The History of Mother's Day

The earliest
Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations
of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods.

During the 1600's, England celebrated a day called "Mothering
Sunday". Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent. "Mothering Sunday"
honored the mothers of England.

During this time many of England's poor worked as servants for the
wealthy. As most jobs were located far from their homes, the servants
would live at the houses of their employers. On Mothering Sunday the
servants would have the day off and were encouraged to return home and
spend the day with their mothers. A special cake, called the mothering
cake, was often brought along to provide a festive touch.

As Christianity spread throughout Europe the celebration changed to
honor the "Mother Church" - the spiritual power that gave them life and
protected them from harm. Over time the church festival blended with
the Mothering Sunday celebration . People began honoring their mothers
as well as the church.

In the United States Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by
Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words to the Battle hymn of the
Republic) as a day dedicated to peace. Ms. Howe would hold organized
Mother's Day meetings in Boston, Mass ever year.

In 1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish
a national Mother's Day. Ms. Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in
Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the second
anniversary of her mother's death, the 2nd Sunday of May. By the next
year Mother's Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.

Ms. Jarvis and her supporters began to write to ministers,
businessmen, and politicians in their quest to establish a national
Mother's Day. It was successful, by 1911 Mother's Day was celebrated in
almost every state. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the
official announcement proclaiming Mother's Day as a national holiday
that was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.

While many countries of the world celebrate their own Mother's Day
at different times throughout the year, there are some countries such
as Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium which also
celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May.

A Little Mother's Day Trivia:

· In the United States, there are about 82.5 million mothers. (source: US Census Bureau)

· about 96% of American consumers take part in some way in Mother's Day (source: Hallmark)

· Mother's Day is widely reported as the peak day of the year for long distance telephone calls

· Mother's Day is the busiest day of the year for many restaurants

· Retailers report that Mother's Day is the second highest gift-giving holiday in the United States (Christmas is the highest).

· Most popular month for having babies in the US is August, and most popular weekday is Tuesday.

-- An article by mothersclick.com

Til Ke Aloo (Sesame Potatoes)

Ingredients

6 white potatoes
4 T canola oil
1 Tbs. sesame seeds
1 tsp. mustard seeds (preferably black mustard seeds, but yellow are okay)
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. lemon juice

Directions

Makes 3- 6 servings, depending on if you have it as a vegetarian main dish, or as a side dish.
(recipe adapted from Madhur Jaffre's Indian Cooking)
Boil the potatoes in their jackets until they offer no resistance when pierced with a knife. Let cool, peel and dice 1".
In a cast iron skillet, heat the canola oil over medium-hot flame. Add the seeds all at once and stir. Just as they begin to pop, add the diced potatoes, stirring gently to cover and coat with seeds.
Lower heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes, then add the salt. You may also add a dash of cayenne pepper if you like a bit of heat.
Cook until the potatoes are beginning to brown and turn crispy. Add the juice of 1/2 a lemon and stir gently. Serve with coriander chutney.
Very tasty with any Indian food, but also good at a picnic with traditional picnic fare.

SESAME PANEER RECIPE

Ingredients:   

200 gm cottage cheese(paneer) How to make paneer
4 tblsp refined flour(maida)
2-3 garlic buds (lahsun)
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp red chilly powder(lal mirch)
1/2 tsp chat masala
salt to taste
1/2 cup bread powder
1 tblsp semolina (sooji)
4 tblsp sesame seeds (til)
a pinch of dry red colour (sookha lal rang)
oil for frying

How to make sesame (til) paneer:

    * Cut thick triangular paneer slices. Sprinkle salt and chat masala on both the sides and keep aside.
    * Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl and make a batter.
    * Dip paneer slices in the batter and coat it on all the sides.
    * Heat oil at low flame.
    * Deep fry all paneer slices until golden brown.
    * Take them out on a kitchen paper so as to soak extra oil.
    * Serve hot with some sauce or chutney.

A recipe from http://www.indianfoodforever.com/vegetables/sesame-paneer.html

Indian Recipes : Sesame Green Chutney Recipe

Ingredients:    

• 2 tbsp Roasted Sesame seeds
• 2 Green chillies
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• 1 Bunch Coriander Leaves
• 1 Small Onion (chopped)
• 1/4 Bunch Mint Leaves
• 1/4 Inch piece Ginger (chopped)
• 1/2 Cup Lime Juice
• 1 tsp Tamarind
• 1 tbsp Water
• Salt to taste

How to make Sesame Green Chutney:

•    Soak the tamarind in hot water.
•    Now grind the above with chopped onions, mint leaves,coriander leaves, sesame seeds, green chillies ginger and garlic cloves in a blender. Add salt
•    Pour little water and lime juice while grinding.
•    Sesame Green Chutney is ready.
•    Serve it with sandwich or samosa.

A recipe from http://www.indobase.com/recipes/details/sesame-green-chutney.php

Til Chutney (Sesame-Peanut Chutney)

2 C sesame seeds
½ C peanuts
7 hot dry red chilli peppers (or to taste)
a few garlic cloves (optional)
salt

Roast the peanuts in a pan or in the microwave (2 min). Cool and
skin. Roast the sesame (with the red chillies) in a pan till popping
and aromatic (2 min or so). If using garlic, grind it first in the jar
of your dry grinder. Add the red chillies and blitz till you see
flakes. Add the peanuts and pulse till coarsely powdered. Remove. Pulse
the roasted sesame seeds for just a few seconds – the sesame seeds must
remain mostly whole. Mix everything and season with salt. Store in a
clean dry jar.

I would think it has a shelf life of at least a few weeks but this
quantity lasts just about a week in our house. Go on, get into winter! Happy Holidays!

A recipe from http://madteaparty.wordpress.com/2006/12/21/til-chutney-sesame-peanut-ch...

cleaning mirrors with newspaper

If you want to clean your mirror, you better use a paper from your daily newspaper, those papers don’t leave imprints and drop peaces of paper on the mirror and also it will not harm slight mirrors. It might be the useful tool in your home to burnish your mirrors.

Orissa Tourism

The landscape of Orissa is dotted with a large number of temples. The temples of Orissa conform to the Indo Aryan Nagara style of architecture, with distinctive features specific to this region. The best known of these are theLingaraja temple at Bhubaneshwar, Jagannath Temple at Puri and theSun  Temple at Konark. The temples of Orissa exhibit a majestic grandeur. An Orissan temple (deul) usually consists of a sanctum, one or several front porches (jagamohana) usually with pyramidal roofs, a dancing hall (nata mandir) and a hall of offerings (bhog mandir).

The Lingaraj temple at Bhubaneswar boasts of a 150 foot high deul while the Jagannath Temple at Puri is about 200 feet high and it dominates the skyline of the town. Only a portion of the Sun Temple at Konark, the largest of the temples of the Golden triangle exists today, and it is still staggering in size. It stands out as a masterpiece in Orissan architecture.

Orissa is also well known as a Buddhist and Jain pilgrimage destination. North-east of Cuttack, about 100 km from Bhubaneswar, there are Buddhist relics and ruins at the three hilltop complexes of Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves, which still bear witness to Buddhism's fruitful tryst with this region until well into the 13th century.

Orissa's varying topography – from the wooded Eastern Ghats to the fertile river basin - has proven ideal for evolution of compact and unique ecosystems. Thereby creating such treasure troves of flora and fauna that even seem inviting to many migratory species of birds and reptiles. Bhitar Kanika National Park is famous for its second largest mangrove ecosystem. The bird sanctuary in Chilika (Asia's biggest brackish water lake) and the  tiger reserve and waterfalls in Simlipal National Park are integral part of any eco tours in Orissa, arranged by Tourism of Orissa.

The Gharial Sanctuary at Tikarpada and the Olive Ridley Sea Turtles inGahirmatha turtle sanctuary also feature on the list of avid nature watchers. The city wildlife sanctuaries of Chandaka and Nandan Kananare a must visit for the lessons they teach is conservation and revitalization of species from the brink of extinction.

Orissa is blessed with around 500 km long coastline and has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Chilika, Asia's largest brackish water lake, not only provides a haven for millions of birds, but is also one of the few places in India where one can view dolphins.

The lush green forest cover Of Orissa plays host to a wide variety of flora and fauna, including the famed Royal Bengal Tiger. Amidst the picturesque hills and valleys nestle a number of breathtaking waterfalls and rivulets that attract visitors from all over. Orissa beaches include Puri, Gopalpur-on-Sea, Chandipur, Ramachandi Beach, Balighai Beach, Astarang Beach, Paradeep Beach.