Foodie Troubles, the Meal Plan Edition

So last week was my first ever Meal Plan. Aim was that I have less wastage around in the fridge and use more vegetables/ fruits!

Well, I would say that part was definitely a success. In addition Miss V, my 7 year old absolutely loved it, she was excited about, oh wow, I am getting this tomorrow! She and Little Lady would chat about 'dinner'. It was adorable.

For me, I didn’t spend time thinking what's for dinner tonight in my travel back from work. Since I knew what was 'On Menu' I actually prepped a bit in the morning.

In addition, creating this made ample variety through the week which was a breather and not the 'same old, same old'

Now for the cons, since it was the first time for a 'Weekly Meal Plan', I had 'over-engineered' it! Implying I had over-planned! (Yes there is something like over planning). Here is my 'After' look at the meal plan. I have highlighted the changes made!

I like this concept enough to try continuing this. In addition, we recently bought a Grill, so I think leaving a few summer evenings open for that is- as my 2 year old would put it 'An Excellent Choice'

Here is this week's plan:

She did what??

 Its 5 am, hubby is travelling on a business trip. I hear soft whispers of my 2 year old Little Lady across the hall. I ignore, switch sides and try falling back to sleep. The soft whispers are getting louder and I really don’t want her to wake her older sister up, so I rub my eyes and drag my feet to her room.

Once I enter, my eyes are wide open and I said: "You did what??"

I rub my eyes again and I hoped it was a dream, but alas.

Little Monster Lady managed to remove her pants in the night, opened the diaper and slept. And she is NOT potty trained yet! So at 5 in the morning, her room has a faint strong stink, she is smiling through it and saying: I am wet mummy, change my clothes: And I am still saying: 'You did what'

So the 5 am became, start the laundry, change sheets, clean up the Little Lady, hug and kiss, hoping she sleeps a bit more. Yeah Right!

May be I need to pull in the Potty Training Schedule or May be just put her to sleep in Onesies!

I call up Sumit later to tell him... and I didn't have the heart of saying: 'She did that!'

Less wastage = Less annoying, right?

Food is a very important part of our household. Not just because we all are foodies, but also since partially because I love cooking and partially I love seeing the content faces of the family.

But, sadly for whatever reason, though we cook a lot at home, there are vegetables which get bad in fridge since I didn't get to them. There are fruits which we have to toss out since they have just gone bad. It's annoying. It's a waste of money and definitely food.

We have tried buying lesser, rotating more menu's/recipes, there is slight improvement but we have also come to a place where the menu becomes repeated- since those are the only vegetables left and having 'Cauliflower-Carrots' three times a week is no fun, Sumit will attest. So yes, It’s annoying.

So this week a borrowed idea: Weekly Menu Plan: I am hoping this will help me use the groceries we bought this past weekend more effectively. And of course, putting this together made me re-think a little to ‘mix-it-up’ and offer a bit more variety to our palates. I pack lunch for my older daughter V and Sumit regularly so don’t judge on dinner leftovers as lunch next day!

Here is the weekly menu plan for our household. Needless to say, I will report next week of what really happened!!

A bowl of golden bliss

 I know I should call it Tabbouleh, But I will continue to call it a 'Bowl of Golden Bliss'

Because that's exactly what it was!!

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

Bulgur/Cracked Wheat/ Daliya: 2 cups washed (Readily available in grocery stores)

Very Finely chopped vegetables

1/4 onion

1/2 Bell Pepper

1 celery stick

1/2 cucumber

2-3 leaves of Kale

1/2 bunch Parley

1 tsp Lemon Juice (feel free to include more lemon juice if you like it tangy)

1/4 tomato

Spices: Per Taste

Salt

Paprika

Process:

1. Boil the washed cracked wheat and drain excess water: Takes about 15 minutes,

2. Let it cool and meanwhile chop all the vegetables very finely

3. Add all vegetables, lemon and spices except parsley to the boiled Daliya/ cracked wheat

4. Keep in fridge until ready to eat.

5. Add the finely chopped parsley at time of eating for the freshest taste of the 'Bowl of Golden Bliss'

Testimonials:

1. Supportive husband loved it, gobbled up my share, his share and the extra for later.

2. Miss Chatterbox aka my 7 year old Miss V ate 1 cup and tasted from all other cups that hubby ate

3. Little Lady aka my 2.5 year old Miss S tried a few spoons and seemed interested. She is a sweet tooth, so this was awesome!

4. Me, aah a Golden Bowl of Bliss

India's Daughter

Yes, yet another Media Mention of the infamous documentary  India's Daughter.

When I sit to write about it, there are so many topics that come to mind, Poverty, Lack of education, Gender inequality, political media censorship, patriarchal society, judicial system, women safety and yes, Rape.

So instead of talking about all, I choose none. I will talk about how it all relates to my experiences growing up in a middle class simple Marwari family.

My maternal grandfather was a historian and a freedom fighter. He got married really early and has a family of 6 kids. 4 boys and 2 girls. My mom grew up in a small UP town and he mandated, 'My daughters will study'.  My maternal grandmother, not educated herself supported this and wanted the independent young girls in her family. She supported her older son's wife entire education after marriage. My mom did double MA (Masters of Art's). Much against the society norms in the 1950's 60's.

My maternal grandparents are a typical Marwari couple, conservative and yet very progressive.

My father, is one of 11 siblings, comes from a very simple and modest family of farmers. Having lost his dad at a very young age, he tells me stories of how much resistance he had to fight against him studying. He got support from one of his siblings and completed his education. His is the story of studying under street lights, living in cramped quarters with roommates and being focused on one thing: Education. He saw most women in his small town Rajasthan being house wives, girls being married really early and no support structure for women. But my mother tells me tales of my paternal grandmother, widowed really early brought up the 11 kids independently. This and my father’s education broadened his horizons and his perspective. His one hope for his kids: Education.

My parents form a very progressive couple. Growing up, they had similar rules for my brother and I. We had the same opportunities for education, lifestyle and extravagance. My brother now is an entrepreneur and as for me. I am an Engineer with a Masters in Engineering from one of the top 10 school in US.

But this story is not about my brother or me. 

It's about the foresight of our grandparents and parents. They didn’t follow societal norms. They followed the path of 'What's right'. They had a vision of their own family being educated, being equal and being independent.

I am sure they dreamt of having their kids in the best possible jobs, businesses and with happy families. And that is the best part: They thought of 'Their Kids' Not just sons! Kids.

With kids, funny things happen, ALL THE TIME.

You just have to stop and smell the flowers as they say.

But sometimes things happen that you just laugh your socks off... and this was one of those:
Now I qualify this as 'Kids say the darnest things' though not word was said.

A few weekends ago, one afternoon we were chilling with very dear friends of ours. And they have the most friendly and cute dog.... lets call him 'Roomba'. Why? Since if there is a piece of food on floor he eats it away! I always say, they never need a vacuum.

So, my friend was teaching Miss Chatterbox a few tricks for Roomba, the dog, like Sit, Sleep and then offer a treat.
The story goes like this.

My friend holds out the treat and says.
' Roomba, Sleep, Roomba, put your head down, Roomba stop wagging the tail'
The adorable dog, Roomba is, he does all three and then happily gets his treat.

My chatterbox (7 years old)follows the cue and repeats the same :
' Roomba, Sleep, Roomba, put your head down, Roomba stop wagging the tail'
The adorable dog, Roomba is, he does all three and then happily gets his treat.

Everyone is happy and cheering the dog, Roomba and the girls.

My friend then asks Little Lady (who just turned two), Do you want to try?
And the little lady does the following:
'She Sleeps,She puts her head down, and she stops moving'

So now, the two year old is cutely lying on the floor and we are in splits and laughing hysterically.
Miss Chatterbox goes and says, 'Little Lady deserved a treat!' and feeds her a cheerio

I assure you, this will be a memory etched in all our minds for a long time to come. I swear, I wish we were making a video, it completely would have made it to AFV!

Dosa from Scratch: It's NOT hard at all..

 We are a foodie family. We experiment, we attempt, we fail and we try.

I am one of those who try to cook a fresh meal daily for the kiddos. I say try. The menu needless to say has to be quick and easy to put together. Our week's menu range from Indian Staples: Tortilla/Roti, Vegetables, Curry to Pasta, Quesdilla, Burgers, Panini and snacks... Who says snacks can’t be dinners at times!

In the last 6 months there is one new item: Dosa I have learned that has changed our weekly menu's

Dosa's Or the rice/lentil pancakes or delicious goodnessthat makes us come alive.

My friends MIL gave me a recipe and I have been at it pretty much once every 2-3 weeks

Dosa from scratch!

As you read below, you will think 'My Gosh, it's a 3 day process' yes and no. From the time you soak to you cooking the dosa is 2-3 days. But your involvement is only 20 minutes tops. I guarantee, else I would not be sharing this recipe

Time Breakdown

Soak: 12 hours

Grind: 5 - 10 minutes

Ferment: 24 hours

Prepare the dosa: Depends on your speed!

Ingredients: Makes about 25-30 dosa

2 cup rice

1 cup Udat Daal

1 tsp Methi Dana

1 tsp Chana Daal

Process:

1. Mix and wash all the ingredients and soak overnight

2. Next morning, drain the mixed rice/udat daal and grind them using a heavy duty blender, Example: Blendtec, Ninja Turbo

3. Grinding Notes

1. The grinding takes about 5 - 10 minutes

2. Add less than 1/2 cup water during the process of grinding

3. The batter is a thick white paste, I feel it with my hands, if its grainy, I blend some more.

4. At the time of grinding, feel free to add 1 cup of Poha (washed) for extra crispy dosa's

Ferment:

Pour the batter in a box that seals well and after pouring there is some : My Pyrex works magic!

Size of the box in which you seal the batter should be 2/3 filled since on fermenting the batter rises.

Place the batter in the closed oven (no need to start it)for 24 hours plus to ferment.

Making Dosa:

1. The fermented batter generally rises a little more.

2. Take 1/2 the batter and gradually add water (1 cup) to make the batter liquidy. The batter should be like the pancake batter consistency to make dosa's

3. Add 1 tsp of spoon of salt and roll out the Dosa like Crepe's

The remainder half can be stored in refrigerator upto 5 days. 

To Eat:

I have attempted the following varieties over the past few months:

Sada Dosa,

Cheese Dosa,

Aalloo Masala Dosa,

Paneer Dosa,

Mysore Masala

You have some other variations, please do send my way!

Accompaniments with dosa:

Nariyal Chutney: Recipe coming soon

Green Chutney:

Red Habanero Chutney: Recipe coming soon

Sambhar: I make a 'quick fix' one of these days I will learn the traditional recipe for Sambhar, for now my family is happy with the 'quick fix sambhar’ which tastes really good, if I may add that!