Hi folks,
As usual its been a while and the intervals between updates seem to be lengthening...true but i`m back and i intend to keep it coming.....the past few weeks have been busy, demanding, disappointing, revealing and a whole lot of other adjectives each serving their time and passsing the role along.....although i have been doing fairly well at my coursework, my project has not progressed as i hoped it would..anyway thats how things stand, thats not what i want to write about...i ve had some nice times too and i thot id share a few with all of you..
What do you do when the weather is dull and u are feeling equally blue?....i for one would have preferred to go to sleep, but thats not what my crazy spanish housemate had in mind.....he came up with the idea for a barbecue......hold on , i though barbecues were supposed to take place in warm sunny days.....not for him though...so there we were hunting for coal and trying to raise a fire against the cold wind and almost imminent rain!
Yes we did manage to get the fire going, and we agreed that the chicken would be indian style, with curry flavouring while he would do the rest spanish style...oops catalan style...catalonia is a province in spain...and they like to be called Catalonians not spanish.
This was my first attempt at barbeque and both of us had little idea how long it would take or the end result, but as the barbecue was getting along, we got a bit carried away and decided to have barbecued eggs...dont laugh! We did it and frankly werent prepared for it when they exploded almost in our faces!...atleast they tasted good
As the smoke rose and the chicken cooked,the aroma drifted into the house and tingled the senses of everyone there...hey im not exaggerating...the chinese housemates and their girlfriends came trooping out almost demanding why they had not been invited...sorry mates, this was just a crazy experiment by a crazy Spanish and a bored Indian...no place for Chinese...maybe next time!
As the pictures will prove to you , the barbeque was more than a grand success...the chicken was lovely...and along with it we had potatoes, aubergines(something like brinjal) and catalonian style bread...all barbeque...I must mention here how the catalonians eat their bread...first they toast it and then they rub it with a raw garlic, followed by a raw tomato..then its sprinkled with salt and olive oil.......mmmmm...never knew bread could taste so lovely......oh yeah...something is missing from this perfect meal isnt it?...so we washed it all down with Spanish wine.....sorry i dont remember what happened next!
Buoyed by the success of the barbecue , and not wanting to lose his new found status as chief chef, Miguel my spanish friend came up with his second idea...a pizza night! Apparently he had been working in spain in a pizza shop....and sothere we were the next week making pizzas.
The chinese, this time not wanting to be left out offered to join in with a noodle dish of their own...so our night turned oit to be a chino-spanish joint venture at making pizzas and noodles
Miguel turned out three pizzas that night..one with ham and mushrooms...another delicious one with anchovies salmon and prawn and one vegetable one.
The chinese noodles was great too, but the taste of pizza still lingers on and makes my mouth water even as i write this.......i ended up using chopsticks for the first time in my life....but that lasted hardly for a minute as i struggled to hold it so that this snap could be taken...immediately after that i went back to relishing the pizzas...so much so that i forgot to take a picture of the finished product
20 April 2005
park
It is surprising that amidst all the hustle and bustle of the busy life here , there does exist quiet places where the pace of life is almost alien. I discovered such a place recently...just a few streets away from my house. That it had existed so close without my knowledge aptly reflects its serenity. Its a lovely park..with a lot of old trees and green lawns.
Since discovering it i have gone there often, to take a walk , enjoy the sunshine or maybe spend a quite reflective moment....not many people visit it, other than those walking their dogs but i discovered in a corner that there was a place where people come to feed pigeons
After seeing it, i could hardly resist the impulse to try it myself and i returned with some improvised feed...i was amazed at how easily the pigeons trusted people, while yet being constantly on guard.
Though initially they would peck the food i threw to them, they soon surprised me by landing upon my hand and taking food from it...
I was just beginning to learn to handle the attention, when i discovered that i had further company...a squirrel....just as cheeky as they come....
it is amazing how these animals learn to trust.....and still more amazing how inspite of all the progress that this nation has made, the link with nature has been maintained, even in the busiest cities.
Since discovering it i have gone there often, to take a walk , enjoy the sunshine or maybe spend a quite reflective moment....not many people visit it, other than those walking their dogs but i discovered in a corner that there was a place where people come to feed pigeons
After seeing it, i could hardly resist the impulse to try it myself and i returned with some improvised feed...i was amazed at how easily the pigeons trusted people, while yet being constantly on guard.
Though initially they would peck the food i threw to them, they soon surprised me by landing upon my hand and taking food from it...
I was just beginning to learn to handle the attention, when i discovered that i had further company...a squirrel....just as cheeky as they come....
it is amazing how these animals learn to trust.....and still more amazing how inspite of all the progress that this nation has made, the link with nature has been maintained, even in the busiest cities.
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