Food For Thought

Here is another edition of Tooney Tales and this time I am writing on the topic of food as it is just after lunch here and food is still on my mind.

Depending on the person you ask, they will tell you that either I am very picky when it comes to eating food (that would be from Brian) or I am not picky at all, as I am eating all the time (my immediate family). I think it depends more on what type of available as I am definitely not picky towards South Asian dishes and I have recently opened up my repertoire to include East Asian meals as well – although I still refuse to try sushi no matter what anyone says.

Those who know me, know very well that I could eat kofta, chicken tikka or biryani or any other type of South Asian meal any time of the day without hesitation and there is definitely something to be said of eating a home cooked meal as opposed to the convenience of eating our or ordering in. I’ll be first to admit I’m rather useless when it comes to preparing such foods but that’ll probably have to change soon enough if I am afforded an extended employment opportunity here.

On top of that, I don’t mind the occasional vegetable dish that is usually present at the dinner table but I tend to stay away from broccoli, eggplant and tomatoes. I did however ended up an eggplant dish last week without knowing it was in there, got totally trapped by my aunt for it. So the veggies stuff is fine but as my uncle says, no meal is complete “unless some dead animal is on the table” – my apologies to the animal-friendly people out there (except for PETA) for that admission.

Even though my unhealthy snack consumption at odd times of the day has been significantly reduced in the three weeks here, the lunches and dinners have been awesome here so far, with pretty much a new meal every day courtesy of my aunts. However, I’ve always been a sucker for anything my mom made and she’s still the best cook I know and even all this great food here can’t replace that touch of home. Hopefully my sister will learn a thing or two from her (haha, just kidding).

One last thing: I am still getting readjusted to getting milk in liters and in a bag but such is life here. The different varieties of chocolate available here (such as Mars, Aero and Smarties) that are not available in the States is an awesome upgrade and once again, Halal Popeyes just can’t be beaten.

P.S. (and completely random): I set a personal gchat record in terms of line for a one-day conversation at 1,212 lines – previous longest was at 500-something. I think you have to be a little crazy in the head to talk to me for that long in one day and hopefully therapy over time will fix your nightmares. So if you have a birthday on 12/12 – feel free to celebrate the achievement appropriately.