World Environment Day:
Yesterday, returning from the so called newly opened largest mall in India, we took a by lane to avoid traffic. We were aghast at the sight. There were piles and piles of garbage dumped in that area.

The icing on the cake is that the garbage is in the path of the 'Mithi river'. The same 'Mithi river' which overflew causing great destruction in flooding Mumbai in 2009 monsoon. Of course now being summer the river is almost dry. We are into the first week of June and the rainy season being so close I am hoping that 'World Environment Day' does not remain just a topic for school projects and headline news.

Browsing through the web one finds many initiatives taken up by various organisations to make our planet a better place for us and our future generations and we have to support and cooperate with them.

Two web sites I found informative are green.ndtv.com & cleanuptheworld.org. The one close to my heart and geographically is bnhs.org. They have been doing some amazing work for eons.

Lets not be arm chair idealists but look closely in our homes, neighbourhoods, workplaces and the whole environment where we could make a difference.

The famous slogan 'Reduce, reuse and recycle' should be our daily mantra and not just on 'World Environment Day'

Try and join a local community centre in their drive towards garbage segregation, banning plastic, spreading awareness regarding wasting water, sharing transport, disposal of e-waste, planting trees, composting waste, etc. The possibilities are endless.

Now on a more lighter mood - Since I live to eat, I can think of reduce, reuse and recycle with regard to food.

All our left over food can be transformed into delectable new dishes.

Here is a recipe for Bread caramel custard with the left over ingredients.

Ingredients
Milk - 2 1/2 cups thick milk / Bread - 2 slices or 1 Mumbai pau / Eggs - 2 medium size / Sugar - 6 table spoons / Vanilla essence - 1 table spoon

Procedure
1. For the caramel - Take a metal pan which can hold up to four cups of liquid and in which the custard will be steamed or baked. Sprinkle a few drops of water and 4 table spoons of sugar all around the pan. On an extremely low flame heat the pan. Do not stir, but gently swirl the pan as the sugar melts. Caramelize till it reaches a nice brown colour. Let it cool.

2. In a mixing bowl, soak the bread in one cup of milk for 5 to 10 minutes. Blend with the balance sugar and vanilla essence. The bread must be well mixed.

3. Add the balance 1 1/2 cups of milk and the two eggs to the above mixture and blend lightly.

4. Pour the mixture gently in the caramelized pan and steam or bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Live responsibly, Love wholeheartedly.