A trip to Brooklyn Botanical Garden!

I am really looking forward to the upcoming Sakura Matsuri festival at the BBG . Sakura Matsuri is the ultimate final showdown of Hanami , the month long Cherry Blossoms. I had been there once two years ago, for the Hanami and it was beautiful! Since then I've been meaning to attend the final weekends of Hanami that takes place on the last weekend of the month long Cherry Blossom viewing with tons Japanese cultural activities and stuffs. And that ending festival is called Sakura Matsuri. I was kind of thinking if they would have it this year since the whole Japan earthquake-Tsunami disaster (I mean they might not be in mood for it), but as my sister pointed out, they would probably have it even more to show their good spirit. Indeed it's going to happen, and there will be activities dedicated to that unfortunate natural disaster. This year it's going to be on April 30th and May 1st. My sis and I are going on April 30th, so far weather forecast has been looking charming for that day! Let's keep our fingers crossed.

As for being very resourceful and good at finding out deals, for this there is none! It's $15.00 per person and I think, it's pretty reasonable. Now, I can't wait for the weekend to come!

Here is a pic of from the Cherry Blossoms 2009, it's really not a great shot, it was damn sunny that day and I had a bad camera!

Zucchini Patties : My easiest recipe

This is the easiest Zucchini patties recipe that anyone can ever find! It requires minimal numbers of ingredients and it's D.E.L.I.S.H.

BTW, I came up with the recipe, and I couldn't come up with anything easier than this!

I mean yes..you could come up with just Zucchini, Flour, Salt and Oil...but let's be honest that wouldn't taste anything...so, here we go!

Ingredients:

 Zucchini 2 - grated
 Flour (all purpose) 2 cups
Cilantro Half bunch - finely chopped
Onion 1 medium sized - finely chopped
Red pepper powder- to taste
Salt- to taste
Oil- to fry

Method:

1. Peel and grate those Zucchinis

2. Chop Cilantro and Onion

3. In a separate bowl, add water to 2 cups of flour and make it a runny dough

4. Add Salt, Red pepper powder to the runny flour mixture

5. Add the grated Zucchini, chopped Cilantro and Onion to the runny flour mixture

6. Give a good stir

7. In a frying pan, heat oil

8. Scoop the Zucchini-Flour mixture in a spoon and pour into the heated Oil.

9. Fry till it's Golden Brown ( I prefer to fry over low heat for a long time than on a high heat for a short time caz then the flour really gets cooked thoroughly)

10. Remove from oil and drain the extra oil by placing those on a paper towel

11. Done and eat while it's still hot!!!

Here we go with pictures!

Grated Zucchini- 2 long Zucchinis here



Chopped Onion and Cilantro



Flour mixture- Water, Salt and Red pepper powder

Flour mixture- now added with grated Zucchini, chopped Onion and Cilantro

Oil being heated in a frying pan...umm yea this pan has been used a LOT

Pour spoonful of scooped Zucchini mixture into hot Oil and fry till Golden Brown



Now enjoy these Hotties!!

These will taste great with some sort of yogurt sauce, however, I didn't make any and ate as was and still was yummmm!!! So, next time when you go to a Turkish restaurant, don't order Zucchini Pate and spend the money there. Instead spend the same money and make it at home and feed more people!

Bread and Yoga- Birthstories Luncheon and Fair

I'm just going to post it here. Bread and Yoga is having this Birth Stories luncheon and Fair this coming Sunday, May 1st. It's $20 per couple. And I am definitely going.

Here is the info:

Birth Stories luncheon and Fair

My take on Vegetarian Chili

When you are having meat aversion but craving Chili what do you do then? You eat Vegetarian Chili! Simple.

 

Couple of months ago that was exactly what was happening to me. I wanted to eat chili badly, but not the one with meat. So, I looked online for a recipe and found Emeril Lagasse's Vegetarian Chili recipe, which had pretty good customer rating. It was cold February day and perfect for a  bowl of hot Vegetarian Chili. I followed the recipe, however, not to a T. I made some changes, didn't add vegetables that either I didn't like ever or didn't care for that time.

 

Changes I made: I didn't have broth on hand, so I used plain water and it worked perfectly well.  I didn't use mushroom, caz I never liked those. I like corn, but then I didn't want to eat, so didn't use. I added cucumber to the mix. I also didn't add cumin spice, just didn't care for it that time.

 

Here is how my Vegetarian Chili turned out! It was yummy...yumm yumm yumm...

 

 

 

 

Farmhouse in the City of New York!

Who knew there was a farm house right in the City? I did! I did! Well, although nothing in Manhattan can remind you about the glorious rural past of this place anymore, certainly there is one house that can do so in Inwood, upper North Manhattan. I have been passing by this house that is quite unique looking almost all the time since last 5 or 6 years. However, I completely neglected to pay any attention to it. As far as I knew, it was the house of the Dyckman, after whom the street has been named. Nothing more. I mean yea, if a street is named after someone, and it was that some one's house, then I guess, that someone must have been someone special! But to  what extent Dyckman was special...I did not know, and didn't care to know. Well...until sometime ago recently. I finally payed attention one day and saw the sign that said, Dyckman Farmhouse Museum! It actually even has opening hours! WHAT! I don't think I've seen anyone queuing up to get in to check this museum out ever, but that doesn't matter. A museum is a museum is a museum.

And it's special!

Actually, Dyckman farmhouse is the only farmhouse that remained in its original building place since 1784!

And, it is a "National Historical Landmark" since 1967! I mean, they mean to tell me that this house has the same importance as umm...Empire State Building, American Stock Exchange, Brooklyn Bridge..etc etc! Then what a great find right in the neighborhood!

I am ashamed to say that I have yet to pay an actual visit to this museum to check out the interior, all I have been exposed to is the exterior! Also, guess what? According to the Farmhouse Museum's website, the admission price is only $1 USD, and free for children under 10! Oh, also it actually has a garden, which is apparently free!

So what am I waiting for? I must go one day when I go out to do grocery!

In the meantime, enjoy the lovely exterior views of the Dayckman Farmhouse captured by me on my camera



                                  

 

                    

                     

                        

                        

                       

Doula in NYC

First of all, what is a doula?

""The word "doula" comes from the ancient Greek meaning "a woman who serves" and is now used to refer to a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth; or who provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period.

Studies have shown that when doulas attend birth, labors are shorter with fewer complications, babies are healthier and they breastfeed more easily."

"If a doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to use it" Dr.John Kennell 1998

Now, how much does a doula cost, and specially in New York City where by default almost everything else is much more expensive than other places?

That is a million dollar question it and itself. I knew it would cost me at least around $700 range. I just didn't know exactly how much.
Once I started to send email to all these recommended doulas I was both shocked and surprised to see that the average price was much higher than my range. And in my price range  they have only the ones who are not that experienced in this field or just started out. Initially, I wanted someone with significant experience. To me, having someone who knows all the drills was VERY important, otherwise I felt there was no reason to have one.  Then I read about the highly recommended doulas, and I sent few of them emails. It turned out most of them were either booked or would be on vacation around the time my baby is due. And then there were 3 or 4 of them, who were highly regarded in this field and apparently they were "worth every penny". And how much penny we are talking about here?? I was SHOCKED. These particular highly sought after doulas apparently charge anywhere from 2000-2300 USD. Now, granted they are the crème de la crème of doulas. But STILL. One of them sent me a list of things she usually does for a client. I read it, it was nice, but most of the things that was included her service I really didn't care for.


And then for a bit I was down and was almost sure I would end up without a doula. But I kept researching. Thankfully, I found out about a great doula co-op, and I contacted one of the doulas. They have doulas with all different levels of experiences. So, they've it breakdown in Tier based. Tier 1 has the least experienced, Tier 2 has little bit more experienced and so on. And of course as the Tier goes up, so does the price. Then I decided to interview someone who was recommended to me "highly" from Tier 2. I met her, she was extremely nice, however, she would be out of town 2 weeks prior to the due date. And not to mention her price range was more than what I was willing to pay. So, it boiled down to the fact that if I hire "her" and pay that price, I might end up getting a back up in case I go into labor while she is away. That's a deal breaker for sure. Then she told me about Tier 1 doulas. And before she came to meet me, I actually was thinking about contacting one of the Tier 1 doulas myself. But it's a good thing she told me about them. Basically, these Tier 1 doulas have at least attended 10 births, and some of them will have more births under their belts by the time my due date rolls around. And few of them have other extra credentials, which meant they technically fall in Tier 2 (she, herself falls into Tier 3, but paperwork wise Tier 2), so if I do hire one of the Tier 1, I'm actually getting much more than that. And the best thing is their service is $250.00!!!!!!! YEAP. Can you imagine my relief? It's  HUGE!

And then I ended up contacting my doula, who also happens to live ONLY 7 blocks away from my home!!!! It's like a miracle! And not only that she is a Bradley Method Childbirth class instructor, has a cert in Neonatal resuscitation (I honestly don't what this is- but whatever it is, I gather it's very important!) and very recently, got her certificate as a Lactation Consultant!!! So, needless to say I'm so VERY happy and pleased to have her as my doula.

Another thing is a lot of them are willing to work out a different pay arrangement (as in lowering their prices) if the client explains them how they are under financial strain and they work on a case to case basis. My doula actually has offered me to take her Bradley class that she instructs for a significant low price than what she charges others. I think, that was very nice of her and I definitely appreciate it. I'm also going to take the ones offered by my hospital, where I would be giving birth and that's FREE.

So, the point of this post is, even in New York City you CAN have a doula within YOUR budget. And these days, various hospitals are actually offering low cost or free doulas to low-income women, teenage pregnant girls and so on cause they are worth it.

And here is my doula. Though she doesn't know that I've a blog now and I'm sharing her info, I'm sure she wouldn't mind that I am sharing her link:

My Doula

Here is a link of official Doulas of North America organization DONA where you can find all the information from what is a doula to how to get one to anything and everything related to this.

To finish it off, a nice art that I found from google: A woman in labor surrounded by other female helpers (doulas? may be ;) )

Woman in labor with her doulas

The Orchid Show at the New York Botanical Garden

New York Botanical Garden, which is in the Bronx have been doing the Orchid show for the last few years if not more. I always thought about visiting the exhibition, but never got a chance around it until this year very recently. I believe, every year their show is based on various themes. This year the theme is "On Broadway". An excerpt from their official website:

      "This must-see, limited run horticultural engagement takes place in the dramatic galleries of the landmark Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. Echoing elements from some of Broadway's most iconic theaters, including the Walter Kerr Theater and the New Amsterdam Theater, The Orchid Show: On Broadway showcases 5,000 dazzling specimens from one of the most distinguished orchid collections in the world."

The Orchid Show

The ticket price is $20.00 adult admission. However, being the resourceful person I am, I got a deal on
Goldstar New York and it was $13.00 adult admission, which meant $7.00 savings per ticket-  a major SCORE!

How I went there:

I live in Inwood section of upper Manhattan, so going there meant I had to go further down to 145 Street station to catch D train and then off I went to Bedford Park Station. Once out of the station, we (my sis and I) took the B26 bus, which was at the corner of the street. From there to the entrance of the garden, I would say the ride probably was about 10 mins max. Bus drops right infront of the garden entrance. There is a Metro North station, right outside the garden station. So, if you are to take the Metro North from Grand Central that's all you have to take, no bus or walking would be involved! Yes, of course you've to walk from the station to the garden, but that's about it. Unlike taking the subway, where either you could take the bus or walk massive 8 block!

The experience:

It was a chilly day, with some drizzle and crazy wind! I had been checking weather forecast on tv, on the internet but due to some scheduling conflict ended up buying the ticket for a not so charming (weather wise that is) day. However, it was OK. Actually, it was very relaxing for me personally to be out and about in that weather. It was rather mystic. My sis and I enjoyed the show very much. Weather didn't really affect us per se, cause the show was indoor. We walked in, followed the rain forest, saw various types of orchids that there were! It only got better as we walked more and followed the route. The ending was SUPERB!!! I guess, the whole display was about that! It was pretty, stunning and not to mention the fragrance! Blew us away. We took so many pictures that at the end both of our cameras ran out of batteries!!! ;) So, then iphone was off to rescue! Thanks God for that!!

Now, here are some pictures:





Once you enter the exhibition area you're greeted by this lovely show stopper!


And then the Orchids...stars of the show!






Well, so above are the few shots of some beautiful Orchids and needless to say, there were many more varities. And don't get sad or depressed, though indeed it was the Orchid show, there were some other pretty perty flowers too...check out this Gardenia...and then what I called "paper flower" and some others!

 And now, for the final show stoppers, you really have to be there in order to understand the significance and beauty of it all....words can't describe it...but as they say a picture speaks a thousand words...so here we go

So, that was my visit to the show in a nut-shell! Yes, I said, in a nut shell though these are awful lot of pictures!!! I enjoyed it a LOT. And I hope if you do end up going, you'll too! This event is going to run until April 25th, 2011!!