RIP Chef Jacob

                                        (Image Source)
I did a double check when I read the sad news on Hindu last Monday.Now that could not be possible,was it.Chef Jacob was just 38 years old and he died of a Cardiac arrest on November 4th.

I did not know him personally.But still I felt a sense of sadness reeling over me.

I heard about Chef Jacob when he did a non-stop cooking marathon and got into the Guiness Book of world records.Later on when he was part of Crimson Chakra,we wanted to sample his cuisine,but could not.Despite strong recommendations from friends,we missed eating at his dream venture Jakob's Kitchen.Without him at the helm,it would hardly be the same,right?

RIP Chef Jacob.

A peep into our Balcony Garden - Basil

It all started with a humble Tulsi plant we got for our Grihapravesham a year back.We got excited when it responded to our watering and care.Ajay has always had a green thumb and wanted to set up a garden when we had the space.Slowly,we started setting up pots in the garden.

I just had to send a request and Deeba and Suma obliged almost immediately.Armed with a bunch of Basil seeds and some good soil,we potted the first batch.Leaves sprouted after almost 4-5 days and once it started growing,there's no stopping.

Basil recipes to follow in Easycooking:)

Some food quotes I love!

Absolutely!  (Image source)

You know what to expect,right;)  (Image source)

This has to be my favorite!  (Image source)

Haha!   (Image source)

Oh yeah!  (Image source)

A letter to a 20 year old me

I found the concept of writing a letter to oneself very interesting.So here's my take.

Dear 20 year old me,

• You will get married in a few months now,so be prepared for all the big changes you'll come across.You will argue with everyone saying nothing is going to change,but believe me change happens and you will handle it easily.So worry not.
• You will go on your first abroad trip and will have your first fight with your husband(something about which you will later laugh about).Keep your cool:)
• You will move to a new place(which you will come to love!)and miss your family terribly and cry at the drop of a hat even though the husband is making sure to keep you happy throughout.Accept the change.
• You will start cooking on your own which would be a disaster first but slowly and steadily you will pick up the art and even start a food blog!Keep trying.
• You will have many new friends,you'll know what it is like to hang out late in the night and you'll have fun.Enjoy it fully.
• You'll think you are done with school and college but you will do a full fledged one-year course in a regular college and a post graduation too.Work hard.
• You will come to realize relations are not exactly like how you thought them to be.Some people whom you trusted so well will back stab you and strangers will become your soul keepers.Stay Calm.
• Shit happens and more so from your relatives.You will face lots of mean talks from cousins and relations whom you thought were close to you.Ignore it.
• You will develop a wonderful bond with your mother-in-law and find solace in her when you feel low.You will cry on your mom's shoulders and your mother-in-law would give you the strength and the support.
• You will get what you waited for a long long time only to be taken away after a while.Surprisingly,you will cope up with it well with the support of the husband and family.Be strong.
• You will move into your own house and feel mighty proud of it.So listen to the husband when he says -start saving:)
• You are going to have the best time in your life and believe me,the best is yet to come.

Love,

30 year old me.

Some random stuff!

This would be my longest gap between posts on this blog.Not that I blog here frequently but still!!

Here are a few things which have been happening

• We shifted to our own home a while back,precisely 7 months back and are well settled in now.
• I lost my camera,searched everywhere,brought the whole house down,sulked and got another camera and exactly after a month found my old camera cradled between two of my sarees.I don't remember putting the camera there ever,but since it cannot move up there on its own I am taking the blame on myself.
• I now have 3 point and shoot cameras(1 very old one)and dreams which consists of an slr.
• My straightened hair is beginning to fade away with shades of my original hair showing up through the root.It is not in that half straight,half wavy phase yet,but I am not sure if I want to go through the process again seeing the number of hair strands on our pristine white flooring!
• My oven went kaput and I got myself a new one,same brand only a bigger one.I am not entirely happy with it though.The baking timings are erratic and something which got done in 30 minutes in my previous oven takes close to 45 minutes in this one.I cannot seem to explain this to the tech guys since all they do is test the temperature by keeping a bowl of water in the microwave for 1 minute and checking if it boils or not!
• Our car was rammed into by a speeding Sumo,possibly driven by drunken drivers and we had to bear the whole repairing charges since it was hit and run.Money seems to just flow through our fingers,poof!
• We've been eating out and shopping(that would be me) a bit more frequently these days and it is bothering me a bit.
• I reconnected with a friend whom I'd thought was a bit indifferent and I feel so happy now.
• I've been reminded by someone that  am turning older and should not delay any further in getting pregnant...as if!!

So till any further developments..tata!