Chat with Chai

Ella's Lemon Basil Chicken

2010-02-21T23:23:00.002-05:00

My sister-in-law Ella who is a fantastic cook gave me this recipe. You simply cannot get an easier more tasty chicken.
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken cut up into 4-6 pieces skin on
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1 1/2 onion cut into slices
2-3 teaspoon olive oil
1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 375C.
Pour the oil at the bottom of the baking dish. Add the onions at the bottom.
Wash the chicken pieces with the skin on. Pat dry with a paper towel.
Push the basil leaves below the skin.
Add salt and pepper to taste on top.
Cut the lemon and squeeze the juice on top of the chicken.
Bake uncovered in a pre-heated oven at 375C for 1 hour.

Tomato & Potato Soup

2010-02-06T14:02:00.004-05:00

Ingredients:
3 cups chicken stock
1 potato cut into 1 cm cubes
1 carrot peeled and very finely chopped
2 roasted red peppers (the jar ones are fine)
3 large tomatoes
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
salt to taste

Method:

Boil water in a medium sized container. When it's boiling put the tomatoes inside and allo it to cook for 2 minutes until you see the skin cracking. Remove tomatoes from the boiling water and put immediately under cold water. Peel the skin off the tomatoes and seperate the flesh from the seed part. Chop up the flesh finely and keep seperately. Put all the seeds and pul into a strainer and strain out all the liquid. Discard the seeds.
Bring the broth to a boil. Add the tomato liquid, finely chopped tomato flesh, carrots and peppers and cook for 30 minutes covered on MEDIUM until the potatoes are cooked.
Add the sugar and salt to taste. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add the basil leaves - Stir.
Serve hot

Spaghetti Squash with Onions and Garlic.

2009-09-09T21:32:00.002-04:00

This is a wonderfully easy way to make a healthy quick meal.

Ingredients:
1 x Spaghetti Squash
1/2 onion finely chopped up
3-5 cloves garlic finely chopped up
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup water
2-3 tablespoons grated cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 375C.
Cut the squash in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and the fibre from the middle.
Line a baking dish with parchment paper or aluminium foil.
Place the squash cut side down on the baking dish. Add the water to the pan. Cook in a pre-heated oven for about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and using a fork scrape out all the squash - it will come out in spaghetti strands.
In a pan heat the olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and cook on MEDIUM for about 3-4 minutes or until the garlic is slightly brown.
Add the squash and stir. Season with salt.
Serve hot and sprinkle some cheese on top.
Add pepper to taste.

Potato Gratin in a Muffin Tin

2009-09-09T21:25:00.003-04:00

Quite a unique idea that I picked up from one of the TV shows on Food Network and changed it to suit our tastes.

Ingredients:
2 large potatoes
1/2 cup grated cheese (use any that you like)
3-4 cloves garlic - very finely chopped
1/2 cup cream

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 375C.
Grease a non-stick muffin pan very well .
Peel the potatoes and cut into paper thin slices (I use a mandolin for this).
Mix the chopped garlic with the grated cheese.
Line the bottoms of the muffin tins with the thin potato slices. Add a layer of cheese mixture, then a layer of potatoes, then cheese and continue till you have used up all your potatoes and cheese mixture.
Pour the cream on the top of the potatoes.
Place in the pre-heated oven and cook for 35-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
To serve, use a butter knife and remove each individual "gratin" per serving.

Bollywood Borscht

2009-08-03T13:33:00.002-04:00

As an Indian married to a Russian - I have been trying to figure out how to make a decent borscht for ages. Finally - I decided to re-invent the dish and here is my "desi" version of the Russian classic.

Ingredients:
9 medium beets
2 medium potatoes- boiled with the peels on
2 medium onions - roughly chopped
5-6 cloves large garlic
2 bay leafs
2 cups chicken broth or 2 cups water+ 2 teaspoons dried chicken broth
2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoon curry spices (mix of cumin, turmeric, coriander, garam masala, chili powder)
1 teaspoon honey
2 teaspoons olive oil
sour cream
chopped chives

Method:

Wrap beets in foil and roast in an oven at 375F for 30-35 minutes. After this, leave to cool and then remove skin, head and tails and cut into large pieces.
Boil potatoes and remove peel. Chop large.
In a large pan mix the water,chicken broth, bay leaves, onions and garlic and boil for 15 minutes.
Add the potatoes and beets and cook for 20 minutes.
Remove the bay leaf. And using an immersion blender, puree the rest of the soup till it is smooth.
In a separate pan, heat the oil - add the spices and cook for about 30 seconds - add immediately to the pureed beets. Stir.
Add the honey.
Allow to cook on low for about 5 minutes so that the flavors blend.
To serve ladle the soup on a bowl, add a generous spoon of sour cream and a teaspoon of chopped chives.

Sauteed Apple Chicken

2009-07-13T22:14:00.004-04:00

Ingredients
3 chicken breasts cut into slices
2 apples cored and cut into thin slices
5-6 large cloves garlic
1 tsp soy sauce
5-6 basil leaves
2 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
Grated cheese for garnish

Method:

Heat oil in a pan over high heat.
Add apple slices, stir and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes
Add chopped garlic and stir. Cook for another 3 minutes
Add chicken and stir - lower flame to MEDIUM and stir occasionally.
When chicken is cooked (about 10 minutes) and a bit brown add the basil and stir.
Add soy sauce and stir.
Salt to taste
Serve immediately on a slice of bread with cheese on top.

Mango Ice-cream

2009-06-18T22:24:00.003-04:00

This is the Emperor of all Ice-Creams. You do need a good ice-cream maker for this. Make sure the freezer compartment of your ice-cream maker is kept in the freezer for at least 72 hours before you use it. It's also good practice to make sure that all the ingredients are very cold (not frozen) as well. Don't be tempted to lower the calories by using lower fat cream and/or milk - it really does not work and simply is not worth the effort.

Ingredients:
1 large can Alfonso Mango Pulp (they have this at every Indian grocery store)
1 500ml container of 35% whipping cream
1 250ml container of 18% table cream
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons white sugar
4 tablespoons pasteurised egg whites (optional)

Method:

With the ice-cream maker running, add the Mango Pulp, whipping cream, table cream, and sugar.
Allow it to run until the ice-cream is almost set.
If you are using pasteurised egg whites add them now and allow the ice-cream to complete the process. The egg whites will prevent the ice-cream from freezing too hard.
Keep a watch on the ice-cream. The moment it's done remove it from the ice-cream maker into a thick plastic container. Cover with clear-wrap and then cover with the container lid. Put directly into the freezer.
Freeze for at least 8 hours before you eat.

Bateta par Indu (Eggs over Chips)

2009-06-18T22:14:00.002-04:00

This is an adaptation from Niloufer Ichiporia King's recipe of traditional Parsi cuisine.
Ingredients:
2 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion chopped fine
5 cloves of garlic mashed up
1 inch piece of ginger - remove skin and mashed up
1/4 cup finely chopped coriander leaves
5 cups potato chips (get the regular -non flavoured but salted kind)
3 eggs
a few drops of water

Method:

Heat the pan and add the oil, onions, ginger and garlic and saute till cooked but not brown.
Add the coriander and stir.
Add the chips- loosely crushing each cup as you add them.
Stir and allow to saute for 1 minute.
Make 3 nests in the potatoes.
In each nest add 1 egg (sunny side up)
Add a few drops of water along the edge of the pan to create steam.
Immediately cover the top and allow the eggs to cook on MEDIUM-LOW.
Cook until the eggs are done to your liking.

Carrot Apple and Pear Salad

2009-06-12T13:21:00.002-04:00

Ingredients
4-5 carrots finely grated
1 large (2 small) apples chopped up small
1 pear chopped up fine
1/2 small onion chopped up fine (about 1/4 cup)
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil

Method

Mix all the ingredients together.
Taste and add more lemon juice or olive oil as needed.

Hasu's Tandoori Chicken

2009-06-09T23:01:00.004-04:00

Ingredients:
6 chicken breasts
6-7 cloves of garlic very finely chopped
1 inch piece of ginger which is grated
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon all-spice
4 tablespoons Patak's Tikka Paste (sold in glass jars)
3 tablespoons plain yogurt
salt to taste

Method:

Remove all visible fat from the chicken breasts.
In a bowl mix together the ginger, garlic and dry spices
Rub the mixture on to the chicken breasts.
Add the Patak's Tikka Masala and the yogurt - make sure the chicken is properly covered.
Marinate for at least 2 hours.
Grill either on a BBQ or on a George Foreman for 7-10 minutes until it is cooked and browned on the top.
Serve with Cucumber Raita and slices of lemon.

Carrot-Banana-Blueberry Bran Muffins

2009-06-02T10:18:00.003-04:00

Ingredients:
Dry ingredients:
1/2 cup oat bran
1/2 cup wheat bran
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Wet ingredients:
2 bananas- finely chopped
1 cup finely grated carrots
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup yogurt
2 eggs - lightly beaten
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup oil

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 400F.
Line a cup cake pan with cup cakes liners.
Mix all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Add all the dry ingredients and mix until just blended - do not over mix.
Using an ice-cream scoop - add the mixture to the cup cake liners.
Bake in the hot oven for 5 minutes.
Turn down the oven to 350F and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted inside comes out clean.

Easy-Peasy Whole Wheat Soda Bread

2009-05-27T20:32:00.003-04:00

This is as awesome recipe for someone who wants some good bread in 35 minutes.
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup yogurt

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 450 F . Keep a pan with a parchment paper handy.
In a mixing bowl mix together the dry ingredients.
Add the yogurt - mix until it forms a dough - add more flour if necessary.
Form into a ball. Make deep incisions on it to let the steam escape.
Bake in the hot oven for 15 minutes.
Turn the oven down to 400F and bake for 15 minutes.
Allow to cool for 15 minutes and eat warm with butter or clotted cream.

Brazilian Avocado Chocolate Shake

2009-05-13T00:34:00.002-04:00

This is the low cal version of the milkshake my Brazilian friend told me about.
Ingredients
1 ripe avocado
2 tablespoons unsweetened drinking chocolate (like Caotina)
1/4 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup milk

Method

Cut the avocado in two and scoop out the flesh.
Add the chocolate and the rest of the ingredients.
Blend until uniform - it will have the texture of melted ice-cream.
Drink immediately.

Variation
You can even make it with berries and bananas instead of the chocolate powder.

Stawberry Banana Bran Muffins

2009-05-01T21:09:00.002-04:00

My daughter ate 7 of the 12 muffins I made. This is definitely a keeper.

Ingredients:
1 cup strawberries cut into small pieces
2 ripe bananas chopped up small
1 1/4 cup white flour
1/2 cup oat bran
1/2 cup wheat bran
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 400F.
Prepare a muffin pan by lining the slots with muffin cups.
Mix together the strawberries and the bananas. Add the oil, honey, brown sugar , vanilla and salt.
Add the oat bran, wheat bran, and flour. Mix together.
Add the eggs and mix until it is just all combined. Do not over mix.
Pour into the muffin cups (the easiest way is to use an ice-cream scoop).
Put into the hot over - after about 5 minutes lower the heat to 350F and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a knife inserted in it comes out clean.

Add the

Poached Chicken Balls

2009-05-01T20:58:00.002-04:00

This is my spin on Annabel Karmel's Chicken Apple balls. It's great for kids.
Ingredients:
200g ground chicken
2 stalks of spring onion very finely chopped
1 clove of garlic minced
1 tablespoon coriander finely chopped
1/4 apple peeled and very finely chopped
2 drops sesame oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 egg
1 slice of white bread without the crust -broken into very small pieces
breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder(like the Maggie Soup Base)

Method:

Put a pot of water to boil with about 1.5 liters of water. Add the Bouillon and allow to come to a boil.
Add the rest of the ingredients (except bread crumbs)together in a bowl and mix well. Leave to rest for about 15 minutes (this allows the bread to soak in some of the excess miquid). If the mixture is still a bit "soft" add some breadcrubs - the end mixture should stil be soft but you should be able to make balls in your hand.
Make balls and put directly into the boiling water.
Reduce heat to MEDIUM.
Allow balls to cook for 5-6 minutes until done.

Rosemary Pepper Lamb chops

2009-05-01T20:48:00.002-04:00

Ingredients
6-7 lamb chops
3 tablespoons rosemary finely chopped
1 tablespoon thyme finely chopped
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
2 teaspoon soy sauce
flour to thicken
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup Mirin (or use Sherry, sweet wine etc)

Method

Mix together in a plate the chopped rosemary, thyme, pepper, garlic and paprika.
Trim all the fat off the chops. Wash the chops, then roll them in the herb mixture.
Heat the oil in the pan until it is hot (but not smoking).
Add the chops care fully in the hot oil. Fry for 1 -2 minutes on one side. Then flip over to the other side. Allow to cook for 2 minutes on HIGH.
Reduce heat to MEDIUM HIGH.
Add the Mirin and cover.
Allow to cook for about 12 - 15 minutes for well done lamb chops.
Remove chops using tongs and place in a plate.
There will be some liquid in the pan. Turn the heat to HIGH.
Add the soy sauce.
Add a little bit of flour to thicken. Stir constantly. After 1-2 minutes it should be thick.
Serve the Lamb chops with the sauce.

Orange Chicken

2009-01-28T14:14:00.004-05:00

Ingredients:

3 x boneless chicken breasts - cut into 1 inch squares
2 tbsp oil
5 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 inch ginger finely chopped
3 spring onions finely chopped
zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup green beans cut into pieces (or sugar snap peas whole)
1 red pepper chopped up into 1 inch pieces
1 cup peeled and finely chopped cucumbers
2 drops sesame oil

For the sauce:
3/4 glass orange juice
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar (or whatever white vinegar you have)
3 tbsp mirin (if you don't have it use grape juice, sherry or even white wine)
1 tsp cornstarch mixed in 1/4 cup water
2 dried red chillies or 1 fresh jalapeno pepper

Method:

Heat the pan and add the oil to it. When the oil is hot add the chicken pieces and cook on HIGH until golden brown on both sides- about 3-6 minutes.

Add the spring onions and saute for 1 minute

Add the ginger, garlic, and orange zest and saute for 1 minute

Add the red peppers and beans and saute for 2 -3 minutes.

Mix all the ingredients of the sauce except the cornstarch into a glass.

Add the sauce mixture to the chicken and cook on HIGH until the sauce starts to bubble and boil. Allow to boil for 2-3 minutes stirring constantly.

Add the cornstarch mixture and stir - the sauce will start to thicken immediately.

When the sauce is as thick as you want it to be, add the chopped cucumbers.

Add the sesame oil and give it a good stir.

Serve immediately with rice.

Chickpea salad with Yogurt

2009-01-17T15:51:00.005-05:00

Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon whole cumin
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
2 dried whole red chillies (or use 1 fresh green chili)
3 tablespoons plain yogurt
1/4 cup finely chopped herbs (basil, cilantro or mint)
salt to taste

Method:

Open the can and rise well the chickpeas. Allow all the water to drain out. Place in a large bowl.
In a small pan heat the oil. Add the mustard seeds, whole cumin and chillies and fry until the mustard seeds pop. Make sure not to burn the mixture.
Add spice mixture to the chickpeas and mix.
Add the yogurt. Mix well.
Add the chopped herbs and mix well.
Add salt to taste.
Can be served cold or at room temperature.

Israel's Peace

2009-01-17T12:31:00.003-05:00

I am laughing as I write this blog. Laughing at how low humanity has become. It's the feeling that comes after you cry about the downfall of something, when things continue going down and crying seems redundant - you laugh. Today I am laughing about Israel's pathetic claims of peace.

For those of you who have been reading the news, in the past few days, Israel has blown up a hospital which housed one of only 2 neonatal units and intensive care units in Gaza, children on incubators were taken on the street and most of them did die. While I am now beyond outraged at the brutal genocide that Israel is committing, I am also deeply saddened by the international community's inability to stop it. What does this mean? It means that legitimate forms of world governance are useless. The only things that matters is who is stronger and who will persevere. While it is true that in the middle east Israel is stronger, it is also true that the the Palestinians and Lebanese have a way of persevering over this neo-Nazi country.

But this is not what I want to talk about today. I want to talk about this pathetic 'unilateral cease fire' that Israel has agreed to. Firstly, Israel UNILATERALLY COMMITTED GENOCIDE, Israel UNILATERALLY COMMITS APARTHEID and Israel UNILATERALLY MURDERS INFANTS (Oh how the Israelis must be so proud of their sons who have turned into baby killers!). And now Israel wants "unilateral cease fire". The problem with this statement is you cannot decide something unilaterally - not when you destroy a land, take away all the resources and treat the legal owners of the land as slaves. You also cannot make unilateral peace with the US because the US is not at war with you. It would be like me making a unilateral agreement with my friend in which I agree to stop killing those I was killing earlier - it has no value. On one hand, Tzipi was signing a document in Washington and at the same time, the IDF put a missile into a high rise building which was FULL of residents sleeping. What kind of cease fire is this??

Also, I want it stated here first - ISRAEL HAS LOST THE WAR IN GAZA. The unilateral cease fire is no more than a surrender notice to Hamas. Israel said at the onset of this genocide campaign that they would remove Hamas. They will never be able to succeed and they have not been successful. Hamas can only be neutralized when the need of a militant organization fades, and that is when there is real peace and statehood for the Palestinians. The Israelis committed despicable acts of war crimes, became baby kills, undertook a "cleansing" that equated to genocide and of the 1200 people that they butchered, more than 800 were women and children. You could argue that the rest were Hamas - but this would imply that every male Palestinian over the age of 15 is a militant - which if it were true, Israel would be fighting with an army as big as it's own. So likely the number of actual Hamas fighters killed are pretty low - and low enough to not really matter.

So what happens now? Israel has been unable to destroy Hamas (as it was unable to destroy Hezbollah), Israeli troops will continue to stay in Gaza and kill more kids (because even though they signed the cease fire - it doesn't actually apply to the IDF) and Hamas will grow stronger. I believe it is a fair statement to make that Israel has exponentially increased the risk for it's population and the diaspora because of the genocide it committed. If Israel hoped to achieve anything with these acts of genocide in Gaza - it has failed. It has once again proved that Israel has only the muscle but not the brain to actually protect it's own people.

Israel has also shown the world that it is capable of using weapons of mass destruction (the white phosphorous), that it does not value life or democracy and that basically it is a rogue nation that should really be on the list of AXIS OF EVIL and boycotted by all self respecting democratic states.

We, as human beings have lost our morality if we accept any more of Israel's lies, murder and ethnic cleansing. Speak up world! Speak up for Humanity!

Getting Old

2009-01-15T23:16:00.005-05:00

Something has been happening with me and I finally put my finger on it - I am in a mid life crisis. For those of you who know me and start to laugh - I'm serious this time! Sometime in the next 10 days I will turn 37. hmm. 37! What kind of age is that? You are neither celebrating 40 (which is now the new 20) or moaning about turning 30 (which is now a very hip age to be)- you are there in the middle - limbo- just falling apart and going grey.

Ever since I turned 30, my body has slowly been falling apart. At age 31 you start to feel your joints, at age 32 your knees, 33 started back problems, at 34 I fell in love so the problems seem to not bother me. At age 35 with a new born baby- along with extreme sleep deprivation, my body started to rebel. And now, at 37 it's already telling me- Hasta la vista Baby - nice knowing you.

There are so many things I would like to accomplish. I feel most unaccomplished - I mean, at age 37 Napolean was well on his way to being King of France. Having said that, I do not wish to be King (or Queen, Princess or Royal Consort) of France or any other country. But it does keep things in perspective about how much you can accomplish by age 37. But on the other hand, I have accomplished a lot more than I thought I would have - I mean, I actually managed to find a nice guy and convinced him to marry a ranting-political activist-plus part time artist-plus part time chef-plus compulsive planner (a feat I often find unbelievable at times), and I am even more surprised that I have a child who at age 2 is still pretty normal given that I had no exposure or interest in actually taking care of children before mine was born.

But the sands of time are showing. I have wrinkles on my face, my hair is grey and added to my list of ailments is tendinitis. The one thing I wish I had and really miss are spectacles. I had them from the time I was 16 and all of a sudden when I was 35 and pregnant they said I don't need them anymore. While it was liberating at first, soon I started to miss them, and now I am downright lonely without those wonderful things that rest on your nose and make you look ever so sexy.

I guess I could always fix my hair and get rid of my ponytail, buy a pair of fake glasses and invest in some anti-wrinkle cream (Emy had one which seems to be working well). But then I would be all fake - which is exactly what women suffering from a mid life crisis become!

A sad ending

2009-01-11T22:49:00.002-05:00

I heard some news today that seems to have really shaken me. It's a story of courage, of faith, love and pure grit and yet even though there is a lot of success, in the end it looses.

This is a story of a young woman called Jane. She had just given birth to a little boy and while breastfeeding found a lump on her breast. Sadly, this turned out to be breast cancer. They removed the lump and did a mastectomy. Presumably she got the all clear because she ran the Toronto marathon and spent Christmas in the Dominican. Unfortunately, Mrs H just emailed to say she had passed away - of a brain tumor. How can someone so determined to lead a normal life and be there for her children not make it? What happened to those divine creatures that were supposed to be there for those who really tried? Why didn't she get a second chance?

I do not know this young lady. Have never met her. Yet for some reason her life seems to resound with me. Maybe it's the way she also never seems to quit or maybe it's because she was also just trying to get on with her life like all the rest of us. Nonetheless it feels wrong.

Over the past hour I have questioned how it is even possible that a cancer patient who is being checked continuously for relapses would not be checked for a brain tumour? On the other hand, even if she had known she had a tumour - what can they do?

It just seems like a completely wrong ending to life that had so much to offer this world.

Terrorism

2009-01-07T22:16:00.002-05:00

I would like to define what I call a terrorist - A terrorist is anyone who for an ideological reason kills innocent people.

Here is a list of some organisations I call "terrorist organisations"
1. The Israeli Defense Force and it's activities since inception.
2. The Indian Army with it's activities in Kashmir.
3. Al-Qaida and all its activites (I equate them with the IDF).
4. The US Army with their activities in Iraq.
5. Militant wings of Hamas, Hezbollah and all the other Islamic organisations that seem to think killing civilians furthers their ideology.
6. Stern Gang and Irgun
7. The militant wing of IRA and all it's activities in Ireland and London
8. Babar Khalsa and Khalistan groups
9. The Order
10. Suicide bombers all over the world

Boycott Made in Israel and my New Years resolution

2009-01-06T21:26:00.003-05:00

My New Years resolution this year is quite simple -stay stress free. For all those who have been following my life, last year was a very challenging one. This one I hope to keep fairly uneventful and full of fond memories.

Part of keeping my life stress free is to remove any items which constantly cause me to question my ethics. This is where the Boycott Israel comes in. I have always found Israel's use of brutality and it's flagrant disregard for not only International Law but also disregard for judgements by Israel's own Supreme Court extremely unpalatable. Married to a Jew (Not a practicing one, but one that has been nonetheless brainwashed into believing that the IDF is a legitimate body and the pitiful Jewish excuse to their nazi like behaviour which is "all Palestinians are terrorists") has made it a bit difficult to avoid getting "Made in Israel" goods in the house. However, every time I tasted those jams and juices (which I have to admit are tasty) it felt like I was perpetuating the mindless murder of more innocent civilians at the hands of the most organise terrorist organisation there is - the IDF.

I don't know what other goods Israel produces other than jams, cookies and juices (and of course illegal nuclear bombs and other items to perform genocide), but I am going to save myself from going through this moral dilemma every time I want to enjoy my toast.

I have seen and heard enough of Israel and it's apartheid policies. Indiscriminate killings of innocent Palestinian children has got to stop. Israel needs to understand that there are real repercussions when they kill civilians who simply want to live their lives. And as for my beloved brainwashed husband who believes "All Palestinians are terrorists" - I would like him and the rest of his brainwashed fascist Israeli supporters to explain to me how a child of 2 years is a terrorist.

I ask all people to join me in boycotting all goods "Made in Israel" - boycotting South Africa forced them to stop their inhuman policies towards blacks and maybe together we can make a difference and bring rights to the people of Palestine and liberation from the brutal occupiers.

Christmas 2008

2008-12-27T11:36:00.002-05:00

Something is just not right this year and I can't put a finger on it. We have a real Christmas tree that miraculously smells like pines (out last two trees did not), we have snow all over and really the makings of a perfect Christmas. But still, it just did not feel like Christmas. Something was missing and for the life of me I cannot figure out what.

Maybe it's the gloom and doom that is prevalent everywhere - I mean, how depressing is it to know that Woolworths is closing down after 100 years - or maybe it's more depressing to know that our stupid govt is going to spend more money we do not have to bail out an auto industry whose cars no one wants to buy - at the expense of my daughters future. Everywhere I go things are just not Christmassy. Christmas is a time of laughter and happiness, yet I feel burdened. I just don't see the spirit this year.

And it's not like we haven't tried. I mean, my dear friends came over on Christmas and we cooked up quite a feast with a goose and all the sides - the goose took far too long to cook, and it was way to tough (I realised I had bought a Mennonite Free Range one - apparently the ones cooped up in cages would have made better meals). But in spite of the trials and tribulations of one ex-chef (my friend Ed) and another ex-sous chef (me) and a support team of 2 ambitious home cooks (my friends Gab and Cat) - and a meal that after 6 hours gave us a proper meal and over which we did laugh - I still did not find the Christmas spirit.

It was probably me. I am way too tired these days. The burden of the path ahead looks even more heavy and under all this strain I find I have sadly totally lost my sense of humour. My friend Emy is correct when she says I need to learn to say "No "more often and stop trying to accommodate everyone. The toll of doing that is costing me the season's spirit.

Mumbai and the terrorists

2008-11-29T22:57:00.003-05:00

As most of the world knows, Mumbai has been under a mindless terror attack for the past 4 days. All terrorist attacks are inhuman and cruel, most don't make any sense and the overall loss to all is far greater the attack itself. But this is not what this blog is all about - for an analysis on the Mumbai attack - watch CNN.

My blog is about the terrorists themselves. These young men and women who chose to do this very cowardly act and destroy thousands of lives in the bargain. Let it be very clear - ALL TERRORISTS ARE COWARDS- THEY HAVE NO RELIGION , NO FAITH AND NO GOD. To link any of these terror attacks to a particular religion is wrong, biased and unfair.

When the siege started in Mumbai, I thought that if we moderates do not do something about the extremists who have high jacked our religion then we have lost our collective conscience. I don't agree with that anymore. We have nothing in common with these guys. Yes they claim to follow "Islam" but their "Islam" and mine have nothing in common. Mine believes in peace, charity and justice. Theirs is war, bloodshed and murder. We do not follow the same set of beliefs and as far as I am concerned just because they want to take AK47s and say they are Muslim does not make them any part of it. I have as much in common with their ideology as I have with a Haitian voodoo priest.

Muslims around the world should not have to apologise every time some Islamic nut decided to commit a heinous act. It is unfair to the 1 billion people who follow the religion and the law of the land if they had to apologise for actions of few who in no way represent their thoughts. So linking this and other terror attacks to "Islam - a religion of terror", or to the "Muslim community"is a practice that hurts more than it helps. It marginalizes people and does not lead towards a more peaceful and cooperative world.

Muslims are like any other people. We work hard to bring home food and pay the rent, we wonder how to pay for university for our kids, we watch bad sitcoms on TV, shop at Walmart and eat at Tim Hortons. We also have other very similar traits with the rest of the population, some of us fight with our spouses, some cheat on them, some don't pay taxes, some sleep at work and some don't recycle. In effect we are no different from any other segment of population in the western world. Most of us are only "Muslim" because we were born into a Muslim family. A large portion of us cannot (or do not) read the Quran and an equally large portion of us have never been to a mosque. In this respect, we are probably more lax about our religion than our Christian counterparts. It does not mean we do not follow the religion - we do, but like the evolution of cultures, our way of religion has evolved as well.

However, among those who follow Islam, a very small population(probably less than 0.0o1%) follow an ideology that has nothing to do with foundlings of Islam - it is purely a political extension of someones own desires. These are the fundamentalists and their crazy "jihad".

While there is no doubt that the Muslim community needs to do more to put out the ever growing extremism in the religion - it should be noted that Muslims can do about as much as Catholics could do when the IRA was bombing London in the 70s, 80s and 90s. There is still a big gap between what is reasonable to achieve and what needs to be done.

For starters, most fundamentalist thought is brought about in isolated comm unites that live within other non-Islamic general populations - like the large Muslim community in the Brampton suburb of Toronto. It is not uncommon to see girls here wearing "hijabs" or men with beards (both visible signs of religion in Islam) - what is common is the communal lack of integration. They attend private Islamic schools, live, socialize and work mainly among themselves and for all general purposes are separated from mainstream society. It is within these communities that a very small line defines orthodoxy and fundamentalism. When you have not been given the right to individual thought and expression from cradle, you take the word of the "smartest" in the community - sadly in these cases, it is the Mullah.

I know there is a huge out cry for Muslims to cure the disease within the religion, bring back these rogue elements and end the fundamentalism that exists - but this is totally unreasonable. What can an average Muslim chap who works in an office do that would remove Uber-nut bin Laden from his path - not much! What can an average Muslim do to prevent others from joining his path - maybe a very little something- and this is help with integration. Integration dispels some of the prejudices and hatred. Integration brings about an understanding that is core to future peace.
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Japanese Inspired Barbeque Chicken

2008-11-07T20:27:00.003-05:00

Serves 4 as a main course.

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (5 lbs / 2 kgs)
2 tablespoons OKONOMI sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons mustard
freshly ground pepper
1 bulb of garlic
1/4 onion

Method:

Preheat the oven to 380F
Wash the chicken and pat dry with a paper towel. Place in a baking dish so that the chicken fits comfortably.
Cut the bulb of garlic in half and stuff both halves in the chicken cavity. Cut 1/4 onion and place that in the chicken cavity as well.
Mix together the Okonomi, Honey and Mustard. Spread evenly on top of the chicken.
Sprinkle some freshly ground black pepper on the top.
Cover loosely with aluminium foil and place in the middle of a heated oven for about 40- 45 minutes. Remove foil and allow to finish cooking for another 40 minutes. If it looks like the skin is burning - cover loosely with foil again.
It's done when the thermometer inserted in the thigh (don't let it touch the bone) measures 185F.
Remove from oven and let it rest -loosely covered for about 15- 20 minutes. Cut up and serve with the sauce from the bottom of the pan. Best served with mashed potatoes.

One more reason why I am happy to be a Canadian

2008-10-03T01:06:00.003-04:00

Today, October 2, 2008 as the world and most of Canada watched the much hyped debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden, a lot of Canadians tuned into the election debates in Canada.
For unlike our cousins down South - we are a true democracy - we elect governments to represent us and when they stop doing that we have a no-confidence vote and throw them out. In the past 4 years we have had 3 general elections. And as Canadians, we can easily continue on this path because no politician here in their right mind would think of spending close to 1bn dollars and 2 years running for a 4 year term. This time around, the politicians had about a month to prepare for general elections, and without much hype and expenses, here we are ready to vote next week. See, up here, we are just more efficient.

But this is not why I love being Canadian. I love belonging to the True North because here we can actually voice our opinions. No one in the debate shied from calling Mr. Harper a "liar", no one felt they had to talk about God and make false statements about how they supported something when really they didn't - no sir! Here in Canada, we call a spade a spade, and a liar like Harper is called a "liar". I wish CNN would broadcast the debates to the US - it would show them how really to talk about issues and allow themselves to get all pent up about things that matter. We had none of the Hollywood production, or the million dollar sets - our guys went to the TV station, sat around a round table and hacked it out with a referee. No audience, no million dollar suits - just a bunch of goofy politicians doing their job.

And in this bunch there was a pleasant surprise for me. Elizabeth May. Leader of Canada's Green Party I had pretty much written her off but she totally surprised me. Intelligent, articulate and not scared to voice her opinion, Elizabeth really showed the men what the issues that matter to the people were all about. Just seeing her on TV, wearing a suit which looked like it was straight from Zellers (our version of Walmart), unkempt hair, no makeup, and glasses which look like they belong on a school teacher in the 60s, showed me the prime difference between us and the US. In the US, Hillary and now Palin, spent hours getting their hair and makeup done, they wear designer clothes, they "dress for success", millions is spent on creating a product out of them. Still - they lack substance. Hillary with her wishy-washy stand on all things, and Palin who believes dinosaurs and my grand dad co-existed and hung out at the local Burger King. Elizabeth May showed us what Canada is all about - we are all about substance. The expensive paparazzi stuff we leave to those south of the 49th parallel. Here we focus on the mind.

When the election campaign in the US started last year, I remember thinking how lucky the US was to have a pick of such outstanding candidates. Fast forward to to, and I feel deep pity for a country that seems to not have any choice. No one really stands for anything there. McCain used to be anti-change and pro-experience, now Sarah Palin bashes Biden's age and she is now the agent of change (maybe she will now make my grand dad and the dinosaurs enjoy their meals at the local Thai restaurant now). Obama was "anti-off shore drilling"in the middle east, now he realizes he needs to win more votes so he is "pro-off shore drilling, McCain was the biggest de-regulator of all times and now he is saying that the reason the banks failed is because there was not enough regulation. What garbage is this? The sad part is the average American cares more about abortion than if his daughter will have a house to sleep in. America is slowly turning into a 3rd world and all the politicians can talk about is how they have to "win the war in Iraq"! It is a sad state of affairs there, and I am particularly happy that we are not in the same boat as them.

Let them have their fancy politicians, we'll take our dowdy ones who can actually discuss real issues.

Apple Wasabi Coleslaw

2008-09-23T13:59:00.003-04:00

This is probably one of the best coleslaw's I have tasted.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1/2 cabbage finely chopped - about 5 cups
5 apples finely chopped
2 spring onions finely chopped
2 stalks celery finely chopped
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons wasabi
juice of 1 lemon
salt to taste
few pinches

Method

Mix together the cabbage, apples, onions and celery.
Mix together the lemon juice, salt, pepper, wasabi and mayonnaise. Mix well.
Incorporate the mayonnaise mixture with the cabbage mixture and spread evenly throughout the slaw.
Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours.

Palin

2008-09-04T00:12:00.004-04:00

I just saw Sarah Palin at her inauguration speech at the Republican National Convention. It brought an uneasy chill. Now, before I get accused yet again for not "standing up" and being "too tough" on women, I have to say, I welcomed the fact that McCain was smart enough to put a woman on the ticket - but for heaven sakes couldn't he have found one who is qualified.

She is tough - no doubt about it. Ruthless, and will likely give Obama a run in the next few months. An attractive lady who like Hillary, knows how to get a crowd ready - but what does this woman stand for and can you take someone like her seriously. She seems to stand for "American Values" but the more I hear that term, the more I ask "What is that?"

Her 17 year old daughter does not get sex-ed in school because Palin abolished it by cutting all funding for sex-ed in high school. So, she gets pregnant. At 17, she is expected to marry a boy who proudly calls himself a "redneck", and to start a family with no high school education or understanding of the world. Of course this is much easier for her because her mum will get her a bunch of nannies and Bristol will likely show up for occasional visits from university. As for the "Christian Values" thing about having a Down Syndrome child - for Christ sakes - I strongly question the judgment of a woman who gives birth to a special needs child and parades him in front of thousands of people for her own political mileage. Did Sarah Palin ever sit to wonder how women of far fewer means would be able at age 17 to take care of a baby, or for that matter a special needs child. All this in a country that shamefully does not have universal health care , and where one third of the population is losing their homes??? What message is she sending girls today? They won't even get decent paying jobs - because Palin doesn't believe in equal pay for women! Welcome to the dark ages!

What did Sarah say other than beat up on Obama? Did she say what her policies are on health care? Did she say where she stands on Iraq?Iran? What are her policies on anything except teenage pregnancies? Wait - she did explain her energy policies - let us not focus on green energy, let's start drilling up in the Arctic and destroy whatever pristine land there is left so that Americans can continue to drive their large cars and pollute the world even more.

What is wrong with the Americans? They have a 301 million people (150.5 million women) and the best they could find is a woman who ran a rural town of 5000 in Alaska and who thinks on the PTA prepared her for the White House! I don't care if she has had to make "executive decisions" - when you are dealing with a small, non-controversial town of 5000 - you can't really need a lot of serious executive decisions in that setting and it speaks to her "executive decision making" that she left the town with a big deficit.

This race started out with 10 excellent candidates - to think that the fate of 301 million people now rests in the hands of a woman who has never done anything significant on the world stage, and who thinks Americans should be walking around with guns and the bible.
Crazy! Crazy! Crazy!

Hearty Country Style Gazpacho

2008-09-03T22:02:00.003-04:00

This is by far the easiest soup I have ever made. The key to getting the soup right is to use ripe, fresh ingredients. This dish showcases mother nature's flavour.

Serves 3 as main course or 5 for a starter

Ingredients:
1 kilo fresh tomatoes - cherry tomatoes are better.
2 small cucumbers peeled and chopped
1 large red pepper chopped
5 cloves of garlic peeled
1/4 onion chopped (for the soup)
1/4 onion chopped (for the garnish)
2-3 slices of bread (whatever you have at hand)
2-3 tablespoons chopped basil, parsley or other herbs you like
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Tobasco sauce
generous pinch of salt

Method:

Take all the ingredients except the herbs and the onions for garnish. Put it in a blender and blend until it is well blended.
For a more refined version, you can put the soup through a sieve and strain out all the seeds and skin - but for the hearty version enjoy as is.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours until it is cold.
Serve cold, garnish with the chopped onions and herbs. For an extra kick add a dash of Tabasco.

Emie's Japanese Chicken and Egg Melody

2008-09-02T20:18:00.005-04:00

Part of my friend Emie's usual dinner repertoire, this is the fastest, yummiest chicken I have had in a long time. The Mirin (Japanese Rice Wine) and the Memmi (Japanese Soup base) are imperative to use to get the flavoring right. In Toronto, I found these at the Japanese store "Sanko" on Niagara & Queen.

Serves 3 as a quick hearty meal

Ingredients:
1 onion chopped up
2 chicken breasts cut in 1 inch cubes.
1 cup veggies (use either mushrooms, beansprouts or red peppers) cut in bit size pieces.
1/2 cup Mirin
1/4 cup Memmi (for cooking the chicken)
3 tablespoon Memmi (for additional flavour on top)
3 eggs
2 tsp oil

Method:

Heat the oil in the pan. Add the onions and cook on MEDIUM for about 4 minutes until the onions are translucent.
Add the chicken pieces and saute until the chicken is slightly brown on one side. Turn and cook on the other side. Add the vegetables.
Add the Mirin and Memmi and continue cooking. Cover and lower flame to LOW and cook for about 5 minutes.
Beat eggs slightly, add to the chicken and stir until eggs are almost cooked. Remove from the heat and allow the eggs to cook in the residual heat of the pan.
Serve immediately over hot rice. Sprinkle a tablespoon of Memmi on top of the chicken.

Things to do before I die

2008-08-30T22:08:00.003-04:00

Of late a lot of people have been advising us to get our wills made. On top of it, everywhere I turn I see people making "life changing" decisions, and determined to "live it up" only once, and generally declaring what they want to see before they greet the wonderful old man who lives up in the heavens. This started me thinking about what I would like to accomplish. After much consideration, here is my list of what I would like to do before I die.

1) Learn to play the piano well enough to perform in a local repertoire.
2) Learn how to dance the Tango like they do on TV and dance it with my husband.
3) Help organise the menu at our daughters wedding.
4) Paint at least one painting that I am 100% happy with and where I would not change anything.

Lamb Kabas with Parsley and Dill

2008-08-30T21:55:00.003-04:00

Makes about 12 patties

Ingredients:
500g Ground Lamb
1 onion chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic
2 tsp paprika
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 cup chopped dill
salt to taste
2 tbsp olive oil

Method:

Make fresh breadcrumbs by grinding bread slices in a food processor. You can use whatever kind of bread you like or have at home. Make crumbs until they are smooth, fine and consistent. Remove crumbs and place in large bowl.
In the food processor blend the onion until it is smooth. Do not add any water to it. There is enough liquid in the onion. Add the garlic cloves and continue blending.
Wash and chop up the herbs so that you have a total of 2 cups of herbs. Add to the breadcrumbs.
Add the onion mixture to the bread + herb mixture.
Add the ground lamb and mix everything together until it is evenly distributed.
Add the salt and the paprika and remix.
Add the egg and blend with the rest of the mixture.
Wet your hands and dive the mixture into 12 patties.
Heat the oil in a pan and fry the patties in 2 batches on MEDIUM HIGH heat for 2-3 minutes until brown on one side. Flip and cook on the other side until it is brown. When browning is complete. move the patties with a spatula from the pan to a baking dish. Repeat the steps with the remaining patties.
Cover Baking dish with aluminium foil and put in the oven at 300C for about 15 minutes to finish cooking.
Serve hot.

Summer Green Borscht

2008-08-24T14:56:00.005-04:00

Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 bunch (100-200g) fresh sorrel - washed and finely sliced
3 spring onions - only the green parts finely chopped
1/4 cup chives chopped finely
2 tbsp dill chopped finely
1 large Yukon gold potato -peeled and chopped in small cubes
1 large onion - chopped finely
2 carrots-peeled and finely sliced
4 eggs
1 can low sodium chicken broth
1 litre water
2 tsp olive oil
4 tsp sour cream
salt to taste

Method:

Heat oil in a pan on MEDIUM. Add onions and carrots and fry till they are golden - about 4 minutes. Stir often.
In another pan place 4 eggs in water and bring to boil. When boiling switch off stove and allow eggs to stay in water.
Add potatoes -stir a couple of times. Add the chicken broth and water. Cook for 10 minutes.
Add the sorrel, green stems of the spring onions and 1/2 the chives. Cook for 5 minutes.
Add salt to taste.
Wash the eggs under cold water. Peel the shell and chop egg into pieces.
Serve at room temperature. Place the eggs in the bowl, pour the soup on top. Add dill and remaining chives on top. Add a dollop of sour cream.

Yummy Cauliflower Mash

2008-08-19T22:20:00.002-04:00

Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower
1 clove of garlic peeled
2 spring onions cut small
1 tbsp butter
2 inch piece cheddar cheese grated

Method:

Cut the leaves off the cauliflower and cut off the stalk. Cut the cauliflower into small pieces.
Add cauliflower, onions and garlic to a pan. Boil in 1/2 cup if water until all the water is absorbed and the cauliflower is cooked. About 15 minutes on MEDIUM.
Mash the mixture or blend with a hand blender.
Add butter and mix.
Pour into the serving dish and immediately sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Let's celebrate the Olympics

2008-08-10T10:53:00.004-04:00

I really don't understand the folks at CNN and I don't understand my dear friend in Montreal.

The former, because during these days of the Olympics, the news guys seem more interested in reporting that John Edwards had an affair with a single, available and willing lady. Newsflash for CNN- A politician having an affair is not news anymore - but Phelps breaking another world record is! And seriously, who the hell cares if Mr. Edwards has a problem keeping his zipper up. The man has spent his entire life serving the country. He has probably done more for the poor and women in USA through his policies than any other of the contenders for the Presidency. So he decided to have an affair. BIG DEAL! I would only hope this man takes it upon himself to take care of the child his girlfriend had (if it is his) and be a role model for her - that's the kind of politics the US needs to see. Anyone who says he doesn't deserve to be Attorney General because of this is totally stupid and naive. Would they rather have an Attorney General like Alberto Gonzales who thinks torture is OK?

Referring to my friend in Montreal - now, she is part of that now pathetic group that is boycotting the Olympics because of China's sad Human Rights policy. A bunch of hypocrites as there can be. These people should have been out there creating mayhem when the IOC first awarded the games to China forcing the IOC to reverse it's decision. What is the point of waiting for 8 years and then on the eve of the game realizing "Oh that's bad - China should not have the Olympics!". Makes no sense. There has rightly been outrage over the condition of the Buddhists and Tibetans - but just what is this group doing to uplift these people? I do not hear any of these "pro Buddhist supporters" sending large parts of their salaries to Tibet to help the people maintain their culture. Or leaving their jobs in the comforts of the West to volunteer to provide skills to the Tibetans. Or even providing any constructive support towards the Tibetans that can be used to make them stronger against the Chinese. No - these "pro Buddhist supporters" only provide words - and as we all know - words are cheap especially when you are faced with the largest army in the world.

And concerning the Olympics. Another Newsflash for everyone now. THE OLYMPICS ARE ABOUT THE ATHLETES! These fine men and women have spent their entire lives working very hard for this day. For heaven sakes, keep the politics away from it. Celebrate their ability and will power to push sports to new heights. Support all athletes who are dope free and don't cheat and strengthen the belief that by playing sports together, we are increasing our ability to live together on this earth in harmony.

Crab Cakes

2008-08-09T11:39:00.002-04:00

Makes 8 crab cakes

Ingredients:
250 grams of crab meat shredded
5 inch piece of a baguette or 4 slices of bread (white, whole wheat or whatever you like) broken up into pieces
1 dried chili or chili flakes
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 spring onion chopped finely
3-4 garlic greens chopped or 2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 tsp chives
salt to taste
2 eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil

Method:

In a food processor grind the bread until you get smooth breadcrumbs.
Add to the bread crumbs all the rest of the ingredients except the crab and eggs and blend in the blender till the ingredients and breadcrumbs are nicely mixed up.
In a bowl add the bread crumb mixture along with the crab and mix so that the mixture is well mixed - do this by hand.
Add eggs and mix into the crab mixture so it starts to stick together.
Make 8 small same size patties out of the mixture.
Heat the oil in a pan. When the oil is hot, add the crab patties and fry on MEDIUM until one side is brown, flip and brown on the other side as well.
When both sides are brown, take the patties off the pan and place on paper towels for the extra oil to absorb.
Serve hot.

Those Bloody Pedophiles

2008-08-08T23:02:00.006-04:00

I have never understood this growing fascination with people wanting to do sick things with children. It scares me that it is so much in the open and that these demented guys are as powerful as they are. Take the case of the little Madeleine who was taken from her holiday apartment by what now looks like an organised pedophile ring. Yes, her parents are stupid and should have been there to see if their kids are ok - but we are all saying this in retrospect. The problem is not that this little girl has parents who for one evening lost good judgement, but that every single child out there is at risk from any person who has sick tendencies and an organised network that allows them to take your child and do heinous things to them!

To what extent can you protect your child when people come into your home (remember the Cecilia Zhang case) and take your child from under your nose! Just how protective can you be of your child and still allow them to have a normal childhood? I remember when I was a child, I would spend the evening at my friends apartment - about 3 buildings away and walk home at dinner time. Today, kids are not allowed to play unsupervised in their own backyards in Toronto! How are they ever to getvindependence, street smarts and learn how to tackle the world.

I can tell you from our own experience that we no longer take our little one to crowded places. It's simply not worth it. She likes to run around, and forcing her to sit in her stroller only comes with strong protests, and since she is faster than us, the risk of loosing her is high. It is sad. My child should have every right to go and enjoy these fairs and events. She lives in the most multicultural city on earth, and yet cannot participate in most of it's activities because this small group of sick people have put the worst fear into her parents.

It's scary enough that there could be an odd pedophile out there, but the fact that there are organised rings that steal kids to order is simply too frightening to even understand.

Tomato Soup

2008-08-06T22:04:00.002-04:00

For 3 as a main course or 6 for starters
Ingredients:
1/2 large onion coarsely chopped
5 large cloves garlic
5 dried bay leaves (or 3 fresh ones)
5 large tomatoes cut in eights
2 carrots cut in small pieces
1 apple cored and cut in small pieces
1 large potato peeled and chopped
1 can low sodium chicken stock (I like the organic one).
1 tbsp olive oil

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the onions and garlic and saute for 3 minutes on MEDIUM flame until the onions are translucent.
Add the carrots and continue to saute for about 1 -2 minutes making sure the onions do not brown.
Add the tomatoes and stir.
Add the potatoes and stir.
Add the apples and stir.
Add the chicken stock and the same amount of water and stir.
Add the bay leaves.
Allow to cook on MEDIUM until it boils and the carrots are soft, potatoes cooked and the tomatoes have melted in the broth. About 15-20 minutes.
Puree the soup in a blender. It makes sense to cool the soup before you blend it if you are using a conventional blender.
Strain the soup through a sieve so that the only thing that is left behind are the seeds of the tomato.
Serve hot and garnish with parsley. Salt and Pepper to taste.

My Purell Addiction

2008-08-03T23:55:00.002-04:00

I am beginning to realize I have a Purell addiction. Other people are addicted to chocolate, the really stupid ones are addicted to alcohol and dope, and the really interesting ones are addicted to foreign language movies or knitting, I quite frankly have a rather eccentric addiction.

I blame my addiction on my doctor. Last winter I suffered from 6 bouts of flu. I didn't keep catching the flu virus - I was the flu virus. After my doctor refused to give me antibiotics yet again telling me that "It's a virus - let it wear it's course" (I HATE it when they say that - I am not a horse that I need to finish the lap and continue at a gallop even when I have a rather lousy jockey on board!) After my sixth visit to him in 3 months he finally told me after I have any contact with humanity, I need to wash my hands and /or Purell (note how "purell" has now become a verb as in "to purell" meaning "disinfect your hands") . The uncomfortable truth was that I was allergic to mankind.

So after this piece of advice from my lovely doctor, I started investing in Purell. I tried carrying the small one with me in my purse, and had a large one at home. First the smell of Purell was turn off - it was acidic, medicinal, and simply to chemical. But then a strange thing happened - I stopped being sick. Seriously! No more flu, colds, nothing- just a lot of Purell.

I even started to use it on Baby M's hands when we were in the garden or playground. She hated it at first but now she sees the Purell bottle and comes running to disinfect her hands! I really don't know if this substance is good for kids, but she hasn't turned green and is chirpy as ever so I guess it's ok.

Generally, I was happy with the good health, me, Baby M, and my husband were enjoying and I attributed it largely to the wonderful folks at Purell. Today I was shopping at Walmart (sorry Jill - I actually LIKE Walmart) and at the checkout counter I noticed that I actually have 10 small Purell bottles and 3 large ones. By itself, it didn't seem like a lot, but when I went to put the bottles in places, I found I already had one there - in some cases like my purse I already had 2. I have 3 in the car - one in the glove compartment, next to the drivers seat, and one in the back seat pocket. I actually make everyone in the car but Purell on their hands before I switch the ignition on. It's my contribution to a germ free world.

So I guess if I had to be addicted to something, Purell is about as strange an addiction as you can get. Mind you, I do not snort it, or burn it or do anything with it that I was not meant to do. So in that way, I guess it's ok. But of all the addictions in the world to have - why oh why did I have to get such an eccentric one.

Chicken Piccata

2008-06-26T15:22:00.003-04:00

We were watching the 1st episode of 'Top Chef Chicago" on Food Network a couple of days ago and one of the "expert" judges said something that really got the hair at the back of my neck to stand.

They were judging the chicken cooked by one of the contestant, a guy called Ryan who was asked to make Chicken Piccata. The poor guy made his own version of the piccata and in doing so, got himself in a deep "piccata". The "expert" judge, a guy called Tom Colicchio went on lambasting him about how he didn't know the basics and how chicken piccata was a classic that everyone should know.

He then went on the correct Ryan and say that Chicken Piccata is chicken dredged in flour and eggs - no breadcrumbs. What I thought was funny was Anthony Boudain (chef extraordinaire) was agreeing with him on TV. He successfully managed to tell every naive TV audience a totally wrong fact about classical cooking.

I am hence going to set the record right now:
1) There is NO "Classic Chicken Piccata" - there is only "Classic Veal Piccata" - the Chicken version is a North American version and cannot be considered "classic" at all. So Mr. Colicchio please stop calling corrupted North American versions of European dishes "classical".
2) Chicken Piccata has NO EGG. A piccata is simply pounded breast of chicken dredged in flour and cooked in butter. When you add egg to the dish, it becomes a "Chicken Fried Steak" that you find in America.
3) The part that Mr. Colicchio was correct about was that there is no breadcrumbs in the Piccata. When you add breadcrumbs, the dish becomes a Milanese or similar to a Schnitzel.

Hopefully that has set the Piccata record straight. Hopefully, millions of readers will read this blog and no longer be under the impression that Piccata has eggs!

Athenian Spinach

2008-06-23T15:16:00.004-04:00

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a starter.

Ingredients:
1 large onion finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic finely chopped
2 tsp olive oil
2 bunches of spinach
50 grams feta cheese- chopped up
1/4 cup walnuts (or any nuts you like except peanuts)
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
salt
pepper

Method:

Heat oil in a pan.
With the flame on MEDIUM HIGH, add the chopped onions and garlic and saute for 3-4 minutes until onions are translucent.
Add the spinach and cook for 3-4 minutes until the spinach has wilted and let out it's water.
Immediately plate the spinach. Using tongs, take 1/2 the spinach and onions from the pan (leaving as much water as you can in the pan) and put in the serving dish. Sprinkle on 1/2 the mint leaves, 1/2 feta and 1/2 nuts, salt and pepper to taste. Repeat with the other 1/2 of the spinach layering that on top.

The difference between men and women

2008-06-22T21:58:00.004-04:00

For the longest time, I have always believed that women are far more sturdier than men. We manage to do a lot more - and are pros at multitasking. Among the women I know, 90% manage to run a household, have families, hobbies, work a whole day, cook for their families and still have time to catch up on the news and chat to their friends. Contrast this with humans of the other gender and you find that they are "oh so tired" because they did "so much and no one appreciates it". I am no longer surprised at how little men accomplish and how inflated they believe their achievements are.

I am married to a man who does a lot - but somehow every time he says he is tired - I do a quick mental check of all the things I have done since morning and the things he has done and I get totally upset when I realise he's done 10% of what I have done and still he's the one who is tired! This pattern goes across every male I know. The ones linked genetically to me are even worse!

My husband totally put me over the edge today when he said he's so tired because he went down 4 times. Now, that's the worst excuse in my book. "Going Down" (get your mind out of the gutter people) requires him to step outside my apartment door, walking exactly 6 steps to press the elevator button and voila you are there! How tiring can that be? I realise I am being a bit mean here, since the man doesn't sleep all night since Baby M has taken to sleeping only while she scratches him, but come up with a better excuse please!!!

I simply do not know of a single woman (well, I know one in Montreal) who would use something that silly as an excuse.

I like to compare us to a really good German made car -sexy, reliable, safe and you can do a lot of things with it.

Men are like one of those American made sports cars - they have all the tools and gadgets but very soon they break down and need way too much maintenance.

Danish Spring Salad with Asparagus and Peas

2008-06-22T15:21:00.002-04:00

I got this recipe from the latest Eating Well magazine but have adapted it a bit.
For 2 as a main course or 4 for starters.

Ingredients:
Fresh lettuce leaves - get the kind you like to eat.
1 bunch fresh asparagus
1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas (do not defrost)
3-4 spring onions - white parts only
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tsp olive oil
salt
pepper

Method:

Wash and dry the lettuce leaves.
Add the peas to boiling water and cook for 3 minutes.
Cut the asparagus into very thin slices - chop of the end hard part.
If using tomatoes - cut them up into small pieces as well.
Put all the ingredients except the lettuce in a bowl and add the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.
To serve - put the lettuce at the bottom of the plate and add the vegetable mixture on top.

Fish in Lemon Sauce

2008-06-22T15:05:00.003-04:00

For 2 servings as a main course.
Ingredients:
2 portions of fish of white fish of your choice
Lemon rind of 1/2 a lemon
Lemon juice of 1 whole lemon
1 clove garlic very finely chopped or grated
salt
pepper
1/2 cup fresh herbs: chives, basil, parsley, coriander, dill - whatever you have at hand.
2 tsp olive oil

Method:

Mix the garlic, lemon rind and salt together. Press it down with the side of the knife so the garlic starts to "melt".
Add to this the lemon juice and pepper. Mix so that the garlic dissolves. It may be easier to do this with a hand blender if you have one.
Chop the herbs very finely and keep to the side.
Add the olive oil to a pan and heat on MEDIUM HIGH flame. Add the fish and cook for 2 minutes on each side or until fish is cooked properly.
Add the lemon sauce and move the pan around to evenly distribute- do not move the fish or they may break up. Add water and move pan around again.
Immediately add the chopped herbs.
Cook until most of the water in the sauce disappears - you should be left with about 2-4 tablespoons of liquid.
Serve immediately.

Macaroni with a Spinach and Feta sauce

2008-06-20T22:05:00.002-04:00

Ingredients:
300g raw macaroni or other tube like pasta (rigatoni, penne etc)
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 large onion chopped
4 cloves of garlic chopped
1 bunch (500g) raw spinach - washed and stalks cut off
100g feta cheese
3-4 tablespoons breadcrumbs

Method:

Boil pasta in hot water and cook according to instructions and taste.
In a pan, heat the olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and saute for 3-4 minutes on MEDIUM until the onions are translucent.
Add the spinach. Stir and allow to cook until the spinach is cooked. Do not evaporate all the water.
Blend together the spinach mixture with the feta until it is smooth.
In a baking dish, put the cooked pasta at the bottom, cover with the spinach and feta mixture. Lightly dust the breadcrumbs on the top.
BROIL under a LOW flame for about 3-4 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown.

Omar Khadr - Give me a break!

2008-06-17T14:20:00.003-04:00

I had so much to write about after the trip to Alberta - but all that will have to be saved for later. My rant today is about Omar Khadr.

Now, for some bizarre reason, people in Canada seem to be supporting Omar Khadr's return to Canada and his rehabilitation. What nonsense!!! For those who are not familiar with his case - here is the wikipedia version of it - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Khadr

Here is a child who was caught in illegal activities in Afghanistan. Shipped off to the Guantanamo Prison and presumably tortured under Bush's crazy henchmen there. I am sorry for that - very sorry. No child should have to go through that. But this is not an ordinary child - this kid was blowing up innocent people! His family openly supports Al Qaeda and who are close enough to the nut Mr. Bin Laden that he attended his sister's wedding. The only reason his family is back in Canada (a country they openly hate and want to destroy) is because they need the medical benefits for one son who was paralysed following a battle in which his father was killed and because the Canadian govt is providing extensive security for them. We are already spending millions trying to keep this single family alive- too much in my opinion.

And now- they want to spend MILLIONS more on rehabilitating Omar Khadr into Canadian Society. What BULLOCKS is this!!!! This family owes us millions of dollars - they have totally mooched off the system, openly professed hatred towards this country, are hands in hands with people who want to blow the rest of us (including a fair number of Muslims who live here) to death and now WE have to pay to bring him and rehabilitate him on OUR LAND!!! How is this even remotely sensible???

Of course as a child he shouldn't have been put in Guantanamo - no one should have been put there. But the US did and it's a US problem now. Why do we want to bring people like that back to stay in our country - let them remain on US soil and let the US deal with them! More importantly why are we wasting valuable tax payer money on a kid who will eventually go back to fundamentalist Islam anyway. It's even more absurd how they want to rehabilitate him - they want him to live in a mental health facility in Toronto (taxpayer dollars and a valuable space in the facility gone), then have his religious views re-conditioned by keeping a full time imam for him (cha-ching - more taxpayer dollars and as a Muslim I do not think there exists anything like a non-religious Imam - he needs to be totally removed from religion - not immersed more in it) - they don't want to allow him to live with his family - but they want him to live with his maternal grandparents. What is the difference????

I feel bad for this kid - he is a product of his environment - but this is something that the US created and I don't see why Canadian taxpayers should be paying to keep terrorists on our soil!

There are so many better ways to spend all the millions we have already spent on this ungrateful family:
- Millions could have been spent to fight the gangs that are showing up everywhere and get those kids on the right track.
- Millions could have been spent on hiring new police forces and training the existing ones so we are better at fighting gangs and destroying them.
- Millions can be spent in after school programs to prevent kids from joining gangs.
- Millions can be spent to increase "Canadian" influence in mosques and madrassas so that no more Omar Khadrs take place.
- Millions can be spent on providing immigrant women with easy access to education so that they break the religious fundamentalist cycles they seem to come to this country with.
- Millions can be spent to ensure that every kid in Toronto has access to summer camps.
- Millions can be spent on creating better medical facilities at Sick Kids Hospital.

Instead, we are wasting our tax payer money by throwing it on the Khadrs. Shame on us!

Double Standards

2008-06-04T11:23:00.005-04:00

I almost burst out laughing when I read the first thing Mr. Obama did today after he won the nomination was "reach out to Israel"!!! Mr. Obama - you should be reaching out to the millions of Americans who did not vote for you - not sucking up to the brutal regime that routinely tortures innocent Palestinians. Here is something that both Hillary (I mention her only because her speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) today) and Obama may not know - Israeli's are NOT voting in the US elections - it's the Americans and you need to focus on them! No one cares what is happening in Israel when they can't afford to pay the mortgage on their house, are loosing jobs to China and can't afford to buy a loaf of bread for their family!

Yes of course Israel has the right to exist - the UN created it. But the UN also created a whole bunch of rules on how to treat people in (illegally) occupied lands - the Israelis seem to pick and choose which rules to follow and the US who have so far shown zero commonsense in their Middle East policy allows them to get away with plain murder. What they do in the occupied territories is worse than apartheid and any leader with a conscience should be trying to put a stop to that instead of perpetuating the hatred and bloodshed that is so prevalent in the region.

Hillary - who I am now calling Looseary - went on to talk about how Israel has a right to self defense. Of course it does! EVERY COUNTRY has a right to self defense and an obligation to protect it's citizens - INCLUDING THE PALESTINIANS!!! The problem is when self defense becomes mindless violence as is the case now and when the medieval system of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth becomes one Israeli life for 10 Palestinian ones! Innocent children on both sides are dying and everyone should be putting a stop to that.

She talked about her commitment to getting the kidnapped soldiers back - and I agree - they should be returned - but so should the hundreds and thousands of innocent Palestinians locked up without trial in Israeli prisons. They talk of violence at the hands of the Palestinians - but what about all those kids who were killed because of Israeli's trigger happy IDF and the sufferring of millions of people under Israel's draconian self existence rules. A leader is NOT one that perpetuates stereotypes and violence - but one that reaches out beyond all that to create peace and fraternity where none existed. Mrs. Clinton, your speech today shows you are neither a leader nor a humanist - there is no place for you in a modern international world- please take your dirty game of politics and leave with whatever integrity you still have intact.

And Mr. Obama - get your act together on Iran - you talk about doing "everything" to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons - but shouldn't you also be stopping the illegal nuclear weapons of Israel? The double standard is sickening! I do not think ANY country should have any weapons that can wipe out civilizations. And what exactly does "everything" mean - are you now going to bomb out 65 million Iranis because of claims of "weapons of mass destruction"? Get real Mr. Obama. Have a policy that is sensible. Iran has the right to protect itself as well. Look what happened to Lebanon when the Israeli's decided to bomb out Beirut - you tell me if they were better prepared Israel would not have thought twice about it. Focus on a policy of zero nuclear weapons and force all countries to destroy all their weapons - that is the vision the world needs today!

The Hillary Woes

2008-06-03T10:34:00.006-04:00

Over the last 48 hours about 4 women have accused me of being unfair to Hillary Clinton. One of them even went so far as to say I was perpetuating female stereotypes! I assume this out pour is somehow linked to Hillary finally beginning to realize that she mathematically cannot win the nomination. While I am terribly flattered that people think my blog could have had anything to do with changing the course of history and could somehow have caused millions of somewhat intelligent Americans to vote away from Hillary, the truth is I don't have quite that large a following yet.

I did provide fashion advice to Hillary on her website telling her to please never wear those granny puff sleeve jackets she wore on one event. Maybe that was the wrong advice? Maybe Americans could simply not see a tough woman in a pant suit. (I still haven't figured out what the big hulahoo was about the pant suit - it's comfy, you don't have to worry how you sit, you don't have to worry about a run in your stocking, and no one can see your panties - perfect if you are running all day long).

And while there are people who believed that Hillary has done the right thing by staying in the race for this long. I have this to say.

If anyone thinks they should go the extra mile to prove their point - do it! I am the last one for holding back people and Hillary staying in the race this long has opened up a more realistic view of Obama and kind of put him on the spot more. Something I am grateful for. (I will discuss Obama at a later date - today is reserved for Hillary). However, staying in the race, also brought to light the several inflated and false entries on Hillary's resume which may have turned more voters off her.
Money - For the love of God - if this woman or any of the men standing for elections really had the goodwill of the Americans at heart - they would have spent money that they raised on school programs, medical benefits, arts programs etc - which is a far better way to spend the funds than having their plasticky smiles pasted all over the country.
Florida and Michigan. Rules are rules. It was TOTALLY WRONG of the Democratic Party to even consider changing the rules during the game. It is irrelevant whether this helped Hillary or not. What is relevant is that this is another example about a woman who is a sore looser but who is powerful enough to get the rules changed even when she is on the downside.

Do I think this is a woman who can make the world better? NO - not after she said she wanted to obliterate Iran from the earth! A land that has 64 million people living on it! While I think both she, Obama and McCain are going to continue to kow-tow to the terrorist state of Israel who routinely brutalizes and tortures innocent Palestinians, I am inclined to believe that of the 3, Obama is the least likely to press the nuclear button and destroy more of our civilization.

Do I think a woman should be President of USA? ABSOLUTELY! But just because a woman stands for the White House, it doesn't mean I have to support her. Women in power is not a new thing for most of the world. Only in close minded America is it still such an oxymoron. The President of USA has unfortunately too much power, and what I would like is someone with common sense, integrity and passion to have a shot at that seat. I did not find this in Hillary.

Hillary has fought a good fight. She has fought hard and when the time comes, I only hope, that she will find it in her to provide support to Obama. Do I see her as a good Vice President? NO. The most powerful woman in North America would never be satisfied in second place.

Diaper rashes - the scary side of motherhood

2008-05-12T12:38:00.008-04:00

The scariest thing I have experienced in the 13.5 months of motherhood is diaper rashes. We are in the throes of another one now. These horrible things come out in the bum area and they spread so darn quickly that before you know if you have a baby that resembles one of those monkeys with the red bottoms you see in the zoo. I have to tell you, of all the things about motherhood - this is the scariest.

Baby M seems to be inclined towards getting diaper rashes. She got her first one at a few weeks old, and since then we've been pretty good at observing and checking her out. As anyone with a "rashy" baby will tell you, Canesten and Zinc Oxide are always with us. This time, the rash was so bad, that our pediatrician started us on 1% Hydrocortizone. I found this particularly unnerving. I mean, here we are with a child whose skin and body is fragile and absorbent and now we have to put steroids on her to cure this redness!

I've done so much research about these rashes now, here's a run down on all our attempts.
Washing: We tried to wash her after every poo, and with Baby M holding the official title of "poo master", this means she gets washed about 7 times a day. I can't say this has helped with the rash, but it has given her a cold. I figured the reason it hasn't helped with the rash is because in our technologically advanced diapers, we really can't tell easily if she has pee-ed a bit, you can only tell if it's a full "pee diaper". So she just kind of sits in the pee and so one really knows.

Changing diapers regularly: This is the one mistake we made in India. She probably had a little pee diaper and since we couldn't tell, we let her stay in it for a hour or two much too long. Add the side effects of tropical summer heat and you've got a perfect recipe for a rash. As soon as we realized this, we have been changing her diapers regularly - at least 10 times a day, but it just doesn't seem to get any better. We've even figure out how to change them in her sleep so she doesn't wake up.

Soap: Of the one thing that has totally confused me about baby products, it is soap. Now, I live under the belief that if a product is used on 100 million babies, as in the case of Baby Johnson baby soap, then it's ok to use on my precious little angel. Well, it turns out that it's not quite so simple. My cousin suggested moving from Baby Johnson to Dove (not the infant soap, the regular one) because it's milder. I did that and for 1 day it seemed to be better, but now, it's the same as before. Today, my cleaning lady, who in my opinion should have her own Health Talk Show on TV instead of cleaning my apartment, because of the incredible knowledge she has (a talent totally wasted because of sad circumstances- but more of that on another blog), told me I should fore go soap all together and use only water. If I really want to use something, use cornstarch mixed with water. I have to admit, this also makes sense. But, am I just giving up one set of chemicals in soap to move to another set in cornstarch.

Au Naturel: We know that the best way to get rid of a rash is to leave her au-naturel. But Baby M loves water (she hasn't been introduced to juice yet) and so along with being a poo-master, she also is a pee-master. While we could leave her open for an hour or so, leaving her open the whole day is simply not a hygienic possibility. I really wonder how people who have small untrained puppies deal with their bowel movements since I've never really seen a puppy with a diaper. There are some valid points to learn from them.

Cloth diapers: Our last hope. Luckily, I no longer have to wash and clean and iron (Thank heavens for this!) - they have perfectly respectable diaper services that do this for you. However, it's no longer as simple as just getting a piece of cloth and tying two pins on it. You now have to get a diaper cover. The reason for dealing with cloth diapers is the breathability of cotton, however, with the covers made of plastic or nylon, it kind of limits the breathability of it all. To make it even more complicated, my pediatrician has recommended AGAINST cloth diapers.

Which leaves me to wonder - What in world am I supposed to do?

Fish cooked in a delicate Vegetable Broth

2008-05-03T22:36:00.003-04:00

Ingredients:
2 filets of fresh fish with skin
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 large clove garlic
1/2 inch piece of ginger
2 carrots finely chopped
2 leeks finely chopped
100g celery root finely chopped
4-5 stalks asparagus
bunch of fresh spinach

Method:

Take 500ml of water in a pan. Add ginger and garlic. Bring to boil for 10 minutes on Medium High flame. Keep covered.
Remove ginger and garlic. Add soy sauce. Add vegetables except asparagus and spinach. Cover and cook on Medium until the vegetables are cooked. Remove 1/2 of the vegetables from the pan.
Add the spinach and asparagus. Add the fish skin side up. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
Serve hot over steamed rice and make sure to pour the broth sauce on top as well.

Rappini with Sesame Seeds

2008-05-02T21:14:00.002-04:00

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:
1 large bunch Rappini
2 teaspoons light brown sesame seeds
1/2 lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt to taste.

Method:

Cut the stalks off the greens and wash thoroughly.
Heat the frying pan. All the olive oil to it. When oil is hot add the Rappini. Be careful as oil will splatter - it's best to use tongs to add the greens to the oil.
Stir the greens. Cover and cook on Medium High for 4-5 minutes.
Remove in a dish. Add salt, lemon juice and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
Serve right away.

Poverty in India

2008-04-30T16:36:00.004-04:00

Throughout my life, people have asked me how I deal with poverty in India and still enjoy my time there. Unlike poverty in the West, poverty in India takes on a whole new face altogether.

Here, the guy who begs on the street corner but still looks sufficiently clean and totally able bodies is pitied and people throw money encouraging him. I have always maintained that people who give money to them are doing society a great wrong. Granted that this man who is totally capable of working could have seen better days, could just be at a moment in life where he is down and out, or could be a drug addict and it's necessarry for our society to reach out to them. Total Bullocks! I am sorry if the guy has seen better days - bad luck is something none of us can plan against. I am sorry if the guy has come upon drugs - but I see no reason to fund him using more illegal substances. There are plenty of ways our very generous government goes out of their way to make life livable and even help these people. It's up to them to not accept it and to choose to live the life they live. If they are capable of work, surely they can get a job at McDonalds or any other job that is easily available. But they choose to hang around the streets and beg and this I have a problem with.

Now, before I get a platitude of emails about how I do not understand poverty, how I have a priveledged life etc - I want to clearly state - I do understand povery. I may not have experienced it, but Ihave seen real poverty and that is the kind of poverty that motivates even the hardest ones of us to search in our conscience to justify how we are contributing to this world.

The poverty that I speak is what is found in India. As everywhere, poverty exists on different levels. You have the inhabitants of shanty towns in big cities who live in their huts, both parents have jobs and work day and night and still, because they have so many children the possibility of a better life for the next generation is remote. These are the people who spend their days cleaning and cooking for others so that their kids can have a glimpse of a better future. They do this without grumbling. They are about as hardworking as I have ever seen, waking up at 5.30am to cook for their families and then spending the day cooking and cleaning for as many as 4-5 homes in a day. It is these people I have deep respect for.

There is also another group of poverty stricken people for whom my heart totally bleeds. It is the children and aged who have been abandoned not only by their families, but by the Indian government and society. Nothing you have seen will bother you as much as the absolute poverty these two groups experience. Children in rural india are often seen rummaging through garbage, when we were in Madhya Pradesh we saw such extreme poverty among these kids that it just made you wonder what is the purpose of life. It is an open fact that these kids are easy prey for the vile pedophile industry. Nowhere is this more apparant but in Mumbai where you see little girls and boys beg for food every day and then one fine day, you see them all dressed up in pretty clothes with lipstick and makeup on their faces, their stomachs obviously fed, oblivious to the evils that society has forced them to endure to get a meal.

As for the aged, the sad thruth is that even the sex agencies don't want them so they are just left on street corners to die our of starvation, disease or even beaten up.

What I find totally appaling is how foreign tourists to India choose to look at poverty. One of the "in" things to do on the travel circut is to pay touts $100 to get a tour of the shantytowns and slums. Somehow, these pitiful western tourists feel they are bonding with the poor by going on this voyage. How utterly stupid of them. Surely within 10 seconds of arriving in India they must have figured out that poverty is pretty acceible - you don't need to shell out a lot of money, you need to have good intentions if you want to really experience it. The $100 they give goes to the local goon, who in turn runs the local prostitution-pedophile-drug racket with his henchmen. It would be far more sensible for them to just give the money to a reputable charity and allow them to continue their work.

And as to how I deal with poverty in India, every time I come accross a hard working poor person, I made sure I tip him handsomely - if nothing else, atleast this will keep him trying to get out of the trap of poverty.

Green Beans in Mustard Seeds

2008-04-30T12:12:00.003-04:00

This recipe was given to me by chef extra-ordinaire Ramu in India during our visit there. It's really super easy.
Ingredients:
3 cups green beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
salt to taste

Method:

Wash and trim the ends of the green beans.
Heat a pan on medium heat and add the olive oil. When the oil is warm (about 30 seconds) add the mustard seeds. Cook the mustard seeds until they start to "jump".
Add the beans and stir so beans are coated in the seeds. Cook at Medium High for 2-3 minutes.
Cover and cook at low for 5 -6 minutes.
Can be served hot or cold.

Beet and Orange Salad

2008-04-30T12:07:00.002-04:00

Ingredients:
6 small beets
1 large orange
3 spring onions or 1 small regular onion
juice from 1 large lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt to taste

Method:

Cover beets and roast in an oven at 350C until tender (about 3 hours).
Cool the beets slightly then wash under cold water. Peel off the skin and slice into small cubes. Place the cubes in a bowl.
Slice the onions finely and add to the beets.
Cut the skin off the orange with a knife. Take out all the seeds and the white parts. Cut into pieces and add to the beets.
Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon on the beets and add the olive oil and salt. Stir and keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Reflections of India

2008-04-27T21:18:00.007-04:00

We've just returned from our 5 1/2 weeks annual holiday. This time, the destination was India. I can honestly tell you that it was the most fun trip of my life! Travelling through India is so easy and uncomplicated as compared to travelling in Europe or North America. I realized from day 1 that the trick to making things work efficiently in India is to outsource them - I'm serious! Pay someone to find someone else to do the job efficiently and you will be happier and it will cost you less than you doing it yourself. We rented a car with a driver, got an Indian travel agent and gave them enough leeway so that they could negotiate and provide us with the best of things in our budget. I am pleased to say that we were not at all disappointed.

I have travelled a fair bit around the world and my favorite place of travel has always been Canada (part of the reason why I moved here) - nowhere do you really find the beautiful vistas, good service, decent hospitality and value for money as you do in the Great North. However, I have to say, that travelling around India showed us that it is a pretty amazing country and the level of hospitality and quality of service you find for the dollar is unsurpassed. You expect to be pampered and they do not let you down.

We have seen the most amazing sights. Our breath was literally taken away when we first saw the Taj Mahal - all we could say was "Oh Wow"- you really cannot imagine how completely beautiful it is. We admired centuries old monuments and buildings built by the Mughals and Rajputs - The Agra Fort where "Akbar the Great" used to rule, Fatehpur Sikri -the beautiful city he built, Sikandara- where he was put to rest - all built in the 15th century and testament to the powerful force Akbar had made himself into. Continuing onwards to Delhi we saw Humayun's Tomb (built in late 14th century), the totally inspiring Qutub Minar which was built even before that with Quranic inscriptions all the way to the top of this 10 story tower, the Red Fort where Akbar's grandson Shah Jahan (the guy who built the Taj) created more amazing rooms and where the famous peacock throne (a throne built like a peacock full of emeralds and pervious stones) was placed. We saw the point at which Indian independence from British rule was declared. Onwards to the Himalyas and the Punjab where we visited the new city of Chandigarh with Asia's largest rose garden and the most interesting Nek Chand's Rock garden - at all these places we saw and appreciated the power of imagination and the beauty that can be created by all who really want to. Our tour continued to Amritsar and the Golden Temple. If there was a place where we felt at peace it was here, sitting by the pond looking at the magnificent temple that was built as a testament to faith. We even visited the India-Pakistan border at Wagah and joined the crowds there! History of several centuries surrounded us wherever we went and as India modernizes, we realized that Indians have developed a wonderful way to mix the old and the new to create their own unique blend of modernism in India.

Travelling with Baby M her safety and well being were our prime concern. Apart from a bad case of diaper rash because of the heat, she was fine. Food wise, Indians seemed to bend over back ways when they found out we had a baby. We were given the freshest stuff and when we visited the roadside stalls (dhabas) they would actually make things fresh for us so we wouldn't fall ill. At Delhi, we discovered the Indian Infant cereal called Cerelac - imagine our surprise when Baby M gulped down bowls of it. It tasted so much better than the cereal in Canada. At times I felt guilty about pre-judging India. We had automatically assumed that it would be difficult to find diapers etc there - somehow taking it for granted that the country had not modernized. Diapers were available at every street corner! My Indian friend in Delhi had told me that the Indian one were no good - I found they performed just the same as the imported ones. With Baby M - leaks always happen! I felt totally stupid when it dawned on me how naive I had been on India - here is a country of 1 billion people, from whom at least 25 million are infants under the age of 1 - how presumptuous for me to assume that there would be no facilities for 25 million citizens!

There is no doubt that we stayed in the best of hotels and lived a very luxurious life. But such luxuries are not that steep in India. In Delhi, our wonderful travel agent, got us a room at The Oberoi (one of India's best hotels) where we had our own personal butler. I would press a button and my smiling genie in a white uniform would appear and everything I needed would suddenly appear. When we ordered room service, instead of coming on a tray- they brought in a whole table totally laid out with silver settings. It was service fit for royalty. The price tag for this indulgence was $250/night. While that seems like a lot, we paid the same amount when we stayed at Blue Mountain in Ontario in January and certainly did not get a butler! That's also the same as 160 Euros and anyone who has recently been travelling to Europe will tell you how pathetically expensive Europe has become and how even if you pay 160 Euros you can just about get an IBIS in a major city. Top end service in India is unsurpassed!

The ONLY sensible way to go around India with a child is by renting a car. You would need to be totally suicidal to drive on these roads yourselves. You need specialist drivers who have developed nerves of steel through years of driving and who know where to take you and how to negotiate the various road blocks. Renting a car in India also means you no longer have to worry about the petrol, or tolls, or parking charges or directions (Indians are totally challenged when it comes to maps. I was proud to get a map in Delhi only to realize that it's utterly useless as the roads are not marked!) Having a driver is the way to do it. You wake up and your car is cleaned, ready and has a full tank of petrol. The chauffer knows exactly where to take you and how to get there and provides all sorts of interesting information on Indian life that you would not normally get. Our driver Mahavir, went out of his way to make sure we had a good trip. Apart from the excellent driving, he also got our clothes ironed at the street laundries (Indians DO NOT wear un-ironed clothes and I DO NOT iron on holiday), went into the "dhabas" and checked out their kitchens and terrorized the cooks so we could get fresh food, and would spend 2 hours in every town finding a good dairy to get fresh yoghurt for Baby M. Such service you could never find in the West!

In ending this blog, I have to say that at every step of our trip we were shown respect, friendship and kindness. Whether we were at my friend's place where Raju, Nitin, Kishore and Gita took care of us, or at my Mum's where Majid cooked us amazing biryani and samosas while Rekha and Farid took care of Baby M, or at a hotel - we were always welcomes and the red carpet was laid out for us in every way. I often wondered what happened to the stereotypical uncouth Indians who used to steal from foreigners and who would generally try to make your life difficult. I then realized, like anywhere else, we tried to fit in. My husband wore the Indian "Kurta Pajama" for most of our trip - a sight that won us immediate approval. Most of the time they just assumed he was from Kashmir and nodded to us. Unlike some of the foreigners or Indians returning from overseas, I never showed any skin (mind you, I don't really show much skin in Toronto as well). My Hindi is still fluent though it's now probably easy to see that I am not a local but I did use it as much as I could.

To really enjoy India, you need to go there not only with your body, but also open up your mind to explore and understand the various things that make this country such an incredible nation.
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Excellent Indian Travel Agent: Rupali Desai (+91-98210-79311) poly71@hotmail.com

Travels through India: Rajasthan

2008-04-04T12:20:00.010-04:00

We left Mumbai on the Kingfisher flight - the first thing that strikes you is how sunning all the inflight attendants are. The owner of the airline, Mr. Vijay Mallya - India's answer to Mr. Branson is well known for his playboy antics and this is probably why the woman and service is so stunning.
We're staying in Udaipur at the Trident Hilton set among 22 acres of greenery - it's a lovely property and overall the service has been good. On arriving, we saw the Fateh Sagar lake - how lovely! We saw the Sahelion ki Bari which is a garden and fountain complex built by the Raja for his harem. Very beautiful! He built fountains all over - all of which are intricately carved. The water for the fountains comes from the lake and the hydrolics used are still being . How the Raja managed to get water 5 kms away from the manmade lake and have the fountains working is pretty incredible considering it was built in 1700s!
We then saw Pichola Lake and the Lake Palace Hotel. I was hoping to go there for lunch, but it is now closed to non-residents so it's a bit of a dissapointment. We decided to go for dinner at the Fateh Prakash - the royal residence of the existing Maharaja. The view was stunning - we could see the Lake Palace and the Jagmandir lit up like jewels on the Pichola lake - but the food was much too spicy for us and we got completely bitten up by mosquitoes! However, the view remains totalls beautiful. Totally inspiring. Totally awesome.
My husband has been calling Baby M "Chickoo" after a delicious fruit that is eaten in India. It's brown, sweet and has a texture like apples. He says " She's sweet like a chickoo. She's small like a chickoo and she's brown like a chickoo". Baby M seems to like this name!

March 27
We saw the City Palace in Udaipur - totally lovely! The passion with which the Maharaja has built this palace is totally evident. Nowhere have I seen such beautiful rooms. We saw the Peacock Court where the king sat on the throne made to resemble a peacock full of gems - it was really beautiful! We also saw "Moti Mahal" or the the Pearl room, where everything from the ceiling to the floor was covered in Mother of Pearl, the "Sheesh Mahal" or Crystal Palace where the king had imported crystal from Belgium and created a whole room of it, the Ruby Dining room where the walls were at one point covered in rubies and emeralds and courtyards which were truly spectacular. Architecturally, it is built in white marble which keeps the palace cool in summers. Baby M was also pretty impressed with it, she kept herself busy looking at these things.

After this we headed to Devigarh for lunch - it's the much heralded resort built into a castle. I had heard so much about Devigargh that I was really expecting spectacular - this is was not. It's very beautiful but not really worth the price tag. We paid Rs. 7800 for lunch for the three of us and it is by far one of the most expensive meals I have had in India. I cannot say it was truly exciting - but my mum, husband, Baby M and I got to relax and that was a good thing. We spent the rest of the day shopping where my mum bought Baby M her second Ghagra.

March 28
We visited the Monsoon Palace in the morning - you have to go up this steep hill from which you get amazing views of Udaipur. It's interesting to think how in the 18th century the Maharaja must have built a palace on the very top of a hilly mountain where it today takes us 25 minutes to drive up. Trying to imagine the logistics of moving all the tons of marble up to the palace is really mind boggling. The Lake Pichola looked lovely from the top. The climb to the top was steep, so my mum rested in the cafe, where she put on her shades, took up a bollywood pose and relaxed!
After this, we drove 2 hours (but only 65 kms) t0 Kumbalgarh. The scenery en-route was sectacular - I could not have imagined such lovely scenery in Rajasthan. We drove through the Aravalli Hills which are more mountains than hills. The vistas were amazing. We drove through dry arid land which had nothing but these large trees with big bright orange flowers - no leaves, only flowers - I've never seen anythign like it. We drove through sugarcane fields, wheat fields. saw men in turbans moving bullocks around a large wheel that in turn pulled water out of the well for irrigation - It's the first time even I have seen such typical countryside in India. We even ssaw a Jacaranda tree - one of the most beautiful trees in teh world which lovely blue flowers - I ahven't seen one since I was in Pretoria. It was wonderful to drive through the countryside because we got a sense of what the real Rajasthan was all about. Everyone was friendly, the ladies wore these extremely bright sarees and ghagraswhich contrasted beautifully with the bleak landscape. I personally fround the scenery to Kumbalgargh very inspiring.
The fort itself is astounding. It has one of the largest walls after Great Wall of China. None of us had seen such a large fort. It seemed to go on for ever and ever. It's even more interesting to learn that it was built in 1450! How in the world did they move all this stone to this place in the middle of nowhere and build a fort here?! The views from the fort are even more astounding. We are certainly spoilt for views here.
A note on how nice people are to us: We had lunch at Aodhi hotel - part of the royal retreats here and the manager opened up a new cleaned room for us to change Baby M's diaper and for us to freshen up - imagine that happening in Canada or Europe!

March 29
We spent the day visiting the holy shrine of Hussein Tekri - known for it's blessing those who are really in need. We were certainly not prepared for what we saw here. You had the poorest of the poorest and the weakest of the weakest begging for help here. It's taken us 6 hours on totally atrocious roads to get here but it has certainly been an eye opener for all of us. Never have we seen this kind of poverty - you had little children begging and totally destitute people waiting for mercy. I was surprised that all these kids were begging when they shoudl really have been in school. Of what use is the economic success in India when a large part of it's youth is left out?
We went there to weigh Baby M on the holy scales and distributed an equal amount of jaggery to the poor. It was in some ways a rather shocking and eye opening experience.
Hussein Tekri is in the state of Madhya Pradesh and I was somewhat surprised at how bad the roads still are there. India has a long way to go when it comes to progress. Success in the stock market in Mumbai has certainly not showed up here.

We were sharing our road with camels. donkeys, dogs, cows stolling down the highway, bullock carts, trucks and all sorts of people. It took us 6 hours to complete a journey of 130kms.

We arrived in Chittorgarh only to be told that there was a curfew in place because of the Hindu-Muslim tension!

March 30

We spent the morning looking at the Chittorgarh fort - legendary in teh Indian psyche for he practice of "jawhar" or mass suicide to save one's honor. At one point 22000 (yes Twenty two THOUSAND) women committed suicide to save themselves from being taken prisoner by the Mughals. While I think of it as a rather waste, in Indian folklore this is much respected. I found it even more scary that they burnt themselves alive on a pyre made of twigs and ghee!

We then proceeded to Ajmer Sharif. This is considered to be the 2nd most holy place for Indian Muslims after Mecca. There is a belief that if you ask for something here it will come true. Again, religion adn faith are all about belief. If you believe in something then it helps you and takes on a power of it's own. In India, religion is everywhere. You cannot remove it from the national fabric just as you cannot remove the church from Europe's history.

Ajmer has unfortunately come under the mafia of the Khadims (custodians of the shrine) and they have turned it into a money making, corrupt place. While I enjoy going to the Ajmer the problems with the khadims can be an issue. Our trip there cost us Rs. 2000 (about $50) which could easily have been put to use to so much better use. I am disspointed with how they are converting such a lovely place into a money making business.

Baby M has been a total star through all of this. A wonderful sport- she is really the ideal treavel companion. My husband carried her in the Baby Bjorn infant carrier and since he is much taller than most poeple here no once came close to them. My husband was also dressed in Indian clothes and the khadims just automaticlaly assumed he was from Kashmir since they have lighter skin there and kept talking to him in Hindi. He politely nodded his head and smiled.

March 31- April 3 JAIPUR

We'rte staying at the Taj Jai Mahal Palace which has been completely renovated since I stayed there 4 years ago. The rooms are very spiffy - and they even have a window that looks into the bathroom just incase I want to continue conversation with my husband while he pees!

Overall, our stay in Jaipur has been good. On Day 1 we saw the City Palace. I had such high expectations of it but the part which was open to the public is not half as interesting as the City Palace in Udaipur. We saw the wonderful collection of royal carpets, buggies (charriots pulled by horses) , two silver jugs which are the largest in the world and which hold 50 gallons of water each - these were used to transport holy water from the Ganges to London so the Maharaja could bathe in the holy water while he attended the coronation of Kind George. The City Palace came alive for us because we both read the book by Maharani Gayatri - the 3rd wife of the king of jaipur and her descriptions of the palace bring the place alive for us.

The next day we went to see the Royal Cenotaphs. There si one thing that has always truck me about India - we don't necessarily take very good care of people when they are alive but the moment they die they become eternal in memory and in very grand structures made of stone.

On Day 3 we took Baby M and my husband on an elephant ride up to Amber fort. Whiel Baby M and I found the ride to be relaxing, my husband looked very nervous on an elephant! Amber Fort has historical significance because it is here that the Mughal Emperor Akbar married the Hindu Princess Jodha and that put an end to the wars between the Mughals and the Rajputs. We had a guide here who has given my husband some very romantic lines to use on me. One of them is " You are the moon and above all beauty" - now say that in a Russian accent and try not to laugh!

After this, there was a visit to Jantar Mantar - the ancient Royal Observatory built in the 16th century - this is something I have wanted to see for a long long time. It uses a sun dial to accurately tell you the time - when we visited it was spot on!

My husband has pretty much been wearing only Indian clothes since we arrived in India. He now has about 9 indian outfits.

He looks very royal in these and everytime we go anywhere, people jump up to attention and salute him - a sign of great respect here. In return, he nods his head and smiles back. I am also surprised with how friendly people are towards Baby M. It takes us 10 minutes every time we enter a restaurant for the entire staff including the chefs to come and say Hello to her and another 10 minutes for all the staff to say Bye when we are leaving. We are also totally taken aback by strangers wanting to take their photos with her or old ladies coming up to talk to her. We've likely offended quite a few people when we said hey couldn't carry her, but overall, we seems to be managing the situation well.

More on Agra and Delhi in my next post ... until then ..Namaste!

March 17, 2008 - The flight over & Brugge

2008-03-18T14:44:00.010-04:00

The flight over was relaly good. We enjoyed excellent service and inspite of being in Economy we were made to feel like Royalty by the charming and extremely helpful inflight attendant called Rajat. We flew Jet Airways, a new airline from India, and I strongly recommend it to everyone. They outclass Lufthansa and the service even beats Emirates. Baby M was a natural traveller. We were worried the effect of air pressure on her, but she sucked her thumb and we were fine. She amused herself for a couple of hours, ate her food including parts of a paratha and then fell asleep for 5 hours.

Oh! JetAirways has those individual screens per seat with a selection of about 100 movies, plus games etc and took the opportunity to see "Elizabeth" something I have wanted to see for a long time. Then we each had our own personal menus and chose Chicken Tikka Masala, Daal, Rice, Paratha, Raita and Pickles. For dessert we had Rasmalai (Imagine getting a gourmet meal on Air Canada!).

We arrived safetly in Brussels and left our luggage at the lockers in the airport and headed by train to Brugge. This was Baby M's first train ride and after a couple of minutes our tired little explorer dozed off to sleep.

In brugge, we stayed at the Hotel OUD HUIS DE PEELART- it was lovely! Totally renovated, with 12ft ceilings, comfortable beds, Italian marble bathrooms and plenty of hot water. The breakfast was excellent as was the price for the property. (Tip: Call Hotels.ca and ask them for a further 10% off the room price - the operators can give it to you. )

We've been able to get a fair bit of sightseeing done in Brugge. Brugge is known for 3 things gastronimic: Mussels, Chips and Chocolates.

Mussels: Last night, we ate at a Brugge insitution called BREYDEL DE CONINC known for it's excellent seafood. We had large pots (yes, pots not plates) of mussels. I can honestly say that I am totally musseled out. At one sitting, I have eaten more mussels than in the last 10 years!

Chips: We found out here that French Fries originated in Belgium and not France. Now, we are certainly not chip gourmets but the chips here tasted pretty much the same as anywhere else.

Chocolates: Chocolate shops everywhere! Infact there is so much of chocolate in Brugge that my husband has for some strange reason lost his desire to eat it. (And this is a man who finishes one box of chocolates in 2 hours!). You cannot walk a corner without finding at least 2 chocolate shops. We visited the chocolate museum here. Very informative, but really, we were just looking for the different chocolates they give us to sample and were kind of dissapoined that we only got to eat 3 pieces in 30 minutes. However it was interesting to learn a bit about the cocoa bean. Did you know that 65% of all harvest comes from Africa? I didn't. We picked up some Cococa Powder with Matcha - an interesting taste for sure.

We've also taken Baby M on her first boat ride, a tour through the canals of Bruge. She was interested in the part where you got on the boat, but once we were all seated and the boat started to go, she kind of dozed off in the slight breeze. It appears that Brugge was not levelled in WWII so a lot of the buildings standing are in their original state - some are simply beautiful.

Eventhough we've been walking the whole day, we've only really touched the surface of what Brugge has to offer.

After the mussels and the Waterzooi (a stew made of seafood, wine and cream -yummy! ) we're inspired enough to wake up early and head to the fish market in the morning to check out the fresh catch of the day.

March 18, 2008 - Brugge & Brussels

2008-03-18T14:44:00.008-04:00

I woke up early in the am to see the exciting fish market (strange things excite me - fish is one of them!). Now, this one is housed in a very old square and all the counters are covered with marble. Very pretty. Full of anticipation, and wishing we had rented an appartment in Brugge so that I cook cook this bounty from the seas, I crossed the medivial market square and made a turn for the fish market. Over the bridge and then I saw it! What dissapointment! My wonderful busy fish market that I had envisaged had all but one (yes ONE) fishmonger! He stood there lonely in this lovely square selling the freshest white shrimp, sole and snapper I have seen. There was no doubt his produce was wonderful, but it certainly wasn't worth waking up early for.

After breakfast we headed to see the medivial courtyard of the Bell Tower - it's at places like this that I think most of Hunu and Alex - both of whom would have taken about a 100 photos and documented every tiny aspect of it. On my part, I took a video span of the place and a photo of Baby M to document her visit here.

We then headed down the little streets and had lunch at a tea room (there are 100s here). My crab sandwich was superb, my husband's cherry tart not quite up to the mark. It was now time to indulge in the very Belge tradition of fine chocolates and off we went to sample them. Superb! We tried one which was a Ganache of Chocolate with Lychee Tea - very interesting and different. Strolling down the narrow streets we eventually arrived at the "Beguinage: - the local convent and one of the top tourist attractions here. It was a very pldeasant spot - old buildings surronded by a little field full of daffodils in bloom. Very picturesque.

Baby M got a rattle with jingle bells on it as a souvenir of our time in Brugge. We've left the museums with the Flemish painters and the lace museum for whenever we return next to Brugge.

Arrived well in Brussels and checked in at the totally overpriced Sheraton Airport Hilton, but with a morning flight to catch you simply cannot beat the location. We realized that we could have saved EUR 45 by leaving our luggage here instead of the airport for 3 days (yes that's how much the lockers cost) - but no point pondering it too much. What's done is done.

Flying to Mumbai tomorrow am. Until then...

Packing, Packing and more packing

2008-03-14T00:51:00.002-04:00

There was a time about 15 years ago when I would go to the train station in Geneva with a small backpack. I'd go get a sandwich and then go look at the departure board. Which ever destination caught my fancy - that's where I would head out for a few days. No pre-planning, no preparation, no guidebook, only a small backpack and a sandwich. How fondly I look back at those days today!

Here I am packing for our trip to India with my husband and Baby M - my living room looks like every closet and cupboard has been emptied on it. On top of it, my husband has bought an industrial size box of diapers and I have no idea how to pack it all in the suitcases. We are taking pretty much all of Baby M's clothes since she goes through her entire wardrobe in a week. My husband has decided that "when in India do as the Indians do" so he's told me to pack "4 T-shirts" - the plan is for him to wear the Indian Kurta Pyjamas and wander the streets of Mumbai living out his Arabian Nights dreams. I am truly looking forward to this. On my part, I was packing all my lovely Indian clothes until by friend Sweetie Pie (she owns a sweet business) told me that they are all outdated and I should buy trousers and wear them here. How truly disappointing! I have a closet full of wonderful clothes I enjoy and they are all not in vogue and I am told to wear trousers which I detest! Well, I was never a fashion slave so I'm not going to worry about it. If my husband can look like Gandhi on the streets of India, I can surely look like a fashion diva wearing the best of 1994!

On top of that we have bug spray against the mosquitoes, citronella for the baby, sun screen for Baby M and even more for my husband- a total of 4 bottles. I have no idea what they are going to do in this much sunscreen but I expect they will be lathering themselves in it. Then we have Imodium and Tums - I have still to figure out which one is for Diarrhea and which one is for constipation. Add to that all the Tempra and Diaper Rash creams.

To ensure Baby M's tummy stays ok, we have 2 large cans of formula and will be adding her oatmeal and rice shortly. Ever since we started Baby M on her first trip, I also carry some dish detergent and this has often been one of the most practical things in my bag.

And let me not forget the Toilet Paper - the last time when I was in India toilet paper was not everywhere - you had to wash your bum clean with water (seems far more hygienic to me), and my husband is so disturbed by the details of this practice that he is taking toilet paper with him. Of course we could buy some there, but this is someone who grumbled for a week because I bought 1ply instead of 2ply toilet paper. Rather than hearing about toilet paper when I set my eyes on the Taj Mahal, I'll let him pamper his bum!!

Purel! Purel! And hand wipes for the baby since I've been told people in India take offense when you tell a guest to wash their hands. I still haven't understood why it is offensive, but I'm taking enough wet wipes and Purel so I can keep Baby M clean and somewhat germ free.

Did I mention we have 2 (yes TWO) different guide books of India. I had marked places I wanted to see in one of them but Baby M was playing with it and I haven't been able to see it since and so now I am re-marking in the second one.

On top of that I had the brilliant (but in retrospect clearly dumb) idea of sewing large pouches to put different things in - I was up till 2 am doing it and only got through half of them. Of course, now that I have started the job, I feel compelled under extreme stress to complete it.

I also have to cancel my newspaper subscription, hold my post, clean out my refrigerator, and clean out the car since Emie has agreed to take us to the airport and my car looks just atrocious!

Man oh man! I am so ready to go on holiday!

$4000/hr for what?

2008-03-11T01:07:00.003-04:00

I've had a very busy day with Baby M who seems to have some kind of rash even though my husband thinks she's just scratching herself, cleaning my office (again!) and sorting through all the stuff in our storage (again!). It wasn't until 9.30pm that I was able to catch up on the news and Mr. Spitzer's rendezvous with the prostitutes was flashing across the screen. Now, I had no idea who he was and why this was so relevant, but I figured it had something to do with the elections.

The part of the story that caught my attention was the BBC news reporter saying that he allegedly paid $4000 to the prostitute. I was quite impressed at that number, I mean, I have no clue what the going rate for these kind of services are but $4000 did seem like a lot. It's only after logging on to BBC News website, that I realised this was the price PER HOUR!!

BLOODY HELL! What in the world does a prostitute do for you for $4000 per hour!!! ??? I didn't even know prostitutes could cost that much. (Tells you how much I know about what goes on in this world!) But I simply cannot understand what a man can expect from one woman that requires him to pay $4000 per hour and that he couldn't get from another of the same profession for say, $400 /hr.

Being Canadian, where we watch a large part of our salary being "shared" by the govt, I couldn't help but wonder why the govt is so silly as to not legalize prostitution. I mean, forget about the moral stand of it all, (I no longer think prostitutes are victimized when they charge this kind of money and shag Governors) - I'm talking pure economics.

Assuming the lady in question works 4 hours a day at a rate of $4000/hr = $16,000/day. Now, I'm sure she would be working out of a corporation and of course she has to pay her manager, pay for herself to look good etc. Let's assume that is $2000/hr. It still gives you a tax bill of about $3600/day at a conservative estimate. Assume she works about 200 days a year , our Treasury could be getting potentially $720,000 a year from only this lovely lady!!!

I really don't understand why we are not taxing this profession. It's completely mad! They earn more than doctors, project managers, IT consultants and little tea merchants - and yet, they get away scott free because the moral police says what they do it wrong. But, isn't that all the more reason to tax them??

But more than anything, I'm really utterly curious to know what services Mr. Spitzer purchased for $4000/hr .

The Pant Problem

2008-03-08T09:03:00.002-05:00

Now, before I start let me clarify that by "pants" I mean trousers - not "pants" as the Brits use the word which refers to panties.

So I finally decided I need to go shopping. I have one pair of jeans that fit me and even those are low waisted so every time I sit you can see the unattractive part of my bum. I knew it was time when my husband asked me "Are these jeans meant to cover only your legs?" . On top of it I had a $150 gift voucher to the Bay and with our trip to India next week - I desperately needed something to cover up the body.

I really HATE shopping for clothes. I do not understand how people have the energy to shop for them. I mean, you walk around the store looking at stuff that looks great on the hanger, then you carry a pile of them to the dressing room, where you have to undress all your layers and try each one of these items individually. After all this pain, more than 99% of the stuff I try on looks horrible or fits not quite right or is just uncomfortable. You then deal with the disappointment, wear all those layers again and have to carry the pile out to the customer service desk where the attendant looks at you with a look that says "I could have told you this wouldn't look good - look at all the work I have now".

I really admire people like Gaby who seem to get energized by shopping. This woman can spend the whole day (8 hours literally) in the mall trying on about 300 outfits only to buy a T-shirt at the end, and still be happy. Or even Sexy T in London, who just goes to a store, picks a couple of things off the rack and they both look amazing. I've got some of my best purchases with her.

Not all forms of shopping are bad. I love to buy shoes. Anything for the kitchen I thoroughly enjoy (I once spent 4 hours looking at different kinds of Tupperware). I can even manage to buy jackets and things for the top half of my body with some ease. What I dread shopping for are
a) Pants
b) Bras
These are probably the most challenging things in the world to find. I simply do not have a body like a mannequin. I'm blessed with a petite build, chests the size of a 12 year old, a bum that is wide but not sticking out like J-Lo, and a tummy that is left over from the pregnancy. On the top half of my body I can wear kids clothes (I don't know if that is a compliment but it's cheaper and they have nicer colors) , it's on the bottom that the task gets complicated.

If I want a good fit, I need to go with Petite (which limits the selection in the store to 30%) but since they think that all petites are skinny with no bum or tummy, things start to get complicated. If I want a good fit on my bum I am a size 10. If I want it to zip up and put my tummy in there as well - I'm a size 12 but with the latter size, there is that bunching of cloth at the crotch. And now that I don't want anything low waisted, I'm finding I am totally out of luck!

I dragged my husband and Baby M to the mall yesterday to assist me. On my first walk around the Petite section I found 1 pair of pants. I tried it on and it looked pretty miserable, which was only confirmed by the way my husband immediately shook his head when I came out to show him. By this time Baby M had sensed the tension inside me and started to cry. So here I was looking for a pair of pants with a reluctant husband and a crying baby! Luckily, the saleslady took pity on me and gathered up all the pants that would somehow fit me.

After trying on a couple - I bought a pair of bell-bottoms (yes!). I look about 5 inches shorter and 10 pounds heavier but they were comfortable. I will try them on tonight and most likely go back and return them and go through the whole hoopla of finding another pair of pants all over again.

Some things in life are just incredibly complicated.

Afghanistan and the War on Terror

2008-03-05T21:47:00.005-05:00

Up here in Canada, where we are braving what seems like our 100th snow storm of the season, there is a steadily growing movement that wants Canadian troops out of Afghanistan. For those of you not familiar with what Canada is doing in Afghanistan - we are there on a peacekeeping mission to assist Karzai's govt keep the Taliban out. And we are doing it under the NATO flag. Please do not compare this to Bush and his incredibly stupid war in Iraq, we are in Afghanistan by invitation and are actively trying to root the Taliban out.

Now, it would appear to me that if bombs and guns could have defeated Radical Islamists it would have done so by now. And this is something the West doesn't seem to be realising. As a Muslim, married to a Jew (who is intermittently following some Yoga thingy) , I am only too aware of the craziness prevalent among Radical Islamists and go out of my way to keep a very far distance from them.

However, they are still a very real threat - not only to the Western countries but also to Moderate Islam. I used to think that this is a Muslim problem and it is time for Muslims to stand up and reign in those crazy fanatics who have twisted and turned what is a peace loving religion into a lethal doctrine of suicide and revenge. But while I might have been more inclined to rationalize with one of them before I got married, I certainly value my family a lot more now and will likely never enter such a discourse. There is no doubt that the few religious nuts have taken over the agenda of close to a billion people and with their brutality have all but made the rest of us shut up.

What is surprising to me however, is how this illiterate rag tag bunch came to such power. And here the West and particularly US is to blame. It is well known that in the Afghanistan war, the US funded and equipped the mujaheddin to fight the Russians. Pakistan was paid to train another group of elite mujaheddin. The US militarily themselves marvelled at how well this uncouth bunch of men fought the Russians. The problem is the US basically showed these guys how to combine western technology and guerrilla warfare - making for a particularly lethal combination. When the Russians fled, the groups turned on each other and the one that prevailed was the Taliban. With no other agenda on hand, the Taliban turned against the West.

Now, fundamental Islam is not something that the West can fix overnight. A relatively normal person's path towards fundamentalism happens over a period. This is the concept the West seems to be missing. The war on fundamental Islam (and actually fundamental religion of all denominations) must be won. But to fight it, you need to have a strategy that works. Guns and bombs do not. Every time you throw a bomb and kill someone's father, you are only more likely to make it easier for the family to be "recruited" by some despicable fundamentalist movement.

I always wondered why the West (and Moderate Islamic states) do not make it inconvenient for people to join the fundamentalist movement. Here is my reasoning: A person in these countries has basic needs - food, shelter, clothing and safety. I wonder if we would not have been further down on our war against fundamentalism if we had spent the money we use for guns and bombs to build small local industries and provide incentives for people to give up their guns and run stores or mills or something. Surely it would make much more sense to be financially secure than to give up security for an unknown future where your wife and kids could likely end up without any support whatsoever.

If you really want to make a difference in these parts of the world, you have to go with a long term strategy that focuses on bettering the lives of the locals. And the best way to win someone over is to educate their children, provide good medical care and give them a legal and reasonable way to earn their livelihood. Surely one of Mr. Harper and Mr. Bush's advisers would have told them that. You need to start teaching a secular curriculum to students from a very young age that teaches them to think independently. You need to provide the youth with real skills like medicine, engineering or even how to fix cars, that they will not learn through the religious instruction in a madrassa. The war on fundamentalist Islam is not something that can be won overnight, it's a long painful process that requires foresight and patience.

I just finished reading a very insightful book, Three Cups of Tea - the story of how an American called Greg Mortenson builds schools in the remotest regions of Pakistan. I very highly recommend that everyone who is wondering what Canada is doing in Afghanistan read this book.

We cannot walk away from Afghanistan. That would mean millions of innocent Afghans are again brutalised by the Taliban. This is not the Canadian way. We cannot go on fighting the way we have been because if you fight ideology with guns, the ideology only gets stronger and more resilient. We have to fight it at the grassroots, by making it extremely unprofitable for the locals to join these fundamentalist groups. But to do that we have to gain their trust, teach their children, take care of them and essentially provide all the services that they believe they would get from the Taliban. Only then can we even expect to have some inroads in this game.

Hillary and the kitchen sink

2008-03-05T09:45:00.003-05:00

Now, Hillary may have slowed the tide of voters against Obama but she did that by playing on the voters fears and insecurities rather than showing them what she can do. Her campaign over the past few weeks has been more about "let's throw all the dirt we can find about Obama out in the open" vs "let's try and tell the voters what we can do". In small minded America where voters do not ask tough questions such tactics seem to be working out. I deeply respect Obama's stance of not throwing the dirt back at Hillary - this is definitely the politics we should be following. But, how much longer can he maintain the gentlemanly behaviour? Billary have already said "Politics is a contact sport" - I actually used to see it more as an exchange of ideas, but I guess in America where the violent killing of innocent Iraqi's is just "collateral damage", positive exchange of ideas have led way to dirt being thrown- all we wait for now is Hillary and Obama to get into the ring and box each other out.

And while Hillary may have thrown all the dirt she found about Obama out in the open - the worst she could come up with was
a) His naive ideas about NAFTA
b) Deals with some bad guy that he already acknowledged and apologised for.
I mean- after spending more than 120 million dollars, you are telling me that is all she could find on this guy? If this guy is so squeaky clean then he quite rightly deserves the White House.

Without spending any money on Hillary and doing no research - not even a Google search - here is the list of skeletons in Hillary's closet that I remember:
a) Whitewater
b) Mr. Foster's suicide and the missing files that Hillary moved from his office the day after the event.
c)Missing records on the Cattle Grade deal that mysteriously showed up once the investigation had completed.
d) During Bill's time, the presidential helicopter was used to take Hillary's friends to golfing trips - wonder what those folks in Ohio would think about that. (I remember that because some politician in India tried to do the same with the Presidential helicopter in India only to get into trouble)
e) Taking money from Lobbyists over and over and over again! This woman has probably sold her conscience to the lobbyists by now!

I mean - and this is only what i remember. Think about all the stuff you could find out about her with 120 million dollars to spare.

The problem on playing a "contact sport" is that it might feel pretty good when you are on the top punching the little guy down, but you run the risk that the little guy might come back at you with an even harder punch - one you might not really recover from.

Green Beans in Roasted Pepper sauce

2008-03-05T09:34:00.004-05:00

For 2 as a main course (4 for appetizer)

250g Green Beans

3 Red Peppers

4 large cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt to taste

To make the Roasted Pepper sauce:

Cut the heads off the peppers and remove the seeds.

Cut peppers in 1/2

Place on a baking tray with cut side down.

Set oven to HIGH Broil. Put the peppers in the oven for 8-12 minutes until the top is black.

Remove from the oven and immediately put in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. This allows the peppers to steam and makes it easy to remove the skin.

Remove skin from the peppers - it should just peel off.

Blend peppers and garlic for about 2 minutes until it is pureed. You do not need to add any oil or water the moisture in the peppers should be enough.

To make the Green Beans:

Heat the pan on a high flame. Add the olive oil.

Add beans and stir - cook beans until they are slightly brown (about 3 minutes).

Add Roasted Pepper sauce and stir. Cover and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Chickpeas in Cilantro Sauce

2008-03-03T21:53:00.004-05:00

For 3 servings

1 large can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
2 cups fresh cilantro or coriander
1 large onion finely chopped
1 red pepper finely chopped (remove head and seeds)
salt to taste
3 slices of fresh lemon
3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup water

Heat the oil in a pan. Add the onions and peppers and cook for 3-4 minutes on medium flame until the onions are translucent.
Put most of the onion and pepper mixture in a blender (leave about 2-3 tablespoons in the pan).
Blend the mixture for about a minute.
Wash the cilantro thoroughly. Add it to the blender with the onion and pepper mixture. Add water. Blend for about 2 minutes until there are no more whole cilantro leaves.
Drain the can of chickpeas and rinse with water. Add it to the pan with the little bit on ion and red pepper mixture left in it.
Add the cilantro mixture and put the stove on medium.
Add salt to taste.
Allow to cook for 5-8 minutes until it is gently boiling.
Remove and serve with the lemon slices.

Grilled Scallops on a bed of Pineapples with Chipolte Mayonaise and Cilantro sauce

2008-03-02T11:20:00.002-05:00

For 4 as an appetiser:

8 large fresh Dry Scallops
1/2 fresh pineapple cut into thin rings.
8 tablespoons Chipolte Mayonnaise
1 cup fresh cilantro or coriander leaves
1/2 cup olive oil
1 fresh chili
salt to taste.

For the Cilantro sauce:

Wash the Cilantro until it is clean.
Remove all the leaves from the stalks and put in a blender.
Add olive oil and chili and salt.
Blend until it is a smooth sauce.
Set aside.

For the Scallops:

Heat a frying pan until it is very hot.
Put the scallops in it and leave for 2 minutes until one side is browned, flip and cook on the other side. You should not have to cook them for more than 3-4 minutes in total.

To assemble the plates:

Divide the pineapple rings evenly between all the plates.
Place the freshly grilled scallops on top of the pineapples.
Put a spoon of chipolte mayonnaise on the side.
Drizzle the cilantro sauce on top.
Serve immediately.

Collateral Damage

2008-03-02T10:51:00.006-05:00

My fellow blogger, Jill, in her wonderful blog http://www.divaplatform.com/ wants to pull me back into discussion of Obama vs. McCain vs. Weepy Clinton vs. the Baptist minister- but today I want to talk of something more important. Something military powers around the world called "collateral damage" - the death and destruction of the innocent people left behind once all the bombs have fallen.

As expected, the term was coined by the trigger and bomb happy US Military during their disastrous campaign in Vietnam. As I write this blog, I am outraged not only at the actions done by the US in Iraq (there are SO many better ways to install democracy!), but also by the actions of the Indian military in Kashmir who try to solidify their position by using illegal means, the abhorable acts of the brutal IDF in the occupied territories, and the truly despicable acts of the Islamic fanatics.

What happens after all the bombs fall? While all militaries would have us believe that they are targeting only "terrorists", why is it that so many women, children and innocent men are killed as well? We are used to shrugging our shoulders and saying "pity- it was a mistake". But these are very heavy mistakes and should we not start asking for some accountability for these mistakes? Do we all become party to this incompetence that kills innocent lives because it is inconvenient to ask for accountability?

And did we ever think about what happens to a family once this destruction strikes them? Take into consideration this fictional scenario which could easily be very true. A man takes care of his family of 4 children, his wife already dead from the substandard medical care they have in Afghanistan, Palestine or Iraq today. He goes about earning his money by selling bread, or eggs or something that costs little to buy, but that can be sold easily in a day. These earnings go to support his children and where possible send them to school. Now, one day he is going about his own business when someone decides to strikes a target. He just "happens" to be in the road and in a second he becomes a victim of this deadly but badly planned and implemented military action. In one second, his 4 kids loose all the support they have had.

Now, under Islamic law the person who fired that missile would have to take care and educate these orphans, of course even the most fundamentalist of Islamic powers decides which law to follow and which one not to, and this is one they don't. You can't expect the US military to do anything about it, because they conveniently call this man "collateral damage", and this term is only repeated in the Israeli and Indian militaries along with those everywhere else.

So news of the death of their father goes to the kids. The oldest is 12 she has not acquired any skills to do anything, no way of getting a regular job, no one will hire her to work as a maid because she is too young - and at the same time, she has 4 mouths to feed, clothe and keep sheltered. And in these parts of the world, there is really very little if no help available. What is she to do and how is she to take care of the family? It's only a matter of days before she realises that the only think she has to sell is herself - and for this there are plenty buyers.

Think about this every time you hear the word "collateral damage" and ask yourself if that child is not paying too high a price for our inability to question unnecessary deaths.

Big City Life

2008-02-28T14:39:00.004-05:00

Over the past few months, I have really felt the urge to move away from the big city. It's just so busy and polluted with no place to relax and enjoy. We are in Canada, land of the Rockies, Atlantic shores and beautiful lakes, and here I am spending my time in an apartment in the core of a big city.

I keep telling my husband that it is time to move - to go outside Toronto where most of us immigrants have ended up. Don't get me wrong, I love Toronto - the multiculturalism is truly amazing. Everyone comes from every where and on any given day you interact with over 10 different nationalities. Not even New York City is as multicultural as Toronto. And the strange part is that we all seem to live pretty peacefully here in the arctic cold. I guess the coldness melts away any animosity. Indians and Pakistanis live side by side, Jews and Arabs pray next to each other and Russians and Germans work together. No one really cares where you come from which is what makes this city so wonderful.

But as wonderful as multiculturalism is, Toronto is so very lacking in any kind of natural beauty. We don't have the mountains of Vancouver, the seaside of Halifax, the melting glacier of St. John or even the ever changing countryside of Montreal. It's about the only thing I really miss in Toronto and after almost 6 years of living here, I'm starting to get itchy for it.

We got married in Ancaster but apart from the Niagra Escarpment which is beautiful, there really is nothing there. I even thought of Peterborough with the Kawartha lakes next door, but really, what would we do in any of these places? There are no jobs for my husband there - even though he keeps telling me he is going to become a fisherman and catch fish everyday for me. (I will believe this only after I see him catch at least 1 fish !) The commute to Toronto would be horrendous, and we would leave behind all our friends.

I used to be allergic to the thought of moving to the suburbs - it just seemed like the kind of life that sucks all the interesting parts of you out. I've never lived suburbia, and being a city girl, I aways saw the "suburbanites" as a bit thick. They didn't seem as quick with their responses as the city folks - maybe that's because they didn't have to watch out for taxi drivers trying to kill them when they crossed the road, or had to hold their purse really tight when they were walking down the street. My husband tells me suburbia is not so bad. I'm not totally convinced about it.

But at the section of life we are in, we need nurseries, kindergarten, dance classes and the like for Baby M , and stuff like this is simply not in big supply in the core of downtown Toronto. It's certain we are moving, but we just have to find an area we are comfortable in.

What's the problem in being Muslim?

2008-02-27T21:44:00.002-05:00

Barak Obama has shown a side of himself to the media that certainly did not match the "knowledgeable saviour" image I had of him.

There are 4 particular incidents over the past 2-3 days that have really caught my attention.

1) Bill Cunningham (the right wing caveman who is the Ohio poster boy for the Republican Conservatives) calling him by his middle name "Hussein". It's almost as if "Hussein" was a bad word equivalent to fu#ker. Only in petty minded America would they take this to be a sign that he might have some connections to those terrible Islamic forces and their jihad. While I found Bill Cunningham's tactics abhorable because he is re-inforcing stereotypes against Muslims, I was even more puzzled by Obama's response. I mean, this is his name. Stand up and be proud of it - or change it! The fact is that he was born of a Muslim father and raised a Muslim in his childhood - absolutely nothing wrong with that. Then why the shame of using his name? Surely, this is an incredible asset as Syria, Egypt and Afghanistan are more likely to break bread and make peace with a man called Hussein versus a man called John McCain! In the close minded petty minds of Americans such an advantage is totally lost. Obama seems to take every opportunity to to say he converted to Christianity - all very well and good, except in Islam, if you are born Muslim you are considered that till you die - as far as I am aware, there is no conversion out of the religion.

2) Photos of him in the Kenyan outfit. Now, when I first saw it, I burst out laughing - he looked like one of those tribal dancers in India who put on a spectacle for tourists. I really didn't understand what the hulahoo was all about, until it dawned on me that Kenya is a Muslim country. Hence Obama in a Kenyan outfit = Obama dressed in Islamic garb = close comparisons to those fanatical Muslims and their desire to hurt USA. Tell me - if there was a picture of Obama in a Scottish Kilt would it have caused this much uproar! No! There were picture of Obama in a swimsuit in Hawaii - http://irregulartimes.com/diaries/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/obama%20beach%20photo.jpg - did anyone object to that? No (but I suspect quite a few women moved over to his camp after this). But the fact that he was fully clothed in a dress that was worn in a Muslim country is cause of uproar! Obama's response was again puzzling, instead of even taking this as "fear mongering" why didn't he just say he had fun and he was proud of the honor?

3) Most despicable of all. When asked of his views on Israel - he went to get some more votes by saying he "unequivocally supports Israel". Nothing particularly wrong in this statement, except that it signifies a continuation of the policies US Presidents have had to the region. He could have answered he "unequivocally supports peace in the Middle East" which would suit the visionary character he has been developing but instead he took the easy way. I am disappointed. If you read his website ( http://www.barackobama.com/issues/foreignpolicy/#onisrael ), you will also find out that he stood strongly for the indiscriminate killing of 1000 people by the brutal IDF during the 2006 Lebanon war. This war has been widely condemned in Israel and it has only strengthened Hezbollah's support in Lebanon and toppled what was the only peaceful govt the Lebanese had in the last few years. It has become a costly mistake for Israel. As a visionary who says he believes in dialogue and negotiations, should Obama not have insisted on that and sought the release of the kidnapped soldiers through peaceful means rather than through war? Do I see a disparity between his stand in Iraq and his policies towards Israel - YES! I fear that he will try to be more pro-Israeli just to prove he is not a Muslim, and this will come at the price of commonsense judgement and the continual degradation of lives of Muslims in the area.

4) His naive view of NAFTA. See my previous blogs on this. How is he going to turn around the economy without really taking on the Chinese?

Now, before Jill et all think I am moving my support to Hillary - NOPE! She's only gone down further in my opinion. I mean, who is the real Hillary? Is it the tough lady I once respected, the corrupt politician who has no problem raising funds through lobbyists, the crying spectacle she made her self, or the woman who said "I am honored, honored to be here with Barak". All she did was put him down for the past few months- so why is she so honored to be on stage with him? Confused, easily excitable and some one who seems to want to fan out hatred towards Islam to get a few votes - this woman is simply not capable to efficiently manage USA.

Purple Lace

2008-02-26T20:44:00.003-05:00

After waiting for a long time, I finally plunged and did it - I changed the color of our bedroom.

It used to be a wonderful Benjamin Moore color called "Bridal Pink" or "Blushing Bride" which suited my mood just fine when my husband was courting me and through the period of our initial marriage. But now, with Baby M almost 1 year old, it was time for a change. I was no longer in the pink phase of my life. I wanted more color. Something more exotic. Something different yet calming.

So off I went to my local Benjamin Moore store (I'm really not sure if they have better colors that the other paint companies but they are the only guys who have paint samples to try out) and got a few colors to try out.

There was a lovely blue shade which caught my eye instantly. It was what I was looking for. I picked up the color card and read the name - "Tear drop blue" - now - I think that is a horrible name! Tear drops to me signify sadness and grief - why would I want that painted all over my bedroom? It was almost like a teenager seeing a boy from far and falling in love only to find out he was totally wrong 10 seconds after they actually met. There was disappointment - but life had to go on.

So I continued looking through the color cards.
I eventually picked two:
a) Bahama Blue - a kind of bright aqueous blue
b) Purple Lace - a kind of lavender with blue tones

I don't normally like purple so I wasn't so sure about it - but I did want a change. However, ever since my art teacher told me that Purple was the color for death in Poland, I have developed a dislike of the color. I wish people would not tell me these things!

First I put the blue on the wall - I liked it - it was sophisticated yet bright, lively, young. I liked it.
Then I tried on Purple Lace - it was different. Yet somehow, it felt closer to the heart. I painted a bit more on the wall - it was like a long lost friend that comes back - familiar and at the same time changed. I called out to the husband, one look and he said "the purple one - i like it" .

The painter came and painted our room (we are not known for having any handy skills between us), I kept peeking in and every time I did it looked more and more like home.

It's a color that matches our moods and where we are in life today. It's comforting, calming, strong, different - it's a pretty confident color. Our first night in the room we all (Baby M has still not moved out!) slept very well. It's like the old friend who comes home and you just continue where you left off.

How 1 day can change the world

2008-02-25T14:07:00.004-05:00

I am totally amazed at how 1 day (actually 36 hours) can change my world.

Listen to what has happened in the past little while:

Baby M got her first tooth! It just pooped out right there in the middle of her mouth. No forewarning - just happened. She doesn't seem to be in much pain but her appetite is much less - I am told that is just part of the whole teething process. I also wonder about the amount of water she drinks - now, I know it's good that kids drink water but she seems to be pretty constantly connected to her sippy cup. I really haven't heard of any other kid that gets upset when you take the sippy cup away!

And just to balance off the good news, Mrs. H emailed me with some news that really shook me up. Someone I have only heard of who is 34 is battling breast cancer! I mean- how much more cruel can fate get than to take a breastfeeding mum of a 4 month old and give her cancer! Totally unfair. I don't even know these people - I've never met them. But the story is just too close to home. It really could have been any of us! I totally feel for this family who are going through a really difficult time. The only thing I take comfort in. is that they are in the hands of our wonderful Ontario doctors. We may not have the snazzy medical professionals with the overpriced Porches as they have in USA but we do have some great and caring doctors and having had to use OHIP quite a bit ourselves, I am confident they will do what needs to be done and get her back in shape.

And now for the other oddball news - NADER!! For heaven sakes! Yes, I think everyone has the right to stand for elections, but what is the point of standing for elections when
a) Your purpose is to prevent a Republican win of the 2008 elections.
b) The people who vote for you are the same people who vote for the Democrats so you don't actually dent the Republican voting population.
c) You insisted on running in 2000 and that cost Gore and the US a sane govt.
d) You have absolutely no chance of winning the elections this time around as there are already 3 populous candidates who are bringing people out in vast numbers.

I should say that Nader is ruled by his ego. But since he is a man - I am going to say he is ruled by the thing that twangles between his thighs! For heaven sakes - isn't it bad enough that the existing candidates are going to spend close to a BILLION dollars in campaign money getting their photo pasted on every lamppost that he now has to waste some more! Does he really need to add more to this wasteful expense? And for what purpose?

Here is how I think Nader can actually do good to the elections 2008:
a) Stop your infantile Presidential elections bid - it's a waste of money and you certainly aren't as cute as Barak so really no one wants to see your photo.
b) Select a candidate from the existing pool of rather awesome candidates and CAMPAIGN FOR THEM!! This HELPS them and it gets you closer to having someone in the White House who you can work with.

My last bit of disappointments is how Barak is now speaking out against NAFTA (presumably because it's the correct thing to say to people in Ohio who lost their jobs). This is utter garbage!! Protectionism is the way of the past. It doesn't work. If you want to get a flourishing economy you have to open up and who best to benefit from than your neighbours? People in Ohio are not loosing their jobs to Canadians and Mexicans - they are loosing them to the Chinese! And even thinking of closing down NAFTA will have no effect on jobs staying in the USA - you'll just push more jobs to China!

I'm getting a little bit fed up of people south of the border accusing us of taking the jobs and not fighting their stupid "war on terror". Let's set the record straight right now -
a) We are not "stealing" jobs - American companies are setting up offices here because we have universal health care which saves them about $5000 PER EMPLOYEE every year. So, it's not our fault that the Americans consistently vote in people who are so busy shagging the lobbyists that they forget about the poor, sick and tired.
b) If we want to talk about "stealing" jobs - lets talk about the hundreds of Canadian doctors that the Americans take from us to use in their overly expensive health care system.
c) Concerning the "war on terror" - we are fighting the biggest and most significant war on terror - the real one - the one in Afghanistan where the Taliban and Mr. Bin Laden are setting up home again. And we are paying for it with the deaths of our brave soldiers while the rest of the world (including America) pays lip service to it. Bush's "war on terror" is more a "war to create terror" and this is something we want nothing of. Lives of Canadian servicemen are too precious and should never be lost for the sake of cheaper petrol!

Is it better to take a longer holiday?

2008-02-23T23:22:00.003-05:00

So, here I am pondering the intricacies of our holiday to India. This morning, I was pretty pleased with what we had planned - that is, Toronto to Brussels - 4 days in Brussels then some time in Mumbai - a couple of days in Pune and then on the "real" part of our holiday. Delhi to see the capital, Agra (Taj Mahal) and into Rajasthan. We plan on staying in palaces, seeing forts and showing the world to baby M. Then back to Mumbai and backtrack to Brussels for a couple of nights and return 36 days later to Toronto.

But then I started to think, if we are going all the way there - why not spend one more week and go and see a little bit more of India. I mean, I really don't know when we will go back there. There's just so much to show baby M around the world.

Should we be taking the opportunity and seeing more?
Here is my thinking process:

For staying a week more:
1) We are already there - might as well spend a week seeing another area.

Against staying a week more:
1) We'd already be travelling for a month (16 days in hotels) - is it fair to put baby M through more hotel rooms?
2) It'll be summer in India and I don't like the heat. No idea how baby M will react to it as well.
3) Because of the heat, really the only places we can go are the Northern parts of India and the Himalayan region. Not a bad thing, because I love mountains. But we are going again to the Rockies in June - mind you, as a mountain lover I can tell you that no two mountains are the same - but still - it's essentially mountains. On the other hand, you can only go to the Himalayas for about 4 months a year and I have never really gone to India this late into the summer season before and likely will not go again at this time.
4) Trip for 1 week will cost the bank around $1800 additional. Which is pretty cheap when you compare it to the cheesy resorts Canadians pay to go to the Caribbean but still it's money.
5) The Travel Insurance with the credit card company that covers us only covers a period of 31 days - I have no idea how to upgrade that.

Hmm....

Things I have to be fortunate about

2008-02-21T22:31:00.003-05:00

I began to think today about all the people on earth and the issues they face and I realised I really am fortunate. Here are the top 14 things I have today that I am fortunate about.

1) An absolutely wonderful husband who loves me totally and who is really the most reliable person I have met.
2) A lovely little active baby who is healthy and normal.
3) A family that is truly strange, wierd and totally non-communicational but who somehow manages to pull together for me every time it's needed.
4) A sister in law who loves me like her own sister and isn't too shy to tell me what to do. My nephew seems to be catching up to that as well - but being told what to do by a 19 year old is just a little annoying.
5) That I had a father who truly believed in education for girls and did not hold me back at all.
6) That I have had the opportunity to live in so many parts of the world, travel to many more and be exposed to so much good on earth.
7) That my friends and family have pulled around me at my darkest moments and as Rupali once said "If you can't laugh at yourself now when are you going to".
8) I have a list of friends who actually like me for who I am: Bhindi, Poly, Jill, Tanvi, Gaby, Marg, Mrs. H ...
9) That Emie has the patience and will power to try to make a lazy person like me believe she can be an athlete.
10) That I have a home and so many things to fill it's cupboards that you need to open the doors carefully.
11) I live in Canada - what better place is there on earth?
12) George Cloony - I told my husband that if Cloony comes to town - I take the baby and have dinner with Cloony. We'll talk about my plans to save Dafur!
13) That I live in a time when a coloured person can think of leading a predominantly white nation and the nation gives him support.
14) I have the freedom to broadcast my voice to potentially 6.5 billion individuals on earth and no one can really stop me.

Quick and Easy Pineapple Bread Pudding

2008-02-12T21:18:00.000-05:00

7 -8 slices of white bread
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 can diced pineapples

Preheat oven to 375
Cut the edges off the bread.
Put bread in a bowl with the milk, sugar and butter, and let it soak for 10 minutes.
Add 2 eggs and beat the mixture.
Add the pineapples and stir.

Pour into a greased dish and place in the oven for about 40 minutes until it is done.

Campaign Spending

2008-02-11T21:36:00.000-05:00

I did a bit of basic arithmetic to see how much the elections in the USA cost. The estimated amount SPENT (not RAISED) by all candidates to date is 505 MILLION USD!!

Now, if there ever was a total waste of money it is here. 505 million (more than 1/2 a billion) is an amount that can easily be put to better use that seeing McCain, Huckabee and Hillary's photos all over town and TV. It completely boggles me how money has totally lost it's sense of value these days. It is pretty obvious that 505 million could easily be used to feed most of the starving in Africa, end the war in Darfur and can be used to create schools in the poorest of countries so that everyone has access to education. BUT the same money could also have been used to put more cops on the streets in the US, given for college scholarships so that we have more engineers and musicians among the financially deprived kids, created day care centers where mothers could leave their kids and go back to work to focus on their careers. I mean for heaven sakes - it could have got us that much closer to a cure for cancer!!!

So much could be done - but instead it has been spent on posters and 30 second TV commercials! What a total waste of funds!!!

It also made me think about what comes along with this spending. No one gives money for nothing. Everyone expects something back. Be it good leadership or a crack at getting a new drug aproved sooner - what in the world are people and corporations expecting back when they "donate" millions of dollars to political campaigns? Have American politicians completely sold off the interests of regular Americans?

And we haven't even got to the real election yet - we are only in the primaries!!! How much are we going to spend when we get there? Over 2-3 billion??

It is truly sad that in a country with so many problems not even one of the candidates (and this includes Obama as well) has actually done anything substantial with their money. I would like someone to build a shelter for the homeless or even give some to schools - anything other than photos and TV spots of themselves!!

Elections 2008 - let the discussion begin

2008-02-11T16:33:00.000-05:00

I was discussing my views on my friend's rather wonderful blog, but she doesn't seem to be interested in views other than hers now - so I have no choice but to start this blog and bring the politics in. I still like her blog though. You can check it out at http://www.divaplatform.com/

The Chai Lady officially endorses OBAMA. There I have said it.
I acknowledge that he has no concrete policies. I acknowledge that he may not be experienced in the dirty game of politics. BUT he has a way with words. He has the ability to reach out and talk to common folks. I find that amazing. He's almost like Jesus with the masses! He is a unifier who can reach out and bring in folks the way I have never seen anyone able to do before. Tell me, where in the Western World have you seen politicians bring in crowds of 18 - 30 thousand who wait for hours just to hear him speak - this is way better than any rock band - these people come to hear and take in his "sermons" - it's almost a cult of "born again political activists" that he is creating. I find that fascinating - I find that amazing and I applaud that.

In our world where we are far more likely to just grumble about the way the govt is instead of taking real concrete action - Obama has shown us that getting politically active is a cool and fun thing to do.

A lot of my friends have come out in support of Hillary simply because "women need to support women". Of course they do - but only when the woman is qualified to do the job. Tell me this - would you go to a doctor just because she was a woman - or would you go to a doctor because she is qualified and the fact that she is a woman is only a bigger bonus? I belong to the latter. I am all for improving the conditions of females around the world but voting someone in to manage the worlds largest and totally screwed up economy simply because of their gender is by no means a sensible argument.

I'm not totally against Hillary - I just think Obama is a better candidate. Either way you see it, ANYONE is better than McCain and his 100 year war in Iraq.

Recipe: O-bama Buzz

2008-02-10T23:22:00.000-05:00

Here's a new cocktail I made to go with all the crazy hours I spend in front of CNN these days:

1/5 cup grenadine syrup
1/5 cup blueberry syrup
2/5 cup soda water or cheap champagne

Pour it one on top of another starting with the grenadine, then blueberry syrup and then soda water or champagne.

It almost wants to make you want to sing the Obama Song!