So M.I.A

I was just reading some of my older posts and realized that it's been a while since I actually wrote in-depth about my life. I think I am becoming more of an objective person with time. My life is so much different from when I used to be in Buffalo. But then again its the same in some ways too.For example, my activities are pretty much the same---I watch a lot of TV when I am free, I browse the web a lot and I am constantly getting up to brew some green tea. But its different because I live with my parents and my sister but I don't mind it so much. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and think I am back in Buffalo, on my always-cold futon mattress, with a sliver of a view of the snow-spackled window. Then I'll spend some minutes in bed (on weekends, of course), eyes closed, thinking of the streets, the food, the grocery stores of Buffalo. Some people might want to come beat me with a stick because I speak of Buffalo in such light. I know Buffalo has the reputation of being a ramshackle city. To me though, it has the reputation of being a homely, rather cold town with friendly people. I made some great friends while I was there and I know that some are friends for life (you know who you are!). Anyways, so thats my nostalgia portion for the night. Last week was the first week after ramadan and Eid so it was (still is) back to the regular schedule of 9-4. Work's been a bit hectic so I can't make time for much exercise and the pounds seem to be piling on. I need motivation to lose weight...I might be going to Bangladesh in December or January, so I might step up by game around then.

I've been eating a lot of chutneys lately. Mint or coriander are my favorites! I mix yogurt, garlic, fresh coriander, lemon juice, cumin powder, salt and pepper and eat it with some rice and beans. Its so zesty and fresh, I love it! Well, I better get going and make some teaaa :)

What Dreams May Come...

Sooo, last night, I saw a dream. A real detailed one and I am going to write about it as much as I can remember. Before I begin, let me tell you that I watched parts of Wolverine: X-men Origins yesterday evening. I say that because I read somewhere that dreams we see are results of the thoughts of that particular day.

It is a bright sunny day. We are in front of a house getting ready to go somewhere. I and some other people are going in a car, a beat up buick type car and there's a blue Colemans lunch box packed with food. We are going to Sydney, Australia. I saw glimpses of some relatives. Then I fall in love with some random person whose face resembled Tom Hanks. We are sooo in love. Then, all of a sudden, all the people who were in the car including mr. tom hanks lookalike and me are in a japanese facility in Japan. The background is now ashen and sombre. Everyone looks naked...everyone has brusies and a scratches on their faces. We are all being biologically altered for future weaponry. I walk around, look at the lines of people, they are waiting for something, blank stares on their faces. I am then informed that everyone's memories has been erased. Until now I am not too sad because I am aware of everything around me and also that my memory is intact, in fact I am happy. Soon, in that line, I see my lover. He too is erased off his memory.I feel immense pain after seeing how blank he looked. I then go to get my memory erased too.


Then, I wake up because its time to go to someone's house for Eid lunch.

Earringss

So I went to Aldo's on Tuesday and bought these earrings!!

More food pics

So for those of you don't know, according to the Islamic Calendar, it is the holy month of ramadan now. It started August 22nd, and will end on September 20th or 21st, I am not too sure. I have been trying my hands at something new almost everyday, depending on my level of energy after coming back from work. Yesterday, I whipped up a pizza and some sticky buns. I used the same dough for both lol. They turned out pretty good, except I like my pizza toppings a little more undercooked.

Soft cheesy garlic buns

So this blog is turning more and more into a food blog. Well, I will definitely write updates about my life but I am a foodies, so all things food tend to dominate.
Okay..so I once attempted to make buns maybe 3 years ago. It turned out harder than hockey pucks and just was wrong wrong wrong.
However, since the last 3 years...my interest to delve into culinary escapades coupled with copious amounts of watching Food Network, has heightened my ability to cook. However, I seriously lack baking skills...its all about luck when it comes to baking for me. Sometimes its good, sometimes its bad. So yesterday, I stumbled upon this blog which had this recipe for pull-apart garlic bread. I was instantly attracted to how soft and buttery the buns looked. I followed the exact same recipe except I added a generous amount of grated mozarella cheese atop of mine along with a sprinkle of oregano and pepper and voila! I have buns! I took pics after everyone finished eating half of it. It looks like a big piece of bread but its actually little buns tightly placed next to each other. Seee....


The taste and texture reminded me a lot of Domino's cheesy bread (this picture can be found at Dan Bruno's photostream on Flickr!)

A fun tuesday :)

Yesterday mommy drove me to work. Yes, I don't have a license (yet) and my mommy and daddy drive me around...still. It's a shame and its a disgrace but trust me, I have this fear of being behind the wheel. I feel like I won't have control. I know those are petty excuses...I will get on the bandwagon soon. I won't say that I've never 'driven' before. I did drive Atanu's car one time from the a grocery alley parking lot (Wegmans)to the school gym (Alumni Arena). I did pretty well. Atanu was and I am sure still is one of those few people who will probably throw a grand pary the day I get my license! Let Ramadan pass, then I'll take my road test. So okay, I totally got sidetracked. Mommy drove me to work yesterday and I kinda finished early so after that we went to the mall where they have Marks and Spencer. I bought a whole bunch of goodies:

1) All Butter Shortbread cookies. See the ingredients

Moving on, a little packet of buttery macadamia nuts. I love these gems. I might save some to put in a cake I bake one of these days.

And then mommy was intrigued by this organic new zealand honey. It has natural looking bubbles at the brim. Organicy.

To end the spulrge, I got this pepper mill. We had one of those mcormick ones that I got from Buffalo but it wasn't refillable, hence this monster.

Total spulrge: $30 (12 Rials).

Discoveries

8/11 was my dear sister, Naima's birthday. Daddy bought cake from our favorite cake shop (since we were 4), the Intercontinental hotel delicatessen. They make the most fabulous cakes and after having tasted a lot of cakes from different countries, I can safely say that, none of them come close to this place. They use the freshest whipped cream and crispy golden roasted almonds to decorate their cakes, not to mention fresh marzipan, hazelnut creme, edible flowers, etc. It's all too good. Why the two cakes? Because this year, we didn't have cake for my bday so my dad wanted to make up for that lol. Like I am 5!! Anyhoo, we had a quiet family dinner at home (we got take out from a continental place!).
So I discovered that some very special people read this blog *blushes*. I have been slacking in updating this blog because I have been so bogged down with work. I am trying very hard to get out the monotonous humdrum of work-eat-sleep-work schedule. And now with Ramadan coming up, I hope to channelize my inner karma and bring it all together well and good. Summer session just ended at the university (where I work) so the campus is all quiet again. Speaking of quiet, the sudden outbreak of H1N1 flu in Oman has struck everyone with severe panic. I read in today's newspaper that it has triggered what health officials have referred to as 'panic absenteeism' among students (and parents of students I am guessing)--- which essentially means they are afraid to to go to school in fear of contracting the flu. My thoughts on this: if you are going to get, you are going to get it...there's nothing you can do about it. Its not going to be pretty but you have to take it in stride. Recently, I've been thanking God so much for things such as a long streak of good health, continuous electricity, abundant supply of water and food and other things that sometimes we start taking for granted. Moving on, Hanifa returned from Zanzibar 2 weeks ago and brought me some lemon pickle and chilli pickle (zanzibari style). They are both delicious, with rice, bread or even biryani. Here's pic: