One Fleeting Moment

In a bid to reduce our carbon footprint, save the polar bears, earn good karma points etc. we try to forego plastic bags as much as possible. This usually means the moment the cashier starts checking out our groceries, one of us starts yelling " no plastic, no plastic" at the bag boy to stop him from swaddling our vegetables in swathes of plastic. Usually they stop, look around with a stunned expression and then randomly start packing things into our big bag. And on most occassions they just stop and we pack our groceries ourselves.


Last night we had the misfortune of meeting a bagger from hell at our grocery store and did that fellow have a vendetta or what? For starters, he was quick (I guess, a good skill for bagger to possess) and he would not let me pack my groceries (not to good for customer service, wouldn't you say?). He then proceeded to squash the zuchini with cans of coconut milk, puree the ripe papaya by smacking a pound of onions on top and juice half the oranges. And then when we ran out of space( thanks to his inept bagging skills) he generously gave each remaining pea pod its own plastic bag...well, almost!!

Urgh!!...I am still recovering from that brash attack on my food and my carbon footprint.

Or How to Get Back in Touch with Your Bangali Roots....

Boil two largish sweet potatoes till they turn soft. Remove the skins and mash them up with the following:
~a generous dollop of kasundi/whole grain mustard
~a good squeeze of lemon juice
~the finely diced skin (only!) of one serrano pepper
~a fistful of minced cilantro
~ a few drops of mustard oil

In a fit of misplaced enthusiasm I had roasted a few sweet potatoes for an office party. Something about the unpalatable orange blob that emerged from this misadventure aroused the dormant Bangal within and then that Bangal rustled up this variation of the more traditional pumpkin mash*.

*Boiled pumpkin mashed with green chillies, mustard oil and freshly grated coconut

Labels: Food

Wednesday: It was raining heavily as our little plane rattled along the runway at Midway and came to a jarring stop. The Boy and I were on time, A and T were on the highway (and would stay there for quite some time), M was on the train and the other A and his vegetarian meat loaf were yet to board their flight. Later on as the group sat around and chatted, S and I got a head start on the feast - the quinoa and green beans were cooked and the stuffing was prepped for the oven by the time the guest bed had been rolled out.




Friday: No Black Friday sales for this lot. Chak De! India left the men on both sides of the great divide equally smitten. There is some historical evidence to suggests that some men are more susceptible to the charms of cute-sy women (not girls!!) with short hair than others. After a day of gluttony nothing tastes better than good ole' dal and sabji. After nearly two days on the 45th floor, we finally descend for dinner (good Thai food), dessert (at Roy's...the raspberry wine was excellent) and a heated debate on the need for a peer review process in the world of art.

Saturday: Random shopping, chocolate fondue, two bao's, dinner at Marigold (is medium rare the same as well cooked?), a lost earring (my favourite pair) and 30 plays (TMLMTBGB) later it was time to go home and pack.

Sunday: A left early in the day and was waiting for his train to transform into a bus somewhere in the Midwest when we finally woke up. An old friend and her fiancé dropped by and were treated to this, which by consensus is the definitive Thanksgiving 2007 movie/movie clip. The last remaining turkey morsels (two ziploc bags full) were dispatched off with the fiancé. B-bye turkey** and b-bye Chicago.

Monday: Back to work.Yuck!!!

*followed by a dismissive flick of the wrist
** hopefully for good and hello there, little lamb

Labels: Thanksgiving

This year the group is congregating in Chicago and staying put in the windy city, unlike last year. So far, individual and group itineraries have been discussed, the menu decided, the turkey versus chicken debate settled (the turkey won by a narrow margin, even though a member of the food committee valiantly lobbied for the humble goose) and shopping lists drawn up. However, the niggling issue of the Thanksgiving movie still needs to be pondered.

PS: And in the spirit of keeping fair records, here's the tentative menu:

Labels: Thanksgiving