In between jobs, Terrific Tuesday

Ever wondered what to do with kids for 1 hr, play scrabble. I had not played it in over 20 years, and finally this morning spent sometime to play with Nishka. This helped her brush up on a lot of words she already knew but now she can spell them and never forget them. Playing and learning is so much fun. Nishka made a funny comment while we played "Oopss I see something that should not be done, the game is only for 8+ years".

I did walk her to school again today, and we enjoyed talking about random things on the way. Talking to kids helps them with exploring and is a great way to fuel imaginations.

All mommies need a break, so I wanted to treat myself with lunch that I had been planning for a while.

I love soups, all kinds and every kind. Finally in over 2 years since the time I came to know about this spot, wanted to try their Pho. How can it not taste great with 1700+ review in Yelp. At 11:45's this place is super crowded, but we still managed to find a place by the window and gulped it all. Warnings "no drooling please".

I finished my lunch with a trip to orange tree frozen yogurt, tell me who does not love dessert. I got lychee, pineapple and vanilla frozen yogurt with green apple boba, gummy bears, mochi and chocolate coated raisins, delish.

I shopped for a pair of running shoe as  was as the Mall for the dessert, and I think I deserve it for all the runs I do. It was cool and beautiful outside so I decided to run as the sun went down. I missed the sun set as I ran up the hill, but the after sunset color I the sky just gave me hopes for an even better tomorrow. Stay tuned for a Wacky Wednesday.

In between jobs, Mission-Magical Monday

An idle mind is a devils workshop, and I did not want that to happen when I had some time in between jobs. Taking 1 day at a time is all the plan I had. However the thought of doing something that I had not had time to do was top priority for me.

Dropping Nishka to school on the first day of kindergarten was fun. The excitement she had then still prevails and I got to see and enjoy that when walking her to school today. She had more friends than before and feels more confident.

I rode my bike after a long time. With the onset of winter, even though we are in California, it is near to impossible to bike in shorter days. Biking along trails with lust green backdrop was amazing. The yellow mustard flowers are such a sight to see, however do watch for "No trespassing signs" in case you would like to take pictures. The flowers remind me of the epic scene of bollywood movie "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge".  

Enjoying the 75F warm sun was another thing I wanted to do. With nothing in my mind, soaking up the sun and drinking my "pineapple mint aloe slush" was a perfect afternoon.

The day ended with a perfect home-made dinner with my family by my side. The Avocado-pasta is inspired from a really good friend, and tasted great, recipe coming soon. Stay tuned for a Terrific Tuesday update.

Postpartum recovery - sutkeri ausadhi ( सुत्केरी औसधी )

Recovery from delivery is an intense process. Our body needs to heal and build up on its own, so a little self care and pampering is a must. One of the must do's that have been in practice among all Nepali is eating sutkeri ausadhi ( सुत्केरी औसधी ). This is made after the 11th day of child birth, so that the body can recovery from all the post delivery effects. Here is my mom's recepie of making about 6 pounds of sutkeri ausadhi ( सुत्केरी औसधी ).

Ingredients (Quantity - All of them are as per your taste, so you can increase/decrease them)
battissa (बत्तिस्सा) (8 oz) - this is the only ingredient that is available in Nepal, and can be bought at Ason.
Ghee or clarified butter (1.5 lb)- lots of it, but you can always have your own portion.
Almond (5 oz)
Cashew (5 oz)
Walnut (5 oz)
Dates (5 oz)
Rasin (5 oz)
Coconut powder (5 oz)
Khoa (15 oz) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khoa (available at Indian stores)
Gond or edible gum resin (available at Indian stores) (9 oz)
Brown Sugar (7 oz)
Milk (1/2 gallon)
green cardamom (50 counts)

How to cook.
1. Grate Khoa
2. Chop Rasin and Dates
3. Grind almond, cashew and walnut into powder like consistency
4. Heat ghee, fry gond till cracker like consistency, don't let it burn (brown/black color), keep aside
5. fry coconut powder in ghee, put aside
6. fry  almond, cashew and walnut powder in ghee, put aside
7. fry Rasin and Dates in ghee put aside
8. In lots of ghee, cook the battissa (बत्तिस्सा), the
powder should be soaked in ghee when cooking. Put aside.
9. In a big pan (we need a deep and big pan, as we will have to mix all the ingredients and cook).
10. In the big pan, add milk and bring to boil, add battissa (बत्तिस्सा), and cook till thick consistency.
11. Add all the other ingredients except gond. Cook till everything mixes well and the consistency is thick.
12. Add gond and mix well.

You can store this in the refrigerator for almost a month. Eat this once or twice a day (2 table spoon at a time) with milk to recover postpartum, in our own Nepali style.

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