Unbelievably Good - Fanaa - Movie Review

Fanaa with Kajol & Aamir Khan

The worst part about Fanaa is that my husband did not see it with me. Which means, I spent the entire next day (today), contemplating it with no one to talk to about it. Aaaaghhh! It also meant that in order to talk to him about it I had to explain the plot. Which is no simple task, this is after all a Bollywood film.

Before I go any further, let me just say, this is a GREAT movie. I gave it 5 stars and definitely recommend it. It is fabulously acted. This is the best role I have seen Kajol in. Ever. Aamir is incredible in it. He goes from romantic comedy song and dance to a deep pathos. He is totally believable and charming and devastating in turn. Very few actors have that sort of range. He does.

Now, as to why I desperately needed to discuss this movie. If you have ever seen a Bollywood movie, you know you basically get two movies for the price of one. The first hour and a half-ish sets up our characters, after the intermission, you get another hour or so that basically takes off where the first movie ends and gives our characters a new situation to deal with. Often, the 2nd half involves a twist. You will also know that if our characters even so much as kiss (even married couples), something bad is going to have to happen to them. And no, they didn't kiss, but they did something else that is definitely a no no and so, I knew something bad was going to happen, but how bad, given that they hadn't kissed, was unclear and things seemed to be going well around intermission time. Knowing all this I was completely unprepared for the second half of this movie!  It was a total departure from the first part. The first half of the movie is a beautiful and fun romantic comedy with singing and dancing. The second half is a lot like Cape Fear. Needless to say, it's a bit of an emotional roller coaster ride. Well worth it though.

At the end, the moral lesson is clear. Morality is not about choosing between good and evil. It is about being prepared to choose between the greater of two goods or the lesser of two evils. 

Spice of India - delish!

I was given Cooking with the Spices of India years ago by a friend.It came with several little tins of spices which was cool. I tried a couple of recipes and basically forgot about it favoring some other cook books. But occasionally, I would check it to see if it had a recipe for a specific ingredient I had on hand.

Recently, I checked it to see what recipes it had for eggplant. Oh my goodness! The Creamy Roasted Eggplant with Shahi Masala has to be the most delicious thing I've ever put in my mouth.It is pretty too.It comes out this orange with bright red tomatoes and bright green from cilantro that you put in at the end.

Because one of my friends asked for this recipe and because I am obviously crediting the book and because it is out of print now, I feel comfortable sharing this recipe without infringing on the author's income. There are other really delicious recipes in here as well that I have made, so if you do find a copy, feel free to get it.

Ingredients:
2 large eggplants
3 tbs veggie oil (I use olive oil)
1 jalapeno (seeded and chopped - I omit this)
3 cloves garlic peeled and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 inch fresh ginger peeled and coarsely chopped
1/2 large onion peeled and coarsely chopped
2 tbs lemon juice
4 plum tomatoes seeded and diced (I leave the seeds and peels on)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp roasted ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp shahi masala (I use garam)
1/4 cup cream
1/4 cup fresh cilantro coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 450F Cut and each eggplant in half.Using 1 tbs of the oil, brush each cut side of the eggplant with oil. Place each eggplant piece, cut side down on an oiled backing sheet. (I peel my eggplant first so I don't have to do this next step, plus it gives me more roasted bits later). Place the eggplant in the over on a single rack and roast until eggplant is tender (about 30 minutes). Set aside to cool. Once cool, scoop out the flesh and mash or whip to a rough puree.

While eggplant is cooling, place chilies(optional), garlic, ginger, onion and lemon juice in a blender and puree into a paste. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the remaining oil over medium high heat.Add the onion garlic paste and saute about 3 -4  minutes. Add a little water if necessary to prevent sticking (this hasn't been a problem for me).Add the tomatoes, turmeric, cumin and salt. Saute for 5 more minutes.Add eggplant puree to the mixture and heat through, about 3 minutes.Stir in shahi or garam masala, cream and cilantro and cook for 1 more minute. Remove from heat and serve.

Enjoy.

The Silver Spoon Cookbook: review

The Silver Spoon Cookbook

My brother bought me The Silver Spoon as a present several years ago. I like to think of it as the Italian Joy of Cooking. It is laid out very similarly in terms of - you want recipes for leeks - there's a whole section on it. Want to know about pig parts, it's got graphs and more.

I have yet to make a recipe that hasn't been delicious. What is most amazing and cool about this book is that most of the recipes are very simple. Basically, your veg, butter and salt and pepper. The recipes really highlight the flavor of your basic ingredients and don't dress them up so that other flavors get in the way of your dish.

It is because of this book that I have come to love Ratatouille. If you had told me even five years ago that I would love that dish, I would have thought you were crazy. My husband and I are members of a CSA farm (http://gamblecreekfarm.org/farm/index.html) and this book is great for looking up whatever odd thing we got to find a recipe for it.  I just made the leek sauce that is good with pork and it's seriously yummy.

If you like to cook and you love your Joy of Cooking, as I do, you will probably come to love this book just as much if not more.  It has become my go to book to seek our recipes for ingredients I don't know what to do with. The techniques are easy and you will wonder why you ever thought cooking was difficult. Even making rice the Italian way is an enlightening experience. So much easier and so much tastier.  Enjoy.

Ethosuximide - a positive experience

My son was diagnosed with childhood absence epilepsy in January. He was prescribed generic Zarontin which is known as ethosuximide. Don't ask me how to pronounce that as no one seems to know. And while we're on the subject it's pronounced "absance" not "absense." (sigh)

As any parent would be, I was  concerned about how my son would tolerate this drug. Almost as much as I was concerned with the fact his brain was seizing up several times a day. Now that I understand that is indeed what is.was happening, it is hard to watch.

Anyway, I went online and did my research to see what sort of side effects this drug has. And they are terrifying. Blood disorders, lupus, grand mal seizures and more. However, there were also a few people who said the drug really helped them a lot.  My sense from all the reading I did was that this is a drug that is very specific to this particular type of epilepsy. If it turns out you don't have this type of epilepsy, it will aggravate whatever your real condition is. If, however, you do have this condition, it should do a very good job of controlling your seizures.

I wanted to write this post to let other parents dealing with this diagnosis know that my son is doing great on this drug. He has had no side affects. His blood work is fine (no negative effect there). His personality is the same as it always has been. No upset tummy, no rashes, nothing. All it does is control his seizures. And yes, it really does work. We just got back from an EEG and they were unable to induce a seizure in him, which, to my mind is nothing short of a miracle given how many he had been having. Homework time is now easy and takes just a fraction of the time it used to.

He has only been on this drug for 2 months now and his levels aren't where they need to be as his dosage is really low (about 1/4 of what is allowed for his weight ). His doctor figures it is better to start low and build up to the ideal level than start high. The only problem we have had is that because the dosage is low when the drug wears off he starts having seizures again. We have upped his dosage to see if that takes care of the problem, which I'm optimistic it will since when he gets a slightly higher dosage because, let's face it no one is exact in pouring out the exact amount prescribed, he does better.

The bottom line is this drug is working for my son and he hasn't had any side effects from it at all. So, if you wanted to hear a good success story with this drug, you've got one.