Another Good Bite episode

-x-
aarti

Back that Thing Up

Ok, this is just weird.

For the second time, my back has ceased up the day before my Good Bite shoot.

Isn't that bizarre?

The first time it happened, a month or so ago, I got really freaked out. It was the day before the shoot, and I had a day of shopping and prep ahead of me. (Warning: slightly graphic, decidedly un-feminine detail approaching in 3... 2... 1...) I got up off the toilet after peeing (agh! There it was!!) and my back froze in excruciating pain. There I was, semi-crouched over the pot, knickers around my ankles, tears starting to collect on the rims of my eyes... now I understood why they use the term "ceasing". You have to stop. You can't do anything. It's as if your back has gone on strike. Painfully.

"WHAT?" I thought. "This has never happened to me in my entire life! Why TODAY?!"

The pain subsided enough for me to straighten up, but I was still spooked, and of course like the big girl that I am, I ran crying to my husby. I know. What a liberated female I am. Go ahead, roll your eyes. I can see you from here!

Anyway, being the wise and brilliant husband that he is, Bren quickly pointed out that it was probably a product of too much stressing over the shoot, and that I needed to stop fretting over finding the perfect dish towels and pot holders, and instead trust that God had it taken care of, that my personality was going to be more than enough for viewers to connect to -- not my pot holders. (I did get the pot holders though. They were gorgeous!).

After he prayed over my back, I proceeded with my day, and actually, despite being on my feet all day and still in pain, I was so very cheerful all day, smiling at strangers and all the rest of it.

Hit pause for a second. To steal a phrase from the guest pastor, Don Williams, at our Sunday gathering this week: "Now, catch this!" (I love that hippy surfer drawl!)

The fact that I was cheerful and still able to function is a miracle. A MIRACLE, people! That's because I am such a wuss that even the slightest bit of pain ruins my mood for the entire day, sort of in that "woe is me" kinda way. And poor you if you happen to cross my path. Hahahahahha! Holla if ya hear me!

And now again, the day before another Good Bite shoot (yippee!), my back has ceased up again.

Not nearly as badly, but enough to remind me to calm down. I had just been on my hands and knees scrubbing the kitchen floor Cinderella-style, whilst simultaneously salvaging a cast iron pan we found out on the Playa at Burning Man, when UGH! There it was.

And yet again, I am taking it as a reminder that I am fretting about the details too much, because I am lacking faith... lacking faith in my abilities, lacking faith in the fact that God has already taken care of tomorrow, lacking faith all over the place! And that's manifesting in my doing all kinds of unnecessary chores. I will often do a ton of stuff when I'm afraid, especially cleaning. The metaphor is so obvious, I feel trite: take something messy/dirty/chaotic and make it neat/clean/ordered... and it all operates out of fear.

Funnily enough, this morning, I let the Bible fall open because I have lost my place in the reading guide I was doing, and this little verse jumped out at me:

"Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe."
Mark 5:36

I guess I hadn't absorbed that message enough. And so, my back has ceased up. But this time, I am taking the cue; I'm sitting down, sipping a little wine, and trusting that His hand is over the next day. And thus, I have a massive smile on the face of my heart.

-x-
aarti

The Case of the Smelly Towel

Scene: Me getting out of the shower. Bren brings me a towel from the other room. I take a sniff, make a face and immediately yelp at Bren.

A: Baba! Gross!

B: What?

A: Is this the same towel that you wrapped around your sweaty, stinky, post-Krav Maga body the other day, when you sat in front of the computer for an hour, and then still used it again and put it back in the rotation?!

B: What?

A: Smell it! It's disgusting baba!

B: (sniffing towel and walking out the bathroom. Mumbles to himself) Smells like wet dog...

A: (looks at herself in the mirror, making a face that says "exactly")

B: (enters bathroom again with a massive white towel) Here. This is the best one. Just for you.

A: BABA!

B: WHAT?

A: Did you get this towel out of the hamper?

B: What? Yeah...

A: What the... is this the same towel that we used on our camping trip last weekend? The one I used after swimming in the river?

B: What? When did I become the towel historian?

Why is "towel historian" SO FUNNY?


-x-
aarti

Long live the King?

Like you, I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that Mr. Jackson (if you're nasty?) is dead. I know, I know, he may or may not have done some awful things in his life, but since I'll never know the truth, I'm just going to withhold judgment. That's between him and the Maker now.

Anyway, back to the more important matter at hand: me! Clicheed as it may sound, his music really was the soundtrack to my childhood, heck my life until he seemed to drop off the music-making planet.

But it wasn't the MJ you're thinking of. When I was little, living in Dubai, cassette tapes were REALLY cheap, due to the fact that they were pirated. An album would set you back about 7 dirhams, about a buck-fifty. SADLY, on the day I went to Thompson Music to buy my copy of "Bad," they were sold out, and only had, wait for it... wait for it... the Chipmunks version.

Hence, my memories of Beat it and Billie Jean are in an ever higher register than Mr. Jackson could ever have hoped to achieve. Still great though. I managed to find a version here. Take a listen. And may he rest in peace.

-x-
aarti

Aarti Paarti Ep. 18: Camping Food!

This little Indian girl hasn't camped all that often in her life.

Hence my slight trepidation when invited to accompany our friends, the band Helios Jive, to the Elysium Festival just outside San Diego this past weekend. My husby, Bren, is one of their dancers. You probably recognize a few of the members from the Fava Bean Pillows episode of Aarti Paarti.

The plan was to camp out overnight, perform, and then enjoy the gorgeous scenery on the Indian reservation where the festival was held.

And of course, bringing a camera, we shot Aarti Paarti there! I made something easy-peasy, 'cos (a) even simple things taste better when you're surrounded by God's playground and (b) who wants to make something complicated when there's inner-tubing to be done? Or walking on stilts?! Yeah, STILTS!



I'm so glad that I went. It was gorgeous -- rejuventating to the soul, even. We ended up swimming in the creek for about an hour after shooting the show, sliding down the flat rocks, pushed by the strong yet gentle current that said "I'll play with you, but don't mess around. I can MESS YOU UP!". That creek was so playful, it had a personality of its own!

Tacos for the Great Outdoors

Soy Chorizo Tacos with Black Beans, Avocado, Cilantro and Lime

3 spring onions, chopped
1 tube soy chorizo, casing removed
1 15oz can black beans, drained
1 lime
Handful cilantro, chopped or torn into little pieces
Coupla radishes, sliced thin
1 avocado, chopped into little pieces
Corn tortillas

1) Heat some oil in a big wok or skillet, until shimmering. Add spring onions. Saute a few minutes until softened.

2) Add chorizo, toss and cook until warmed through and even a little bit crispy. Add black beans. Toss and cook until warmed through. Turn heat off. Squeeze lime over mixture, add cilantro.

3) Warm tortillas over open flame or in a small skillet. Spoon a little mixture into the middle of the tortilla, sprinkle with avocado and a couple pieces of radish. Eat and enjoy!

-x-
aarti

GoodBite!

A little while ago, I mentioned that I was involved in a super-secret project.

It's secret no more!

It's called GoodBite -- a cool channel for those of us who love food, but aren't fussy about it. If your weekly blog roll includes the likes of Smitten Kitchen, Simply Recipes, Gluten-free Girl or Steamy Kitchen (just to name a few), you'll be able to see these people in the flesh, talking together about their favorite recipes and tips. AND, as if that wasn't cool enough, you can see me making some of their recipes! Yup! It's true! Plus, I get to make one of my own in the "Lazy Dinner" episode -- I made Hot Dogs a la Rose.




There are a lot of great recipes and videos on here: watermelon and feta skewers, chickpea-spinach stirfry (an awesome quick, easy and nutritious idea from Gluten-Free Girl), chicken paillard with avocado salsa... yum!

So check it out and spread the word! Thanks to my friends at Deca TV for recruiting me and being so easy to work with... and bringing my dreams of TV-cookdom to life! Woohoo!


-x-
aarti

Aarti Paarti Ep. 17: Giddy-up Steak, the Movie

The Giddy-up Steak was big hit on this blog earlier this year. I still remember the ecstatic comments I got from Mandi and Ross about it -- they made my day!

So, having garnered some new friends through the cooking show (welcome!), I thought I'd make it on tee-vee.

Grilling season is upon us, the 4th of July is close at hand, and heck, I think I was feeling a little anemic. Plus, I had two Prime flank steaks sitting in the freezer, courtesy of my friend Larry, a longtime meat-business man, who having tried the recipe, loved it enough to award me with said steaks after church. Ain't he grand?!!

This might be one of my favorite episodes so far -- mostly because I get to play a bad-ass and face off with my friend Karen. Plus Dole gets from free product-placement.



I mentioned the Parsnip Chips at the end of the show -- if you've never tried parsnips, I highly encourage you to do so. I had no idea they were so sweet! Recipes for the steak, compote and 'snip chips are here.

Let me know what you think!

-x-
aarti

He Loves Me...

From just a minute ago.

Me: "You love me!"

Bren: "Don't start rumours."

Me: "BRENDAN MCNAMARA LOVES ME!"

Bren: [laughs]

Pause.

Me: "Why?"

Bren: "Why what?"

Me: "WHY do you love me? Say something nice about me."

Bren: "Because... you're lovable."

Me: "WHAT? That sucks. Say something else."

Bren: "Because [sticking finger up] you're silly, [sticking two fingers up] you're pretty aaaaaaand..."

Me: [waiting with bated breath]

Bren: "You're... helpful."

I don't know why that is so funny, but I laughed so hard. One of those is not like the others. :)


-x-
aarti

Who do you love?

I'm reading John Piper's Pleasures of God... but not without being a cliche and literally judging the book by its cover. I looked its generic nature scene and decided, eh, that book is not going to to be for me.


But then Bren read it, and couldn't stop talking about how it good it is, and was walking around all joyful and annoying.

Ha!

So, now I'm reading it. And by reading, I mean, I read the introduction yesterday.

But what I've read so far is wonderful, a gentle reminder that God loves being God, and delights in doing good things for us. Phew!

I love the quote that inspired the whole book, so I'm sharing it with you!

"The worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love." - Henry Sougal

Ponder that for a bit, while I edit the next episode of Aarti Paarti.

-x-
aarti

"Fresh and Fancy-Free" Mint Chutney!

As promised, here's the recipe for mint chutney, a fetching bright green condiment that just yells out, "Eat me! I'm fresh and fancy-free!"

It does. Really! Make it and see! And no wonder. This is the chutney that accompanies those special afternoon snacks: the samosas, the pakoras, anything deep-fried basically! And when you're in the mood to eat some of those piping hot babies, you have no choice but to feel happy. Fancy-free even.

I grew up eating a version that included fresh coconut -- we ladled spoonfuls over hot, fluffy sannas, a steamed rice-flour cake that's popular in the south of India. MAN, those are good! One of these days, I'm going to have to try to make them.

Hmmm... (cue wheels in my head spinning and Bren wondering why I'm having to buy MORE kitchen equipment in a kitchen the size of an elf's closet).

Here in the States, I'll often find a small plastic thimble of mint chutney alongside a warm samosa, leaching grease into the paper bag from the local Indian shoppe. You probably do too, right? That version doesn't have any coconut in it though. And I like it just as much. I suggested that this mint chutney would go well with the Sweet (Potato) Cakes I made on the last episode of Aarti Paarti. I think it would go equally well with pot stickers, grilled chicken... oh and especially well with some citrus-y grilled beef. Oooh that sounds gooooood! Kinda like an Indian chimichurri sauce, right?

Actually, it occured to me that this isn't necessarily a chutney... it's more of a pesto. But closer to the chimichurri than the pesto. WHY is this called a chutney I wonder? Hmmmm.

Anyway, I added a little extra flavour to this version: a black mustard seed-infused oil, just to round out all the herby and citrusy high notes of mint, cilantro, green chili and lime juice. It makes a lovely accompaniment to the ready-made samosas I got from Trader Joes, and it comes together in literally seconds. Enjoy!


"Fresh and Fancy-Free" Mint Chutney
Mint-cilantro-lime saucey-thing with mustard-seed infused oil

You'll need this stuff:


1 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup cilantro leaves and soft stems
1 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped
Juice of 1/2 lime (more, if you like it limey!)
Enough water to make a sauce, about 1/4 cup
Salt and pepper

Tadka:
1 tbsp vegetable oil/olive oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds

1) In a food processor, whiz together mint, cilantro, ginger, lime juice and water until it all comes together as a sauce. There'll probably still be little bits of leaf in there, but I like how those taste, so no worries. Pour chutney into a bowl.

2) In a small pan, over medium heat, warm oil until it shimmers. Add mustard seeds -- they should sizzle. Immediately cover with lid, until they stop spluttering. Make sure they don't burn! If they do, start over. No big deal. I do it all the time! Immediately add the seeds and oil to the chutney. It will sizzle so stand back. Once you've poured all the oil in, you can even spoon a little chutney into the pan (cue sizzling again!) so that you pick up all that lovely oil. Serve! Get fresh!

-x-
aarti