cilantro.

I ate this with some piping hot brown rice and a side of curried peas and cabbage.

Did you know that Red Lentils are a great source of protein, folate, iron and vitamin B1. Tomatoes are a source of lycopene, one of the most powerful natural antioxidants. Cilantro fights diabetes and is widely used as a carminative much like Cumin and Turmeric is a powerful antiseptic and antibacterial agent while Hing fights flus and is yet another powerful spice…Did you do anything good for your body this week?

P.S - Pictures of the Baby Seal, Red Lentils Dal and the Red Panda Acrobats

Revisiting Good and Evil…

I saw a movie this weekend that left me with a lot of disturbing thoughts. The interesting thing is that this was a Telugu Movie, a language I am not familiar with and I mostly understood happenings through subtitles…despite this fact the movie had a deep impact on me  and it was humbling (JL, I won’t ever laugh over your tears for KKHH subtitles…I understand). The movie was Manirathnam’s famous (infamous) Villain which has also been remade in Hindi as Raavan with a famous actor son playing the lead role.

The basic premise of the movie is that ethics is very personal. As Aristotle put it,

When a person acts in accordance with his nature and realizes his full potential, he will do good and be content. At birth, a baby is not a person, but a potential person. To become a "real" person, the child's inherent potential must be realized. Unhappiness and frustration are caused by the unrealized potential of a person, leading to failed goals and a poor life. Aristotle said, "Nature does nothing in vain." Therefore, it is imperative for persons to act in accordance with their nature and develop their latent talents in order to be content and complete. Happiness was held to be the ultimate goal. All other things, such as civic life or wealth, are merely means to the end. Self-realization, the awareness of one's nature and the development of one's talents, is the surest path to happiness.

Our Indian Belief system however has very clear cut definitions of Good and Evil and it was inconceivable that what might be treated Good by one belief system could be bad in another…take for example Ramayana – Rama was absolute good vs. Ravan who was the epitome of bad. In reality, Rama lost a little bit of my respect when he distrusted his wife and asked her to go thru’ Agni Pariksha to prove her virtue…but how can the acts of a God be deemed Evil…yet by doing what he did Rama actually ensured that women were assured a lower place in the already firmly patriarchal society. The movie  strengthened my belief that there is no right answer on ethics – it is very personal and shaped by the way you have been socialized. To toast this discovery I want to share with you a very special recipe that I created this week…

Black & White Chili

Soak Overnight Black Beans (1 cup) and Canelli Beans (1 cup)

1.       In a pressure cooker or Dutch pot – Fry 2 finely chopped  Red Onions, 2-8 pods of crushed garlic (based on your preference), 1-2 Chilies ( Serrano, Jalapeno, Poblano…or Habenaro depending on your spice tolerance level)

2.       When the Onions have browned, add three chopped tomatoes (you can add some veggies like Carrot or Celery but this week I decided not to add any).

3.       Roasted Cumin Powder, 3 crushed All-Spice (optional), Cardamom Powder, Turmeric  Powder (again optional and I use it for health benefits)

4.       At this stage add in ground meat if you are adding any for browning ( I usually skip this stage as I don’t add meats)

5.       I add the beans and Organic Vegetable Stock

6.       If you are simmering in Dutch Pot, let it simmer for 60 minutes to 90 minutes. If you are lucky like me and own a pressure cooker, let it go for 12 whistles on low to medium heat…trust me seems like a lot but it needs it.

7.       Let the Chili rest.  Stir add Salt to taste and squeeze in the juice of a lemon to taste.

8.       Serve with lots of chopped fresh cilantro and a piece of crusty bread

This dish is ALL good for you, with each cup of Chili giving about 15-18 grams of fiber (over 65% of DV) and 7-10 grams of Protein. I usually serve an easy tomato and cucumber salad with this chili. What beans do you have in your pantry? I currently have Dark Red Kidney Beans, Lima Beans, Pinto Beans, Aduzki Beans, Black Beans, Black Eyed Beans, Black and Pale Garbanzo Beans…one of my tenets for simple living – Eat less meat, add more organic lentils and legumes as a good solid source of protein…

Change...and Ganesh Chaturthi.

I am a creature of habit – I like the same old music (think “Dil Apna Preet Parai" genre”)…I abhor the shuffle and remixes, I love to rewind and replay the originals; I love the smell of lavender, Crime Serials, my hot cup of green tea and dark chocolate pieces in the night, my landline phone and the long chats to India, my Sunday trip to the Farmer’s Market …the only area where I have gotten out of my comfort zone and accepted change is Food and my Son. No two days are the same with K2; it’s almost like living on the seat of my pants wondering what new things I will learn today.
The long weekend was relaxed. Some shopping for K2…actually a lot of it…he had his first turkey hot dog on a stick and relished it…we grilled some Salmon Burgers in the night and K2 enjoyed his burger too. On Sunday after our trip to the Farmers Market where we picked up Tomatoes, Broccoli, Carrots, New Potatoes, Shallots, Spinach, Habenaros, Eggs, Babaganoush and Scones, we went down to the Greek Festival in the afternoon, we admired the old church in the hills…listened to some melodious hymns, had some awful souvlakis and breaded fried calamaris that were being passed on as Greek cooking…came home hot and red (it was 100 degrees outside). In the evening we met R& M and A& his parents for dinner…some spicy south Indian food and animated conversations later, we realized it was midnight and time to head home. On Monday we met up with N square and B for a foodie inspired lunch cooked up by Dahling N…she had made hummus that she zussed up with Habenaro peppers, a corn relish and she grilled up tonnes of veggies along with a Moroccan inspired lamb and Salmon…we trundled home all full and happy and spend the evening getting ready for the week.
This week was a blur of early morning meetings and Friday saw us with some “big news” at work…not sure yet how this will play off but the biggest emotion I feel is – hope. As I said before, I am not big on change but in this case change is necessary for not just surviving but winning…failure is not an option and only existing is not a criterion….so we will see how this change plays out for us. I welcomed the weekend with open arms…a grounding yoga class, a trip to Whole Foods and a relaxed Friday dinner at home with the 2 A’s and 2 R’s was the precursor to a relaxed Saturday.
Saturday is Ganesh Chaturthi…a very famous festival in India. I have seen a lot of people look at the elephant pendant I *always* wear – he is Ganesha, he is the God who removes all obstacles…lore says that if you rub Ganesha’s huge tummy while you mentally ask him for a wish, he will grant it. He is my absolute favorite god. I remember spending time in the Siddhi Vinayak temple in Besant Nagar and the total sense of peace I got…anyway the morning saw K1 and me go serially to the gym…him for his workout, me for Yoga after which we went to the Sunnyvale temple with R& M and S and A and his parents. We went to a new place for lunch called Mayuri…the food was good. We will be going for puja to a friend/colleague’s house in the evening…we are looking forward to introducing K2 to Hindu rituals, pujas and things that we grew up with as kids…Sunday I hope will be relaxed – I am planning on buying this beautiful Kabocha that has been seducing me with it’s green golden beauty…reminding me that Summer is almost over giving way to Fall…hold still time…let me enjoy the last of the sweet corns, the tangy tomatoes and the delicious juicy peaches…Change why do I look forward to you and yet at times resent the very fact that you exist…