A Walk Down Memory Lane

Once in a while I  take a walk down memory lane. And whilst on the way,gather some  bits and pieces of my childhood. A few moments ago ,I ventured on this nostalgic journey  again. I stopped  for a moment, when I envisaged my childhood home, where I had spent  great many years of happy times with my family, I mentally zoomed  in to the dining hall,where my large family used to  gather during  mealtimes.Whisperings, followed by loud laughter would  erupt throughout the hallway, which would quickly   be silenced by the food that would soon be laid on the table. Mother would painstakingly prepare part of the breakfast while  my siblings and I would wait impatiently around the breakfast table for Father, who would bring the main part of the breakfast,the freshly baked bread from the Baker, which we all took delight in eating, with the coconut “sambol” ( chutney ) Mother made. Even though we had a choice for breakfast, we always tried to eat Mother’s favorite. With stinging eyes and  runny nose, my whole body would be encircled with a burning sensation. I wouldn’t give up!! Hastily gulping water in between each morsel, I would fan myself with the morning newspaper, to cool that sweltering in me and pretend that everything was just fine. I would n’t dislodge from the breakfast table till I finished the last mouthful of that spicy coconut sambol, which was a mixture of scrapped coconut, red chilly ,green chilly and chopped onions sprinkled with lemon juice and salt. This was my mother’s  specialty! A simple dish made with great labour of love.

Goodness me! Now I have  partially  regained my composure from my reminiscence  and still in the  state of  drooling, walk toward the kitchen looking for scrap, crumb and pieces of ingredients to prepare my favourite  breakfast dish.

Mama's Macaroni

I love making pasta with an assortment  of different shapes, so as to make it  appetizing for my children . The most relished collection of dried  pasta  at home  is the conventional type :  spaghetti (thin rods) and  Macoroni , (tubes) .  I find it  irresistible to stack countless packets of dried ones in the  cabinet , so  I may try out the  new dish that I  might have seen  on the  previous day on “Fatafeat’ , a popular Middle Eastern Food Channel.

My Children love pasta in general, but get divided when choosing the condiments that go with the pasta. The four have a penchant to eat it according to their respective taste buds, which obviously vary. Eventually they end up settling with the  most  common dish , ‘Mama ‘s Macoroni’ which is  applicable to everyone. ” Mama’s Macaroni” –is   my own specified pasta  dish - the name in particular was familiarized by my children.This particular one   is also a  favorite amongst the family and  I can tag it as the ‘most cooked’ dish during  the holidays and festive season.

 Ever since my younger daughter gave up  eating cheese, an absolute condiment in  pasta,  I had to find an alternative. And  was n’t I lucky enough  to  have found it sooner. I couldn’t have found anything better than coconut cream as the substitute.  It’s absolutely delectable with pasta. Although traditionally pasta  is  cooked to the dent,  my children  prefer it flexible and  very  tender .In view of that I have adapted that method  when  cooking  pasta.The recipe I have posted today is made with macoroni, the tubed shaped pasta . And   for my vegetarian  daughter, I skip the meat and add par boiled carrots and zucchini .

^Enjoy!

^{Mama's Macaroni}

^{( Ingredients)}

A packet of macaroni (500 gm packet)

1 1/2 lbs beef ( you can substitute with chicken)

2 large onions chopped

4-5 green chilies (remove seeds if you prefer less spicy)

A small pod of garlic

1inch ginger (or a little more)

1-2 teaspoons of Cummin seeds

1-2 teaspoons of curry powder

1-2 teaspoons pepper or according to your palate

Salt to taste

2 cubes  beef/ chicken stock 

Ghee/butter

1 cup thick coconut milk  or 3-4 tablespoons of coconut milk powder added to a cup of hot water ( * or you can stir in the milk powder straight into the cooking pasta- if you use this method please add  a cup of water  into the pan when  the  pasta is being cooked with the other ingredients.)

For garnishing; 

(optional)

Cheese

Coriander leaves/ parsley

Directions

Boil the macaroni with a little salt (drain it and set aside). Wash & cut the beef into medium sized pieces. Boil the beef with 2-3 cups of water- with a little pepper & salt. Once done set aside (don’t throw the excess liquid).

Pound the ginger, garlic, green chilies & the Cummin seeds (set aside).

In a large pan, heat 2-3 tablespoon of ghee/butter, stir in the chopped onions and when it begins to get soft & translucent, put in the rest of the pounded ingredients (garlic, ginger, green chilies & Cummin seeds). Keep on stirring it you get that aroma (don’t let it brown).

Put in the curry powder and the pepper and give it a good stir. Add the boiled beef with the excess liquid into this sautéed mixture and cover the pan with a lid & cook for 10 minutes. Next add the boiled macaroni. Mix in the  stock cubes. Cover and cook for further 10-15 minutes. Pour in, the cup of coconut milk or the milk powder( If you intend to use the powder ,follow the instructions given * )

 Remember the meat stock cube is already salty, so add  salt only if it’s necessary.  Let it simmer for a while .Transfer in to dish and garnish with chopped coriander/parsley.

 (Ready to serve  for about 8-10 persons)

Or if you still fancy it with cheese

Transfer this cooked pasta into a baking dish. Grate cheese on top of the pasta and bake in a hot oven until the cheese begins to melt .Remove from oven & garnish with chopped coriander leaves/parsley (optional)

 (P.S. You can adjust the spices according to your taste bud.)

Of Sons, Buns And What Not....

My children are still on holiday. School reopens here ( Saudi Arabia ) after the Ramadan.Ramadan,is the month in which the Muslims refrain from eating and drinking, from dawn till evening.As it is considered the holiest month for the Muslims, we take extra time to pray and read the Quran ( our holy book ).And thats the main reason for being away from the computer.

Even though I had decided to lay my hands off the computer for a while ,I cannot resist ranting about the excitement happening in my house . My two young sons are fasting,with a lot of motivation and support from the daughters, who have been duly following the one month obligatory ‘fast ‘, since the last few years ,And it’s wonderful to see the two girls encouraging. The children are keeping me fully occupied making me prepare their favourite food for iftar. ( the time to break the fast). Hence the other reason for the short break from cybernet.

My husband and I didn’t strictly impose on our sons to fast , as its not advisable at this age and as also children under the age of puberty are exempted from fasting.It took all of us by surprise at their endeavour. May God accept their fasts …

From the beginning of Ramadan ,I have tried my hands at various recipes . Even though sometimes it doesn’t exactly turn out as I like them to, I am happy that I did try. Until quite recently , the buns that I made never raised but hunched into disastrous flops.. But all of it changed this Ramadan, watching Jamie Oliver demonstrate the recipe for bread dough on the cookery channel. I seized the opportunity to follow the instructions carefully. From that time on I have been happy with my baking . Furthermore every one is enjoying ! Hurrah!! to Jamie Oliver and to the buns!

Another much preferred I made this time for Ramadan is - a dish with pasta and meat , topped with cheese . I have still not given this dish a name ,So my children call it ‘Mama’s Macoroni’. In fact , most of the time, I do make something with pasta, because the children love it, But this is one favourite that I enjoy cooking, even though it takes a lot of my time and effort. I make an attempt to try out various recipes, to satiate my family’s taste buds..And silently , I blush when I get a rating from my children, my  best culinary critic .

Let's Face It...

Facebook is a social network, where friends and family can connect with each other no matter what the distance is between them. One can chat live or write contents off line. Leave comments that are clear and explicable to the profile owner or leave them stunned or baffled with sardonic remarks. Though I was aware of this social network, I didn’t advocate on becoming a member until a few months ago when I was invited to see some family photographs that left me with no option but to join the network. I joined this network with the sole purpose of meeting with family and friends, to get to know their well being and maybe see some of them digitally.

Now we have the opportunity to meet with friends and family whom we have not met for decades and or living poles apart. Social networking has become a fashion icon amongst the younger generation and an analgesic to us the Forty something….Once you get on Facebook, there is no way you are going out of it, even if you wanted to and that is why, I termed it as an ‘analgesic’ because you get hooked to it one way or the other. For many it’s not only as regards to the social contact and communications that draws them toward Facebook but also because of the countless games that entice them . Nonetheless it has become a popular leisure pursuit on cyberspace.

Getting to know new people is a wonderful idea, but we got to be careful with whom we befriend on Facebook. Some add unknown people just to increase their number on their friends list, some for fun and yet some to stalk people and scare the hell out of them. There are many positive and negative aspects of being connected on a social network like Facebook. Advantages are the user gets to be In touch with friends and family on a daily basis - gets to know what friends are up to and where they are. In addition, to this, the comments written on a friends wall post could make or break their day, either with a smile , a blush or leave them wondering “what the hell !".

As much as the many positive attributes of social networking , there’s the malevolence side too. Users soak up so much into it, that they tend to write their personal issues and squabbles, thus create a mockery within the group of people .Then there are some who are likely to get irritated or agitated with the comments that is writen on their wall posts or cast lewd remarks on the photographs that are displayed which subsequently cause a rift between the people concerned .Sometimes the comments are irrelevant. The mode of commenting shows the attitude in us, so let’s employ kindness in our writing and cheer up the person on the other end of the line.

Every now and then we are put into uncomfortable circumstances when someone we didn’t know sends us a friend request, If we actually didn’t know the person , we must not feel bad about ignoring that request, after all we have to be careful and on the look out with whom we communicate on the network. I say this ,because there are malicious people using fake profiles who would lure us under the pretext of friendship., So let us always be on the alert.

Face book is also used in a nonsensical manner, a medium to vent out the frustration on friends, family and others, an easy way of expressing ones anger and hatred towards one other. It may be used as a platform to criticize, ridicule and abuse others.
Let’s not put anyone in an embarrassing or awkward situation, if we wish to criticize another user, utilize the message box instead. Many youngsters I have observed ,when they wanted to be expressive cynically or otherwise , become a fan of one of the many love – hate groups available , pick up a related -subject matter and thus make their opinion known publicly on the Home News Feed .Another discovery I made on Face book is the badge/ button/ or emblem ( call it whatever you may) which says ‘See who is viewing your profile’? I wonder who else view our pages besides the friends we have on our friend list? Cats..dogs ..kangaroos??

As for me while lazing on a quiet, hot mid-morning here in the Middle Eastern desert land, I get contentment in cyber space not only from communicating with family/ friends ,but also at the prospect of embracing the different seasons on the other side of the globe .Not surprising though, I get the opportunity ( all in one go- without even boarding a flight) to vividly, view the picturesque lush greenery and the sweet Spring blossoms in Europe, the snowy white caps in the mountainous Pacific or to feel the warmth of Asia that rekindle sweet memories of yesteryear. Even if those visuals are only virtual - who cares? That's facebooking !