Mahanandi

Chillies and Lemons ~ Sketch by Sree
Ink and watercolor, 5″x6″

Chillies and lemons are often hung as a talisman at the entrance of shops, houses etc in India to ward off the ‘evil eye’ or drishti (as we say it).

By Sree

Flavors of Life: A variety.

Flavors of Life: Melon Mela ~ Painting by Sree
(Ink and colored pencils on paper 6×8)

Bangalore is a heaven for fruit lovers. Seasonal fruit carts and vendors fill the streets all round the year. Be it grapes, mangoes, (which seem to be scarce this year) and of course melons.

I have noticed that watermelonwallas are beginning to vanish. The guy in front of our home is gone. And I haven’t eaten a single one yet! I was too busy hogging muskmelons, which are my favorite. So I am off to find a sweet, red juicy one.

~ by Sree
(Sree also writes at Sree’s Canvas)

Pooja Preparation to Celebrate Ugadi
(Sketch by Sree)

New (Ad)ventures from blog world:

The One ~ A Religious Experience

Mesmerizing Backwater Experience

A Stomach Churning Experience

Cakeworks:
Talented writer-artist, new mom and food blogger friend MS has recently started a pastry business from her home. She can design, bake and deliver one of a kind cakes for birthdays, weddings or any other event in the Delaware, Philadelphia, New Jersey and Baltimore regions. If you live in that area or have family and friends in that area, you could easily surprise them with a fabulous cake gift through Cakeworks. Check her site and support fellow food blogger’s new home-based venture.

Grandmothers, Dosas and More ~ for Dosa Mela
Painting by Sree (5″x6″, Graphite Sketch)

That is not my grandmother. It is just a sketch I made while getting bored on the train, on my journey home from Bangalore. I miss so many things post-marriage. One of them is my grandmother and the old kitchen at my mom’s place where I spent most of my childhood. It looked exactly like this and my grandma would sit exactly like this cooking at her small stove making hot dosas and chapatis and more. She would always mix food in the most delectable combination with chutneys, pickles…. yum! I think those tasted better than anything available in any restaurant. She is now bedridden and can hardly walk and the kitchen is now converted into a modern one. I think if I build my own house, I would want an old- fashioned kitchen just like my grandmother’s.:)

~ Sree

Flavors of Life: Introduction
Flavors of Life, Previously:

Flavors of Life: Infini-tea
Painting by Sree (Colored Pencils on Paper)

I actually have ALL these flavors of tea in my pantry! The lemon/mandarin flavors are quite refreshing. The berries are better drunk with ice and the choco-vanilla ones with milk. I haven’t figured out how the tropical ones go. Its ‘pretea’ complicated you know. Some (green tea) are to be ‘infused’ and mixed, others plain boiled… The other day I served hot peppermint tea to my old uncle, a connoisseur of beverages and he said “we can do without that one.” Wasn’t Tea supposed to be a refreshing beverage? Like Lipton Taaza… But I even have a ‘SLEEPYTIME’ tea! I am certain it won’t be long before we have coffee flavored tea.
By the way there is a tea parlor by the name Infinitea in Bangalore.

~ Sree

Flavors of Life: Introduction
Flavors of Life, Previously:

Flavors of Life ~ Candy Clouds
Painting by Sree (Colored Pencils on Paper, 5″x6″)

The heavenly feel of cotton candy melting in the mouth on a happy, fun-filled holiday cannot be matched by any other gastronomic delight. I have dreamt of these. Yes, I dream of food very frequently.:) I must add that these not only make my taste buds feel wonderful, I get a warm, tingly and happy feeling in my heart too. Oooooh, that’s enough mush. I wonder what it is about us girls and candy and pink!

~ Sree

Previously on Flavors of Life:

Flavors of Life ~ Count the Laddus
Painting by Sree (Colored Pencils on Paper)

When I tell someone I just got back from Tirupati, the first thing they *don’t* ask is “Did you have a good darshan?” Instead, I hear excited “Did you bring back any laddus?” I guess, they can’t be blamed. I’ve always been among those who ‘eye’ the prasaad long before the Puja has begun!

Well, I just got back from Tirupati, after a good darshan, sights of turmeric and sandal smeared smooth heads, loaded with laddus to share with eager laddu lovers. May Lord Venkateshwara keep showering everyone with blessings the size of his laddus.:)

~ Sree

Previously on Flavors of Life: