Ah . . . Ann Arbor

Back in the States (finally)! I first visited Dearborn for a few days before heading back to Ann Arbor. Sarah decided to come and visit while I am staying with Meredith, and we headed over to the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market for a morning stroll with a quick stop at Zingerman's (of course) and brunch at Cafe Zola (my favorite). It's a bit chilly in Michigan with temperatures reaching a high in the mid-60's.


Zingerman's is an old favorite from college days, and I love browsing through this very eclectic deli to witness 50 varieties of mustard and what seems like 20 types of honey.


We first stop at the wall of bread opposite the cheese and meat section to buy some fresh bread. Sarah purchased a chocolate and cherry loaf, and I opted for a vollkornbrot...I miss my dense rye bread.

On our way out of Zingerman's to the market, Sarah spotted celebrity chef Mario Batali enjoying breakfast with his son. She posed for a quick photo with him. Oh Mario! We love your butternut squash risotto in India! Of course, I have to make it with pumpkin not butternut squash as it is all I can find.

Now to the market . . .

The raspberries even taste like raspberries . . .

I am amazed to find dozens of varieties of tomatoes for sale. How quickly I had forgotten!

A pretty cluster of carrots and beets . . .
Yum! Pretzels!

We are all finished shopping. Aside from the bread, I also picked up a pint of fresh blueberries. From Kerrytown, we walk over to Main Street and Cafe Zola for breakfast.

Then, back to Meredith's to play with Katherine . . . who loves her bananas!

Hiking @ Sinhagad Fort

Today, Paul, me, Judene, Scott and Eric went on a hike up to Sinhagad Fort. Sinhagad Fort, literally translating to Lion Fort, is about 30 kilometers outside Pune and was built in the 1600's. We decided to hike 4 km up the hill through switchbacks, and then take a leisurely 8 km stroll back down the paved road. The total altitude we climbed was about 4,500 feet. We did not see any lions or leopards, but we did see some dung beetles and a crab and not to mention the splendid countryside that is now lush and green due to the monsoon rains.

Here I am 25% of the way up the hill . . .

View of the valley below and a chai station. These little chai stations are at various points up the hill selling chai, cucumbers, roasted corn and other treats.

An idyllic village below . . .

We finally made it to the top and the entrance to the fort . . .

As you can see, Judene and I found it easier to stroll down 8 km on this deserted road . . . it is usually packed with cars, but today it was completely empty and we were surrounded with natural beauty, fresh air, and no honking horns. Paul stops to smell the flowers . . .

We spot a curious temple on the way down . . .

Back to Scott and Judene's terrace at Waterfront to chat about the hike over some cheese and crackers.

Cooking with Pushpa: Lesson 4

Today's lesson . . . Chicken and Vegetable Biryani. To be honest, I really do not enjoy biryani. It is typically rice with a lot of oil and a few peas, and I find it a very boring food experience. However, Ann-Sofie who also employs Pushpa says her biryani is wonderful, so Paul and I decided to try the dish. I have encouraged Pushpa to also add more vegetables which allows this meal to be well-balanced, tasty, health, and easy to prepare.

Chicken and Vegetable Biryani (To serve 10-12 people)

Ingredients:

• 3 potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 small head cauliflower, roughly chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 100 g. green beans, chopped
• 12 oz. white mushrooms, stems removed
• 1 zucchini, roughly chopped
• 1 kg. (2.2 lbs.) chicken breast, cleaned and cubed
• 1/3 cup garlic and ginger paste
• 2 400-500 g. containers of plain yogurt
• 2 packets of biryani masala
• 1 tbsp. turmeric
• 1/4 c. coriander powder
• 2 tbsp. chili powder
• 1 bunch of fresh mint and coriander leaves, chopped
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• Rice (We like to use Basmati.)
• Oil

Directions:

1. Add a few tablespoons of oil to a heated medium sized pan and saute all vegetables, except for the mushrooms and broccoli, for about 5 minutes.
2. Place chicken in a large mixing bowl, add mushrooms and zucchini, and then add the cooked vegetables.
3. Next, add the yogurt to the bowl and mix everything together.
4. To the yogurt mixture, add the garlic and ginger paste, biryani masala, turmeric powder, coriander powder, chili powder and 3/4 of the freshly chopped mint and coriander leaves. Mix the spices into the yogurt mixture and let marinade for 5-10 minutes.
5. Add 4 cups of rice to a pot and cook following the recipe for the rice you have selected to prepare.
6. Bring the saute pan with oil, back up to high heat and saute the sliced onions until crispy. These onions will be used to garnish the top of the biryani.
7. Add the two chopped tomatoes to the yogurt mixture.
8. In a large Dutch oven or stock pot, over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil and the chopped onions and saute for 10 minutes.
9. Add the yogurt, chicken, and spice mixture to the sauteed onions and gently saute for 30 minutes.
10. After 30 minutes, get out a large serving bowl. In the bowl, first layer the rice, then the chicken, and finally the vegetables and sauce. Garnish with the remaining fried sliced onions and chopped cilantro and mint leaves.
11. Serve and enjoy

Later that evening, after our bellies were full, Paul found someone napping from her exciting day of hunting for stray cats in the alley . . .

Raksha Bandhan

Raksha Bandhan is a celebration of the relationship between a brother and a sister. It is a day when the siblings pray for each others' well being and wish for each others' happiness and goodwill. On this day, brothers make a promise to their sisters to protect them from all harms and troubles and the sisters pray to God to protect their brother from all evil. The festival takes place during the month of August, and our little celebration took place yesterday at Loveena's house between her sons, Avinash and Andrew, and Mieke's daughters, Nora and Lotte. 'Sisters' tie the silk thread called Rakhi on their 'brother's' wrist and pray for their well being and brothers promise to take care of their sisters, and give them a really cool word game as a gift! Here are some photos from the little celebration below. . .

Loveena helps Nora place a tikka on Avinash's forehead . . .
Mieke helps Nora tie the Rakhi to Avinash's wrist . . .

Ok, now it's Lotte's turn to tie one on Andrew . . . but since Andrew was not feeling well we'll just tie another one on Avinash!
It's decided--Little Einstein is much more interesting than this cultural holiday . . . although Avi looks pretty happy with his new wrist decorations!

Avi with his Rakhi . . .

Mieke's Birthday Brunch

Shhhh . . . . it's a surprise! Sunday morning we all quietly snuck over to Mieke's place to surprise her for a Sunday birthday brunch. Here she is blowing out candles on her birthday cake. I really shouldn't brag . . . but it's the best chocolate cake I have ever made! Yummy!

Obviously, Loveena and I are enjoying our cake and chat as the men seem to have disappeared somewhere . . .