Chickening out

I haven't written anything about what i have been eating for quite a while now, so i thought i'd fill you guys in...

well, yesterday, i purchased some boned chicken thighs for dinner,those being my favoured part of this particular bird. It was a little late in the evening and mom was clear that dinner had to be presented pronto, so i sliced some of the thigh into strips, sauteed them in their own fat, which the american chicken carries an excessive amount of, and added a caradamom-rich masala, finishing them off in 100 ml of double cream...which was gently thickened on a low heat until the tender pieces were napped in the rich, blond sauce. It was a version of Bedi Chacha's Esteemed Cream Chicken, but it was done much more quickly and tasted quite good.

I fancy the idea of getting a Cornish roasting Hen, and making a nice little sunday roast tomorrow...or i could saute it a la Brun, seasoned with beef jerky dust...

Today's dinner is lamb keema(again, cooked in tons of its own lard) with unpolished basmati, an effort made entirely by pops.

Yesterday, i found a market where good european and american cheeses can be purchased. There is an organic foods chain called 'Whole Foods' (i suspect there is one in India as well) and they stocked some very nice cheeses, particularly an english farmhouse Cheddar with a very singular nutty charecter. The Parmigiano Reggiano we get here IS the real thing, but it feels past its prime, as it looks too dry...some great Bleu cheeses were also available, as well as the french farmhouse bries and camemberts. I discovered a San Daniele Ham(Often regarded as the finest ham in the world) available at $12.93 a half pound. I also found a 2002 Sauternes (V, are you listening?) for $25...I'd love to get some of these fine products home, but the fact is, my pocket just can't stand that sort of heat.

So i had to make do with a four-pack of Guinness, to supplement my waning supply of heineken, some cheap cooking chocolate, and a set of springform baking tins to take home, and bake a chocolate cake.

Life in these United States (No. 3)

God, do these guys know the meaning of good coverage??? I've signed up with Cingular, which apparently has the best network in the country, and i still have to go out of the apartment to get a clean connection, which is besides the mysterious self-terminating calls that i've experienced.

Hutch and Airtel RULE...

The instrument (A very cheap Samsung-C417) distinguished itself yesterday by deciding to switch itself off in the middle of a call. I tried to use my battle-hardy old Nokia yesterday with the SIM, but that handset is dual-band, so it couldn't work. Switched on without a hiccup though, even after being kept for a month with the battery removed.

Nokia RULES...

anyway, all else is well, and i've ordered an 'El-Cheapo' Dell Inspiron laptop online, so we should be able to send you guys some pictures soon...

The Cellphone Cometh

hi all,

we've finally got ourselves some cellphones, from Cingular wireless. I got two in a buy one get one free sort of scam, and the handsets are Samsung(surprisingly good, with a better "feel" than the sony ericsson that i wanted)

I won't be putting the numbers up here, for obvious security reasons, but be paitient, and we'll call all of you soon enough...

Oh, and did i mention (No.2)

That i've got my driver's Licence(oops, 'License') daybefore yesterday???

The road test was carried out in a little VW jetta(MT) that lives up to its name, in terms of the acceleration...and consisted of nothing more than a few stop-and-go sequences, a 3-point turn and a parking test. Even with the wierd left driving position and a gearshift on the right, it wasn't all that bad. I've just got to learn to stay in the correct lane, as Alice pointed out...

Alice is a sixty-something four-foot 3 inch petite package of a lady, who used to drive trucks for a living in her heydays. she has portuguese and english ancestry, and is a, hold your breath, 4th generation jamaican. Hearing her talk is a strange and delightful experience, a little white old lady who speaks the Rastaman's brand of english. Imagine Sir Clive Lloyd speaking at a cricket match an octave higher than usual...

By the way, i'm going get a phone today, so i'll be calling all of you guys pretty soon.

Inter-Nyet!

Hi all,

I apologise for not being regular in updating this blog, but a stupid chick that i know apparently opened a virus-laden email attachment on the communal P.C, frying the internet access. i've finally gained access via another system, and i tell you, it feels like a breath of fresh air...

my god, have i become so dependant on modern means of communication, that it makes my life unbearable whenever my daily fix of the internet is prohibited? I then remember that ten years ago, we were still writing letters on paper, adding little postscripts, drawing doodles and mailing them, waiting weeks for a valued piece of paper, crisp, clean, and scented by your lover's hands. now, if you don't get a reply to your brief email the next day, it's an insult.

getting back to News&Developments, I've obtained a Social Security Number, But mom and dad Haven't, and the Greencard is on it's way. We've moved out of the Sodhi's place(finally!) and we're temporarily settled in the apartment one level below theirs. The place is O.K, but, like all other american homes, feels like it's made of cardboard.
We will soon have to move from this place to another town, Exactly which one we don't know yet. it's where mom will get ther job posting and naturally, we'll be with her. So the apartment is basically a halfway house and we treat it as such, not going around and buying stuff to fill it with. the only furniture is a small dining set, and several old matresses.

We will soon buy a laptop, and get a internet connection to go with it. i'm looking at a Dell Inspiron 1405, which has a good configuration, but, you know, it's...a Dell. I'm told by a reliable source that the customer service can be made to work your way, and it really is the only thing we can afford at this time. The mac will take some time...

So the prospective date we will move is around the 10th of this month, and after that, we'll see...i've applied for a driver's licence today, and i have a driving test in about an hour, so i'll sign off and go fortify myself with some good food.