Watermelon Agua Fresca

Hope you all had a good weekend. We had a good one that included our usual weekend chores; cleaning, laundry, grocery and along with that we threw in a mix of Blueberry picking fare. We had been planning for the blueberry picking for a long time now, but it materialized only last week. We went there with another friend of ours and it was fun time both for kids and adults as well. Fresh, luscious blueberries hand picked right off of the farm; close to the nature as we could get and it was a wonderful experience. In the two…

Sol Kadi/ Konkani Style kokum Kadi –II

Kokum is the dried skin of a fruit related to mangosteens.The outer cover of fruit is dried in the sun to get Aamsul or Kokam/Kokum. It is used as a slightly sour spice in recipes that yields peculiar taste and dark red colour. It is a preferred substitute for tamarind in curries and other dishes from Konkan. It is very abundant in the west coast region of India and hence an integral part of Konkani cuisine. These are called ‘bhirnda sol’ in Konkani.  At home I use the Kokum to make Kokum kadi.  I have already posted one version here…

Slushy Strawberry Smoothie

Hope you are all having a good weekend. The weather here in our neck of the woods is pretty good, with pleasant mornings, evenings and warm afternoons. On Saturday morning, the weather was just perfect for the kids to play their soccer match. They have practice during the week and the actual match during the weekend. It’s amusing to watch the tiny tots play; of course, they don’t go by the book, they bend the rules, fight, fall and yet have fun. (Mind you, I am talking about 4 year old’s here). Here are some observations from a novice mom who …