Dinner came from these

Our friend got us these Thai Vermicelli noodles - only problem was that instructions were written in Thai and the pictures were not self explanatory.
Luckily, we have google.
About.com had a section on thai recipes that explained how to deal with these noodles - soaking in hot water for 10 minutes did the trick.
Dinner was these noodles tossed in oil with garlic, chilli flakes and peanuts, paired with Eggplant in Chinese sauce

Choco-Crinkle Cookies - Batch Two

A fat pinch of dried ginger powder went into this one
I'm getting confident in cookie-baking YAY

Choco-Crinkle Cookies - Batch One

A recipe from Jamie's blog
Used half all purpose flour and half whole wheat flour and did not manage to use all the oil as I forgot to add it earlier on.
Turned out just perfect

Fresh curry leaf podi

My neighbour gave me a big bunch of curry leaves from their farm and this was the best way to make use of them - Karuveppalai Podi

The haircut

The day i took the bold step of cutting my hair short :)

Sunita's Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Baked these cookies for my son - he loved them
Used jaggery instead of sugar, raisins instead of chocochips and lots of cardamom in the recipe and they almost tasted like my favourite 'athirasam'
Original recipe here

Double coloured bougainvilleas

Found this to be an unusual colour for a bougainvillea
Making summers bearable with their beauty

Tiffin time for my son

Boiled potatoes cubed and sauteed in ghee with salt and pepper
A spoon of grated cheese sprinkled on the hot potatoes

Quack Quack

For my son's entertainment

Lunch date at Golden Dragon

Farm fresh mangoes

A box of Banganapalli mangoes sent by a farmer
Perks of husband working in Agri sector
Best mangoes I've ever tasted
Sorted into almost ripe, yet to ripen and under-ripe piles

Curry leaf flavoured paneer bhurji in Dosai - Breakfast

The storm outside my window

Starring - The Pot

If you see the picture in the header, you'll know where this pot came from.
Another exhibition gem.
Have cooked thrice in this and food acquires a new dimension of taste
This stew served with red rice tasted fabulous

Minty Raw mangoey Ragda Patties for Dinner

Mini mushroom pizzas for dinner

Ready pizza base, cut into two slices to make it really thin crust
Ready Pizza sauce - Maggi Pizza Mazza
So literally a dinner in minutes

Tea and Sugar

After my househelp cracked the sugar bottle, it was time to replace the pair with these pretty ceramic pots I bought from the Gandhi Shilp Bazaar

Washed and drying in the sun

Syn-ful dessert

The choco-tsunami I had for dessert after a wonderful dinner at Syn @ Taj Deccan

Gandhi Shilp Bazaar

The fountains at the entry

The Exhibition and sale of handicrafts and artistic textiles was organised in the lovely green lawns of the Botanical Gardens in Hyderabad. The stalls were not as many as those seen in some other exhibitions, but it was clearly a case of quality over quantity. The fabrics from various states had around a stall each. My yearning for white Lucknow kurtas to wear in the hot months of the year was fulfilled by this really good Lucknow stall run by husband and wife. I also managed to pick a piece of Banarasi material to stitch a blouse.
The Bandhani (my current love) stall from Gujarat was also one of my favourites - i went looking just like that and the sweet spoken Gujarati lady managed to convince me to buy a saree (!!)
The single Khurja pottery stall spread out on the grass had some lovely designs of mugs, plates, serving plates etc. in vibrant colours.
In short, this was one of the best exhibitions I have attended in recent times - lovely natural green setting, limited stalls, quality products. It's there for another couple of days or so, so do not miss it.

More pictures of the products and stalls here

Gandhi Shilp Bazaar
S.K.V.B.R Botanical Garden
Chirec School Road,
Kothaguda 'X' Road, 
Hyderabad

Entry: Free
Parking: Rs.10

Thrilled

Seeing Atri's fascination for anything in wheels, we decided to buy him a cycle - It was my uncle and aunt's wish that they get him one, when they saw him running after the neighbourhood kids' cycles ;)

This is the one we got him. He refused to get out from this, let alone leave the shop - Now i keep it hidden in some corner of the house as he wants to ride it every waking minute :)

Stepping into the world

May 3rd, 2010 - A day to remember
My baby's first day in a playgroup - first day away from familiar environs
He didn't turn around to look for me
Found joy in riding the wheely horses
In two hours, felt tired and sleepy - started getting worried looking for Mama - when the attendants called for me :)
Still, a brave two hours for him and me :0

Coffee and conversations

@ Mocha  near our place

The first Mocha in Bombay which started at Bandra was one of our regular haunts to catch up with friends - superb ambience, restored flea market furniture, the smell of coffee in the air and the best apple pie ever - kept taking me back to the place...

The one in Hyd was a poor imitation of the original - their Blueberry Brain freezer shake was good though, apple pie that we brought home to eat for dessert was horrible, no sign of apple - just some crumbled mix as the filling inside a hard crust! If you ever visit this Mocha, stay away from this seasonal 'fruit' pie!

Plans washed out

Our plans to visit this exhibition were washed out by the showers - which were otherwise most welcome as they cooled up the city so beautifully!