Tapioca pudding

Yesterday was Ekadasi and this offering to Krishna (we haven't used tapioca in a long time) came out so good, we hope to recall how it went

INGREDIENTS: 

• 1 c pearl tapioca (sabudana), soaked about 30 minutes 
• 4 c whole milk
• 1/4 c sugar
• 3 cardamom pods, seeds and ground
• a handful of cashews, toasted in 1 T ghee

PREPARATION:

1. Bring milk, sugar and cardamom to a boil
2. Drain and stir in the soaked tapioca and bring to a boil again 
3. Lower the heat to a gentle boil and let cook about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally , until thick. That means you can see the tapioca. In other words, it’s no longer at the bottom of the pot and the spoon is getting nicely coated with thickened milk. 
4. Turn off the heat and it will continue to thicken asit cools.
5. If you want to speed up the cooling process, then place the pot in a pan full of water cold water. 
6. When it’s cool enough for offering, stir in the cashews

Gobhi Upma

This recipe called Gobhi Upma (cauliflower Upma), has been adapted from Yamuna’s Cookbook, a favorite recipe book. Pictured is upma served with okra subji with paneer, sliced avocados and a mango blended butter milk.

 INGREDIENTS:

1 cup cracked whole wheat (Or sooji/farina, if whole wheat is not available)

2 T butter or ghee

2 T ghee

A handful of cashews, coarsely chopped 

1/2 T minced ginger root

1/2 T cumin seeds

1/2 t fenugreek seeds

2 T sesame seeds

10-12 curry leaves

1 small cauliflower , chopped 

1 1/4 t salt

1/2 t turmeric 

1 t ground coriander 

Water

2 c water (1 cup can be buttermilk, if available)

1  - 2 T craisins or raisins (opt) 

2 T chopped fresh  coriander or fenugreek leaves 

PREPARATION:

Begin toasting on a frying pan with very low heat the whole wheat with melted butter or ghee.

In a small saucepan toast the cashews by stirring constantly over high heat in 1 T ghee until light brown. Strain and set aside.

In another pot heat remaining ghee and make a chaunk by first adding ginger and cumin. When these begin to brown, add the sesame.

When sesame looks slightly darker, stir in the fenugreek and curry leaves followed by the vegetables and salt and stir them to coat with ghee and spices. 

Stir in the turmeric and coriander powder 

Add enough water to almost cover the cauliflower. Cover and cook on high until the water is evaporated and cauliflower softened. 

The add to the cauliflower 2 cups more water and buttermilk, if available, and bring to a boil. 

While boiling, carefully stir in the hot, toasted whole wheat sooji

Stir to moisten all ingredients and then gently fold in the cashews and craisins or raisins if desired.

Turn off the heat, add fresh coriander leaves and then cover and let sit about five minutes before offering to Krishna with a wedge of lime or lemon.

VARIATIONS 

Try different vegetables. Okra stir fried in the ghee and spices first, is a favorite added with the cauliflower.

DIY bath mat

This mat which was woven from strips of fabric and has undergone so many washings since, that it’s incredible how it has held up for the past few years.

An extra large piece of cardboard was used with notches cut on two opposite sides for a loom. My original attempt is posted here which was made from a smaller piece of cardboard and t-shirt strips. The mat above was made a little differently from an old sheet torn into strips rather than t-shirts. That way a larger mat could be woven that has the same color throughout. This type of weaving with generous strands of fabric also brings a nice texture to your bathroom decor .

Building a wardrobe

 I know, I know, discussing clothing is so mundane, right? But truthfully, I’ve spent most my life trying to find clothes, alongside the usual sari, that are modest but also that I feel comfortable in and are nice looking. So the following is a list of favorites to perhaps spare others the bother of figuring out what to wear that may be appropriate for devotee women. 

Today’s find is the sarong. 

Now generally  a sarong, under various names, is worn by sudranis. In other words, it’s casual wear and often used as a beach cover up in western countries by bikini clad beauties which is simply tied or tucked around the waists (or neck). But the trick here- for ladies- is to add a slip underneath, especially if you plan to wear it in public. And make the first tuck far to your right, next to your hip. That way no slip will show when you walk and sit, etc.. Continue to wrap and tuck like a sari. Only it’s shorter. Much shorter.

I’m no expert on these, but what I like most is the simplicity. A piece of cloth wrapped around you...err, tucked around your slip, and that’s it!  And they come in beautiful colors, often with batik or floral patterns. 

MORE FAVORITES gradually these will be added with links. There’s so many styles(!), these are just the general ideas.

Tunics Click on the link for a sample . Indian tunics usually run a little longer. These pair  well either with jeans, yogi pants, casual pants or skirts.

Crop tops and Choiles: The western style crop top is the closest thing to the Indian style The western style crop top is the closest thing to the Indian style choile. These are great not only underneath saris, but also for low cut tunics, blouses, etc.

Yogi pants, AKA drawstring pants. These can be all purpose. Whether it’s for underneath a long tunic, a knee length skirt with the long slits on the sides, underneath a short skirt, or something to keep your legs warm in the winter under a sari or maxi shirt or something to sleep in, they are very comfortable. We’re  talking about the 100% cotton drawstring types.

Maxi skirts

Blouses , especially to go with skirts.

Scarves and chaddars 

Shirt dresses Team up with pants or jeans of casual skirt. Some seem to fall in the tunic category also.

Cardigan

Ironing

 With my new service of ironing Srila Prabhupada’s clothes , I needed another iron. Fast. That’s because I started noticing stains on the clothes coming from the steam iron I was using(!)

So  I did some investigation to see how to prevent that and the simplest idea was to get a better iron, one of those pre-steam irons like my mother used to use.

In other words, note the smooth surface. There are no steam holes that can leak annoying mineral deposits on clothing! And you can easily supply your own steam by first misting the cloth with a spray bottle of regular water. No more having to buy distilled water!

You cannot but these “dry irons” in stores. I looked. My appreciation for online shopping improved when I found what I was looking for on EBay. A similar iron cost over $50 and the EBay one was a better price, longer cord, free shipping...plus I got the iron in two days. Pretty nice. I just hope it can stand the test of time. 

(LATER NOTE: It only lasted six months! 😞)

(LATER LATER NOTE: After sitting on a shelf for a couple months, I decided to give it another try, and what a nice surprise! It again works perfectly! 🙂🙂🙂 Another thing I noticed, second time around, is that it presses clothes better because it’s heavy in comparison to the substitute iron I was using last couple months. 🙂 )

(LATER LATER LATER  NOTE: I discovered the reason the iron wasn’t working was a problem with the electric cord shorting out. So I followed the following  video to repair it:

Used small wire nuts so everything fit. Now the iron is as good as new, thank Krishna.)

The only other think to watch out for is starch build up if you starch the clothes. This is easy though, just wash the cool iron with soap and water after using starch. 

ONE MORE NOTE: I found out I can get by with less starch. Problem solved. 🙂 Hare Krishna AGTSP

DIY Clothes Starch

I was given an aerosol spray can of clothes starch to iron HDG’s Srila Prabhupada’s clothes each weekend, but I couldn’t stand inhaling that stuff while ironing or the thought of adding yet another can to a landfill. So I did some research and discovered there are several ways you can make your own clothes starch. Cornstarch is often used, and next I will be experimenting with rice water strained from boiled rice. 

Today’s rinsing the clothes in a gallon of water, with cooked and then cooled cornstarch added to it, gave a very nice, crisp finish, as can be seen (but not felt, sorry) in the picture of the shirt on the right, above. I learned about this from a website. Here’s the link, and she gave good reasons why it makes sense to make your own starch. 

And another helpful site that tells about different types of starch you can use is here. 

I didn’t tell anyone else yet how I’m cutting corners. I just want to see if they notice any difference. If not, my efforts are a success! Also, check out the new iron I got for this service and why.  Hare Krishna Jaya Srila Prabhupada.

Home Grown Sponges

When you think of a loofah (the spelling usually used when  sold in stores, especially in the bath or beauty departments), you probably think of it as a product coming from the sea. It does resemble some kind of sea vegetable. But actually loofahs (aka the Latin spelling luffa) can be grown in your own back yard!

That’s what I discovered while gardening this year. Someone handed me some seeds they had saved from the year before and I thought I’d give them a try. After a rather long time to get established, but I tend to keep busy, so no problem, the luffa (my preferred Latin spelling used by growers) that got planted suddenly took off and the plants grew into thick, long vines with big flowers bees and other insects go crazy over. 

Here’s some photos of vines that are  growing, AFTER a major trimming back and in the afternoon when the flowers have shriveled quite a bit. 

The big gourd type fruits eventually turn brown and then you have yourself some sponges. With more seeds included, for next year. 

Yes, that’s part of a bird nest on the left side. The baby birds flew away last week, so now I can finally get in here again. 

I also have been experimenting with picking  the luffa smaller  to  cook in dahls snd subjis. Sometimes it’s been good and sometimes bitter or too spongey a texture to be palatable. And it doesn’t take long for them to turn so spongey they cannot be cut. 

The first time that happened I took off all the hard outer peel  with a paring knife and then discovered the next layer of vegetable matter came off easily, revealing the spongey skeleton inside. Next I washed and squeezed out the seeds and any remaining veggie flesh within. 

Keep in mind this is because the luffa was still green. The result was a nice light colored luffa, whereas even though if you wait for the luffa to turn brown and then the peel  will  come right off immediately , the sponge part inside tends to be brown. Some say they bleach it in that case, most likely for sales appeal, but I believe it’s fine either way.?

Later note: The newest discovery is that the luffas that turn brown first on the vine and then are peeled, aren’t always brown inside. They can have a nice cream color, too. More importantly, they are stiffer, fuller and sturdier. So from now on, I’ll harvest them for sponges only when fully mature with the crispy brown shell on the outside.

Plus I just noticed how the seeds easily fall out when fully dried. The more dry the better.

More information can be found on the web how to grow and harvest luffa and its uses. They are particularly helpful if you like dry brushing, which is often part of an Ayurvedic daily routine. I’ve yet to use  them in the kitchen as actual sponges . So we’ll see how that goes!

ADDENDUM 

They work great!