Fall

I know I'm a little  late on the whole fall folliage pictures thing, especially since we are supposed to get snow tonight but let me tell you about NJ fall...no no...let me show you my work commute....

 right??? I was pretty bummed out about missing fall this year. It's been our tradition to pick a place and spend weekend there. We even went to PA for a weekend hoping to catch the last few day of peak color. Well we caught end of the peak season with rain,my dreams of fall foliage this year were shattered. Until...UNTIL!!! two weeks later color in my backyard! who knew NJ can be so pretty this time of year. I swear when I left the house to go to work that day I thought "WTF!" Color everywhere! our street full of yellows and oranges. I mean the trees were on fire and I was camera happy. Hey NJ I know i've expressed my dislike towards you but after this year's fall...things might workout between us after all...(maybe)

Bestie's Wedding

Let’s talk about wedding, shall we? Every time I attend one, it reiterates importance of this special bond. It’s not only about love it’s about respect. I recently had an honor of being part of my bestie’s wedding. I only have one word to describe it-UHHAMAAZZZING! I feel like I should document my memories of this awesome day. The entire day was perfectly orchestrated and not to mention how hot she looked. I love to be part wedding where the bride and groom are having fun and enjoying their special day. From their first dance to the food was perfect. And can we please talk about the church ceremony? I go gaga over old architecture. The beautiful church was over 100 years old with fresco ceilings and antique details. Add live organ music and singing and you get this romantic atmosphere with goosebumps. I mean it was just magical and was happy to be part of it. Sure I cried like a little girl but some guys were crying like little girls too so it’s all good. I wish I had taken more pictures but I did capture her getting ready moments. Sandya, thanks for including me in your special day. I am looking forward to growing old and crocheting on the porch with you! ( I promise there will be wine)

Get ready for bazzilion pictures...

Chevron Stripe Blanket

I am so excited about my latest blanket. I've been obsessed with chevron stripe crochet pattern. It took me really long time to get it right. When I halfway through this blanket, I noticed that i had missed a stitch and once you notice a mistake it's REALLY hard to ignore it. So of course I had to unravel most of it. And it was worth it! I absolutely love everything about this blanket.

Granola Bars

I've been meaning to make my own granola bars for the longest time. For various reasons (missing ingredients, laziness) I never got to it. Two weeks ago things changed. I was staring at the pantry deciding what to make for dinner and it hit me...bam! I had everything in there to make granola bars...so I made granola bars for dinner. can you say #bestwife?

This recipe is easy and measurements can be approximate and substitutions are okay. easy right?

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup roughly chopped almonds
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups dates
1/2 cup chopped apricots
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped dried mango
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
2 tbs of flax seed powder

Method:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Toast oats, almonds and coconut for 10-12 minutes. Toss often. Once done, remove from the oven and let it cool.

In a food processor crush dates. They will turn into paste like texture.

Add everything in large bowl and mix. Add more honey if needed. You'll have to get your hand dirty with this one.

Line a pan with parchment paper and spread the mixture. I wrapped my hand in saran wrap to flatten everything out. Score for easy cutting and leave it in the fridge to set it. And enjoy!

Husband and co-workers approved. I hope you do too!

Lotus Root Fries

Soooo.....yeah, I've been kind of MIA? Sorry about that! Last week I was grocery shopping (exciting stuff is happening around here—hence the absence!) and I saw someone buying lotus root. I've never seen or heard of it. So I asked the person buying it few questions. She told me that she is planning to use it in Asian food. So I bought one. I wasn't really sure what to do with it but I decided to cut it open and see what i'm up against. It reminds of potato, except crunchier. One thing i've learned from watching countless hours of TV is that everything tastes good fried...so I made fries. This vegetable is pretty! I mean look!

 right??? I dipped them in flour (add salt and pepper to the flour for some taste) and fried for few minutes until golden brown. Sprinkle with some lemon juice and chaat masala (if you don't have any then salt, pepper and garlic would work too). Sprinkle some parsley and enjoy!! I recommend some ice cold beer and burger.  But by the time I got the beer, the fries were gone...so yeah Enjoy!

Summer Salad

I walked into the kitchen with some solid plans to make Mexican food for dinner. After staring at the fridge for good 5 minutes, I ended up making one of the best salads. Unfortunately I did not write down the recipe but I will give you list of the ingredients.

Ingredients 

Salad:

-Arugula

-Apple (thinly sliced)

-Orange segments

-Crumbled Paneer

-Croutons ( I made them out of leftover olive focaccia bread)

Salad Dressing:

-Soy sauce

-Orange juice (about half tbs)

-Orange marmalade (optional)

- Fresh ginger juice ( I used garlic press) 

-Olive oil

Grownup kid

If you're a Pinterest addict like me, then i'm sure you've heard of Poptails? These adult version of Popsicle are awesome. I want to give a big bear hug to whoever thought of this.

Every morning I make breakfast smoothie. It's easy, fast and healthy. It fills me up till lunch time and I avoid eating junk that other people in the office bring in. I had some extra pineapple juice left over from the morning so I thought added some coconut milk and some vodka and you have what cool kids call poptails. Now that's what I call breakfast for dinner.You're welcome.

Bagels

Two weeks ago on Friday night I craved for bagels next day...I know what you're thinking. Who the hell craves anything for next day right? ummm I do cause I'm odd like that. Anyways I knew I wanted bagels for breakfast but I also knew that I was not going to drive anywhere to get them and I also knew that Prakhar was not going to go either. So I thought I can make them! And I think Google knew what I was thinking because the very first search result was this tutorial...I mean common step by step with pictures??? I'm not going come up with my own recipe when brilliant Kenzi already did that for me. I mean why reinvent the wheel right? So thank you Kenzi for this. You rock!

Let's just say there is something amazing about homemade fresh warm bagels.