It's been a while...

It's been a while since I last blogged. 2 weeks almost i think. Wow, so much has happened in these 2 weeks.

For starters, the panic mode is starting to kick in a little. Not a lot, just a little. Not really panic either, more of the realization that henceforth starts my last month at home, in this phase of life. :)

Other than that, the past two weeks have had me both elated and grieved. Elated, i say, because we won the ICC 20-20 World Cup, and in doing so, we won our first major cricket trophy after 17 years. Wow, that really was great. It was actually amazing seeing how sport (and at that cricket!) seems to unite people and give them something to be happy about!

In other news, Michael Jackson passed away. And with his death, he took away a generation's childhood. As I watched the TV programs re-living his life, his songs, his legend, I related each of his songs to a phase of our lives, of the times when we first heard his songs. I wish I could have heard him live in concert though, I'm sure he would have been phenomenal. Despite all the controversies and scandals that engulfed his life in the past decade or so, I do know this - he truly was a legend. It's really not often that you come across an artist, a musician, a singer who can make his/her mark across the whole world. MJ did just that. 

:) More later!

Ain't nothing but a Summer Jam...

This ain't nothing but a summer jam....bronze skin and cinnamon tans....ohh...

Man I love that song (yes i know it's gotten old, but every summer i still feel like listening to it!!). And so it's June already - the *almost* peak of the summer. I'd say mid June - mid July starts off the worst time - the unbearable heat, the stifling heat, the long afternoon naps that are so hard to resist. But with the heat, the sweat, and the passing of another season, something good does come. And not just good, but heavenly good. I'm talking about the mangoes.

Man, I could write a whole blog series on the mangoes. The mangoes of the sub-continent are famous for their rich aroma, their addictive sweetness, the soft pulpy flesh, and the varied kinds that exist. So that's what summer signifies for me.

On other fronts, my MBA preparations are still going. I'm learning to cook the food's I'll miss most. I'm expecting a CD in June, which will have a pre-course work program (Math and stuff) we're all supposed to do before starting Fuqua. So, yea, looking forward to that - i really need to get used to this study routine! After such a break from studies, getting used to the work routine, I'm wondering whether it will be easy to adjust the back-to-school (studying) life. Hm, well only time will tell.

Celebratory MBA chocolate cake!!!

There are various kinds of chocolate cakes - there's the kind you crave for at midnight, then the one you crave after lunch, the one you crave when you're feeling low, the kind you crave when you want to reminisce about your childhood... and finally, there's the one you crave while enjoying your pre-MBA celebrations :)

So here it is! For me, this is it - the cake I'd have (and have had...yummm!) to celebrate my MBA. I can just taste the rich chocolatey icing, the nicely textured cakey slice, the intense chocolate after-taste, and the ensuing feeling of satiety. 

This is a tried-and-tested recipe. I (and many others) have made it for many many years now - it's a safe, chocolate bet. Follow the recipe and trust me, you won't go wrong. Oh, one more thing, i hate cake recipes that use 'xox cake mixes, instant puddings and so on'.  I like cakes that are made from scratch - you feel a greater sense of achievement :D

So, without much ado, here it is:

(Source: Hamlyn's cookbook)

Ingredients:

4 oz. plain flour

1.5 tea spoon baking powder

0.25 tea spoon salt

1.5 oz. cocoa

4 oz. butter

4 oz sugar

2 eggs, blended

1 tablespoon milk

For icing:

1.5 oz butter

1 oz cocoa

3-4 tablespoons milk

4 oz. icing sugar

(The picture I took of the cake I made, utilized 2 times this recipe). 

Sieve together flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa. In another bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add eggs a little at a time, beating well. Fold sieved ingredients into mixture with milk. Mix well. Turn into greased tin. Bake for about 40-45 minutes at 170-180 C/ 375 F until centre of sponge springs back when lightly pressed (you can stick a fork in to test if done - if fork comes out clean, then cake is ready). 

Icing: Melt butter for icing. Add cocoa. Cook over low heat for 1-1.5 minutes. Add milk and sugar, and cook over low heat until you get a creamyish icing. Note: Add the sugar to suit your taste, as 4 oz may be too excessive. I usually go with about 2-2.5 oz  sugar for the icing.

Spread the slightly warm icing on the relatively cooled down cake. ENJOY!!

A new phase...

So I had my last day at work, and it's now finally all fitting in...but what is it about last days (anywhere) that just makes them so weird! That unexplainable, almost conundrum-ic feeling you get, knowing this is the end of an era, a phase of your life...whether it's your existing job, your college, or even saying goodbye to a friend who's moving to another city or place.. you know things will have to change inevitably.  so that's pretty much the same for me. My last day made me realize I really have learnt quite a bit from my recent job, grown personally, and enhanced my professional network. 

The initial feeling was one of exhilaration as I felt I was a free bird, no longer a captive of the corporate slave-hours! Hehe, this feeling was short-lived though. My fourth day of being free and I'm actually wondering how to kill time.. there is quite a lot of stuff i have to get down to doing, such as immunization, sorting out what to take along, what to shop, filling out some Fuqua forms et al, but this lack of a daily routine is making me oh-so-lethargic!

Oh well, tomorrow's another day right. I will not procrastinate tomorrow. haha. i've been reading a book, one which is claimed to be a book you HAVE to read in your life : One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It's not the book, i guess it's me, but i just haven't been finding the motivation to read it/ finish it. I need a fast paced, action thriller, un-put-down-able book right now. any suggestions? 

I read Grisham's "The Associate" a month or two ago. enjoyed it - i actually read it while at an airport, and i have to say Grisham's excellent for airports/ long journeys. 

I've been getting a few requests for a celebratory MBA cake recipe. :) i have taken heed of that and promise it in my next post! yea for chocolateness in life :)

this has turned out to be a random non-MBAish post, but then i guess this is the start of my new job-free-until-MBA-starts phase!