Reliving Memories

Browsing through old photographs is real fun, more so when you look at them after many years.

Especially baby pictures of your own kids.

Were they really that chubby? Did I really give birth to them?  In some of their baby pictures, the older one has the same dreamy gaze ... but when she smiled it made my day. A very content yet sensitive and at-peace-with-herself baby … and a peaches-and-cream complexion.  Things she did the younger one never did, the second one was chubbier, happier, wanting her way around and making her presence felt.  Assertive.  When she was hungry there was definitely no doubt about it!

How can I still get the feeling that they are doing the same things as when they were babies when I don't remember many of the things they did!  Looking at photos does remind me of certain instances, which at that time I didn't register as I was fully enjoying their growing up. They were almost like twins, so less time to focus on each one.

Some of these traits I see even now, over 25 years later, continuing as they grow ... I think that's why mothers feel their children will always be babies still, even after they've grown into adults.

Life was made of loving them caring for them spending sleepless nights worrying about them. This has not changed much even now.

Of course the bestest present they have given me in return is the eternal feeling of being a mother.

Time has flown.

Towards the end of every year one feels it has gone by so fast. If there were no year-ends would we feel the same way? Grown-up kids do sometimes remind us of the real passage of time.

Their birthdays fall in this last month of the year and this is even clearer indication of one more year added. Time is flying.

You will both remain my babies forever. Love you always. 

 Birthday greetings to both of you !

And a very Happy New Year to all !!!

Poinsettias

It's Christmas time again. No snow. It's the month both my daughters were born.  Happiness and Celebrations in the air. The Poinsettias on my Camphor chest radiating their red, so symbolic of this festive time.

The red star, a visual prayer for peace and tolerance.

And the cooking spree continues......

The satisfaction of home-cooked food cannot be replaced by anything else in this world. It may not be any gourmet French or Italian or even Mughlai, a simple dal chawal with papad and a home-made pickle for accompaniment is enough, totally satiating. The presentation also does not have to be fancy, as long as it is neatly placed in front of you.

Everyday cooking can be a bit boring, though one tries to incorporate variety be it with vegetables, different meats, or cereal …. conscious always of the fact that at the end of it one needs to produce a balanced meal at the table.

The most difficult part is what to cook?! Without much help from the consuming counterparts one has to think of the menu singlehandedly, keeping everyone’s individual likes and dislikes in mind. I am not very fond of cooking per se and have always been lucky to have khandani cooks working for me, completely spoilt in that respect. To the extent that the menu and each person’s specific preferences were all taken into account!

Well now for over four years I’ve been cooking on my own, without much help. With the girls working besides husband dear they do look forward to a hot meal made with all the love and care. Many-a-day it is a one-dish meal, on others it is left-overs, maybe supplemented by a take-away, or on other days we simply order out. Occasionally I attempt some elaborate cooking like Biryanis, Pulaos, Khormas, once in a while Idli-Dosa-Sambar, but most days it is simple. And of course in the cooler months, some BBQ.

All this reminds me of one or two cooking classes I joined many decades ago where they tried to teach us recipes which one could never reproduce on a day-to-day basis. It was repeated once and never again. Recipe books I do follow but generally try to improvise and do my own thing. The food programs on TV and the YouTube are useful for some quick tips. But I think when it comes to cakes and desserts one needs to find and follow a good recipe step by step, no cutting corners.

Talking of fancy cooking, AS and I decided to try out some blueberry cheese-cake. A rare moment when the daughter wants to try a recipe …. we went ahead and the results are in the pictures below.

 

Pour a mixture of  240gms cream cheese,1 cup sour cream, 3/4 cup sugar,1teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons of allpurpose flour, and 4 eggs into a readymade crumb base. Bake in oven for 45 minutes at 160 degrees.

For blueberry glaze, cook 1/2 cup sugar,1tablespoon cornstarch,1/cup water and 1cup fresh blueberries  over medium heat till mixture is clear. Cool completely.

Pour cooled blueberry glaze over cooled cheese cake.Cover blueberry cheesecake and chill in the refrigerator.Ready to serve.

Barbeque Delight

The weather’s turning pleasant. Everybody’s out in their gardens more, and so are the barbeque sets. 

BBQs are a very social way of cooking. Clearly not a one-man show, these require everybody’s involvement, from lighting the coals, to fanning them with a newspaper or magazine (or just blowing, or rather, wheezing, through your mouth!), to turning the food over on the grill.

I’ve become used to cooking in an open kitchen where there’s some activity around, like chatting or even listening to music. This makes the task more fun, and seem less laborious. I quite like the idea of BBQs, though of course on most days I have to cook alone ... I do so silently and accomplish whatever needs doing in a more organised way, planning my little preparations spread over the day so all the work doesn’t have to be done at once. Of course I have a habit of cleaning and washing as I go along because I dread cleaning up the mess at the end all at one go.

Last weekend we decided to do a barbeque. We’re not equipped with a barbeque set (i.e. grill stand) though we’ve been thinking of getting ourselves one. But two things have so far put us off, one the hassle of getting everything ready ... more so the lazy-bug inside (we rather order out and be done with it, less hassle), and secondly, buying a decent barbeque set. Not only the cost but deciding what kind (since this can be gas-based or electric, the pros and cons of each, etc.), there are so many choices these days. So to get around these two elements we’ve just found another way to do this.

We buy a disposable BBQ. It consists of a tray made of thick aluminium foil, contains a small bag of charcoal and a grill all fitted into one neat pack. Does not cost very much at all, and is the right size for a family of four. AS and I marinated some chicken on skewers that afternoon, we then looked forward to the evening.

The charcoals were lit, and once the flames subsided the fanning started in real earnest. Watching us IS got a brilliant idea to generate breeze with a portable vacuum cleaner ... Of course we realised that the machine only sucked air and didn’t blow any .... With all the engineering ... a hair-dryer would probably have been perfect!

After all the commotion the coals were just right and we laid out our skewers, fanning continuously. The chicken didn’t take long and was soon done near-perfect.

We got out our plates and served ourselves. The thrill of eating out in the open and literally straight off the fire was enthralling. Food cooked on coals has a taste of its own. The disposable BBQ worked ... and how! Of course, having more people would mean greater involvement, though also more interaction ... More fun. I think we should go in for a larger set ....... or maybe not, just manage with more of these little 'jugaads'!