Yearnings

A journey into outer space
Is one I do not care to face;
To give Orion merry chase,
The orbit of the moon to trace,
To view three sunsets in one day,
While floating weightlessly away,
I do not yearn.

But let me see the stars that rise
In healthy, happy children’s eyes.
And this, the weightlessness I prize-
A conscience pure, where no guilt lies.
One day, transfigured, I shall climb
Beyond all bounds of space or time
And not return.
---author unknown

playdough recipe

Hours of fun for children and their friends. Here's my favorite play dough recipe:

2 cups flour

1 cup salt

2 tablespoons cream of tartar

2 cups of water

2 tablespoon vegetable oil

food coloring (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until stiff. Allow to cool, then knead until smooth.

Food coloring may be added at the kneading stage in various colors if desired, otherwise air dried items may be painted later on.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I used to save plastic containers with lids for this purpose.

NO COOK DOUGH
2 c flour
1/2 c salt
2 T vegetable oil
water

Mix flour and salt together and rub in oil with fingertips. Add enough water and knead until a soft dough is made. Store in the fridge when not in use. Makes a nice, smooth dough.
 
FUN WITH PLAY DOUGH
A favorite thing to do was to create with children play dough items to offer to the children's Radha Krsna, Gaura Nitai dolls.



They'd create mini pizzas, cakes, chapatis, spaghetti, samosas, sweets, cookies....

I would save odds and ends to help sculpt with. For example, plastic knives and forks, bottle caps with ridges, plastic cookie cutters, molds, a small rolling pin or the "Playdoh Fun Factory". Also toy pots and stove to "cook" with. The playdough can dry and be painted.

What else to do with play dough?:
1. Manipulate it (pinch, pat, pull, twist, shape, roll)
2. Press it with various objects to create texture.
3. Make slabs, coils, balls and other basics
4. Press into molds, let dry and then paint (if the dough is uncolored).
5. Imprint with odds and ends or texture plates.
6. Cut it with a plastic knife, scissors or cookie cutters.
7. Find more ideas or lessons in craft books or on the Net. Also many catalogs in the mail have ideas for figurines, etc.

For more fun with children, see my other blog: Home Works

malpoura

Malpoura is a type of donut soaked in sweet, fruity yogurt.

INGREDIENTS:
2 1/4 cups atta (fine whole wheat flour)
1 cup powdered natural sugar (such as mishri, turbinado, etc)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 heaping tablespoon yogurt
cold water
ghee for deep-frying

FOR THE YOGURT SAUCE:
5 cups plain yogurt, chilled
3/4 cup powdered natural sugar (same as above)
1 1/2 cups strawberries, washed, quartered, cooked and cooled, (or other fruits, see below)

PREPARATION:
1. Mix together the flour and sugar in a bowl. Add water gradually, while stirring with a wire whisk, until the mixture reaches a consistency somewhere between batter and dough. Spoon in one tablespoon of yogurt and whisk again. The finished batter should cling to a spoon. Allow to set for 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat the ghee in a wok or deep-frying pan over moderately low heat until hot but not smoking.
3. Quickly spoon out with a tablespoon scoops of batter into the ghee. Allow the cakes to inflate in the ghee. Then turn them over with a slotted spoon and fry them, turning occasionally, for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until they are light golden brown all over. Remove and drain.


Repeat until all the batter is used up.


4. Combine the yogurt and powdered sugar in a large bowl. Add the strawberries.
5. Carefully fold the fried cakes into the fruit yogurt and refrigerate, allowing the cakes to soak for about 30 minutes before serving


Serve 8.

The instruction to add one tablespoon of yogurt to the batter is very important to help make the malpouras fluffy

Make your own powdered natural sugars by grinding it in an electric spice grinder.

VARIATIONS: Stir in in a heaping cup of fruity jam into the yogurt, omitting the sugar and strawberries. Another good fruit for making malpoura is mango.

sweet pancakes

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 c whole wheat flour or atta
• 3 t baking powder
• 1 - 1 1/4 t salt
• 3 T sugar of choice
• 1 t ground cinnamon
• 3 T ghee
• Yogurt whey, yogurt, or sour cream
• water
• ghee for frying

PREPARATION:
1. Mix dry ingredients together
2. Cut in the ghee with a whisk until like fine crumbs
3. Add some yogurt, a few tablespoons at least, or a cup or two of whey
4. Add enough water to make a nice batter. Not too thick nor thin.
5. Add at least a teaspoon of ghee to the griddle per pancake. When it just barely begins to smoke, it is ready.
6. Cook one side on high heat until bubbles form or almost dry and nicely browning beneath.

7. Flip and cook other side a minute or two, lowering the heat to lowest setting, until nicely brown.

VARIATIONS try adding one of these:
fresh blueberries
mashed bananas and ground roasted peanuts
cooked rice
grated apple, cinnamon and brown sugar

Serve and top with jam, fruits in sweetened cream, bananas sauteed in butter, honey mixed with melted butter, applesauce, peanut butter and honey, toasted nuts, dates...


AND OR HOMEMADE SYRUP:
1 part vanilla sugar with a tad of molasses mixed in
1 part water
a pat of butter (opt)
Boil about 10 minutes until the syrup starts to thicken. Turn off heat and Stir in butter

Fun with Baby

Ideas for playing with baby (and toddlers):

BABY BUMP
Baby may be taught little tricks and commands like “baby bump” (bumps your head with hers), “shake” (shake hands), squint (makes squinting eyes), “Make pretty eyes” (bats eyelashes), “Where’s your nose?" (points to her nose, or eyes, mouth...)...

THE BOSS
Siblings love it when you pretend baby is talking with them by changing your voice and pretending to be different characters, make a Mafia sounding voice, etc. Especially effective if you know ventriloquism.

CATCH THE FINGER
Hold your finger so baby can try to catch it before you snap it down. A bit maddening, but babies love it.

BEEHIVE
Make a fist with both hands together and when child taps it the “bees” come out to get him. That means gently pinch or tickle him.

CUT THE PICKLE
Hold your pointer fingers end to end and tell the child, "Cut the pickle". Let child “cut” them apart with his hand. Then you say, “Tickle, tickle” while tickling the child in return.

TICKLE BUGS
These attack toddlers who don't want to brush their teeth, but can also be used on babies.

HANDY PUPPET
Draw a face on your hand for an instant puppet.

TOE PLAY
“This little devotee went to the temple;
This little devotee stayed home;
This little devotee ate prasadam;
This little devotee had none;
And this little devotee chanted Haribol Haribol Haribol, all the way home.”
(Instead of "This Little Piggie...")

TUMMY BLOWING
Especially effective if you make a noise while doing this, by pressing your lips against baby's tummy to achieve a sound effect similar to that produced by a "whoopie cushion".

HORSIE RIDE
Place baby on knee for a bouncy ride while chanting:
"This is the way a lady rides- a pace, a pace, a pace, a pace
This is the way a gentleman rides- a trot, a trot, a trot, a trot (speed up bouncing)
This is the way (insert baby's name) rides- a gallop, a gallop, a gallop, a gallop..." (fast bouncing)

WAY UP HIGH AND WAY DOWN LOW
Lie on your back to lift baby up and down, facing you, while saying, "Way up high", "Way down low". Continue until you poop out from physical exertion.

FLYING
Hold child's arms out while resting his body on your knees while lying on your back in bed. Gently let him "fly" back and forth

FIRST EXERCISE
Move his legs like a bicycle ride while he lying down, or clap his hands together.
Lift his arms up and down, up and down. Lift legs, too.

EYES ON TRACK
Let him follow objects you move around above his head.
Hang an object or mobile from above baby's view where he is lying.

LOOK WHO'S LOOKING
Find a safe mirror for baby to look at.

ROCKING AND PUSHING
Rock baby in a rocking chair, a baby seat or in your arms.
Put him in a sturdy cardboard box and push or pull him around the room.

PEEK A BOO
Cover you eyes saying, "Where's the baby?" "Where's the baby?"...
Then open your eyes, smile big and say, "There she is! Peek-a-boo!"

PATTIE CAKE
Chant while moving child's hands in the following motions:
"Pat a cake; Pat a cake; Baker man. (clap child's hands together)
Roll them; Roll them, (roll his hands around each one another)
Stick a hole in them, (hold is finger to poke his palm)
POP them in the oven (lift his arms up suddenly)
As fast as you can!"

IMITATION
Do what baby does while he's watching- yawn, blink...This may be exaggerated.

SINGING
Sing to her KC children’s songs (See list)

DANCING
Dance to favorite music with baby.

FINGERPLAY
Move your hands while chanting:

(Shown above, although the "people" should be standing right side up at the end.)

Here’s the temple,
Here’s the steeple,
Open the doors
Here’s the people.

OR
Itsy bitsy spider
Went up the water spout
Along came the rain
That washed the spider out
Up came the sun
That dried up all the rain.
Itsy bitsy spider

Went up the spout again.

For more fun click here : 9 Ways to Entertain Your Toddler   

Sweater Makeover

I thought this was such a cool idea, I just had to share it:
Click the following link for the full tutorial and photos: The Red Sweater Redo

Before cutting the sweater, first she straight stitches and then zig zag stitches over the fabric to bind the sweater's knitted stitches (similar to how a machine sewn buttonhole is made before cutting open).

Then she further binds the raw edges of the sweater and to give something to hook onto her crocheted edging.

On You tube I found one example of a Scallop Crocheted Edging one can use. There are many more!

Click on the "more info" link on the right side of the video to see the actual crochet sequence she uses in print and that she demonstrates on video.

Tomatoes with Paneer and Yogurt

INGREDIENTS
paneer made from 1 gallon of milk, coarsely chopped in bite-sized chunks
3 tablespoons ghee
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
3 small tomatoes, each cut into eighths
salt, as desired
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 cup thick yogurt or sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander leaves

TO PREPARE
1. Heat the ghee in a heavy bottomed frying pan until very hot (becomes clear-looking). Then the paneer chunks will not stick to the pan.(Later note: a cast iron skillet is now my favorite and easiest method. Heat ghee until barely smoking and add paneer pieces all around pan. Stir until browning on all sides.)
2. Toss in the chunks of paneer. Stir fry until browned. Then set aside.


3. Fry the cumin seeds in 3 tablespoons of heated ghee until dark brown.
2. Stir in the tomato pieces, sprinkle on the black pepper and saute them a bit, then add water and the turmeric. Cook about 5 minutes on medium heat until the water dries up. If they get a little brown- called char char- that's good.
3. Remove from the flame, stir in the paneer,salt, and chopped coriander leaves.
4. Pour on the yogurt. Stir gently and then garnish with the chopped coriander.


VARIATION I've cooked this recipe different almost every time. Experiment until it's the way you like it. Here's a favorite:

6 tomatoes, blanched, skins removed and finely chopped
grated fresh paneer froom 3 1/2 liters of milk
1 green chili, chopped
2 teaspoons panch parang
a generous pinch of turmeric
salt
First I made a chaunce with the chili and panch parang.
Then I added the tomatoes pieces along with turmeric, and stirred them only a few minutes so they were not entirely cooked.
Then I tossed in the grated paneer and stirred until it was softened before adding salt.


This dish is good for breakfast along with flat breads, puris, pancakes, slices of toast with or without jam for breakfast items. Also filling on Ekadasis.

Halava

Halava comes in many varieties.

There's this natural sugar in India called jaggery. It makes delicious halava along with cinnamon powder.

Since jaggery may not be available, substitute with brown sugar in the basic halava recipe below.

Be sure to add a small pinch of salt to enhance the flavor of the grains.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup jaggery or brown sugar
1/2 cup suji (farina or Cream of Wheat cereal)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1 cup water
a tiny pinch of salt
6-8 tablespoons melted (unsalted) butter

PREPARATION:
1. Stir fry the suji and cinnamon powder in the melted butter on low heat until it browns slightly.
2. Meanwhile, bring the water and sugar and salt to a rolling boil.
3. Carefully pour the boiling water into the suji (or vice versa), stirring enough to make it smooth. Then put a lid on and turn off the flame. Let it sit about 5 minutes before offering.

Good halava requires careful measurements and the grains and water becoming very hot before combining. It is suggested to use the same measuring cup while measuring to ensure correct portions.

Pumpkin Pakoras

There are many variations for pakora batter. Here's one:

YOU'LL NEED
1 cup chickpea flour (besan)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
a pinch of hing
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons yogurt
1/2-1/3 cup cold water
1/2 pound peeled, ripe pumpkin cut into 2-inch squares, 1/2-inch thick

WHAT TO DO:
1. Mix batter and let sit for 30 minutes.
2. Dip pieces of pumpkin into the batter and deep fry in ghee until golden brown and crispy. Offer with chutney.

Ways for Remembering Krishna Always

“According to the Padma Puräna, the sum and substance of all the regulative principles of the scripture is that Lord Vishnu, or Krishna, should always be remembered and should never be forgotten. We should therefore mold our lives in such a way that in every activity we shall be able to remember the Supreme Lord. Any activity that reminds one of the Supreme Lord is a regulative principle in devotional service, and any activity that makes one forget the Supreme Lord is a forbidden activity for a devotee.” --Narada bhakt sutra 12

Here's just a few of the many wonderful ways the Lord has given us to remember Him 24/7:

THE SOURCE OF ALL BEAUTY

You see that beautiful woman or a handsome man? Well, the sum total of every beautiful face is the Supreme Beautiful Person, Lord Shri Krishna.

 By remembering this, we not only become free from the captivating power of the material energy; we can truly appreciate the beauty seen, by loving it's source.

 "The Lord is the transcendental form of eternity, cognition and beauty. And thus the creation of the energy of the Lord appears to be partially eternal, full of knowledge and beautiful also. The captivated conditioned souls under the influence of the external energy, mäyä, are therefore entrapped in the network of the material nature. They accept this as all in all, for they have no information of the Lord who is the primeval cause. "--SB 1.5.20p

Also behind the entire beautiful creation, we may find the Supreme Artist.
SECRET BELOVED
"We have to practice remembering the Lord always, twenty-four hours a day, by chanting His names and molding our life's activities in such a way that we can remember Him always. How is this possible? The äcäryas give the following example:

"If a married woman is attached to another man, or if a man has an attachment for a woman other than his wife, then the attachment is to be considered very strong. One with such an attachment is always thinking of the loved one. The wife who is thinking of her lover is always thinking of meeting him, even while she is carrying out her household chores. In fact, she carries out her household work even more carefully so her husband will not suspect her attachment. Similarly, we should always remember the supreme lover, Sri Krishna, and at the same time perform our material duties very nicely. A strong sense of love is required here. If we have a strong sense of love for the Supreme Lord, then we can discharge our duty and at the same time remember Him."--Bhagavad gita Introduction
VAISNAVA DRESS AND ORNAMENTS
Some devotees wear non devotional clothes out of convenience. Yet, devotional clothing and ornaments is another great way to keep our focus on the Lord and also please Him.

KAVACA
I first learned of wearing kavacas while in India, such as the popular nrsimha kavaca. These can be filled with earth from sacred places walked by the Lord and His associates.

TULSI NECKBEADS
Prabhupada once described tulsi beads to be worn "like a dog collar", since a devotee is reclaimed by his loving Master.

"Somebody asked me that 'Swamiji, why these tulasi beads in your neck or your devotees' neck?' So I replied, 'Just like a pet dog has got a collar, similarly we are pet dogs of God. We have got this collar. And Yamaräja will understand that 'He is God's dog. He should not be shot down.' " (laughter)- SB 6.1.34-39 lecture, 12/19/70, Surat

TILAK
Tilak is an extra special way to remind us that the body we each possess is really Lord Vishnu's temple, that the Supreme Loving Supersoul dwells within.

So not to forget to put it on, it's good to remember that in Gaura lila, Mahaprabhu did not like to look upon the face of any of His students that came before Him without tilak.

HONORING PRASADAM
"If you love somebody, you must give him something, and you must accept something from him. You must disclose your mind to him, and he should disclose his mind to you. And you should give him some eatable, and whatever eatable thing he offers, you accept. These six kinds of exchange develop love."--Civilization and Transcendence ch. 12

VISITING KRISHNA'S HOUSE
"There are also many impersonalists who deride temple worship. They say that since God is everywhere, why should one restrict himself to temple worship? But if God is everywhere, is He not in the temple or in the Deity? Although the personalist and the impersonalist will fight with one another perpetually, a perfect devotee in Krishna consciousness knows that although Krishna is the Supreme Personality, He is all-pervading, as confirmed in the Brahma-samhita. Although His personal abode is Goloka Vrndavana and He is always staying there, by His different manifestations of energy and by His plenary expansion He is present everywhere in all parts of the material and spiritual creation."--Bg 9.11p

HOLY DAYS AND EKADASI
These are special days, considered to be spiritual boosters to increase our love and devotion to the Lord and to decrease our activities in material nonsense.

SASTRIC VISION
The Lord describes more remembrance of Him for our sake when He says in Gita, for example, "I am the taste of water, and the light of the sun and the moon."--Bg 7.8






IN GRATITUDE
Appreciation for nature's gifts...for life itself is the beginning of God consciousness and keeps Him always in our hearts, thankful for every thing and for every moment of our existence.

Srila Prabhupada says, "If we ask a child, 'What is this?' he will say, 'It is my hand.' But regardless of what we claim, actually it is not our hand; it is given to us. Because I wanted to use my hand in so many ways, Krishna has given it to me: 'All right, take this hand and use it.' So it is a gift from Krishna, and therefore a sane man always consciously thinks, 'Whatever I have in my possession, beginning with this body and my senses, is actually not mine. I have been given all these possessions to use, and if everything ultimately belongs to Krishna, why not use everything for Krishna?' This is intelligence, and this is Krishna consciousness.”

IN TROUBLE
"So those who are Krishna conscious... they are not suffering... because they know that 'Even if I am suffering, it is Krishna’s desire.'...So the devotee sometimes welcomes suffering because that is an opportunity of remembering Krishna very constantly. So when a devotee suffers, he thinks that 'It is due to my past misdeeds. So I am suffering not very much, a very little, on account of Krishna’s grace. So it doesn’t matter.' So after all, it is, everything, in the mind, suffering and enjoying. So a devotee’s mind is trained up in Krishna consciousness. Therefore he does not care for suffering..." -SB 3.25.23 lecture

THE CALL OF NATURE
Seems there are no exceptions in the sastras when it comes to remembering the Lord!
"At the call of nature, while evacuating bowels he should remember Kesava of the form of apana [vital air].”--Garuda Purana 3.29.39

THE LORD REMEMBERS HIS DEVOTEE
Remembrance is not always easy. The material energy is there trying to always make one forget the Lord. Sometimes a devotee becomes overwhelmed. Yet, Ramanujacarya posed the following question to the Deity of Lord Ranganatha: "My Lord!" he said, "What is the fate of the devotee who cannot remember you at the moment of death?"

The Deity was silent for a few moments, and then the Lord replied: "If My devotee cannot remember Me at the moment of death, then I will remember My devotee."


MORE WAYS:
Sacred Peepul Tree

Tulasi Devi's Presence

A Wish Come True

simple shrikhand

A Note as of 8/21/2018: For even simpler and quicker shrikand, use a fine sieve rather than cheese cloth. Place freshly made yogurt curds into the sieve and let drain. MOST IMPORTANT is to NOT stir the yogurt. Thus, do not use store bought yogurt. Make the yogurt from scratch and then do not mix or stir it. Just put into a sieve and let it drain and you'll have thick yogurt in less time than listed below!

Ideally, shrikhand is made with saffron and cardamom and sometimes rosewater and pistachios, but since these are not always available, I simply use cardamom powder. More important is to drain the yogurt well and serve the final result cooled.

INGREDIENTS:
4 cups of yogurt
cardamom powder (from about 5 cardamom pods)
1/2 cup powdered sugar (or more as desired). Turbinado, mishri, etc. may be powdered with a spice grinder.

PREPARATION:
1. Make condensed yogurt by pouring it into a clean, thin, cotton cloth or cheesecloth and allowing the whey to drain while hanging it in a refrigerator for 12-18 hours.
2. Remove the thickened yogurt from the cloth and add the powdered sugar and cardamom powder.

3. Stir until well blended.

VARIATIONS: Instead of cardamom and sugar, try sweetened fruit jam. Experiment with how much to add, depending on the sweetness of the jam.


Shrikand can also be frozen. Every 20 - 30 minutes, stir the mixture to break up the crystals that form. When it becomes too thick to stir, leave it to freeze solid.

For more ideas, Manjula posted a helpful video:

DHokla

Dhokla may be steamed or baked.. Also I have been trying different variations. So far the recipe below has been the most liked.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup channa dal, cleaned
1/3 cup yogurt
1/2 cup warm water
2 fresh chilies, minced
1 T grated fresh ginger
1/4 t turmeric
1 t salt
1 t lemon juice
1 1/2 t melted ghee
1 t baking powder

TOPPING
2 T ghee
1 T black mustard seeds
2 T sesame seeds
1 pinch asafoetida
5 T grated fresh coconut
4 T chopped fresh coriander leaves

DIRECTIONS:
1. Wash the dahl and soak it for at least 4 hours. Drain it. Grind it with a little of the water into a paste and add the yogurt to make a nice batter.



Or blend it with the yogurt and water in a blender or food processor into a batter. Let it stand at least 6 hours or overnight in a warm place, covered.

2. Add the chilies, ginger, turmeric, salt, lemon juice, melted ghee, and baking powder. Mix just enough to moisten all ingredients. Grease a baking pan with a little ghee and pour in the batter about 1 inch thick.

STEAMED DHOKLA
Place a cake rack in a pot, fill with a couple inches of water, cover and bring to a boil. Place the pan of dhokla batter on the cake rack, cover and steam 20 minutes. Test for doneness if a knife comes out clean.

BAKED DHOKLA
Bake the pan of dhokla at 350 degrees F for about 25-30 minutes or until browning on the edges and cracks are forming on top and the center springs back when touched.

TOPPING
To prepare a topping, heat the 2 tablespoons of ghee in a small pan and fry the mustard seeds, the sesame seeds, coconut, and a pinch of asafoetida. When the mustard seeds finish popping, spread these seasonings over the top of the dhokla and then sprinkle over it the coriander leaves.



Cool and cut into diamonds. Goes well with coconut chutney. Makes a good breakfast or snack item... or any time.

atta dosa

Common in India, atta dosa is fine wheat crepes generally made with chillies and fresh coriander leaves. I prefer black pepper. Easy to assemble and takes a little practice to make them thin, but they're probably ok if a little thick at first.

Basically "atta" is very fine wheat flour, but these can be made with whole wheat pastry flour and regular wheat, too.

INGREDIENTS:

2 c atta flour or whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 t salt (or as desired)

2 T chopped fresh coriander leaves or parsley

black pepper, as desired
1 t cumin seeds
1 t sugar

lukewarm water

ghee for frying

PREPARATION:

1. Whisk all the ingredients together, except the fresh coriander, with warm water until you have a nice batter, fairly on the thin side for making dosas or thin pancakes. Then stir in the chopped coriander leaves.


Cover and let the mixture sit for at least 30 minutes. I prefer to leave it overnight, unless the kitchen is very warm.

2. Place a generous teaspoon of ghee onto a heated griddle. When it starts to smoke, mix the batter one more time and then pour out 1/3 cup of it and using the bottom of the measuring cup, press down on the batter to quickly smooth it out from the center to the edge of the pan using circular motions and then back and forth to form a very thin pancake, as thin as possible.

3. Cook the dosa on high heat until it appears dry on top, a little firm and browning on the bottom (lift a little to take a look).

4. Flip the dosa over and lower the heat ( If the heat is too high this side will cook fast but the pancake inside will be sticky).

It may be larger than the spatula but if it is cooking nicely it'll hold together if you flip it quickly. Flip it in such a way that all parts of the pancake cook evenly (It helps to turn the skillet as needed if the burner itself does not heat evenly)

5. Cook  until slightly browned.
Offer to Krishna with soup or subji or as one of the suggested variations below.

VARIATIONS:
After cooking the first side and flipping it over, spread on grated cheese on half the dosa, fold and cook each side until cheese melts and lightly browned.

Honey smeared, plain atta dosa using spices like cinnamon instead, rolled up like a crepe filled with applesauce and walnuts is also very delicious.

"Back of the Bread is the Flour
And back of the Flour is the Mill,
Back of the Mill is the Sun and the Shower
And the Wind and the Father's
Will."

quick pizza sandwich

Quick and easy!

YOU'LL NEED:
chapatis or pita bread

crumbled paneer
braised tomato slices
Italian seasoning
Olive oil

hing (opt)

ASSEMBLE as shown, adding on top a little olive oil, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. If you use the hing, chaunk in a little ghee first. Olive oil is not good to heat up. Can simultaneously braise the tomatoes in the hing and ghee. also paneer for a nice flavor.

Offer to Krishna with love.

paneer or fresh cheese making

Paneer can be made out of whatever milk is available and adding gradually just enough curdling agent until the curds separate and the whey is clear, but for beginners though, here are some measurements from the cookbook by Adiraja prabhu:

INGREDIENTS:
10 cups (2.3 ltr) whole milk
5 tablespoon lemon juice or 2 teaspoon citric acid,
or 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) yogurt, or 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) whey
(There are many options. Use whatever is on hand to curdle the milk. Bottled lemon juice, fresh lemon juice, and yogurt whey also work well.)

Each curdling agent will give slightly different effects to the finished cheese.

PREPARATION:
1. Bring the milk to a boil.

2. Add the curdling agent and stir. It is crucial to pour it in at the rise of the first boil, not after it is turned off and cooling down. Almost immediately the curds and whey will separate. If the whey is not clear, add a little more curdling agent. The separated curds and whey will look something like this after the heat is turned off:
3. Separate the curds from the whey through a cheesecloth or a clean piece of thin, undyed, absorbent, and 100% cotton cloth.
LATER NOTE: I currently pour the curds directly into the sieve to drain the whey. Meanwhile, I have a cheesecloth already spread out on a kitchen counter. Under the cheesecloth is an absorbent kitchen towel, so that the remaining whey can have somewhere to go besides the floor. Next, I flip the drained curds from the colander onto the cheesecloth, fold the cloth and then place the cooking pot, this time filled with water, on top of the cheescloth covered curd.

If you want soft paneer, do not press very long. I'd go only 1 minute these days.

You can save the whey for a variety of purposes such as a sweetened beverage or making more paneer. I prefer using it in chapati dough, bread dough and batters or biscuits

Pressed paneer is often cut into chunks for deep frying, stir frying on a skillet or boiling. Here's a tip for even softer fried paneer. After frying, add it to the veggies while they are cooking. The cooking juices make the paneer even more tender, along with short times of pressing it under a weight before cutting and frying.

Pictured here is more paneer than vegetables. One has to judge how much to use.

If you need more of a soft, crumbly fresh cheese, called "chenna", while making, for example, scrambled paneer, just hang it up in a cheesecloth or allow it to drain in a colander without pressing. The longer it hangs, however, the dryer it'll be.

Knowledge of Duty- For the Children's Sake

In Bhagavad gita 16.24, Lord Krishna says:

"One should therefore understand what is duty and what is not duty by the regulations of the scriptures. Knowing such rules and regulations, one should act so that he may gradually be elevated."

In Kali yuga we are challenged by three things- finding out what our duty is, finding out how to execute that duty and learning how to stick to it.

ELEVATION FROM STICKING TO PRESCRIBED DUTIES
First of all, Srila Prabhupada gives much information in his translations and teachings about the various prescribed duties for each varna and asrama and for women. It is up to us to fill in the details with sastric compatible, practical resources and education. For example, shortly after my marriage, a woman devotee gave me a book to help me out with the details of my new service as a wife. That book educated me for how to work cooperatively in a marital relationship.

That's because it's not important to just know what one's duty is, but to stick to it. Bhagavad gita gives much direction on this: To give up one's duty because it is troublesome is in the mode of passion (Bg 18.8). It does not lead to fame but infamy (Bg 2.34). It does not lead to higher planets or spiritual elevation (Bg 2.2), etc. It perpetuates one's material existence, because the heart is not pure due to premature renunciation. "Not by merely abstaining from work can one achieve freedom from reaction, nor by renunciation alone can one attain perfection. Everyone is forced to act helplessly according to the qualities he has acquired from the modes of material nature; therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment. One who restrains the senses of action but whose mind dwells on sense objects certainly deludes himself and is called a pretender." --Bg 3.4-6

CURRENT DEGRADATION FROM GIVING THEM UP
Giving up one's occupational duty would include divorce and abortion. Some support divorce by pointing out the lack of qualification of Kali yuga men. But maybe it isn't just one-sided, maybe there is also a shortage of qualified family women who take their duties at home seriously!

I have personally witnessed child negligence cases but decided to remove them from here. Suffice to say that if you think ISKCON mothers have any duty confusion, the children of our movement suffer at the brunt end of this dilemma. Also, unfortunate for me, part of my life has been no exception. For example, my husband very kindly and repeatedly asked me to look after our children, while I continuously thought he was in maya! “I got book distribution to do!”

WHY WOMEN NEED PROTECTION
In this regard, I've come to a conclusion why Vedic culture stresses the protection of women. It mainly boils down to one reason- women get pregnant. Otherwise, what would it matter what women do? Where they go? Who they hang out with? Who would care!

So, it's all about protecting children really. It's for the children's sake. And society's sake, because children are the future citizens of the world.

In a recorded lecture I heard Srila Prabhupada was speaking about how a brahmacari should respectfully view all women as mother. After this lecture, a young man asked Prabhupada very plainly what to do if in the west we hate our mothers. To which Prabhupada thoughtfully replied that women should learn to behave as mother.
A PURE EXAMPLE OF ATTACHMENT PARENTING 
But in today's western society, if a mother shows much concern for her children she is labeled as "smothering" or "over protective" or "hovering". Well, that's because they don't know about Mother Yasoda. 😂

Here is an excellent description taken from Sri Brhad Bhagavatamrta 3.6.166-177 for meditation:
"Mother Yasoda saw Krsna perspiring from a mood of ecstasy and came to wipe His face and went with Him as far as the outer gates of the village, her breasts wet with milk. At His request she then turned back toward the house.

"But- oh!- after two or three steps she craned her neck and anxiously went back to her son. She made paan for Him and put some in His mouth and some in His hand and then again turned toward the house. But once again she quickly came back to Him. Right on the path she fed Him some fruits and some other sweet things and gave Him something to drink. Then she again started going back to the house, and then again turned around.

"She gave Him a thorough looking over and adjusted His clothers and the other things He had on, and then she once more turned back. But then she again returned, and plaintively gave Him some instructions. 'My dear child, don't go too far into the impenetrable woods. And never ender deep into the forest where there are thorn!

"After speaking this way at length, beseeching Him to take care, she once again turned home and took a few steps, and yet again came back. 'My dear boy Rama,' she said, 'You stay in front of Your younger brother. And you, Sridama, stay behind your friend Krsna with Sarupa. You, Amsu, should stay on Krsna's right, and you, Subala, on His left.' Straw between her teeth, she implored the boys with such requests.

"Then she looked intently at her son. In this way Mother Yasoda, anxiously going back and forth again and again, showed more love than a cow who has just given birth to a calf.

"Her son then bowed down to her, took hold of her feet, and embraced her. And with various rationales, and finally with words of insistence of His own, with great effort He made her turn back. And she, crying, milk dripping from her breasts, stood right there, motionless like a painted picture, and distantly watched from that high place near the forest."