happy 8th anniversary

Brussels, Belgium 2001

London, 2001

Marry me..September 2002, Mexico City

I will:)...Mexico city 2002

Engaged, Mexico city 2002

June 22, 2003- our wedding

Macchu Picchu, 2004

milin and julie's wedding 2005

Goa, 2006

Bruno and Kavita's wedding 2006, pregnant with Rayna

with our little baby rayna, 2006

Hong Kong with Rayna, Dec 2007

pregnant with inika..2008

with our little angel Inika and our family, January 2009

happy anniversary-only 8 years 



Here are some fun facts that I discovered about summer solstice, and our wedding day. It happens to be the perfect time for a wedding..even the hindu astrologers couldn't have agreed more.  Significance of the summer solstice:"Solstice" is derived from two Latin words: "sol" meaning sun, and "sistere," to cause to stand still. This is because, as the summer solstice approaches, the noonday sun rises higher and higher in the sky on each successive day. On the day of the solstice, it rises an imperceptible amount, compared to the day before. In this sense, it "stands still." The first (or only) full moon in June is called the Honey Moon. Tradition holds that this is the best time to harvest honey from the bee hives.  This time of year, between the planting and harvesting of the crops, was the traditional month for weddings. This is because many ancient peoples believed that the "grand [sexual] union" of the Goddess and God occurred in early May at Beltaine. Since it was unlucky to compete with the deities, many couples delayed their weddings until June. June remains a favorite month for marriage today. In some traditions, "newly wed couples were fed dishes and beverages that featured honey for the first month of their married life to encourage love and fertility. The surviving vestige of this tradition lives on in the name given to the holiday immediately after the ceremony: The Honeymoon."
Ancient China: Their summer solstice ceremony celebrated the earth, the feminine, and the yin forces. It complemented the winter solstice which celebrated the heavens, masculinity and yang forces.Ancient Germanic, Slav and Celtic tribes in Europe: Ancient Pagans celebrated Midsummer with bonfires. "It was the night of fire festivals and of love magic, of love oracles and divination. It had to do with lovers and predictions, when pairs of lovers would jump through the luck-bringing flames..." It was believed that the crops would grow as high as the couples were able to jump. Through the fire's power, "...maidens would find out about their future husband, and spirits and demons were banished." Another function of bonfires was to generate sympathetic magic: giving a boost to the sun's energy so that it would remain potent throughout the rest of the growing season and guarantee a plentiful harvest. 

party on always!  2002

fathers day 2011

We had a family outing at Walnut creek farmers market on Fathers day last Sunday. A great way to spend the day with the kids and see Baba in action at the market talking vendors about www.homecook.me.

I was going to make a steak dinner from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc cookbook, and we actually found steak at the farmers' market. We bought some fresh basil, cilantro, marble potatoes, rosemary along with cherries, strawberries and blackberries.  Rayna keeps yelling "sample, sample"..and stops at all the vendors to get some. We stopped by a gourmet ice-pop stall and also because it was 90 degrees outside.  The lady only had "spicy pineapple" and "lemon-basil".  I figured it was healthy, so I got it for them.  Rayna couldn't believe ice cream could be spicy, she screamed and wanted me to toss it.  Inika didn't quite like the taste of lemon-basil, but she had some of it..before Bilal finished it.  

Time to cook.  The dinner turned out great with steak and marble potatoes.  The best was Bilal's pomegranate (fresh from the market), basil martini that totally hit the spot. "Bilalini" We love you baba:)

Happy Father's day Bilal..