Daisies

Daisies

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Fear and Cooking in Asheville

Today my sister and Michelle took my kids to check out some waterfalls and go swimming. They were going to have fun, I know this...but I still worried sick that someone was going to go over a waterfall or something else. I imagined my boy coming home with a busted lip, or scraped shin, or broken bone from a mishap in the water or a fall on the trail to the water. I imagined a phone call from the emergency room by my sister. Yes, I know these things are irrational, but sometimes mommies are irrational...right? Am I the only one that imagines horrible things happening to my children...maybe I need to stop watching movies, or reading the news.  These thoughts only grew worse as I was unable to reach my sister, but ofcourse I couldn't reach her because she probably didn't have any reception on whatever mountain she was on. So in order to keep my mind off of things, I cooked. I made "Not Tuna"(more on that tomorrow), lemony hummus, an heirloom tomato salad, Pineapple Ginger BBQ slaw, and Bhel Puri, while listening to music and drinking New Grist gluten free beer. It kept me sane until my children were safely home and ofcourse they were so happy and had a ton of fun. I apparently need to chill out a bit and not worry so much...yea right.


Peace, Yasmin

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

A walk, a meal, and lots of cooking.

This morning I awoke to no alarm clocks, no deadlines, no work to get to. It has been a very very long time since I have been able to actually take a full Tuesday off. I started the day off experimenting with some McDougall style hashbrowns. They turned out great and were a very yummy way to start the day. I kept on cooking right through lunch time...my type of stress relief. I made Marinara sauce for the week and a Indian red lentil, chickpea, potato stew + lots of brown rice. I also made some plain boiled potatoes. I am trying to eat a bit healthier and doing mostly McDougall style foods. This year I will be turning 34 and I have to keep my health in check so that I can live an active life for years to come. With all of that said, I should maybe mention that you will see atleast one picture of delicious Indian food that is not McDougall style at all. Gotta live life in balance, right. After lunch we went for a walk.
This is the farm trail at the Biltmore.


Our dog Molly enjoyed the walk, even with the heat. The kids tried to hang batman from a branch on our snack break. Ashleigh stopped to look at...
The Biltmore Inn. We also noticed,

Beautiful butterflies were all around us on our walk, this was the only one that sat still long enough to take a photo. We also walked along this river most of the way. Our farm trail ended at a farm ofcourse.





There were horse, geese, ducks, goats, lots more ducks and this sweet sheep. It was quite a hot day and we were out for almost two hours, but the animals and the walk brought a little extra happiness to our day. After we rested at home for a bit, we met my sister and Michelle at Chai Pani. Delicious Indian street food. You just can't go wrong with ethnic food.
These were just the appetizers we shared. Bhel Puri, Okra Fries, Green Tomato Pakoras, and Sabji Paratha. I was so enthralled with the deliciousness of the food that I forgot to take a picture of my main meal. I think this might be my favorite Indian restaurant in town...probably a good thing that I don't live closer. Needless to say, we are really enjoying this summer and I only wish that I could have enjoyed more days like this earlier in the summer rather than working all of the time. Alas, I try not live life regretting the past and I try to cherish every moment, however normal they may seem.
Happy Tuesday and peace, Yasmin



Monday, July 23, 2012

Visit with the sista

My sister and her friend Michelle are visiting for a couple of days and luckily I had yesterday off. It was an incredibly beautiful, very hot, very fulfilling day.  We had a great breakfast at Green Sage and headed on over to the Biltmore Estate. I had never been, so this was kind of exciting. What an incredible house. It is so big and the decorations are amazing. My mom, Anita, Michelle, my kids and I thoroughly enjoyed the house, even with the heat. All the ladies in the party were also drooling over the dresses on display. We walked the gardens for a bit afterwards and then moved onto the winery and the farm. For a late lunch we ate at the Bistro and I had an amazing Chickpea burger. Enjoy the beautiful pictures.






















The architecture of the house was really something and my favorite part of the house was that spiral tower part. The water garden had lots of koi and two Biltmore employees came by and gave saltine crackers to the kids to feed the koi. Those koi were practically jumping out of the water for some crackers. That tree is as old as the house. The gardens had all sorts of beautiful colors and I think I need a conservatory at my house, maybe just not as large as the one on the estate. There were sunflowers higher than us everywhere we looked. As always the kids favorite thing was the farmyard. There were goats, a sweet ass, draft horses, and baby chicks. That goat that Rian is sitting next to was quickly declared his baby by my boy. When we were about to leave the yard, that sweet boy of mine ran back to give "his goat" a big hug and kiss. Yes indeed, it was a wonderful day and my lovely mum got a season pass for me so I get to go back anytime I want. Woohoo. Hope you all had a lovely weekend as well.
Peace, Yasmin

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Georgia Visit Part 3

I had planned to post this one right after part 2, but work/life intervened. A couple of very busy work days and a tired mama made me need extra sleep. Lots more pictures, and I won't say much more because my sister is in town and we have a day planned of breakfast and Biltmore Estate.

















Sorry about the slightly fuzzy/distorted pictures. Harder than I thought it would be to take clear pictures in an aquarium. I also think it might be time for a camera upgrade...let me know if you have any suggestions. The last picture is of the kids completely tuckered out from a fun very full day. Now time for us to have another fun day. See you on the flipside.
Peace, Yasmin