3rd Blogoversary with Pumpkin-Choco chip "In-betweeners"!

I’m an In-betweener. At any given point in time, I am, in my head,  in between complete chaos and total order. I have an innate desire to have things under control – I nag and bug people around me and work myself into a frenzy till all the things to be done, are done. Then I experience a few days of smug satisfaction.

And then I go back to worrying about all the disorder that keeps growing around me. Coz didn't you know? Order breeds disorder! Balance of nature and duality of universe and all that shit.

So the 3^rd anniversary of this blog came and went by... and as usual, I was in the middle of too much chaos to actually write a post on that day. 

 

But that’s ok, because this blog understands. The Weekend Epicurean came about as a result of my being an “In-betweener”. I was in-between houses, my finances were a mess, I hated my job, didn’t know where life was headed and I had no clue what I wanted to do 5yrs from then!

Then I started the blog, shifted to a new house, quit my job, took a year-long break, swore to shift careers, and then went back to the same career. Yeah. Well. Oh, and did I mention I still don’t know what I want to do 5yrs from now?

Yup, somewhere in between all this change and constancy, this blog continues to breathe and grow. Albeit a bit slowly and lazily, but it survived nevertheless.

Pineappple growing under!

I have this strange childhood memory of us trying to grow a pineapple in our backyard once... Before you jump to any conclusions about me, let me tell you that by “us” I mean my family. Yup, add weird to dysfunctional and cantankerous. That’s us.

So... I have this memory of my grandfather checking a tuft of pineapple leaves planted in the ground near our well every day, and trying to figure out if there is a fruit growing below! I don’t know if that is really how this fruit grows, but from what I remember, this was the process:

1.       We bought a just-ripe whole pineapple with leaves attached on top.

2.       Now cut and eat up the pineapple, but leave the foliage attached to a bit of the core

3.       And lastly, plant the core with leaves attached.

4.       Now keep checking everyday...

Ok, these steps might be completely useless. Because I don’t remember the pineapple ever growing! I have no recollection of what happened to the plant eventually. I just remember checking on it almost every day for about a year and not seeing any exciting fruit popping out from underneath :(

End of the World or Grilled Pineapple?!

What with this being the first month of 2012, every blog and website is full of new year wishes, nostalgia for the year gone by, wonderful resolutions, best of 2011 round ups, and general good cheer and optimism. But not a whisper anywhere about the looming 2012 phenomenon??! No, really. Didn’t read it on any of the blogs I follow at least.

So is 2012 really going to mark the end of the world as we know it? Well, I heard conspiracy theories in office just today about how all coastal cities and towns are going to go under, and how certain renowned Bollywood personalities (no, I’m not saying who) are busy buying homes high up on hills and mountains to escape the apocalypse. Call them crazy if you will (No, you may ask, but I’m still not going to say who!) but they might just be the one’s having the last laugh...

What would you do if you knew you had just one year to live? What would you eat, what would you see, where would you go? Would you really concentrate on making your own Noah’s Ark somewhere in the hope of being the lucky one who might be spared? Or will you just throw caution to the windows and do all the wild things you ever wanted to? I know most of us will choose the latter at least in theory. Lets live to the fullest and all that... That’s great!

Ra.One and Caramel Custard...

I know… I have gone on and on defending theokmovie Ra.One to anyone willing to listen. I have stood by Shah Rukh Khan (even though he has no idea about my courageous stand) and lashed out at all those people who have been cracking Ra.One jokes. I have loyally added to the Ra.One box office collections by watching the movie twice – first in 2D and then in 3D. I have encouraged non-believers to go and watch the film and not go by the reviews and bad word-of-mouth publicity. I have fought with people on FB about why Ra.One is just as good, if not better, than the highly over-rated Dabangg, Ready and Bodyguard.  So much so that friends have been asking me if I’m being paid to do PR for Shah Rukh.  I also know that many friends and colleagues who have hitherto respected my opinion on cinema, now feel that I have lost the plot. So I thought I might as well go the whole hog. Either you are a believer or you are not. No point standing on the fence.

So this is a post in defense of Ra.One. And Caramel Custard. Oh no, they are not two different things! See, either you love Caramel Custard, or you don’t. Just like either you are a Shah Rukh fan or you are not. There is usually no middle ground. 

In all my years of being in love with SRK, I have noticed one thing - us fans can be fairly non-judgmental. Even the most die-hard SRK fan will grudgingly admit that he/she couldn’t stand him in Devdas, or couldn’t sit through My Name is Khan with a straight face… and couldn’t understand why he had to play that grumpy, limping husband in Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. In the same way that a Caramel Custard aficionado will hate it if it’s too eggy, or too wobbly, or the caramel a little burnt.  You like caramel custard for being what it is – simple, yummy, comforting. Not for being a fantastic dessert! Just as you love the on-screen Shah Rukh for being charming, cocky, emotional, eternally romantic – not for his great acting capabilities. He is comforting, makes your insides wobble, makes you believe in love, and makes you go ‘awwwwwwww’!

But those who aren’t SRK fans are not so forgiving. They will bay for his blood come what may. The film need not be all that bad, but it will be termed worthless anyway. All those bad Salman, Akshay, Golmaal-type films that become huge hits, somehow, never attract so much hatred or mud-slinging! But these critics and SRK-haters will harp on about Shah Rukh and his bad film choices and his bad acting no end. It makes me wonder if it has somehow become ‘cool’ to diss SRK. Maybe, if you are an SRK fan or like any of his films, it has come to mean that you are just not cool enough. Just like it has become cool to like Salman Khan and his hare-brained films. Because I honestly think that this time around, Ra.One got unprecedented bad publicity. People have gone on and on about how bad the film is like it was the sole purpose of their lives to stop the junta from watching the film. And I’m amused and a bit irritated by that! Because I honestly think Ra.One was not that bad…

For me, it was the perfect Caramel Custard. Ok, let me explain.

The last time I had homemade Caramel Custard was years ago... Mom used to make a huge bowl in her monster-sized pressure cooker when I was in school, and yet it used to barely last a day or two. Every trip past the refrigerator would call for a spoonful of steamed custard shoved into the mouth. It didn’t need any fancy serving suggestion or pretty china bowls. Just a steel bowl and spoon would do. But after I left home, it has mostly been restaurant caramel custard. And that’s just not the same. The servings are too small, the taste never the same, and they try and make it too fancy which never works. So when I made Caramel Custard at home after all these years, the pleasure in digging in was indescribable! I could close my eyes and recall those summer holidays, fighting over the last serving of custard with my brother, and drinking up all the caramel-y juices straight from the big bowl!

That’s exactly how Ra.One was. After Kal Ho Na Ho and Main Hoon Na the SRK we know and love had disappeared. Yes there were Om Shanti Om, Don and Rab Ne Banaa Di Jodi, but they were like the restaurant versions of Caramel Custard. Ok, but not great. He was not the “hero” who makes everything alright, who makes you want to fall in love again, who makes you believe in romance again. He was being all fancy-shmancy with cherries on the side and chocolate sauce on top. 

But in Ra.One, when he enters as G.One with that mind-blowing background music, I was hooting and screaming and ready to whistle aloud if I could! Here was the guy who was sweet, charming, vulnerable yet a super hero. This is what I had been waiting for! A film that has unadulterated Shah Rukh; the romantic, heroic SRK in all his glory. And that is what I liked as an SRK fan. I could have done with a better script, a larger climax, and a bigger reason for Ra.One to come out of the game than to just beat a Iittle kid…  But I never said I felt it was great cinema. It was good fun, it was entertaining, it had great VFX and it was Paisa-Vasool. And I see nothing wrong with that. On that note, I end my looong defense of all things Shah Rukh and move on to the Ra.One inspired Caramel Custard :P

My favorite scene in the film!! Yaaay G.One!!! :D

Ingredients:
Sugar - 3/4th Cup
Milk - 3 cups
Eggs - 4
Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp

 
 
First to make the caramel, add a few drops of water to about 1/4th cup of sugar in a pan and heat till the sugar caramelizes. It should turn a lovely golden brown, but shouldn't harden or crystallize.Pour the caramel into a steel or heat-resistant glass mould, swish it around to cover the sides, and let it cool. I just used a regular, deep, medium-sized steel dish for this, but you can also use individual glass or aluminium moulds so you have many separate servings at the end.

Heat milk either in a microwave oven or on gas flame. Meanwhile, whisk together the remaining half cup of sugar, vanilla essence and 4 eggs. Add the warm milk and mix well. Pour this egg-milk mixture into the steel/glass mould in which the caramel has already been poured. Cover with aluminium foil and place it in a pressure cooker or idli steamer that's filled with about a glass of water. If you are using a pressure cooker, remember to not use the whistle! You have to steam the custard, not pressure cook it :) 

If using an idli steamer, just close the lid firmly and let it steam.  Whichever method you use, the custard will need 30-40min of steaming on medium flame. After 30min, turn off flame, remove lid and let it cool. Now take a large serving dish or plate with high sides, place it on the mouth of the custard mould, and turn it upside down in a quick motion. The custard should come out easily with the caramel side up, onto the plate. 

The way I like it:
Refrigerate, slice it up and serve cold with a generous serving of the liquid caramel!

Post Script - If you would like to read another review by a like-minded fellow blogger Suhel Banerjee, then you can go here.

And just to prove that I CAN take criticism where SRK is concerned, here is another link to a review by one of my favorite Film Bloggers - Dolce and Namak. She and I don't always agree on everything, especially when it concern Shah Rukh (!), but I love her take on films anyway :)


Also, the most hilarious comic strip on Ra.One ever!!! See, when the review is in good taste and not getting all personal and abusive, I'm all for it. Especially if it is this funny :D

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How am I? Just Peachy!

Peaches. Peaches and cream. Peachy.

I don’t like peaches too much on their own. I can have the fruit once in a while, but the taste doesn’t do much for me.

As for Peaches n Cream… what IS that? Who really has a “Peaches n Cream” complexion?! Ok, so maybe there are people who are yellowish-pinkish-orange. Not me for sure. Also, complexion and skin is a sore topic where I am concerned. As is hair. But more skin I think. All my life (ok, since I was 13...) I have struggled with skin problems. I have bad skin. Acne, blackheads, pits, terribly oily skin, a perennially shiny nose, an ordinary skin tone (neither fair enough nor dusky enough to be of any notice) and pimples which looked more like an infestation of rash than ordinary zits! Friends and family assured me that it was an adolescent thing, that I would forget what acne was once I cross 20. But it was not to be. I’m over 30 now and I have just barely managed to get rid of the acne. The marks remain. And the acne keeps recurring all over my shoulders and back. So really, to hell with peaches and cream and all that jazz!

A wonderful Sunday & Plum -Cherry Cobbler to round it off...

I had a fantastic weekend! Erm... even though my whole weekend constituted of just the Sunday. Now that I’m back at work and have only alternate Saturdays off, Sundays just whizz by. By the time I’m up and awake half the day is gone… and then by the time I catch up on all the newspapers with their weekend supplements and magazines, sort out the house, and plan the meals, the rest of the day is gone too! But this Sunday, we decided to go to town for lunch to celebrate Sid and his writing partner G finally taking a break from the crazy world of Television writing.

Now those who are familiar with Mumbai will know that for us suburbanites, going to town is an event. On weekdays with the kind of crazy traffic there is, going to town, i.e. South Mumbai, takes almost 2-3hours! And that for an actual distance of about 30-40kms… But on Sunday, the roads are empty, the drive is lovely and you begin to understand why ‘town’ is all that it is made out to be.

Just after crossing the Bandra-Worli sea link... overladen sky above and swirling waters below!

Least sinful holiday dessert - Apple Crumble

I'm on holidayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!! :) No, not on the sun-kissed beaches of Goa or some such exotic destination, but in my home town - Vishakhapatnam, or Vizag as its popularly known. But yes, it does have more than its share of beautiful beaches and hills, and its home. I'm getting to spend an entire month at home, and more importantly with mom after 3 whole years! So this is my first proper 'Maayka' visit after my marriage.... And that's the reason I haven't blogged in a while :)

An Ode to Brownies - How did I live without you for so many years??!

There are some foods that my generation was introduced to very late in life, but we all have somehow come to believe that we have loved and known them for ages. Like Pizza. I remember the first time I ever had pizza was in Vizag when I was 17 yrs old and at a small Hot Breads outlet. The pizza was hard, unfamiliar, chewy, loaded with bad cheese and raw vegetables and yet, me and my brother felt oh-so-cool eating it! I think it was the same Hot Breads that gave us our first taste of burgers, fries and croissants. Today we wouldn't be caught dead sitting there! Come to think of it, even in those days it was uncool to be seen hanging there with younger siblings. I remember this one time when my cousin Mahi and I fought with our younger brothers and insisted on going to the fast food outlet unaccompanied by the minors :D

Much to our chagrin, the two brats landed up at the table next to ours acting all grown-up and ignoring our presence, full of themselves at having come and ordered on their own! This is one of those food memories that I don't think any of us will ever forget... :)

French Apple Pie

Ok, first up, let me confess that I have no clue what this dessert is really called! I was watching Food Paradise on Travel & Living yesterday and tuned in to see the host taking a tour of Burgundy in France. And this was a quick local dish that she showed how to make. It seemed really easy and I had 2 apples sitting in my fridge for a few days and all the ingredients in my larder, so I thought I would give it a try...

But I don't have an oven yet (but have already bought a cool Glen cooking range complete with grill and oven for the new house which should be functional by end of this month. yaaay!) So I prepared this in the microwave and was expecting it to really turn out a disaster. But it was surprisingly delicious - soft and warm on the inside, crisp on the edges like an apple pie... ummm! I think I'm going to go get myself a slice right away!

Ingredients:

Apple (Red) - 1
Flour - 1 cup
Salted Butter - 75gms
Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Eggs - 2
Powdered Sugar - 1/2 cup
Cinnamon Powder - 1/2 tsp
Cream - 200ml (I use Amul Fresh Cream)

Add the baking soda to the flour. Now take the butter at room temperature and slowly start mixing it into the flour till all the butter is dissolved. Add a splash of water - just enough to turn it into an easy to roll dough. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a smooth circle or rectangle (depending on the shape of your dish) and transfer it into the baking dish. Pat in the corners and the edges.

Core and peel the apple and cut it into thin slices. Now spread these slices evenly all over the dough in a single layer.

In a mixing bowl, break the 2 eggs, add the sugar, powdered cinnamon and the cream. Whisk it until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is thick and creamy. Pour it on top of the sliced apples covering every inch of the baking dish.

Thats it... pop it into the oven for 30min, or microwave it at 60% power for 30min. Let it cool a little and savour it while still warm.

Though this microwave version turned out absolutely fine, I'm sure if i had made this in the oven, my apples would have been crunchier on the top and the crust would have been nicer. Currently it's a little biscuit-y... But frankly, am not complaining. Coz this has to be the simplest form of scrumptious apple pie ever!

Whole Wheat Pancakes

I just love fresh, warm pancakes for breakfast with a dollop of butter and loaded with honey or maple syrup… So when I saw Arundati’s recipe for Whole Wheat Eggless Pancakes, I thought I must give it a try. Especially now that Sid is not in town, this is one of the advantages… Coz he sadly hates eating anything sweet in the mornings.

However it having been a working Saturday, when I got into the kitchen to make the pancakes on Sunday morning, I realized that I had run out of Whole Wheat flour (aata) and I did not have any buttermilk left over either. So here is my version of the recipe that turned out equally well I think.

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Flour (Aata) – ¼ cup (that’s all I could scrape up from my flour box)
Makai Aata (Maize flour) – ¾ cup
Jaggery (Gur) – 2 large tbsp
Milk – 1 cup
Vinegar – 1 tbsp
Cinnamon powder – ¼ tsp
Sodium bcarbonate/Meetha Soda/Baking Soda – 1 tsp
Honey

Pour the vinegar into the cup of milk and keep aside for 10min. Mix the whole weat flour and the makai ka aata with the baking soda, cinnamon powder and jaggery. Pour in the milk and vinegar into this and mix well till there are no lumps of flour remaining. Leave aside for 10min to let the jaggery melt in properly. The batter should be the consistency of your regular dosa batter – easy to pour, but not watery.

Heat a shallow frying pan and pour in a ladle full of batter. Do not spread it with the ladle like a dosa! Allow it to spread itself naturally into a round shape. Pour a little butter or oil around the edges. Let it cook for about a minute till you see little bubbles bursting on the sides of the pancake, then flip it on to the other side carefully. Let it cook for another minute or until you see the edges browning.

That’s it! Serve hot with a tiny blob of butter and honey drizzled all over.

A, my special brunch invitee on Sunday, absolutely loved these pancakes and was extremely disappointed that I had made just 5 of them. But it was my first attempt, so I made a smaller batch. Now I’m all set to try out variations. I have a feeling this batch did not turn out as fluffy as they could be… So I’m going to try it with eggs the next time.

It was so easy to make that this last picture is of the pancake made by A. And if a man can turn out such a perfect pancake, you know you can too!