Dreams, Moments, Travels
This local Hindu youth group from Phoenix, Arizona, who studies Swadhyay together, performed a lesson for life for this sidewalk theater performance. Swadhyay is a religious group that exemplifies finding God within one’s self. The performance in Hindi without subtitles was about maintaining your path to a moral end and not being distracted by superstition, false promises, materialism, and remaining a positive influence on others. Thanks to Hemu, who translated for us.
Tonight, we had an extraordinary dinner courtesy of Shyam and Shakuntala Bhat. Shakuntala made favorites idli (steamed rice cakes), coconut chutney, and sambar (a vegetable soup-like concoction), along with some new dishes. She prepared cholle (garbanzo beans in tomato sauce), yogurt rice, chapatis (a thin flatbread), a version of patra (a ground rice dish using taro leaves), a plantain and cardamom puree, and for dessert, we had a mixed fruit salad with ice cream, which was heavy on fresh mango – YUM!
Our dinner was truly wonderful, not a dish was unagreeable. Shakuntala must have spent the entire day preparing this meal as only the cholle is a quick dish; the others require lots of patience. She explained the de-veining of the taro leaves and the preparation of the rice for the patra dish, and it was obvious this dish alone took a few hours to prepare. Not a minute of her time was wasted as her cooking is, in our view – FANTASTIC.
The photo above was taken shortly before dinner and shows Caroline with Leena and Sumar. We were joined by our friends, Rinku, Raenu, and Gautham, while Shyam brought Shylesh, Leena, and Sumar. Shashi, son of Shyam and Shakuntala, did not join us again as this traditional South Indian cooking just doesn’t do it for him.
This is Gabino of Mi Pueblo Mexican Restaurant; behind him is Tello, the cook. These guys make great Huevos Rancheros for breakfast, and for the past couple of years have fed me on many occasions, although not as much as I wish they would. Not only is the food good, but the guys are great, too; Mi Pueblo is a favorite.
This is Lani Randall, a dear friend for more than ten years. This evening, we joined Lani for dinner at a favorite place of hers, The Tonto Bar & Grill in Cave Creek, Arizona. Lani is the lady who supplied Caroline and me with our beautiful Navajo-designed intertwining feather wedding bands. Her company is called Rocking Horse Ranch, and her website can be found at www.indianjewelry.com. Caroline has recently been working on her website, making some improvements and ensuring that Lani’s site stays up to date.
Thanks for everything, Lani – Caroline and I are so very happy to know you.
NOTE – From March 1st through this day, Caroline was responsible for the Photo of the Day as John was on a road trip to Florida.
Every once in a while, I join the guys at lunch when I haven’t brought anything. Randle, our new guy, didn’t come along today, but the rest of us ended up at Wendy’s, where, according to John Blayter, my boss, the quality of meat at Wendy’s has improved since his last visit. I like Wendy’s because they still have the sour cream and chives baked potato for 99 cents, and now they even have side salads and fruit cups.
Today’s the day (or, rather, night) to savor last night’s work. I joined friends for pani puri night at Rinku’s house. You can see the dish with the green pani in the foreground. I bet John is a bit jealous that he couldn’t join us.