Hello 2011!

So we are 11 days in the 11th year of the new millennium and I figure its better late than never to make some resolutions and work on them through the year. This past year flew by so quick that I had no time to think where life was heading. I think for the first time in my life, I went with the flow without any conscious planning. It turned out to be good but I did gain 25lbs (yes, yikes!), did nothing to move forward with my career, settled in a rental that I do not love, and sat on my butt watching TV and playing games on my iPhone for the majority of the year. It sounds all bad but I did do some good thinks like learn to live with B :P , build our relationship, scream at him while he tried to maneuver our raft on a river in the mountains, travel a good amount, got compliments on our home decor, and hosted some hit pani-puri parties.

I want 2011 to be more productive. I guess life is a bunch of experiences and you can plan all you want but it will throw curve balls, but I figured these resolutions will make 2011 a little more productive than 2010! 2010 was good in its own way, I just want 2011 to be better. Here’ my list:

- Lose all the crazy weight I have gained and go back to being a size 4!

- MOVE! As much as I like the floorplan in our apartment, I do not want to live here past our lease. B agrees.

- Cook atleast 4 times a week at home. I love cooking but I hate doing the dishes and in this battle, I hate doing the dishes always wins! Everytime B doesn’t want to do the dishes, we go out and eat. So this year, I will cook even if B doesn’t do the dishes. And as much as I hate looking at those dirty dishes, I will cook more!

- Reuse more, recycle more, and reduce waste! I have all these cloth bags at home that I forget to take with me to the grocery stores and end up with loads of plastic bags. I will make a more concerted effort to reuse bags, finish leftovers in the fridge instead of just tossing them, and recycle more cans, plastic bottles, paper, instead of tossing them in the trash. We also use a lot of paper towels – a bane in the American society. Will make an effort to buy less paper towels and more microfiber towels for cleaning the kitchen, counters, etc.

- Spend atleast 5 minutes a day decluttering our home. Doable right?

- Travel more! Enough said.

- Have atleast 6 months worth of pay in savings in addition to an emergency fund and down payment for a house! Just need to be more frugal. We do have 2 full months of our pay saved up in addition to our other stuff but I would really like to get to 6 months.

- Take that exam and apply for the doctorate! My worst fear aside from losing my loved ones is taking this exam! I have put it off for 4 years and spent thousands preparing. I better do it in 2011!

- Try to talk B into getting rid of the ugly, huge, MAN-sofa recliners. Get something a little more dainty but I fear this is a battle already lost. Worth putting it on the list!

- Find my passion. I always hear people talking about what their true passion is. I really don’t know what my true passion is. I enjoy cooking, traveling, oohing at pretty interior decor, looking at teeth etc. But there’s really not one thing that makes me go gaga. I want to find that thing! I want that feeling of exhilaration and satisfaction that only comes from doing something you absolutely love to do. And you get that feeling over and over again from doing what you are truly passionate about. Yes, I want to find my true passion. Making love does not count ;) .

- Find a good theme/look for my blog that I can fall in love with.

- Blog atleast once a week – there! That’s one goal that’s truly measurable and comes with a plan. Once a week!

So come 2012. I will check back and see how much I accomplished!

Adios!-

Stuffed Capsicum or Stuffed Green Peppers

Stuffed Capsicum or Stuffed Green Peppers is something I did not know about or did not make until B moved here and started missing things his mother made for him. One of them is stuffed capsicum. I have tried this several times until last week when B said it tasted pretty much like his mom’s. That is a feat in itself because my capsicum is either not cooked all the way or cooked too much or the filling doesn’t taste the same. So this time, when I was visiting my in-laws I asked my mother-in-law to teach me this amazing stuffed capsicum that she made for him. She did with great love and I have to thank her because B for the first time said, “This tastes exactly like my mom’s”. Ta-daaaaaa.

Well then, here is the recipe that serves 2:
Capsicum or green peppers – 3 (2 would usually be enough for 2 people but hey what the heck, 3 if you want to eat extra)
For the filling:
2-3 large potatoes – peeled, boiled, and mashed
I have never been good with measurements but here’s approximate measurements. Quantities can be changed to suit your taste.
3 tsp ginger – garlic paste
3 green chillies – finely chopped
2 1/2 tsp – garam masala
2 1/2 tsp – red chilli powder
2 tsp – coriander-cumin powder
1 1/2 tsp – chat masala
2 tsp – amchoor – key ingredient!
1 small onion – finely diced
Salt to taste – I used about 1 tsp

Saute the onions in a little bit of oil until lightly browned. Add ginger garlic paste, saute for a minute. Mix the mashed potatoes and all the other spices. Turn the burner off and mix everything super-well!

Core the capsicum. B’s mom makes a slit on the under the top and very gracefully pulls out the inner core leaving the head intact. I have not been able to accomplish that yet so I just take the tops off and fish out as much thick pulp inside as I can. I do not take all the seeds out. Leaves a flavor inside.

Stuffed Capsicum

Stuffed Capsicum

Once cored, slowly add the potato stuffing and carefully stuff until the capsicum is full. Most of the time, you will have additional left over potato stuffing but if you don’t, leave some on the side.

Take a shallow frying pan or kadai and add 1 tbsp of oil. Lightly salt the sides of the capsicum and add them to the pan. Cook each capsicum on all sides until you get each side lightly browned. Then add the remaining potato filling, a little bit of water. Turn heat to medium, cover the pan and let the capsicums cook thoroughly. The juices from the capsicum and potato filling will cook together in a mixture that is full of heavenly goodness! I actually messed up a capsicum while coring it, so I just cut it into pieces and added it to this final mixture. The potatoes will brown and crisp up. Take the cover off and let the extra water boil away.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Serve with roti or eat it all by itself.

Note to self: Take better photos.