March 20, 2011

Indulgence

A lovely sunny sunday. Wanted to make good use of the freetime. What better, I thought, than to make an exotic delicacy from another part of the globe. Thailand.

A quick look on subscribed youtube chef recipes, I found out that I had all the ingredients to make a Thai egg curry. So, I got busy. Chopped onions, grated fresh garlic and ginger, mashed tomatoes for puree and a quick invertory of the masalas for the dish. Coconut milk was the 'Mac Daddy' for this dish. One might say that the best chefs in the world are men. But this was from a couple of women in the US who post cooking videos for everyone to relish. A quick link to the vid'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyK-VPpUU8o

Tempered with old spice, spicy hot dried green chillies(Indian), a stick of cinnamon, some pods of green cardamom, bunch of Cloves and bay leaves filled up the kitchenette with aromas that one could describe only with the word- Tantalising. There is no denying that effect. A fellow blockmate was mesemerised by it and came in uninvited to my dwelling. I love it when I get that effect from my pot. I shared it with him this excellent curry served with steaming rice. He had no words cos he said his English vocabulary was weak.

In all, a great sunday so far. Only hoping that it will remedy the monday blues that might sink in later on this evening.
I just posted my Facebook status with this lovely relevant Italian saying- " There is no sincere love like the love for food"

I lovvit!

March 16, 2011

Popped

This is about me writing an exam with all the study material next to me during the duration. A first time for me that was.

The last term exams were home exam based. The concept was applied genetics and hence they figured that there is no point asking us questions that revolve around being able to answer within a time period of maximum of 4 hours. Please do read about that experience of mine in  a previous blog of mine called 'Iceman'. This half term paper I wrote recently was on Plant food science. The topics were cereals, its processing, fresh food and its processing and it also included baking. Now, I know what you might be thinking- piece of cake ( Ironic, I know). It was fun and all when we had a day of laboratory work solely dedicated to unravel the mysteries of baking. Aimed at a molecular level of course, the breads weren't meant to be tasted. I did bite in on the 'forbidden fruit' anyway. Muhuhaha! That was me giving you a taste of what half of this new term had been. Also, we had a field trip to a pasta making factory (you can find it in my prev. blog as well)

Indulging you with this " open-exam" experience of mine, I must say was pretty interesting. More interesting cos I thought we were allowed only textbooks to take in to refer some concepts, but no, 5 days prior to the day we were told that all handouts and personal notes was allowed too. That to me was just Icing on the cake. I am used to writing exams with just a question paper and blank papers for answer and an occasional use of a scientific calculator. This seemed like it was going to be a piece of cake ;). I did prepare. I thought I will just familiarise myself with what concepts were in what part of the books. Also re-arranged the handouts.

When the question paper was handed to my hand, I looked at it to realise the first question wasn't as easy to solve as I had thought it would be. The questions weren't based solely on one major concept. Instead it aimed to see how well you understood the entire plot. Long story short, I missed the target. I think I might just manage to scrape through. Fingers crossed.

Some smart fella once said- 'The real education really begins when you think you know it all'

Well played, Sire.

March 10, 2011

Missing Deli

One recent cultural/lifestyle difference that struck me recently that is still a mystery in Uppsala is the lack of Butcher stalls. I love food and usually dont mind spending an extra buck on food I desire. For people who have been keeping up with my blogs from november will remember that blog about Systembolaget and the government monopoly over liquor sale in Sweden.

Meat stalls, they are called in Britain. If you are in the residential area in London and say you are shopping for your groceries and meat, you would have meat stalls in each block. These stalls sold different cuts of meat, also had a source classification- if it were 'Halal' or not. The range of fish they had in the store was exotic. Ofcourse, the prices were exotic too. Apart from fresh meat, you could request the way you wanted your meat cut and they would do it to your specification without a charge. All that maybe familiar to the globetrekking Swedes and real food enthusiasts. This blog is dedicated to all those who don't realise what they are missing out in Uppsala.

Supermarket culture is a global phenomenon- you have TESCOs, Walmarts, Marks and Spencers spreading everywhere like they are a Mac Donalds franchise (;)). Supermarkets here don't have a deli counter where you would expect to find trained staff sharpening their knives to help serve you quick. The deli in a decent sized Morrisons in UK would have a fantastic deli counter. They even had fresh salami and ham and corned beef and what not that you could point out and they would have that as toppings on your fresh made pizza dough base. Yum! They had a range of fresh catch of the sea, and I 'm not talking seaweed. Mackerel, prawns, sea bass, cod, halibut, sardine and more aesthetically arranged on ice cubes. Thats a sight I miss.

Considering Sweden with the Baltic sea, I was hoping to get the best catch for a decent price. Let down big time, I must say. The only deli that I have seen in Uppsala is in COOP by IKEA here. They had a decent deli counter. The prices weren't. Almost every meat is preserved frozen here apart from ham and the likes. The beef section is usually small and steaks are limited to cuts of Ribeye, rump, sirloin and thin frying toprump steaks. A very thin range of burger patties. I have served as a food technologist in a beef co. and we used to experiment and benchmark the burgers we produced and the ones from competetors. A typical taste panel of just burgers had about 50 different types- burgers with different cheeses infused, with chives and seasonings. Gourmet burgers, Morroccan spices lamb burgers, Sweet chili and pork burgers. Damn! Not to forget the roasting joints and savouries like Black pudding ( almost as addictive as cigarettes..just joking). Where are the Swedish versions of these?
The picture on the left is from a sunday market. The store owner had a headset with speakers attached. He then gets a priced cut out and describes it and sweet talks the crowd. Then its up for bidding. Almost like a vintage car sale auction. Lot of laugh and good weekend past time.




 



  Friends from France and the mediterranean part of EU too pointed out the difference. For a meat lover, it is a problem of sorts. Food in general can be relatively pricy ( fresh veggies and fruits) but meat too. So vegetarians, vegans and omnivores will feel like singing 'I am a man of constant sorrow' when it comes to food. Hey.. but look at the bright side- the summer is lovely here.

February 21, 2011

Brainwashed

One of my favourite jokes-
Bono was supposedly playing for charitable cause-'Help Rwanda' in a concert in Scotland. The band gets stupendous appreciation- people are screaming, yelling out his name, not just cos they are drunk but they like the band probably. While taking a small interlude for a drink of water, Bono starts to spread a message. He spreads his hand and slowly starts clapping. He says to the crowd, "Every time I clap my hands, a person is dying of hunger in Rwanda".  There is silence. Out of nowhere, a drunk Scotsman yells "Then stop deein' that ya filthy basterd!"

To me such sentences don't make any sense. Unless someone comes up with technology to teleport matter, how can you send food from Scotland to another continent. I am sure Bono drinks only tap water in his home, drives a eco friendly electric car with a top speed of 50mph, sends atleast 60% of that concert profit to Africa and is seriously thinking of adopting kids from certain areas of adversity in Africa. It's very impressive.

My friend used to work part time in Edinburgh for a very fast food joint, Burger King. Over there, they stress that you' ll only get what you want in your sandwich. Like say, you asked for no onions in your sandwich, they mark the wrapping paper to indicate that theres no onions in there. Same goes with the other ingredients- lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, ketchup etc. I guess its paradise for veggie haters. But what happens when you do find an onion ring in your sandwich when you asked for none? You take it back and show it to the cashier. She/he takes it back to the person incharge of packing. The sandwich finally makes it to the bin, without second thought. The best part is this- the customers who had ordered a full meal ( drink and a side) complain that the fries got cold and soggy because of their fault. So, the fries make it to the bin and the customer is all happy when he gets piping hot replacements.

"Bin full of food is wasted on a weekday", he said, "..and you won't believe what its like on a weekend". That gets to me a little bit. People wear ' Livestrong' bands, AIDS ribbon loop and PETA t-shirts etc. I wonder if the company that manufactures the merchandise is the only body profiting from the actual concept.

To me, it hurts when I waste food. I don't need to  see videos of severely undernourished kids in Africa to understand that you don't waste food or atleast that you have to be as efficient as possible when you eat. I ask for tap water in restaurants and certainly am not interested in forwarding emails and texts and slogans that are forwarded to me that are supposed to create awareness with 'moving' pictures and videos. But thats just me- I Waltz to my own tune.

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/games-quizzes/food-wasted-quiz/

February 20, 2011

Mother natures favourite toy- Sweden

Just when you have given up on that newsflash that Sweden will have its coldest winter yet, you begin to wonder if its true.

For people who recollect what it was like in beginning of Feb, you might probably recollect some nasty falls and slips while walking the mushy pavements. I say it was more like major 'Slushy' spill on all walking surfaces. The weather was mild and the ice was melting. People lost a layer of warm clothing again and cycling was back in fashion for most commuters. Just when you think you have beaten the 2011 winter peak, Mother nature presses the 'Freeze' button. Everything gets 'whiter'. People behave like bears- they hibernate ( some of them atleast-me). Snowfall for a complete day. Instant facial numbness when you head out. And all of a sudden you think its necessary to have a dip in a bath of Vaseline everytime when you have to head out. Some random collage of pictures from fellow bloggers and friends might narrate to you how icy it is.

A derelict bicycle on the bridge at Uppsala Centrum.






'Frostrees' show that they can still be great background for a picture.





An example of a group of very talented people who understand Uppsala weather better than most are the sculptors who invested their time and effort in making these ice sculptures all over town to add to aesthetic beauty. And it does that exactly.
With lights to highlight these pieces of fine art against the contrasting twilight, Marine Deck, a good friend of mine contributes these pictures to my blog.

The one on the left depicting the curves of a voluptuous  woman, done most artistically, I thought.









I guess its an animal hybrid.






Thats Marine Deck on an Ice Diwan. She was really upset when she tried lifting it to take home.














The sculptors probably understood that the winter wasn't over yet and that their pieces will have ample lifetime and appreciation before they melt off and when life springs back.

February 13, 2011

Field trip

I can't remember the last time I went on a college field trip, but this recent one to a Pasta/Cereal factory was good fun.
Our course is 'Plant food science', mainly focussing on the chemistry of grains and cereals and then a great deal about processing it to different products. The trip was to this company called Kungsornen in Jarna.

The trip started with assembly at 7 30 AM by our library. The weather was soggy and damp. Despite the slips and groggy mood, I made it to the spot on time. The bus was wicked. Everyone had snuggled up to a seat and were looking forward to sleep the hour and half journey time, not me and the few others. The class wasn't familiar with the fellow mates. I grabbed the 4 seater with opposite facing seats so that I could stretch me legs. Luckily for me the opposite seat was occupied by a very energetic classmate. I didn't feel like sleeping, so we started talking. The morning was gloomy.

We reached the place at 09 30 as per the plan. We were greeted by a Bosnian bossman and in we went to their conference room. They had presentations ready with stats and info about the company and their product development team. I know, it aint the typical field trip that requires you to just walk around and pretend to listen. This was handled pretty seriously. Having worked for a Blue chip beef manufacturing before, I know how they deal with visitors. Act like they are NASA scientists- busy as FCUK. ;)
No, these guys were real important people in the company who had great patience and composure, genuinely interested in telling us about them. The presentation was handed to different team members based on the expertise.


The clothing to ensure GMP of the site. Some of us did look like dibs. The coach driver had a goatee, so he got that 'Beehive' mask that made him look like Santa Claus.



 Some sights from the tour.












Thats Marine on the left so pleased with the line. Pointing out to us, her favourite box of cereals.



Then came the part where we got to the exploration bit. The site was HUGE. The class was split to teams and the managers took us to show the processing units and storage. Without getting into I leave it to your imagination, the things you will find in a pasta and breakfast cereal producing site. Interestingly, the man who was our coach driver decided to join us in our presentation as well as the tour. Smart thing to do instead of waiting in the coach for the day to end.



We had a great lunch in the cafeteria with 'all-you-can-eat' buffet. I had sausages and roast potatoes. Post lunch we went on with the tour. We got together in the conference hall again to ask them questions and conclude the day. I was really impressed with the overall presentation cos it wasn't just for the sake of it. On the way out they asked us to consider working for them. I already had plans of applying anyway. As a parting gift, each of us got a big bag with goodies that they produce from their latest range of cereal to cake making flour.


The generous contents in that box of goodies.











Thank you for arranging such a lovely tour of the Kungsornen site in Jarna.

February 04, 2011

True genius

Many years ago in Southern India there was this boy in class who asked a stupid question in a Mathermatics class that made the whole class laugh and left the whole world in awe afterwards. We hold ourselves back while asking questions in classes. We would rather ask the question to the person sitting next to us and let them laugh, rather than the whole class.
'What if they think of me as an Idiot/silly/moronic/ignoramus/nincompoop?' is the most common text in the thought bubble perhaps. But look what happened further down that lane in India.

The question asked by the teacher in the math class while trying to simplify the mysteries of simple division was- " What if I brought in a basket with 31 oranges and asked you to share it amongst you students (31 students), how many oranges will each of you get?". The answer that the class shouted back was, "One". It went on- "What if the basket had only 4 oranges? How many of you will get an entire orange?". The class worked out the right answer too.  The class went on, and they were working on slightly challenging divisions. Right then, out of nowhere a question came from a whimpering voice- " What if the basket had no oranges and no people in class looking to eat an orange?".

I don't know how the teacher could've reacted to that. I'm guessing, each reader can come with a unique reply the kid might have got. Back then, it was common to discipline student with a beating from a bamboo cane also. As funny as it may sound, as made up as it may sound (religious people dare not laugh, cause you believe in books that are more comic than a fairy tale), it is what happend to the math genius Ramanujam (full name, Srinivasa Iyengar Ramanujan).  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan

Questions have to be asked with an intention of knowing an answer. Sometimes, it maybe to be a clown of the class but thats something else. If you have a question thats lingering in your head, you cant be a judge if it's silly or not. Ask it, dont worry cos it might sound strange with your accent, or the clothes you wore that day. Questions make a clear platform to understand any new concept. The one with a strong foundation and no cracks. Because the concepts that build up further on from there will be like climbing a squeaky ladder.

Moreover, for people who remember Jim Morrison and his widely followed quote- " Where is your will to be Weird?"

 I can't help it. I am a fan.