the day of days...

once again we find ourselves on the cusp of a moment filled with such immense possibilities that Churchill would have given his last cigar to have one of these. and yet, how do we choose to play it out? well, in pretty much the same manner that we have played each and every day of the past week, the last millennium or the last 200,000 years if the damn archeologists are to be believed.

...we exist.

yes, there are those who have hoo-haahed over the giant leaps taken in these archeologically-consented years. we could not go pick dirt on the moon before. we can now. still, i like earth dirt better; personally speaking that is.

going back to Churchill's last cigar, the man once said, "if you're going through hell, keep going"...very wise words indeed. it is best to keep going. move onwards. keep toddling on. cause, sometimes the view around you isn't pretty at all. 

i care not for the immense possibilities of the future. i care not for the greatness that begets the search for the Holy Grail. nor do i care for the pride of belonging to the nation at the zenith. the only thing i care about is my next filling meal. i am poor. what do i have to give. what do i have to receive.

humanity is overrated. monkeys live equally well.

rogue word alley...

aah words, you irascible rogues.
what is it that you whisper into my ears?

"for old time's sake, my old friend,
let us take a walk down the alley."

take me back if you will,
cause the truth be told.

i missed thee

the greatest show on earth...

"cause the times they are a changing."

...and as always the show must go on.

rage...

rage. it is an inscrutable thing. absolute in itself and without a reason...it justifies itself in the same manner as God; by manifesting itself out of nowhere...

anger is caused, hurt is imposed, vengeance is brought upon, malice is induced...but rage...it comes from nowhere. or does it?

...are we all filled with rage? our entire being crafted out of sheer madness that every once in a while takes over and compels us towards the edge. an chasm that seems so enticing to leap into. to commit such violence that wild beasts would be shamed.

for some men, their rage is what makes them who they are...for men like Ahab.

*follow the link to experimental soup for the rest of the post.

the playlist...

if music is for the soul, then i'm all rock n roll!!

#1. November Rain - Guns n Roses

#2. Sweet Child of Mine - Guns n Roses

#3. Poison - Alice Cooper

#4. Cities on Flame with Rock n Roll - Blue Oyster Cult

#5. Janie's Got a Gun - Aerosmith

#6. Champagne Supernova - Oasis

#7. Hey You - Pink Floyd

#8. Soldier of Fortune - Deep Purple

#9. Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin

#10. Wish You Were Here - Pink Foyd

the footprints in the sand...

"i wish i had more time. time to gaze at the wind blowing your hair across your face."

the footprints left faint impressions on the sand; the waters washing them away, one wave at a time. the memories dance their wild dance of euphoria; numbing the mind of the throbbing reality of the coarse shards of broken shells underneath your feet...

it just seemed like tomorrow when the clamoring of the seagulls swooping down on the bread crumbs thrown by tourists signaled the existence of the bay with the sun shining brightly on the burnished deck, shined by the countless steps that had walked on it's hard wood over the years.

life has passed by swiftly. much like the past 24 hours. each hour racing behind the other to catch it, overtake it. foolish hours. little do they know that the ones passed before can never be caught. never be overtaken. all that remains is the memory of the smile. of the tiny fingers clasping your hand, as you led her out on to the pirate trail, taught her how to fish, told her you won't tell when she wanted to have 3 different kinds of ice cream.

the memory of the smile that flashed across the beautiful face, the wind messing up her hair while drawing figures in the wet sand. the memory of your child laughing out with the innocent wild-eyed wonder upon seeing the seagulls.

aah the seagulls...they are wondrous birds. magnificent indeed.

the storyteller's tale...

a new year. a new beginning. and many stories to tell...

for what is a ripple on the surface of still waters,
will one day be a wave crashing against the rocks;
when days and nights matter no more,
on that cusp of timelessness shall end our tale.

...

the eyes' treasure...

tepid and timid, thieving forlorn glimpses,
how can they be anything but venomous;
to the bold wind caressing your hair.

blinded that they are, these distant oculars,
blinded with the sight of your beauty;
my eyes are now sinners.

to spite others who behold your beauty,
is the sin they'd gladly surrender to;
finding salvation in each glimpse won,
now forever theirs to treasure.

the cookbook - page one...

"follow the nose...that's all there is to cooking."

...considering that my love for eating is overshadowed only by my love for cooking; it was an obvious eventuality that the blog feature recipes of my making. a little prodding on G's behalf made the transition easier. anyways, so here's what i suppose shall be the first of many...the chop-shop cookbook of experimental cooking...

***

Pasta-cause-I'm-bored-alone-at-home!

cooking makes me happy, and so i cook when i have nothing to do. just walk up to the fridge, take a peek inside, rummage through the pantry/drawers, lay out the spread on the kitchen platform and start washing, peeling, chopping, dicing, marinating, blanching, frying, roasting my way to a joyous couple of hours.

yesterday evening was a similar tale...

What I found in the fridge/drawer/kitchen...

• 1 Nos. - Bambino Penne Pasta Packet (250 gm)
• 1 Nos. - Milk packet (500 ml)
  
• 2 Cans of Olives (Pitted)
• 1 Jar of Jalapenos
• Olive Oil
  
• Dried Mint & Oregano flakes
• Onions/Tomatoes/Garlic/Ginger/Green Chili/Lemon/Capsicum (Bell Pepper)
  
• Salt & Pepper

What I did with the ingredients...

Step 1

• Heat the milk. squeeze half a lemon in the milk and bring to boil while stirring.
  
• Observe that the milk will split to form paneer (cottage cheese).
  
• Reduce the water and remove the residual paneer.
  
• Squeeze out excess water and break the fresh paneer into tiny pieces and keep aside.
  

Step 2

• Finely dice 3 medium sized onions and put aside.

• Roughly chop 6-7 medium sized tomatoes and put into blender. add a roughly chopped jalapeno, 3 green chili and 8-10 pods of freshly peeled garlic to the tomatoes. add a pinch of salt and half a teaspoon of lemon juice.

• Blend the tomatoes/garlic/green chili together to form a thick paste.

• Dice the fresh ginger (about 2 inches) into thin slices and put aside.

• Take half capsicum, chop it into small bits and keep aside.

• Dice 1-2 jalapenos into circular pieces and keep aside (you can have as many jalapenos as you like; it depends on your heat resistance).

• Chop 6-7 olives into circular pieces (i prefer Green Olives) and keep aside.

Step 3

• Take 2 teaspoons of olive oil, heat on low flame in a non-stick pot/pan.
  
• Once the oil is heated, add the paneer and a bit of the diced ginger.
  
• Add a pinch of salt and saute for about a minute.
  
• Add the diced capsicum, jalapeno; sprinkle dried mint & oregano flakes and saute until paneer is golden brown.

• Remove the mixture from the pan/pot and keep aside.

Step 4

• Take 2 tablespoons to olive oil. heat in a non-stick pot.
  
• Once the oil is heated, add the diced onions.
  
• Saute the onions until they turn transparent.

• Add the remaining bit of diced ginger; throw in a pinch of salt and continue to saute until the onions turn golden brown (i.e. are cooked).

• Now add the tomato/garlic/green chili/jalapeno paste to the onions and continue cooking.

• Once the tomato gravy is cooked, add a generous amount of oregano flakes (i love the smell of tomato and oregano), add about 500 ml of water and reduce the gravy on medium flame.

Step 5

• In a separate pot, heat about 2 liters of water.
• Add a tablespoon of oil and a pinch of salt to the water and bring to boil.
  
• Add the pasta to the boiling water (basically follow the instructions on the packet).
  
• Once the pasta is cooked; drain out the water and rinse the pasta under cold water.

Step 6

• Add the pasta to the tomato/onion gravy. mix properly.
  
• Cook for a minute and then add the chopped olives.
• Add salt to taste; a dash of pepper. mix well.

• Cover the pot and allow to cook for 5 minutes.

Step 7

• Garnish the pasta with the fresh paneer/ginger/jalapeno mixture.
• Serve the pasta hot.

***


bon appetite!