salleyway brite; fig tree

Baltimore is under a tropical storm warning. Apparently, Hanna has us in her sights - fortunately she's weak and not at hurricane status. A hurricane in Baltimore? Yep, it happens. Isabel came through in 2003 and from the way people talk about her, she was one angry b*tch.

I thought Salleyway Brite had a good ring to it - and when you see the pictures you'll understand why it's an appropriate title. I also thought it sounded like something Gwyneth Paltrow might name her child.

Once again, a job that could have taken hours (or days) was made super easy with the right tool. And once again, you get to see the tool after it's been used:

The paint sprayer is fun and perfect for painting things like masonry and brickwork because it can really get into the nooks and crannies. My lesson learned: the red (now yellowish) hose in the picture screws into the machine sort of like a garden hose. As I worked up and down the salleyway and kept turning and adjusting, the hose started loosening - much to my dismay. There isn't a safety mechanism to stop the paint from shooting out at a blinding speed if this is to happen. You get the point - now we have a nice mess to deal with. It was a comical mistake; yellow paint shot up in the air, all over me and the siding:

I think the pressure washer will clean it off - but we'll worry about that later.

Craig really wants me to start doing before and after shots, so - before:

After:

From the other end - Jaxxon came by to inspect:

It looks a little ridiculous in the picture. The yellow is more subdued in real life and brightens it up in a cheery sort of way; not a "hey, guys, come to our house to check out the sun" sort of way.

Now about this fig tree. We're quite fortunate to have a mature tree in our neighbor's back yard providing shade and some wildlife. I also like that it actually gets figs and the leaves are pretty:



The problem is that it attracts a billion flies per second (people who have visited can affirm this problem - it's disgusting). It also attracts a few too many birds - who LOVE to eat the figs and subsequently turn them into fig'poo. It wouldn't be nearly as bad if we had grass below the tree, but it gets uglier and uglier as the summer goes on. I was going to write about it and tell you all how I want to chop it down - but then today I took this picture of the birdhouse that we love. And look, a little yellow finch flew right by as I took the picture. He looks like a ghost, just to the right of the birdhouse:



Then he sat up here in the tree and made a "SAVE THE FIGS" sign:

Damn finches. I'll be oiling my chainsaw...

Eggless Oats-Cocoa Cookies

Recipe source - Sailu's kitchen

I followed Sailu's recipe to the T. No modifications made. I had to bake few minutes more than what she had mentioned.



Ingredients


Quick cooking oats - 1 1/4 cup
Vegetable oil - 1/2 cup
Maida - 1/2 cup
Powdered sugar - 1 cup
Unsweetened cocoa powder - 1 1/2 tblspn
Baking powder - 3/4 tspn
A big pinch of baking soda
Vanilla essence - 1 tspn


Method

Sieve maida, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder.

Blend powdered sugar and oil, till smooth. Fold in the sieved ingredients into the sugar-oil mixture. Add vanilla essence, oats and knead to a soft dough. If you are not able to bring together, add little milk. I did not require milk. In case of adding milk, chill the dough for 5 minutes before you proceed.

Pinch off small balls from the dough and flatten them. Arrange on a greased baking tray and bake at 180 C for 15 minutes.

Crisp and melt in the mouth cookies are ready. I had sent some cookies for my friend's son. She called me to say they all liked it very much and will be happy to receive some, during my next bake. This is a keeper recipe for sure.

Lime Rasam

LIME RASAM
When eating the same rasam prepared with tamarind daily becomes boring, and the tongue craves for variety, we usually switch over to tomatoes or lime or even mango or pineapple to add the sour taste to rasam. Lime rasam can be had has a clear thin soup just before meals, or served like any other rasam with white rice.
Ingredients:
Lime – 1 big
Green gram dal – ¼ cup
Green chillies (slit) – 2
Asafoetida – 1 pinch
Curry leaves – a few
Coriander leaves – a few
Turmeric powder – 1 pinch
Salt – 1 tsp
Pepper – ¼ tsp
Cumin seeds – ¼ tsp
Ghee – 1 tsp
Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp
Tomato - 1
Method:
1. Pressure cook green gram dal in 1 ½ cups of water and turmeric powder.
2. Add salt, asafoetida, curry leaves to the watery cooked dal and boil for 2 minutes.
3. Add chopped tomatoes and boil for one more minute.
4. Add two glasses of water and decrease heat.
5. Coarsely powder pepper and cumin seeds and add it to the rasam.
6. Squeeze out the juice of one lime into the rasam
7. Add chopped fresh coriander leaves. (fewMint leaves will lend it refreshing flavour)
8. Wait until the rasam foams and remember to remove from flame before it boils.
9. Heat ghee and add mustard seeds. When it splutters add it to the rasam.
10. Keep the rasam covered so that the flavour is intact.
TIP: Any rasam should never be boiled as it spoils the flavours. Rasam will foam, and slowly rise to the top of the vessel, similar to milk, when it reaches boiling point. The flame should be switched off immediately, and the vessel covered with a lid to seal in the flavours.
Enjoy the hot rasam in a tall glass as you watch the monsoon rain lashing out.