A Summer delayed and Wasted....

What happened to the summer? Who waylaid it and delayed it? It's June end and we are still venturing out with trepidation, wondering if we need a jacket or not. My veggie garden never really took off this year and its still lying low. So any day with slightly warm temperatures is like heaven sent.

The kitchen is kind of operating on low battery and will do so for the coming days. Why? well, we put our house up for sale and as per the cultural demands of the real estate "sale" business, the house has to be spotless, uncluttered, fully organized, and immaculate.

That means the closet should not over stuffed with clothes, the clothes should hang neatly, all ironed to be worn at a moment's notice, beds made all the time with the bed spreads tucked in and topped with an ornamental pillow that you toss to the floor before you go to sleep and the side tables removed of all your books and newspapers.

No pencil drawings on the wall and no chocolate toddler hand prints on the the wall, however cute they look, no juice marks on the floor...no shoes, sandals and chappals near the door, no toys, no ride on trucks lying around and no board books piled up on the sofa. And last but not the least, in the kitchen... no summet mixie, no dish rack, no dishes piled up, clean or dirty and definitely no smell of Indian cooking. Oh no..what is that stink?....eeww..smells like a gas chamber..(meanwhile..another one is thinking"hmm..what's that? mutton curry? or sambar?) One man's stink is another man's yumilicious food. We ourselves have got put off by the smell of bacon, animal's smells and fish sauce in other houses when house hunting, so can't really blame anyone for that instinctive reaction.:)

So either I cook and spent all the time stripping the kitchen of the mess (I am a messy cook and have to cook 4 things at the same time to save on labor)thereafter or scour the net for grilling options and takeouts. Anyway, this has taken the joy out of cooking ...makes me feel like I am in an episode of Iron Chef..cooking with speed. So I can only post recipes I cooked and photo-ed earlier or post w/o photos now.

While discussing the house, My Dh and I agreed on one thing....showing the house is akin to "pennu kanal" or "ladki ko dekhne aa rahe hai" (the custom of the guy's family coming to see the girl in an arranged marriage.). Anybody from India will immediately identify with the whole scene. We being the ladkiwalle or the girl's side, are supposed to be humbler and get everything just right while the prospective buyers(the guy's side or the groom) just waltz thru the house nonchalantly criticizing everything.(or so I think)...she is too small, she is too dark, too short, too tall, too thin, too fat... the lines blur and for us, I forget that its just a house ..not really ur daughter! Wish there was a love story for houses...now I am just talking nonsense so I should stop.

Anyway, so I will keep you guys updated on whether or not we are able to make the sale. The last two weeks were the worst where we were getting everything organized and very anxious about each showing, but now when a day passes with no appointments for viewing the house, I feel anxious. A friend who recently sold her house had to go thru this for six months and now I really admire her for the patience. Even as I write this, I am keeping my fingers crossed that I won't be writing on this topic six months later. So instead of BBQs ,picnics and outings, this summer seems to be dedicated to a move if possible.

Hot n Sour Soup

Too much happening and not too much happening..does that make sense? Well, too much to be done around the house and about, with some big decisions being taken, about which I will elaborate later. And we are all down, well, now half the family is up, but the rest of us are still wallowing in tastelessness. Blogging aside, can't even think of any food as appetizing! So here is my life savior...the amusing and entertaining Vahrevah chef with his fool proof hot n sour soup which I never knew was so easy! I added some boiled soba noodles (any noodles will do) and instant meal. Lunch and entertainment!
I don't think anyone would need a recipe after watching the video but if you do, leave a comment. SO see you later when I fully recover.