After a 3 month hiatus (when I was on a project outside New York), I am back to being a regular on the"E" (For those who are not familiar with what I am referring to, The New York E Subway Line is what I mean). I do the WTC - 7Av/53rd street stretch daily. The E trainset composition is now all R160 - which is great. That conversion of trainsets was well underway even before my travel. The other change I noticed was that, in off-peak hours, they open only one door per car when the trains wait at WTC. I am guessing this is for energy conservation ans seems like a sensible move. The only catch is that, if you choose to walk past a car to the next one, you have to recalibrate your judgement - for you cannot just hop into the next door.
7Av/53rd Street is unique in that you can seemingly head off in opposite directions while actually going the same way. So, on the upper level, you have the "E" going one way and the "B" and "D" going the other way but you can take either and still get to, say, W4 street.
There's a certain je ne sais quoi about dumplings. I'm fascinated by dumplings of all cultures, shapes, and forms. From matzoh balls to pierogi, from momos to gnocchi, they are the perfect comfort food.
The fact that they are usually a hundred percent carbohydrate is completely irrelevant.
I always though gnocchi were made with eggs, so the discovery that they don't have to be came as a pleasant surprise. In fact, some traditionalists say that eggs make for a chewier gnocchi, and that is not good. Three large sweet potatoes in the CSA box, some sturdy sage from the herb pot, and we're all set!
What you need:
2 lbs sweet potatoes, roasted (45 minutes in a 450 degree oven), peeled, mashed well
2/3 cup ricotta cheese (throw it in a fine sieve to allow water to drain out, a couple of hours or so)
1.5 cups or more of all purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
The idea is to make a dough out of the above, using as little flour as possible. To make that possible, use the firmest variety of sweet potatoes you can find. Roast them in the oven instead of boiling. Dust all surfaces with generous amounts of flour and keep dusting.
Bring a huge pot of water to a boil.
Mix together the mashed sweet potatoes, ricotta, flour, salt and pepper. Don't overwork the dough. All you want is for it to stay together and not stick to your hands. Divide the dough into six pieces (a dough separator/scraper comes in very handy.)
Roll each piece out into a half-inch thick string and cut into gnocchi a bit larger than your thumbnail. Then press a floured fork into the back of the gnocchi to create grooves for sauce. Go here for a technique video.
Cook the gnocchi in three batches. Simply add them to the boiling water and fish out with a slotted spoon as soon as they start to float. Place in a platter.
At this point, you can spread them on a sheet, freeze, then store the frozen pieces in a ziplock bag. Or you can saute them in a sauce of your choosing. I melted a couple of tbsp of butter, fried ten sage leaves in it and added 2 tbsp of maple syrup, before giving the gnocchi a quick saute. Delicious.
It's been around since 2002 (I think) but it never gets old.....
William Kamkwamba was only 14 years old when he built a windmill that could power 4 light bulbs and a radio in his village in Malawi. Watch his story here.
Aditya, Anand's classmate was dressed up as a Zulu King. Readers may also remember my mention that we were daunted by the other costumes. One such was this, where, the mother had taken time to note each nuance to get the child right. He had a skirt, an armoured vest, a hairdo and a crown where his mother's craftsmanship was exhibited, not to mention the Special Mention prize that he won for his presentation. Please take a look at this video and enjoy his lovely display.
Some photos of the carnival can be seen here.
I'm trying to quit apologizing for my Vox absences; things are the way they are. Instead, I want to share our brunch recipe for this weekend. Its easy, nutritious, and delicious.
This dish is best made with fresh cottage cheese or paneer. Store brought paneer, fresh Mexican cheese (the kind that does not melt) and tofu will work, but do try it with fresh paneer. Its delicious!
To make about 2 cups of paneer, you will need:
A large 2 quart microwave safe glass bowl/jug
2 quarts 2% milk
1/4 cup white vinegar (Different people use different curdling agents. Using yogurt will give you a milder tasting paneer. My mother always uses fresh lime juice as a curdling agent. It gives a fresher-tasting paneer.)
A large fine-mesh sieve, or a colander lined with muslin/layered cheesecloth
Heat the milk in the microwave until it comes to a boil. In my microwave, this takes about 14 minutes. Alternatively, you can boil the milk on the stove. When it comes to a rolling boil, stir in the vinegar. You'll see the milk start to separate.
Continue heating for another couple of minutes or until the greenish whey completely separates from the curds. Drain this mixture through the sieve, using your spoon to press out the whey.
You can save the whey and use it in other recipes-remember, its a little sweet. I like to use it to make rice and smoothies.
There it is, fresh paneer. Try tasting it with a little seasoned salt or sugar. You can also add salt, pepper and herbs to the curd-whey mixture before draining it to get seasoned paneer.
Other ingredients for the stir fry:
6 cups fresh spinach, chopped
2 cups chard, chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp powdered coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 green chillies, chopped
one clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
Melt the butter in a large skillet.
Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric, and stir until the cumin seeds pop.
Then add the green chillies, garlic. Saute for a few seconds, and add the paneer.
Crumble the paneer with the back of your spoon and saute until nicely browned.
Add the greens and saute until they are just wilted.
Season with salt and pepper and serve hot with naan/garlic toast/rice. Enjoy!
Nine hundred dollars, (I know, only?) gets you the worlds cleanest keyboard. Great for popular coffee shops I guess, or ultra clean electronic rooms (chip makers). But $900? I'd be okay with just running it through the dishwasher at the end of the day. Yes you can do that, no soap though.
1. அலுவலகத்துக்கருகே வீடு (அ) வீட்டுக்கருகில் அலுவலகம் (நடக்குமா?!).
2. 'சின்னச் சின்ன ஆசை' போல ஒரு பாட்டெழுதி பிரபலமாக வேண்டும் (அப்புறம் பாட்டே எழுதக்கூடாது!).
3. 'மாமி'யுடன் (மட்டும்) முழு நாள் இருக்க வேண்டும் (சிவா/விஷ்ணு-வை என்ன பண்றது?!).
4. மனதுக்குப் பிடித்த தோழியுடன் மாலை தேநீர் அருந்த வேண்டும் (வருவாளா?!).
5. தனியாக ஒரே நாள் உயர் ரக ஸ்டார் ஹோட்டலில் 'ஹாயாக' இருக்க வேண்டும் (அட போய்யா!).
6. திருவல்லிக்கேணி பார்த்தசாரதி பெருமாள் ஆலயத்தின் அர்ச்சகராய் மாற வேண்டும் (மீசை வெச்ச பெருமாளை பாத்துகிட்டே இருக்கலாமே?!).
7. டிரைவரோடு கார் வாங்க வேண்டும் (ரொம்ப ஓவரா தெர்ல?!).
8. நண்பர்கள் ஐவரோடு அரை மணியாவது கழிக்க வேண்டும் (ஹ¤ம்...அந்த நாள் எந்த நாளோ?!).
9. ரஜினி சாரோடு ஒரு போட்டோ எடுத்துக் கொள்ள வேண்டும் (2 தடவை பாத்தும் மிஸ் பண்ணியாச்சு!).
10. வட இந்தியாவைச் சுற்றி வர வேண்டும் (முடியுமா?!).
முக்கிய பின்குறிப்பு:
எல்லாவற்றையும் தனித்தனியாகப் படியுங்கள்.
முக்கியமாக 4,5 - எதேச்சையாக இரண்டும் அடுத்தடுத்து வருகின்றன. மற்றபடி வேறு எதுவுமில்லை ஐயா!
My Groups
-
The Thinking Woman Updated: 1 hour ago
-
India Updated: Yesterday
-
Parents With Daughters Updated: Yesterday
Neighborhood
Explore friends, family, friends & family, or entire neighborhood.
