Book Challenge- February

3) TIMELINE - MICHAEL CRICHTON
                                       The book is full of details.. there are places where the information and the intensity with which the author describes the medieval period is a little difficult to read... Definitely not light reading. The beginning sets the pace with which the story progresses ... by the time you finish reading half the book you are tuned into the language and the pace of the book. the book is a good read and definitely lives up to Crichton's standard. The ending is obvious but has a nice twist to it.

4) A 1000 SPLENDID SUNS - KHALEED HOSINENI
                                         The book follows the story of Mariam, who is a young girl living with her mother. After getting married she moves to a different city where her life is inter twined with Laila's life who is many years younger. I couldn't relate to book as I have never been in any of the situations.But it made for an interesting read, just for the simple reason the book captivates you and you are transported into their world and you wonder if thats how it would've actually been ! All in all its a very good read.

Coriander and Mushroom Noodles

The first food show I ever saw was Kylie Kwong's cooking with the soul... I love Chinese food andthis show tickled my taste buds visually...

Visually because I'm not a cook.. I love to eat and find cooking tedious and an appetite killer.

This recipe has been adapted from her Coriander Noodles, I tweaked the recipe to make it way way simpler ... so there are some different ingredients and some which I haven't used at all.

The ingredients I used are:

 -Mushrooms 

   - Rice noodles

   

- Garlic 

         
    - Coriander  
                                                                

       - soy sauce
     - Rice vinegar
     - Salt
     - sugar 

     - Red Chilly powder

• Fill a pan with water ... add some salt and boil the noodles in the water.
  
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             Strain the water and then rinse the cooked noodles under cold water.

• It's alright if the noodles are a little uncooked... They will cook when you add them to the mushrooms..

• I added the coriander to the mushrooms ... but the actual recipe by Kylie Kwong has the coriander added to the noodles.. You can do whatever suits you best.

In order- Butter, Garlic, mushrooms, soy sauce, vinegar, salt, sugar, coriander and chilly powder.

• The dish tasted yummy though I could've added some more soy sauce and oil with vinegar to give it a gravy ....
  Add salt and sugar as per your taste.. soy sauce is very salty as it is ... sugar is what balances the taste.
• Best Served HOT .. ! :)

Camera Chronicles..

The Dastakari Exhibition which showcases handicrafts from all over India was in town. I have a few friends for whom I had to buy birthday gifts. Usually, I put off buying gifts till a day before I'm going to gift it to them but this time I found so ,many pretty things at the exhibition...It was beautiful.. crafts that were made with such care and so much variety ... from footwear to bags... ceramics.. fabrics... bird baths .. wind chimes...

It is a file and an address book with these cute dolls on the cover... There were beads on them and they looked very youthful and different...

Book Challenge - January

This year hasn't been off to a good start. It feels like there is no short term goal. So I decided to challenge myself to something that I love. Reading. The challenge is to read 24 books this year... preferably 2 books a month. I don't have a list ready... I'm planning to take it as it comes. I have already read 2 books in January. I'll include some pictures from this month and maybe write a review of the book with a short summary. There aren't too many books that I don't like.

JANUARY:

1. INFERNO - DAN BROWN
   I heard that this book by Dan Brown isn't his best piece of work and doesn't live up to the other books that he has written. It wasn't a bad read but could have been better in some parts.
   The book follows professor Robert Langdon who wakes up unconscious and has no recollection of how he was injured or he landed up in the hospital.The book is all about how he rushes against time to prevent the downfall of the human species. The end has a twist to it,where the person you thought was his ally turns out to be the enemies ally.
   
   
2. SONS OF FORTUNE - JEFFREY ARCHER
   My friend has been trying to get me to read Jeffrey Archer and lent me this book. I am hooked. At the very beginning of the book when I realised that the twins were going to be separated and might meet as rivals I screamed out loud.  Screeched more like it ... I didn't want it happen.... Isn't that what a good book is all about ? Making you feel what the characters are feeling ? I waited and waited for them to meet and realise that they were brothers.. twins and the bond they had. I'm glad the book had an indirect happy ending. They at least came to know they were brothers. It was definitely worth the read and its definitely become one of my all time favourites!   

Camera Chronicles ...

I have always been fascinated by balloons. My earliest memory of a balloon is buying them at the beach. Not those heart shaped balloons but regular coloured ones. Later came the shape balloons... you know those balloons which are shaped mostly as animals ... I think dogs or snakes or dragons? I would always bring home the balloons I bought and then they would just float around in my room until my brother burst it or the air just escaped.

Birthday parties were never complete without balloons... Balloon games, colour balloons depending on the favourite colour of the month. balloons just to burst... Balloons will definitely remain one of my favourite things....
 I clicked this picture at a school function. I edited it a little bit in terms of brightness and added a border.

Camera Chronicles...

I have always wanted a DSLR, to take mindblowing pictures just like the ones in lonely planet? where all the colours are vivid and everything looks just so beautiful. Begged, cried, used all my convincing powers but to no avail, I still had to use a samsung and later the nikon coolpix. They weren't bad and the pictures were close to mindblowing but no, I had it in my head that I had to have a DSLR . I eventually gave up and resolved to buy one with my own hard earned money.

That didn't happen because my father gave me one after all the crying, my mother believing that good professional pictures can be taken with the coolpix, he did get me one. My 22nd birthday, I woke up in the morning to my dad placing something on my bed and trying to sneak out before I realized what was happening. Lo behold, it was a dslr, the Cannon 600D.
I was thrilled, beyond happy. Felt the camera, played with the settings a little and took my first photo.

Was I thrilled or what ! Never had I been able to take such a picture with the coolpix. My mother had to agree with me after seeing this.( In retrospect ... there was never a problem with the coolpix .. I just didn't know how to take pictures!)  Ha! we took some family pictures, because we now had a GOOD camera. But after that day the camera was put in its cover, and kept safely in the cupboard. taken out during weddings, festivals, and of course birthdays !

It's been more than a year since I have taken  a good  any  picture with the camera, used the manual setting or generally just used it. So this new year one of my resolutions is to use the manual setting of my camera, just the manual setting and explore my camera more.

So, begin the Camera Chronicles.

INSPIRATION....

An ongoing battle seemed to be going on inside my head , between the right and very wrong left parts. I waited for inspiration to strike , just like lightning , ( thank God inspiration is harmless!:D)and it did...coming from the most unexpected source.."CASTLE"

Ever since "CASTLE" began, for some reason I have been enamored by its introductory sequence...might also be due to the presence of " Nathan Fillion" .
Watching the rerun today , not for one moment losing interest , though i must admit the war was still on , Molly Quinn says something something something..."DRAMATIC PAUSE" and bingo there we had our winner!!

Thinking about it now the name does seem very apt as I do have a certain love towards the "dots ...." at the end of my sentences. I have no clue what this blog is going to be about , but i sure do know that it is going to be one hell of a journey for me .

PS: my inspiration to start a blog... all the people who blog and my mum!:)