Lookin' Good!!

I took this picture after church last Sunday. The weather was beautiful and the flowers were in full bloom.

Mom-daughter time..

Last Saturday, Sean had a tournament. So he and Aji left around 8:30 after breakfast. Rhea was sad that she couldn't go with them since she had her tennis lesson at noon. So to mix things up a little Aji suggested that we go for a walk.

So once the boys left, Rhea and I got ready and ventured out. I decided to do the 3 mile look and make a stop at the park which was on our way.

She was so excited to play in the park even though it was still chilly. Soon we said goodbye to the park and continued our walk. She hopped around, was very excited to see the golf course on our way. There were people playing and she was happy posing for a picture.

 Around mile 2 all the enthusiasm started to wear off and she wanted to go back home. Since we were beyond half way i decided to distarct her, we did short quick sprints from lamp post to lamp post, admired the yards that were full of flowers, so some doggies. Even then she was increasingly restless as we got nearer to our street. This was the first time she was coming this route so I decided to follow street names and told her that we might be lost and she has to figure out a way to get us home. Smehow she seemed pretty excited at the thought of being lost (i thinks its from her books) and that saved the day. When we reached the intersection to our community, I still pretended like I didnt know the place and she was super confident we were on the right track.  She was so excited when we could see our house and very proud of her 'navigation' skills :)

It was one of the best mom-daughter outings and we plan to have more in the future.

Spring is here!

Spring is here...we had a good share of great weather the last couple of days. It almost felt like we skipped Spring and went straight to Summer. But today the thunderstorms were back reminding us that it is indeed spring. The cherry blossoms are in full bloom, so are the pear trees and such a treat to the eyes. Tulip and Daffodil blooms all around.

I had planted quite a few daffodils and tulips when we first moved here. Over the years many of the bulbs just didn't make it. I 'm now left with a handful of daffodils and tulips. the daffodils that we have are on the side of the house so we never get to really see and enjoy them. The other day we got the spring mulching done and so i was checking out the yard and saw them in bloom. I gave them another day in the garden and yesterday brought them inside for us to enjoy. They would start to dry in a day, hopefully they will last longer indoors.

I just love the cheer they bring and am reminded of William Wordsworth's beautiful poem about them...Here they are from our house to yours. Hope they bring a smile on your face and a spring to your step!

Sundal!

Sundal has been a favorite of mine for a long time. I only got to eat them when visiting friends homes during the Golu festival and I have savoured it very time. Not sure why I did not try making it at home before. Now that I'm trying my hand at a lot more South Indian vegetarian cooking, this one came to mind.

The recipe is super simple and the outcome is just pure bliss. It's a great source of protein and not much in the way of added calories other than the teaspoon or two of oil used for the tempering. It makes for a great snack but can easily be used as a simple side dish with rotis or rice.

A perfect start to a new day!

And I'm back...after a very long break...i hope to post more often. I am in between jobs now and have got some time to do some cooking...so will share my experiments. The above is one of them....for the first time...had a very successful attempt with the humble IDLI and the authentic South Indian Sambar!! That with a good filter coffee and the newspaper in the morning...perfect start to the day!!