Illusions.....

I am like this only

noreply@blogger.com (Indi Cook) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 08:08:00 +0000

As soon as I came to work this morning, I went to the canteen to make a cup of coffee for myself. Here it is only instant coffee with sugar and creamer...don't like it too much, but I just need this cuppa to start my day. We have a hot water dispenser and the water is really boiling hot. When I started pouring the hot water into my mug, thinking of various things as usual, I suddenly felt my hand hot and burning. I had accidentally poured the boiling water on my hand! I immediately put my cup down and ran my hand under the tap water to cool it down and then tried waving it up and down in the air to reduce the burning sensation. Though my hand was scalding, I was cool as a cucumber throughout. And then it hit me. I did not scream out in pain at all. In fact, whenever I'm hurt, have a fall, in fact even when involved in an accident, I don't scream. At all, period.

But, I will scream my head off when I see a lizard/insects or break glassware/crockery or is somebody sneaks up on me from behind. Is this some sort of a syndrome or a disease? Maybe I'm just weird this way.

Jurrasic Singapore

noreply@blogger.com (Indi Cook) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 02:22:00 +0000

I still remember when I first moved to Singapore, how amazed I was that "Milo" was one popular drink at the roadside stalls or hawker centres as they call here. They are even more popular than tea/coffee & coke. I mean, as a kid, I used to run miles away from such drinks and my mom really had a tough time getting me to drink 2 glasses of Milo/Boost a day (morning and evening) and now, here I am in a country that has Milo as its national drink ! My mom still can't stop smirking. Talk about ironies.

Anyhow, just like we have our variations in tea, coffee, the Singaporeans, have their versions of Milo as we R discovered long time back. I found out about it only recently.

Milo Dinosaur (a cup of milo with an extra spoonful of powdered undissolved Milo added to it) and Milo Godzilla (a cup of Milo with ice cream or topped with whipped cream). Now we're waiting for Milo T-Rex ! (nope that does'nt exist yet, I think !)

Of course, R loves both of them and keeps trying to make me drink it as well. A healthy and yummy option, he says.

From Mummy to Hubby....sins of my previous janma, I guess. Sigh !

What's in a name!

noreply@blogger.com (Indi Cook) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:07:00 +0000

My f-i-l has such a problem pronouncing names and whenever he visits us, he leaves us with a lot of gems. Here is one such....
After returning from a walk, this is the conversation we had :
FIL : You know, I met this nice Indian lady at the park today. She stays just opposite the park. I've given her your phone # and she said she'll call in a while to give her address.
Me : Oh ! That's nice. What's the lady's name?
FIL : (with an absolutely straight face): Mineral Rani
Me : Staring at him open mouthed : Mineral Rani???
Trinng trring...telephone ghanti interrupts.
Me, picking up the phone : Hello
Person on the other end : Hello, I just met "my FIL's name" at the park and I told him I'll call. My name is Mrinalini.

Mrinalini to Mineral Rani...after all, what's in a name, eh ?

Myriad Tastes of India

noreply@blogger.com (Indi Cook) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 08:10:00 +0000

(Click on the image to see it enlarged)

Got this as a forward. Thought I'll post it here for posterity. Lots of dishes (veggie ones, of course) I hadn't heard of at all and they are in the must try list..! What a sad state of affairs :(

Now, another reason to travel to all the different states of India.

How do you explain....

noreply@blogger.com (Indi Cook) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 03:44:00 +0000

to a Foreigner, when on a trip to India, he asks you...

- that if sarees are supposed to be modest covering the woman from head to toe, then why does it cover in the front and the back is left bare ?!!!!!. (after seeing a lot of backless choli's on a domestic flight)

- that if right way of eating is only by one hand and that too, the right hand being the norm, then why only "saunf" is put in the left hand and eaten ...! (after seeing some of my colleagues placing a spoonful of suanf in their left hand and then throwing the entire lot into their mouths :) )

I'm not a Parent, but....

noreply@blogger.com (Indi Cook) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 07:25:00 +0000

...I just don't understand parents who insist on calling each other as Mamma and Dadda (or whatever the child calls them) even when the child is not around...!

Do you?

Jumping Back In.......

noreply@blogger.com (Indi Cook) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:51:00 +0000

..after a lot of hedging and hawing. Into blogging, that is. Here's hoping I'll stick around for a long time or alteast sometime.

Recipe Time - Simple Cabbage Palya

noreply@blogger.com (Indi Cook) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:36:00 +0000

Cabbage is a vegetable that is available all through the year here in Singapore, and the quality that you get her is excellent. Even when there are no other vegetables available, we'll always find fresh cabbage ! So much so that R brings home cabbage every week.....when I start complaining about too much cabbage, he stops bringing it for a week, but then its back to cabbage the week after. Though can't say I blame him..as I said, this veggie is available all the time !
I keep trying various ways to use cabbage...from paratha, to kofta, to cabbage rice, to soup, to sambhar..and even muthias (though I'm not a Gujju :)). One evening, after a tiring day at work, I raided my fridge to see what I can prepare quickly for dinner. And sure enough, sitting in our veggie tray was the unexciting cabbage. Too tired to go out and get something else, I decided I'll make a simple cabbage palya, though without the usual "palya pudi" or curry powder that we use normally. Just with 3 to 4 ingredients, this palya turned out to be a keeper ...so much so that, nowadays R brings cabbage so that I can specifically make this palya :))
Here's what's needed :
- Finely chopped cabbage -3 cups (this reduces in size once cooked)
- Grated ginger - 3 tbsp
- Green Chillies - 2 -3 chopped as preferred
- Salt to taste
- Lime juice - 1 tsp
- Oil - 2 tsp
-Jeera - 1 tsp
Method :
- Heat oil in a kadai and add in jeera. When it splutters, add the ginger and green chillies and saute it for sometime. Then add in the cabbage and a little water and allow the cabbage to cook till done. Alternatively, the cabbage can be cooked in the microwave for 3 - 4 mintues till done. I did it this way. Once the cabbage cooks, add salt and lime juice and tada...that's it. Can garnish with coriander.

What is good about this is the combination of ginger with cabbage - it's really an unusual, yet wonderful taste. R and I loved it !

Ever Ever After

noreply@blogger.com (Indi Cook) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 03:20:00 +0000

I've never ever deeply thought about death or the life after death. But lately, have been thinking about it quite a bit. Two people who I cared for passed away recently. One was an old family friend turned into a relation (his brother married my sister) who I knew for more than 15 years. Such a tragedy.
The other was a friend who I got to know when I came to Singapore who unfortunately lost his battle against cancer, just one day after he celebrated his 34th birthday. My heart goes out to the respective spouses and parents. The fact that both of them (though unrelated to each other) passed away within 15 days of each other made me start thinking more about death, about what happens after, the reason for existence and such questions.
While my mind has been searching for answers, R gave me a book to read. Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian L Weiss. This book is a true story of a young psychiatrist and his patient. Its quite interesting about how this patient, Catherine is able to remember a lot of her past lives right from 1836 AD under hypnosis. Fascinating. She claims that she so far has had 86 lives. Still have not finished the book, but what I find intersting is that when talking about her past life, she mentions the people she knows in this life. In one such life, the psychiatrist was apparently her teacher. Her daughter in one of her past lives is apparently her neice in her current life. Apparently groups of souls tend to reincarnate together again and again, working out their karma. This reincarnation happens till the soul acheives their karma and then moves on to an "in-between" state. Riveting. Can't wait to finish this book ...but would recommend everbody to read this one. It is an eye opener.

It's a Blogging World out there !

noreply@blogger.com (Indi Cook) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 08:58:00 +0000

Have been addicted to blogs for a while, actually, make that a long while. And here, I mean, addicted to reading blogs. Been hooked on to the Mad Family and their antics, the Wise Women of the Web as she is so rightly called, plenty more of mom bloggers, lots of food blogs, some jottings n musings, some filmy blogs and scores of others. I was really getting a good peek into some aspects of their world and almost seemed to know some of them. Sometimes, I even feel that I can pick up the phone and call some of them and talk to them like a friend and then it hits me.....they don't know me ! While I read their blogs, I rarely comment. Why, I'm really not sure - maybe I worry about their opinion of me, that I will probably come across as stupid and immature, or maybe I'm just being plain lazy ! I've decided to make an attempt to comment more often on the blogs I read and to revive this blog that I've started as well. Probably will post some recipes, some movie reviews, some happenings....a little of bit of something that is part of my life.

So see you soon.

Stir Fry Sweet Beans

noreply@blogger.com (Indi Cook) — Fri, 16 May 2008 07:47:00 +0000

It is my husband, R, who usually buys veggies and sometimes he brings something which I have not seen before, forget about even cooking it !

One such thing that he picked up is Sweet Beans
Now, I thought this was the regular peas with the skin and was removing the seeds one by one, all the time cursing R since we have enough frozen peas at home. R saw what I was doing and almost screamed !
R : "That's not the way to do it...you have to use the whole pod and not deseed it"
Me : "Are you sure ?" (in my mind - like hell you do...you've never even made tea before marriage !)
R : " Yes - use the whole pod. Trust me."
Me: (reluctantly) OK. But if the whatever I make does not taste good, you have to eat the whole thing anyway !
So, after thinking a while, I decided to make a simple "stir fry" and this it turned out is in the above picture...
Ingredients :
Sweet Beans : around 200 gms cut into bite size peices
Salt, Pepper to taste
Garam Masala or Kitchen King Masala : 1 tsp
Oil : 1 tbsp
Jeera/Cumin Seeds : 1 tsp
Hing - a pinch
Method :
In a kadai/pan, heat oil for a second or two and add jeera and hing till it splutters/crackles,. Then add the cut sweet beans and fry for around 5 mins. Can add very little water (just a sprinkle) if required. Once you feel that the beans are slightly tender, add salt and pepper to taste. Finally add garam masala or Kitchen King masala, stir the pan and keep it closed for another 2 minutes. Then turn off the gas and viola !, the stir fry is ready. Simple, very quick and quite tasty, I must say.
As a variation and to give it colour, can also add in some grated carrot !
And of course, R loved it and then had to say...I told you so !!!!

PS : Please, please, ignore the quality of the picture. I'm just a novice ...working towards improving my food blog skills

A cooking faux paux

noreply@blogger.com (Indi Cook) — Mon, 05 May 2008 06:07:00 +0000

First a preamble......I think I'm pretty ok cook. Sometimes I dish up something absolutely delicious, much to my own surprise, and at the othertimes, I come up with some equally fantastic duds !
For the past 1 year, I've been hooked on "food blogs" ...mostly Indian food blogs. With so many recipes posted topped up with the wonderful pohtographs, it was not a surprise that I got tempted to try them one by one. Most of the times, I just jot the recipe down on a post it and then keep it my little recipe book. I must say that most of the recipes tried out like this turned out to be quite good.
And then disaster happened ...
And like they say, pride comes before a fall and so it happend. I browsed a recipe of Ragi Idlis from aayisrecipes and thought that this would be a good one to try as I'm always in a fix on what to cook for breakfast. But, instead of jotting the recipe down, me the great, just read through the recipe and figured that this recipe has only 2 items ....so, what''s the big deal..I can remember this much, can't I.
So, I went about cooking this breakfast this morning. Even while eating it, I did not realise that I made a mistake...though I did not like the taste too much, I thought it was because I do not like idlis too much. But then, when I came into the office this morning, I checked the recipe again and realised that while I had got the proportions right, I got the ingredients mixed up...instead of 1 1/4 of ragi flour to 3/4 of urad dal, I did 1 1/4 of urad dal !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was not there to hear my DH's comments on this as I left early....guess I'll hear it when I go back home. Sigh !
I hope I've learnt a lesson now !

No Mention

noreply@blogger.com (Indi Cook) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 09:38:00 +0000

Just heard the phrase "no mention" from another colleague on chat as a response to my "thanks". Have not heard this phrase for quite a while. I remember I used to use it a lot when I was a kid in school and then "no mention" changed to "mention not" and then completely stopped using this altogether. Now its just "your welcome" or "my pleasure". I thought that "no mention" was obsolete until yesterday...!

A Chairy Tale ..!

noreply@blogger.com (Indi Cook) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 02:00:00 +0000

One chair of our dining table broke. The seat magically (yes, I kid you not!) developed a neat little crack right in the centre....!...and no, this was not the result of a domestic argument. My hubby and I are still wondering how the hell this happened.. did we accidentally drop the chair? Did somebody climb on it? Nada to both and other such ...we're still clueless.

My F-I-L (my in laws are currently visiting us) came up with this theory that if one sits for long hours on a chair, this happens !!! What???? I couldn't believe he said that. What are chairs for, if not for sitting for long hours, I asked. The reply - a shrug. Well, atleast he had an explanation..or had he??

It is difficult here in Singapore to find people that do these small repair/odd jobs. When we asked around, we got a standard response - either sell your current dining table and get a new one or just live with a broken chair !!!! Well, since we can't do the first (we took the house, furnished), I guess we need to live with the broken chair. Sigh ! Another reason why I miss India !!!!!

My first post !!

noreply@blogger.com (Indi Cook) — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 03:04:00 +0000

What was I thinking ! Really...! Not sure why I started a blog. Is it b'cos everyone has it??? I really don't know. Anyway...no harm in giving it a try and seeing how it goes....

So, let's see...