“I'm digging you, I'm feeling you and you know what's up”

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Said I'm big on you
And I'm wanting you
So tell me what's up

I will be in NYC for my sister’s graduation towards the end of this week. I am excited, not only because she is finally done with school but also coz they will be showing her final project, a short animated cartoon film at the Radio City Music Hall! I feel like a proud mama. Yep you can expect me to be that loud annoying family member who goes camera happy and cheering like I am in some wild Las Vegas bar! Graduations are so exciting, because you are truly done with a big chapter of your life or maybe you can start pretending to be a grown up. In my family, as any typical Indian family, anything related to education is considered a big deal. And as we are hardcore Konkani family, we will be celebrating with food and drinks. Congratulations MzSwats. You are a “growed up”! Well….sort off ;o)
This past Saturday, while Bhatji was off taking his last final for this semester, I decided to make him a scrumptious brunch. I knew he was going to be in dire need of sleep, since he didn’t get much of that during his finals week. But I knew that most of all he was going to be hungry! Usually he isn’t around on Saturdays since he has class all day and so When I am all by myself at home, I am content with some toast and coffee. But because Bhatji was going to be home by noon I knew I needed to make something really yummy and satisfying so I decided to make a Frittata, which is a baked veggie omelet. I know I have mentioned before that Bhatji loves eggs…so I knew this was a sure fire way to please him. And indeed it did! I referred to Ashwini’s recipe with just some minor changes and also used my mom’s Indian omelet recipe to make the perfect Veggie Frittata:

Ingredients:
5 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 medium onion roughly chopped
1/2 red bell pepper cut in cubes
1/2 green bell pepper in cubes
1 tsp dried basil
1-2 tsp Italian seasoning
2 green chilies cut into small pieces
3 tbsp shredded cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp of Olive oil

To Make:
Pre heat oven to 400°F. Whisk eggs in a mixing bowl with salt and pepper. Add milk and cheese and whisk again and let it sit. Heat the oil in a pan and cook the onions till they brown. Add the red peppers and sauté for about 3 mins. Add salt, pepper, dried basil, Italian seasoning and green chilies, cook for about 2 mins. Spoon the cooked veggies into a baking pan and pour the egg mixture on top. Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes. You can slide you knife to make sure the eggs are not runny which will indicate that the Frittata is done. Take out of the oven and serve hot!
Since Bhatji is neither a coffee nor a tea drinker, I served his slice of Frittata with a cold glass of light Cranberry juice. I, of course could not do without my coffee. We followed the big meal with some grapes for dessert. It was the perfect brunch! It’s such wonderful Saturday afternoons that I love!


Not sure when I can blog again….probably not until next week. But don’t fret my blogtastic friends; I will be back with more yummy recipes to share, until then…Happy eating and blogging!

“And it's all because of you. Never get enough coz she's the sweetest drug”

Friday, May 4, 2007

And I know this much is true
Baby, you have become my addiction
I'm so strung out on you
I can barely move...but I like it

School is out! Yay! If you come around our house, Bhatji and I are rejoicing that his finals are done and we get to spend some time as a normal couple…minus the books and worrying about exams etc. The next 2 weeks should be fun and I wanna do 10 different things that we haven’t been able to do in the past couple of months. We haven’t been able to watch any of the Netflix movies we have been getting either…we have been saving them on Bhatji's computer, So last night we watched “The Departed”. It was a decent movie because the suspense was well built and all the actors did a great job but the ending was….disappointing. The last few scenes reminded of a Hindi movie: An ending that dragged and a plot that started to weaken. I guess my expectations were pretty high so I didn’t really see the hype. Definitely happy that we waited for the DVD.
Being Konkani means that we will use everything and anything and turn it into a meal; not just any meal but a delicious meal. We are capable of using leftovers and turning it into a feast. When I was younger my mom would make tons of idlis and after we were tired of the idli samabhar/chutney combo she would turn the idlis into usli (which is a sort of upma). Idli usli is a great snack or breakfast and is perfect of lunches. Here is the recipe as per my mom.
Ingredients:
5-6 leftover idlis broken into pieces
1 green bell pepper cored and cut into small pieces
2 table spoons of olive oil
1 tsp of mustard seeds
1 tsp of jeera or cumin seeds
1 tsp of urad dhal
3 dry red chilies broken into halves
Few curry leaves (karabev)
A pinch of hing
Salt to taste
¼ cup of water

To Make:
Heat the oil and fry the mustard seeds, jeera, urad dhal, red chilies, curry leaves. When the spices start to splutter add the hing and green bell pepper. Sauté for a few and add the broken pieces of idli, add a few table spoons of water so the idli doesn’t burn and cook for about 3-4 mins. Take off heat and serve.


It was sooooo tasty! Until the next blog and recipe…Happy eating!

“Dear, love is a burning fire. Stay, cause then the flames grow higher”

You're no good, can't you see Brother Louie, Louie, Louie
I'm in love - set you free
Oh, she's only looking to me
Only love breaks her heart Brother Louie, Louie, Louie
Only love's paradise
Oh - she's only looking to me

If you were born in the early 80’s or even before (Late 70’s), were raised in India or anywhere in Europe and were into Euro pop you will definitely know the song on my blog. I was randomly going through some old tapes (yea that’s right magnetic old school tapes) at my parent’s house and found this tape from the 80’s that my sister and I used to listen too. Sigh! Memories.....
YAY Its Friday! And Bhatji will be done with his finals tomorrow evening. Yes folks, I will finally see what my husband looks like without a book attached to his face. And trust you me, I will be planning dinners and couples time out of the house. I just gotta be patient tonight. I know the NBA playoffs are in session and I have been following the western conference (since the Wizards lost all hope when Arenas and Butler were hurt) but tomorrow I hope that Bhatji and I don’t get bogged down at home in front of the TV. The weather is going to be absolutely amazing and I wanna do something outdoorsy :o)
Last week my mom gave me homemade idlis (Indian steamed rice cakes). Now I don’t know how to make idlis from scratch just yet, because the idli batter requires lots of patience and time…neither of which I have; Especially when I have a husband who walks in and starts rummaging through the fridge and doesn’t want to wait for any batter to set. So I use the idli mixes by MTR or Priya. I also have this nifty plastic idli maker. It has round moulds and it can be used in the microwave. That’s right! You can make idlis in a microwave. Now I know most of you (especially southies) are probably thinking “How authentic or good can these idlis taste?” Honestly they taste the same. It’s amazing how technology can help us novice cooks to make quick meals. I do want to learn the authentic way of making idlis and dosas, but for now I am content with short cuts :o) Anyway, since my mom gave me those yummy idlis, I decided to make a simple chutney that both Bhatji and I love. This is my mom’s recipe…not sure if it is Konkani or an Andhra recipe but it tastes great with idlis and even dosas. So I wanted to share the simple recipe for Chanapeeta chutney (Besan/Chickpea flour chutney)
Ingredients:
One small onion chopped
3 green chilies
½ tsp of mustard seeds
2 tsp of Urad Dhaal
¼ tsp of methi seeds
1tsp of tamarind paste
1 tsp of haldi
2 tbl spns of Sambhar powder
2 tbl spns of besan/chickpea flour
2tbl spns of oil
A pinch of hing
3 cups of water divided
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves for garnish

To Make:
Heat oil and add the mustard seeds, when they start to splutter add urad dhaal, methi seeds and the hing. When they start to splutter and they is a strong aroma add the onions, green chilies and fry for about 4-5 mins. Add one cup of water and cook for about a min. Add the tamarind paste, haldi, salt, sambhar powder and one more cup of water. While this is cooking, take another bowl and add one cup of water to the 2 tbsl spns of besan. Use a whisk and mix together and make sure there are no lumps. Add this mixture to the heated pan with all the other ingredients and bring to a boil. Take the pan off the heat and add coriander for garnish.


This was such an easy chutney/sambhar type of dish. It took me all of 10 mins to make and it was gone in about 10 mins too! Bhatji and I must have ravenous. Or the chuntney looked so good that we couldn’t contain ourselves. Either way it was excellent and I have more idli secrets to share…but in my next blog. Hope all of you have a wonderful weekend. Happy Friday!

P.S (Thank you wonderful people for the “your not fat” compliments. I promise I am done with the fat madness…well at least for today :o)

“I still don't have the reason and you don't have the time”

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

And it really makes me wonder
If I ever gave a f*** about you
Give me something to believe in
'Cause I don't believe in you anymore, anymore
I wonder if it even makes a difference to try
So this is goodbye

Busy, busy me…and I'm loving it! There is nothing more stimulating then a job that keeps you busy where you leave work at 5.00 PM and not worry about the project once you clock out. It is even better when your boss is an awesome personality who emails you on a slow Friday with “you can go home if you have nothing to do and if you wanna thank me for being so generous, I love cake!”
Speaking of cake…I can’t help but notice the weight that I have gained since all these cooking experiments are in full swing. Bhatji seems to think its very becoming…since he always thought I was too skinny but I think he is just being a sweet liar ;o) I try hard to work out at least 3 times a week and if I am not too tired then I manage 4-5 times. But there have one or two weeks where I either have no energy or motivation to do anything more than just sit on my balcony on my papasan with a good book. I blame this gorgeous spring weather; Insert fake outburst => Damn you Spring! You are the reason I am fat! <= End fake outburst.
Speaking of cake (again) since today is Ms. Pai’s bday, I wanted wish her a very happy bday. Girl, I will contact you soon for a bday dinner plan. Hope you have a wonderful birthday full of laughter and joy!
As I mentioned in my last 2 entries, I hung out with my breaker crew this past Thursday night at Modern. I tell you I couldn’t keep up with the dancing! Either I am too old or I am just out of touch with the clubbing scene…or maybe I am too fat :o( alright I am going to stop this fat nonsense before I start wallowing in more self pity. Tonight I am excited to hang out with Tina (here on work from NYC) and Sumi pocket for dinner. I haven’t seen these 2 ladies in a while and I am super excited. That’s all for now folks, see ya at the next blogging session. I am sharing some pics from the fun night at Modern.
P.S (Please feel free to leave me comments telling me that I am not fat…no matter how much of lie it is ;o)
P.P.S (I heart the new Maroon 5 song!)
Mini UMBC reunion

Me and my favorite breaker Vince before he gets married this weekend!