I am sad to say that Addie is still sick today.  She got up this morning with the intention of going to school, but Scott and I, after much debate, decided to keep her home again due to the fact that she still looked pretty terrible, said that her throat hurt, and felt a little warm.  Good thing that we did…She went back to bed at 7:30 and has been sleeping soundly for the last 3 hours.  If this thing, whatever it is, doesn’t break soon, I’m afraid a trip to the doctor is in order.  The fever is very low, and there’s no chills or anything to indicate the dreaded mosquito-borne illnesses that everyone fears here, but its going on a little too long for my comfort.

But, being home again today had a good point for me.  Mujeeb showed up at the door at 9:30 to pick up Scott, bearing a gift of homemade haleem.  A little note was attached from his wife, urging us to eat it right away while it was still warm.

Haleem is a dish that is served during the Muslim Holy month of Ramzan, during the festival of Ramadan, when Muslims must fast from sunup to sunset each day for an entire month.  Being in the midst of Ramadan, haleem seems to be everywhere, with little roadside stands springing up in the evenings and signs touting its availability after sunset.  After having heard so much about this famous dish, I was eager to try it.  I actually thought it was pretty good.  Not overwhelmingly spicy with a subtle nutmeg-like flavor to it.  Very filling, as its meant to be.  I am saving the rest of it for dinner tonight.  I think the kids will eat it mixed with some curd (yogurt) over rice.  They won’t eat a lot, but it will be a good way to help get the acclimated to Indian food.  It has a ton of calories, so maybe it will put a little meat on Ender’s skinny bones.

For those of you who are wondering exactly what haleem is, here’s the lowdown from my favorite, yet questionable, information source:  Wikipedia.

Hyderabadi haleem (Urdu: حيدر آبادی حلیم ) is a distinct variant of haleem originating in Hyderabad in South India. It is a popular dish during the Muslim festival of Ramadan.

It is a type of stew made from pounded wheat and mutton (or beef). It is in the form of thick paste.

It is the mainstay during the Holy month of Ramzan. The day-long fast end with the moulvi’s recital of the azaan. Haleem is a tradition for breaking fast (roza) at Iftar, with a plateful of this divinely delectable delicacy.

It is slow cooked for at least 10 hours in the bhatti (a cauldron covered with brick & mud kiln) and two men, usually, hit with large wooden sticks all through out the preparation, until it gets to a sticky-smooth consistency, similar to mashed mince.

The cooking of haleem in Hyderabad is mastered to an art form.

Even today meethi (sweet) and khari (salted) haleem variants are served for breakfast in the homes of the Arabs living in the Barkas area of Hyderabad. But the salted variety is popularly seen during the month of Moharram and Ramzan. The high-calorie haleem is the perfect way to break the ramzan fast. (it contains wheat, various lentils, meat, and pure ghee).

This traditional wheat porridge has its roots in Arabia, similar to harees. But this derivative of haleem is different from the rest, with a nice smooth paste of all ingredients well mixed.

In Hyderabad, haleem is the traditional starter at Muslim weddings, and is also most relished in Muslim functions or occasion.

Now I don’t think that Mujeeb’s wife cooked it for 10 hours or beat it with wooden sticks, since he did mention something about her cooking it for about 4 hours.  Also, I’m picturing her in the kitchen with a large pot, not a cauldron covered with brick and mud, as I didn’t see anything like that when we visited their house, but the end result is still the same.  How nice of them to think of us.  I love the opportunity to learn about the traditions of the people who share our lives here.

For some further information on Ramadan, check out HERE. I found it very interesting and informative.

Being in the middle of a big city here, we don’t get too see all that much wildlife.  (No, the cows in the road and the starving dogs don’t count!)  Occasional pigeons and some bird that chirps at all hours of the night and the infrequent dead rat is about all we see.

So, I was thrilled when I let the dog out this morning and saw something flutter from the step up to the window.  It was large and brown and hit the window with an audible thud.

I walked outside to find the biggest, coolest moth that I have ever seen.  The poor thing had a torn wing, and is probably not long for this world as a result, but at least his image has been captured for posterity.

After some research, Addie and I discovered that it is an Erebus Macrops, but we could find no common name for it.  We did see a reference to it being rather rare, but I have no proof of that claim.  Addie was happy to point out that the beautiful “eyes” on its wings are a defense mechanism to scare away potential predators.

Below you can see a particularly cool picture of Addie’s reflection looking at the moth.  Yeah, I know, my windows could use a cleaning….

In August 2000, the following picture was taken:

Newborn Addie asleep in the arms of her daddy.

Yesterday, 8 years and 59 days later, I was able to snap this one:

It just reminded me so much of the original that I had to share it.  Over 8 years later, and still cuddling his little girl to sleep.  What a wonderful Daddy he is.

As many of you know, my darling son is notoriously difficult to feed.  In fact, for well over a year between the ages of 1 and 2, he lived on nothing but grapes, watermelon, cheese and “Boost”.  He then became a major carnivore, eating almost nothing but hot dogs and hard salami for the next several years.

So, it was a major shock to him when we moved here, and there is no salami as he knows it, and the hot dogs are not anything like good old Oscar Meyer.

His newest fad has become cheese and mayo sandwiches.  The mayo here tastes a lot like Miracle Whip, and the cheese we’re able to get readily is a very soft white cheddar which appears to me to be a white version of Velveta back home.  He will eat them for breakfast, snack and dinner.  He will get out everything he needs and make them himself as soon as he gets home from school.  He is as obsessive with this as he has been with everything else throughout his life.

So, it was with great surprise that I made him this morning’s request for breakfast.  Mushrooms.  Yes, mushrooms.  He wanted a big plate of sauteed mushrooms.  He even helped in the making.  And yes, he ate them all up.  Anyone know the health benefits of a plate of sauteed mushrooms? I’m just hoping that I can keep up with the demand if this really becomes his newest fad…they don’t always have them at the little local store.  I know its crazy, but I’m just glad he’s actually eating something!

*********UPDATE*********

Ender’s

Weird

Eating

Habits

Now he has asked for a salad for Lunch.  Specifically:  Lettuce, tomatoes, parmesan cheese and ranch dressing.  Again, he is eating it with gusto.  Who are you, and what have you done with my son???

Well, with the start of school, it was bound to happen.  Addie seems to have come down with something…the usual fever and sore throat that seems to be so prevalent among kids as the school year rolls along.  We had to cut short a birthday party today and bring her home because she suddenly felt so rotten.  She’s done nothing but sleep and veg out ever since, and she looks like a walking zombie.  Addie has always had the ability to spike very high fevers and feel like crud for days with every illness, while Ender will get nothing more than a few sniffles and a couple hours of tiredness.  Yes, we are watching for signs of anything more serious, but her fever has broken this evening and she went to bed feeling nice and cool, making us fairly confident that it is nothing more than a general “bug” that has been spreading through school like wildfire.

Unfortunately, we seem to be fresh out of my favorite achiness-ender and fever-reducer, Children’s Motrin.  Scott went to a pharmacy to find some, and came out with the only thing he recognized:  a half-size bottle of children’s tylenol, costing over $10!  Along with only being enough for a couple of doses and ridiculously expensive, it also has been found over the years to do absolutely nothing for Addie’s fevers.  Luckily, she was cool when we put her to bed, so let’s hope the worst of that is over with anyway. 

Whoever comes to visit us first from the states:  Please pack several bottles of Children’s Motrin!  Oh, and some bacon! 

This is a toilet.  Ender’s toilet, to be specific (just because its probably the nicest looking one in the house).  Of course I am the one who put the seat down…it is normally in the up position, as it seems to be for all boys.  See the two buttons on the top?  The smaller one, I just found out, is for a “small flush”.  You know, when you don’t need a lot of water to do the job.  The bigger one, then, is for the “big flush”.  I’m sure you all know what I mean.  Nice way to reduce water usage, if you can get people to actually use the correct one.  Not every toilet in our house has this feature.

But what I like about the toilet, and what makes me laugh as I go around putting down the toilet seats in the house, is the name of the manufacturer. HINDware!  Good for a laugh every time I see it.  Scott told me to point out that the right-hand button looks like a “moon” as well.  You can draw your own conclusions from that. Yes, we’re entitled to moments of immaturity too. 

Scott sent me the following email from his office a couple of weeks ago:

This is to inform you all about an “Art on Rice Grain” stall in our office premises on September 5, 2008 between 1.00PM to 8.00PM.

About the Artist:

 Mr. Surya is physically challenged, completed his B.A – Arts from Sri Krishna Devaraya University  who specialized in doing sketches, writing names, quotes and other interesting arts on Rice Grains. He prepares keychain with the Rice Grain inserted in a liquid which magnifies the art, and that would cost you Rs. 25/- only.

He has been arranging the Art Camps in various companies across Hi-Tech City, and through these camps he plans to full fill his dream of pursuing higher studies in Management.

Please come forward and make use of this opportunity to get the Art of your interest done on a small Rice Grain, and in turn help for a Noble cause.

For those of you who don’t yet know rupees, RS. 25 is maybe 60 cents or so.  So, I told Scott to pick a couple up for the kids and I. 

The liquid does magnify the rice quite a bit, Scott says that it was much smaller than it now looks.  There is a rose on the back of the grain also.  You can kind of see it behind Addie’s there.  Cute little memento.  I hope the man realizes his dreams.

There is a ritual here in the expat community of Hyderabad.  The place to be on a Sunday afternoon is the Hotel Novotel.  We had been told about it a couple of times, but never got a chance to check it out.

So, last Sunday we decided to take the short drive over there (its within about 10 minutes of our house).  As promised, it was the perfect way to spend a lazy day, with an enormous buffet, access to the swimming pool, activities for the kids and plenty of socializing to be done with our fellow expats.  The kids saw many friends from school, and we all had a great time relaxing, talking, swimming and of course, eating!  There was even meat!!!

The best part:  It happens every Sunday!  I think I have found my second home!

Enjoy the pictures!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A little over a week ago, Scott and I journeyed to a store called Metro (much like a Sam’s Club or Costco) and got ourselves a bunch of groceries that we were desperately in need of.  The very exciting thing about our trip to Metro was that we found something that thus far has been in short supply for us:  Meat.

Meat is a bit different in Hyderabad.  For example, upon walking into the meat section (a gigantic freezer), this is what you are met with:

I could only find that small picture off the website, but if you have good eyes, you can see that it clearly says “lamb carcass” above there.  Its a bit disconcerting, but we handled it.  The poultry has a lot more neck than I’m used to on my cleaned and skinned chickens, and the skinless animals that I encountered could have been anything from pig to goat to dog, hard to tell really.  However, there was a good selection and variety, provided you actually know how to cook a whole lamb carcass or baby goat.  (I have no clue, in case you hadn’t guessed). 

I was looking for ground beef of some sort, as the kids were asking for something, ANYTHING with meat.  What I encountered was either ground buffalo or ground mutton.  I chose a bag (a freshly filled  plastic bag with a twist tie) of each so I could compare them.  The mutton looked just like the US ground beef, but the buffalo was much darker and um…bloodier.  I brought them home and promptly froze them for just the right moment (and because I had to psych myself up for the taste testing). 

The kids eat tacos while Beauty looks on jealously

Tonight was the right moment for the mutton.  It cooked up just like ground beef, looked just like ground beef, and, with taco seasoning, tasted much like ground beef tacos would at home.  Texture was the same, look was the same.  Kids didn’t know the difference.  But, because I had previously told them that regular ground beef was not easy to come by here, they asked me what kind of animal it was from.  I waited until they had eaten several bites and voiced their approval before admitting that we were eating sheep.  Thankfully, it didn’t faze them a bit, and they happily gobbled down 2 tacos a piece. 

Nothing here ever tastes quite the same, though.  Lettuce is a different variety and only seen occasionally at the corner store (that’s why tonight was the right night…lettuce was available).  Tomatoes are not really sweet at all.  The only cheese available was the very soft processed white cheddar hunk (but I actually HAVE a grater, so that’s ok).  Sour cream has thus far been elusive, so we used a very creamy, slightly cheesy dip, kind of a 2nd cousin to sour cream:  You can sort of see the family resemblence, but its rather vague.  So, as a result, the tacos did taste somewhat different than what we are used to.

The kids gave it a thumbs up regardless.  They did inform me, though, that it has not topped the previous “best meal ever”.  It seems that only unhealthy meals borne out of pure desperation make that list.

On Saturday, we went to the birthday party of one of Ender’s classmates who just happens to be one of the sons of “The Camerons” who I linked to a few days ago.  The kids had a great time running around, swimming, eating pizza and seeing some great magic tricks from Mr. Cameron.  Addie wasn’t too sure about having to wear the swim cap, but she quickly forgot about it and enjoyed the festivities.  Here’s some pictures to enjoy:

Pizza with Friends, what could be better?

Addie mostly just splashed around.

Mr. Cameron performs stunning magic tricks to the delight of his audience

 More pictures can be found at the Cameron’s website as well!  What a great party!