My month in pictures: August 2015

August Diary

(Each month I share my special moments from the month gone by. It is a visual diary of sorts one that I hope to look back at years later (Earlier posts : May 2015, June 2015 and July 2015).

Row 1: left to right

• Summer vacations at my mum's mean laid back brunches. 
• Also homemade patra with a glass of shikanjvi.
• The beautiful aroma of ghee being made that fills up both the home and the heart
• Sharing food with family and friends.
• Ordering in desserts in when you are too lazy to even step out.

Row 2: left to right

• This summer Sara enjoyed a lot of street food. Shakarkandi Chaat (Roasted Sweet Potato )with a squeeze of lemon. Golgappe, Tikki and more.
• Gulgule with hari chutney and mooli (Green Chutney with grated radish).
• Barf ka gola (Ice lolly). Kala Khatta being her favourite.
• Because when in Delhi, meetha paan (Indian mouth freshener) is a must.
• Did I mention I love coming back home to gifts that look like this?  

Row 3: left to right

• We took Sara to Chandigarh where I spent my summer vacations with my grand parents. 
• It was wonderful seeing her make memories on the same streets with her grandparents.
• She loved the rock garden.
• And the rose garden where our grandfather would take us every evening.
• No visit to the rose garden would be complete without having a bottle of verka milk.  

Row 4: left to right

• Summers also mean picking up flowers from the road in your night suit.
• They also mean refusing to get down from the swing.
• Putting mehendi on tiny hands.
• Wearing tricoloured bangles to celebrate Independence Day.
• And playing with dolls all day long.

Row 5: left to right

• But all vacations come to an end and we are missing all the colour back in India.
• This summer I read a couple of new books too. The Seven Sisters.
• And the Edible Atlas. 
• Friends got us thoughtful and gorgeous gifts.
• Now we are back home  and missing grandparents "infinity much" but are happy to be in our room and with our friends.

My most favourite part of the year begins now. Festivals, good weather and lots of new work awaits. Hi September! 

Want to see more of August? Let's say hi to each other on instagram.

Images: If you like any of the pictures on the blog and would like to use those please write to me. I put in hours of work behind each post and would love to share it with you but it would hurt me if  use those without my permission.Just ask! 

My month in pictures: July 2015

July Diary:

(Each month I share my special moments from the month gone by. It is a visual diary of sorts one that I hope to look back at years later (Earlier posts : May 2015 and June 2015)).

Row 1: left to right

• We have spending the summers with my parents and I have been enjoying waking up to the sound of the "sabzi wala"
• We have been eating these malai kulfis like the world will run out of them tommorow
• It is lovely to catch up with family and friends over glorious food.
• Streetside vendors selling coconut water, corn on the cob, star fruits have been seeing a a lot of me.
• I am coming back with lots of pretty china and food props.

Row 2: left to right

• Before we left Sara painted canvasses for everyone for gifts. This one is my favourite.
• She has been producing a lots of plays and movies.
• We came across these mythological books for children and loved them.
• She has been trying her hand at water colour this summer.
• And has been playing non stop with her grandparents.

Row 3: left to right

• We went for a short vacation to Hong Kong to meet the princesses.
• While there this little girl loved the rains and the greens, the princesses and the museums.
• Her mum loved the colour and the people, the history and the science and the art.
• Also the skyscrapers and the sea, the greenery and the streets.
• I went berserk clicking in pretty benches, lampposts, fans and more at Disneyland.

Row 4: left to right

• We loved the street food.
• The dimsums and the broths.
• Goose, Duck and the Squab.
• The pastries and the tarts.
• Hundreds of unique flavours of icecream.

Row 5: left to right

• These holidays we played with food. We made dinner napkins for the grandparents.
• Eid gifts tags for her friends with lentils.
• Word art for her room with salt
• Wrapping paper with spices.
• Last but not the least, I am ever SO grateful to each one of you who has given me so much love on instagram. 34000 hugs coming your way.

August, be colourful and be spicy. Want to see more of July? Let's say hi to each other on instagram.

Images: If you like any of the pictures on the blog and would like to use those please write to me. I put in hours of work behind each post and would love to share it with you but it would hurt me if  use those without my permission.Just ask! 

My month in pictures: June 2015

June Diary.

(If you are new here: I started this new series last month after seeing Sally's post on instagram where she shared her special moments from the month gone by. Taking it one step ahead I put together the same on the blog with little notes for each picture (Read: My month in pictures : May 2015) and I am back now with my June Diary).

Row 1: left to right

• Sara learnt to understand and appreciate Ramadan.
• We discussed ten ways to raise future world class travellers and how to celebrate culture and countries through cuisines.
• We met Ishita and the Z sisters in our Kids in the Kitchen series.
• At the Young Chef Club we visited China and tried our hand at making spring rolls and dumplings.
• In other news, it is really hot here and we have been living on frozen fruit yoghurt.

Row 2: left to right

• My princess obsessed chefling enjoyed a morning with the princes and princesses at the Disney on Ice show.
• She had to obviously dress up as one too.
• She has been wanting to start a lemonade stand (Told you it has been HOT!)
• Her Aunty Karen got her these push pop kits and we finally tried our hand at it.
• I came across this adorable palette to measure spaghetti serving sizes and had to bring it home.

Row 3: left to right

• Eating fruits in a cone is what we like to do in summers.
• Icecream in cones too. So we set up an icecream bar.
• Sara had a princess playdate for her friends and made cupcakes for her friends.
• Summers mean visiting friends and family and she has been painting canvasses to gift them.
• Coming back to the princess party, we made some tiara, glass slipper and castle pizzas too.

Row 4: left to right

• Summer vacations also mean decluttering and donating. 
• We have been reading this really witty, whimsical and artistic book called You are what you eat.
• Also reading this one and deciding which person would you choose to look like.
• We have been reading about dimsums, lucky oranges and oolong tea too.
• The husband and I are on a mission. Knocking off dish by dish.

Row 5: left to right

• Summers also mean quick and light meals. We have been eating Jool Oliver's crunchy fish with greens.
• Jamie Oliver's quick chicken kebabs with a mint and yoghurt dip.
• A couscous fish stew with a generous squeeze of lemon
• Chicken Ciabattas for I was too lazy to cook
• Egg and harissa painted aubergine pita wraps with a beetroot and carrot salad

July we can't wait for you to begin! Summer Vacations here we come.

Want to see more of June? Let's say hi to each other on instagram.

Images: If you like any of the pictures on the blog and would like to use those please write to me. I put in hours of work behind each post and would love to share it with you but it would hurt me if  use those without my permission.Just ask! 

My month in pictures: May 2015

This morning I came across Sally's month in pictures on instagram and I loved how she shared her little and big moments from May. A visual diary of sorts; just makes so much sense, doesn't it? Thank you Sally!

Taking it one step ahead I thought it would be nice to share the same here on the blog each month. I promise to try!

Looking back at May:

Row 1 :From left to right:

• I have to begin with the Food Revolution Day which we celebrated this entire month. So many happy faces. 
• So much energy. 
• I made memories to last me a lifetime. Read the full post here.
• Thank you everyone for supporting and being there. 
• Towards the end of the month Radio Mirchi invited me to talk about my work. Thank you, it was a lot of fun.

Row 2 :From left to right:

• This month Sara and I played with food. We played with salt and food colour.
• We played with lentils.
• We also played with vegetables.
• And we played with spices. We promise to share our little creations with you here pretty soon.
• We also made some triple chocolate chip cookies!

Row 3 :From left to right:

• I had zillions of cups of coffee to help me stay awake this crazy month.
• We tried the burgers at Moylos and loved it. 
• I was invited to the Seven Sands and loved the interiors as much as the food.
• Instagram shared my work with all of their followers and I am still pinching myself.
• I had the pleasure of meeting Dianne Jacob once again. Thank you for your advice, Dianne.

Row 4 :From left to right:

• Sara made a menu for her fairies. 
• We learnt about the edibles parts of plants.
• I came across some of my old artwork (we are talking 15 years!) and pledged to get back to sketching.
• Sara made us super proud at her violin concert.
• I decided to go back to some of favourite food memoirs; revisiting The Settler's Cookbook by Yasmin AliBhai Brown.

Row 5 :From left to right:

• Sometimes I share with Sara some of the images I really like on Instagram. symmetrybreakfast and wkass are her favorite. She made us her version of symmetry breakfast and it made me grin.
• Summer Vacations are almost a month away but that isn't stopping her from making presents for her grandparents. She painted this for them.
• She has been bookmarking recipes from her Pink Princess Cookbook.
• She made me this and left it on my bedside table. 
• The Monster Diner is making her laugh these days.

Goodbye May. Hello June.

Want to see more of May? Come and say hi to me on instagram.

Images: If you like any of the pictures on the blog and would like to use those please write to me. I put in hours of work behind each post and would love to share it with you but it would hurt me if  use those without my permission.Just ask!