Virus everywhere.......... :((

Dear bloggers,
lately my computer was affected by Virus and IE totally
stopped working, that was the reason I could not publish
any post.

And as soon as I solved that problem , my eyes got effected
by " Viral Conjunctivitis". 
Althought its bit improving  and i am able to continue my 
daily routine normally now ,my eyes itches when i work
for more  than 10 mins on computer.
Once totally recovered  I will publish my new post soon .

So hows Navarati going on with all of you ?
My next post is going to be "Navali (full of novelty ) Navarati ".
Till then Happy Navaratri to all of you :) ...

You're the hemp in my...

Just so you know? It's two in the afternoon.

And I spent the day- so far- in bed. Snuggled beneath a Pendleton blanket, cruising the information highway on Steve's laptop. Nibbling pieces of smoked salmon. Approving Spicy Comments. Paying bills. Ordering lavender pillows stuffed with rice or buckwheat [not to eat, Darling, to heat- in the microwave- till toasty and warm and soothing; therapy for this sleep-deprived blogger's crooked neck and quirky tummy still not right from her sojourn into public dining in Los Angeles].

In light of a certain individual's recent ranting (and her pondering whether to throw in the towel and head for the nearest smoke shop- conveniently located next to Saints and Sinners) this post will be a simple thank you to Certain Readers- you know who you are- for the suggestion of hemp.

Hemp, as in milk.

Hemp, as in, You're the hemp in my mate... (that's MAH-tay for those of you not familiar with Viggo's preferred caffeine source).

Continue reading

My Humble Petition

(Parental warning- this post is rated PG 13)

Dear Wise and Merciful Goddess,

There have been so many gruesome failures (or quasi-semi-successes not worth sharing) in my tiny blue tiled cocina of late that I am perilously close to throwing in the towel and crying, WTF? I am spending days (yes, days!) feeling hollow from hunger because I can't find anything in the cruel pantry to eat. Especially for breakfast. And brunch. And snacks.

I can usually rustle up a tasty dinner built around potatoes or rice with a piece of fish or the one sausage I can eat. But truth be told- as you may already know in your omniscient all-knowingness- I am missing eggs and cheese like crazy this week. Dear Divine One, what I wouldn't give for one of my pasta frittatas. Or a sizzling tray of nachos. Or- Oy!- a hot and cozy slice of my roasted vegetable kugel.

With limited sources of protein to pick from- beef, pork and some fish- I am stymied at breakfast. Not to mention mid-day. And late afternoon snacks! I mean, seriously. Who wants to eat fish three times a day as my brisk and steely Nurse Practitioner (transplanted from coastal Maine, duh) advised?

And if might gently and sweetly ask, is it really wise to eat beef every day- even if it's grass fed and organic and roaming the range with Tommy Lee Jones and all that good stuff? I kinda doubt it. Not at my overheated pesky age.

As you well know, I'm no spring chicken.

Which I'm also allergic to. Here's the thing. Without my brown rice and beans, my peanut butter on rice cakes, my grabs of almonds and cashews, protein powder smoothies, and hummus? And those fast and fabulous grilled quesadillas? I am, quite frankly, more than slightly askew. Not to mention, cranky. And some days- like today, for instance? Yours in devotion is frustrated and gloomy and frankly, wicked pissed and hungry.

And I'm not going to lie about it.

Continue reading

Chori nu Saak / Chauli nu Shaak

Ingredients:
150 gm chori or 1-2 bunches of fresh Long Beans (chauli,chawli), or known as Dow Gok In Asian Stores-chopped
1\2-tbsp mustard seeds
1\2-tbsp cumin seeds
1-tbsp garlic paste
1\2-tbsp turmeric powder
2-tbsp oil
Salt to taste
4-round cut tomato slices for decoration

Method:
Step 1: Cut the chori in to small pieces.

Step 2: Heat the oil in thick bottom pan and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds when the pop up then add garlic paste in it.

Step 3: Add the finely chopped chori in it and close with lid for 2 minutes.
Step 4: Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt to taste. Cook in low flame for 7 minutes, stirring in between.

Step 4: Turn off the flame and place it in serving bowl and decorate with tomato slices.

Serve with Roti and Curd..........:)

Patara (Patarveliya)

This recipe for my dear friend Laavanya……

Ingredients for green paste:

5 long green chillies
Small pieces of ginger
1-cup chopped coriander leaves
2-nos of lemons

* Make a paste of all this ingredients.

Ingredients for making Patara:
20 large patara leaves (colocasia leaves)
150gm gram flour
2-tbsp thymol seeds (“Ajmo”)
2-tbsp powder of black pepper
2-tbsp red chilliy powder
2-tbsp soda-bi-carb
Salt to taste

Ingredients for Seasoning:

3-tbsp oil
2-tbsp sesame seeds

1-tbsp mustard seeds
1-tbsp cumin seeds
Method:
Step 1: Clean, wash and wipe leaves.
Step 2: Remove the thorns with help of a knife. Keep aside.

Step 3: Crush the thymol (ajmo) seeds by roller.

Step 4: In a bowl, add gram flour and paste of green chillies and all ingredients. (not those for seasoning)

Step 5: Add water and make a thick paste.

Step 6: Place a leaf backside up on a flat work surface. Take a little paste and apply thinly all over leaf surface.
Step 7: Place another leaf over it. Apply the paste and place another leaf.

Step 8: Work consecutively in this manner for 4-5 leaves, top layer being that of paste.
Step 9: Fold in the edges and roll the leaves, starting with their base towards tip.

Step 10: Repeat for all the leaves and paste.
Step 9: In a steamer, add 2- cup water and place the all rolls in top base.

Step 10: Closed the cover and steam for 10 to 15 minute till cooked.

Step 11: Cool and remove. Cut into thick round slices.

Step 12: Heat the oil in a pan and add ingredients for seasoning, allow spluttering.
Step 13: Then add round shaped “Pataras”. Check and adjust salt chilli and sugar as desired.

Step 14: Turn off the flame and serve hot with ketchup or chutney.:)

Hot Buckwheat Cereal with Cinnamon Apples

Hot buckwheat cereal- gluten-free comfort. With apples.

Nothing like a simple bowl of hot buckwheat cereal with cinnamon spiced apples to set you straight. Because winging it can get you into trouble. I know this. But I couldn't help myself. You see, I was just so (excruciatingly!) tired of pre-planning where to eat and schlepping bags of stale corn thins and green bananas that never get ripe and worrying myself into a veritable tizzy over whether or not some waiter-slash-actor might actually offer me an empathetic ear when I ask if the grilled tuna salad has an egg-based dressing.

Not to mention feeling like a stodgy old stick-in-the-mud with a neon sign on my forehead that screams High Maintenance- when I'm not. Really. (Or maybe I'm in denial and actually one of those women who only thinks she's low maintenance, but she's really, you know, a major pain in the ass?)

So I traveled light and didn't obsess.

Continue reading

My Cook Book

Nags arranged something different idea of an event called” Show me your cook books”.

I like to cook and love to watch different type of recipe from my childhood. Before 12 years I write one book about recipe which I love. Ever since I was a teenager I was interested in cooking, and I used to see all the cooking shows on TV with deep interest, that time I used to note down all those recipes and then I made a book with that for me to use. I have collected all the favorite recipes of my mom with me in this book and I use it often to make some authentic recipes of Gujarat and others too, especially some sweet dishes....I don’t use other recipes book much ,as I have already all these good recipes with me.

This is my hand writing in Gujarati. I write this before 12-years. This is my all time favorite cook book.

This book is free when we buy Samsung microwave. I use this book when I cook in microwave.

Next coming is "Patara" recipe. My blog friend Laavanya requests me for this recipe before one month. I am not feeling good because this is toooooooooo late for her request but some time I have not all ingredients at home and sometime the last date of event. Some time work load..........So many excuses but in all time my heart always say I post this recipe as early as possible....