Lavender pouches

It's been a while since my last summer in Poland and I'm delighted with all the familiar places, flavours, fragrances... It's so comforting and oddly exciting to revisit summer-type activities! But, at the same time, I'm really happy with the changes.

For example, lavender became an extremely common flower. You can find everywhere: gardens, parks, sidewalks, balconies and farmers markets. I even found a couple of lavender plantations and they are definitely going on my "to visit" list! I probably haven't mentioned it enough, but I adore lavender! The look, the smell, and versatility.

I always like to tuck some lavender pouches in between my clothes or bedsheets - apart from the fragrance, it eases the headaches, relaxes, wards of the moths and helps with insomnia. I usually pick some up, when I see them in the shop or market, but isn't it just great to make one yourself? Plus, more often than not, I have to make do with lavender essential oil or even lavender spray.

Well, I wasn't about to let the opportunity pass, especially that it's like a 10 minutes DIY, 5 - if you already have a pouch!

And let me tell you, no matter how great lavender sachets you have, it's nothing compared to the smell of freshly dried flowers!

Why Air France - Jet Airways customer service sucks

After all the FRO drama, we had to make the quick decision and finalize the travel plans fast. Obviously, we couldn't just drop everything and leave, so, in the end, we decided that I will fly out with the baby while Anant holds down the fort and keeps the cats company.
We chose Air France once again - god knows why! And once again the customer service they provided was, well... I would say shocking if I didn't know better.

We booked the ticket through Air France website, but as they now joined operations with Jet Airways, the first "leg" of the journey was carried by Jet Airways. I'm not really clear on how exactly this "cooperation" is supposed to work, because, quite frankly, from the customer point of view - it doesn't.

On Air France website, we came across sth called bassinet seat provided to parents travelling with kids under 2 years of age. You have to apply for it in advance as there are only a few on each flight. We messaged Air France immediately requesting said seat, and, to be sure, called them to confirm.

They told us, that, as the flight is carried by Jet Airways, we have to request bassinet through their customer service.
Fine.
We called Jet Airways - they told us that, as we booked the ticket through Air France website, we have to book the seat with them.
That carried on for a while, till the point when my husband, technical genius as he is, got both of the airlines on one call. After a lof of confusion, they mutually decided that we do have to request bassinet with Jet Airways, but only after Air France issues PNR number - 24 hours before the flight that is. In other words, the "joined operation" doesn't allow you to book the seat in advance and thereby take advantage of facility they allegedly provide.

Of course, we tried booking the bassinet the day before the flight but the Air France customer service doesn't work on Sundays and the Jet Airways representative was such a bright bulb, that she made me long for FRO officers! First, she claimed, they have no bassinet seats whatsoever, then, that she can't book one for us for some mysterious reason. In the end, we wanted to know if there are any left so we could book it at the airport, but she was "not at the liberty to disclose this information". Why - she didn't know.

We set out for the Goa airport at 2 am. In Mumbai, we went straight to the Jet Airways counter, to see what can be done about this unfortunate bassinet. They assigned the seat on the spot BUT told us that there won't be an actual bassinet - just an extra leg space.

On my way to the gate, I stopped in the bathroom to complete the whole pre-travel baby ritual. My diaper bag was still wide open on the changing table when they announced the final call for my flight. Of course, I panicked - as I hate being late for anything- and didn't stop to think that there was still at least half an hour left until the actual end of boarding time.

As I got on the plane, it turned out that the seat they gave me was... directly behind the bassinet seat. That was just adorable!

The flight attendant told me not to worry, though - they will see what they can do.
Luckily the flight was half empty, so they didn't have to do much. In the end, I got a whole row of seats and the infamous bassinette - go figure.
While I was quite comfortable, it wasn't thanks to the airlines. Simply put - there was no-one sitting there and nearly every passenger had at least 2 seats to themselves. If the flight were full, that would be an entirely different story, which is sth to think about, especially when you have difficult "baby travel" ahead of you.

Obviously, it wouldn't be the end of the world, getting the regular seat, but it does tell you what to expect in terms of care for the client and service they provide. If you have a stressful journey and want to plan ahead - the ground crew is just rubbish.

On the other hand, they really have excellent flight attendants - I give them that. They were extra attentive and very helpful with the baby, wich is priceless if you are alone on such a long flight.
Even so, I doubt I will fly with them again (not counting the return flight), and if you value your sanity, I wouldn't advise you to do that either.

Delightful Amaretti

Ah, elusive macaron... And, yes, its macarons, not macaroons (macaroons are the spiky ones with shredded coconut) - as if I care. There is this mystic aura around them and for a good reason! It's not just about how enchanting they are. Quite frankly, sometimes I think it's not that at all! It's the making process, the nearly alchemical precision in every step: the ingredients, the mixing and whipping and folding and squeezing and drying... you name it!

Well... I tried it three times, didn't get the perfect result yet. I could say that there were extenuating circumstances, (the humidity, the ingredients and finally the fact that I burned the mixer half way through the third attempt... ) but, generally speaking, I'm not a macaron type of baker. I like to improvise, be messy and not very particular about the recipe. So, while I continue to admire the perfect pastel-colored cookie, and probably attempt to bake it every now and then, I usually turn to it's much more forgiving cousin: Amaretti.
It's a tiny, adorable and delicious cookie, perhaps not so elegant, but full of rustic charm. And so much easier to make! The concept is still te same: meringue base, almond meal, sugar; but you don't need to be Pierre Herme to get it right!

170 g ground almonds
150 g powdered sugar
2 eggwhites
15 ml amaretto (if you want to be extra fancy)

Mix almonds and sugar - I recommend pulsing it in your food processor
Whip the egg whites until stiff and fold in the almonds. If you are using amaretto - fold it in last.
You can use baking paper, baking mat or buttered cookie tray. Squeeze small cookies with confectionary sleeve or scoop with a spoon. They will grow a lot, so leave enough space in between.
Bake - now there is and either or to this step. If you want crispy, dry cookies, bake at 160 C for about 15 minutes (or a little longer), if you like more chewy and soft cookies, try 170 for 10 minutes

The truth is you just have to keep and eye on them. But they are delicious either way!

tying loose ends...

I mentioned a while ago that we had some issues with FRO and visa extension. As it was quite funny (if by funny you mean full of incomprehensible absurd) I decided to continue the saga.
After the last visit, we asked our landlord to come along with us to FRO and explain why he didn't provide the C-form on time. As it turned out, he used to work with like 70% of FRO officers, so there was much of back slapping, man hugging and weird boxing but not a lot of actual office work. It came as no surprise that we didn't get any answer then and had to make yet another trip the next day.

I have to say, they are very consistent in their lack of helpfulness, but the ways they invent to make your life harder are quite imaginative. As we got there, we were sent to talk to some women I never dealt with before. She glanced at our file, slammed it close and said, not even to us but to some other person, "Issue an exit permit" and made to leave without a word of explanation. At that, my dormant monster awoke, and I told her in no uncertain terms, what I think about this kind of behavior and of this office in general.
I mean, they accepted our file, gave us a confirmation and were supposed to send it to MHA in Delhi to be processed and all of a sudden she is issuing an exit permit without so much as "Hello, sorry we can't help you" ?!
What we got instead was, and I quote : "Visa expired, you ENJOYED here for almost three months, not you go".
So we went - to the guy who is supposed to be the head of something there. Honestly, at that point, I didn't much care.
He definitely tried to appear helpful but wasn't. Instead, he blessed us with this piece of office wisdom: "there are only two cases when we can extend X-visa. When you get married on it or if you are born on it". Now, how anyone is supposed to be born on any kind of visa - that I don't know. Don't you have to have a passport to have a visa? And a name, nationality, and date of birth for that matter?
He also got confused, and at some point, tried to send all of us- including my husband, out of the country,  to, I'm guessing, get rid of the problem altogether.
After much time wasted, they grudgingly agreed to forward our file to Delhi. It hardly felt like a victory then, and even less so when we learnt that we will have to wait for a decision for another 2 -3 months.
That was just too much on top of everything, so, in the end, I just packed my bags, book the tickets and came back to Europe with our little troublemaker.
It goes without saying, we needed a beforementioned exit permit, which we had to apply for. It's quite simple, really, though it didn't stop me wanting to rip their throats out at some point or the other.
You write an application mentioning that you need an exit permit, for when and why - they tell you to wait. At some point they will give you a green light to buy your tickets, you need to submit the copy and... wait. Then, you have to pay for overstaying your visa - mostly it's the cost of the visa you overstayed, as far as I can tell - they tell you to wait again. And finally, you can come and collect you permit, which will be issued a day or two before your flight - talk about nerve-wracking!

Of course 24 hours on the plane(s) with 6-month old is a whole other story, so I won't even get into it now. I'm just emerging from my post-travel coma, trying to comprehend the fact that just a couple of days ago I was packing in pre-monsoon Goa, and now I'm eating strawberries in pre-holiday Poland!

Magical meringue dessert

Ever since I discovered how ridiculously easy it is to make lemon curd, we have a fresh jar in the fridge pretty much every week. But, quite frankly, I wouldn't be myself if I kept making the same recipe over and over again. I mean, cooking should be fun, shouldn't it? Otherwise, it's just a chore, and there is nothing magical about chores. And where there is dessert, there has to be magic, otherwise, it's just sugar, and you can as well go to the store and get yourself a candy bar.

And so, the passionfruit curd was born, and with it the absolutely incredible meringue mascarpone dessert!

The recipe is pretty much the same as in Lemon curd so I won't go into the details of it.

Passionfruit curd
100g butter ( I used slightly salty)
1/4 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1 cup of passionfruit with seeds or 1/2 cup strained
1 tbsp lemon juice

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. While mixing add egg yolks and then fruits until everything is well combined.
Place the bowl over boiling water and whisk energetically until mixture starts to thicken - about 5 minutes.
Strain you curd (or not, if you like the crunch)
Refrigerate overnight

Meringue
4 eggwhites
pinch of salt
200g sugar
1 tsp potato starch (I used cornstarch)
juice from a small lemon

Mix egg whites until just foamy and add salt. Now turn your mixer to high speed and mix until stiff. Turn to medium speed and add sugar one spoon at the time, until well incorporated. Still mixing, add starch and juice.
On parchment paper, form three circles - you can draw them on the paper using a plate as a template and fill with the meringue mixture. If you can manage to make the edged a little higher - even better! Bake in 120 degrees for 70-80 minutes. Cool in slightly open oven.

For the dessert, you will need:
1/2 jar of passionfruit curd - strained, plus some leftover seeds
1 packet of mascarpone (300-400g)
3x Meringue base

The rest is simple (not that the previous preparations were complicated):

Whisk or mix (but don't overmix!) mascarpone and curd. Spread half of it on the first meringue base, cover with the second. Mix seeds and remaining mascarpone mixture and spread on the second base - cover with the third. Sprinkle with curd. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

And then let the magic happen...

little side table redone - again!

So, that golden blue blur from the last post finally dried and found its place in one of the corners. I say finally, cause it took me way over a year to get it to the current state. We actually bought it even before we moved to the previous house.
It was sad wobbly clunker with polish peeling off, termites happily nesting inside and looking more like firewood than an adorable little side table that it is.

First, I did all the boring stuff I always do: sanding, getting read of termites, putting primer and so on. Then I painted it turquoise. I was going through a major: "we live next to the sea so let's paint everything in sea colors" phase. But I didn't like it turquoise, so I spraypainted it gold.

I didn't like it gold either. I got out some sandpaper and gave it more layered look getting the turquoise show through the gold. That was more like it, but not really "it" yet. To be honest, I wasn't quite sure how I wanted it to look so I just turned it into a bar table and it stayed this way until about a week ago.

I got some adorable decoupage tissues which I thought would be just perfect. But when I was done sticking and mod podge -ing, I wasn't really happy with the result - what a shocker!

I almost thought that the poor table was doomed to ugliness, but I figured I'll give it one more try. With some acrylic paints, I tried to hide the tissue edges, merge the pattern part with the plain one, bring out the flowery motif and... I finally got to the "it" I was hoping for, for over a year!

I really love how it turned out. It has this amazing texture of a crackled old painting (thanks to my inexpertly applied tissues, no doubt) and weathered look of a piece of furniture which has been serving people for centuries and then stood somewhere abandoned and forgotten. You can almost see it in some elegant sitting room and then, as the paint starts to peel off, moved to less and less representative parts of the house. And there it would be discovered, after decades passed, by someone who would appreciate it again.

Now I just need to give it proper company - maybe some pictures, maybe a lantern or a rug?
I love that we are finally at the stage of "moving i" when we can think about hanging pictures and not unpacking boxes!

Litte tings 2

The off-season has begun in earnest. We already had a couple of those unbearable pre-monsoon days. Have you ever experienced a heat so overwhelming and sticky, you liquefy on the spot? That's what I'm talking about - only worse! We escaped to the beach to find the clear blue sky turned milky white, yellow sand turned gray and the peaceful waters turned to stormy waves. Suddenly the jagged rocks became more noticeable and sinister looking. But the breeze was a lifesaver! the only place  you can catch a breath in!

But the off-season is not all bad. With it comes the parade of the local fruits, which is not only delicious but also quite surprising. For example, I had no idea how cashews grow until we moved to Goa. Though I can't say much for the smell, they do look quite decorative!

In the meantime, and in the spirit of cottage life, I took up bread making. I always used to skip the recipes that stretched the process over two whole days, but recently I decided to try one and I got completely hooked! It's such fun. Plus, is there anything better than the smell of bread baking in early hours of the morning.?!

Well.. there is always the less appetizing though equally satisfying smell that concludes sometimes gruelling process of creation, that of the varnish drying on the recently completed project. Growing up around artists and then studying art myself, I have a great sentiment for all those chemical smells. If it wasn't downright kooky, I would have turpentine as an air freshener and oil paint as perfumes!

Passion for yogurt & granola

Lately, I'm really into homemade dairy products. I'm not buying a cow or anything, but I do make cottage cheese and faux mascarpone on a daily basis. It was only natural, that I tried my hands on some home-made yogurt.

To be completely honest, I don't think I'll be repeating the experiment in a hurry, but only because we can get delicious, all natural yogurt in the local store at a comparable price.
From what I've read, it's quite tricky to get real yogurt with no funny additives but with natural cultures nowadays. I'm in no way nutrition expert so all I'll say here is: study the labels!

The best way to make your own yogurt is, of course, to get the bacteria cultures, but you can make do with a spoonful of good natural yogurt and some milk!
The key is temperature, all the rest is just waiting.

Home-made yogurt
1/2 liter milk
2-3 spoons of natural yogurt with bacteria cultures

Warm the milk to approx. 40 degrees (warm but not hot) and mix with yogurt. Keep it warm for 7-8 hours or overnight. Ideally, it should be left in 30-degree temperature.

As far as I know, there are some devices for home yogurt making, but I'm not so committed to this task to own, or even research one. You can leave it in a barely warm oven, on the balcony (if it's warm and sunny), wrap it in a blanket, pour into warm thermos etc.

Once it's ready keep it in the fridge. Of course, you can double or triple the ingredients- I read somewhere that home-made yogurt will last up to two weeks!
Oh, and you can make next one or two batches from this one, later on, you have to get the store bought yogurt again.

While I'm happy with store bought yogurt, I'm completely obsessed with home-made granola. It's my biweekly ritual to prepare a huge jar for our breakfasts and guilt-free snacks

Because I make it so often, I change the proportions and ingredients - and you can do the same - but here is the basic recipe:

400 g oats
100-200 g seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, sesame,  etc)
100-200 g chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts etc)
100 g desiccated coconut (or other nuts)
150 g liquid honey (or sugar syrup)
2-3 spoons oil (sunflower, almond, coconut etc)
150 pureed apple

+ 100-200 g dried fruits (raisins, goji berry, cranberry etc)

Mix everything (apart from dried fruits) together until it forms rough crumbs. Spread evenly on baking parchment and bake 30-40 min in 160 degrees.
Everything should be golden-brown, dry and crunchy.
Cool it down, mix in dry fruits and store in a tight lid container for a couple of weeks.

And now, when you have both your yogurt and granola, try it with some passion fruit!

The little things...

I remember as a child, I was reading and re-reading books like Six Bullerbyn children, till they parted their covers. I couldn't get enough eventhough nothing big ever happend there. Nothing ever hapened and yet every day was a discovery, an adventure!
Something about our new cottage life reminds of those childhood books. I'm not sure why it feels different now, but I'm not gonna question that and enjoy it one day at the time. Just like in my books - nothing really happens (if you manage to forget about the FRO shenanigans), but it's fun just the same!

For example, we have a frog living in our bathroom door frame. When I first saw her, I thought it was just a one-time sighting, I even consider throwing her our, but she was quite cute and pretty color too. Well, I'm not sure it's a "she" - especially since she looks like Jabba the Hutt most of the time, but I like to call her Ursula nonetheless. As it turns out, she sleeps in the bathroom during the day and spends the nights hunting for insects. Once, I had to rescue her from our cats and some other time, the poor thing was forced to play dead in front of them until we realized what's going on. That's not just a frog anymore, it's a real character!

Another day we had a tiny natural disaster. A branch broke off from one of the mango trees and pulled our internet line. Obviously, it couldn't take the weight of the fruits- I've never seen such huge mangos! It used to spread widely, all the way to the well, with the heavy fruits hanging just above it, until, one day, it collaped, with the mangos almost purpousfully layed down on the garden table.

And then, I was making a no bake mango cheescake with a layer of mango musse, mango cream cheese and home made mascarpone. It actually isn't as time consuming as it sounds, especially if you use store bought mascarpone, but it takes a while and a whole lot of bowls just the same. And so, just when i was about to assemble all the three layers, I was loudly reminded that motherhood waits for no cheesecake. I dumped everything in the cake pan, and put it in the fridge hoping that at least it wont leak out. It didn't. It was delicious, if a little whimsical...

OCI and the Foreign Regional Misinformation Office

Dealing with Indian government offices is like fighting mythological monster: you cut off one head - it will grow tree others!

After the pain of FRRO registrations, court marriage &its registration, extending and converting visa, applying and receiving PIO card (just to learn that  I have to go through the same process to convert it to OCI card), I finally had the holy grail - the infamous OCI! How naive of me it was to think that it is the end of our trouble!

When our son was born, we decided on Polish citizenship and OCI card for him. After all, how hard could it be to get OCI for someone who is half Indian? Well... I can tell you how hard: VERY!
First of all, we timed everything quite well according to all the official information: the registration of birth, applying for the passport and then visa, which, according to Indian embassy's website, takes approx. 2 weeks.
However, we were advised against applying for anything else than tourist e-visa because one of the consuls was absent and therefore there was a backlog in visa processing. In other words, there was no chance of getting a proper visa on time.

Looking back, I should've known just then, that the whole process will be full of complications!

We arrived in Goa and marched to the local FRO, to register, extend, convert - all the usual fun, and that's when the real problems started. First of all, e-visa is non-extendable and non-convertible. So, as they told us, we can stay for 30 days and then our baby boy will have to leave the country!

When we managed to convince them, that flying 3-month old back and forth across the continents isn't a good idea, they agreed to do all the extension/conversion magic provided that we submit all the documents. We had everything on hand - or so we though. Apparently a C-form is and always has been required.Funnily enough, during all my FRRO adventures, no-one ever asked me for a C-form, including Goa FRO. Not very surprising though, as they change their regulations and laws weekly plus the rules differ from office to office and from officer to officer!

Oh, and have I mentioned the cherry on top of FROs ineptness? After learning that my husband is from Rajasthan, the chief of the office told us "If I knew you were not from Goa, I wouldn't have agreed [to help you]". Unfortunately, in this little piece of paradise that Goa is, locals loathe outsiders and let it be known, every opportunity they get. Even so, hearing sth like this from government officer is a bit much!

Anyway, we got the "application under process" paper and were on the mission to get the C-form ASAP. Unfortunately, it is up to the landlord to file for it - supposedly they are obligated to do it whenever they rent to foreigners, but if they don't, nobody will say a word. After all, they are the locals, it's just the foreigners, the "outsiders" who get into trouble.

Apparently, the title of the house wasn't clear, so to get the C-form, our landlord had to apply for some other document from the court. That meant another trip to FRO, explaining why we didn't submit the documents yet. Surprisingly, we heard that that's not a problem and we can submit it later. Of course, at this point, I didn't believe them in the slightest. I knew it was a ticking bomb and apparently it just exploded.

We got a call that they can't help us after all, and our son will be required to leave India in order to apply for a proper visa. That was followed by the usual "we are not responsible for...". After all, not taking responsibility for whatever they say or do is what they do best. Basically, you can talk to 20 people in those offices, you will get 21 different answers and, in the end, it won't matter anyway, because "they are not responsible for...".

So now, we are making another trip to FRO, this time with our landlord, to explain why it took so long to submit the stupid C-form and to hear in return, how they can't help us because they can't.


In moment's like this, I often feel like I'm in one of the Kafka's novels with all its incomprehensible bureaucracy, illogical requirements and nightmarish, near-impossible quests.

...and all of that before we can even think of applying for visa extension, not to mention OCI!