In My Hands Today…

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Black Flower – Young-Ha Kim, translated by Charles La Shure

13356671In 1904, as the Russo-Japanese War deepened, Asia was parceled out to rising powers and the Korean empire was annexed by Japan. Facing war and the loss of their nation, more than a thousand Koreans left their homes to seek possibility elsewhere—in unknown Mexico.

After a long sea voyage, these emigrants—thieves and royals, priests and soldiers, orphans and entire families—disembark with the promise of land. Soon they discover the truth: they have been sold into indentured servitude.

Aboard ship, an orphan, Ijeong, fell in love with the daughter of a noble; separated when the various haciendados claim their laborers, he vows to find her. After years of working in the punishing heat of the henequen fields, the Koreans are caught in the midst of a Mexican revolution. Some flee with Ijeong to Guatemala, where they found a New Korea amid Mayan ruins.

A tale of star-crossed love, political turmoil, and the dangers of seeking freedom in a new world, Black Flower is an epic story based on a little-known moment in history.

2017 Week 37 Update

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Gosh, what a week! It started off quite badly for me (with a ticking off from my manager) and ended well (I think). But it took a very hard toll on me physically, I needed more than the next few days to physically recover from the three intense days – two of the signature event and one of packing the office!

For the event which was in the planning stage for the good part of a year, it was really surprising to me that speakers were finalised only a week before and a lot of arrangements left to the night before. We slept past 1 pm most days and this, coupled with the amount of time I was on my feet made my feet swell up, which made walking a real pain and torture!

I am now seriously reconsidering if this position and organisation is a right fit for me. I don’t think I can take many such days and especially since I am getting older and this is something, someone who is much younger can do a better job than me!

This time though, I want to make sure the next organisation is the right fit, so I will take my time and also am thinking of getting professional help for this. More details later as I firm them up.

I am really hoping this week is much milder than the previous week and I have some time to myself. I am also excited for the weekend which will come as it means my parents will be here to spend a couple of months with us! It also means I need to start planning our year-end holidays!

Have a good weekend folks!

 

 

Secondary 2 Week 37 Update

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This week is the week before the year-end exams for BB & GG and so they’ve been studying hard (or so I think)!

As I have mentioned before, results at this exam (which get included in the overall marks for the year) will determine the stream the children get. They do have to choose their top three choices of subjects, but if you’ve chosen a popular subject, then the school starts looking at your marks in that subject and if there are enough students with higher marks than you, it’s quite possible that they get in and you get bumped off!

That was our short and sweet school week! Have a wonderful Sunday folks!

 

In My Hands Today…

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The Bathing Women – Tie Ning

13547868The Bathing Women follows the lives of four women—Tiao, a children’s book editor; Fan, her sister, who thinks escaping to America might solve her problems; Fei,a hedonistic and self-destructive young woman; and Youyou, a chef—from childhood during the Cultural Revolution to adulthood in the new market economy.

This moving novel charts the journey of these women as they grapple with love, sibling rivalry, and, ultimately, redemption.

Recipe: Aloo Matar Paneer

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Another simple, rustic recipe, straight from the Punjabi heartland, this recipe is also courtesy of my helper R. According to her, this version is what is made in weddings in her village and is a super yummy dish which goes very well with any Indian flatbread. A version of this recipe was what I also made when I cooked a non-South Indian dish for the first time. This recipe was taught to me by a neighbour.

Aloo Matar Paneer

Ingredients:

  • 2 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 1 cup frozen green peas
  • 1/2 pack frozen paneer, refreshed in a pan with hot water for 30 minutes
  • 2 medium-sized onions, chopped roughly
  • 4 medium-sized tomatoes, chopped roughly
  • 1-inch piece of ginger, chopped roughly
  • 8-10 cloves of garlic
  • 2 tbsps oil (I use a canola-olive blend)
  • 2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 2 tsp coriander seeds powder
  • 2 tsp red chilli powder
  • 2 dried red chillies
  • 2 tsp cumin seed powder
  • a handful of cashew nuts
  • 1 tsp garam masala powder
  • Salt to taste
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Pour hot water over the cashew nuts in a dish and keep aside for 30 minutes till the nuts are soft.
  • Grind together onion, tomatoes, ginger, dried red chillies, garlic and cashew nuts and keep aside. Try not to use any water to make the paste and keep the paste smooth.
  • Chop the potatoes into 1-inch pieces and wash and keep aside.
  • Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and saute for a few seconds.
  • Add the ground tomato-onion paste and saute till it is browned. Keep stirring so it does not burn. Keep stirring till the oil starts leaving the pan.
  • Add the dry spices now – salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder and cumin powder and stir well.
  • Next, add potatoes and mix well.
  • Add around a quarter cup of water and mix well and cover and cook till the potatoes are almost done.
  • Now add the frozen green peas and mix. Cover and cook till the vegetables are done.
  • If the gravy appears to be thick, add some water to thin it.
  • Now add the paneer pieces and sprinkle the garam masala powder and let it simmer for five minutes.
  • Remove from the flame, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with any rotis or Indian flatbread.