Sunday Funday!

We enjoyed a wonderful Sunday!

We went to Cincinnanti with our friends Suresh, Ajit, Sangram, and Swetha. Our first stop was IKEA, my favorite store in the world. Abhay and I were the only ones that have ever been to IKEA so we showed them the ropes. As always, Abhay and I found some great items and stalked up on Swedish coffee and cookies. Sadly, they didn't have our favorite chocolates today. :(

After IKEA we headed to an Indian restaurant called Brijmohan's. It was a "whole-in-the-wall" place--very unassuming. But they had SUPER yummy chaat, Indian Veg items, and tempting sweets. It was fun to go with a big group of people...we all ordered different things and tried each others.

We're so thankful to have such a great group of friends here in Columbus!

Yummy!!!

Abhay and his Bhel


Suresh and Swetha on the left, Ajit and Sangram on the right

--MMR

Fall is in the air...

I love fall! Fall, by far, is my favorite season of the year. I love the trees, the sounds, the sites, the smells. There's really nothing like it. Last weekend Abhay and I went to Farmer's Market and bought 2 HUGE Mums for outside and a couple of little pumpkins. This evening we went an bought a Farmer's Market Yankee candle. Those things help me get into the "fall" spirit.

--MMR

Wordless Wednesday

Itasca State Park (Bemidji, MN)--Sept 05

S'More Brownies

We had a nice, and relaxing weekend. Saturday night we had our friends Suresh, Suresh's sister Swetha, Sangram, and Ajit over for dinner. We made Veggie and Turkey Burgers, Corn on the Grill (Indian style), other munchies, Cold Stone Ice Cream, and I made S'more Brownies. It was a new recipe for me, but turned out yummy.

Here's the recipe:

S'More Brownies

* 10 whole Honey Grahams, broken crosswise in half, divided
* 3/4 cup butter or margarine
* 4 squares Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
* 2 cups sugar
* 3 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 cup flour
* 2 1/2 cups Miniature Marshmallows
* 1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks


DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 13x9-inch baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending beyond sides of pan; grease foil. Place 15 of the graham squares in bottom of pan, overlapping slightly. Break remaining 5 graham squares into large pieces; set aside.
2. Place butter and chocolate in large microwavable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Stir in flour until well blended. Spread over graham squares in pan.
3. Bake 30 to 32 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not overbake.)
4. Sprinkle evenly with marshmallows and chocolate chunks. Bake an additional 3 to 5 minutes or until marshmallows begin to puff. Press reserved graham pieces gently into marshmallows. Cool in pan on wire rack.

Days Gone By

It's on weekends (and holidays), that we miss our families the most. Here are a couple of family pics from days gone by:

Mandy's Family: Mom, Dad, Bryan, Brad and Mandy :)

Abhay's Family: Mom, Dad, Gunjan, and Abhay! :)

--MMR

Arizona Labor Day Weekend Trip

We enjoyed a fun trip to Phoenix, Arizona over the long Labor day weekend. We flew out of Indy early Friday afternoon, and came back Monday evening. We went because Abhay's sister, Gunjan is in Phoenix on business....

Here's a short synapses of our trip--

Friday evening we arrived in AZ on Friday at 6:30. We were dead tired due to the 3 hour time difference. We met up with Gunjan, had dinner at PF Changs and collapsed into bed.

Saturday we got up early and drove 4.5 hours north to see the Grand Canyon. It was breathtaking, awe-inspiring, and the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Really, words can not describe it. Never in a million years did I even think I get to see the Grand Canyon. The weather was perfect for it as well. Being a holiday weekend it was pretty crowded so we only stayed for a couple of hours. We got back to Phoenix, had dinner, swam in the hotel pool, and again, collapsed into bed.

Sunday I was able to meet up with my dear friend Dave. I met Dave during my first year of college in Colorado. It was so nice to catch up with him, and have him meet Abhay. (sorry Dave, the picture turned out totally blurry) Later in the afternoon Gunjan, Abhay, and I took in the Desert Botanical Garden. It contains SO MANY neat Cacti. (And this was my first time seeing one). Unfortunately, it was crazy hot so we didn't spend a whole lot of time there. And then another yummy dinner, this time Thai food.

All in all, the perfect weekend. It was so wonderful to spend time with Gunjan and experience Arizona.

Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon again...

Brother and Sister :)

HUGE Cacti

Some more cacti

--MMR