Strawberry n Cream

Bri….

strawberryncream — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 05:30:57 +0000

This is an appeal on behalf of a group of food bloggers who are friends of Briana Brownlow @ Figs With Bri.

Bri was diagnosed with breast cancer two and half years ago. A mastectomy, chemotherapy and two years of relatively good health later, the cancer is back. It has metastasized to other parts of her body. At the age of 15, Bri lost her 41-year old mother to the disease. Now, she’s waging her own war against breast cancer. More about it here.

She is going through intensive chemo and other treatments and needs to focus single-mindedly on healing and finding what treatment works best for her. Her health insurance, unfortunately, does not cover holistic alternatives which she would like to try. Bri and her husband Marc have enough on their plates right now in addition to worrying about her medical bills.

The team organising the JUNE edition of CLICK at Jugalbandi has organised a fundraiser to help Bri and her family meet her out-of-pocket medical costs for ONE YEAR.

CLICK is a monthly theme-based photography contest hosted by Jugalbandi. This month’s theme is: YELLOW for Bri

Yellow is the colour of hope. Through the work of the LiveStrong Foundation, it has also come to signify the fight against cancer.

The entries can be viewed HERE. The deadline for entries is June 30, 2008. The fundraiser will extend until July 15, 2008.

The target amount is 12,000 U.S. dollars. We appeal to our fellow bloggers and readers to help us achieve this. Bri deserves a chance to explore all options, even if her insurance company thinks otherwise.

There’s a raffle with exciting prizes on offer. After viewing the list, you may make your donation HERE or at the Chip-In button on any participating site.

Your donation can be made securely through credit card or Pay Pal and goes directly to Bri’s account.

This month’s photo contest also has some prizes. Details HERE.

You can support this campaign by donating to the fundraiser, by participating in CLICK: the photo event, and by publicising this campaign.

Ven Pongal-South Indian Dal Khichdi

strawberryncream — Tue, 13 May 2008 13:48:48 +0000

Ven Pongal is one of the most favoured and enjoyed dishes at home. It is a rice and dal concoction which is a typical breakfast dish in Tamil Nadu. I learned to make pongal from my mother, not by asking her, but jus by watching her making it… In fact it can be prepared in a jiffy and especially if suddenly guests drop in. Even though quite a good quantity of ghee is used for preparing the dish, the other major ingredients help in the proper digestion too. So no need to keep counting calories

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

Raw Rice 1 cup

Moong Dal 1/4 cup

Ginger 1 teaspoon( finely chopped)

Pepper Corns 1 teaspoon

Cashewnuts for garnish

Curry Leaves 1 sprig

Asafoetida 1/4 teaspoon

Ghee Enough to fry garnish ingredients

Salt To taste

Method:

Wash rice and moong dal. Pressure cook together with salt. The mixture should be of a porridge like consistency. Heat a kadai and pour enough ghee. Once its hot, add the pepper corns, ginger pieces, Cashewnuts, curry leaves and remove from fire. Then add a pinch of Asafoetida. Add this garnish to the rice-dal mixture and mix well.

Pongal is ready to be served with hot sambar and coconut chutney.

(My cam is behaving weird by not connecting through bluetooth. Will post pics later..plz excuse me for that)

Pet Care

strawberryncream — Tue, 13 May 2008 06:39:40 +0000

When we got our first puppy, I used to be paranoid about its care, health, vaccinations and other things. But after two years and having bought our second dog, its not so difficult as I had thought it would be.

I have often seen people thronging pet stores to buy different kinds of food and medicines for their pets. But believe me, there’s nothing like home made food and remedies for them. The best part is that they respond so well to such things… even better than ready made food and allopathic medicines. So many of our commonly used stuff can be used for animals too…I dunno if everybody will agree to it, but atleast it works for my two lovely pets.

Here are some tips and tricks:

1) Ticks and Fleas

Dip a cotton swab in Listerine and dab it on the tick/flea. It will immediately fall off.
This is very effective and also does not have any side effects.

2) Pets gnawing at their bedding

Spray some vinegar on their bedding. This prevents them from biting their beds.

3) Pet Odour

Add a few drops of Tea Tree EO to their bath water for the final rinse. It helps to prevent bad odour and will also keep them smelling fresh.

4) Indigestion

Give the dog a teaspoon of honey.

5) Intestinal Gas

“Digene”/”Gelusil works wonders. But give them only one tablet or 1 teaspoon(liquid form) once a day.
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It is a misconception among people that dogs need to be fed on a non vegetarian diet. I do not agree with this. Both my dogs are pure vegetarians and they are very healthy and active. These are some common recipes I use to prepare their meals.

Vegetable Rice:

Raw Rice 1 cup
Carrots 1
Potatoes 1 large size
Beans 3 or 4

Wash the rice and vegetables. Cut the vegetables into 1 inch pieces. Put everything into a pressure cooker and cook till 2 0r 3 whistles. Remove from fire and let it become luke warm. You may add a pinch of turmeric powder( Haldi) to the rice and mix well. This helps in combating with intestinal worms.
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Protein Rice

Raw Rice 1 cup
Soya Granules 1/2 a cup
Moong Dal 1/4 cup

Wash the rice and dal and also the soya granules. Cook all three ingredients in a pressure cooker till 3 whistles. Once cooked, remove from fire and serve luke warm.
This is an excellent source of proteins for canines. You may also add a little buttermilk( not too sour) or curd to the rice( my doggies love that).
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Nutritious Khichdi

Moong Dal 1/2 tbsp
Masoor Dal 1/2 tbsp
Tuvar Dal 1/4 tbsp
Raw Rice 1/4 tbsp

Dry roast all the ingredients in a kadai. Put in a mixer and dry grind to a coarse mixture. Add enough water to the dal-rice powder and pressure cook. This makes a highly nutritious khichdi for pets.