Oct 31, 2007

Cooking from other blogs for my parents

After spending the most beautiful and fastest month of my life, my parents went back to India. The house suddenly seems very large and everything we do or say reminds us of them. We had loads of fun in this past month. We had candlelit lunches in the afternoon and talked, ate, laughed, roamed, and shopped non-stop.


I started cooking on a regular basis after coming to the US. Before that I did not have the knowledge nor the interest in cooking. After I got comfortable with cooking, I started this blog. But every time I blogged about a delicious dish cooked at home, I repented for not having cooked anything for my parents. I had decided to cook loads of dishes for them during my recent India trip. But then I got engrossed in eating 'maa ke haath ka khana'.


Their trip to US gave me the perfect chance to cook for them on a daily basis. For the first time I was responsible for feeding four hungry adults. I got 2 more guinea pigs in addition to the one I already have. Mom taught me a few dishes I always wanted to learn. My parents got a first-hand experience of my blogging. My dad often complained and teased me while taking snaps. He would say, "Here we are, hungry and staring hopefully at the food. And this girl is busy taking pictures." To top it all, P would bring his tripod, spend the next 5 minutes doing adjustments, and then 15 more minutes taking pictures. My dad's face would be a funny sight. Dad also commented on my cooking style. There are three ways in which I cook from other blogs. The first method is by writing down the entire recipe and remembering the method. I would often get bored of writing and resort to method 2. I do the preliminary preparations such as cutting the vegetables, taking out the masalas, and then make frequent trips from the kitchen to the living room. If P is using the computer, I would often turn it towards me with a swift, sudden, and not-so-humble fashion towards me. The third method is that I would be in the kitchen barking questions while P would sit at the computer and shout instructions. It's a funny sight when he tells me how much masalas to put. He says '1 tsp red chilli', I shout 'Next', he says '1/2 tsp turmeric', I say 'Next'. And finally the dish is ready! Method 3 happens to be my favorite method as it saves my trouble of writing or walking:))


This was the cake I baked for them the day they arrived here. Today also happens to be my dad's birthday. Happy Birthday Baba!



Here are just some of the dishes I cooked for my parents. Sorry, no pictures this time. Many thanks to all my blogger friends for sharing these wonderful recipes and giving me the opportunity to cook for my parents.


Nupur's Kothimbir Wadi, Wangi bhaat, and Lasuni Daal Palak
Manasi's Vegetable Sambhar
Coffee's Samosa
Sia's Coriander chutney
Anupama's Kathi rolls
Priya's Alu palak
Cooker's Cornflakes chivda
Jasmine's Mushroom Capsicum masala

16 comments:

FH said...

I am sure you feel alone in the house now. But that's life, got to move on!:))
Cake looks yum. Hope to see you everywhere now and blog more.Happy Halloween!:))

Manasi said...

Well.. u certainly gave them a lot to remember, looks like they had a wonderful holiday with u!!
I can imagine ur Dad's expression! M used to say.."hmmm, adhi camera la naivedya dakhav, mag mala de.."

Here's wishing ur Dad a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Rajitha said...

swapna..glad you had a great time with ur parents..time does pass away very soon when parents come to visit us....that cake looks like a pro made it...please pass on birthday wishes to your father from my side :)

musical said...

Lovely post, Swapna! Happy B'day to your Baba! That cake must have really thrilled your parents no end! It is such a well done beauty :).

cheers,
musical.

Sia said...

LOL swapna, the 3rd method sounds all too familier to me;) thats what happends at my home also:) glad u could cook for ur parents, i donno when i will get that chance. and glad to know u made coriander chuteny for ur parents. hope they liked it:)

Nupur said...

What a lovely post! I can picture you bustling about getting meals on the table :) Yes, it is surprisingly difficult to make 3 meals every day for a whole household, na?? I learned that this summer too.
Thank you so much for trying some of the recipes that I posted, I am so glad they worked out. Everything you made sounds delicious!

Unknown said...

Lovely cake. I´m sure tat ur parents wuld have enjoyed themselves a lot.

Bindiya said...

Hey Swapna
Cake looks fabulous!

Unknown said...

i know how empty it feels when parents leave...eventually u'll get along with life. loved ur cake. and happy birthday to ur dad.

Anonymous said...

Hahaha..the third method is what happenes at my home too...but the thing is hubby is too slow for me. He says 1 tea spn chana dal and goes to read something else. Even though I keep shouting, it has no effect on him. So by the time he gets to next ingredient, most of the time the stuff gets burnt :(. So I go for your method two (all the while showing him what happens when I get angry ..hehe). But my fav method is, I keep my laptop just beside my stove and start cooking :D (thats ofcourse when he is not around, otherwise he shouts at me).

I think it will take some time for you to get used to living alone again :(. I know how that feels..I still miss my parents....

Very lovely cake dear...

Anonymous said...

Ohh...A very happy birthday to your dad :).

Rina said...

Swapna, the comments that your dad use to make are regular ones form my hubby. Hope you had wonderful time cooking for your parents. There is nothing that can subsitute it. I miss it a lot.

Padmaja said...

hey my wishes to your dad and hey best recipes from the best bloggers!! amazing!!

Tee said...

I generally follow the 2nd and 3rd method too! :) i know how terrible it feels when parents go back...but you have all the good times spent together and good memories :)
The cake is beautiful...happy b'day to your dad!

Swapna said...

Asha: So true..I am adjusting back to the old life..It's good to blog regularly again.
Manasi: Camerala neivedya?:)..That's so funny..Yeah, we had a super time with my parents here.
Rajitha: Thanks dear. I learnt cake decorating from Wilton's. Shall share more pics soon.
Musi: Thanks! Parents loved the cake. Earlier I used to show them photos, but this time they cud also taste the cake:)
Sia: Thanks for the chutney recipe. I hope you get to cook for your parents soon.
Nupur: You bet..it's a daunting task..cooking for 4 people instead of 2. All ur recipes turned out superb..Thanks again!
Pushpa, Bindiya, Swaroopa: Thanks for your lovely comments and wishes.
Shilpa: Your method is appealing, but I don't have a WiFi connection..But be careful, otherwise u will drop the tadka on ur laptop by mistake:))Btw, my hubby's slow too..koi baat nahi..dheera dheere seekh jayenge:)
Rina: I had the best time with my parents and the one month just flew by.
Padmaja: Thanks for the wishes.
Tee: Are there any more good methods?:))Yeah, we all have excellent memories of the past month.

TheCooker said...

How empty the home must seem now :(
I'm so glad you tried and liked the chivda.
How is the Diwali-chi tayari coming along?