Can you cope with change?

Alright, so this is not a food related post but is it crazy that I literally woke up from bed at 12:23AM to start writing? I spent half hour laying in bed wondering about 'change' and all the changes my life has undergone in the past few years. Does your life undergo constant change or does it feel stagnant? 

Don't get me wrong, I have experienced several moments of stagnation too. Little did I know that these 'moments' were preparing me to experience changes that would influence my life forever. Blah Blah Blah.. I could ramble on and on and bore you with my life history. But I am not going to! Long story short...

A few of my friends, who I consider very close to my heart, recently moved. Here's the kicker.. all of them moved around the same time. How often does it happen to you that just when you develop strong bonds with people , their life undergoes positive transformations and they move? Being a little bit of a cry baby, the news of their individual 'changes' brought tears to my eyes. I was obviously genuinely happy for them and will continue to be, but letting go was difficult. 

My family resides far away from me and when I moved, we all cried. It was hard to let go, but the decision I made was embraced by one and all. Everyone was supportive and we were excited for my future and all the experiences we would have when family visited me. And eventually, we sure did and continue to! I miss some of my closest friends spread across the globe : everybody moved everywhere, so did I. But, what is so different about my friends who recently moved? Why was that more difficult for me to embrace than my own move? Was it because as life progresses, one tends to have fewer but more genuine relationships? Or is it because it is harder to meet people after college and the you want to hold on to the ones you know? Hmm...food for thought!

There is a silly thing I have been doing over the years to cope with all sorts of difficult change...haircuts! I usually maintain a long mane but tend to cut it short everytime an uneasy situation occurs. Don't ask me why, call me silly, but in the moment, this works for me. Ofcourse, in the long run and in the deeper self, a physical/cosmetic change doesn't cut it for me.

Now,let's talk Acceptance. Quite a few of the spiritual books I have read over the years mentions the significance of acceptance. If you accept whatever is occuring around you and simply surrender to the divine, life begins to flow. Living in the moment and simply soaking up every ounce of that 'change' and accepting it is bound to make your life easier. I accompany my physical coping mechanism (aka haircuts), with prayer for comfort, prayer for surrenderance and prayer for acceptance. I will not quote any specific author here as this is simply my understanding of whatever I have read and experienced over the years. This includes my conversation with like-minded individuals and seekers of the ultimate truth (whatever that truth might be). Everything in life is a learning process and experiences help oneself evolve. 

So, I certainly have accepted the fact that my friends have moved and I can finally relate to what my family must have felt like when I moved. Thanks to all that technology, especially Skype, for connecting us to the rest of the world. Advancement in air travel will only shorten distances in the near future and as far as the rising costs of airfare goes, coping with it is something we can all manifest. 

A wise person once said, "Change is inevitable...Impermanence is the only thing that is permanent". 

Good Night :-)

Pasta .... Tweaked

I must admit I have been a little busy lately. But I am not one to order pizza every night to satisfy my appetite. And in this scenario, who wants to spend hours chopping up veggies and meat in the kitchen anyway? My solution to busy days and nights... shortcuts!! A little buying, a little chopping and you will have yourself a delicious meal. My lunch today..Pasta with store bought Vodka Sauce.. tweaked ofcourse! Here's what you need to cook this pasta for one...

1/2 - 3/4 cup uncooked pasta ( I use Rotelle)
1/4 onion, thinly sliced 
Store bought pasta sauce (I just eyeball)
1/2 - 1 tsp red pepper flakes (or more :))
A tiny pad of butter 
Olive oil 
Salt and Pepper, to taste
A saucepan and water

Method 

1)Pour water in a medium size saucepan and bring it to a boil (takes about 10 minutes on medium heat, could take more or less).

2) Once the water comes to a roaring boil, add lots of salt and a splash of olive oil. Adding the salt is key here as this is your only chance to add taste to your pasta. The oil prevents the pasta from sticking. Give this a big stir and throw in the uncooked pasta, stir again. 

3) While the pasta cooks, thinly slice the onion. Let me tell you why, in a bit :)

4)Once the pasta cooks to al-dente (to the bite), reserve some pasta water , drain the pasta, toss it a little, and set aside. Now comes the tweaking part...

5)In the same saucepan ( yes, why would I want to wash yet another utensil ! ), on medium-low heat, add a splash of olive oil, a tiny pad of butter and throw in the sliced onion. Now add a teeny bit of salt and stir it up. Yes, I am caramelizing the onions (yummy). The salt releases the juices from the onions which help them cook well and ultimately caramelize. 

6) Now, you might reach a point of being impatient (just like I did). Add couple spoonfuls of water into the pot in 5 minute intervals and stir. This accelerated the caramelization process. Regardless, be patient, take a small walk around your home, throw in the laundry or dance or something. 

7)In about 10-15 minutes, this is what happened...

8) The onions continue to caramelize after another splash of water. Once they reach a slightly darker shade than the picture above, add the red pepper flakes. Notice the color of the onions now :)

9) Ok, give it one more stir and add the pasta sauce. Your almost done, I promise. Next, wait a minute until all the ingredients incorporate and add the cooked pasta. You might want to add the reserved pasta water if the sauce is too thick for you. Check seasonings, I like a little pepper. 

10) You know whats next!!!

and one more...

I watched an episode of sex and the city and enjoyed this pasta. What better way :-)

Bread and Milk ... just like my grandmother made it, with my twist ofcourse!

I don't make this that often, but my occasional craving for some dessert leads me to make something from whatever available in my pantry and refrigerator. Tonight, I am enjoying a comforting bowl of sweet milk and bread. This is something my grandmother made us once in a while. My version has coconut sugar. Between my husband and I taking the photos, spilling the milk and being partially clumsy, it took us 10 minutes to create this bowl of cozy. 

Here is the ingredient list:

1 small leftover bun of white bread, torn into pieces (no offense to whole grain bread but I do prefer the white version for this recipe).
1-2 teaspoons of coconut sugar 
3/4 glass of milk 

I love the nuttiness of the coconut sugar. For adding another photo's sake, here is the bowl of bread.

Method

1) Warm up the milk in a saucepan or microwave (My impatient self chose to use the microwave). 

2) Sprinkle the coconut sugar over the torn pieces of bread. We added only a spoonful of sugar. Thanks to the blurry image, my husband had to pose for another one. 

3) Spill the warm milk over the counter for some good luck (oops!).

 

4) Now, pour the warm milk over the bread and sugar mixture.

5)Press the bread into the milk, very gently and wait a few seconds before you indugle. Let the bread soak up all that sweetness.

Good Night :-) 

My childhood favorite snack.. rediscovered!

To everyone who grew up eating this snack, this post is dedicated to you...

I, like most of you, love snacking. This said, I do not promote unhealthy foods at all. A lot of you grew up eating one or the other snack that has found its place in your heart. One of my favorite was this particular fried tubular chip snack made with rice flour, salt, vegetable oil and baking powder. Growing up in Goa, India, this was widely available on roadside stalls or ma and pa shops. My mother would not let us eat too many at a time (considering the fact that these are fried). The best way to enjoy them is to stick each tube in your finger and munch away (pardon my fingers but I fed these to myself, so it doesn't really matter :) ) Don't ask me how to make these, I will never learn and never master the art. I will not dare to. 

I was ecstatic to discover these at a local Indian grocery store yesterday. I couldn't remember the last time I ate them, so you can only imagine how excited I was to find one of my childhood favorite snacks in America. Do you have a childhood favorite snack you would like to tell me about? Go ahead. 

xoxo

Masala Chai

I am starting my blog with my favorite beverage .. Masala Chai. This morning kick starter and afternoon-slump fixer is near and dear to my heart. At an age when we were allowed to drink it, my mother made us chai every morning. Her magic touch added extra sweetness to this already delicious beverage. I wasn't very good at making chai until about two years ago, when a close family friend shared her version of it. Every family has their own version of chai and I cannot say that one is better than the other.

I must admit I have cheated here a little bit, by purchasing a pre-made chai spice blend (which in my defense, a lot of people do). So, let me stop rambling away and share with you one of my recipes for Masala Chai. 

Here is the ingredient list (for one cup of chai):

1/2 cup milk (I used 2% organic)
1/2 cup water 
1 heaping tablespoon loose black Indian tea leaves 
1 teaspoon chai masala
Sweetner to taste ( I used organic honey instead of sugar )
A strainer 

                     Method:

        1) Add to a saucepan, the milk and                           water. 

   Those are only bubbles from adding the liquids (the mixture hasn't started boiling yet). Turn up the heat to medium. 

     2) Add the chai masala into the liquid                       mixture. 

And then, this is what it looks like:

    3) Bring the blend to a boil (on medium heat itself). Be patient here, but do watch the saucepan. Spilt milk is obviously a headache to clean :)

    4)Once the mixture comes to a boil, add the tea leaves. This is what the brand I used looks like. 

5) Let the mixture come to a rapid boil. At this stage, you might want to turn the heat high and medium-low in intervals. This ensures the even distribution of the tea leaves in the liquid (do I sound like a science nut? haha). So, this is what it should look like. You can occasionally stir the mixture (Do NOT take your eyes off the chai).

6) Give it one last stir and strain the chai directly into your mug. You didn't think I could strain AND take a picture at the same time, did you? 

Here is the final product:

7) Lastly, add your sweetner. I chose honey instead of sugar.

Enjoy..this said, the rains and piping hot samosas will be the icing on top of the cake for this chai!! 

An Introduction ..

Dear all,

I am new to the world of blogging. YES!!! While the rest of you have mastered this art, I have managed to blog in my own head. Today is the day I choose to bring my thoughts and ideas to fruition and share them with the world (and I am determined to not get lazy about it). 

While I intend to be as consistent with my posts as possible, I am bound to write about whatever it is that I think of. You will find a lot of food related posts in here as I LOVE good food. Being a home cook has forced me to experiment with different ingredients and being Indian has taught me to enjoy feeding people. FYI, I don't own a fancy SLR camera, just a simple (but pretty and metallic pink) Sony Cybershot works for me. So, pardon me if you find my photography amateuristic.  

I really do hope you enjoy reading my posts and care to share them with your friends. 

Thank You :-)

XOXO