Graduations!

'Tis the season to be jolly...for graduations! First off I want to congratulate all of my family members and friends of family members who are graduating this year. My very own little, baby sister is one of them! I can't believe how fast time has flown. It feels like only minutes have passed by since her first day of kindergarten. Therefore, I dedicate this post to all the graduates of 2012. I wish all of our future nurses, doctors, lawyers, judges, or whatever you are going to be, the best of luck in your future endeavors. 
I know it is so exciting to start off at a new school and meet new friends, but it's also sad at the same time. You're leaving behind old friends, favorite teachers, and hobbies. But not to fear! Life on the other side is so much better. I never really liked high school, but I didn't realize that I didn't like it until I got to college. I just went with the flow in high school. Whatever happened, happened. I never joined any clubs or did extra curriculars. I was just a wallflower waiting to bloom in the right season and college was the season for me. 
When I started college I had my mind blown just at the major diversity of people I met. There were a lot of international students and to me I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. I was in the same class with people from Kenya, Morroco, Sri Lanka, and the like. I was also amazed at the freedom that I had. There were no bells, you could eat in class (most of them), you couldn't get detention, you didn't have to raise your hand to go to the bathroom, there were no progress reports or report cards, I mean it was a high schooler's dream. You don't even have to stay on campus for lunch! My favorite thing was getting to sit almost anywhere to study. I had the freedom to roam the library, student center, and academic buildings in search of the perfect place to do homework or study between classes. And the best part about it was that you didn't even have to do homework or study. Most of my time was spent on my laptop chatting with friends or playing on facebook...not that I'm encouraging goofing off during school hours...but sometimes you need a break from all the knowledge you absorb during the day! ;)
Above all, college has been such an enlightening experience for me and I hope all of our graduates will be able to say the same. My advice to you would be to just keep your head up high and strong and you will be able to do anything. Welcome the world that's ahead of you with an open mind and you will be able to go where ever you want!
Peace <3

Congratulations Sis! I wish you amazing success for your future! <3

Life in the 1800s

On Easter weekend I got a chance to visit Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site. It was a beautiful day with white fluffy clouds and blue skies. 

A perfect atmosphere for walking the trails and spending the day picnicking in the park. 

Among the attractions of the state park, there was an exhibit that intrigued me the most, Barrington Living History Farm. On the farm you get to take a step back in history to the time of the last president of the Republic of Texas, Dr. Anson Jones. He served as president of the Republic in 1844 until Texas became the 28th state of America in 1845. There were costumed interpreters conducting themselves much like the people on the original farm and we were free to ask questions and take part in the daily chores and activities that were vital to living in that time.


In 1844, Dr. Jones moved to Barrington Farm (named after his hometown in Massachusetts) with his wife, four children, his sister, his wife's four half-sisters, and his slaves. The house that we visited was the original structure built in 1844, but was relocated to the current Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site as part of the Texas Centennial Celebration in 1936.


When I got there I didn't know that I would be posting about the site and I didn't take many pictures, so just ignore the pretty people in them! ;)

The house is called a "dog-trot" or "dog run" type of house. The first floor had four rooms. Two on each side separated by the dogtrot or open area that led to the back of the house and kitchen. The second floor was off limits to us due to the steepness of the stairs but it was used as dormitories for the older children of the family. 

To the right, and front of the house, is the parlor used for entertaining, a personal library/office, and to spend family time. It contained this spinning wheel which was used for making cotton into thread.

Behind the parlor was the dining room. It was probably used during the cooler months of the year while the dogtrot was used during the warmer months. The cook would usually serve pork, corn, vegetables and fruits, and breads. Occasionally there would be wild game and poultry. They ate pork often because it was a smaller animal to slaughter and the meat would not waste whereas a cow would be much bigger and a lot of meat would be left over with no place to store it! This is why they reserved beef for special occasions.

To the left and front of the house was the master bedroom. The room was shared by Dr. Jones and his wife and his two youngest children. There was a queen sized bed which was not made of feathers, but dried corn husks! They may have changed it to feathers during the winter months. Next to the bed was a cradle and under the bed was a trundle bed that would slide out and be used for the second youngest child. During that time it was not uncommon for children to sleep with their parents until around age eight. Behind the master bedroom was another room that probably belonged to Dr. Jones's sister. She also had a queen sized bed made of dried corn husks. Miss Jones taught the children of the farm and probably used this room, in addition to the parlor, to teach lessons.

Next to each bed there was a large basin and pitcher along with a bar of soap and washcloths. This was used for daily hygiene. When I asked about the bathrooms I was really glad that I live in present times but then again if I lived back then I wouldn't know the difference. Outhouses were not invented yet so men would just do their business outside on some corner of the land. Women would sometimes use chamber pots which were stored under the bed.

http://exhibits.museum.state.il.us/

The bathing arrangements were not any better. Bathing in a bath tub with soap would take place once a week. Usually on a Saturday so that the family would be clean for Sunday church. Since the man of the house had to do the hard work of pumping the water and bringing it back to the house, he would get the honor of bathing first. Next the wife got to bathe and then the oldest child down to the youngest (without changing the water!). While speaking to one of the interpreters at the farm, she pointed out that most of the inhabitants would work out in the fields close to streams and suggested that who would not want to jump into nice cool water at the end of a hard work day?? Still, I would not be able to sleep at night not knowing what kind of germs are lingering on my body!

The back porch of the house led to the kitchen quarter, a chicken coop, a kitchen garden, and a smokehouse. The kitchen quarter was by far my personal favorite in this experience. It was built as an outbuilding, separate from the main house. This is because there were heat and fire concerns. There were no electrical stoves so everything had to be cooked over an open fire! 

There was actual food in those pots. The one on the right contained cookies and on the left was a cake. This method of cooking requires you to rotate the pot occasionally so all sides get even heat. 

Keep in mind that the room was very tiny and there was a large fireplace in it. This made it extra warm and toasty. Ideal for winter months but a nightmare during the summer.

All the ingredients needed for meals were provided right from the farm. The garden provided fruits and vegetables, the chickens provided fresh eggs, and the cows provided fresh milk. They literally LIVED OFF the farm. 

There was no refrigeration so in preparation for the winter months the family would butcher several hogs and pack the meat in salt for about a month. The meat was then wrapped in cloth and smoked over a low fire for 24 hours/day for one week. This resulted in cured not cooked meat. It was stored in the cool, dark smokehouse for the rest of the year until use.

The barn was a double crib barn which is two small storage sheds joined together with one roof. A little like the concept of the dog-trot house. This barn housed tools and animal feed. The stalls behind the barn provided shelter to the animals which included roosters, oxen, and turkeys!

There were also slave quarters present which housed several slaves who served as everything from field hands to house servants. The slaves rooms were big enough for two twin sized beds, a table for eating, and a small fireplace. It was made of log structures with dirt or wood floors and a mud-and-stick chimney.

Well that does it for this trip to the past. I absolutely enjoyed this journey and was so excited by it that I just want to learn more and more. I hope you also enjoyed this post. If you have anything to add please feel free to do so!

<3

Things to Look Forward to in 2012!

1) 3 years of happiness :)

(Thank you mi guapo!)

2) The Hunger Games

My favorite book AFTER Harry Potter

3) The Woman in Black

Because I am and always will be a Daniel Radcliffe fan :)

4) Presidential Campaign

Obama all the way!

5) December 21, 2012

Just to see what all the hype is about.

Sorry this is so short, but this post will be continued in the next one! What are you looking forward to this year? Feel free to share your thoughts!

Dhalpourie!

Guess what I did with our brand spanking new Kitchen Aid mixer?! I made dhalpourie!! :D It wasn't as great as my mom's, but it was dhalpourie. It was only my first try and it didn't turn out like a professional Trini would make it but, there's lots of room to improve! Dhalpourie is probably the most difficult kind of roti to make and it takes the most time! It took me and my sister about an hour to cook minus the few technical difficulties we had with our mixer!
We bought the Kitchen Aid because we eat a lot of roti in this household. And since I discovered that it can knead dough I knew I had to get my hands on one. I was so excited to use it for this recipe that I had to take pictures and post about it. :)

To start off, boil 2 cups of dahl (yellow split peas) in some water with 2 tablespoons of saffron. 

Boil it for about 15 minutes. The peas can't be too soft.

Then, with the use of my handy dandy Kitchen Aid, I used the grinder attachment to grind the peas into a powder along with 3 cloves of garlic.

After the dahl is all ground, toast some ground cumin and add about 2 tablespoons to the dahl mixture.

Now set that aside and it's time to knead the dough!

The recipe I used was 6 cups of flour and 6 tablespoons of baking powder with about 3 cups of water. Add more water if the dough is too dry and add more flour if the dough is too wet. Let it sit for about 20 minutes.

Divide the dough into equal parts. We got eight dough balls that were a little smaller than a baseball.

Make a bowl out of the ball of dough and add some of the dahl mixture.

Close it in by pinching the edges together.

Set it aside and repeat with the other dough balls.

Roll it out like a pizza.

Place it on the tawah (flat cooking dish made of metal used for cooking roti). 

Brush some vegetable oil and flip. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side.

Roll it up and break it in half. I ate mine with curry lamb (made by my sister) and curried potatoes.

This is one of my all time favorite foods and now that I know how to make it I will be eating it all the time. :) Like I said earlier, it wasn't THE best dahlpourie (the dahl needed to be boiled a little bit longer) but I will be practicing a lot since the Kitchen Aid makes it so easy! 

Hope every one has a happy holiday season no matter what you celebrate! :D

My Big Fat TRINI Family!

For those of you that don't know, my family is really big. I mean really, really big. Both my mom and dad have a lot of aunts and uncles so that gives them a lot of cousins. I can't even begin to count how many there are. But this is normal. All Indian families have ginormous families. I meet new family members very often and now, thanks to Facebook, I meet them even more often!
Our family is also spread out all over the world. From California to England, Canada to Trinidad, every where I turn, there's someone I'm related to! If you think about it, I probably have ancestors in India that I don't know of. If my great great grandfather migrated from India to Trinidad, what if he left behind some brothers and/or sisters in India? If so, that means I have distant cousins in India! I could be related to the Bachchan family! I wonder if that would make me rich...
Before I forget, I love my family and I love being part of my family. I don't mean to call anyone fat by the title of this blog. I just wanted to emphasize the amount of Indians there are that are related to me. However, I do see a trend in big bellied Indians as age increases. This is only because we have delicious food. Here's a new word to add to your Trin-glish dictionary: 
Dahl-belly Indian: [dall beh-lee indian] equivalent of a beer belly or beer gut in the US.
But that's a whole other post! :)
The following picture was taken this summer. This is probably not even a quarter of my family. It would be very difficult to get everyone in one spot from both parents' side. 

There is never an end of the line to your family. It keeps going on and on and on whether we know about it or not. 
So how far back have you gone into your family tree? Feel free to share your experiences!

Do Squirrels Make Noise?

Found this in my back yard this morning. I'm curious to know if the squaking noise I heard is actually coming from the squirrel or a nearby bird. See the squirrel there, right in the middle of the screen. If anyone knows, please fill me in! :D

Simply Trini Cooking

I found this link that has proven to be very useful to me. Just wanted to share for anyone interested in learning new Trini recipes or interested in adding a new twist on current recipes. I can't wait to try the recipe for fudge! So fattening but that's why we workout right??? Enjoy!! :D


Path to many future food comas --> http://www.simplytrinicooking.com/#axzz1dqCd8NlZ