Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookies...

One day, we went to a friend's place and she had baked some yummiest chocolate chip cookies ever...
Normally, Aanya don't like nuts in a cookie, but surprisingly she ate them happily without fuss. What's the secret, I asked my friend. Like an experienced Mom, she said she had finely chopped pecans which is hardly recognizable.
And then, back home, Aanya insisted me to bake the same yummy cookies. Though I didn't have the same recipe but I did add nuts to my recipe and it turned out to be equally delicious.

Chocolate Chip Cookies with chopped Nuts.

Here is the recipe for the easiest Chocolate Chip Cookie. No special equipment. No creaming and perfect cookies to do with kids.

Ingredient ( for about 35 cookies)

1/2 cup + 1 tbsp (1 stick + 1tbsp) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 tsp fine salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, or chunks
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour ( Yes, I made with whole wheat flour)

1/2 cup very finely chopped roasted Pecans or walnuts or almonds (I used walnut and almonds)
(almost like a coarse powder)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper 

2. Put the butter in a microwave safe bowl, cover and microwave on medium power until melted. (Alternatively melt in a small saucepan.) Cool slightly. Whisk the sugar, eggs, butter and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth.

3. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in another bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a wooden spoon; take care not to over mix. Stir in the chocolate chips or chunks.

4. Scoop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared pans. Wet hands slightly and roll the dough into balls. Space the cookies about 2-inches apart on the pans. Bake, until golden, but still soft in the center, 12 to 16 minutes, depending on how chewy or crunchy you like your cookies. Transfer hot cookies with a spatula to a rack to cool. Serve.

Story of a Girl's Sense of False Entitlement

One night, a mom after putting her 4 year old daughter, Rosie to bed, went to the bathroom to have a quick shower and change into her night clothes. The moment she came out, she saw her husband and Rosie (holding pillow) asking her if she can sleep with them tonight. And her reply was a big NO. Rosie resisted and cried. Normally it would have melted her heart, but that day it did not. She took Rosie back to her room and kissed her goodnight. And like always, She was declared the bad guy of the house, silently by everyone.

"Rosie said she doesn't like to sleep alone", said her husband." And that's what melted my heart and I brought her to our room".
"She doesn't like Beans either, or Broccoli or even brushing her teeth. Why doesn't your heart melt then?", mom replied. "It's not that, that we don't let her sleep with us at all. Of 7 days a week, she sleeps 2 (weekend) days with us, so I don't see any reason for you to be upset. Yes, if she wasn't sleeping with us at all and I reacted the way I did, then it makes sense to be slight upset. I think we are pretty fair with her."

Her husband found logic in her explanation and understood. She smiled and went to bed, hoping one day Rosie would understand too.

A lot of times we give in too easily. We just give in too easily to all the requests of our children. Can I have this, Mom? Can I have that? The unending requests and "I want it now" may follow you every time after you child reaches that 4-5 years of age. It happens at my household too. And I fail to understand why we melt down so easily to their tears? Why? Partly because I think its Instinctual. We think its their needs that we have to meet. We are their providers after all. And partly because, seeing our kids happy, it makes us good about ourselves.

Unfortunately, if we give in to every little want and need our child expresses, we are really feeding and nurturing a sense of false entitlement. Also, its a good thing too to give in to your child. So where is that fine line? of giving and not giving. I don't want my daughter to grow up with a false sense of entitlement, thinking she is entitled to everything without having to earn them. At 18 I don't want her to expect a car, without performing well at school (just an example)

So how do you challenge that false sense of entitlement in kids?

Art inspried from the artist Pierre Daura...

Every month, The Georgia Museum of Art, hosts a family day, where kids and their parents are guided through an art making activity. Last month we attended one on the Valentine's day and created a collage valentine card (see here) inspired by Italian artist Piero Lerda. This month it was portrait inspired by Spanish artist Pierre Daura.

Our art spree did not end here. It gave me an idea, why not make portrait of all three of us. Just to encourage and motivate Aanya, I volunteered to make her portrait. And she readily agreed to make mine and Puneet's. I drew it on canvas free hand and she painted on her own, with her choice of colors. Ofcourse, I did help her with eyes and nose...

And here's what we created...

I know it appears funny, but come on people, it was our first portrait ever!!

Style Me Pretty Living "Room". A DIY Project

Here I present to you all, another room (one you had seen earlier, Dining Room) of my Imaginarium: 

A Modern Living Room . 

Everyone agrees that the kitchen is the heart of the home, but I tend to believe, its the Living room where the heart is. Its the first room that you or your guests see when you enter the house, its the room where most of the activities happen. And I always hear it saying " Style me Pretty" :)

When I looked at the room while it was still under construction, it appeared a large blank canvas for me. A canvas that was waiting for me to give it some color, some character, some personality.

Since, we already have a Family room for low key activities, I decided to give this room a formal and sophisticated feel, hence Modern setting. Modern style is all about minimalism and neutrality. Clean lines, simple color schemes and angular pieces are standard to modern style. OK, I am not an Interior Designer ( if that's what you are thinking:)) but I do understand the essentials of decoration.

So here's how I went about styling the living room:

1. Chose a neutral color palette and angular furniture: After window shopping for about 2 months, found this amazing sectional at a store in Atlanta.

 

2. Glass coffee table: Glass is a shiny material that remains relatively low-key, which works well in many modern living rooms. Luckily, found this table in the same store.

 3. Spread out a bright red rug: Thought, if I wanted to add a bright burst of color, I must find a bold shade that makes a strong statement. Bought this one from IKEA.

 

4. Constructed bold patterned curtains: While shopping at IKEA, came across this beautiful fabric, that I instantly fell in love with. Honestly, such 'bold pattern' was not in the plan. Infact, patterned curtain was not in the plan. Curtain was supposed to be plain and simple. But as they say, plan often changes...:) Constructed curtains myself, and that's when I felt the room was getting some character.

 

5. Made some statement pieces of artwork: Just to create a focal point in an otherwise a neutral room. In my earlier blog, I mentioned how I ended up making a mosaic artwork. The other, bird painting, I had made a couple of years back. And by chance, it went well with the color scheme.

And now....after putting all these pieces together, here's what I created...

And finally, the before and after picture 

Leather, glass and metal are iconic materials in modern design. So, I tried to incorporate all of these here. The only thing I feel missing, is a statue or sculpture or something more on the fireplace mantle. Still looking for the right one. Let me know your suggestions on this.

Hope you've enjoyed following along as much as I enjoyed decorating it. Thanks!!

The 'Ghee' Story...

Ok, So here I was making Ghee, and I heard a voice "What are you making, Mumma? It smells so bad"....LOL...I suddenly remembered how as a child I used to dislike the smell of Ghee when my mother prepared it. The unpleasant aroma of ghee in the entire house would last many hours. And I would ask my mom to make it only when we were at school. But that's just smell, other than that, I loved to eat it; on rotis, on rice, in dal, in sweets and sometimes would eat one teaspoon just like that. I would even carry ghee to college and add it to my meal, just to make the canteen food interesting. Aah! memories!  It never bothered me how much fattening it was(if it was!). It never bothered me then, it never bothers me now. Ghee is considered as a metaphor of 'mother's love', and my mom made me eat it all the time. She would say "Kids need fat". At that time, I never imagined I would ever make ghee and feed my family, but here I am...feeding the goodness of this magical fat.

It often confuses me when I meet people who are reluctant to add ghee to their diet and comment "Oh, you are thin, you can afford to eat it"... Afford means what? We all can afford to eat good fat. Right?

Honestly, it is one of the most misunderstood food in India today. Yes, anything eaten in large portions is harmful and Ghee is no exception. It is a saturated fat and might lead to obesity. But it is one of those good saturated fat that is absorbed directly into the liver and burnt as energy. It is super high in nutrition.

However, the key is to eat ghee made from grass fed cow’s milk, a pure, organic version that doesn’t include any vegetable fats or preservatives. We do find it in stores, but because I am not sure of its purity, I prefer making it myself from organic unsalted butter (Thankfully, I don't have to churn out the butter from milk, like my mother did back in those days)

A simple Dal Chawal with ghee is the bestest food you can ever have. What say? I am drooling ;-)

Tech or No Tech

Recently a friend posted on her blog that how Technology today has greatly reduced family time. To that I replied, me and my family is technologically backward and we enjoy being in that state. Life is simple. I honestly can't imagine my daughter using an iPad to draw pictures, I would rather give her some crayons and draw some real pictures. I can't imagine her playing video games or games on iPad yet, I would rather play monopoly or chutes and ladders indoor and tag or hide and seek outdoors. But that's purely my perspective and it doesn't make me right or others (who are passionate about technology) wrong. The only thing wrong, I believe, is excessive use of Technology. It in itself is a fantastic tool for any age, provided its used sparingly.

I was having a discussion with another friend who had a very valid point. His cousin, when he was 8-9 years old was given a computer. Having a computer in 80s was a big thing. He used to practice aggressively on it and today he's a real good software engineer. So if today, his son who is 3 would want an iPad, he wouldn't resist buying him one. Computer was yesterday's Technology, iPad is today's Technology.

Fair enough. The only thing that hurts me personally is, Technology today is making kids grow too fast too soon. Its keeping kids busy all the time. OK, you are getting bored, let's watch a movie Or here's the iPad, play some games on it. That's how we parents take it easy.

In one of my previous blog I mentioned how a mother spent some quality time with her daughter that absolutely melted my heart. And in another instance, I watched a mom letting her daughter eat dinner at a restaurant while watching something on a tablet. There wasn't a single bit of interaction between the two. I am not judging her, she surely must be having some reasons, but that's how we take it easy.

Just today, I was talking to my husband and I suggested why not unplug at least once a week. Power down the computer, put away the phone and spend time with paper books, getting reacquainted with an old hobby or our backyard or anything but electronics. Sounds good to me.

And because it's Summer now... I am going to spend most of my time outdoors playing with my daughter and husband. And to you my technology savvy friends, for once get out from your tech shell and have a race with your children, cook dinner with your spouse, watch out for stars and constellation at night, develop a hobby, read books, go biking and more importantly laugh out loud with each other....

True Love...

"Only an act of True Love can thaw a frozen heart"- Frozen

Isn't that a beautiful quote from the movie Frozen? And so much relevant to the present times where there is rage in everyone's heart. Rage for violence against women, rape, murder, war, racism, corporate malignancy or political corruption. You name it and we have a problem there. Its surprising how evil humans are towards each other. Everyone's unhappy. And have you ever thought Why? Why is all this happening?

One day, Aanya asked me " Mumma, who are bad guys? why do people do bad things?" at her tender age, she knows, people are only supposed to do good things. 

I answered, We humans are choice-making creatures. And our choices, our actions are always an attempt to get our needs met. Sometimes we choose to get our needs met in healthy, life-affirming, loving ways that are supportive to our relationships with others. At other times, we choose to get our needs met in ways that are destructive, unhealthy and unloving ways. This is simply the human nature and we should honor it while we seek, for ourselves, to choose well rather than badly. This includes examining our own choices in meeting our needs, actively seeking out those who will cooperate with us to support our mutual needs, and actively avoiding negative strategies. 

While this answer was meant to be for her, I realized it was more for me. The world needs more compassion, sensitivity, intuition, empathy and respect. In short, True Love. The only way the problems of this world are going to change is for all our hearts to thaw with true love. Without it, we're all going nowhere. Really nowhere.

So, start your week with positivity, love and respect for your fellow humans. Have a great week ahead. And remember...

“It is only with true love and compassion that we can begin to mend what is broken in the world. It is these two blessed things that can begin to heal all broken hearts.”
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free  

The Spring Break Project... Part 1

Holidays! Aah! If you ( like me) have a single child, you probably won't be thrilled about the break, esp if you aren't going anywhere out. How you will keep your child busy without loosing your sanctity, would be your main concern. Right?

So this Spring break, I pre-planned few exciting projects for Aanya. One of them being The Creative Coloring House Project. I bought this from Hobby Lobby for $ 10.00 (after discount) and it kept her busy for 4 days.

 Instead of constructing house first and then coloring (as shown in the picture), I asked Aanya to color first. Doing one side of the house every day was fun and brought her closer to the final house construction, which kept the surprise element intact.

 And finally...

 What a beautiful surprise, Mumma. I love it. Thank you for this, said Aanya

Why are we always Shopping?

We are always shopping. We shop and shop and shop and trash things in 6 months or 1 year and shop again...I often wonder, our primary identity has become that of a consumer than of a doctor, scientist, engineer, mother or a teacher. We are just consumers. Consumers who are never satisfied and always on search for something even better. If not, then why would people change their iPhone every year?

Does it make sense at all?

You buy a kindle and before you could enjoy it, you see a commercial about the new kindle fire which is a bright, flashy, touch-screeny masterpiece of awesomeness. It has all the bells and whistles you could ever want in an e-reader. And then you look down to the kindle in your hand. Suddenly its gray screen and plastic buttons seemed dull, archaic. The one thing that you've wanted for so long, turned out to be not so good...

Advertisements...Oh Lord! How much I hate them. As Annie Leonard says "They just make us unhappy with what we have. We are told our hair is wrong, our skin is wrong, our clothes are wrong, our furniture is wrong, our car is wrong, WE are wrong. But it can all be made right if we just go shopping. Shop so that we can say we have the biggest, best and brightest. Because somehow that determines our worth. It makes us look smart, valuable and better than everyone else. Only, in reality, it makes us fools. Because it won’t be long before we’re panicking about having the next best thing. And the cycle continues."

I read a book called "The story of stuff" by Annie Leonard and it was an eye opener for me and answered many questions that I always had in my mind. Why do we shop so much? Why we have too much of stuffs? Why are we never satisfied? What happens to the stuffs we trash?

One thing that I have understood, in order to meet our emotional and social needs through shopping, we are over consuming far more stuffs than our planet can sustain. And all that, to demonstrate our self worth through the stuffs we own?  We seriously need to rethink our ways. We need to focus more on quality of our life, rather than quantity of our stuff.

Learn to Read....

Just last month, we were at Barnes and Nobel browsing books and stuffs. Suddenly I heard a voice...

Mummy, come here.
What is it, Aanya? I said
Come here, I want to show you something.
OK, coming.
Look, I have this book at my school.
Really? OK.
Can I see that book for a second, Mummy?
Sure, here you go.
Come with me Mummy...taking me to the table chair kept there. The next thing that happened simply amazed me.

Mat. Mat sat. Sam.Sam sat. Mat sat. Sam sat. Mat sat on Sam. Sam sat on Mat.....

What? You can read all that? I asked astonishingly.
Yes, I can. I read it at school.
Wow! That's so very nice. I am impressed.
Can you buy this book for me, please?
Ofcourse, I can.

The first thing I did, after returning home, was to order her books from Amazon. She was so excited reading that book to me, all by herself. All this while I had been reading story books to her, she had watched me read all the time. I knew she was reading cards and learning phonics at school, but this came as a big surprise. A good big surprise. The pride in her eyes, the confidence in her words, thrilled me. My 4 yr old had made that giant step into reading. It took me back to my school days and of course, I don't remember when I began reading, but I do remember what my first few self read sentences were. 'Kamla ghar chal. Dheer mut kar.'

This is a set of 12 books and Aanya has been practicing reading everyday now. She loves to read out to me and thanks to these books, we pretend to PLAY school, she being our teacher and we her students :)

Honestly, this post is not about a four year old reading. Its about a mother's excitement of her child's first reading. I am sure most of you who are reading this post look forward to and can relate to this feeling very well. We parents get excited about every small achievement of our children, especially the first ones. Infact, all the first time experiences are worth remembering, whether it's our childrens or our own. We rely so much on memories. Memories of the moments that make us who we are and influence us how we react to the present... first day of school...first act on stage....first ride on a bicycle....first day of college....first paying job....first best friend....first salary....first car.....first home....I have lived all these firsts and I am looking forward to re live those again through Aanya...:)