My neighbor's kids wake me up early these days with their gleeful squeals and loud splish-splash in the swimming pool. Am I complaining? Yes, but only because I can't join them...hmph! Wouldn't it be wonderful to become a kid again and enjoy carefree, summer-long vacations! Those days are never to return. Nonetheless, I made the most of my 4-day Independence Day holiday.
We decided to camp out at Coronado Island for the 4th of July fireworks. You have to reach there early and secure a spot to be able to see the fireworks. We packed a lot of munchies that my in-laws brought from India. For the 'main course', we had my favorite Dabelis. I had to find a way of transporting dabeli to the location - taking ready-made dabeli would've left them soggy, and carrying all the ingredients separately wasn't going to be efficient. I ended up making a filling 'cake' and carrying paav (bread) and sev separately. All this could fit in my bright orange beach tote - perfect for a day out.
The 'cake' was nothing but layers of everything that goes in between the paav. You can find the elaborate recipe here. I mashed potatoes with ready-made dabeli masala, and mixed in green and tamarind chutnies with the potatoes. This was the bottom layer. On top went a layer of spice-roasted peanuts, pomegranate seeds, and finely chopped onion. Chopped cilantro would've been perfect, but I had run out of it. When we were ready to eat, I dug a big scoop of this filling, taking some from each layer, and smeared it on paav, then topped it off with crunchy sev. The idea and the outcome was loved by everyone.
**Tip: Cut the onion in half and wash it in cold water before chopping it up. This will take away some of that pungency and odor.
Now that the days are getting hotter and hotter, I find it convenient to cook quick and simple meals, and use that extra time to get back to art work.
Husband had gifted me a Chinese brush painting set for Valentine's day. I finally got around to trying it. Here's my first try at it. (As you can tell, I get lazy with the pictures quite often).
There was some learning curve here, but I loved the free-style brush strokes and light color pigments. These would make great greeting cards.
I've been doing a lot of instant-gratification kind of crochet work lately.
Guess hoo? I saw these ridiculously adorable cell phone cases on Etsy. I wanted to keep mine simpler, but the eyes could've been bigger for sure. I plan to make more of these in different colors for gifts.
Husband always demands I make something for him. Whether he uses it or not is another question. I tried to make a 'man' version cell phone case for him with a football pattern. I can pretty much slap this pattern on anything and he'll love it.
We decided to camp out at Coronado Island for the 4th of July fireworks. You have to reach there early and secure a spot to be able to see the fireworks. We packed a lot of munchies that my in-laws brought from India. For the 'main course', we had my favorite Dabelis. I had to find a way of transporting dabeli to the location - taking ready-made dabeli would've left them soggy, and carrying all the ingredients separately wasn't going to be efficient. I ended up making a filling 'cake' and carrying paav (bread) and sev separately. All this could fit in my bright orange beach tote - perfect for a day out.
The 'cake' was nothing but layers of everything that goes in between the paav. You can find the elaborate recipe here. I mashed potatoes with ready-made dabeli masala, and mixed in green and tamarind chutnies with the potatoes. This was the bottom layer. On top went a layer of spice-roasted peanuts, pomegranate seeds, and finely chopped onion. Chopped cilantro would've been perfect, but I had run out of it. When we were ready to eat, I dug a big scoop of this filling, taking some from each layer, and smeared it on paav, then topped it off with crunchy sev. The idea and the outcome was loved by everyone.
**Tip: Cut the onion in half and wash it in cold water before chopping it up. This will take away some of that pungency and odor.
Now that the days are getting hotter and hotter, I find it convenient to cook quick and simple meals, and use that extra time to get back to art work.
Husband had gifted me a Chinese brush painting set for Valentine's day. I finally got around to trying it. Here's my first try at it. (As you can tell, I get lazy with the pictures quite often).
There was some learning curve here, but I loved the free-style brush strokes and light color pigments. These would make great greeting cards.
I've been doing a lot of instant-gratification kind of crochet work lately.
Guess hoo? I saw these ridiculously adorable cell phone cases on Etsy. I wanted to keep mine simpler, but the eyes could've been bigger for sure. I plan to make more of these in different colors for gifts.
Husband always demands I make something for him. Whether he uses it or not is another question. I tried to make a 'man' version cell phone case for him with a football pattern. I can pretty much slap this pattern on anything and he'll love it.
I bought cotton yarn for the first time over the weekend. It was perfect to make this summery, two-colored dish towel.
I gifted this purse to my sister, just for being the awesome self she is =). I am in love with the shell pattern I used for the flap.
Yet another bright-colored pattern for our patio. I intended it to be a rug, but we've been using it as a patio chair throw and it looks pretty.
4 comments:
Ahh dabeli! Miss all the street food.. and love the crochet! That throw looks beautiful..so bright, perfect for summer!
Thank you :).
Yes, bright colors make me so happy. I just bought a bunch of colorful yarn from Michael's.
I lived in Pune for a while and Dabeli reminds me of those days. Its been years I had one. I must attempt to make it at home. Your art work looks beautiful!
Your artwork is beautiful! Hope to see more of your paintings in the future.
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