A well deserved victory............

Yesterday was one of the most exiting days of my life. The Indian Cricket Team won the highest honor in the cricketing world The Cricket World Cup 2011. Wow, I still cannot believe it. We won by a good 6 wickets, thanks to the impressive knocks by the captain  M.S.Dhoni (91) and Gautam Gambhir(97). Though I wish atleast of them would have made a century. India bowled first and created trouble for the Lankan batsmen, with spot on fielding and a catch by Yuvraj was really outstanding. While the opposition fumbled  in that area. So its true that catches win matches! Things could have been a lot different if the Lankans had taken a couple of key wickets or stopped a few more runs through fielding.

Apart from that, it was really thoughtful and rather sweet of the entire team to dedicate the World Cup Victory to Sachin Tendulkar. He deserved it, this probably being his last world cup tournament. But me being the dreamer that I am,who believes in fairy-tales...expected a century from the Little Master so that he could complete his Century of Centuries. After all Mumbai is his home and Wankhede his home ground. Imagine the height of SachinMania then.....Wow the thrill would have been something else.Though it does not matter because Sachin was, is and forever will be the God of Cricket.

I watched the final with a bunch of my close friends, giving hubby dear the ball by ball score via sms. He is in Samoa for his own tournament. I felt so sad for him and missed sharing the thrill of winning the cup with him. All in all, missed centuries, dropped catches, missing hubby does not count , when the bottom line is - India wins the World Cup after 28 years.
Three Cheers for India , Three Cheers for Sachin.............

Spring Cleaning ......and its not even spring yet!

God knows what hit me today, I have been de-cluttering my home since morning. A little back-breaking exercise that requires some brain exercise too. Got out all the boxes, cartons, suitcases and emptied their contents. Then I made three piles - 1. throwing away, 2. giving away, 3. holding on (until next time). Must say the first two piles were way larger than than the third, and I am very pleased with myself. The job was pending for quite sometime now and it had to be done. Now my storage space is much more organized and my mind is at peace. Even as a young girl I enjoyed the job. It is kind of a de-stressing technique for me.

I have never been a hoarder for things at any point in my life, be it personal items, artifacts, clothes, furniture...whatever. If there is something that does not come in use for a year, it is transferred to one of the first two piles. I love handbags, but each time I buy a new one, an old one is given away or recommissioned. The same rule applies to my clothes and shoes( in a way I make room for newer stuff). I try to do it for hubby dear and my princess too( toys are inevitably rescued).

I feel good about myself and am thinking of newer ways to busy myself for the week ahead.

One task, One lesson!

I love to recycle and then reuse stuff. What i do to my clothes has been mentioned in on of the older posts. Last week again, I gave myself one such task, a new project. On one of our visits to India, we went to Ajmer and Jaipur. With just two days of stay and rainy season, street shopping (my favorite kind of shopping) was out of question. But we managed to find a Handicraft Emporium that had everything under one roof. After selecting Bandini suits and looking at some jewellery,we entered the home furnishing section. Immediately we fell in love with these two handmade quits. So soft and warm, beautiful print and above all really worth the price. Needless to say we bought them both.
Two years down the line, those same quilts looked worn out and the stitchs were giving away. I did not have the heart to give it away. So I got some material and opened up an old bed cover. Combined the two and got a cover made for one of the quilts. Now I can use the same quilt with all the memories in a new avatar. The only sad part in this whole exercise was that the tailor did not do his job to my satisfaction. But then, like it is said - If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. Lesson learnt!

Trying to get back....

Its been almost 2 months since I wrote something, that either happens when nothing interesting is happening around you or one is so busy that there is no time to write. In the last months there was quite a bit of activity in my life. Some exciting, some tiring and some outright boring. First we changed our residence, that was in mid-2010, getting used to a new home and finding a new maid has never been a cake walk. Then there was Ramadan, need I say more?
My little princess started pre-school,that was exciting. A new uniform, books and bag, craft work and regular home-work. Oh yes I also tried to re-visit my gym, for a few weeks, that endeavor was not entirely successful, so I am back to square one now.
We visited Singapore for a couple of days, that was fun. Ate lots of sweets for Diwali thanks to my kind friends. And later attended a super duper party with the same theme.
Also worth mentioning is that my little princess performed in a mini concert at school and won the second place for recital. And I can tell you that it was a proud moment.
Besides that I took up upon me a new project, recycling my old bed-cover and re-inventing a quilt.
I will elaborate about that in the next post soon ..

That time of the year...

Long time I know, been busy doing nothing, really. Just plain old lazy I guess.......Any ways now that Ramadan is almost over, thought of writing something. So here I am, sitting next to my little princess, typing away while she is engrossed in watching Peter Pan.

It is 'that time of the year' when we Jakartans ( at least me and my friends) are distressed. No maids, we all feel the pinch. Actually a big poke as well as a shove. I bid farewell to mine yesterday. So now my house has a new maid ...somewhat clumsy and irritable, yes you guessed it right ME. And as far as I know some of my friends have been bestowed with the same title.

Apart from the work, which get done somehow anyway, there is something else that turns us all into a nervous wreck - the wait for the maids, be it new ones or the older ones coming back. One cannot predict them. It surely is a mystery what makes them tick. Now that there is no one to lend more than a helping hand to me all my chores will be done in short-cut mode. One dish meals, quick sandwiches and soups, less consumption of tea and so on.

But we are to be blamed entirely for such a situation. We get so used to the luxury of  having maids that we take it for granted. These are the times when I think of my friends living in the U.S, U.K, New Zealand and Australia who do not have this luxury at all. And to top it all they are all working as well as managing their homes. I do believe their husbands help with the chores. In any case,  Bravo! Girls you are the one to give me courage and inspiration to go through the drudgery of these 10-15 days.

Thus, while I am still waiting for a temporary part-timer to knock at my door, I gotta go and do my some dishes. Bye.

Grill Pan – an Underated Kitchen Essential | Gomestic

Grill Pan – an Underated Kitchen Essential | Gomestic

It is in fact almost a year that I have been using my pan. Sometimes instead of frying I use this pan and with a few tablespoons of oil I have got some yummy and guiltless treats. I highly recommend it, if you are on a home-shopping spree.

The Perfect Kitchen Knife

The Perfect Kitchen Knife   ( Please click here)

Hi guys ,
I wrote this based on my experience in search of a perfect kitchen knife. All Iwanted was a sharp one which did all the jobs and without any fuss. Because lets face it, who has got the time really and besides our mothers and grand -mothers made delicious food with no modern tools.
It was the basic stuff for them that worked wonderfully. Sometimes, 'Old is Gold', what do you say??

City of Malls

When I first arrived in Jakarta, I was overwhelmed. There was no one we knew and hardly understood the language. So while hubby dear was busy at work, I visited the malls. Suddenly a whole new world opened up. The polite salesgirls were like friends, trying to decipher my Bahasa, while speaking their version of English. And time flew.
Now I have settled here and know some of the malls like the back of my hand. There are so many malls here, I call Jakarta-"City of Malls". That is how I describe it to friends and family back home. Naturally when they visit us here, we take them to as many malls as possible. That is what we are doing these days, mom-in-law and myself, repeating what we did back home a few years ago. Finishing off the chores by mid-morning, off we go, returning just before hubby dear does.
Going to the malls almost everyday, does not mean we buy all the time. We enjoy window-shopping ( I call it-"Malling") as much as the real thing.Checking out the latest trends in clothing and accessories is great. It gives us a lot of ideas to revamp our wardrobes. And when really shopping we enjoy bargaining as well. That is a different thrill altogether.
Obviously, I miss my gym sessions due to these outings, but I guess walking the corridors and aisles of the malls does burn a few calories.

THE ALTERNATE WORLD OF DAILY SOAPS

Its been a long time since I have posted something. This is because I have been living in an alternate world these days - the world of daily soaps. They are not my cup of tea, but mom-in-law is a fan so I keep company. Truly speaking they are more interesting if there is someone to discuss the plots with. And we have had our share of discussions.

Pretty ladies in full make-up, beautiful sarees and fine jewellery - that would put a real-life bride to shame, plot and plan. The men on the other hand simply nod their heads to whatever their mothers/wives/girlfriends have to say. Go! Woman Power Go! The daily soaps are addictive, just a week in and I am hooked. Cannot help but wonder what is Rano up to next  or how will Suhana cope with her new life. Besides getting a peek at the latest fashion trends back home is another plus.


Almost all of these soaps have women protagonists. None of them are happy, despite being the ideal woman. While the vamps are always having a good time, enjoying the other persons misery. So what message do these soaps convey, I wonder. 


Message or not, but the title songs and music are catchy and hummable. It is no surprise then, that little princess keeps humming Bidaaiii ...bidaaiii and many more.


Ciao.

JUST CHILL!

It was a perfect day, last Sunday. We had a late night on Saturday as usual, and woke up early Sunday morning. Hubby dear was to play a cricket match on the Cibubur Grounds and we ladies were looking forward to spend the day outdoors. Clear skies and a cool breeze were the order of the day, a perfect day for cricket as well as a picnic.

I usually accompany hubby dear to his matches, been doing so since the time he started playing club cricket in Jakarta. I like to watch him play as much as I enjoy to spend sometime away from the city. Just idling away time in the near wilderness, watching little princess play her version of cricket on the practice pitch, while hubby dear sweats it out on the ground.



This time around my mom-in law also accompanied us since she is in town. It was great to cruise through the traffic free roads and actually enjoying the view outside. In no time we reached our destination, and thus began our picnic. The weather was cool and the sky cloudless, what else does one need. While we watched hubby dear play, little princess was already exploring the wilderness, and enjoying it too. We had packed our lunch, there was also an Indian stall serving samosa, tea and lassi - for those snack pangs. Of course we indulged. Usually at the Cibubur grounds I find my monthly stock of curry leaves, but unfortunately this time the tree was chopped off. That was disappointing indeed. 


Besides us there were quite a few spectators, a few kids too. By the looks of it everybody was enjoying the surrounding as much as the game. The game itself was very exciting, the competitors giving each other a tough time. Hubby dears team defended well but not enough, a very good effort altogether, could not sustain it though. The opposition won, it was a well deserved win. The return journey was marked by silence - little princess was asleep and we were tired. We did not feel like discussing cricket either, no surprises there.


All in all we had a great day outdoors, something we we do not do always. Winning and losing is part of every competitive game and we too took it in our stride. Next year, I will be there again and hopefully write about an exciting win.

WEEKEND DHAMAL...

I know its been a long time, but I had no time to sit down to really put my thoughts into words. Not that I was on to something really important, still time just flies... . One day its a Monday and by the time you get a grip on the week ,its already Friday night. This time I did not even realize when March got converted into April. And then it struck me that I had not even visited my blog-site, much less added something new to it.

My weekend was great though, as is usually the case. Two back to back potlucks and a movie. It was the Easter weekend, we had Friday, Saturday and Sunday. So after attending the church for Good Friday we had an all vegetarian Chinese themed potluck. Saturdays theme was Indian and Easter Sunday we watched  the movie Clash of the Titans. Thus my friends I was busy, the weekdays is another matter lets not go there.

 There was Fried rice, Gobi Manchurian, Corn soup and we started with a Vegetable kebab served in Chinese style. I had prepared Vegetable Chow-mien and Paneer chili. Now I am really confused as to which recipe to share with you. Lets do Vegetable Chow-mien, its easy and a good way to make the kids eat their veggies.

Vegetable Chow-mien  Recipe ( serves 4) :

1/2 cup sliced carrot
1/4 cup diagonally sliced baby corn
1/2 cup cauliflower cut into bite sized florets 
1/4 cup cabbage coarsely cut 
1/4 cup snow peas or regular peas
1/2 cup french beans, sliced diagonally
1/4 cup mushrooms sliced( optional)
1/4 cup  green bell peppers sliced
2-3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
1/4 tsp ajinomoto
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 packets plain noodles
cornflour slurry -  2 tbsp corn flour mixed in 1/2 cup water
a few spring onion stalks finely cut
water to make the vegetable stock and boil the noodles
3-4 tbsp vegetable oil


Please cut all the vegetables to approx. an inch in size.


1. In 3 cups of boiling salted water, add all the vegetables except the mushrooms,bell peppers.

2. Par boil the vegetables and drain. Reserve the liquid , this is the stock.

3. In a wok, heat 2 tbsp oil and add the ginger and garlic. Stir till fragrant and put in the mushrooms and bell peppers. Stir fry on high heat for 2 minutes.

4. Add the soy sauce, a pinch of ajinomoto salt and pepper.

5. Now put in the par boiled vegetables and stir fry until mixed well and almost cooked, cover and simmer for 5 more minutes.

6. Heat the stock, add the remaining ajinomoto and thicken with cornflour slurry. Bring it to boil and keep aside.


7. In a large pot roll boil water and put in the noodles, when done drain and slightly fry in 2 tbsp oil in a large wok, so that the noodles do not stick to each other.


8. Serve individually; place the noodles first, lay the vegetables and then pour the thickened stock on top. Garnish with spring onions.

The recipe is originally my mom-in-laws, I simply converted it the vegetarian version by excluding the chicken and adding a few extra veggies and maybe a few details here and there. In any case its worth a try.


Cheers.
 

OF PARTIES AND ALL

Hi,
     Wondering where I was..? Resting !! We all enjoyed a long weekend. And I am sure many of you must have partied hard and had a great time. It was Holi yesterday so I assume the merrymaking was inevitable through the weekend. Some of my friends were out of town for Holi celebrations, while some of us preferred to stay put at home and have some unadulterated family time and later meet up with friends.

This long weekend was quite simple as compared to usually what we do. Most of the times we get-together go for movies, picnics, arrange pot-lucks and of course one of us definitely throws a party. Thats because someone or the other surely has a birthday to celebrate or an anniversary coming up. So its party time...... Hoorraayy!! I love parties, whether I am giving them or am invited to them. Organizing a party is a thrill in itself. What new food will you cook, how will you present it , what dessert etc.....I love doing all that !! And when I had organized my daughters first birthday the preparations had started two months in advance. But even if its a dinner party at home with ten or so guests my excitement is the same. And as a guest too I have seen that each one of my lady friends puts her heart and soul into her own parties. I guess all of us thrive on it, showing off our culinary skills and efforts that is, and its an added bonus if we are well appreciated.

Some of the foods I have eaten at my friends places fascinated me ........the presentation and the thought behind it. Simply cannot forget the veggie sticks with the unique yogurt dip (want to know more about it), veggie skewers and chicken malai kebab. Or the veggie canapes (what was in the filling I wonder) and the yummy gajar halwa.  And of course the roasted eggplants, enchiladas (can i get the recipe) and chicken cordon bleu (hubby dear still thinks of it).
    
All in all I gather that we love to have a great time with good company and amazing food. These are the times to be cherished , having a long weekend to do the same is an added advantage, coz you don't have to worry about office and school the next day. So we all are relaxed. Children have a great time too. Plus the leftovers help you survive the next day!! And then after a restful weekend we are ready to face the real life, fully recharged (Monday Blues is another matter). 


So I say three cheers to weekends (long or otherwise), a great bunch of friends to enjoy them with and the spirit to celebrate, at any given time for whatever reason.

WE ALL CAN DO IT

Hi, 
   
Guess what happened yesterday?? No sooner than I posted FIRNI PE FIDA  I regretted it. The post has a recipe for firni , and I thought who dosen't know how to prepare it.........we all do !!!!!!!!!! So why am I doing this ??? writing blogs .......giving recipes.....

 Anyways I slept over these nagging thoughts. In the morning it dawned to me, I am writing these blogs as an outlet to all those ideas that keep on dancing in my head.
And I would like to share it with my friends......We all can cook and do too, but if one little tip /trick saves somebody 20 minutes then why not pass it on. And its not only about cooking, it is anything that revolves around our daily life. Or simply discussing something that takes place around us and we have an opinion on. 


Everytime I sit down to write , I think about who might read it and does it really do any good to them ........ I sincerely hope it does! Besides this is just a beginning, I hope to have a larger readership  and receive feedback so as to enhance  my  own knowledge. Because I am pretty sure that all of you have a treasure trunk full of ideas that can be shared and appreciated by the rest of us. 


So friends this is my request to all of you to send me what you have in mind or really like and I will broadcast it on the blog. Comments and reviews are more than welcome. If you have any queries or  recipes that are your specialties or a tip /trick that saves time and energy....... simply e-mail it to me on nafisanoronha@gmail.com and i will try to do the needful. And not to mention that the more readers we have the more exchange of information will take place , so let your friends know about this blog-site and widen the circle. To me it looks like a win-win situation.............how about you??

A NEW BEGINNING

Hello All ,
                   Today I have done something quite unlike my usual self. I have kind of come out in the open!!

My near and dear ones know me as a quite and mostly private person..............but here I am writing a blog!

And this blog will be dedicated to all those women who really would like to do something on their own but are not courageous enough to take the first step . This my friends is the first step for me , although a small one.

The contents of this blog may vary from a new recipe i found or created ( i love cooking)
or my opinion on a movie or some tips and tricks , maybe even a funny incident worth sharing.

And I would love to receive advise and inputs from all of you out there because as the name suggests I am a NEW KID ON DA BLOG !!!