The Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage in Kegalle

Some friends of ours were travelling to the elephant orphanage and we decided to join in. It was a 2 hour drive from Colombo. One has to take the Kandy road which is full of views of dense forests, lush green hills and paddy fields. We caught the elephants taking their baths in the Maha Oya river, a lovely water body which looked ideal for white water rafting with its frothy white currents. It was a wonderful sight seeing these elephants engage socially. The Pinnawela elephants are the largest herd of elephants in captivity.

Cheese, Olive and Zaatar Grilled Sandwich

When Daughter returns from school I usually make an easy to eat lunch for her (as opposed to rice, curry etc which are hard to handle). She likes olives and zaatar spice a lot so I thought I would make something with both of them. Here's what she had today.

Cheese, Olive and Zaatar Grilled Sandwich

Ingredients:

Bread (any kind suitable for sandwiches)

Butter/Margarine

Zaatar Spice: 1/2 tsp for each slice of bread

Olives: 3 or 4 sliced thinly per slice of bread

Cheese: Emmental or Gouda slices

Method:

Butter the bread on both sides. Put cheese slice on the bread and olives on the cheese. Cover with another slice of bread buttered on either side. Sprinkle with zaatar spice on either side Grill on a pan or in the oven until golden brown. Serve warm and crispy.

Pineapple Chicken Stir Fry

Pineapples are plentiful here. So got inspired to try something new. Found this recipe on the web which I modified.

PINEAPPLE - CHICKEN STIR - FRY 1/4 c. soy sauce 2 tbsp. cornstarch 1/2 tsp. ground ginger 1 tbsp. vegetable oil 4 chicken breast halves, skinned, boned & cut into 1" pieces 1 garlic clove, minced 1/4 medium pineapple chunks 3/4 cup apple/pineapple juice 1/2 green capsicum 1 medium onion, sliced & separated into rings Method: Combine first 3 ingredients. Pour oil around preheated wok or skillet and heat. Add chicken and garlic; stir fry 2-3 minutes. Add pineapple and capsicum. Cover and cook 3-4 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Add soy sauce mixture and stir fry until sauce bubbles and thickens. Serve over hot cooked rice. Yield 4-6 servings. The original recipe can be found here: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1639,145166-232194,00.html

Complaints

Of late, have been having a bad time and just feeling blue.

Yesterday I discovered strange insects in my jar of coriander! H's explanation of it is the humid weather. But my jar was sealed so Lord only knows how they got there.

Oh the frozen foods need a bit of getting used to. Almost all savoury foods are just too strongly flavoured with black pepper. Even well known brands like Knorr have tweaked the flavours to suit the local palette. Basically making all easily prepared foods not very tasty to me which is just as well. There are some things that just can't be found in the supermarkets : like lemons and coriander and ghee (clarified butter) and semolina.

People Passing

After coming to Colombo two of my uncles living in my home town have passed away. One of them this morning. Have been naturally feeling quite down. These people I have seen since I was a child. They were nice, happy, kind and jovial people. With this particular uncle I passed many a day discussing books, life, etc. I know his passing away will also mean one less person my mother can turn to, who is passing her days away, lonely and getting old, missing us. And ofcourse a slice of my youth gone with them, as memories of childhood are inextricably linked with these members of our family.

3am Blues

We've been unsuccessfully trying to make Daughter settle down in her new room. Every time she starts settling down she comes down with a bad cold/cough and we move her back to our bed, and she no longer wants to sleep in her own bedroom. After 2 tearful allnighters, have decided to call it quits and just move her bed back to our room in the morning.

And while we are on the topic of coughs/colds, let me just add that catching 4 bugs in the space of 2 short months is just too much to handle, and feeling quite fed up. When do I catch myself a break here?

We do not buy chocolate here, so here I am, unable to sleep, gnawing on a papaya at 3am. Papayas are nice here by the way. The fruits are very similar to Bangkok's. Weather is also similar possibly. It is constant weather here all year round.

H has been going crazy with his workload here. He continues working late into the night every day even after coming home. So that has lengthened our settling down time even further.

On another front have hired a part time maid, especially with the impending visits of relatives within weeks. Today, I caught her scrubbing down my precious rice cooker (yes the electric part at the bottom!) She can't speak any English. Daughter has a fine time harassing her with questions like "why don't you know English?!"

Today we got caught in a road block because of protesters. The entire Colpetty Junction to Temple Trees was blocked off. Had to take a long detour. As it is everyday we have to pass through a million roadblocks were the soldiers stare at you and try to figure out where you're from before asking for your passport. Road blocks are part and parcel of Colombo life.

Also, seeing a saffron clad monk every day. There are many buddhist and hindu temples around as well as mosques. We hear atleast 4 different azans every day, 5 times. Oh, and noise pollution is quite bad where we live: a train blasts away every now and then, as we live right beside the tracks. Oh, and the rain is constant. Everyone walks with an umbrella. Sri Lnnkan people are also very westernised in clothes and also their work ethics. They never go beyond their job descriptions. They will not work a minute extra or do anything that they are not officially required to do. This can be quite irritating. Oh and there's a Poya every 2 weeks. It falls on a full moon, and is a holiday (but not for H). So that's another day they refuse to work!

Ok, starting to feel a bit sleepy now.

More later.

Hurtling Along

We have moved to our apartment about 2 weeks ago. The days have been chock full of a billion things to do. And also in the meantime, Daughter fell ill (still not completely better) and we caught it off her too. Still not finished unpacking all the boxes that arrived a week ago. Before that it was like a long camping trip. We were sleeping on a mattress on the floor.

Yesterday was the first semi normal day we had. Had a nice evening. Went for a walk to the Galle Face Hotel. Had dinner at "The Verandah" which is a semi - open air restaurant just beside the sea. The food was alright, but the atmosphere was great! They had some harmony musicians. Really nice and relaxing.

Ok, that will have to be it for now. Chores and studies await!