My Personal Journey with Food

I am taking part in the Write Tribe Festival Of Words 8th - 14th December 2013

So here's my personal journey with "Food"

"If you cook with love and care, then the food will give you back love and care".

My son said these words to me a few days ago when I asked him if the noodles I had cooked for him turned out okay. I must've cooked with love and care as he said they were yummy (Looks heavenward and thanks God).

Each morning I wake up early and prepare lunch for my son. When he was little he said to me one day, "Mom, you make the best sandwiches ever". I told him I could teach him to make the sandwiches the way I did then he could have the best sandwiches all the time. To which he promptly answered, "They wouldn't taste the same because they won't have your love and care" (clever boy - he sure knows how to grease).

And both these incidents made me think that it doesn't really matter how simple or fancy your dish is. It is really the love and care that goes into it that makes it special.

When I cook I always sing or hum a tune. "Why do you always sing?" my son asks. Because that makes me happy and it makes me cook with love and care.

So here I share with you my favourite dish that I make with a lot of love and care and one that never fails to please no matter where I dish it up - my chicken salad.

Easy to make and yummy to eat.

Ingredients:
Boiled shredded chicken, boiled peas, boiled potatoes cubed into small pieces, apples, grapes = all in equal proportion (1 cup each)
Shredded raw cabbage = double the proportion of the others  (2 cups)
Salt and Sugar to taste
Creamy Mayonnaise - to individual taste

You can add some walnuts and raisins for more texture and flavour.
Sometimes I add some cherry tomatoes.
If you're vegetarian, leave out the chicken and add some beetroot.
If you don't like chicken, you can substitute it with tuna.
Mix them all up together, chill and serve.

My chicken salad, made with a lot of love and care and singing.

Join me tomorrow on my next personal journey with Books.

My Personal Journey so far:

Day 1 = Memories

Check out some Day 2 posts 

Last festival the thing I enjoyed most was paying it forward by showcasing some posts I enjoyed. 

So here are some day 1 posts I really enjoyed:

Rekha's Memories - The Mahabharata and Ramayana twists are just too cute.

Gayu's Memories - A lovely poem. Each line triggered a memory for me.

Privy's Memories - Another beautiful poem that touches the soul

Have a scrumptious day.

Warm Regards


Like my facebook page Suzy's Ilation and if any of your posts needs some tlc, add it to the goodwill thread there and I'll drop by and give it some love.

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My Personal Journey with Memories

I am taking part in the Write Tribe Festival Of Words 8th - 14th December 2013

My series on 7 journeys for the last festival was a lot of fun to write and having a theme made it a lot easier too. So learning from that experience, I thought I would have a theme again. This time I'll take you on a personal journey.

So here begins my journey with today's prompt "Memories"

God gave us memories so we can have roses in Winter ~ JM Barrie

image source: google images

One of my favourite memories is of my childhood with my dad. I was six years old and dad brought home a puzzle book for me. Can't remember now what it was called but I absolutely loved it and it started my love affair with puzzles. Something I shared with my dad - he loved puzzles too.

Each night after Dinner, my dad and I would sit together and solve one puzzle. It was my favourite time of day. This was dad and my time together. He was so patient and he made it all sound easy and so much fun. Then I would trot off to bed, a skip in my step and a smile on my face, my little pillow tucked under my arm. This is a memory that always makes me smile.

Thank God for memories and Thank You God for giving me such a wonderful dad, the best ever. The memories of him will live in my heart forever. Be at peace Dad.

Join me tomorrow on my next personal journey with Food

And check out some Day 1 posts.

Have a fun day.

Warm Regards


Like my facebook page Suzy's Ilation and if any of your posts needs some tlc, add it to the goodwill thread there and I'll drop by and give it some love.

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Unexpected Priceless Treasure

Updated - It is a WOW post - check out others here

Written for:
The Write Tribe Treasure prompt
The letter U at ABC Wednesday
Blogadda WOW - Surprised

I'm not much of a gardener, but today the garden patch beckons. It is a brilliant day. Warm, not a cloud in the sky, a gentle breeze is blowing.  So gloves and spade in hand, ipod clipped to my shirt, I skip out to dig up that little corner and plant those seeds.

There seems to be a rhythm to my digging and for the first time I am actually enjoying the notion of gardening. There is heightened anticipation, as if I am onto something marvellous and a song in my heart, as if I am in flow with the Universe.

Then my spade strikes something hard. It won't budge. So I drop down on my knees and begin loosening up the dirt with my hands.  Quickly moving it aside, I find a little box, a little treasure chest.

I gently prise it out of the dirt and look at it in wonder. A part of me eager to open it a part of me hesitant at what I might find. Surprisingly for a treasure chest, there is no latch.  For an instance I think that's pretty odd but then shrug my shoulders and slowly lift the lid.

Wonder turns to astonishment as I am surprised to see a parcel with my name on it. It looks old like it had been buried in the chest for thousands of years. I untie the string and carefully remove the wrapping. Inside I find a piece of paper with a few lines scrawled across it.

For a fraction of a moment disappointment sinks in and then a thought comes into my head. Maybe these are clues to something and I love a puzzle! So I start to read:

"Forgiveness is not an action, it is a state of being"

"Happiness is not a pursuit, it is a state of being"

"Love is not something one gives or an emotion one feels, it is a state of being"

"Perfection is not something you strive for, you are already in a state of perfection"

"Peace cannot be found, it comes from total surrender"

"Total surrender cannot be piecemeal, it must be complete, all together, in every aspect of your life, in every moment of your life"

"And when you understand and know all of these, and when you dwell in them with every breath you take,
Then, and only then, you are Sat-Chit-Ananda 

(absolute truth, all pervading consciousness, bliss)

At first I frown, deep in thought and then my eyes light up for this is the message of the Universe and the essence of Spirit. And I read them again and again and again, and the meaning of each line takes shape at last. 

Oh what a treasure I have found. What a gift; unexpected, unimaginable, and infinitely priceless.

~x~

A few days ago I met up, over Christmas dinner, with some friends I hadn't met for years. Somehow I found myself sitting next to G and through our chit chat found that we are both on a similar spiritual path. The two of us got talking about the Universe and Spirit and G remarked that I looked different from the last time we met, like I was at complete peace with myself. We talked of forgiveness and love, of peace and joy, and many other things.

Over the next few days I pondered over our discussion and her remarks. And then one night, at that point when one is about to fall asleep, the words, written on that piece of paper in my story, came into my head. I've been analysing them these last few days, but that's for another day and other posts.

Then the "Treasure" prompt turns up at the Write Tribe, the letter U for ABC Wednesday, the Surprise prompt at Blogadda WOW and finally Jairam's guest post on Spirituality and Religion at Everyday Gyaan. And all of these collectively brought together my post today.

I am constantly amazed how the Universe brings together people who help each other on their spiritual paths, how it communicates with us and how it finds a way for us to spread its message. I am truly blessed. 

Wish you all a day when you find your treasure - the thing you desire the most.

Drop by and like my facebook page Suzy's Ilation and if one of your posts needs some tlc, add it to the goodwill thread there so I can drop by and give it some love.

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Warm Regards and many blessings


This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

Write Tribe prompt - Imagine you were digging to the ground in the backyard of your new home to create a vegetable patch and  found a treasure chest.