UNRAVELLING MY APRON STRINGS..

Today, J1 and J2 start boarding school. For the past two days I have been in a frenzy of packing and planning so they have everything they need when they are away from me. Sniff...I am not going to cry..But God...I hope they will be fine..life, as they have known it, will change..there will be a lot of adjustments they have to make..

As exboarders ourselves, both my husband and I can understand what is happening, and we can predict exactly when homesickness will start to set in..my only tension is this...suppose they don't feel any homesickness and are perfectly happy ...no ..more happy in hostel?

Aaaargh...how would I feel then...?Aah..no use thinking too much..kids will be kids..one can never predict how they'll turn out or what they will do next..hey? Anyways..my whole family..being ex Boarders themselves are in an uproar about this...an excited uproar..actually..my parents are calling up with tips on packing..my two brothers  S1 and  S2 are waxing nostalgic about the golden days of hostel..Resh...are you packing their clothes in trunks ? Reshma..pass the phone to J1 and J2...hey guys..are you excited to be off to boarding school? have loads of fun..     J1 is like..."what's all the fuss about?boarding is no big deal..honestly , I can't understand you all.."J2 has gone all cool and quiet..i just hope this is not the calm before the storm..
..and I was feeling quite sentimental yesterday after all the packing was done..so..

Sunday yesterday, I made pasta for brunch, since it was one of the boys' favorite dishesThey loved it , and proclaimed me as the best Cooker(grammatically wrong, i know..but who am I to argue with little boys?) in the world..at which moment, I fell upon them, hugging and kissing them...in fact, doing all the things they reaallyy hate...for this mistake on my part...the award of best cooker was retracted and they walked out of the kitchen in a huff, wiping away kisses and mumbling about gross females...hmmm...

MALLU PASTA

Ingredients:
Pasta(macaroni) 1cup
Olive oil /butter 3 tbsp
Onions Chopped 1
Capsicum chopped half
Tomato chopped 2
Tomato Soup powder 1 packet (about 4 tbsp)
Chicken pieces half cup cooked
Tomato sauce/ketchup 1 tbsp
Cauliflower/mushroom halfcup
Cheese spread/cream cheese 3 tbsp
Oregano 2 pinches




Method:
1. Boil macaroni in water with a tsp of oil . When cooked, drain, and pour cold water over it..drain again and keep aside.

2. Heat oil/butter, add onions, tomato, chicken pieces,capsicum and cauliflower, and saute well on high flame for a minute.

3. Add tomato sauce, soup powder, oregano,..(2 tbsp chicken stock also, if you have some left over). Stir well.

4. Add cheese, toss well together till evrything is creamy and well mixed and remove from heat. serve hot.
........mmmm..and with lots of love!!