And what else

I am getting wedded! In less than two months! I don't know why I put in so many exclamation marks, I'm not really that excited!

I have discovered that I like taking a 5 day vacation every month. I may need to discuss this with my boss.

I have also discovered that despite there being no truth to the matter, an increasing number of people are telling me I remind them of Madhuri Dixit. I think I need to just take it and go.

My tooth was mercilessly dug up, filled in, drilled, gassed, and now the crown has fallen off.

I have a flight to catch in one hour and forty minutes. Which means more single serving meals and more inflight entertainment. Yippee.

Look what's cooking!

Tomato Butter

tomatobutter, tomatobutter.

Say it quickly 10 times.

Sarsaparilla

You know when there were coniferous trees all around us?

You know when it was foggy and we couldn't see the mountains -

When Andre sang under a steam clock that chimed Westminster Quarters (and then Operator was not about winter anymore) -

When bartenders and patrons spoke in one voice -

When we hugged under a low ceiling -

When mornings were mornings and breathing was easy --

It wasn't too long ago. Let's go back there.

Two Danish Engineers

And what happened a hundred or so years after.

I miss it, you know. The bus rides and the girl with the liquid eyes and the perfume talk and clove, oh sweet clove. Daily gulab jamuns and shared plates and exam preparation and small talk and big talk and laughter. So much laughter. Riviera and seedha jaana right se. Anger and sadness, but above all, memories.

Everyone told me it was hard to make friends after one grows up. Here's to you suckers.

In case you were wondering

I'm still here. still happy, still colourful, still hyperthymic, dreaming about food and music and in general living the good life.

In addition:

My jibb, my man, he's with me. In NYC. Living with me under the same roof. Who'd have thought, eh?
I baked some kick-ass pastry-puffs and won this book at a baking contest of sorts. Held on a warm spring afternoon in the open air under the blue blue skies!
I finally started wearing my engagement ring. Took a while, that one.
I met so many yelp buddies and they are so nice and warm and they're quickly becoming my favourite people to hang out with.
I moved into my new apartment, painted it, decorated it, and it makes me happy to wake up in it every single day. Serious.
I performed in a singing recital at a Cabaret bar in the Theater District.
I got asked out by a cab driver, citing my uncanny resemblance to Madhuri Dixit. Sure.
My ma and daddy were here and I got pampered like there is no tomorrow.
I'm thinking of starting to write a recipe blog, and I am so excited about it.

Writer's block

Everything feels strangely choked, constricted, shut off. That colourful stream that unending stream just waiting to pour itself on paper. Remember? That disobedient stream that would pour regardless has been replaced by only a sense of looming cloud of dark words that threaten to spring themselves up on me without warning or ceremony. Except they don't.

Many apologies for the silence around here. Yes, to all of my three readers, sorry.

Bang bang

my baby
shot me down.

kyoot

Sometimes, I'm just in the frame of mind when I think everything is cute. Have you ever had those phases?

Anyway. A little boy/ say of three or maybe four, / in an afro stood at the/ corner of 76th/ and Amsterdam avenue.

His big sister she tried to/ pull him away and be on / their way but he wouldn't budge. / Stood transfixed, blankly staring.

Slowly a small crowd gathered/ (mostly women, of course), and/ they oohed and aahed from time to /time. It was so very cute.

In a few years he will be/ the same decaying matter/ as everybody else.

Just breaking it up into sevens for your reading pleasure. Who knows, you might think it's cute./

The baking roster

Just because I felt like .

• Brownies made with cake mixes and a stirrer, diligently stirring 50 times as instructed. The sickly sweet mediocre ones.
• Cheesecake, a homage to New York, a first experiment at baking from first principles, although admittedly the cream cheese was packaged.
• Red velvet cake. Given my reluctance to add artificial colouring, this one just ended up looking brown. And I also found it decidedly un-velvety.
• Recipe for cold lemon souffle - too little gelling agent = Cold lemon soup.
• Pineapple-upside-down cake, for my lovely beneviolent's birthday. I burnt the caramel the first time around.
• Marble brownies. Moist, crunchy, marble brownies. Swearing that I will never again touch a cake mix. What for? We've got real talent here.
• Banana walnut cake. I love bananas. I love walnuts. End of story.
• Blueberry crumb cake. Moist cake, warm, gooey berry filling, and crunchy buttery top. Say mmm.
• Chocolate chip sea-salt cookies. A revelation.
• French Macarons with chocolate almond buttercream. I am still shocked that I pulled this one off successfully.
• Lace cookies dipped in dark chocolate. Lapped up by 25 fellow bakers at a cookie exchange event. I'm still smiling.
• Lemon squares with shortbread crust. lemony lemony lemony. It's never too lemony for me.

Many more and still counting. A year later, I weigh exactly the same and I'm considering that an achievement.

What Can I say

So many things have happened and yet we are in the same place.

New age

It was love at first sight.
As if something --
just clicked.

Pressing down on her little heart she
meets him; goes to every party he's been to,
listens in when he reaches out to old friends
although she doesn't say much.

He's perfect for her, he shares her
political views (libertarian),
favourite movies (A river runs through it),
music (swedish pop).

Unfortunately,
it's hard to get your feelings
across as a facebook stalker.

Where have all the flowers gone

After I'd eaten my weight in food at Curly's, I was heading back to subway with my doggy-bag. I muttered under my breath about not buying warm gloves. At -6 degrees, it definitely feels long overdue.

At the entrance of the yellow subway line, I saw a homeless man. He was wearing cloth wrapped around his feet (shoes), pens stuck into his ears (muffs) and was folding some extra clothes into a black trash bag (home), which already had in it a few empty plastic bottles and a bag of chips. That was it. All his belongings.

I looked at the brown bag in my hand, then at him. I said, "Excuse me, would you like to have this sandwich?". He flashed a toothless smile at me, and extended his hand. I handed the food to him and as I turned back, he pulled my arm. I can't tell for sure, but I think he was holding his arms open to hug me. He had dark grime under his fingernails. He probably sensed my hesitation; he withdrew his arms and said, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" with the same toothless grin. I gave him a hurried smile and continued down the stairs. Once I was on the platform, I patted off the dust from his hands on my coat-sleeve.

Did I just do a good deed? I don't feel so good.