I kept trying to email you last nite and nothing would type..my curser wouldn’t move at all so I finally jut shut  down my computer..but I was really irked!!! ..aaccckkk.   Hehe

Btw how do  we delete the postings?  Oh someone else interjected a comment about Wonder Woman a few messages above.  ”polarmacaron” ... is the posting. They liked it too:)

I had more to type about how I only know chakra as energy systems in the body.  It’s more in-depth than just the basic 7 chakras. I did not know Chakra was a person...?  The anime  Naruto refers to chakra as their life force or energy they use to do their  ju jitsu.   I practiced Qi Gong for years  so I’m familiar with energy systems and such.. I was able to briefly train with a Taoist priest who came to visit the school I worked at (it was a wholistic school in New York.. I learned about Chinese 5 element theory and more or Ayurveda) he was 70 yrs old and did not have a line on his face..  awesome man. He passed away a few years ago.   i worked in the oriental medicine department so I got to take any classes I wanted ..it was great.  ..I’m gonna send this to you and look up the song from castle..my daughter and I love that show we have all the episodes..got hooked on it about 6 yrs ago..oh And I understood about the medicine and dengue.. I’ve heard that before. Is I’d sickness or depletion? Something like that I thought.  .. and I love Egyptian history. when I was a kid my brother was really into that and would tell me all the stories from that culture and i watch all the shows on the pyramids, how they alignwih the stars,  how the dieties seem  to  look like aliens..kind of what you were saying about the ancient stories very possibly being true.  There are so many cultures that were way ahead of their time that just disappeared.. a lot in South America . 

Precisely   cut Blocks and buildings that couldn’t have been made with the materials from that time. Stones like from Stonehenge that appeared hundreds of miles from where they are indigenous.. if I could go back I would want to see King Arthur’s time with the knight’s and the adventures they went on.. stories of the.Vikings... also... dragons and creatures...love all that stuff:) ok hold on gonna get u that Castle info:)

@polarmacaron : Hi! I agree with you, jgj was a totally awesome character! Her clothes even though were weird in the general sense, suited her character perfectly! She was a total gangsta boss like character who didn't request respect but demanded it rightfully! Those clothes gave her personality that unique edge that made everyone around her to notice her! It was more in the lines of 'you like me or hate me, but you can't ignore me!'.    :D

Btw I am curious... if this is your 2nd fav show, what is your number one then? Because for me Hyena is number one till now and I am always in lookout for recommendations for more such good shows. :) 

Hi M! Oh I just replied to Polarmacaron... I thought she was referring to Hyena! My bad... :) 

We can delete posts just where we go to edit them, it is in right hand corner, in the drop down list. :) 

Btw oh I forgot to say about Chakras... Hmm actually in India we have many similar sounding words and sometimes same words have different meaning in different contexts... Like the ancient Ayurvedic doctor is Charaka slightly different spelling from chakra which you rightly said is used in yoga for energy. Actually Chakra refers to a rotating disc of energy. Like in yoga it's used to refer to the kundalinis (energy centres), it is also the weapon of Lord Vishnu with which he slays the evil Rakshasas ( click here for pic) and also the name of a famous firework which we use at home during festivals like Deepawali - > Pic of firework chakra. :) 

And wow, I would be sooo happy if you can find that song!! But my memory is so foggy that I don't know which episode I heard it or like I said whether it was even in the show or some where else in YT where I used to chk out Castle VMs at that time... Either way thanks a lot for trying! <3  :) 

Wow, that Taoist priest sounds awesome! It's always interesting to learn stuff from wise old people! They have so much knowledge and experience and most are willing to teach others if at all people are willing to listen to them carefully... I think such people are the ones who truly leave something worthy for the world behind as knowledge will always live on and be passed through generations after generations... :) 

PS: I think we both posted the previous reply at the same time! :D I have replied in that post about the two languages question you asked me about previously... It's just above your previous reply.  Do chk that out too. :)

Ok. Gotta couple of songs.. went Down memory lane on these.. my daughter and I are going to watch castle again!!!heres what I found: These are from seasons 1-5 so if it’s not here then I’ll check out season 6-9.. I wasnt crazy about the last season.. they said there was some internal stuff going on with Nathan Fillon  and Stania.. so I kind of ended it at season 8.  Thought they were both amazing as well as the rest of the cast and wanted to remember them as amazing:)

And I will find you.. ...by Bobby and Chris.? .(it was from a TV show Dallas as  well as  Castle  but couldn’t find the artist ....but it’s slow and beautiful )  this may be the one your looking for..

Mozella.. when I pulled up Castle TV  songs. Mozella came up (I t was songs from episode 1-5)

‘Beggars Prayer..... Emmaline Torrini

Threshold.  ....Anna Waronker.. this was the one that the sister whose a singer gets killed and her sister who’s an addict sobers up and sings for her.. great episode loved this song...

the Librarian by Laura Jane Scott.. another great song.. (I was glad you asked the question.. some of these songs are great.. -and  some had clips of the episode in them :)

Into the Blue.....  Sara Jackson
comes Love... Tamils Jones.. very bluesy kind of song

these were a bit more upbeat:

you and me belong.. jes Brieden

Chin Up ...Amy Stroup

let me know if any of these is that song... 

Beckett was the perfect combination of independent woman and Kick butt. smart lady who knows how to take care of herself..and even though I could never walk in her incredibly high heels I loved the way she dressed..  amazingly she could run in them!!!

oh And we love Chinese Japanese food too. Sometimes we eat with chopsticks and my daughter has a bento box..  I’ve started looking up Korean breakfasts to start making them .. my husband is more traditional American but Iwe eat more Mediterranean and oriental..  I always worked as did he so we both cook...

when we got married we  both worked a lot.. living in NY was very expensive so when we moved here I was able to study skin care which I love:) he is  all about women (people) being able to see their potential in life.  his mom supported the family with her own business bc his dad was not well.  

I’m always open to new foods... my grandmother on my mothers side was Italian French Greek middle eastern and a teeny tiny bit of oriental .. she could make anything taste good.  she used to pick Dandelion greens  and cook them (they are pretty good) she spoke Italian English Latin and French..she had to  teach  herself bc  her dad would not let her go to college bc he did not believe women should further their  education. She had a huge garden and taught us about plants creatures and nature..   and I wish I had paid more attention when she tried to teach me languages!!:) 

my other  grandmother (she was  French, Dutch American Indian, Irish English German Scottish.. there more but I can’t remember :)

she went  to school /college raised her 4 children on her own (her husband left) so she worked hard  became superintendent of schools and she lived with us in our house and I was super close to her ..so she influenced me a lot..she  ;always had a smile on her face... loved everyone loved  learning, teaching and people.  I always liked older people so I would sit and listen to my grandmothers talk about life and learning gardening cooking..  Both of them got me interested in other cultures since im such a mix.  My grandfather only went to school til the 5th grade but could build anything and was super friendly (everywhere we went he knew someone:) ( I didnt really know my other grandfather) 

im gonna send this I case my computer acts up again:) just realized it’s 2am there:)

 Cheerful Smiles:

@polarmacaron : Hi! I agree with you, jgj was a totally awesome character! Her clothes even though were weird in the general sense, suited her character perfectly! She was a total gangsta boss like character who didn't request respect but demanded it rightfully! Those clothes gave her personality that unique edge that made everyone around her to notice her! It was more in the lines of 'you like me or hate me, but you can't ignore me!'.    :D

Btw I am curious... if this is your 2nd fav show, what is your number one then? Because for me Hyena is number one till now and I am always in lookout for recommendations for more such good shows. :) 

My very first best in 2020 is definitely Romantic Dr. Kim 2 (i can't remember if it actually aired in 2020, it might have been 2019 show but I watched it in 2020). It has special place in my heart ever since the first season and my fave characters remained which was most important for me. Hyena came unexpectedly and thankfully, I started watching it when it already ended. Both of these rpresent to me,  the type of drama that feed both heart and mind.

@polarmacaron : Oh, even I liked Dr. Kim s1! I kinda liked the lead pair a lot in that so when I heard the pair is different in S2, I decided not to watch it for that reason... Maybe now I will give it a try... :) 

@M : Wow! So many songs! Thank you so much for searching them!<3   It's 8 AM here right now, so will check them out in some time and let you know later. :) 

And yeah you are right abt last season of Castle... Those 2 were totally at loggerheads during that Season so both of them rarely appeared together in a epi together but thankfully for us fans, they were professional enough that when they did appear together, no one could guess they were fighting irl! So the last episode was still very beautiful... You can chk that out without any qualms... :) 

And wow, your family tree looks really interesting! :) Everyone, especially the ladies sounds super strong and amazing! I always feel happy to hear about women folk winning against the odds! Your grandmas especially seem really cool! <3 

I was more close to my mom's parents... My mom's side grandma had finished schooling and had taught in a nearby school for sometime before she married and became a housewife later. Her dad was a famous lawyer during his time and her 1 brother too in law (judge) and other in air force. She loved history and geography. Guess it's her genes that I love those 2 subjects so much! :) But I keep teasing my mom that those genes skipped her generation because she is quite bad in geography and directions in general! Hehehe :D My mom studied BSc Botany and BEd (Teaching) and while doing her post grad she got a job in a Govt bank, so she was a banker till she retired few yrs bk. Her sis and bros too were in a govt job and got retired recently. Guess at that time Govt jobs were the most popular thing... :) 

My mom's dad had done some Diploma after school and worked in Telephones dept. He lived till 94 yrs and passed away just few yrs bk... He used to do heavy weight gardening like planting coconut trees and banana trees(plantain) in the backyard, so he used to dig the ground quite deep even till his early 80s... And used  to always apply an Ayurvedic oil all over his body every single day in the morning and then have a hot bath /shower! So his skin was quite good till 80s but my grandma passed away slightly early, so after her death, grandpa was kinda lonely I guess so his health started deteriorating after that... 

Btw it's really nice that you have so many different nationalities in your lineage! :) I just realised how conservative we are here... My whole family has just 1 language for generations on, there is not even other Indian languages in my lineage... We still follow arranged marriage style in India, so I guess that is the reason for that... Btw I am still single so I guess maybe now I should marry someone of different language just to shake it all up! Hehe :D

Your family sounds so interesting.. some important people .lawyer .judge air force .. very nice to have those people to look up,to:)  thats a lot of hard work and study.. my grandmother would have loved botany. she used to study all her plants loved everything she grew:) 

i feel for your mom..my mom is terrible at directions. When we were kids we would go out driving and she would always get lost so I would pack a snack and a book and read until she would figure out where we were.. sometimes we would find new places that were interesting:) to this day I still pack a snack and bring a bottle of water with me even if we’re going to the grocery store..and I have a book in the car.. but the funny thing is everyone expects me to have food on me so wherever we go  my family is like “what did you bring”? it’s come in handy quite a few times.  I’m really good with directions but not so much with geography bu I’m getting better:)

oh we were watching unusual houses on Netflix and they went to India to look at the architecture they showed Mumbai.. western ghats.? Karjat and Navi Mumbai.  The scenery was stunning,  the land seems so diverse, some mountains and really high mountains . lots of lakes open areas and then the city looks packed with people.. the architecture was really cool.  It’s a show with a British actress and an architect and they go to various  countries to show unique homes.

yes, my family is very matriarchal..my dad was ill when I was younger, so my mom and grandmothers took care of a lot of things.  we were tight as a family and took care of my dad.  the women tackled whatever needed to be done. my mom can be very New York (outspoken when she needs to be:) I’m the peace maker. I like everyone and find ways to get thing accomplished in a cooperative way..   when I first started doing energy work and studying the healing arts my family thought I was nuts.. but now it’s really popular here  so I get questions all the time...oh i was chuckling about my mistake with chakara.. (oops:)  hehe

if I could have I would have studied acupuncture oriental medicine (herbs)  and Ayurveda more comprehensively.  I’m familiar with Chinese herbs, American herbs and some Indian herbs.. but not,in-depth.. it seems like there’s a lot of nourishing formulas and balancing ones in Indian and Chinese.....Shajalit? Aesofoteda??  and some are cooked down and prepared a certain way. it’s been a while :) I’m not sure on spelling (im afraid to leave the -age to check and come back I case I loose what I typed)

 years ago  I had looked into comprehensive formulas to support nourish and balance... I like to do it with food and herbs . American herbs tend to be used as one herb formula.. that’s slowly changing but we don’t have the history that you and China do .   here it’s a bit of a lost art..about 100 years ago most people went the way of more modern medicine with is a lot of prescription meds.. and we lost the old ways of doing things. the last 20 years  it started to change but we have a long way to go... but I like the idea of more balanced herbal formulas so you are lucky to have that available to you there.. we have to look for people who have that background and not that many people know about Ayurveda.... btw.. what was the oil your grandfather used? I know some people used Sesame oil .. I have Dryer skin so I’m going to look up some recipes for that.. I have turmeric powder  yogurt sesame oil and coconut  milk powder .. I should see what I can do with that :)

We have a very close family.. if you have ever seen “my big fat Greek wedding” we are like that we talk all at once and eat and enjoy each others company. Only my family is  not as big as the FL in that movie.  . my husbands was even bigger he’s from a huge Irish family . His mom was one of 9 and his dad was one of 11 and his grandma came over from Ireland on a boat..by herself.. I can’t even imagine that.. :) 

 if you find someone interesting that would be fun:) you can  have your own rom com..I love hearing everyone’s story about how they met:) 2020 is a great year for meeting people..you sound very wise so I know you will find a good man:) be choosy and know there’s a lot of good men out there and he needs to respect you and having a good sense of humor and being smart and healthy is nice too..;D

oh my gosh King Eternal Monarch is really good episode 10 blew it out of the water.. it’s getting deep and I know it will be getting dark (er)  but the leads are doing a great job and the side stories are like “I didn’t see that coming!!!” Do you think I can watch  Dr kim 2 if I’m don’t watch 1?
oh gonna start deleting some of our older comments when I get a chance in the am :)
ok have a great day:)

Hi! Your mom and my mom seem so similar! Hehe My mom thankfully doesn't drive otherwise it would have been a disaster! She used to use public bus and train for her work and nowadays Uber because she gets lost even near our own house and not now but even when she was young especially when there was no mobile phones... :) 

But my dad is great at directions... Even when we travel to foreign countries, he usually just goes for a walk by himself and always buys some eatables from some nearby local grocery shops which he somehow finds out even when he might not know the language! It's like he becomes a local in that hour or so! Hehe I don't have his superpower direction skills but I'm better than my mom, so we both often tease her about her direction sense and she in turn starts to quiz us both on common & scientific name of everyday plants with her botany skills as defense and trumps us! Hehe :D

Btw having food with you always is such a lovely thing because I had a grad school friend who is just like how you described yourself, she always had a big bag wherever she went and it was like a pandora's box, everything and anything you want will be there in that, including some or other biscuits and other eatables! She loves buying all the latest biscuits and chips and loves feeding everybody that! Hehe So I have great memories of those days... So you might also be giving someone else many beautiful unforgettable memories by carrying those foods with you... :) 

And thank you so much for good wishes M! <3 Hopefully I'll get a decent enough romcom one day soon and when I do, I'll surely tell you the whole story! :) <3 <3 

Btw the oil my grandpa used was Asnavilvadi tailam, it seems it's used for other medical indications like ear and eyes, etc now when I read the info but I don't know why he used to use it his whole life... I guess maybe he might have started for some headache or something like that but just liked it so much that he continued to use it his whole life... Well I can only guess now... :) Anyway this is the link (click here) to the brand Ayurvaidya Sala Kottakal (where ayurvaidya sala means hospital and Kottakal is a place in Kerala state) he used all his life. This brand is actually a very famous Ayurvedic hospital and brand here, so you might get some good info in their website that might interest you. Both my parents and their whole family is from Kerala State where Ayurveda has always been quite popular. :) 

https://www.planetayurveda.com/library/asana-vilwadi-thailam-oil/This is another site which I check for info, this might also give you some info about the ingredients. :) 

Btw I am not very good at herbs and stuff but my mom surely is and keeps telling me some benefit or the other of herbs which we sometimes find on the road side or in the grandparent's house backyard... Btw  something we use in our daily cuisine and is quite beneficial externally and internally is Fenugreek seeds other than turmeric. You can chk out its benefits but we kind of use its powder on hair... And it gives nice flavour to many Indian dishes when used in small quantities for tempering... Asafoetida is also used in everyday cooking for flavour purposes but I haven't heard of its external benefits... But both fenugreek and Asafoetida are good for digestion and gas pain and is one of the reasons we add them in foods... :) 

I have a normal skin type but I still kind of apply a little  organic /edible castor oil mixed with almond oil at night before going to sleep sometimes... Both are good for skin and eyebrows, lashe hair and hair in general too... But be careful, castor oil stings badly if it goes into the eyes! :) It gives me a good skin feeling in the morning... Even when I don't apply that, I just apply some or other moisturiser to bed... Somehow I feel it does some good for my skin... :) Btw I remember one of my aunt taught me that the milk cream stuck to the vessel in which we boil milk is a really good moisturiser, so sometimes before washing the dishes, I use that cream on the face and wash it off later! Kind of like recycling (or is it upcyclying?)... :) Btw milk cream is great for dry skin! Tomatoes again are really great, so anytime I cut tomatoes and juice gets on my hand, before washing my hands, I put the juice on my skin! Hehe Rest of the waste cutting I put in plant pots as fertiliser and other small crushed but edible bits I give it to birds (crows, pigeons and even squirrels!) which come to kitchen window... I really have a no waste policy! Lol :D 

Another thing I love to eat and is great for hair is an Indian Gooseberry (amla /nellika) ... Have you ever tried it? It's super sour and made into yummy pickles here. It's super rich in Vit C and other minerals and makes hair shiny like egg whites do! So kind a fav ingredient in hair packs and herbal shampoos here. 

Talking of sour things, I actually tried my hand at  cabbage kimchee making few months back inspired by all the kimchee eating in kdramas! :D I saw a super easy recipe and made it all good according to the video but I kinda forgot to take into account the temp difference here! So when I kept it out for 2-3 days for it to ferment like people generally told in all the vids, my kimchee became the sourest thing I have ever tasted in my life! Ugh! Heheee :D And this is coming from a person who loves everything sour like sour curd, raw tomatoes, lemon pickles, raw mangoes, etc! :D 

So anyways, I tried eating it with noodles and rice as side dish like they do but it was almost inedible, so I tried searching for ideas to save it because I didn't want to waste all those good ingredients because I was sure even my regular crows wouldn't eat that sour thing! Hehe. So I tried making kimchee fried rice I read somewhere but it was also too sour... And when I had finally given up on it, I saw some drama where they were eating some noodle soup with kimchee! So I got my Eureka moment and started adding it to my ramen noodles soup directly and boiling it and it finally worked! The sourness got balanced in the broth and it gave a nice flavour to the masala noodles too! :D

Other things I've tried from the dramas and somewhat succeeded in making it edible are the Japanese egg roll (inspired by my fav anime, Cardcaptor Sakura! Hehe) and Thai fish curry which I cheated by making it with a store bought Thai red curry paste! Hehe :D I actually wanted to try it from scratch but it seems we don't easily get kaffir lime and pandan leaves in stores here which give it that unique different taste from our normal Indian curry... :) Next I want to try making those steamed buns everybody seems to be eating nowadays in J dramas... They seem so white & fluffy like clouds! :D

Btw my net was slow again today, so I haven't heard all the songs but I'm keeping my fingers crossed hoping that I'll find my long lost song in that list! Thanks for that again! <3 

And I would actually suggest that you chk out Romantic Dr. Kim S1 first. I haven't watched S2 yet so all I can surely say is that S1 was fun. The romance part is subtle but good with a nice strong fl and ml and even though they took a few dramatic liberties in the medical science part, it was an overall good watch... I was actually very sceptical about starting it, but when I did, it was an easy binge watch! :) 

I am on a long reply deleting spree now! Hehe :D But have left the replies with links to movies and other recs, so we can chk it out later! :) 

Oh my gosh my grandmother would have loved you.. :) seriously, would have adopted you on the spot!!:)D she used to call us over to the kitchen and put all kinds of stuff on our faces and hands and tell us what was good for what.  When my mom was  a child she drank crushed purple grapes out of a cast iron pot bc she was anemic.  And my grandma had a coffee tin she would put all her egg shells  excess greens etc..   to go back into the soil. as compost.. she also would go to the farms to get horse manure and had the most amazing flowers and veggies

she used to have birds land on her shoulders in the garden and she would feed them.. I would just stand there in awe.. and she would plant by the phases of the moon.. you probably know more about that than the people here. she was truly connected to Mother Nature.

Ive never heard of milk cream (is that heavy cream?) oh I do use castor oil and almond oil on my lashes and they grow nicely. I telll a lot of my clients about that.. I had read it in an Ayurveda book years ago.  

oh .. not sure what was going on  today.. but I couldn’t click on your reply .. I kept having to page back and try to find it so keep deleting and see if that has something to do with the glitches.. so strange.. I loved the links you sent me .. I was clicking on all the links for info.. it’s not in dollars..what is the currency?  Oh my grandma loved fenugreek and also we would eat fennel with meals for digestion.. sometimes I take Swedish bitters which work well too.. my grandfather would drink fenugreek tea. (and his glass of homemade wine:)   Im so proud of you for making kimche!! I only buy it at the store I can only do the mild. the spicy is soooo spicy:) I do use amla.. that was another thing i read about in Ayurveda..so it’s my source of vit C. I like that is comprehensive as opposed to synthetic.

Love it.. love cooking with cabbage. My daughter loves bok Choy  so we grew it this year and sauté it.  I mix fennel cabbage and Napa cabbage with a little seasoning and if you add tofu and mung  bean noodles in miso that’s what we had for dinner tonite:) With chopsticks:) I like the cellophane noodles. My friend from skin care school is  from vietnam. She is mung and makes the most amazing cellophane wraps .. we have the best time talking about skin care recipes and homemade stuff,

and Yes, I have fed many a person.. handed out protein bars , crackers  and fruit... bottles of water and snacks..I can’t watch people not eat at work.  If they forgot their food. In fact I was out with my niece last week and she wa s hungry so I was like... what do I have in my bag..?oh right We dined on an orange and peanut butter crackers.. it makes  me feel like a humanitarian:)lol

i love pickles too they are the best.  When we lived in NY I could get them in a barrel at the health food store ..so good.. but we only have pickles in the  grocery store. ..although/. There is an oriental market in a city nearby so we are going to go there and see what’s available.. I want to make the Japanese  egg rolls and yes the bread rolls look sooooo good.  i recently found these oriental  yams that are absolutely delicious. They require very little butter or ghee which I love.. they are great on their own .. I make my own ghee and mix it with coconut oil and coconut butter..omgosh (can you tell I love coconut)the coconut butter just makes it divine..I’m getting hungry now:)

I will check out the Dr drama.. there’s some good dramas that came out this week too

ok more to write in the am.. :)

So I was on the computer for four hours typing out info for work  10 pages and I still have more to go  (aaaaahhhheee)) I’m sure you can hear me screaming where you live!!!!) hehe. There’s so many guidelines from the CDC (center for disease control) North Carolina State Board and the outlines from the Governer 0f the state. We have. a meeting at work on Wednesday and no one is sure what we need so everyone was texting me and I was texting some of my info....remembering school when you had a group doing a project and only one person did the project ..yes me.. the kid with all the books doing all the research. (but my boss knows I’m the one who does it all so I get the credit:):

I was joking with my husband today saying I should have gone into research bc that’s what I love to do... I(however my eyes are bleary from looking everything up) :D

i didn’t have time to watch anything today.. I think I will start on the Dr one you were talking about and Kingmaker looks good..  also gonna look up recipe for Japanese breakfasts:) oh I meant to tell you don’t delete anything you sent me with links bc I want to watch that movie still.. and I love the sites you sent me about the Ayurveda info.  
do you think we should start a new conversation ? Bc it still won’t allow me to access where we left i had to page back and then scroll through to see where we left off.. do. is it doing that to yo too?

I’ve heard of red curry paste.but     pandan  leaves  Kafir limes are not available here.. I have never heard of them do you have an open market or are you going to a grocery store?   although in NY I probably could find them.  NY has much more diverse foods than here.   I grew up,with allot of vegetables  like artichokes broccoli rabe squashes  mustard greens and such.. but they are difficult to find here.   I was at the store one day and I got acorn s spaghetti squash and butternut  squash and a turnip  the girl at the checkout was like__what are these? So I told her what they were and how to cook them.  They are soo good for you..

ok Signing off..I’m gonna try to watch that movie soon, I really want to see it and I’ll let you know what I think:)

stay safe enjoy the day!!


Aww your grandma seems like she's wonderful person! I am sure I would have loved her too! <3 And I'm actually not aware of moon phase planting, I don't know whether my parents know it or not... But either way I would have loved to have learnt it from your grandma about that and more such interesting things about nature... :) I too believe that if it is good enough to be eaten then its good for your skin too... Well except chillis that is... hehe

Talking about chillis I just love them! Guess all of Asia does in general... But I add extra chilli to my already spicy instant masala noodles and even added chilli powder to my Japanese egg rolls! I am sure many Japanese would be horrified with what I did! Hehe :D
Btw Japanese egg rolls and kimchi I made are quite easy…Can't find the egg roll recipe I used now but for Kimchi, I used this recipe from 'hungry gropher' - > https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jfWGj02dMtg , it's super easy, just 15 mins or so! :D

This is another link called 'Maangchi' https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eTucCw1w6Ak&t=621where it's more traditional elaborate style, so have not tried it yet but I like the way the lady talks so cutely with all her childhood stories added in between, so I kinda watch it for fun! Hehe :)

Btw I guess that was the Indian version of their Ayurvedic hospital website last time. I just found their US version after some digging - https://www.kottakkalusa.com/

Hopefully it is the right one… Anyway it looks like it is in NY area, so just call and verify whether it's actually their website and whether they are actually working now in corona times before you place orders and things like that. I think you can chk for products in US version and refer to the Indian version for ingredients info along with that other Planet Ayurveda link, I shared before. :) 

It’s actually awesome that you guys know how to use chopsticks! I tried so many times but just couldn’t get it right and have left hope now actually! Hehe 

Btw in the Kerala state from where my parents are from, the medium of cooking is mostly Coconut oil. It is called land of coconuts locally! They use coconut oil, coconut paste, dried coconut, etc in almost all foods they eat and on hair and skin too! And the neighbouring state, Tamil Nadu where we live now, people use sesame oil for everything! So in my house we use both coconut oil and sesame oil based on which state's cuisine we are cooking that particular day! :D

Btw since you love coconut oil, you can use it as a salad dressing too! But please make sure it is a good quality edible one as here lot of manufacturers mix other oils with it and sell it as coconut hair oil which is not edible. Anyway here is a super simple raw salad /salsa recipe you can try– Just cut small square pieces of onions, tomatoes, green chillies, ginger (optional), coriander/cilantro leaves & curry leaves (optional but gives added flavour) and add salt. Dressing : White vinegar + Coconut oil (quantities depend on the amount of veggies, mostly just a little is enough). I had tried this first in one of my relatives house and have become a fan of this since then because in my house we generally use only curd/yogurt as dressing for this salad instead of this oil&vinegar... Btw yogurt dressing is really tasty too! :) 

You can also make omelettes in coconut oil . I make it by adding 1 chopped onion, green chilli, ginger (optional), a pinch of turmeric and very little chilli powder (optional) & few curry leaves to the egg and pour it onto the hot pan which is coated with a lil coconut oil. It tastes good and can be eaten in a sandwich with butter toasted bread and ketchup too. :) 

Or you can make simple fried hard boiled eggs which my mom makes often… Just take a small pan, add 1- 2 large  tablespoons coconut oil, 1 small teaspoon turmeric, 2 small teaspoon chilli powder (plain), 2 teaspoon coriander powder (optional) and salt and mix it. Only then switch on the stove and mix it up till raw smell of the powder goes in low flame as this mix will burn easily! Then add 1 or 2 peeled and halved hard boiled eggs into this mixture and stir for 3-4 mins just enough to coat it! If you like the taste maybe you can add a half chopped onion and few curry leaves and saute till brown before adding the eggs,tastes even better! If you want I will give you another super easy egg recipe with sesame oil later! :) 


PS: This is the reply I have been trying to send from day before yesterday! But for some reason the site was acting funny and everytime I was typing, it was automatically scrolling to the very beginning of the page! Ugh! Was so frustrating, so I just copied the reply in my Word doc which I’m pasting now… So yeah, even I think we should really open another discussion page… :) 

Btw since you are loving the Monarch show so much, I think I will start it soon too! I was actually thinking of starting it after it is finished, but  now I can’t wait! Hehe :D


Btw here in my city too we don't get those exotic veggies easily, even if those veggies are from neighbouring countries... Sometimes if we are lucky we get it through online grocery shopping sites if they have that imported vegetable in stock that day... Otherwise we buy ordinary daily groceries from small retail super markets which are present in every few streets, similar to what you see in kdramas! :)

Actually all Asian cities seem quite similar from what I have seen in dramas till now. Except that here sadly it is 5 - 6 times more crowded (India is the 2nd most populous country in the world after China!)... So here streets are super crowded and Traffic jams are quite horrible! :( Especially in all the metro cities and even among them Mumbai city which you saw in that docu is the most crowded place here! My city too is quite over crowded and is one of the reasons why here they have extended a strict Govt curfew is till May 31st to prevent corona spread...

Btw that's also the reason that temple pic I shared last time was a long shot because just outside it there is a super busy crowded road and no proper place to stand and even click a photo! So I have been actually wanting to share some other beautiful ancient temple pics which are not in the busy city but I couldn't find a website with good pics... now I finally found a link with nice pics - https://www.trawell.in/blog/amazing-temples-in-tamilnadu-you-have-to-visit-to-believe  Oh and please don't click on tour ads or anything in this site, just chk out the pics alone which are below those ads as I don't know the authenticity of the website...  Anyway I especially like that 5th pic of Rameshwaram temple corridor with many many pillars which are said to make musical sounds if you tap them! :)  

Btw if you actually want authentic tourism info, you can chk these official Govt Tourism department websites. They have nice pics and info about the whole country - https://www.incredibleindia.org/content/incredibleindia/en/destinations.html 
And for Kerala state alone 
https://www.keralatourism.org

I think you will really like Kerala as everywhere you will see coconuts, green backwaters and some or other herbs and ayurveda! :)  Actually Kerala (peaceful green scenery & ayurvedic treatments) , Goa (sunny beaches and New year beach parties), Rajasthan (exotic palaces and deserts) and Himachal Pradesh (Gorgeous hill stations and the Himalayan mountain experience) are the 4 most popular States among international tourists here! :)

And yeah I think the milk cream I am referring to is the same as the one you are talking about except this is got from boiled milk. Here everyone mandatorily boils the milk before drinking and sometimes when I get lazy and drink it without boiling as it's already pasteurised, I get scolding from my parents! Hehe Guess it's an age old tradition of many many millenniums which can't be changed now just because because pasteurisation was found few centuries back! Hehe :D Btw interestingly the first thing we do when we move into a new house (rent or owned) is to boil milk in the calculated good time, good day(according to Hindu date calendar) and allow it to boil over/overflow from the vessel! Guess it symbolises overflowing prosperity or something like that! :D

Btw my internet has been slow so have been watching movies stored in my ext Hdd and thought you would like these 4 Hindi language/Bollywood romcom movies I love to rewatch all the time - 1. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (rough translation - Lover will take the bride) 2. Dil tho pagal hai (Heart is crazy) and 3. Socha na tha (Didn't think it will happen) and 4. Jab we met ( When we met). All 4 have nice interesting and unique story lines. Will try to find some links with English subs for you... :)





@Cheerful Smiles ; Idk If you have ingredients to make Kimchi Jjigae, It heard sour kimchi is the best to make Kimchi Jjigae. I see you from Kerala, I'm originally from Sri Lanka and can relate the things you talked about house warming ceremonies. hahaah  I see you rewatching classic old Movies of SRK lol