Saturday, March 4, 2017
Saturday, October 4, 2014
My green thumb is back, yay!
It all started when a co-worker gifted me a lucky bamboo plant along with plant food and instructions for taking care of it (Thank you so much!). Once the lucky bamboo made good progress on my desk at work, I gathered courage to buy some indoor house plants. When they managed to survive, I bought a few more of them and moved on to outdoor plants. I am happy with my collection at the moment and am now experimenting with seeds. Below are pictures of some of my treasures.
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| Lucky bamboo |
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| Dieffenbachia and Croton |
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| Cherie Hibiscus |
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| Geranium |
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| Miniature Rose |
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Popcorn
Making popcorn at home is very easy, easier than you might think. It is also much healthier than the bagged popcorn which has a lot of butter added to it.
So, ready? Take a large pan and throw 1 or 2 hand full of popcorn kernels. Add some olive oil just enough to coat the kernels and the bottom of the pan, a single tbsp should be enough. Cover the pan with a lid and let it sit on medium heat. Once you hear the kernels popping, turn the heat up to high.
When the popping stops (after about 2 mins or so), turn off the heat and transfer the popcorn to a serving bowl. You can sprinkle the popcorn with the seasoning of your choice; I like cheesy jalapeño.
So, ready? Take a large pan and throw 1 or 2 hand full of popcorn kernels. Add some olive oil just enough to coat the kernels and the bottom of the pan, a single tbsp should be enough. Cover the pan with a lid and let it sit on medium heat. Once you hear the kernels popping, turn the heat up to high.
When the popping stops (after about 2 mins or so), turn off the heat and transfer the popcorn to a serving bowl. You can sprinkle the popcorn with the seasoning of your choice; I like cheesy jalapeño.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Sweet buns
I had active dry yeast lying in my kitchen cupboard for years. I don't usually bake bread or cake so it was left unused. Even though it was expired, I decided to see if it still proofed. I quickly warmed up some milk, added some sugar and yeast to it. After a couple of minutes, the solution did not rise but since I had already taken out all purpose flour and added salt and oil to it out of optimism, I decided to go ahead.
I formed a wet dough and left it to rise in the oven with its light on. After an hour, the dough rose but only a little. At this point, I realized this was going to be a failed experiment but went ahead anyway. I kneaded the dough a little; it was very sticky to work with so I followed the "stretch and fold" technique. I made small balls out of the dough, greased a baking tray and laid the balls on it at some distance from each other. I left them to rise again but this time with the oven on at 150 ºF with a hope that it would rise well this time. And voila! this time it rose in just half an hour.
I greased the tops with some olive oil and left them in the oven to bake at 450 ºF. They baked for about 15 mins.
I formed a wet dough and left it to rise in the oven with its light on. After an hour, the dough rose but only a little. At this point, I realized this was going to be a failed experiment but went ahead anyway. I kneaded the dough a little; it was very sticky to work with so I followed the "stretch and fold" technique. I made small balls out of the dough, greased a baking tray and laid the balls on it at some distance from each other. I left them to rise again but this time with the oven on at 150 ºF with a hope that it would rise well this time. And voila! this time it rose in just half an hour.
I left them to cool down for an hour. They were very soft after cooling down and tasted yum. They could have been a little more fluffier had I used a full strength yeast.
This was my experiment on the Saturday night and now I have these for Sunday breakfast.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Handvo
I have eaten this before but I did not know what it was called. Thanks to Google search which showed me its name (and the recipe) after randomly searching for some of the ingredients I had vague recollection of.
This is a baked savory cake made from semolina, curd and vegetables (carrot, peas, french beans). It is healthy, easy to make and tastes amazing.
This is a baked savory cake made from semolina, curd and vegetables (carrot, peas, french beans). It is healthy, easy to make and tastes amazing.
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Jigsaw puzzle
It took a long time to put this together so I will probably keep it assembled for a few days.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Skylab
Today when UARS (Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite) was to fall over North America/California, I was reminded of Skylab which re-entered the Earth in 1979. No, I wasn't born yet but I had heard stories about it as a kid. I don't remember how much of those I comprehended. I used to think of it as an astronomical phenomena and had an image of "giant ball of fire falling from the sky" in my head. Little did I know, it was a man made space station which re-entered after completing its lifetime. I even have faint memories of asking my school friends if they had heard of it to find out more but I guess we were just too young to understand about the profound universe and numerous efforts we make to explore our own world and beyond!
Image of Skylab fragment in U.S. Space & Rocker Center in Alabama.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Fine dining
I guess I will never understand the concept of fine dining no matter how hard I try. I am a foodie and can cook good food but fine dining is not about food after all. Is it about fancy restaurant names, crisp tablecloths, fine china, glasswares and waiters in tuxedos? You eat tiny portion of food which may be visually appealing but may not appeal to your taste buds.
Is it because I am a vegetarian and do not drink? I have seen people enjoying wine for hours and hours until they get a little drunk or as they say "sober" ;). Shouldn't it be named "fine drinking" in that case ?!! I have been to these restaurants where the bill for a small group turns out to be greater than my month's salary.
PS - I am not the one who is paying at such restaurants :)
Is it because I am a vegetarian and do not drink? I have seen people enjoying wine for hours and hours until they get a little drunk or as they say "sober" ;). Shouldn't it be named "fine drinking" in that case ?!! I have been to these restaurants where the bill for a small group turns out to be greater than my month's salary.
PS - I am not the one who is paying at such restaurants :)
Monday, July 11, 2011
Yellowstone National Park
If you are looking for a place to visit in US and you have not already been to, you should consider Yellowstone national park in Wyoming. It is an enigma with numerous geysers, hot springs, colorful pools, fumaroles, mud pots, canyons, lakes and waterfalls. Unfortunately the park is buried in 50 feet snow in winters so summer is the only time to go. It is extremely hot in summers so don't forget your sunscreen & hat, ah! and also mosquito repellant (I don't want you to get red scars like me). The park has a couple of thousand geysers, some very faithful ones which erupts right on time and others for which you will have to wait long like 50 years ;). You will smell Hydrogen sulphide (rotten eggs) most of the time in geyser basin (one of the areas in the park) and also get a free warm sulphur bath at a couple of places but it is totally worth it.
The park also has a variety of wildlife. Some animals like Bison are abundant like mosquitoes. If you want to photograph or see a Bison closely, drive to Lamar valley. A few of them can also be seen in Old faithful geyser basin but it's better not to waste time for them in the geyser basin when it is hard to avoid them in Lamar valley. You can also spot Pronghorns, mule deer and elks in Lamar. Do remember to carry your binoculars. I was able to spot a wolf high up on a hill using mine.
There is a park Grand Teton National Park adjacent to Yellowstone and the same permit/ticket allows you to see both the parks but trust me it's not worth it, try to spend an extra day at Yellowstone instead.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Are you really a vegetarian?
New Yorker: Are you a vegetarian?
me: "Yes"
New Yorker: So, no fish also?
me: :o :o :o "ahaaannn"
And this conversation did not happen just once! So, now I choose to say I am a "vegan" ;)
Oh dear God! I used to think egg was considered vegetarian in many places these days. I had heard that chicken was "veg" @Denny's but fish became veg only in this trip. Looks like a vegetarian's choices are growing day by day.
me: "Yes"
New Yorker: So, no fish also?
me: :o :o :o "ahaaannn"
And this conversation did not happen just once! So, now I choose to say I am a "vegan" ;)
Oh dear God! I used to think egg was considered vegetarian in many places these days. I had heard that chicken was "veg" @Denny's but fish became veg only in this trip. Looks like a vegetarian's choices are growing day by day.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
New York City in January
It's cold, colder than I ever thought it be.
In-spite-of the unfavorable weather, there is so much to do here, the city actually never sleeps. There are so many tourists all around in Manhattan all throughout the day and night - Times Square being the busiest place of all.
New York has amazing mode of transportation. Though people like to walk when in New York, there is a good network of Subways and buses which run 24*7. You need to learn a bit before you can comfortably travel - believe me, a few trips in the opposite direction teaches all ;)
Before coming here, I was scared but I kind of like the people here. In my initial days here, whenever I was lost and was standing near a Subway gazing at my map trying to figure out whether I should be traveling Uptown/Downtown, towards Brooklyn/Bronx , someone would ask me if he could be of any help. Could it be any more convenient? Well, now I have stayed in Manhattan for 2 weeks and things have become opposite now - people ask me for trains and directions :)
There are magnificent pieces of architecture - you can see soaring tall buildings which would never end no matter how much you try to bend your neck. "Empire State Building" is the finest piece amongst them. "Madame Tussads" is the best exhibition of wax models I have seen so far. If you want to see all of the great things in the city and you are visiting in the month of January, pack yourself thick overcoats, boots, caps, gloves and everything else you have because it's freezing cold here.
In-spite-of the unfavorable weather, there is so much to do here, the city actually never sleeps. There are so many tourists all around in Manhattan all throughout the day and night - Times Square being the busiest place of all.
New York has amazing mode of transportation. Though people like to walk when in New York, there is a good network of Subways and buses which run 24*7. You need to learn a bit before you can comfortably travel - believe me, a few trips in the opposite direction teaches all ;)
Before coming here, I was scared but I kind of like the people here. In my initial days here, whenever I was lost and was standing near a Subway gazing at my map trying to figure out whether I should be traveling Uptown/Downtown, towards Brooklyn/Bronx , someone would ask me if he could be of any help. Could it be any more convenient? Well, now I have stayed in Manhattan for 2 weeks and things have become opposite now - people ask me for trains and directions :)
There are magnificent pieces of architecture - you can see soaring tall buildings which would never end no matter how much you try to bend your neck. "Empire State Building" is the finest piece amongst them. "Madame Tussads" is the best exhibition of wax models I have seen so far. If you want to see all of the great things in the city and you are visiting in the month of January, pack yourself thick overcoats, boots, caps, gloves and everything else you have because it's freezing cold here.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
National Highway 9(NH-9)
NH - 9 connects Hyderabad to Vijayawada.
I happen to live in one of the apartments on this Highway. It's overloaded with traffic all 24 hours of the day. Specially in the night, you get to see a diversity of vehicles on this road - gigantic wagons, lorries, trucks, volvos, cars, bikes and also bicycles. This highway which connects two major cities of Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad to Vijayawada is not wide enough. Not only that, at some point, thats near my house, it narrows down to some x width where just a truck and a bike placed exactly together can fit. Beside this narrow road is a huge and deep nala (drain). More surprisingly, can you imagine a national highway devoid of lights? Oh yeah!! its India right :)
.... and thats pretty much what makes me hear ambulances all the time because bikers at high speed can't envisage this and bam!!
Unfortunately, I went out to buy some groceries this evening and it grew dark by the time I was returning. I was standing at the divider waiting to cross the other side of the NH-9 (which pretty much appears some narrow road to me), a huge truck passed by. Hadn't I rushed towards the other side, I wouldn't have been blogging about this now :P
May be the truck drivers are seated high enough to notice a tiny creature like me. So, either grow up or pray before you attempt to walk on one of the national highways that the drivers are relatively less drunk otherwise who knows when they might end up engulfing you.
I happen to live in one of the apartments on this Highway. It's overloaded with traffic all 24 hours of the day. Specially in the night, you get to see a diversity of vehicles on this road - gigantic wagons, lorries, trucks, volvos, cars, bikes and also bicycles. This highway which connects two major cities of Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad to Vijayawada is not wide enough. Not only that, at some point, thats near my house, it narrows down to some x width where just a truck and a bike placed exactly together can fit. Beside this narrow road is a huge and deep nala (drain). More surprisingly, can you imagine a national highway devoid of lights? Oh yeah!! its India right :)
.... and thats pretty much what makes me hear ambulances all the time because bikers at high speed can't envisage this and bam!!
Unfortunately, I went out to buy some groceries this evening and it grew dark by the time I was returning. I was standing at the divider waiting to cross the other side of the NH-9 (which pretty much appears some narrow road to me), a huge truck passed by. Hadn't I rushed towards the other side, I wouldn't have been blogging about this now :P
May be the truck drivers are seated high enough to notice a tiny creature like me. So, either grow up or pray before you attempt to walk on one of the national highways that the drivers are relatively less drunk otherwise who knows when they might end up engulfing you.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
VIBGYOR
Hyderabad is seeing rains these days. And, what can you think of on a rainy day - RAINBOW?
As a child, I used to gaze at the sky after rains to see a rainbow. I vaguely recall once seeing a faded one for a fraction of seconds. It was more like a line than an arch and I thought the actual beautiful rainbows occurred only in the books of physics. But, I did see it come out of the book couple of days back. I saw a full fledged beautiful rainbow for minutes(may be 30). It got no fader until I left from there. Now, when I say, I saw 2 rainbows at the same time, you might think I am crazy.
Sometimes when the doctor tweaks my eyes with all kinds of liquids for retina dilations, I tend to see double images. Whoa! this time it was without all those liquids. Actually no, wiki says , very rarely, there occurs a secondary rainbow outside the primary one with colors in opposite order. Oh wow! I don't believe I did see this one too, what a beautiful sight it was.
As a child, I used to gaze at the sky after rains to see a rainbow. I vaguely recall once seeing a faded one for a fraction of seconds. It was more like a line than an arch and I thought the actual beautiful rainbows occurred only in the books of physics. But, I did see it come out of the book couple of days back. I saw a full fledged beautiful rainbow for minutes(may be 30). It got no fader until I left from there. Now, when I say, I saw 2 rainbows at the same time, you might think I am crazy.
Sometimes when the doctor tweaks my eyes with all kinds of liquids for retina dilations, I tend to see double images. Whoa! this time it was without all those liquids. Actually no, wiki says , very rarely, there occurs a secondary rainbow outside the primary one with colors in opposite order. Oh wow! I don't believe I did see this one too, what a beautiful sight it was.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Did you switch off your lights today?
What occurs to you when you point your browser to the quintessential www.google.com and are greeted with a jet-black page like the one below?
A lot of things lighted in my mind. Did my browser get mad? Did I become blind? Is my tube-light so dim? I gave myself a pinch, switched browsers, switched the ambient light. But that's not what it was.
They've turned the lights out for an hour. Now it's your turn.
Save Energy!
A lot of things lighted in my mind. Did my browser get mad? Did I become blind? Is my tube-light so dim? I gave myself a pinch, switched browsers, switched the ambient light. But that's not what it was.
They've turned the lights out for an hour. Now it's your turn.
Save Energy!
Friday, March 7, 2008
My first workout
ahhh....it pains, it seriously does!
I cannot walk straight as if each part of my body has been tightly screwed.
10 min of treadmill at a speed of 6, 10 min of stepper at resistance of 20, some abs exercises and some other machines which were aliens to me - all conspired against me to curtail my freedom of movement :(
Oh please! what did I do to them? I am not even over weight to hurt them.
May be I should go again today and ask them amicably about what wrong did I do to them..Well, people say they are not so bad and you should always give them a second chance. So, I definitely will!
I cannot walk straight as if each part of my body has been tightly screwed.
10 min of treadmill at a speed of 6, 10 min of stepper at resistance of 20, some abs exercises and some other machines which were aliens to me - all conspired against me to curtail my freedom of movement :(
Oh please! what did I do to them? I am not even over weight to hurt them.
May be I should go again today and ask them amicably about what wrong did I do to them..Well, people say they are not so bad and you should always give them a second chance. So, I definitely will!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Citi World $ money card
Unfortunately I hold a credit card of Citibank..no, no, not because I like it but because my company provides it to me when I am on business trips.
I thought only living things had mood swings and they change their normal course of behavior at times but no, this dude also has it. It ceases to work without prior warnings! On a particular hour on Sunday, it stops working - the only reason on the top of my head is all its employees are having a tea break!
I am yet to figure out what does it depend on - the phase of the moon, the length of my hair or the price of tea in china!!!
Once I was wondering if I had exhausted $1500 just on my food in a month when my card suddenly became unresponsive in Safeway. To my surprise, it was not the balance which forbade it from working but seems it was on a break for Christmas celebrations!!
I really appreciate myself for my bad driving skills - the only reason being I would always be accompanied by someone. If you go out alone for some planned dinner feeling relaxed without any $ but just Citibank card, I fear you might end up washing used utensils somewhere. Thanks to my friends who have saved me a couple of times from this.
I thought only living things had mood swings and they change their normal course of behavior at times but no, this dude also has it. It ceases to work without prior warnings! On a particular hour on Sunday, it stops working - the only reason on the top of my head is all its employees are having a tea break!
I am yet to figure out what does it depend on - the phase of the moon, the length of my hair or the price of tea in china!!!
Once I was wondering if I had exhausted $1500 just on my food in a month when my card suddenly became unresponsive in Safeway. To my surprise, it was not the balance which forbade it from working but seems it was on a break for Christmas celebrations!!
I really appreciate myself for my bad driving skills - the only reason being I would always be accompanied by someone. If you go out alone for some planned dinner feeling relaxed without any $ but just Citibank card, I fear you might end up washing used utensils somewhere. Thanks to my friends who have saved me a couple of times from this.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
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