Friendship, Smiles, and Gooseberries🍇

Mixed Dal Appe and Gooseberries

On a chilly morning, there lay a warm and vibrant bento box 🍱, snugly packed in a little bag belonging to the world's most curious toddler, her face beaming with a bright, anticipatory smile 😊. Today's menu was a delightful mixture of mixed dal appe 🥘, fresh coriander chutney 🌿, and bright, tangy gooseberries 🍇. But this bento box was more than just a meal; it was a canvas of love and friendship sprinkled with smiles 😄.

The journey of these appes began not in our kitchen but in the heart and home of a dear friend. On a day filled with laughter, light, and shared smiles 😆, these wholesome morsels first made their way to us in a humble tiffin box 🥡. The gesture was simple yet profound, connecting us through the universal language of food, bound by smiles and warmth 🤗.

Inspired by this act of kindness, I decided to recreate this recipe for my little one, her face lighting up with excitement 😍. The appes, a perfect blend of nutritious lentils, became ideal for a toddler-friendly meal. As I carefully prepared each appe, my heart swelled with joy, reminiscing the warmth and laughter shared between friends and family over food 😃.

Today, as I closed the lid of my daughter's bento box 🍱, my smile mirrored her excitement 😁. Amongst the familiar favourites, I added a new adventure - gooseberries 🍇. These little bursts of sour and sweet were a wildcard, an experiment to tantalize her taste buds, her tiny face curious and eager 😋. Will she embrace the new flavour, or will the gooseberries journey back home untouched, her smile unchanged by the new experience?

As she ventures out into her day, her smile lingering in my mind, I eagerly await her return. I'm not just curious to see the fate of the gooseberries 🍇 but also to hear her tales. The bento box 🍱, a mere container of food, becomes a vessel of stories, laughter 😂, and sometimes, the odd untouched gooseberry, each accompanied by a radiant smile 😊.

Through this daily ritual of packing her lunch, I've come to realize that food is more than sustenance; it's a thread that weaves the tapestry of our relationships, a medium through which we express care, love, and sometimes, a little bit of culinary adventure, all shared with a smile 😄. And as each day unfolds, I look forward to the many more tales that will come home tucked inside that little bento box 🍱, each story brighter with her smiles 😊.