A French Lesson
Maya has been asking me for months now if she can learn French. Damn that Fancy Nancy and her bad influence! I have been humoring her all this time because I figured she’d forget about it but apparently my child has a memory like an elephant. So I stopped being lazy, did a little research, and took her to a class this afternoon.
Who knew that so many preschoolers had such extensive language needs? When I was Maya’s age I think my parents were just pleased I could speak English without utilizing the word “ain’t.” Learning another language never even entered the picture.
Initially the teacher was concerned that Maya would have separation issues…she clearly has no idea that my daughter is willing to spend time with just about anyone else if it means she gets time away from her crazy mother.
Things were kind of chaotic with the teacher talking at an extremely rapid pace and in a very loud voice. I don’t think she understood that I was serious when I said that Maya doesn’t know any more than Bonjour. After the 45 minute class was over I asked Maya what she learned and she said, “I don’t know, Mama. I think I need some more classes.” I wonder if that was Maya talking…or the teacher talking?
After French we headed to one of my favorite restaurants for dinner…Fresh Corn Grill.
Fresh Corn Grill is conveniently located near our place in Westwood. But the parking, or lack thereof, is a nightmare! We had to circle the block a few times to finally score a parking meter.
The restaurant is quite small and isn’t exactly a dining destination so we usually just use Fresh Corn Grill for catering. And they do an amazing job at catering! But I was craving a salad tonight and since I wasn’t exactly about to turn heads in my soccer mom ensemble:
We figured we’d forgo ambiance for good food.
Fresh Corn Grill is the kind of casual place where you place your order at the counter and they bring you your food when it’s ready.
Maya usually loves Fresh Corn Grill but today she was in a bad mood and said she “didn’t want anything” from the restaurant. “Not one thing.” She brought her own pasta instead. I had no idea what her deal was, but I was too excited about my salad to really care.
I had the Fresh Corn Grilled Salad with Salmon (corn, zucchini, scallions, asparagus, tomato, and avocado tossed in a house vinaigrette). It was fabulous. I pretended not to notice Maya longingly eyeing my salmon. But she would not be ignored.
“I wish I could have some salmon,” she kept sighing. And after I gave her a couple of bites she said, “I wish if I could have some more.” I told her she could have more of my salad but the rest of the salmon was all mine. She huffed and puffed but I would not back down. I told you I don’t share very well.
Ali had the Grilled Chicken with Caribbean Sauce and Grilled Zucchini. I didn’t hear any complaints coming from his direction but he wasn’t exactly laying on the compliments either. Again, I didn’t really care because I was too excited about my salad, which he incidentally ate half of.
It’s another exciting Friday night around here…I am about to break out some chocolate and watch Sunshine Cleaning. I hope you are all out doing some more interesting than me!
Hot Pants
So I’m walking from the bedroom to the kitchen, just minding my own business, when all of a sudden I see this:
And what is this exactly? Ali’s pajama pants on the floor next to the fireplace. You can’t tell from this picture but the fireplace is on. You also can’t tell from this picture but Ali is sitting next to his pants, typing away on his laptop.
Me: “Why are your pajamas next to the fireplace?”
Ali: “Because they are not dry.”
Me: “I am still very confused as to why they are on the living room floor.”
Ali: “How else do you expect me to dry them?”
I wanted to ask if utilizing the dryer would be completely out of the question but Ali’s attention was already focused back on his second wife, i.e. his laptop and my 30 seconds was up.
As Ali’s pajamas baked in the living room, I made my way into the kitchen to think about dinner. Although I’d spent a good $75 at Trader Joe’s on Sunday, the fridge was pretty bare. I don’t get it! So I dug deep into the cupboard for inspiration and found a box of quinoa and a few other things that helped make dinner look like it was actually planned:
Once again my Trader Joe’s obsession is quite apparent.
In the past I’ve always cooked quinoa on the stove, but today I decided to use the rice cooker so that I didn’t have to babysit the stove the way Ali was babysitting his pants.
I bought this little rice cooker for $19 about 9 years ago and it still works great! Kudos to the Aroma people for making a product that has withstood almost a decade of abuse.
Black Bean Quinoa
1 cup of uncooked quinoa
1.5 cups of defrosted broccoli florets
1/2 cup of black beans
1/3 cup of dried cranberries
1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of cumin powder
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1/2 cup of peach salsa
1. Rinse and cook the quinoa as directed.
2. In a large bowl add the olive oil, vinegar, cumin powder, and turmeric and mix well.
3. Add the salsa, black beans, and broccoli and mix well.
4. Add the quinoa and mix again.
Ali had this plate along with a piece of breaded Tilapia from Trader Joe’s. I almost dropped dead from shock when he said dinner was good. He never gives out compliments voluntarily – usually they are a result of me angrily prying them out of him.
Since his plate was a little too carby for me I had my quinoa alongside a pile of defrosted green beans. I can get away from eggs once in a while but I just can’t cut the cord on the defrosted vegetables.
An hour later I was hungry again so I had a quarter of one of the Chocolate Fudge Babies that Maya and I made, along with a square of dark chocolate. The Chocolate Fudge Babies are really good but SO rich.
I have to go because I just heard a timer go off…I hope it wasn’t a reminder for Ali to turn his pants over. Don’t laugh…you never know with him.
Book Review – Goddess For Hire
Goddess For Hire
by Sonia Singh
How often do you find and enjoy a book that makes fun of your culture, the state you live in, arranged marriages, and religion too? Not often, right? I didn’t think it was possible either until I found Goddess for Hire by accident on amazon.com one day. You know how Amazon always suggests purchases when you add something to your cart? Well, I am the idiot who always ends up ordering the suggested books. And more. Let’s just say that for me Amazon is like Target…I go in intending to buy toothpaste and 45 minutes later I’ve spent $100.
Anyway, thanks to Amazon’s “Search Inside this Book” feature, Goddess for Hire had me hooked from the second page: “Indian people like to bitch about the big bad British ruling India for two hundred years. Big deal. Try growing up in Orange County. Most of my cousins sport blue contact lenses and dye their hair ash-blond. How’s that for colonial impact?”
Maya Mehra is Indian, unmarried, and 30-years-old. These three qualities alone qualify Maya as every Indian parent’s nightmare. To add insult to injury Maya has no career to speak of, no husband on the horizon, and still lives with her parents in Newport Beach, California. She spends her days shopping and keeping Starbucks in business, while trying to fend off her matchmaking aunts. She wonders what her purpose in life is but she is too lazy to attempt to figure it out. Her situation is not just sad but hopeless too, and her family has no idea what to do with her.
One day Maya finds out she is the incarnation of the Hindu Goddess Kali and her job is to save the world with her supernatural powers. At first she thinks the whole thing is a joke…how can she, a totally non-religious person be a Goddess? But Maya grudgingly begins fulfilling her purpose of helping others and fighting evil. Meanwhile she meets Tahir Sahni – a guy her parents are trying to set her up with. Tahir is handsome, smart, and doesn’t take her crap and Maya finds herself falling in love for the first time. The only problem? Tahir is not at all interested in her!
The author’s quick wit and light-hearted writing takes you through the rest of the book and Maya’s adventures as she battles the bad guys and fights to win the only good guy she’s ever wanted. I found myself laughing constantly as Maya bumbled around Orange County in the canary yellow H2 Hummer her dad refered to as “a weapon of mass destruction.” I rooted for her and Tahir to have a happy Bollywood-ish ending. I cracked up constantly at not only the references to the shallow Orange County crowd but at the authors relatable Indian anecdotes as well.
The premise of this book is ridiculous and silly but I loved it anyway. It is so nice to finally find an Indian-themed book that doesn’t involve the main character being widowed, tortured by her in-laws, or crying over an arranged marriage. Don’t get me wrong, I love those kinds of books too, but sometimes you just need a happy, light story that keeps you engaged and laughing for a few hours.
Sonia Singh isn’t going to win any awards for this book but I think her humor, sarcasm, and literary style are great. If you liked the Shopaholic series you will love this book too! Definitely check it out.
Is anyone else a fan of Indian authors? Jhumpa Lahiri, Rohinton Mistry, Monica Ali are a few of my favorites…does anyone have any other suggestions?
While I'm not going to win Mother/Wife of the Year Award anytime soon, I haven't killed anyone yet or shot myself in the head. And that, my friends, is how I calculate success these days. 
FANCY THAT FANCY THIS 
