Excited!!

I am so excited! I am featured on one of my favorite blogs-- www.newdressaday.com. Marisa, the author upcycles the clothes you would never take a second look at and makes them in to one of a kind pieces. I am so honored and excited, that I burst. And Did I mention how excited I am? Check her out!

Here's the link to my creation. http://www.newdressaday.com/2013/08/25/snehas-ndad-creation/

XoXo.

By the lake

These pictures were taken during the July 4th weekend, and I did not get around to sharing them. Love the lake!! Water, peace and great company! All pictures taken by: Pranita Vakiti

Dress: Targer, Sunnies: Ray Ban

Chambray shirt: Cotton on, Sandals: Target

Necklace: F21

Summer Grilling

What I love most about summers in the bay area, are the cool evenings, conversations with good friends and home made food. We grilled paneer and chicken yesterday like most weekends with two marinades.

Marinade 1:

1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
2 tbsp mint chutney (available in the most indian stores)
2 tbsp Green chilly paste
salt to taste.

Marinade 2:

1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
2tbsp red chilly powder
2tbsp tandoori masala.
salt to taste

Marinate the paneer or chicken along with your favorite veggies( we used bell peppers, onions and tomatoes) for 4-5 hours. Grill it.:)

Red, White and Blue

The long weekend is over. I am exhausted from all the fun I had.:) I went to SFO with a few friends to do a little shopping on Friday. I wore a Cotton On Dress, Chambray Shirt and Target flats. Perfect for a little chill and a lot of sun.

What's cooking?: Chia seed pudding.

Well, I did not really cook anything. This is a great dessert option or a breakfast option with little to no effort at all. Chia seeds are everywhere these days. Being rich in omega-3 fatty acids, it is a great alternative to fish.(all you vegetarians out there!)  Chia seeds are very small, but they can absorb liquid and almost triple their size. The texture after soaking is very similar to tapioca. So, we can make pudding, just substitute the tapioca with Chia seeds. Here's what I made:

Ingreidents:

1/4 cup of chia seeds
1 cup of milk.
a few dry fruits of your choice (I used walnuts, raisins and almonds)
2 tbsp of sugar or honey

Procedure:

Soak the chia seeds in milk overnight in a bowl and put in the fridge. In the morning, add the dry fruits, sugar or any other sweetener you like and eat it for breakfast. You can add cereal to this, for some extra crunch, and if you want to have it for dessert, I would roast the dryfruits in  some ghee(clarified butter) and increase the sugar to taste. Tasty and healthy!:)

Outfit: Fruit Picking

So, I moved to San Jose, CA for an internship for three months. Friends, outdoors and loads of fun. We went fruit picking; originally for Cherries, but ended up picking apricots. Fresh, juicy, organic Apricots.

All pictures by Dushyant Vipradas, Ram Vishwanath and me.

Shoes: Target

Dress: limited, Watch; Micheal Kors, Sunnies: Versace.

What's cooking?: Home made strawberry ice cream ( no icecream maker!!)

I love this recipe. I found this on pinterest; while just browsing through the site for hours. It is my favorite way to postpone the things I am supposed to do. I wanted to make icecream without an ice cream maker and this is just perfect. The ingredients are few and easily accessible and the recipe can be modified and flavors incorporated based on the time of the year and your mood. The recipe I found was for vanilla icecream, but I added strawberry puree and some chunks for texture.

Ingredients:

11/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract.
1 cup straw berries.
4-5 more strawberries for texture

Procedure: Whip the heavy cream for about 4 minutes with a hand mixer or until stiff peaks form. In another bowl mix the sour cream and condensed milk and keep aside. Puree the strawberries in a blender and add the puree to the sour cream/condensed milk mixture. Cut the remaining strawberries and fold the sour cream mixture in the whipped cream. Transfer to a container with a tight lid and freeze for around 6 hours.
Enjoy!!

The hardest part is to wait the 6 hours, but it is worth it. The texture is really good and my sister said the vanilla ice cream I made ( just add 2 tbsp of vanilla and no fruit) was exactly like a store bought one. You can add coffee, chocolate, other fruit, any thing you want. Go crazy!