Life with Camera- A beautiful bird on a Tufa top

This is again the picture at "Mono Lake", which I described in my previous post. I am not familiar with this beautiful bird sitting on a "tufa" but this view certainly made my day :)

EXIF:

ISO: 100
Shutter speed: 0.002760 sec
Aperture: 6

Life with Camera- Portrait photography at Mono Lake

This portrait was done at "Mono Lake in Mono County", California. The lake is famous for its strange looking tower like structures of limestone known as "tufas" (you can see few in the picture) and its extremely salty water.


The thick cumulus clouds in the blue sky and the dry place was making a perfect contrast. So, I asked my husband to pose for me this way (as shown in the pic) and I clicked it :)


EXIF:

ISO: 100
Shutter speed: 1/1000 sec
Aperture: 3.625

Life with Camera- Portrait photography in Yosemite

This weekend I visited "Yosemite". It's in California, USA. The place is well known for its natural beauty, granite cliffs (that shine in the moon light), water falls, streams and gigantic sequoia groves (humongous trees believed to be thousands of years old). I took this picture ,of my brother in law, on "Glacier point" on a granite cliff when sun was setting down. Lightening is all natural.

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ISO: 200
F-number: 8
Shutter speed: 1/125 sec

Life with Kitchen- Cheska day ;)

My brother in law is here so thought of making something different and relishing and I came up with an idea to prepare:

1) Chana chaat

2) Dahi bhaley (maash ki daal k bhaley)

the rest of the ingredients were served separately:



3) Gol Gappay a.k.a Pani poori


its pani whose main ingredient is tamarind;

and the filling off course;






Photography by TeeHash

Life with Kitchen- Salmon burger with Fritters

It gets interesting when your husband enjoys a little bit of cooking and sometimes contributes too :D



I did the fritters;

Life with Paint brush- My oil painting course

Joined an oil painting course which promises to improve ones control over the brush. These days my instructor Tom Sparacino has assigned me to work on this painting. Scenery is a simple and easy start for the beginner and oil painting is easier to learn than water painting or acrylic, he told me. It's a fun place and a fun thing to do. It still needs lot of paint on it. See the out come of my only 2-3 classes. :)



Can't wait to see how it comes out. :)

Life with Paint brush- my first painting

This one happens to be my first ever oil painting in my whole life. I was in mood of making some design this way, using black color on red background. i did not have any proper control over the brush but i thought to give it a try. It's still incomplete but my husband liked it so much that he hung it over the wall in our room :D














i love it anyway :)

Life with kitchen- Lasagna

Its been many days that I posted nothing. So here's the recipe of my Lasagna. There are a total of 4 stages in making Lasagna. I'll explain them one by one :)

Stage 1 ingredients:

1. Lasagna strips

Stage 2 ingredients:

2. Mince (i used beef mince)
3.spring onions
4. Olive oil
5. Salt
6. Black pepper
7. White pepper
8. Chinese salt (Ajino motto)
9. Cumin seeds (its optional)
10. Garlic paste

Stage 3 ingredients:

11. All purpose flour (plain white flour)
12. Butter (unsalted)
13. Olive oil
14. Milk
15. Cheese (optional)
16. Salt
17. Black pepper
18: Red chilli flakes (optional)

Stage 4 ingredients:

19. Lots of grated Mozzarella cheese
20. Oregano seeds
21. Dry basil (optional)
22. Dry marjoram (optional)
23. Dry gran garlic (optional)

I used last three because it gives lasagna an authentic Italian taste. If you don't have it, never mind, oregano seeds are always a best option :)
Procedure:


1. We start with boiling Lasagna strips. Don't forget to put some drops of olive oil in it. Olive oil will not let the strips get stick to one another. You have to be a bit patient here because it take a little time while the strips completely boiled. :)

2. Starting with stage two ingredients, cook the mince in pan having warm olive oil and garlic paste in it. Cook it well n add the rest of the ingredients and in the end season it :) [ your filling is ready]

3. Take another pan. Pour some oil in it. when the oil is warm add butter in it. Let the butter melt. After it melts add 2-3 table spoons of white flour in. keep stirring. Pour milk in it (about a cup). Do not stop stirring. If you see the lumps in it then try to dissolve them. (Your flame should b slower at this point, because flour thickens the milk really quickly and if u notice your milk has thickened enough you can always add more milk in it). Add seasoning in it and the cheese in it. Its consistency should be like thick gravy/ sauce like. [ your white sauce is ready] :)


4. Take out the baking dish. Grease it. Spread lasagna strips in it one by one, until the base of the dish is covered. Now give a layer of mince then grated mozzarella cheese then white sauce then sprinkle oregano seeds. Keep on making as many layers as you can until the dish is loaded with the stuff. On the top sprinkle some more oregano seeds and grated cheese as well.

5. Bake it in 375 degrees (pre- heated oven) for 30-45 minutes.



NOTE:


When you are done baking, take the dish out and let it cool for half an hour before serving. If you serve it right away the melted cheese n white sauce will be all over the dish ruining the layers of lasagna strips. It gets really messy then.