Mushroom Barley Soup - NaBloPoMo Finale!

My dinner menu this evening was decided by a fictional detective from the 1930s. I was reading Birds Of A Feather by Jacqueline Winspear- the second book from the Maisie Dobbs series- when I came upon this description of the meal served to Maisie Dobbs at an abbey.

"Upon her return, her shoes clattering on the flagstone floors, a fresh tray awaited her, bearing a hearty bowl of

Write

NaBloPoMo is almost over. The caption in the logo says Type Your Heart Out and on most days, I did.




And what I want to say to you today is just that: write your heart out.

Writing is not just for professional writers. It is not just for bloggers. Not just for students cranking out a term paper.

Writing is incredibly therapeutic. There is tremendous healing power in letting
your emotions

Wordless Wednesday

...OK, not quite. Few-Words Wednesday, perhaps.







Mr. Dale is bouncing back from his bad spell last week. He is eating and drinking, walking around looking as moody and bored as ever and doing typical Dale-like things like begging for his dinner starting at noon (the actual dinnertime is 4 PM). We're so relieved. Now the fact stands that he has this tumor and we don't know what the weeks

St. Louis A to Z

For several years, I had a page (those tabs at the top of the blog) for St. Louis related things, where I kept a list of restaurants that we liked and so on. Now that I've moved away from St. Louis, I decided to replace the page and put all my St. Louis recommendations into this post instead. You know, in case someone is visiting St. Louis one day or moving there and finds some of this useful.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

A few months ago, I made myself an account on Goodreads. I'm finding it an excellent way to keep tabs on the ever-growing list of books I want to read, as well as books I've read and liked. Plus, you can see what your friends are reading and whether they liked the books, and then pile those books on top of you to-read pile as well. I noticed that a couple of my friends had read and given high

After-School Snacks for All

Ruma asked for ideas for make-ahead snacks, saying, "We get
back home at 6 but don't have dinner right away....that leads to major
bad decisions ;) Anything that can be made in a batch, or quickly
conjured up is appreciated."

Er, I might know a little something about those bad decisions. In a typical scenario, we're an hour or two away from dinner when hunger gets the better of me and then

Saturday Snapshot: Another Half-Birthday Cake

My darling baby nephew celebrated his half birthday. My talented sister (who sews colorful bags and accessories under her own label Kala Koyree) was brainstorming simple 6 month birthday cake ideas. I love what she came up with.




She used 7 cupcake molds (5 silicone flower shaped ones and 1 paper cup, actually), to make this friendly little caterpillar who is nestling on a bed of cabbage

On Eating Out

We found a new vet and V took Dale in this afternoon. We were trying to convince ourselves that he's back to his usual self but of course we wanted medical advice. It is not good news. The poor mutt has multiple problems including an abdominal mass and a possible infection. The vet was compassionate and competent and prescribed medication. We're supposed to check in with her again on Monday. For

Happy Thanksgiving

Mr. Dalu had us good and scared for a couple of days. He refused to eat, refused to walk and sat around looking mournful. Then today all of a sudden he's back to his usual self, as if nothing ever happened. I'm feeling exhausted though.

Meanwhile, Thanksgiving Thursday seemed to come out of nowhere. We're going over to a friend's home for a Thanksgiving gathering. I just pulled out two dishes

Chinese Omelet

It has been a long and chaotic day here at the world headquarters of One Hot Stove. We're getting some repairs done and the home is upside down for a few days. And poor Dale is having a bad day with his back legs giving him more trouble than usual. I've been struggling to help him stand up. Clearly, we have to find a vet soon and take him in- and this is a holiday week so almost everyone is on

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted at the blog Book Journey. I've seen Joy (the author of one of my favorite St. Louis blogs) participating in this meme for many months and I decided to jump in myself. In this meme, bloggers are invited to share the books they're currently reading, books they recently finished and what's next on their reading list.

I wrote a post on books

Extra! Extra!

During NaBloPoMo month, I've been responding to requests for posts on specific topics, and Maya requested a post on getting creative with leftovers- and she was talking about leftover food, of course, but also leftover yarn from knitting and crochet projects.

Ideas for leftover food:

I actually had to sit and think about this for a little while, because do you know how we usually handle

Saturday Snapshot: The Woods

I went to undergrad college in Mumbai, in a lovely college in the heart of the city. At the center of the college (and at the center of college life) was a quadrangle with about four and a half trees in it. It was called "The Woods"- only half-jokingly, because in the urban jungle of Mumbai, a rag tag bunch of greenery qualified as the woods.

This picture is from our new backyard- and even

Pumpkin Mac 'n Cheese

Sometimes I find recipe inspiration in unexpected places.

We were visiting daycare centers and playschools last week- Lila will go back to daycare when I'm back at work in a few weeks, and we visited several school to find a place she will love. The schools have all their weekly lunch and snack menus posted prominently on the bulletin board and of course I'm always curious to see what's being

Halfway There

We're at the halfway point of the blogging marathon that is NaBloPoMo, so don't mind if I pause a little to catch my breath.



I'm going to spend some time today responding to your comments on previous posts. I so enjoy it when you take the time to share your thoughts, enlighten me, challenge what I'm saying, make me think some more. Seriously, I love you guys so much. And to keep this

Book Review: Plastic Free

Plastic-Free: How I kicked the plastic habit and how you can too by Beth Terry is one of the books I've been reading this week.




Here are 5 things I love about this book:

1. Beth Terry talks in a friendly and non-judgmental voice, explaining how she went from living a lifestyle of consumption and convenience to completely changing the way she lives, one step at a time. It is a very

Making Time: 3 Questions to Ask Yourself

Since I started this blogging spree, I've been surprised at how many people say something on the lines of "How do you make time for all the things you want to do"? It seems that many of us struggle with how to juggle the demands of our lives. I know I certainly do. 'd love to discuss this over several posts.

The thing about time management is that each person's schedule is so different- it is

Diwali Shining

Holiday season is in full swing and this week brings Diwali, the festival of lights. Even to someone like me who is not religious to say the least, Diwali has a lovely symbolism.

The way Diwali was celebrated in my parents' home growing up was simple and meaningful. There was the making of the faraal, sweets and savories that are typical to this festival. There was the arranging of faraal in

You Win Some; You Lose Some

Even with dishes I've made a hundred times, being in a new kitchen is requiring a certain amount of standardization. I seem to cook on auto-pilot most of the time, so this is taking some effort on my part. After nearly incinerating a few meals on the electric stove (which heats up a lot faster than the gas stove I'm used to), I think I finally have learned the ways of this new (to me) stove.

Dale's Tales

It has been a long day so I'll let the pictures do the talking today...



Good friends and constant companions




Sunbathing in the yard

I Love Lists

I'm sitting here making lists. They're my way of keeping things under control. I have a grocery shopping list, a list for other things we need to buy (new home stuff like a guest bed and a rake), and there's a long to-do list for this weekend. There's something so satisfying about crossing things off a list- you feel so self-satisfied and productive somehow.

I love reading lists too. When I see

A Colorful Game, and Brainstorming Gift Ideas

Another day, another craft project. This is a simple game that I made for a friend's 2 year old. It is a "busy bag"- a game that fits into a small bag, portable and ready to entertain a toddler for 15 minutes while you're out and about.



This popsicle color matching game is inspired by ones I saw here and here.



Making it was SO much fun. From the craft store I bought wide popsicle sticks,

Fast Food for Baby

Swapna requested a post on homemade Indian foods for baby, so here's a quick post listing some of the foods that Lila has enjoyed since she started eating solids. A few are specific to Indian cuisine and others are not. This post comes with a giant disclaimer. I have no expertise in children's nutrition and write this only as a parent with limited experience (sample size = 1). So consider your

What are you reading?

One of the first things I did when I arrived here in our new town was to get myself a public library card. It is a nice library and I particularly like their children's programming. But they don't allow magazines to be checked out- bummer. Flipping through yummy magazines is my favorite way to kill an hour here and there.

Here's what I am reading. I just started Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. It

Taking Stock

Priti asked me how (and how often) I keep track of everything in my pantry. It has been mere days since I moved into this new kitchen so it is a question that's very much on my mind.

Some people are very organized by nature and others struggle with it. Like most people, I'm somewhere in the middle. But I'm always looking to become better organized, especially in the kitchen, because if you

Noodles and Tofu

It's day 4 of NaBloPoMo and I'm putting the food back into the food blog. Jui requested quick and simple weeknight dinners and I think our dinner from last night fits the criteria.




Noodles and tofu are on my dinner menu when I'm craving Asian take-out, which is all too often. This dinner comes together very quickly but you do have 3 pots and pans to use: one to boil the noodles, another to

Playing with Food: Felt Pizza Costume

Suparna requested a tutorial for the pizza costume that Lila wore on Halloween, so here it is!

When I started toying with ideas for a costume for Lila, the requirements were (1) it should be quick and easy to make, using mostly materials that I already have on hand and (2) it should be very easy to put on and not be too cumbersome or she wouldn't want to wear it at all. 

The material I had on

How to Win Friends and Be Influenced by People

Yesterday's post seems to have touched a chord for a reader who commented about how hard it can be to make new friends and form a community. Friendship for us humans is a very powerful and fundamental concept. It is not simply a matter of having someone to hang out with on a Friday night. Close friendships and social interactions are downright essential for health.

Making friends is not a

Starting from Scratch

Lila as a slice of veggie lover's pizza: Halloween 2012

A few weeks ago, I left St. Louis with a heavy heart. We called it home for nearly 6 years (2006-2012) and they were some wonderful years. The funny thing is that I arrived in St. Louis with no intention of liking it at all. I left with a little more humility and a good life lesson in giving everything a chance and not making too many