The Neelaja Blog

It seems like we Joshis [read Sai] only post once a quarter, but I swear starting now we’ll be a little better with our posts.

So what have we Joshi’s been doing? Well, A LOT! Let me tell you! Here is a recap of our Summer.

First and foremost, we celebrated our one year anniversary in Acadia National Park. Despite some rain (ok A LOT of rain) during our hike, we totally fell in love with the place.

And what trip to Maine would be complete if there wasn’t lobster involved? Here’s me, eating some yummy crustacean!

This summer we also celebrated the wedding of our good friends, Amish and Akta. This Patel-Patel wedding over the Fourth of July weekend TOTALLY rocked.

And finally, we moved into our new house. Yup, that’s right. We the Joshis are now homeowners.

Hope all is well with our family and friends around the world! Till next time!

It’s hard to believe but its been exactly one year since Neel and I walked around a fire and got married. Sometimes it seems like its only been a day, other times it seems like we’ve been married for a decade (in a good way.)

Time has certainly flown by for us. In the span of a year Neelaja has collectively:

• Moved across the country
• Moved BACK across the country
• Quit a job
• Changed careers
• Become a Harvard Professor
• Started a research group
• Purchased a home

It’s been an amazing year to say the least! I know I speak for the both of us when I say that we are truly blessed to have been given all of these opportunities. We thank everyone for supporting us along the way and look forward to welcoming you all in our new home come June!

Oh faithful followers of the Neelaja blog, we must appologize. It’s been a long time and we shouldn’t ‘have let you go…but we did. But we’ve got a good excuse and well, we’re back.

The winter months have kept Neelaja busy with one task (among many) and that is house hunting. Virtually every Sunday for the past two months has been devoted to the task of finding the ‘perfect’ home for the Joshis to settle in. As the race to find a house before the First-Time Home Buyers Credit became frantic, us Joshis finally found a place in Somerville. Details and pictures are to follow, but lets just say its perfect!

Aside from house hunting what have we been doing? Well 2010 looks like its a pretty big year for many, specifically the many o’ people turning the big three-oh. In addition to celebrating milestones, we’ve also taken to enjoying the great outdoors the best way we can…sitting by the open fire.

So as part of my 2010 resolution, I’ve taken up knitting. This past weekend, our friend Anna came over to show the Ganti girls how to knit. The results have bee rather hilarious as Momma Ganti is playing the role of Penelope by unraveling her knitting constantly while Sri’s hat has managed to turn into a Mobis strip. Despite these set backs, the Ganti women have found a new craft that they are looking forward to refining in 2010!

The above picture is a look at the scarf I knitted for Neel. I used a wonderful Alpaca to knit the scar and well, its super super warm! My goal is knit socks, don’t ask me why but I figure they’ll make awesome presents at some point!

My friends, in our quest to become big people a huge mile stone is upon the Joshi’s-House Hunting. Yes, we’re now officially very married as we’ve already started arguing about where the baby’s room will be in our future home.

House hunting in the city is very different from house hunting in the ‘burbs. For one, we need parking. No one even questions parking in the ‘burbs. Next there is that all important, what way does this house face? According to India customs, a house that faces North or Northeast is ideal. However, in the world of city real estate, a home that faces south or southwest gets the most sun. Talk about issues.

As the house hunting continues into February, we’ll keep you all abreast of our latest house hunting woes and developments.

2009. What a wonderful year it has been for us Joshi’s. As I look back, I can honestly say that we are the most blessed people on Earth and my own resolution from here on out, is the pay it forward. From Neel’s new gig as a Harvard Professor to my new path as an Anthropologist, we are really just beyond happy to ring in 2010.

As 2009 came to a close, we celebrated Thanksgiving up in Sunnyvale with detour trips to Yosemite and Los Angeles with my Bujireks. The trip was amazing and paved the way for a wonderful December as we celebrated Christmas in LA with Team Nobile.

2009 was also a year of engagements, which only means 2010 is the year of weddings. In 2010 we look forward to celebrating the weddings of; Amish and Akta, Sirisha and Naveen, Guillume and Mary, and the ever amazing Gautam and Neha (Nehtam). We are so excited that these couples will be joining us in Club Married!

2010 looks to be an amazing year as we celebrate love, life and all that in between. Wish you all the best for the new year!

So I thought it would be nice to start a series called Dinner at the Joshi’s. I figured, I make a lot of food and hey, maybe you would all be interested in knowing what us Joshi’s are eating. So, for our first Dinner at Joshi’s post, I thought I’d tell you about last night’s dinner.

So as a Marathi Man, Neel is a huge fan of Peanuts, Sabudana (Tapioca Pearls) and Dal. Now, since I’m deathly allergic to Peanuts and mildly allergic to Dal, I figured I would try my hand at Sabudana. Sabudana is pretty easy to make, you just soak it over night in water and then cook the next day.

For yesterday’s dinner, I first boiled Itty Bitty Potatoes which are available at Trader Joe’s, once boiled and cooled, I mashed them individually with the back of a spatula. In a medium size pan, heat some vegetable oil and then add Geera seeds along with chopped green chillies and curry leaves. Let the mixture roast a bit and add some crushed cashews to the mixture. Traditionally, peanuts are usually used but since I’m allergic, we avoid them.

Once the mixture is toasted brown, add in the potatoes and let the potatoes brown for a bit. Add in the Sabudana along with salt and curry powder to taste. Let the mixture get a bit brown and crunchy on the bottom, and then serve!

Here is a look at last night’s meal. For dessert we had fruits with Chaat Masala-always a good mix!

So here in San Diego I’ve had an opportunity to refine my culinary skills. I can now make a variety of unique and interesting Dal, all for Neel’s enjoyment.

In addition to rocking with the Dals, I’ve also been experimenting with making liquors. My first creation is Merry-Mint for the holiday season. Created using mint infused vodka and simple syrup this liquor is going to be a lovely addition to our holiday table!

Here is a look at the finished product, the lovely green color is thanks to the wonderful mint.

If you want to try this out yourself, simply add 2 cups of fresh mint leaves to a 750ml bottle of vodka and let soak for 10-30 days, shaking the bottle every so often. Once you feel your vodka is minty enough, strain out the leaves and return the now mint infused vodka to its bottle. In a large pot, bring 2 cups of sugar and 5 cups of water to a low boil, letting the sugar dissolve. Once the sugar mixture is room temperature, add in the mint infused vodka, stir and then bottle! I recommend clear bottles with a spout so you can see the beautiful green color of the liquor.

I haven’t tried out any cocktails, but I have a feeling it will go well with some Hot Coco!

Well, the Joshis do a lot of things in San Diego. Mostly we work hard on setting up labs, writing PhD application or a Master’s Thesis. In between those activities though, The Joshis find some time for fun. Here is a look at what we’ve been up to for the past few weeks.

The Great Urban Race. Neel and I participated in this city wide scavenger hunt the weekend of October 21st. It was pretty awesome I must say. All in all, we finished in 341st place. Not bad for a couple of confused Indians!

We get visits from relatives! The weekend of November 5th, Gautam came and visited the Joshis in SD. The two brothers decided to hit the waves and try surfing! I was the designated photographer this time around, but don’t worry, next time I’ll be on the waves!

We Eat! That’s right, We Joshis love to eat. And we do so with a lot of love. This past weekend Neel and I headed to Auggie’s Crab Shack to eat some seafood. It was YUMM-O!

It’s hard to believe, but our time here in San Diego is coming to a close soon. Next week will start the holiday season with my Aunt and Uncle visiting from Boston. We’ll be doing some sightseeing in LA and SD before heading to Yosemite to rendezvous with the Sunny Joshis. After Yosemite its back to the Bay for some more sightseeing as we prep for a fun filled Thanksgiving full of family. Neel and I only have a month more here so if you’re itching for some Beach, then come see us soon!