2016 Week 35 Update

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The haze is back in Singapore! I really thought that we will be missing it this year, but it hit us this weekend, peaking on Friday and Saturday and then petering off on Sunday. Hopefully, this does not come back, though meteorological reports say otherwise. We’ll be having the PSI rising when the winds blow the hazy winds towards us.

September starts this week and it’s my favourite month of the year. BB, GG and I have our birthdays this month and it’s also the month with the birthday of my favourite God – Lord Ganesh which, this year, happens next week. It’s also the month which starts the countdown to the festival of Diwali, so all-in-in I really like this month. Hope this month turns out to be as special as I wish it to be!

Update on BB’s poonal preparations – the printer has still not sent me the mock-up of the card, he was to send it to me last week itself, but nothing yet. I waited till Friday to see if he would send it to me by email, and then gave up and called him. He said he was sick and so could not do it and said he would send it to me the same day or latest by Saturday. I now have to chase him later today. I also wrote to two photographers, whose contacts I got from friends and they’ve not yet responded too. Need to chase them too and finalise the photographer soon. Last I need to finalise where else in India we will be going after the poonal and book tickets for that place along with our Singapore-India plane tickets. Lots of work this week for me.

My Reading Challenge update – I’ve read 145 of my updated challenge of 150 (if you remember, my original challenge was 125 books in 2016). I’ve now updated my challenge to 155 books and every time I am 5 books shy of the target (until December), I will increase the challenge by another 5 books. I am hoping (really) to reach 200 books this year, lets see if I manage it!

Have a great week folks and happy September!

 

 

Secondary 1 Week 35 Update

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Nothing much to update this week except for BB once again getting ticked off in school. On Thursday, I got a call from him saying his Geography teacher wanted to speak to me. When I spoke to the teacher, it turns out that Mr BB had not handed over a graded assignment, in spite of the teacher giving him an extra day to do so. His teacher is a nice person who does not want to spoil his overall grades, so even though she was justified in giving him a zero, she will be giving him pro-rated marks based on his classwork, which is around average. I was so mad at him, within the last two weeks, this is the second incident where he has shown zero interest in school!

Next week is the last week of term 3 and then from Friday it’s a 10-day break for the children before they start term 4 or ‘Exam Term’ as I’d like to call it. Both will have to go back to school a couple of days during the term break for supplementary work or CCA or both.

September is a-calling folks!

 

In My Hands Today…

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The Wrath & the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn #1) – Renee Ahdieh

18798983In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad’s dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph’s reign of terror once and for all.

Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she’d imagined him to be. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. How is this possible? It’s an unforgivable betrayal. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid’s life as retribution for the many lives he’s stolen. Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?

Inspired by A Thousand and One Nights, The Wrath and the Dawn is a sumptuous and enthralling read from beginning to end.

Recipe: Vegetable Pulao

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IMG_6049An easy one-pot meal, this pulao can be put together when you are in a hurry. This is the perfect meal for a bachelor to make as it does not need many utensils as well as a lot of skills to make it.

This also makes a perfect school or work packed lunch. You can also prep this the night before and if you are using a rice cooker, keep it in the cooker to cook overnight. Then in the morning, you have fresh pulao all ready for you before you leave for school or work!

Vegetable Pulao

IMG_6047Ingredients:

  • 1 cup basmati rice, washed and soaked for 15 minutes
  • 1 cup chopped mixed vegetables (I used potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, green peas and sweet corn)
  • 2-3 tablespoons frozen paneer refreshed in hot water for 10 minutes
  • 1 onion, sliced thinly
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 4-5 cloves of cardamom
  • 3-4 cloves
  • 1-star anise
  • 10-15 cashew nuts, chopped
  • 2 tsp golden raisins
  • 2 green chillies, chopped
  • 1-inch piece of ginger julienned
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tsp ghee

Method:

  • Wash the rice well and remove all the water and keep aside.
  • Heat a pan and when it is warm, add the ghee. When the ghee liquefied, add the cumin seeds and when the seeds pop, add the bay leaf, cloves, cardamom and star anise. Stir each for a few seconds before adding the next ingredient.
  • Add the green chillies and ginger and stir well.
  • Add the cashew nuts and the raisins and stir for a few seconds.
  • Next add the onions and stir, letting it become translucent.
  • Next, add the chopped vegetables and stir well. Add the washed and drained rice next along with the salt and stir well, letting the salt coat the rice grains and vegetables.
  • Remove from the flame and put this mixture into a rice cooker and add the water (normally I add ¾ cup water to 1 cup of Basmati rice, but you can play with it depending on the rice you use)
  • When the rice is done, fluff with a fork and serve with any gravy or a raita.

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