manningroad

Just Picked

Due to the heat - 39 C yesterday -  the tomatoes are reddening and ripening by the minute, almost changing colour as I watch. They will be going into freezer bags, once washed and then frozen whole . They will be the best fall back for soups and pasta when winter reappears as I know it will eventually. Despite my back problems I have managed to keep watering and it has been a really hot last 5 days and they have truly needed their evening drink - a bit like me , if the truth be told !! Whilst they are happy with water, I have turned to my trusty bottle of Frangelico. 

View from a Rickshaw

Usually when we pass an elephant I'm on the wrong side to get a photo - but today I tried anyway and managed to get this glimpse:

The rickshaws we take are auto-rickshaws (the style called Tuk Tuks in Bangkok) I've seen the occasional cycle rickshaw but they seem more likely to be transporting goods than passengers. 

Here are a few more views from today's ride, to try and give an idea of the traffic mayhem. Some of the roads are divided (many under constuction and incredibly dusty) and others very narrow with deep running drains on both sides, buses, trucks of all sizes, tractors, motorbikes, scooters, bicycles, rickshaws, vegetable carts, cows, dogs, pigs and pedestrians all jostling for space. There's constant beeping and blasting of horns to no avail. No-one gets out of the way of on-coming traffic until the last possible moment, and sometimes not even then. Drivers often have to head out onto the wrong side of the road to pass cows or people who have simply stopped their bikes in the middle for a chat! All this without seat belts, and often using their mobile while they drive/ride! Sometimes it seems like a good-humoured game of courage - I haven't seen any road rage!

The Local Brunetti's

I think of this shop as the local Brunetti's - full of customers buying sweets for gifts or treating themselves, busy restaurant upstairs with families and shoppers grabbing a quick lunch or celebrating a birthday. The real name is Sri Ganga, and it is justifiably famous - they cater for weddings and special occasions, and the food is delicious and environment spotless - in business since 1949!

Many of the sweets have a boiled milk base, prepared in massive wok-like pans:

Still Flat on my Back

Yesterday was a public holiday, Australia Day. Normally a public holiday for me is a huge deal and I welcome it with great excitement. Any chance not to have to head off to work I regard as a big privilege. Not so yesterday, as it was another day to be spent lying down, resting and I have another week of it to go. The days actually pass quickly in a blur of dvd"s, pain tablets, phone calls, snoozing and a tiny amount of walking around the house. Not wildy exciting !! Yesterday the girls made a cake and delivered it to my bedside with great aplomb. It was a Tim Tam Cake made by their own fair hands from scratch and it was a major highlight in my very "flat" day.

Shopping

Ladies shopping - and carrying home their purchases:

Stone Fruit Trifle

This is a dreamy, summery dessert. I adore summer stone fruits especially nectarines. This pretty and delectable trifle  can use any fruit which  is layered between creamy mascapone and yoghurt. Or if you feel thin then use whipped cream and mascapone - that will be divine but will bring feeling thin to an end !!

Sticky Gingerbread

Yesterday I made a sticky gingerbread with slivered pear. It is moist and dark with molasses, redolent with clove and ginger. But yet is it is quite light even a wee bit crumbly. It is not a heavy wintry gingerbread, more a light summer one, enlivened with tiny diced pieces of fresh pear.

Upstairs Window

Here's a glimpse of my view this morning from a 2nd floor window in Ujjain Old City:

Broccoli Pesto

Here is an interesting and healthy change on an old standby. The recipe called for more broccoli than basil though I did the reverse. Any amount combo will work and it is a way of hiding this green vegetable from your family if they are not so mad on eating broccoli. We had it on brown rice and felt very virtuous.

Weaving Workshop

The town of Maheshwar is famous for (among other things - I loved this whole place!) exquistely woven fine silk sarees. The fabric is so fine it is almost transparent and it takes 3 days to weave one saree. They are not embroidered like the previous style I posted, all the detail is woven in by the skilled weavers, who were very kind and allowed me in to their workshop to take some photos: