Indian Cooking Club!!!

Finally, a blog entry! Above, dear Kalpana, and her menu, ready to teach us. Below, meet the spices!
Melissa, Pam and I made a good trio of students. We each listened, made notes, took pictures or got our hands in the cooking in a good way. Below, Melissa and Pam start with our kheer dessert first!


Pam is happy to be cooking Indian food!
Below, Kalpana rendering the ghee with spices to infuse each dish with its own tantalizing savor. Melissa checks the potatoes...





Look how organized she is! Each dish was carefully displayed in its "before" state with the recipe posted above. We also each got a folder to take notes in and take home.



More Indian ingredients. Ghee is used to render the flavors...
Tumeric in its glory along with ground almonds, cashews, cumin seeds and curry leaves...next one down, rose water and petals for our aromatic, cardamom-infused rice pudding dessert.

Cucumber Raita...
Tomato Dal...
Hyderabadi Anjeer Murgh = Chicken deliciousness!!! A family recipe from the north of India...
Bhagara Khushka...Seasoned Rice...
Alu Matar...Potatoes and Peas...
The whole shabang!
Melissa's geometric plate...
Dessert!
A good pairing...
Yum!

A Terrific Turkey Day!

Tis The Season!

instagr.am

Books on the Brain

I really love the new background of this blog--all those books. I think I love it because it reminds me of something else I love--all my books! I finally unpacked a few boxes that had been sitting in storage at my parents' house for three years, and experienced a strange rush of joy. A part of myself had been denied since packing up and moving from Jersey City in 2007. I must admit, too, though, that I felt a horrible sense of detachment from some of them. It must be the time away from them and the events of that time that have made me wonder which books are worth keeping. Also, I haven't been as committed a reader as I once was. So, I don't know if it is the books I feel distance from or if it is myself. Either way, it was a bittersweet way that I recounted the passage of time. Mostly sweet, though.

I just finished reading the third of the Stieg Larssen novels about Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist. To be honest, it just wore me out. I was expecting something more of it. But I suppose the author was a dying man as he wrote it so I will cut him some slack. I really enjoyed the first, two, though, so maybe my expectations were too high. I have moved on to something less demanding: Dexter. Yes, you may mock me.
I organized my many books when I moved in, on the bookshelves my brother and father so graciously refinished for me I took my time to carefully categorize and place them. Some books were put with other books like it---same genre, same author--some books got put in for a splash of color or texture. The end result was something harmonious and quite soothing.

Another thing that gives me peace about books is watching my students enjoy the big, glossy coffee table books that I buy at the bargain table at Borders and Barnes and Noble. They are huge and full of pictures of the world. My students are eager for free reading and, like little sponges, soak up the facts about the Wonders of the World and soldiers and architecture and mummies. It really is quite endearing.

SO....with books on my brain I make a plea for recommendations. What do you suggest?

hiatus

It's a word that could describe the last two months of non-blogging. In that time I traveled to France for a friend's wedding, moved to a new apartment (pic above) , got a haircut (pic below) and started my third school year at Trinity (last pic is my dad talking to 5th graders about fossils!)

I'm happy about these events and the changes that have come with them. The new apartment has free wireless internet, which makes blogging easier. And I have a back-up wireless, too, which belongs to my school. School is so close to my apartment that I can walk. I like that.

I HEART NY.

It's true. What can I say. I love it.

It's SUMMER!!!

Just stopping in Houston on my way from San Antonio to New Orleans. I was at a conference with some co-workers, exploring the concept of girls and bullying. The recent popular term for it is "relational aggression" or RA. It was a helpful conference in many ways, but revealed a need for deeper understanding of the topic. When school starts, I will be thinking about it again, but for now, I am thinking about what is next.

And that is....

New York and France!!! HOORAY! Hope to have lots of pics to share of Texas, New York, and La France.

Bon vacance a toute la monde!

Haiti

One of the former members of my church in New Orleans works for CNN and is in Haiti. He says that World Vision, World Relief and World Food Program are being effective. Something to consider if you are looking to send help.

World Vision:
http://www.worldvision.org

World Relief:
http://worldrelief.org

World Food Program:
http://www.wfp.org/