THE MISSING BONE

Without knowledge, I once grabbed cranberries for a leisure munching, imagining them to taste sweet by their look.  Later I was scampering to look for a recipe to make something out of it and not let it go waste.  Cranberries in reality taste too sour. However, they taste amazing when  dried or cooked.  Cake seemed to be a great idea as I had eaten it before somewhere.  This is going to be a very simple recipe of a homemade cake with just an addition of cranberries. Let us go step by step:  Even though originally the secret ingredient to cooking or baking is a smile that pirouettes on your face, specific ingredients are listed below. 1. Dry Ingredients: Gather two small to medium sized cups of all-purpose flour. One cup of fine sugar. You can replace sugar with honey/ maple syrup/ agave. If you replace sugar, add it later with wet ingredients (Step 2) One spoon salt One spoon baking powder Give it a mix by simple whipping or with a hand ble...

I have not ventured far and beyond to observe birds, flourishing vegetation or made a tour to many national parks so far. Nevertheless, I have had a few interactions with local flora and fauna community once or twice and that is when I got an opportunity to offer little help to make them thrive and sustain. Image by katja from Pixabay It turns out, even if you have not had an opportunity to venture in the Jungles and Prairies like those who make a difference in community by providing their efforts in the restoration of life and vegetation, you can still come across few to several occasions when you can pat yourself on the back.   Image by Nilanka Sampath from Pixabay Some years ago during the season of heavy snowfall, an eagle fell with a thud on the icy snow after having flown right across a glass window. It hurt its wings so bad that the blood started oozing out. I happened to witness her predicament right from her hapless flight to the fall. The only help I could think of to off...

Image by Prawny from Pixabay Time is writing history in present for our future. We are going to be known as COVID-Era people who have witnessed its onset and will go on to see its aftermath and afterglow as well. For most of us whose life has fortunately been less troubled by the pandemic, probably only get to worry about the new norms of monotony and the likes.  For others who have had to worry beyond the scopes of monotony, out in the shackles of crisis, deserve  genuine good wishes. The contagious disease has gripped the world in utter confusion and worry for future. Undoubtedly, the most impact has been on the life itself followed by the worry and concerns of survival, mostly financial. PC: Stock Images Impact of COVID: It is a world known fact by now that small business owners or local business owners, including daily wage earners have faced the hardest brunt. When the world shut down in the hopes of controlling the pandemic, many struggled to survive. A local survey reve...

WHATEVER IT TOOK: PC: The book cover This book review will take you through what this wonderful book has in store for all the readers. Without an iota of doubt I can begin this review by saying that I am glad I found this book. I came across this book on an independent occasion even though around the same time I was in search of a book on the Holocaust and WWII for a personal read. So basically, I was taken to the book by destiny or my sheer desire to read a book on a similar topic - magical! A little peek into the book - the book does talk about a lot of destiny and miracles. Hail the connection! Introduction: Before I go into an in-depth analysis of the book for you all, I would like to extend my heartfelt respect and salutations to Mr. Henry Langrehr, the author and protagonist of this story. He toiled and provided his unflinching determination in the liberation of France during WWII. The soldier, the heroic personality did all he could in his power and his wisdom to n...

Many times we experience an out of the blue bout of headache and it does not necessarily happen because of an underlying health issue. Nevertheless, headache should not be ignored if it is recurrent. Quote by - Mark Lawrence The other day, I had a little stand-off with headache. I assume, I was profusely bored or probably did not quite listen to my own preaching about not to browse smart phone aimlessly!  An angelic soul suggested I better gulp down a bottle of Coke. The obedience in me nodded. That is when the heavens swirled open and these four great ideas winked at me and the red can of Coke shone brighter than ever. So, let us dive in quickly. 1. Get a Coloring Book: Coloring little corners of a leaf, flower or a picturesque landscape and spilling hues of brightness on paper is itself relaxing. Looking at soft or bright tones of color have an impact on our brain. It works like mosaic. You tend to notice how coloring is taking place. All you need is a print-out or a ...

PC: Stock Images This one is a question and an introspection.  Ever since the rise in availability of easily accessible information over the Internet, have we developed a hidden reluctance to explore the power of memorization?  Is it true that we see availability of information just a click away and take it for granted?  Have we forgotten the idea of  'learning by heart'?  PC: Stock Images These are some questions skimming through my head when I regularly dive in a flurry of several open tabs and enormous browsing history every single day. I am sure this is not an unusual scene for you either. In a world of  Big Data , for sure we do not need enormous manuscript for people to refer to and heavy course books for school kids to carry on their shoulders.  Yet, as humans our brain is going to be ever green, ever smarter and analytical. This is fool proof until we ignore the power of memorization. Is Memorizing Equal To Rote-Learning?: Pushing your brain to...

PC: Stock Images The battle is intense and there is a massive clash of sheer decision-making. Do not be mistaken, this is a serious kind of clash between sense and sensibility. This is an ongoing daily war between your eyes and brain activity. To sleep or to not let sleep, insomnia in medical terms and sleep deprivation in common language. What is Insomnia: An everyday battle with falling asleep is insomnia. The ability to enjoy a sound sleep is hampered, affecting productivity and health. Major factors affecting sleep are spending time over screen and stress. A little local survey revealed that even though people experience stress on and off, it still affects them a lot. Screen time, especially browsing aimlessly on smart phones is a factor people do out of habit.  Why is Insomnia Debilitating: What makes lack of sleep harmful is that it makes us cranky and sluggish. It also makes us less attentive at work. This calls for caffeine intake more than it is required. Sleep-deprived bo...

Love is an emotion, no word, no emoticon and no one can define in its entirety. Since time immemorial, it has been at the pedestal of all feelings and people have described it in various ways. All kinds of discourse hold their grounds to be correct and apt. Love is depicted and imagined to exist in different forms and degrees like romantic love, love between parents and children, topped by the kindest and most purest of a mother's love, love for humanity as a whole, love between friends, love between siblings and so on. Ponder over: My question to you to ponder over is, does love really have a 'kind' or does love really need to be based on a particular type of relation?   Isn't love a mystery? Philosophers, thinkers and lay men have brainstormed and come up with a variety of description, yet it seems like we do not understand what love really is. Various Forms: While love has been defined as a very strong feeling of affection, encompassing everything positive, it has al...

There is a famous proverb which goes like 'When life gives you lemons, make lemonade'. It has been rearranged in several ways like, 'When life gives you lemons, squirt it in people's eyes', 'When life gives you lemons, make orange juice and leave them wondering how you did it', 'When life gives you lemons, take out the salt and the shot-glasses and fill them up with tequila', etc.  I decided to make one of my own - 'When life gives you lemons, take the seeds out and plant a lemon tree'. How about that?  For sure, each one of us has one or the other problem we got to deal with, willingly or unwillingly. Often followed by uneasiness, anxiety, trouble relaxing, sadness, helplessness and what not. We feel stuck and imprisoned in shackles.  In one of my earlier posts, Ithaca was a topic of discussion. ( Revisit Motherhood For Ithaca ) .  Let us revisit the concept once again to rekindle the idea of relaxing when life really becomes a big glob of s...

Sharing with all of you, my not-so-chef-like recipe, a very simple and quick one for days when you are on a run and time does not seem to be too friendly.  Without further ado, let us get to the quick steps. (I have used Medjool dates, cashews, almonds, pecans and pistachios) What You Need: A few dates, the softer they are the better  the binding. (You will know ahead what is meant by binding). A handful of nuts (dry fruits) of your choice like almonds, walnuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios, raisins, coconut flakes, dried plum, dried pineapple, dried mango etc. Honey - optional A grinder/mixer. Hand mortar pestle also works. Bread or Flat- Bread (Chappatti) What To Do: What you actually need to produce out of these already yummy ingredients is nothing but a moist mixture so that you can spread it on a base of your choice. (You can modify the combination and add more dates to make it moister)  Without using much of your already occupied brain, go ahead and make a close to a...