Mushrooms, Leeks and Parsley come together in this mushroom pie / quiche.... Accompanied by strawberries and sweetened vanilla whipped cream! Yayyyyy Tuesday night dinner!!
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Conversations....
So what do people who've been married 4 years talk about? If you've been a reader of this blog piece of verbal diarrhea, you won't have ANY trouble figuring out who's saying what!
1. "So if there's a zombie apocalypse and you've turned into a zombie, will you spare me or bite me too so we can be zombies together?"
(the answer for this became very convoluted - on how zombies are not human and he wouldn't want to make me one etc etc)
2. "Why do you love me?"
"Because you're special..."
"Special as in retarded???"
3. "What's the one job you'd NEVER EVER do?"
"Manual drain cleaner.... and you?"
"Oh! a butcher! Definitely never a butcher. I like being non-vegetarian."
4. "One super power you'd like to have?"
Me: Flight!!!
5. "If we were friends, or had friends in common, do you think we'd have still ended up together?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because."
6. "There's a 70% off sale at my favourite shoe store...."
"Are you competing with Imelda Marcos???" *looking exasperatedly at the 2 overflowing shoe racks.*
7. "If I died tomorrow, how soon will it be before you remarry?"
"Never, I'd miss you too much."
"Awww.... but you know I'd want you to be happy etc etc"
"Okay, maybe a couple of years."
"That's IT?? You'd get over my dying in a COUPLE of years??" *sulk sulk*
1. "So if there's a zombie apocalypse and you've turned into a zombie, will you spare me or bite me too so we can be zombies together?"
(the answer for this became very convoluted - on how zombies are not human and he wouldn't want to make me one etc etc)
2. "Why do you love me?"
"Because you're special..."
"Special as in retarded???"
3. "What's the one job you'd NEVER EVER do?"
"Manual drain cleaner.... and you?"
"Oh! a butcher! Definitely never a butcher. I like being non-vegetarian."
4. "One super power you'd like to have?"
Me: Flight!!!
5. "If we were friends, or had friends in common, do you think we'd have still ended up together?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because."
6. "There's a 70% off sale at my favourite shoe store...."
"Are you competing with Imelda Marcos???" *looking exasperatedly at the 2 overflowing shoe racks.*
7. "If I died tomorrow, how soon will it be before you remarry?"
"Never, I'd miss you too much."
"Awww.... but you know I'd want you to be happy etc etc"
"Okay, maybe a couple of years."
"That's IT?? You'd get over my dying in a COUPLE of years??" *sulk sulk*
Friday, February 3, 2012
My Four Year Old...
I have a 4 year old...... which is happy and giggly and bouncy most of the time, and sometimes weepy and sulky and stubborn. No, I do not refer to Serenity. Serenity and Calamity have now been married for 4 years, and the temperamental 4 year old is our Marriage!
How time flies!! We have days and weeks that'll go by in beautiful machine-like precision like a well-orchestrated ballet.... and then suddenly one day, we feel like we're all over the place and then sparks fly. I think the move to Tech City has been the best thing for us as a couple, given the fact that the City-which-wakes-up-early caused me nothing but angst. We're SO much better now (because I am so much happier now!)... happier - which I think is MOST important.
Yesterday felt like any other day - morning hugs, a working day.... and then in the evening we both got all dolled up and went for a fancy sushi dinner, came home and opened the Ardbeg and sat chatting on the balcony like we used to in the City-that-wakes-up-early. Those balcony chats were always special, sitting in the darkness, having a drink and just talking, talking, talking. It was how we got to know each other - and it was quiet time and it was for us alone.
Considering how we had a (not so typical) Arranged Marriage, we had a lot of "getting to know one another" to do. The balcony chats were when he told me what irritated him about me, and I told him about the things he did that pissed me off. It was neutral ground somehow, and nothing that was said could be taken offense to (that was one of the ground rules!).... and so over 4 years, we rubbed each other's corners raw, got angry, frustrated and wanted to break things.... and made up....and stayed together. We still fight, of course, but we're a lot better at dealing with it. Serenity has figured how to make a PISSED OFF Calamity laugh in the middle of her yelling and tears.... and then he shakes a finger at me and says "You laughed, so you can't be angry any more!"....and yes, it IS usually left to Serenity to make me laugh, because if Serenity laughs during a fight, you can put money on the fact that I will NOT be calming down - the opposite in fact!!
In our wedding pictures, there's more than one picture where I look worried and pre-occupied, questioning myself whether this was what I wanted - to marry him and move to a city I had no one in.... I look uncertain and scared even. I can confidently say today, I made the right choice. Marriage has been different from single life, but Serenity's been SO good to me, good for me. We've grown into this marriage, like a pair of leather shoes that pinch when you wear them the first time and now just fit your feet like a glove that was made especially for it, it feels sometimes like we've always been together..... and yet, just like those shoes, when you stop and look at them, they look great - a little scuffed maybe, but they make you feel like you're on top of the world and they warm and protect. (God! Typical woman - SHOE metaphors????? - I can SO picture him saying that!)
So yeah, like I said, my "shoes" are 4 years old, scuffed, comfortable and with a LOT of wear left in them - they're my favourite pair in the world !!
How time flies!! We have days and weeks that'll go by in beautiful machine-like precision like a well-orchestrated ballet.... and then suddenly one day, we feel like we're all over the place and then sparks fly. I think the move to Tech City has been the best thing for us as a couple, given the fact that the City-which-wakes-up-early caused me nothing but angst. We're SO much better now (because I am so much happier now!)... happier - which I think is MOST important.
Yesterday felt like any other day - morning hugs, a working day.... and then in the evening we both got all dolled up and went for a fancy sushi dinner, came home and opened the Ardbeg and sat chatting on the balcony like we used to in the City-that-wakes-up-early. Those balcony chats were always special, sitting in the darkness, having a drink and just talking, talking, talking. It was how we got to know each other - and it was quiet time and it was for us alone.
Considering how we had a (not so typical) Arranged Marriage, we had a lot of "getting to know one another" to do. The balcony chats were when he told me what irritated him about me, and I told him about the things he did that pissed me off. It was neutral ground somehow, and nothing that was said could be taken offense to (that was one of the ground rules!).... and so over 4 years, we rubbed each other's corners raw, got angry, frustrated and wanted to break things.... and made up....and stayed together. We still fight, of course, but we're a lot better at dealing with it. Serenity has figured how to make a PISSED OFF Calamity laugh in the middle of her yelling and tears.... and then he shakes a finger at me and says "You laughed, so you can't be angry any more!"....and yes, it IS usually left to Serenity to make me laugh, because if Serenity laughs during a fight, you can put money on the fact that I will NOT be calming down - the opposite in fact!!
In our wedding pictures, there's more than one picture where I look worried and pre-occupied, questioning myself whether this was what I wanted - to marry him and move to a city I had no one in.... I look uncertain and scared even. I can confidently say today, I made the right choice. Marriage has been different from single life, but Serenity's been SO good to me, good for me. We've grown into this marriage, like a pair of leather shoes that pinch when you wear them the first time and now just fit your feet like a glove that was made especially for it, it feels sometimes like we've always been together..... and yet, just like those shoes, when you stop and look at them, they look great - a little scuffed maybe, but they make you feel like you're on top of the world and they warm and protect. (God! Typical woman - SHOE metaphors????? - I can SO picture him saying that!)
So yeah, like I said, my "shoes" are 4 years old, scuffed, comfortable and with a LOT of wear left in them - they're my favourite pair in the world !!
Friday, January 6, 2012
Regrets of the year gone by....
1. I STILL haven't made my website. Bad, bad, BAD girl ! (how am I EVER going to widen that freelance web??)
2. I didn't stay in touch enough.....
3. I STILL haven't hit my target weight.
4. I made it to Thailand, sans Serenity, but not the other places I had planned to visit with him.
5. I didn't save as much as I should have.
6. Though I have mellowed (quite a bit, according to me..... not enough, according to Serenity), I'm still not zen enough to not yell and scream and get homicidal when we fight.
7. I STILL hate my killjoy partypooper bitch of a neighbour.
8. I don't get enough exercise.
9. I shopped wayyyyyy too much..... also refer point #5.
10. I've stopped checking my glucometer, I don't think I'm making much progress with keeping my blood sugar levels down.....also,
11. I haven't gone back to my diabetologist in a year almost.
.....and as far as resolutions go, well.... its the 6th of Jan and its not like I kept mine even on the 1st, so the less said about that, the better!
2. I didn't stay in touch enough.....
3. I STILL haven't hit my target weight.
4. I made it to Thailand, sans Serenity, but not the other places I had planned to visit with him.
5. I didn't save as much as I should have.
6. Though I have mellowed (quite a bit, according to me..... not enough, according to Serenity), I'm still not zen enough to not yell and scream and get homicidal when we fight.
7. I STILL hate my killjoy partypooper bitch of a neighbour.
8. I don't get enough exercise.
9. I shopped wayyyyyy too much..... also refer point #5.
10. I've stopped checking my glucometer, I don't think I'm making much progress with keeping my blood sugar levels down.....also,
11. I haven't gone back to my diabetologist in a year almost.
.....and as far as resolutions go, well.... its the 6th of Jan and its not like I kept mine even on the 1st, so the less said about that, the better!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
What's with the Invincible Corks??
Mimi / Arliemol and I have history..... of the DISASTROUS variety!
The simplest, most mundane activities we try to perform (post Serenity's bedtime, post midnight!) usually end in disaster and de-wash-tation (to quote Mimi!)....
Here we present 2 case studies of the more memorable kind. The second is what prompted this post. Unfortunately, Case study 1 is not accompanied by pictures.
Case Study 1: 2 women trying to paint their nails.
Method: Volunteer to paint Mimi's nails RED. Shake bottle vigourously. Watch helplessly as said bottle flies out of hand and splatters on pristine white guestroom floor. Realise there's about 2 ml of nail-paint remover left. Try and prioritise whether to clean Mimi (who is spattered upto her knees in red nail paint) or the floor. Fail miserably at both.
Result: Guestroom floor now looks like a scene from Dexter.
Case Study 2: 2 women want to drink a mini bottle of Rosé
Method: Try and open with Corkscrew A. Helplessly watch as corkscrew A breaks, embedding itself in the cork. Proceed to sloowwwwly chip away at cork with knife, avoiding embedded corkscrew to further avoid blade joining corkscrew in the cork. Progress to potato peeler. Abandon hope. Resume chipping away at cork, tea- strainer on standby. Involve mighty Ikea toolkit. Successfully pull out remnants of Corkscrew A. Resume mission with Corkscrew B. Mission successful.
Result: 2 measly glasses of wine that in hindsight - a) we could have done without.... and b) REALLY did NOT justify the effort we put into it.
The simplest, most mundane activities we try to perform (post Serenity's bedtime, post midnight!) usually end in disaster and de-wash-tation (to quote Mimi!)....
Here we present 2 case studies of the more memorable kind. The second is what prompted this post. Unfortunately, Case study 1 is not accompanied by pictures.
Case Study 1: 2 women trying to paint their nails.
Method: Volunteer to paint Mimi's nails RED. Shake bottle vigourously. Watch helplessly as said bottle flies out of hand and splatters on pristine white guestroom floor. Realise there's about 2 ml of nail-paint remover left. Try and prioritise whether to clean Mimi (who is spattered upto her knees in red nail paint) or the floor. Fail miserably at both.
Result: Guestroom floor now looks like a scene from Dexter.
Case Study 2: 2 women want to drink a mini bottle of Rosé
Method: Try and open with Corkscrew A. Helplessly watch as corkscrew A breaks, embedding itself in the cork. Proceed to sloowwwwly chip away at cork with knife, avoiding embedded corkscrew to further avoid blade joining corkscrew in the cork. Progress to potato peeler. Abandon hope. Resume chipping away at cork, tea- strainer on standby. Involve mighty Ikea toolkit. Successfully pull out remnants of Corkscrew A. Resume mission with Corkscrew B. Mission successful.
Result: 2 measly glasses of wine that in hindsight - a) we could have done without.... and b) REALLY did NOT justify the effort we put into it.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Mediterranean Madness Continues...
And so, as promised, here are the pictures!
Sadly, these are the 'ones that worked' - the one which got away, is the image of my kitchen counter with a coffee mug that I used to mix the yeast in and left unattended.... Only to come back and see that what had previously 'not risen', had now risen, left the mug and overflowed onto the counter!! But I'm not going to show you those pictures, am I now?!!
The Pita bread came out PERFECTLY!! :)
ooooh! I am SO kicked!! (and very smugly proud of myself! - my pitas were "almost" circular! For me, that's saying a lot since I don't EVER make rotis!!)
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| The dough when it began to rise! :) yayyy!! |
 |
| The perfect Pitas! (with my recipe book in the background!!) |
 |
| The Chicken and the Chick pea! :) |
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The Spread! - Hummus, Pita Bread, Mediterranean Chicken and Zalouk! Om Nom Nom Nom!! Pure Happiness! |
Monday, October 17, 2011
Mediterranean Mania!
I've been meaning to do a Mediterranean dinner sometime, and what better way to kickstart the week than with some yummy in the tummy?!!
The menu for tonight is :
- Hummus
- Zalouk (A Moroccan Eggplant salad - which is the ONLY form in which i actually LIKE eggplant!!)
- Mediterranean(ish) Chicken (which doesnt really follow any recipe!)
- and Pita Bread !! (that I'm MAKING from scratch!!)
- Hummus
3 garlic cloves crushed
(of course, I used more garlic! I LOVE garlic, remember?)
100 ml Olive Oil (preferably Extra Virgin)
2 tbsp Tahini
1 tsp Ground Cumin (which I skipped!)
Juice of 1 lemon
Method: Blend chickpeas, garlic, olive oil, tahini and lemon juice till smooth.
Add 1/4 th cup water and blend again. Garnish with paprika and olive oil.
- Zalouk (Moroccan Eggplant Salad)
4 (or more) large tomatoes - peeled and chopped (I didnt peel them!)
3 (or more!) cloves of garlic - minced fine.
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped parsley (also skipped!)
1 tbsp paprika / chili flakes
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup water
Lemons (optional, but best if you DID use the lemons!)
Method: Place all ingredients except the lemon in a pot.
Cover and simmer at medium heat.
Cook covered for about 30 mins till eggplant and tomato are tender.
Mash well. Continue cooking (uncovered) to reduce - upto 30 mins.
Stir frequently. Drizzle additional olive oil if required.
Squeeze lime over after cooking. Stir. Serve either hot or cold.
- Pita Bread
1/2 cup warm water
3 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 cup lukewarm water
Method: Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Add sugar and stir until
dissolved. Let it sit for 10-15 mins till it turns frothy.
Combine flour and salt in a large bowl.
Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast mixture. Slowly add 1 cup
of warm water and stir till the dough is elastic, not sticky.
Place dough on a floured surface and knead until it is smooth and elastic
for about 10 - 15 mins.
Coat with olive oil and let it sit in a warm place until the dough doubles
in volume - about 3 hours. Once the dough has doubled, roll out as a
rope, pinching off small pieces.
Cover and let the pieces sit for 10 - 15 mins. Preheat oven to 250 C.
Roll out the dough into circles of about 5 -6 inches diameter and about
1/4 inch thick.
Bake for about 3-4 mins till the bread puffs up.
Flip and bake the other side.
So I'm off to knead and punch and chop and dice and mince! Will post pictures soon! :)
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