miser.

...its sad to see people getting into rat race ..and living like beggars in-spite of having everything in life,but jus the greed and not the need which makes them miser...

this guy to came to stay in my aunts  rental property..which is an out house...his wife and family  back in L.A so he took one room he was a computer engineer...

every day this guy Mr M who was from india originally came home and kept minimal stuff as per his needs ..most of the time he ate jus those ready made soups or ready food nick-knacks but never a proper meal.. 

one day my aunt made some food and gave it to him for dinner as he never ate properly ,he was so happy and said "aunty Punjabi food is so good I love Punjabi food .."

my aunt treating him like a son ,whenever made dinner passed on a platter to him thinking he away frm family and in need of money ,so its a help.

on weekends also he never cooked and jus spent time here and there eating all those powdered foods ..and heating them in microwave...I mean its pathetic..why do we earn??

His dressing sense very poor two or three shirts and same kind everyday in office ....

thinking to be in need of money or saving for family but one day he was looking at the album when my aunt asked him to pass the album and pictures she was amazed to see his pictures back home in LA ...A big huge house ,two BMW in drive way.. one rental property .. wife working as manager in some company and two kids going to private school...

..My aunt was shocked ..why the hell are you living like this ? he said aunty we save maximum and spend minimum I am alone here so why spend unnecessarily ...

but why don’t you eat properly ? my aunt said..

you can fall sick ...we earn for a good living one house is enough..don’t need more if health is not there or proper hygiene whats use of that earning ? if you cant spend on yourself...we jus need to have one good house to lead a good quality life..but  he dint like my aunt being so blunt...and left soon after that ,he was laid-off he said "due to some personal reasons"

but it was body odour we came to know later

...there is one life to live n quality makes a difference...if you cannot enjoy and in-spite of having everything leading life like a beggar ..to jus showing off  people BMW or huge house or never used a deodorant and that freakin smell killing people in the office...whats meaning of that life? why insult your country and people...whats use of this education and degree?

its a shame!

What IF.........the recipe goes wrong!

last week was very busy ...work home and then some assignments in hand ...a deadline for each of those two hands one brain and twenty-four hours..Man...its killing..
I came back from work on Friday...and I thought of a special recipe to be tried..which I got from weight watchers magazine two weeks back ...I had made arrangements and did some grocery shopping as per the ingredients,,,
now before I go ahead let me confess I learnt cooking after marriage ,that too ...in jus last three years...I guess we all ..hailing from India are spoilt brats as there is lot of domestic help back home,once we leave our country ..reality check starts from that point...
Now this recipe was "Asian Stir fry pasta"..let me tell you I have my forte in Indian food...which I have mastered in past years...all dishes are par excellence due to sheer practice and and some variations....Cooking gives me some kind of happiness now which was opposite few years back...I guess environment changes every nice soul :)
I boiled this big pot of pasta and did exactly what recipe said without any variations(Usually for first time I try the recipe as given in by the chef without any variations)...and when  I tasted the final dish ....it was different !!
It was bland....little bit smelly ...not like Indian herbs and spices..
.....I called by hubby for dinner ..kids were happy to see pasta...too
I looked at my hubby who was eating pasta...and leaving half plate he said"I have to transfer some files so may be later I can have this"
my older boy started crying loudly ..I looked at him I thought may be something is hurting him or pain somewhere ...Kevin said"This is gross !!I hate pasta I wanna throw up I feel giddy...I looked at my hubby who was smiling and said" children are so good in their expression and thoughts...and emotions so profound" what I couldn't say he said so clearly and loudly!!
I looked at my hubby he was laughing " so that's the reason you were making excuses of work I said..."please ..don't refrain yourself go ahead and give your opinion too.."
I looked at my younger son who was playing with pasta and fork...he was
saying "this is actually a skate board and can also be aeroplane ..I was looking at him ..(what a joke to my effort)
I had to drain the whole dish...and then started from scratch with an Indian dish for dinner...
and as usual it was good and liked by all.....
I tried figuring out what went wrong...which combination of food was wrong..then I came to know it  was scrambled eggs with vegetable broth ..which was gross and then adding garlic was something like smell of rotten stuff...
Any ways it was ugly and tasted worse.....
if recipe goes wrong it not only waste of effort but also spoils your enthusiasm to cook something similar in future.
Its always the taste we like is the taste expected ...

Makes ME Hungry :)

...Reading lots of blogs on Food and recipes...Some are so good that whenerver I tried they came out soo oo very good that I bet the similiar kind you would get in Restaurants ever.....
The Kashmiri style food or Rajasthani Daal Baati or Bengali style Fish or down South Indian Style Rava Dosa ...Man sitting in my office ,wheneverI get time to read ..I feel so hungry...
I think only about food ....Recently this Guy..who had posted with pictures when he visited some place where they sell street food ,lemme give you the link...so that you feel hungry too :)
http://finelychopped-k.blogspot.com/2010/09/once-upon-time-in-fort-pancham-puri.html..
Look at these pictures...all tempting things shown ...even menu card is over there ..and the blogger has converted into US dollars too..so very kind of him......I felt like flying back home and visiting these places...Awesome!!!
There is so much variation and variety in food ...its like a never ending thing....I like to cook ,so jus try to gather all good recipes and visit blogs...Recently I made my blogger Friend UMA's ...one of the recipes...
Dum Aloo..its originally a kashmiri food..but this thing came out so well..I got so many compliments for my cooking,thanks to my friend UMA...
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=5427298207359714908
Cooking is an Art ...very innovative.....It needs patience and time too....I always plan ahead what I have to cook ..looking at the grocery available at home....The best part is to bookmark the simple recipes posted day today...and jus try them when you want to get out of regular routine!
Food has always been a passion for me..cooking I learnt jus few years back ..I was a spoilt kid ,but Coming to US made me learn this..which eventually helped me a lot....
I think its an essential part of life ...to cook ,there are many who live on store made food ...or may be they never tasted the simple home made food.
Its always I read all these blogs (food)during afternoon in my office ...as I am little free and can browse net...but immediately ..Hunger programme starts after reading these blogs...the worst part is there is no Indian joint or restaurants near my work place...in fact there is only one which is about four miles from here...
which leaves me in a bad shape...

Rumalees...(restaurant)

Rumalee is a new mughlai restaurant in town ,few days back one of our clients ..came to my office to get some business from us,he mentioned this Restaurant and said" Food is too good"..he was our pakistani client so urdu was impressive..His style of talking made me smile all the time,gesture of greeting with a hand on his heart and bowing his head ..was something impressive ..He spent almost two hrs in my office talking about the culture and then coming to indian food...he is an editor in urdu times USA..and wanted to make some money though advertisement...

...In the end he said.."Mohtrama app zaroor jiye ,bahut unda pakwan hai unke"(mam you must go,the dishes are too good)I smiled..and said SURE.

I called the restaurant and reserved a table ..as it was mothers day...Outside the restaurant people were waiting...I went inside and asked for table we reserved ,the lady took us to the table...Man this is a fish market...no ambience,crowded with noise level like an amusement park..I looked at my hubby..he smiled and said its ok...take it easy!

It was a buffet with sixteen dishes ..and different desserts...I went to the table and saw most of the bowls were empty or left overs...I asked the waitress ,a blond girl standing next to me..Can you refill this? she looked at me as if she is lost in the fair....without answering she left, Disgusting!!..I went back to the table and waited for food to come inn...The food was good, tasted good but management was poor... some kids dropped water in the corner and there was a pond I could see..nobody bothered to clean it up... the manager and his team were lost...

At last I went to get some dessert...but all the bowls were empty...I came back looked outside the window ...there were people waiting..I thought waiting for what? there is no food inside..

I told my husband ..what BS is this?I want to talk to the manager...holding my hand he said..we wont come here again... so no need to say anything ..But we are paying for this food...I said...he said "NO"next time we will go only to Mac Donald's n no other place.. (as he smiled)...(he is very kind hearted person)and I don't take craps,this kind of treatment where people are waiting for food..I went to the buffet table ..I saw they immediately opened Haldiram's tins of dessert(gulab jamun) and served in the buffet...

..After paying the bill I went to the manager..with my mom (mother-in -law)and rest were in the parking lot waiting....

I talked to the manager..he was keeping his pitch low as other customers were watching him and said ..this wasn't anticipated ...and we are trying our best... and during weekdays its neat and clean and service is good too...please come again..( I thought you must be kidding!!)and for anything good we always have to pay the price..I said "SURE"...I will make improvements....I know its chaos here ..but I cannot refuse people...(I thought you cannot refuse Dollars) its our hospitality( I thought no,its your mentality)....Nyways I left and came outside...

Mom n me smiling at each other ..for what manager said...

As I opened the car ..my hubby looked at me..so you had your word with manager? yes, I said ..gave him my peace of mind.......

smilingly he said ......hope you will be able to sleep better tonight :p

Money..matters!!!

“money is necessary to live”. But how much money is truly needed?it depends on the life an individual desires. It can be food clothing and shelter, or as extravagant as luxury houses and all the fine things....Many are born and very fortunate with money all around when they come to this world ,its inherited money but most of us work hard and earn by working hours even night shifts to support our self or our families for good and comfortable living.... when people say I don't want money or money doesn't matter its an absolute lie ..I wanna ask those people ..do you wanna be saint or monk...living in hills .... money is important..end of the day everybody wants a home and good food to eat.. forget all other luxuries..Money motivates a person..encourages to show better results and succeed in life... many a times confidence is built with cash in hand.. All basic Amenities are with money...if we don't have a single penny..survival is difficult.. ....I was very fortunate growing up as I was able to enjoy the finer things in life. I always wore good clothes, ate at nice restaurants, and was able to travel ... never seen financial crisis...But many in this world are not that fortunate... I remember an incident ..we were expecting some guests ..a couple ,when we were in India...they were suppose to come inn on weekend ,but didn't show up,we called ..but there was no reply...they arrived two days later to our place..when we asked them,they had a story to tell...They were travelling by train and on their way at a remote area in uttarpradesh at a station,train stopped his wife stepped out to throw some apple peels ..and she saw ..kids fighting for apple peels.. looking for leftover food in the garbage..they were so hungry and seemed like hadn't seen food from many days....So the couple decided to stay overnight at a guest house on railway station ..and feed hungry kids by buying enough food from the station canteen to help them for at least two days...so much desperation for food wasn't seen by them before... ... life.. gives up without money... SO..before throwing food,think about people who cannot afford one meal a day... Like in Detroit (Michigan )we can see lot of people standing near the Canadian border asking for help with boards in their hands "I am hungry"..or "Help Me" Talking of money ...I am talking about basic needs..food clothing and shelter,devoid of other luxuries... since money gets us into routine to work ,go out meet people ,improve our knowledge and an urge to learn something new.. Happiness cannot be termed as money..its not necessary that we ought to have lots of money to be happy.. Money is only a tool to assist with our lifestyle but it is not the source of our happiness. Focus on being happy, and you will suddenly find that you have enough money....sometimes people loose their family life....to earn more and more..and end up getting nothing in life just big fat bank balance... ......Not too long ago I heard a story about a man who chose to work the long hard hours in order to live an extravagant life when he retired. This man was in his mid 50’s and has lived his past 30 years in an office behind a desk. He thought it would be well worth while as he pictured him and his wife traveling the world with no financial concerns in their future. Unfortunately, this man was diagnosed with cancer years before he ever thought of retiring. He did not survive this tragic disease, and left his family with money, but not many memories as he was always working so hard. This man was also never able to enjoy what he had earned as he focused too much on his future..... If we don't understand our relationship to money in this culture, then I think we're doomed. If you don't know how you are toward money and really understand that relationship, you simply don't know yourself. Period. ...."I don't like money very much, but it calms my nerves." Money makes us unjustifiably feel that we're better and more important than we really are. When money can make you feel humble, then I think it's really useful. But if it fattens your ego, which it often does, then look out....ITS NOT REAL MONEY.. Stinking rich ...millionaires are everywhere,The incredible pace of change triggered by modern technology has affected how people acquire wealth. There's no precedent in human experience for the speed, scale, or age at which people today can get incredibly wealthy. When everything is quick, fast and easy, a certain part of ourselves is fed while another part withers away..... To conclude...money is one important part that runs the world but at personal level.. with every good thing ,evils are attached... recently..Tiger woods (golf player)..who makes like 100 million ..was caught cheating his wife..and news flashed everywhere .... though later he agreed and apologized for his adultery... ..but respect or dignity cannot be purchased....with lots of money...