Who You Calling Weird?

Haven't I done this before?

That was my reaction when Sra tagged me for the weird things meme.
What I had been tagged for earlier was the random things meme.
Clearly I must've misread the theme of that meme b'cos weirdness was what came out rather than randomness. Take another look to see what I mean.

Anyway, here are some food-related weird things:

• Supermarket cakes.
  I'm done with them, finito, khatam. At birthday parties if I notice the cake is from a supermarket, I go to great lengths to avoid it. Same routine at work.
  Even if I don't notice the box it came from, a small taste and it is immediately apparent where it came from.
  Can one even call such cakes food? What are they made of?
  Not everyone will find this weird. But some find these tendencies extremely weird and snobbish. What e.v.e.r!


• Idli-bhajji
  I had this years ago and still remember how annoyed I was then. You take a perfect idli, dip it in perfect bhajji batter and fry it. In the process waste two perfect ingredients. What a shame!


• Ripe Mango-vegetable Salad
  Have a salad; enjoy a mango. Don't put them together; unless it is a fruits-only salad.
  Plain mango, aamras (mango juice/ pulp), mango milkshake, mango ice-cream. All ok.
  I will not cannot eat a mango in any other form. Not even aamrakhanda (mango shrikhanda).
  So to see a mango in a savoury dish or to see a mango rubbing shoulders with an onion... That is just wrong. So wrong.


• Poli/ Chapati/ Roti
  I can't make decent ones even if my life depended on them. Frankly I gave up trying years ago. Parathas, I can manage. Not polya.
  Growing up, we'd have a lady come in every morning to make polya for the family. What a luxury.
  Now I have a nice Indian lady who lives in our neighbourhood make polya for me several times a week. Lucky me!


• Bowl matters
  I prefer eating in a bowl rather than a plate. This drives the significant-other nuts.
  

Anyone who hasn't been tagged and would like to do this meme, consider yourself tagged by TheCooker.
But specifically I'd like to tag a fellow Punekar, the person behind Adhi Potoba.

Me-Me & a Divine Flower

My first me-me (clap-clap). I was beyond thrilled when Richa tagged me. But when I started thinking about random facts about myself, I hit a huge speed breaker.

Anyway, here are some random facts about me:
1. I don't like ice-cream. Don't hate it but don't enjoy it much either.
At times, I'll taste an unusual flavour but rarely will I have an entire serving or scoop.
2. I can have bhel-puri for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
3. Once while riding my bike to school (8th grade) I met with an accident. Nothing major, no broken bones etc. but the doctor did mention that for a split-second my 'brain had moved'! My family has been milking this ever since.
4. My kitchen is my domain. I just hate hate hate anyone intruding. My mother and MIL are the only ones to whom I've handed over my kitchen.
5. My husband describes my dress sense (style?) as mix & mis-match (instead of mix & match). He exaggerates, just slightly. It is true that I can't wear salwar-kameez where the dupatta matches the kurta which matches the salwar...ugh. Boring.
Even though all the three pieces don't have to be in the same colour, texture, or print....it all goes together in my opinion...so mis-matched it is not. Fabindia rocks!
6. I very regularly wear mismatched earrings. Not to make a statement (stylistic or otherwise), but because I feel like it.
7. I've always wanted to take pottery classes. A few months ago, I finally did. Only to realise that it is not for me. At least I got one item ticked-off from my to-do list. Check out some mementos from my class here and here.

I'd like to tag Dhana, Dr. Bhat, and Evolving Tastes. Though you don't have to play along, I sincerely hope you do.

Divine Flower
Now on to the divine flower. Last week, a bud of my mother's favourite flower, Bramha Kamal (Epiphylum Oxypetallum) was ready to bloom. This flower starts blooming in the late evening and blooms fully at midnight. A few hours after midnight it virtually collapses back into a bud-like state.
Here are some pictures I took. Let me warn you that the pictures do no justice to the beauty of this flower. Also don't pay any attention to the timestamp on the photos; the kids were playing with the date and time settings. Grr.

This photo was taken around 10pm.

This photo was taken around midnight.