Naarya

Motherly musings

2011-03-16T23:41:00.001-04:00

For most things we needed 2 hands to do, we need only one now.
We take a million pics of the same baby-moment, promising to delete the duplicates later. "Later" never comes.
We dont have to sing in the bathroom anymore. Now we have an attentive, dedicated audience.
We long for some peace but worry the most when its too quiet.
It always feels like we have forgotten something.
There is a baby at the wheel, personal care in the back seat and socializing is in the trunk.
Every night, when we kiss them 'good night', we kiss our sleep ...... 'good bye'
Walking to the fridge is only form of exercise we get. (oohhkay... is the only exercise we "do"...happy??)

Ahh...well, the list is endless... it will grow everyday with my baby girl and I will keep writing.

P.S : My new blog on motherhood and my journey with my daughter.... DiaperDreamz

Vadivel and Whoppi...

2010-12-06T11:33:00.001-05:00

the resemblance is uncanny...

Complicated.

2010-10-27T07:54:00.001-04:00

Only men who have been with too many women find women complicated.

p.s: If you have been with only one woman and still find her complex, then she must be a psycho. And psychos exist in both the genders.

Fall time spring

2010-10-18T18:06:00.000-04:00

There was this tree near my old apartment. It had pink flowers on it and no leaves at all in the beginning of fall. It was not spring, but fall. It was a really pretty tree to look at. This one is based on that tree whose name I do not know.
And, the color of my dining lamps make a huge difference to the hues. The first pic has the real colors.

Oil on canvas. 16*24 + 8*8 + 8*8 inches

Stargazer

2010-10-17T15:19:00.000-04:00

The asiatic lillies in my balcony keep staring at the night sky, trying to count the stars I guess. Or maybe trying to see who is prettier.

"Well, you are my dear, because you are closer to me."

In the painting, the flower looks over bloomed. It was not intentional. Next time, proportion and angle...got to get both going together.

Oil on canvas paper, 16* 24 inches

Moon rise

2010-10-16T20:42:00.000-04:00

Attempt was at making the moon the central focus of the painting. But as it turns out, the black eerie tree has taken the attention.

Oil on canvas paper. 16*24 inches

Some stay, some go.

2010-10-11T19:59:00.000-04:00

The stillness of the mountains in contrast to the movement of the clouds. Dichotomy.

Oil on canvas. 16*24 inches

Weeds

2010-10-09T12:33:00.000-04:00

Simple dandelions are not as harmless as they look when they raid your garden. They were the hardest weeds to kill when I started work on my small farm.
Oil on canvas. 16*24 inches.

Guess What

2010-10-03T22:04:00.000-04:00

Well, I have tried to depict sunset by the beach in a modern artsy kind of way... yeah well...
Oil on canvas. 16 * 24 inches

Wilton Cake decoration classes at Michaels

2010-09-24T18:02:00.000-04:00

I took the Wilton cake decoration classes at Michaels and thought I would share details about the classes for people who are interested.

Course 1 - Decoration Basics
I had taken the class when they had a 50% off the tution fee. Yet, it was pretty heavy on my wallet. They do not tell you upfront that you will be expected to buy cart loads of baking stuff if you do not already own them. Anyways, for me the class was worth the investment. I have given approximate cost of things you will end up buying once you sign up along with other small details that you will not find on the Wilton website.

What you will need to buy:
Decoration Basics Student kit - $ 35
Turn table - $ 20 (or a smaller one will cost about $10)
Disposable decoration bags (50 count) - $ 13-14
White vegetable shortening (3 cups crisco) - $4
Meringue powder (8 oz) - $10
Gel based food color - based on number of colors you buy - $2 each
Clear food flavor - 2 oz bottle - based on number of flavors - $ 2 each
Confectioner's sugar - about 3 lbs
cake leveler - $3
piping gel - $ 4 (If you plan to take other courses also)
cake mixes to make cupcakes and cakes - depends on number and size
Ready made decorator icing - 1lb - $4
Note: All of these things are available at Michaels and you can get 40% off coupons online and at store after purchase. If planned in advance, you can buy most of the slightly expensive stuff using the coupons. You also get 10% coupons for Wilton products when you sign up.
Also, I am not listing basic baking needs like electric hand/stand mixer, measuring cups, air tight containers and certain other common household things like parchment paper, cling wrap, ziploc bags etc

Things that you dont have to buy
Cake board - You can just cut out a big circle (as big as your turn table) on a piece of cardboard and wrap it with aluminum foil. And all you need to do is change the foil after each cake is done. Instead of buying a whole bunch of cardboard circles.

Parchment paper squares - There are 3 parchment papers in the kit and you can cut them into small squares. Its much more than enough for the class. If you need more, just cut squares from regular parchment paper. It works out cheaper to buy a roll and cut than to buy pre-cut squares.

Tip saver box - A normal ziploc box will work just as well.

Course details:
http://www.wilton.com/classes/decorating-basics.cfm

On the first day of course the lesson plan is handed over free of charge. The lesson plan is sold for $5 at AC Moore. You can buy it in spanish also if you want.

Pics: I dont have a picture of the cookies decorated on day1. There is the cake decorated on day 2, the cupcakes decorated on day 3 and the finale cake decorated on day 4.
Also couple of pictures of the class and instructor and me!

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Course 2 - Flowers and cake design

Things to buy:
Some stuff from basics class - like decoration basics student kit, turn table, decoration bags, food color, flavor etc can be reused
Flowers and cake design student kit - $35
Ready to use Gum paste - $ 10
Ready to use fondant - $ 10
9 " rolling pin with guide rings - $ 7
Meringue powder - 8 oz (depends on how much you have after the first course) - $ 10
confectioner's sugar - 3-4 lb
Piping gel - $4 (you will feel glad when you use this in your royal icing. It makes the otherwise hard and stiff icing soft and easy to use. Icing made using piping gel looks good too. There will be no cracks in your flowers)
cake mix - for finale cake

If you have a friend taking the class, see if you guys can share the gum paste and fondant. Its used only on the first class after which we are always working only with royal icing. But if you want to take fondant and gum paste classes later, buying the the whole bag might turn out useful.

Optional items:
Tapered spatula - You can easily do without this one. A normal angled/straight spatula will work just as fine.
Tip covers - Tip covers are used to keep the royal icing in your decorating bag from hardening while working with it. But a damp paper towel piece can be used to cover your decoration tips. At the end of the class, you can always transfer all the icing back into your airtight containers.
Cornstarch - If you dont have cornstarch in your kitchen already, dont go looking for it. You can just use icing sugar in its place.

Course details:

http://www.wilton.com/classes/flowers-cake-design.cfm

Instructors do not push students to use parchment paper bags. If you already have the plastic disposable decoration bags then feel free to use them as they are easier and less messier to use. Moreover, you will be using up the bags bought for the first course instead of spending on parchment paper bags again. Same is the case with feather weight decoration bags.
Save egg boxes (the hard paper mache boxes in which egss come) from your grocery trip. This can be used to carry the royal icing flowers you make. Because you need non-air tight containers to hold flowers until they are completely hard and dry.

Pics : The finale cake and some cup cakes I later made using the gum paste + fondant flowers and royal icing flowers I made during the course.
______________________________________________________________________________________________

My experience at Michaels:
The instructor AnnMarie was a wonderful teacher. She never pressurized students to buy or use a certain product unnecessarily and gave unbiased opinions/reviews about all the different products for cake decoration available in the market. She was extremely patient and friendly with us. We were just 5 people for the decoration basics class and 4 in the flowers and cake design (out of which 1 never turned up). With such small classes, she gave personalized attention to each of us and classes never went beyond 2 hrs. In fact some times we would finish ahead in time and roam around the store.

Course feedback:
The courses are well designed to suit the needs of a beginner. I was really happy with my progress at the end of both courses. But finding someone to eat the 3 cakes, 6 cupcakes, 6 cookies that I made as part of these 2 courses was a tough task as nobody in my family is interested in eating anything sweet. So make sure you have friends/neighbors/ or kids around who will happily munch on the treats you make.
The lesson plan books are excellent. There are detailed pictures for each step and instructions are written in simple to-the-point language. Since most of us are not going to be decorating cakes all the time, having a book that has everything in necessary detail helps a lot.
Of all the things I learnt in these 2 courses, I personally did not like the shaggy mum and pom-pom flowers in the basics class. A classical flower like sweet peas or daisies would have been my flower of choice to learn. I also did not like the lillies in the flowers class as I do not like them on cakes as much as I like looking at them in an arrangement. Moreover, they are made using plastic stamens and it might get just a little too much to ask if we were to serve them to children and then go after them instructing them not to try and chew the tiny plastic parts. For this safety reason, I would never make them.

As it can be expected of any big company, Wilton tries to sell and market their products as much as they can through the classes. Its understandable and not annoying as long as instructors dont push us to buy things that we can do without.
Ohh...And the course completion certificates look nice.
__________________________________________________________________________________

Course 3 - Fondant and Gum Paste

I did not take this course as I was well into 9th month of pregnancy and couldn't sit for 2 hrs at a stretch. But I bought the lesson plan from AC Moore and went through it. After having taken the first 2 courses, it looks as though this one can be self taught. I have not taken a shot at it yet though. Most materials needed are already there as part of student kits for course 1 and course 2. The remaining things are available on shelf and can be bought to use. I will try to do this one myself after say 8 months or so or if they still have the 50% off tuition fee offer I might complete the triangle as well.
One more thing to note is that though I have listed Flowers and cake design as course 2 and Fondant & Gum paste as course 3, they need not be taken up in that order.

The sun that sets

2010-09-23T09:30:00.001-04:00

Oil on canvas. 16 * 24 inches

Learn to crochet....from youtube

2010-09-08T22:55:00.004-04:00

Technology is awesome! Esp when you can learn something entirely new from scratch at no cost ;) (almost)
Teresa (tjw1963) has a youtube channel for crochet. From lessons for beginners to making intricate crochet projects, she has everything and her videos are very neatly done with detailed instructions and slow motion hand movements etc.
Here are few of the videos are followed to make my crochet projects:

Basic stitches tutorials:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hwHtyJFMf0&p=690A55EC532071F0&playnext=1&index=1

Here are few of the projects I tired and links to teresa's tutorials.

A scarf

Flowers and tit bits

Sweetheart topi

Beanie cap

Baby booties

Baby Blanket

And a scarf to complete the baby collection!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRKOAihVvrE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOBxuA1j4MM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiJ7TQhAcrU&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inUleg__vaU&feature=watch_response

In case you are looking for a new hobby, try crochet!

Shadows.

2010-07-25T06:41:00.002-04:00

Mine must have been a sinful life. For even light that falls on me turns dark and falls down.

How to water your plants while away from home

2010-07-15T18:34:00.006-04:00

This is something that I had tried a month ago and thought it would be useful for others who are looking to water their plants while away from home.

PAPER TOWEL WICKS
All you need to do is pick a sunny spot, fill a big bucket with water and arrange all your plants/pots around it.
Then make long strips of paper towel and wet them thoroughly. These strips will be used as wicks to carry water from bucket to the roots of the plants.
Place one end of the paper towel strip in the bucket and the other close to roots of the plants.
That's all you are done!

Things to remember:
Water level in the bucket must be higher than level at which your plants are. Otherwise the capillary action may not work.
Place cloth mats etc around your arrangement so any water spillage wont spoil your flooring. (This is not happen though. The soil only absorbs as much water it needs.)
Before setting it up, I tested the concept by adding red food color to the water in the bucket. The paper towels wicks were soaked in uncolored water and I arranged them one end on bucket and other end in the pot. And I could actually see the colored water move through the paper towel wicks. You might also want to test to make sure your arrangement works.

I was away from home for 6 days and about 3 gallons of water was more than needed for small flower plants.

ALUMINIUM TRAY WATER BATH
For smaller seedlings in smaller pots, I created a water bath. In an aluminum tray, I arranged the pots (which has holes at the bottom for water drainage) and then poured water all around them. Simple and effective.

Time.

2010-07-14T10:43:00.004-04:00

Bhagwan ke paas itna time nahi hai ki woh har cheez tumse pooch-pooch ke karein.

(God does not have enough time to be asking you for opinions before doing anything.)

Background music : karuththu kandasaami...karuththu kandasaami..

Plans.

2010-07-07T08:27:00.000-04:00

Don't stick to your plans. Life does not!

Through broken glass

2010-07-06T08:58:00.003-04:00

Posting pics on blogger through flickr. But this is not what I want. I want o be able to post a number of pics on the same post. Not one post for each picture... hmmm...anyways i am stopping here.

Also, anybody has any suggestions for a good photo editing software (not adobe photoshop. anything other than that?) i want to be able to add shadows, frames etc.

Through broken glass
Originally uploaded by brinda_msy

Caged light

2010-07-06T08:56:00.002-04:00

Caged light
Originally uploaded by brinda_msy

Raavan - Too many questions

2010-06-20T04:46:00.005-04:00

After a 20 mile drive we got to see Raavan Friday night. I walked out having mixed reactions. It was not totally disappointing but overall it was not a great movie either. At the end of the show there were just so many questions to be asked.

People (esp heroine) were falling left, right and center from cliffs and waterfalls, climbing vines and rocks. Why wasn't anybody hurt? Not even a bruise? a cut?

The man's sister was raped a few weeks back. He was shown frolicking with children in small round boats on rainy days?

Beera angry = Beera happy = Beera upset = Beera normal. No change in expression/body language?

Can a man (savage, barbaric and has all means to gorilla the army out of his territory) forget to avenge for his dead brother and sister at the sight of a woman?

The title of the movie was enough to suggest that the story was based on Ramayan. Was it necessary to draw analogies to everything in the book?

Rain/fog/mist do heighten the drama of the scene. But all throughout the movie? Doesn't it lose the value?

Does a rape victim have to start her dialogue with a smart ass line? "Tumhe bahut chot toh nahi lagi?" Damn you girl..u are close to dead.

I thought music was noisy and too much to take at a time. Was it an attempt to make songs sound tribal?

Mani has tried too hard to make every scene the high point of the movie.

There are good scenes here and there but when they all come together, the puzzle just doesn't fit.

No chemistry/history/geography....nothing between aish and vikram. In fact, I thought Vikram looked intimidated in her presence.

Ravi kishan, Govinda and priya mani were upto mark. Vikram could have and should have been given more footage. Aishwarya was good too. But either AB jr was clueless or director was clueless on how to make him act...i dont know but end result was not so good.

Poor dialogues (very shocking to see this in a mani ratnam movie) forgettable songs (except 'beera beera').

And now I will tell you why I think you should take a trip to the movie hall to watch this one.

Cinematography. I dont know what that encompasses, but in plain english the camera work is just fantastic. If there is anything worth watching on the big screen its the lush forests, the waterfalls and of course Aishwarya in her flowing pretty Sabyasachi salwars. Few scenes are so good, you dont mind them playing it over and over again :)

In the climax of the film 'Anjali', they show the child in the hospital with the glucose (or ivy or whatever) bottle between her thighs. Someone asked me if that's how they did it reality? Shouldn't the bottle be hanging from a pole? I had very strongly said that this was a ManiRatnam movie and he would have done enough research to make sure he is taking each and every shot the right way. Sad, I cannot say the same thing about Raavan.

Just too many loose ends in the story clubbed with confused looking actors made the film very lukewarm.

Old pencil and water color try outs

2010-06-03T08:44:00.020-04:00

These are few of my earliest trials at drawing and painting. Most going back to school and college days. This time when I went to mysore, I managed to get some pictures of them.

I saw these in a magazine and copied them.
This one's from the cover of my dad's copy of My experiments with truth.

The words on this painting I remember were copied from a friendship day card my best friend gave me. Ohh those days...when we used to exchange cards so much :)

This is incomplete. I am not sure how to or if I will ever re attempt it.
This I drew after my first dhandiya at Infy.
This one is again incomplete. I guess this was the last one I was working on before coming to NJ.
I drew this when I was in LA.

Reverse Tanjore glass paintings

2010-06-03T08:44:00.019-04:00

Too lazy to write anything. Just posting pics of reverse glass tanjore paintings I had made a long long time back in chennai. I loved it there. Everything was always available. All you needed to do was find time.

Are you looking for celebrity tweets???

2010-06-03T08:44:00.008-04:00

Are you very active on twitter??? (well... i am not) Many of my friends are and they follow a herd of celebrities from India and all over the world....and I came across this website that makes this a lot easier for you to do. They stream tweets from sportsmen, actors, politicians...and celebrities from all possible categories and show them all in one spot from where you can pick to follow the tweets of your fav ppl. The best part is...the authenticity of the tweets are checked so you know you are following the real deal. Well... here is the link...

http://www.celebtweets.in/

Happy Tweeting!

Idli, vadai, pongal, sambaarrrrrrr

2010-05-24T09:51:00.004-04:00

When my dad asked what I wanted on my first wedding anniversary, my immediate thought was to ask for a table top grinder or mixie that worked on 110V and I got my wished fulfilled! :) On my way back from mysore last month, I carried this pretty blue Preethi mixie to quench the thirst for warm, fluffy, soft white...malli poo maadiri idli ! :)

I think I hated idli as a kid, simply because of the frequency at which it was made at home. Idli with coconut chutney...eewww my worst enemy . We had it for breakfast at least 3 days a week and understandably i preferred dosai to it. And any day, given a choice between idli and poori/dosai/parotha.... i would always pick the latter.

It was only after I left home for my job that I actually came around to liking idli. After tasting the dry crusted, hard as rock idlies with tasteless chutney and sambar...i began to long for the taste of warm soft ones coated in a mixture of idli/molaga podi and nal ennai (gingely oil)...or soaked in chinna vengaaya sambar...and with crispy brown medu vada in the side... and medium sized mound of venn pongal with pepper corns, loads of cashew and just the right amount of ghee floating on top of it...and a small neat puddle of coconut chutney!! oooohhhhh woowww!!!

I love my mom's verkadalai (peanut) chutney and I think in my younger days mom used to make it so I would eat idilies without sulking. And to date, the peanut chutney always make me have an extra idli/dosai. When I think of home and mom and our kitchen I always think of 2 more wonder foods that I used to love for any meal....curd rice and paruppu saadam...hot rice and boiled pappu...ghee and salt...ahh! such bliss! I think rasam with appalam comes right next.

Well...past few weeks...I have been treating hari and me with vadai, pongal, idli, sambar and chutney as frequently as possible...and I am sooooooooooo loving it!!

Enga ponalum sari....enna saaptalum sari...(No matter where we go or what we eat) for a hard core chennaiite like me...the humble idli and curd rice mean the best meal ever and this is not going to change in a long time to come.

p.s: preethi-kku naan guarantee - works like magic!

Water color paintings

2010-05-13T11:47:00.007-04:00

The lone droplet

Winter sky can be blue.

One cold january morning, I noticed how the otherwise sad and grey sky looked bright and blue when seen through the sun-tint on the top part of the windshield of your car. And in that blue part of sky, the clouds where seen and there was a momentary escape into the spring.
Grape wines on a ruin.
Trinkets.

My favorite blue earrings. (this was a trial into drawing something transparent. Obviously I have a long way to go)
Farm side view.

Really long time. No see.

2010-04-08T16:27:00.003-04:00

I have been away from my laptop and blogspot for a long time now. I don't know why. I think just like everything else it was a phase. Meanwhile I had been to Mysore for a month. Came back and moved to a new apt in Randolph (which is about 10 miles from my old house) and I am really missing my friends :( I am not very inspired right now to write or do anything at all for that matter. But I really have to get my ass off the couch and do something useful...something exciting and new before I begin to rot and bore and bite people around me.

So guys...I am back. I have not read any of your pages since Jan and I will catch up as much as possible.

And someone.... pls pick an argument with me... I need something to do/think...

And I had to start monitoring comments on my page because of all the irritating ones that started pouring in. And trust me its as annoying to me as it is for those of u who do bother to leave a comment behind. There were 14 rude ones in these 2-3 months....damn..

What's on your mind?

2010-02-17T15:39:00.001-05:00

Why do they call it the Civil War? What could be so civil about war?

I think the most relieving part of my day is when I get rid of my wastes every morning. But I also think its very ironical that I cannot take a deep breath (or sigh of relief) during essentially the most peaceful part of my day without excruciatingly punishing my olfactory senses. Irony of our lives…sigh!

They cry all night, pretend not to understand what they don't wanna listen to, you can never know what they are thinking, they do crap that you cannot do and still get away and most of the times you just wanna kick their ass nonstop. Thank God babies are cute. Otherwise...

Why didn't Raj and Simran (of DDLJ) did not have an accent? A british accent to be more specific.

People say marriage changes a person. But I think marriage brings life back to normalcy. And coming back to normalcy is a change most people don't understand and don't want to accept. So they put the blame on marriage. Tut..tut..

So one day at work I had this pounding headache and a colleague helped me out with Amrutanjan (a very heavy and strong vaporizing balm) and I took a finger tip full of it and massaged my temples. You see earlier, I was actually holding my urge to pee the whole time so I could get hold of the balm. So as soon as it was on my head I rushed to the restroom, did my stuff and then used the toilet paper. Yes, there was amrutanjan still on my fingers.

Anyways, the first thing that came into my mind was how cool it would be to sabotage someone's toilet paper roll. And then I thought about the mother who was cutting green chillies and then wiped her screaming kids ass but had forgotten to wash her hands. Yup..that's how it felt!

Cheers!

Keep it real !!

Flowers and flow of paint

2010-02-04T11:57:00.007-05:00

One of the earliest lessons I learnt in class was that one should not push water colors around. Rather one should pave a way for it to flow using water and allow the paint to take the lead. This lesson particularly comes in handy while painting flowers because they usually have colors blending in seamlessly and also there has to be a lot of transparency to make it look like light could pass through the petals and reach out.

The red and yellow flowers were not very easy to make. Especially the yellow part in the tip of the red petals. Given the scale, it was not possible to go into as much details as a photo would show. The original photo had a black background that made the red color stand out. But I have learnt by experience that black background is not a good idea with water colors. Water colors are light and transparent and black looks good only when its bold and deep. Another important tip is to have a rough sheet and try the idea that is running through your mind on it first. Like, I tried a couple of methods for painting the petals on the rough sheet before doing it for real and yet managed to screw it up considerably. So when it comes to practice, enough is never enough! I dont have any fav part of this painting cos I feel overall it wasnt a successful experiment.
So, after the first flower fiasco, I decided to go abstract for the next one. Its much more simpler and lack of details is considered "talent" ! ;) Much is left to your imagination to interpolate.

The background is more or less like a mosaic of colors of similar shades. I used a lot of water and allowed the colors to marry among themselves the way they wanted to.
My fav part about this painting is the slow gradient from blue to white on the lily petals. I thought they came out the way I wanted them to.

Sunset and interpretation

2010-02-04T11:21:00.008-05:00

For a beginner, painting photographs is a great way to learn. Pick calendar pictures or anything you see in email forwards and try to draw it out in your own way. And its important not to copy the photograph as-is. Not only will it be a copyright issue, that way you are not learning much. All photographs cannot be converted into paintings. What looks good in a photo may not look good when conveyed in paints. So, its very important to draw inspiration from a photo but not try to duplicate it.

This was painted based on a calendar picture of a sunset. Hari's sunset was also inspired by the same one but you can see how different the 2 paintings are. That's what I am talking about. How a person interprets a photo is very different from another. So go ahead, pick a picture and sketch it out.

My fav part of the painting is the way the trees have hazy watery look against the bright orange sky.

This is another sunset from a photo. A little more summer than the previous one. The rays coming from behind the clouds were a little tough and there was need for careful detailing for the cloud lining.

My fav part of this painting is that I managed to give a nice lining to few clouds if not all.

p.s: Long time no blog cos I wasn't keeping well.

p.ps: dont know how to take a good picture of a painting yet. scanner would have been the best way out..but...

Watercolor paintings

2010-01-21T10:08:00.005-05:00

Hari and I attended a 16 hr course on watercolor painting for beginners some time back. It was a great way for us to share our common interest and also get a break out of everyday routine. Though we are all familiar with water colors since our school days, having an instructor show the different ways and methods opens up a lot more options than we could have done on our own.

Here are 3 paintings that Hari completed during the course. He refuses to complete 2 others that he started owing to laziness. His excuse is that he had signed up for painting only during those 16 hrs and since those hours have elapsed, he will not get back to his brushes (eye brows up!)

Sunset - This is the first one he completed.

The red flower. I particularly like the way he has given shape to the petals.
The cheetahs. This is my favorite. When our instructor handed over the photograph of the cheetah mother and cub I was totally intimidated by it as I am not a good artist. I always think of myself as someone who can dip the brush and paint away but never draw. (my diagrams in record books were really bad to look at). But Hari on the other hand is a good artist. He draws very well and he lived up to my expectations with this one.
He wanted to frame them and gift them to my mother in law. (Hoping that these will replace the giant sized marriage photos on the walls) Before they go all the way to mysore, they are now hanging around on our red wall!

Thank you Bill!

p.s: I am posting his paintings as he is too busy (and lazy) to update his own blog. For more of what he has done do visit Ocular Herpes - Eyesore

Dress up those lamps

2010-01-20T13:53:00.009-05:00

There was this lamp

that looked too damp

to make look prim and proper

i needed some black and copper

it looked like blank notes that needed lyric

so painted some leaves in black acrylic

to make it more catchy, it was only just

that i sprinkled on top some copper dust

looking so proud, slim and tall

with copper leaves of long gone fall.

now the pretty one lights my dim room

as though saving it from impending doom.

And another lamp so plainly ceramic

needed some beads, gold and this limerick

any lady's neck would look shapely

in those beads strung so neatly.

to top it off we added a hat with veil

it hung till her neck so frail

and hid her luminous face

with golden patterns on the lace

Now she stands like a lady

freshly beaded and done

lit up bright on a hot rod

and that's not an intended pun.

My hubby likes to joke

while he bites his pizza and sips his coke

one day when he emptied his can

to make this beautiful thing his fingers ran

he cut open the can with a knife

a knife sharper than his wife

then he ripped the can into strips

and bent them evenly still held at the hips (of the can)

So here was born the environment's friend

that made my lovely candle look hot

it not cos its petty that I post this at the end

but cos i wanted leave you with this green thought!

p.s: i had pictures of hari making them but now I cant seem to locate the pics. I promise to add them as soon as I find those puppies!

p.p.s: the scroll bar is not coming up on safari. and the arrows dont work on the page either. what the dash! i cant see how the pics and lines have aligned up :( cant scroll down to see anything at all...

A man can be..

2010-01-16T12:10:00.002-05:00

...fooled once.

Only a fool can be fooled again and again.

(wah!! wah!! enna oru thought-u...enna oru thought-u...)

Glass works

2010-01-14T19:19:00.006-05:00

This was a plain glass vase and I cudnt keep my hands off it...using some glass colors that I had got to make christmas ornaments, there I have a decorated vase now! (On top of the vase are somedried flowers)

And here are the christmas ornaments...

Btw...I am going to be all artsy-craftsy this week! Old ones...some new ones and few that my husband has made. All coming up right here :)

Have a great week ahead!

There is nothing special abt 27...

2010-01-12T09:09:00.000-05:00

except that its closer to 30.

After a shower

2010-01-09T07:15:00.002-05:00

After a shower
Originally uploaded by brinda_msy

Had taken this photo in mysore more than 4 years back. My first good one I guess....also one of my all time fav!

No drowning pls!

2010-01-06T09:43:00.005-05:00

Image courtesy : http://www.all4humor.com/picture/funny-pictures/no-drowning.html

I had once had a near drowning experience during a white water rafting trip. And just a while before that I had drowned (or so I thought) in a water park ride. You see, I am scared of darkness, heights and water. And this particular ride was a dark tunnel through which you fall down and then finally when you see light you feel relived until you see the water. I fell head down into the water and starting gasping for breath and was scrambling..throwing my hands in the air... i could see the life guard and hear his sharp whistle blasts but the guy was not moving from his chair. I was beginning to feel angry why he wasn't coming over to help me. In about 2 seconds my friend came up to me and pulled me up by my hair. I was on all fours in knee deep water. Embarrassing. And yes it was quite a popular joke among my friends for sometime. So, you might have guessed that I can't swim. When I was very young I did not see this as an impediment to my living my life to its full. But when I reached a certain age and started reading crap about 'conquering fears' and stuff, I thought it was time I did something. So, I sought after the daredevil acts.

Big american roller coasters in Disney Land and Six Flags - I actually enjoyed them.

Parasailing - nothing. Just jujubee. Done.

River rafting - Super matter! This also done.

Next - Jet Skiing - Allu illa.... but still managed to drive and have a nice time. So much so I was ready to go again and again.

Then, sky diving - Strangely I was the most excited person to jump off in my group and I throughly enjoyed it.

Lastly - Bungee jumping - Puuuussssssssssssss :( I chickened out at the jump off platform. Standing on that bridge, it was somehow a lot like committing suicide :( and it was really really scary somehow. On the hike back from the hill I thought maybe I was able to do all the other stuff only because there was someone else with me all the time. I was not alone. I am not sure if that is the reason but it does seems like.

Both my parents are very good swimmers but their attempt at tying lungi around my waist (when I was a child) and dropping me into the well all went in vain. So now I thought I should take charge and it was time I stepped into a pool and learn to swim. But before that I wanted to make sure I wasn't scared of water anymore. So I joined this water aerobics class in the gym. The gym pool is deepest at 4'6" at the center. I am 5'3". Technically, I should not drown in there. But that is for a normal person. My clumsiness seemed to increase exponentially under water. I couldn't keep put both my feet down together after I jumped. When they asked us to walk in water, everybody moved but I was somehow stuck at the same spot. We had to walk across the length of the pool and first lap I did not go beyond the 4'0" mark. I simply stood there moving my legs while everybody else walked. Second lap, I gather "courage" and begin walking while clinging on to the wall. I successfully completed the walk but by then the rest of the group had completed 2 laps. That's no big deal right? So what if I take twice the time to walk under water. Yeah but not twice the time 40-50 year olds take! Each one of the ladies there were at least 15-20 years older that me :( Shame on me :( I was gasping for air, running short of breath, not able to move, seem to have some kind of mass-innertia-bouyancy problem...all in 4 feet of water! You know, like when everybody is going forward, I am like doing backward and awkward. Thankfully the lap-tragedy came to an end pretty soon. In the last 10 mins of class, the instructor gave us rubber noodles which we were supposed to use as supports to float. I couldn't float either. I was desperately trying to keep my feet up and lean on my back but kept falling off. I was on feet every other second. And then suddenly it happened. The pool has wall size glass windows and I could see the sky outside and it was snowing. I leaned back for a better view, and I started enjoying the sight of snow from the warmth of the pool water and lo behold! I was floating. I was smiling and relaxing and floating... and then I drifted and started facing the crowd...and down went my feet on their own. And every time I saw out through the window I would float again! It was like school. You know, when you look outside the window the whole time and everything made sense?! Aaahhh well!! In the coming week I plan to go to the pool and try to float using a noodle in 4 feet water on my own and stare at the sky. Swimming??! That's a little too far away for now.

Another Jan 2nd

2010-01-02T06:56:00.004-05:00

Sun is not up yet. Its been a long time since I sat down with my laptop so early in the morning. In Chennai it was a routine to go online from 5 to 5.20 am....20 minutes for me with my blogspot and I have written down things very close to my heart mostly at this time. And then watch the sunrise as I help mom around with getting all 3 of us out by 7.15...early morns are very rewarding.

After marriage its been tough to sit down like this. I am either busy cooking and cleaning or tired sleeping. And I can very clearly see that I have made a steep change towards writing about my days and my activities as supposed to writing about myself or my thoughts. I am not sure if that is towards the better or not.

Anyways, I was watching Julie and Julia a few days back and pufff...it was very boring and put Hari to sleep pretty easily. Getting back to point...I realized I was a lot like Julie...I have no real passions in my life. I have many interests....painting, crafting, reading....now cooking... but no real passions u know.... I have not yet recognized what is it that I wanna take from the plane of being a mere time killer to something worthy of dreams. Speaking of dreams, I do dream about baking...but I am not sure if that means I am really passionate about it. Many of friends agree I am creative (which is reliving and makes me believe I am not the only one to think so) but I have not done a single thing to actually materialize this gift (that I supposedly) have.

I am very obsessed with my blog though. It started out cold meat but now I am very tied to it. Is this my passion? But it sure is not for I have seen blogs which are the very hearts of people's lives. You know...with life altering posts and hundreds of ppl commenting and hundreds more reading and you can see what the author puts in to reach out to these ppl. Mine is no where like that and so this cannot be my passion. Its more likely to be my exhaust system or escape route or the mountain on top of which I stand and scream...but not passion. Obsession does not necessarily mean passion.

And why am I chasing after "passion"??? Cos I believe when you find it you also find purpose! I feel very listless most times. Having a 14 hr job just sucks all life out of you to even realize that you are restless deep within. With nothing to cloud my heart, now I know I need to find that one thing that will break through my laziness and excuse making and become my single minded dedication. When I had to take the year long sabbatical, I saw this as a time window that could finally show me what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I thought I would miss my job. But I don't which only means I was never passionate about it though successful. (Which means success cannot always translate to passion) My one year long summer is gonna end June 10 2010. And I have not yet seen what it takes to be passionate about something.

Julia Child found her passion when she was 34. Lata Mangeshkar was 5. I am 10 days shy of starting the 27th year of my life. Will this year be the one?

P.S: Oh, I also realized this is the second time I am up early on a Jan 2 and caught myself thinking... first time was here..

Cheese Fiesta III - Cheese cake and the pitfalls!

2009-12-30T12:47:00.004-05:00

Cheese cake!! One of my favorite american desserts! (Hmm…not sure if I can it american…the romans invented them supposedly) The recipe is from a 2010 calendar I got. It has dessert recipes for each month on it but couldn't wait till 2010 to come so I started off with the first one. It is a standard recipe that you will see on the Google search result page as soon as you type "make cheesecake".

So, skipping the usual gyaan I am gonna tell you about the pitfalls in making a cheese cake (from my experience of having baked just one!)

The baking pan - most recipes called for a spring-form pan but I didn't have one and I was in no mood to set out and buy it for just one cake. So if you have an ordinary cake pan then just wrap the pan with aluminum foil leaving some extra hanging out like a handle and bake away. When the cake is cool and ready to be served, simply lift the foil using the handles and slip it onto your plate. Also, use a knife dipped in warm water to cut the cake. This way its not messy.

Knowing when the cheesecake is done is a toughie. Its not as simple as poking it with a toothpick as in the case of an ordinary cake as a cheesecake will never come out clean. I waited for the upper crust to turn to a slight light brown and turned the oven off. I also allowed the cake to cool off in the switched off oven instead of taking it out in the cool air.

Most recipes also called for a water bath in order to avoid cracking on the cake. But I did not use one(as i was too lazy) and yes there was a big crack at the very center of the cake. So either use a water bath or simply put a small bowl of hot water in the oven to keep the humidity going. And don't open the oven doors in the first 20 mins or so.

The recipe I used, called for 50 mins bake time, but mine got cooked in about 30 mins. So, its better to keep an eye as soon as clock gets past 20-25 mins.

All recipes said 325F. I guess that's the standard followed.

The cake first puffs up at the center like a apple pie or something and then goes down as it cools. Don't panic when you see a deflated cake. It might taste just as good.

And refrigeration is very important. Overnight is like bare minimum.

I made one cake and about 8 cup cakes with the cake mixture.

The garnish on my cake are strings of milk chocolate peeled out of chocolate bars using a potato peeler.Cool huh?! It would have been cooler had I had white chocolate too.

Anyways the cake tasted amazing even though it was browner than most cheese cakes I have seen. Next time I will aim for the color too. So much for a cheese fiesta!

Cheese Fiesta II - Malai Kofta and Ras Malai

2009-12-29T17:52:00.007-05:00

Day continued into malai kofta. Since they call paneer as 'cottage cheese' out here, I figured panner has to be in the cheese fest and the recipe is a simple age old one. Mixed up grated paneer with 3 small boiled & mashed potatoes, about 3/4th a chopped onion, little salt, one teaspoon garam masala and rolled them into small balls. Coated these with corn flour and deep fried them in oil after allowing them to rest for a while (I believe resting helps them retain shape while they get fried up)

For the gravy - pulped one onion into paste. Soaked 10-15 cashews for an hour and ground them into paste too. Pureed one tomato.

Heat oil in a pan and fry the onion paste. When cooked, add the cashew paste. Fry for about half a minute and add the tomato puree, little water, 1/2 teaspoon of cumin powder, coriander powder each, 1 teaspoon of garam masala and chilli powder each and allow the mixture to come to a boil. In case you want your gravy little spicier, you can adjust accordingly. But since malai kofta is supposed to be on the sweeter, gentler side of the palette I did not use much spices.

After the gravy reaches thick consistency, add a little cream and stir at low flame.

Before serving, add the koftas, some more cream and coriander leaves to garnish.

I wanted to try Sree's ras malai from the day I laid my eyes on them and finally the day arrived and the end result was really good. Thank you Sree...for the awesome recipe!

I did make a couple of changes though. I did not use 1 ltr milk as I dint have the patience to condense as much milk so I simply used 2 cups. And I also like ras malai with less malai so it worked for me. Also I added a pinch of cardamom powder in the thickened milk.

Next time,I am gonna try adding flavor directly to the panner patties by adding sugar and cardamom to it and using "half and half" instead of milk for the malai. Afterall, malai means cream and so some cream added directly should help right?

And of course not all of the patties ended up in perfect shape in my bowl. Few did perish in the sugary syrupy watery grave. But it was not all that bad for a first timer.

And here are the words of wisdom to making ras malai: Do not overcrowd the pan. I saw that patties lost shape when there were too many fighting for space. Also, rest the patties a while before throwing them into hot water. This also helped them retain shape. And keep an eye on the water pan; it starts boiling pretty fast and you want to scoop the good ones out before they loose shape. Sree, do correct me if my observations do not agree with your experience.

Cheese Fiesta I - Spinach cheese rolls

2009-12-29T17:38:00.008-05:00

Its a cheesy day in the Kumar household today. They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach and its absolutely true in the case of hari, be it for anybody else or not. And, the path is paved with Cheese!

We started out the day with Spinach Cheese rolls. The recipe for this was on the back of the pepperidge puff pastry sheets that I had in my freezer. And here it is, for the benefit of people who don't have this exact brand of puff pastry sheet with them:

1 puff pastry sheet

1 egg

cheese-

the recipe calls for muenster or Monterrey jack each 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup Parmesan all grated ( I did not have these cheeses, I simply used a fiesta blend)

1 green onion chopped

1/8th tsp garlic powder (I did not have this so i simply grated 2 garlic pods)

1 packet spinach - chopped

Always remember to unfold and break the sheets while they are frozen. After breaking, thaw sheets at room temperature.

Mix the cheeses, salt,garlic and spinach in a bowl.

Brush the thawed pastry sheet with beaten egg. Place the spinach cheese mixture on top and roll it up.

Cut into slices. Brush with egg mixture again and place them on a well greased baking pan. Or better option is to use aluminum foil/parchment paper as the cheese and egg will tend to make your pan dirty.

Bake for 15 mins at 400F. (I baked for 20 mins at 350F)

I actually am not sure if you can skip the egg brushing if you are a vegetarian. maybe you can substitute it with another binding like corn flour/maida with water/milk. I have not tried it that way yet.

I wanna be truthful to you guys and say that I used a pastry sheet that actually had got crushed up and all messy when I was trying to thaw them for some puffs a couple of days back. So I rolled the sheet out in a roti roller before I used it. Hence, I am sure the rolls will look a lot better and lot puffier if you used the good sheets in the way they are supposed to be used.

And then, with the remaining egg, spinach, onions and cheese I made a spinach-cheese omelet. Very enterprising of me...isnt it?

Pictures of this season

2009-12-24T22:51:00.003-05:00

Rockefeller xmas tree

Hari cut this beautiful rose out of a tomato and i took the photo

PAA and AVATAR - Movie reviews

2009-12-22T21:50:00.005-05:00

PAA

If the credits say "Introducing Amitabh Bachchan" there is no second thoughts to the reality of this statement. We get to see this seasoned performer in a never seen before wrap. Kudos to the director for coming up with the concept and story.

But there were a few things that did not strike too well for me. Its hard to believe that a fully grown man entwined in his own cords of dreams and visions grows extremely close towards a child in very less time. No, its actually difficult to believe that a special child develops a strong liking towards a quite self-involved grown up within a couple of meetings. Things would have been far more believable had they taken some more time in showing the growing bond than running around politics/politicians/slums/issues/media which had not much to do with the core subject. The only reason I can imagine that the director pushed them into the story board is because they wanted to show Amol Arte had his own reasons for having taken the decision to abandon his bastard child and that he was a good man at heart.

Well, all that can be set aside. But the most unforgivable thing about the movie was that there was too less of 'Vishnu'. One could never have enough of the bespectacled cute kid. The slapstick single liners between him and Auro are very freshly funny. They also could have taken us through the pranks and silly things 12 yr old boys usually do esp with a girl running along with them.

Music sounds familiar to old Tamil songs. Not surprising given its Ilayaraja behind the violins.

Vidya Balan is adequate but I thought Arundhati Naag who plays her mother was very good. AB junior does not stand a chance of getting noticed with AB senior doing such a fantastic job. Sorry man!

All said, the film is a good one time watch. Definitely for 2 things - the efforts gone into making Auro come alive and Amitabh Bachchan.

Auro has carried the film on his shoulders, and it wont be news if he carries all the awards this year on them too!

AVATAR

If you love fantasy and fantastic things, then AVATAR is for you! Full of dreamy, beautiful, enchanting, radiant creatures and amazing new things to gape at.

For once its not NASA rescuing us from alien invasion. Its us destroying another planet for its resources but of course the hero is one of us. There is no extraordinary story line but there are fun twists and turns. I have always loved JRR Tolkien for having created a new age, a new world and this thread makes me love Pandora and the Na'vi just as much. (I was intrigued enough to want to pick up a book had there been one on which the film was based)

The amount of research and meticulous planning that has gone into making the film is strongly visible in every single frame. The animation and graphics is simply breathtaking. Actually the CGI is so good there is no scope for any of the actors to "perform".

I like films like Die Hard, Rush Hour...all for the fast paced, not a dull moment, kick ass action and on your face wit .... well the same things go well for this one too.

Guys...its a ride so put on your 3D glasses, seat belts and just enjoy!

Cant wait for the DVD release and watch the making of this movie...

Crossword

2009-12-18T13:11:00.003-05:00

This is my first shot at oil painting.... Pardon the not-so-good picture.
Oil on canvas paper. 16* 24 inches

K.Sutra #13: Stuffed Brinjals

2009-12-14T12:14:00.006-05:00

The only form in which I can eat brinjals is as deep fried slices on top of a pizza. This was made exclusively for Hari...

I used:

3 brinjals

about 6 green chillies

1/2 medium sized potato

1 medium sized onion

1/2 medium sized capsicum

cumin powder, dhania (coriander) powder, garam masala, red chillies powder

powdered almonds

Chop the onions and green chillies. Boil and mash the potato. Cut the capsicum in length.

Fry the onions in oil and add the green chillies when onions are slightly brown in color. Cook the capsicum and add spices, salt to your taste. Scoop out the insides of the brinjals and add them to the cooking mixture. Soak the urn shaped brinjals in water. Lastly, add the mashed potatoes and little bit of the crushed almonds. You can also add chopped fresh coriander leaves if you want to.

Allow the stuffing to cool and then we can start filling the brinjals up. Coat the inside wall of the brinjal with crushed almonds first. Then add the filling and seal it again with crushed almonds.

Shallow fry the brinjals in oil. Be prepared for a sea of debris on your pan.

Keep turning the brinjal so all sides will cook. I used a pair of tongs and a spoon to do this.

When cooked, serve with rotis or if the audience loves brinjal, then as such this is a great snack!

And btw, hari made this beautiful pineapple boat salad for me some time back and I have meaning to flaunt it... so here it is... along with the pineapple slush and side of a strawberry cut to perfection!

K.Sutra # 12 : The easiest shrikhand you will ever make!

2009-12-14T09:11:00.004-05:00

This is the most simplest way of making Shrikhand and people love the authentic taste. Of course, you dont have to tell them you spent only 5 mins making it!

2 cups sour cream

1 cup sugar

2-3 table spoons of curds (yoghurt)

2-3 table spoons of milk

1-2 tea spoons of cardamom powder

to color: you could use saffron strands or 2 drops of yellow food color.

to garnish: pista/badam

All you got to do is mix the sour cream and sugar in a bowl. In case you are using saffron, then dip the strings in the 2-3 table spoons of warm milk and then add the colored milk to the mixture.

In case you are using food color, then just add drops of the color to 2-3 table spoons of cold milk. (Milk is added only to loosen up the sour cream and to bring the dish to desired consistency)

Add cardamom powder to your taste.

If you find the shrikhand is not as sour as you wanted, then add 2-3 table spoons of yoghurt to it.

Garnish with nuts of your choice (though pista is the traditional garnish) and there you have it...the easiest shrikhand you will ever make.

Some call it lazy...some call it smart...but all call it tasty! :)

For Blue Blood

2009-12-06T09:22:00.005-05:00

Hi, I have been helping for this cause ever since I came to know about it. If you have the time and money to spare, please let them know you can help.

A bunch of IT guys in Chennai are trying to create a better world for a few under privileged kids in the remote villages of TN. Check out their website to know more ....http://www.blueblood.in/home.html
These guys are normal people like us. They are not looking for political or social gains. They are people working in the IT sector, who are trying to share their good lives with those who havnt had a chance. I was impressed by their work in Usilampatti. And have decided to join hands.
If you are interested.....
On Orkut:
http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Community.aspx?cmm=17547477
If you want to contribute...
http://www.blueblood.in/contribute.html
(Note: Contributions made are tax exempt.)

You could also send donations to:

BLUEBLOOD TRUST
Bank Name - HDFC Bank
Branch : Annanagar chennai
Account No - 00171450000033

They are currently setting up a library for the children ( age from 3 to

17) in the orphanages that they visit regularly and for the children they are sponsoring in the ten villages.

You could donate new books/ old books in good condition to the following address :

C/O Anban
Old No.12, new no.13, Sai nagar annexe,
Chinmaya nagar,
Chennai-600092

Guys, we can help a few kids build their imagination. Old books is all they need. Please do try and help.

Start by doing what you can, then extend it to what is possible. Before you know, you will be doing the impossible.
- some unknown intelligent person.

Wall Art using felt

2009-12-04T21:22:00.007-05:00

Make nothing out of something

I call these 'nothings' cause i dont know what they are called. Anyways, all you need is some felt, cardboard, glue and some random things you can find.

The color inspirations were the black couch and red wall in the living room. For the bedroom it was the blue and brown comforter.

I found an old cushion button (taft) it was this button that triggered this whole thing.

Steps:

Color the button gold.

Cut a circle on cardboard and on some packing material.

Make a small incision at the centre of the circle (on cardboard and packing material) for the button to fit.

Make a small cut on the felt and then push the button ring through it.

Stack the button and felt, the packing material and the cardboard all through the button ring and then slide a hair pin to hold them all together.

Stick the excess felt over the cardboard.

Make four black squares with felt and packing material.

Style them together and put them up on the wall.

The theme for the ones on the bedroom was bamboo.

Steps:

Draw the patterns you like.

Cut two cardboard squares of same size and one a little smaller one.

There are 2 colors. Blue and brown. The dark color is the frame so first stick the frame shape cut on brown felt.

Then cut the blue felt to fit in the square.

Then cut the designs from the paper, place them on the brown felt and cut the shapes.

When you are done cutting all of them, place them together to form the shape of the bamboo patters and stick them on.

Up on the wall, they look good. :)

Winter camping at Lake Lopez

2009-12-03T11:58:00.007-05:00

This post is intended to be a travelogue.

I am not over my vacation hangover yet and its as if a bug bit me and drugged me into 16 hr slumber days. Anyways, I have pushed myself into writing this out before the experience went cold.

When we had nothing else to do this thanksgiving, we decided to go camping somewhere around LA and so we discovered Lake Lopez! Courtesy - Dulari/Simant and their friends at work.

Details at:

http://www.slocountyparks.com/activities/lopez.htm

And here are some tips from us first timers on winter time camping.

The place: Lake Lopez is around 200 miles from LA. I though the sites were small (they were smaller than the ones in Sequoia National park at least) and very closely place

d. We picked one with no neighbors and far from the roads. There are plenty of well placed restrooms, though not all of them have shower booths. You also get 5 mins worth of warm water in the booths for 3 quarters. (well, normal ppl need at least 10 mins of warm water. i need only 5...in fact even 5 mins seemed like a lot of time to me. mostly i was just standing...)

Warmth: It was extreeeemmeely cold in the nights and the propane heaters we bought were of no use at all. I am not sure if its because we are so thick skinned or what; but we did not feel like we were getting any warmth out of it. But 2 shots of neat vodka and paul massons did the trick very well for me and most of us. We had 3 sleeping bags that could stand 40 deg Fahrenheit but there were 7 of us. You can imagine....what cozy nights we would have had :)

So, good sleeping bags that can stay warm at low temp is very important.

And yes, we did have a flambe incident when simant threw about quarter of his vodka drink on the fire (based on hari's suggestion) and at the end of it, we are all just happy nothing too unfortunate happened. Hari's leg got slightly waxed. But we all lost a heart beat when huge flames completely shut hari from our view and dulari ran like a mile in under a second.

Firewood: We had no idea how much firewood we would need to keep ourselves warm for 2 nights and we just picked one box which flew up in ashes in matter of about 6 hrs in the first night. So our first advice to all first timers is to carry lots of firewood. At least..bare minimum of ... 3 boxes for 2 nights. We did manage to stay warm the rest of the stay. But how we did it is a secret which we cant share :)

Food: OOOOOhh... We carried lots and lotttsss of food. Maggi noodles, eggs, bread, jam, nutella, mayo, mustard, cheese, onions, carrots, tomatoes, loads of chips and salsa, patties for veg burgers, we made taco salad, and then panner tikka and chicken tikka...and man it was a feast every single time we cooked.

In fact it seemed to us like we spent most time cooking. So it would be better if you do most of the prep work like chopping,marinating etc before you start off. Pack all your chopped stuff in ice boxes and let the fire do its work later.

And we had some noisy neighbors one night...who were indulged in some kind of a burp/belch/fart contest among themselves.... i thought it was funny though few other friends didnt share my views....

Other than that, we had lots of fun cooking, trekking, playing and sleeping in the cold!

To help you plan better, here is an excel sheet that we used...

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Ao8lp2oiJq9fdGVVR19qc3pBZEhQanZKVGNYVFgxM0E&hl=en

And here are a few glimpses...

Hard disk crash

2009-12-02T21:43:00.003-05:00

The hard disk on my air crashed and so I was missing in action for quite some time now. Today, the lappie toppie is back and so am I !

Too tired to write anything now. But have been painting, making gulab jamuns, cupcakes... and been camping to Lake Lopez in dear dear california! Will write about all of that tomorrow and in all the days to come in the week.

Good night! Take care.

'To talk' is all we know

2009-11-09T22:07:00.003-05:00

I gave up watching/following cricket about 11 years ago. Why? I will explain later. So, I do not keep myself in the vicinity of anything related to cricket unless it pops up at me on some place....like a facebook status message. Last week I believe Sachin made 175 runs and the rest of the team together made less than that. Somebody put a status message hailing Sachin and thrashing the team. And then there was a downpour of comments on everything from there not being enough all rounders to the bad performance of the tail enders and stuff. And I wondered how long it would have been since these guys actually held a cricket bat on their hands and faced a bowler? Why did people become overnight cricket connoisseurs? I know its a game (and team) under the scrutiny of an entire nation, but does that mean you start pointing fingers at people who are doing what you only probably dream of? Does this make people think less about their own faults and shortcomings? And then in the other match, it was the tail enders who put some numbers on the board..but no status messages on FB :( What happened to all the experts??? Why nobody talking suddenly???

And then the other day I came across this blog. There was a post in which this guy was bashing some big names...AT&T, walmart...and the list ended with Google. I dont know about other names, but I admire the google guys, the company and their products very much. It was pretty funny to see this guy using expletives at Goolge and accusing them of 'screening information and showing us only what they want us to see' while using BLOGGER to write about it. C'mon you lousy hypocrite... show some conviction towards what you think at the least. If you hate Google so much, stop using their products firstly. And then secondly, go and invent an algorithm to outdo the google search engine and then build a company and then maybe you will be a place to talk about google. Until then, I am just glad nobody important is reading your nonsense...

All kaiyaalagada pasanga... empty brains...mouthful of expletives and lame shameless excuses to how the rest of the world is going in the wrong direction and hence screwing their lives...

P.S: I stopped watching cricket because people around me (and me) believe I jinx the team/game/winning chances... and many good friends of mine have tried/challenged into breaking the jinx and have given up. My brother is a staunch believer and often locks me in the bathroom during the last few overs...

Simple Halloween decoration ideas - II

2009-11-02T14:54:00.009-05:00

The spiderlings and the egg finally looked like this....

I released the air from the balloon and inserted a bulb wrapped in red tissue paper.

Then there were insects (not just spiderlings) stuck on to it and the giant spider went on top of it and in the darkness it looked really cool with the cobwebs around it.

There was one more cobweb (which was simply bedding and pillow stuffing pulled out to look like cobwebs and turns out, hari is really good at making these)
there are the bats and the pumpkins and the entire place was lit with orange light.

And before I leave, a few glimpses of Halloween 2009 -

Simple Halloween decoration ideas

2009-10-24T23:45:00.008-04:00

Coming thursday, its halloween out here. I have never really "celebrated" halloween or even been to any of the parties. But this year, its going to be different as there are at least 35 children in this campus and they are all going to come trick or treating to our homes. So, I thought I would join the crowd and keep up the halloween "spirit" by decorating my home.

I need to inform you that most of my ideas have not been completely implemented yet. But I figured, if I posted this right on the day of halloween (thats when I will finish all of the construction) then it will not be of great to anybody at all. So, here are my ideas...implementation and completion will follow in the week...

Window faces

You need :

cardboard

lights

colored tissue paper

cardboard cutting blade

Cut cardboard to fit your window.

Trace out a design of choice on paper and then paste them on cardboard.

Cut out the design.

Stick colored tissue paper over the cut pattern using masking tape or glue.

Attach christmas decoration lights to the cardboard using masking tape such that the lights are seen through the cut pattern.

Do not stick the lights to the tissue paper. Tissue paper cannot stand the weight of the lights and will come off torn.

The picture in the right shows how NOT to stick the lights on. As you can see, the weight of the lights is pulling the tissue paper off.

If you have huge bulbs and light stands that can be made to point light at the tissue paper, then you can use them instead of these small decoration lights.

From outside, this is how your lit up window will look like:

Glowing pumpkins:

I found these 'glow in the dark' paper serving set in a store nearby. These quarter plates can be hung around the house as-is or you could cut the pumpkins out and then use them on your walls, doors, windows etc.

Spiders:

There are many ways of making spiders. The simplest one is to find a black bag - garbage bag, plastic bags, cloth bags, pillow cases, cushion covers -just about anything and filling them with paper to make it look like a spider.

First, we stuff the bag with a big paper ball to make the body. Then we tie a string and stuff the rest of the bag with a smaller paper ball to make the face.

One could use elbowed straws to make the legs. If you dont find black straws anywhere, use black streamers or crape paper to cover a normal straw into spider legs.

Use thermocol balls to make eyes.

Hari made this very real like spider using thermocol and jute string. He cut a thermocol piece to form the body and covered it with jute string. He made a smaller one for the head piece. These two parts were attached using toothpicks and glue.

As you can see, the spider is not complete yet. I plan to complete it in the coming week, just before halloween. Taking cue from him, I made a smaller one using thermocol and black wool thread.
This is to show the toothpick being used to attach the body to the head.

Group of bats:

I looked around for black chart paper but I found them to be a little costly. So when I found these 20 black paper plates for 1 dollar, I picked them up. Hari drew me the stencil for a group of bats and I used it to cut the shapes out. I will stick these on our walls. Neat !

Spiderlings:

The idea was to create a home and family for our huge spider. So, this is my big ultimate halloween experiment. I blew up a balloon and then using a glue+water mixture, wrapped it up in layers of toilet paper.

After this dries up, I plan to release the air inside the ballon slowly and steadily. Then I am thinking, this will look like a spooky broken egg. On this egg, I will stick these black paper spiders that I have cut out from the same plates as the bats. I will make it look as if a number of spiders are jumping out of this egg. Well, its a grand idea and in a few days I will let you know if the idea worked or not.

Apart from all these, I also want to make a spider web and a white ghost (from white plastic bag or cloth) but I am very exhausted right now and have a packed week till wednesday so, I will continue this post with more halloween details on/after wednesday.

And if you were wondering, I am not going to be wearing any costume this year. After so many years I have come to realize that I dont need anything artificial to make me look scary....

Anyways, these are the small ways I have showed halloween festivity in my office in LA 3 years back...

That was a simple lighted hair band...like a devils horns...
A little more wilder....with red wig and matching glasses. I went to office like this before halloween and scared quite a number of people as the wig fit my hair perfectly and most people ended up thinking I had actually colored them crazy. And then, I dressed up for halloween too.
This is my favourite....a very cool looking beanie which said "SINISTER"... since pics were taken on a webcam, its come out ulta..

Bailamos

2009-10-19T18:12:00.003-04:00

This is a painting I made about 5 years back for a DJ party invite in my office at mysore. It was about 5 feet tall. I had used simple chart paper and some poster colors. It got soaked up during the floods in chennai 2 years ago and was a really sad moment for me when we had to throw it away....

There it is...on the door...complete with DJ nite details...

Make up a simple candle

2009-10-17T21:01:00.004-04:00

We had this plain, simple wax candles with holders. And as you see, they blend in and cant be noticed unless someone points them out to you.

To pep it up, I tore up chocolates wrappers and stuck them on the candle .... like a mosaic (hmmm...almost)

And stuck some more on the rim of the holder, placing it facing side down.

That is it!

I used on my temple for diwali :)

HAPPY DEEPAVALI ! :)

2009-10-17T17:49:00.007-04:00

Happy Deepavali to everyone! :) This year it was our first deepavali after marriage and so it is something for us to be extra happy about.

Here when we go out for deepavali, there is hardly any excitement in the streets. Its makes you feel like you have a happy little secret in your heart that makes only you happy and nobody else!

This time, it was Hari who ruled the stove for the day and he made mango rice, gobi manchurian and lauki sambar. Rest of the array - the jamuns, the soan papadi and murukku were store bought.

My department was decoration...
We do not have any place other than the windows to decorate with lights. I also made a few paper lanterns. (instructions - here)

There was a small rangoli made with colored sand and wild flowers.
A little wild berries and candles.
Diyas from the Indian store here. Marigold thoran. Paper flowers.

Happy Deepavali once again.

Let the light shine! :)

Sayuri, Umrao Jaan and Madhavi

2009-10-15T15:29:00.006-04:00

I have been down with fever for past 2 days and have been utilizing my extra long lazy bed hours by catching up with my DVD stack. I started off with The memoirs of a Geisha. A very captivating and beautiful film. I liked it so much, I decided to watch Umrao Jaan (1981) again to analyze how these two films are very similar and very distinct from each other. After the two movies I got thinking about one of the most distinguished courtesans in Tamizh literature - Madhavi of Silappadigaram.

I have not studied tamizh as a subject in school and so my knowledge of this story is from what I have gathered watching it on TV as a dance serial and from what my mother has told me and from all the countless pattimandrams (debates) that I have watched with my mom. But here is the gist for those who do not know about Kannagi and Madhavi.

Kovalan is a young man who marries this rich girl Kannagi in the city of poompuhar. But kovalan is a very great admirer of madhavi's ( a devadasi) arts. Madhavi is also in love with kovalan and their love is said to be very divine in nature. The madam of the court, uses kovalan's interest in Madhavi to slowly get all his wealth. Its shown that kannagi is completely aware of her husband's affection towards another woman but she plays silence. Eventually kovalan stops living with kannagi and shifts completely to madhavi's residence. He soon loses all his wealth and later returns to kannagi. Kannagi forgives ( i am not sure if i can use this word, because she is not shown as thinking that her husband has made any mistake at all) her apologetic husband and together they move to Madurai to start a new life. All they have are a pair of anklets filled with rubies. kovalan goes to the city with one of them to trade them for money. Unfortunately for him, the queen has lost an anklet herself the same day and the goldsmith mistakes kovalan's anklet for the missing one. He hands him over to the king and the king orders him to be executed. kannagi comes to know about this and barges into the king's court to seek justice for her husband (posthumously). She demands to know what kind of stones were in the queens anklet. She breaks her own to show rubies, whereas the queen's had pearls in them. The king dies a death of shame for having been hasty in declaring kovalan a thief and ordering his death. kannagi places a curse on the city of madurai and the place burns as she walks off to cool her anger. she later ascends to the heavens.

Very nice story. But who in the world said "Pombalai-na kannagi maadiri irukkanum * " .... a man of course. I do not like this character - Kannagi at all. I am sorry but the real feelings will come only if I say this in Tamizh. "Enna poruththa varikkum ava sariyana loosu. Mudal naale... kovalan thalai-la naalu thattu thatti okkara vachirunda...ellam sariya irundirukkum. atha vittuttu....madurai-ya erikkrangalam...madurai-ya..**." Ok...kannagi did what she did. I will never be able to understand what had gotten into her that she should have been such a push over.I am not judging her. But I am judging every man and every woman who hails her as the model wife. Yes, she is treated like some kind of role model for all the tamizh women to learn and derive knowledge on purity from. I find it very ridiculous that a woman who plays along when her husband goes grazing other pastures in the one to attain divinity. Mr. Ram Chanra Moorthy on the other hand, doubted pious SIta and still is the reigning king/God. Definitely, it has been a man's world all along.

The dark fat woman who beats up her drunk son-of-a-bitch husband on the roads of a slum, the thin elegant woman who yells at her husband for having spent the night at another woman's house within four walls of their house..... they can never be Goddesses....can they???? They will fight for their own right to be noticed and loved... but its the subdued, servile, mute woman who pours out all her ancestral money on the courtesan her husband loves will get to have a statue at the corner of marina beach. But you know what....i think its ok.... i mean those who fight for themselves at least get a chance to live and hope for a future.... those who dont fight... only get to be statues...

* - ladki ho toh kannagi jaisi

- a woman has to be like kannagi

** - according to me, she is a loser. Had she caught hold of her husband the very first day and got him to senses, none of this would have happened. Instead, there she goes to burn down a city. What's the point?

P.S: strange thing....nobody ever told me what happened to Madhavi. I am thinking she also attained divinity owing to her pure love and pious nature. I am not sure. But for all practical reasons I think she is a better woman than Kannagi. Having been born and brought up as a devadasi, if she has been able to give herself in her purest form to the love of her life then there is some fire in this woman. I also understand that she actually puts up a fight against her madam so she could be the exclusive dasi of kovalan. Sounds like there is a better woman here....

P.s.s - Before you start thrashing me on the comments section, please understand that I am not talking about the literary work but about the social interpretation of it. Anyways, if I have got this whole thing wrong, feel free to educate me.

Anyways, here is a glimpse of the first snow this year here at Parsippany. A little bit of beauty after all the hard talk.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0khutPqW38

K.sutra # 11 - Home made cheese garlic bread

2009-10-11T21:50:00.008-04:00

The weekend is almost ending and so is my deadline to send all the "different" recipes I have tried so far to my family. So, here is the last for this kitchen sprint....cheese garlic bread.

You will need:

Garlic pods - 3 to 4 (of course)

Shredded Cheese - again I use a blend of many different kinds of cheese

Fresh parsley - a small bunch

Dry Oregano - just a little bit

Butter

Hoagie Rolls. Well, you need hard bread for this. Normal soft bread will not work out well. I got these in my nearest grocery store. You can use any type of hard bread you like/find.

Steps:

Thaw butter to reach room temperature. Chop the parsley and shred the garlic pods.

Add oregano, shredded garlic, chopped parsley and a pinch of salt to the butter and mix them all well using your hands/whip/blender to a nice fine paste.

Cut the hoagie rolls into small circular pieces and brush melted butter to one side of the bread. Arrange butter side down on a baking tray covered with aluminum foil.

Apply the garlic butter that we made on the facing side of the bread pieces.

Top it with some shredded cheese and place tray in the oven at 350F. Take the tray out and serve them after the cheese melts.

Bon Appetit!

A variation is to chop the garlic and then fry it in butter and a little olive oil (you can add olive oil in the above version too.) along with chopped parsley and oregano.

K.sutra # 10 - Homestyle Indian puffs

2009-10-10T22:01:00.009-04:00

Puffs are one of my most fav snacks. I remember my brother and me waiting every evening for our mom to get us snacks from McRennett and puffs were always invited with open arms and mouths. We simply loved the taste of the savory veggies between those crispy layers of bread! When I had come to the US, one of the things I missed the most was these treats. This is my take on the McRennett puffs. They were very very very close to the real ones and I was very proud of them!

You will need:

Chicken pieces - small sized

some peas - boiled

1/4 a potato - boiled and mashed (if you are making veggie puff, then you have to take more potatoes) Best option is to use the ready made ones available for making mashed potato / paratha filling

1/4 a carrot - shredded or finely chopped

green chillies - 4 - finely chopped

beans - finely cut length wise

1/2 of an onion - cut into thin slices length wise

garam masala

kitchen king masala

cumin powder

salt

butter

garlic paste

Ginger paste

butter

puff pastry sheet - This is what the box looks like and you will find them in the frozen food section. Trust me, the toughest part of making these puffs was finding these sheets :$ (and be careful not to buy precut shells. Look for sheets)

Thaw the puff pastry sheet so they can come to room temperature. experience teaches me that microwaving is not an effective method to thaw these sheets. So be a little patient and let nature do its work. While the sheets are thawing lets prepare the filling. The filling has to be tight. So be careful with the amount of water you use.

Heat oil in a pan and add the onions. Let the onions cook on medium until they turn light brown on the edges. Add the green chillies. While the onions and green chillies cook, add about a teaspoon of ginger paste and same amount of garlic paste. Add salt to cook and allow all of these to cook well. Add the chicken pieces. Cook chicken for about a minute. Add a teaspoon of garam masala and 3-4 teaspoons of kitchen king masala. About 1/2 teaspoon of cumin powder. Add the veggies now. Sprinkle some water to help the veggies cook. Lastly add the potatoes and mix all of them. Sprinkle some more water if required. Cook until the mixture turns slightly brown. Infact, let it burn just a little bit. After the mixture is done, close the pan and let it cook in heat left in it.

Cut the puff pastry sheets into small squares as shown. Then dab them dry flour on both sides and using a normal rolling pin flatten them out into slightly bigger rectangles.

Preheat oven to 350F (350F because its the only setting I know. And I have seen its safe for all kinds of experimentation! )

Melt butter. Using a brush apply it on one side of the rectangular pastry sheet. Place this buttered side down on the baking tray.

Butter the facing side. Place the filling at the center and fold the sheet to close it. We dont have to seal the edges like we do for a samosa. Just press using your fingers gently to form a loose bond.

Place the baking tray in the oven. Wait for about 25-30 mins. But keep checking now and then. We are looking for this color...

You dont have to flip them over and all. Just leave them to cook on one side until they get to the perfect color. Though these puff up, they do not expand. So its fine to place to them close by also.

Here are some examples of what happens when you dont roll the sheets thinner and seal the puff well. They just open up like an oyster carrying a pearl :) The taste is not compromised nevertheless. And as you can also see, when you use the sheet as such, the puffs are bigger. Its your choice to roll them or not.

After tasting them, Hari asked me if I could make these for his lunch someday. I am guessing it means they tasted very good.

Now, if only I could make the puff pastry sheets on my own! :)

Appreciate!

2009-10-08T16:23:00.006-04:00

I have to send a million thanks to Sandhya for putting a real wide smile on my face when she put up my name for these wonderful stamps....

These stamps come with a tag and here it is...

1. Where is your cell phone: On the coffee table

2. Your hair: Black

3. Your mother: Parimalam is a teacher

4. Your father: Munuswamy is a senior accounts officer in BSNL

5. Your favorite food: Chocolate cake, mousse, pastry, torta...just about any chocolate dessert

6. Your dream last night: It was a very weird one. I was attending Janani's marriage wearing a mismatched sari and then next door there was Tommy's son's bday party where they were selling strollers and from nowhere comes Gullu and says its been a while since we spoke....and best (or worst) part....these 3 ppl have never met each other...and I talk to Gullu almost everyday :$

7. Your favorite drink: Water

8. Your dream/goal: Running a restaurant

9. What room are you in: Living room

10. Your hobby: Music , Crafts, Painting, Cooking, photography, writing and blogging about all of these

11. Your fear: Lets make it fears... ghosts, horror movies, screechy noises, hair fall, heights....

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years: Running a restaurant in Chennai or Mysore

13. Where were you last night: Home

14. Something you aren’t: Slim trim and sexy

15. Muffins: Blueberry

16. Wish list item: The material girl in me asks for....a beautiful Tissot watch

17. Where did you grow up: Chennai

18. Last thing you did: Clean up the house

19. What are you wearing: Tee and a wrap around skirt

20. Your TV: Off

21. Your pets: None :(

22. Your friends: Lots....

23. Your life: on a ride!

24. Your mood: Lifted high up!

25. Missing someone: Family and friends....

26. Vehicle: Yes. But license no.

27. Something you’re not wearing: Watch

28. Your favorite store: Micheal's (as of now)

29. Your favorite color (s): Black & Red

30. When was the last time you laughed: Had a great laugh with Reena in the afternoon over something that happened to me at the gym...

31. Last time you cried: Seems like a long time ago....

32. Your best friend: Ohh pls...lets go plural...tommy, hari, simant...

33. One place that I go over and over: NYC, Pondy bazar ... 2 places that never fail to surprise/engage/annoy :)

34. One person who emails me regularly: Pradeep

35. Favorite place to eat: Murugan Idli kadai , Chennai

And Brianna for this cute little award :)

And this is an award I created!! :) (Nothing too much...I took the pic of this button and just added "your blog" to it). I have been wanting to express my gratitude/appreciation to a few people and here it comes....
I pass on all these awards to...

Sandhya and Sree - for showing me that the kitchen is not a scary place

Brianna and Shalini - for bringing the wonderful medium 'watercolors' to my notice. I have already started work and will be publishing a few paintings soon :)

D - for doing something we all only dream of.

My3 - for just being who she is!

Soan - for being an honest and open blogger

Hary - for being one funny writer and making me smile every time I read his blog

Floreta - again for honesty, language and the way she writes

Srivatsan - for his creativity

Smile away and spread the word! :)

K.Sutra # 9 - Eggless homestyle sugar cookies

2009-10-08T15:25:00.012-04:00

This is my first 'on my own' trial to making cookies. This month we have Diwali and Halloween coming up. I thought let me bake cookies and use them for both occasions. Yes, murukku, cheedai, laddo and cookies! So firstly I had to go eggless...so I could happily distribute them among everybody....vegetarian or not.

So, here is my simple eggless cookie recipe...

1 cup butter (Now, I have a major confusion regarding how much 1 cup is. I have seen cups of 235ml and of 250 ml also. But, we cannot (and need not) be so accurate with cookies as they are wonderful anyway you bake them.)

With butter, this is my general observation - One box has 4 sticks and they weigh approx 400gms. So one stick = 100 gms. 2 sticks = 200 gms which is close to 1 cup. So my formula is ..... 1 cup butter = approx 2 sticks of butter = approx 200 gms

1/2 cup sugar (Now what ever is your cup...235/250....just follow the same proportion and we will be fine)

2 cup maida (all purpose flour)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

Place butter out of the fridge so it can come to room temperature and can be mushed up with your bare hands.

In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar. You can use a beater if you have one. Using your hands is good enough too.

Mix them well into a soft dough. Add vanilla and mix again.

Mix maida, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl.

Add this dry stuff mixture into the big bowl which already has the dough of butter, sugar and vanilla.

Keep mixing and knead into a dough which is just a little more watery and loose than your regular chapatti dough.

Set oven to 350F.

I have seen that these cookies dont need any tray preparation. Maybe its due to the proportion of butter or something. They come off very easily and neatly from the tray. But to be on the safer side, you could use some parchment paper if you have them. Or just apply butter and sprinkle some maida on top.

Now lets roll the cookies. Make small 50 paise coin size balls and place them on the baking tray.

Here again, there are 2 options. if you want your cookies to look rugged and lumpy, you can leave them as it is.

If you want them to look neat and flat, then take a round lid and dust its flat side with some maida. Use this lid to gently press the cookie rolls and make them flat. (I will call these as cookie flatties from now on in the entire post) I'd suggest make both kinds.

These pictures show the right size and right placement for the cookies. These expand when they bake and so need room to grow. I have put some nuts, dry fruits for toppings on the cookies.

The cookies will take 10-12 mins to bake depending on your oven. Best way to tell when a cookie is done is by the lovely vanilla smell that will come floating out of your oven and the light brown color around the edges of the cookies.

Remove the tray, cool the cookies and then pack them away. Of course, take a bite.

I am not a great fan of cooking. But I love colors and decoration. Since cookies are a wonderful platform to decorate (and since I was alone at home and there was nobody to monitor my madness) I went ahead and tried out these....

Those are Balli muttai specials - I simply arranged some of those colored cumin sweets (mukhwaas) on the cookie flatties and baked them.

I just pulled out little bit of dough in my hand. Dropped some chocolate chips and made these 'chocolate sugar lumps'

Added food color and here are the results.

I took little bit of different colors, rolled them into one ball. On the baking tray, I put one chocolate chip on top on the cookie flatties and baked them.

Having food colors obviously means a shot at the tricolor. But I didnt have white coloring with me. So, as you can see, white has become slightly brown in my first trial. Second one has come out little better.

This one is called - the head of kroor singh

And here are the crowd pleasers - coconut cookies. All you have to do is smush the cookie flatties with sweetened coconut scraps from all sides and then bake them.

As soon as you get them out, sprinkle some sugar and cardamom powder on top. And then let them cool down.

Chocolate swirls - What happened is, the bowl in which I had the chocolate chips was on top of the oven and all the chips melted down. So I put some dough in it and then rolled it into these swirls. They were just as good as a chocolate chip cookie.

Chocolate crown. Just bake some plain cookies and as soon as they are out from the oven, use chocolate icing to decorate them. Then let them cool.

Nuts and Dry fruits. Traditionally cinnamon powder is used on cookies. But my husband does not like too much of cinnamon. So I used less cinnamon and along with it some nuts. Also, the combination of cashews, raisins and cardamom powder is tried and tested. So I sprinkled some cardamom powder, placed nuts of choice on the cookie flatties and baked them away.

Jammies. Dip your little finger in maida. And then make a small hole in the center of your cookie flattie. Like a well. Bake these cookies and then when hot out of the tray, drop some jam in the crater that has formed. Sprinkle little sugar. Allow them to cool.

Full chocolate cookies

If you have a big chocolate bar (but just chocolate not caramel and stuff) like say...Dairymilk or Dove. Then you can place them on top of the cookie flatties. Once you start baking you will get an idea how big your cookies are. So cut chocolate piece accordingly. Place the choclate piece on top of the flattie. The chocolate can be bigger than the cookie flattie, because you know its eventually going to expand.

But, be careful to use a real lumpy chocolate bar.

Walnut lumps. Just mix little dough with chopped walnuts (or almonds if you wish) and make cookie flatties and bake them. I am sorry, they got eaten so fast, I only had a few broken ones left for taking photographs. But you can see the walnuts...cant u?!

Cinnamon dots.

On the cookie flatties, place a good thumbful of cinnamon powder and sugar. Bake them and let them cool.

Ok, before you start thinking I am one of those annoying people who can get things right the first time they try, let me give me some sample of my disasters also...

Here I tried to do some chocolate crowing that totally crashed down...

Here I placed the cookie flatties too close to each other and as you can see... its lovely! :)

And my biggest disaster was when I tried using liquor chocolates. And I was so busy cleaning up the mess that I didnt take any snaps. Lets see if my words can do any justice to my mishap.

So I picked these liquor chocolates and placed them on the cookie flatties. I even did some major decoration to make it look like as if whiskey was flowing out of the chocolate. Then I baked it. And all of the whiskey came gushing out of it. All burning and smoking and boiling at the same time on my cookie tray. Got mixed with the dough and become this awful smelling goo. And all this took only about 30 secs. So I had to react quickly and clean the tray up. But being the cookie enthusiast I am, I still managed to scrap off some dough along with the liquor and chocolate and thought I could still make cookies out of them. But...no...not happening...they just ended up being something that I cant find any words to describe...

Moral of the story.....dont try to bake liquor! And use only hard full chocolate bars/chips.

Phew! what a day! what a post!

See you tomorrow with another adventure of mine. Bye Bye!

K.Sutra # 8 - Chocolate cake and Chocolate chip cookies

2009-10-08T09:13:00.006-04:00

Chocolate cake - using Duncan Hines cake mix and home style chocolate icing. The steps were on the box. And since it was my first time baking, I stuck to ready to cook cake mix and the recipe on the box.

It turned out to be yummy beyond words. I made this when my friends had come over and 5 of us devoured it for dessert!

Chocolate chip cookies. Recipe followed

from here.

Tips from my own experiences :

use parchment paper if the recipe asks you to do so. Its mainly because the consistency of the dough used for that particluar cookie makes the cookie sticky and soft.

If you dont have parchment paper or if you are not in mood to buy some, then at least grease the tray with some butter and flour sprinkled on it. But this might casue some butter to stick on to the cookie making it lil more buttery on the bottom side. You could also go for some baking spray.

Also, I have been pleasantly surprised by Sandhya with a heap load of awards! Its really nice to know someone acknowledges your work and appreciates it. My blog is not an exclusive rambling station or creative pile. Its a mix and medley of lots of things I do and so these simple gestures and stamps do mean a lot to me! :)

Thank you Sandhya!

Before I take them, I need to complete a tag. I will do that soon and pass these wonderful moments on...

K.Sutra # 7 - Cheese Jalapeno poppers

2009-10-07T09:53:00.006-04:00

I have been thinking of sending details of my kitchen adventures to my family back home. And what better way than my blog! Well, if you do not know me, I have never ever cooked before I came here to join my husband. It will be very exciting for my family to see all this new stuff I am cooking and so this week is going to be Samayal vaaram!!! By this weekend I am gonna have to post all the "different" things I have tried in my kitchen!

In that order, first come the cheese jalapeno poppers.

You will need:

Shredded Cheese - I used a mixed bag called mexican blend or fiesta blend

Jalapenos

Chat masala (a special blend of Indian spices available in all Indian grocery stores. If you dont get it, you could use any other spice mix of your choice or omit it all together)

Oil for frying

1 egg

Maida ( all purpose flour)

Bread crumbs

Milk (optional)

Black pepper and salt

Start, camera, action:

Break the egg into a bowl and add black pepper and salt to your taste.

Cut the jalapenos into halves. De-seed them.

Sprinkle chat masala on the halves.

Also, sprinkle chat masala and salt on the shredded cheese.

Stuff the cheese into the jalapeno halves. Push them nice and tight.

Dip the jalapeno half into the beaten egg.

Roll the jalapeno on maida

Dip in milk (optional)

And then roll in the bread crumbs.

Freeze these rolls for 20-30 mins.

Deep fry the rolls in hot oil before the rolls begin to thaw. Just fry them fresh from the freezer.

Serve hot with pudina and yogurt dip! Or ever trusted ketchup and green chillies sauce works fine too.

A bear hug

2009-10-05T07:36:00.004-04:00

Thank You Sree for the special hug!!

And, I pass the big hug on to D, My3, Gow, Sandhya,Soumya,Shalini and Pradeep. Also to a few new friends - Hary, Soin, Vishnu, Zeba and Kaka!

A quaint fall afternoon

2009-10-01T17:21:00.004-04:00

With the company of my olympus sp-560uz, I walked across route 46 into small little streets lined with trees and well mowed lawns yesterday.

It felt calm and was so soothing to just sit on a tree stump and watch the breeze make the yellow-orange-reddish leaves slowly leave the holds of the branches and fly away. I saw so many things I couldn't take my eyes off or move the camera lens away from.

I may not have visited many exotic places, but I certainly did find out the 'exotic' where I lived. I came back home with a mind lot more rested, relaxed and a few lovely pictures that I am sharing with you.

Three Naughty Cute Little Puppies!

2009-10-01T11:38:00.005-04:00

Caught in action in a pet store near my house! The second video is better than the first! :D

K.Sutra # 6 - Double treat - Milk Khoa and Carrot halwa

2009-09-28T11:25:00.006-04:00

I had spent 1.5 hrs making basandi a while back and wanted to make it again using an easier method Vidya suggested in her Paal payasam recipe.

So I put milk in my pressure cooker with sugar skipped the rice and followed all the steps. Just I left the cooker on for about 60 mins. ( I checked what the milk looked like now and then by slowly allowing the pressure to release) I was expecting the milk to reduce into condensed basundi but instead the milk separated from the water, like khoa. Whoa!

I filtered the water out and had milk khoa on my table. I saved up the water and then used it to make Carrot halwa. I followed Manjula’s recipe but just added the milk khoa water in the last step. It was lip smacking!!! Really Really! Double treat !! :D

And sorry about the bad photos. I am really very lazy. I have been following Sandhya's and Vidya's recipe blogs and they have such a wonderful way of presentation. I will try to learn and implement...but that will take time :) For now, my photos are all half baked...as my knowledge of cooking is!

The drunken monks.

2009-09-28T10:55:00.014-04:00

Chapter 1 - The cat that wudn't hunt

****************************************************************************************************************************************

Chapter 2 ...

Prologue

Who is to blame?

The story....

My phone rang at 11 pm. That is an aberration to all that is natural and sane in this world. It was my sister. She started speaking in a hurried and impatient tone even before I could say "hello". That's how it happens all the time, I am not surprised.

"Look, Swati...I have to stay back in the office tonight. There is this big problem and we are all in a soup. Tell amma I will come home in the morning ok? Is she awake? Anyways, you tell her this. I am off. I had dinner. Bye"

"Bye".

I got up and went to the living room where my mom slept. She had dozed off. Or at least it looked like that to me.

I went back to my room and looked at the answered calls list on my mobile. "Nakshatra" it said. Yeah, that's my sisters name. Very filmy isnt it? Suits her.

I looked up at the ceiling, phone still in my hand and thought "la drunken routine" and smiled. Things dont change as much people claim they do.

Girl declares war against the world and decides to get drunk.

Guy becomes chivalrous and puts his glass down to "take care" of the drunken damsel.

Doesn't matter if she laughed or cried, either ways after getting drunk she has his full attention and an excuse to get a ride back to his home and crash on his couch.

It was my final year at college. I studied in this girls college and had met him through a classmate of mine 6 months ago. We were at his uncle's place that night, the entire gang...6 of us. That was the first time I drank alcohol. Just one drink. My loving boy friend wouldn't allow me to have anymore. I had fun though. She also drank. It was not her first time and she really took it well. She wanted to stay back and sleep over at his place. So I was to be the vouching best friend. The call was placed and I spoke to her parents and took them into confidence that she was actually spending the night at my place. One of the guys dropped me home just when the lights were about to come up. My boy friend and she had drunken sex for the third time that night.

I got up and walked to the terrace. It was close to midnight now. I couldnt sleep yet. Tonight the terrace and the cool night breeze did not bring me solace. I was agitated beyond the comfort of these good friends. I was drifting to a past I hoped I would never ever think about. But it wasn't as painful any longer. That was a good sign. I could now stand outside the circle and scrutinize myself and other things that happened around me then. I pivoted my eyes to particularly dark spot in the space between the night sky and a lamp post. I couldn't look at the light tonight. Tonight, light made me uncomfortable. It was dark inside me. And then the breeze dropped. Just like that. And my thoughts started running haywire...

Why did men always find lost, confused, erratic, disoriented, frustrated, suicidal girls attractive? And then they complain that women are complex. Well, there are normal,simple ones too, but its just that they dont wear clothes that show three-fourth their boobs in public so maybe you didnt notice them. Maybe simple ones are too simple to hold your interest and then the complex ones are too complex to hold your mental stability.

When it comes to women, one who goes in pursuit of intrigue and mystery is doomed to be weighed down by complications all his life. It comes with the package...

An auto rickshaw broke the silence of the night and stopped at the street corner. It was my sister getting out of it. She opened the gate and instead of going to her room made her way to the terrace straight away. Mom must have thought it was one of the PG girls.

She didn't realize I was standing there until she slumped her bag down, sighed big and sat down on the concrete bench head in palms. Then she saw I was there too. She looked at me and got back to her posture. Her head was still dug into her palms when she spoke.

"It was Ashok's birthday party. I met this fucking friend of his at the pub. We got talking and danced and drank. I was too drunk to come home so I asked if I could spend the night at his place. He acted like such an asshole at his place. He was so decent and nice at the pub. I don't know what makes guys act like this. What the hell? A girl cant have a good time anymore? I was just casually flirting and this guy...Loser...he just thought..."

She was still talking when I cut in "Why do you act like a bimbo and expect to be treated like a Goddess or something?"

She looked up, brows bent, angry, with a quizzical "WHAT" written all over her eyes. There I was, the bitch of her life.

"Men don't think, they react. He reacted to a girl who got drunk with him the first time they met and then offered to spend the night at his bachelor apartment. What were you thinking?"

"Ohhh shut up. If a guy doesn't know the difference between a girl who just wants to have a good time and a hooker.... he shouldn't be out in the pubs socializing" snap came the reply, wrapped in guilt, defense and anger....

I stood there quietly. Allowing her to soak in the statement she just made. She had just compared herself to a hooker and though it took a few seconds longer than I thought it should, it did dawn upon her.

Her anger quickly gave way to shame. It was the shame of having lost an argument with me, nothing else. Nevertheless she quietly walked down the staircase. Nothing more was said.

Epilogue

When I got back into the room, she was lying on the bed staring at the ceiling. Mom had woken up and was hastily walking up and down the living room and kitchen making warm milk for my sister. "Appidi enna thaan velai irukkumo*....you are coming home after midnight. It was my mistake. I should have put you in B.Com** just like your sister. You did engineering and look at you now. Who will take care of you and your health....."

*****************************************************************************************************************************************

* Whatever is this work that you do....

** B.Com - A bachelor's degree in commerce

Anay plays with mehendi

2009-09-27T22:35:00.003-04:00

So he made a smiley sun for me

And he wanted a lot of things on his palm. Starting with an octopus, a star fish, spider and an oyster with a pearl. There was also to be - a clown with hat, tree, flower, sun, clouds, birds,creeper, zebra strips, dalmation spots and strawberries! talk about specific client requirements....

Tag Tag Tag

2009-09-24T09:24:00.006-04:00

Sree tagged me to the latest tag going around and here it comes....

The Rules:
1. Link the person who tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share the ABCs of you.
4. Tag 4 people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let the 4 tagged people know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Do not tag the same person repeatedly but try to tag different people, so that there is a big network of bloggers doing this tag.

The Tag:
1. A – Available/Single? Married. But why does it say available/single???? Dont the options mean the same???? :$
2. B – Best friend? Can I call them 'Best Friends'??? :D ok...aarthi, hari, simant
3. C – Cake or Pie? Cake
4. D – Drink of choice? hmmm....strawberry milkshake
5. E – Essential item you use every day? Toothpaste & brush
6. F – Favorite color? Red and black
7. G – Gummy Bears Or Worms? yuuuccckkkk
8. H – Hometown? Chennai..... me madrasan!!!
9. I – Indulgence? Good food, spread the comforter on the floor in front of TV and doze off.
10. J – January or February? Jan & Feb! my bday, his bday and our anniversary!
11. K – Kids & their names? No kids and i dont have any names "planned"
12. L – Life is incomplete without? friends!!!
13. M – Marriage date? 23/01
14. N – Number of siblings? One younger brother
15. O – Oranges or Apples? Apples
16. P – Phobias/Fears? fears....and ohh so many of them...
17. Q – Quote for today? Its not the booger that matters. Its where you put it.
18. R – Reason to smile? i cud smile for nothing... and everything
19. S – Season? Summer
20. T – Tag 4 People? Soan, Shalini, Kaka, Srivatsan
21. U – Unknown fact about me? My grandad named me Yogalakshmi. Thank God someone came along and changed it.
22. V – Vegetable you don't like ? Brinjal, pumpkin

23. W - Worst habit - I hate to take bath. I have to have a very compulsive reason...like going to work or going out...otherwise i am content just to lie around on the bed, eat junk and watch junk on tv.
24. X – X-rays you've had? Many many :)
25. Y – Your favorite food? Anything mom makes. And now, most things hari makes!
26. Z – Zodiac sign? Capricious Capricorn!

New York Nagaram...

2009-09-22T10:39:00.007-04:00

...and more.

Snaps from my most recent trip to NYC and a few others. Also, my first attempt at using iPhoto to edit them

Wedding party. Guys showing their strength and girls showing theirs.

Intimate.

Colored mist at Niagara

Stones under water - Niagara
Misty and mysterious - Niagara
Statue of liberty
Liberty torch
some bulding
berries at central park

Balloons

Diwali lights
Central park
Pic says it all. HRC at NYC
Subway art

K.Sutra # 5 - make bread pizza at home

2009-09-22T08:44:00.005-04:00

Original Recipe idea - Reena Kothana (my friend and neighbor).

This is a very tasty and very easy to make pizza on normal bread. Its 100% guaranteed to knock out your family and guests! (Do I sound like the person on TV trying to sell something....side effects of bad afternoon american television)

You will need:

Bread - multi grain or whole wheat is recommended. If you have an Indian bakery nearby try getting khara bread (spicy bread). I have not tried jalapeno bread yet. If you do try, please let me know how it came out.

1 large tomato - minced

1 large onion - minced

1 capsicum - minced

4 cloves garlic - minced

black pepper powder

salt

hunt's tomato paste - 6oz can (not diced tomato, not basil/garlic/parsley flavored tomato...just look for tomato paste)

ajwain seeds (carom's seeds) you will find these in Indian grocery stores

For Toppings:

1 large chinese eggplant (chinese brinjal) - these are softer than normal brinjals and are light purple in color

shredded cheese - recommended is a blend of different types of cheese. you will find the mexican/fiesta blend in most grocery stores.

2 jalapenos - sliced

These make about a dozen bread pizzas.

Cut the brinjals into circles on about few millimeters thick. Deep fry these slices in oil. Sprinkle salt on the eggplant crispy circles.

For my meat loving husband I added shallow fried jalapeno slices and shallow fried sausage slices for toppings.

You could also add sauted mushrooms, oilves or just about anything you like on your pizza.

For paste:

Heat oil in a pan. Add ajwain seeds and allow them to splutter. Add 3/4 th of the minced onion. The rest will be used raw on the pizza as a topping. After onions cook, add all of the garlic and 3/4th of the minced capsicum. After this cooks, add all the minced tomatoes and then the hunt's tomato paste. Salt and pepper as you wish.

This will be a tangy tomato sauce for the pizza. You can add green chillies if you want some spice in it. I additionally used some parsley and oregano (dry) too. But these are optional.

On the bread, apply the sauce we just made. Place the toppings - raw onions, raw capsicum pieces, shallow fried jalapenos, the deep fried brinjals and any other topping you have thought of. Finish it off with cheese and arrange this in your oven. We need to just melt the cheese, so dont worry about pre heating the oven. Just put it on 350 F for 5 mins. Keep checking it time to time. The easiest thing to do is to place the bread and then set the oven to 350 F. When the light goes off, (oven reaches 350) the cheese would have melted.

In the baking tray, place a sheet of aluminum foil as the melting cheese can spill over and cause stain on your tray. To avoid bread sticking to the aluminum foil you can apply a coating of melted butter on the bottom side of the bread or on the sheet.

This one just cant go wrong. Enjoy!

More Noggin Bops

2009-09-21T22:22:00.004-04:00

More of the toys that have been my latest favs! They are available at Michael's craft store near my house and cost only 3 dollars each. Every person I have showed these toys to love them and carry a few home for them or as gifts.

Check out the bumble bee, the lady bird and the shoes and the penguin and the monkey....so engaging these are! :D

Frustrations again.

2009-09-17T15:55:00.001-04:00

Its been 7 months since I posted a poem/story. Its like i have a perpetual writers block these days.

I close my eyes and all I can hear is the splatter of mustard and cumin seeds and the cling clang of vessels in my sink.

I have ideas but I cant find myself sitting in a corner realizing them.

Sort the mail, throw the garbage, clean the stove, vaccum the heaters, what 's for dinner....this is all i can think of now.

One of the things I wanted to do after marriage was not to add any more posts under the 'frustration' label, but here it comes....the deals of being home.

I never had problems writing when I was working. I was surrounded by people and incidents giving me inspirations to write on a wide spectrum from whacky to utter hair pulling-irritated. Being home shuts out a lot of things and makes life very ripple free which makes me uncomfortable as I am really used to being in the center of whirlpools. I have an endless supply of time and quiet which is supposed to help people think better but bloody all I can think of is CHORES. I am amazed at people who are well into their worldly responsibilities and still have their creative juices uncorked. I dont know if my tone is whiny or complaining, but I really really want this dry spell to fly through the window as soon as possible...

So for now, there is only one prayer.... please make me just as peaceful or just as disturbed so I can write again.....

Mix and Match

2009-09-14T13:45:00.004-04:00

I fool around with my camera quite a bit and regular at flickr. Thought, why not bring them here too....

K.Sutra # 4 - Mutter Chicken

2009-09-10T22:59:00.005-04:00

No typo there, it is Mutter Chicken indeed. I had set out to make mutter paneer. But my husband was in the mood for some chicken and asked if I could switch the paneer for his fowl of choice. I tried and lo behold a great new dish.

I used:

Chicken tender loin

Frozen peas

Green chillies - 5 to 6 ( i used about 9 and it became way too spicy, then I had to add a block of butter of the size of an iceberg to even it out)

1 1/2 onions - cut into thin long slices

2 medium sized tomatoes

1 inch ginger piece - finely chopped

4-5 garlic cloves - finely chopped

2-3 scoops of yoghurt (curd)

turmeric powder

cumin powder

red chilly powder

garam masala

salt

fenugreek seeds, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves - optional

Marinate chicken tender loins - true to the name, these pieces absorb taste and cook very very quickly. add 2 spoons of red chilly powder, 1 table spoon corriander powder, 1 tbsp cumin powder, 1 tbsp black pepper powder, 1 tbsp turmeric powder and salt in 2-3 scoops of curd (yoghurt) and marinate chicken in this mixture. you can refrigerate the chicken (or not) for about 40 mins.

Tomato puree - heat water and bring to boil. drop the tomatoes in the pan and close the lid. allow tomatoes to boil until skin begins to break and peel. cool the tomatoes, peel the skin and beat in a mixie (blender) into fine paste. Save the water to be used in the curry later.

Fry onions in a pan. When onions are cooked, add the green chilles, followed by the minced ginger and garlic. You can add a few fenugreek seeds if you want. (Start with bay leaf, 2 cloves and a small stick of cinnamon in the pan if you like your dish extra spicy)

As the ginger, garlic, onions and green chillies cook, add 1 tbsp cumin powder, 1 tbsp corriander powder, 1 and 1/2 tbsp garam masala and then add the green peas. Allow peas to cook. Then add the tomato puree and leave the mixture to cook and come to a boil. When its boiling, simmer and add the chicken pieces. Close the pan and allow chicken to cook in this flavor filled yoghurt based curry. Tenderloins cook pretty quickly, so keep checking if the chicken is done. Over cooked chicken will not taste good. Check for salt and spice levels to suit your taste.

After switching the stove off, sprinkle freshly cut corriander leaves, drop a small block of butter and close the pan. Serve with roti or rice.

And did I forget to mention how yummy it was?!

Trip to Niagara Falls - The boiling cauldron

2009-09-09T23:23:00.004-04:00

Photo by Kashyap

Wow! its been a week since I posted anything. I am back from labor day weekend at Niagara and promptly here to give travel tips from my back pack.

I still remember (and I am sure will never forget) the first time I heard the roaring waters as we approached the falls and the sight of the mist raising to meet the clouds creating an illusion of a bridge made of mist and clouds between the earth and the sky. It was really hard to believe a sight as breathtaking as that. And the first thing that came to my mind was - the smoking cauldron. The crashing sound of millions of tons of water falling and the mist raising and bouncing off the rocks made it look like a big boiling cauldron to me.

It is a real wonder and treat to look at and those who happen to visit the east coast of the US should try and make it to this natural wonder.

Now for some tourist stuff.....

Photo by Kashyap

I have been to Niagara twice now but both times I was not able to see the fireworks as I went on a saturday on both occasions. I was able to catch the nightly illumination though.

Cave of the winds, Maid of mist and the whirlpool jet drive are the 3 must do activities according to me. I have not done the third one due to lack of interest from others in the gang both times :( Who loves to get wet in icy cold water and plunge into death like experience especially when they cant swim? me! :)

Anyways, if you were to visit the falls, I would recommend you do these trips on your own and not through any of the tour van services they have there. If you have enough time (say 1.5 to 2 days) then you can take ample breaks and see these spots taking your own sweet time. There are maps available and you can easily navigate yourself with help of the park rangers. On the other hand if you are crunched for time, then the tour van will be the better option out. But its not worth the money considering the van will cost you 60 bucks and they cover rides worth only 20 bucks. I personally feel that the discovery pass is also not worth it.

If you like to get all drenched and soaked, try not to carry much. Its really difficult to ask you not to carry electronics, but at least make sure you have waterproof covers or something with you. Wear light clothes, carry one to change if needed and don't worry about the sandals. You will be given one in the cave of winds tour which you can wear rest of the day.

Other than that, there is also the Island of 3 sisters, goat island and also a few places where you can climb down and get close to river niagara. Another place to spend some quite time is fort niagara.

The canadian side has an awesome tour where they take you behind the falls. You will actually be standing behind a wall of water and watching it fall like a screen in front of you. And yes its true, view from the canadian side is better. It takes approx 2 days to get a tourist visa made for canada. So if you plan well ahead of time, crossing the bridge (on foot) will not take much time. It will take much longer if you tried to drive through :)

I have given tips/opinions based on my trips to Niagara and have omitted anything you can find in wiki or the official niagara park website.

Adding a couple of videos taken aboard maid of mist: