Ingredients:

1 ½ cups long-grain brown rice, rinsed
2 medium sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons light olive oil
6 scallions, sliced
3 to 4 garlic cloves minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh or jarred ginger, or to taste
1 teaspoon good-quality curry powder
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
Salt to taste
¼ cup minced fresh cilantro, or more to taste
Chopped peanuts or cashews, optional

Directions:

1. Combine the rice with 3 ½ cups water in a small saucepan. Bring to a rapid simmer, then lower the heat. Cover and simmer gently until the water is absorbed, 30 to 35 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, microwave the sweet potatoes until just done but still nice and firm. Start with 3 minutes total, then test. A knife should go through with some resistance. If needed, microwave for another minute at a time. Once done, plunge the sweet potatoes into a bowl of cold water. Set aside until needed.

3. When the rice is nearly done, peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into ½-inch dice.

4. Heat the oil in a stir-fry pan. Add the white parts of the scallions and the garlic, and sauté over medium-low heat until just turning golden. Add the scallion greens and the sweet potatoes; turn the heat to medium-high and stir-fry for a minute or so.

5. Stir in the ginger, curry powder, and turmeric, then add the rice. Turn the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring, until the ingredients are well blended. Add the peas and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes.

Source:  Vegan Express by Nava Atlas

I’m still alive!

… Enjoying hair school, eating clean (well, most of the time ), and LUVIN’ my hair!

I decided to lock my hair back in January because I’ve always admired and been drawn to locks. Another reason? My natural hair was becoming a little ‘much’ for me to handle in its loose state. As a dense as my hair is, I’m still curious as to what it will lock like once it’s fully locked.

My locs were self-started with small double-strand twists, are maintained with the interlocking method, and are often mistaken for sisterlocks.

To peep some of the ways I’ve been wearing my hair, check me out on Instagram – DenniXOXO!

A well-known speaker started off his seminar holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?” Hands started going up. He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this.”

He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, “Who still wants it…?” Still the hands were up in the air. “Well,” he replied, “What if I do this?” And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. “Now, who still wants it?” Still the hands went into the air.

“My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We may feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value.

Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who DO LOVE you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE.

You are special-Don’t EVER forget it.” If you do not pass this on, you may never know the lives it touches, the hurting hearts it speaks to, or the hope that it may bring. Count your blessings, not your problems.

Source:  Unknown (A Parable)

Coconut milk has many health benefits. Check out this soup recipe for an exotic — and quick– vegan soup…

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon light olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

4 to 5 scallions, thinly sliced

1 medium red bell pepper, cut into short, narrow strips

Two 14 to 15-ounce cans light coconut milk

1 ½ cups rice milk

One 16-ounce bag frozen corn

2 teaspoons good-quality curry powder

¼ teaspoon Thai red curry paste, or to taste

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

½ cup minced fresh cilantro

YouTube’s royalt227 breaks it down…

Beauty school seems to be kicking my ass right now. I never wanted to admit how difficult it would be to manage 40 hours a week of school, being a mommy, and working from home in the evenings. I’ve completed 72 hours of the 1500 hours required to finish. Everything’s fast-paced so on my very first day of class, I was cutting hair! … I still have the cuts to show.

I had an interesting conversation with one of my classmates the other day. About 5 of us were eating lunch and she goes, “I noticed that certain people in the class (referring to the 3 girls who weren’t with us) don’t respond well to me. I can gauge their reaction when I say things at times and don’t really want to be rubbing anyone the wrong way.” She concluded by saying, “Is there anything (behaviour-wise) that you think I need to work on?”

The group consensus was that this particular young woman was very vocal with her opinions. Certain people could be intimidated by her assertiveness or see her as condescending. She took the critique well and vowed to watch her tone as well as her words. She mentioned that she understands that you don’t have to change the way you are in order to impress  people, but said that she only asked to make the next 9 months of school easier.

It got me thinking… what can I do to improve myself?

The very first week of school, I had a book with me (I got to shout out “Nomad” by Ayaan Hirsi Ali – great read). Anyway, I would read a little on my lunch hour while everyone else went about their business. One day, my instructor was like, “Denni, come sit with so and so. There’s room.” I was like, “No, thanks. I’m reading.” The next day, I thought about how reading or writing during lunch at one of my former jobs probably contributed to people viewing me as a snob and isolating themselves from me… or vice versa. Now, I  always make it a point to sit with someone and just eat and make small talk.

At times, it’s hard because I’d love to use my down time to regroup/get my thoughts together. However, I know that for someone like me, introverted in an industry that’s people-oriented, working on the social aspect of my life is much more important.

I’m completely out of my element and these girls are going to rub off on me in some way…

Without giving too much away, we’ll see how the next couple of weeks go.

Indian weddings are the most celebrated and a great experience not just for the bride and groom but for everyone participating in the wedding. The beauty of the wedding is in the colorful and traditional attires worn by the bride, groom and the close knits of the family. India being diverse in its cultures, different weddings have different traditional attires for the bride and the groom. But what is mostly common is the extensive use of accessories in weddings. Accessories are a statement to the outfit and it easily represents the culture and the traditions the bride n groom hold. Indian weddings are very colorful and include many different rituals. These different rituals have different items which are necessary for them to be executed. The bride as well as the groom put on a lot of accessories which differ from one culture to the other but here are some of the well known ones:

For The Bride:

The bride usually wears a lot of jewelery, mainly gold, diamonds and other precious gems. There are necklaces, bajubandh’s (Hand accessory), kamarbandh (waist chain), Mangtika/tikli (A special ornament worn at the middle parting of hair), Payal/ nupur (anklet), bangles and lot more like hair clips and other accessories. Brides wear colorful bindi too. Not to forget, lots of matching bangles to team up the attire. Brides wear different hair accessories according to their cultures and regions; it’s incomplete without hair accessories.

There are also elegant nose rings and different bangles which further accentuate a bride’s elegance and looks. The Bengali bride carries a Gaach kouto with her at the wedding containing sacred vermilion.

Here are some of bridal accessories used in different weddings in India…

Here’s a Punjabi Bride

Here’s a Muslim Bride

Here’s a Bengali Bride in her wedding ensemble

And here goes a South Indian Iyer Bride.