Cooking escapades

The easiest way to lose weight is to 'throw your weight around' ! I don't seem to be good at it and my perennial battle against weight continues. Ever since my family has relocated back to India, my eating habits have been in a disarray. While I have been regimental about the timing of my meals, the discipline that I had enforced on my dinner has been somewhat slack and my sweet tooth has been working overtime. I have now decided to slowly get back into that discipline again.

One of the things that I have decided to do is cut out all the carbs in the evening, try my hand at cooking thereby reducing my meals outside. I have been browsing numerous food blogs and trying my hand at cooking. While the task of chopping veges seems onerous, once that is done, the rest is not as arduous.

My cooking skills are limited to Jeera Aloo, Anda Burji, Laal Maas, some salads and pastas.Just a couple of days back I tried out this recipe using a Butternut Squash which is easily available in this part of the world. 

Butternut Squash



This is very easy to cook, What I loved about this recipe that I came across  is the mild sweetness of the butternut  juxtaposed with the strong taste of ginger and cumin seeds.

 

If you don't have a butternut, you can use any other equivalent vegetable from the pumpkin family.

- Cut butternut squash into small cubes (approx 2 cups)- Take a pan or wok, pour some 2 tbps of olive oil.
- Once the oil gets heated up add 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds, 1 tsp of finely chopped ginger 
  slivers and 1tbsp of brown sugar.  
- Stir fry for 5 minutes on medium high flame then turn heat to medium and cover the pan.
- Let cook about 15 minutes until tender. Lift cover occasionally to stir.
- Sprinkle some rock salt to taste last (after cooking).

Give it a shot and eat it hot.... 

 

Weekend sojourns

Weekends! Oh la la la, something which every member of the family eagerly looks forward to. Many of us will remember our childhood when weekends meant visiting relatives, our mother's cooking something special for lunch and watching that evening movie on Doordarshan. Life was simpler then and our needs basic and simple, isnt it?.

 

While we continue to eagerly look forward to weekends even today, it now means visiting malls, going out to restaurants, grocery shopping and watching soap operas on TV. TV has remained steadfast in our weekend plans and will continue to rule the roost.

 

Something that I oft dream of is packing a picnic hamper, a camera and just get out of the congestion. To me sitting besides a gurgling brook, a riverside, the sea or even amidst thick green foliage is something irresistable. To be away from the din and noise and being one with nature us helps us recharge our batteries. Doesnt take much to do this but somehow rarely does one do it on weekends. One of the deterrents for us is the time taken to drive out of the larger metropolitan cities itself.Time to break the shackles and just do what your heart yearns...

 

I remember going off on weekend trips with friends to Lonavala/Khandala, Alibaug, Kihim, Harihareshwar and Bordi from Mumbai. We used to board a train or a  State Transport (ST)bus and get back the same night or stay overnight,

 

Some of the places that I have on my mind are Belur, Halebid, Chikmaglur, Gokarna and Madikeri in Karnataka and Nileshwar, Bekal  in Kerala and some of the temples in both states. While these remain as desinations, I would love to stop on the road en route and spend some time off road. Earlier this year, we went to Nileshwar in Kerala. It is a 2-1/2 hour drive from Mangalore. I found a small resort built by 4 French nationals in Nileshwar. The property was on the beach, every room of the villa was facing the sea and one could actually lie down on the bed and watch the sea and hear the sound of waves. There was hardly a soul on the beach and it was sheer bliss. The quality time one gets with the family on such outings is invaluable. Walks on the beach, playing with the kids, clicking sunsets, reading books and off course no televisions.

 

So whichever part of the country one is in, just use the internet, find out a few places closeby and take the family out to be one with nature...