I can have my cake and eat it too!

I was never a “kitchen person”. During my teen years , Mom would call me to watch her cook. I would blatantly refuse! I would chop everything for her, promise to clean swab and do anything which didnt involve the cooking process. Somewhere along this time I learnt to make tea cause it was as important to me as the Air I breathe. At 18 , I went to Mangalore to pursue my Undergrad and lived at my aunt’s place before I moved to the hostel(more of a Brit word for Dorms). Same story there, helped my Aunt with all the chores but refused to learn to cook from her. Now , my Aunt’s daughter is a year younger than me and she was a hardcore foodie and still is:). She would love to go to the kitchen in her free time and whip up something and I would enjoy the benefits.I didnt get as much excitement from being in the kitchen as she would . I would rather be curled up in a bed with a book:). My Aunt used to whine to my Mom everytime she met her how I needed to be domesticated a little:).

Fast forward , 5 years later..Before I left for LA,,mom begged and pleaded with me to learn something so I wouldnt have to survive on burgers and other junk. Same response from me with and added “when the time comes to eat , I will learn:P” (doesnt make sense..LOL). The first two semesters passed by with boiled chicken/boiled rice and moong (Btw this is a great diet  for weight Loss!). DH (we werent dating then) , had stopped by my house and was in utter horror to see what I had cooked..err boiled (rice and moong) and he and his roomate treated me to dinner that night:). Here are some Crappy Iphone Pics of the Cake.

Come Summer of 2005, No classes to take and I just had a 40 hr a week University Job. Bro had come to spend some time with me  and he loved to eat (besides I could cook a little better than him!). So I started looking up recipes on the web /taking some from mom and started slowly. It got better and better (I went from boiling to sauteing and frying:) ) and the lbs added on. When I moved to SJC in 06 , I would whip up something on and off for DH and he would take it in his stride to encourage and praise me. (Digression–DH used to cook on and off for me while in LA and I owe a tiny bit of my inspiration to him..Now he claims he has lost his cooking powers..sheesh:() ..From 2007 there was no  looking back and with the change in Job in 2008 I had more time on my hands. I even invited people over to dinner and cooked 3 course meals:).

The only thing I hadnt ventured into was baking . I used readymade cake-mixes for the fear of  creating cake disasters. When I wanted to venture into it, I was recovering from a Rotator cuff injury and mom warned me against it without a Stand Mixer.When I look at the Stand Mixers , I started counting how many cakes I could get at Le Patissiere with the cost of the Stand Mixer .Then luck had it and I stumbled on this piece of beauty , a Cuisinart Hand/Stand mixer .

As soon as it arrived last week , I ripped the box apart and soaked the tutti fruiti in Rum. This weekend I made an Xmas Fruit Cake from scratch and the result was worth the effort. I used Shn’s recipe (http://kitchenmishmash.blogspot.com/2007/12/fruit-cake-rich-christmas-tradition-of.html) and another one which my friend A had tried and tested. In my excitement of cooling the cake a piece came off and it tasted heavenly:). But this cake needs to be wrapped and kept for 5 days before it can be tasted and I have kept it out of sight:).

Here are some crappy IPhone pics of the Cake..Enjoy!

Getting Ready to go in the oven

All done

His & Hers

I hope I can whip up some more, click better pics and have all of you drooling over your keyboard:).Will update with effect of the cake on the Taste Buds soon! Cousin P, all that pestering did pay off!

Have a great Thanksgiving you all!

If your here..

…Say Hello!..I’ve seen a little more blog traffice these days (besides the Santa Clara,Ca and Plano,Texas..which are both impersonations of me!).

I know I dont have much up as yet (25 posts in 3 yearssssssss..baad).  But there’s alot of thoughts roaming on top floor:) and they will soon be out here.

Christmas if finally in sight . I love this time of the year .I’ve soaked the tutti fruiti in Rum for a Xmas Cake I plan to bake.-Mo Im almost tempted to eat the soaked fruits from the bowl!. The in-laws will be here a few days before Thanksgiving and my MIL will work up her magic in the kitchen to make our first Xmas as a married couple something to remember!

Will be back soon..

-Bin

Something to get all choked up about..

A coworker just sent me this and it hit me right in the head so I though I’d share it with all of you:

 

How to Dance in the Rain

It was a busy morning, about 8:30 , when an elderly gentleman in his 80s arrived at the hospital to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am.

I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor’s  appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry.

The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health.

He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer’s Disease.

As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late.

He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised, and asked him, ‘And you still go every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are?’

He smiled as he patted my hand and said,

‘She doesn’t know me,but I still know who she is.’

I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought,

‘That is the kind of love I want in my life.’

True love is neither physical, nor romantic.

True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.

With all the jokes and fun that are in e-mails, sometimes there is one that comes along that has an important message. This one I thought I could share with you.

The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

I hope you share this with someone you care about.

I just did.

‘Life isn’t about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.

To Hubby dearest who promises he will read my blog someday: I luuuurve you but you still need to the dishes every day. I just will not let go of that:).Yes friends, I am mean that way:D

-Bin

 

 

When I retire…

I got up today morning not wanting to do anything. Ever had days like that? Not that I had a tiring day yesterday . PC and I just drove to Santa Cruz and back.digression-It was a lovely day, we walked along the wharf, stopped by at the farmer’s market and back.

So anyway , coming back to what I originally began to write about. I thought I would at least  make lunch and we would head to church and come back( hate to miss Sunday mass, I feel so calm when I attend mass). Its 11:15 am and only Daal has been boiled..sigh..Then PC and I were just talking about the 401 K and money matters for next year.And I blurted out, I want to retire in India.

I told him even if its Mumbai(his hometown) its fine even though I’d pick Mangalore any day, even in my sleep. We could stay in Mumbai, I could go to Mangalore every month, get my fill of Ideal’s (Im telling you this Ice cream is like Heaven on Earth) , have a meal at Inasam’s/Pereira’s (sigh …authentic Mangy food as authentic as it can get). I know even being in Mumbai , I could get my fill of food(Chicken Frankie, Pani Puri,..etc). I dont Live to Eat but I like to Eat what I like to Eat(make any sense?).

Was chatting with M awhile ago and she says she feels the same (She stays in the UK).She says she too wants to head back home for retirement and all her friends should stay close by. What a nice idea, are we dreaming the impossible?:).

I dont want to sound like those group of Desi people who are always cribbing about what they could have if they were in India and how people are so lucky there.The grass is always greener on the other side. They are people back home who would give an Arm and a Leg to come here. But for me a part of me always never wanted to come here. I was pushed and prodded to do anything that had to do with coming here. I know that I was sent here with best interests in mind . I am what I am today career wise is because I moved here and not to forget ,I met my better half here.:).

I know that when I have kids, they will have opportunities here and miss out on some that they would have had back home in India. I know PC loves it here and has some dreams which he is in a much better state to fulfill here..

It’s funny, coz I lived just 4 years of my life in India. Maybe it’s that secret desire in me to live more in my Motherland. I know at 60+, when I retire and sip on that nice cup of chai every morning I would love to do it on the patio of  our house back home in India and relish it with a Masala Dosa or some steaming spicy Ussal Paav.

Till then I will have to make do with Dosa Place

-Bin

Master Plan for Marital Bliss

Mom sent me this one ! (You can gauge my Mom’s sense of humor from this)

Moi

Who is ME?:)

-Bin(aka me) is  a  lady in her late 20’s. She was born and brought up in the Middle East (in the country which sports that fancy 7 star hotel..sheesh talk about waste of money). At 18 she was packed off and sent to her home country India. She hails from a homely city called Mangalore and studied in the neighbouring district:).While studying she realized her immense love for her city of origin.There is no place like Mangalore and the Fish curry here RULES:).Bin made the awesome friends here too:) and got to know family better.

At 23, she was packed off once again to study some more(sigh) tothe  not so angelic city of Los Angeles(eeks…simply didnt like this city). There she met  the Frog ..oops a.k.a Prince Charming(PC) who while trying to set me up with his brother decided I might be his pick after all:).

Bin then moves to Desi town a.k.a Bay Area where PC (he will be referred to by this acronym in the blog) works too. After 4 years of chewing on PC’s brain to marry her, PC finally comes to his senses:). Bin and her PC finally tied the knot on May24th this year. The rest is history..errr..maybe some Geography.

Bin and PC still reside in Desi town and are close to surviving 6 months of Marital bliss with the least possible hair loss ..

My first WordPress Entry

So I  finally made the transition from Blogspot to WordPress after much thought .RZD did I inspire you?.WP was too tempting to not move away from the Google Umbrella. I didnt blog this year (not that I did frequently since 2006 when I first started) but there was just something about this year that put this mental (writer’s) block. The first half of the year still seem like a blur.Maybe the newNetbook will clear the head a bit?Who knows?.I’ve been lurking several blogs and admire the passion people write with. A few worth noting are ASAAAN and DEE , and then there’s RZD who probably first inspired me to blog and gives me food for thought ( we’ve been friends since 10 years!..woohoo:)).I am going to let people know about the blog even though I want to play around with the template , add blogrolls and several other things…

I really dont know what “trend” I am going to follow when it comes to blog topics, but as cliched as it may sound its the one’s from the heart:). I want this blog to be something to look back to 30 years from now,something to laugh about and lift my spirits .Is this New Year’s resolution a tad bit early? Will wait and see.

-Bin

Hmpf..

I dont do justice to this sacred space. I’ve often thought about what I need to post here but it getting my paws to the keyboard isnt just happening…

-Bini

ETA: This was my last post on blogspot..RIP blogspot:)

Random Bickerings about a Random Question-1

I was editing my blog profile and thought I’ll go with new Random Question. So here’s what I get..

“You are in a grocery store with a Broken Shopping Cart. How do you ever get that hungry?”

What just happened here..was I hallucinating?

I thought I was reading German for a while!!! I would have done better in a Creole exam(Keeping in mind that I dont speak or read the language!)…My brain was frozen!!!

Any answers, dimwitted or not …are most welcome..
No prizes for the best answers:)

P.S -I finally settled for a different one..Have a look at it on my profile

-Bickering Bin

Grotesque..But I couldnt agree more!!!

I usually dont watch The Jon Stewart Show on Comedy Central. I like Stand up comedy but I feel they cross the line on sensitive situations at times.

The recent Mumbai Attacks maid headlines, status messages and blog entries all over the world. So yest when Jon started to mention it on his show again , my mind went ‘there he goes again..this ..aargh..why cant he be a lil more sensitive”.
Anyway, I decided to give him the benefit of doubt and listen. He has this interview segment in which he satirically interviews at news correspondent who has various names and yesterday it was Oliver. So he asks Oliver, what he thinks of the terrorists who attacked Mumbai…
and Oliver says..(may not be word to word)
“Jon…these terrorists are m***** f****** who work in tandem with giant a**holes for a bankrupt cause!”

Ok , Im not a fan of such language, but ‘Oliver’ took the words right out of my mouth!