“If you are chilly, here take my sweater. Your head is aching, I'll make it better”

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Cuz I love the way you call me baby.
And you take me the way I am.
I'd buy you Rogaine if you start losing all your hair.
Sew on patches to all you tear.
Cuz I love you more than I could ever promise.
And you take me the way I am.


DC is experiencing the first snowfall of the season and I gotta admit…I LOVE IT!! I mean I’m not really a fan of the cold winds and winter blues but there’s something quite delightful about snow. Snow brings me thoughts of hot chocolate, laughing over a small pot of fire and smores at Cosi, snow fights when we found out that there would be no school and old Hindi or English movies with loved ones. I wish I was with Bhatji in NJ sharing a blanket on and taking our nth nap together. Speaking of Bhatji…he has been extremely sick and actually decided to take off work. This is another reason I wish was with him so I could take care of him. I cant wait till tomorrow when we can be together again…5 days is long enough ;o) Ok enough of my sappy chatter.
Bhatji loves Mexican food….I think it’s got a lot to do with his days in Houston. TX does have amazing Mexican restaurants; come on this is the land that came up with the phrase “Tex Mex”. In fact I think that you could probably go to a Chinese restaurant and manage to order at least one Mexican dish hehe. So preparing a “really delicious” Mexican meal for me has always been a daunting task. I mean who wants to please a Tex Mex tasting expert. Unfortunately even though I would express my nervousness of making Mexican food for him but Bhatji would still request quesadillas, enchiladas etc. So I started slow with simple quesadillas that he would wolf down and shower me with compliments. Well this gave me the motivation to try other Mexican treats. While I was on my cooking binge last week…I came up with a yummy recipe for veggie enchiladas. It took a while to make but it was worth it to see the face on a satisfied Tex Mex fan ;o) so here is the recipe for” Vegetarian Enchiladas with green sauce.

Ingredients:
8-10 wheat tortillas
1 cup low fat ricotta cheese
¼ cup sour cream (or as per your taste)
Store bought Salsa
One can of refried beans
One can of green enchilada sauce (divided)
1 cup of shredded 4 cheese Mexican cheese
1/2 cup of red onions diced
½ cup of bell peppers diced
1 tbl spn of olive oil
1 tbl spn of cumin powder (divided)
1 tsp of chili powder
A few jalapenos (optional)
Salt to taste

To Make:
Preheat the oven at 375 degrees. Heat the oil and cook the onions and bell peppers until browned. Add 1 tsp of cumin powder, mix well and take off heat. In a large bowl add the following: Ricotta cheese, ½ cup of salsa, the remaining cumin powder, red chili powder, ¼ can of enchilada sauce and mix well until it is all integrated well with each other. On a large baking pan covered with foil, lay each tortilla out and in the middle start the stuffing process. First take a large spoon of refried beans and spread thoroughly on the tortilla. Then add little of the onion and bell pepper mixture and spread well. In the center of the tortilla add the ricotta/salsa mixture in a straight line. Add a dollop of sour cream and a few jalapenos on top of the ricotta mixture. Roll the sides of the tortilla into the center and repeat with other tortillas and line them on the baking pan. After you have filled the pan with 8-10 stuffed tortillas, pour the enchilada sauce evenly on top of the tortillas and add the shredded cheese roughly as much as you like on top as well. Bake in the oven for 20-25 mins until the cheese melted and the stuffing is warm. Serve hot.

I can’t say that this was as good as an authentic as a Tex Mex restaurant but it was very tasty and healthy since a lot of the ingredients were low fat. Give it a try! Until the next the scrumptious entry…..enjoy the snow with a bit of fiesta on the side ;o)

PS (I heart Ingrid Michaelson's song....All warm and fuzzy sounding ;o)

"Jyoth se Jyoth Jagaa. Pyaar se pyaar badaa"

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Loose translation of the words, Jyoth and Pyaar which represents any of the following and more:
Light up the Love
Light up with Knowledge and
Use Love to grow Love
Use Love to grow peace

Wishing my fellow desis a prosperous and fruitful Makara Sankranti. Sankranti is a festival celebrating the upcoming harvest year. People in India during the olden days would mark this day with a prayer for healthy and abundant harvest. Today it is considered an auspicious day to start over with a new life style and give thanks to all that the earth has provided us. Different states in India have various names for this festival but it is observed for the same reason.
One of my fondest memories of growing up in India is the way we celebrated each festival in a distinct way. During Makara Sankranti, schools and offices would be closed and most streets would be hustling and bustling with people visiting each other with goodies. My mom would wake up very early in the morning and wash her hair. You would think that because it was a holiday Mzswats and I would sleep in….but most festivals meant that we would actually be up and out running errands with mom. Sankranti was one of those holidays that I wouldn’t mind getting up for…because this was the day that I had a lot of fun things to do. My mom swats and I would circle the Tulsi plant asking for the long life of our family, good health, knowledge and peace. Following this my mom, swats and our maid would start on the rangoli in front of our house. I of course wasn’t really artistic and did my best to stay out of the way and be a good spectator.

Picture from google images
Then my mom would scamper around the kitchen preparing yummy traditional festive Konkani food: Mantapa saaru, Channa gashi, bibba upkari, Daalitoy, Alsanda upkari, Batata Vaagu, Pulihaar, Paayasu, etc. As long as the dish did not contain meat, onions and garlic…it was servable on this day.

Picture from: http://www.sailusfood.com/2007/04/09/pesara-pappu-payasam-moong-dal-payasam/
My bapama would decorate our Gods room and the idols with new jewelry etc...preparing for an evening puja. Mid afternoon my mom would make til god or tila laddu (sesame seeds laddu) and sakre bombe (sugar dolls or sugared sweets). Swats and I would dress up in our new Indian outfits and then visit out neighbors and friends with a box or plate full of these sweets. We would exchange them and get more sweets and then get back home in time for the puja. Following the puja we would have more yummy Konkani food and eat til gol and chant: Til god ghyaa ani god god bhola <- Eat sweet and speak sweet :o)
So please eat something sweet, say something sweet, think of this day as a day where you strive to be a better person and thank this earth for all that it has provided so far.
Happy Sankranti to all!

“I got to shine…now throw your hands up in the sky”

Friday, January 11, 2008

Welcome to the good life
Fifty told me
Go head and switch them styles up
And if they hate then let them hate
And watch the money pile up


A very, very belated Happy New Year to you and yours. I know I’ve been MIA and I won’t make any excuses for not writing thus far. Post holidays and working from home has left me…apathetic to everything except sitting on my couch watching a marathon of HGTV, Food network shows and spending loads of time trying new dishes out in the kitchen. And I guess the writers strike has motivated me to have one of my own ;o) or maybe I’m just lazy….but personally I like the latter thought.
We never grew up celebrating Christmas or exchanging presents but this year Bhatji and I felt that this would make a good year to give something back to the family. So here is a quick recap of our Christmas gifts: I bought a Garmin for Bhatji, a Zune for my baby sis and a Macy’s gift card for my mommy and a trip that Bhatji and I are in the process of planning for my dad. This year I also received some really nice surprises from Bhatjis friends: I got a new Saki tasting set, a coach wallet (woot woot! Those boys spoil me :o) and I had asked for a donation in my name to AARDA to which my secret Santa generously obliged. Bhatji and I decided to spend New year’s eve at one of his friend’s places in NJ. A group of us watched the ball drop on TV and celebrated with lots of alcohol and a riveting game of charades – Men vs. Women (the women won!!)
I usually don’t do resolutions….because as my past has shown, I never stick by them. So this year I decided to make a resolution that I would actually enjoy retaining: To make new friends, maintain my older friendships and to keep in touch with my family more. I plan on emailing and calling people more and invite more people to join in my life and hobbies. Another small resolution I have thought up for myself is to: indulge in activities that keeps me happy like cooking and dance. Dance has always been my ultimate creative outlet….but more than that, it has also been a medium that bring about a sense of equilibrium in my life. I think every one needs that outlet or a way of feeling at peace…..Ms.Chai meditates, my mother in law chants and goes on walks, my sister draws or paints, my aunt is a part of a knitting club and my mom cooks. I take inspiration from all these women…props for doing whatever it is that makes you joyful and at peace.
Now on to the recipe part of this blog: Weekends are really precious to us….especially because Bhatji and I love sleeping in and then waking up to eat brunch. We don’t always go out to brunch so I am always up for the challenge of coming up with new and interesting brunch dishes. After rummaging through some cook books that my mom gave me, I found this simple recipe for a breakfast tostada with waffles. It turned out to be extremely delicious. So here is the recipe for brunch tostada with waffles (yep I changed the name)
Adapted from The costco cook book

Ingredients:
4 eggo waffles
3 eggs
4 slices of turkey bacon
2 medium tomatoes diced
½ cup of cheese any kind (I used shredder cheddar cheese)
2-3 tbl spns of salsa
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

To Make:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Toast the waffles as you normally would. Cook the bacon slices in a frying pan until crispy and then crumble into small pieces. Make the scrambled eggs and add salt and pepper to taste. Top each waffle with 2 spoons of scrambled egg, a spoon full of bacon pieces, a spoon of diced tomatoes, cheese as much as you like. Bake in the oven till the cheese is melted – for about 8-10 minutes. Now add a small spoon of salsa on top and serve hot. This recipe serves 2 but you can add more waffles and eggs to serve more.

It’s a simple and tasty way to start your mornings…err…afternoon off. Well until the next entry…. Compose resolutions that make YOU happy.

Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Santa baby, just slip a sable under the tree, for me
Been an awful good girl
Santa baby so hurry down the chimney tonight
Think of all the fun I've missed,
Think of all the fellows that I haven't kissed
Next year I could be just as good
If you check off my christmas list



Happy Holidays folks. Will be back in full swing once the Xmas fruitcake is all gone ;o)

 
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