Amazing way to spruce up hair clips

I have recently joined a site called cut out + keep where you can showcase your crafting projects & see lots of other's projects without actually going on the blogs:)
I just came across this wonderful project where the crafter  has used nail polish to decorate hair clips.I have a toddler at home & naturally a truck load of hair clips.I am going to try this out soon:)
Thought of sharing it with you all.Show me pics if you get around to doing this:)


See Marble Stuff! and 1000's of others - or share your own on Cut Out + Keep

Recipe-Indian Black lentil curry (Maah ki daal)

Did you know that the earliest records of (lacto) vegetarianism come from ancient India in the 6th century BCE.  The diet was closely connected with the idea of nonviolence towards animals (called ahimsa in India) and was promoted by religious groups and philosophers.
20%-42% of the Indian population is vegetarian. Also,  Indians who do eat meat, do so infrequently, with less than 30% consuming it regularly !!!!!!!!!
 So what is the source of proteins for us??????????
Well............here come the lentils to our rescue .We eat at least one type of lentil DAILY............yup each single day.I cant imagine having lunch or dinner without home cooked "Daal".
Today I  share a recipe of a very famous lentil which originates from the state of Punjab in India.............Maah ki Daal,or Daal Makhani which is the black lentil.
This lentil is loved enough to bring a mighty huge Punjabi to his knees for a bite from his mom's hands!!!!!!
Yup.............Maah ki Daal literally means Daal cooked by Mom!!!!!!!

This is the pic of my lunch yesterday.I am going to share recipe for all the things in the pic..............but today only the black lentil curry:)

Tutorial- Toddler sundress with pockets & a giant rose:)

Its Sasha's 3rd birthday this sunday:) My doll is growing up:) I wanted to make something for her & had the common sense to click pics this time:)
So here's how you can make this pretty summery sundress for your lil one & with a little imagination  & calculating skills for yourself too;)

Hey I did not notice the mango there in the pic.That's from my mango tree:)
She is standing under it............sorry,back to the tutorial;)
 You will need 1/2 to 1 yard of fabric depending on size.My daughter is 3 but she is a verrrrrry thin child so I needed  a little under 1/2 yard.
Also contrast bias tape & a little leftover fabric for the rose on the pocket.

Lets start

Tutorial-To make a rosette using fabric scrap & leftover zippers

I have been sewing for quite some time & that naturally results in lots of leftover fabrics .I also add zippers in lots of projects.Many times I need a smaller zip length & so naturally I have to cut it .So the left over zippers are also being collected in my scrap bag:)
I really cant bear to throw away all those pretty fabrics,so I end up making rosettes to tack them on anywhere I need.I just made 1 for my daughters dress & I would like to share it with you all:)

Take a piece of fabric scrap around 33"-35" long & 1"-2" wide.Serge the long sides & sew the ends so there are no loose threads.
Put your machine on the longest stitch setting & run a stitch through the centre or near one edge lengthwise like this.

Recipe-Indian Vegetable pulao (rice with veggies)

Indian lunch & dinners traditionally consist of a lentil,a veggie,curd with chapati or parantha along with rice.This is accompanied with pickles,salads,papads & something sweet too!!!!!!!!
So yes,its quite an elaborate affair.We do not have the concept of frozen meals like west.Everything is freshly prepared .The main reason behind it is that the (IN)famous Indian heat will spoil food if kept for a longer time.Besides we are so used to eating fresh food that most of the Indians wouldn't ever eat food made more than 4-5 hrs back!!!!!!!
So like I told you what all things are made PER meal.................it is also a time consuming affair.
This sunday I was in no mood to spend my sunday morning in the kitchen so I decided to go in for a famous delicacy(read short cut recipe) - Pulao.
Pulao is basically rice cooked with lot of veggies & combine it with curd & pickles & you are ready to go:)
Here is what it looks like.YUM right:)

I am featured on Craftgossip:))))))

YAYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My tutorial on how to make Tote out of a wrap around skirt has been featured on Craftgossip:)
Boy.........am I happy or what:)
Have a look
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-large-tote-bag-from-a-wrap-around-skirt/2010/06/23/

I am also participating in a swap on swap-bot which involves a tote.I am going to make it for her & send it.I will definitely make a tutorial out of it & post it:)
I have also been working on a dress for my daughter...........will post the tutorial tomorrow.
Have loads of projects going through my mind...........hopefully I will complete everything:)

Have to go for a cocktail party now..........so rest tomorrow:)
See you all later:)

Indian recipe-palak paneer (Spinach with cottage cheese)

Hi all:)

I have been out of blogland close to a week thanx to a virus I picked up somewhere:(

Anywayz now I am back. Yay!!!!!!!!!

Today I am going to share an Indian recipe made of spinach & paneer........panner is a form of cheese(cottage cheese).

This dish is one of the really popular recipes in India.The creamy texture of the spinach alongwith fresh cheese is just irresistable:)

So here we go

MUGHLAI PALAK PANEER ( SERVES 4)

Ingredients

 A bunch of spinach ( around 600-700 grams)
200 gms paneer (cottage cheese)
seeds of 1 brown cardamom
2-3 cloves
3-4 pepper corns(black)
3 onions-grind in a mixer
2 tomatoes-grind alongwith onions
1' piece ginger-chopped
1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves
1/4 tsp dried mango powder
3 tbsp fresh cream
2 tbsp oil
salt to taste

Lets roll

1.Boil chopped spinach alongwith ginger for 10 minutes.

2.Heat oil,add seeds of cardamom,cloves & pepper corns.Add ground onion,tomato paste & stir on low flame for 5 minutes.

Thank you Leelou:)

Hi all
My computer is infected with virus!!!!!!!!
So here I am on my husbands laptop.................its so unfamiliar:)
Anywayz today I  want to thank Leelou........................she is an ahmaaaaaaaaaa............................zing blogger.
I recently came across her blog,I had been wanting to change the layout of my blog............I had a wonderful template but it was 2 column...................all serious bloggers know that is a big NO NO:)
So in my quest for a good 3 column FREE template I came across a very beautiful blog................don't remember whose was it!!!!!!!!!!!
I saw it was made my Leelou blog,out of curiosity I visited the blog & boy!!!!!!!!
There was this treasure house of yummy templates..................& all FREEEEEEEEEEEEE !!!!!!!!!!!
I need not put a link to her blog,its there right on top of my blog:)

She just doesn't have templates........she has lovely backgrounds for twitter,blogfrog & icons for fb,twitter,blogfrog,YouTube  which you can add to your blog & link them to all your social networking sites!!!!!!!
She also has free blog designs,blog buttons,desktop themes:)
Did you know that by adding this to your html code you can hide the nav bar?????

Big tote from a Wrap Around Skirt-Tutorial

I was going through a few old pics & came across this one & I realised "Hey............I have never ever seen this skirt .Is this really mine!!!!!

Except for the day this pic was taken I have never even seen it!!!!!!!
So I started the scavenger hunt for this skirt & top.

I finally found it under the pile of my shawls.I must have packed it accidentally while moving to wellington.........no wonder I did not miss it for 3 years!!!!!!!!

Anyways now I no longer fit in the top:(

And somehow wearing a 3 yr old skirt is not very appealing,never mind the fact the I have worn it precisely once.......................but still I didn't want to throw it away either,so I decided to make it into a tote.

I am sure everybody has such old wrap arounds which you have no other use for,so I decided to make a tutorial & share it with you all:)

Honey recipes

Hello all
I have recently signed up on swap-bot.Swap-bot is a service and a community.
It facilitates group snail mail and internet swaps. It is also a community where swappers can connect, share, and have fun. Swap-bot was originally created to be a tool used by blog owners to facilitate mail swaps with their readers. The site has grown from a simple utility to a meeting place where at any given time there are over 500 public swaps being hosted. Swap-bot is completely free for the users.

One of the swaps I participated was in "Honey Recipe Swap".I was assigned 4 partners to whom I had to send atleast 3 recipes whicj use honey & naturally 4 people were supposed to send recipes to me:)
So here I am going to share few of those recipes:)


Spicy Orange Baked Chicken Drumsticks



1 tbsp grated orange rind 15ml

1/2 cup orange juice 125ml

1/3 cup liquid honey 75ml

1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes 2ml

1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper 1ml

8 peices chicken drumsticks (2lb/1kg total)



1.) In large bowl, combine orange rind, juice, honey, hot pepper flakes and salt and pepper.

2.) Place chicken in single layer in shallow casserole dish; pour marinade over top.

3.) Bake in 425 F (220 C) oven, basting atleast twice. Bake until chicken is glossy and golden, and juices run clear when peirced (about 30 minutes).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gluten Free Honey Muffins



2 1/2 cups White (or brown) rice flour 625ml

1 tbsp Gluten-free baking powder** 15ml

1/2 tsp Salt 2ml

1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon 2ml

1/4 tsp Ground nutmeg 1ml

1 cup Milk 250ml

1/3 cup Vanilla yogourt 75ml

1/4 cup Liquid honey 60ml

1/2 cup Butter (or hard margarine), softened 125ml

1/2 cup Granulated sugar 125ml

2 Large eggs



**You can buy gluten-free baking powder or you can make your own.

To make 1tbsp(15ml) gluten free baking powder, combine 2 tsp.(10ml) cream of tartar and 1 tsp. (5ml) baking soda. Use only the amount needed in the recipe. Store remaining amount in airtight container.


1.) Combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in medium bowl. Set aside.

2.) Combine Milk, yogourt and honey in small bowl.

3.) Cream butter and sugar in large bowl. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

4.) Add flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with milk mixture in 2 parts, stirring after each addition until just combined.

5.) Fill 12 greased muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake in 375 F (190 C) oven for 18 - 20 minutes until wooden pick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean.

6.) Let stand in pan for 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool. Makes 12 muffins.

 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Firecracker Shrimp


Ingredients

1/3 cup Bee Maid Honey

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tsp cornstartch

2 tsp grated orange peel

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste

1 tbsp vegetable oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp minced fresh ginger

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 cup snow peas, cut into 1 inch pieces

1-1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined

3 green onions, cut into 1 inch pieces

6 cups cooked white rice, optional


Instructions

In small bowl, whisk together Bee Maid Honey, soy sauce, vinegar, cornstarch, orange peel, and red pepper flakes until thoroughly mixed and cornstarch is dissolved. Set aside. Heat oil in wok or large heavy skillet over medium high heat. Stir in garlic and ginger; stir-fry until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add bell pepper and snow peas; stir-fry 1 minute until crisp-tender. Add shrimp and green onions; stir-fry until shrimp just turns pink, about 1 minute. Stir in reserved soy sauce mixture; cook and stir until sauce boils and thickens. Serve over cooked rice, if desired.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------


Enjoy:)

Recipe - Chicken mushroom casserole

Tonight we have to go to somebody's place for dinner & these nights typically mean heavy Indian food!!!!!

So I decided to make something light & yet filling for lunch.

One of my friends called me up in the morning telling me she had fresh mushrooms & offered to send them over.................since mushrooms go bad pretty fast I knew lunch had to have mushrooms somehow!!!
I decided on chicken & mushroom casserole.This is one of my tested & tried recipes which turn out really great.Here it is:)

Ingredients

1cup boiled & shredded chicken
200 gms mushrooms - chopped
2 onions-chopped
4tbsp dry bread crumbs

white sauce

3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp plain flour
3 cubes(60 gms) cheese-grated
salt,pepper to taste
3 cups milk

How to cook

1.  Melt butter in a heavy bottomed pan.Add onions & cook till transparent.
2. Add mushrooms.Stir for 2 min.
3. Sprinkle flour.Stir continuously for a minute on low heat.Remove from fire.
4. Add the milk,stirring continuously.Return to fire& cook till it coats the back of a spoon.
5. Add salt & pepper to taste.
6. Add chicken & simmer for a minute.
7. Add grated cheese & remove from heat.
8. Transfer to a baking dish & sprinkle bread crumbs.
10. Bake for about 20-30 min in a hot oven till the dish gets brown.


I forgot to add bread crumbs as you can see the pic:)
But it turned out just as yummy:)

The chunks of mushroom & chicken are simply tempting.

Here is Sasha .................she went off to sleep still watching TV on the bean bag:)

Obviously she ate well;)

Tell me if you try this out

BON APPETIT

Tutorial on how to make roomy 3 D pockets

I make loads of purses & one thing that is essential for a purse/bag is pockets!!!!!!!

Everywhere I see the pockets are same.Sew on 3 sides & you are done.You know what,I don't like them!!!!!!!!

The pockets should have room to keep things in it....................so I make 3 D pockets & I am going to share it with you all too:)
I will explain how to make 2 types of pockets.

Tutorial-how to add a magnetic snap to a bag/purse

Hello all

I have grand plans of adding regular tutorials for purses on my blog..............assuming I will be successful;)

I do not want to repeat adding magnetic closures in every tutorial.So I am making a separate tutorial here.........which I can link every time..................ain't I genius:)

 From the fabric cut a strip of 15" by 3.5".Dont worry,this strap will be folded into half so the actual length will be only 7.5".

Now there are 2 ways to make it.............either add batting or fusible interfacing (Do not put it on the fabric directly.........it will tear after some time,if you are using heavy fabric then cut just a small square & fuse it where you intend to put the snap).
Whatever  you choose cut that 14" by 2.5".I have seen tutorials which use same sized interfacing/batting ,but after folding it ,it becomes pretty thick & difficult to sew (I have had a few broken needles too!!!!)
After you cut the interface ,iron it to the wrong side of the strap,fold over the extra fabric on the sides & sew it.

Now a magnetic snap has 4 parts..........1 male part with prongs,1 female part with prongs & 2 washers to go with male & female snaps.

Before you insert the snap mark the centre of the strap first (very important!!!!!).To do this, first fold the strap in half  lengthwise. Mark1 ½” up on the center crease.To figure prong placement, put one of your washers (metal backing pieces) over the center marking you just made, and mark inside the long holes too

This is what it looks like

Fold the fabric so that the prong marks are at the top. Clip through the interfacing(batting)  and fabric on both long marks just enough so your prongs will fit through – don’t clip too far down or your slits will be too long and you will have holes that show next to your snaps.

Insert the male part of the snap through the RIGHT SIDE of the fabric, so the prongs poke out the back of the fabric.

 

Don't mind the uneven sewing on the sides............I am recycling an old patch & this is before I ironed it:)Now back this up with the washer .

Press the prongs down one by one firmly.Now fold over the other side of the flap & top stitch on all 4 sides.This is how the strap will look from both the sides.

Sew this on the purse firmly.Don't forget to back-stitch the edges!!!Use the same method to insert the female side of the snap on the purse.Mark the centre of the purse & using the washer mark the holes.

(Ignore my stubby finger with flaky cuticle........its genetic;)Insert the female part form the RIGHT SIDE of the fabric & secure it with the washer at the back.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO DO THIS BEFORE SEWING THE LINING:)))
This is what you will get.

Now you are ready to rock it with your belongings safe in your purse thanx to your magnetic snap!!!!!
This was my attempt at a tutorial,I have tried to be thorough with lots of pics............but if this confuses you in some way,please ask me,I would love to help you out:)

Travelogue

This is the time of year again when the kids schools are off for the summer break & I am busy planning my holidays.Where should we go this year???????
One thing I would love to do is catch up on the movies .....................there is a good Hindi movie called "Rajneeti" ,but I believe there are a few "MATURE" scenes in it...................my son is in now an impressionable age where he watches "those" interesting scenes google eyed!!!!!!!!
So I am not very keen on this particular movie.
Another movie I am curious about is Sex & the city-2.Though I am not really fond of the series but the glamour quotient is enough to hook you for the 1 hour the show used to air...........but an entire movie about 4 shallow women?????????
That may be too much for me!!!!!!!
I absolutely can not stand Samantha...................how self absorbed can you be??????????
I was reading the reviews & I believe they land up in Abu dhabi?????

Really???????????

Of all the places in the world the conservative Abu dhabi!!!!!!!!!!!

Dubai I can understand........................how are they going to strut their stuff among abaya clad women??????
Even I was scared when I went to Abu dhabi. Now I am an Indian & I am born with the genetic disorder of a misplaced sense of modest dressing as all Indian women ...........so I am ALWAYS dressed conservatively  NO plunging necklines, NO raised hems!!!!!!!

Even I was warned by the guide to dress conservatively while touring Abudhabi.I was really scared lest my tattooed upper arm with an Indian God offend Islamic sensibility!!!!!!

So here I am dressed head to toe in black despite the soaring temperatures in accordance with the local women's black attire (wearing an abaya was not a compulsion like Saudi Arabia.........thank god for small mercies)!!!!!

Now tell me how is the mighty Carrie Bradshaw going to show off her bras falling out of her dresses here????????

Like I said Dubai is alright.............even I wore a swimsuit there.............but I have heard horror tales of women swimming in the Dubai side of ocean & crossing over to the abu dhahi side & being jailed as women are prohibited to swim publicly in Abu dhabi!!!!!!!!

Is that real????????????

Well...............I certainly didn't want to try !!!!

So here I am safe in the waters of Wild Wadi in Dubai

Adi is hanging on to me for his dear life.He has just learnt swimming ,till now he was really scared of water.

And NO..................I am not plain fat as it looks , I am 7 months pregnant!!!!!

What I really enjoyed in Dubai was trying out all the jewellery,now I not big on jewellery probably that's why I enjoyed trying things on without actually coughing up a cent!!!

This enjoyable trip had an ending which caused me a  lot of headache!!

After the holiday we reached the airport to come back home.My husband was flying back to Ivory Coast where he was on  a UN mission & I along with Adi was flying back to India.

We checked in & while my hubby was checking in the luggage I headed towards immigration as we were to take separate flights.Out of nowhere 2 beefy men carrying walky talkies came over & demanded my son's passport & went away with it ???????

Why...................he was just 3.Now I am pretty fair by Indian standard & my son in typical Indian brown complexion.He is his fathers spitting image,looks nothing like me!

See for yourself

So there I was worrying that what if they arrest me as a child trafficker:)))))

It sounds funny now but I was shit scared back then....................fortunately my husband came just to say a final goodbye & found me almost in tears!!!!

Since he was carrying a diplomatic passport,things just smoothed out from there.I was whisked away from there with my son's passport back in my hands.I sighed with relief when I finally reached Bombay airport!!!!!!!!

As much as I enjoyed the holiday I am in no hurry to go back there with all the officious looking important men strutting around in their imported mercs everywhere & all of them  seem to have absolute power to do anything they wish!!!!!!!!

It was then I realised the difference between staying in a democratic country & a dictator run country!!!!!

Um...........I have again digressed from the original topic:)

Well as I said I have been planning a holiday I very keenly watch travel & living.I was watching "Bridget's sexiest beaches"

Frankly her assets hanging out of her bikini top & her botox gone wrong weird wrinkled cheeks are quite a turn off!!!!!

She should have stayed in the playboy mansion  & not messed with a classy channel.

I quite enjoy Samantha  Brown's shows though.She is so much fun with a definitive guide without being overbearing . 

So I am sure I will come up with a plan shortly as to where should we go............

P.S.-did I mention my husbands leave is still not approved???????

So all this planning may not actually come to fruitition but whats the harm in day dreaming;)

2 aprons in 2 days:)

Good morning sunday!!!
I lazed around quiet a bit today morning................taking advantage of the fact that my husband willingly takes on the responsibility of getting the kids ready & making breakfast for them:)
He made french toast which smelled heavenly but I was too sleepy to even try a morsel!!!!!!!!
Anywayz when I finally woke up enough to go to the kitchen I was horrifed at the sight of my once pristine kitchen!!!!!!!!!!
I dont even want to recall how it looked,fortunately my maid was already there cleaning up the mess!!!!!
Thank God for helping hands readily available in India......................I cant ever dream of doing the dirty dishes!!!!!!!!
I know I sound like a spoilt brat but then that IS the fact.........................we are just so used to maids doing everything !!!!!!

In fact there is a common joke about Indian women that they can survive without their husbands but not their maids:)

The importance of a maid in her life surpasses the importance of her man;)
Well.................back to the original topic,I knew the kitchen would be taken care of..............but my hubbys cloths!!!!!!!!!
They were a different issue altogether.................I have been begging him to wear an apron when he cooks(once a week-only breakfast;)
But I think he finds them too feminine....................I have made tons of aprons for friends,myself(I am a very neat cook so I myself never wear the apron)
This is the apron I have made for myself

Few days back I had an order for a half apron for a very young girls for her new job as a waitress.She loves Indian dresses & she wanted a really colourful apron with lots of colours .She saw a top of mine & wanted me to put a pinwheel on the apron as on the top.

Yup ...........that is me:)

She choose this pretty cotton from the pile of fabrics I have.She wanted to have 2 big pockets with a pinwheel on one of the pockets.This is what I made

Making the pinwheel was fun.I made it with orange tulle.I just ran a stitch in the centre of the strip on the longest stitch of the machine & then pulled the thread from both the sides till I got ruffles.Then I simply pinned the ruffle like a pin wheel & then top stitched it!!!!!!

Its really fun to go in circles while sewing it:)

Here's the pinwheel from close up

 

I wanted the apron to be really sturdy so I backed it up with another fabric.She choose orange as the colour which really provided a good contrast!!!!!!

What makes this experience weird for me was that the next day I got another order for an apron ,this time it was a full apron with a hair kerchief.This is not the weird part :).......................she too choose the same fabric but in a different colour!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now I have a HUUUUUUUUGE collection of fabrics,rows upon rows of lovely fabrics & 2 customers from 2 different places choose the very same fabric in 2 days for an apron!!!!!!!!

Anywayz this is the full apron

The apron was to be made in extra large size...............& getting the proportion of the straps & the bust was quite tricky as she was not sure about the width of her shoulders.But fortunately it fit her well!!!

Its really difficult to sew for somebody you have never seen & the other person has never known how to measure herself!!!!!!

She wanted velcro at the back as opposed to the regular tie ups

 

For this apron too I used another fabric as lining to back it up.She wanted a subtle pink.

She wanted me to make a star shaped pocket but then decided against it as the corners may flop down.She finally zeroed in on a heart shaped pocket in a different fabric.It was fun making a heart shaped pocket alongwith a regular pocket.I still have this fabric leftover,I may use it in one of my purses;)

So this is it finally alongwith the kerchief

I love both the aprons,so bright & happy just right to whip up something in the kitchen:)

I may after all design something masculine enough to convince my husband to wear for his weekly experiments & save me the agony of seeing his expensive cloths bear the brunt of his enthusiasm!!!!!

Ruffled skirt for sasha

I am back from shopping wothout buying anything:))))

I am so proud of myself that I didnt succumb to the wiley charms of the beautiful sarees;)

I am going to post about something I made for Sasha a few days back.

As usual majority of my projects are from left over fabrics!!!!!

I had these lovely printed cottons left over from something I had made.

Both the fabrics are wonderful Indian cottons & the speciallity is the self embroidery on them!!!!!!!

Yes..............alongwith the print they have thread embroidery called "Chikan work" on them which happens to be a form of a very beautiful traditional Indian embroidery.

I decided to make a ruffled skirt with the fabric which was just enough for the basic skirt & used the other one to make the ruffles.

I wanted to make one more ruffle...............but I could manage just 2 out of the fabric.To compensate for a third ruffle I made a casing for the waist band & added elastic which added its own ruffle!!!!

I wish I had clicked pics while making this,I could have made a tutorial out of this:(

See the ruffled casing I mentioned????

Here is my princess happy with her new skirt .............off to play:)

This is pretty easy to make but if anybody needs to know how to go about it,I would be happy to help:)

If you make anything after seeing this,please show me the pics too:)

Out to shop!!!!

Hi all:)
Is it a good morning??????????? Not for me,I am not going to whine about lack of views or comments;)
Had a really late night party yesterday & lack of sleep has me real cranky:(
Have promised to go shopping with a bunch of ladies.They are new here & I am the veteran shopper;)
I am really feeling hungover,I dont even drink!!!!!!!!
Oh yeah,I am a traditional Indian good girl;)
Well...................dont have time to cook before I leave so have told the mess ( our brigades mess for officers) to cook lunch!!!!!!!!
Just stopped by to write a quick update....................have to go get ready:)
Will be back with another update maybe tomorrow...............have to go for a social evening tonight,so I may not be able to log in today at all!!!!!!!!!!!!
c u all later:)

Pleated pouch from leftover fabric

I have lots of fabrics leftover from my different sewing projects.The scraps are too small to be used for clothing projects &  too big to be just thrown away!!!!!!!

I have been thinking of making something out of them but was too lazy to draft a pattern,yesterday I just stumbled across this really really easy tutorial for a pleated pouch.

This needs very less fabric.As you can see this needs a band at the top & a pleated pouch attached to that band , the fabric requirement is actually cut down to scraps!!!!!!!!

Sorry for the bad pic.I was too excited to wait to actually iron it & then click the pic:)

I decided to make it from the leftover fabric of the shirred shirt dress I have made.And believe me this was finished in 30 minutes flat!!!!!!!

The tutorial does not use any interfacing but I like my pouches,purses to have a little form ,so I used fusible interfacing for the lining.

I also top stitched the zip after attaching it between inner & outer fabric.These are the only 2 changes I made to the original tutorial,rest all remains the same.

My 3 year old has already claimed it:)

She is using it to store her little dolls from The Shrek collection:)

She wouldnt let me click her pics too!!!!!!!

She knows her pic will go on "Intelnet":)))) She asked me if I was going to give away her purse to a "Cushtemal"...........thats what she calls my etsy "Customers":)

When I convinced her its very much hers,she agreed to give a nice smile for the camera:)

And of course here is the link to this pleated pouch

http://www.skiptomylou.org/2010/04/27/pleated-pouch-tutorial/

kitchen garden & Indian okra recipe

Hi all

Today is a better day,an encouraging comment from  a wise woman,a "fabulous" comment from Jamie of prudent baby & voila!!!!!!!!!!

I am in a better mood already:)

I am not going to write about bags or purses today.I am going to share my other passion with you all - My kitchen garden:)

One of the perks of being married to an Indian Army Officer is that I get to stay in huge houses with even bigger lawns & gardens!!!!!!!

My front lawn has a hammock under a HUUUUUUGE rubber tree & an assortment of seasonal flowers.What I am really proud of is my kitchen garden.
 I have been growing strawberry,capsicum,okra,carrot,spinach,coriander,raddish,tomato,onion,garlic,cucumber,bitter gourd,pumpkin,peas.....................& much more.

Currently I have okra in full swing.Have a look

I really love plucking fresh produce from my garden & then cooking it.Being home grown I know they are totally organic,& are not full of insecticides & pesticides , compromising the quality of food I am serving my family!!!!!!!

And believe me the taste is naturally much much better than veggies stored in the supermarket!!!!

I am going to share one of my favourite recipes of okra,we call it "Bhindi" in hindi.So here is how you can make traditional Indian stuffed bhindi.But before that please admire my bhindi's once more;)

STUFFED BHINDI

This is sufficient for 2-3 people

Ingredients

250 grams bhindi (fresh, medium)
1 tsp. Garlic(paste)
1 tsp. Coriander powder
1 tsp. Mustard Powder
1 tsp. Spice mix for Chaat
½ tsp. Turmeric Powder
1 pinch Asafoetida
½ tsp. Red Chili Powder
2 tbsp lemon juice
Salt to taste
4 tbsps. Mustard Oil (mustard oil brings out the flavour of okra,any other oil will also do!)


Directions



1. Wash, wipe and remove the tops and tips of bhindi.
2. Use a knife to make vertical incisions to stuff masala. Keep aside.
3. Mix all dry masala, chaat masala(1/2 tsp) with little water and stuff into the bhindi with help of a small knife.
4. Pan fry bhindi until crisp in medium high heat; use oil liberally;)
5. Add remaining spice mix and continue frying for another minute.
6. Drain on kitchen paper to remove excess oil (if needed).
7. Decorate bhindi with raw onion rings and coriander leaves, sprinkle chaat masala in serving dish.

And you are done!!!!!! As simple as that.If you make it,please tell me how did you like it:)

I also have capsicum ,green chillies & tomatoes in their last cycle now.

See these gorgeous capsicums:)

There is a lovely Indian dish called "paneer shimla mirch" which uses capsicum alongwith cottage cheese to make a yummmmm dish,Maybe I will add the recipe in some other post:)

 

My tomatoes are almost finished now............when they were in their prime;).............tomatoes are seasonal as all other veggies,I was getting almost a kg of tomatoes daily!!!

Today I am going to make something combining all these lovely veggies from my garden:)

Am planning to plant new seeds today................will post that in another update about my Kitchen Garden:)