A Sweet Sweet 16!

If you know me, you know that I'm not the partying kind. I'm not your typical teenager, who's glued onto her phone or is too rebellious (note the use of the word 'too'!) just for the sake of it. One of the most shocking things my friends find about me is that I love spending time with my parents (which is probably the reason why I love home-schooling).

I had my sweet 16 on Tuesday, and I'd like to write about it.

My best friends came over on Monday night. Anandini and Mitali. I think they're friends I'll never forget. I've known them for five or six years, and we're like sisters. I've spent most of my birthdays with only those two and we have the best time ever!

I think I'll take this opportunity to introduce them here.

I've known Mitali since the fifth grade. She's a bubbly person who is your typical teenager. You can talk all your crap about other people with her and you know she'll give you an ear, no matter how much you rattle on. (If fact, the other day, she stood in front of Anandini and me and said, 'Okay, who's going to start the bitching?' Quite a girl, isn't she?) She's a very social person, and loves talking. What I love about Mitali is her positive outlook towards life. She's make the most out of any situation.

I've known Anandini since the 7th. We instantly became best friends. Until the 9th (Anandini was in Sloka uptil then) Anandini was a pretty 'rowdy' girl. But she changed completely after coming to our school (The Integral School). Her personality now and then has drastic differences. I love her because she's passionate about so many things. She's the person I can have serious talks with, about education, learning, feelings. We can have deep conversations, and end them on a light note, without spoiling the moment.

Well, those are my best friends. Amazing people, both of them.

But to get on with my sweet sweet 16.

We went into the gym and ran 2 kilometres as Anandini said she was stuffed to the throat from the hogging she did the previous day. We later did these really cool ab exercises Mitali suggested, and work up a massive appetite for that wonderful dinner Mama had made.

Paalak rice and paneer. Simple, but it was so delicious!!

We went for a walk downstairs after dinner, and spent it in our favourite way - complaining about all the stuff going on in our lives. Mitali always has something to complain about, Anandini most of the time, and me a little lesser. But it's funny; now that I have no social life, I have nothing to complain about. Apart from some petty issues that I tried to feel bad about, there was nothing. I'm leading a happy, content life now, with not a care in the world. That was my gift to myself on my sweet 16th.

While walking back home, we started talking about math (HOW?). I realized that Anandini and Mitali had the same misconception I had 3 years ago, about quantities changing signs when they moved to the other side of the equation. We spent half-an-hour sorting that out. I still remember how I understood the thing about quantities and changing signs. It was about 3 months before I left Sloka along with Abha, Haritha and a few others. It was Abha's birthday and Dada had come to pick me up. While we were finishing up, Dada and Abha's dad started having a very heated discussion about maths in school (both criticizing it very badly). It was then that Abha's dad started talking about these quantities and signs so heatedly and it stuck in my head forever.

Anyways, the highlight of the day's coming up. We cut a cake at 12!!! I've never done that before and I was so excited!! It was amazing, because they sang happy birthday for me, Varun took a video of the whole thing, and the cake... The cake was so so delicious!!

Right after the cake cutting, Anandini and Mitali disappeared. At first I was annoyed. I turned 16 like two and a half minutes ago, and the run upstairs? How insensitive is that? That feeling lasted for about a second. It struck me - maybe they'd gotten me something for my birthday!! I felt so happy, because even though I told them not to bring anything, they had!! That feeling too didn;t last for a very long time. They got down Anandini's laptop, and I thought great, another slideshow... I'm embarrassed at thinking like that, because a lot of effort goes into making but, but that's what we got Mitali and Anandini on their respective birthdays, and I didn't want the same thing.

I put on and surprised and anticipating look for their sake, and approached the laptop as they excitedly called me forward.

They began the video. It started with a picture of saying 'To be most beautiful girl'. I said to myself, 'Okay, watch it with an open mind'. But then it wasn't pictures that followed. It was a video of Anandini and Mitali, the latter sitting with a guitar. I wasn't anticipating this at all! And then they started singing. It was so so beautiful. It almost brought me to tears. They were singing a song for me!! My best friends were literally the best friends in the world!! I hugged and kissed them both, blinking back tears. Sounds dramatic, I know, but it was. It was amazing.

We spent the rest of the night talking, and fell asleep at 3:00am.

In the morning, I had my special breakfast that I had asked off Mama. Pork Sausages, Baked Mashed Potato, Scrambled eggs and toast. YUM YUM!! I feasted. Dada came home around 9:00. He'd taken an early flight to be with me on my birthday. Don't a have an enviously sweet family?

I dressed in that beautiful special top I bought for my birthday. A blue lace spaghetti with a second shirt of pale blue wide embroidery on top. I know I shouldn't be saying this, but I knew I looked lovely.

We left home in a hurry to catch Pk, the Aamir Khan film I was dying to watch. It turned out to be brilliant. 20 years later, When I read this post and read the name PK, I bet I'll watch that film again.
Aamir Khan is brilliant.

We ended the birthday with a lunch at the Flying Spaghetti Monster, that amazing Italian place. We at as much as we could, and ordered all but one of the desserts!! ANyways, that's where my birthday ended with my friends.

But birthdays go on till the day ends, doesn't it?

We got home and I went to give Chintan some birthday cake. She repeatedly told me how beautiful a was looking, which made me feel so good. That's the thing about Chintan. She makes you feel good about yourself.

Back home, Mama asked me to come down after I changed out of my fancy clothes. A big box was waiting for me. They'd got me a present!! I had told them repeatedly NOT to get me anything (last time, the present they got me just depressed me), and yet they had!!

I impatiently opened it, hoping it wasn't anything lame, like last time. After I opened it, I believed it to be the farthest thing from lame! They had gotten me an artisan bread maker!! I was jumping with excitement! It was so so so cool! It looked so posh, with a touch screen to control it, and it looked just perfect! Trust Dada to get the perfect stuff!!

Later that evening, I found a gift waiting for me from Chintan. She had made me Double-Ka-Meetha, which she excels in making. And Ayaan had made me a card. It was such and inviting gift, and the Double-Ka-Meetha was delicious!

We ended the day with Dada's signature mutton pulao, which, as usual was heavenly.

So all in all, I have a very sweet sweet 16. 

Running - A way of life.

My dad's a runner. For some of you, that may be a bizarre thing to be. You may be thinking - "So what the deal? He runs?" Well yes, he runs. He doesn't run for a living, nor does he run just to stay fit. No, he runs because for him, running is a way of life. Running is an integral part of his life. And I think that's beautiful.

Well, the running bug has bitten all of us. We're now a family that runs. Including Mama!! We've done 10Ks, 7Ks, and 5Ks to date!! 

Well, Dada's in a completely different league altogether. He's been running half-marathons for above ten years, and started running marathons last year. In the last 5 months, he's done 5 marathons, 1 duathlon, and 2 Brevets. Mindbogglingly crazy, but what do I say? :)

But then, Dada doesn't stop there, does he. He's started a running group!! We live really far from the city, so we can't really attend the Hyderabad Runners' regular training program. Anyways, he started a group. And it's going very very well!! Over the last 3 weeks, we've got together 10-12 regularly attending people! (Our community is quite small, so this is a large group of runners). We meet on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 5:30 in morning (Yep, 5:30am. If you want to be a runner, you have to sacrifice late nights and retire by 9:30pm). 

Well this is our routine: 

Mondays: Meet at 5:30am for Interval Training. Interval training goes kind of like this: You pick a distance you're comfortable with, say 100m, 200m, or 400m. We've picked 200m, since all of us are beginning with a couple of 10Ks to our names. The idea is, you run this distance till you are very breathless, and then the same distance, you do a slow jog or walk to regain your breath. Keep increasing the distance and the number of times you repeat this exercise. You do this as this helps your body store in more oxygen. You are getting your body used to being breathless, so it helps the body learn to store more energy (oxygen). This also helps increase your running pace (who doesn't want to finish each run with a new personal best?)

As of now, we're doing 8 repeats of 200m Interval Training. Very exhausting, but so worth it. I can already feel my pace increasing!! 

Wednesdays: Meet at 5:30 for Tempo Run. Tempo run is a run that helps you increase you pace. You start of jogging very slow, and gradually increase your speed. In the middle of the run, you should be running at your fastest speed. You them gradually slow down towards the end. As of now, we're doing 5 or 6 kilometer Tempo Runs. 

Fridays: Meet at 5:30 for Long Run. Long Run, as the name suggests, is a long run. If you've done a 10K, and you're aiming for 21K (half-marathon), you start of running 10Ks and every week add a kilometer or two. (I'm not doing a 21K, because Dada says for a 16 year old it is physically too demanding, so I've decided to stick with the good old 10Ks.) 

Stretches: What I haven't mentioned is that before and after every session, we do stretches. Dada says stretches are one of the most important things to do. Warming up and cooling down your muscles are very important, and without these, you become very injury prone. At the beginning, we do stretches to increase blood flow to the muscles, and at the end of the run, we do them to relax our muscles.

Well, so that's our life now. Running. And it's a wonderful life :) 

Prawn Biryani from the Spiciest State in India

AT LAST!! After a lot of coaxing, Varun and I got to spend ONE night at home alone, and god, it was fun!! I had the whole menu planned for our meals, and lunch was Prawn Biryani!!

We're from Andhra Pradesh. Yes, we may not be very "Andhra" in the way we talk, or the way we live, but we sure are very Andhra when it comes to our taste palette. Although Mama makes simple food on an every-day basis, when it comes to non-veg, we make dishes filled with spice.

I'd asked Dada to buy me prawns the day before, telling him it was for the Biryani. I come home and see that the prawns are HUGE. We need small prawns for Biryanis!!!!!!!!! Anyhow, it worked just fine, as I cut the prawns into 3 pieces each!! (Do not do this if you have small prawns!!)

The recipe I'm going to share doesn't have measurements for the spices, as Indian cooking is all about improvisation. So go ahead, if you have prawns or shrimp at home, don't hesitate, because this is the best recipe in the world!!!

Ingredients:

Kashmiri Chili Powder                                                                              
Normal Chili Powder *Be generous
Turmeric Powder
Jeera Powder
Saunf Powder *Not too much                                      
Dhaniya Powder
Biriyani Masali *Be generous

1 kg prawns with shell on (800 gms if shelled)

Oil

Bay leaves (dried)
Peppercorns
Cardamom
Cinnamon
Mint leaves

2 Sliced onion
3-4 Sliced fresh red/green Chillis
1 tablespoonGinger Garlic paste
2 cups Sona Masuri Rice
4 cups Water
Coriander Leaves

Direction:

• Marinate the Prawns in the first 7 ground spices. Keep in the fridge.
• Heat the oil, and Add the next  4 whole spices and mint leaves, and let them sputter in the oil for 1 minute.
• Add the onions, chili, and Ginger Garlic paste, and let them fry for 5 minutes, until the onions are completely translucent. 
• Add in the marinated prawns. Fry for 5-7 minutes, depending on the thickness of your prawns.
• Add in the rice and fry for 2 minutes.
• Pour in the water and Pressure cook for 2 minutes after you hear the whistle. 
• Add chopped coriander and carefully mix the biryani, without crushing the soft rice. 
• Serve piping hot with Raita. 

And there it is - your clear and easy pathway to paradise!

Apricot Jam: From the Land of Ladakh

It was our last day in Ladakh. 15th September, 2014. A Sunday. Dada had finished his marathon; Rajesh Uncle, his half-marathon; Sheetal Aunty, Mama, Varun and I had finished our 7K.

We were walking through the Leh bazaar at 3:00 in the afternoon, right after a laid-back lunch, for one last time. Leh is a charming town. Cafes line the streets, as do small shops that sell jewelry and other tit-bits. The main market street is filled with Ladakhi women selling fresh greens, juicy carrots, and local vegetables. It certainly is marvelous.

Not to forget the APPLES!!! Uh... Ladakhi apples are DELICIOUS!! The juiciest apples ever!!

Well, on to the Apricots. The apricots, I must say, didn't look all that appetizing. They weren't like the ones in the supermarket - big, smooth and evenly coloured. No, these are much smaller and not so firm. However, I bought a kilo, as I had made up my mind to take home Apricots for jam (it really is difficult to dissuade me from doing something once I've made up my mind!!). Little did I know how much I'd regret not buying 10 kilos of those same Apricot.

We flew back home on Monday, and Tuesday morning set to work on the Jam! I'd made strawberry jam before, so I kind of had an idea of the basics of Jam making. The most important thing to keep in mind is constant stirring, and you'll be fine.

The beautiful thing about this Jam if that is retains some chunks of Apricots even after the cooking, and these chunks are the highlight of the Jam!! Another thing to keep in mind is NOT to chop the apricots before cooking. Don't even try removing the skin. The seed is the ONLY thing that needs to come out.

Here's the recipe to the loveliest Apricot Jam!

APRICOT JAM

Ingredients:

1 kg fresh Apricots, seeds removed.
300g Sugar
4 drops Lemon Juice

Method:

1. Take a large steel vessel and drop the Apricot into it.
2. Turn to the gas and place the vessel on it.
3. Cook the Apricots for 10 mins, stirring constantly.
4. Add in the sugar. Cook 20 mins, again stirring constantly.
5. Add in the lemon juice and cook for another 10 minutes.
6. Let cool for 4 hours or overnight.
7. Store in airtight jars.

*The cooking time may vary depending on quantity, and ripeness of fruit.

An Attempt at a Formal Newspaper Artical

I immensely enjoy reading the Hindu science columns. They're so interesting!! They've got all the latest research, and I read everything, whether I understand it or not!! There's this one side column where anyone can ask questions and anyone can answer. The best questions and answers get published. It was last week, right after I finished my biology syllabus, that I thought I'd attempt to answer one of these questions. It took me about 2 hours to do that, including research and reading.

I thoroughly enjoyed writing this!! I hope you guys enjoy reading it!!

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The atmosphere contains several gasses. A person inhales that combination of gasses, but how is the oxygen differentiated from that in our respiratory system?

The earth’s lower atmosphere is composed of 78% nitrogen gas (N₂) and 21% oxygen (O₂). The remaining 1% is composed of argon (Ar) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) among several other minutely present gasses. The air we breathe in contains all these gasses, however, it is only oxygen that gets absorbed into our blood.

The air we breathe travels down our trachea, through our bronchi and into the bronchioles, eventually ending up at the alveoli. The alveoli are air sacks with a membrane as thick as 1 cell. Capillaries coming from the pulmonary artery wrap around these alveoli, and the air diffuses across the alveolar membrane into the capillaries.

The pulmonary artery coming from the heart contains deoxygenated blood. This deoxygenated blood has a low concentration of oxygen and a high concentration of carbon dioxide. At the alveolar membrane, CO₂ diffuses out of the capillaries down its concentration gradient (The CO₂ concentration in an alveolus in much lower than the concentration of CO₂ in the plasma of deoxygenated blood).

Nitrogen does not diffuse into the blood as the blood’s capacity to carry nitrogen is very low. The blood does contain N₂, but the concentration of it is always at a constant. This is because cells neither use nitrogen from the blood, nor do they excrete nitrogen into the blood.

The concentration of oxygen in the blood plasma is always low, regardless of whether it is oxygenated or deoxygenated. The reason for this is that the oxygen is always carried in Red Blood Cells (RBCs) and very seldom carried in the blood plasma itself. Each RBC contains millions of hemoglobin proteins, and each hemoglobin protein has the capacity to carry 4 oxygen molecules. All the O₂ in the blood plasma is sucked up by the RBCs, which is why the concentration of O₂ in the blood plasma is always low. As the oxygen concentration is greater in the air than that in the capillaries, oxygen diffuses across the alveolar membrane into the capillaries down its concentration gradient.

This is how oxygen is differentiated in the blood. 

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The writer is Rashmi Raju.

1208, Platinum, PBEL City,

APPA Junction, Hyderabad. 500008.

Potatoes and Beans - Creamy and Crunchy

We'd just come back from Inorbit Mall. Sunday evening? NOT a good idea. At any point, there are 2 people in a 2 feet radius around you. But well, that's India. That's home.

We'd gone to Hyper City to pick up veggies. I was very excited because I was to make dinner today. A meat dish with potatoes and beans as a side dish. We went into the meat section to pick up mutton. Apart from raw meat, they also have marinated meat at semi-cooked meat. While we were looking for the meat, one of us spotted these delicious looking kebabs. Hard to resist, isn't it? So well, down went my meat plan. My suggestion of taking 6 kebabs was met by incredulous looks from Mama and Dada. We ended up taking 3 mutton sheekh kebabs (3, only only because a fourth wasn't available).

We had quite a little adventure in the seafood section. There's a tank that they keep live cat fish in. As I was moving along to take a look at some interesting fish, one of the live fish jumped out of the tank and landed on the floor!! One of the guys tried to catch it but it just kept slithering out of his reach. The guy then started stoking the fish and it slowly calmed down. He then grabbed it instantaneously and plunged it back into water. Ha... That was quite something!!

So anyways, we went on to the vegetables section. I picked up my veggies and we all went home... Oh!! I forgot about our wine glass shopping, but on that some other time!

Now, to go on to the recipe. This is a REALLY simple recipe. Just throw in everything in a baking dish and grill. That's all it takes.

One of the highlights of this dish is the garlic. The thing about keeping the skin of the garlic on, is that in gets roasted beautifully from the inside, and tastes delicious after grilling.
The pepperoncino chilies may be difficult to get your hands on, so feel free to leave them out. I bet the dish will taste perfect without them too!!

So go ahead and try this out. It's DELICIOUS!!

Ingredients:

·         8 small potatoes, halved.

·         2 bunches of beans (around 20) with tips removed.

·         3 pepperoncino chilies (dried from Naples).

·         Garlic Pods with jacket on

·         Paprika

·         Olive oil

·         Butter

·         Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1.       Preheat oven on “grill”.

2.       Wash the potatoes and beans.

3.       Put them into a glass baking dish.

4.       Throw in the pepperoncino and garlic pods.

5.       Sprinkle the paprika, salt, and pepper.

6.       Drizzle the olive oil.

7.       Mix in the butter.

8.       Give everything a good mix.

9.       Grill in oven for 30 mins.

10.   Serve hot as side dish with continental main dish. 

Mashed Potatoes - A Melt-In-Your-Mouth Snack for a Lazy Afternoon

                                                                                                                                10th November 2014

It was 2:00 in the afternoon and I didn't want to budge. I'd just finished my biology syllabus the other day and I think I deserved a break. The first thing my mind wanders to, if left to itself, is food. Always food. And not just eating yummy but, but making yummy stuff. So I set to work.

We had potatoes at home, at it had been a long long time since I'd eaten mashed potatoes.

Well, first things first. Look for a recipe. The internet is FILLED with recipes of mashed potatoes but none of them are good ones. They either require too many exotic ingredients or just 2 or 3 ingredients. Anyways, I thought I'd improvise!!

I would love to have posted a picture, but the mashed potato was so inviting that we forgot about the camera! I'll upload one the next time we make it (can't be too long!).

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

4 medium-small sized potatoes

1/6 cup fresh cream

 6 garlic pods, mashed

1/8 cup salted butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

   Preheat oven on grill.

   Wash the potatoes.

   Pressure cook them until soft (approx. 20 mins).

   After cooked, let potatoes cool for 15 mins.

   Mix fresh cream and crushed garlic in a pan. Heat for 1 min. Set aside.

   Peel the cooked potatoes and put them in a food processor. Blend them till almost smooth (10 secs). 

   Put the blended potato into a heated non-stick pan. Put in the cream and garlic mixture, the butter  and the seasoning.
   Mix well in the pan and cook over high heat for 2 mins. (If extra creaminess is desired, you may want to add milk)

   Empty the potato mix into a glass baking dish. Bake in “grill” for 10 mins.

   Serve hot with toast or use as side dish with meat.