Free will versus Control. What comes to mind when you think of these terms? You wouldn't be surprised if you came across these terms held together with present times. But on closer research and inspection, you would find that these practices by government, state run institutions and federations have actually been with us since a very long time.

Everything you see in controlled. You are living in a controlled environment. You can't be free, unless you break free of the shackles around you. That is a long process. But absolutely essential if you wish to live a life without control. Freely.

More on this later.

My Amazing Basic Pasta Recipe (with or without mashed potatoes)

I love pasta. I love it extra special if its creamy and juicy and full of flavour. Today I had an inspiration strike me in the afternoon, while lunch was almost done. This basic recipe can make any italian pasta of your choice, the best ever, depending on what you add in it afterwards.

Choose any kind of pasta you like. By all means, play around with ideas and get as creative as you can with food, that's the good thing about cooking, cause even if you go wrong once, you'll know what NOT to do next time, and hey, if you're right, then you're RIGHT! Kudos to you!

I used macaronni, cause that was the only one on the house. Boiled it with some salt and a spoonful of butter. You can use oil too if you like. Then in a separate pot, I boiled some wonderful golden potatoes for my mashed potatoes, cause I was having a huge craving for mashed potatoes with my pasta. Then got things together for the pasta. Finely chopped half an onion, a couple of cloves of garlic. And for mashed potatoes some corriander leaves, also finely chopped. It's fun to see your leaves diminishing in size as you chop, chop, chop them up. And the fragrance released from the oils of the leaves is just amazing, and will make your hands smell so nice.

Ok, so, then I got a pan ready for the sauce that goes with the macaronni. I made white sauce, which is so simple, yet so underrated, because, THAT I think is the magic ingredient to any pasta! Got together about two tablespoons of butter, let it melt on high medium heat. Added one and a half tablespoon of flour. Mixed it well with a wooden spoon. Slowly and in very small amounts added milk to this mixture, not adding more till the previously added milk wasn't completely mixed in, so as not to leave any blobs in it. Kept on doing this till the sauce gave a runny consituency, added salt and pepper, and my favourite, oregano - just a pinch and mashed between the palms of my hands. Superb! Some people also add cheese to their sauce, but I don't add any. There really is no need! :)

With the flame now set on medium, I added the boiled pasta into the sauce, so that all of the sauce coated it gorgeosly. And you're done!

Now, for the mashed potatoes, peeled them off one by one, broke them up in rough little pieces and all of it went into a big yellow bowl. Then with a fork (yes, a fork, it makes great mashed potatoes! A simple utensil like a fork can do wonders!) mashed them all up, and while they're still hot after being taken out of the boiling water, added butter in it, so it melted into the potatoes so wonderfully, and beautifully, I could see the golden butter abssorbing into my potatoes, and becoming so soft, I knew that if I put some in my mouth that it would melt almost instantly and most deliciously. Next, the chopped corrainder. Then for some salt and pepper, and the secret of my mashed potatoes, a little bit of milk, also added in intervals, and mixed together well, and some feta good cheese, only a spoonful, to add a little bit of sour taste.

Voila!

Good variations can be made by adding pieces of chicken, mushrooms, olives, or pepperonni to your pasta. And I didn't follow any recipe here, I followed the basic structure, and then trusted my instincts with it. That's the best thing you can do!

And that was followed by a delicious, healthy cucumber and vegetable youghurt Mummy made! Mmm... perfect lunch on a hot summer day!

What it takes...

A colleague once asked me to write something about what it takes to be a good news anchor, and mix it with food anologies. I thought it was an interesting topic, and could make for an interesting post. The conversation we had, was something to this effect:

So, what does it take to be a good news anchor?

Well, he/she should be spicy, full of energy and good nutrients.

Oh, but it takes long to prepare a good one.

Yes, but it's worth the effort.

There are many varieties of this dish.

Yes! and its one of the oldest recipes man has known.

It should ennervate you long enough to last you throughout the day's chores.

You have to know all, and I mean, ALL the ingredients to make it though.

Never go to the kitchen, without knowing that you have all your ingredients.

Be sure to add heat to it!

And spice! That's the life! The spice!

YEahhhhhhh....

Those sound like the good parts of being an anchor. But, when it comes to delivering bad news, its just horrible. If its bad news, its double the responsibility of getting it done right! But there are good stories to be told too! Of human courage, and wonders and marvels, and human accomplishment, bravery, sacrifice... love and humanity. But still, those are few and far between.

I like the journalistic part of this job, the delving for information, getting information across to the viewer, treating it as your own personal story, while staying objective at the same time. There are still a lot of avenues yet to be discovered in this profession, espicially in a country such as Pakistan, with a considerably young media, that I would like to discuss in more detail in later posts.

As they say, Stay Tuned! :)

While we're on the subject of food, and strawberries, I thought it would be great to write this post, about the latest adventure with strawberries!

While waiting for my class to begin, I decided to stroll to the Pancake Lounge, and it being a hot and tiring day, decided to help myself to some strawberry kiwi milkshake and a strawberry cream tart.

Now, there's something about fresh strawberries and cream that are bound to cheer you up any day! I don't know the recipe for this one, but it should be easy enough to make.

Here is one more :)

Strawberries and Chocolate

Yesterday, I had a quick inspiration with some Cadbury chocolate and some fresh red strawberries! Yeah I know, the strawberries are just not finishing! There are still some in the fridge right now I think. With the old marriage between chocolate and strawberries being ever so popular, I decided to make my own version of it.

Some mini Cadbury's went onto a plate and into the microwave, (now I know, that's not the ideal way to melt your chocolate, you should be doing it in a saucepan, giving it some indirect heat, but I was using such a small amount of chocolate to begin with, that most of it would have been stuck to my pan, and wouldn't have left much for my strawberries!) then simply wash your strawberries and use them out of the fridge, so they're cold. Dip them in your melted chocolate, and enjoy each bite. This is so yummy, you'll want to eat this every time you're hungry. But only eat a small portion, otherwise, you'll get sick!



:)

Savoury fried toasts

This simple recipe also demands a little bit of more time than your usual rushy mornings, and would be best to make if you have time on your hands in the morning. A breakfast recipe like the previous one. My mother has been making this for a long time now, so we practically grew up eating this! Its made from a local ingredient, chickpea powder, which I think is available in most markets everywhere across the world now. You make a paste with this powder, like you do with a savoury snack such as 'pakoras', eaten frequently in rainy seasons and during Ramazan.

So here's what you do. All the ingredients are very simple, and nothing that you cannot find in a typical Pakistani kitchen.

In a mixing bowl, take about one to one and a half cups of chickpea flour (or locally known as baisan). In it mix about one tsp of salt, one tsp red chilli powder, one to two tsp cumin seeds, ajwaain seeds, which my mother tells me this morning are very good, and aid digestion (btw these are cellery seeds), a little bit of freshly crushed black pepper, dhania powder or khatai powder. Now mix in a little water and with a spoon mix it well until it gives you the consisteny which can cover the back side of your mixing spoon well, so its neither too thick nor too runny, and should ideally cover your toasts well.

Now heat about 2 tbsp of cooking oil in a frying pan. Next, cut your bread slices in whatever shape you want - I like mine in triangles. Take these bread pieces, dip them in your batter well, so they cover both sides, be careful not to allow them to soak up too much of the mixture, otherwise your bread pieces will break, and gently lower them in the pan on high medium heat, until they get a nice golden colour on both sides.

Serve them up with ketchup or salsa sauce, or smear a little garlic paste on them.

Today I had them with fresh strawberry milkshake. Totally divine! And very delicious!

Chocolate Pancakes

If you wake up one morning, and you realize you have some time on your hands, without the rushing to the office/getting ready for your work nuisances to bother you, try this simple recipe, of chocolate pancakes, that is bound to make your day, any day! And I'm not just saying that, I really mean it, cause I've tried it!

In one of my previous posts, I wrote about pancakes, but I couldn't make any day, since there was no flour in the kitchen. But a few days ago, I was having a huge craving for some chocolate pancakes, so decided, today's going to be the day.

So here's what you do. A simple no fuss recipe. I've been making pancakes (simple ones, with vanilla essence and no chocolate) for some time, so don't measure my ingredients any more, instead go with instincts, and the good old bowls in the kitchen.

Ok, its pretty easy.

First get some bowls and spoons handy. Next measure out and sift about 2 cups of flour. Add in 2 to 3 teaspoon (tsp) baking powder. Now add about 4 to 5 tablespoons (tbsp) good quality chocolate powder. I use Cadbury's. You can never go wrong with Cadbury's.

Mix it all in with a spoon.

Now, in another bowl, you beat together one egg with about 6 tbsp of white sugar, but you can use golden or castor sugar, whichever you prefer. Take this egg mixture to your flour mixture and mix together. You'll find that it doesn't really mix well, which is ok, because you have to add the milk in it now, which is the last ingredient. About 2 cups of thick milk and give it a good whisk, till you can see no visible lumps. Its worth the effort, even if it tires you out, because your pancakes are going to be great.

Some people use butter or oil for frying the pancakes in the pan, but I mix mine in the batter. About 5 tbsp of good quality butter or margerine, melted goes into your pancake mixture and this is really great, as it adds a good, smooth texture to your mixture, and makes great pancakes.

Fry on high-medium heat, till both sides are golden, and oh, use a non-stick pan, that is absolutely essential to make great pancakes.

Serve out and stack one atop the other. Pour over some chocolate syrup, whichever you like, I use Hershey's. And here's a little secret! If you have strawberries, slice them up and crown your beauties with the red fruit! MMmmmmm!!!

Perfect!

Dig in with your favourite coffee, and your having a breakfast fit for a king!