While shopping around for my 6mo baby girl, I had an eye opening moment – to see in real – how we pre-define what girls and boys should like …right from size NB. Seemed like all the pretty pink and the flowers were for girls. The smart things were for boys.
I’ve got no name for this dish. But it’s my mum making and its super yum. And best of all, its so easy. What you need: 1 cup julienned carrots 1/2 cup julienned white raddish 2 cup chopped cabbage 1/2 cup chopped onions 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes 1/3 cup chopped coriander 1/3 cup peas 1/2 lemon 1 tblspoon fenugreek seeds 1 tblspoon sesame seeds 1 tblspoon sweet chilli sauce 2 fresh green chillies chilli powder salt Preparation Soak the fenugreek seeds overnight. Dry roast the sesame seeds and grind it on a pestle. Then mix all the ingredients together, squeeze some lemon, salt and chilli powder to get some kick in. Then toss. That’s it! Fresh as spring! This would be perfect to go alongside a bbq or grill.
With the bub in the house, Oscar realises that he is no more the centre of attention. Fortunately, this hasn’t made him angry or aggressive but he definitely feels we are not giving him much time. Call me crazy but I can “see” him show his emotions. Oscar is a very affectionate and loving dog. So if there is a little bit of jealousy about the love for him being shared with someone else, it is very understandable. Playtime and cuddle time has reduced and his access around the house is restricted and this change is not a happy one for him. I try my best to make time for him – and only him – everyday. Hoping this change wont be too long for him. Can’t wait for these two babies to become friends!
Let me get straight to it. I love the Belkin WeMo switch. This little smartie is a wifi enabled switch that allows you to turn on or off electronic devices. And as simple as its description is, so is it’s usage. Plug the switch into the power outlet and connect the device – the tv, the heater, fan & what have you, to the switch. Then install the WeMo app (android or iOS) to control the electronic device using the app over wifi or mobile network. The simplest function available is to turn device ON or OFF but beyond this, it is also possible to create additional rules to turn devices ON or OFF automatically following certain conditions. So you can start getting creative. I’ve found this specially useful to control devices that need running overnight. We’ve used this together with fan, night lamp, light in Oscar’s room, and recently to control the heater & vapourizer for bub. Basically, we have both the heater + vapourizer connected to the same WeMo switch via a multiplug and …
My mum is currently over in Australia living with us for a few months. And while she is having a ball taking care of her first granddaughter, I am trying to take advantage of her presence in my kitchen and take note of any of her Nepalese/Newari cooking. This particular pickle doesnt just burst with flavours, it literally explodes! And a big hit on the table. As with most of the Nepalese recipes on this site, I warn you, its not for the faint hearted as this one is spicy! (My Nepalese brothers and sisters craving for more spice, you are welcome 😀 ) Here we go: Roast & grind the seeds: 1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds 1/2 teaspoon thyme seeds 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds Roast them all and grind them in a pestle Heat 1 tablespoon oil in frying pan. To that, add in 3 cloves of garlic and about a 1cm of garlic sliced, 3 dried chillies broken into small pieces, a pinch of turmeric. Remove from heat, once the garlic is slightly charred. (Keep your exhaust …
Wow, it has been over 3 months since my last post. Time flies – at supersonic speed. Lots has been going on and I just haven’t had a chance to log them all as much as I want to. One of the biggest is that we have a new addition to our world of chaos… a baby girl..wohooo! This new mum and dad are over the moon 😀 She is just a couple of weeks old and as you can imagine our lives currently revolves around poos, wees, nappies and some crazy sleepless nights. Lets just say, the last few days have been “adventurous” and we are learning everyday. We have given her a beautiful Nepalese name, but will refer to this little bundle of joy as AS on this blog. Needless to say, there will be more chaos in the house.
So this is a raddish pickle often found in most Nepalese kitchen. If you cannot stand spice the smell of radish, or have a sensitive stomach, this is definitely not for you. I prepared this pickle following a couple of recipes online (see links below). I will have to admit the output was nothing close to my grandma’s pickle but not bad for a first attempt. And this “not-so-perfect” output has nothing to do with the recipes I followed but it was more because of I believe I didn’t go right with the proportion of ingredients I used. I hope to perfect it in my second attempt but here is how I went anyway: Ingredients: 700gms of radish – peeled and thick julienne cut 3 green chillies – cut lengthwise 2 tablespoons of roasted sesame seeds (I actually used 4 spoons of sesame and that was a bad, bad decision. I know I should have halved this) 1 tablespoon of turmeric powder 2 tablespoon of chilli powder 4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced. And the same amount …
One fine weekend, I noticed a bag of carrots in the fridge – waiting to expire. And then, this mini magic happened – A carrot cake! I followed the recipe from this link on taste.com.au (my bible for all food adventures). The changes I made were adding in extra carrots, cinnamon and walnuts. Instead of 250gm cream cheese, I only used 140gm. It was more than sufficient. Link: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/15406/carrot+cake Super easy for a once-in-a-blue-moon baker. And as you can see, it turned out great! My first “good looking” cake. nom..nom..
To be very honest, the first few months that we had Oscar, we thought this was a bad idea (although I never admitted this out loud), because we just could not train him. He couldn’t understand us and we couldn’t understand him. We just felt like ‘bad parents’ and felt guilty for being frustrated over him & his mini disasters all over the house. But now, nearly 1 year down the track, we are getting so much better. And we are so much more optimistic 🙂 In fact, I feel a sense of pride on getting Oscar to where he is now. I just wanted to share with you a proud moment during his meals. Oscar never jumps up for food. He waits patiently until he is given the “command” to eat. Watch this video. Of course, we don’t “torture” him so much on his every meal as in this video. But he is definitely asked to wait until the food bowl is on the floor. And he waits ever so patiently!
I miss my mom’s home cooked Nepalese food. In several attempts to be like her… I have earned myself the title of a ‘disaster chef’. But I am getting better at this… for real. A typical Nepalese dinner of rice & curry is usually accompanied by ‘Goldbera ko Achaar’ which directly translates as Tomato Pickle. But its not really a pickle since its not fermented. In fact, its more of a salsa since its a fresh mix of tomato with herbs and spices, with a Nepalese twist of course. And this ‘goldbera ko achaar’ is my new found love. I thought I would share this – especially for my sister – and all those that miss the feel of a typical Nepalese dinner. Get your ingredients together: 2 ripe medium sized tomatoes. 1 small/medium old whiting fish (optional). 3 red chillies. 4 cloves of garlic. about 10-15 stalks of coriander (or as you like it). 1/2 a medium sized lemon. Roast them: The tomatoes – Cut up the tomatoes into 5 pieces each and grill them on …
Our Gorgeous Chaos 