tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4376416127063207682024-02-11T03:32:47.251-06:00Desi Soccer MomDesisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.comBlogger175125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437641612706320768.post-36935868752211574112013-12-09T15:39:00.001-06:002013-12-09T15:39:46.892-06:00The FOB
“Can I have the free swim shedule?” I asked the teenager
manning the desk at the pool.
“A what…?” he asked, his eyebrows raised in mock confusion.
I could hear the stifling of giggles from the assorted teens gathered behind
him.
I tried my best to ignore the sniggers and braved on. “A
shedule of the free swim? You know the timetable for days when the pool is open
for us to come and Desisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437641612706320768.post-80178741928031071842013-03-15T00:11:00.000-05:002013-03-15T00:11:07.809-05:00I sugared the salt...
... and then I salted the tea. True
story!
My aaji's gift of love
I was making dal for the kid and
realized I was running low on salt. Like any normal person I have five
different kinds of salts in my pantry but I use a mix of kosher and iodized
table salt for day to day cooking. I replenished the salt in the container and
went about my business. Read: unloaded the dishwasher, Desisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437641612706320768.post-62484288841678884852013-03-11T17:19:00.000-05:002013-03-15T00:39:31.244-05:00They all cooked in their Indian pressure cooker and it didn’t blow up their face!
I asked and you delivered. You are the best bunch that a
blogger could ask to support an event to refute an opinion stated as a fact by
a slow cooker cookbook author (now say that fast!). You cooked in your Indian
pressure cookers, clicked pictures of them and narrated stories and adventures
you have had with them. Thank you for validating and proving that Indian
pressure cookers are indeed safeDesisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437641612706320768.post-85952713985828090042013-02-24T23:38:00.002-06:002013-02-24T23:38:59.546-06:00Officially a desisoccermom again and some accidental chole aloo
If you are wondering what the title means, read on. It will all be explained in the 900+ words
that will follow this paragraph. If you are wondering how the accidental chole
aloo are related to me being a desisoccermom, that too will be explained
eventually with a recipe at the end of the post. You just have to bear through
the 900+ words to get the picture.
You see, when I started this Desisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437641612706320768.post-17759496047684707002013-02-15T10:43:00.000-06:002013-02-18T23:28:05.087-06:00An escaped fugitive, garage door malfunction and deadline extension
Yes, you read it right. This is what our week has been like
so far. On Tuesday, a prisoner transfer went horribly wrong when the convict escaped from the parking lot of a
Walmart about 30 miles from where we live. The police advised caution; the
husband advised locked car doors and my yoga studio started locking the lobby
door while we sweated in 105 degree heat and humidity inside. All Desisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437641612706320768.post-20920351140529445172013-02-05T14:08:00.001-06:002013-02-05T14:08:59.323-06:00Racing paper boats
Last week was one of the erratic weather weeks we Texans
have become used to. For those of us who grew up in a clearly demarcated
climate season, it can take some getting used to pleasant 70 degree weather followed
by a cold front and two days later foggy and humid weather. There is no rainy
season in Tx either. The rains grace us intermittently; soak the land for a few
hours or a few days and Desisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437641612706320768.post-83257213344646153902013-01-25T13:28:00.000-06:002013-01-25T13:47:48.714-06:00Chal re bhoplya tunuk, tunuk (Go pumpkin go)
In part 2 of Go Pumpkin Go Chatura had safely crossed the forest and her daughter was about to reveal to her the plan she had come up with while picking vegetables in the garden.
“Well, I saw this pumpkin growing in the corner of the yard
and I thought, what if we let it grow as big as it can get. We will have to
nourish it and take care of it for a few months. If we can let it grow big
Desisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437641612706320768.post-45412647184650871292013-01-15T16:29:00.001-06:002013-01-15T16:30:18.614-06:00All things TJ
I resolved to try to write every day this year and talked
about it in this post hoping if it is for the world to read I may actually stay
with it. The next day after I blogged about my resolve, I promptly broke it. It
had been a long day with a Sunday morning Bikram class followed by a trip to
the children’s museum. The evening ended with our first visit to Trader Joe’s,
the supposed mecca of Desisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437641612706320768.post-21514179668636680282013-01-09T14:08:00.000-06:002013-02-15T10:46:49.258-06:00I cooked in my Indian pressure cooker and it didn’t blow up in my face!
In defense of the
Indian pressure cooker
All my life I have watched my mother use her 5ltr pressure
cooker to cook dal and rice. Sometimes, she cooks some eggs or potatoes on the cover
of the top separator pan, successfully cooking all three at once. She uses her
pressure pan to make pulaos and her 3 ltr Prestige to make delicious rassas and
boil chickpeas and black-eyed peas. She used the Desisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437641612706320768.post-47026178384682909132013-01-05T11:50:00.000-06:002013-01-05T11:50:24.396-06:00My resolution: less social, more blogger, better organized
I can’t believe it has already been three six days
since we said good bye to 2012. Usually I don’t make resolutions at the start
of the year but this time round I thought I’d give it a try. So, my goal in the
New Year is to reign in my sweet tooth as best as I can, write as regularly, if
not every day, as I can, get the blog on track, organize my home and limit my
time on the smartphone. Desisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437641612706320768.post-43720413556064288572012-10-29T13:46:00.003-05:002013-01-25T13:40:26.703-06:00MLLA-51 roundup, two accidents and a pumpkin story
In the past, I have promised to
post event roundup on time and in most cases I have managed to do it too. So
forgive me if I am a bit tardy in posting the round-up for MLLA-51. It has been
a stressful month to say the least. First the kid was down with strep throat
and missed four days of school. The next week I was down after catching his
germs (isn’t that what moms are for?)
The week after Desisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437641612706320768.post-64673841109027063392012-10-08T12:11:00.000-05:002012-10-09T11:36:59.460-05:00Go pumpkin go
I know I promised in my last post I will be
back with some stories from India (check the bottom of the post for one of them). There is another one I have been working on which looks very promising. It is about a queen and an architect and secret
passageways. But the story will have to wait while I attend my hosting duties
for Susan’s MLLA-51.
The last date for sending in the
entreesDesisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437641612706320768.post-8037878426477843092012-09-04T22:29:00.002-05:002012-09-04T22:32:02.675-05:00Homecoming and MLLA - 51
The last time I hosted Susan’s very popular monthly event
MLLA, World Cup cricket was on and I was blogging while watching the
finals. India won that the world cup that day and my seat on the sofa henceforth has been reserved for all cricket
finals as a good luck charm (!?). This time around, no such momentous event is on except the kid has
started first grade. It is another reminder Desisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437641612706320768.post-48369689992886745342012-05-14T22:54:00.002-05:002012-05-14T22:54:41.513-05:00What I really want for Mother's day
I am the last one in my house to get up in the morning and I
like it that way. I wake up to the iPhone alarm trilling, which has been set on
snooze twice already, and the sounds of TV in the living room. Yes, my son is already up and is snuggled in
a blanket watching Arthur and his friends dealing with another day in school. The spouse is straining adrak wali chai
and all is Desisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437641612706320768.post-43421010149131880232012-02-06T22:14:00.003-06:002012-02-07T08:36:44.638-06:00Of volcanos and vermicelli
It has been three weeks since my school started and I have managed to ease the class into my weekly schedule or rather into my weekend schedule. It is only one Saturday class this semester, so the workload is much less and I have more time to blog (hence the three posts last month).
A friend asked me recently how I liked studying in my late 30s. She looked surprised and a bitDesisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437641612706320768.post-33265297097799863892012-01-30T09:34:00.005-06:002012-01-30T15:21:12.206-06:00For the price of two lattesIt brings tears to my eyes to know that people abandon their kids because of poverty. It saddens me that I indulge my picky eater with foods of his choice when there are orphan girls grateful for two meals a day. I am thankful every day to be there for my kid when he is sad, angry, hurt or just wants a hug. As I hug my child at night and put him to sleep in his comfy bed, I Desisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437641612706320768.post-52881487907108508072012-01-25T16:12:00.000-06:002012-01-25T16:12:46.967-06:00It is rant time on DSMWell, what do you know? I kept my word and am on schedule for the fb rant thanks to the dark, wet, rainy morning we have today in the sunny state of Texas. We are spoiled here with warm skies and 70o temperatures in December. It puts us (at least me) in a foul mood when the skies are cloudy and the weather turns dull and wet. Contrary to what Indian poets and imaginative Desisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437641612706320768.post-4453381706920730772012-01-19T21:41:00.000-06:002012-01-19T21:41:56.779-06:00New beginnings and all that humbug……is how I have decided to lead my first post in 2012. As usual, I have started another year with nary a clue as to where it will lead me. Last year saw me busy with my school and getting used to the routine of a kindergartner. As a result, there was sporadic activity on DSM and my fiction writing suffered. By the end of the year, I was off facebook and twitter, effectivelyDesisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437641612706320768.post-14957459307459721842011-10-11T22:29:00.001-05:002011-10-11T22:30:13.662-05:00The Peanut affairPeanuts and I go a long way back to my childhood days. I think the love affair started when my sister and I used to play Ghar-ghar or house-house. Our mother would give us a fistful of peanuts and some jaggery to use in our make believe pantry. Sometimes the peanuts would be replaced by a piece of khopra (dry coconut). Watching us play, my mom was sure I was going to be a spendthrift and my Desisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437641612706320768.post-18691512907656234302011-09-27T16:21:00.011-05:002011-09-29T08:57:24.852-05:00A Clerihew tag roundup and a challengeLast week, I learnt not one but two new words in a day. The first one was Luddite and the second was Clerihew. Both are nouns and are associated with the British. Loosely defined Luddite translates to anyone who is opposed to the industrial change or innovation in their daily life. The word was introduced to me by none other than the witty Ms SplitPearPersonality who has decided to merge her Desisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437641612706320768.post-72432457414204287522011-09-24T21:29:00.002-05:002011-09-24T21:32:02.111-05:00Enuma Elish: The Babylonian Creation MythIn the dark, primal world, Apsu and Tiamut decided to procreate gods. The first two of their offspring, born in the midst of heaven, they named Lahmu and Lahamu. After them Ansar, Anu and Nudimmud were born. The proud parents then established their progeny as the great gods.
While the great gods went about their business quietly, Tiamut continued to create many other gods in her vast body. Desisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437641612706320768.post-40027750397662672282011-09-21T11:43:00.000-05:002011-09-21T11:43:26.055-05:00B2B roundup, finallyThis time around I broke one of my cardinal rules about hosting an event on DSM. I have been late, very late, in posting the roundup. When I made that promise a year and some months ago, I did not realize that the roundup would coincide with me writing a pneumatic brief on Enuma Elish and cramming for a geology test on minerals. But that is what happened and hence my deepest apologies for Desisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437641612706320768.post-76514948180062845372011-09-07T00:05:00.001-05:002019-09-12T21:27:57.012-05:00A tale of Ganesha
I start feeling nostalgic and missing homeland during festival time and this year has been no exception. A phone call to my brother for Rakshabandhan or Bhau-Beej, a video chat with my parents during Diwali leaves me teary eyed and wanting to jump on a flight to India. I try to compensate feelings of alienation by making corresponding festival fare and gorging myself on it. Two years ago, I Desisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437641612706320768.post-86545904007254638252011-08-24T00:03:00.001-05:002011-08-24T00:03:42.985-05:00Kindergarten Chronicles and Sprouting Arbi FryPast few days have been an emotional roller coaster for me. My five and a half year old started kindergarten yesterday and last week was spent preparing for school, buying school supplies, going to meet the teacher, going to buy new clothes… Every day was a reminder that my baby is growing up, fast.
When I could not find clothes for him in the toddler section, I ventured into the ‘big boy’ Desisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437641612706320768.post-4285667863044215962011-08-17T00:02:00.001-05:002011-08-17T00:07:25.896-05:00Roasted and ground 2:1It is the middle of August and I have yet to post something for my own event, B2B – Spice Powders. So here is my first entry to my own event, a simple, basic spice used in almost every Indian kitchen.
Ever since I can remember, one day of the year in our house, my mother devotes an entire afternoon to making dhana-jeera powder and garam masala. Breakfast is a hurried affair of Desisoccermomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06636571476699845725noreply@blogger.com9