A beginning and an end.

I apologize for my lack of updates (if there are any of my very few readers who are actually offended!). I’m doing well – I finished my physical therapy just over two weeks ago and I’ve been doing my exercises (though I did skip last night) and swimming as often as I am able. The next step in my recovery feels less definite: keep doing my exercises forever. My next phase is literally the future – an exciting and terribly scary prospect. I’m feeling better because of my exercises, but I still have enough pain that it’s burdensome and causes a fear about the idea of getting through a day at a job (for which I’ll probably start applying in September or October). As of now, I have no well-defined plans for the future. I do think that it is a good thing to set goals and work towards them, but past experiences have taught me that sometimes it’s better not to have expectations – or at least not to feel surprised when a major event or change occurs in life that is entirely unforeseen. As of today, my only plan is to await the arrival of my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I’ve never preordered a book, nor have I ever actually counted the days until a Harry Potter release. During college, I enjoyed the first four books, but when the fifth, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, came out I was busy with school and it was not until right before my first spinal fusion (winter of 2006) that I finally read it. Since my surgeries, however, I have reread all of the books and listened to the audio versions countless times. I’ve always had a close relationship with books, but never has an author meant so much to me as J.K. Rowling. Having my two spinal fusions has been depressing at times, but never overwhelming because I’ve had these books. Whenever I was too exhausted to read or even watch television, I listened to Harry Potter on my iPod and felt instantly better about my situation because Harry’s life was so horrible. Obviously, I’m aware that Harry Potter is a fictional character, but he’s also been a faithful friend. So, as I near the end of my recovery and the beginning of the future, it seems appropriate that I am awaiting the conclusion of this beloved series.

Blend On!

We may not be having tropical weather on this 4th of July, but that can’t stop you from enjoying a tropical drink!

Lately, I’ve been really into blending. Using the blender, I should say. We bought it last summer to enjoy tropical drinks (i.e. margaritas), but I hadn’t used it until last week. My cousins Eric and Grace (who live in different areas in Brooklyn) came over to my dad’s apartment after my PT appointment. I was making this spicy-chicken-Indian-dish (one packet of chicken tikka masala spices, one can coconut milk plus a 1/4 cup water, three tablespoons of tomato paste, frozen peas, sautéed onions mixed together in a pot and served over basmati rice – so good) and an Avocado Salad with Cumin-Lime Dressing from Everyday with Rachael Ray (naturally, I had to toss the avocados because my dad bought them so far in advance that they went bad, but the dressing was still good over romaine lettuce). I didn’t know what to make for dessert, and, as it was wicked hot that week, I didn’t want to turn on the oven. I decided on a mango lassi and my foray into blending thus began. One tip – if you’re following a recipe for a smoothie or a blended drink, don’t worry about diverging from the directions. Taste it and if you want more yogurt or fruit or think you’d like a little sparkling water (personally, I hate sparkling water), go ahead! Since, in all probability, you’re making a tropical drink, blending should be relaxing and stress free!

Mango Lassi
recipe from A Little Taste of India by Priya Wickramasinghe and Carol Selva Rajah

1 lb. 2 oz. ripe mango, chopped (you could also use mango pulp from the frozen food isle if mangoes aren’t in season)
1 cup chilled milk
1 cup plain yogurt

Blend all the ingredients together until smooth and serve cold – add ice to make it a little colder if you like. So, actually, the book says you should blend or chop the mango into a pulp and then push it through a sieve to remove the fiber. I made it once with mango pulp from the store and there was no fiber (already removed, I guess) and when I made it for my cousins, I didn’t have the book so I didn’t even think about straining it until we were drinking down a glass of fibers, I mean, mango lassi. Still delicious.

Blueberry Banana Drink
my own recipe (like it hasn’t been done before!)

1 or 2 tablespoons of honey
1 ripe banana (could be frozen)
about 1 cup of frozen blueberries
Yogurt and milk to taste (you can use the equal parts formula from the recipe above)
ice cubes

Blend together and enjoy!

Cantaloupe-Strawberry-Banana Smoothie
adapted from a little book about smoothies

three slices of ripe cantaloupe
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1 ripe banana (could be frozen)
1/2 cup orange juice
three tablespoons of yogurt
1/3 cup milk (I didn’t have much yogurt so I supplemented with milk)

Blend and enjoy! This drink was so tropical and delicious! Make it. Now. I mean now!

Tia Celia's Flan

My Aunt Celia is one of the best cooks around. This Cuban flan – a type of baked custard – has been one of my favorite desserts since I was a kid. It's super creamy, delicious and requires very few ingredients. This is the version of her recipe that my mom has always made. I believe that my aunt uses four egg yokes and two eggs - which produces a thicker texture - and then uses the remaining whites to make meringue. This version is slightly lighter but the flavor is the same and you don't have to separate the eggs.

1 1/2 cups sugar separated
6 eggs
1 can evaporated milk
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Step One – Make the caramel
•Dissolve 1/2 cup sugar in pan (I used a round metal bowl, but my aunt uses a rectangular loaf pan) over low flame until melted and golden brown.
• Once sugar is melted, use as much of it as possible to coat the sides of the pan.

Step Two
• Preheat the oven to 325º
• Beat six eggs and rest of the sugar (I decreased sugar to about 2/3 cup) until sugar dissolves. Beat in the remaining ingredients.

Step Three
• Strain mixture into the caramel pan. (You don’t really have to strain it – I didn’t and my mom never does). As you pour the egg mixture over the warm caramel, you’ll hear an extremely pleasant crackling sound, like pop rocks.
• Place dish in a pan of about 2 inches of hot water and bake for 1 hour or until golden brown. It took almost 2 hours in my oven, but that's my oven.
• Remove from oven and cool before chilling for a few hours.

Christina's Birthday

Below is a pictorial essay of the day of Christina’s birthday celebration. I say day of because the first few pictures were taken on my way to her apartment – either while waiting for a bus or through the window of a bus. At Christina’s apartment, we made Black Bottom Cupcakes from a recipe in the magazine Every Day with Rachael Ray. I thought the cupcakes were a little sweet, though Bryan said they were the best he had ever eaten (a bit of hyperbole, perhaps?). The cheesecake filling is excellent, however, and I usually add it to a box of Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Dark Chocolate Fudge cake mix. I make the cake and then drop tablespoons of the filling over the entire surface of the cake. I don’t really care for most cake, but this is my favorite recipe.

This day was pretty exciting for me – not only was it my first time at Christina’s apartment in almost two years, but it was the first big social event that I’ve been to since my surgeries that hasn’t been at or very near to either my house or my dad’s house. It made me so happy that I finally felt well enough to go out for the day with my friends. And Christina and Jon kindly provided a beach chair for me to sit on. I’m sure everyone was jealous. I have to say, though, that I kept glancing up instinctively waiting for Pam to get there (she’s in England).

It’s very strange to me to observe how everyone’s lives have gone in different directions since graduation. Although my life went in an unexpected direction that included two spinal fusions, college (which was the last thing that I did before I had my operations) still feels close, as if I just graduated. It’s like when during your first year of college, you’re still talking about high school because you don’t know who you are yet as a university student. Having two surgeries sent me into a form of limbo and I know that I’m not the same person that I was in college (how could I be?) but I haven’t had the chance to figure out how I’ve changed so I’m still stuck back at Rutgers. My friends’ lives have moved on, and I have to find my place as a member of the group and the universe in general again (you see, I’ve been living in a distant place called Bed for two years). It’s not as though I didn’t feel at ease with my friends, but more like I don’t yet feel at ease with myself (does one ever?).

Enjoy the pictures – I have more and I’ll put them on Shutterfly as soon as I get a chance. Let me know if you’d like the link to the album. I should say that none of the people in the pictures realized that their photo was being taken. I prefer taking candid shots because I think they look more natural (though often out of focus).


This is an ad on a bus stop lean-to. It is a drawing of a city skyline and real city buildings are reflected on the glass.


I took this picture inside of the same lean-to, hence the gray dots. I thought the tall, triangular building was neat.


Me taking a picture of me as reflected in a camera advertisement. Kind of meta, no? The ad says Your dad is not a horse's behind.


I took this picture from the bus. A real tree and a tree of ladies. I thought it looked cool.


Some cars on a roof. Kind of precarious looking. Also taken from the bus and you can see the bus lights in the sky. Come to think of it, it would be kind of neat to travel all around cities on public buses and take pictures through the windows and make it a sort of book.


This picture was taken at Central Park where Christina had her birthday picnic. I purposely moved the camera to blur the image because I only wanted to show how many people were at the park but not actually be able to make out their faces.


Chris pouring wine and giving directions.


Christina and Jon. Cute, but would be cuter if it weren't out of focus. Please mentally remove that ugly baby carriage. Or, if you're a Photoshop whiz, literally remove it and give me the photo.


Bryan, Lakshmi, Cui.


Tiff and Lakshmi.


Tiff and her boyfriend Jesse.


Some lanterns at Tavern on the Green. I know it's such a touristy thing to photograph, but I couldn't help myself.

Monarch?

A wind chime in my backyard.

I took the following pictures of a butterfly in my backyard. My mom said that this is a Yellow Monarch. It is either feeding or laying eggs on this milkweed plant, which is consistent with Monarch butterflies. But as far as I can tell from searching on the internet Monarchs are usually orange. If this is, in fact, a Monarch, it may be on its springtime northward migration back to Canada (or starting an early southward migration?). It was hard to take these pictures as the butterfly kept moving from one plant to another and then between the spherical umbels (or the grouping of individual flowers that form an umbrella-shaped flower head). If you know the correct family of butterflies to which this one belongs, let me know. This sounds like a question for Marc and Teresa, so I might have to ask them.

So long, Chuck.

These used to be my most beloved shoes. I loved them all the more as they became worn and faded. They’ve sat on a shelf in my closet for almost two years. I put my Converse away before my first spinal fusion, because I needed, for a time anyway, to wear slip-on shoes. No bending allowed. But they haven’t seen pavement (um, with the exception of this photograph) since I stowed them on that shelf. I have nerve damage in my big toes – a common and expected result from spinal fusions as the L5 nerve to the feet must be moved during the operation – and any pressure (from shoes that were probably too tight to begin with) hurts them. Now I have to wear ugly, wide shoes that don’t press on my toes. The nerve damage causes a weakness and an inability to resist force – as in, I step down from a bus and my toe gives out. And it hurts. I used to feel the pain in both of my big toes on a fairly constant basis, but the left one has only been caving in against the sidewalk periodically and I’m sure the right is close to follow. My doctor said to give it nine months to two years (from the date of surgery). Either way, I think that my Converse are retired for good. But they’ll stay on the shelf. And if I move, I’m sure that I’ll be tempted to bring them along. They remind me of my pre-spinal-fusion life; of a time when I didn’t even know that I needed surgery. That time hardly seems real anymore, but I guess these shoes are proof.

Road Kill

Last night, a block party was going on in front of my house. Astrid was coming to pick me up so we could go out for ice cream. I told her to meet me at the end of my street. As I was waiting for her car to pull up, I spotted this poor toy frog. I wished that I had brought my camera. This morning, Ginger (my dog) and I walked down the street. I photographed, she pulled on the leash to cross the street. Pinky the Pomeranian came by and barked at Ginger like he wanted to rip her to pieces. He neglected to notice that he (minus the poofy hair) is just about the size of her head (she does not have poofy hair). That explains the picture.