There was a projection art show on the Town Hall on Friday at 7.30pm so I went along. It wasn’t really an art show more a projection of Christmas ephemera. It was kind of weird the square was deserted and there was no one watching it except about five people who seemed to be listening to a group of carolers. Everyone left at 8pm, except the projectionist she continued on, so I don’t know if the singing was part of the spectacle. It’s on again next Friday if you’re curious.

Watching a projection art show makes you thirsty so we decided to go to Maya for a cocktail.

The Town Hall is flood lit quite well so it was difficult to see the various images being projected on it.

Maya’s cocktail bar is above the restaurant and has big windows looking down on to the street. It’s on the left at the top of the stairs in a long room with a padded red bench seat running the length of one wall with small tables and stools dotted along. Everything is decorated in red tones = nice, but the glowing blue lights in the bar fridges seem out of place. They’re the same colour as those UV lights used in toilets that stop junkies shooting up.

The cocktail menu is themed which is great… makes for more interesting drinks, I liked the Jaffa and the Mojito. However, it took the bar man 15-20 minutes to make our drinks no exaggeration. Not that he didn’t have the skills he made our drinks quickly and very well. It just took him that amount of time to get to our drinks order. The bar was empty but it also serves the restaurant downstairs and you have to wait for a mixed drink.

Almost forgot to say there’s bar snacks as well, we had wagyu beef samosas. They were sooo nice, great pastry, crisp not greasy.  I’m going to Maya for dinner next week and I’ll have them again and maybe another Jaffa.

Maya Cocktail List

As some of you may already know, my computer had an accident. Or more accurately, I had an accident on my computer. With soup. Thin, brothy soup. My two year old MacBook was soaked, despite my valiant effort at blowdrying the keyboard. I let the machine dry out a few days, drove two hours to Orlando with my sweetie friend, and ended up sending the computer to the recycling center. Very, very sad. But, on the upside, I did purchase my first article of clothing from Anthropologie. A dress, in plum, on sale. Every thorn does have its rose.

Luckily, a MacBook Pro had arrived recently in the mail from my brother-in-law, so we were not completely computerless. But the  new arrival was an older model and was missing iPhoto, what to speak of all my stuff. Thankfully, I had backed up my computer not too long ago.

Yesterday, as an early birthday present, my husband applied for a Best Buy card and bought me a new MacBook (this time a Macbook Pro). I recently reconnected with a super nice friend from back in my unhappy college days (ahhh, Facebook). Jarrett is a manager for many things Apple store and he was generous enough to offer me on-phone assistance when the spill happened…as well as his friends and family discount for a new computer. What. A. Mensch. But Best Buy offered us 18 months of interest free financing, so, well, you know. We got me a new Mac.

I *just* reinstalled everything off my super unsexy yet totally ugly backup hard drive and felt soothed and caressed when my desktop picture of dhokla, dhanya chatni and khandvi filled the screen. Ahhhh. Nice to see you again, old friend, even if you have transmigrated to another (better looking) body.

Looks like most of my pics have made it through the cycle of birth and death. I am sure some got lost between the last back up and the soup, but I take so many, it is kind of difficult to notice. What I do notice is the absence of the 45 songs I downloaded the day before the soup hit the keyboard. Just more money down the American drain.

So let’s catch up a bit, shall we?

Roasted Red Pepper & Eggplant Stuffed Mushrooms

It’s citrus season in Florida (that’s how we can tell it’s winter). As you can see from the garnish of these stuffed mushrooms I made a couple of weeks back, Meyer lemons are in the house! A very lovely citrus, grown locally. We even planted some seeds so we can cultivate of our own citrus grove. What else are we going to do living here?

For more info on the suave and refined Meyer lemon, check out Julie O’Hara’s NPR piece: The Meyer Lemon: More Than A Pretty Face.

Since I didn’t have my very own personal computer to keep me busy, I took to the streets and did some cooking for pay. I hadn’t whored out my cooking services in a while, despite the not too occasional phone call requesting my private chefness. But getting a phone request minutes after spilling soup on my Mac, well, I didn’t have to check my Magic 8 Ball to figure out what to do.

It doesn't get any flakier than this.

Another call came in later that week from a family taking a whirlwind international trip to the sacred land of India. Snackies for airplane time were needed. I made a couple of things, including these yummy whole wheat pea and potato samosas. I totally am the anti-fan of frozen peas, which smell, to me, a lot like defrosting pee. Instead of weird, stinky dead peas from the freezer section, I choose to use dried peas, which have a very wholesome, legumey goodness to their taste. Very filling, they also travel better than stinkbomb frozen peas. A stick of butter for good measure in the dough made these babies ultra tasty. What to speak of the peanut tamarind chutney that went along with them. Bon voyage!

Which brings us to today. And the rain. The godforsaken, unrepentant rain. Padi and I, and a gaggle of children, went to the Alachua Farmers Market. I bought a lot of greens, since vegetable-wise, that’s what’s really going on these days. Organic bok choy and arugula filled my shopping bag. Padi went in big for some beets and oranges.

Braving the rain, with kids in tow @ the Alachua Farmers Market.

Stuff White People Like: Farmers Markets

Actually, Naya looked so farmers markety, that we were asked to leave. It was just too much, the market manager said.

Florida Fresh Satsuma Orange

On the way to our other shopping we devoured Padi’s satsuma oranges. Easy to peel, sweet to eat. It’s past midday and my fingers still smell like citrus.

Aaaachhhooooo… It’s that time of the year ! When grizzlies lumber into their massive abodes and curl up into huge balls of fur. Bunnies ensconce in the warmth of their lairs. I say, what a lame excuse to avoid facing the challenges nature hurls at you. That’s the sole prerogative of ostriches, ain’t it ? Hypermodern simians (a.k.a. humans), defy all odds and gear up to fight fire with fire, I mean snowball with snowball… Whatever…
Winter. A period in the annual time frame characterized by shortening of days and lengthening of nights accompanied by an acute dip in the mercury readings of thermal devices. And I thought it was the “coolest dude” of all the seasonal blokes. Yeah it is. With an air of disdain it sweeps over the landscape, leaving in its wake frozen flora and benumbed fauna. “Dare you move a muscle while I am here, you weaklings. Freeze”, it commands. Dude, how the heck will I attend classes, empty glasses, give quizzes, woo misses, visit fairs and bald my hairs (the Shakaal look, it’s the toast of the campus) ?
I excitedly call my damsel. “Sweetheart, I gained 3 kilos today morning. Now will you stop nagging me for how lean I have become ?” Rascal, did you tell your unsuspecting darling that you have also gained a thermal inner, a pullover, hand gloves, muffler and woollen socks (not to mention the swabs of mucous in your nasal orifices) ? Your torso wouldn’t weigh half as much if it were not for the shedding of a dozen sheep on it. Ok ok, I get it Mr. Scruples. Now if you don’t mind, I have a class to attend. Can you save the sarcasm for later ? And now, armed with all the wool I need, I march forth with the stiffness of a cadet. Tally Ho !
Now before some of you accuse me of being a braggadocio, sample these facts. There are 2 flights of stairs to descend, 3 passages between hostels to traipse, 100 yards of a football field to counter, and a final sprint which is about 300 metres before I can reach my destination. The very thought would send shivers down the spine of a mere mortal. But then, “NO SACRIFICE, NO VICTORY” (courtesy – Archebald Whitwicky in the movie Transformers). Well, if there is something good that has happened out of this chilly weather is the reduced water consumption. As per a McFlimsy survey, winter ablutions statistics show an average of 3.7 baths per month and 27.6 drops of water per bath. And that too seems like an ordeal !
The ordeal has now become rigmarole since the past one month. But who’s complaining, as long as Fauzi dhaba has steaming chai and samosa waiting to be savoured… Just chill chill, just chill… Aaaachhhooooo… It’s that time of the year !

Last night I got home and walked into the kitchen. I was getting myself a snack, when I heard Andrew at the door. When I opened it, Andrew and Corelyn walked in with bags of presents for Christmas, and a six-pack of beer.

“Are you guys coming over?” I asked

“Yes, we are,” said Corelyn

“Did I know you were coming over?” I returned

“Well…no.” Corelyn and I proceeded to eat our snack while Andrew and Jeff got settled in front of the TV to watch the Patriots v. Colts game.

Then Corelyn and I decided that we should make Indian food for dinner.

And that’s where the trouble began. Corelyn wanted to attempt aloo gobi. I wanted to attempt chicken tikki masala. And I had a puff pastry that absolutely needed to be used. Immediately. (Slash I had it for six months and was SO SICK of it being in my fridge.)

Corelyn wanted to make Aloo Gobi. So we attempted this recipe.  It involved us making our own garam masala.

Meanwhile, I wanted Tikka Masala. We didn’t have any cream, so I used yogurt and milk. It was fine.

These were the spices we used for garam masala. Pepper, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, garlic pepper, and nutmeg. It was a bit spicy.

I wanted to make samosas with the puff pastry. We had extra potatoes, and Corelyn told me she had a can of peas. More garam masala, and squished it all together.

Delicious. Kind of like this.

Garam masala here.

More Aloo Gobi.

Cooking Tikka Masala after 40 minutes in the fridge!

Fried samosas. Delicious.

These were the boys watching football. It was very funny.

This is the mint sauce that Corelyn made. Without which I would not been to eat ANYTHING we made. It was VERY VERY spicy. But so good. A long, epic cooking night, four recipes, and three days of leftovers.

]]> http://thetamarindtree.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/make-your-own-samosas/ Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:17:49 +0000 thetamarindtree http://thetamarindtree.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/make-your-own-samosas/

It’s really hard to find decent savory things to snack on. If you want sweet stuff there is masses of choice but for people who like their salty snacks, crisps seem to be the only option. Pondering this dilemma the other weekend, I decided to make a big batch of samosas as they are the perfect savory snack.

For the pastry:

Ready made pastry (filo or puff)

Or make your own

220g plain flour

3 table spoons olive oil

water

• Sieve the flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre of the bowl and add a table spoon of olive oil. Mix the oil with the flour. Continue to add the oil and mix it until it is all added.
• By now your flour and oil mix will be starting to resemble dough. Add small amounts of water and keep mixing until you have a smooth, stretchy dough.
• Wrap the dough in cling film and place it in the fridge.

For the filling:

half a teaspoon tamarind paste

teaspoon Garam Masala

teaspoon paprika

teaspoon cumin

teaspoon coriander

teaspoon turmeric

a large potato diced

one onion

chopped up garlic clove

chopped up inch of ginger

chopped up chilli

other vegetables of your choice diced

meat diced if you want

• Heat up some vegetable oil in a large saucepan or wok at a medium heat. Add the cumin to the pan. Once you can smell the cumin getting nutty, add the onions and put a lid on the pan.
• After a few minutes, the onions should be soft. Add the garam masala, turmeric, tamarind and paprika.
• Add the garlic, ginger and chilli. Allow them to fry for about 5 minutes.
• At this point you can add the rest of your ingredients at your discretion based on what kind of samosa you would like to be eating. Add the coriander near the end of your cooking.
• Once all your filling has cooked, take it off the heat and allow it to cool down. The longer you leave it, the better the flavour. Overnight is ideal.

Making the samosas:

• Roll your dough into a log and divide it into sections that are about 4cm thick.
• Roll each section into a flat circle about the thickness of a ten pence piece. Cut each circle in half and make them into half cones. Add the filling and then seal. Water will make the dough sticky so rub some water onto the joins.
• Deep fat fry or oven bake. Brush with olive oil to oven bake.

Have fun eating them!

Readers who tire of hearing of the Crone and the Cackler’s get together will be glad to learn that reports of the trip are drawing to an end. But there are some excellent photos, and it seems a shame not to share them with you.

A wet Monday found the duo glumly staring at the rain coming down in stair-rods and considering their options. The Cackler expressed a desire to see the White House which, that day, was to boast a pink ribbon in honor of breast cancer awareness. The thought of trekking to Jackson Place to see the home of the first family festooned in saturated satin filled the Crone with dread–until she remembered the Hotel Washington, licensed premises that overlook the White House.

It has been years since the Crone was last in the hotel and, during that time, it has very much changed for the better. It has been taken over by the W chain and is now the last word in opulence and style.

The downstairs lobby has pinstripe-suited soft furnishings cheekily supplemented by sofas upholstered in hooker high heel red patent. It makes the lounge look like it is filled with Members of Congress and Ladies of the Night. Tongue in cheek high taste–beyond that, the Crone couldn’t possibly comment.  The general ambience is French boudoir. It was all too much for the Cackler who had to sit down and order a nice cup of tea.

A velvet rope and a hostess bar the way to the lift for the roof terrace but, it being the middle of the day, the haggard and hungry managed to make the grade to ride roofward (at night, only the beautiful people are so elevated). Once upstairs, it was Kir Royales all round and the most delicious selection of appetizers–crab cakes, calamari and chicken samosas. They almost forgot to look out the window and over the White House.

I gave into my compulsive nature and went into the city and got two lamb samosas from a little, almost unnoticeable, cafe.
I also went exploring through lots of little back streets and found loads of cool little places, like a cafe sunk into the ground which had such a tiny door even I could hit my head on the door frame!
Unfortunately the amazing sunlight from this morning was gone so I didn’t take any photos.

“I’m trying to find the words to describe this girl without being disrespectfu-ul” *dances*

Anyway, should get on with work. If I’d actually read my modules handbooks I would have known that I had a lot of work due next week.

I love Waterstones for having a Travel Literature section my bookworm sense were all a tingle.
Manga section was POOR! It was smaller than the section in “The ‘Sham”.

“Damn girl! Who’s a sexy bitch?” *dances*

Onsdag, torsdag och fredag har nog varit månadens jobbigaste dagar. Med en huvudvärk som vägrar ge med sig och hundra miljoner saker att göra har jag gått på snålbensin, hela tiden.

Inför min gamla menziesåterträff idag skulle jag i torsdags tillverka egna köttiga samosas.

Köttet (nötfärs, ärtor, gurkmeja, microhackad lök, pressad vitlök, curry, salt, peppar, koriander, citrongräs, ingefära, persilja) blev godare än godast men när jag skulle baka in den i degen gick det åt helvete. När knytena träffade den kokheta oljan öppnade dom sig. Det slutade med att jag började grina.

Jag gjorde så som man inte ska göra, konstaterade att jag suger i köket och gav upp. Mitt patetiska jag tryckte in filodegen i det allt för isiga frysfack och bestämde sig för att göra en “farzin”. Tårarna rann fortfarande när jag blandade ner köttfärsen i riskokaren och lät den stekas i många minuter. När den var klar roade jag mig själv genom att göra smilegubbe.  Det kändes pyttelite bättre.

Så nu sitter jag är lottlös, inte en susning om vad jag ska bringa ikväll. Förhoppningsvis får jag lite inspiriation från matmässan vi ska på vid 14:00 tiden. Annars får mina gamla kollegor nöja sig med the one and only: Lantchips med sotad getostrulle. Det är gott.

Pssst. Jag drack te med smaken fläder/champange hos Sara igår. Jag garanterar att den kan bota det mesta tex: fredagsgodissuget eller ett brustet hjärta. Den går att köpa i löstehörnan på Hemköp. Do it.

Last night, I made a pot pie for dinner. It had faux chik’n gravy, chicken-flavor seitan, potatoes, turnip greens, and lima beans. It was delicious, but the pictures turned out horribly. I am not talented enough to photograph pot pie–it’s not a very photogenic dish. 

Now, it was a pot pie for one, so I didn’t need very much crust, but I still made a full recipe of the dough and put the excess away in the fridge. When I was a kid, my mother would give us the extra bits of pie dough to make “treats” out of, which usually involved folding some jam into them or sprinkling them with sugar and baking until crisp. As an adult, I still love to play with my leftover dough, and one of my favorite uses is “samosas.” Now, these are only samosas in the loosest sense of the word. I didn’t use the flaky crust that samosas usually have–I used an olive oil herb crust, because that’s what suited my pot pie best. It’s also not filled with completely traditional samosa ingredients. It’s filled with… tofu scramble! Think of it as a tasty hybrid of samosas and those gross breakfast Hot Pockets.

The filling for two samosas is ~1/4 lb of extra firm tofu, 1 medium red potato, and 1/4 cup of frozen peas, although you could use onions, carrots, cauliflower…whatever vegetables you want. I pressed, drained, and crumbled the tofu, and seasoned it with turmeric, ginger, crushed red pepper, black pepper, onion powder, salt, and coriander and made the seasonings a bit stronger than I usually would, since I’d be thinning the mix out with my vegetables later. I diced the potato and boiled it with the frozen peas and a peeled chunk of ginger root until the potatoes were just tender, but didn’t break apart when poked. I scrambled the tofu as usual in a small amount of olive oil, and when it was nearly done I added the drained peas and potatoes (remove the chunk of ginger root if you use it) and about 1/4 tsp of sesame oil for flavor. While the veggies and tofu were mingling on the stove, I rolled out my crust very thin and divided it into two pieces.

You’ll need either fresh or leftover savory pie dough. I used olive oil herb dough (1 cup white wheat flour, 1 cup unbleached AP flour, 1 tsp herbs of your choice, 1 tsp sea salt, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup cold water) leftover from last night’s dinner. The paring knife is provided in the picture for a sense of scale. That’s the only knife in my entire kitchen except for one wobbly steak knife and some butter knives, by the way. Every meal you see on this blog has been prepared with that knife.

I put about 1/2 cup of tofu and veggies in the center of each piece of dough, which left about 1/3 cup of filling for me to snack on. I folded the dough over the filling, then sealed the edges with a little bit of water and rolled the edges up. A small hole in the top to release any steam, a brushed-on coating of a little melted Smart Balance, and they’re ready for the oven.

The left samosa is done properly, I had some… technical difficulties with the one on the right, but it tasted totally fine, I promise. It’s just not as attractive. I baked the samosas on foil misted with olive oil for twenty minutes at 375. Now, at this point, if you wanted to make samosas for future breakfasts, you would bake them for five minutes, remove them from the oven, allow them to cool, then wrap them up and freeze them. When you want to eat them, put ‘em back in the oven. Vegan breakfast Hot Pockets!

While the samosas were baking, I decided that I wanted chutney on the side. The problem is, chutney takes an hour or more to cook down, and my samosas were going to be ready in twenty minutes. So I took my basic chutney recipe and turned it into a deconstructed chutney, or (since “deconstructed chutney” sounds a little too Top Chef) a chutney salad. It uses the main flavor components of my usual chutney–tart apples, tomatoes, onion, ginger, vinegar, and brown sugar. This makes enough to eat with two samosas.

CHUTNEY SALAD
1/2 a large tart apple, like Winesap or Granny Smith, diced
1 medium or 1/2 large ripe tomato, seeded and diced
1 green onion stalk, chopped into segments
1 teaspoon peeled and finely diced ginger root
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Whisk the brown sugar and salt into the vinegar with a fork until dissolved. Toss all remaining ingredients in the dressing. That’s it, you’ve got a chutney salad.

After the picture, I spooned the chutney salad onto the plate and ate it in combined bites with the samosa. Because of the chutney salad, I ate this all with a fork, but if you’re eating this as a reheated Veg Pocket, it works very well as a handheld food.

i did my first “dry-run” rehearsal samosas last nite. figured it was a good idea because my friend who invited me to cook for the fundraiser – he is also a great cook- & the colonel’s childhood friend & family dentist were coming over. i ended up mostly using this samosa recipe because it was way more complex. i also used the one in my previous post, but only a bit-such as using peas & green chili/ginger/garlic paste. it ended up being shredded cabbage, shreaded carrots, onions & peas tossed in about 20 spices.

the pastries were created in 4 steps. since the show me the curry girls used chaat masala, i researched it. i made garam masala before, but was not familiar with chaat masala. i keep seeing it in recipes so i decided to pull out the whole ingredients & roast & grind a nice batch.

basic chaat masala

1 tbsp Cumin Seed (Jeera)
1/2 tblsp dried Mint Leaves (Pudina Leaves)
1/4th tsp Carom (Ajwain) seeds
1/4th tsp Asafetida (Hing) Powder
1 tbsp Rock Salt (Kala Namak)
21/2 tblsp dried Mango (Aam) Powder
5 Cloves (Lavang)
1 tsp Ginger (Adrak) Powder
1 tsp Cayenne
1/4 tsp Tartaric Acid
1 tblsp Black Pepper corns (Kalimirchi)
2 tsp Salt (Namak)

the next step was to make the filling so it would be cool when i would work with it in the home made chapatti.

after that, i had to make the chapatti. i used equal parts wheat & white flour with some warm water. no salt, but today’s batch will have salt because dave commented on it. this is why i always rehearse my recipes-ESPECIALLY if i’m going to make 100 for perfect strangers who are paying money for them.

chappati is easy. flour & water, knead. let sit 15 minutes, roll.
today instead of gyoza-fying them, i did them proper. cut the chapatti in half

wet the straight line & press into a cone, fill, & wet press closed.

delightful

put them in line for their hot oil bath!

if you are going to eat deep-fried food, you should definitely cook it. it’s truly eye-opening.

then i had to make the dipping sauce. my-so much to choose from. i am a fan of tamarind sauce, but i did not have access to fresh or a jar of tamarind paste, so i ended up making a really beautiful & interesting one

dhaniya chutney. very simple-and look ! there’s a need for chaat masala let me just get my fresh aromatic jar full. oh yeah…

i am a deep-fry virgin. i fear both eating & cooking oil. but i do like me a samosa now & then. i just don’t understand how much oil to use, what kind for what, how hot it needs to be.. i know, i know. a little internet research. thing is, i really never needed to know.

because i’m a deep-fry virgin.
even though my name is fry….

It’s been a while since I’ve updated, due to many circumstances, including my lack of eating out! But I’ve got an update for you today on Restaurant Asha, which I recently visited with some friends—the proper way to enjoy any dining experience.

Asha is a small Indian restaurant located on Park Avenue, just down the street from the 24-hour Second Cup of choice for McGill students. Seeing as it’s part of the “McGill ghetto” area, it’s a natural choice for McGill students who love Indian food and hate to cook. Oddly enough, I used to live in the McGill ghetto, but had never been to Asha before last week. I am obviously either oblivious, crazy, or spent far too much time in the “Concordia ghetto” to notice this place. Bad reviewer!

In any event, Asha is a great place to go if you’re feeling like sharing a ton of food or want to grab a bite to eat before a film at the Cinema du Parc (we caught “A Wink and a Smile,” as part of the Montreal Burlesque Festival). The ambiance is similar to many of the Indian restaurants in town: real napkins and tablecloths, a kind of formal-casual that doesn’t necessitate dressing up, but where you wouldn’t feel out of place if you did. Plus they’re fully licensed, so you can enjoy some old-school cocktails like the Sling or an Indian beer before your meal.

Lamb saag and chicken korma (photo by Flickr user avlxyz)

A trio, our party ordered the Chicken Korma, Butter Chicken, and a curry lamb dish whose name has escaped me (saag?). These were mildly spicy, as we weren’t in the mood for the hot stuff, and although the portions appeared quite small, once we had enjoyed our appetizers of onion baji and samosas, it was more than enough for the three of us. You also get basmati rice with your mains, and we added some garlic naan to the mix, so there were plenty of carbs to soak up the sauces. As one of my dining companions wondered aloud, “Why is it that, at some point, you just want to eat all the sauce?”

Why indeed? We don’t know, but we soaked up a helluva lotta sauce with our naan and rice, yum! The mysteries of Indian cuisine live on.

The food here was slightly more expensive than your typical Shoestring “cheap eats” meal, but if you’ve got some extra cash and feel like splurging, this is a great place to do it. If you can grab the window table, you can people-watch to your heart’s content, or if you feel like going incognito, there are tables in the back where no one would ever think to look for you and your hidden lust for curry.

Delectable samosas (photo by Flickr user food_in_mouth)

Oh, and despite our meaty tendencies, there were plenty of veggie options for those that partake of this zany lifestyle. The samosas were decidedly veggie, as were the baji, but as for the healthiness of these options, well, they were deep-fried in plenty of oil.

All in all, I would recommend Asha to those in the neighbourhood, especially if you wanted to try their special three-course lunch deal (Mon-Fri from noon to 2:30 PM), despite its slightly higher price tags. I think, ultimately, my favourite cheap-eats Indian place has to be Breads of India, with D.A.D.S. Bagels coming in an unexpected second for its late-night satisfaction. (Reviews to come!) There are some nice cheap Indian eateries up in the Park-Ex area, too, but I tend not to venture that far north if I can avoid it. Location, location, location, y’know?

What about you? Got any faves or spots to avoid?

ADDRESS: 3490 Avenue du Parc (McGill Ghetto)
METRO: McGill and a short walk
PHONE: 514-844-3178

Cause ya know, running in races is just how I casually spend my weekends now

Can you believe this was already my fourth race?? My first one ever was a 5k in May, then the triathlon in July, last weekend’s 5k, then finally, a 10k! 

Today I completed the Fredericton Fall Classic. An annual 10k hosted by one of my city’s running groups. This race actually meant a lot to me. My first 5k in May was supposed to be a 10k, but I had to scale it back because of time constraints (I guess my university graduation ceremony is more important…) I’ve had my heart set on doing a 10k ever since, and I’m happy I finally got to do it!

Start time wasn’t till 11am, so I got to have a leisurely morning in bed. Went for a safe breakfast of oatbran.

With chopped dates, unflavoured soy protein powder, coconut and cashew butter.

Then I had my no-fail running snack before heading out the door at 10am.

Banana with a smear of PB.

The race itself was pretty small, I think close to 200 people all together?

It was really cold before we  took off. I still have to acclimatize to temperatures under 10 C (50 F).

That’s my “I’m flipping cold, let’s start running already” stance.

It was a chip timed event, so I stuck to the back of the pack in order to pace myself at the start. I always feel like I need to sprint when people start flying past me at the sound of the horn! Thing is, I think I started too slow. Around a 11-12:00 min/mi pace. I got to the 5k mark after 33 minutes and realized I had to pick up the pace, big time.

So then I started pushing close to 8:00 min/mi, which is just too tough for me! But I had my heart set on finishing in under an hour and I knew I had to do it to make up for lost time.

After about 45 minutes, I started to hit a bit of a wall. I wasn’t sure if I could go another 15 minutes at that pace. It was an out-and-back route, and the finish line still seemed very far away in my head. I could feel my nerves kicking in, my gut coming up to my throat, and my breath quickening. Then I cramped up. So I stopped and walked for a minute, cleared my head and drank a bunch of water (I’d been forgetting to drink water, definitely didn’t help). Then I mustered everything I could and powered through those last two kilometres.

I found the energy to sprint to the finish, probably due to the fact that I’d kept it so easy in the beginning. Approaching the finish line, I was immediately relieved that I was going to make my goal, even with a few seconds to spare!

My official chip time was 59:11 and I couldn’t be happier

They put up the results immediately after, and to my dismay, I was 9/10 in my age group, and within the last 20 finishers. Very similar results to my triathlon! I was kind of bummed about this. Why does everyone in Fredericton have to be so much faster than me??

But when I came home, I realized I was still beaming over my finish. Despite finishing almost last. I still beat my own personal goal. How I place compared to others doesn’t matter. Running is a solo sport, the only performance that matters is your own.

And lets face it, the free food at the end doesn’t hurt either

Also, I can feel happy knowing I challenged myself today. Look at these heart rate stats!

My highest heart rate yet!

I had a mayjah craving for a turkey hummus pita for lunch, so that’s what I made when I got home.

With some leftover coleslaw in the background. I’m going to be eating that stuff for days!

After the veggie-ful lunch, I felt like I needed something carby and heavy for dinner. So for “balance” sake, I had three huge samosas

The bottom one is leftover from last night. I made two extra ones by rolling out the dough verrrry thin, then cramming them full of the leftover chicken/potato stuffing. Liked it much better this way! I dipped them in some watered down ranch dressing, goes further that way

This dinner tooootally hit the spot. My hunger has already kicked in from the race today. The same thing happened after last weekend’s 5k. Odd, because I didn’t burn an unusual amount of calories compared to my daily workouts. Perhaps it has to do with level of effort and exertion?

My day has otherwise been spent relaxing and reading.

In my newest race shirt, of course

Tomorrow will be an “active rest.” I’m going to a pilates class, which I suspect will be mostly ab work done on the floor.

Also, shout out to Chris who took all my race pictures today! Dude shows an amazing amount of support for all my racing/fitness endeavours. I thank my lucky stars I have a boy who will put up with my food and exercise silliness. I offered to stand on the side of the road to cheer him on during his bike ride today, but he said it wasn’t necessary

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Hey! Before I get into things, don’t forget to check out my first video post if you haven’t watched it yet! The funny part is, after going through all that breakfast cookie business on film, I didn’t even take a picture of it this morning! I do however have some fun new products I’ve been eating that I wanted to share

First up, soy nut butter.

I looooove plain roasted soy nuts, so why not soy nut butter? I had it on a wasa cracker today with some cinnamon and raisins.

I’m not a huge fan of the nut butter plain, but it’s really good on things! Overall though, I think I still like my soy nuts plain and roasted, and not from a creamy jar

Product numero deux…

Aaahhhh!!! A new kind of VitaMuffins!!! Blueberry bran to be exact. Ooohh, Vita, why must you continue to deliciously steal my money?

I enjoyed it my favourite way to eat blueberry muffins – toasted with some earth balance spread – paired with new product find number three!

Old cheddar cheese strings! I lovelovelove old cheese (or, I think you American’s call it “sharp cheddar,” which I guess sounds more pleasant). But I stopped eating it because of the calories, blah blah blah. Well now it’s back in my life in a convenient single serving package

All together now…

This actually served as the perfect post-workout snack. I hit up the gym for a little pre-10k race sesh:

• 20 minutes intervals on the elliptical
• 10 minutes on the rowing machine
• 10 minutes on the stepmill
• alternating sets of the horizontal woodchop and weighted back extension
• 10 minutes of various plank poses

It looks like a lot, but I took it fairly easy. I just wanted to get the blood flowing. It was also my first time on the stepmill!

I keep it no secret that I looooaaathe the stairmaster. I would run a marathon on a treadmill before putting any time in on the stairmaster. So I had pretty low expectations for this. I figured I’d just jump on for 10 minutes for the hell of it. Thing is, I really liked it! It took a lot of concentration not to fall off, but I thought the movement was really fun. Yay for new machine finds!

After the gym (and my snack) I got to work on making a feast for Chris and I. I should preface this by saying that my city is obsessed with samosas. Seriously, every corner store and restaurant sells samosas. People will stand in line outside for an hour, in the dead of winter, just to get their hands on the farmer’s market samosas. I swear, some people probably start foaming at the mouth at the thought of them!

Anyways, so when I saw a samosa recipe in the Moosewood cookbook, I knew I had to make it. Regardless of it being a little more complicated than recipes I generally cook, I just had to try my hand at this “local” favourite!

I made some coleslaw from the cookbook as well, and Chris brought the beer

We also had some plum sauce and ranch dressing for dipping.

My plate:

The coleslaw was a mix of cabbage, carrots, apples, yogurt, lemon juice and a small amount of mayo.

The samosa recipe was vegetarian, but both Chris and I prefer chicken ones. So I added some pulled chicken breast to the potato, pea, onion and cayenne filling.

To my amazement, they tasted really good! I was kinda scared of the crust, as I don’t do “doughs” very well. I bought white flour specifically for this recipe because I didn’t know what difference using whole wheat would make. Next time I’ll give the wheat flour as try, because I’m definitely making these again!!

Happy bellies

Chris has decided to go biking tomorrow afternoon instead of doing the race with me (pffft). But he said he’ll come out for a 5k practice run with me when he’s home next weekend

As for me, I’m starting to get excited for the 10k! Technically, the sprint triathlon I did in July is the “longest” race I’ve ever done. But tomorrow’s 10k will be my longest running distance in a race. I know I can hammer the distance out no prob, it’s just going to be weird running in a race for such a long period! Start time isn’t till 11am, so at least no huge stress to get up early, and the weather is supposed to be peachy

Aaand finally – go check out my guest post over at Meals and Moves!! It’s all about how I got started with weight lifting

See ya tomorrow for the race recap!

I have never been one to “overdo it”. For most of my life, I’ve been the sort of girl who goes to school, maybe goes to a club, does the mininum amount of homework and then calls it a day with a nice dosage of film/tv/book/fandom/etc.

Somehow over the past year that has changed, though, and today really epitomized that. Starting at 9:00, I jumped from German to Medieval History class to Italian class, using my breaks and lunch time to get more work done. After class I went almost immediately to go play “squash” (in quotes because all standard rules were ignored) with someone who I met at the racket ball clinic on Wednesday for an hour or so (such a great work out!) THEN I went straight to the South Asian students club on campus, ‘Ekta’, to explore my inner South Asian (hidden behind my Polish/Maltese/Danish/Scottish/Dutch/But ultimately PUREBLOOD, YEAH SLYTHERIN skin.) Yummy samosas were consumed.

And THEN I went to dinner and was super hyper and then watched awesome Merlin/Arthur videos with Meg and was a SUPERGEEK and now I’ve crashed.

But basically, I’m in awe of how much I’ve done today. Who knew it was possible?!

Thursday saw me off to Prague for another weekend there. The reason? My birthday was on Saturday (this was the third birthday I’ve spent in Prague! and the 4th in a row away from Malta…maybe I should do something with sis next year? ). and I also wanted to help Michael out with his move to London (he’s coming tomorrow…YIPPEEE!). This was also my replacement for a trip I should have made in May to Prague and which got overtaken by my stay in Pisa (luckily WizzAir had to make a schedule change to my May flight so gave me the option to change the dates of the flight at no extra cost, so didn’t lose any money ).

Thursday night saw me making my way to Michael’s place from the airport. Knowing that he had loads of stuff to do, and also some people should have gone to his place to buy the furniture etc he has been selling, I told him I would make my way home alone. Quite pleased that i got to do the trip alone…this allowed me to get a bit of feeling for ‘my Prague’ from my internship days. It was good to just look out of the window and enjoy. Arriving at Michael’s place we then made our way to their local Pakistani place for dinner…onion bhaji and vegetable samosas as starters, and chicken korma and some lamb and spinach thing for our main course, together with pilau rice and naan bread. The starters were at the high end of my spice-threshold, but the mains were delicious. Liked the place and the food

Friday was a day dedicated to Michael . His farewell party was set for today…starting out at a beer garden (which turned into a bar, the Andalusian Dog, as the weather forecast wasn’t too hopeful) and ending at Cross Club. However, Michael wanted to cook polsehorn (sausage-like things) for all…so the morning saw us preparing and cooking over 60 polsehorn…it was like a polsehorn factory! We also started a bit on the packing before making our way over.

It was great to see his friends…I had already met some of them (so I wasn’t totally out of it), but there were quite a number who I had never met (though I have heard about practically all!). However, even those I had never met, I immediately felt comfortable with (mainly cos they all knew who I am so it wasn’t awkward). I also got to go to CrossClub again…a crazy/fantastic place…haven’t been to a club in ages, so was good to get to one

Saturday then was my birthday XD. Michael had bought pancake stuff the day before. I hadn’t been too convinced that he would wake up to make me pancakes in bed as last year, after the night out the day before . Happily he did! Woohoo…and mmmm! After that we went in to the centre to look at a number of places I have fond memories of…mainly small markets I have fallen in love with. Michael allowed me my pleasure in these things…woohoo…without complaining . In the evening it was then off to a restaurant…La Casa Argentina . It was the place Michael had taken me on my first birthday with him 2 years ago (which was also our second date according to me/the first according to him ). It was nice of him to take me back there . After dinner we made our way to the town centre, where we came across the Prague Marathon. As always in these kinds of things, it is always an exciting environment, so we spent some time there before making our way to Cafe-Cafe for desserts. Not sure where, but somewhere things went wrong…as all the food made a lovely reappearance later on at night…luckily once all the food made a reappearance all was fine and I could go to sleep merrily.

Sunday was again a day supposedly dedicated to Michael, with packing and organising pick-ups. However, in the morning Michael saw a Facebook event on a friend’s Facebook profile: Free Hugs in Old Town Square. I had been mentioning I want to participate in one of these for ages…so Michael put it by me…Of course I said! What better way to spend my last day in Prague than in a Free Hugs campaign in the middle of Prague under gorgeous surroundings? It was a great time, and so glad we made it there (even though Michael never got round to going round giving hugs :-/). After that we went ot the municipal Hall for a drink as Michael has been wanting to go there for a while, before making our way home.

The plan was to go to the ‘hole-in-the-wall‘ Czech place close to Michael’s place. Unfortunately it was closed . So we made our way to the Mexican place close by. Not all that disappointed (even though I would have loved Czech food for my last night)…the food was great and the service was decent…enough appearance by the waitress/waiter but not intrusive.

This morning was then time for me to make my way back to London. I was a bit stressed about the trip, seeing as I had 2 handluggages not one (and both of them definitely over weight, and each one alone taking the total allowance in space supposedly allowed I am sure). Luckily they didn’t stop me! Also, I was a bit sceptical as in my hand luggage I had a laptop, and Xbox, a projector, and a whole bunch of plugs, chargers, and other electronics…I was sure they would stop me as a bomb-maker! Luckily they didn’t, and the trip went by uneventfully, besides an irritating guy 2 rows behind me who was slightly drunk I am sure, and the fact that when we landed we had to wait for a while in the place as there was a fire in the Terminal so the place was evacuated and we weren’t allowed off.

Now I am back home…need to get the place in a bit more order for tomorrow! Will get my ass into gear for that hopefully :0

Location:

460 McNicoll Ave, Toronto

Simply the Best. Samosas. Ever.

As Miranda Priestly would say,

That’s all.

I had the hardest time posting this post because my internet connection was terrible. I just could not upload the pictures. This literally took me three days to post. Whew!

My friends and I have been meaning to try out this Indian place in Town Center for a while, but we never got around to it until now. The restaurant was really small but absolutely adorable. The service was really great as well, which just makes everything better. However, AN kept complaining that she was going have a seizure from the light flickering over our table. I didn’t really see the flickering, but it was probably because I was sitting on the other side of the table.

Yummy!

First, they gave us these yummy crisps with green chutney for us while we were waiting. The menu was very extensive and full of vegetarian options, so it was a nice change. It took us forever to decide what we wanted.

Baingan Aloowala

I had the Garlic Naan and the Baingan Aloowala, which is eggplant and potato cooked in this sauce that had onion and garlic and lots of spices. It was pretty spicy, which I love. But they’re also great about adjusting the level of hotness to fit your taste. The entrees also come with rice.

Rice

Garlic Naan

The garlic naan was good, but nothing too special. I don’t think it had enough of a garlic flavor. By the way, I adore garlic. Absolutely adore. I truly believe that you can never have enough garlic, and I will put garlic in anything and everything.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Vegetable Pakora

SS had the Chicken Tikka Masala, which is chicken tikka cooked in a tomato and cream sauce. She enjoyed it a lot, and she also got the Vegetable Pakora. I tried the pakora, it was delicious. I might get that the next time we go.AN ate dinner already before we went because this was kind of a last minute, spur of the moment outing, so she just got the Naan and Vegetable Samosas.

Vegetable Samosas

It was a great dinner! I would love to go back again. Also, I am now back in Charlottesville, so I will be finishing a few more blog entries about Virginia Beach, and then the rest will probably be centered in C-ville. Charlottesville may be small, but it has a TON of great restaurants and great food. I am super excited!

Saffron

4532 Columbus St
Virginia Beach, VA 23462

Det pågår val i Afghanistan. Under valen i Mellanösternländerna och de Asiatiska länderna tenderar dessa att för första gången uppenbara sig i många svenskars ögon. Afghanistan? Har dem ens någat att rösta för? Var ligger nu det? Vid Thailand? Dålig kunskap om länder och städer är oattraktivt. Plugga gott folk, om inte annat så investera i en atlas.

Malmöfestivalen idag:

Jag botaniserade bland samtliga matstånd och stod och vägde på fötterna framför det filippinska käket. Tillslut tyckte jag att det luktade för mycket thaimat. Och thaimat kan man ju käka alla dagar i veckan, nästan alla tider på dygnet. NEJ! Jag vill vara internationell och “nyfiken”. Jag vill kunna namedroppa maträtter när jag träffar nya människor, lika lätt som jag namedroppar huvustäder. Det är inte en slump att jag har två albanska fans i klassen, det var bara att slänga ur mig maträtten Pasul och sen var de mina.

I matståndet stod en representant från Aria Afghanska kulturföreningen, hur många gånger i livet kan man stå och prata med afghanska man över 15 år, som inte har en arg fruga bredvid sig? Nej jag är inte fördomsfull, jag bara konstaterar. Han berättade att det största syftet med att ställa sig på Malmöfestivalen för 30000 kr i veckan, var egentligen att få ut kunskap och kännedom om hans hemland. Jag frågade om han var från Kabul men han sa att han var från en liten by jag inte minns namnet på. Iallfall så bjussade han på en afghansk version av Kyckling Korma, hemmagjorda samosas med byns egna kryddblandning och en massa annat gott. Det var dubbelt så mycket mer än vad African Queen la på deras tallrik så jag var varken ruinerad eller hungrig när jag gick därifrån. Jag måste bara tillägga att det saffransris han serverade var nog det godaste ris jag någonsin smakat. Och då har jag smakat ris och mycket.

Är ni sugna på afghansk mat eller helt enkelt bara vill prata med en afghan kan ni besöka restaurang Nowroz i Malmö. Visserligen är maten persiskinspirerad till 99 men ni kan ju alltid konversera lite. God mat och trevlig service utlovas.

Den här lilla sötnosen stod mitt i festivalen och charmade av mig 15 kronor. Utanför klungan av inspirerade människor satt det tonsäkra proffesionella gatumusikanter och hängde läpp. Det är inte lätt att överleva den nya generationens gatunderhållning.

Såhär fina äppelträd finns det på min skola. De är fullproppade med mogna äpplen och om man vill kan man äta några under förmiddagspausen. Om man vågar kan man åka hit när mörkret har lagt sig och plocka av massor av äpplen. Sen kan man köra hem och göra ofantligt många äppelpajer. Det är mest om man vågar. Här vaktar katter och en arg vaktmästare.

So I’ve been in a wheelchair for well over 24 hours now.  It has been stranger than I expected, but for different reasons.

Physically, it’s been much easier than I anticipated.  There are, of course, little inconveniences; say, it takes up to a minute of wrangling to open a door.  I discover my soap & moisturizer are out of reach. It’s cold to take a shower seated upright above a bathtub.  But I’ve always been at home with physical discomfort, in fact, I kind of enjoy it.

Lucky me, because I’m getting sick.  It feels like my lungs are full of honeycomb & wool (the itchy kind).  Do you think it’s because of all the germs I get on my hands from wheeling?  It is, of course, inevitable that this project will take a physical as well as a psychological toll on me.  Eg., a few weeks ago I got lemon juice in my eye & experienced absolutely no sensation.

Anyway, I also thought it would be nearly impossible to navigate the day’s tasks… & it would have been, alone, on the first full day in a chair.  But I wasn’t alone for most of it.

After waking up, I transferred out of bed & then, eventually into the tub where I took my 1. shower.  It wasn’t the indulgent affair it usually is for me (I’m world-renowned for ridiculously long showers) but it did the trick.  Getting dressed in a wheelchair is certainly difficult.  But I’m very glad I store all my clean clothing in a heap on the floor.   Bella’s estranged father happens to live in Vancouver & he came by with his girlfriend (my friend Shannon) to 2. take the dog for a walk. Bella hasn’t seen him in around three years so it was a little much for her to take in.

I 3. sprayed on some of Shannon’s perfume. I like the smell, but it was supremely uncomfortable.  Obviously.  I mean, it was just how you would expect wearing someone else’s perfume to feel.  

Round & round, all through the town

After the man headed off to the library Shannon & I checked the bus routes.  We wheeled over & waited.

You all want to know about people’s reactions.  Well, I can tell you: they’re different.  They’re different in the way you’d expect them to be different.  I presume that what you mean when you want to hear about people’s reactions is that you want to hear about the emotional reaction I have to these different reactions.  Honestly, it doesn’t particularly bother or surprise me (though I’m sure it would be different if this was my permanent condition), so I’m less inclined to write about the predictable awkwardness of strangers.

Still, ok: there’s the expected range of reactions.  A lot of pitying looks, a conspicuous absence of male interest, a lot of social discomfort (where should I stand? Should I offer to help? Don’t stare!) etc.  I kind of enjoy it, at present.  I always feel exposed in public, &, perhaps oddly, I like the feeling of invisibility disability gives me.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t advocate this kind of lack of awareness on your parts.  Generally, I think everyone should be treated as human.  However, I feel like an odd & in some ways inhuman person, & I guess at the moment it’s a relief to have a visible marker of it.

Look carefully at that finger on the right. This is the most you'll see of Shannon all year.

Perhaps it’s because for the past several weeks I’ve had to be so extroverted in a way that doesn’t come naturally to me.  Now people look at me & don’t see me or don’t want to– good! I don’t want them to either.  I was a little giddy with the knowledge that I could behave however I wanted & get away with it.  Once on the bus, I kept thinking I could scream “WHY, WHY, WHY!” the whole ride to Granville Island & no one would put me off.  I would just get sympathetic, uncomfortable gazes.  In my normal life, I experience a lot of reactions from strangers, but sympathy almost never.  Only when I fall down the stairs or in the street, which is often.  Clumsy!

By the way, if you hadn’t already gathered this, I 4. Took the bus.

I also like how people now treat me as if I’m some sort of gentle saint.  I mean, really, I eat it up!!

A man with no teeth came & stared at me & then asked “What happened to you?”

“It’s a long story,” I told him.  “A very long story!”

Then we kept wheeling along.

It’s funny to need people.  It’s funny to need them so badly that you have to pay them to accompany you!  I’ll be doing a lot of that this week.  It’s funny to feel like it’s only right to pay someone for spending time with you.

Spent some time under a bridge with crow.

Shannon & I wheeled around Granville Island & through the market, to see what it was like.

Actually, I found it not much different from navigating those crowded passages in an able body.  Except, of course, you’re much shorter, slower & everyone stares.

Check out my wheels

We were supposed to 5. Eat lunch at the Indian stall. Neither of us felt like Indian, but it wasn’t my choice to make.  I hung around, as several people skipped past me in line, & attempted to see into the display case.  I wasn’t quite the right height.  Eventually, we managed to order.  We got four chicken samosas.

Mr. Cellophane should have been my name

They were adequate.  We ate them outside, where Shannon refused to let me take her picture.  “Just the back of your head!” I said.  But apparently she hates the back of her head.

We went for a second lunch of steak & a bottle of wine.  The food was mediocre, the conversation certifiably excellent.  The waitresses were, of course, concerned & solicitous.  So I felt more comfortable than usual sending back my steak.  It was cooked medium & I wanted (…needed!) rare.  I’ve always had an uncommon bloodlust.  I’d eat all meat raw if I could.

I considered my packaged leftovers my 6. Groceries for dinner.  I ate them for dinner, after all.  My goodness gracious.  I can’t believe I’ve eaten two baked potatoes today. How things change.

Then I picked up 7. Groceries for the week.

Four fine balls of mozzarella.

Missions accomplished, we 8. Took the aquabus home.

What lies beneath?

Do you see the little kid staring?  Totally normal.  I found I liked being at eye level with children.  What I didn’t like, however, was that as children would stare at me with absolutely natural curiosity, their parents would nervously redirect them in such a way that they would realize (often, likely, for the first time) that there was supposed to be something shameful, pitiable, & taboo about physical infirmity.

Upon arriving home, I took a long nap.

Then I headed out to 9. Meet friends at a bar of my choice. I met Krissy & Ray at the bar where I swing-danced with Simon on Wednesday.  I thought there would be a nice parallelism in this.  But it was too noisy for them, & there was a $12 cover (the bouncer pityingly waived it for me) so we went out to walk the streets.  Eventually we ended up elsewhere.

We had 10. a few drinks & talked on a few topics (generally depressing: eg., forced marriage & rape of female virgins before execution in Iran).  Then I10. danced in my wheelchair outside the bathroom.  Very briefly.

Staying "alive."

Fortunately, the bathrooms were also accessible.

The caption of the year

Now I’m home. Soon to bed.  & another long day in the office tomorrow.

All night last night I dreamed normal dreams.  But whenever I walked in my dreams, I would remember that I was supposed to be in a wheelchair.  Then I would feel a horrible sense of guilt at having failed to follow my orders.  Then I would forget again & keep walking. All through the night.  Was very relieved in the morning to discover this wasn’t the case.

I’ve realized, over the course of the past few days, that there’s really no way to accurately simulate the experience of a paraplegic. I can feel the muscles in my legs working involuntarily all the time… helping brace me, keep my balance, etc.  I have managed not to flinch from cold water or unpleasant sensations, but I know that this is absolutely not the same.  Living like this, I can feel how strong my body really is, instead of the reverse.  So I am having two parallel experiences, really: I’m at once able-bodied & disabled.  There’s this mischievous feeling in my legs, which keep telling me walk! They do play along for the time being.  But I know that they’re there if I need them.

It’s only now that I begin to glimpse what it would really be like if they weren’t!