J is the cutest!!!

Kids can be so cute sometimes, well... most of the times except when I am not in such a cute mood :). Last evening was one of the pleasant evenings  where all of us piled up on each other. R sits down on the couch to rest for a while after a demanding day. I consider that as an invitation to rest my head on his chest. This looks very appealing for J to jump on me and D is kind enough to climb atop all this to give me a kiss . Thank god for such a lovely family and loving times with each other.
Back to the point, J wanted to give her dad a Xmas card which she had made a few days ago. The detail missing was just that she had given me the same card the day she made it. I guess she thought she could impress R with no extra effort. R gave all the pampering she expected and asked if it was only for him. She wanted to say "Yes!! Its only for you"  but in the process of telling that she realised I was watching. and tried to change her words to "Its for all of you" . Poor 6 year old that she is, managed to combine that to blurt out a " Its for anf you" . What followed was a 15 minute session of teasing J for that. I love you Jaanu, for the sweetheart that you are!!

No more a UFO!

Finally the Poncho did see the light of the day. Poor thing this Poncho, ever since I finished crocheting her, she must have thought " Atlast, I will be on the shoulder of this pretty princess and see the world with her".  But I had other plans as always. Just before I had weaved in the ends, my attention switched to other things and she was totally forgotten. Happens with me all the time.
She remained folded and tucked away for an entire year .sob! sob! Today as it happens, I was in this mood to organize some stuff under the bed which apparently were already organized. I just love doing this especially when these stuff are things crafty. Back to the topic, while I was at it, who should just peep out, but the long forgotten Poncho. I took pity , and weaved in the ends and even adorned her with 2 pompoms. Awww ...the cutie.
She is all set to make my princess J happy . or atleast I hope J is happy having it.

Simple Everyday Tindora Sabzi / Thondekayi palya/ Ivy Gourd side dish

Simple things which kids say can take you by surprise and put you into the epitome of happiness. Waking up one fine spring morning, sunny boy comes at once and hugs me with a look of such great gratitude . Without me questioning he starts " You know mamma, you are the best. our are just THE BEST."

me :??

Sunny:Well... you not only are good to me in real world, even in my dreams when I am facing trouble , you come and comfort me. You are THE BEST!!
The above incidence has absolutely nothing to do with the recipe below ... I just shared that coz I wanted to :).
Well...kids are not fond of veggies. One trick I learnt was to scare them showing R's grey hair, telling them that the reason he has grey hair early in life is because he never had vegetables when he was their age. Can't believe, Kids are so conscious of their looks , they have improved a lot in the sabzi intake. But every time I serve the vegetables, invariably, the kids topic is always about how Pappa got grey hair early. This annoys R to the extreme. But this particular sabzi is liked by kids and R alike. Simple comfort food- Roti with Tindora sabzi/Thondekayi palya. Recipe follows.
Ingredients:

• Oil: 5-6 tblspn
• Mustard seeds:1 tspn
• Hing: a pinch
• Garlic chopped: 2 big cloves
• Onion chopped: 1 big
• Tindora chopped: 4 cups(ends cut off and discarded and sliced round thin)
• Red Chilli powder: 1 tspn or more as per spice tolerance
• Coriander/Dhania powder : 1 tblspn
• Turmeric powder:1/4 tspn

Procedure:

1. Heat the oil in a pan. When moderately hot, add the mustard seeds and allow to crackle.
2. Add the Hing, followed by the chopped garlic for half a minute or so.
3. Add the chopped onion and stir fry until the garlic and onion turn light brown.
4. Add the Tindora , stir and cook until the Tindoras are almost half cooked.
5. Follow this by the spice powders : Turmeric, Coriander and Chilli powder and the salt.
6. Stir to mix all the spices with the vegetables and cover and cook until done.
7. Serve with Roti or Chapathi.

Note: Tindora needs to be cut into thin round slices for better taste. I will try and put up some pics soon to give a better idea :).