I heart Indian food

(These aren't so beautiful, but they are delicious! )

Those flavor combinations- the spicy/savory/sweet/sour- and textures are just heavenly to me. But the disappointing thing is that most Indian recipes I've tried don't come close to the deliciousness to be had in restaurants.

When we lived in the city a few doors down from the famed (to us anyway) Punjabi Dhaba restaurant, we would go there every week or two. And my favorite dishes- either saag paneer or beigan bharta- were just perfect.  We used to go- with little Ava toddling along and for twelve or so dollars would roll out like stuffed pigs. It was SO good.

Though I've never been able to successfully reproduce my favorite dishes at home, there are a couple recipes I've found that rival those I can get out and about. Today I'm talking about pakoras. Normally I don't love deep frying food at home. But that little rule must be broken occasionally, if only to make pakoras- those delightfully spiced vegetable fritters.

A forewarning to the following recipe: it will make your house reek with the pungency of onions and hot oil.... the vent over the stove helps a bit...but the odor is persistent. For most people this is not so desirable, but I'm the kind of girl that uses up a ten pound bag of onions every other week. On a side note, a dish of white vinegar left on the counter will help quell some of the cooking odors.
Onion Pakora Recipe (from A Taste of Julie Jordan)
6 onions sliced into thin cresents
juice of two lemons
1 tablespoon salt (yes that's a lot of salt)
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
2 cups chick pea flour
Light vegetable oil for frying

1. Mix together the onions, lemon juice, salt and spices. In India the mixing is done vigorously with the hands. Squeeze the spices into the onions. Let sit for 30-60 minutes. The onions throw off juice which will become part of the batter when mixed with the chick pea flour.

2. After sitting time, mix in chick pea flour to onions.

3. In a medium sized frying pan ( I love my cast iron for this) measure oil about 1/2 inch deep and heat until a tiny bit of the batter dropped in sizzles. Pull out small handfuls of the onion mixture and drop in the oil. Fry each pakora until brown and crisp, turning once. Drain on paper towels or a brown paper bag.

4. Serve hot. Best absolutely fresh, but heat up nicely in the oven.

Variations:
replace 2 onions with a total of 2 cups of either (or a mixture of) finely chopped cabbage, spinach, grated zucchini or carrots.

Serve with:

Julie Sahni's Sweet and Spicy Tamarind Chutney:
4 ounces tamarind (about 1 tangerine size ball)
2 1/2 cups boiling water
1 1/12 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dry ginger powder
2 teaspoons dry mango powder (or tablespoons lemon juice)
1/2 teaspoons garam masala
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon course salt
1/4 cup sugar

1. Put tamarind in a nonmetallic bowl and add two cups boiling water. Soak for 30 minutes. Strain liquid, squeezing and mashing pulp to extract as much juice as possible, into another bowl. Add another 1/2 boiling water to the residue. When cool enough to handle, squeeze pulp again and strain the liquid. Measure the tamarind liquid. There should be 2 3/4 cups. Discard fibrous pulp. (I cheat on this whole process and just use tamarind concentrate mixed with hot water because I'm too lazy to soak and strain and repeat. I used to use the tamarind pulp, but it's a pain and way more messy).

2.To the bowl of tamarind liquid add all the other ingredients mixing well to blend. Serve as a dipping sauce aside the pakoras. Yum- yum.

The May flowers...

...are blooming. And they all seem to be purple. Well, all the ones in my garden anyway. These puff ball-like Alliums ('purple sensation' I think) are one of my favorites: The lilacs smell divine. We've got a bit more time to enjoy them:
Two years ago I divided and moved the irises from their crowded spots by the side of the house. Last year, they hardly bloomed. This year they've found their roots and gotten comfortable:
Must plant more of these Allium bulbs in the Fall...I love them so!

Kid's art

In this house, kid's artwork and treasures seem to be everywhere...on top of the cupboards, plastered on the walls, and heaped onto windowsills. Sometimes I'm at a loss as to what to do with the mounds of material that come through the door. The children are quite prolific with their paintings, drawings, collages, pottery, dioramas and more. Then there's all those gifts from nature we find: pretty stones, found feathers, special shells, pine cones, and nests to mention a few. I really love this pottery that Ava made at school and carefully brought home wrapped in newsprint. I remember how excited she was about bringing home each of these:
The kids really enjoy looking at the their old drawings up on the walls and remembering how old they were when they made them. "That's the picture I made of you when I was three!" Rowan says about this picture in the foreground.
Rowan has designated the window sill by the back door as our nature's table and this is where the special bits from outside come in. It looks a bit scruffy but he takes great pride in this corner. Upon finding an empty robin's eggshell the other day he quickly plucked it up and said, "I better put this in the nature section."

Evening in the woods

My little boy raced ahead following the sparkling creek, the golden light and the promise of adventure.

My timeline for a freezer paper project

1. See neat craft idea online, in a book, at a store or being worn by somebody and make note to self to try the project soon.
2. Allow several months to pass, occasionally thinking of the idea, but not doing it for lack of proper materials and/or time.
3. Purchase material, then allow to sit on shelf for a few weeks/months.
4. Finally, make project and pat self on the back.

So yesterday I grabbed my forlorn-looking freezer paper off the pantry shelf, gathered a few cotton t-shirts, a pair of tiny scissors, an iron, fabric paint, and a paintbrush, and in very little time stenciled three shirts.

First I traced my design on the dull side of a piece of freezer paper. Then I carefully cut my design out with the teeny scissors....an exacto knife would work too, but those scare me.
Next I placed the stencil, shiny side down, on the shirt and ironed (no steam). The paper then adheres to the shirt. Magic!
Next I got out my paint and paint brush. I used both paint specifically for fabric and also acrylic paint- each seemed to work fine. Then I simply painted in the design.
Allow paint to dry overnight and then pull off freezer paper. Paint should then be heat-set with an iron. The directions on my fabric paint bottle said to iron on the reverse side of the design for 30 seconds.
Rowan got a bear design and Lilla and I have birds.

Looking up

Somehow the sun fought through the layers of gray to reveal a brilliant sky. Camera in hand, I plopped myself down in the lawn to enjoy the show.
Rowan made a thousand wishes...
And Lilla tried to eat those dandelions:


Later on our walk to the post office (yes I finally mailed my sister's shower invites) Rowan -finder of things small and large- spotted this fallen birds nest
A little sunshine makes everything better.

A little rant

I'm feeling a desperate need to carve out a little time for myself, but I don't know where to begin. Well, I could begin by going to bed a bit later... most nights I've been falling asleep with my babies by 9- 9:30. And I guess I am to blame for this as we all snuggle down in the big bed so I can read Rowan his story while nursing Lilla to sleep. This little bedtime routine works so well that I often end up conking out too. Oh it is so very cozy in there.

Sometimes I get up groggily at 11 or midnight, putter for a bit and maybe write an incoherent post or two. Sometimes I just wake in the morning feeling a little disappointed that I did not burn some midnight oil and get a few projects started or finished (like Lilla's dress, the dining room chairs project, freezer paper stencil shirts...eek and a few others). I can't wait to share once I get some things done!

And maybe, just maybe, the overcast/rainy weather will take a rest. The garden has had plenty of water now and we would all like to go out and play. Thank you.

Fairy houses continued

Guess I was rushing things when I snapped photos of the fairy houses the other day because the boys were not yet finished with the construction. There were still roofs to add (silly me, didn't I know?) and a few other final touches. And today, with fairy houses complete, under each roof a small scroll of paper with tiny writing appeared. Rowan was pleased to learn some details about the new inhabitants. I'm not sure who is having more fun with this...the big sisters or the little brothers? Ava and Clara may be just a touch motivated to gentle their at times rambunctious brothers.

My Lilla

Dinner needs cooking, laundry awaits me and my sewing machine is gathering moss, but right now I'm just taking in this little being whose arrival eleven months ago made us a family of five. Everyday Lilla's personality unfolds and reveals a bit more. She laughs easily and most often because of something Rowan is doing (he takes credit for being the first person to make her laugh). All of a sudden she seems to understand some things we say, is repeating sounds and even saying words (although probably only our family can decode them)... She is a little charmer and will literally work a room by catching the attention of others and than flashing an enormous, infectious smile.
She's my sweet little girl, happy to suck her thumb when in need, to be carried about through the day, and to to sleep snugly next to me.

Fairy houses

Ava and Clara love to come up with activities for their younger brothers. After returning from school the other day, they set up supplies for the boys to make fairy houses. They organized little piles of rocks, moss, sticks and leaves and helped the boys to build these sweet little fairy houses:
The little stone huts are so pretty nestled among the tall grasses and ferns. I think any fairy would be perfectly content stretching out on the leaf hammocks and munching on the snacks the boys provided in the petite acorn bowls. In fact, I wouldn't mind moving in myself.

Rowan and Eliot were full of wondering questions like: "Do you think a fairy weighs the same as a cork?" "Do fairies like sushi?" "Do you think Tiptoes will visit?" Tiptoes is the name of the fairy in one of our favorite books, The Tales of Tiptoes Lightly by Reg Down. Rowan and I love these imaginative stories that follow the seasonal adventures of Tiptoes and we return to reading them again and again.

A gardening we go

Sugar snap peas, lettuce, cilantro, carrots and beets are making their way through the soil. Last year's parsley and kale have volunteered themselves... The "walking" onions are multiplying and spreading and I am beginning to wonder whether planting them was a good idea. Strawberry plants bloom, but the deer like to nibble away at the leaves. If the deer cut back on their feasting, perhaps we will have a few berries ready in about six weeks.

As I move things around in the perennial beds, Rowan follows with a hose to ease the shock of the new transplants. My little babe perches on my back examining our work in progress. This time of year the garden feels so full of potential, it's hard to hold back from buying yet more seeds and plants. I day dream about creating a magical space in the backyard...outdoor rooms made up of shrubs and plants with wafts of sweet smelling blossoms and herbs filling the air. And an abundance of good things to eat. Some day. Right now we are just playing. Getting our fingernails dirty and our hopes high.

Three wishes

Rowan said to me the other day, "Mom...if I had three wishes they would be: one I could fly, two you would live forever and three I would live forever." Whoa...that thought stopped me in my tracks. With age I've become more aware of my mortality. Certainly watching the speed with which my children have grown makes me even more aware of passing time. But I'm not sure where Rowan comes up with comments like that since he is only five.

I have, though, been thinking a lot lately about my cousin who recently was diagnosed with cancer. He's a relatively young guy with two small children and a wonderful wife. I'm sure it took them all by surprise... what a very awful surprise.

While I think about and pray for George and his family I am reminded of the preciousness and uncertainty of life. I am reminded to take it all in and find joy in what surrounds me. The beauty of a glorious warm day. A perfect breeze. Birdsong across the fields. Bees buzzing delightfully over apple blossoms. Watching my big girl play with and teach my little one how to clap, to give a high five, and to make little kissing sounds. For these simple things I bow down and give thanks.

Healthy cookies

My sister in law Carrie sent along a fun cookie recipe for kids to make. The ingredients are simple, wholesome, and might just be sitting in your kitchen right now! Mix 1 1/2 cups oats and 1/2 each: peanut butter, apple juice concentrate and raisins (supposed to soak a bit if hard, but we skipped this step and they were fine). We also threw in a dash of cinnamon and a few drops of vanilla. Once mixed, form into balls and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. This afternoon, Rowan and I tried our hands at making these healthy little bites. Rowan was a natural:
Since Lea was coming over for dinner later on , I thought I'd do a little experimenting and make a second batch with the addition of chocolate. Wouldn't want to deny myself my sister of chocolate... So I substituted 1/2 chocolate chips for the raisins and used 1/2 cup maple syrup instead apple juice concentrate, but otherwise followed the above recipe. Both cookie variations were dense, not overly sweet and easy to make. And you can nibble a little of the raw batter without fear. I like that.

Mothering

Nearly eleven years (!) ago I entered the land of motherhood and everything changed. Before holding that sweet, delicate bundle in my arms, I had no way of understanding just how my life would shift...in mind, body and spirit. Oh, I was warned of the challenges that lay ahead: the sleepless nights, the endless diapers, the terrible twos, the teenage dramas, etc. And the experience of pregnancy made it clear that my body would not be the same. But I never realized all the crazy things that would happen to my heart ... like the joy of watching my children contentedly playing together...the worry in the middle of the night over a very feverish child ...the frustration felt when the kids aren't listening to me... and the love of art work made by tiny hands. Also, once I became a mother, my appreciation for my own mother grew immensely. I still can't figure out exactly how she managed with so many children to care for in our large family. Thanks a million, Mom...hope you and all those other mamas out there had a lovely Mother's Day!

Sunset at the playground

After dinner...


And before bed:

Yesterday the sun came out late and a walk to the neighborhood playground was just what we needed. The kids had fun playing around on the old monkey bars and horse swings. And I played the dorky mom on the sidelines snapping photos left and right.

Gray day

I can barely keep my eyes open today...maybe it's the weather or maybe it' s the 5 hours of sleep I got last night. Or perhaps it's the pollen dusting things and making my head feel inflated and my throat scratchy. Either way, I don't feel like doing much today. Well, I am a little tempted to go to one of my favorite church rummage sales which takes place only twice a year. It's a huge indoor/outdoor event with clothes/craft items/housewares galore. Last year for just a few dollars I got sewing notions, a lamp, pretty plates and a bunch of neat vintage fabric in new condition. Some of that fabric I recently used to make my new favorite shopping totes. But no...I won't let myself go this year. I just have so much STUFF, it's overwhelming. Actually, next weekend is my turn to unload some of my junk treasures and have yard sale.
Yes, today I'm just staying put. I think I'll have a tea, curl up and read some more with Rowan.