Back to school shopping begins!

It's Shopping time...Summer break is almost over... 3 more weeks of Summer and then school opens again. And like each year, the "Back to School" sales are in full swing...

I am still waiting for the official supplies list from school, but that didn't stop me from going for several shopping trips and collect things for the upcoming school year. Take a look at my shopping and tell me if I missed anything...

LeSportsac backpack.... oh I love this pattern!	Lock n Lock Water bottle
A ton of crayons for Rithik I prefer RoseArt brand	And a ton of erasers... we loose about one every week.
Lock n Lock lunch box for Reya - It's big enough for her lunch and snacks	A dozen sharpeners One in every corner of the house
About 100 pencils of course!!!	Washable markers, pencil colors and paints.... looking forward to the craft time with kids

But there is one thing that is missing from the list this year as Reya moves from private to public school.... UNIFORMS!!! She cannot be happier....

Until next time,
Shilpa @ The Crafts Corner

Little Hands Art #2 - Butterfly food art

We have a lot of fun with food in our household... and I am all for it. 

It helps feed the kids easily... Kids are more likely to eat food art than plain old dinner and it also helps them be more creative and imaginative. Instead of seeing objects in front of them, they can envision what can be made out of those objects...

Here is the dinner art made by Reya.  Using a butterfly cookie-cutter, she transformed rice into a butterfly and then decorated using grapes... The rice butterfly was accompanied by Sambhar in a rectangular LocknLocck glass container... I was impressed when she chose that container and gave me the reasoning that the shape goes better with the shape of the plate than a round bowl... someone is developing a sense of presentation and decoration... 

Little Hands Art #1 - Art work made with yarn and glue

If your kids are at home this summer and you have run out of ideas to keep them engaged, try this.... 

Give them a piece of paper, a pencil, some colorful yarn and some glue, and have them create a materpiece for you... it will use up the scraps of yarn at home and give them a different medium to work with... Here are some samples to get the creativity flowing...

So go ahead, try it with your kids and do send me pictures....

Until next time,
Shilpa @The Crafts Corner

Where have I been?

I have been missing because I am spending time with my mom who is visiting me for summer... 

Having mom here is great because I get pampered...  Just like I fuss about my kids, she fusses about me, feeding me vitamins, calling me 5 times to come and drink my chai, and taking care of things even before I get around to them... moms are great... my mother in law is very nice too, whenever any of these ladies are here, my workload becomes half and the happiness level of the house doubles...

So while I have been MIA, I have been enjoying my mom's cooking... and trust me when I say that within 2 weeks she has become a big fan of my new favorite vendor, Lock & Lock... everyday she looks into my kitchen for a new Lock & Lock item to try out and then she asks me to take pictures for my blog... I am not kidding!!!

What's cooking Wednesday - Sausage curry

Work has been terrible this week. I am working with people in 5 time zones (India, Shangahi, Cupertino, Europe and Texas) and with round the clock work, I have not been able to cook much or do anything for that matter. But when I am in a crunch like this, there are some easy recipes that I rely upon.

One such recipe is "Sausage Curry".. btw, this is my original work!

You will need (I am guessing since I didn't note down, so be ready to adjust to your needs):

• 2 tblsp oil
• 1 tblsp minced ginger
• 1 tblsp minced garlic
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1 cup chopped tomato
• 1/2 lb sausage chopped (any mild kind should work)
• 1 tsp turmuric
• salt and paparika to taste
• a few springs of chopped cilantro
• a pinch of garam masala (or curry powder as a backup)

1. Start with heating the oil over medium heat. Add onion, ginger and garlic and cook until onion gets a bit brown and soft.

2. Add tomatoes and continue cooking. The tomatoes need to break down somewhat.

3. Add salt, paparika and turmuric. Add chopped sausage and cook for a minute.

 4. Add cilantro and continue stirring. You can add a bit of water to the mix if this is too thick for you.

 5. Turn the heat off and add a pinch of garam masaala.



All done... Serve it with roti or rice...

Not only is this recipe fast, I cook it even faster in my new cookplus ceramic coated cookware. It conducts heat very fast and I feel the cooking time for everything is less when I use it.

And 3 days ago, I also got the cutest ceramic containers to serve this in...  Too bad we ate the food before I thought about taking a picture.. But here is the bowl... and you guessed it right... it is from Lock n Lock (I am crazy about this website)

 Until next time,

Shilpa from The Crafts Corner

(C) The Crafts Corner 2010-2011 All rights reserved.

What's cooking Wednesday - Sooji (Semolina) Halwa

Last week, I got my new Ceramic Cookplus cookware from Lock and Lock and I was intrigued. I loved the color and it is very different from my existing heavy copper bottomed cookware.

As I couldn't wait to try it out, I made "Sooji Halwa" in it immediately. Here is the recipe for you to try as well.

 

A really cute Spice Kit

It is no secret that I am a fan of Lock n Lock.... I go all giggly and happy when I have a new Lock n Lock product in my hand... and my family thinks this obsession will stay for some time until replaced with something else.

So let me spread the love and introduce you to the Lock n Lock Spice kit.

Being of Indian descent, I have a special affinity for any "masaledani", "masale ka dibba" or spice kit in plain English. When I was little, it was one of my chores to refill the dabba once a spice ran out.