This and That: Blame Olivia Munn

I just finished reading a very random book called Suck it, Wonder Woman! by Olivia Munn and found it 'interesting' and inspiring all at the same time.  One of the reasons that I really like this whole blogging thing is because I can write how I talk...no need to be super formal and I can make up terms as I go (see 'mashable' in my previous post) and this keeps things fun.  Oliva Munn writes the same way - difference being that she's famous and has a book...but still...  The book is random in that it intertwines true stories from her childhood and personal experiences with totally random things like a chapter called What To Do When Robots Invade and another one about Princess Leia Tweets Star Wars...uh..yeah.

Anyway, the inspiration for this post was her chapter called The Ten Major Points of Olivia Munn's 2024 Presidential Campaign Platform...got me thinking...what would my platform be? I mean, I've said for years that things would be so much better if I ruled the world, but I guess I should provide details for why. While this isn't exactly a political platform, I would suggest it's even more serious.  So here we have it...

Why The World Would Be A Better Place If Shilpa Hegde Was In Charge (in no particular order):

* Everyone would be required to take a beach-bound vacation every other year. This allows for a relaxed and healthy workforce and helps support beach front economies....you're welcome.

* All treadmills/elliptical machines, workout contraptions will come equipped with individual TVs to help with the distraction some people need to make working out fun and to allow for multi-tasking - catching up on shows and working out!

* Mothers would never get seriously sick.  They have too much to do and it's just too stressful for the kids when moms are sick...so this just makes sense to ensure a productive and efficient society.

* There would be a maximum of 2 snow storms in any given winter season with snow accumulation not exceed a total of 9 inches. Live in New York/Northeast and you'll understand where this is coming from!

* Dental problems would always be minor and painless. Also, dental issues would never exceed $10/year - no exceptions.


* Strawberries, raspberries, watermelon, cherries, and mangoes would always be in season...what can I say, I love fruit!


* Libraries would have enough copies of popular books to meet demand...I am currently the number 389 of 400 on wait lists for many books where there are only 3 books in circulation!  Not a way to encourage people to read more, people!

* Men would not lose weight faster than women.  We have enough unfair disparities between the sexes so I feel this additional difference is really unnecessary...let the boys feel the frustration of trying to lose weight too!

* Speeding tickets would not be allowed on toll roads...I mean, you're already paying to drive there.  Of course, this means speeding withing limits...if you're going like 50 miles over then all bets are off.

Kitchen Konquest: Paalak Chicken

Yes, it's a silly segment name, but that's what I feel when I attempt a new recipe - it's a conquest...so to shilpa-fy it, I made it a Kitchen Konquest! Okay, enough about the name, here we go...!

I find myself cooking more and more these days, but since I was vegetarian for about 8 years of my life, I never really cooked meat that much and therefore am not comfortable with it.  Being married to a man that loves home cooked food (especially of the non-veg variety) makes me want to change this fact...so I took baby steps, and decided to try out a recipe that my mom made for us when we were really young...paalak chicken - healthy and non-veg...perfect! After posting pix of this dish on facebook, friends wanted the recipe so I figured what better way to share that then on the blog!  And since I got the recipe from my mom, it's written in Hinglish...but I included translations.  So, here it is...

Ingredients:
6-7 cloves of garlic - grated
1 med onion - chopped
1 spoon* garam masala
2 spoons* salt
1/2 spoon* lal mirchi (red chili powder)
1/2 spoon* haldi (turmeric)
4 roma tomatoes - chopped
6 chicken drumsticks (this is what i used, but you can have more or you can even use other cuts of chicken)
2 hari mirchi (Serrano peppers) - chopped
a hand full of hara dhaniya (cilantro) - chopped
chopped spinach - I used fresh spinach, but you can use frozen too...if frozen the 2 small boxes...if fresh then a big bunch...a note about fresh spinach, you have to wash it like 2-3 times b/c it take a bit of time getting the dirt off...

*by spoon i mean the masala dani (container) spoon...not a regular spoon...but if you only have a reg spoon...then I guess it's1/3 reg spoon = 1 shilpa's masala dani spoon

Making the food:
Saute the garlic, onion, and hari mirchi in oil - I used olive oil, but you can use veg oil too - like 4 regular spoons or so

Add the spices, tomatoes, and hara dhaniya and cover

Leave for 5-7 min on med heat...or until the tomatoes are mashable (yeah, I said mashable...it could be a term)

Mash the tomatoes and everything so that it forms a kind of a gravy

Add the spinach and mix it all together

Clean the chicken and cut some slits in it so that it marinates well

Add the chicken and 1/4 cup water (or less) and mix all together

Cover and let it cook on low heat for 45 min - 1 hr...mixing occasionally
...the picture is what it will look like right after this step...note the not-so-fun brown color...this is normal...and just means that there is some water present and just needs to boil off so the entire thing thickens a bit...so increase the heat to about med-low...just eyeball it.

Then, most important of all, enjoy! I served it with rice, but you can eat it by itself or with rotis (tortillas).

And thus we conclude our first Kitchen Konquest! Woo hoo!