Hello, my lovelies! Missed me much? I couldn’t send out a newsletter last month because February was pure mayhem and I thought March would be easier. Naive child that I am. If February was an intense drama, March has been an action packed, fast paced thriller. But, hey! No complaints. None at all.
I unfortunately don’t remember all the genius thoughts I had in the month of February and now they’re lost forever. But I did note down some good recommendations. I watched this show on Netflix called - The Wellness Mania. I went into it with zero expectations, an easy watch/something to put on in the background whilst eating or drawing but I really enjoyed the show. It’s sad that there’s going to be no season 2. It’s a well paced, fairly easy watch- our protagonist (not a young 20 something but well into her 30s) at a crossroad with her job and body and the whole drama of moving back into your parents house as an adult whilst also navigating tense sibling relations, weight and wellness, careers and ambitions, friendships and romance, and other misc. life dramas. (this is all from memory. I remember liking the show when I watched it)
Out of all the books I read, I would highly recommend God of the woods by Liz Moore (I think I mentioned this in my Jan wrap up newsletter too when I was half way through the book). A lovely thriller, would make for a fantastic series!
Moving onto March (because I remember nothing else from February), March was all about doing everything. And of course it got exhausting. It felt a little like holding in your breath underwater and doing a really long lap! Gosh, I miss swimming. I have access to a pool. I don’t have access to motivation. Someone please send some motivation!
Anyway, I cooked a WHOLE LOT these past two months. We let go off of our cook by January end. And since then, I’ve been whipping up storm after storm in my kitchen. Some storms that filled me to the brim with excitement, pure joy, and adrenaline, while some almost drowned me, knocked the air out of my lungs, and made me scared to even go back in the kitchen. (we had some bad food).
I think collectively, us millennials are leaving this great legacy behind for the future generations to come : Pro Protein.
Sure, our forefathers invented things, ancestors fought for freedom. We, the 90s kids, we are screaming down everyone’s throats, WHERE’S THE PROTEIN BRO? I suggest we get our total life’s worth of protein intake engraved on our gravestones. Mine will still say, not enough!
As a vegetarian (who eats eggs) I found some genius hacks to eat protein. We are not fans of tofu in this household. So I found this hack - blend tofu and Skyr yogurt (or greek yogurt) with some roasted chillies, cumin, garlic, and salt :) Makes an excellent, very HIGH PROTEIN dip/sauce.
I’ve also been enjoying some amazing pasta with (imho) genius pasta sauce ideas :
Roasted pumpkin-carrots-garlic-chillies sauce (orange-ish pink sauce)
Butter roasted broccoli-paneer-garlic sauce (mine turned palest green almost white because of the paneer i suppose so almost white sauce)
Roasted red peppers, walnut, chillies, garlic sauce (red sauce)
Salt everything to liking! Throw in black crushed pepper and other magical things that speak to your heart. Pasta nights are sorted because I batch make these and just boil pasta and cook it in the sauces and voila! we are done. Phew.
If you make these sauces really thick, they serve as dips too. And boiled lentils, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, and rajma make for excellent patties that can go with these dips/sauces into wraps and sandwiches. Honestly, someone just hand me my award.
putting the pro in protein :)
Ok, that’s enough food talk. Great segue into my ongoing project- I am currently working on a very interesting memoir told through food : Shadruchulu with Deepthi Tanikella. I am helping her tell her stories and memories through my art. I’ve known Deepthi for roughly a decade and some. She was one of my earliest clients, way way back in 2014-15 when I was doing small projects on weekends; posters and wedding cards. We’ve since watched each other grow into our creative endeavours, sprout more greys, add to our families, and grow old. So in a way, this book is also two old friends coming together to tell a story that’s both delicious and nostalgic. When stories meet art :)
Talking of cook books (look at me slaying at segueing!) and this is just a very broad idea here, I am playing with the *idea* of writing and illustrating one myself. A collection of stories about food and family and tiny kitchens. Of course this being my book it won’t really be about the food or the recipes now, will it? But more fails. Epic fails. Catastrophic fails. And plenty laughs. The kind of laughter that simmers for long in the kitchen then comes to a boil, a big boil and spills across the dining table, splattered all across the walls, echoing off the building. I was fed on that kinda laughter with a side of actual food so I want to share those stories with everyone.
I am honestly super kicked about it and would need all the nudging and pushing to see it to fruition. Please (please) let me know if you like this idea and have any tips, hacks, reccos on publishers and that world, or just advice- feel free to throw it at me!
And speaking of exciting-nerve wracking things (I did it again- such smooth transitions, I am blowing my own mind!) I am also planning on painting my first ever huge canvas. So to give you all a little context, I started off my journey of illustrations and comics, my little doodles as some would call them, digitally. It’s a medium that’s much more forgiving and I am comfortable with. In the last few years, however as I am slowly growing senile, I have come to realise that I am the happiest when making a mess with paints and paper. Playing with colour and textures.
I turned my paintings into totes
USE CODE : fun5 for a small sneaky discount :)
So I have been filling lots of sketchbooks since. But now, this year I am pushing boundaries and how!
We have this beautiful window, a huge one running from ceiling to floor almost and we don’t have a curtain rod so I hung a canvas cloth instead and now my big dream involves painting it. I am thinking something magical and whimsical. Maybe big mushrooms, green grasses, and blue skies? I am excited but so so scared of ruining it that I am worried I will never get around to doing it. I did some small practice paintings on canvas.
Moving on, I’ve spotted and now consumed the first mangoes of the season. If you’re new here, hi! I survive in summers only and purely on mangoes. Outside of mangoes, I fail to see very many reasons to keep going and staying alive in this scorching heat.
Do you have any quick and yum mango recipes? Please send them as well.
Now we’ve reached the reccos section. I am not going to talk about the well watched and loved shows; white lotus (new season), severance, and adolescence. Please watch all of these shows, if you haven’t. But let me quickly throw some maybe-not-so-known gems that I thoroughly enjoyed :
Television :
Didi (movie on hotstar)" - A coming of age drama, a directorial debut and so wholesome. I loved this little film.
Offline Love : I thought this would be yet another cheesy cringey love reality show (the best kind to watch when you have nothing better to do) but this truly surprised me. 10 Japanese singles in Nice. It had actual emotions and it was so pure and so raw and so genuine and just so lovely. Please watch! I am quite invested and if you know which of the couples are still together, please share!
Books :
Books truly surprised me this month. Books I picked up knowing fully well that I will fall in love with were let downs. Books I wasn’t sure about left me speechless.
My first ever DNF (did not finish). I have started plenty books and chose not to read them in the past but usually the decision is made within the first 20-30 pages. For the first time, I dnfd a book post the half way mark. And a very popular one : martyr by Kaveh Akbar and not because the book is bad. No, the writing is stunning. it’s lyrical, poetic, and beautiful but I struggled to follow through. Maybe because I was also reading all my rage by Sabaa Tahir and there was quite a bit of overlap between the two, especially in terms of the characters, demographics, and challenges. I actually might pick up Martyr at a later point in time.
As for, All My Rage- I didn’t like it as much as I wanted to. It’s a hauntingly beautiful story but I felt mostly sadness and none of the rage. It’s one sad thing after another. Tragedy just never stops and I wish the narrative was more balanced. If rage is what you’re looking for to feel, may I suggest : Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao. This is also a bleak novel packed with trauma and tragedies but the way it’s written, it will set your blood on fire!
Next I read All Fours by Miranda July which I’ve only read great reviews of. And the premise looked promising, I sinked my teeth into it knowing it’ll be juicy and delicious. Juicy, it was. But delicious? Not for my palate. It was just a strange book, well written but strange nevertheless. I didn’t particularly enjoy it. It had its hold on me for as long as I was reading it but once it ended, I didn’t much care for it.
A book that surprised me- Intermezzo by Sally Rooney. I know she’s oh-so famous and it must be no surprise that I loved Intermezzo but I actually read Normal People way way back in 2018 and did not like it. I am not a fan of young indecisive flaky kids. And just decided to steer clear of Sally Rooney’s books. But as a much softer 35 year old now, I picked up intermezzo to give Rooney’s writing one final shot and gave this book a 5 stars!
Very quickly other books I read and enjoyed : So thrilled for you, Half Arse Human, and River East, River West.
And that’s that. March was also my favourite boys’ month, Leo (my first born) and my hubster, both celebrated their big birthdays this month. I am looking forward to taking a bit of a breather in April. I want to swim more, sing some, paint more.
Thank you for reading. You know you can always hit reply to these newsletters and share your thoughts with me. I LOVE hearing back!
Mounica
That book I am in (as the official publisher) is done. I loved reading this one.
Love the tiny swatch of painted canvas, the blue girl with the black cat!