Kale Pesto

Here's a simple but delicious Kale recipe that I tried out this past weekend. Even the kids loved it. Enjoy:)

Yummy Kale Pesto, the kids ate it up:)

• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, pine or roasted almonds (your nut of choice)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 lb kale, without stems (fresh from farmers market:)
• salt
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Prep Time: 10 mins Total Time: 25 mins

Directions:

1. 1 Toast walnuts over high heat until fragrant. Set aside.
2. 2 Bring 2 cups water to boil. Add kale and 1T salt. Cook about 15 minutes, or until tender.
3. 3 Drain kale. Add to food processor with garlic and walnuts.
4. 4 While processing, slowly add olive oil until smoothly pureed.
5. 5 Add Parmesan.
6. 6 Serve with pasta, rice, bean, on toast or over potatoes, or with roasted cauliflower.

Concord Thursday night farmers market

We made it a family night out on a warm Thursday night at the Todos Santos park in downtown Concord. There is live music, fresh farmers market food, and surprisingly, the small town becomes quite a hotspot. It's tough to find a small patch of grass for a picnic. It's nice to just get some fresh air after working in an office all day.  The kids tire themselves out running around which is a great thing on a thursday night.. We had some amazing fish tacos and rayna had her favorite nutella crepes (hence the ball of energy you see in the video). They both ate a whole bunch of fruits, plums especially, since they are in season. I bought a bunch of kale, cauliflower, garlic, eggplant to cook on the weekends. That's the only time I actually do cook because I get home pretty late during the week. Trader Joes frozen food or Asian noodles is the usual dinner for these guys. We all look forward to good food on the weekends.

eating nutella and banana crepes

happy girl-running around in the square

family night in the square

Lodi is the new Napa!

We decided to hit the road on yet another wine tasting adventure, this time only an hour away in the East direction of Lodi.  Why Lodi you say? Why not? It's not pretentious, great Petit Sirah, Zins, Cabs, and the price is so right. There were more than 50 wineries in the region, and some new tasting rooms in the downtown area. Our first stop was at Abundance Winery, and we left with 6 Saugvinon Blanc bottles, all for $5.  You can't get that in Napa, that's for sure. Even the tasting fee was $5, like how it used to be in Napa, instead of $15-$20 these days.  It was a scorching 100 degrees, but then again we were inside in the tasting rooms most of the time.  What they say is right in Lodi, the wine is made with love, very much handcrafted. We will be back for sure.

Lodi Wine cellars

At Abundance Winery

$5 a bottle! usually $15, still a deal for summer wine

Bilal takes half a case, but was ready to get more.

Downtown Lodi tasting room

3 kids on a swing:)

Scorching summer in Lodi, but amazing flowers

Backyard of a winery in Lodi, my backyard dreams

Wine barrel benches 

Inika wants to smell the flowers

Great day Mommy, says Inika

www.tinysips.blogspot.com

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..

Shasta Spring Snow

It was definitely a breath of fresh air to go to Mount Shasta in late May.  The kids had not seen snow before, so it was really quite a treat for them. We rented a cabin at Mount Shasta resort, about 4 hours from Concord, so not a bad drive.  We stopped at the Lake Shasta caverns which was just so awe inspiring.  There was a small ferry that took you across, and then a bus to get to it.  For a minute, I forgot where we were, it seemed like a trip to the Amazon or something with so many tourists. The caves had almost every kind of formation known to the underground world of stalagtites and stalagmites. Inika didn't have any trouble in the dark caves or climbing like 300 steps.  

We went to see snow the next day on Mount Shasta itself.  The kids had the biggest smiles we have ever seen...red cheeks and all. Great trip...definitely memorable.

                                                             Playing in their first snow at Shasta

Lake Shasta Caverns

view of Shasta Lake

Rayna and Bilal at the cabin

me and ballu

view of Mount Shasta

Reservoir in Shasta

Snowball fight, rayna is apparently not winning.

first snow fight

First snowman

at the reservoir, reminds me of my picture with dad and golly at Qutub Minar in Delhi

Rayna found a fishing pole

daddy's sweetheart