Harvest Time

A new season has come -- but not the one with orange-y red colors and pumpkin flavored muffins and spiced lattes. The Monsoon Season has come, with dangerous puddles and enhanced humidity and extra loads of laundry. Despite the past month's busyness (and the fact that there is not a Fall breeze in the city), we decided to create the Autumnal spirit right here in Kipling Place. So Nicolette and I opened our specially-saved cans of pumpkin (mailed all the way from the America Place) and whipped of a deceptively harvesty feast. Then we cranked the A/C and I put on my best Fall-colored scarf to host a fabulous Harvest Party.

There were a few added challenges (in addition to not having Pillsbury crust for my mini pumpkin pies, successfully baked in our tiny toaster over).

Throwing a dinner party for 25+ means visiting at least three grocery stores. Nilgris for the bulk of it, Nuts & Spices for the speciality items (like olives, feta and, well, good nuts and spices) and Evergreen for the missed produce (like cilantro and bananas). As I mentioned, the Monsoon rains have come. The Monsoon rains are sudden then steady. The best thing to do when they come is: embrace them. So Saturday morning was extra adventurous, riding on the back of the Blue Wonder with slippery armfuls of groceries, to and fro store to house, store to house, store our house.

Meanwhile, our house was the site of an impromptu business meeting between half a dozen South Asian businessmen and our three amigos (brother and his friends of one of my dear friends who crashed at our place on their business venture travels throughout India). The meeting was rescheduled and moved to our cozy living room due to rain, of course. The more the merrier.

And then there was the sink problem. We woke up that morning to discover that instead of running through the drain, any drop (or deluge) of water spilled directly onto our kitchen floor. So we washed the dishes -- a lot of dishes, a lot of times -- in my shower. And we washed the fruits and vegetables -- a lot of fruits and a lot of vegetables -- in my shower. It was a little weird to direct guests to my bathroom if they needed to use the loo, or wanted to wash a fork to reuse for pumpkin bread.

Step One: Scrub the produce. No parasites please.

Step Two: Dry the herbs. Yes, that is my bedroom.

Step Three: Prepare the Harvest (and attempt* to repair the sink).

Repeat this Step Throughout: Wash dishes. In Shower.

Enjoy the fruit of our labour: Harvest Party!

*FYI, the sink is now repaired. The very next day we discovered two dirty rags shoved into the base of the drain pipe. We are not sure how they got there, but we are glad they are gone. Big thanks to Jay, David and Rob for their assistance fixing the sink, washing the dishes and -- most of all -- appreciating the favorite feeling of Fall.