My mother-in-law had come over to stay with us for some time. Her health didn’t allow her to eat many vegetables including the greens. I am not a very veggie loving person. I mainly love potatoes, spinach, carrots, lady fingers and these were out of her list. Though many veggies don’t catch my attention, but it is cooked in the house, to ensure my son is exposed to them and don’t treat them as a foreign element and moreover, the man of the house is a veggie lover.
My mom-in-law was allowed to eat all the elements of the gourd family – the ash gourd, snake gourd, ridge gourd, bottle gourd etc. and we happily bought all this home. Some of these, we had not bought in long time as the man was not really found of them. One of the evenings, as we were chatting, my mom-in-law mentioned the chutneys made of the skin of these veggies, that are healthier and delicious. I knew that something like this existed but then, had never tried. I have always loved experimenting with food, love trying different recipes on the people in my house, who are now immune to it. And now I had one more person added to my target list. The search on the youtube began, and it was amazing to see the recipes that appeared on it. People are so creative with the food they can make. After the scrolling I did for the recipe, which I felt lasted for couple of hours, I marked one for my trial.
Next day, ridge gourd curry was made with out its peel. The peels along with other ingredients as guided by the you-tuber, was converted into chutney. It was delicious and healthier. And I was a happier chef trying something new and no wastage of any parts of the veggie. A content me 😊.
This chutney is now a part of my memory, which I revisit. Few days later, MIL left us forever, for her next journey with the Supreme. When I look back at it, few lessons were learnt.
(1) When you are open to listen (listen not hear) to the conversations with the others, you might be learning something you never knew or never tried.
(2) It is fun to learn something new, your skills are upgraded.
(3) Sometimes we overlook small things not knowing how valuable it could be. In other days, I would be throwing the peel away due to my laziness.
(4) When we watch closer, in such moments we are actually making memories with the people we love. When I now turn back pages of my life, I am glad I tried that chutney with her.
Smile Always 