Cauliflower pickle

Every south Indian pantry is guaranteed to have a pickle of some kind, if not multiple pickles. My mom makes lot of pickles with almost all kind of vegetables. Today I am going to show you how to make cauliflower pickle that I learned from her. This can be substitute for mango pickle when sour mangoes are not available. So lets start the process.

Ingredients:
200 gm cauliflower
3 spoons mustard powder
2 spoons red chilly powder
Half spoon fenugreek powder
3 or 4 garlic gloves
1 spoon cumin seeds
4 spoons oil
1 lemon
Pinch of turmeric 
Salt according to the taste

Method:

First wash the cauliflower then chop into small pieces.

Here is the tip for getting good flavors, dry roast the powders for 4 to 5 minutes.

Transfer cauliflower to a mixing bowl, add pinch of turmeric, 3 spoons of mustard powder, half spoon of fenugreek powder, one spoon of salt, 2 spoons of red chilly powder, 4 spoons oil, garlic cumin paste and finally one whole lemon juice and mix it all together.

Then let it rest for one day until cauliflower absorbs all the flavors. There you have it delicious cauliflower pickle.

CD weaving wall art

In our home office there are so many damaged cds and dvds just lying around.  I have been thinking of repurposing them into wall art. Today I am going to show you one way to do this. You need old cd/dvd, scissors, wool (preferably of multiple colors) and a big needle.

First step, take a wool string approximately one meter in length.  Tie one end to the cd by looping through the center hole.  Using other end of the string loop through the center hole, over the edge of the cd and back through the center hole while making sure the loops are couple of inches apart.  Do 8 or 9 loops and you should end up with star like pattern.

Second step, insert a wool string into the needle.  Weave through the star pattern alternating up and down through the loops.  Add colors as you desire. You can do this step without a needle but I found it easier to do it with a needle.

If you want you can make a tail as shown below.

Shrimp cocktail with dipping sauce

Few summers ago my husband and I went to a seafood restaurant. We were very hungry when we arrived at the restaurant.  Looking through the menu we came across shrimp cocktail appetizer.  Since I never had it before we decided to give it a try.  After 5 minutes cocktail shrimp arrived with two sauces, one red and the other white. I devoured shrimp and the white sauce.  I can never forget how good the shrimp and white sauce tasted that day. Today I am going to show you how to make simple and easy shrimp cocktail with white dipping sauce.

Ingredients:
15 Shrimp
Mayonnaise
Hot sauce
One garlic glove
Spring onions or scallions
Salt and pepper

Method:

First wash the shrimp.  Boil a bowl of water until it bubbles, then add salt and shrimp to the water.  Leave shrimp in the water for 5 minutes or until shrimp turns pink.  Take shrimp out of water and keep it aside.

Second step, take a bowl, add mayonnaise, 4 dashes of hot sauce, smashed garlic glove, salt and pepper and mix it together. Garnish with chopped scallions. That's it shrimp cocktail is ready.  Enjoy shrimp with the sauce.