Salad Sunday!

It seemed to be a lazy, dull and drab Sunday, yesterday. Needed to add some colour and fun to it! Should I go out and take a walk and try to click some pictures of the colourful birds in my favourite place, SGNP or should I drive out somewhere - was the confusion!! Well, could not decide on anything so just thought let me try my hand at preparing this salad which was served at my friend’s place during my recent visit to Bangalore. I had loved the taste as well as the colours in it.  I generally prepare the regular Kosambri (cucumber salad or the other veggie salads in south Indian style) or the veggie raitas regularly, but this time I did want to experiment a bit.

So, off I went out and brought home these colourful bell peppers a.k.a capsicum!

Refreshing colours - Red & Yellow Bell Peppers!

Cubed the peppers and whisked some sauce to dress up the salad.

Cubed bell peppers,  cabbage julienne, some mayo with magic sauce and olive oil!

A lazy Sunday looked more interesting with my daughter joining me in the kitchen.  Of course, the minute she entered the kitchen I was sure that I had some extra work.  She would never let me do anything simple. ‘Are you adding paneer to it’? ‘You know, cheese would go so well with it’…are just a few suggestions I would be subjected to! Well, a salad would never be simple after her grand entry!

That extra touch - Paneer and cheese!

Well, the next 15 minutes I was busy. The mayonnaise seemed to be perfect for mixing the veggies with but I had added to it a tsp of black pepper sauce, a bit of mixed herbs and liberally squeezed in juice of 1 whole lemon along with a tbsp of olive oil. Later sprinkled some salt and freshly ground black pepper on top of paneer and grated cheese, just before mixing the salad well.

The final 'Creamy look'! Bell Pepper with Paneer & cheese.

Finally, it seemed like I dished out a reasonably tasty salad. Hubby and daughter enjoyed it!

Bird watching!

Black Kite

Bird watching is one of my favorite hobbies. About a couple of years ago what started as timepass activity, is now an activity which I pursue with great interest. The best part of this hobby is, I can watch the birds by just looking out of our flat window and observe the sparrows hop, skip & jump on the bougainvillea creeper or a common Myna preen at leisure on the lamp post just across the road or a huge flock of parakeets fly by from here till there or even vice versa (There is this adorable flock of parakeets in our residential complex)!!

Well, in short, I don’t have to venture out or plan an outing especially for this purpose.  Recently, during my trip to Bangalore, I had this rare opportunity to watch a very common raptor ‘Black Kite’ perching on a police patrol van just beside the window at my mom’s house.  A godsend opportunity to watch this handsome bird, that too just beside our window!! The bird could be very common but getting to see it at such close quarters is not very common, I must say.  

The first look - Black Kite
Black Kite, is a medium sized 'bird of prey'.
They generally are found hovering high up in the sky identifying their prey on the ground.

A boring evening immediately transformed into an interesting as well as exciting evening! I picked up my camera and ventured out of the house. I wondered if I could get some closeup pictures.  I was totally excited but was also worried that the bird would take to it’s wings if it saw me approach it with the camera in my hands. To my surprise, the bird did not even try to move from it's place of perch. Within seconds I had this feeling that the bird was hurt or was not keeping well. Of course the bystanders already had many theories –

• The bird’s leg is hurt.
• It’s very weak, hence it has come down so low, else it would never come so close to human beings.
• It’s still a juvenile, may be it doesn’t know how to fly.
• The bird’s wings are not developed…etc etc!

Birds joining the police force? An amused police!

Well, even I was worried. Such a majestic bird, what would happen to it if it was really hurt? Who would care for it? Whom shall I contact and ask for some help? I immediately posted my doubts on a bird forum on FB too, but within minutes, when the police patrol van moved, the bird took to it’s wings and comfortably flew away and perched on a tree branch, along the road.

Isn't he handsome?

Almost everybody standing around jumped with joy and cheered the bird! But I still wonder why the bird could have come so close to the ground especially if it was not feeding! It sat and obliged me with many a photographs and never tried to fly away until the vehicle moved from the place it was parked. Whatever the reasons, it was an enjoyable experience overall! 

Roses!!

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

Sugar is sweet,

And so are you...

is the poem which instantly comes to our mind when we see or think about roses! It so happened that while going through the morning newspaper the previous Sunday morning, I chanced upon this 4 line news item about the 'Rose show /exhibition and competition' being held at Maharashtra Nature Park (MNP), Mumbai and I was instantly reminded of the above poem.

Red Roses - Maharashtra/Mahim Nature Park. February 2014.

The event was held on 1st and 2nd February, 2014 at Maharashtra Nature Park more popularly known as Mahim Nature Park, Mumbai. To me, it was yet another opportunity to carry my camera and try to capture the beauty of these flowers.  On display were hundreds of roses in all their captivating colours and shades.

Mauve is the in colour - Maharashtra/Mahim Nature Park. February 2014.

There are around 3500 varieties of roses in the world. Roses had arrived from many parts of India - Bangalore, Kolkata etc. The popular variety displayed in this show was the 'Floribanda' and a few others too.

Double shade - Maharashtra/Mahim Nature Park. February 2014.

It was an amazing experience to be at the venue and see the participating members lovingly handle the flowers with utmost care and affection.  

Coral Power - - Maharashtra/Mahim Nature Park. February 2014.

The pleasant February weather seemed to create the perfect atmosphere for these flowers to exhibit their best colours. No wonder the flowers were in their full glory.