My Pedicure Experience at a top rated place

After having spent wonderful time at lunch with my husband, I headed to get my pedicure done. I walk into this place called "La Monique" at Castro st. in Mountain View. I have been here earlier and had a good experience. As soon as this lady without any name batch started her work on my legs, I could make out that I am in for disaster. She was moving her hands very lazily, although its Thursday and the place is not at all crowded. She was cleaning of my cuticles, just in name. Massage was like so bad, as if I have made her to do it against her wishes. No pressure, her hands never touched back portion of my calfs..all superficial.Then came wax..and I knew it will be very hot so I waited few minutes before she could put my legs in, then also it was hot.I was hoping atleast she cannot paint the nails bad, she must be having that much experience to do that much right. But, it was a disaster too. I do a better job at it. Nailpolish was all smudging upto the cuticles and left marks around the nails on skin. When she was done, I asked her if she is going to clean those marks, she did try but couldnt clean it. I was sulking whole time for walking into this place and swear wont do it again. Spoiler to a good lunch:-)

Girlfriend and Wife

Now, I am a wife to my once boyfriend. Lately, I am realizing what good old times were those when that boyfriend of mine expressed his emotions..hugged, kissed,surprised, arranged outings, brought flowers, gifts..overall I could feel love in the air and all around me. It was heaven, which I didnt realize at that time. May be, what I have today would sound heaven sometime in the future.
That transition from boyfriend to wife doesn't happen overnite. It takes atleast a year or one kid. What changed in your boyfriend when he became your husband and what are the things you wish he would still do as a husband?

Like it here or in India?

When I was in India dreaming of coming to US, even plane ride was a big thing for me. I felt excited at the thought of sitting in a plane and landing in US.
Things that really bugged me in India were: You are always being watched..on the road, in the house, in a restaurant, in a bus..specially being a women u r always under scanner..all the worst if you are from some small city where guys scan your body from top to bottom without shame as soon as you step out. So moms are kind of liable to keep check on what kind of clothes do you wear...salwar kameez with a long scarf covering your breasts is what was acceptable when you stepped into teenage..but they didnt know that even this wont prevent anyone from gazing at you. So I am came to US and felt like a free bird not having to worry about what I should wear and what I should cover and who is watching me..on the contrary I found it odd that guys didnt pay any attention to the girl passing by. Later I realized thats called etiquete..which I found completely lacking in the world I come from.
Then I got married. My husband has been in US so I was spared from having to deal with Indian inlaws woes on a day today basis. But when they are here with us or when we visit them, I am pulled back to 18th century..where I am not suppose to do the way I please but spent my entire time pleasing my inlaws. Make fresh meals for them three times a day, take bath in the morning, serve fresh chapatis along with fresh food at every meal, make food 7 days of the week, dont go out for any meal, clean your house daily with vacuum.Also, wear Indian clothes all the time. Sometimes even when you are going for a picnic:-).So I become a daughter in law from 18th century..go to work, come back and make tea for in laws and the dinner for entire family..ignore your baby..they will look after him..but dont forget to serve fresh chapathis right from burner to their plate....we dont care..if you slogged the entire day at work but this is what DILs are suppose to be doing.
Given all this, US became a heaven for me away from this daily labor. I enjoyed it when I was by myself with my children and husband. I lived the way I wanted and what suited my circumstances. I love working here and spending my day today life with the freedom that every human being deserves without the fear of being under a scanner or fear of being a 18th century daughter in law(labor I must say?)

Aromatic Indian Ginger Tea

I have been very fond of tea all my life. It has been a favorite drink while chatting with my friends on cold winter evenings. I can be credited for making at least 75% of the people I have met get addicted to the kind of tea I make. It has built great bonds with people. I even introduced it at my workplace to another 2000 people. And as long as the workplace cafe followed my recipe, the demand for this wonderful drink kept going up and up. Tea has great health benefits too besides bringing people together. But try not to go beyond 2 cups in a day:-)

So what is it that makes this particular recipe so unique? Its mainly GINGER and how much and how well grated it is when you make the tea. Here is the recipe:

1 Cup Water

2 Tbsp Sugar(Or as per your taste)

3 Tbsp Ginger- peeled and finely grated(Use the smallest mesh in your grater)

1 Tbsp Tea leaves(I use Taj Mahal Tea leaves, which you could get in any Indian store)

1/2 cup of 2% milk(or whole milk)

Bring 1 cup water and 3 Tbsp of finely grated ginger to a boil. Let it boil for two minutes and make sure to cover it because you dont want to keep all ginger aroma in the water and not let it escape. Then add tea leaves and let it boil for 2 more minutes. This boiling process is to ensure that tea leaves and ginger juices are well absorbed in the boiling water. Now add 1/2 cup of milk(warm or cold). As soon as you add milk, boiling will settle down. Now wait for another 3 mins for this solution to come back to boiling stage. This is the final stage of boiling. Add sugar at this stage.Once it comes to a boil, let it boil for another 2 minutes. The more you boil at this stage, the richer color you will see. Now put off the flame and pour this hot tea into a cup using sieve so that tea leaves and ginger are separated. Let your nose sense the ginger aroma when vapors escape from your cup. Drink this hot in a cold morning or evening.

If you have questions on this recipe, I will be happy to answer it. But, its worth trying at least once. The best time is when you have close friends coming to your house for late night chit chat.

Slight variation in this recipe(using pepper powder too when adding ginger paste), this tea is really good for sore throat. The warm tea with tinge of ginger and black pepper feels really good on sore throat. Try it and let me know how did you like it.

I will be soon posting more recipes that will be prepared using Indian spices, vegeterian and very low on fat content and high on nutrition index and taste. Let me know how you feel about this recipe.