i-PROBONO AND A NUTELLA CAPPUCCINO

“While we do our good works let us not forget that the real solution lies in a world in which charity will have become unnecessary.”
― Chinua Achebe, Anthills of the Savannah

 

I know a lot of corporate lawyers who are looking for a chance to help out but aren't sure where to start. i-Probono is a great way to dip your toes into the pro bono world.

"i-Probono is a non-profit online network connecting organisations in need of legal assistance with lawyers and students who want to use their legal skills for the public good. The network's global outreach enables people to engage in projects from around the world and allows organisations to source assistance across jurisdictions. This is the first website of its kind for the international pro bono community, bringing people and projects together to give organisations the support they need and volunteers the experience they want. Organisations working for the public good, such as charities, social enterprises, NGOs and advocacy groups often need help with legal matters, but legal expertise is an expensive resource that often requires pro bono assistance." (From the i-Probono website).

The process is simple, just sign up and create a profile setting out your practice areas/ areas of expertise and they'll match you up with organizations that require your services. Check out their website here (http://www.i-probono.com/).

The perfect start to any work day, pro bono or billable, is this decadent chocolate-coffee blended Nutella Cappuccino.  
 

Serves 2

Recipe adapted from Alyssa and Carla

 

What you’ll need:

2 cups of milk

3 -4 tbsp Nutella (put more in if you like)
½ tbsp espresso powder (or more if you want it stronger)

 How to:

1. Pop milk into a saucepan and let it simmer.

2. Pour milk into a blender with the rest of the ingredients and blend. Pour most of the drink into cups.  

3. Blend the remaining milk at high to froth it up and top up your mugs with the froth.

 

PINK CHIFFON

“Death: "THERE ARE BETTER THINGS IN THE WORLD THAN ALCOHOL, ALBERT."
Albert: "Oh, yes, sir. But alcohol sort of compensates for not getting them.”
― Terry Pratchett

 

 

I am so tired of restaurants and bars serving up offensively syrupy, chemically fuchsia drinks as appropriate for female customers. If one more bartender tries to coax me into ordering some impossibly sweet concoction I will wallop them.

 

I'm tossing the gaudy pink theme bartenders use for "girly" drinks because I hate that color and frankyly, I don't why women got saddled with it. Here's a drink that human beings should be drinking. Lovely peach, iced guava juice with the tang of black salt and some effervescence to lighten the whole thing up with a dash of vodka or white rum.  
 

 

Makes 1 drink

Recipe made out of ingredients found in the fridge

What you'll need:

30 ml vodka/white rum (optional)

3/4 cup guava juice

1/4 cup Sprite

Sprinkle of Black Salt

Ice

How to:

Combine all ingredients and pour into glass. Sprinkle some more black salt on top. Serve chilled.

Note: Alternatively you can rim the glass with Black Salt if you're feeling fancy.

TROPICAL FLAIR

"The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook - Julia Child" 

 

 

A book I was reading recently recommended making a list of a 100 things you want to do in your life. I started my list with a lot of enthusiasm but froze at number 36. I thought it strange that I couldn't come up with even a 100 things I want to accomplish over the course of my entire life but when I got down to it all my plans, (reasonable) dreams and hopes fit easily within this 100.

I didn't list out every place I want to go to though since that in itself is a list of more than a 100 but I do have some bucket list experiences in there like throwing tomatoes at La Tomatina. No I wasn't inspired by Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.

My list ended at number 96 and it is of course a work in progress. Things will be added and subtracted but the exercise seems valuable in throwing up a pattern in what you find important. Like I know better than ever that I need to travel, that travel and discovery is not just important to me but makes me better and I'd hate to look back at lost opportunities to wander. I also realized I was on the right track with this blog because writing projects are also very valuable to me.

Make your own list this week and sieve through the crud to find the things you really want to focus on. To help you with the arduous task you might need to blend yourself this filling, super healthy smoothie - it'll get you through your list.

Makes 2 large glasses

Recipe from some newspaper

What you'll need:

1 cup papaya (peeled and cut into chunks)

1 banana (peeled and chopped)

1/2 cup orange juice

Juice of 1 lemon

Honey to taste

How to:

Puree all the ingredients, pour into glasses and serve with ice.

 

GREEN TEA MOJITOS

“We were not a hugging people. In terms of emotional comfort it was our belief that no amount of physical contact could match the healing powers of a well made cocktail.”
― David Sedaris, Naked

 

Trust me to spike something health gurus are falling over themselves trying to advocate. This crisp, golden cocktail is the perfect light and minty cocktail for brunch and lunch drinking and easy to put together in large batches.

In fact if you omit the dash of white rum/vodka you'll have a very nutritious drink on your hands.
 

Makes 1 drink

Recipe from Sweet Paul

What you'll need:

30 ml white rum

3/4 cup green tea (prepared and chilled)

2 tsp powdered sugar or honey

Juice of 1 lime

Mint leaves

Ice

How to:

Smash together lime juice, sugar and mint leaves. Add ice and rum. Pour in tea.

VIVAT AND A SWEET SUMMER BREEZE

 

 

The very pretty and very talented Devangee Ganatra and Shruti Chowdhary put their great taste to work for our benefit, retailing beautiful (and affordable) jewellery and clothes through their enterprise Vivat. Like superheroes but fighting for fashion good.

 

 

The superhero comparison is apt because these girls are passionate about working with local craftsmen and artisans and sharing their profits with them. And since good begets good, they've been retailing online very successfully and have had shows, exhibitions and private sales in everywhere from Bombay, Calcutta, Muscat to the UK and US. To find out more and check out the merchandise take a look at their facebook page here.

 

 

Here's a toast to these lovely ladies for having the courage to take a shot at their dream jobs and doing such an amazing job of it! This minty fresh, effervescent cocktail is a perfect accompaniment to Vivat's style.

 

On my wishlist =)

 

What you'll need:

30 ml vodka or white rum (optional)

3/4 cup Sprite

Watermelon (balled with a melon baller and the seeds removed)

Chunks of Cucumber

Mint leaves

Juice of 1 lemon

Ice

How to:

Assemble all ingredients, pour into a glass and adjust as per taste. Serve chilled.

 

FOOFED UP RUM AND COKE

Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut - Ernest Hemingway

These are so simple, they're perfect to put together for a movie night or any other low-fuss occassion. Either make a big batch and stick it in the fridge or lay out all the ingredients and let your guests fend for themselves. The addition of oranges and vanilla essence adds an interesting kick to the old favourite, the Rum and Coke.

 

Recipe from Martha Stewart

Serves 1

What you’ll need:

Ice

Coke
Vanilla Essence
Lime/Orange

How to:

Pile ice into a glass, pour Coke, add a tiny, tiny bit of vanilla essence and a squeeze of citrus. Garnish with a slice of lemon or orange and serve.

 

Yeah, they empty out pretty quickly =)

HOT CHOCOLATE FUDGE MILKSHAKE

"If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing."

— Ayn Rand

 

Can you see the streaks of fudge down the glass? So so yum.

This post is a good time to dip my toes into the make at home v. eat out debate. There are a lot of reasons to pick eating out over slaving over a stove and I'll talk about those at greater length some other time but a lot of people believe they won't be able to reproduce restaurant quality food at home. This recipe is here to prove you wrong. Adjust the ingredients to make this drink/dessert (dressert?) as indulgent as you want and I assure you this will be as good as anything you can place an order for.

 

I dont know why I added sprinkles. I thought it would look nicer in the pictures but the pictures are also poop. Should have just added cashews.

Serves 1

Adapted from Joy the Baker

 

What you’ll need:

 

For the fudge

 

3 tbsp cocoa powder

4 tbsp cream

50 – 60 gms chocolate

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

For the milkshake

 

1 scoop vanilla ice cream

½ cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Shot of bourbon (optional)

 

For the whipped cream (Optional)

 

¼ cup heavy cream

½ tsp vanilla extract

Sprinkles/chopped up cashew or a cherry to decorate

How to:
 

1. Identify a large glass for the milkshake – this is going to be quite a production.

 2. Melt the fudge ingredients in a pan till totally melted. Pour most of the fudge into glass. Let some slide along the sides of the glass so it doesn’t all pool at the bottom.

 3. Mix together the ice cream, milk and vanilla. Add a shot of bourbon if you like. Add more ice cream or more milk to try to get it to the thickness you like. Pour into glass.

 

4. Whip the cream ingredients together and top the shake but this is already going to be quite heavy so take a call if you want it at all.

 

5. Add some more fudge on top.

 

6. Add some sprinkles on top. Top with a cherry.

 

7. Serve immediately.

A monkey could have taken a better picture. What was I thinking putting the brown fudge against a brown desk? Sigh.

 

HOT BUTTERED RUM

Why is the rum always gone?! - Jack Sparrow

 

This is a hardcore cold fix. Don't try this recipe unless you feel a real threat of hypothermia. No I mean it. This is buttery, spicy and (very) heavy. If you haven't reached that age where you worry about diet choices and eating meals at regular intervals this could be a meal. I'm pretty sure it's the calorific equivalent of atleast 2 meals.

But if like me you are stuck in a cold, cold place and have all the sweaters in your cupboard on your back this will fix you. Go out for a walk, take a deep breath of the cold winter air, run back indoors and drink some of this stuff.

 

What you’ll need (for 4 cups):

8 teaspoons butter

1 tsp Cloves

1 tsp Cardamom

4 sticks Cinnamon

3 tablespoons sugar

1 ½ cup orange juice

Hot water

 

How to: 

 

1. Crush the cloves, cardamom and cinnamon to a powder.

 

2. Heat the butter in a pan and add the spices and sugar. Stir in well.

 

3. Drop a heaping tablespoon of the spice butter mixture into each cup.

 

4. Heat orange juice and water in a pan.

 

5. When ready to serve add rum to each cup and then top up with the hot water/juice mixture. Stir well and serve.  

 

CHEATER'S MULLED WINE

“his lips drink water

but his heart drinks wine”

― E.E. Cummings

 

 

So I was waiting to put together a series of posts on food and drink to make you feel better in the bitter winter except it was so cold out that I got lazy. Then day before yesterday the temperature started to rise and I realized that my recipes were going to become useless soon and Delhi would be back on its diet of Cucumber Coolers and Melon Martinis. So here's me getting my act together while the temperatures stay low.

 

Again this is one of those indicative recipes. That's why it's called Cheater's Mulled Wine. Actual Mulled Wine recipes tend to have a lot more stuff floating in the wine but it's too cold for me to try to make the effort.

 

Feel free to mess around with the proportion till you find something that works for you. Also with the ingredients. I imagine you could do away with some of the ingredients below or add more of your own (maybe nutmeg?). You'll see I've put in a lot of fruit options - go with whatever you have at hand, so either just one fruit or a combination of what  you have lying around. It will all work.

 

This is a wonderful drink to drink when you come back in from the cold. Put your feet up, get your book and have a furry, warm dog lying by your side while the mulled wine heats you inside out.

This is what I was looking at when I was drinking my Mulled Wine this winter.

 

What you’ll need: 

A bottle of wine (any will do but a red or deep fruit wine may take on the flavours better)

2 tbsp sugar (more if you want it sweeter)

1 cup fruit juice (ideally to match the flavor of the fruit you’re putting in but orange is a good failsafe)

3 -4 pods of Cardamom (crushed)

3 -4 sticks of Clove (crushed)

2 -3 sticks of Cinnamon

Oranges/ Pomegranate/ Lime (not lemons)/ Pineapple/ Apples (chopped)

 

How to:

1. Smash together the cardamom, clove and cinnamon. Keep some sticks of cinnamon aside to garnish your drink.

2. Pop all ingredients together in a pot and let sit for as long as you can.

3. When time to serve, place pot on stove and heat through. Make sure you don’t boil the mix because you’ll boil the alcohol away.

4. Once warmed through ladle into mugs and serve! I really like having some of the fruit pulp in my drink but check if your companions want the drink strained.

 

CUCUMBER MELON COOLER

"Is your cucumber bitter? Throw it away." - Marcus Aurelius

It's 45 degrees out and I've taken to spending my days under the shower. Combat the dangers of dehydration, heat stroke and all around irritability with this cucumber melon cooler. It may not bring back the spring in your currently sweaty step but it should give you just about enough energy to book your tickets out of Delhi.

 

What you’ll need:

2 cups chopped cucumber

1 ½ cup chopped melon

Honey to taste

Crushed ice to serve

How to:

Note: Before you start blending your cucumber don’t forget to taste to see if its turned bitter!

Blend the cucumber and melon in a mixer and add a tablespoon or two of honey if you want it to be sweeter.

Serve with crushed ice.

Foodnotes:

I used musk melon but you could use pretty much any kind of melon. You could sieve the mixture and get at a thinner juice but its best (and most nutritious) if you drink it in this thick, soothing, filling form.

TAMARIND COOLER

"Then there is the tamarind. I thought tamarinds were made to eat, but that was probably not the idea. I ate several, and it seemed to me that they were rather sour that year." Mark Twain

 

What you’ll need:

250 gms tamarind

1 cup sugar

4 – 5 heaping spoons of black salt

2 litres water

How to:

1. Clean the tamarind and bounce it into a large container with 2 litres of water. Mix in the sugar and salt.

2. Once the mixture comes to a boil, run it through a sieve to get at the tamarind juice. Taste and check if you’d like more sugar or salt.

3. Once cool, serve in small glasses with lots of ice.

Foodnotes:

 

• In a pinch you could use ordinary salt but I really think that it wouldn’t have the same amount of flavor. If using ordinary salt maybe you could also put in some chaat masala.
•  I haven’t tried this yet but the tanginess of the tamarind should be a perfect foil for vodka, try it as a cocktail and let me know!