Garden fresh

Hello people! Thank you for your words of encouragement. I really appreciate it. I just realized only thing I have in my hands is to try my best. I really have to learn to calm down and not worry so much. As Oscar Wilde said,'The secret to a good life is to never have an emotion that is unbecoming' and I intend to practise just that. Yes m'am!
Our garden is really giving us the fruits of our planting these days. There is a distinct pleasure in eating homegrown vegetables. Everything seems tastier. The other day we had a spinach salad with marconi peppers. These are long tapered sweet peppers. We didn't know about these until we planted them. They taste very good when they are green and are super sweet when they are red. We haven't waited till they turned red but green ones are really yummy!



Our tomato plants have been quite prolific, but the tomatoes are still green. One of my friends told me to pluck the really huge greeen ones and let them turn red inside the house by letting them absorb the sun by the window. Otherwise they bruise because of insects and animals on the plant. We experimented this with a couple of tomatoes and it indeed turned red! Jamie says she likes a tomato when its all red from the inside and it was. So today was a tomato rich dinner. Jamie made bruschetta and I made tomato basil pasta with linguini noodles. I think linguini is my favorite noodle.
We had brought nice thyme bread from the farmer's market. Slice em and toast em and when hot rub some garlic on it. The aroma is simply amazing! Then place fine chopped tomato and basil, parmesan cheese on top and melt the cheese. This is simple and quite tasty. I think my next topping for bruschetta would be red marconi peppers. I have a feeling that will taste great too.



My dish- pasta- it was okay because we were impatient for the sauce to be done. So the sauce was a bit raw tomatoey. I think I would want to cook it more. I put 3 tbsp of olive oil, 4 cloves of garlic, tomatoes- a can of crushed tomatoes and one large diced tomato and towards the end a handful of basil. We grew basil too this time. One of these days maybe we'll make a basil pesto. Pour over al dente linguini pasta and, some moz cheese and voila!



For quite sometime, Jamie had been craving zucchini bread. We decided to make some and got a humungous zucchini from the farmer's market. It was a good size for 2 dollars. We wanted to make it healthy because this bread was gonna be our breakfast. So to lower the fat content, we used homemade applesauce and instead of all purpose flour we mixed one cup of wheat flour with half a cup of flaxseed powder. It's quite easy to make-

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup flaxseed powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 egg
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tbsp plain non fat yoghurt
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup grated zucchini
1/3 cup fine chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325 degrees farenheit. Mix the dry ingredients (flour, flaxseed, spices, baking soda and powder, cinnamon) and wet ingredients (applesauce, yoghurt, oil, egg, vanilla, sugar) separately. Mix both wet and dry ingredients and finally fold in the zucchini and walnuts. Bake for 50-60 minutes.

We made homemade applesauce. It was really really sweet- we didn't add any sugar
Peel and dice two apples (we used gala apples), cover it with water and cook covered. Remove when apples are soft. Mash.



Here's the finished product.



Quite moist and tasty. But I have to admit, I did not taste the zucchini flavor. Next time, I'll add more than a cup.

Jamie also wanted to make granola. She mixed 3 cups of rolled oats with half a cup of maple syrup, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 tbsp canola oil, and 1 cup nuts (peanuts and almonds). Mix and place in a preheated oven at 325 F and cook for 30-45 minutes. This was the base. After this was done, she divided it into 3 and first third with raisins, second with chocolate chips and third with both. Very nicely toasted oats and nuts. Mighty good it turned out to be!





I remember I told you about a garden burger from the farmers market. This had interesting ingredients like spelt berries, kale, balsamic vinegar, thyme, ginger, apples, carrots, garlic, onion, black beans oats, salt and pepper (writing this is like a memory test for me- how many ingredients can I remember? umm...I remember half and remaining I cheated). We had this with green beans and bread with sweet mustard salsa



Interesting cancer facts for the day: I met a cancer researcher at RPAC. He told me that within the digestive tract, previously like in 1930's-70's the predominant cancer used to be stomach cancer, but now it has shifted to colon cancer. I asked why? He said because the chemicals we are using these days in foods are different. I never noticed this trend, so it was interesting for me.
Then I'd read about how some cancer researchers believe that there will never be a cure for cancer. He said he was one of those folks and explained why. This is what I understand. At the most basic level, cancer is a disease when cells divide and multiply but do not die. For this to happen mutations need to accumulate (~15-20). For instance, take apoptosis, there are multiple gene products in the pathway of apoptosis. Mutation in one or more than one gene can impair the process and the cell does not die. For two people with the same cancer, the mutations can be in totally different genes. So, in majority of cases, no two people have the same cancer. A question occurred to me as I was typing this, can apoptosis be impaired and oncogenes be activated at the same time? I guess that will be a really rapid spread of cancer. I hope I am clear in my explantion. I really try hard to have clarity in my explanations. Feel free to ask any questions and I can bug this guy.
Researchers/professors I have noticed are very precise and accurate in their conversation. I like this. This guy is a freak though. He has run 20 marathons, broken his knee ligaments thrice, ankle ligament once and got them repaired and still keeps running. He said I should run outside too. I think I have a block against running on a hard surface like roads bacause the impact from it is hard. He said one of his favorite surfaces was snow. I said aha! he is one of the persons whom one sees running in winter and thinks 'what a jerk!'Golly! the things that pop out of my mouth!
I'll end here. Have a great day!

Where is Summer?

Good afternoon people, How are you guys doing? Aww Gina I'm so sorry you had to through that heart in your mouth experience with your poster, but you took care of it, awesome! How is Emily's ankle doing? I hope it gets better soon. You must be missing running. Hasn't the weather been cold lately? Yesterday, I didn't get a jacket and it was freezing. I hate to feel that way in June!
Moving on, for me, I am done with the major chunk of writing and today I am doing the bibliography. I want to be done with it today. Side by side lab experiments are also going on.

Its been just 4 days since I've missed out on writing here and it already feels like such a long time. I've been reading, writing, doing experiments, tending garden, working out, watching a movie here and there and cooking.

These 4 days, Sunday I made this black lentils and kidney bean soup. I'd made it for you guys the first time you came to my house, but it got burnt during the reheating process. Does that ring a bell? Well I made it again coz I really like it, its yummy and very nutritious. Black lentils contain a high level of protein, including essential amino acids isoleucine and lysine, however they are lacking in methionine and cystine. Apart from these goodies, it is loaded with dietary fiber, folate, vitamin B1 and minerals like molybedenum, manganese, Iron, phosphorus, copper and potassium. The dish I made translates to 'Buttery lentils' It has

1 cup lentils
1 can of kidney beans- cook the lentils first and then mix the kidney beans.

For seasoning,
heat vegetable oil (2-3 tsp)
add cumin seeds (1tsp)
4 tomatoes (I chop into cubes and roast it in oil and then puree it in a blender)
1/2 tsp red chilli powder or 2 small dried red chilli
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp coriander seed powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp ketchup
1/2 cup fresh cream (I used half and half)

Roast all the seasonings upto garam masala first- heat oil, then add cumin to a light golden brown, tomatoes- when tomatoes are roasted then add coriander seed powder and garam masala, red chilli and add garlic last. I prefer not to overcook the spices, that's why I add them in the end so that they roast just for a couple of seconds.
Blend all this. Mix it with the cooked lentils, add cream and butter and give it a gentle boil. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rice. Its very filling and tasty. But beware! It can cause gas! so Gina- Beano beforehand!





Monday, Jamie and me walked to Columbus metropolitan library to get some DVD's she'd requested (Monty pythons- the meaning of life and the life of Brian). We were starving when we got back and made this sandwich. It was absolutely delightful.

Whole grain bread
Dill dip from grocery (Kroger)
To the dip we added red and yellow bell pepper, some fine chopped cucumber, onion and we sauted some zuccini and pine nuts
Mix everything together and place this between the slices of bread.
We also had oven baked fries with this.









Tuesday, I was having a craving for these South Indian rice pancakes with potato curry and coconut chutney. I get the mix for the pancake from the Indian store. It was okay from the original standards. The homemade pancakes are golden brown in color and very crispy. I feel that most westerners do not like south Indian food as much as north Indian food. I don't know why. The coconut chutney was damn tasty.
I took a handful of frozen coconut, 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, 1 green chilli, coriander leaves, a small piece of ginger. Blend it away and season it with mustard seeds roasted in a tsp of oil. The pancake tore but I took the picture anyway.










Wednesay, Jamie created another lovely dish from orzo pasta. I always thought orzo was rice. Apparently, its pasta shaped like rice.



Cook orzo pasta
Olive oil- 3tbsp
Red bell pepper..1/2
Large onion ¼
Mushrooms…1 small can
Red beans….1/2 can
1 can diced tomatoes
Seasoning..basil, Italian seasoning, minced garlic, salt and pepper
Grated parmesan, parsley topping





It was very very good. I hadn't eaten much the whole day, so I thoroughly enjoyed this.

I saw 2 movies in these 4 days - The color purple and Monty Python's the meaning of life. The former was a great movie, but it was kinda sad to see how the black women were treated by their husbands in the early 1900's. Oprah was there in the movie too.
Monty python don't even get me started on it! it was SUCH a drag! I had higher guffaw expectations from monty pythons- but I just managed to get one big one. So one of the teachers is giving a sex lesson to this bunch of boys and is quizzing them in between. So he asks one of the students, how would he start foreplay? The student says by rubbing the clitoris. The teacher then screams 'Why do you want to stampede to the clitoris? why not just start with a kiss?' I guess this was kinda an unexpected response and caught us off guard. Both Jamie and me had a rollicking laugh at this one. The movie has 10 parts where they take you through the ages to finally arrive at a silly meaning of life- live in peace and harmony. I would've been really mad if I had to put myself through this movie doing nothing else. Thankfully, I was doing some thesis work on the side. So it was bearable.
I'll end here. Good luck with your poster tomorrrow!

My Family

Hello people! How are you guys doing? I have been thinking of my family these days and how they have shaped me. I grew up in a large family. I am the youngest in a family of six- eldest sister, my second sister and brother are twins and then there's me. Since the age gap between the rest of my siblings and me is quite large, they were more influential on me than my parents. My parents were bored when I came around. I was pampered as the baby of the family- my sisters used to entice me to share their bed with them- my eldest sister with stories and my second sister I don't remember what. The story involved a boy , a bear, a plane and a forest. It got created as the night went on and I was permitted to make additions- I vaguely remember one of them was a mobile sink. My second sister, when I was in kindergarten, always took me with her during recess. With my brother, it was hard initially coz he resented me because of all the attention I got as a kid, but later he was okay with me. I grew up in very lush North India in a beautiful large government owned house with a nice kitchen garden- we took organic food for granted and didn't realize how expensive it was outside.
Being the baby of the family has its good and bad sides. The good- Since my dad was the only earning member of the family, money was for more important things like education, clothes were secondary. But all of us girls love clothes and it was hard for my sisters. They made sure that I had enough when they started earning. I look upto my siblings quite a lot. My eldest sister, she really showed us what we could achieve. Coming to America was an impossible dream until she showed it could be done. She was so motivated on her career and she is doing very well today- she works at Intel as a hardware engineer and is pursuing an MBA and she went through some really hard times while getting an education- having to live with relatives and a cousin who hated her- I really admire her for getting through all that. My second sister has always been my playmate. I adore her. She is accepting of me, does not put any pressure on me, lets me figure my way out and is there for me when I need her. My brother was spiritually inclined since adulthood and eventually went on to become a monk. My siblings exposed me to good literature, good music, and always set very high standards for me. So I learnt to appreciate a lot of good quality stuff through them.
The bad of being the youngest- Since they were such towering figures in my life, they could do no wrong - I really sought their approval quite a lot, especially my eldest sister and my brother. So to break free from them, know of my own likes and dislikes and trust my own instincts has taken me some time. Even among my extended family, I was ignored as the youngest one- so to value my own opinions and judgements has been another break free from my siblings experience. I am a sensitive person, I used to call them up at the slightest hurt I felt which to them was no biggie. I am glad it was made known to me how hard it was for them when I was hurting and even tiresome at times- ever since then I am superconscious of the fact that I am not draining on anyone. I don't want to complain. But some old habits take time to fade. As far as possible, I try to deal with them on my own, but sometimes, the self gets too much to bear and I need an outlet.
Another thing I have realized is that they are not these perfect creatures who know how to deal with everything. My eldest sister, since while growing up she had to encounter those hard environments, she had to to toughen herself. She is beautiful and has had a lot of attention but she just pushes people who try to get too close to her. She may deny the fact, but this is what I feel. That does not remove the desire to have someone however. She also has this perfectionist tendencies where nothing is good enough. She is hard on herself as well as us and that makes it hard to be with her at times. Don't get me wrong- she has a great sense of humor, is funny and always has helped out the family financially. But it took me a while to realize that I could actually be there for her emotionally. Same goes for my other siblings. My brother was a software engineer before he joined the monastry. Their's is a modern monastry. He's their tech support guy. He sends an occasional e-mail
I am sorry if I have poured out complaints when I am frustrated. I try hard to be responsible for my emotions and keep myself happy and believe in myself that I can actually do good quality work, make more money. Its not easy especially when you are prone to bring yourself down, but the more I read blogs and see people around me, its the same for everybody and all we can do is give the self a chance, keep trying and never ever give up on ourselves..