In the lap of Redwoods

They were born centuries ago, with roots deep into the grounds they soar high and aim for the stars. The winds can blow hard, the fires can burn and yet they continue to stand tall. They are the majestic Redwoods.

Trees – we take them for granted. We cut them, make paper, and then we spend millions to recycle paper so we don’t have to cut more trees. Something very wrong with that logic, but that’s where we are today and we cannot turn back. What we can do is learn from them, learn from the trees, learn from the Redwoods. Trees they teach us to stay grounded. They teach us to take in the worse and give out the best. They teach us not to loose our purpose. This summer has been about trees. I am not sure why, but the trees have been calling 🙂 every painting I make, every walk I take, I cannot but help look at the imperfectly perfect silhouettes of trees. So when I decided to search for a campsite, it was only natural that I find a state park with abundant trees.

Lemons Market – the closest grocery store to Hendy Woods. Very pricey, but you get all the basics that you need for cooking.

My search took me to Hendy Woods State Park in Mendocino County approximately a 3 hour drive North of San Francisco. It is an absolutely amazing site for families camping with kids. We packed two SUVs with tents, food, mattresses, pillows, more food, water, and tons of ice. The weather folks said it’s going to be 100F – Ouch! Why does every camping trip I take have to be a scorcher, but a promise made is a promise made.. so off we started our trip. It’s an easy drive, a few twists and turns but nothing too strenuous. As we entered Philo, CA life slowed down. With a population of 347, there is no need to move fast. Lucky folks. What do you think?

A quick caveat, your GPS will take you on 128 and say you have reached Hendy Woods State Park, but there is no sign of it. Drive further about for 2 miles and you will see a sign, turn into Greenwood Road and voila – Hendy Woods State Park.

The ranger lady at the check in was super friendly and welcomed us with tips and ideas on things to do. The Navarro river flows in the park, but the drought has hit it bad, so there wasn’t much happening in the river, she said. We were bummed a little, but there was still plenty to do in the area. We drove into the park and onto our campsite. Beautiful isn’t it? The crew starts to set up right away 🙂

And before we knew it, team work had these two tents up.

Next stop, we need some Chai 🙂

The boys get busy and build a camp fire – the best part of camping.
There is something magical, romantic and yet fearful about fire.
It entices and yet pushes you away. It demands respect.

We put the fire to good use. It keeps us warm and cooks our food. Chicken for the carnivores 🙂

Veggie wraps for the herbivores 🙂

I woke up to this – the birds chirping and a tree canopy.
The air was crisp and cold, the sky was clear and bright and I felt blessed
and for once, there was no thought crossing my mind. My mind was empty.

This little guy is called ” A Banana Slug” – my mini me found him on a tree stump near our tent.
It was her treasure find.

We spent the day visiting the neighborhood. An hour from Hendy Woods are treasures galore, from Russian Gulch State Park (It’s full of poison ivy, so I do not recommend it) to The Point Arena Light House (below) to the Glass Beach there is plenty to do and keep you busy Or you can just chill out at one of the turnout beaches. A quick warning – Do not take the Mountain View Road to go back and forth between Camp and Pt Arena. CA 1 is a little longer but much easier – 16% grade for 7 miles is not fun 🙂

After being disappointed with poison ivy at Russian Gulch, we drove to Pt. Arena Lighthouse. We were here not too long ago, but the feeling was just as magical. It is absolutely breathtaking.

On our way back, we stopped at “The Apple Farm.” This is right before the bridge that takes you to Hendy Woods and it is an ABSOLUTE MUST. Here’s a fun fact for you – I do not like apple juice, never have, never understood apple juice either. But this apple juice, it’s different. It is “THE BEST” apple juice on planet Earth. Best part – scroll down to read 🙂

Best part – Honor System. Who does that in today’s times? I guess only folks who know their product is so good, that anyone who tries to cheat them will feel guilty 🙂 It’s a pure honor system, take your pic from the assorted goodies,
put the cash in their cash box and walk away 🙂

The night was lots of fun with campfire songs, some sea shanty songs, good forest stories and had lots of fun – thanks to Park Ranger Steve. No camp is complete without Smores, so we made Smores 🙂

And so ended our second night at Hendy Woods State Park. Next morning was all about packing up – take the tents down, and load up the SUV’s and make our way back to the urban life.

As we drove back, I could not help but amuse myself with the thought that human beings despite all the hoo-ha on technology search low and high for a place that has not been touched by the human hand. A place that is not connected, just so we can connect back to our primal roots. A place where we can sit and stare and stare some more without the worry about a “to do list.”

What greeted me when I came back home helped continue the experience. This insane beautiful gorgeous CA sky. And so ended a short but very relaxed vacation. Hendy Woods we will come back.

Shilpa’s Summer Contest.

Summer vacations – they are almost here and so is the Summer Contest. Last year, I took a small step towards my vision of having an education system where in the lack of being able to memorize was not punished. It gave rise to the summer writing contest – http://www.shilpaverma.com/a-summer-contest/

The contest got a lot of good responses but unfortunately not too many entries came in and the judges didn’t really have much to choose from. This was probably a lack of marketing on my effort, so this year, I’ll try and be more active and keep reminding you. Hope that’s ok 🙂

The rules this year are simple. Any student can participate. Since I don’t know how many kids will actually participate, I will leave the age and topic categories out. My total budget for prizes for this contest is $200. I know it’s a small amount, but since this is a self sponsored event, I can only afford so much. The essay is open to all ages and school going kids.

Many of you have small businesses out there, if you would like to sponsor a prize, please email me at bloggingtale@gmail.com and we can make it bigger and better. I love creative collaboration and promise you it will be a relationship that is mutually beneficial.

Topic? That is always a big question mark for me. Should I give it structure or should I let if flow freely. This year I have decided to keep it free flowing.

The topic is: I wish my school….

Maximum words allowed: 700
Essay has to be typed. For the younger ones, parents can help type, but please be honest and let it be their ideas and not yours. I think our judges are smart enough to know the difference.
Due Date: August 10th, 2015.
Email final essay to: bloggingtale@gmail.com Include your name, age and email ID/Phone number.

“I wish my school…” is a very abstract topic. I chose this for two reasons. First, summer is when they unwind from the rigor of testing and studying. This is the time when they can imagine their school to be all they want it to be. Second, education industry is the only industry in the world that puts out products with no input from its end consumer – the student. Let this essay be their opportunity to express what they want their school to be. Will it make a difference? Who knows? It’s a start, lets see where this takes us. The free flow is to let the student take it in any direction that they want. They get enough rules in the school, here they can write as they want. The can write about their abstract wishes of wishing that school was only 2 hours long or how they wish they could play all day or maybe they wish they had no tests in school. But here’s the key – In addition to writing what they wish, they also need to say Why that is important to them and How will that help them as they venture into higher grades or the real world.

For instance, the student can absolutely say, I wish my school was on Planet Mars, but he/she then has to explain why and how will that be helpful as compared to the school being on Earth. The student can say, I wish I had no tests but projects in school, but then remember to say why and how will that be helpful and more important. The student can also say, I wish my school stayed the same and then explain why he/she does not wish to change anything.

The idea is to let them express themselves and like last year, there are no extra points for using the dictionary while writing. I am a firm believer
that good writing is simple and yet captivating. No one should be penalized for not memorizing the English dictionary. The judges will be looking for good hooks, ideas, a cohesive structure to writing, a thought process and a good conclusion.

I hope you, the parent will help me by showing this to your student and encourage them to participate. Don’t force, but friendly reminders are okay. If you would like to sponsor any part of this competition, write to me at bloggingtale@gmail.com

Thank you again for the love and support to this blog. Have a wonderful summer and keep in touch.

Indian Food – Popular or not?

1% of the US population is Indian and yet there is no Indian restaurant that serves authentic Indian food. Why? Some of you already callme the Samosa Nazi, because I refuse to eat a Samosa at a restaurant, simply because I know it’s not going to be as it should be. I very rarely order Chole Batura, for I do not like this iconic dish altered so it can “fit” into the western palette. Why does Indian food feel such a strong need to “fit” into? Why can’t Indian food recognize that it is brilliant as it is?

The most common answer to this Why is; well the vegetables don’t taste the same. You know the potatoes taste different, so how can the samosa taste the same? Really? And so started this blogpost, and the different ideas on why? Here’s what I think is happening, feel free to chime in and correct me.

Still local: Indian food is still very localized. Yes, there are Indian restaurants every where, but unless, the Indians become ubiquitous across the entire country, it’s going to be hard for the food to go mainstream.
Ethnic Cheap: Indian food is typically considered an “ethnic” food, but the prices are comparable to a foreign food restaurant. Foreign food to me is something that very few people would be willing to try, and again that will depend on the demographics. For instance, when Sushi entered Midwest it was foreign, but it has been mainstream in CA for a very long time. As foodies, we may pay a premium for something we consider foreign, but ethnic is typically a step below. Even as Indians ourselves, we scrunge at the thought of paying $20 for an Indian buffet. Why won’t others?
Penny wise pound foolish: Indian restaurants need to stop pinching pennies and do a better job with explaining the ingredients. Maybe spend some money of decor and serving ware too. Even the high end restaurants will charge you for pickles. Come on guys.. it’s time you started counting the dollars and stopped worrying about the pennies and let the pickles flow. In fact have a pickle bar, let your customers try out the mild and spicy tangy flavors. If they get hooked to these flavors it is more business in the long run.
It’s Hot n Spicy: Indian food is misunderstood. Yes, the mention of Indian food brings up images of the burn your mouth curries and sadly we Indians are to be blamed for that. The truth is India started using chilli peppers only after the Portuguese landed in Goa. Until then the Indians used black pepper and Pippali (now only used in pickles.) The truth is Indian food is infused with flavors and on individual preferences can include burn your mouth spiciness.
More than a curry: Curry is a generic term. Curry is essentially a gravy. Americanization of Indian food has resulted in a sad standardization. The truth is Chicken tikka masala and paneer masala do not have the same curry base, and if they do, please walk out of that restaurant. IMHO Chicken tikka masala is a much richer base, where as paneer masala can be made with a basic onion – tomato paste, ginger, a pinch of turmeric, a touch of garam masala and maybe some yogurt for the creaminess. Serve a home cooked paneer masala with hot off the press roti’s, a side of pickle and cucumber raita, you have a health low calorie meal fit to please the pickiest palette.
It’s rich and heavy: Again a sad translation to fit in. Indian home cooked meals are probably one of the lowest calorie intensive meals you can have. The rich, cream based gravies are a sign of desperation by the Indian restaurant owners to lure in the customers.This again stems from the myth that if one takes “chilli pepper” out, the flavors will go away, and so pour in the creams and clarified butter. Try replacing the chilli pepper with ginger, garlic, clove, cinnamon and cilantro. You won’t miss the chilli pepper guaranteed.

Did you see the movie, “The 100 foot journey” if yes, what was your take on it?

The movie does not do justice to its producers (Steven Spielberg or Oprah Winfrey,) it however does bring forth the point of “staying true to your roots.” Most people enjoyed it because it glorified Indian food, but I think it glorified the idea of staying honest with the spices 🙂 It was not about Indian food or how spicy it is. Yes Indian food is hot, but it is sexy hot and not chilli pepper hot. That was my take on the movie. The movie very aptly showed how Hassan Kadam a home trained culinary genius became a sensation in the food world. Hassan was enjoying the glory and fame only to realize very quickly that commercialization and fusion was killing his creativity. He soon realized that the Michelin stars will come only when he stays true to his roots, so he comes back and opens his rackety old spice box to create magic.

Unlike many other cuisines where flavors are shared, Indian cuisine does not share flavors but rather each spice tantalizes the palette unlike any other cuisine. The effortlessly blending in all in while maintaining the distinct flavors is what makes the Indian cuisine unique.

Will Indian food become main stream? Yes, it can ONLY and ONLY if, the true authentic flavors of home cooked meals from the kitchens of Indian can be served in the restaurants. Just like human beings, honesty and authenticity is important in food too.

As Indians we often complaint about how India was dominated and enslaved for centuries. This slavery gave us the rich cuisine today. The Mughals brought in the tandoors and naans, the Europeans brought the the chills, potatoes and tea 🙂 We embraced it all and made it our own. It’s time to embrace it again and stop customizing it to fit the western palette.

Keep it simple and keep it true.

A Paused Vacation.

Staying true to our pledge of discovering as many national parks as possible, this Spring, we once again chose an alternate destination – Crater Lake. Oregon. It is one of the top 100 places to see before you die :), but what makes it different is its surroundings. Usually, any national park or popular destination has small towns buzzing with activity and signs of commercialization are visible from far, but not near Crater Lake. We saw nothing but acres and acres of open spaces, lakes and mountains. The tiny towns with their abandoned shacks and buildings looked more like ghost towns and yet part of the lake is open all year round and welcomes visitors to experience the calm and humility of its magnificence.

DAY 1: We start our drive from CA to our destination, Running Y Resort, Klamath Falls, OR (www.runningy.com) It is approx a 6 hour drive filled with nature and beauty. Mt. Shasta welcomes you to the beauty and grandeur of this area.

: Mt. Shasta – It’s grandeur is humbling and a reminder to how little man is.

**This is what greeted us as we entered our cabin at the Running Y Resort in Klamath Falls, OR.**

**A view of the fully equipped kitchen at the Running Y Resort Vacation Rental.**

**Our personal backyard retreat at the resort. The creek flowing was the icing on the cake. The kids had a blast on this.**

The drive to Crater Lake from Klamath Falls is about an hour. The tiny towns surrounding it are amazing not because they are bursting with life but more so because there is no life there and it was very surprising to see that.

The drive to Crater lake was an experience in itself. We saw towns which were abandoned and yet there were acres and acres of lakes and open farmland around. It defied all logic. Man has historically found home in such areas and yet this part of the world stays isolated.

As we drove into the park, snow dusted evergreens welcomed us. Crater lake is a caldera that gets its water only from rain and melted snow. It also happens to be the deepest lake in the US and the s7th deepest in the world. There is no inlet or outlet to this lake, and maybe that’s why it is so pure and still.

Another conundrum of nature; OR a state with so few people and yet an abundant supply of water and here we are in CA, next door neighbors scrambling for water. Wonder why the world can’t just be a free place.

If the cost of living wasn’t so high, I think many of us would continue to be travellers. What do you think?

**The Drive INTO the Crater Lake National Park was a fairy tale come alive. Snow dusted evergreens – absolutely breathtaking and magical.**


: CRATER LAKE. The water is still – not a single ripple, almost as if life takes a pause to marvel at its beauty.

DAY 2: We decided to drive to Lava Beds National Monument, CA (http://www.nps.gov/labe/index.htm) Yes, this National Park is an undiscovered CA treasure that sits at the border of CA and OR. Once again it is one of those national parks that on paper will seem very blah, but when you go there, you will be amazed to see how Earth presents itself in the crudest form and yet looks so pretty. It is a volcanic and geological paradise. One of the few places (I think) where you can experience the magic of ice-caves, it was home to the Modoc’s until we the civilized man entered the area and gave rise to the famous Modoc War. It is 700 caves that are a testimony to half a million years of turmoil. It is approx an hour from Klamath Falls, OR.

**Lava Beds – Pure blackness, and makes you wonder who life can survive in these dreary conditions.**

**A better shot of the lava beds and rocks as you drive into the park.**

**Pumice – proof, this was volcanic heaven.**

We saw an ICE-CAVE. An ice-cave is usually formed in lava tubes, and has at least some portion of the cave that is below freezing temperatures and so there is ice all year around in that cave. In dry arid areas such as the lava bed national monument, these geological features play a critical role in keeping life alive. DO NOT go in here without flashlights. We DID NOT have any, so we only ventured in a little bit with the help of our trusted iPhones. There are steps that go deep down into the cave and if you are brave enough to do to those depths, you will be rewarded with Ice at the bottom.

The walkway into the Ice-Cave. It is DARK. DO NOT GO IN WITHOUT FLASHLIGHTS.

Next we decided to explore the Petroglyph Rock. The park claims to have the largest collection of Native American drawings, unfortunately though a lot of it has been destroyed by the modern man graffiti. Believe it or not, about 4000 years ago, this area was submerged in water and what looks like a gigantic rock today was actually an island.

We walked around this and tried hard to find some remains of the Mordoc tribe. Below are the two clearest markings we could find.

**Petroglyph markings on the rocks in Lava Beds.**

**Looks like a little Mordoc girl was drawing herself 🙂**

We stayed in the area for 5 nights, and only saw two national parks. We could have driven to Bend and other places around, but we decided to honor the slow life of Klamath Falls and just took it easy. Sometimes that’s important too. Go with the pace of the place. The Running Y resort has plenty to keep the kids busy an the adults can enjoy the serenity of the area. BBQ dinners in snow courtesy a brave family that accompanied us, completed every evening perfectly.

As we drove back, the magnificence of Mt. Shasta made us pause in humility once again.

Crater lake was amazing, but the experience is incomplete till we hike to the Wizard Island. Until then, keep discovering.

Diversity, are you there?

Diversity in the simplest form is a variety of anything. Diversity in wardrobe, cuisine, and sometimes even friendships is what keeps life interesting. After all “variety is the spice of life.” The word diversity in the world today is nothing more than a buzz word.. a word that is often used as a marketing tool. Diversity today means “assimilation of individuals from different cultural backgrounds.” Corporations, colleges, even cities and counties use it as an marketing tool to attract new customers, clients and residents. That’s all good, but there is a key element of diversity that is often missed; it’s the element of being inclusive.

Being inclusive is a two edged sword with “the need of belonging” and “pseudo diversity” at a constant fight with each other. Feeling of belonging is a fundamental human need. We all want to be a “part” of something, and at the same time birds of the same feather want to flock together. It’s a conundrum. On one hand we want to learn about different cultures and traditions and yet we are afraid to make friends or socialize with someone who comes from a world different from ours. While being friends with another one unlike you can be understood, it is hard to understand the concept of pseudo diversity; at least for me it was until a few months ago when I noticed a 6 year old comment on the subject.

It all started with a trip to Napa Valley, CA, sitting in a pizzeria, the kids comment, we are the only Indians here. I expected the older child to notice and comment but was taken by surprise when the younger sibling quipped in and said, “ya that’s weird. In my school, we are all Indians.” This sentence got me thinking, they are growing up in US and yet she has only Indian friends, eats Indian, talks Indian and one of her favorite songs is “Indiawale.” I looked at my older one, who loves India, mimics SRK and yet has friends in every shape, size and color and his roots are midwestern. How did this happen? Is it a personality thing? Maybe it is. However I do believe the environment has a big role to play too.

Kids and adults alike in our neighborhood even though immigrants are not minorities. They are the majority. The concept of minority is alien to this neighborhood. Some of you might take pride in this fact. For me its one of those “ok whatever” things. When I came to the US, I landed in a town with 10,000 families and we were the only colored folks there 🙂 Yes there is ignorance, there is lack of awareness of the world around them, however the warmth and love I got from folks there still warms my heart. I am yet to see the humility I saw there and I am yet to experience the inclusive-ness I experienced in the little town of Greensburg, IN.

When the kids elementary school had the idea of introducing the concept of having an “International Day,” I grabbed upon the opportunity. I was at the brink of frustration with this concept of pseudo diversity. Where is the diversity? With this question and the support of some amazing and outstanding parent leaders, it was decided to celebrate the world we live in. Every grade was a continent and within that they had a theme to work with. The best was when we discussed Asia 🙂 Should it be China or India? How do we decide? So we did something smart.. we gave them Mt. Everest 🙂 A little bit of both..LOL. Were they bummed.. you bet. There were many who asked..why not China and India? The answer is simple.. these kids live China and India every day. Some asked, why not Hawaii and Mexico for North America? Well, the most obvious vacations for folks in CA are Hawaii or Mexico. Every once in a while, Vegas and Grand Canyon get some attention, but beyond that it’s probably New York. Everything in between is lost in oblivion for CA. So for the continent of North America, it was let’s meet our neighbor Canada :). What do you think eh? Additionally, we travelled to Greece, saw the gods and goddesses come alive, experienced a base camp at Mt. Everest and met some of the mountaineers, travelled to Australia to see the aboriginal art and even the Galapagos Islands and understood why Darwin was in awe of the place. All this in one night. It was “around the world with 7 grades.”

The best part for me was to see the senior most grade celebrate Africa. Why? In the entire grade there is one kid with African heritage. She was the lone student interested in celebrating. Slowly and steadily here classmates joined in and embraced and celebrated her culture. From what I saw, it was clear that the kids surprised themselves. Shakira’s Waka-Waka came alive and so did a true Sudanese dance along with many artifacts from Africa itself. I hope in the process they made some new friendships. I hope now when they hear of Africa, they will think beyond the Apartheid and images of poverty that is spattered by the media. I hope they will embrace the continent where human beings were born.

Diversity is so much more than living in a place with people from different nationalities. It is about tolerating each other. It is about NOT bragging on the supremacy of one culture vs. the other. It is about accepting the flaws in our own society and recognizing the positives in another. Most importantly, it is about sharing, both happiness and sorrows.

If the world was meant to be as different as we perceive it to be, Pangea would be a fiction of our imagination.

We the Women…

Woman’s day, Woman’s week – we celebrated by sharing pictures, sending uplifting messages on WA and FB to each other and just enjoyed the glory of being ourselves. One of the stream of messages on WA caught my attention, it talked about the other side of womanhood. It talked about how “we the women” are frenemies. Yes you read it right, we are our own friends and enemies.

For a few minutes let’s keep all the Lean In feminism on the side and think about this. When we see a mom – with a stellar career choosing to move on with her career and not coming to field trips in school, we the super cool moms who attend the field trips are the first ones to comment on how Ms. Busy Bee never has time. “We the women” never complaint about dads not coming or being a part of it, “we the women” just accept that no matter how busy a mom is, she has to find time. “We the women” grunt at the mom, who sends her kid to school with unbrushed hair, “we the women” snicker at the friend who writes post after post of how amazing her life is. “We the women” look at others and wonder about The Dress Up Game (http://www.shilpaverma.com/the-dress-up-game/) The bottom line is “we the women” have an inherent trait of jealousy in us. Guys don’t have that. You can argue they do, and maybe you are right. But the woman jealousy factor is 100 times more potent. Guys are competitive and may choose to take a short cut to succeed in their career, but they don’t have time or the patience to gossip about another guy who is doing better than that. We the women do. We love gossips. And just to be clear, the WE in “we the women” includes me too.

All the women gossip , MIL, jealous wife jokes exist for reason. They are fictitious but stem from reality.

India – a country close to my heart is slaved to domestic help. If the maid calls in sick, the whole family grunts and grinds. On woman’s day – how many of “we the women” choose to give that maid a day off as a mark of respect to her womanhood. “We the women” pampered ourselves in salons and gatherings, all in while we had another woman cleaning up our mess.

Why am I venting out? Simply because I wish for “we the women” to stop comparing ourselves to ourselves. Stop judging me based on what I do. Stop being unhappy with your life because you think mine is perfect. Guess what, mine is not. I have my battles too. I fight them everyday with my internal strength and a prayer and somewhere in between I try to smile too. You should do the same. Life did not promise us a bed of roses, but it does have this unique way of preparing us for the future. So next time, please don’t judge me based on my clothes, or how I look or what I do with my life. My life is mine and yours is yours. Why oh why do “we the women” judge. Let’s just be and let us be.

Let it be “Us the Women,” ‘cos both you and I know that this journey called womanhood would be impossible without girlfriends.

HAPPY HOLI!

“Red, Green, Yellow and Blue

The colors of Holi remind me of you
‘cos just like them, you are so vibrant and fun too.”

The above sentiment summarizes my thoughts for my FB family. Thank you for pushing me when I needed it and applauding when it was deserved.

Holi to me brings back memories of my girlfriends and I taking our mopeds and racing through Vadodara from house to house smearing each other with colors, hoarding on the yummies are moms made and dodging the water splashes by faces unknown. Ahh… if only the kids of today knew how to live a carefree life. We had nothing compared to them, and yet we laughed till our stomachs hurt and tears rolled down. We ate without the worry of our cholesterol increasing and getting a sugar hype 🙂 And we survived college without Google 🙂 Such was the magic of a tech free world.

Today I reminiscence those colorful days and hope for a vibrant world for my kids. A world where every color gets equal recognition in the color wheel. Those who paint know that while white makes it bright, red and yellow bring make it vibrant but it is the black and brown that ground the painting.

It’s Holi, the festival of colors. Colors make the world come alive. Think “The Giver” 🙂 A world without colors and uniformity might sound interesting, but the Homo sapien was not designed for uniformity. It evolved to break the rules and ask for more. The “more” maybe greed today, but it is the “want of more” that made us what we are. Love it or not, your choice, but it is the need for more of every shade is the basic color wheel, that gave us the vibrant world we live in today. It takes nerves of steel to survive in the world today and YES we have and will continue to thrive. The thriving happens when we have friends and family to laugh and cry with. So this Holi, pick up the phone and talk to someone you haven’t spoken to in a very long time. It’s the prefect time to break the ice and renew long forgotten friendships and relationships. Don’t text, TALK! Surprise them with a call and listen to their smile.

HAPPY HOLI TO YOU & YOURS!

HAPPY HOLI TO YOU AND YOURS!HAPPY HOLI TO YOU AND YOURS!

BFF – By Pooja Verma

Today is a very proud post. A poem by Pooja, 6 year old. So instead of a my own, sharing my daughters – a proud moment indeed. Enjoy this poem that celebrates friendship. The artwork is her own too.

BFF

– by Pooja Verma

Friend forever
Friend together

We will never
Split apart ever!!!

Aaloo Tiki – Dil se.

Aaloo Tiki; crispy on the outside and melt in your mouth inside. What India calls Aaloo Tiki, the world calls Potato Croquettes. Nothing against croquettes, but saying croquettes just doesn’t warm up the memories like Aaloo Tiki does. Dil se translates to “from the heart,” after all it’s Valentines 🙂

A staple street food in North India, Aaloo Tikki vendors, have this huge griddle or taws as it is called in India. Perfect for shallow frying the taws had a lake of boiling oil in the center. Yes, it was a lot of grease, and surrounding the grease were tikki’s – round patties of mashed potatoes an spices stuffed with spiced chana dal (Bengal gram spilt legumes) and molded into this perfect round.

The customer arrives and the vendor pushes the partially cooked tikkis into the pool of oil where it sizzles hot perfectly to a crispy brown goodness.

The Tikki has since evolved from the streets of Delhi to a gourmet delicacy. It’s yummy and versatile. Make them tiny, they are the show stopper at your next holiday party. Make them bigger and cater a vegetarian BBQ, make them just right and have a chaat party at home OR twist them a little, change the shape and have a wonderful Valentine’s Day.

Here’s how I make Aaloo Tiki. Again, these are my ingredient choices, the base is potato and honestly, you can’t go wrong with potatoes, the add on’s can be anything; from mixed vegetables to cheese, or just keep it plain. Either way, because you made it with love, it will taste amazing.

So here goes:

For the Stuffing:

If you want to stuff the tikki with the lentil’s (bengal gram dal) – Take about one cup of dry lentils and soak the lentils for about 3 hours,
boil them with minimal water so they are just soft and not mushed.
Add salt to taste, cayenne pepper, and a squirt of Sriracha sauce or any other hot sauce of choice.
Mix it all in and keep it aside.

You can use anything for the stuffing, cheese, paneer (home made cheese) Or even a dollop of sour cream and dill.

For the Tikki’s – Potato Croquette
Take 5-6 medium sized potatoes, boil them, peel them and mash them.

As a general rule – one medium sized potato will make two small Tikki’s.
If you want your Tikki’s bigger and thicker, then one medium sized potato for one Tikki.
(10 lbs of potatoes makes 45-50 Tikki’s)

Add a handful of crushed ginger, about a teaspoon of finely chopped green chillies (if you want to keep it mild, you can omit the chills. But do add the ginger)
salt to taste, a handful of finely chopped cilantro, a dash of dry mango powder and a tbsp of lemon juice.

Now Add about a cup of bread crumbs.

Mix them all to make a potato dough 🙂

Now let the fun start – take a handful of mashed potatoes, flatten it out,
add about a tablespoon of the stuffing, and gently wrap the potatoes around it.

You can either shape it as a pattie or go artsy and get those cookie cutters out.
Shape it the way you like.

Take a pan, add some oil and shallow fry the tikki.

You have yourself melt in your mouth goodness – Aaloo Tikki – An Imperfectly Perfect Delight.

Souse it with the chutneys of choice. I topped it with some spiced split peas, finely chopped onions, tamarind and cilantro chutney.

FullSizeRender-2 — Aaloo Tikki – It is sinful blessing. An Imperfectly Perfect Delight.

Unconditional Love

Like, Love, Compassion or is it; Like, Passion, Love and Compassion? Such are the questions popping in my mind. Why? Fickle is the mind and fleeting are the thoughts.

What do you think?

Lets start with the basics, like vs. love. How do we know whether we like someone or love someone? As a mom of a teenager, this question has been answered way too many times lately, and here’s what I think. Like is more about just hanging out with a person. It is the “getting to know” that person and more often than not, likeness often fizzles away for the slightest disagreement or a silly pet peeve. Like is when we make a concious effort to say the right thing and make our best appearances because we don’t know what the other person thinks about us.

Love on the other hand does not care about appearances. Love is much deeper. Love does not have the upper hand, love willingly says sorry. Love is about knowing how she twitches her nose or how he flings his hair. Love heals and yet hurts. As a general rule, I think when we love someone, we focus on the face – we know every expression like it was our own. So going forward, be it a friend, a child, a parent or a romantic interest; focus on the face, the mutual gaze defines the difference, and when the gaze is right, you will know. A talented friend recently told me, Love is also about action. The three little words, “I love you” are hard to say and once said need action as a constant companion. The tiny gestures that tell others, Yes, I know your likes and dislikes is all that it takes.

The emotional spectrum that starts from like, moves on to love, where does it go after that? Does it end with compassion and where does passion fit? Passion is the tricky one.

The problem with the word “passion” is that it is often tagged to love and then it’s all about desire and lust. But I think there is a purer side to passion. Passion to me comes after love and before compassion. It is the right love that gives one the passion to be and live. Passion to do what one believes in. When love is not right, the same passion takes a negative turn. Passion positive or negative is about self; it might be a desire or an ambition.

Compassion on the other hand is selfless. Compassion neither needs a relationship nor has any expectations of favors being returned. It is impersonal.

Love, has expectations. Yes, we may say that a parents love is unconditional, but is it really? As parents we may not demand a return, but in the deepest crevices of our heart, hidden under our aspirations and dreams is the tiny expectation that yes, they will return the gesture. It is the expectations that cause the heart to ache, it is the expectation that causes arguments, and it is also the expectation of I before We, that sadly can end it all.

Going back to the spectrum, how does love move to compassion. Took me half a life to complete the spectrum, but after I reached out to all my experiences,

I now know compassion is simply unconditional love. Compassion is the pot of gold at the end of the emotional spectrum.

This Valentine day and beyond, love unconditionally.

: Love comes in all shapes and colors. Don’t judge it.

The topic is: I wish my school….

BFF

– by Pooja Verma

Friend forever Friend together

We will never Split apart ever!!!

Friend forever
Friend together

We will never
Split apart ever!!!