A Right Step

The announcement this morning that the White House had rejected the restructuring plan submitted by the automakers is, in my opinion, a good move. Again, I am not a trained economist but it doesn't take much training to know that there was a lot of wasteful practice in Detroit - does everyone really need to buy a new car every three years, especially if said car is clunky, fuel-inefficient and not an object of any particular beauty? An orderly - and I can't overemphasize 'orderly' - dismantling is the right thing to do.

Japanese Maple Watch - Monday, March 30, 2009

Spring Has Sprung!

Unlike my husband, I'm not much of a gardener. Oh, I love flowers and fruit trees and all the rest of that, but only to admire. When presented with a wonderful garden, I am never moved to wondering - "How do I get my garden to look like that?" Instead, I think, "Drat! Wish I had a nice glass of wine so that I could sit here amongst these beautiful flowers, in a comfy chair, with a nice book." But when the first buds and blossoms of springtime appear, even I am moved to write about them. My absolute favorite garden being in the whole yard is our mature Japanese Maple tree (yes, I consider it a being, with a benevolent personality all its own). It shades the backyard in summer and turns an awesome blood red in the fall. In fact, it is the last tree in our yard to shed its leaves. When the backyard is full of crimson leaves, I know that it's time to really put away the Halloween decorations and get out the heavy winter coats and the gloves. There are some buds on it now, and I am really excited.

Back Off!

Yes, it was wrong to give them taxpayer subsidized bonuses. Yes, it was wrong of them to have accepted the bonuses. But enough with the intimidation and the harassment!It is just plain wrong. These people have kids and families and I cannot fathom the anger that threatens the physical safety of children and dependents. So back off, ye self-righteous wrathful - go use the court system. That's what it is there for. Sheesh!

Signs of the Times

If there was a symbol of the roaring 1990s, it was the notice one saw in so many business windows: "Now Hiring." Today, the sign of our times is the ominous one seen on so many office buildings: "Now Leasing."

Close Them Down, Mr. Geithner

Dear Mr. Geithner, I am not a trained economist, but I feel bad seeing you and your buddies flailing around, trying to come to grips with this slippery, ugly beast that is the financial meltdown. So, here is my admittedly non-specialist solution to the problem: Close them down, Mr. Geithner. Close down AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, any company that is bleeding money and is supposedly "too big to fail" and needs large infusions of our taxpayer money. You cannot reinflate a collapsing bubble. So shut them all down. Just go about it in an orderly, systematic way so that panic does not ensue - see I am not one of those nasty libertarians who want death by free-market, I did say "orderly" and "systematic". You are a clever man, Mr. Geithner, and your friends are smart people too. I'm sure you'll be able to work out the details of the downsizing between all of you. Sometimes home remedies are the best.

Keeping Down with the Joneses

Frugality is all the rage these days. For many people, though, thrift is just another fashion statement, yet another accessory that one wears in order to impress. In today's Washington Post, Kelly Marages had a scathing commentary on this bizarre trend that glamorizes the economic downturn. I liked her observations on the evaporation of common sense:

We've been told to go shopping in our closets. Cute -- but what does it mean? That I should take a shirt and pair it with some pants or a skirt that I haven't already matched it to? Call me crazy, but isn't that just called getting dressed? Or does it mean I should -- heavens, no! -- re-wear an outfit that I've worn before?

All of this recessionista business is, I think, just showing off by other means. I have nothing against any kind of lifestyle as long as it is genuine. I love being around people who are full of joie de vivre, who eat, drink and are merry. Seeking pleasure because one enjoys the good things of life is fine as long as the pleasure-seeking is to satisfy one's own desire for enjoyment, gluttony, happiness, whatever. In fact, one does not have to be wealthy to live life large (although money does help). It is repulsive, however, to observe people pursuing pleasure in order to show off their fine clothes and their money to others. The same principle applies to simplicity. If you like things simple, that's great. I'm all for whatever brings you peace of mind (I'm a die-hard "value shopper" myself). But the minute people start bragging about how "simple" they are - why then, frugality is just another way to show off one's superiority and to be snobby and judgmental about other people.

Happy Holi

It's a gray, wet, cold day here in Fairfield County, Connecticut. It's Holi and I am dry and not dyed in a rainbow hue. People in India have had a lot of fun today, celebrating Holi, the festival of colors, while here I hide under layers of woolies and carry an umbrella when I go out on errands. Holi was the one holiday that I found both enjoyable and very disconcerting when I lived in India. It was a world turned upside down where grown-ups behaved like children, running around throwing water balloons at each other and at us. There was lunch at the club and as many cokes as your little mouth could gulp down, before you had to go home to be hosed down.

When I moved to Delhi as a college student, I found Holi far less attractive as the rowdies on the streets - testoterone-charged young men looking for women to grope under the excuse of Holi revelry - were out in strength at this time. The best way to enjoy Holi is in a small circle of friends and family - known faces - with whom you can spend a fun and sometimes, er...a pleasantly-buzzed morning and afternoon.

Chronicles of an Accidental Gourmet: Chapter 1, The Graduate Student

I am a really good home cook. As in mmm-mmm good (yeah, I'm modest about it). I think that I am just as good as Clara with her Depression-era cooking, bless her wise old soul. The reason I am so proud of my cooking ability is because this is the one talent I developed entirely on my own. Cooking is my very own expertise, learned not at my mother's or anyone else's elbow, but in the dark and dismal days of young adulthood when the future seemed full of boiled eggs and slices of execrable White Hen Pantry pizza. Now you know why pizza is not my favorite food (see previous post). The fact that I taught myself to cook, all on my own, gave me enormous self-confidence. I knew that I could take care of myself, once I learned how to peel, chop and saute an onion. So to those of you afraid to turn the stove on - be brave, it is indeed possible to save yourself and your bank balance by wielding a knife.

My abiding memory of my last day before I left for the United States as a twenty-something was that of my mother pacing up and down my room as I packed, muttering darkly over and over in a maddening way, "You are going to starve there. How will you survive? You can't cook!" For the first couple of months in Chicago, I almost conceded that she was right - I was going to starve. I could cook nothing more than boiled eggs. Other sustenance was slices of pizza from the White Hen Pantry half a block from the dorm. I was desperate for fresh food that tasted good and did not cost a fortune. I couldn't duck into a restaurant - I was on a limited student stipend and it would not cover eating out on a daily basis. Something had to be done, and quick!

Then, my brother - my big brother, who still watches out for me - came to my rescue. In those long-forgotten days before the internet, when the only electronic communication was email, he sent me a file called "The Graduate Student's Guide to Indian Recipes", available here and here, in abridged form. From Mahadevan Ramesh via Sanjiv Singh, I learned basic things like how to chop onions. And in this way, an army of invisible teachers, graduate students like me, whom I will probably never meet, came to my culinary rescue. I learned how to chop an onion, peel potatoes, dice carrots, make my favorite aloo-gobi. I made friends with other graduate students and often we ate together, feasting like kings and queens on our spiced and flavorful creations. So thank you, Sanjiv Singh, thank you Mahadevan Ramesh, thank you Somesh Rao. Here is my favorite recipe from "The Graduate Student's Guide...": Aloo Gobi. It was the first dish I made that was successful and well-received by friends. It does require a trip to the Indian grocery store to stock up on spices. Somesh, if you ever stumble across this blog, thank you for your help, thank you for stepping in for my mother, and here are my variations on your wonderful recipe:


Ingredients:------------
1 Large cauliflower
3 Medium sized potatoes
1/2 large Onion sliced thinly in long slices
1 tsp Mustard seeds
2 or 3 pods Cardamom
1 tsp Coriander [My Variation - grind the coriander]
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1 Bayleaf
3 Cloves
3 tblsp Vegetable Oil

Method:

-------Start boiling the potatoes in a saucepan. Let them boil for at least 15minutes. After they are done, turn off the heat and let them stand inthe water. [My Variation: Dice Potatoes into small cubes, skip boiling]

Cut the cauliflower into small bite sized pieces (roughly 1" cubes),throwing away most of the stem pieces. Wash and drain in a collander.

While the potatoes are cooking, heat the oil in a wide skillet until itis very hot. Add the mustard seeds and wait until they start popping. Add bay leaves, cardamom and cloves. Mix around for a while and then add onions. Wait until the onion starts to turn before adding the rest of the spices (except for turmeric).
[My variation: Add diced potatoes after the onions start to turn and saute with onions and spices for 10-15 mins, till half-cooked]

Put the cauliflower in the skillet and fry in the oil and spices for 2minutes. While the cauliflower is frying, cut up the potatoes into bitesized pieces and add to the skillet. [I skipped the boiling potatoes step]

Add turmeric and stir. Continue stirring the vegetables under medium heat for another couple ofminutes. [ My variation: cook cauliflowers and potaotes together for about 5-6 minutes]

Add 1/2 cup of water and reduce heat to low. Cover skilletand let cook for 5 minutes. Check tenderness of vegetables. If they are still too hard, add another1/4 cup of water and cover again for 5 minutes. Salt to taste and serve. [You can push the whole spices to the side of your plate, if you don't like chomping down on cardamom or cloves. Garnish with cilantro leaves - optional]

Family Outings, Recession-Style

There are still eating joints in this very expensive part of the country where two kids and two adults can eat for less than $30. Unfortunately, they are all restaurant chains. But in these recession-hit times, they are still a fun family outing.

1. La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grill, 580 Post Road, Fairfield. Their Baja Fish Taco Platters are my personal favorite and their choice of toppings and salsas are awesome. Seating is iffy and parking even more so, but the food more than makes up for the inconvenience.
2. Panera Bread, 1063 Boston Post Road, Darien and 596, Westport Avenue, Norwalk. If the grown-ups choose the half salad/sandwich-soup combo and the kids choose a kids' meal, everybody gets to eat good, fresh food at very reasonable prices. My pick when I want to spend quality time one-on-one with either of the kids.
3. Any McDonald's. Least healthy and least expensive of all the choices. Still, these days at least you can choose a salad (I like their Southwestern salad, they no longer serve my previous favorite, the Asian salad) and well, nothing stops a kid complaining than a mouthful of French fries.

I don't like pizza much - except for one memorable pizza in the south of France many years ago - so I didn't include any pizzerias (my kids on the other hand would eat pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner if I allowed it). I would love to hear of more choices for family dining in Fairfield County.

The Truth...

...will set you free. That, I believe is what the recent dismal financial numbers are all about. Today, the unemployment figures revealed a record jump in joblessness. It's awful but finally, everybody - companies, so-called financial experts, talking heads, politicians - has stopped lying, fudging numbers, kicking the ball down the road for someone else to pick up. Now watch as more of the ugly truth comes out. The markets will respond - positively or negatively, I don't know - but finally, we are all being told the truth about just how bad things are in the economy. And we will find a way to cope, to deal with it, and to roll up our sleeves and do whatever it takes to keep a roof over our heads and our children fed and clothed. In order to do so, though, we need to keep being told the truth. It's a hard thing to do, this truth-telling thing, and requires more courage than I fear some administration officials possess, but it is the absolutely non-negotiable first step to recovery.

Unbelievable!

Sometimes, the human spirit - its power, its sheer will to endure, to shine through - leaves one speechless... While the following clip has no subtitles (unfortunately, as the exchanges between the dancer and the judges have their own beauty), most viewers will understand what this piece is all about.