Notes from the week gone by

•  Commenced my New Year by going for a guided walk following City Walks Guide to in and   around  Sloane Square. The pack of 50 interesting walks has been with me for donkey's years  but   never formally followed a walk. So what better way to start New Year's Day !! 
• A & N reluctantly accompanied me but at the end they enjoyed having to be just able to get out of the house. I couldn't follow the walk to the T but nevertheless covered quite a bit. Points of interest for me was Buddhist Temple from Chelsea Embankment / Carlyle House / Cheyne Walk / Chelsea Physic Gardens ( closed )
• Concluded our day with visit to our friend's house for Dinner of Gujrati delicacies / Chilli Paneer / Mix Pulao / Ice Cream
• Watched " My Old School" on BBC I Player. The movie is about Brandon Lee who falsely enrolled himself in a secondary school claiming to be a 16 year old when in reality he was 30
• Kids back to school mid week and ultimately back to reality about getting back to routine
• Picking up listening to Podcasts which got side tracked for months now.. This week I listened to " More or Less Behind the Statistics: Numbers of the Year 2022 and Can China's data on Covid deaths be trusted? 
• Walked to Gidea Park Library.. and both A&N got a book each. N is into learning French so she got one covering that and A got a Step By Step Chemistry book
• Kicked off my Reading Challenge for 2023 by a book from Avni Doshi "Burnt Sugar" which is part of a book club from work
• Made Chole / Rajma Rice / Methi Aloo / Tindora Sabzi / Palak Paneer over the weekend

Weekend do’s

• This friday i was working from home and so like usual i do school drop off and pick up of kids. Once i dropped them to school i prepared our lunch which was chole tikki ( tikki was store bought of Haldirams).
• After cleaning up kitchen and intermittently checking my work emails i headed off to Gym. I did 1 hour and 20 minutes of cardio and burnt 1200 calories. 
• Straight after gym i finished my lunch and got ready to pick up kids from school.
• Came home and after an hour everyone except me and Ni left for Brentwood for evening cricket and i headed to Starbucks coffee shop. We finished reading and spellings in between sipping hot chocolate / americano and eating a very light and tasty salad of couscous / courgette / brocolli smeared with tomato sauce. Ni had a sticky marshmellow twizzle. 
• Prepared for next day’s outfits for Nishka and myself - all neatly laid on the bed. 
• Saturday morning i quickly made Bread Upma in flat 20 mts. A & A left for Shenfield and i dropped Ni to her Art Class for two hours.
• I headed straight to do my gym session for 1 hour and 30 mts and burnt 1000 calories. 
• Picked up Ni from her art class and went home to finish lunch / get ready for birthday party / lay out the outfits for evening pooja and also putting a load in the washing machine and dishwasher.
• It was Ni’s very close friend Si’s 6th Birthday party. Sipped black coffee and chatted away time with other mums. 
• Dashed off to home to change for the pooja for all of us and reached Mandir on time at 6 pm.
• After dinner at temple we all came home and kids went to sleep straightafter.
• Me and A watched Dirty Money documentary on Netflix. 
• Sunday i woke up to finish ironing for the week and then we all went out for brunch at Healthy Roots in Upminster where kids had pancakes topped with Syrup along with hot chocolate. Me and A had the same Avocado smash with poached egg and brown toast.
• A & A then headed to their cricket coaching and me and Ni came home to finish homework and then went out for another birthday party of one of her classmates. 
• Finished my evening with 60 mts of gym and laying outfits for school / work.

Weekend Musings

• Watched “ The Coronation” on BBC 1 while doing my gym session.I was expecting a lot more input from the Queen but actually there was very less of it.
• Our customary Friday evening dinner was at Delhi Live where we stuffed ourselves with Simple yellow daal / Gobhi Aloo / Rice for me and Tandoori Chicken for Aayush and Ashish.
• Made Paneer Makhani and Stuffed Bellpeppers - followed Veg Recipes of India recipes which are always comes out perfect.
• Gym session was fabulous - Saturday 80 mts of cardio and Sunday 1 hour 30 mts which was a new record for me. 
• Some me time at Harris + Hoole coffee shop with Nishka. Had Americano with Strawberry Oat  cookies for myself and Nishka had hot chocolate.
• Wrapped presents for birthdays next week - Nishka’s classmates.
• Finishing my old Real Simple magazines so that i can stock up on some new health / interior Decor / lifestyle magazines from India. 
• Bought electric toothbrushes for all of us - Oral B Junior Frozen and Starwars for kids and for us Oral B Pro 2 2000N. 
• Saw below recipe in Tesco Magazine and it looks attractive- will give it a try someday.

New Things

It is good to shake things time to time and i just did that !!! Here is my list :

• Started listening to PODCASTS - i have always heard about them but never got around listening. But having a Smart Phone does make your life easier.So far i have listened few TED Talks / Desert Island Discs and one Motivational Podcast.
• After deciding at the beginning of this year that i will drive more and to newer places - that is exactly i have been trying to fit in. Drove to as far as Feltham / Brentwood and drive to work in the morning and evenings.
• In May this year i was given FITBIT and i am addicted to it. Love to step up and my best so far has been 27k.
• Watched a Pakistani Drama " Zindagi Gulzar Hai" on You Tube.
• Visited the local Hindu Temple at Noak Hill - Big change from the usual Ilford temple.
• Restarted browsing BBC I player and watched " Eat Well For Less ".
• For my daily office lunches - i have now switched to eating salads / Bowl full of veggies and supergrains from my plain sandwiches for 3 years. Also stopped eating packet of crisps too.
• Travelled to Birmingham for an official trip - my first ever trip!!!

The List - December 2013

This is the first time i am doing this list inspired by Nupur's Lists of One Hot Stove.I usually write everything in my diary and try to incorporate everyday events in it.

Reading - This month has been the best month in terms of reading books as i read 5 books which is truly amazing by my standards.
I read "Cocoa at Midnight" by Kathleen Clifford;" Apron and Sliver Spoons" by Mollie Brown. These two books were a easy read. They are real life accounts of domestic servants and their hardships in pre war era.
The next book was very romantic novel by Jojo Moyes "The last letter from your lover". The book was hopelessly romantic and spanned two time lines - one from 1960 and other from present day.
Other books were "No time to say Goodbye" by Linwood Barclay - a thriller with a twist.I was so engrossed in reading the book that wanted to finish it soon.
And ended the year with Penny Vincenzi's " Love in the Afternoon and other short stories". I have never read her books before and did not find the book very interesting. The short stories were very predictable and short of any twists.

 Watched " 12 Dates of Christmas " -  a romantic movie where the girl keeps reliving Christmas Eve 12 times and must break the cycle for her blind date.
Another one was " Cast Away" - A Tom Hanks movie - quite a depressing movie where he is stranded on an island for 4 years and comes back to find that her girlfriend is now married and has her own family.
This is the first time i bought Whats on TV - Holiday TV watching guide. I am so deprived of watching any Television or movies that this year i am quite keen to watch some good television.Top on my list to watch is " Downton Abbey" and "The Great British Bake Off."

Had a busy month in terms of Socialising.Attended Christmas Drinks with my ex - colleagues or golden oldies as they say. Also a Birthday Party of a 3 year old and ended the day with tea and some mince pies at a friends place.Christmas Day evening was spent with a family of four serving them  M&S Party food.Invited for lunch by a friend ( N and A ) at Langley.Just before the year ended i invited one of our friends for lunch who were visiting from Glasgow over holidays. I made Amritsari Chole , Delicate Korma with Apricots / Paneer Maalvani / Rice / Paneer and Pineapple Salad / served all with parathas and ended with tea and pistachio ice cream. New Year's Eve was spent with another set of friends and had such a pleasant time serving them Nachos with cheese / Mix Pakoras - Potato / Paneer / Cauliflower and Chillies/ Garlic Bread and Pizzas.

My son had a busy time over the month as well. Started with Christmas Fayre in school where he met Father Christmas and got presents. Took part in Christmas Raffle.We attended his first ever Christmas Concert. I don't think he was really into singing and was just interested in waving us.
His most busiest day was when he had Christmas lunch at school / Christmas party in his class/ School Disco and Christmas Party in his drama class.He also came to my office on Christmas Eve and got Face painting done.

The biggest high this month was that my son learnt to write his name - it was an amazing feeling to know that he is growing up and a first step of sorts for future.

Little Things

• Finished reading "My Feudal Lord" by Tehmina Durrani and currently reading " Eat Prey Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert.


• Cooked an elaborate lunch for friends - made Dum Aloo Banarasi , Gobhi Kasoori , Paneer Makhani , Hyderabadi Subz Korma , Oriental Stir Fry and Angoori Raita with Parathas and Naan.


• Aayush started his swimming lessons every Saturday morning at our local leisure center.


• Bought various cookbooks by Tarla Dalal and Nita Mehta on my trip to India.


• Watched " Music & Lyrics " and " Serendipity " on recorded televison. Currently watching "Caroline Quentin - A Passage to India " on ITV.


• Witnessed a historic win for India in the Cricket World Cup.


• Recent meals cooked were "Nawabi Curry" ; Jamie Oliver's Spaghetti ; Rajma, Chocolate Fudge.

Things done so far

• Life has been busy and not so busy for the past one month.I don't think so i will be able to write down each and every thing which i have done so far but will try..


• Weather has not been very helpful in London this month.. lots of snow with sub-zero temperatures.It was nice to see everything covered in snow for few days but when it stretched to more than a week it was frustrating to be sitting at home all day and night.So it was decided that as Ashish would come back from work i will be going out for a walk to get some fresh air and also to have some much needed me time.However since weather has improved i have started to take Aayush along with me for a walk around noon everyday.That helps me to get out of the house and do some serious walking for an hour.


• Since i was stuck at home for long periods of time i have done some serious cooking - tried recipes which were bookmarked for so long now.Tried Parsnip and Ginger soup for a very wintry evening .. It is the first time i bought Parsnip.. never tried this vegetable before.Ashish didn't like the soup very much but i think it was not too bad.Made use of Delia Smith book " Delia's how to cheat at cooking"by making two recipes from it. The book was bought long time ago ( maybe 2 yrs ago ) but never tried anything from it. I made Cracked potatoes with melting cheese and spring onions and Very garlicky chili pasta.Both the dishes came out fine and i will definitely try them again.


• This Christmas i bought a very simple and complete vegetarian cookbook by Vidhu Mittal " Pure and Simple -Homemade Indian Vegetarian Cuisine"It is exactly the kind of cookbook i was looking for .. all vegetarian and recipes which you can actually try with ingredients available in my kitchen pantry.I made Mushroom Cheese Toast which Ashish loved,Sago Cutlets,Daal Tarka which was a combination of Chana Daal/ Moong Daal and Laal Masoor,Beans with Baby corn,Baby corn and Capsicum,Mixed vegetables with Cottage Cheese...Phew that is lot of cooking.


• Reading has also been on my agenda all this time however i am unable to do any serious reading. Ashish brings me "Metro", "City AM" and "London Evening Standard " which i aim to read almost everyday but i can still see a huge pile in one corner which i have to finish.I am also reading magazines like "Psychologies","Real Simple","Olive" and "Delicious".


• I have started weaning Aayush for which i bought all his Weaning Bowls/spoons/ Bibs and very special Chico High Chair.He has been given Cow and Gate Pure Baby Rice with his 11 am feed.I am following Gina Ford book of Weaning for him and so far it is working out for me.I am going to introduce him to a variety of fruits and vegetables in the coming days like peers,carrots, apples ,sweet potato,courgette and cauliflower.So far his response has been excellent with it and i am noticing that his reflux has improved.


• Television watched - Loads of Food Network/Good Food and Home channels. Catching up on Indian Winter Season with documentary on Mumbai Slum- Dharavi with Kevin Mc Cloud.Also seeing Gordon's Great Escape with some amazing authentic recipes.


• On fitness front i am doing Wii Fit 30 mts a day almost 5 days a week.I am also trying to keep a tab on what i am eating .. I have a bowl of cereal for breakfast, soup for lunch and a proper Dinner of Chapati/Daal and vegetable along with it. I am trying to snack on raw veggies and fruits when i get those hunger pangs.But sometimes i do loose the motivation to do anything and just gorge on biscuits or namkeens.


• Above all i also managed to see 2 hindi movies past month.. Rocket Singh and 3 Idiots along with the baby.I was not prepared to watch movie with a baby but Ashish convinced me into it.. Aayush was angel in both the movies. I actually didn't feel at all that he was with us.I enjoyed both the movies and wish Hindi Cinema could make more of these substantial movies.