Sunday, October 31, 2004

Not quite Quiche

I wanted to make Quiche today. Why? I have no idea. The word Quiche is from the German word Küchen, meaning cake. It is an open-faced pie or tart having an egg filling and a variety of other ingredients - pretty much anything you feel like. But I had a problem, with the only stable ingredient : eggs. We don't eat eggs. And so, it was quite an interesting problem to solve. I did try to search for Eggless Quiche recipes, but they all sounded so bland. Anyways, I did make something like a Vegetable Pie and it was Delicioussssss. My husband will vouch for that. So just in case, I need to make it another day, here is the recipe. I don't measure ingredients. Add whatever quantity I feel is right. So playing around this is what I used

A la' Indian Quiche

Thaw a readymade pie crust (frozen variety,9 inches) by keeping it at room temperature for about 20 mts. Add some butter/margarine in a pan. Once it melts, add slit green chillies (make sure they are spicy..Indian/thai variety), sliced onions(long strands), and fry till golden brown. Then add spinach. Fry for a while.
Then add any veggie you please- Broccoli, cauliflower,carrot, squash, zucchini, beans, mushrooms, etc.. After some time, add a mixture of milk + corn flour(1 tsp) + powdered pepper + salt to the veggie mix and stir. Grate some cheese (sharp cheddar) and add that too and keep mixing till it melts. Grease the thawed pie crust and fill it with this vegetable mixture.Grate some more cheese and sprinkle it on top of the pie. In a regular Quiche, we would need to add eggs on top of this. Instead, prepare a combination of milk (about 1/4 cup)+ bread crumbs(4 tsps)+ baking powder (1/2 tsp)+ bisquick (2 tsps) [regular flour might work if you don't have Bisquick] Now smear this all over the pie and place it in the oven (400 deg F) for about 45 mts.

It is yummyy..

Whew! Writing recipes is tougher than I thought.. No wonder programmers never document code.

-Subbu

Saturday, October 30, 2004

Halloween Weekend

What a beautiful afternoon! Spent sometime exploring the blog features. Halloween is here and I am excited about seeing people in different costumes. When I went to Burger King yesterday, the staff was dressed as vampires and koala bears. Some combination!
I probably would like to be dressed as Mrs Adams (from Adam's family) She does have an air of weird sophistication about her. Thought I would record some trivia, coz by next year I would have forgotten what all the fuss is about!

Origin Of Halloween: "Halloween or All Hallows Eve means summers end.This spirit connotation originated as the ancient Celtic druids paid tribute with gifts and food (and sometimes it was rumored sacrifices) to the spirit world to insure that next year’s crop would be bountiful. It was a time for communicating with the dead and receiving wisdom from past ancestors to insure prosperity"

I wonder if we have something similar in our culture. I remember my mother would try to get us to eat / sleep by spinning tales about "boochandi" who was supposed to come and take us away if we did not do her bidding.

I think the closest we get to Halloween is Pongal which is not a festival to appease the spirits, but a celebration of the harvest. This happens in Spring. It is interesting to note that one culture begins the cycle with hopeful foresight and the other with reserved gratitude.

Trick or Treat: We bought a bag of candies, just in case some kid turned up. Apparently, if you don't give them a treat, you would have to spend some time washing off "egged" remains on your door. The origin behind this is very different. Originally peasant children, dressed in rags like prisoners, would beg for coins or treats as a token of remembrance of a man, Guy Fawkes, who was drawn and quartered after attempting to blow up the British government offices.
I always believed it to be a completely American tradition!! It was not celebrated here until the 20th century. Well, I guess Hallmark is the only one worried about getting some tradition instilled here. So, apart from July 4th is there any other truly American holiday?

-Subbu

More Movies!

Only as a I write these blogs, do I realise, that I see a lot of movies. Yesterday we watched a movie called " The Grudge" in the theater. Let me warn you in the very beginning that this is probably the worst movie I have ever seen (even worse than the ones my brother has accused of me seeing in the past) The popcorn was the only saving grace! The movie opens with a man falling to his death from his penthouse. Then we are subjected to a series of events in a Japanese house - pale face with black flowing hair (a typical japanese apparition), a little boy who keeps appearing in the closet, near the bath tub etc.. Oh! Why do I even waste my time, trying to drudge up a story that is non-existent. This will stop me from going to the movies for a long time. Well, that very night I managed to catch a delightful movie "We met in Bombay" starring Clark Gable. It was about two criminals vying after the same booty. Aah! Felt much better after seeing that movie. My belief that there are movies out there which deserve to be seen returned. Today I watched "Philadelphia" - about how an AIDs afflicted lawyer if suing his employers for firing him on the basis of his illness. It was nice. Although I did observe that I got very teary eyed when I watched "goodbye mr.chips" but was pretty dry eyed for this supposed tear jerker. Okay, hopefully, blogs in future will stop sounding like movie reviews. Just remember to stay away from "The Grudge"

-Subbu

Thursday, October 21, 2004

Goodbye Mr Chips

Goodbye Mr Chips- What a wonderful movie. We just watched the Robert Donat version (1939). I remember reading the book as a child. Black and white movies have never really held my attention, until I saw this one. The grace and dignity that people displayed in bygone years was so charming. The students then were so respectful and loving towards their teachers. Their pranks were flavored with innocence and they truly believed in their mentors. When I think about school today, I realise with regret that there is never really a student - teacher bond formed. I enjoyed my schooling years in India and I still can name with fondness some of my favourite teachers. Ms Anita, Ms Susan, Ms. Jayanthi my English teachers, Ms Sundari my physics teacher, Ms Nawaz my Maths teacher and Ms Victoria my Hindi teacher. I remember Ms Victoria in particular. She was such a frail old widow. She would get so teary eyed when reading a particular lesson about friends. She would talk about her wayward son, who had fallen into bad company and would beg us to choose more wisely. One day when I was cracking my knuckles (for the lack of a better term) in class she admonished me. She told me if I did that too often my knuckles would grow bigger than my slender fingers, and it would look ugly. I don't know if that is true but everytime I crack my knuckles,I think of her. Such is the role of a teacher in shaping a child's memories.
It is difficult to establish a bond in college unless of course it is your advisor, who you get to spend with a great deal of time. The startling lack of communication from either teacher/stident's side is pitiable. Professors today are saddled with tight class hours filled with ppt presentations. Students with their legs outstretched, rather eat their burger and fries , with the teacher's voice playing lullaby in the darkly lit room than pay any attention in class. I understand that the demands of modern day education impose severe restrictions on either party's ability to breach the borders of pedantic syllabus.
US graduate schools are admired all over the world, but the undergraduates here have an attitude which is hard to fathom. To date it is unthinkable for me to even drink a bottle of coke when the teacher is teaching. We would ask for permission to leave the class, even if it meant holding the bursting bladder a little while longer. And here, students walk out of class without a trace of inhibition, eat seven course meals, perhaps even belch a little in between, all whilst the class is going on. It is rude to behave in such a manner in front of any speaker and to do this, when the speaker is a teacher, is despicable.
I am afraid to think of what I might have to suffer through if I embark on an academic career. Perhaps, I too shall become immune to such finer sensitivities.

Goodbye old traditions.

-Subbu

Monday, October 11, 2004

Labyrinth Walk

The advantage of writing a blog that no one reads, is that you can get quite personal. But I do know that there are atleast 2 people out there who might read this and so, I need to be careful in penning my thoughts! I might just get an anonymous nick and start another blog. Isn't it quite a wonder that you dont mind strangers reading all about you, but fear friends and family reading your most personal thoughts!?
Recently I went on a Labyrinth walk. Had never heard of it until I chanced upon it suddenly in school. I believe that a labyrinth walk allows you to achieve inner peace and there are many different explainations for this. You basically walk in a maze like structure the only difference being that one will not get lost in the labyrinth. It is a two dimensional drawing on the floor. There are circular resting places along the way to the central circle which is the core of the labyrinth. A soft music plays in the background and one needs to walk with a meditative mind and inner calm. There is only one way in and out. Some of the first Labyrinth walks for many were recorded to be life changing experiences. People have been brought to tears and have undergone very emotional experiences.
But I did not go through any of them. The reason could be that I just went for the walk without much information and hence did not understand the possible potential of this walk ? Whatever be the reason, I learnt something new and hope to, everyday

-Subbu