Food

by

When The Stars Align: From Chennai to LA

Nandini at one of the Pretzel Logic company picnics

The most extraordinary thing happened last weekend, but first, a bit of history.

I worked at a small start-up called Pretzel Logic Software nearly thirty years ago. When I joined, it was a company of male engineers and founders. I was the first woman hired full-time to handle the growing company’s administrative duties. I learned after joining that a woman came in on the weekend to manage the accounting, but she worked Saturday, so time went by before we met. 

Nandini and I eventually met one Saturday, and we connected immediately. We quietly revealed to one another that we were pregnant with our first child. Fast forward to the birth of our sons, Anand and Chris, who were born just six weeks apart.

Out of the workforce and searching for our footing as new mothers, we met once a week with the boys, first at Nandini’s place and later at ours. We had park dates and trips to the pumpkin patch, and in the winter, we hung out at an indoor playground called Bamboolas, where the boys could play, and we could chat, knowing they couldn’t run off. As they got older we went to Ardenwood Historic Farms for hay rides, we road the Roaring Camp railroad steam train through the redwoods, and we enrolled them in a Music Together program. I’ve stockpiled so many memories of those early years.

I was heartbroken when they needed to move back to India to support their family. Our boys were still in pre-school. Anand and Chris turn 28 this year. 

I’ve stayed in touch with Nandini through long-distance phone calls and emails and later through the much-improved live chats. The 13.5-hour time change makes it challenging, but we work it out.

Anand returned to the US to study and work. He met and married a lovely woman in February of this year. She’s a medical student at UCLA. They wed in Chennai and returned to LA for work and school, but the bride’s family wanted a reception in the US for extended family and friends. And that is how we get from Chennai to LA. 

Imagine my delight when I learned Nandini would be in California for a few weeks, I made a plan. Chris, my husband Mike, and I would fly to LA. My youngest son, Mac, lives just an hour’s drive away in Orange County so he could easily join us as well.

I flew down early Friday so Nandini and I could spend an entire day together. We hugged, laughed, talked endlessly about everything, held hands, and wished it wouldn’t end. We walked around an open-air shopping center, had lunch, walked some more, and later had tea, one of our long-held traditions. It was an extraordinary day.

On Saturday, both families met for lunch in West Hollywood at a fabulous vegan Mexican restaurant called Gracias Madre. We posed for photos, walked to the corner for ice cream, then visited the newlyweds home before we eventually had to part company for our flight home. Our friends returned to India earlier this week.

West Hollywood

Friendships can ebb and flow. Sometimes, you lose touch, or you grow apart. It’s been a joy staying connected to Nandini all these years, overcoming distance and time zones to keep the friendhsip alive.

I’m still on a cloud from the weekend and grateful that the stars aligned to make it possible.

by

The Giving Garden

One of the coolest things about our neighborhood is the general camaraderie.  Neighbors talk to neighbors.

On the surface, that sounds so simple, but time and again we hear from others how lucky we are to live on a street where all the neighbors know each other.  Over the years, we’ve covered for each other with emergency child-care, extra meals in times of poor health, emotional support and carrots.

Carrots?

Yes, even carrots.

The grandfather of one of the daycare kids walked by while I was curbside chatting with (yes) another neighbor.  I reached over to offer him a fresh garden pea, when he stopped me and asked if he could have ten.  More specifically, his granddaughter needed ten items to trade during Kindergarten class for a lesson on trade and Thanksgiving.

Our quick search didn’t  yield ten pea pods, but there were still plenty of carrots.  Not just any carrots, but the very carrots the wee kinder (gardener) planted herself.  He came back with his granddaughter later that day. Her brother gave her special permission to harvest his carrots as well in case she didn’t have enough.

Baggy in tow, she pulled up several carrots, bagged them and happily smiled for the camera.

harvesting carrots

Harvesting

Grandpa asked her to rinse the dirt from her hands in the fresh rain water, and then she wiped them on the grass.  I stepped in and dried her tiny hands on the inside of my jacket, because honestly, once a mom always a mom.  I scooped her into a hug and she was on her way.

harvested carrot

Harvested carrot

all smiles

All smiles

You reap what you sow .  I felt such a welling of emotion as I turned to come inside.  Ten little carrots were on their way to the classroom, and once again the giving garden filled me with joy.

by

Garden Peas, Hold the Salt

first of the peas

First of the garden peas

We grew up eating peas, both fresh and canned. We loved them. When we moved to the States, it stunned our classmates to see my sister and me eating them from our lunch tray at school. Looking back, I don’t remember anything really delicious arriving on a school lunch tray but somehow those peas were edible, at least to us.

Kids would scoop there peas on to our trays and dare us to eat them. It was a nifty party trick. I don’t have many positive memories of lunch at school, but I do remember eating the offered peas and enjoying the attention that came with it.

Now I’m growing my own peas. Straight from the vine, they’ll be fresh and crisp.  Inside is the hidden treasure: a row of nature’s green pearls.

sweet pea unfurling

Shoots and ‘ladders’

Although I’ve always known that peas were good for you*, I didn’t know they were also good for the environment.  According to The Worlds Healthiest Foods:

Peas belong to a category of crops called “nitrogen-fixing” crops. With the help of bacteria in the soil, peas and other pulse crops are able to take nitrogen gas from the air and convert it into more complex and usable forms. This process increases nitrogen available in the soil without the need for added fertilizer. Peas also have a relatively shallow root system which can help prevent erosion of the soil, and once the peas have been picked, the plant remainders tend to break down relatively easily for soil replenishment. Finally, rotation of peas with other crops has been shown to lower the risk of pest problems. These environmentally friendly aspects of pea production add to their desirability as a regular part of our diet. – Source WHFoods.org

sweet pea

Pea perfection

sweet pea flower

Pretty flowers give way to legumes

*Of Note:

Apparently peas aren’t good for everyone. Peas contain naturally occurring substances called purines.  Taken in excess they can cause health problems in people with gout or kidney stones.  The purine converts to uric acid.  They suggest limiting any high purine-containing foods such as green peas. Who knew?  You can find the complete article here.

by

Second Chances

There is no accounting for taste.  It’s one of life’s mysteries.  I’ve raised two sons in one household with identical  food choices, but only one of them  loves fruits and vegetables.  I continue to re-introduce different foods, he continues to eschew most of them.   Broccoli is not on his short list.  He says it’s too bland.

Today, he turned a corner!  He invited a young friend to stop by to see the new garden.  Together they swept gravel from the path.  With joy and pride he trimmed small florets of broccoli to send home with his mate.   He then nibbled on one of the organic florets and pronounced: “I like it because it is bland.”   Three cheers for second chances and the power of a garden.