different place, same fun

I got to go back in time for a few days while staying with Mamta in her apartment in Baltimore. Not only did we attempt to cook things we had never cooked before (again), but we somehow succeeded in making something edible!

Like our first attempt at veggie chili, which turned out better than we expected. It had a hint of Indian spiciness to it, and I can expect nothing less from us. But as always, we're more excited about the colors than anything else. It looks like a real fiesta in the pan! We even ventured so far as to create an entire chipotle meal with tortillas, rice and the works. This time we managed to have a successful meal without burning anything...




We had a bit of trouble with the rice though...something we have yet to master. It seems that both of us individually can cook fantastic meals, but bring us together and disaster strikes!












But at least there will always be pie. Pumpkin pie! Which, of course, did not go without a reference to falling pumpkins.




It's nice knowing nothing much has changed. Cooking can be as eventful as it always was, dinner as satisfying as you would expect, and the clean-up (as usual) filled with uncontrollable laughter after reminiscing about our falls...literally.

I didn't think I would ever give television journalism another chance after my disappointing internship at CNN, but the past week has been quite exciting. Granted, a 40 second clip requires an hour of set-up and interview, and a daily 22-minute show is only possible with hours of shooting, editing, and the works. But the 5,4,3,2,1! and the subsequent 22 minutes are quite exhilarating. The hilarity is seeing the backstage action - the producers cursing into their headsets, or the editing and sound persons talking over each other. EVERYONE is talking backstage and yet things get done! Somehow, the host knows exactly what to say, the crew knows exactly what to put on when, the scroller knows exactly when to cue the script. I've never experienced a more productive scenario where people talked over each other so much. Although that (over) communication seems to be successful only in those 22 minutes. The rest of the day revolves around quite a bit of miscommunication and frustration. But despite that, this could be the beginning of a new endeavor...