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| Radish Seedlings |
It's been one week since M planted a mini victory garden for me and we have some radish seedlings emerging! Some weeds, too, apparently, but, I am not pulling them until I can be sure they are not the wildflower seeds we scattered. We scattered the wildflower seeds on the other side of the bed, but, it is always possible that some of them got redistributed when I watered them.
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| Seedlings Up Close |
We had a shower of rain, very early this morning. It was of short duration, but, the sound of it woke me up! It was the first rain shower we've had in my area since May, I believe.
It was a relatively cool day for us. Our high today was 61F. Considering we had a high of 96F on Tuesday and Wednesday, 61F is cold! I bundled up and went outside in the early afternoon to walk for 20 minutes in the driveway and the sidewalk in front of my house. The sun shone through the clouds and it felt good to get some fresh air. Later in the afternoon, I practiced the piano.
Friend R had told me that she was ordering some stringhoppers, to be delivered today. She was going to share some with me, but, wouldn't allow me to pay for my share. So, I cooked a potato curry and a mackerel curry to share with her. In the evening, I drove over to her place to give her the curries and receive some stringhoppers, in return. Since we do a contactless exchange (she takes things out of the trunk of my car and puts her things in the trunk for me), I didn't realize quite what she had given me until I got home. She had treated me to a feast!
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| Lavariya, Green Rice, Masala Vada (in plastic bag), Stringhoppers |
The lavariya is a stringhopper that is filled with a mixture of coconut sweetened with treacle before being steamed. The green rice is rice cooked with ground curry leaves and other spices. The masala vada is made with lentils, soaked, ground, mixed with spices and herbs, and deep fried. I've been snacking on everything all evening!
Today, I am grateful for:
- The rain!
- Seedlings coming up
- My friend's generosity
- Yummy treats
- Working heaters!
How was your Saturday? What are your plans for Sunday?
We have rain today so it looks like our run if better weather was shorter than expected!
ReplyDeleteFriend R is very generous in sharing all of that with you but I am sure that your contributions of the curries was equally as generous. It's a lovely way of maintaining togetherness and friendship even though you can't actually sit and eat the meals together.
I hope the rain is short-lived and you'll have many more sunny days, next week.
DeleteR is very generous. I'm not sure my curries equals her generosity, but, I know she doesn't like to cook, so she appreciates them. As you said, it is a way of maintaining our friendship. :)
You and your neighbors certainly eat well. It all looks good and I don't know about you, but if someone else does the cooking it seems to taste better.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Live and Learn. Yes, it does taste better when someone else does the cooking! Especially when it is something that you don't normally make, yourself.
DeleteWhat a fantastic feast! It's so nice that the two of you share with each other like that.
ReplyDeleteIt was a lovely meal, Martha. I froze some of it for another day, and there's enough for a couple of meals during the week, as well. R and I watch out for each other. :)
DeleteOh, how I love yummy treats like these, sound so good and full of flavour! And there is nothing better than having your own garden,I am planning to start a tiny one on my balcony next Spring☺
ReplyDeleteTreats like these are food for the soul! That's wonderful that you are planning to have a small balcony garden! You can grow so many things in containers, even in the smallest of spaces.
DeleteI want to start having things like string hoppers . It is so incredibly exotic sounding!
ReplyDeleteIf you lived closer to me, I'd have given you some! If there is an Indian grocery store in your area, check if they have frozen string hoppers. They might be known as "idiyappam" ("string hoppers" is the Sri Lankan English term). There is a dehydrated version, too, but, I haven't tried it and don't know how good it is. Or, plan a visit to Los Angeles, after the pandemic, and I'll treat you to a Sri Lankan meal. :)
DeleteI really wish I lived near you and R. LOL
ReplyDeleteSometimes I buy frozen springhopper packages from an Indian store.
I've never made green rice. It sounds interesting. Do you know if R adds already cooked rice to ground curry leaves and spices and sautés it, or cooks rice with everything in it?
The frozen stringhoppers are pretty good. The Sri Lankan store also sells packets of dehydrated stringhoppers, but, I've not tried those.
DeleteR ordered the green rice from the lady who made the stringhoppers and other items. I haven't made it, myself, but, I watched a couple of online videos and they seem to roast the curry leaves with various lentils and spices, then, grind it and add to cooked rice (and everything is sauteed, again, with more lentils, etc.)
Thank you Bless. 😊
DeleteYou are welcome. :)
DeleteThe Masala Vada look very much like part of the Indian takeout we had a week ago, and they were delicious. It is fortunate that DH and I share a love of spicy foods. There was a variety of containers with lentil curry, paneer curry, butter chicken and more!
ReplyDeleteOur lovely weather is too good to stay indoors and this morning I walked down to the river, and again this afternoon with DH. We saw ducks, a fox, squirrels chasing high up a tree, and even an amazing "rainbow" on the calm river on the far side!
I'm glad you were able to enjoy some Indian takeout, Bushlady. Sounds like you are making the most of the good weather. I should be more like you and take advantage of the afternoon sunshine to go outside (and not be put off by the fact that it is only 61F! :D)
DeleteHow exciting about the seedlings. I hope they are your radishes. The older I get, the more food centered I become. Your treats look delicious.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Stephenie. They do look like radish seedlings and are coming up where we planted the radish seeds. Looking forward to harvesting them, in a few weeks. :)
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