Puds!

Hello there! Its my favorite time of the day. The time for puds! Today we have a very special pudding. Its special because its addictively delicious yet mind-numbingly easy to make. No, marijuana is not an ingredient. But something just as good- drinking chocolate! Chocolate Balls!

Now, take a packet of butter biscuits. Suit your budget- Tiger, Marie, some other expensive ones and dunk them into the grinder. Remember to take off the wrapper. Now grind it into a powder. Chunky or fine, either will do.

Add a few tablespoons of drinking chocolate. Approximately, the biscuit powder should be thrice the chocolate. Remember to use great quality drinking chocolate because this will make or break your dessert (I used Cadbury). And run the grinder for a few seconds to have an even mixture.

Put the powder mixture into a mixing bowl. Taste at this time to see if it is chocolaty enough. Add more drinking chocolate if required.

Add some (more like lots) melted butter. And make balls. Roll the balls in sprinkles if you like.

Voila!

Me Today

Hello World! Its me again. Yes, the same old. I have nothing new for you. I know that happens time and again. I do have a few good recipes to share but they are such a pain to write, especially when you cook with approximation but need to write with exaction. Anyways I will tell you whats up with my life. I know thats a first, but I guess todays your lucky day!

Well to start with I have Conjunctivitis (I shall be surprised if you don't know that already). I am quite the sulker when it comes to being sick and I have sulked my way through phone calls and Facebook. Yeah, so I don't have pink eyes or any discharge. There was slight swelling in the first few days but that is gone too. So actually I am perfectly fine! But according to my doctor I am still infectious. And no not just my enthusiasm, charm and good cheer, she meant the disease. So basically I am all well but just under house arrest (not that I am really staying at home).

Yesterday I went for this modern Meena Bazaar, a crazy shopping hub for women (or as they would prefer to be called- ladies). Sellers from all around the region had come and displayed their wares (mostly clothes) and women were shopping like crazy. The whole place drove me crazy! Do we actually like clothes that much? Yes, we women! We, who speak of womens liberation and equal rights and personalities and all those fancy shmancy things. At the end of the day, we need clothes and shoes and bags and makeup to make us feel worth ourselves. Is that all? Look great and pull men? It depresses me beyond measure. But to think a bit more, obviously nothing else works for men. They need their women to be looking the part if they are to love them. Most men and women will protest I am going mental and none of this is true. I am sure there are a lot of us who aren't like that (me! me ! me!) but aren't there more who are. By the way the name of the shopping bazaar was 'Vanity Fair'. Apt, huh?

Today, I met a friend of mine for coffee. We do that often. Sometimes we don't even drink coffee. We just sit and chat about absolutely nothing. Like talk talk talk and never run out of things to laugh about. Other peoples children, common friends, common enemies, love, life, food, fat, coffee, work.... People have said we could be twins. Maybe we were!

Thats all of my roller coaster brain ride today. I completely know how terribly interested you were to know about my uber cool life. You are totally welcome!

The Maggots

At sunset, on the river ban, Krishna
Loved her for the last time and left...
That night in her husband's arms, Radha felt
So dead that he asked, What is wrong,
Do you mind my kisses, love? And she said,
No, not at all, but thought, What is
It to the corpse if the maggots nip?

Kamala Das

Mash and Cheese Pie

Serves 4

This is a lovely recipe which I learnt in England. It uses leftover mashed potatoes with some fresh ingredients to create this delight. Its fairly simple and you can modify it per your own taste. This is my version of it.

6 largish potatoes

a fat chunk of butter :)

4-5 tablespoons milk

salt to taste

2 cups of mixed veggies ( carrots, French beans, mushrooms, peas, corns...whatever takes your fancy)

1/2- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (can use mozzarella if in dire straits)

a tablespoon of seasoning- use whatever is handy- basil/oregano/thyme/parsley or a mix

• Preheat the oven at 180 degrees.
• Boil and peel the potatoes.
• Simultaneously boil the veggies. Make sure they're not too soft. Crunchy is good.
• Mash the potatoes. Add softened butter, milk and salt.
• Mix, mix and mix. Mash is done
• Add the seasoning to boiled veggies.
• Take a baking tin. Put the mash in and level it.
• Layer veggies on top of the mash.
• And finally put the cheese on top.
• Bake till cheese melts.

The pie is great when served with toasted bread and baked beans.

You can make some alterations to it. Here is a list of things you can try

• Mix the veggies in the mash instead of creating separate layers.
• Omit the veggies. It tastes great but may not be the last word on health.
• Use paneer with or instead of the veggies.
• Add a bit of chili, either in the mash or the cheese.
• Make the seasonings indian- try cumin powder or a pinch of garam masala.
• Cook the veggies in red sauce before you add them
• Add a layer of bread crumbs somewhere.
• The possibilities are endless. Experiment!

Book Reveiw

Loving and Leaving the Good Life

Since late I have become quite picky about the books I read, and I am really glad I picked this one. (Actually it was handpicked by a close friend whose recommendation I can completely rely on.)

The book is a memoir written by Helen Nearing about the life she shared with her late husband Scott Nearing. Scott is well known in radical cycles for propounding and practicing the good life of simplicity, self-sufficiency, social justice and growth of the being. LLGF is a biography of man who lived and died on his own terms with grace and dignity. Helens words show how Scott was not only an influence on her but so many others and still continues to be. The book touches politics, religion, money, fashion besides more prominent issues like loving, living, learning and leaving. Helen’s narrative is lucid though I felt it became a bit too serious and referenced at times. Nevertheless, she is wonderful when she is talking about her love with Scott and extremely inspiring when she talks about her love for land (through homesteading, gardening, farming and cooking). All in all, the book is a beautiful manual which inspires one to come back to land and love with gratitude, happiness and contentment.

Rating- 4/5

PS- I wish to read Simple Food for the Good Life soon. Again by Helen, a recipe book full of vegetarian goodness.

PPS- The book is not published in India. You will have to order a copy online or you can always borrow mine :)

On Meeting The Beloved

I close my eyes and you are there
I open my eyes and you are there
Oh Beloved! You are such a tease
Tell me where are you closer?

Ana Gupta

Jan 2010

Me and You :)

Things I can Do after my MA...just in case I forget later on

1. Become an AOL teacher
2. Civil Services
3. MBA
4. Become a teacher in Dubai
5. Teach in a school while I do no. 2/ no. 3
6. Enrol in a Ph D and start teaching in a college alongside
7. Volunteer abroad and/or at home
8. Start and manage highly succesful business
9. Get married (Oh no no no no no!)
10. Get another degree which is not an MBA or a Doctrate
11. Join an activist group in India; Make Arundhati Roy my role model
12. Teach English in Dubai or China and lead a very fulfilling life there
13. Take cookery classes in the Brit Cuisine...Teach them ahem pasta and mashed potatoes, plus custard and sandwiches. Maybe some boiled veggies and chips. Lovely, innit?

Thats all I can think right now...Will keep editing as ideas keep popping in. Merci Beaucoup!

Volunteering Abroad

I was talking to my flatmate today and found out that she is going for a Volunteer Abroad program in October for 3 months. I was intrigued. It seems brilliant. Though you pay for travel and don't get paid for the work you do, but the experience sounds wonderful. It could be one of those life altering expriences which makes you see things in a different way. I looked up some websites and saw there were hundreds of volunteer abroad programs. I was thinking maybe I should do it since I have almost nothing to do after my degree. Or maybe too much to do. I don't know though if my parents will agree. Especially dad. He might not see the point in it at all. I can try nevertheless. I wish to be an AOL teacher soon though. That should give me a lot of opportunities of volunteering. And I might feel slightly wrong if I went volunteering abroad, when there is so much, so so much to be done at home. I don't know. I guess it's the best if I do both, for after all we are a one world family. Plus it will look absolutely superb on my cv. Haha. Well practicality counts too. Having said that, I feel bad that I had to explain myself on the CV part. Cvs do matter and if you want to make a change it is essential to have money along with intention and action. So yes it will be a great experience plus great on my cv. Also it builds character :)

Dinner Today

Today was a day full of lethargy and irritation for me. I woke up at 1 pm after 11 hours of sleep and then stayed in my room the whole day. I was feeling extremely frustrated and suffocated by about 9 pm. My head was beginning to hurt and the feeling of uselessness has climbed up to my forehead. I did not want to eat anything. I stood in the kitchen awhile and felt that no food seemed appealing today. I felt all food tasted like cardboard. It all seemed the same, bland, tasteless to me. I blamed it upon the poor quality tinned ingredients of England and then upon my cooking.

And then, I decided to venture out to Sainsbury to buy some new ingredients, to inspire me. So after having bought some tomatoes and yogurts I got out and saw a beggar....sitting right outside Sainsbury. I suddenly felt a pang. I put my hand in my shopping bag and took out one cup of yogurt and gave it to him. He was delighted to have the yogurt; he got a big grin on his face and couldn't stop thanking me. As I started walking home I couldn't believe that one pot of yogurt could make a man so happy. I couldn't believe that I was being such bourgeoisie arse with all of my- Oh! I can't bear my 3 course dinner, where there was this man who probably had no food at all. I couldn't reach home. I went back and saw he was asleep. I kept some other food next to him and left. When I was a little away I saw he kept the food in his bag. I was glad he will get something to eat, but alongside I was extremely sad. How can the world be full of unfed and unloved people? How can I be happy when there are others dying of starvation? I was cribbing about being away from home, and here was a man, who probably had no family. How are we to deal with such this worldwide epidemic of poverty? I don't know. I don't know if any efforts made will be enough. But the deeper question is - are we trying? Is the latest car or the even faster high speed internet going to help feed this man? Are we working towards the swaraj of these millions of underfed and underprivileged people? As Arundhati Roy says, is it fair that some people have so much, when so many have so little?

We need to get rid of our city eyes, acknowledge the bare truth and keep striving. For an ocean is made up of droplets, after all. I came home, made pasta and ate it with gratitude and awareness.

Hello!

Hi World!

This is me...Me who? Don't ask...Revealing identity makes one conscious of what will people think...And that generally places a damn on the river of free flowing thoughts. I can't be me... I feel pressurised to comply with standards, to fit perfectly in the frame of myself image. And I just want a space where I can let my thoughts be, release them and let them play with words, like lego blocks, and build whatever they like. It does not have to be meaningful or make sense, or be portraying my personality. I just want to release the thoughts which have infested my head. There are too many...Too much of the time...And I want this blog to work as my Dumbeldore's Pensieve basin...To find words most alike my thoughts and let them swim in there...Maybe I or a Harry like you will come back to look at them, but maybe not. It is fine...I wonder if this could have been a dairy...But I have done that far too much in my adolescent years....And diaries have a limiting effect of being a record of actions and feelings and not thoughts...I feel in love with so-and-so today...Such-and-such said this to me, I felt so bad....This space is more for musings, very random and arbitrary, but mostly from the head...Plus I am allowing myself the vanity of keeping it on the worldwide net, where people, strangers might chance upon it and read it and become undying fans of me...I might be the next big thing....But if that never happens, I can always say I never told anyone about this blog...Haha...So I have made a moat as well to keep my dignity (ego?) intact. So here, this is my pensieve. You are most welcome to swim in it as long as my thoughts don't bite/ drown/ suffocate you!