November 13, 2011 – Smriti "Simmi" D. Isaac

Posted on November 13, 2011 by Simmi D. Isaac — Leave a comment

Singham, 2011

This is one uncomplicated masala movie to be viewed strictly for the dishum-dishum action and highly stylized and polished stunts and soundeffects. There’s no need to wonder why the script isn’t true to life– it wasn’t meant to be, period. It was meant only to showcase the supercool moves of Ajay Devgan who actually looks good in that khaki cop’s uniform. He does play a good cop, by the way– a savior to the village folk, and the bane of the local goondas. The heroine does everything she’s supposed to do, and after much hullabaloo, there is the inevitable triumph of good over evil, the romance comes to fruition, the village folk raise the cop to that of a deity in their eyes and hearts, and they all live happily every after.

Every so often, it is a truly satisfying and cathartic exercise to take in a movie just like this. Devgan rocks, and the result is a slick movie that hearkens to an older era in Bollywood when all movies were just like this!

Posted on November 13, 2011 by Simmi D. Isaac — Leave a comment

The Former President of India is Not a Terrorist, Guys

As a patriotic American, I understand that it’s necessary for our safety to frisk any and all brown people who attempt to travel on airplanes. Even so, I think we can probably assume that it was unnecessary to frisk the former President of India. Twice.

It’s especially unnecessary to do so after the former president is already on board the plane and sitting down:

The incident happened after Mr [Abdul] Kalam had taken his seat on board the Air India flight at JFK airport on 29 September.

Security staff forced the crew to open the plane door, and then took away Mr Kalam’s jacket and boots because they had not done the necessary checks before boarding, the Press Trust of India (PTI) quoted sources as saying.

Kalam, as a foreign dignitary, is exempt from such a search, and the U.S. has apologized. But this is the second time he’s been improperly frisked—in 2009, Continental Airlines was forced to apologize for frisking him before he boarded a flight. Maybe airports should put his picture up in the employee lounge?

[BBC, image via AP]

via gawker.com

Posted on November 13, 2011 by Simmi D. Isaac — 2 Comments

Sunday Lunch: When the Food is Almost as Good as Those Around the Table

Tandoori Chicken, Butternut Squash, Spinach and Mesculun Greens, Foccacia, Tomato & Red Onion Salad, and Chocolate Cake w/ Ice Cream.

Posted on November 13, 2011 by Simmi D. Isaac — Leave a comment

Worship with Community: A Sunday Morning Tradition

Posted on November 13, 2011January 19, 2013 by Simmi D. Isaac — Leave a comment

Native American Indian Pudding: A New One For This Thanksgiving Perhaps?

via simplyrecipes.com

I stumbled onto this recipe this morning, and think I might try it this Thanksgiving. I must admit the Indian in the name caught my attention to start with, but make no mistake, this is not East Indian, but refers to the Native American Indian of the great north American continent. Article and recipe follows:

My first encounter with Indian Pudding was over 20 years ago at Durgin Park, a landmark restaurant in Faneuil Hall, Boston, famous for its home-style Yankee cooking and, at the time, its cranky, octogenarian waitresses. Few desserts look so completely unappetizing yet taste so incredibly good. One bite of this lumpy, brown mush, with a dab of vanilla ice cream, and I was sold. Scraped every last bit from the bowl. Why indian pudding isn’t more widely known I have no idea; it’s one of my favorite desserts of all time, and a traditional New England Thanksgiving classic. Indian pudding is a baked custard with milk, butter, molasses, eggs, spices, and cornmeal. The name is likely derived from the cornmeal, known as indian meal way back when. Here is a tried-and-true recipe for indian pudding adapted from An Olde Concord Christmas, a long out-of-print book from the Concord Museum.

Ingredients

6 cups of milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup molasses
3 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 cup golden raisins (optional)
Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

Method

1 Scald the milk and butter in a large double boiler. Or heat the milk and butter for 5 or 6 minutes on high heat in the microwave, until it is boiling, then transfer it to a pot on the stove. Keep hot on medium heat.

2 Preheat oven to 250°F.

3 In a separate bowl, mix cornmeal, flour, and salt; stir in molasses. Thin the mixture with about 1/2 cup of scalded milk, a few tablespoons at a time, then gradually add the mixture back to the large pot of scalded milk. Cook, stirring until thickened.

4 Temper the eggs by slowly adding a half cup of the hot milk cornmeal mixture to the beaten eggs, whisking constantly. Add the egg mixture back in with the hot milk cornmeal mixture, stir to combine. Stir in the sugar and spices, until smooth. At this point, if the mixture is clumpy, you can run it through a blender to smooth it out. Stir in the raisins (optional). Pour into a 2 1/2 quart shallow casserole dish. Bake for 2 hours at 250°F.

5 Allow the pudding to cool about an hour to be at its best. It should be reheated to warm temperature if it has been chilled. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Yield: Serves 8-10