Wanderberry Tales

Shibin's office shifted about a year back. Earlier, he had to invariably walk through a supermarket twice a day. ( shortcut, instead of having to walk two more blocks and go all the way around the building). Twice a day includes one crawling and the other running - crawling to the office ( everyone crawls in the morning especially during the beginning of the week) and running out of it in the evenings (It is my belief that he ran to meet me :P). In the process, it is hard to ignore those items that stare at you from the shelves beckoning you to pick them or those that scream out offers  or the ones that flatter you with the lighting .  So atleast once a week, he came home with a treat to my delight. I am still a kid at heart, such treats fascinate me . Anyways with the shifting of his office to a core business area , there were no more supermarkets to pass through and there went my treats. He comes home empty handed these days! If you are wondering why I chose to tell ...

With mothers day around the corner it is only apt that I write about my mom today. If my dad happens to read this write up about mom, he is going to be upset that I did not mention him and he says they come as a package. There is no mom or dad individually but dad and mom together. So I do not have a choice but write about the whole package:) My sister can wait! I do not wish to pen down the whole story here but few things which I feel every parent should do that I learnt from my parents. Like every parent, they struggled to ensure that we have a good life. We are two - me and my sis both of us are away from home, there is always an empty nest feeling but they don't let that become a hindrance in life. They do go out for dinner just like we did when we were together as a family. They have their occasional trip to beaches and drives to Mangalore as well. It is ok to have your life revolving around your kids but have a life of your own too when life allows you that. Grades ...

I am relatively a beginner in bread baking and this is probably the only bread I have baked more than the fingers on my hand! I tasted focaccia only when I came to Dubai and that was the first time I even heard of it. Back in India, I knew 4 types of bread - white bread, brown bread, multigrain bread and fruit bread - that was my extent of bread knowledge.  I would not label bread baking as difficult - it is only time consuming - so if you have the time in hand - Foccacia is definitely worth a try. Focaccia is an Italian bread with a generous amount of olive oil - topped with herbs, olives, onions, sun-dried tomatoes or any other vegetables that goes along. Focaccia, I realised recntly makes a good sandwich bread too! I have tried topping with olives , tomato and onions but the best for me was the shallots. It is easier to chop them into cute little rounds - it caramelizes well and the looks quite pretty on the bread too. I read an article today by Nandita Iyer from the Saff...

Every vacation has three phases -  The waiting phase - You have planned your vacation, arrangements have been made, you are on a shopping spree, you are texting your relatives and friends on your upcoming vacation plans, you are clearing your fridge and finally packing your bags. To add on - I do an additional cleaning of the house because I love to see the house clean and neat on my return! This is an exciting phase and the feeling that you have something bright to look forward to makes even the most daunting task enjoyable. The actual vacation - this is the fun part. Your waiting is over and here it is finally - the execution of all that you planned. Meeting family, friends and relatives - lots of nostalgic moments, being pampered by family until the day it is time to pack your bags and return. The vacation hangover - the most annoying phase that comes after your vacation. The feeling of emptiness, a vague sense of nothing to look forward to, a weariness to get back to tra...