A typical weekend brunch.. !!

My favorite weekend getaway brunch is Puffed Rice Pilaf (Poha) ... easy and quick to prepare and at the same time...  quite filling and wholesome... !! What more can I ask on a lazing weekend... :)

Car... more cars and still more cars....!!!

My brother is one of the most important influences on me… I have learnt a lot of things from him… there are few that he is aware of … but there are more that he is not… :)

He is the one who got me hooked to the cars… !! I love cars … sure I can never match his intrigue and detailing… but still I do love cars… :)

Whenever we traveled together on road… we would compete with each other to guess the brand, model and make of cars on the road… and of course he would always win… !! If ever we are found enjoying television together… it has to be one of those auto show (we have very few common TV shows… )!!

It was my husband who taught me how to drive a car… but it is my brother who taught me all about cars… !! Knowingly he would explain the exteriors, the interiors, the engine and the stepney (spare tyre)… but unknowingly also the car-servicing, petrol pumps (gas stations) and even how to change a flat tyre…!!

Now we live very far away… but every time a ‘car’ catches my eyes… I remember him… and our times together… it sure was so much fun… !!

Coming back to ‘cars’… recently I got a chance to visit an auto show – Silicon Valley International Auto Show 2011 (at San Jose McEnery Convention Center)… and it definitely was an experience… simply WOW… !! It felt as if I was standing in some ocean of cars... and more cars and still more cars…  :D!!

Under one roof... there were HONDA, TOYOTA, INFINITI, LEXUS, NISSAN, JAGUAR, VOLKSWAGEN, SUBARU, BMW, MERCEDES, GM, CHEVROLET, CHRYSLER, FORD, MAZDA, ACURA, SCION, LOTUS, HYUNDAI, LINCOLN and also BENTLEY, ASTON MARTIN, LAMBORGHINI, FERRARI and of course ROLLS ROYCE...! These are all the brands that I remember... but I may have missed a few!! The auto show sure was sumptuous... though I still wished for a PORSCHE and an ALPHA ROMEO... :)

All in all it was such a breath-taking exposure… and I loved every moment of it... !!

And I made pasta...

Cooking has suddenly become an important part of my daily life... to the extent that I am even contemplating to pursue some culinary courses... (more on my new found passion later... :D) ... !! In fact one of the daily highs for me is deciding the menu for the dinner... and once I finalize the menu... I diligently do some research on the recipes and the next step is to collect ingredients and then follows the initial preparation before I can start to cook...!!

Vartika and Arti might remember my sudden craving for pasta at lunch time... and also my quick resorting to Maggie Pasta :) ... and yes... Maggie Rocks...!! Exactly like one of those days... yesterday I again had this craving for pasta... and because I did not have Maggie Pasta in my reserve and also because I could expense some time for creativity... 'Pasta' was to be my dinner offering... !!

And then started the multiple level of choices... like which pasta... - Penne or Rivoli or Spaghetti ?? ...which sauce... - White or Red ?? and so on... :)

It took me an hour and half... ONLY for the initial preparation.... and once I was done with organizing/collecting/preparing the raw material...the colors caught my eyes... !! WOW... it had so many colors... red... yellow... green... white... off-white... pink-red... onion-pink... reddish-brown... !! And even without the cooking.... the food looked rich and wholesome...!! It was definitely a visual treat... :)

Another 40-45 minutes to cook and pasta was ready to be served...  it did look quite sumptuous... and delicious... and I was happy... but it was when I finally served the 'surprise' dinner and saw the twinkle in his eyes... that I realized ... the effort was well spent ... !!