NYC Masti: Picasso and Pianos

A friend invited me to come with her to the reception for the Pop-Up Piano program this year.  I remember hearing about the program last year but didn't really know much about it.  Pop-Up Piano is a program sponsored by Sing for Hope and basically places pianos all around New York City for the public to enjoy between June 18th - July 2nd.  A great way for children to explore this instrument and for people to enjoy impomptu performances (yay!).  The pianos then get donated to area schools.

Pianos everywhere!

What I didn't know about the program is that volunteer artists transform each piano into a masterpiece before it's placed out in the city.  Each piano gets a complete makeover to carry out a variety of different and inspiring messages.  Some are just breathtaking and others are, well...unique...Since the program was so successful last year, they actually over 400 artists who wanted to be a part of the program! 

The reception was in a warehouse where all of the pianos were created.  It turns out that the artists came to the warehouse and painted together...it was a think-tank of creativity! How cool!  Some of the pianos were also decorated by school children and were just precious.  What a wonderful way to keep kids interested and involved in the arts!  We got to join in on the fun by adding our own message to the piano we named 'The Chalkboard One'...I hope they don't wash off!

Go Pink Lightening!

This was my favorite one - nothing over the top spectacular about it, but it really just stood out for me.  My friend named it Pink Lightening...I love it!  Makes me want to learn how to play the piano!

I absolutely love this city in the summer and programs like this one really add to it all!  Here are some more pictures of some of the pianos for you to enjoy!

I call this one the 'Tin Man'

Lines made with electrical tape...it turns out that everything in this artist's house looks like this...everything!

Yup, this is a crocheted piano...the entire thing...including the bench!

Kinda freaky!

Kitchen Konquest: Say Cheese...cake!

Here's a Kitchen Konquest from Cali...with my baker cousins - these girls know their stuff!!! We went cherry picking earlier in the day and got 15lbs!  So what do you do with all those cherries? You bake!

We made cherry topped cheesecake...but here's the twist...it's the recipe in pictures! Enjoy! :) 

Pit 3 1/2 cups of fresh cherries

1 3/4 cups of graham crackers finely crushed

Beat 18oz. of cream cheese with 1 cup of sour cream, 3/4 cup of super fine sugar and 2 tsp of vanilla extract.  Add 3 eggs one at at time and beat until all the lumps are blended.

Stir in graham cracker crumbs into 1 stick of melted butter.

Grease a 10 in springform cake pan. Spread the buttered crumbs in the base of the pan pressing down to make an even base. Chill for 30 min.

For the topping, put the pitted cherries in a sauce pan with 2 tbsp of superfine sugar and 1 tbsp water over medium heat.  Allow the fruit to reduce...it's really cool how it makes it's own sauce!

See! but this is way to watery...have to keep it on the heat to let it thicken up and to let the cherries get tender. Cool this before you top the cake.

Pour cream cheese mixture over the chilled base.

Don't be deceived...it's not done yet...

Place the cake pan in a hot water bath...1-1.5 in of boiling water.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake with water bath for 50 min. Chill the cake for 4 hours.

Top the chilled cheesecake with the chilled cherry topping...allow it to set.

Y. U. M.

Enjoy!

NYC Masti: Painting in the new decade

May marked a big month for me...the beginning of my third decade!  I wanted to celebrate this milestone birthday by doing something different and very 'Shilpa' and I found the perfect option...Paint Along NYC! 

My husband and I attended one of their painting classes last fall and really enjoyed it.  Basically the whole class paints the same picture as the instructor, Marti, takes you step by step to create your individual masterpiece...all while drinking wine...yes, it's a BYO!

With Marti

I contacted Marti about setting up a painting session for me and my friends and she was very accommodating.  She even let me pick the painting!  To my surprise, we had a total of 15 people sign up.

Some of the boys showing off their artwork

The class was a blast! At first I was nervous about how everyone would get along...and I wasn't sure how the boys in the group would take to painting...but it all went really smoothly...I'm sure the wine played a part in this.  Everyone got along, we even had Marti cracking jokes with us! 

Busy painting!

We all added a bit of our own flare and personality to each painting so each one was unique!  I made the vase in my painting into a wine bottle with a label that reads "Vintage 30" to mark the event.

Yay, Thirty!

Of course the painting class was just a part of the birthday weekend celebrations, but it was one of my favorites!  So much that now I want to go again...too bad I don't have any more wall space for new paintings. Thirty has definitely started off on the right foot!

Ta-Da!

Kitchen Konquest: Culture and Curry

While we're both Indian, my husband and I come from different cultures - he's south Indian, a part of the Bunt community specifically; and I am north Indian, from the Sindhi community.  From the outside it may look like the communities are similar, there are many many differences.  Both are communities are small compared to some of the others like the Gujrati community (common last names: Patel, Mehta, and Desai) or the Punjabi community (common last names: Singh, Sharma, and Chopra), but each is very distinct. More than communities, these are subcultures - each with it's own language, traditions, customs, and sometimes even religions.

Since I grew up in Austin and was surrounded by very few Sindhi people, I identify more with the broader term Indian-, or more recently, South Asian-American.  I still know of and follow some of the Sindhi traditions and customs, but can't speak Sindhi (though, I do understand it).  It makes me sad at times that I probably won't be able to pass on significant parts of this culture to our next generation, but I guess that's why it's important for me to retain and maintain more generalized Indian values and practices.

I don't think that you can necessarily call this a 'value' per-say, but this is why I make it a point to be comfortable with cooking Indian food.  One of my favorite dishes growing up was Sindhi Curry...actually for most of my childhood, Mom called it "Shilpa's Favorite Curry"!  Not only does it remind me of fun dinners at home, but making it helps me feel less guilty about the less Sindhi/more Indian culture I follow.  And these days, I have a new reason to love this curry - my husband actually requests it (and he usually doesn't make food requests)!  It makes me feel great that Sindhi Curry has become a regular part of our 'blended' family.

I am sharing the recipe and invite you to share my culture as well...enjoy!

Enough for 4 servings

Ingredients:
2 potatoes
2 small eggplants
2 cooking spoons of besan (gram flour)
2 spoons* jeera (cumin)
5-6 cups water
2 spoons* salt
1/4 spoon* haldi (tumeric)
1/2 spoon* mirchi (red chili powder)
1 spoon* whole methi seeds (Fenugreek seeds)
1 cup frozen or fresh peas
2 small tomatoes - chopped
1 cooking spoon of imili (tamarind) pulp - make sure there are no seeds!
2 spoons* sugar
A handful of cilantro - chopped
6 spoons* oil (olive, vegetable, or canola - your choice)


*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:
Peel and cut potatoes and place in bowl of water

Cut eggplant and place in water with potatoes

Heat the oil in a pressure cooker on high heat

Add jeera

Add besan and mix on medium heat

Continue mixing so that besan and jeera look like dough

Allow mixture to turn a golden-red in color

Add water, salt, haldi, mirchi, methi seeds and let everything marinate on low heat for about 3-5 minutes

Drain the potatoes and eggplant and then all of the vegetables (fresh and frozen), and cilantro then stir

Add imli and sugar and stir again

Seal the pressure cooker and set on medium-low heat

When the whistle goes off change to low heat for 5 more minutes

Allow the internal pressure in the pressure cooker to be released before opening the pot

Serve this with rice and enjoy!

This and That: The Value of a Dollar

There are many things unique to New York City - food trucks on every corner, daily events celebrating things as random as guacamole, and a variety of museums.  There's one other thing that I didn't know about - beggars in the subway trains.  For those of you unfamiliar with this concept, this is how it works...every now and then someone will pass between cars while the train is in motion and will begin addressing the people in it.  Usually they have a rehearsed little speech about being homeless and hungry and asking for money and food.

Over time, you become familiar with these individuals and know that begging is their profession.  For example, I've heard one guy named Henry at least 5-6 different times and I remember him because he tells us how long it's been since he last ate (a number that isn't consistent from one day to the next) and when asking for help he says the word 'please' about 14-15 times...believe me it stands out.  So when Henry comes on the train, I don't feel too compelled to give him money.

Every now and then, however, you get someone on the train asking for help that make you do a double take.  The other day, a man come on the train and announced that he, his wife, and his 2 daughters recently lost everything they owned in a fire.  He said he could provide proof if needed and asked for assistance.  He said that he was even willing to pick up clothing donations.

As he made his way through my subway car, I stood there debating if I believed him or not.  If he was lying and I gave him money, I would just be enabling something I didn't believe in - taking the easy way out to make a buck.  As you know, I am in between jobs right now, so I understand the challenges involved in getting a job and I don't think it's okay to just make money off of other people's emotions.  On the other hand, if his story true, then giving him a dollar would be helping out someone who was down and facing a very difficult time...very different situation, right?

It all really came down to if I believed this man or not.  Would I be okay with not helping him out if he really was telling the truth?  Sometimes we all just need a helping hand, so should I take part in helping him? But what if this was a scam playing on my emotions? I don't want to be taken for a ride. While I debated back and forth, I missed my chance to make a decision because he had already left. 

Afterwords, I couldn't help but think about this change in me.  A year ago, if I met someone who told me that he lost everything in a fire, I would've believed him and offered him support...even if it was in the form of a dollar.  Has being in New York made me cynical of everyone and everything around me?  Is this how I really want to be?

On the way home that same day, guess who happened to be on my train - that same man.  This time I took it as a sign...a way for me to ease my conscience...and I gave him a dollar.  He humbly thanked me and moved on.  Yes, I realize that the fire story may have been his thing, but selfishly, what mattered more to me was my need to believe him and my ability to help him.  In a city where having your guard up is a daily necessity, that dollar allowed this Texas girl to hold on to a couple of values...the importance of believing people and believing that I can help. That day I learned the value of a dollar can be a lot more than what I previously thought...

NYC Masti: Let's get crafty!

I have a confession: I am addicted to online group deals! Doesn't matter if it's Groupon, Living Social, Buy With Me, or Lifebooker...I just can't help it! The deals are so creative and great savings.  Back in December a bunch of girlfriends and I bought a group deal for pottery painting at a cute little place called Baked in Brooklyn.  After months of trying, we finally were able to coordinate a time to go and get crafty!

I've lived in the city for about a year now, but I've never really ventured far from my home in downtown Manhattan, so I wasn't sure what to expect in this area of Brooklyn.  I have to say I was very impressed.  I believe the area was called the waterfront (I think) and it reminded me a lot of the South Congress area in Austin, Texas...cute little restaurants each with it's own theme and feel along with fun boutiques and shops...many a bit on the pricey side, but fun nonetheless.

In Baked in Brooklyn, we were presented with a store full of things to choose from to paint into our masterpieces.  While it was great to have so many options - from dog bowls to water jugs and martini glasses to salad bowls - it really stopped me in my tracks!  I kid you not when I say it took me like 30 minutes to decide what I wanted to paint...it actually took me less time to figure out what design to paint.  So finally, after much going back and forth, I decided on...drum roll please...a plate!!! I know, how original, right? Well, I already have plates this same size and shape at home so I figured I could paint an accent serving plate for the set...too bad we haven't really entertained much since our apartment is the size of a closet, but that's besides the point.


We all started with a very blank canvas and were limited only by our imagination and patience.  I found this great Japanese cherry blossom inspired design (yes, they even provided us with designs and stencils!) that I really liked. Since it wasn't a stencil, I had to use a different technique to use it.  Using a pencil, I traced the design then I set it pencil-side to the plate and traced the design again.  This allowed the pencil design to transfer onto the plate - genius, right? Yeah, I didn't come up with it, but I was able to do it...that counts, doesn't it? And it tuns out that after they fire the piece in the kiln (the pottery oven) all pencil marks disappear...woo hoo!

Then finally onto the painting - keep in mind that by this point the friends that I went with were almost done with their projects!  Since the plate set that we have at home is green, I chose the make this one red with green accents.  After painting the design, I went back with a pen-like paint tool to trace everything in black to really make it pop...keep in mind, this was now the 3rd time that I traced the same design!

After I transferred the design onto the plate

Needless to say, with all of the tracing and steps, I wasn't able to finish the plate in one sitting so I had to go back to finish up.  The way the process works is after you finish painting, they have to fire and glaze the piece and it's usually ready to pick up in about a week...they even email you to let you know when your piece is done. So I ended up having to make the trek out to Brooklyn 3 times in this whole process...but in the end of it all, I am proud to report that I am now the 'mayor' of Baked in Brooklyn on foursquare! Yes, I realize this is probably because most people only go there 2 times, but why focus on the half full? I tried to document each step so you can be part of the fun! I am happy with the final product.  You can tell it's homemade and not professional, but I think that's part of the fun...Enjoy!

Branches done...on to the green accent buds

In come the red blossoms

What it looked like after I was done painting before it got fired and glossed

The finished product...all glossy and ready to party!

This and That: Things that make you go "Hmmm..."

Let's start with Facebook, shall we...so I recently learned about a site that compiled data about relationship statuses - when people break up, in particular.  Take a look...this graph is of peak break up times according to facebook (http://flowingdata.com/2010/11/04/when-people-break-up-according-to-facebook-updates/).  Note some of the most common break up times: Valentines Day, spring break, and 2 weeks before Christmas...Seeing the target age of the people on Facebook, spring break makes sense for those who want to go wild, but Valentine's and Christmas...really?!?! I mean I know it's stressful trying to figure out what present to get someone you're dating...I get that you want to make sure you spend enough money while not spending too much, etc. but to break up so you don't have to deal with it? Really?!?   Also, I wonder how many of the April Fool's Day status changes were a joke and how many were real...makes you go, "Hmmm..."


Moving along, this past week was my one year anniversary of moving to New York City...and in that year, I've tried many different things but the one thing I kept shying away from was grocery delivery.  I've had many things delivered to me - wine, shoes, and even tons of things from soap.com, but never perishable goods.  I don't know what it is but it always just felt weird not picking out my own fruits and veggies...it's what I am used to, you know.  So, what made me cave in...the weather, of course!  We were all out of food and I was in no mood to brave the harsh cold for bananas and milk and a good friend had just used FreshDirect and wanted me to try it too...so I did.  I have to say, I was very impressed...while they didn't have all of the stuff I needed, they had most.  The prices were a tad on the high side, but I didn't have to leave my apartment and lug that stuff home so I was okay with paying a bit more.  For my delivery time I chose 8am - 10am this morning and the dude was here at 7:45am! And the food was very fresh. Now, that's service! So while I don't think this makes me a "New Yorker" it's a step towards it.  This is the first time I've admitted that I am turning into something other than a Texan...makes you go, "Hmmm..."