Happy Hump Day! Although it’s a short work week, it definitely feels like it’s dragging. Ugh! I can’t wait for the weekend; hubbz and I are off to Ohio for a family wedding. I had ordered a saree online from India, pre-stitched since I really can’t put a saree on, despite several YouTube tutorials for the modern day “ABCD,” but it hasn’t arrived yet (major ugh!). This means *back up shalwar kameez to the rescue* will have to suffice. Anyways, the sun was finally out today and I decided to make a staple vegetarian dish that my mom always makes. I totally can’t remember how to say “beans” in Urdu/Hindu, so let’s call this:

Spicy Potato & Haricot Vert Curry

• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 small roasting potatoes, white (or your favorite kind), peeled and chopped
• 2 cups Haricot Vert (French green beans)
• 1 oz ginger-garlic paste
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 small tomato, chopped
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 cup water
• salt to taste

Note: You can get the ginger-garlic paste and curry powder at your local Indian store.

Fry onion in oil until brown. Then add ginger-garlic paste, stir, and add potatoes. Add water, curry powder, and cover to boil until potatoes are done, about 10 minutes. Add chopped tomato, and tomato paste, let cook about 2 minutes. Add French green beans and salt, cover and let cook 5-7 minutes. And you’re done!

Serve with basmati rice or roti/naan.

Total cooking time: 20 minutes

Hope you enjoyed this recipe. 😀

xoxo,

-S

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Friday! The weather outside is bummy, so I’m definitely spending my Friday night at home. Couch + wine + Netflix = blissful rainy day. I have some weekend plans with hubbz and luckily the weather is supposed to be sunny Saturday and Sunday. I can’t wait to be on a boat on a warm, sunny day! Anyways, I haven’t traveled in a while, but June is full of fun travels, so I’ve been stocking up on dresses, sandals, and makeup. I love Sephora and Ulta for my makeup shopping, and both stores tend to have exclusive shades for the more prestige brands, i.e. Stila, Too Faced, Tarte, Anastasia Beverly Hills (ABH). I follow a bunch of makeup lines on Instagram and saw a model wearing ABH liquid lipstick in Poet. I went the same night to Ulta and grabbed myself an ABH Catnip lippy (Poet was sold out😔). Catnip was a gorgeous pinkish-berry-mauve shade, and looked great on my skin tone. As a medium-dark brown South Asian women, it’s sometimes hard finding the right shades in makeup,  and even then the hues may not be pigmented enough to really stand out on my skin. Luckily, the ABH liquid lipsticks are all super pigmented. They apply creamy and dry to a matte that doesn’t need much reapplying throughout the day. The best part about the matte is it doesn’t stick to cups, so I can drink my Starbucks and wine without the annoying lip stains! For a nude, I usually reach for the Urban Decay Amulet, which is a metallized pinkish beige. Recently, I decided to add another ABH lippy to my vast lipstick collection, so ventured out to Ulta to explore. I was super happy to find ABH Ashton, which was a caramel shade with slightly reddish undertones. This was the perfect nude for me! If you have medium-darker skin the ABH Ashton might just be your nude, which is such a difficult shade to find!! I’m so in love with this shade and the whole ABH liquid lipstick line 👌🏾👌🏾💄💄. Now go off into the rows and rows of eyeshadows, bb creams, eyebrow dips, and glow kits…under the fluorescent lights. Find your nude and become one with it. 💄💋💖