Shocks and Shoes

A Friend-Shaped Peg

6:06:00 pm

These days, I feel like that shape sorter Cub plays with, those boxes which have differently shaped slots, for differently shaped pegs to fit in. Only the square peg will go into the square slot, the round one won’t. That’s me right now.

Image courtesy: toysonrentme

Confused? Let me explain. The slots are different parts of me. My home fits into a house shaped slot. Mr. Tiger fits into a heart-shaped slot. Cub fits into a cute little cub-shaped slot. My blog fits into a ...well, blog shaped slot. But the trouble is with my friend-shaped slot. I don’t really have a physical friend-shaped peg to match. And I can’t fit it with any other shape.

Everyone knows that family’s important. Of course it is. But so are friends. They’re the ones you can talk to about stuff that your family might be…….lets say, uninterested in. Which means the family peg won’t fit the friend slot.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a chronic sociopath, whom no one wants to befriend. It’s just that all my friends are divided into very neat categories, with hardly any overlapping – I have friends from school, friends from college, and friends from my working days. I hardly have anyone outside these specific circles, and no one resides in the city I now live in. So, though technology has enabled specific modes of communication like email and texting, it just cannot match the warmth and comfort of a face-to-face heart-to-heart. Now, I know it’s different for everyone, but for me, this doesn’t really fill the friend-shaped slot.

Ok, maybe I’m beginning to sound a bit pathetic. “Hello? Go out and get a life”, I hear you say. I guess you’re right. I just got to make new friends, and meet up with my old ones whenever they come to town, or I go visit theirs. Yup, gotta stop wallowing in friendlessness.

Whew!! That was plenty emotional!!! But wow, I feel relieved letting it all out!!! What about you guys? Have you ever felt this way whenever you’ve moved to a different city? How did you deal with it?

Food

Recipe for the Week - Frittata

9:01:00 pm

Mr. Tiger usually prefers a frittata for Monday mornings, says it drives away the MM blues J. The one here is my version. It is quite hearty, and if you’re eggatarian, you can do away with the sausages. Also, the calorie/cholesterol conscious can use egg whites instead of whole eggs and do away with the cheese. But I have to warn you, it wouldn’t be the same, real bliss lies in eating the frittata fresh off the pan, with the cheese still sizzling over it….mmmm!!!!

In this recipe, I’ve used only half a cube of a regular cheese cube (approx. 40 calories) for the entire frittata, so you can calculate the per-serving calorie count.

What you need (for 2-3 servings):

4 eggs – beaten well with 1 tbsp of toned milk and a little salt
½ cup button mushrooms - halved
¼ of a red/green bell pepper – thinly sliced
½ cup sausages - chopped
½ an onion – chopped
¼ cup green peas
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese – grated (or you can use regular cheese cubes – ½ grated)
Freshly ground black pepper – to taste
½ tsp oregano
1 tbsp olive oil

P.S. - I have used standard measuring spoons and cups.

What you have to do:

Heat a large pan. The pan has to have a large diameter, or else you’ll end up with a burnt mess at the bottom and a runny one on top (ewwwww)

Swirl a tablespoon of olive oil on the pan and add the onions, mushrooms, sausages, peas and fry on high heat for a minute.

Lower the heat and season with pepper and salt.

A word about using salt: Remember that the beaten eggs, cheese and sausages all contain salt already, and if you’re using canned mushrooms, then the overall sodium content goes up again. So it’s better to err on the side of caution with this.

When everything seems to be cooked, just spread it evenly all around the pan.

Now slowly pour on the beaten eggs so that it covers all the fried veggies and meat.

Turn up the heat and as soon as the edges are beginning to cook, turn it low again.

Arrange the bell pepper slices over the uncooked egg, so that it gets incorporated when the egg cooks. (Red bell pepper would add to the color quotient of the dish).

Sprinkle the grated cheese all over the frittata, followed by oregano. (You can also add dried basil at this point, but I don’t like it, so I let it pass)

Cover the pan with a lid and let it all cook slowly on low heat, releasing all the flavours.

Lift the lid to get a whiff of that wonderful aroma of cheese melting with oregano. Ensure the egg is properly cooked and turn off the heat.

Caution: Do NOT overcook the egg. It’ll ruin the whole thing.

With a spatula, gently loosen the edges and let the frittata just slide onto a round dish. Cut into slices and serve with warm toasted brown bread and a steaming cup of coffee.

Enjoy!!

The thing about frittatas is that they can be eaten for lunch or dinner as well. Just add some crunchy salad and warm garlic bread and you’re good to go.

Also, frittatas don’t really have a recipe-that-should-be-followed and everyone adds their own interesting twists. Do you have any of your own?

Fashion

The Magic Four Letter Word

9:07:00 pm

You know the word I’m talking about, the very sound of which sets your heart racing, which sets the blood pumping in your veins, which sends the adrenaline soaring….yes, that’s the power in that magical word, which has been screaming out to us from billboards and signs across the country: SALE!!!!!!

Image courtesy: mimigracemakeupandbeauty

That’s one of the reasons I loooovve the July-August and January-February months…practically all stores worth visiting have their end-of-season sale on!! Of course, all I see are the last four letters, I couldn’t care less if the season was beginning or ending! A sale is a sale is a SALE!!!

Okay, now that I’ve made my thoughts on that quite clear, let me give you an idea of the stores that I generally hit during the sales. These are where I usually find the best deals (and where I have access to in my city…these are the times when I wish I lived in Mumbai, sigh!!)

· Westside

· Lifestyle

· Pantaloons

· Catwalk

· Reliance Footprint

· Reebok

· Fastrack

· Oh heck…..forget the list, I pretty much go everywhere J

Well this time, the only stores I’ve been to so far are Mom&Me, CatMoss and Lilliput. Hmmm….not good, not good. As you can see, most of the hits were at the kiddie sales, so Cub got a new stash of stuff.

As for me, I just managed to get a glance at the Westside Sale. I got dragged out by Mr. Tiger ‘cause we had a train to catch (yes, I make use of every last minute ;-))

I just barely skimmed the surface, enviously eyeing all the other avid shoppers who had the sense to come with fellow shopaholics instead of husbands obsessed with catching trains.

However…. me being me, I didn’t leave empty handed. Oh no no, no way. Anyone who has seen the movie ‘Andaz Apna Apna’ will get my drift when I say, “Khandaani shopper hoon main, kuch to leke jaaoongi..…mwahahahaha!!”. So, here is the one thing I managed to lay my hands on, I guess I spotted it within that short span of time because it was the last piece of its kind left on the jewelry rack.

I have GOT to go and pay a detailed visit soonJ. What about you guys?? Did you find anything special during the sale? Do let me know!

books

Weekend Reading – Trains, Dragons and an Escape

7:26:00 pm

Aww shucks, weekend’s almost over! It was semi-exciting (read: shopping-free L), but I did manage to catch up on some reading.

I had ordered some books through Flipkart, and received them over the weekend (that doesn’t count as shopping, does it?)

1. Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly

Plot: This is one of Connelly’s many Harry Bosch novels. Detective Bosch gets involved in a murder, which seems to get murkier as he delves deeper into it. Soon, he finds himself in the midst of the dangerous Chinese triads and the murder investigation transfoms into a thrilling chase across the Pacific to save the one thing he values the most in his life.

Review: I have liked other Bosch novels better, but this is quite good too. Though it starts off a bit lazily, the pace soon picks up and you start feeling Bosch’s tension. A good travel read.

Mr. Tiger’s a big fan of Connelly and he’s the one who actually ordered this book. His collection of Connelly’s is fast growing:

(Pssstttt…….Can you spot my shopaholic books on the side?)

2. Gordon Ramsay’s Great Escape by (who else) Gordon Ramsay

This book consists of 100 of Ramsay’s favorite recipes from India. It starts with an introduction where he explains how he got interested in Indian food and about his travels across India. He also includes a glossary of common Indian ingredients.

The recipes are surprisingly simple and easy to follow; I say ‘surprisingly’ because this is Ramsay, and I was expecting complicated dishes with even more complicated instructions, but this book is perfect in that sense. Nothing overwhelming.

However, the best part of the book is the photography. The photos are simply breathtaking, ordinary people and roads in

India

never looked so good (of course, the food looks sumptuous too, but then you already guessed that, right? ;-))

3. Chugga Chugga Choo Choo – Kevin Lewis and Daniel Kirk (illustrations)

Ok, this is actually a kiddie book, ordered for the Cub. Just thought it would be fun to review it here J.

It’s a board book about a child’s train (again, I’m sure you guessed that from the title J) which chugs along amidst his other toys. The train goes over and under, through and in between. The text pleasantly rhymes and makes this a great read-aloud book.

The illustrations also deserve a special mention.

I have to say that I am really, really happy with Flipkart. They give you regular updates, send you the books ahead of time, and have many options for payment. They even send you these funky little bookmarks with every book:

So there, my first book review for the blog! Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?

Fashion

Wardrobe Orphans - Help Them!

6:19:00 pm

Hi again!! Thank you guys so much for your comments!! It is so encouraging to get feedback from veteran bloggers whom you admire!

This weekend is being spent at the in-laws place. It is getting increasingly difficult limiting portion sizes here, partly because everything is so delish and also because Ma-in-law does not take no for an answer to her offers of second helpings. And third. And fourth. Yikes!

Anyway, when I was getting dressed for today, I thought about the Patiala pants I was wearing. They were bought as a mate for a kurta who had been a wardrobe orphan for a long time.

Consider this scenario. You have just bought this great new tunic, at half price. It’s a great color, wonderful fit, and is just sooo….you. Now, at home, you wonder what you’ll pair it with. You instinctively know that it’ll look great with a pair of purple tights. But there’s a small problem: you don’t own a pair of purple tights. And for some reason you can’t go shopping in the near future (shudder!). Maybe you are too lazy, you’ve exhausted your shopping budget for the month, maybe the sales are getting over tomorrow, whatever, but now you’ve decided to make do with whatever you’ve got in your wardrobe.

So you wear it with your good ol’ jeans and just ‘adjust’ away, even though deep inside your stylish gut, you know that this just isn’t right. But you either do that or let it sit there. Soon you become reluctant to wear it and it is now no longer that wonderful dream you thought it would be. It’s just a miserable, poor little wardrobe orphan (henceforth referred to as w.o.).

Then one day, during one of your ‘cleaning/purging’ sessions, you get sick of this injustice, and decide: what the heck, I’m going to get those tights. And you do. And you wear them both together, and then, hold your breath…..wait, that tunic looks kindof old…the tights are ….OMG…..the tights are too new for it!!! Nnnnnnnnoooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, friends, this has happened to me quite a few times. I don’t find a mate for an orphan and just ‘adjust’ with something else, albeit unsatisfactorily, and when I finally do get the right mate, its too late – either the garment is old, out of style, doesn’t fit right anymore or is just not as interesting as it was in its prime.

So the lesson here holds true for just about everything in life: Do it before it is too late!!!! If you are sure you know exactly what’ll complete your w.o.,don’t hesitate too much, unless it’s an outrageous piece you are sure will never be worn again. But things like tights, skirts, pants, salwars, stoles, shoes….(ok, someone stop me here) usually turn out useful and at some point of time will give you interesting combinations with the other inhabitants of your wardrobe.

In case you’re wondering, here are some outfits that do include purple tights:

Images shown above courtesy: chictopia

Images shown above courtesy: weardrobe

Have you ever been faced with a similar w.o. situation? If yes, how did you handle it?

Entertainment, Fashion, Personal

First Things First!

9:19:00 pm

Hi everyone!!!

I hope ‘everyone’ is not too ambitious a term to use for the number of people who are reading this blog, considering only my family knows about it yet ;-). Anyway, this is my very first post, so here goes!

I’m Fab, ex-software engineer, now stay at home Mom, aspiring fashionista, small time health freak. My son, Tiger Cub, is just under 3, and a real handful. The third point of this triangular circus tent is my hubby, Mr. Tiger, who, contrary to his 'blogname', is as quiet as Cub is deafening (he must get that from me!).

Then there’s the family I was born into, my parents, my brother, my sis (though they were both born after me he. he..). There are also my in-laws, and everyone resides pretty much within earshot of each other.

Ok, now that I’ve made everyone happy by mentioning them on my first post, let’s talk a little more about moi. At the risk of sounding like the starting line to Shopaholics Anonymous, I confess, I'm a Shopaholic. I could shop and shop and shop till everything and everyone around me drops. I love the following parts in the movies below –

1. Pretty Woman – (Obvious one) Where she shops in all those cool boutiques (with his credit card) and everyone in the store are at her feet.

Courtesy: totallypredictableunpredictability

2. The Devil wears Prada – Where Andrea gets a makeover and changes outfits at the drop of a hat, all to the tune of Madonna’s ‘Vogue’.

Courtesy: i2.listal

3. Aisha - ok, ok, I know – not exactly movie of the year, but I like the video of the song ‘Suno Aisha’, where she hits the malls with her gal pals.

Courtesy: anutshellreview

See? I love reading fashion magazines and finding out all the latest trends and stuff, and just drooling over everything. I also love reading books, and old classics and mysteries are my kind of thing. My favorite TV shows are Bones, Dexter, Modern Family, the MasterChef series and Glee. I am also an experimental cook, the experiments being performed mainly on the hapless Mr. Tiger. And last but not least, I am on an ongoing quest for perfect health and a fit body.

So now you have a teensy weensy idea about me. I’ve always wanted to start a blog chronicling the various happenings in my multicolored life ;-), and so, ta da!!!! Here we are!!

More importantly, it is to reach out to all the women like me out there – all of us who have so many different facets to our personality, some of which may not be comprehensible even to our own relations (blood and otherwise). But there might be someone out there in the blogosphere who feels exactly the same way about something as I do. There have been moments while reading other blogs where I go: “OMG!!! That’s exactly how I feel when I go there/do that/see her/hear them/taste that!!!!”

Yup….might sound a bit weird, but that’s how it is for me J.

Okay…I guess that’s enough for my first post. So those of you who’ve read this, please post your comments. I’d love to know what you think.

So long till the next post. Stay Fab!!!

Newer Posts

A Friend-Shaped Peg

Recipe for the Week - Frittata

The Magic Four Letter Word

Weekend Reading – Trains, Dragons and an Escape

Wardrobe Orphans - Help Them!

First Things First!

About me

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