australian food recipes: link party

Showing posts with label link party. Show all posts

Valley of Flowers, Pune Warriors and Aamby Valley City!

N has his month long vacations going on! (Yes the kids have to be at home for a month!) And so I decided to spend some time out of home with family surrounded by more people so that I wouldn't go crazy!!!
And we have been having an awesome time. Spent about a week in Pune - met family we haven't seen in a long time :) Loved it.

We went to this place called Valley of Flowers near Satara. It is situated on Kaas/Kas Plateau and is nature at its best. It has slopes and fields for as far as you can see, covered with flowers - pink, blue, white, yellow! They grow naturally and look pretty! Supposedly some rare species of flowers grow here. See for yourself -

The lilac/blue velvety flower

The pinkish purple ones

Pretty yellows! We couldn't take too many pictures of the vast expanse of flowers - it started raining and became misty - perfect to enjoy the place but not to take pics :)

The valley, plateau and clouds floating by! Ah! Bliss!

There were fields and slopes covered with flowers like this one above!

Heading back home after a long and mesmerizing day!

The Pune Warriors stadium under construction near Lonavala on the Pune Mumbai expressway.

N wanted to wish them victory! and maybe play here someday ;)

A relaxed boat trip in a man made lake at Aamby Valley City, Lonavala

It was a fun fun trip!! Looking forward to many more such trips :)
Hope all of you are doing great! What plans for the Dussehra holidays?

Linking this in to Patty's Weekly Party. Happy Monday!

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Fun at Sanctuarry!!

No I did not make a spelling mistake with the spelling of Sanctuarry!! It is the name of a place where we took N along with our friends last weekend. We were about 8 adults and 4 kids. And boy we had so much fun, it was crazy. The kids loved it thoroughly and so did the adults who became kids :)

If you have been to the Gerry Martin Farm in Bangalore then you can relate Sanctuarry to it, except that Martin Farm has more animals and Sanctuarry had more activity fun stuff to do.

There were sheep, goats, rabbits, roosters, birds, ducks and geese.

One could feed them bundles of leaves and carrot sticks. The children loved doing this :)

There were bullock carts too.

They have a large open area with lots of trees. And a tree house too - perrrfect for kiddies. They loved going up the stairs and playing with all the stuff inside.

There is a sand pit and cycles for kids. A few tents are put up all over the place with fun stuff in almost each of them - alphabet floor puzzle in one and sleeping bags and chairs in another.

Some trampolines which are super fun. There were hammocks tied up and swings and charpoys too.... super relaxing and quiet atmosphere.

And they have loads of other free activities - mind games, table tennis, mini sports series as well as paid stuff. We chose wall painting for kids. It was a paid activity and each kid got a bowl full of colour and big brush. They were made to wear aprons yet they managed to get themselves dirty :) And had a wonderful time painting their own masterpieces on the wall!

And yes for all you foodies out there - there is a Cafe on the go with a limited menu and fresh stuff :) However there is also a full scale menu if you want to pre order stuff.

Ooh and how can I forget the cute lil kiddies bathroom. They have kid sized low stuff in the bathroom so that the li'l ones can use them on their own. The walls outside are painted in nice and bright colours.

We had an awesome time and plan to go again sometime!!

Sanctuarry is located close to the Forum Value Mall in Whitefield on the opposite side behind Fab India. See address and other details on their FB page. You can ask them for details about activities, food and timings. It is better to call and go rather than walking in.

If you are googling them make sure you use the double r in the spelling :)
Let me know if you would like to know more about our experience at Sanctuarry!

Linking this in to Patty's Weekly Party!! Happy Monday!

NOTE - I will be out for almost a month starting today - travelling and visiting relatives (N has a month off from school) so the posts might be infrequent or a quick scribble! But keep visiting and I promise you loads of lovely pictures :)

P.S. - Did you participate in the giveaway sponsored by The Orange Bicycle? Not yet. Go here!! Hurry it is open till 19th Sep only :)

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50 Followers Giveaway!!

Here we are with the giveaway details!!

This is a giveaway dedicated to all my followers and readers (lurkers and de-lurkers both).
The Orange Bicycle is sponsoring the gift for this giveaway. Yay!! I did a feature on them here. Check it out for some visually appetizing stuff.

The Orange Bicycle is giving away
this pair of metal Hippo book ends [for all you book lovers out there and it makes a great gift too] and
a bright and a cheerful Ganesha figurine [perfect for the festival season]
to one lucky winner!!

Aren't they a cute and peppy pair? I love the colours - blue and yellow!

Thanks to Orange Bicycle for sponsoring and giving away these great gifts :)

Here is what you need to do win this lovely pair!

Very Important Info - This giveaway is open to all readers - bloggers and non-bloggers! You can choose to do any or all of the steps below, as may be applicable.
1 random comment number will be picked up using www.Random.org to decide the winner. Readers from all geographic locations can participate.

1) Leave a comment on this post and that will automatically be counted as one entry. However if you do not wish to participate in the giveaway but just leave a comment, please mention that in your comment to allow the others a fair chance.
2) Write a post on your blog about this giveaway and spread the message. Let me know via a 2nd comment here with the link to the post on your blog - that will be counted as a 2nd entry. Leave a separate comment about the blog post to increase your chances in the lucky draw.
3) Show some love on your Facebook profile to further your chances of winning. Let your friends on FB know about this giveaway. Leave a separate comment here letting me know that you have done so and that will be counted as your 3rd entry.
4) You do not have to be a follower to participate, but if you like my blog and stuff that I write about, please follow! I would be very happy :)

The giveaway is open till 19th September 2011 . I will announce the winners within a day or two after that.

All the best to all of you!! Hurry up and leave a comment.

Linking in to Patty's Weekly Story! Happy Monday :)

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Paper love

I am a VERY big paper hoarder :) At any point in time you will find at least 10 wrapping paper sheets (in all kinds of sizes though) at my place. This weekend was loads of fun, more so because I bought some more paper. Yay!!

Friday we met up friends for dinner, Saturday I took mom and N to Mother Earth on Inner Ring road. I wanted to pick up some Tulika books, especially bilinguals, for friends and family abroad. N had a great time - plonking himself on the sofa next to the bookshelves and browsing through all the books. He kept pointing out at books that he had at home saying "Mamma, look, my book!". I got some great books and a golden metal Buddha bust (a separate show case coming up for that one). Mother Earth has a sale going on and you should check it out. There are some things available for a steal.

Sunday was a relaxed day. S and I took off to watch Rise of the Planet of the Apes, with my mom babysitting N. And I am so proud of N. As he's growing up he's listening better and being a great guy overall. He very nicely took in the news that dad and mom will be going out for some time. According to my mom he played with her, solved a few floor puzzles, had his lunch, watched a cartoon and then napped. Love you baby!! S and I grabbed a drink after the movie like the good 'ol days and felt happy just chilling out.

Now to my love for paper. This is what I have currently.

I have all sorts - the formal prints to the funky and weird ones.

I picked these 2 sheets (from the right) from Mother Earth yesterday (they are from Chumbak). You can pick them at Orange Bicycle also. The alphabet one is from Landmark, Koramangala and is a cute thingy for wrapping those little one's gifts.

These assorted sheets were picked up at various places. The topmost pink, purple, off white and red were a set of 5 sheets with gift tags from Crossword Koramangala.
The grey and purple satiny smooth was again a set of 2 sheets of paper + 2 gift tags and 3 mts of ribbon by Etcetera (picked from The Orange Bicycle store, couldn't find Etcetera online. If you know their website or FB page please let me know).

I also keep some tissue paper sheets (its very thin bright coloured paper) to stuff in gift bags. Some of the colours are really bright but they look good in neutral or pastel coloured gift bags.

I also like gift tags, ribbons and other gift wrapping accessories. These are my latest buys - The elephant gift tag/card is from Haathi Chaap and is made from recycled elephant poo. Don't worry it is completely hygienic :) I picked it from the Dastkar Bazaar.
The one behind it, along with the pink sheet at the bottom, is from Temple Tree. I picked this at a Christmas exhibition last year and still haven't the heart to part from it ;)

Check both these out, they have a lovely collection of products. If you are a paper lover, you will definitely drool :)

Linking in to Patty's Weekly Story party and Tanya's Tea-Time Thursdays party.

Happy Monday!!!

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Cookies and Salsa

I get the inspiration to cook like the monsoons in Bangalore. Somedays there is nothing - zilch, a very dry spell. Whatever the cook makes, we shall eat. And on other days there are heavy showers of motivation and an intense desire to cook something. Last week we had one of those heavy shower days and the after effect was very pleasant and mouthwatering.
And I started watching Nigella Kitchen recently so am inspired all the more :) Cheers for Nigella Lawson, the hot sexy mama who cooks awesome food.

I collected some of these beautiful coloured veggies and roasted them in the oven.

I added these for some tangy yummy flavours.

Pulsed them in the mixer and made this hot tangy roasted tomato and capsicum salsa.

What's salsa without some nachos? Umm, yumm and like N says "Yummy in my tummy" combo.

But that couldn't satisfy my sweet tooth. So, I took these ingredients (in pic below) along with some butter and sugar.

And made these simple, flavourful and melt-in-your-mouth cookies.

If you need exact recipes or process, let me know, will share.

Linking this in to Patty's Weekly Party and Tanya's Tea-Time Thursday!

Happy Monday!!

Edited to Add - Here is the recipe link for the cookies (It is by Rachel Allen) - http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/recipes/8947/basic-cookie-recipe
I modified the basic version, slightly, by adding Hersheys cocoa powder and reducing the amount of plain flour to accomodate the cocoa powder. You can go light or dark based on taste and colour preference. I added some crushed walnuts too. And ofcourse I did not want to make 35 cookies, just a trial sized amount so I reduced the quantities by 1/4.
Happy Baking!
The salsa was as simple as the pictures show - just roast/grill the veggies (tomato, onion, capsicum, green chilli (as hot as you want) and garlic) in the oven/microwave (use grill mode). Then blend them along with the coriander, lemon juice, salt and some cumin seeds. Now dig in with some nachos (for the ideal combo) or some chips :)

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100 ft - Boutique. Bar. Restaurant.

My mom is visiting us. She offered to baby sit N while we went out for lunch one Sunday. I wanted to go to 100 ft since quite some time. S and I had been there P before marriage. I wanted to revisit the place to re-live those memories. And the place is beautiful as ever. In fact it has become better. I loved the ambiance, food and the boutique.
100 ft is bang on the 100 ft road in Indiranagar. So no complicated directions, going round and round or getting lost. They have valet service for parking so saves you the hassle of finding parking space.

They have 3 areas for dining - the open courtyard on the ground floor, an indoor dining area surrounded by the boutique and the covered terrace on the 1st floor.

The gound floor dining area has a mini lotus pond with splashes of teal blue thrown in. Love this colour. Notice the chairs below. There is a bar on the ground floor.