The Dramatic Hollywood Rabbit

I never built a skyscraper, But built hundreds of towers With legos and blocks. Only to see them knocked to the ground  In glee. I never directed a Broadway play, But directed tens of children  In the Christmas Play. Watching them laugh and giggle  At being little Whos visited by the Grinch And creating the Nativity Story  On the school stage. I never farmed acres of land Or tended orchards of fruit, But gave my children roots  And a safe place to grow. Family to call upon in times Of celebration and sorrow I never trod on the road less traveled, But taught my children to follow their own path That at each juncture there is a choice  And accept not only the consequences of  Choosing the road taken But not choosing the other. I never became a master of anything  But became a jack of all trades Cooking, cleaning, teaching, comforting. My titles were many, wife, mother, daughter, sister, Chef, secretary, nurse, police, and then Sometimes an intern So...

Green Chilli Achaar using Kunal Kapur's YouTube Recipe   Green Chilli Achaar   Personally I am not brave enough to eat green chillies by themselves, however my hubby loves them.  When they are in other food items like moong ki dal pakora or bhel puri, I enjoy the flavor and heat they offer, but I’m not quite up to eating them plain.   Life is still in lockdown and I wanted to make something new.  I had just started the process of putting up 15 kg of lemon achaar.  I had also put up 6 kg of Red Chilli Achaar, when making that one of my staff talked about a green chilli achaar they make in the village.  I asked him for the recipe and all his recipe is to go to his local market and pick up a masala packet and add to green chillies and put in the sun.  When I asked what was in the masala, he didn’t know.  I tried to find something similar online, but no luck.  I forgot about it, because, well, I’m not going to eat it.  Then on...

Friend' achaar - it looks much better than mine. I first had red chilli achaar on a group trip to Varanasi.  We stayed at a lovely boutique hotel that had scrumptious food.  Although I saw many places in Varanasi, I have to say, what I loved the most is the Red Chilli Achaar that was served with lunch and dinner.  While that version had mild heat, it was not painfully hot.  The grainy masala is infused with the pepper flavor and bound by the pepper skin.  It is very different from most other achaars I have tasted.   When we left the hotel I purchased 2 kgs of the special achaar.  My family finished off the achaar very quickly, unfortunately, I could never find that particular flavor in any manufactured brand.  The store bought versions just didn’t satisfy my taste buds. A few months ago, I was talking with a friend about how I was craving the achaar.  She sent me the recipe her husband’s aunt had given her.  Of course it was written...

Lemon & Salt June 2020 When I first moved to India I had a lot of time on my hands. There was also a lot of distrust of processed foods, pickles and juices to be precise. While opinions have changed I still find that homemade pickles tend to taste better. One of my favorite pickles is lemon pickle, we eat it with poora, a savory crepe made from chickpea flour, as well as other dishes. A friend of mine’s family made most of their own pickles and she gave me the proportions needed to make a lemon pickle. Hers also had red chilli, but I didn’t want chili in mine as I planned to give it to my children. I did however, love pickled ginger which is made from ginger, salt, green chilli and lemon. So I decided to be a bit adventurous and create my own pickle. If I remember correctly I used about 5kgs of lemons and some amount of ginger. I followed my friends instructions to the letter and after a month I got a good pickle that my family continued to eat for a decade. The bonus of a...