Yesterday, was on the train back home and D calls up to find out whether I would be late. She was out and was to be back late in the evening.

Now whats was the best thing that I could do when I am alone.......yes you are right....I decided to make some cookies. Npw, I have been planning to make some italian biscotti since ages....have scoured teh net for recipes, have bought an Italian cookbook etc etc....and inspite of the fact that I have hordes of biscotti recipes, I have never actually got myself to make any.I remember when we were in Venice, I bought a couple of packets and they were bloody expensive.

So finally, yesterday decided to bake some biscotti called Cantuccini.Its only after baking them did I realise that they are so simple to make and so yummy......

Cantuccini

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar (more if you wnat them sweeter)
1 tea spoon baking powder
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla essence
1/2 cup blanched almonds

Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Mix the flour, sugar and baking powder in a bowl. In a separate bowl combine the eggs and the essence and beat it. Pour the egg mixture in to the dry mixture and add the blanched almonds and mix it with a wooden spoon. Keep mixing till all the ingredients are combined.

Gather the mixture and put on a chapati board and keep kneading it to form a dough. It can be sticky, so use dry flour to get rid off the stickiness so that it forms a firm dough.

Divide it in to two portins and using your palms, make a log out of each portion.

Transfer it to a greased baking tray and using your palms flatten the logs a bit once you transfer it to the tray.

Put it in to the oven for 30 minutes. (after 15 mins a beautifuly vanilla fragrance will fill the house).Remove it out and leave it to cool for 5 minutes. Use a sharp knife cut the logs in to slices.Separate the slices and put them back in to the oven for 10 - 15 minutes.

Remove them out and leave them to cool on a wire rack. Store (whatever is left ) in to airtight containers.

The best method of having them is by dunking them in coffee.........

Bis=two
Cotti= cooked

Biscotti = twice cooked.....thats why these cookies are called Biscotti.

KT: These are real simple....so try them out...u wont regret it....just takes 30 mins or so to prepare.......

The last couple of days have been depressing....workwise. But yesterday was a great day.Jackie knew that I was depressed, so she, Kico and Volker decided to take me out for lunch to cheer me up. It was such a sweet gesture. By teh time we came back to office....I had a broad smile on my face.

The lunch conversation put me in to thought. We discussed how lucky we were to be working together, because there is so much of an understanding between us, that its amazing....each one knows when to speak, when to shut up, how to cheer up the other.....its brilliant.We just have maybe a couple of months left to work together....after that each one will go off in a different direction and the possibility of ever working together in the same team is 0. What amazes me is how people from totally different backgrounds, nationalities, colours, ideas can come together and build such a relationship which transcends the work relationship. Jackie- Caribbean, Kico- Italian, Volker- German, Myself - Indian .......

I have been really lucky in my work life...I have had the opportunity to work with so many nice people, who started as work colleagues, but ultimately ended as friends......
Gauri - Microland
Ashwin, Parag, Vimal, Sanket- Focus
KT, Pallavi, Rachna, Priti - CIT
Jackie, Kico, Volker,Medhat, Vaishali, Amresh, Sibashish, Kaushik - KPIT

So KT if u are reading this.......we have known each other for 7 years......believe that......cannot believe that 7 years just passed....

When I think about thes ethings I forget about all the stupid work problems that I otherwise keep worrying about. These relations are so important as compared to any work issues and it gives a warm feeling to think about these friends ...ofcourse everyone is all across the globe and we hardly meet, but the thought that these people will try to help u when u need them is a warm thought.....


so 3 Cheers to friendship.....

I was wondering about what to write today, when I came across a blog which talked about what the author wanted in life. This set me thinking and I thought of trying to capture what I want in life.....
1. Live in my own house -- which I have bought, but have not yet got possession of.
2. A lawn with a garden which has jasmine, lavender(if I can succeed in cultivating it in India...I am surely carrying a lavender shoot with me when I go back to India), a small lawn, a lot of perennial flowers.
3. A small vegetable path behind the house which will grow the herbs that I want like coriander, mint , thyme and rosemary (will carry some shoots when I go back and try and grow them there), some vegetables like tomatoes, chillies etc.
4.A fully equipped kitchen with a state of the art oven...I really want to have this with my craze for baking.
5.Time for myself to chill atleast every 3-4 months.....holidays would be good, but even if I can just stay at home and chill thats fine.
6.A room for my books and a large book and dvd collection
7.Interesting work ....but something which will allow me to also spend quality time with my family.
8.Work with an NGO and do something copnstructive either for kids, old people etc.
9.Visit a long list of places in India ....Kashmir, sikkim,ladakh,rajasthan,meghalaya,himachal pradesh and abroad I want to visit Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, Korea, thailand
10.Master Mandarin
11. Promote organically grown food...I do not have a clue how I will do this.
12. Teach in a school or college

This list will keep changing......so will keep adding and striking out the ones which I achieve......

Today I am in a thoughtful mood......so I decide to write on the things that I cannot live without. Now, its a tricky list because one has to differentiate between things which one wants and needs and different degrees of wants and needs. :-)). But here goes the list in no particular order :

• My family (which includes my daughter, wife, parents, sister, one favourite cousin)
• Food -I know I am superficial...but food is something which I adore.I always loved to eat , but its now that I can appreciate different cuisines, flavours, tastes etc.
• My interest in reading- This is abstract, but I cannot think of a life where I don't have books to read
• Moments that I spend with my daughter...generally playing with her
• Moments that I spend with D....fooling around, teasing her and being silly
• A couple of friends - not many ...can count them on one hand

When u look at this list, its funny that the most important things in life are the things that you have / can do without having too much money...isn't it...and yet all of us just hanker after money thinking that its money which is important in our lives......(not that having money does not help.....but is it ever enough is the question :-)))

Kanchan :If u are reading this, do tell me ur list...will be interesting to know ....

Since Mom and Dad are here we try to make use of every weekend to take them around London. And considering teh fact that this year there is no summer in London, we are trying to make use of every day that Mr. Sun makes an appearance (not that there have been too many of these days). I know it sounds real sad especially coming from someone who has always avoided the sun when back in India.....but yeah...I really miss the SUN.

Last weekend was predicted as sunny, so Pushkar and myself planned to make a trip to the Isle of Wight. We started out as just 2 families, but ultimately we were a group of 15 who made it. We had to plan it out well, since we were making a day trip and it was virtually impossible to cover the whole island. As a person, I hate to run around on a holiday. I know people who take a holiday and then come back more exhausted than before their holiday. Whats the point ?

So we decided to just cover one portion of the island, so that we could spend quality time.The trip was great....nice sunny day and the Isle is beautiful ...especially since it is supposedly summer. The houses just remind you of the Indian cantonment houses ....small and pretty with gardens in full bloom. Here are some snaps of the Isle....(at the top of this post)

Yesterday Jackie and me suddenly started discussing our childhood days. Well....Jackie is 17 years older than me....so technically speaking ,we did not share the same childhood years...:-)...but what I meant was ....the childhood days spent in a developing country in the 1960 - 70s. When she said that my mind went back to all those enjoyable school days (ofcourse they were not enjoyable then....they are now when they are gone). Let me try to capture some of my memories :

I remember how myself and Vicky used to go to the stream (actually nala...we don't have streams in Pune :-))))behind our school and catch ''small fishes'' and take them home and put them in bottles. Well....they were not fishes but tadpoles and so we used to be very surprised when they used to suddenly mutate in to toads....:-)))

I remember my Physics and Chemistry tuitions on saturday and sunday when I used to go atleast an hour earlier so that I could spend time at Vicky's home.....playing with his dogs, cats, looking at his cactus collection...or any new flower that put an appearance in one of his innumerable pots in the garden, climb the tamarind tree to pluck tamarind (my mouth starts watering when I write this....the red tamarind...so sweet and sour....)

I remember the school days when I used to read the newspaper in the assembly and since I was the teacher's pet, I used to get more chances to read to the assembly.

I remember our lovely house with all its fruit trees of guavas, custard apples, jamoon, mango, lime. Wish I had taken some snaps then.....I think we have just one old snap of our house....I remember our n number of cats live ones and the ones that we buried in our back yard (kittens killed by the stray dog packs who used to smell out the new born kittens and return at night to kill them).

I remember my sister taking one of our cats for a walk on a leash...believe that...it was hilarious.....well....since dad refused to get hera dog, she decided to put teh cat on the leash.....and did ms. cat like it....not at all....initially she was a bit curious about this new thing on her neck....but when my sister started walking.....the cat decided that she aint going anywhere with a lease....and so she flipped on her back....and nothing that my sis did would make her get up....:-)))
That was the end of ''sister and the leashed cat''.:-)))

I can just keep going on and on......when u start writing about memories u feel that u don't have too many....but as and when u start typing.....they just keep flashing in to ur mind.....

Needed a break from work....so thought of putting in a recipe which I tried over the weekend. Its Baked Custard Pudding. Now, its very similar to Creme Brulee, however last time I tried it, I used only milk and no cream...so i did not like the consistency.....I have to say, I like the creamy consistency of this pudding...or in short I love creamy desserts..My idea of a perfect pudding is when u scoop out a helping with a spoon, it should just slice the top of the dessert without leaving any cracks on the surface, and the scooped portion should be just creamy without any pores. I know it sounds like a perfect dive wherein the diver just slices the pool without a splash and leaves no ripples....

Baked Custard Pudding

1/2 pint Milk
1/2 pint Double Cream
1/4 pound castor sugar
1 Vanilla Pod
2 Eggs
1/4 Lemon Rind
1 Nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 200 Deg C.
Put the milk on a low flame.Add the cream to it. Slice the Vanilla pod to reveal the black seeds inside. Scrape the insides with a knife and put it in to the milk.Grate the lemon rind in to the pan.Put the vanilla pod left overs in to the milk and let it come to a boil. Keep stirring it with a wooden spoon.

Put off the flame when the milk reaches boiling point and cover the vessel, so that the vanilla flavour can infuse in to the milk.

In the mean time, beat the eggs and the sugar till it becomes pale yellow.

Strain the milk and get rid of the vanilla seeds, lemon rind and pod.

Add it to the sugar/egg mixture slowly and keep mixing it.The heat from the milk will cook the egg a bit. Strain the whole mixture in to a baking bowl. Grate Nutmeg over it generously.

Keep the bowl in a baking dish and pour boiling water around the custard bowl. Put it in to the oven for around 45 mins or till the custard sets and gets a golden crust.If the custard has not set, remove it from the hot water bath and keep it directly in to the oven till it sets.

Get it out of the oven and cool it. Put it in to the refrigerator once it cools to room temperature. Serve chilled with fresh fruit.

It was yummy......the consistency was deliciously creamy and the nutmeg flavour was brilliant...

On Saturday took Dad along to the fish mongers. He was curious to see the kind of fish that we get in London.He liked it which is saying a lot, cos' my Dad knows his fish. Since we come from Kerala, eating fish is in our blood and knowing our fresh fish from the stale ones is another thing which is in our blood.

I love to touch fish and feel it before I buy. So obviously I cannot stand the packaged varieties that we get in Tescoes. Sainsburys etc.

Dad was really surprised to see such fresh fish and that too sea food like Mussels, clams, squid, jack fish etc etc. You could see from the smile on his face that he was impressed. We ended up buying Mackerel and Trout.

When we reached home he kept telling Mom how fresh and good quality the fish was ...:-)))

How to tell whether the fish is fresh

1. Touch it and it should feel firm
2. Use your finger and lightly press the flesh and release the fingers .The flesh should return to its position once u lift ur fingers.
3. The eyes should not be bloody
4. The skin should be silvery and glittery.
5. If possible lift the gills and see the colour inside. Fresh fish would have a rosy pink/red colour inside.
6. Smell it...fresh fish does not smell....yeah believe me.
7. Lastly...trust your instinct.

Boarded the train from Surbiton and found a window seat. Suddenly my mind was transported to those years of childhood bliss. Its ironical, those days were never considered blissful then. Its funny how the days gone by always look better after they have gone.

My mind wandered back to some particular instances when I was in school and used to be forced to get up early morning at 5 am (with a cold water sprinkle on the face from Dad)to study. There were times when I used to be pissed thoroughly and as a rebellion I used to hide a novel in the textbook and read the novel instead.It was so visual that I could actually remember the entire scene....my bed, the mosquito net, me inside my blanket propped up against a bolster positioned such that I am facing my mother cooking in the kitchen, so that she cd only see the text book an dnot the novel inside. Thankfully my results did not suffer , so mom , dad never realised what their son used to be doing all those cold wintery mornings.....

Reading novels was my craze.....ofcourse I had not graduated to quality reading aka non fiction...but the favourites were hardy boys, alfred hitchcock- 3 investigators (for years I thought the writer of the 3 investigator series was the same Hollywood -Alfred Hitchcock), Nancy Drew, Agatha Christie etc. Obviously did not have money then, so had to rely on friends and the school library to get hold of these reads.

I can still remember the excitement when the school library used to get its new haul of these series and how we used to have fights to get first access to these books.I remember sitting on the temple steps (the kali temple in Aundh Road) and trying to finish a bood, since Dad was dead against me reading novels as he felt it affected valuable study time.Thankfully that habit persisted and am I glad about that.

Nothing can beat curling up with a good book with some hot pakodas and a huge cup of elaichi chai.

Friday....aaaah.....end of another week.....whata relief !!!...can sleep till late tomorrow.....thats luxury....

Yesterday had been to Reading to meet Myles to discuss other prospects which I can handle in addition to teh existing responsibilities. Preliminary meeting, so I was not expecting much and thats how it was ....didn't get much.

Had an interesteing conversation with Pankaj tho'....he wants me to take up an assignment in South Africa. When he first started telling me about it I thought he was joking. But he was dead serious. He really was selling it to me. For a moment I was tempted to think about it. But that was only for a moment. I am surely not taking it up. After London I am surely not interested in living in a place which has a healthy crime rate. However beautiful the place is....what wd I do with a beautiful place if I did not have the eyes to see it...:-)). So South Africa not for me.
He has still asked me to think about it, but my answer is still no.

Yesterday D asked me to cook and after a lot of thought on what to make we decided that it should be pasta for dinner.

So I tried a Pasta Arabbiata (hope thats the right spelling)

You should normally use Penne Pasta (the tubed pasta). I forgot to mention that to D and I went off to play tennis and she decided to boil the pasta. So she used Conchiglioni and Farfalle. I found this lovely site on pasta shapes which gives u the entire list of all available pasta. I did not know so many existed before I went through this site.

http://www.food-info.net/uk/products/pasta/shapes.htm

1/2 packet of Conchiglioni and Farfalle (each)
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
3 Cloves garlic
1 teaspoon sugar
Freshly ground black pepper to taste (I love loads of it)
Chilly flakes ( Depends on how spicy you want it. I used 4 red chillies- medium sized and seeds discarded)
1 medium onion finely chopped
1/3 cup Olive oil
Sea Salt to taste

Prepare the pasta as per instructions and keep it aside.

In a bowl, heat the oil and add the onions over low heat and keep stirring till the onions are translucent. Add the chopped garlic and keep stirring till the garlic is cooked but not burnt.
Add the freshly ground pepper, chilly flakes and the sugar at this stage.
After a few minutes add the canned tomato and salt and stir. When it comes to a boil, put off the flame. In a food processor grind this mixture and keep it aside.
Take half of this sauce in another pan and put it on a low flame. Add the pasta to it, so that all the pasta is coated.

My cooking is generally not the typical measured cooking. Its a whole lot on taste and gut feel. I keep tasting what I cook so that I get the right feel. Here I have written that you should take half of the ground mixture and add the pasta to it, but it depends on liking. I like my pasta to be fully coated in sauce. A lot of people don't like it that way. So its upto your taste actually.

For serving, top the pasta with some of the left over sauce with some grated parmesan cheese.

Bruschetta

I forgot to by the italian baguette, so I used normal bread slices for this. Ideally you should use a baguette.
4 slices of bread halved
2 medium tomatoes cut in to quarters
Few basil leaves - torn (not chopped)
Mozarella cheese (U can decide how much you want. I love mozarella, so I use loads. Ideally u can use 1 thick slice for each halved bread slice. Here we generally get mozarella which is oval in shape. So U can just slice it depending on desired thinness or thickness)
Pepper
1 clove garlic
Olive oil for brushing on the bread.

Brush the olive oil on the bread slices on either sides. Rub the garlic clove on the bread slices and put the bread in to the oven to be toasted to a golden colour. This takes around 5-7 minutes on each side. Remove it out and top each portion with tomato quarters and mozarella and basil. Put it back in to the oven for a few minutes till the cheese melts all over the tomato. Sprinkle some pepper before serving warm.

Yummy.....

So Venus Williams wins Wimbledon....against Marion Bartolli...expected I would say. The shock was Justin losing to Bartolli.That really will go down as a shocker in Wimbledon history. Now I wonder how the final would have been with Venus and Justine.....anyway...no point in dwelling over the 'ifs'....

Sis arriving today...so am all excited....

Venus beats Maria......wow what a match. Venus was at her sizzling best.....''Dying swan devoured as giant bird of prey returns to SW19'' according to the Thetimes.co.uk.

Ofcourse I wanted Venus to win, but in this fashion...absolutely unexpected. She dominated from the first point and however much Maria tried she could not get in to the match.The best was Venus's demeanour through out the match.She looked so calm and serene, while Maria looked all nerves.

I don't like Maria, no particular reason...but she gives out an attitude ...which I dont like.

So now Venus to meet Kuznetsova.....and am hoping for the best. Dream would be an Ana vs Venus final, but looking at Justine's play, I doubt whether anyone will be able to distract her from her sole objective of winning Wimbledon. Saturday will tell.

I want to dedicate this post to my favourite berry.....Blueberry....I first came across this berry in teh supermarkets of London. On an impulse I picked it up and have never regretted that decision. And now they actually say that Blueberries are full of antioxidants and can actually prevent alzheimer's disease (I don't love it because of that, I just like them for their taste). Actually, come to think of it, it does not have any particular taste or smell eg. Bananas, mangoes, apples...all have some distinct smell and taste.....Blueberries don't....Infact last week when Suja came home, very unconsciously she made a comment that Blueberries are so tasteless....which is a fact....but I still love the crunchy feel when u bite it for teh first time. Also, they have this beautiful purple colour which make them look so pretty.
You can read more about blueberries here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blueberry

Just this morning I was wondering whether blue berries are the same as the ''Kaali Maina'' that we had in Pune. They have a similar taste and look, but I cannot seem to find more information on it. Will try googling again.

One of my favourite smoothies is

Blueberry, banana, mango, soya smoothie

Handful blueberries
1 banana- ripe
1 ripe mango
1 Cup soya milk
2 teaspoon honey

Put all the ingredients in to a blender and blend to a smooth consistency.
Serve chilled.

Appraisals done.....not too bad, so am not cribbing. Come to think of it, I have not cribbed regarding appraisals in years....either thats me getting complacent or then my boss is appreciating the work that I do. :-)

Yesterday D decided to go and watch Wimbledon along with S. The plan was that I meet D and S at Wimbledon straight from work, pick up A and travel back home while they go to wimbledon. Well, as usual the British weather played truant and it rained, so they had to abandon their plans and travel back home. Now maybe next year, the 3 of us can go and watch some matches.

So, yesterday I had this dilemna of what to make for dinner. I did not wnat anything heavy as I had pigged during the weekend. After a lot of dilly dallying deided to try Jowar Roti with Garlic Thecha.

It actually turned out pretty good.

Jowar Bhakri
Called Sorghum in English.

Bhakri (Jolada Rotti in Northern Karnataka), a variety of unleavened bread made from sorghum, is the staple diet in many parts of India such as Maharashtra state and northern Karnataka state. Bhakri is also sometimes made out of millet ("Bajari" in Marathi) flour. In eastern karnataka and Rayalaseema area of Andhra pradesh roti (Jonna rotte) made with Sorghum is the staple food.

I was reading about Jowar and supposedly US is one of the biggest producers of Jowar, but most of it is used as animal feed. Didn't know that .....

My earliest memory of Jowar bhakhri is the one which our maid servant got for me. It was her staple diet, but since we are from Kerala, Jowar was not something on our home menu. I still remember the taste of those rotis which was accompanied with ''sukat chutney'' (dried baby shrimps ground with chillies, salt, onion etc etc.) I need to get the recipe of this chutney.

2 Cups Jowar floor
Lukewarm water to make a firm dough
Salt to taste

Make a small depression in the flour and pour some water in to it and start the dough making process. Add some salt to taste. Keep adding water till you get dough with a firm consistency.

I noticed that the dough is very grainy as compared to wheat dough. You can compare it to corn dough which is also very grainy. No wonder it breaks when u try to make rotis with the normal belan. Make large sized balls with this dough and keep it aside.

Heat a frying pan (tava). Take a ball of dough and try flattening it in your hands. Then put it on the tava and flatten it out using ur fingers. Basically what u do is spread the dough outwards so that u get a round roti shape.U can sprinkle a few drops of water to make this easier.Once it browns on one side turn it over and sprinkle some water on it. Remove it from the girdle once its browned on both sides. Apply some butter on it (I like it with butter)


Garlic Thecha

4 garlic pods
1 tablespoon dry grated coconut
4 dried red chillies (reduce if u want it less spicy)
1.5 teaspoon cumin seeds
Salt to taste
2 teaspoon lemon juice (optional...I like it pungent) or 1 teaspoon tamarind

Dry roast cumin, chillies and coconut. Grind the cumin and chillies in a processor and then add the garlic cloves and salt and grind again. Remove it from the processor in to mortar and then add the grated roasted coconut and lime juice and then pound it with a pestle till its all mixed.

Serve with Bhakhri. I use the coconut as I am from the south and we use coconut in everything....:-))) also coconut reduces the spiciness of the chillies and gives the chutney a wholesome flavour.

I served the Bhakri with Thecha, half an onion, curd and Mango achar.

It was yum.

This is so nutritious and so simple.....reiterates the fact that food is best when its simple to prepare.

Sis asked me to call her up today. Problems with the job. Well, I was expecting it to happen some time...that woman kills herself in that job and the appreciation that she gets hardly justifies it. I have seen dodos earn twice her salary...and with the job market in India booming, she can easily get another job with a much higher salary. But anything that I say used to fall on deaf ears. The problem is that we tend to treat our jobs as though our lives depend on it.I used to do that a few years back, but after one bitter experience I decided that I am not going to sacrifice my life for a company and I surely don't regret that decision. Its the same with her...she needs to get a life and have told her that numerous times, but to no use.

Now she finally realised it. So hopefully she has a proper chat with her boss and puts down her papers to explore other possibilities. Woman really needs a life !!!

Now she is terrified to tell dad and mom that she too is flying to London for a holiday.One of her bright ideas is that she flies without telling them and then both of us receive them at Heathrow , since they fly 5 days after her. Well thats the first time you will hear of 2 heart attacks at the Arrivals at Heathrow.:-))

Good sense prevailed (very surprising with my sis) and she finally decided to tell them on sunday.

Supposedly MK told her

MK : ''You fly to London and if Dad calls up will tell you are in the bathroom.
Sis: '' For 3 days if you continuously tell him I am in the bathroom....he will surely think you have murdered me .''

How right is that.....:-)))

So yeah...next week Sis will be here...am so excited.....its nice when she is around....we do hv great fun and she does have agreat sense of humor so we are always laughing....Shame that we did not share this relationship when we were growing up. That time we were always at loggerheads with each other. But I guess thats normal sibling stuff. Am happy that atleast since the time that she got married we have this great communication.

Madam does not want to sit at home in London....so we have planned a Scotland trip next week. With the current weather forecast...we will surely be spending all our time within the hotel in Scotland. :-))

Mom and Dad reach on 11th....so am looking forward to that. Wow a family get together in London.....what more can I ask for? :-)))

Am currently reading Madeleines in Manhattan. Here is the amazon link
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Madeleines-Manhattan-Recipes-Colette-Rossant/dp/0747584265/ref=sr_1_1/026-6622687-1975641?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1183044750&sr=1-1

Sania Mirza out of Wimbledon......well....not a surprise that one.....but she actually got thrashed.....by Nadia Petrova.

Good I did not go and waste money at Wimbledon today.....we had plans to visit to watch this match, but cancelled at the last minute......now I am really glad that I did not go.

Now want either Ana Ivanovic or Jelena J to win.....so ladies....make me happy.....

Yesterday got a surprise when I reached home. D had shorn off all A's hair...poor A looked like a shorn sheep. Actually she looked very cute.She looks more like a boy than a girl. D's logic was that she has anyways decided that A needs to be shaved so that when it grows back the hair quality is better. Now that can happen only in India in Nov, so till then A will sport a boycut. With a tshirt and trousers A looks like a tomboy :-)

one of my colleagues sent me this mail. I generally don't read forwards, but this one made me laugh ....maybe because they are all related to my generation and are so apt :

HEADLINES DATED 1ST JAN 2023:

1. President Sonia gandhi and prime minister priyanka gandhi receive italy prime minister rahul gandhi.
2. Dhoom 17 ready for release.
3. I will play next world cup - sachin tendulkar
4. Salman, Vivek and Abhishek attend aishwarya's 3rd marriage.
5. Mein tau aabhi jawan hu - dev anand.
6. Petrol Rs.999/lt.
7. Kyunki saas bhi kabhi bahu thi completed 2,50,000 episodes & Baa has completed 400yrs.
8. Coach ganguly resigns, as india went out of world cup in 1st round after losing to korea .
9 N.siddhu will launch his own TV channal where he can speak for a whole day.

Movies that I own

All about my mother (Spanish)
Happy Times (Chinese)
Amelie (French)
The Colour Purple (English)
What Have I done to deserve this (Spanish)
Pauline and Paulette (Flemish)
The Road Home (Chinese)
Chungching Express (Chinese)
Sideways (English)
Jamon Jamon (Spanish)
Closer (English)
Rebecca (English)
The Last temptation of Christ (English)
The Passion of the Christ (English)
Kolya (Czech)
Finding Neverland( English)
The English Patient (English)
The Squid and the Whale (English)
Happiness (English)
Cinema Paradiso (Italian)
Secretary (English)
In the mood for love (Chinese)
Tsotsi (English)
Matador (Spanish)
Human Traffic (English)
Young Adam (English)
Chronicles Of Narnia (English)
Shrek 2 (English)
Bambi (English)
Downfall (German)
Bhaji on the Beach (English)
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (Chinese)
The Hero (Chinese)
Zhou Yu's Train (Chinese)
Little Miss Sunshine( English)
Before Sunrise(English)
Before Sunset (English)
Days of being wild (Chinese)
Real women have curves (Spanish)
Delicatessen (French)
When Harry met Sally (English)
Sound Of Music (English)
My Fair Lady (English)
Oklahoma (English)
The King and I (English)
Carousel (English)
Maria Full of Grace ( Spanish)
Central Station (Spanish/Portuguese)
Memento (English)
ET (English)
My big fat Greek wedding (English)
Trainspotting (English)
Love Actually (English)
The Lord of the Rings - Trilogy (English)
Sisterhood of the travelling pants (Spanish)

Yesterday was D's swimming lesson....so I cooked. Looked in the refrigerator but just had cabbage and some brocolli....D used up all teh carrots to make a carrot cake (yet again :-)

D told me to make a curry with Borlotti beans....but a curry didn't sound very appetising...so decided to make a simple Borlotti bean soup....It is so simple to make and so quick and theresult was wonderful....

What is Borlotti bean (picked this description from the BBC website)

A variety of kidney bean, this is a large, plump bean, pinkish brown in colour with reddish brown streaks, widely used in Italian cooking. You can buy borlotti beans dried or tinned - cannellini beans make a good replacement if you can't find them. They have a sweetish flavour with a smooth creamy texture. Good for using in salads and casseroles. The dried variety needs to be soaked in cold water before cooking.

Borlotti Bean and Pasta soup

1 can borlotti bean (remove from the can and wash it to remove the slimy preservative. Optionally you can use dried beans soaked overnight in water and then pressure cooked for 2 whistles)
I can tomato puree
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1 cube vegetable stock in 450 ml boiling water
Crushed pepper (a teaspoon or as per taste. I prefer a bit more since I like my soup hot)
Sea Salt to taste
Sun dried tomato puree (I like the taste of sundried tomato....can be skipped)
A handfull of pasta (I used Fusili, since I did not have any other, but u can use cup shaped pasta)
3-4 table spoon of Olive oil
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

Chop the onion in to small bits. Peel the garlic and crush it. In a pan, heat the oil and put in the onion. Keep sauteing it so that it does not burn. When the onion turns in to a pinkish shade, put in the garlic and keep stirring it for a minute or so.Add the tomato puree and the beans along with the vegetable stock.Add the black pepper and sea salt and let it come to a boil.Let it boil for atleast 10 - 15 minutes so that it loses its ''wateriness''.

In the mean time cook the pasta as per instructions on the pack. However drain off the water when its partially cooked (as we will cook it again later). Sprinkle some olive oil on to the drained pasta so that it does not stick.

When the beans comes to a boil, take half of it out in a food processor and pulverise to a smooth consistency. Pour it back in to the boiling bean pot and add the pasta. This bean paste will help to thicken the soup. Lastly add 3 teaspoons of sundried tomato paste and boil for a few minutes till the pasta is fully cooked.

This should be served in big bowls( with a spoon of extra virgin olive oil sprinkled on it) and can be actually served as a whole meal, since its rich in proteins and carbs.

Serve with hot garlic bread or crusty baguettes. This soup is perfect for a cold or a rainy day. Yeah, its supposed to be bloody summer here in London.....but all week it has been cold, wet and miserable.

Wimbledon time again......

Shame I cannot visit it this year.......they have the no toddler policies, so entering the grounds is up to the Wimbledon authorities' discretion.

Now whom do I think will win.....well.....in the men's game does not look like anyone can touch Federer.....but u never know.....we can have an upset here and there a couple of guys who can actually bring about an upset....Nadal, Ljubicic et al.....

Women's game.....ummm......loads who can win this....favourite is Justine HH, but serena , jelena j, Iva, Venus, Maria, mauresmo, martina etc etc...so many women who can actually win this tournament.....my favourite this year are the serbians....would be good if one of them wins it....or else another one of my favourites...martina H...if she wins it that wd be grand.....time will tell.....

so as of now I wd bet on :

Men' -- Roger F
Women's -- Justine HH

Today had been to this Thai Vegetarian place for lunch...its based in Shoe lane, a couple of minutes away from the office.Jeremy introduced me to this place and its fabulous. Its got only vegetarian stuff and most of the stuff is made of soyabean. Took Jackie for lunch and she liked it. So next week the three of us i.e Jackie, Volker and myself will visit the place again....

D will most probably come to London on Friday afternoon if the weather stays fine. Its surprising that in June we are having such deplorable weather. Its June end and its not bloody summer yet....its cold!!!!

This evening will play tennis.......its becoming pretty regular which is really good. Was just wondering yesterday while I was in the shower (its funny how u get such random but interesting thoughts in the shower) that all the extra curricular activities that I have been doing are all desires lying dormant all these years. These are activities which I always wante dto do, but could not do for some reason or the other.....so now its like a race against time to try and do as much as possible....basically live a full life.

Hence the obsession with tennis, learn mandarin, cook and eat various cuisines, travel, have a multilinguistic dvd collection etc etc.....

Mandarin is going pretty well...I actually have done 25 chapters.....in a couple of months.....its fun...I have uploaded all the lessons on to the ipod and listen to it on my way to the station....its funny how much you can learn while you are walking to the station.....

Its only after I came to the UK that I could indulge in my obsession of food.....I always knew I was crazy about food (and am lucky it does not show on me)...but at home it was always mom who cooked and that too only traditional stuff....so I could not really try out different cuisines and another reason would be that a couple of years back we did not have this retain explosion in Pune and getting the ingredients for cooking Thai, malay, Italian was difficult...atleast it was for me....

however here in London....its so simple to find just about every minute ingredient of every possible cuisine....Its brilliant....

yesterday when i was talking to D in the afternoon, she asked me what I fancied eating for tea and I cd not think of anything. Once I hung up....I was browsing the BBC food website and saw this recipe about scones.....really simple....and I emailed it to D ,picked up the phone and told her to check her mail and make scones for tea....brilliant isn't it....what convenience...browse a website at work....pick up recipes and call up home and demand it....:-)))...If D reads this she is gonna kick me hard.....

She did make them and they were delicious.....had them on their own as well as with clotted cream and strawberries......A also loved them....she kept sayin ''strawberry...strawberry.......''

Just been to the postoffice to post the bank statements for Mom and Dad's visa.....while I was walking towards the post, saw some japanese tourists clicking snaps from every angle of a staircase.....yeah thats right...a set of stairs on the opposite side of the road ...believe that...initially I thought that maybe they could see the St. Paul's Cathedral dome from where they were standing....so I curiously went to take alook.....bit NO....it really was just a staircase....well....thats japanese tourists for u....they are more interested in taking snaps than actually admiring the object that they are clicking.....which sounds funny....but thats my experience of japanese tourists....

Last I blogged was in May 2006......Everyday I think of writing, but it just does not seem to happen.....and now so much has happened since the last time I wrote that I cannot remember half of it....

anyway....its always good to have a fresh start....so this very minute I promise myself that I shall update my blog atleast one in a week....twice if I am in a good mood (for atleast 2 days in the week...which as per my experience is almost impossible...:-))...but one never knows does one ? things might just change and suddenly I may become the sunny person which so many people think I am (thats not me being narcisstic.....but thats the truth...people do think that I am always smiling ....little do they know how miserable I am)