The Sweet Spot

I was a little concerned to hear that my son routinely orders takeout during the stay-in-place order in California, sometimes using doordash, sometimes the restaurants deliver. He convinced me it was safe. Moreover, thanks to the technology industry workers’ ability to work from home and continue to be productive during the pandemic, he said it made sense to support local restaurants by ordering takeout and supporting the economy. So far, I had been apprehensive in ordering restaurant food during the virus outbreak. On his insistence, I looked up safety precautions connected with takeouts, such as ordering hot food, requesting the delivery people to leave the package outside, using gloves to bring the food indoors, wiping clean the containers with clorox, removing the food into personal containers, discarding the takeout containers and finally microwave/heat the food before consuming it. These days the longer the list of precautions, the more comfortable I felt. Takeout seemed like an...

The grocery store was out of ginger root today. Usually ginger is a grocery item I can safely find in abundance, always filling up its designated area to capacity. On regular days, it seems like I am the only one stuffing my produce bag with four or five large roots. Ginger is an essential ingredient in Indian cooking. And those fond of the real Indian chai (tea) won't have it without a generous helping of ginger; it is known to fight colds and coughs and is supposed to bring warmth. I wasn’t surprised that today, with everyone guarding against COVID-19, the produce aisle which normally carries ginger was full of artichokes. If stores could be out of toilet paper, being out of ginger made way more sense. The sudden popularity of this root, which is such an integral part of my Indian roots, started me thinking of my roots. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, I sit here, about 7500 miles away, across most of the Atlantic ocean, Europe and the middle-east, concerned abou...

The strict border enforcement brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic reminds me of a time when I got into trouble for not paying attention to the rules of customs and border control closely enough. In these worrisome times, it is also a fun, sweet story, of a lesson to pay attention to border and customs rules. During my dozen or so trips to Canada, I had been stopped and pulled aside a couple of times at the border, for rather unexpected reasons. Once it was when our family happened to be traveling separately on two flights, and on entering Canada with my son, they asked for a permission slip from my husband. I found out there had been multiple occurrences of kidnapping and absconding to Canada, so they had to be sure. The second time was due to an expired Canadian visa. But this third time, I did not expect to be pulled aside for a beautiful, albeit a little wilted, due to a week of travel, bouquet of red roses!  That day, I checked into my flight back to the US and pass...

The Difficult Choice : From Politics to ice-cream I walked past Trumpland, the big chain store, which had a new flavor advertised on the window. “Go Bananas” with our “Monkey Chunky Banana” flavor! I had gone down that door once just to check it out. It was disappointing. They really only had one flavor - a rather murky looking Vanilla with an orange tint. Every week they introduced a new topping. Then they would go big on advertising and many people would swarm to it.  I was loyal to the local store, DemCream, at the end of the street. They had a rich variety of flavors before, but since the chain store opened, it had been difficult for them to maintain their flavors. I could already taste my favorite flavor, “Kosher Koffee Delight”. It was an acquired taste, with its smooth blend of nuanced flavors. I could, of course, taste the coffee with its perfect blend of bitter and sweet. There was a hint of rock salt and just enough cinnamon. The almonds gave it enough texture to...

A Treasure in the heart of Burlington “The Treasury”  announced its grand opening on March 1st, 2020. For many, it is yet another Indian fine-dining experience. Though for me, the announcement meant the culmination of the never ending wait to experience the culinary masterpieces we were anticipating... ever since we first heard about a fine-dining restaurant, many many months ago. “The Treasury” has been a dream for its founders, Archana & Prakash Khot and Sujata & Devendra Patil, to bring a unique fine-dining experience in the Greater Boston area, and boy, have they delivered!!! It took its time opening, but like  every project that requires perfection, these partners did whatever it took to plow through the hurdles to bring to us foodies, what they had promised to themselves. The restaurant is opening in the Wayside Mall in Burlington, MA. When I first approached it, I was pleasantly surprised to see an entrance with two doors- one that opens to a trendy c...

Keeping our hands where they belong Our hands - a marvel of natural engineering! The human hand can grip, grasp, hold or get finer with our motor skills to pick up things and use tools with precision. We touch, feel and express ourselves with our hands. Sometimes in the quietness of words, our hands can speak more than we do. We cannot start to imagine what we would do without them and empathize with people who are unfortunate to lose them or marvel at those who find ways to live productively despite losing them. While we can do so much with our hands, the one thing we are reminded of time and again is to keep our hands where they belong! Curious little babies and kids! As they learn new ways to use their hands, they find the diceiest places to poke and prod. It is like they are a magnet to anything dangerous. Sharp objects, electrical outlets, and anywhere they can stick their hands and fingers into are very special, including but not limited to their little noses and ears ...

The Sweet Spot within the chaos of the Iowa Caucuses “Oh my God! Oh my God!! They called me back and I really want to go to Iowa”. Ever since my sweet, nonconformist daughter decided she wanted to take a Gap year before going to college - a concept alien to many desi* parents - I always sat on the edge of my seat to grasp what was coming next. So far, she had worked as a refugee resettlement intern, helping new entrants to the country find a foothold. She worked at the local cafe, learning coffee brews, chai lattes, taking breakfast and lunch orders and being patient with sometimes irate customers. And her favorite job had been walking and caring for rather rambunctious dogs. Just when I thought things were falling neatly in place, I hear Iowa.  She was very very excited to spend the coldest months campaigning in the cold, midwest state of Iowa. Again a concept alien to a desi parent. Campaigning for a “caucus”! The first time I had heard the word, I thought it was a...