“I think about you in the summertime, and all the good times we had baby”

Friday, July 25, 2008

Been a few years and I can’t deny,
The thought of you still makes me crazy,
I think about you in the summertime,
I’m sittin’ here in the sun with you on my mind.
You’re my, my summertime

Ahhh who knew that New kids on the block would ever come back? Lol I didn’t and that darn song is everywhere. Anyway after an awesome vacation in the Bahamas with the girls what a crappy last day on the island to end it :o( Sigh I wasn’t going to moan and complain about this but I need to vent. So the last night in Nassau I lost my beautiful white clutch which had my wallet and my camera :o( Yes my beautiful, sleek camera that I used like crazy for the last 2 years. A camera that was a gift from my in laws and is not sold for cheap in the US. To add to that stress, I had to call Bhatji in the US to call and cancel all my credit cards and needless to say he was not happy to receive a frantic call at 8 am on Sunday morning. On top of it all US airways screwed us over my canceling our flight from Philly to New York so I had to take the train. For someone who hasn’t even lost a credit card or keys….this was a pretty big deal. I mean all of last week I just wallowed in misery and Bhatji had to take serious measures to make me smile. All in all what was supposed to be a relaxing vacation ended in a stressful nightmare. I guess the only positive aspect of it all was that my passport was safe and sound in my bigger purse and everything that was lost was replaceable. It’s hard though at times to look at the positive you know….we take lil joys for granted. I am glad I was able to take such a beautiful vacation and enjoy my time on the beach. So no more sadness :o)
On to the foodie portion of this blog; I had mentioned in my last entry that I cooked a lot when my mother in law was visiting me and one of the dishes that she taught me was Bhoplache raita. It’s a simple Marathi side dish that goes perfectly with hot rotis. It has turned out to be one of my fav recipes. So here is my mother in laws recipe form Bhopla/pumpkin raita:

Ingredients:
About ¼ of a pumpkin slice de-seeded
¾ cup of yogurt
2 cups of water
1 tspn of sugar
1 tblspn of oil
1 tspn of cumin seeds
½ tspn of heeng
2 green chillies chopped
Cilantro for garnish
Salt as per taste


To make:

Cut the pumpkin into small pieces, about an inch or so since the skin is tough to remove, this is an easier way to peel it off. Heat the 2 cups of water and add the pumpkin pieces to it and let it come to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and cook further for about 15 mins. Drain the water into another bowl…do not throw the water because it filled with nutrients and you can use it later. The pumpkin peels will come off easily with a knife and mash the pumpkin pieces unevenly. In a separate bowl with the yogurt in it add the boiled water for thinning it to a raita consistency. Add the salt and sugar and mix well. Add the mashed pumpkin pieces and stir well. Now in a small saucepan heat the oil and add the cumin, heeng and chillies and stir well. Once the cumin seeds start spluttering, take off the heat and add to the yogurt mixture. Add chopped cilantro and stir well. And serve with rotis.

This has turned out to be a comfort food for me because it is sooooo easy to make and it tastes really yummy. I am trying my hardest to make more yellow foods at home since they are full of nutritional value. Give this recipe a try and let me know how it turns out. Well that’s all for now folks…have a wonderful weekend and stay cool :o)