Labelling helps. Even us humans. Despite being an American and having been exposed to a variety of foods since he was a baby, he remains the product of 2 Tamilians. Idli and Thayir saatham invariably figures in his top favourite foods ;)
Figuring that out has enabled me to do rather well in the lunch box department!
Tuesday was Idli with Dukkah powder and Sindhi Kadi made with Okra, Cluster Beans, Drumsticks (the tree kind, not the bird kind) and lots of tomatoes.
Today is a Cookie Doc's Panzanella inspired Idli Panzanella!
3 steamed ildis dipped in dukkah and cubed
2 tomatoes (the Bangalore Kind, Not the Naatu kind!) chopped
1/4 bunch coriander chopped
1/2 cup cooked mixture of beans
spring onions chopped
pearl onions chopped
lemon juice
Mix everything and pack
Verdict: Gau ate most of the tomatoes and beans, some of the idli. Wonder if the quantity was too much?
Gau kept losing the lunch box surprise or someone or the other inadvertently spilled food on it! I've now moved Lunch Box Surprise to his pencil box ;)
Today's surprise ? A finger puppet folded from a square of paper.
I must be the first mother in the hole wide world to encourage my child to play in class ;)
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
At the edge of success
Todays lunch box was almost a complete hit!
He nearly emptied it and complained very lil!
What did I pack? Idli dipped in a Dukkah Podi with Tomato Gojju!
Idli is just fermented rice cakes. My extra soft, extra protein version has
4 cups rice and 1 tsp methi seeds soaked for 6 - 8 hours
1 cup urad daal and 1 cup moong daal soaked for 45 minutes.
The rice is ground to a fine paste
The daals are ground adding lil water at a time, until they are fluffy and higher in volume than the rice paste,.
Salt to taste, ferment overnight.
Steam in idli moulds until cooked through.
My favourite breakfast is idli smeared with milagai podi, flavouring the idli and keeping it moist. I needed a mild alternative for my son. I decided to make it with nuts and then discovered such a thing already exists for dipping pita/bread!
The principle of dukkah and milagai podi is the same, though the methodology for getting the podi on the food is different - milagai podi is mixed with oil and water to form a runny paste. Idli is dipped in it and packed for lunch or eaten ASAP!
Gautham spl dukkah powder
1 tbspoon each almonds, pistachio, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, melon seeds etc..
1 tsp coriander seeds, cumin seeds, peppercorn.
Roast everything together until a warm aroma emanates.
Let cool.
Grind to a coarse powder - fine powder would become a paste!
Caveat: Gautham did not like the dukkah powder, but I need to get some meat on his bony frame. I'll continue to mix it with clarified butter and dip the idli's for his lunch box ;)
He nearly emptied it and complained very lil!
What did I pack? Idli dipped in a Dukkah Podi with Tomato Gojju!
Idli is just fermented rice cakes. My extra soft, extra protein version has
4 cups rice and 1 tsp methi seeds soaked for 6 - 8 hours
1 cup urad daal and 1 cup moong daal soaked for 45 minutes.
The rice is ground to a fine paste
The daals are ground adding lil water at a time, until they are fluffy and higher in volume than the rice paste,.
Salt to taste, ferment overnight.
Steam in idli moulds until cooked through.
My favourite breakfast is idli smeared with milagai podi, flavouring the idli and keeping it moist. I needed a mild alternative for my son. I decided to make it with nuts and then discovered such a thing already exists for dipping pita/bread!
The principle of dukkah and milagai podi is the same, though the methodology for getting the podi on the food is different - milagai podi is mixed with oil and water to form a runny paste. Idli is dipped in it and packed for lunch or eaten ASAP!
Gautham spl dukkah powder
1 tbspoon each almonds, pistachio, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, melon seeds etc..
1 tsp coriander seeds, cumin seeds, peppercorn.
Roast everything together until a warm aroma emanates.
Let cool.
Grind to a coarse powder - fine powder would become a paste!
Caveat: Gautham did not like the dukkah powder, but I need to get some meat on his bony frame. I'll continue to mix it with clarified butter and dip the idli's for his lunch box ;)
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Vegetarian Food Pyramid
I came across this supercool vegetarian food pyramid at the vegetarian diet section of the Mayo Clinic Website . The cool factors are many, including the vegetarian diet, the triangle within triangle fractal concept of the image.
This is also going to be a gentle introduction to the concept of triangles and areas. We are going to draw this out on one of those papers which have lots of tiny squares on them. That should enable us to estimate the area of each section of the pyramid. I'll update after we do the pyramid for a week.
Friday, June 22, 2007
The lunch box challenge a.k.a. please gautham's palette
I now have a challenge to the food blogging community at large.
Help me come up with a set of easy to prepare menu items to tempt my son's taste buds.
These are my constraints:
1. Vegetarian
2. Commonly available ingredients only - I live in Chennai, TN
3. Should be good to eat after sitting for 4-5 hours in an unrefrigerated lunch box
4. Should not take more than 45 minutes to prepare.
5. Should be easy to eat for a 5 year old - no messy burritos type foods.
6. Should be nutritious (I know, that goes without saying)
7. No frying
8. Shd preferably have passed a kid's test for acceptability ;)
Please post your recipes or links to the aforementiond recipes by the end of July i.e 27th July
Thanks a lot!
Todays lunch was almost successful - the lil darling's only complaint when he got off his school van was, he didnt have enough time to eat.
Pasta Salad
1 cup of pasta
1 cup of dried chickpeas, soaked over night and pressure cooked until soft
1/2 head cauliflower cut into florets
1/4 head red cabbage cut into matchsticks
1/2 cup corns and peas
1/4 cup readymade pesto - Naturellment makes a awesome pesto if somewhat expensive
1 onion chopped
6 garlic pods crushed and minced
1 tbspoon flour
2 cups milk.
2 oz cheese grated
2 tbspoon olive oil
1/4 tspoon dried basil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Optionally Cherry Tomatoes, Olives, Fresh Herbs, Spring Onion to garnish
1. Cook the pasta as per package directions I prefer the imported varieties, they remain al dente when packed in the lunch box.
2. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil, add some salt and a tsp of turmeric powder. Add the cauliflower and let cook for 3 minutes. Now add the cabbage and continue to boil for 1 more minute. Drain and wash the vegetables in cold water.
3. Heat oil, saute garlic and onion, corn and peas
4. Add the basil and flour and saute until the flower browns.
5. Pour the milk and stir until the sauce thickens.
6. Grate the cheese into the sauce .
6. Mix the pasta, cooked vegetables, white sauce, pesto in a large salad bowl, adjust seasonings to taste.
7. Garnish to preference.
Rava and Besan Kesari
100g chiroti rava (more flour like than regular rava)
30g bombay besan (finer than regular besan)
45g clarified butter (ghee)
100g sugar
150g milk
150g water
Nuts and raisins to garnish
Bring the milk and water to a simmer on one stove.
Meanwhile, Fry the rava and besan in ghee until a fragrant, nutty roasted smell emnates on the other stove.
Pour the milk+water mix into the rava besan and let cook until the liquid is absorbed.
Add the sugar and cook until well incorporated and the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.
Garnish with nuts and raisins roasted in ghee.
No lunch box to prepare tomorrow! Yay!
Help me come up with a set of easy to prepare menu items to tempt my son's taste buds.
These are my constraints:
1. Vegetarian
2. Commonly available ingredients only - I live in Chennai, TN
3. Should be good to eat after sitting for 4-5 hours in an unrefrigerated lunch box
4. Should not take more than 45 minutes to prepare.
5. Should be easy to eat for a 5 year old - no messy burritos type foods.
6. Should be nutritious (I know, that goes without saying)
7. No frying
8. Shd preferably have passed a kid's test for acceptability ;)
Please post your recipes or links to the aforementiond recipes by the end of July i.e 27th July
Thanks a lot!
Todays lunch was almost successful - the lil darling's only complaint when he got off his school van was, he didnt have enough time to eat.
Pasta Salad
1 cup of pasta
1 cup of dried chickpeas, soaked over night and pressure cooked until soft
1/2 head cauliflower cut into florets
1/4 head red cabbage cut into matchsticks
1/2 cup corns and peas
1/4 cup readymade pesto - Naturellment makes a awesome pesto if somewhat expensive
1 onion chopped
6 garlic pods crushed and minced
1 tbspoon flour
2 cups milk.
2 oz cheese grated
2 tbspoon olive oil
1/4 tspoon dried basil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Optionally Cherry Tomatoes, Olives, Fresh Herbs, Spring Onion to garnish
1. Cook the pasta as per package directions I prefer the imported varieties, they remain al dente when packed in the lunch box.
2. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil, add some salt and a tsp of turmeric powder. Add the cauliflower and let cook for 3 minutes. Now add the cabbage and continue to boil for 1 more minute. Drain and wash the vegetables in cold water.
3. Heat oil, saute garlic and onion, corn and peas
4. Add the basil and flour and saute until the flower browns.
5. Pour the milk and stir until the sauce thickens.
6. Grate the cheese into the sauce .
6. Mix the pasta, cooked vegetables, white sauce, pesto in a large salad bowl, adjust seasonings to taste.
7. Garnish to preference.
Rava and Besan Kesari
100g chiroti rava (more flour like than regular rava)
30g bombay besan (finer than regular besan)
45g clarified butter (ghee)
100g sugar
150g milk
150g water
Nuts and raisins to garnish
Bring the milk and water to a simmer on one stove.
Meanwhile, Fry the rava and besan in ghee until a fragrant, nutty roasted smell emnates on the other stove.
Pour the milk+water mix into the rava besan and let cook until the liquid is absorbed.
Add the sugar and cook until well incorporated and the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.
Garnish with nuts and raisins roasted in ghee.
No lunch box to prepare tomorrow! Yay!
Expanding horizons
I read a science article in NYT in the near past - about how the universe is expanding and you will someday see a sky with very few stars; would humanity remember or realise the bigbang started all this? After all, scientific theories are a direct consequence of observation! If the universe looks different, will they know how it looked when it all started?
That question, 100 billion years away, is moot since we are not sure if we will survive even another 100 years!
Bringing this question down to my prosaic life. I was like a million stars in my son's life even a year ago - now the only time he really just chats with me is when we lie down to sleep every night. As his universe expands - school friends, lunch hour friends, evening playmates, hobbies - I will figure less and less in it until he only thinks of me on his birthday, mine and important festivals. I am not very vain; It is enough if my son shares my values, he needn't have to devote his time and his precious thoughts to me when his own life is full.
I have begun a few campaigns to impart my values or atleast explore them with him.
I have enrolled in Greenpeace's climate change campaign. We are both going to follow their 7 steps over the next 7 weeks.
I desperately want him to eat better and eat healthier. We are launching a personal food pyramid program with journals, menus etc... Will share as and when I find the time.
I love an inquisitive child and I want mine to think critically not just wonder idly. So we are going to do our first formal science+art project - explore paper airplane flight. Over the next month or so we are going to fold a paper plane every 2-3 days and record its performance in terms of height attained, length of flight, ease of flight, size of plane etc... I havnt figured out all the logistics yet. But this should be awesome fun and educational. He will learn origami and the importance of working neatly and accurately.
Yestardays lunch, he finished just 1 roti. But he came home, finished his lunch box and then ate banana, drank milk and had a popsicle. Finally he HAS met my lunch+snack food quotat but not in the time frame I expected. We have moved the problem domain from 'choice of food he prefers' to 'how to teach him to eat faster'. This is a more serious problem - he has never taken less than an hour for a proper meal.
I had put a whole shell - the two halves still attached at a point - in his cutlery box; He didnt notice ;(
Today, Pasta Salad and Sooji-Besan Kesari.
Todays surprise is another plane - a night hawk.
That question, 100 billion years away, is moot since we are not sure if we will survive even another 100 years!
Bringing this question down to my prosaic life. I was like a million stars in my son's life even a year ago - now the only time he really just chats with me is when we lie down to sleep every night. As his universe expands - school friends, lunch hour friends, evening playmates, hobbies - I will figure less and less in it until he only thinks of me on his birthday, mine and important festivals. I am not very vain; It is enough if my son shares my values, he needn't have to devote his time and his precious thoughts to me when his own life is full.
I have begun a few campaigns to impart my values or atleast explore them with him.
I have enrolled in Greenpeace's climate change campaign. We are both going to follow their 7 steps over the next 7 weeks.
I desperately want him to eat better and eat healthier. We are launching a personal food pyramid program with journals, menus etc... Will share as and when I find the time.
I love an inquisitive child and I want mine to think critically not just wonder idly. So we are going to do our first formal science+art project - explore paper airplane flight. Over the next month or so we are going to fold a paper plane every 2-3 days and record its performance in terms of height attained, length of flight, ease of flight, size of plane etc... I havnt figured out all the logistics yet. But this should be awesome fun and educational. He will learn origami and the importance of working neatly and accurately.
Yestardays lunch, he finished just 1 roti. But he came home, finished his lunch box and then ate banana, drank milk and had a popsicle. Finally he HAS met my lunch+snack food quotat but not in the time frame I expected. We have moved the problem domain from 'choice of food he prefers' to 'how to teach him to eat faster'. This is a more serious problem - he has never taken less than an hour for a proper meal.
I had put a whole shell - the two halves still attached at a point - in his cutlery box; He didnt notice ;(
Today, Pasta Salad and Sooji-Besan Kesari.
Todays surprise is another plane - a night hawk.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
A tale of two truths
Wednesdays lunch box
For Gautham - Splitpea Paratha, 1 boiled egg and a few carrot sticks as demanded by him.
FOr DH, Splitpea paratha, Mola Keerai kadi, Curd rice.
The lil master got off the bus screaming " I have finished my lunch fully except for a few pieces of carrots. You must get me a treat now P." We walked to nilgiris jauntily - me thrilled with my son's improved eating habits, he thrilled at the prospect of ice cream after school.
We reached home with three Popsicle's, 2 for our neighbours and Gau readily acceded to my demand that he finish his carrots first. Then he slowly tells me he gave the egg to Rishab.
Me horrified "The whole thing?"
Gau reacting to my tone "I think I ate half"
Me, highly irritated "Don't think! Just tell me!"
Gau in a pacifying tone "I don't remember. It was just an egg!"
Taking a deep breath and calming down I asked him to tell me where was Rishab sitting.
To my right.
What did you do first.
gave him half an egg.
what did you do next?
Gave him the other half.
I moved the packet of Murukku he as eating out of his reach and declared no more junk food until he learns to eat properly. For his part, he seemed to be dumbfounded about why I was kicking up such a fuss over 1 egg, after all the lunch box was EMPTY, not full like the previous day! Nothing wasted! He wasn't willing to listen to any explanations either.
Later in the night I sat down and tried to explain he needed 500 calories per meal and parata was about 150. He wasn't listening too eagerly. I told him he could share a piece of his meal not hand off the whole thing. He promised to do better the next day and asked for roti, egg and okra fry for the next day.
He may have got the point. Dinner was decent. Dosa, Curd rice and a glass of rose milk.
Meanwhile, the search for my personal holy grail - a lunch box gau will finish with gusto, continues.
Surprise in the lunch bag: A dragon plane from ALex Schultz.
The two truths? What does finish ur lunch mean? Empty lunchbox? or EMpty your lunchbox by eating everything in it yourself? In another few months I am sure Gau will be able to articulate that clearly.
For Gautham - Splitpea Paratha, 1 boiled egg and a few carrot sticks as demanded by him.
FOr DH, Splitpea paratha, Mola Keerai kadi, Curd rice.
The lil master got off the bus screaming " I have finished my lunch fully except for a few pieces of carrots. You must get me a treat now P." We walked to nilgiris jauntily - me thrilled with my son's improved eating habits, he thrilled at the prospect of ice cream after school.
We reached home with three Popsicle's, 2 for our neighbours and Gau readily acceded to my demand that he finish his carrots first. Then he slowly tells me he gave the egg to Rishab.
Me horrified "The whole thing?"
Gau reacting to my tone "I think I ate half"
Me, highly irritated "Don't think! Just tell me!"
Gau in a pacifying tone "I don't remember. It was just an egg!"
Taking a deep breath and calming down I asked him to tell me where was Rishab sitting.
To my right.
What did you do first.
gave him half an egg.
what did you do next?
Gave him the other half.
I moved the packet of Murukku he as eating out of his reach and declared no more junk food until he learns to eat properly. For his part, he seemed to be dumbfounded about why I was kicking up such a fuss over 1 egg, after all the lunch box was EMPTY, not full like the previous day! Nothing wasted! He wasn't willing to listen to any explanations either.
Later in the night I sat down and tried to explain he needed 500 calories per meal and parata was about 150. He wasn't listening too eagerly. I told him he could share a piece of his meal not hand off the whole thing. He promised to do better the next day and asked for roti, egg and okra fry for the next day.
He may have got the point. Dinner was decent. Dosa, Curd rice and a glass of rose milk.
Meanwhile, the search for my personal holy grail - a lunch box gau will finish with gusto, continues.
Surprise in the lunch bag: A dragon plane from ALex Schultz.
The two truths? What does finish ur lunch mean? Empty lunchbox? or EMpty your lunchbox by eating everything in it yourself? In another few months I am sure Gau will be able to articulate that clearly.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Terrible Tuesday
The brat jumped off the brat and I realised with a shock the lunch bag his Akka was handing off was as heavy as it had been in the morning! The brat had had 2 bites of roti and 1 sip of water thats it! He said he was too busy chatting with J WOng and Samyukth. I
My motherly instinct drove all thoughts of discipline from my mind and I rushed him to his favourite eatery, Pizza Hut and got him his favourite Pizza and Garlic bread.
When I got home, both my mom and my neighbour were aghast I hadn't punished his misbehaviour. I left it at giving him a lecture about eating first and talking less.
The goodwill lasted until dinner time. He started throwing a tantrum about finishing his milk - I give him just 1 cup a day and he eats very little yogurt ! I tried to be reasonable and explained he needed the calcium to grow big and strong. He continued to argue and I lost it. I poured the whole glass of milk out and declared I wasnt going to bother any more and he could do whatever he wanted. The guilt trip worked and he promised to eat better provided I didnt pack any curd rice. He asked for roti with jam, hard boiled egg and carrot sticks in bhis wednesday's lunch box.
My motherly instinct drove all thoughts of discipline from my mind and I rushed him to his favourite eatery, Pizza Hut and got him his favourite Pizza and Garlic bread.
When I got home, both my mom and my neighbour were aghast I hadn't punished his misbehaviour. I left it at giving him a lecture about eating first and talking less.
The goodwill lasted until dinner time. He started throwing a tantrum about finishing his milk - I give him just 1 cup a day and he eats very little yogurt ! I tried to be reasonable and explained he needed the calcium to grow big and strong. He continued to argue and I lost it. I poured the whole glass of milk out and declared I wasnt going to bother any more and he could do whatever he wanted. The guilt trip worked and he promised to eat better provided I didnt pack any curd rice. He asked for roti with jam, hard boiled egg and carrot sticks in bhis wednesday's lunch box.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Baby back home
I couldnt resist. I dropped in at the end of lunch hour to see Gau doggedly working at his lunch - I swear the image that flashed through my mind was the sea and the rock of gibraltar, the food being the rock of course. I finally told him he could top if he wants and he was in tears because he couldnt figure out how to close his lunch box. I walked him to his class and he complained I hadnt coloured his Shin Chan peach. He didn't ask me to stay though he didnt like the idea of returning by van. I convinced him it was too hot to wear a helmet and drive home on my scooter.
I went back to work happy with his maturity ye wanting my baby back.
I picked him up at the bus stop in the evening and he was his usual happy, vexing self. He wasnt tired, he was actually some what hyper! For once he told me everything about his school day rather then deceiding what games we would play etc...
We dropped by his pre-school and he played with his old classmate who continues to go there for their daycare. They kicked around a ball for sometime, eaching trying to kick into an imaginary goal post. They played a bat-less cricket match afterwards, He was africa - after the Asia-Africa series, he thinks the whole of africa plays cricket.
AT the end of the day he told me both my Paratha and my salad were good but the quantity was too much.
Tuesday Tiffin:
I have some left over mola keerai masiyal. I added some wheat flour and sat and made my paratha dough.
Keerai Paratha, Daal Tadka and Curd Rice with fruits ;)
and my surprise note?
An origami plane from Alex Schultz website
I went back to work happy with his maturity ye wanting my baby back.
I picked him up at the bus stop in the evening and he was his usual happy, vexing self. He wasnt tired, he was actually some what hyper! For once he told me everything about his school day rather then deceiding what games we would play etc...
We dropped by his pre-school and he played with his old classmate who continues to go there for their daycare. They kicked around a ball for sometime, eaching trying to kick into an imaginary goal post. They played a bat-less cricket match afterwards, He was africa - after the Asia-Africa series, he thinks the whole of africa plays cricket.
AT the end of the day he told me both my Paratha and my salad were good but the quantity was too much.
Tuesday Tiffin:
I have some left over mola keerai masiyal. I added some wheat flour and sat and made my paratha dough.
Keerai Paratha, Daal Tadka and Curd Rice with fruits ;)
and my surprise note?
An origami plane from Alex Schultz website
Check and Mate
Gau and my neighbours kids have taken to chess lately.
One thing we really find useful is a computer chess game. You can either paly against the computer or against another player, so the game becomes interactive without the tears that follow when the chess pieces go flying by accident.
DH and Gau were playing against each other on the laptop.
DH would kill Gau's Queen and at his turn, gau would press Ctrl-Z, restoring his Queen
This went on a couple of times. And then gau opines: "This game will never end"
One thing we really find useful is a computer chess game. You can either paly against the computer or against another player, so the game becomes interactive without the tears that follow when the chess pieces go flying by accident.
DH and Gau were playing against each other on the laptop.
DH would kill Gau's Queen and at his turn, gau would press Ctrl-Z, restoring his Queen
This went on a couple of times. And then gau opines: "This game will never end"
First full day at school!
Today is my baby's first full day at school.
He didnt seem too excited to see the new lunchbag I got him.
He thought the 2 parathas and beans and fruits salad I packed too much to eat.
He was happy with the cube of cheddar cheese I added but asked me to unwrap it and add it to his tiffin box.
He wondered why I put his stainless steel water bottle in the fridge when our previous bottle cracked - He learnt to distinguish between freezer and refrigerator i.e ice-formation and hence cracked bottles and NO ice formation but chilled water.
I put a note in his lunch bag - a drawing of shin chan and a note. I am on tenterhooks awaiting his approval, acceptance and joy.
Todays lunch was Aloo Paratha -
dough prepared with
0.5 cup cooked lentils, left over from yesterday,
1 cup boiled mashed sweetpotato,
1.5 cups whole wheat flour,
1 cup ragi malt
1 - 2 tbspoons each of mint, coriander leaves and finely grated ginger,
salt and
lil bit of chili powder (My son cannot handle even mild green chillies)
1 tb spoon ghee (clarified butter).
rolled to a medium thickness and cooked on a medium flame with 1/4 tspoon clarified butter on each side
MultiBean salad
1 - 2 cups of various beans - Rajma, chana and black-eyed peas today soaked overnight and presurre cooked and drained.
1 bellpepper diced
1 green apple diced.
handful shallots sliced
2 pears diced
1 lemon squeezed
salt n pepper
mix together all ingredients, add some chaat masala and/or black salt if u can stand it. Gau cannot. My DH can. I eat to live now.
I also added a couple of bourbon biscuits for snacking. I wonder if he will skip lunch and opt for snack?
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Inspiration from a fellow blogger
I was idly siderfing (getting side tracked when I was surfing for information I needed), when I came across the blog of a Tam Bram (Tamil Bramhin just like me) resident in Mumbai - Nandita of Saffron Trail! I loved her quote from the puranas.
One who plants one peepal, one neem, one ber, 10 flowering plants or creepers, two pomegranates, two oranges and five mangoes, achieves the greatest good.
Varaha Purana
The zeitgeist is we have too many options and not enough direction.
I could achieve good at the least by just being a good mother (then again how do you define what is a "Good Mother"?!), leaving the onus of actual action to my hopefully vastly more capable son;
I could achieve the most good (probably, after all the way to hell is paved by good intentions) by a drastic change in lifestyle: Leave home and hearth and join Green Peace or Narmada Bachao Aandolan or any other flavour of choice.
Just thinking about the many choices available induces a lassitude and I do Nothing!
The quote signified Tranquility. At last. Something specific. Something do-able and do-worthy.
I promptly quoted it to my man-of-action hubby and my floriculturist sister.
He started speculating about where we could find so much land and how we could take care of the trees after planting them.
My sister sniggered. She said what about caring for those trees and plants? Just plant and forget? Thats what people would do anyway.
I wonder if she is right. If the puranas say something is worth doing do we take the trouble to do it right or do we just offer lip service? Are we insincere? Is that what holds us back as a nation or is it a more global phenomena? Will improving living standards change that?
I live in a flat with limited planting area. For now, I am going to plant one mango tree and one pomogranate tree downstairs. Watch it grow for sometime and then worry about doing the rest
One who plants one peepal, one neem, one ber, 10 flowering plants or creepers, two pomegranates, two oranges and five mangoes, achieves the greatest good.
Varaha Purana
The zeitgeist is we have too many options and not enough direction.
I could achieve good at the least by just being a good mother (then again how do you define what is a "Good Mother"?!), leaving the onus of actual action to my hopefully vastly more capable son;
I could achieve the most good (probably, after all the way to hell is paved by good intentions) by a drastic change in lifestyle: Leave home and hearth and join Green Peace or Narmada Bachao Aandolan or any other flavour of choice.
Just thinking about the many choices available induces a lassitude and I do Nothing!
The quote signified Tranquility. At last. Something specific. Something do-able and do-worthy.
I promptly quoted it to my man-of-action hubby and my floriculturist sister.
He started speculating about where we could find so much land and how we could take care of the trees after planting them.
My sister sniggered. She said what about caring for those trees and plants? Just plant and forget? Thats what people would do anyway.
I wonder if she is right. If the puranas say something is worth doing do we take the trouble to do it right or do we just offer lip service? Are we insincere? Is that what holds us back as a nation or is it a more global phenomena? Will improving living standards change that?
I live in a flat with limited planting area. For now, I am going to plant one mango tree and one pomogranate tree downstairs. Watch it grow for sometime and then worry about doing the rest
Superwoman in the making ;)
Its been a year nearly since my last post and both my little world and the larger world out there has changed tremendously.
Gau is now in 1st standard! Today was his first day at school. Predictably, he left sobbing and came back happy but tired.
DH has now taken up a much more time intensive and stressful job with somewhat less remuneration; It better be a lot more stimulating, satisfying and fulfilling!
My mother has been diagnosed with Breast Cancer and finally she has deigned to move to Chennai for treatment at the Cancer Institute in Adyar.
Mothers health problems has given an impetuts to the little voice inside the three of us sisters to be more fit and eat more healthy. Finally I have broken out of the grad school habit of waking up well after the sun is high in the sky; I wake up at 4:50 (or actually out of bed by 5:30) and go for a speed walk or cycling along the Bessie beach. My knees did protest but now they applaud. Next goal? marathon running. There is hope and company for runners here now, try chennai runners!
I now have to pack 3 lunch boxes and make something healthy yet tempting to the tastebuds of my finicky mom. I want to make a balanced meal with as little effort and as much creativity as possible. I aim for a good serving of protein vide daals and beans, a of vegetables and some whole grains. We have started making our mandatory curds rice either with broken red rice or with kambu (millet). Gau protests.
This is this weeks menu so far (Recipe later?):
Monday:
Lunch Box:
Keerai Saatham
Jackfruit, Apple, Banana Salad
Breakfast Options:
Toast and Eggs
Oats Kanji
Adai
Mangoes
Tuesday:
Lunch Box:
Roti
Sweet Potato, Cluster Beans Sabji
Dandelion, Carrot, Apple, SpringOnion, Feta salad
Peerkankai Pittalai
Breakfast Options:
Toast and Eggs
Sattu Maavu Kanji
Cheese Quesadilla
Mangoes
Wednesday:
Roti
Bottlegourd and Ridgegourd cooked with Chana Daal
Cluster Beans, Matki Salad (Almost a Poriyal actually)
Breakfast Options
Idli
Banana
Peerkankai Pitalai (mom made)
Thursday:
Rice n Daal
Something between Theeyal and Vatral Kuzhambu: TheeVatral Kuzhambu
Red Cabbage Potato curry
Breakfast Options
Idli
Tomato chutney
Friday:
Pasta Salad with Feta and Spinach
Fruit salad
Breakfast Options
Doasa with Milagai Podi
Ragi Kanji
Ragi Roti
Gau is now in 1st standard! Today was his first day at school. Predictably, he left sobbing and came back happy but tired.
DH has now taken up a much more time intensive and stressful job with somewhat less remuneration; It better be a lot more stimulating, satisfying and fulfilling!
My mother has been diagnosed with Breast Cancer and finally she has deigned to move to Chennai for treatment at the Cancer Institute in Adyar.
Mothers health problems has given an impetuts to the little voice inside the three of us sisters to be more fit and eat more healthy. Finally I have broken out of the grad school habit of waking up well after the sun is high in the sky; I wake up at 4:50 (or actually out of bed by 5:30) and go for a speed walk or cycling along the Bessie beach. My knees did protest but now they applaud. Next goal? marathon running. There is hope and company for runners here now, try chennai runners!
I now have to pack 3 lunch boxes and make something healthy yet tempting to the tastebuds of my finicky mom. I want to make a balanced meal with as little effort and as much creativity as possible. I aim for a good serving of protein vide daals and beans, a of vegetables and some whole grains. We have started making our mandatory curds rice either with broken red rice or with kambu (millet). Gau protests.
This is this weeks menu so far (Recipe later?):
Monday:
Lunch Box:
Keerai Saatham
Jackfruit, Apple, Banana Salad
Breakfast Options:
Toast and Eggs
Oats Kanji
Adai
Mangoes
Tuesday:
Lunch Box:
Roti
Sweet Potato, Cluster Beans Sabji
Dandelion, Carrot, Apple, SpringOnion, Feta salad
Peerkankai Pittalai
Breakfast Options:
Toast and Eggs
Sattu Maavu Kanji
Cheese Quesadilla
Mangoes
Wednesday:
Roti
Bottlegourd and Ridgegourd cooked with Chana Daal
Cluster Beans, Matki Salad (Almost a Poriyal actually)
Breakfast Options
Idli
Banana
Peerkankai Pitalai (mom made)
Thursday:
Rice n Daal
Something between Theeyal and Vatral Kuzhambu: TheeVatral Kuzhambu
Red Cabbage Potato curry
Breakfast Options
Idli
Tomato chutney
Friday:
Pasta Salad with Feta and Spinach
Fruit salad
Breakfast Options
Doasa with Milagai Podi
Ragi Kanji
Ragi Roti
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