Showing posts with label tiffin unboxed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tiffin unboxed. Show all posts
Thoughts After A Year of Blogging
Apparently most bloggers quit within a year.Today marks the one-year anniversary of the day I started this site. To celebrate passing that hump and 69 published posts, here are some thoughts to update my initial first Introduction post. And so you're not drowning in text, I'm interspersing photos I took of some beautiful locations in my neighborhood.
To begin writing I picked a date I would easily remember, in this case, my late father's birthday. Doing something positive on an otherwise sad day always helps balance things for me, and I know he would have enjoyed this site.
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| The Colorado Bridge - Pasadena, CA |
Looking back from this point, I tried to assess how things evolved and what followed the 'plan'. Reading back through my first post coupled with the light traffic analysis I do (to figure out what people like to read), it's interesting to see how my interests aligned, or didn't, with what readers like.
This blog is more of a 'lifestyle' blog with food as the focus. The surprise was that it began with an intention to document my mother's authentic recipes, and evolved more into sharing my foodie experiences - not many restaurant reviews, but experiences I enjoyed.
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| Colorado Bridge - Pasadena, CA |
With our 'day' jobs, it's been more challenging than I thought. And I might rethink this as a more cohesive body of work that I slowly make progress on but compile together. It doesn't lend itself to quick blog posts. Rest assured, I am still working on it in the background and it will emerge when it's ready.
In the meantime, to get my feet wet, I might do a few quick and easy posts on cooking recipes or simple techniques.
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| The Colorado Bridge - Pasadena, CA |
Because of the home projects, time for other design work slips through the cracks for now.Working on the always-in-progress house projects takes up most of my free (i.e. non-work) time and because I'm so immersed in it, I decided not to extend that time by writing more about it. Okay, so I'm a Libra and obsessed with balance.
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| Old water tank in the fog - South Pasadena, CA |
This past weekend, a longtime friend was visiting from Canada. We have been in touch over the years but had not seen each other for 20+ years. He's been to L.A. several times and didn't need to sight-see. Being a fellow foodie I struggled with choosing the perfect culinary experiences.
Eventually I realized that the the focus of our time together was catching up and having fun. So instead we went to places that were new to both of us and took the gamble. I struck out to some extent on meal picks, but that is not what each of us will remember about the visit, I'm sure.
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| Palm trees in the fog - South Pasadena, CA |
Writing and photography serve as great creative outlets and I don't want to pressure or limit myself into finding a 'voice'. I'd like to keep exploring what inspires me to write about, letting the voice develop over time. Like with my friend, let's explore new things together.
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| Trees in the fog - South Pasadena, CA |
Made it to Google!
Today I searched for this blog on Google and it came up as the first result. This doesn't happen automatically. The search sites slowly index pages over time. It was another exciting landmark during this whole process, but not as exciting as it has been getting verbal and written feedback from new readers.
Whomever is considering starting a blog, it's very gratifying. Enjoy!
Introduction
Welcome! In the About page, you can read a bit about these unusual boxes, my cultural roots and inspirations. It also might be helpful to start by answering some immediate questions that may come to mind.
My name: Wasima, pronounced wa-see-ma, with emphases on the 2nd syllable. The name is Arabic. Sometimes people associate it with wasabi. Whatever it takes to stick in someone’s head is fine with me.
What are tiffin boxes? They are, stacked lunch boxes, prevalent in India. Tiffin refers to both the mid-day meal, and the container that carries it. The round shape, stackable design and shiny metal surfaces always appealed to me. Not to mention the fact that they are called boxes but are actually round!
For context, a Southern California contemporary to the tiffin box is the Japanese bento box. It is usually flat and partitioned instead of stacked, often lacquered instead of metal. It serves the same purpose of separating but presenting together all courses of a meal.
For context, a Southern California contemporary to the tiffin box is the Japanese bento box. It is usually flat and partitioned instead of stacked, often lacquered instead of metal. It serves the same purpose of separating but presenting together all courses of a meal.
Food is a huge passion. One of my favorite lunches near work is the “Special Lunch” bento at Shaab. While the compartments are not stacked, you can get the idea with this shot below (click on it to enlarge the image).
Besides eating food, I cook. For me cooking rarely involves using recipes. I sometimes read them as a starting point and then improvise. I have been blessed with a good palate that allows me to discern most ingredients of a dish by tasting it. Sharing great local food finds is enjoyable, with many friends asking me for suggestions.
My family is one of travelers, and my parents definitely instilled the travel bug in me from childhood. I’ve been lucky enough to travel through many parts of the world, further refining my palate and propensity to try new foods. Another thing traveling always develops in me is a love and appreciation for home.
Home is a huge focus in my life. This past year, there have been a fair amount of these diagrams in my life.
While the whole design and construction process is exciting, the ‘after’ is the reward. Sometimes even noticing the ever shifting light and shadow in the house entertains me, as you can see from this shot of the shag rug’s shadow on the floor.
Gardening is another love, providing stress relief, exercise, compost and organic food. I often sow new plants in the yard, many from seeds and cuttings, because I love to see the entire growth process. Here is a small sample of this year's summer season, which was very yellow, but I assure you there were other gorgeous colors too.
These areas, and others (i.e. all things vintage, art, architecture, Mad Men), help keep me happy and in balance. Documenting them with photos and words is what I've started. As always, comments are welcome and encouraged. One thing I can promise you is that whatever topic is served up will be authentic. Feel free to join me for a snack or stay for the full meal.
