Watched Zohan on Friday with my sis and cuz from B'glore. I didnt expect to enjoy it as much as I did, laughing at the bawdy jokes and getting heartily sick of the overuse of hummus. Adam Sandler, great for once, really went all the way out to create something new. And, he was quite convincing. And, he was supported by a great cast, which helped make me laugh. My sis and cuz were shocked and scandalized and did not like the movie as much as I did. Because of which, I never really admitted how much I enjoyed it.
The movie was followed by lunch at Thai Chi with their very excellent seafood dishes. I'd been there before and everything we'd ordered had been great so I took these two. I'm not sure how much cuz liked it but sis was quite excited to sample the spread of wontons, butter-garlic fried prawns, seafood rice, some spicy prawns with capsicums and a very subtly flavoured chicken and mushrooms in chilly oyster sauce. For dinner, I went to Pop Tate's with my husband with very little appetite which was later spurred on thanks to some excellent Sula Sparkling wine and a cheese-prawn pizza. I think I'm getting a bit old for eating out twice in one day. I nibbled at every thing and had a quarter portion of the Roast chicken sizzler although I did finish my portion of wine.
Sunday was our turn to cook and my husband basically took over the vegetables and prawns (yes, we went and bought some on sunday as we'd not had our fill of it on friday) while I slaved over the spaghetti which was magically transformed into hakka noodles. I didnt have to chop any of those vegetables though. We'd been to Foodland in the morning, a supermarket that seems to be stocking well recently, and bought Mushroom Soya Sauce, veggies, fresh prawns on ice and a few other things. I even had a look (for the first time in my life) at Bombay Duck sprawled out on ice. They had a face like a tiny angler fish and a fleshy body that was six times bigger than its head. Or more. The fatty lumps sat there looking very appetizing and we just looked at them as we had no idea how to cook them.
He cooked the prawns well with lots of butter, ginger-garlic, onion, chilli flakes, red chilli powder, a tiny wee bit garam masala, generous dashes of oregano, and the mushroom soya sauce. It turned out really well, the fishy taste of prawns melding well with the spice and sauces. Not to mention the buttery taste that squeezed out the minute you bit into a prawn.
We took a walk in the evening and sat on the edge of a park, he digging into a small cup of vanilla icecream (to battle acidity) while I had a thin can of Pepsi. I'm sure most people passing by (who stared at me) thought the Pepsi can was a can of beer or something. I've never received such intense stares before and the place was pretty much in the shadows with a dim light from the half-working street lamps lining the curve of the road. Back home, I finished my detective-lawyer fiction 'Perry Mason and the Gold-digger's Purse' which I liked. Very complex plot followed by a nice work of detection and logic for uncovering the plot. When you read such books, you realize that it's not too hard to write detective fiction. But it's infinitely hard to stick to logic in your story and tiny details such as the time gaps when the victim was visited by so and so. If you focus too much on the details, your head starts to spin but if you cruise very coolly through the story then it's a breeze, basically. It's not too hard to follow. Plus, these books are really easy reads and come as a blessing between really heavy books.
I do wish Strand was having a sale right now. The rains have stopped and I need to go to that part of town. And buy some books!
:)
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Busy Weekend
We spent over four hours travelling to and from the Queen of Suburbs - Bandra. That's really something, considering we were invited to lunch at Taj Lands End, Vista Restaurant. It's a 24-hour restaurant, serving you a buffet breakfast/lunch/dinner. The last time I'd been there with my best friend, I'd had a wonderful cheesecake and tiramisu, the two desserts I remembered well over the one year that followed my visit. Everything else paled into the background. This time, however, with the change of chef also came a change of the dessert buffet, leaving most things unchanged on the main buffet - especially the biryanis, curries and fried or baked fish. The change in the dessert buffet heavily leaned towards chocolate, which I love, with a really big gap - no tiramisu, no cheesecake.
Despite that minor disappointment, there was a really wonderful dish called The French Pudding. Bright yellow sauce covering generous slices of bread with the crust on. The first spoonful hooked me in and I wish I'd had more space in my stomach for this one beautifully simple yet incredibly tasty dessert. It's more of comfort food than dessert though, something you must have after dinner when watching Sex and the City in your pajamas. However, I'd had too much to eat at lunch and was struggling with the hot chocolate pudding and other not-as-heavenly tidbits on my plate. The mousse-chocolate pudding combo was good, a sweet-bitter combination.
A saffroned chicken biryani, scrumptious and perfectly spiced mutton curry, subtly fried fish atop a neat slice of beetroot and citrus fruit, yummy and perfectly tender yet crunchable asparagus and prawn salad, good bread and a nice shorba were the other highlights of the buffet. All accompanied with a glass or two of Sula Champagne.
That was my wonderfully relaxed in the interim with crazy to-and-fro commuting from one end of Bombay to its outermost regions. I dont think this travel should be done by road, a train would've been much faster.
I also had fun on the Sunday that followed, coz the Saturday pretty much ended by sprawling on the bed watching TV endlessly until we slept - too bone tired to move except for a glass of milk as dinner. You just could not work up an appetite after what you ate at lunch, which should be more aptly called a Banquet.
I cooked with my husband on Sunday. We got chicken, some vegetables and this wonderful Thai curry (Red) sauce packet that we added a lot of coconut milk to and created a curry in less than half an hour. The chicken and veggies simmered beautifully together and we created other masterpieces of our own; I created masoor usal (made with whole lentils and lots of pav bhaji masala, chilli powder and onions) while my husband created his signature dish of sliced sausages sauteed with thinly julliened capsicum and long slices of onions well-browned on a non-stick pan. My mother-in-law made rice and my father-in-law came in to check we were getting on with finishing the lunch thanks to the aromatic smells that escaped into the living room.
After a long siesta, we got up to go shopping for my mother-in-law's belated birthday present. A few scary steps up this really good two-storied shop was a humungous selection of under 600 rs and over 1000 rs sarees. The sarees were really unique and beautiful. My MIL chose two and we went downstairs to pay for them, happily getting a discount.
We shared a chicken burger, fries, coke and had a Softy ice-cream each before we took the bus back home. We spent the rest of our Sunday night battling Monday-morning blues and stuck on to the telly.
:)
Despite that minor disappointment, there was a really wonderful dish called The French Pudding. Bright yellow sauce covering generous slices of bread with the crust on. The first spoonful hooked me in and I wish I'd had more space in my stomach for this one beautifully simple yet incredibly tasty dessert. It's more of comfort food than dessert though, something you must have after dinner when watching Sex and the City in your pajamas. However, I'd had too much to eat at lunch and was struggling with the hot chocolate pudding and other not-as-heavenly tidbits on my plate. The mousse-chocolate pudding combo was good, a sweet-bitter combination.
A saffroned chicken biryani, scrumptious and perfectly spiced mutton curry, subtly fried fish atop a neat slice of beetroot and citrus fruit, yummy and perfectly tender yet crunchable asparagus and prawn salad, good bread and a nice shorba were the other highlights of the buffet. All accompanied with a glass or two of Sula Champagne.
That was my wonderfully relaxed in the interim with crazy to-and-fro commuting from one end of Bombay to its outermost regions. I dont think this travel should be done by road, a train would've been much faster.
I also had fun on the Sunday that followed, coz the Saturday pretty much ended by sprawling on the bed watching TV endlessly until we slept - too bone tired to move except for a glass of milk as dinner. You just could not work up an appetite after what you ate at lunch, which should be more aptly called a Banquet.
I cooked with my husband on Sunday. We got chicken, some vegetables and this wonderful Thai curry (Red) sauce packet that we added a lot of coconut milk to and created a curry in less than half an hour. The chicken and veggies simmered beautifully together and we created other masterpieces of our own; I created masoor usal (made with whole lentils and lots of pav bhaji masala, chilli powder and onions) while my husband created his signature dish of sliced sausages sauteed with thinly julliened capsicum and long slices of onions well-browned on a non-stick pan. My mother-in-law made rice and my father-in-law came in to check we were getting on with finishing the lunch thanks to the aromatic smells that escaped into the living room.
After a long siesta, we got up to go shopping for my mother-in-law's belated birthday present. A few scary steps up this really good two-storied shop was a humungous selection of under 600 rs and over 1000 rs sarees. The sarees were really unique and beautiful. My MIL chose two and we went downstairs to pay for them, happily getting a discount.
We shared a chicken burger, fries, coke and had a Softy ice-cream each before we took the bus back home. We spent the rest of our Sunday night battling Monday-morning blues and stuck on to the telly.
:)
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Break, Ho!
I get a break in the middle of the day. The girl sending me assignments to work on from home is sending me the next lot this evening. There's a whole, comfortable 1.5 hour blanket under which I can snooooooze....
Not that I dont nap (Best Part about working from home), but today's email gave me a license to do it with a "thanks" at the end of it. Plus, a famous jewellery store has a live demo of jewellers working to create diamond jewellery right near where I live. I'm planning to take everyone in my home there.
This Saturday, I'm taking my husband to meet my best friend for lunch (safe after marriage :P). She's giving us lunch. Where is a secret until the next post which will see me elaborating on every small detail of my stupendous lunch.
For now, I snooze under a great big collection of Jeffrey Archer's short stories.
Ahhhhh!
Not that I dont nap (Best Part about working from home), but today's email gave me a license to do it with a "thanks" at the end of it. Plus, a famous jewellery store has a live demo of jewellers working to create diamond jewellery right near where I live. I'm planning to take everyone in my home there.
This Saturday, I'm taking my husband to meet my best friend for lunch (safe after marriage :P). She's giving us lunch. Where is a secret until the next post which will see me elaborating on every small detail of my stupendous lunch.
For now, I snooze under a great big collection of Jeffrey Archer's short stories.
Ahhhhh!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Road to Freedom...
A two-hour bus and rickshaw ride from the outskirts of Bombay to its innermost suburbs. Welcomed by the sight of marinating chicken and browning gravy with carrot salad on the side. The aroma of jeera rice wafted through the house. I dont think I need to specifically tell anyone reading this that I went home last Friday.
I need only the smallest reason to visit home. On Friday, I'd made plans to meet a friend who's getting married in what I thought was a Neeta Lulla outfit. Turns out she didnt like the range that escalated from 60,000 Rs. No VFM, sadly. She stuck to a bright red ensemble from Seasons. After making me wait for more than half an hour in a cold waiting room, she shimmered in and we floated out after a few minutes of how's it goings and how do you feel about the weddings. I had a look at the jewellery she was taking with her to Bhuleshwar market and happily noticed how my wedding present to her (more jewellery) seemed to fit right in with her collection and taste.
I had two fun-filled days at home, zipping from one suburb to another, stocking up on mom's preparations (made specially for me) and going for a function where everyone was glad to see me. After two "You've put on weight!!" observations, I was pleased to receive a compliment from an unexpected source. It was a very pretty one too. "She looks even more beautiful after marriage."
I started my exercise regime again this morning.
I need only the smallest reason to visit home. On Friday, I'd made plans to meet a friend who's getting married in what I thought was a Neeta Lulla outfit. Turns out she didnt like the range that escalated from 60,000 Rs. No VFM, sadly. She stuck to a bright red ensemble from Seasons. After making me wait for more than half an hour in a cold waiting room, she shimmered in and we floated out after a few minutes of how's it goings and how do you feel about the weddings. I had a look at the jewellery she was taking with her to Bhuleshwar market and happily noticed how my wedding present to her (more jewellery) seemed to fit right in with her collection and taste.
I had two fun-filled days at home, zipping from one suburb to another, stocking up on mom's preparations (made specially for me) and going for a function where everyone was glad to see me. After two "You've put on weight!!" observations, I was pleased to receive a compliment from an unexpected source. It was a very pretty one too. "She looks even more beautiful after marriage."
I started my exercise regime again this morning.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
A time to celebrate…
The countdown to our anniversary begins. It was nine months down in August. We congratulated each other over a chicken burger and Coke at Mc Donald’s. September began with birthdays, my mother-in-law and dad had their birthdays on the 1st and 2nd Sept respectively. Flower bouquets reached both residences quite early in the day and telephone calls followed. Yesterday was Ganesh Chaturthi, the start of a ten-day (this year it’s twelve days) celebration till the Visarjan when Ganesh idols are immersed at various beaches all over Bombay. A few lakes in Thane are also chosen for immersion although one isn’t sure how safe it is if residents will be using the lake water. Bombay seas are already eco unfriendly.
I went over the area I live in, visiting people who have Ganesh idols at home. A public school here has the Ganesh idol in its premises and made a fantastic decoration scene of the different forts and legendary warriors of Maharashtra, foremost among the warriors being, of course, Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj. We visited the temple and one other pandal nearby. While the temple had a fixed installation, the pandals would soon immerse their idols depending on the day they chose. The housing society I live in usually brings in Ganesh every year but this year, an important committee member passed away and there was a joint decision to not bring in the idol this time. It’s usually the rule that once you decide to get the idol and immerse it, following various rituals and important days, you must follow the tradition through without break. They broke it this year. I don’t know what the repercussions are, but it’s a matter of faith, which one believes must remain unbroken.
We had a good holiday although I worked and so did my husband, but we relaxed and had some fun in that process. We would take small breaks and engage in harmless banter or just talk about nothing in particular. Last night, though, we had a serious discussion on the future. My usually upbeat husband was a bit depressed, wallowing in some negative thoughts and uncertainties, but we talked it over and he felt much more positive. Even for me, talking always helps.
Nine months over. Three to go.
I went over the area I live in, visiting people who have Ganesh idols at home. A public school here has the Ganesh idol in its premises and made a fantastic decoration scene of the different forts and legendary warriors of Maharashtra, foremost among the warriors being, of course, Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj. We visited the temple and one other pandal nearby. While the temple had a fixed installation, the pandals would soon immerse their idols depending on the day they chose. The housing society I live in usually brings in Ganesh every year but this year, an important committee member passed away and there was a joint decision to not bring in the idol this time. It’s usually the rule that once you decide to get the idol and immerse it, following various rituals and important days, you must follow the tradition through without break. They broke it this year. I don’t know what the repercussions are, but it’s a matter of faith, which one believes must remain unbroken.
We had a good holiday although I worked and so did my husband, but we relaxed and had some fun in that process. We would take small breaks and engage in harmless banter or just talk about nothing in particular. Last night, though, we had a serious discussion on the future. My usually upbeat husband was a bit depressed, wallowing in some negative thoughts and uncertainties, but we talked it over and he felt much more positive. Even for me, talking always helps.
Nine months over. Three to go.
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