Thursday, July 28, 2011

Chalks and Chopsticks -- Roundup

At last it is here. The Chalks and Chopsticks round up that you all probably waited for and then politely gave up.

I will not bore you with lame excuses and sheer tales of my laziness; instead dig in and start on a wonderful journey of food and tales. If I have missed anyone's entry please do let me know and pardon my incompetence.

Next edition is at Jaya's. Hop over to see the rules she has for you.

"‘Vivek took permission from my hostel warden and would come to teach me English as well as the other subjects. He was doing his engineering those days and we would sit in the common room. I was comfortable being taught by him. His only demand was that I served him omelettes and tea."
"Omlette" -- by Bhagyashri who blogs at Searching Self

"With a sigh, Sunanda picked up the now empty cup and froze.
The bright, dark circle of soy stared up at her from the
lovely face of Gauhar Jaan*.
Sunanda gave a small sigh and closed her eyes in silent resignation."
"Hot & Sour Vegetable Soup for 'Of Chalks and Chopsticks'" -- Sharmila who blogs at KichuKhon

"Office theke phire ese chabi ghuriye ghore dhuke, juto chhNuRe khule, kobjike ghoRir fNaas-mukto kore, gaa dhuye, rannaghore giye burner jwalai. jol fote. Miss Marple-er boite lekha achhe, rolling boil howa chai. apekkha kori. aaNjla kore cha pata dhali. Second-er kNata 3 baar ghoRi prodokkhiN kore asa matro sada cup-e chhNaknir gaa chNuiye sonali srot naame. ami se sroter theke chokh pherate parina."
"Kintu sobar chaite bhalo" -- by Kuntala who blogs at Abantor Prolap . Kuntala blogs in Bengali but her story was so apt for the theme this month that I requested her entry.

"In the here and now, it’s another coast, another pot of tea. Shrugging at the undissolved sugar in the first attempt, one turns to a potpourri of mild spices – cinnamon and star anise – and the tang of lemons, to add a kick to the warm and properly sweetened new brew."
"Citrusy Sweet Tea, Y'all!" -- by R&R who blog at Tadka Pasta

"The mugs had held fond fancies, but she had squashed them with her penchant for practicality. Didn’t find a glass to mix her smelly Ayurvedic medicines in? Resort to the mugs. Didn’t find another mug to bake her one-minute microwave chocolate cake in? Use these....In her case, a one-pot meal involved putting a few tablespoons of rice into dal or curry heated in the mug and eaten with a long-stemmed spoon in front of the TV. Constipated? Drink mugs and mugs of hot water, alternating between the two. "
My Mug Shot and Masala Chai -- by Sra who blogs at When My Soup Came Alive

"She woke up when Ma's alarm went off but stayed still and pretended to be asleep. As soon as the toilet door closed behind Ma, she jumped from her bed, ran to the kitchen , took a small bowl, poured out some tea, drank it steaming hot (sieving the leaves with her teeth), washed the bowl, placed it back on the utensils rack, ran back to the bed and just pretended to be asleep again. Yes, in four minutes."
Tea-her first love ---by DR who blogs at The gift of Life

"After dinner, the kids were in their rooms, she and Saurabh sat on the sofa reading and quietly sipping their cups of satisfying cocoa. This was their late evening ritual for over a decade, it always allowed them to catch up together no matter how busy the day was. Today she looked troubled until her husband interrupted her thoughts by quietly saying, “She needs to find herself a little, it will happen. I know an accomplished musician who at her age wanted to spend her life behind closed doors, locked away from the world”."
The Cup Of Solace -- by Rinku who blogs at Cooking in WestChester

"Gradually, it became a routine for both the two ladies to sip their morning cup of tea in their respective balconies around the same time and chitchat. They both used to look forward to their "Me Time" together in midst of clear skies, piping hot cups of tea and lovely conversations. On days when the weather would be cold or windy or it would rain heavily, they would sit sipping their respective ginger teas and wave to each other and share a smile or laugh.
Both were totally addicted to their morning teas. "
Just One Cup Of Tea -- by Rujuta who blogs at the World According to Rujuta

"Another love of his was coffee. He would often tell Aarti that his life would have been an utter waste had he never tasted this enchanted drink. He loved to pour the decoction into his favourite white ceramic glass with a floral print on it. He would add an extra spoon of sugar and sip it away making a *sluuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrp* sound. He seemed to enter a transcended state, whenever he sipped from that cup. It looked like he was sipping from an eternal cup of bliss. That would irritate Aarti. Aarti hated coffee. She was more of a tea person. "
Eternal Cup of Bliss -- by Deepthi from Topsy Turvy Life

"It was still dark outside as Naina strained the two cups of tea and walked towards the picture window. She loved this time of the day, sitting by the window, reading a book and sipping her cup of tea. It was calm and peaceful, no jarring sounds of the television and no hustle bustle of daily chores. There was hardly anyone on the sidewalk except an occasional runner jogging past or an early riser walking the dogs."
To Stalk a Brinji -- by Jaya who blogs at DesiSoccerMom

"By the time she returned to her rocking chair with the coffee, the wind had picked up, bringing with it the earthy smell of wet mud. On the terrace below her apartment, she spotted Mrs. Joshi collect the papads she had left out in the sun. In the balcony opposite her window, she saw the maid hurriedly gather the clothes left to dry out on the clothes line. The people on the streets too were casting anxious glances toward the rapidly darkening sky and hurrying along. "
Indian Espresso Coffee -- by Aqua who blogs at Served with Love

"I remembered the baby eggplants I had purchased the previous day at the market. They looked so fresh and cute that, I could not ignore their baby voices crying ‘buy me please!’ So, what could I make with them? Yessss, Gutti Vankaya - a traditional Andhra Pradesh recipe for stuffed eggplant (or brinjal as it is called or even aubergine) fry."
Eggplant -- by Knot2Share who blogs at A Space to be Me

"The Chinese Breakfast.


Okay, so I was hungry. Thanks to the gastronomical disaster, which was my cousin's five-year anniversary lunch yesterday, I was terribly heartsick about any "bangalibarir dupurer nemontonno"{non-bongs, read luncheon to celebrate aforementioned anniversary} and decided to not eat anything, just to get rid of the taste of stale Fish Tandoori from my mouth."
Panu and the Earlymorning Foodpost -- by Panu who blogs at Presented by P

"The only time she softened was when Manju took out the coffee mugs, the ones with pictures of two little girls smiling out of the cup, hair blowing in the wind and something written in English all around. They were Mashima's grand daughters. Every New Year, Mashima's son would send a coffee mug neatly snuggled in bubble wrap and ensconced in a colorful box. And every year the mug had a picture of the girls in different stages of their life."
For a Cup of Tea -- by BongMom who blogs at Bong Mom's CookBook
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20 comments:

  1. There you are! Thanks for the round-up, and you've been v v successful at attracting a larger number of entries. Discovering some new blogs ...

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  2. I have read few of them, must say all are creative stories, good way to mix food and fiction

    will try next time

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  3. Great round up.Thank you,enjoyed reading it with my first cup of coffee of the day.

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  4. daruN daruN golpo Bong Mom. ar bekhappa howa sotweo amar post-take dole newar jonyo anek dhonyobad.

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  5. hummm yummy I can see a once weekend ahead!

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  6. I can see a nice weekend ahead!

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  7. Not finished reading all of them. Still at it. But very creatively written all of them. Guess I have my reading stock ready for this weekend.

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  8. I thoroughly enjoy this roundup always :)

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  9. Hi,
    Lovely round up and was great to read so many lovely stories :))
    Happy Blogging
    Rujuta

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  10. Although I do not know any of the ladies yet as I read each excerpt, I felt like I was living their stories...
    I dont know if its only me or it is that every woman feels like every other woman sometimes..

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  11. Great entries! And so many Sandeepa! Congrats! Short story's er boi porar moton lagbe. :-)

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  12. Dear sandeepa
    How are you?
    Thats an wonderful round up, I like it.
    Have a nice weekend

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  13. what a glorious round up . And all over a cuppa . Jaano ami likhbo likhbo korey aar lekha holo na . Chhobi rekhechhilam chhose korey . Want to bang my head on the wall :(

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  14. Enjoyed reading all the stories...I used your salmoncilantro recipe - used basa fish and olives insteadof jalapenos...it was simply awesome...everyone loved it...thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe..

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  15. bong mom I have one question.I tried grilled prawn,just simply holding the prawns(after marination) with a fork and grilling them in the direct flame of lpg gas burner.some say that it is extremely unhealthy to have something which is directly burnt in lpg flame.can you give me some idea about this? thank you.by the way the prawn taste was good :0

    prosenjit

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  16. Hey...thanks for hosting and the roundup and for accepting my late entry :)
    You've managed to pull in a lot of writers!

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  17. Sorry for the late reply from me. Thank you for accepting my entry. I did wonder how come I have had a few 'views' on my Eggplant recently! :-). A great bunch of entries by everyone.

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  18. wasnt this the one I wrote my entry to? or the next one?

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  19. "ANjlA kore cA pAtA DhAli"- Kuntala.

    ANjlA kore- poetic licence?!!! A joined-palmsful worth of tea, or the rapture that induces one to pour in tea with joined palms, as if in an anjali! Goodness gracious!

    Quite a strong cup or powerful rapture there!

    For people not familiar with Bangala, "ANjlA kore" usually implies a full or overflowing handful, e.g. of SHEFALIKA flowers [HarashrngAr in N.India,Nyctanthus arbor-tristis]offered as anjali in puja, specifically Durga Puja.

    Or, say, raw rice, offered as as a generous, unstinting gift to someone such as a supplicant.

    The metaphor behind the phrase is a "generous, unstinting quantity", the cupped palms representing an auspicious measure of abundance.

    I was kidding about the frightening quantity of tea implied by the poetic language used: a cupped palmsful of tea poured into water just coming to a roiling boil & steeped for 3 seconds, as per Miss Marple's edict!

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