Author Archives: memoriesandsuch

In My Hands Today…

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The Blue – Nancy Bilyeau

In eighteenth-century London, porcelain is the most seductive of commodities; fortunes are made and lost upon it. Kings do battle with knights and knaves for possession of the finest pieces and the secrets of their manufacture.

For Genevieve Planché, an English-born descendant of Huguenot refugees, porcelain holds far less allure; she wants to be an artist, a painter of international repute, but nobody takes the idea of a female artist seriously in London. If only she could reach Venice.

When Genevieve meets the charming Sir Gabriel Courtenay, he offers her an opportunity she can’t refuse; if she learns the secrets of porcelain, he will send her to Venice. But in particular, she must learn the secrets of the colour blue…

The ensuing events take Genevieve deep into England’s emerging industrial heartlands, where not only does she learn about porcelain, but also about the art of industrial espionage.

With the heart and spirit of her Huguenot ancestors, Genevieve faces her challenges head on, but how much is she willing to suffer in pursuit and protection of the colour blue?

Recipes: Kali Mirch Vegetables

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On 1st Jan, having just come back from my India holiday, I wanted to make something different for lunch. After browsing the internet, I came across a paneer kali mirch recipe which I decided to modify. Since S is not too fond of Paneer, I decided not to make it the star of the recipe, instead relegating it to a supporting role.

The kick that kali mirch or black pepper gave, added a nice punch to this recipe and the pot was wiped clean at lunch itself!

Kali Mirch Vegetables

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup mixed vegetables (I used potatoes, beans, carrots and cauliflower) chopped into large bite-sized pieces
  • 1 cup frozen paneer, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes and then drained
  • 2 onions, sliced
  • 1 bulb garlic
  • 1 inch piece ginger
  • 5-6 green chillies
  • 4 cloves
  • 4 cardamom pods
  • 1 inch piece cinammon
  • 1/2 cup whisked yoghurt
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tbsp pepper powder
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp garam masala powder
  • 2 tbsp oil or ghee
  • Salt to taste
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Heat 1 tbsp ghee or oil and fry the onion pieces until they turn brown, but do not let them burn. Remove from the pan using a slotted spoon and blend with a little water into a smooth paste and keep aside.
  • Make a paste of the garlic, ginger and green chillies and keep aside.
  • In the same pan, add the chopped vegetables and cook until they are around 80% cooked. Remove and keep aside.
  • Heat the balance oil or ghee and add the cloves, cardamoms and cinnamon one by one, stirring for a couple of seconds before adding the next ingredient. Stir till it’s nice and fragrant.
  • Then add onion paste and cook well. Once the onion paste starts to bubble, add the ginger-garlic-chilli paste and saute well.
  • Add the whisked yoghurt and keep stirring to ensure the yoghurt does not curdle.
  • Now add the powdered spices – coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder and pepper powder. At this point, you can also add some red chilli powder if you like it spicier, but I didn’t add it to this recipe.
  • Add the cooked vegetables and salt and let the semi cooked vegetables absorb the sauce. You may also add some water or more yoghurt if the gravy seems dry at this point.
  • When the vegetables are cooked, add the paneer pieces and stir well to coat the paneer. If you are making this dish for a party, you can also add cooking cream at this point.
  • Cover and it it simmer for around 10 minutes. Add some water if the gravy starts to dry.
  • Check the seasoning and garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.
  • Serve hot with rice or any Indian bread.

In My Hands Today…

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Me Before You – Jojo Moyes

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Louisa Clark is an ordinary young woman living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has never been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex-Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair-bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.

Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.

How to Keep New Year Resolutions

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Most of us, either on the evening of the 31st of December, or on the 1st of January look back on our year and make some resolutions for the new year. Somehow the start of a new year becomes a catalyst for people to start thinking of changing their lives. But as we all know, the majority of resolutions start to fade out by the end of January and by February, most of us abandon our resolutions. So what can we do to ensure that we stick with our resolutions and end 2020 on a high note? Here are seven steps you can use to keep your resolutions. Read on…

Keep it Small and Simple
Sometimes we want to completely change our lives and do a 360 degree lifestyle change. This simply put, does not work and you will only set up yourself for disappointment. Instead focus on a few important goals and work towards them in the year. Change a couple of specific behaviours at a time and you will succeed.

Talk about it
Share your experiences with family and friends. Blog about it if you are a blogger. Once your goals become public, then you become accountable about them. The more public your resolutions are, the higher the chances of it becoming a reality. You can also put the resolutions in writing and share it with family and friends and ask them to keep you accountable about it. Consider joining a support group to reach your goals, such as a workout class at your gym or a group of coworkers quitting smoking. Having someone to share your struggles and successes with makes your journey to a healthier lifestyle that much easier and less intimidating.

Don’t beat yourself up
Perfection is unattainable. Remember that minor missteps when reaching your goals are completely normal and OK. Don’t give up completely because you ate a brownie and broke your diet, or skipped the gym for a week because you were busy. Everyone has ups and downs; resolve to recover from your mistakes and get back on track.

Be realistic
Don’t aim too high and ignore the ground realities. If you have made a similar resolution previously, then look back and take stock on why you failed earlier. Learn from past failures so that this time you are able to succeed where you failed before. Set realistic goals this time around and you will surely succeed where you failed.

Create Mini Resolutions
Building up to your resolution, you could also create mini resolutions leading to the big one. Say you want to lose 10 kgs in a year, then break that down to 1 kg a month or even 250 gms each week, which looks very achieveable as opposed to losing 10 kg which feels unsurmountable.

Celebrate Successes
Celebrate all achievements, however small they may be. If you manage to tick off a small aspect of your resolution, then do something to celebrate it. Continuing from the previous example, if you managed to lose a kg, then do something for yourself – go for a spa treatment, buy a book or even some clothes for yourself. This way, you are constantly cheering yourself up and you have something to look forward to when you hit your mini milestones. You could also plan for celebrations for each milestone achieved and this will then further motivate you.

Dont Give Up
During the year, you will slip-up. But don’t berate yourself and slip back into your old and wrong habits when that happens. Reflect on your past achievements, brush off the slip-up and get back into track again.

In My Hands Today…

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Lies Sleeping – Ben Aaronovitch

Martin Chorley, aka the Faceless Man, wanted for multiple counts of murder, fraud, and crimes against humanity, has been unmasked and is on the run. Peter Grant, Detective Constable and apprentice wizard, now plays a key role in an unprecedented joint operation to bring Chorley to justice.

But even as the unwieldy might of the Metropolitan Police bears down on its foe, Peter uncovers clues that Chorley, far from being finished, is executing the final stages of a long term plan. A plan that has its roots in London’s two thousand bloody years of history, and could literally bring the city to its knees.

To save his beloved city Peter’s going to need help from his former best friend and colleague–Lesley May–who brutally betrayed him and everything he thought she believed in. And, far worse, he might even have to come to terms with the malevolent supernatural killer and agent of chaos known as Mr Punch . . .