A Recipe to "Trick White People"

Merlin often finds something that is being marketed to the general public as being Indian inspired, or something South Asian when in fact it barely is recognizable to a guy who spent the first 27 years of his life there! He calls it "tricking white people" who will buy in to anything Asian these days. We see it with clothing....little dresses that can be fit 5 different ways proudly being sold by an Indian with a Made In India tag on it....yet it is nothing any Indian would ever wear. Going to an Indian restaurant to find samosa's called Beggar's Purses....say what??? Again...tricking people. Or one of my favorite the papadam that is brought with a nice chutney as a free appetizer at the beginning of a meal. I found out how that is really eaten on my first trip to India....taken in hand and crushed and put over rice....not a snack with chutney before the meal....again Merlin thinks tricking people.

Then I found a recipe and Merlin thought it was strange but I was in a canning frenzy since fall is almost upon us and I want to put as much away for winter use as I can. I borrowed a few books from the local library and found a recipe for Indian fruit chutney. True, the only time we use it is when we are serving Indian appetizers but I figured it was worth a try. When Merlin looked in to my boiling pot of fruit and pointed out all the strange things I had put in it....raisins, orange, lemon, lime....he once again claimed it was a recipe to "fool white people" in to thinking it was Indian. I will say it seemed like a strange list of ingredients but....a big but I think it is a tamarind knock off. Tamarind is non-existent here unless you buy something off the shelf that was shipped from Asia possibly several months ago or more. This chutney is sweet yet tangy with a little heat. We popped the bottle open at work for a samosa party and everyone was very impressed. I think I was the most impressed since I was serving something I hadn't tried yet, which could have been disastrous.

So even though some things do fool us, and even more are marketed toward us, this little jar of fruit chutney tasted great and was something I made with foods I have access to. I may even fool Merlin and decide to make some more and put away in our pantry shelf!

Taken from The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard. Page 208, Indian Chutney.

1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1 medium orange, peeled and chopped
1 medium lemon, peeled and chopped
1 lime, peeled and chopped
1 each brown sugar AND molasses
1/4 cup finely chopped ginger root
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 TBSP mustard seeds
1/2 tsp hot pepper flaked AND cinnamon
1/4 tsp each ground cloves AND allspice
1/8 tsp red chili powder

1. Combine everything minus the spices in a large stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and boil gently for 30 mins or until fruit is tender and mixture is thickened, stirring occasionally. Add spices and boil gently for 5 mins.

2. Remove hot jars from canner and ladle chutney into jars with 1/2 inch of head space. Process 10 mins for half pint jars and 15 mins for pint jars.

Makes 3 cups.

Try it and dare to be fooled in this tamarind knock off chutney!

Merlin Goes Indian

Merlin has never owned Indian clothing....ever. When his office in Bangalore use to have days where you would wear Indian clothes to represent your culture Merlin would go to office in jeans, polo shirt and a ball cap! Yes, he felt his culture was American not Indian.

But then he decided to buy a sherwani while in India on our last trip. It is a fancy outfit worn by men often for weddings. He wouldn't wear one for our wedding but felt it would be a nice feel for his brothers reception that he was the master of ceremonies for. Then this year he had a moment...possibly a weak moment whilst we were at Gerrard Indian Bazaar that he wanted a kurta pajama. I have worn salwar kameez for years, but this is the male version....a long kurta top that can be worn with a drawn string pant or just over regular pants. Merlin bought not one but two, which he thought would be comfortable. Secretly I was ecstatic that he finally broke down and decided to get something casual that he could wear.

He has wore them a couple times but the shocker was while deciding what to wear to my cousins wedding that he tells me he is going to go Indian for the reception. Out he pulls his one kurta and that he would wear it with his dress pants and he even pulled out his pointy Indian shoes to go with it. Now he rarely wears the shoes since they give him "shoe bites" a term applied to getting blisters on your heels!

So finally Merlin has embraced Indian clothes.....and all I can say is at least it wasn't a lungi! You'll have to look that one up folks :)

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Eggplant, cucumber, zucchini, tomatoes, green peppers, green beans and green chili's all from today's trip to the garden

Part of the fun of owning our own home is that we could have a garden. I must say I was more excited about this then Merlin was. He was sure I wouldn't be able to grow anything since my record with keeping house plants alive is zero.

I grew up with parents who put in a huge vegetable garden and I remember how I loathed going out to pick weeds. We enjoyed bountiful foods that my mom would can, freeze or we would enjoy for our supper fresh out of our backyard. Nowadays I'm interested in growing my own food since I am concerned about where my food comes from, and what has gone in to produce it. So here was my chance to have my own little organic garden which I dubbed "farming in the city".

It was a learning experience doing everything myself. So what did we grow? We grew a few things from seed but mostly went to a local greenhouse and bought small starter plants. So we planted from seed...radish, carrots, lettuce, beets, spinach and herbs like cilantro, basil, thyme and parsley. My neighbor was nice enough to give me two pepper plants that he grew from seed while I gave away some of my extra plants, since I didn't think we needed say four chili plants!!! We then went and bought purple cabbage, green chili, celery, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes (roma and yellow boy), pole beans, snap peas, cucumber, and zucchini. *phew*

I did try to grow a few things in pots thinking I could save precious garden space for other things but honestly the strawberry plants mostly died and I transplanted the rest in to a small patch in the garden while the tomato plants started to shrink and wither away.

I've had my share of problems too.....worms on the cabbage, Japanese beetles eating my beans and squash vine borers. I saved my cabbage and beans by using organic methods but the zucchini were too far gone by the time I figured out what was going on to save them.

It is fun to go out to our little "farm" and pick our own food. Next year I plan to expand and include some fruit in our backyard. It may take some time to grow but my hope is to grow as much of our own food as I can while enjoying the hobby of gardening and being green to the environment. Merlin has also come to enjoy going around and checking the plants and taking out weeds and of course enjoying the fresh veggies that land on our table for supper.

"Best Twenty Bucks I Ever Spent"

Merlin doing something under water that looks a little bit like yoga.

So little did I know that Merlin couldn't swim. It was long after we were married and together at a pool that I found out he could not swim to save his life. We have all tried to give him lessons....doggy paddle, kicking your feet, trying to float and its the same result...he sinks! Now I figured he was born in Kerela near the ocean, his family has a home in the lovely area of Goa, India near the water and he talked about water parks and such in India...but never did he mention he couldn't swim! I have since found out this isn't so uncommon in India--nobody in his family knows how to swim! I never thought about it since I remember seeing photo's of them at the beach (who goes to the beach but not in the water) and even in the water but I guess now that I look they weren't swimming but more less walking in and splashing around and that is "swimming".

So Merlin decided that he was going to buy a life jacket. Off early he went to Canadian Tire to get one that was on sale. He came home with a bright yellow and black life jacket that he proudly told me only cost him $20. I thought it was a bit much, but what do I know? I know how to swim and don't need one. He has now used it twice...once we took the dogs to the quarries to go swimming and the second time at a family function where my Aunt and Uncle have a pool. After its first use he exclaimed that it was...."the best $20 I ever spent!". Merlin likes to shop, so I question him on it being the "best", but he still holds to the notion that it was the best $20 he ever spent. He is funny, but it did allow him to spend over 2 hours in the pool where he felt safe and I didn't have to worry about him drowning.

Lesson learned....go buy a life jacket for your adult spouse who can't seem to figure out how to kick their feet and push with their arms....because it will be the BEST twenty dollars you ever spent. Enough said :)

A Big Fat Indian Wedding

Wedding Photo--July 29, 2006 in India

Five years ago today Merlin and I walked in to a small, hot and dusty office off the busy streets of Bangalore, India with two friends and got married. It was nothing at all like I had ever imagined with no family there, no friends, no celebration....just the registrar, his two friends and Merlin and I. Merlin was dressed in an everyday shirt and I picked an orange salwar kameez, since I didn't have a red one, it was the closest I had brought with me.

The ceremony was quick mostly with us signing papers, saying some vows and taking a few pictures. Merlin didn't bring any sweets with to share afterwards so he gave the secretary and the registrar a little extra money for helping us out. Our wedding was over within 10 minutes and the next excited couple and some of their friends filled the waiting area around the screen and off we went as a newly married couple.

Our love story is complicated and riddled with lots of drama. His family wouldn't accept our relationship, my family didn't come as planned since there was going to be no celebration, Merlin couldn't even tell his family that he was married until long after he left to come to Canada to live. In some ways it is sad, it is a huge disappointment and it was a terrible way to start out our life together. And even though there was no big fat Indian wedding, no friends or family, no gifts and nothing fancy, five years later I can look back and say what mattered most is that I married a wonderful man. Our marriage is based on commitment to each other and a faith in G-d that will last longer then the butterfly love feeling that makes love seem magical. We were almost strangers all those years ago but now I can say I married my best friend.

So Merlin, thank you for being the person G-d made you to be. For believing in us and having a future. Thanks for the laughter, for wiping my tears, for helping me when I feel sick and for holding on when things get tough. We are told life will never be easy, but somehow you have made marriage seem so simple and uncomplicated. I pray our life time is filled with amazing memories, lots of boston kisses and walks in the park.

I love you and always will.

Indian Weekend

So last year we joined the local Malayalee Association which holds several group events during the year. The big ones are a summer picnic, Onam and Christmas/New Years party. Last year we went to the picnic and Merlin did not want to miss a chance to enjoy Malayalee food and fun. To me I go along since we are a couple and I think its important to stay connected to his culture. It however is somewhat of a lonely experience for me since I noticed I stay with Merlin and land up with a lot of the men coming over to converse with him and the wives all gather in another area. We have no kids, something that normally would bond women together...and I don't speak the language so another strike against me. I do have one lady who I met last year whom I enjoy talking to. She and her family had just moved from Singapore, so she was a "newby" too. This year however she has expanded her wings and I didn't expect her to sit with me the whole time. Sometimes taking one for the team is a little uncomfortable, but I knew that Merlin would enjoy the company, being able to hear his native tongue and food that I don't cook--kappa and meen (tapioca and fish curry).

It just so happens the picnic falls on the same weekend as the South Asian Festival on Gerrard St. in Toronto. So off we went to Toronto to walk Little India and be able to enjoy food, dance, music and browse the wares that were on offer. It was hot--too hot actually to be in a concrete area with lots of people walking along the roadway. I think numbers were down probably for the same reason that the place was like a tandoor! When Merlin says its hot, I know that its not just me then feeling the heat. Merlin tried to negotiate to get a power pack to change our mixer grinder over from 220 to 120 with no success. Instead we came home with a pressure cooker, which should be an interesting although he swears it will make cooking so much easier. I enjoyed a dish of channa bhatura, chickpeas and a fried bread--delicious and was able to get a free henna tattoo. After spending several hours there we packed up and came home to our air conditioned house....what a relief and so thankful to have central air.

A hot weekend here in South Western Ontario with lots of good Indian food, laughter, nice weather and a few desi things to help make life a little easier--so Merlin says! :)

A Time to Grow

Our new house in Kitchener

So it's been a long time since I blogged. Yes, it is hard work keeping up a blog and you don't realize it until you actually have one to write on! A lot has happened in the past 9 months....Merlin got a new job at a great company, we bought another dog and we moved in to our own house! I am not sure what is more exciting but the new job allowed us to finally get our own place which we are thoroughly enjoying. The dogs have a big backyard to play in and I am able to garden to my hearts content. We put in a vegetable garden and I dream of all the lovely flowers I am going to plant next year.

Our new dog Rani, a 14 month old blue doberman pinscher

So it has been a time to grow, to move on to new things in life and to settle down and make roots. We have so much to be thankful for and since I now have a laptop that works I have no excuse on why I'm not blogging.