‘I’m in heaven’,she said to herself. The grocery section was her favorite place in the mall. There were scores of new grains and spices and each time she browsed the aisle, she would pick up a few and then come home and wonder what to prepare with it. The orient had shown her the grains and groceries she had just heard about.
Moving to the vegetable section she picked up a small pumpkin.It was very cute and it looked like it was beckoning to her.’You are chooo chweeet’,she whispered as she dropped it into her shopping cart.
She sighed as she came to the billing area. Her cart was almost overflowing. She had come shopping all alone and she was terrified at the prospect of carrying all these goodies up 4 floors. She was sure to be panting and puffing by the time she reached home.
Her trolley laden with bags,she came to the entrance of the mall to find the skies looking like they were going to pour any moment. She searched for a rickshaw to take her home. Just then she felt drizzles fall on her and she smiled in spite of the situation.
‘I love the pit pit patter of the raindrops
I love the buzz buzz buzzing of the bees
But the thing I love the best,the very very best
Is to know that God loves me…’
This song came to her mind,a song that she learnt in primary school. She loved the rain and to go and play around when it was raining was her favorite thing.
Mom had scolded her umpteen times,yet nothing could deter her from indulging in her favorite sport. Many a times she would ‘forget’ to pack her raincoat when she was in school.She used to walk home very leisurely getting drenched and singing to herself. Her mom would shake her head sadly and hasten her to change into dry clothes.
In college it was easier to ‘forget’ the umbrella. Either hide it at home or pretend to have left it in her class room. Oh how she loved the rains!!! Her family and her friends thought she was crazy…..
'Why did people run and hide in their umbrellas and raincoats, 'she used to wonder.She often though why someone would create the song -'Rain rain go away' for little Johnny to play as he would have preferred to play in the rain than under the the hot sun!!
When she was chided for going out in the rain, she would curl up on the wide window sill with her favorite book. To give her company would be a tray of goodies-piping hot coffee or tea and some munchies. She would start with the book and after reading a few lines, would turn to the window and admire the rain lashing out. The pleasure of watching the rain was definitely out of the world.
After the wedding, it was the Misters turn to think she was weird. He wondered what joy she would derive from getting drenched in the rain. But slowly she stopped getting wet in the rain as the medical facilities in the alien land were implausible. But she still enjoyed watching the rain through the large windows in her bedroom.
She was suddenly shaken out from her reminiscence. The rickshaw-wala was loading her stuffs and hastening her to get in. She hurriedly got in and made plans for the evening.
Her family adored soups and they preferred it to snacks and stuffs.She remembered the cute little pumpkin but her earlier attempt to make a soup resulted in a disaster. Her ’spiciness-loving’ hubby joked that she had prepared a kheer instead of soup and her ego was terribly bruised.
‘Maybe I will try another method so that he appreciates my efforts’, she thought. The rickshaw-wala carried her bags to her home for a small fee .She hurriedly went about preparing the soup.
The rain was in its full glory by then. She hardly had a minute to watch the rain fall on her window. How life had changed!
‘Mummy sing that rain song for me’,said the little one.
‘In a minute dear’,she said looking at the clock which seemed to shout ‘hubby will be home any minute’.
In a minute he arrived and looked lovingly at warm bowl of pumpkin soup
The color was captivating, tastefully decorated with her favorite garnish-sesame seeds.One sip and a smile was all that was needed to tell her it was ‘excellent.’
‘I love you for this’,he said fondly.‘Add extra pepper for me’....
’No pepper for baby’,screamed the little one.
’Just a dash of pepper for me,my mouth ulcers have not healed yet,’ said MIL.
She smiled.The joys of satisfying the family was far better than the pleasures of watching the rain lash on the window…..
The Lil one took a sip and started singing...
I love the pit pit patter of the raindrops
I love the buzz buzz buzzing of the bees……..
For a warm and comforting pumpkin soup you need:
Pumpkin cubes-2 cups
Tomato-1 large
Ginger-a large piece,minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Finely chopped spring onions,toasted sesame seeds to garnish
- In a large microwave proof bowl put in the pumpkin cubes and add enough water to cover the pieces.
- Microwave on high for 3 minutes or till soft.[Pumpkin gets cooked fast].Keep aside.
- In another bowl blanch tomato.
- Once done put in the minced ginger and cover and keep aside.
- When the pumpkin and tomato are cool,puree it with the water[and ginger] used to blanch the tomato .
- Return the puree to the microwave proof bowl,add salt and adjust consistency by adding water if required.
- Microwave on medium for 2 minutes or till it comes to a boil.Let it stand for another 2 minutes.
- Serve hot garnished with pepper powder, spring onion greens/toasted sesame seeds.
This is off to Of Chalks And Chopsticks hosted here,an event conceptualized by Aqua.This soup also joins Srivalli for her 365 days of Microwave cooking event.
Bon Appetit...
Labels: Food Fiction, Microwave Magic, Pumpkin, Slurpy soups, Vegan varieties
