Death and all his friends

I received an unexpected call at 1 am last night. It was one of my best friends.

I whispered into the phone and greeted him so that my mother in the adjacent room wouldn't hear me. I was waiting for him to tell some silly joke or say that he called because he was bored but his serious tone assured me otherwise.

"Hash, my dada (paternal grandfather) hasn't been doing so well. The doctor had come and he said that he probably won't make it through the next night... Or maybe even this one."

I wasn't sure what to say but I managed to blurt out a concerned "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." he said, trying to reassure me.

"Are you sure? Do you need a hug?"

"No, I'm fine; don't worry. I just needed to tell someone about this..."

I was amazed at how strong he was about this, with a sense of déjà vu. This was the the third time something like this had happened to him this month alone.

First, it was his maternal grandfather, who at the start of this month lost a long battle to a stomach tumour, next was his ailing paternal grandmother just a few days ago and this morning, his grandfather.

In such times, one might say that they are in a better place now or that they are finally rid of their suffering but no consolation will do for the mind of a good-hearted teenage boy who has been spending all his time studying due to the pressure of the upcoming exams. No time for any grievance. No time for contemplation. Heck, none even for actually absorbing the events that took place in the past few weeks.

It's also events like these that make me lose faith in everything and assure me that my skepticism about the existence of the almighty is rational because if he was there and was as forgiving and rightful as the fanatics claim him to be, he would know that no family would ever deserve to go through what my friend's is.

I chide Emily Dickinson for even daring to call Death a gentleman because a gentleman wouldn't miserably mess up his timing not once but three times. Because Death's carriage is not something a person's loved ones would like to see them get on.

So, today, I am an angry girl. Angry at the believers who say that the almighty will always be there and make sure the right thing is done, angry at Death for showing up repeatedly at the worst time and angry at myself, for being able to do nothing about it.

As I marvel at my friend's immense strength, I can only be the best damn person to lean on and hope that the departed souls rest in peace.

Healthy cooking and chocolate chip cookies

If you are or have been a student in India, you will probably understand the concept of 'study leave'. That one month's time before the massively overrated and overhyped board exams where all your hopes of having a social life and maintaining personal hygiene are completely destroyed. The time where the only place you can find solace is the toilet seat. The time when you're supposed to get off Facebook and put your face in a book till you're almost about to cry. The time you're so accustomed to sitting at the study table that you've forgotten how to walk.

Fortunately or unfortunately, it's been quite the contrary in my case. For me, 'study leave' is the time when I'm completely leaving all scope of studies. When I'm pampering myself with manicures and warm baths. The only time when I'm actually attending Zumba and Pilates classes on a proper schedule. When the only book my face would be in is Molecular Gastronomy by Hervé This. Most importantly, the time when I'm cooking and baking to my heart's content.

Sadly, all my favourite sugary foods seemed very counter-productive and cancelled out all the hard work I put into Pilates and Zumba. So, when my chocolate chip cookie craving remained unrestrained; I knew I would have to go down the scary route of 'healthy cooking' and kick the recipe up a notch. It definitely is not as bad as it sounds, though, because these might just be the best cookies I've ever made. And trust me, I've made lots of cookies.

The icing on the cake is that they're on the verge of being guilt-free with the use of wholewheat flour, oats, olive oil and honey instead of sugar. Perfectly crispy on the outside and soft and cakey on the inside with gooey dark chocolate chips enhancing the goodness of every bite.

So here goes the recipe;


WHOLEWHEAT HONEY OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES



Goodness <3

Ingredients:
1 cup honey
1/2 cup olive oil (the one with the lightest flavour that you can find)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons milk (I used skimmed)
1 cup wholewheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup uncooked oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used Callebaut's 53% dark chocolate buttons)

Method:
-Preheat the oven to 180ºC and line a baking tray with parchment or a baking sheet.
-Mix all the ingredients together except the oats and chocolate chips till it reaches the consistency of elastic dough. (Like that of bread.)
-Fold in the chocolate chips and oats until well combined.
-Drop the dough by rounded spoonfuls on the baking sheet or take small balls of dough and make round patties out of them.
-Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or till slightly firm and golden brown.
-Enjoy straight out of the oven or wait till completely cool before storing in an airtight container.

The cookies last for about a week but are surely best consumed fresh. The cookie dough can be frozen as well. The recipe makes about 30 medium sized cookies.

Feel free to post any queries in the comment section. :)

 

Debut

I have a tendency to get nervous about the weirdest of things. Not the usual ones like standing in front of a crowd, talking to new people or confronting the principal after having done something wrong that get me neck-deep in anxiety.

It is things like receiving a gift or anticipating the arrival of the odd-sounding dish I ordered in a restaurant. The random common things which an average person would gracefully pull off are those that set me on edge. Just like writing this blog post currently is.

Being the perfectionist that I am, I compulsively have to make sure that everything I say is grammatically-correct, ever-so-slightly humourous, spontaneous and still shouldn't look like I am trying too hard. This means innumerable visits to the thesaurus website, looking up the meaning of words I already know to make sure I have used them correctly and so, so many deleted drafts stinking of mediocrity.

Fortunately enough, it's the good kind of nervousness I am experiencing. The kind when you know something great is about to happen. Like when I went for my first Zumba class. I remember telling myself, "Okay Hash, you are probably going to suck at this but just do it because it will be good for you." Similarly, I am repeatedly giving myself a pep talk saying that blogging will be good for me as writing is the only way I can freely express myself and all those pent-up feelings and not so pent-up opinions need to be vented out for the world to see.

Prevarication aside; I'm Hash, a teenage girl with lots of opinions and this is my blog debut. Nice to meet you.

P.S.: If you were looking for an introduction or bio, here it is; http://about.me/hashmita