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| Stringhoppers with Coconut Sambol (Left) Red Rice Pittu with Coconut Milk and Lunu Miris (Right) |
It was a cooler day, today, with a high of only 90F. In the morning, I called the Sri Lankan restaurant and placed an order for a stringhopper meal (which included 10 stringhoppers, coconut sambol, yellow coconut milk curry with a hard boiled egg, and choice of fish or chicken curry; I opted for chicken) and a pittu meal (pittu is made with rice flour, grated coconut, and water mixed together to make small balls of dough, similar to couscous, and then, steamed, traditionally inside a length of hollowed out bamboo; the meal included a bowl of coconut milk, a very spicy hot mixture of chilies and onions ground together called lunu miris, and your choice of fish or chicken curry; and my daughter opted for fish). We also ordered one watalappan pudding, which is made with jaggery, coconut milk, and eggs. Before I placed the order, I called friend R to ask her if she wanted anything, but, she declined.
Daughter and I drove to the Sri Lankan restaurant and picked up our order, along with some savory snacks (fish filled pastries) and came home to have our lunch. There are leftovers for tomorrow's lunch or dinner, too. We decided that we didn't need anything from the Sri Lankan grocery store, this time.
I'm happy to report that a few of the plants that had wilted yesterday seems to have revived when I checked on them, today. The zucchini has some leaves that got scorched, but, the plants seem to be OK; the Persian cucumber has revived and so have the two smaller tomato seedlings. The bigger tomato plant might revive, but, the tomatoes on it seem to have got scorched. I am leaving them on the plant for M to see, and then, we might remove them. The bittermelon vine has died. I put a little water to just the vegetables and fruit trees, in the evening, just to help them along.
In the evening, neighbor S called and brought over some lahmajoon (Armenian pizza), an olive and tomato sauce like mixture her mother had made, a jar of maple butter, and some sweet potatoes! My daughter gave her a plate of melon pan and cookies, in exchange.
Today, I am grateful for:
- Having access to a Sri Lankan restaurant
- Being able to support a local, family run business
- A safe drive to the restaurant and back
- At least some of the plants have revived
- Neighbor S sharing food with us
Today's joyful activity was indulging in Sri Lankan specialty food that I don't usually make.
In between fun activities, I brought in the trash cans, put away the laundry from yesterday, and did the dishes.
Plans for tomorrow include M tending to the garden and more relaxing.
How was your Tuesday? What are your plans for Wednesday?
That's nice to be able to enjoy a Sri Lankan takeaway meal when your daughter is home, a lovely treat for you both. So lovely to share food with your neighbour too.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I look forward to when my daughter is home is indulging in getting takeaway meals. :) Even before the pandemic, we didn't eat in restaurants as much as we preferred to bring the food home to eat. Sharing food with my neighbor is a pleasure. :)
DeleteThe Sri Lankan food looks delicious. There's a Sri Lankan restaurant in Bath which I want to go to and am currently trying to persuade a friend that she will enjoy it, but she's not very adventurous about trying new things. They do offer takeaways but I want to try string hoppers and they are not available as a takeaway for some reason.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear your plants have revived. It must be difficult to keep them fully watered with the water restrictions you have in place.
Hope you have a good day with your daughter, whatever you plan to do xx
I remember you mentioned that Sri Lankan restaurant in Bath. The Coconut Tree or something like that, I think. I wonder why stringhoppers are not available for takeaway. Of the two - pittu and stringhoppers - I prefer stringhoppers and my daughter prefers pittu!
DeleteMost of the plants revived. A lot of the tender leaves got burned up, but, the plants will survive.
Thank you, Eileen; we are having a relaxed day. We took a water painting class (online), this afternoon (and discovered that a lot of our tubes of water paint have dried up!)
Oh my goodness. What a feast! Do you eat the bamboo or just open it up and eat the pittu that was steamed inside of it?
ReplyDeleteIt seems like you had a nice day centered around your feast.
I'm glad most of your plants appear to have come through the really hot time. Hopefully they will hold on.
It was a feast! You eat the pittu that is steamed inside the bamboo and the bamboo is reused (these days, however, most people use a metal tube to steam their pittu).
DeleteThank you, Debra; the plants are recovering. :)
The big leaves on my squash plants always wilt when it gets really hot here-even if I water them in the morning. However, they always come back when it cools off. I'm glad that most of your things revived from the heat.
ReplyDeleteThe zucchini leaves burned up! They got scorched for the sun and dried up. So did the entire bittermelon vine. But, the Persian cucumber vine revived and the tomato plants survived. :)
DeleteWhat an interesting meal! I don't know what DH would have thought of it but I am the adventurous one where food is concerned and I would have dived in, for sure!
ReplyDeleteIt really is too bad about your plants and I'm glad that some have revived. I never complain about our rainfall as I have seen even native plants and trees wilting during a drought and it is scary.
My doctor called this morning and reported that my blood work and bone density results were reasonable and did not need any more help than what I am already doing/taking. (the internet came back on around 11 pm yesterday).
I think you would have enjoyed the meal, Bushlady. The majority of the plants seem to have revived; we even had a little rain, very early this morning!
DeleteI'm glad your doctor called this morning and the results of your tests were reasonable. Just continue doing what you are doing and enjoy your days. :)
There is no 'only 90F' !!! It's a shame about the bitter melon. I hope that the rest of the plants thrive. Your garden always sounds amazing.
ReplyDeleteIt's "only" 91F, today! :D It even rained a little bit in the morning. As a result, it feel a bit muggy. M checked on the plants, today, and we think they will do OK. I will post some photos of the plants, soon.
DeleteFood looks lovely. Glad you managed to revive some of the plants. I am surprised that my hanging basket is still...well, hanging on. Usually by this time I've killed any plants and with the heat I expected it to die, but I am remembering to water it when I replenish the bird bath!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sharon; the food was tasty. :) Well done with keeping your hanging basket alive and well! As long as you keep watering it, it should do well. :)
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