• I was shopping at my favopurite place in the world Bhaji Gully when I heard my phone ring. I luckily picked it up and found that I was being asked to re-confirm my attendance at the  Canola Cook Out event  sponsored by CanolaInfo  and supported by Blogadda  held on Tuesday 3rd September at the Library, The Four Seasons Hotel, Worli.

    I was very excited to be chosen among the many food bloggers who must have applied because not only am I passionate about cooking but am also interested in healthier cooking  since most of the people  I’m living with are either hypertensive or diabetic and both. So not only do I need to watch every morsel that they eat but also have to monitor what makes up that morsel!

    The tone of the event was set by Ms. Naini Setalvad, renowned dietician and nutritionist who was one of the panelists, who came by and shook hands with all the early birds, putting us at ease with her friendly banter. She told us why we should not banish oil from our diets and why we should maintain a healthy balance of ALL food groups.

    Dr. Ashish Contractor, another equally famous famous cardiologist gave us the go ahead to use Canola oil in our food because it met with our dietary requirements
    and prevented us from building up fat reserves that damage our hearts and arteries. He very gamely answered all our queries regarding oil and heart disease and also indulged some minor deviations to dispel myths about  ricebran oil, rice and even potatoes!

    And if we thought Canola Oil would hamper the taste of food, Chef Ajay Chopra , Executive Chef of the Westin put all those doubts to rest with his tried and tested recipes of yummy deep fried Chocolate Samosas, Kothimbir Wadi and Watana Karanji  that he demonstrated and allowed us to taste.

    Mr. Bruce Jowett Vice President – Market Development, Canola Council of Canada introduced us to Canola Oil and presented us with some pretty amazing figures. For instance do you know that Fuel oil is not the only oil that India imports? It seems that we import 9.5 million tonnes of cooking oil every year to meet the demands of our hungry palates!!

    Waiting for the Chef’s delights

    The event was very well organised and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting other foodies – both bloggers and serious food journalists. After an interactive session where all our questions were patiently answered, we were invited to a lavish high tea that was laid out for all participants.With the yummiest chicken tikka croissant, salmon rolls, chocolate mousse shots and mango creme brulee (among the other yummy stuff) washed down with the perfect cup of coffee, it was the perfect way to end a well spent afternoon.  Thank you Blogadda for this opportunity

    Salmon Rolls & Tikka Croissants

    It was indeed an afternoon well spent so thank you Blogadda for inviting me to join in.

    I’d like to share the links of the pretty young bloggers whose entusiasm and interest in food makes their blogs informative and worth following :

    http://www.veggiejoiedevivre.com/
    http://www.cosmopolitancurrymania.com/
    http://www.recipefollows.com/

    And the that of the winner of the special hamper from Canola for sending in the best recipe.
    http://www.atpumpkinfarm.com/

    For more on this event and the benefits of Canola Oil, read my post on my blog devoted exclusively to food at 

    http://foodities.blogspot.in/2013/09/take-best-from-west-make-switch-to.html

     


  • My friend Dee who always sends me forwards that bring a smile sent me this one which I’d like to share. As she says in her email, the author is unknown so I can’t acknowledge the provenance :

    A Parsi bawa PM would establish a Ministry Of Dhansak, officially known as the Ministry Of Diplomacy. It would serve cauldrons of this signature dish to visiting dignitaries from other countries at state dinners. Naturally, once their bellies are stuffed senseless, they would sign treaties that benefit India immensely.
    All car and motorbike owners who don’t maintain their cars and bikes impeccably would be summarily jailed. Their vehicles would be auctioned to homes where they would be loved and looked after for the next 50 years.
    Parliament would be home to some very unparliamentary language, explained well in advance to translators of visiting dignitaries as being expressions of true warmth and welcome. Additionally, the PM would undergo sensitivity training to avoid calling certain leaders ‘pelo kaaro saalo’.
    Liquor companies would recalibrate their bottles to account for Parsi Peg measures. Egg farmers would laugh all the way to the bank as the country discovers the glory of ‘everything par eeda’. Life Insurance companies may moan about skyrocketing cholesterol levels, but that’s just tough luck!
    The national airline would once again be run by the Tatas. This means Air India would have hot bawi air hostesses with names like Roxane and Ava , instead of the current matronly, grumpy brigade in the sky. In-flight magazines would explain to foreigners that ‘kem che M##C ’ is the captain’s friendly welcome when they board the aircraft.
    The suburbs of major cities would be razed and rebuilt as happy baugs.
    Our PM would know when to clap when a symphony orchestra visits the country. He would also throw several bigwig business tycoons and politicians in jail with his zero-tolerance attitude for corruption. The Army, Navy & Air Force Chiefs of Staff would deal with a boss who is even fussier than them about maintaining tanks, ships and planes in tip-top condition. Who knows how many court-martials may occur for some little oil on a tarmac that ought not to have been there. 
    A Parsi PM would sweet talk Aapri Rani ‘back home in Velat’ into returning the Kohinoor diamond to India (another fine example of Dhansak Diplomacy at work). A Parsi PM would laugh      a lot, swear a lot, eat a lot, drink a lot, and entertain a lot. World leaders would swoop by India whenever they need a good laugh and good food to recharge their batteries.
    Every official party in Bombay (now renamed from Mumbai) will have Godiwalla catering for the event. Queenie Singh would sport a gara miniskirt, which would leave bawis fuming and bawas steaming.
    Trains would run on schedule, planes would fly on time, the environment would be cleaner, and the cities greener. Smoking would be virtually stubbed out, and poverty would be erased. The Left may grumble, the Right may mumble, but the Middle-Class will rumble on contentedly.
    The Judiciary would have incorruptible Parsi judges. In five years or less they’d clear the backog of millions of cases that have clogged the courts. Frivolous lawsuits would be dealt with swift dismissals, whilst for genuine pleas justice would be dispensed timely. Goondagardi would lose its relevance as the populace believes in the system and the State once again.
    A Parsi PM would crack the country up when he speaks in Hindi every Republic Day from the ramparts of Red Fort. He’d laugh loudest at himself when he is lampooned by the Comedy Store.
    Into this heavenly benign lunacy, dear Lord, let our beloved India AWAKE!

    Watching the rupee slide last week was frightening to say the least and it is high time our politicians realise how their constant interference, petty rivalries and huge egos have driven our country to this dismal state. It is equally sad to think that a party that has struggled for the past 60 years with issues like poverty, education, infrastructure and all the ills that they hope to address with hastily passed Bills can continue duping the nation with the same Old Indian Rope Trick.

    Honestly, we the people of India should wake up to the reality that it is our politicians who are the scourge of our nation and that we deserve better. So we should consciously vote for people who actually walk the talk : we may then be spared another five years of having pasta for nashta!
    In the meanwhile – keep smiling!

     

  • In a previous post I had mentioned that I was now a proud owner of a Samsung Galaxy Y, a Smart phone that made me au courant with the young and reckless. Being a gizmo freak I was quite excited to get a new phone but unfortunately I acquired it when I had no time to understand its features and functions.I dove straight into its use, an  oversight that proved to be my downfall as I was presented with a bill of Rs. 9000 which far exceeds my annual expenditure on a mobile phone.

    I marched down immediately to the Samsung Cafe from where I’d purchased the phone, wanting to know if I could understand the phone since it came with neither an instruction manual nor a free hour’s tuition as the Service Provider later on told me I was entitled to as their customer. The person who sold me the phone actually told me that if I needed any help with the phone I had to go to the Samsung Service Centre (the whereabouts of which he obviously had no clue). I still persisted despite his reluctance to attend to me and asked him to show me a few basic features like the Menu which took me to the last call made/received, the calendar etc which I was familiar with on my old Nokia. I was shocked when he told me that I should have gone in for a NOKIA instead!

    So this brings me to # No.1

    Stick with the company you are familiar with i.e Nokia, Samsung, Blackberry,

    #Tip No.2

    Always buy a phone using an operating system you are familiar with

    You will do well to note that Smartphones operate on different systems
    Nokia – Microsoft Windows ( which all MS Users are familiar with)
    iPhone – Apple ( which all Apple users are familiar with)
    Blackberry, Samsung and all other smart phones – Android ( which is developed by Google)

    #Tip No. 3

    Always remember to choose a Talk/Internet plan that is suitable for your use. Till you get the hang of your mobile phone use and pattern, it is best to buy a pre-paid plan rather than a post paid one as I found out so dearly.

    I asked my Service provider what kind of a plan would be suitable for me. The Customer Care executive replied that it depended on my use. I asked him how it depended on my usage and he just shrugged his shoulders and said, ” It depends” . Now this idiotic answer is all you’ll get from any service provider in English, Hindi or Marathi so unless you want to get frustrated, remember to ask the question properly.

    i.e. – I use my phone mainly to make calls – Will I still need an internet package ? How many GB will I require to download XXX emails in a day?
    I don’t want to download heavy files like music files and picture files but I Skype for XXX minutes in a day. How much data will be transfered in that case?

    It is only when you ask such specific questions can you hope to get a specific answer.

    # Tip No. 4

    Understand your phone and the terms associated with it.
     – An Application is something you download
    – A Widget is an application that is pre-loaded with the phone.
     Remember to put off the Internet connection while it is not in use and more importantly put off the Apps as you will unnecessarily have your meter running with the instrument looking for downloads EVEN if you are not using the application.
    – Above all remember that Roaming charges are always more than your regular use so switch off the internet and the applications while roaming.

    # Tip No. 5

    Don’t ever buy a SMARTPHONE and definitely avoid VODAFONE as a service provider.

    A real smart person will continue using a mobile phone for what it was meant to be used and have a regular mobile phone that doesn’t WhatsApp, FaceTime, Photograph, HangOut, send or receive emails and photo files. It is a phone that doesn’t work as your office or entertainment centre – it just helps you connect to people conveniently.
     

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