Of Salad Days, Growing Pains & Wish Lists:)

Dearest Faameeli, Besties and Friends,
Ollllaaa!! ♥

Hmmm..so what's special ,you ask, Jyesss!!!?? Hmmm let's see...Well I turn a teenage 21 in exactly 2 short weeks! It all started when God actually called me eaaaarly in the morning and told me that he was planning to schedule my birthday again this year!!! 

Good Grief.

Doesn't he get that after a certain point he's just being painfully repetitive not to mention supremely vindictive!!! Well, at first his news  was cause for great concern and well, deep consternation, cause heck who likes growin older other than silly 5-16 year olds who , let's be fair, don't know any better! 

And that's when I saw the silver lining- I'd be of legally drinkin age in the US and eligible to receive 21 whole gifts by a rare breed of thoughtful kinds( you know who you are!!!).Well, more gifts are welcome 'cause God knows a girl like me could sure do with some cheering up and a super sugar high to tide over such exasperating times...

Anyway the whole B'day announcement got me thinking... it was time to whip out a wishlist and soften the blow:D
So here is my short wishhh list...feel free to splurge on mee, ppl :D

1.Loads and loads..no , make dat roomfulls of balloons.

Like a zillion-kadzillion balloons..so when zealous kids snatch away MY balloons n smile their crafty , wiley, okiefyne innocent smiles at me that I fosures won't be able to resist , I ll have a whole surfiet!!! Dontcha just love plannin in advance for any situation!!

2. Soapy Bubbles..so I can run around n burst em...

What!?? There is no such thing as "enough fun or enough cardio".Let's keep me fit and happy peeps:).And while we're on the whole fun subject- I want sheets and endless sheets of bubble wrapping as well to pop to my heart's content! Ahh the sweet sound of bubble wrap crackling.I do love my pop !:)

3.My fave Bvlgari Parfum- Aqva. So its a men's perfume...but it's what floats my pheramoney boat! Be nice n deal with it!

(Please?)

4. A watch...

A Guess watch in white straps with glittery white stones on the dial.It can be Chopard's happy diamonds too , u know , I wouldn't mind that in the least;).I did scour the Dubai Duty Free stores in its entirety for something like that. But, there is something called buyer's luck that must favour de smitten , so all my lovely mitten- kittens , shud u find one..pls know that u will never regret having bought that for moi:). *Mumbles*Or even sharing the 411 on where I can buy one would suffice

5.Ice ice baby.. Ice of the  Diamonds kind  in any accessory shape.. 

I accept em all.. Here's a smile with a tinggg to prove my commitment n love for dat piece of treasure..Such is my undyin fascination for all de beauty dat this hard rock brings ...*Trillin alladin style* You can open my eyes... shinin, shimmering , splendidddd...laadidaaa

Sigh! Such endless possibilities !!!

6. The downloaded first season of Glee so I can hear de song 'Total eclipse of the heart' by New Directions ( orginally by Bonnie Tyler ) over and over and over again.

You can never hear that version often enough!

7. A 21 tiered miniature Cake...

Ok ! I just had to try.. I did add miniature....so gimme points for atleast reachin for realism at some point of my wish...Cupcakes*drool*. Fine , a cake that's a total wicked delish made of  chocolate would do too. Maybe one that's shaped like a chocolate Labrador.Shapes add character and the caprice stems from being completely charmed by how adorably innocent labs look!:)

8. Movie tickets to the movie Raavan just in case I haven't been fortunate enough to watch it by then.And in case I get lucky and watch it before said day make it a pink Umberella ♥!

9. An original Blackberry skin for my BB curve in hot pink. 

I've sadly seen the ones they sell here.They look cheap and sad. I want the original which has blackberry printed on the backside. Shame on you ebay.in for mailing me a fake! Shame on you!:x

9.5. An awweesome real estate agent's number or a tip off on prospective sellers of a super lookin appartment in namba Singara Chennai.No outskirts Anna Nagar , Kilpauk stuff..hard core center of de city!

10. A genie who ll hook me up with a hot shot job that involves tons to travel to europe , australia n japan n... u get de drift.. A tip wud be nice if a genie is hard to come by;)

Oh! and on a serious n very firm note I want : hugs and more warm hugs , wishes and more wishes for a nice happy life , prayers and more heartfelt prayers that my big dreams come true ,  promises and bigger n huger  promises of  undying friendship , love n loyalty and finally hopes and bigger hopes for me to be in a place, this year, to reciprocate all those emotions and more for my wonderful family n friends.. 

Ya'll mean so, sooo, sooooo much..
Much lowee ...

Mee♥ 

My rendezvous with Hema Malini and trysts with Poha-makin:)

I've met the actress Hema Malini twice in my whole time on this planet...Once at my best friend's wedding and this other time at this airport security check (she was right in front of me in the queue and  we collected our belongings in, what I'd like to consider, companionable silence). The first time I laid eyes on her was at the wedding, when she and her youngest daughter/son(couldn't tell going by the size of the shoulders) were walking towards me...The starlet looked stunning in her elaborate Zardosi adorned Sari.Visions of goat/snake/pigeon sacrifices and the many deals with Satan/Lucifer/ his ilk drifted in and out as I marveled at   just how she managed to look this drop dead gorgeous in her 60's!. But when she drew closer I discovered that she was a perfect Monet...a sight to behold from afar but not so stunning when you saw her face upclose ( what with the makeup caking up around the lines under her eyes and the crow's feet!). It was  kinda hard  not  to notice the tell-tale signs of ageing on her face but when your gaze dropped to those mesmerizing, shiny and very youthful looking cheeks of her's you soon forgot all about the lines. And when she walked away you couldn't help but notice the dignified air with which she carried herself -the arched back, dancer's poise - plain winsome...

Plus in addition to all her well preserved allure she had the warmest smile I ever saw. It reached her eyes.

...and I'm gushing...I blame her aura and the bewitching spell she cast! 

So smitten kitten that I was, I never dismissed a single article on filmi mags that featured her. Be it her Satvik diet , her dedication to dance, her aspirations as a Rajya sabha member , her political leanings , her dreams and hopes for her sturdy son daughter, Esha Deol. I read them all with relish...and that's when I stumbled onto a tit-bit that had her proclaiming that she could not make Upma to save her life.I never get the water proportions right either. She claimed she was a rasam expert... well, so am I !!!(AND the similarity stops there..so u can breathe..I DO NOT suffer from any grandiose delusions of inflated worth:P)...

Anyhoo..it felt nice to have some company out there as far as epic debacle's in Upma-making went... Sigh! even a picture perfect dream girl had suffered a life filled of issues with it!gleeee was meee...But fear not, my few but faithful readers, I'll get there someday...

For now, it's all about the baby-steps. My brother helped me figure out how to cook poha(Upma's northie cousin)! Couldn't believe just how simple it was to make it... (Learn Upma , learn!!!:x)

Ingredients:

2 cups flattened rice or poha

2 tbs vegetable oil

1 tbs mustard seeds

2 green chillies

2 Onions- chop them up

1 cup finely diced red pepper

1/2 tsp turmeric

7-8 curry leaves & mint leaves

a bunch of unsalted peanuts (for the peanut tolerant)

So here's what you should do:

Place the flattened rice on a colander and pour some water thru it. Once the flattened rice meets water some strange phenom happens that miraculously makes the rice ready. Water touches it and it's ready. It's almost magical. Don't let the water sit for too long as it tends to make the rice very soggy. So it's all touch and go to the next step kinds...

Next take a wok, pour some oil in and roast the unsalted peanuts until they turn a nice golden color and set aside. Wipe the wok, add some oil, bung in the mustard seeds, curry leaves and  green chillies.

 In go the diced onions and red pepper to add to  the spluttering.Once the onions get all translucent and golden, add a pinch of turmeric and salt to the veggies.

Next pour the poha in and mix well for 2-4 minutes on a medium flame.Add salt to taste. Once it is properly mixed and radiating a nice rich yellowness garnish with roasted peanuts & coriander or mint:).

When it rains...it pours!

It rained today! After many , many , many hot and hyper-humid days the Rain Gods finally decided to give us all a break!Well , thank heavens they have a kind bone somewhere...

Went for a loooong walk in the park and then went to this store to buy a mattress.Turns out  this particular store- Seating World,  loves inflating prices. Mattresses that are priced at 600 dollars in the US are sold from anywhere between 1 lakh to 6 effin lakhs! Did the greedy owner sell his/her soul to the demon? Well , your guess is as good as mine cause the surprisingly affable sales lady at the store, told us that they were doing very , very well and seemed to mean it! 

I was seriously looking forward to getting a Simmons mattress ...have heard their stuff is the bomb and can make any light sleeper snooze like sleeping beauty!:(And I desperately need my forty winks!Waaaaaaaaaah:(( These are the times you wish you had lightening bolts to spare! Bloody greed!

Anyways to stem the disappointment I turned to my kitchen for solace and whipped up some Egg Fried Rice. It was really simple to make!

Ingredients: 

2 eggs ( if you are vegan I would suggest you use scrambled tofu)  

2 tbs vegetable oil ,

2 red chillies ( varied depending on your spice palette) ,

2 cups finely diced vegetables (beans , american sweet corn ,carrots and red peppers)

3 tsp dark soy sauce (vary based on how dark that brand of sauce is..if it is very strong use only 1 large tsp)

2 tsp light soy sauce

1 tsp of white pepper (really makes the dish come alive)

2 cups jasmine rice 

3 cups of water

And now for how I went about the whole thing... Cook the jasmine rice by throwing in 3 cups of water in a rice cooker. You'll know when it's done when the heady aroma greets you! It brings me to my knees!I love the smell of jasmine rice!My mum actually used to bring back Jasmine rice from the US every time she visited the states! Now , I understand why! So take the cooked rice and spread it out on a plate and let it cool for a bit. Make sure the rice doesn't stick to each other.

Moving on , take a big wok , pour some oil in and scramble the eggs. Keep aside. Next wipe the wok clean and pour some more vegetable oil in and sauté the chillies and  finely diced veggies until crisp on a high flame.Cook for about 3.5 minutes following which you add the 1 tsp of dark soy sauce and light soy sauce in alternation.Add the scrambled eggs and cooled rice to this mixture. Now on a high flame , mix in one more tsp of light soy sauce , white pepper and 2 tsps of dark soy sauce and cook for another minute or 2. Finally garnish with sliced scallions if you have any!:)

I really liked how the dish turned out ...almost made me forget the debacle that was Seating World as visions of  uber-inflated mattress prices were replaced by memories of the yummy chinese take-out food we used to get in Sfo !

The pictures with the flash and without...