Anamika... Birds

An old post about birds in my garden. I wanted to identify them before posting, but I never got around to it. I guess I will enjoy the pictures without the names. Anyone know what these are called?

Holi Kab Hai?

I like the thought of Holi - It's a festival where you cant help smiling. Hard not to feel "springy" when covered by colors. 

Spring is here... and after an year of hiatus, the gardening bug has bitten again. Loved the planting, weeding, waiting for me seedlings. Feeling good about the garden. The kids are excited! So am I. Now how do I get rid of Aphids on my mint. The aphid farm is complete - In fact I noticed the ants before the aphids. Will pulling all the mint out work? Or will it spread out to others, like the Oregano next to it? 

Lauki Chana Dal

Lauki Chana dal
(Squash with lentils)


Ingredients:
Lauki (Calabash/Ops squash)
Chana dal (Black chickpeas without the seed coat) - soaked 2 hours
1 medium onion
1 tomato
Ginger 1 inch
2 Chillies(Optional - to taste)
1 Tbsp oil
Heeng
Zeera(Cumin)
Haldi(Turmeric)
Garam Masala


Lauki Chana Dal is a common dish/sabzi in our home. Lauki is beneficial, dal is nutritious, whats not to like? DH would prefer I made it spicier though, but kids wont eat it then. Well, I cant please everyone, so he has to make do with chillies on the side. 


The recipe is so simple. I started the tadka/chaunk in the pressure cooker itself. Heat the oil in the cooker and add the heeng. Wait till the aroma of heeng fills your kitchen(few seconds) and add cumin seeds. When they are done splattering, add the chopped onions. Let it brown a bit, then grate the ginger over the onions. (Or you could nicely grate it in a bowl and then add to the onions). Add the haldi, Garam Masala, and the chopped tomato. Mix. Add the dal and lauki. And then the salt. I like to chop my lauki small, though not superfine. My kids can be picky about big lauki pieces, even though it is pretty soft when cooked. 


Add some water at this point and close the cooker. 3 whistles and it is done. Garnish with Dhaniya(Cliantro/Coriander) leaves. If you want a little more richness, add a tadka after the cooker opens. 
Heat oil in a small vessel, add some Zeera(cumin) seeds, some dhaniya(Coriander powder) and a little red chilli. Be careful, this can burn fast. Pour over the Lauki Chana Dal and serve. 

Lauki Chana Dal

Lauki-chana is not usually served at special occasions. It is more of an everyday dish - the kind you grow up and remember as the common home food of your childhood. I love the simple and hearty taste of this dish. 

Shubh Janmashtami

Happy Janmashtami!
My fruit and mexican papaya salad for the vrat dinner. 

White peach and Mexican papaya

Fresh papaya-peach salad

We had kutu/aloo pooris with raita for lunch, but I had no time to take pictures... next time maybe. 

Yosemite trip: Tuolumne and Tioga

Yosemite June 2011 part 2: Continued from last post

It was nice to wake up in the tent, the sun streaming through the “windows”.  We had breakfast, packed up and left for Tioga pass. The traffic is bad only in the valley it seems. On a regular weekend that is, long weekends are another story.

South fork of Merced. Is mod se jaate hain... 

Driving eastwards on Tioga road, it was so nice to see snow in June. The kids especially loved it. 

Tioga Road. You can see the snow all over the sides

We stopped at Olmstead point, Lake Tenaya, Tuolumne Meadows. 

Tree at Olmstead Point

Half Dome from Olmstead Point

Snow all around

Lake Tenaya Panorama that DH took- Click for larger one

And finally Lake Ellery near Lee Vining. There was so much snow on and around the Lake. The air was chilly and it was very windy. I could have stayed there an hour just sitting at the lake side – the view was breathtaking. 

Lake Ellery

 We turned around at Lake Ellery and started the long journey back home. We were at Lake Ellery last year as well, at about the same time. We were returning from Tahoe and decided to try the eastern route into Yosemite for the first time. The scenery was very different from and as beautiful as the western entry – and much less traffic! Mono Lake and Lee Vining were amazing. This is why DH really wanted to see Lake Ellery again, even at the cost of not having enough time to stop there much. He did all the driving, and we were home by 8PM. Wonderful two days!

Next trip, it will be Hetch Hetchy. Whenever we can muster enough courage for another road trip, hopefully this summer. 

Yosemite Valley & the falls - Bridalveil, Yosemite, Vernal

We were in Yosemite in mid-June. How come? DH woke me up at 7:00AM saying he got a campsite at Yosemite, are we game for camping tonight? Huh.. I mumbled something and tried to to go back to sleep. Didn't work. While I prefer planned trips, he likes impromptu ones better. 


We are there few times every year, and everytime it amazes me. This year the snow pack was much higher and the waterfalls are spectacular. It was still snowing on Memorial day weekend! If you are planning on going, this is the best time. This was the first tent camping trip for the kids and luckily everything went well. No one said "I want to go home" when it was time to sleep in the tent. :-)


Day 1: We left home at 10:00AM, and reached the campground around 2:30PM. Pitched the tent and left for the valley. Even though this was not a long weekend, traffic was biggest pain. On the plus side, the kids had their dinner in their car seats, I didn't have to yell or chase them. Yes, when it comes to eating we are that kind of a family. 

Bikers next to the south fork of Merced River, note the waterfall in the background

We did the usual route... stopped at Bridalveil falls, got drenched. 

Bridalveil Falls

Bridalveil Falls up close - at this point we are soaked through

Bridge near Bridalveil falls - this stream was roaring

Then the Yosemite falls. 

Yosemite Falls from the meadows

Top of Yosemite Falls

Finally Vernal Falls. Before we had kids, we would hike to the top of Vernal falls every year, though we never made it to Nevada falls. Then the last 5 years we didn't see Vernal falls(except from Glacier Point) because the kids were little. This time we decided to try the Vernal Falls footbridge. This is a 1.6 miles round trip which is about halfway from the top of Vernal with a great view of the falls. With two boys 2.5 and 4.5 years old and an umbrella stroller, we set off from Happy Isles. The way up was no picnic, but wasn't too bad either. We were prepared to turn back if it got too hard or risky. And my younger one didn't even want to ride the stroller most of the time. Half the people on the way up were had smiles for us and "you are doing great"s ... The other half gave me the look like "what are you thinking - doing this with little kids!". It felt so good to reach the footbridge and see the Vernal Falls properly. Aaaahhh victory! 

Perched on a tree, enjoying the falls

Millepede? On the Mist Trail

Came back down, kids had dinner while stuck in the traffic in the valley. DH insisted on cooking back at the campground. Quick dinner and then the cozy tent. We were all off to sleep in no time. Unlike last year when younger DS refused to sleep in the cabin at Curry Village. What a day!

Merced River in the evening

P.S.: I didnt have much time for night photography. This one is taken from the car at a traffic stop. The foreground is over exposed, it looks like it were on fire. Hope I have better luck(and more time) when we do this next. 


Next post: Tuolumne and Tioga pass

Planting in pots

When I lived in an apartment, I used to dream of the day I would live in a house with a yard, however small. So I could put my plants in actual soil rather than lots of little pots. This is something I have heard of from a lot of people. The strange thing is, that now I have a yard and I prefer to grow in pots!

Somehow my results in pots are looking healthier. I have more control over it, from watering to moving the plant in and out of the heat. The beds and borders in the yard, even after tilling, digging and amending the soil are not doing that well. They need more water and are more affected by heat and cold. Why is that? I think I need a lot more mulch. I dont feel like setting up drip lines yet. 

And then there is this lady, who never waters her plants! They just grow from ground water. I don't think I can stop watering altogether, but I would like to water them less.