Next Step

I have became of marriageable age. Unfortunately my relative started talking how eligible men for me. She even sent a profile with a photo of the boy. Typical Indian guy who is an engineer and NRI.

I am really confused now. Luckily my parents don't believe in forcing their children into arranged marriages or arranged marriages. They choose each other, so they are very modern in that aspect. My brother is also being given profiles of women for the same purpose. 

I should really find a job before I'm married off. I am researching various degrees and institutions  and I am getting excellent advice from my aunt. So I am ending up in the right direction.

Life Going Left Instead of Right

Last month, I finished my application for Teach for India. I was working on it till the last time. I don't know why I procrastinate but I was done before the deadline.

Finally my acceptance email came. I was getting worried. I don't what my life plan would have been if I hadn't gotten through. The next step is the assessment day. So I have another obstacle in my path. I worked everything out and practiced my presentation.

Let's hope I pass this hurdle also. 

Hot and Cold

That's what I feel during the night. I have a cold and my nose is blocked and Winter is Coming. But while sleeping I feel hot. The cough syrup makes me sleepy and I feel exhausted all the time. The nose block is hurting my nose and my head. Also my voice is slowing going away. I think in a few days, my voice will be gone.

At least my brother's visit was fun. We had a cousin's wedding and got to a village in Bihar for the bride's welcoming. That was fun and entertaining. I took a million photos on my ipad.

I am in the market for a new phone since my blackberry has decided to slowly die on me.

Started reading this book and it's makes history come alive even though it's about the biography of cancer. Siddhartha Mukherjee, Delhi boy, did a wonderful job. As somebody who has lost her grandfather and uncle to cancer, I like to know more about this disease. 

Pasta with Peppers

I had leftover pasta from my chicken with pasta dish. So one day, I was going to be alone for dinner. Instead of ordering dominos, I made pasta for myself.

pasta
peppers (capsicum) finely chopped
chilli finely chopped
garlic finely chopped  
oil 
pasta sauce 
cream 
black pepper
oregano flakes
basil flakes
crushed pepper
tabasco sauce

Boil water and add pasta when it's boiling. After the pasta was half cooked, I had oil in pan. Once it was hot, I added garlic and waited it to cook. Then I added peppers and chillies. Then came the pasta sauce and cream. Mix all that together. By this time, the pasta would be done. So drain the pasta and add cold water and olive oil to make sure the pasta didn't stick. Once cooled and set, add the pasta to the sauce mixture. I made all the pasta was coated with the sauce. Sprinkled oregano flakes and crushed peppers on the pasta. Mix everything and I was done. In my bowl, I added tabasco sauce and basil flakes.

I really liked this dish and will write more the recipe for the future. My parents really helped in choosing the ingredients. I found another book from storage called Easy Italian which has some really good dishes and the photos looks amazing. So that's my new recipe book which I will be trying out. Good luck to me.

Huevos Rancheros

So I decided to cook more dishes and went through the cookbook to find one.

Huevos Rancheros
1 tbsp olive oil 
2 onions finely chopped
2 red peppers cored, deseeded and finely chopped
4 garlic cloves finely chopped
800 g chopped tomatoes
1 tsp chopped oregano
0.5 tsp ground cumin
1 red chilli deseeded and finely chopped
1 tbsp cider vinegar
200 g black beans
4 eggs
2 tbsps chopped coriander
sea salt and black pepper

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add the peppers and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, oregano, cumin, chilli and vinegar and bring to boil. Reduce and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir the beans and when they are warmed make holes in the mixture and crack a egg into them. Cover to cook the eggs. Sprinkle coriander lastly.
The book (Eat Yourself Thin) showed the dish was suppose to look like:

But my didn't, of course. I only used 2 eggs. Black beans aren't the most tasty, but they weren't that bad. So another dish tried and tested. For next time, I was given the suggestion of cutting the recipe into half.

Chicken Puttanesca with Angel Hair Pasta

My dad wanted me to learn cooking since I am unemployed and since it is a life skill. So I googled recipes and then bought the ingredients with my dad. He said he didn't mind driving me to the market since it was no trouble. So I decided to cooked Chicken Puttanesca with Angel Hair Pasta.

8 ounces angel hair pasta
2 teaspoon olive oil
4 (6 ounces) boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups pasta sauce
1/4 cup kalamata olives
1 teaspoon capers 
1/4 teaspoon red pepper crushed
1/4 (1 ounce) Parmesan cheese
Basil or basil springs

Cook the paste according to the package. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Cut chicken into 1 inch pieces. Add chicken to pan, sprinkle evenly with salt. Cook chicken for 5 minutes or until lightly browned and stirring occasionally. Stir in pasta sauce, olives, capers and pepper. Bring to simmer. Cook for 5 minutes or until chicken is done with stirring frequently. Garnish with basil or basil springs and Parmesan cheese.

As an Indian, chicken without masala tasted weird. So my mom suggested we pressure cook the chicken for 1 whistle. Then cut the chicken into pieces and cook the other components. And leave the peppers or cut into smaller pieces.

Since I had cooked so much pasta, there was left over cooked pasta. The next day I cooked tomatoes in butter. Added tiny pieces of pepper (capsicum), salt, water, and of course masalas and let it cook. This version was much better prepared. I am proud that I was able to cook something other than maggi and egggs.

By the way, I found the recipe on the Cooking Light webstie (http://www.cookinglight.com/food/quick-healthy/easy-chicken-recipes/chicken-puttanesca-with-angel-hair-pasta-recipe) and it was suppose to look like this:

But of course it didn't. But they never do, do they. C'est la vie. Let's hope the next recipe turns out better.

New Direction

So I have been volunteering at a school. I help kids who are from economically weak sections with their homework. It is fun trying to teach them and help them with their homework.

The younger ones don't listen and talk a lot. The older ones have a lot questions.

I wish I could do this as a job. I don't have a teacher's degree so I can't be a teacher at a school. But helping them is so fun. Frustrating job sometimes but very enjoyable. So I need to find a job which complements this one.

I hear back from one job posting which I had applied to. I emailed them my résumé which they asked for in the email. I emailed another publisher about any job openings. So lets see what happens next.