Much has been said about the flawless opening ceremony, except for the protocol violation asking the PM to change seat. But it was gratifying to see the spontaneous applause of the crowd when the Pak team came out for the march past. Alas I doubt anyone in Pak will see it. It goes to show how much this country wants Pak to be at peace with itself. For a change politicians stuck to their written speeches and exited the podium in a short period of time.
Noted some interesting camera positions: one under the floor board in weightlifting gave an amazing perspective from under the weights and accentuating the muscles of the lifters. The underwater camera in the swimming pools is really cool. Pistol shooting was a bit unnerving with a camera placed at the target position with the gun pointing right at you.
Those of us who generally moan about lives, including me, should have seen the para swimmers - some of them with only one leg or no legs or only one arm!
The relatively fewer ads interrupting the games telecasts was much appreciated but since Thursday the ads are increasing in frequency. The lack of sponsorship from big name corporate s, that swoon over themselves to sponsor cricket, is disgusting. Union bank of India ad showing the cute kid carrying his piggy bank to the bank and Indian Railway ad with a bunch of adults forming a train and chugging along are really cool but now being irritatingly repeated.
DD Sports tried to move across game venues trying to bring interesting events happening across all locations. Instead they could have used their multiple channels to telecast events in parallel.
Pleasingly varied accents of the English commentators from England, Wales, India, Australia ... but Hindi commentary was unnecessary.
Truly impressed with the spirited fighting of the wrestlers and boxers, and amazing gymnastics floor show by Ashish Kumar winning the first ever medal for India in gymnastics.
Archery has a speed meter – this is really cool, arrows travel at over 270 kmph! The recurved bows are so powerful, that at such speeds the arrow could pass straight through a body.
Was it worth 71k crore? Could the 71k crore been distributed across the country to build, maintain sports infrastructure and promote all types of sports? Of course I am not grudging the money spent but the potty jokes, crashing bridges, and dirty stuff could have been avoided. Also such a mammoth event with a huge budget should have had an ombudsman watching over to prevent corruption - no point in crying foul later. What will happen to all this refurbished infrastructure after the CWG is over?
…more to follow
Friday, October 8, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
This very Earth
This Very Earth...is leading us
It was just another day so to speak. Though there was no one as we know to call it a day or night as the sun shone always on one half of this very Earth. But somehow it was a different day or night, something happened that changed everything forever. Earth stirred, so to speak, with desire and transformed itself to facilitate an evolution of complex structures that eventually transformed into what is now called life. It took only some millions of years. We who think we are droplets of awareness and consciousness may not perceive the interconnectedness of everything on this very Earth. For this species that thinks, acts and analyses events over decades, comprehending acts that work over millions of years is not so easy. We now talk of the interconnectedness of the world as we see it, and debate about the intricacy and size of the Web as we call the internet and the fallout of financial schemes across the world, globalisation and what not. But for a sentient being that has for millions of years used various structures to communicate and plan for its next stage of transformation these are trivial. We don't think much of the single celled organisms that we host on and inside us and exchange with all other forms of life, every breathing moment of our short existence and all the other single celled organisms that decompose our body and analyse its life and evolution to propagate to the next generation. We don't think of the huge mass of planktons that the ocean currents transport across the ends of the world, the pollen carried by the winds full of memory, insects that migrate seasonally, currents of the ocean. We debate endlessly about the greenhouse emissions and what it is doing to this very Earth of ours. We investigate the past trying to figure out which human species is superior and where the first human species originated, or how and why the dinosaurs became extinct. We imagine some accidental cataclysmic natural event, such as a meteor impact that transformed the habitat drastically it didn't allow certain organisms enough time to evolve and adapt, For a moment if we pause to think, it will be self evident that Earth adjusting and transforming itself to ease out unpromising species, such as the mega size dinosaurs with pea sized brains, to make way for more promising species such as mammals to evolve. More millions of years ago Earth adjusted itself to change its composition to facilitate the creation of complex structures such as single cell life, to evolve out of its oceans. And many more millions ago it transformed itself to form simpler structures such as water and even adjusted the crust to make room for more water. For us who measure our individual lifetime in decades, and now maybe a few thousand years after discovering writing and found ways to store knowledge outside of our body in various storage devices and in cultural memory, the time dimension even now is incomprehensible. When finally a so-called thinking-being evolved it started thinking that everything else was made for itself to use. Of course this is true not in the egoistic way of the man-species but because that was what Earth intended in the first place. It found that other species typically adjusted themselves as the habitat changed to evolve and survive in the new habitats. Then finally a species started adjusting its immediate habitat to suit itself and stopped changing physically. Earth facilitated this by reducing the connection man has to the rest of the world so that man evolved a certain characteristic trait that has now come to be called ego which is nothing but a disconnected feeling that allows him to exploit all resources available within reach without much guilt. Earth transformed itself to provide man concentrated energy sources such as oil for short term use, nuclear energy for long term use to make such things as space travel possible using highly dense energy compounds; and various biological resources for survival through the ages. If we move inexorably towards making drastic changes to the available habitat so that most other species and ourselves cannot exist long enough, and serve to achieve Earth's purpose, it is only a matter of time before it adjusts itself to ease out man and allow another more promising species to make a fresh attempt.
Well, that fine morning many millions of years ago, as the sun shone on it warmly, This Very Earth that is us, felt a stir of desire to meet other Earths and since then it has never been the same again.
It was just another day so to speak. Though there was no one as we know to call it a day or night as the sun shone always on one half of this very Earth. But somehow it was a different day or night, something happened that changed everything forever. Earth stirred, so to speak, with desire and transformed itself to facilitate an evolution of complex structures that eventually transformed into what is now called life. It took only some millions of years. We who think we are droplets of awareness and consciousness may not perceive the interconnectedness of everything on this very Earth. For this species that thinks, acts and analyses events over decades, comprehending acts that work over millions of years is not so easy. We now talk of the interconnectedness of the world as we see it, and debate about the intricacy and size of the Web as we call the internet and the fallout of financial schemes across the world, globalisation and what not. But for a sentient being that has for millions of years used various structures to communicate and plan for its next stage of transformation these are trivial. We don't think much of the single celled organisms that we host on and inside us and exchange with all other forms of life, every breathing moment of our short existence and all the other single celled organisms that decompose our body and analyse its life and evolution to propagate to the next generation. We don't think of the huge mass of planktons that the ocean currents transport across the ends of the world, the pollen carried by the winds full of memory, insects that migrate seasonally, currents of the ocean. We debate endlessly about the greenhouse emissions and what it is doing to this very Earth of ours. We investigate the past trying to figure out which human species is superior and where the first human species originated, or how and why the dinosaurs became extinct. We imagine some accidental cataclysmic natural event, such as a meteor impact that transformed the habitat drastically it didn't allow certain organisms enough time to evolve and adapt, For a moment if we pause to think, it will be self evident that Earth adjusting and transforming itself to ease out unpromising species, such as the mega size dinosaurs with pea sized brains, to make way for more promising species such as mammals to evolve. More millions of years ago Earth adjusted itself to change its composition to facilitate the creation of complex structures such as single cell life, to evolve out of its oceans. And many more millions ago it transformed itself to form simpler structures such as water and even adjusted the crust to make room for more water. For us who measure our individual lifetime in decades, and now maybe a few thousand years after discovering writing and found ways to store knowledge outside of our body in various storage devices and in cultural memory, the time dimension even now is incomprehensible. When finally a so-called thinking-being evolved it started thinking that everything else was made for itself to use. Of course this is true not in the egoistic way of the man-species but because that was what Earth intended in the first place. It found that other species typically adjusted themselves as the habitat changed to evolve and survive in the new habitats. Then finally a species started adjusting its immediate habitat to suit itself and stopped changing physically. Earth facilitated this by reducing the connection man has to the rest of the world so that man evolved a certain characteristic trait that has now come to be called ego which is nothing but a disconnected feeling that allows him to exploit all resources available within reach without much guilt. Earth transformed itself to provide man concentrated energy sources such as oil for short term use, nuclear energy for long term use to make such things as space travel possible using highly dense energy compounds; and various biological resources for survival through the ages. If we move inexorably towards making drastic changes to the available habitat so that most other species and ourselves cannot exist long enough, and serve to achieve Earth's purpose, it is only a matter of time before it adjusts itself to ease out man and allow another more promising species to make a fresh attempt.
Well, that fine morning many millions of years ago, as the sun shone on it warmly, This Very Earth that is us, felt a stir of desire to meet other Earths and since then it has never been the same again.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Simple Innovations
Hi guys and gals
I am starting a new blog on this topic, to bring to notice many small innovative products, processes, tools or anything that we use in our day to day life but hardly ever notice.
Please join this thread ... and share your experiences as well...
Bala
I am starting a new blog on this topic, to bring to notice many small innovative products, processes, tools or anything that we use in our day to day life but hardly ever notice.
Please join this thread ... and share your experiences as well...
Bala
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Take a shopping bag to go shopping - in response to Prem's blog
Prem opened an interesting topic.
Prem http://www.facebook.com/prem.pandurangam?ref=nf
His blog post http://mpprem.wordpress.com/2009/11/07/shop-with-a-shopping-bag/
I sometimes accidentally end up cleaning the fridge and I know how much rotten stuff there is to throw out. If we can shop more often like my dad used to do, there wasn't much more than a maximum of 2 days worth of perishable food products at home.
When we go on holiday, especially driving, we carry a bag to collect all the unbelievably large volume of trash we produce on the way, so as not to drop them all over the route, and so that we bring back to the city to dispose hoping that the city has better ways to dispose these - unfortunately there is no source segregation and safe disposal methods anyway anywhere.
We go on holiday to beautiful places and we see trash littered all over - the worst of the trash varieties is the used plastic bag.
Once many years ago I read a commentary on the 12 year Kumbh Mela event that happens in Allahabad - the journalist commented he was astounded by the huge mass of humanity assembled in one place on one day - and even more astounded by the trash they generated - but above all he was most astounded at the bio-degradable nature of the trash that was generated - plates made of leaves, cups made of clay, etc etc. I wonder how it will be now.
We are a nation of contradictions. We worship trees, rivers and mountains. But we are the most irresponsible in cutting down trees and polluting rivers and deforesting mountains. But we also are very caring when it comes to leaving old trees in the middle of city roads, building huge apartment complexes on plots with old trees but trying to preserve at least some of them around.
When we used to drive around the USofA, we used to come across signs in the nature parks: "Leave nothing behind. Take nothing with you but memories"
This has strongly got imprinted into my consciousness. I think it is something that all of us should strive to achieve when we visit nature parks and monuments and heritage sites.
Bala
Prem http://www.facebook.com/prem.pandurangam?ref=nf
His blog post http://mpprem.wordpress.com/2009/11/07/shop-with-a-shopping-bag/
I sometimes accidentally end up cleaning the fridge and I know how much rotten stuff there is to throw out. If we can shop more often like my dad used to do, there wasn't much more than a maximum of 2 days worth of perishable food products at home.
When we go on holiday, especially driving, we carry a bag to collect all the unbelievably large volume of trash we produce on the way, so as not to drop them all over the route, and so that we bring back to the city to dispose hoping that the city has better ways to dispose these - unfortunately there is no source segregation and safe disposal methods anyway anywhere.
We go on holiday to beautiful places and we see trash littered all over - the worst of the trash varieties is the used plastic bag.
Once many years ago I read a commentary on the 12 year Kumbh Mela event that happens in Allahabad - the journalist commented he was astounded by the huge mass of humanity assembled in one place on one day - and even more astounded by the trash they generated - but above all he was most astounded at the bio-degradable nature of the trash that was generated - plates made of leaves, cups made of clay, etc etc. I wonder how it will be now.
We are a nation of contradictions. We worship trees, rivers and mountains. But we are the most irresponsible in cutting down trees and polluting rivers and deforesting mountains. But we also are very caring when it comes to leaving old trees in the middle of city roads, building huge apartment complexes on plots with old trees but trying to preserve at least some of them around.
When we used to drive around the USofA, we used to come across signs in the nature parks: "Leave nothing behind. Take nothing with you but memories"
This has strongly got imprinted into my consciousness. I think it is something that all of us should strive to achieve when we visit nature parks and monuments and heritage sites.
Bala
Monday, September 14, 2009
Original Pasta Recipe
OK why should a blog be predictable? Let's make it as unpredictable as possible!
So here is a recipe that I just cooked up and enjoyed today.
And I am going to give details that usually the recipe books DON'T care to mention.
So today the wife started the topic of 'what's for dinner' (...as if I decide...)
And as usual the husband says 'whatever...' (lets be safe ... not enough information to commit...)
Wife: Say something, it's very annoying to hear 'whatever ...' if you just say what you want it will be easy to serve (ok, you unmarried folks beware this is a true lie ... you start something and you're committed to it for at least 4 hours and few days after)
To cut it short, I agreed (don't we always agree!) when the wife said 'I'll make pasta'
Well, do you think that is the end of the happy story of the day ... no way ...
Well, the wife says, I'll go get some pasta and some sauce and vegetables...
Surprise surprise ... so you can all guess what happened right?
I went shopping and found the pasta (well at least I was particular what type of pasta I wanted, so I got some Penne).
Why Penne: because pasta is sort of tasteless, it doesn't mix well with anything (if you overcook pasta you can get it to mix with everything but it will no longer be pasta just paste). If you make a red sauce it is better to use Penne so that it runs into the pasta, you want to stuff something into pasta use cannelloni. If you use white sauce (creamy and cheesy avoid Penne and Macaroni so that it doesn't become too cheesy and creamy).
And the next part is the cheese, we don't get too many varieties of cheese here in India at the usual supermarkets, so use whatever you manage to get - but plan is to make a red sauce without cheese
I got some 'pizza cheese' ... nobody knows what it contains, for my daughter who wants only cheesy pasta... so she had pasta with cheese and nothing else ... and my son eats everything separately ... well that means he has a bowl of steamed pasta (he eats with his hand) ...a bowl of steamed vegetables ... a portion of cut cheese ... yes this is all true ... and I will post a video clip to help the disbelievers ... now back to the original recipe
You must avoid the usual Indian vegetables and even some non-Indian ones. Here are some that are allowed to be used cauliflower (but not broccoli as it crumbles, but you may use Broccoli as a side dish if you must and if you like it), capsicum - preferably all 3 colors, carrots. I personally avoid using chunky tomatoes, or onions. Sliced pitted olives depending on taste.
It is important to make sure that the sauce and the vegetables and the pasta ready for mixing almost at the same time. Reheating is absolutely forbidden. Serving the pasta from the cooking utensils is to be avoided. Using the water that was used for boiling the pasta is an absolute no no ... because the starch/gluten from the pasta will make the final preparation a bit pasty. If you want to drink it just add something tangy and drink it separately... there are all kinds of people int he world ...
Get Penne pasta that is made from Durum wheat. The package may say many things but own logic is to use this as it has less gluten and more fiber.
For the sauce (you may increase the quantity depending on the number of people - these are for 2 people - but I can't be precise, you have to use your own judgment),
1 onion, 2 garlic (whole not just 2 cloves), a lot of tomatoes (about 10 else the sauce will become too dry), 1 type of herb (examples are mint, coriander, basil - avoid using too many herbs), 2 really hot whole red chillies. If you want it more spicy add a spoon of white pepper.
Here are some options. You may use the tomatoes whole or remove the pulp (the pasty mushy mushy stuff with seeds) from inside, I prefer to remove that, and then you must use more tomatoes and a little more water to avoid making the sauce too dry. You may use the red chillies whole or remove the seeds. It all depends on your own taste buds. If you remove the seeds then you may want to use 3 or 4 chillies instead of two.
So you put the whole lot and grind them in a mixer thoroughly. Pour the whole stuff into a non-stick sauce pan and stir constantly until the sauce is ready to use ... ok but then there are some other parallel stuff to do so watch out else all will not be as expected.
The pasta must be under boil now and it will be ready to use by now ... so you would have started the boiling of the pasta before the sauce was ready to pour out on the pan.
The water should have been boiling hot already before you put the pasta into it, else the pasta will become too soft even before the water starts to boil. And the pasta should be strained out of the water as soon as it is sufficiently cooked and not allowed to soak in the hot water. Right? It is all too easy once you practice this a few times. Don't you SMS with one hand while driving?
Now the vegetables should have been put into a pressure cooker (but the pressure weight MUST NOT be used for any reason) in a perforated bowl and steamed or a steamer if you know how to use it properly. You have to start this process so that the pasta and the sauce are ready at the same time. So you have to use your judgement when you should have started this depending on the quantity and type of vegetables you used and how long they typically take to cook. Overcooking or under-cooking (as some restaurants try to serve and we all seem to accept as 'gourmet' dishes) will spoil the whole show.
Now going back to the sauce, remember it was simmering on the pan? So what did you add to the sauce mix? Water? Some sort of hydrogenated vegetable oil? Full fat butter? Denatured protein in the form of 'ghee'? Some sort of poly unsaturated fatty acid? Nope. If you said yes to any of it they you just lost her forever.
The sauce was simmering on the pan and the base was fresh tomato puree (that you just made yourself). It is usual to underestimate the number of tomatoes needed. So always use 1/3rd more than you think is necessary, especially if you removed the pulp and seeds. By the way use always very ripe very red tomatoes. The base already had all the good stuff in it, garlic, onions, 1 herb, chillies.
So we have the sauce ready to pour, the pasta strained out of the water, the vegetables steamed and ready. All three key ingredients are ready now at the same time.
Let's talk about some examples of disasters to avoid:
You pour the sauce into a bowl and add the veggies and the pasta and mix them and leave them either on a stove to keep warm or let them go cold.
You take the mixed stuff and put it into a bowl and reheat it in a microwave.
You mix the stuff and leave for a few hours and find it all messed up and try to add water and boil it again.
You can me more and more creative about disasters.
We humans are experts at this.
But just keep things simple. The pasta and the veggies should be ready (and strained of the water) when the sauce is ready to pour. Here are two options:
1. You take a large bowl and pour all three and mix them with a soft spoon (so as not to hurt the pasta and veggies) - then serve on a plate - as best as you can to make it appealing
2. You take a large plate and put some of the pasta on it - make an island in the middle and add some of the veggies - then pour the sauce over it all - be artistic about this
Now somethings were missing in this whole process. Where is the salt and where is the oil?
As we did not use any ready made stuff (for those of you who thought of taking a short cut - here are more disasters to avoid) such as garlic puree, tomato puree, chilli powder, herb powders (you just need one fresh herb so why do you need powders and is she not worth this little effort), chaat masala, garam masala and all that good stuff that we usually use, there was no salt in any of the ingredients we used and we did not use any oil. Which means when you simmered the sauce, you must use a non-stick pan.
Get some rock salt and powder it in a mixer. The salt is to be added when you mix the 3 parts (if you go for option 1 above). If you go for option 2 above then add the salt to the sauce only before you apply the sauce over the pasta and the veggies.
What about the oil? Well, you have two options: don't use any oil. We didn't need to use any oil till now right? But if you must use oil then use pure virgin olive oil. Don't ask me why. If you use it then use it exactly when you applied the salt. That means you mix the oil with the sauce and salt for option 1. For option 2, mix the salt with the sauce just before applying over the pasta and veggies.
Some more doubts will come over this recipe. What if you want to use anything other than veggies. Well, here I cannot provide any expert advise. I suggest you ask someone else about what comes near veggies.
Some more tips about what could spoil the whole experience. Participate, don't cook this yourself, let her do it. She is the expert. When you peel the onions don't try to optimise, remove all the dry layers and go deep into it and remove the stem inside also usually onions are rotten so smell them before you use them after peeling them. Same with the garlic, after you peel the last layer you will find some brown filament left. Make sure you remove them, as they dry up when you fry the sauce and you will encounter them when you eat.
So much ado about pasta ...
So here is a recipe that I just cooked up and enjoyed today.
And I am going to give details that usually the recipe books DON'T care to mention.
So today the wife started the topic of 'what's for dinner' (...as if I decide...)
And as usual the husband says 'whatever...' (lets be safe ... not enough information to commit...)
Wife: Say something, it's very annoying to hear 'whatever ...' if you just say what you want it will be easy to serve (ok, you unmarried folks beware this is a true lie ... you start something and you're committed to it for at least 4 hours and few days after)
To cut it short, I agreed (don't we always agree!) when the wife said 'I'll make pasta'
Well, do you think that is the end of the happy story of the day ... no way ...
Well, the wife says, I'll go get some pasta and some sauce and vegetables...
Surprise surprise ... so you can all guess what happened right?
I went shopping and found the pasta (well at least I was particular what type of pasta I wanted, so I got some Penne).
Why Penne: because pasta is sort of tasteless, it doesn't mix well with anything (if you overcook pasta you can get it to mix with everything but it will no longer be pasta just paste). If you make a red sauce it is better to use Penne so that it runs into the pasta, you want to stuff something into pasta use cannelloni. If you use white sauce (creamy and cheesy avoid Penne and Macaroni so that it doesn't become too cheesy and creamy).
And the next part is the cheese, we don't get too many varieties of cheese here in India at the usual supermarkets, so use whatever you manage to get - but plan is to make a red sauce without cheese
I got some 'pizza cheese' ... nobody knows what it contains, for my daughter who wants only cheesy pasta... so she had pasta with cheese and nothing else ... and my son eats everything separately ... well that means he has a bowl of steamed pasta (he eats with his hand) ...a bowl of steamed vegetables ... a portion of cut cheese ... yes this is all true ... and I will post a video clip to help the disbelievers ... now back to the original recipe
You must avoid the usual Indian vegetables and even some non-Indian ones. Here are some that are allowed to be used cauliflower (but not broccoli as it crumbles, but you may use Broccoli as a side dish if you must and if you like it), capsicum - preferably all 3 colors, carrots. I personally avoid using chunky tomatoes, or onions. Sliced pitted olives depending on taste.
It is important to make sure that the sauce and the vegetables and the pasta ready for mixing almost at the same time. Reheating is absolutely forbidden. Serving the pasta from the cooking utensils is to be avoided. Using the water that was used for boiling the pasta is an absolute no no ... because the starch/gluten from the pasta will make the final preparation a bit pasty. If you want to drink it just add something tangy and drink it separately... there are all kinds of people int he world ...
Get Penne pasta that is made from Durum wheat. The package may say many things but own logic is to use this as it has less gluten and more fiber.
For the sauce (you may increase the quantity depending on the number of people - these are for 2 people - but I can't be precise, you have to use your own judgment),
1 onion, 2 garlic (whole not just 2 cloves), a lot of tomatoes (about 10 else the sauce will become too dry), 1 type of herb (examples are mint, coriander, basil - avoid using too many herbs), 2 really hot whole red chillies. If you want it more spicy add a spoon of white pepper.
Here are some options. You may use the tomatoes whole or remove the pulp (the pasty mushy mushy stuff with seeds) from inside, I prefer to remove that, and then you must use more tomatoes and a little more water to avoid making the sauce too dry. You may use the red chillies whole or remove the seeds. It all depends on your own taste buds. If you remove the seeds then you may want to use 3 or 4 chillies instead of two.
So you put the whole lot and grind them in a mixer thoroughly. Pour the whole stuff into a non-stick sauce pan and stir constantly until the sauce is ready to use ... ok but then there are some other parallel stuff to do so watch out else all will not be as expected.
The pasta must be under boil now and it will be ready to use by now ... so you would have started the boiling of the pasta before the sauce was ready to pour out on the pan.
The water should have been boiling hot already before you put the pasta into it, else the pasta will become too soft even before the water starts to boil. And the pasta should be strained out of the water as soon as it is sufficiently cooked and not allowed to soak in the hot water. Right? It is all too easy once you practice this a few times. Don't you SMS with one hand while driving?
Now the vegetables should have been put into a pressure cooker (but the pressure weight MUST NOT be used for any reason) in a perforated bowl and steamed or a steamer if you know how to use it properly. You have to start this process so that the pasta and the sauce are ready at the same time. So you have to use your judgement when you should have started this depending on the quantity and type of vegetables you used and how long they typically take to cook. Overcooking or under-cooking (as some restaurants try to serve and we all seem to accept as 'gourmet' dishes) will spoil the whole show.
Now going back to the sauce, remember it was simmering on the pan? So what did you add to the sauce mix? Water? Some sort of hydrogenated vegetable oil? Full fat butter? Denatured protein in the form of 'ghee'? Some sort of poly unsaturated fatty acid? Nope. If you said yes to any of it they you just lost her forever.
The sauce was simmering on the pan and the base was fresh tomato puree (that you just made yourself). It is usual to underestimate the number of tomatoes needed. So always use 1/3rd more than you think is necessary, especially if you removed the pulp and seeds. By the way use always very ripe very red tomatoes. The base already had all the good stuff in it, garlic, onions, 1 herb, chillies.
So we have the sauce ready to pour, the pasta strained out of the water, the vegetables steamed and ready. All three key ingredients are ready now at the same time.
Let's talk about some examples of disasters to avoid:
You pour the sauce into a bowl and add the veggies and the pasta and mix them and leave them either on a stove to keep warm or let them go cold.
You take the mixed stuff and put it into a bowl and reheat it in a microwave.
You mix the stuff and leave for a few hours and find it all messed up and try to add water and boil it again.
You can me more and more creative about disasters.
We humans are experts at this.
But just keep things simple. The pasta and the veggies should be ready (and strained of the water) when the sauce is ready to pour. Here are two options:
1. You take a large bowl and pour all three and mix them with a soft spoon (so as not to hurt the pasta and veggies) - then serve on a plate - as best as you can to make it appealing
2. You take a large plate and put some of the pasta on it - make an island in the middle and add some of the veggies - then pour the sauce over it all - be artistic about this
Now somethings were missing in this whole process. Where is the salt and where is the oil?
As we did not use any ready made stuff (for those of you who thought of taking a short cut - here are more disasters to avoid) such as garlic puree, tomato puree, chilli powder, herb powders (you just need one fresh herb so why do you need powders and is she not worth this little effort), chaat masala, garam masala and all that good stuff that we usually use, there was no salt in any of the ingredients we used and we did not use any oil. Which means when you simmered the sauce, you must use a non-stick pan.
Get some rock salt and powder it in a mixer. The salt is to be added when you mix the 3 parts (if you go for option 1 above). If you go for option 2 above then add the salt to the sauce only before you apply the sauce over the pasta and the veggies.
What about the oil? Well, you have two options: don't use any oil. We didn't need to use any oil till now right? But if you must use oil then use pure virgin olive oil. Don't ask me why. If you use it then use it exactly when you applied the salt. That means you mix the oil with the sauce and salt for option 1. For option 2, mix the salt with the sauce just before applying over the pasta and veggies.
Some more doubts will come over this recipe. What if you want to use anything other than veggies. Well, here I cannot provide any expert advise. I suggest you ask someone else about what comes near veggies.
Some more tips about what could spoil the whole experience. Participate, don't cook this yourself, let her do it. She is the expert. When you peel the onions don't try to optimise, remove all the dry layers and go deep into it and remove the stem inside also usually onions are rotten so smell them before you use them after peeling them. Same with the garlic, after you peel the last layer you will find some brown filament left. Make sure you remove them, as they dry up when you fry the sauce and you will encounter them when you eat.
So much ado about pasta ...
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Crows and big bang
No, this is not about 'The Big Bang'
There was a big bang and the power went off ...obviously something to do with the transformer (the power distribution point..but why is it called a transformer?) at the MDU (multi-dwelling unit - as it is known in Germany - i.e. my block of flats)
I learnt that this is a frequent phenomenon during the week days and it so happened that this time it was a weekend and so it is that I came to know more about the mortality rate of crows.
It seems that crows often perch on the beams of the transformer and get electrocuted...not a cute way to die but quick nevertheless.
I wonder why crows probably one of the most intelligent birds you may come across in the city make such a mistake as to not know a live wire when they see one!
A family of crows visit my balcony and are quite clever enough to have a preference to certain types of food ... like crisps,deep fried stuff etc, and refuse to touch others like fruits bits or biscuits etc. They often come to the balcony when the balcony door is open, and caw incessantly until you respond. If you reply to their cawing with a 'ok ok I'm coming' they wait for a while.
So why do such clever birds touch a live wire...can't they discriminate between a dead and live wire? Or is it that they commit suicide ...
There was a big bang and the power went off ...obviously something to do with the transformer (the power distribution point..but why is it called a transformer?) at the MDU (multi-dwelling unit - as it is known in Germany - i.e. my block of flats)
I learnt that this is a frequent phenomenon during the week days and it so happened that this time it was a weekend and so it is that I came to know more about the mortality rate of crows.
It seems that crows often perch on the beams of the transformer and get electrocuted...not a cute way to die but quick nevertheless.
I wonder why crows probably one of the most intelligent birds you may come across in the city make such a mistake as to not know a live wire when they see one!
A family of crows visit my balcony and are quite clever enough to have a preference to certain types of food ... like crisps,deep fried stuff etc, and refuse to touch others like fruits bits or biscuits etc. They often come to the balcony when the balcony door is open, and caw incessantly until you respond. If you reply to their cawing with a 'ok ok I'm coming' they wait for a while.
So why do such clever birds touch a live wire...can't they discriminate between a dead and live wire? Or is it that they commit suicide ...
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