Beach, Bop ..an evening of pure Bliss

Just returned from the Douglas Beach House at Half Moon bay. The evening was ripe, view was good and we forgot our world a little when Prasanna played Kaathyayani and the Snake Banger's Ball.
An evening well spent in the midst of sheer brilliance and abundant creativity,..we are ready to sleep now for we have to face our earthly mundane tasks tomorrow.

Why is it So hard to change?

K celebrated his birthday recently. Hmm..wasn't much of a celebration, it was a week day and we both were getting ready early - him for his official trip and me to school. We had a quick moment when I dropped him at the airport and drove off to my school. The usual jazz station music did not seem interesting, maybe I wasn't in the mood, so the car was quiet. K's sister had recently visited us for a week and we had a good time together, so this newfound silence alerted me to think something and occupy my mind with something other than the noise from the fellow cars in the freeway. It was a fine morning and the view was quite good. Suddenly I realized it was going to be five years since we got married! Which made me realize we, especially I, haven't changed much in the duration. Sure we have changed our houses, works and the neighborhood, we have been visiting different places but I am talking about the person I am inside. I still feel like the young girl who came here after marriage, looked around and thought I am going to adapt and contribute something to this new world of mine while retaining my original srivilliputtur self. I feel like I have not adapted at all. I still yearn for the fresh, known faces  that smile and greet while I put kolam in front of our house. I still yearn for the fresh breath of tropical air from the coconut, naarthangai and lemon trees with the unparalleled view of Srivilliputtur gopuram(temple tower) in the background. I still yearn for the sight of my dad coming home from the temple with the freshly offered milk to God in his hand and my mom wearing a madisar, offering me the most aromatic coffee in the world with her mookkuthi glittering like a shiny star reflecting the soothing morning light. Most of all, I still yearn for the sight of my paati (paternal grandmother) sitting in the marakkattil (wooden cot) or the oonjal (wooden swing) in the front room with the coffee tumbler in her hand and the prabhantham book/ hindu paper on her side. I still yearn for the arrival of my thaatha (maternal grandfather) with the vellaiappam and kesari (snack and sweet) sitting in the oonjal waiting for me to come from school. The list goes on and on......Then I wonder will my children ever be able to enjoy, observe and appreciate these things as I did. Or the least will they able to understand what these meant to me or they will be consumed with the convenient flashy modern life this country is offering and brush off the things I hold close to my heart. K says most of us have filtered memories. Something catches my attention. Construction going on ahead. Hmm..I have to take a detour through another freeway. Maybe I will be better off sticking with the nearby exit and the surface road. It will take another 10-15 minutes. Gotta go early and finish up my homework....

Usili usili

Even the smell of paruppusili invites the cheerful stomach. If you cut out the fat part in it, it is infact a very good source of protein and fiber. I personally love the texture and the wholesome, filling taste when it slides into the mouth. Well,Vazhaipoo(banana flower) paruppusili is one of my favourites. The vazhaipoo and the whole thing rich in protein,fiber,vitamin A,vitamin C screams goodness. It is very good for feminine health too.
Preparing Vazhaipoo requires special skill and consumes quite some time. Oiling our hands, separating the stems, my favourite is to imagine the end product entering my mouth while I am on the process..;))

Almond flavoured Oatmeal raisin cookies

I like the chewy,textured oatmeal cookies than the crispier ones.And i like almonds too .So here's are the cookies with the combination of almond's flavour and oatmeal's texture.Actually cookies use very little or almost no water which makes them not to raise so much and crispy.Using butter makes them very tasty but more crispy.So I added oil(normal vegetable oil).I found the basic recipe on a Oats box in the supermarket.I dont remember the name.I made a few changes to it.They turned out to be real goodies.

2.5 cups of old fashioned oats(slightly toasted)
1 cup of molasses (i ran out of brown sugar
so i substituted with molasses)
1/2 cup of granulated white sugar
(1/4 +3/4) cup of vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon almond flavouring
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1 cup of finely chopped almonds
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1+1/4 cups of all purpose flour

After two or three attempts I figured this is how to make good cookies out of this recipe:

Toss the oats with 1/4 cup of oil.Keep them aside for 1/2 hour.Toss them again with 1/4 cup of flour so that it coats the oats.Meanwhile,mix the molasses,3/4 cup of vegetable oil,flavourings.Add almonds to it.In a seperate container,mix the remaining flour ,sugar,baking soda,baking powder and salt very well.Mix both the mixtures.Fold the oats well in to that till it forms a round firm dough.
Using a rounded table spoon,scoop the dough into two cookie sheets.6 per sheet,equally shaped will be good i think.Preheat the oven to 350 F.And bake them at 350 F in the top and middle racks for 12 minutes(Change the sheets after 6 minutes).Cool them for a minute and then tranfer to a plate and cool them for 5 minutes.
Hot oatmeal chewies with almond flavour right to your mouth!!

Cafe Gratitude-Review

K and I were sitting there in the couch on a lazy afternoon with a cup of tea watching TV while watching some program referring to this awesome restaurant called Cafe` Gratitude in San Francisco.We didnt listen at first but what caught our attention was it is a raw food vegan restaurant and that they have a good selection of entrees which are all good.
So we both wanted to give it a try since it sounded different.We expected some sort of salads and soups and usual vegan soy stuff....on that day it was raining heavily and we were like 'it better be good'.But turns out that place is really EXCELLENT.We never thought that vegan food can be much more flavourful(we are vegetarians ..still) and the thin is they were all raw.We both adored our desserts.We ordered assorted crackers with olive,hummus and sourcream dips for our appetizer,indian pilaf and sushi rice bowl for main courses,some almond milk as drink,chocolate fudge and layered coconut cream pie for the dessert.
Everything was so good and the dessert was awesome.My Indian friends ,dont limit yourself to the indian restaurants around here and give this place a try if you ever happen to be in bay area.It is a little pricey but it is worth the experience for sure!!