Eavesdropping on Profiteroles

Lately, I've been travelling a fair bit for work.  I see that statement in print and it sounds sorta glamorous.  Like I've been jetting off to Milan and Paris for business meetings.  But nope, that's really not how my life works.  In my case, I travel to a small, rural'esque town where there are more cows than people and there is only one cab from the airport.  The aforementioned cab has no seatbelts and smells suspiciously like an "herb."  Oh, and the driver sings Katy Perry's California Girls... in Spanish.  Yup, it's a glamorous life I lead.

These trips have given me ample opportunity to eavesdrop on conversations at the airport.  What?  A girl's gotta have some way to pass the time.  In my defense, I only eavesdrop on interesting conversations.  If you're talking about how the switch to solid foods is impacting your baby's diaper contents, you can rest assured I am NOT listening in.  In the last couple of weeks, I've learned that pharmaceutical sales reps order lunch for hospital staff when they come to pimp their drugs.  Well you should know that the legal research software rep always brings free pens and stacks of post-its when he comes to visit my work so beat that, all you doctors dining on gourmet sushi.  I've also learned that a tanning salon tan makes you look thinner.  The girl espousing that gem forgot to mention that fake n' bake may also give you cancer, but whatevs if it makes you look skinnier, right?  And most importantly, I've learned that "The Situation" makes $60,000 for each episode of the Jersey Shore.  Good to know his abs are worth more than my seven years of post-secondary education.  Way more.

Peach Crumble vs. My Nemesis

You know how sometimes, you have crazy, inexplicable food cravings?  Not the ice cream and pickles kind.  I have not had the "pleasure" of encountering those yet, much to the chagrin of my mom and mother-in-law.  I mean, the kind that are triggered when you see a picture on a food blog or even when you read a recipe that doesn't have pictures.  And then for days afterward, all you can think about is making that recipe.  You see someone's red patent heels and your mind immediately jumps to bright red cherries in a divine cherry pie.  You hear someone's British accent and all of a sudden, you stop listening to what they're saying because you're contemplating the perfect Shepherd's Pie.  Well you should know those food cravings are about a million times more intense during Ramadan.  I mean, you can't eat all day so what do you do?  Think about food.  All day.  It's a perverse pleasure, I know.

A few days ago, I saw a recipe for peach crumble.  And for every second after that fleeting glimpse on the internet,  I thought about peach crumble.  So I brazenly tweeted, "Gonna' make myself some peach crumble tonight.  'Cause I'm fasting, and darn it, I deserve it."  It didn't matter that we didn't have any peaches.  Oh, and we'd run out of butter, after my foray into brown butter territory (or in my case, burned butter territory).  Ok, it did matter a bit since well, peach crumble needs peaches.  And butter.

Egg Rolls for Ramadan

It's officially week 2 of fasting for Ramadan and the cravings for coffee have now subsided.  That is to say, the loud voice in my head chanting, "Coffee, Coffee, Coffee" has now quieted to a whisper.  That's probly cause the voice is tired and wishes it had some, well, coffee.  That is why I'm surprised when I hear people say things like, "I'm completely at peace during Ramadan."  Really?  You are completely at peace, not having had your morning coffee, in an office with ten frantic attorneys, twenty ringing phones, and at least three crying babies?  Mmm hmm.  And I'm P Diddy.  Wait, is he still calling himself P Diddy?

Don't get me wrong.  There is something inherently peaceful about Ramadan.  When I'm at home, especially early in the mornings when the sun is shining through the window and the world is completely silent, I feel at peace.  I know that my fasting is teaching me to empathize with the plight of millions who have no food and water.  It is slowly convincing me to to rely on faith instead of material possessions.  But in the Grand Central Station that is my workplace, it is excruciatingly difficult to hang on to that peace.  And so, I concentrate on my evening snack.  Because I'm pious like that.

Flooding in Pakistan

Ramadan is particularly significant this year.  As I watch footage of the worst floods in history ravage my home country, Pakistan, I cannot help but think about divine timing.  The most important goal of fasting during Ramadan is to instill a deep empathy for those less fortunate.  And nothing will make you stop and reflect more than abstaining from food and water from sunrise to sunset.  Come 1 p.m., when my stomach is growling and I have a dull headache from missing my morning coffee, I can't help but pause and think that there are millions people who are in this situation, not by choice but by circumstance, day after day.  And that number just grew in the aftermath of the floods in Pakistan.

It saddens me deeply to know that many of those people will not even have access to one meal a day to break their fast. And I think about how fortunate I am that fasting is a choice.  That avoiding my daily Starbucks is the biggest ordeal of my day.  That throughout the day, I know that I have the luxury of eating a giant meal at night.  Many people, whether in Pakistan or elsewhere, are simply not that lucky.

MasterChef: The Last Chapter

Previously, in the MasterChef saga: MasterChef: After The Final Apron

And so it ended, not with a bang but a whimper.  I was the last person eliminated before the final 14.  When I was asked to turn my apron in, the only people looking on were winners- people who would go on competing, learn new cooking techniques, meet famous chefs, and have a chance to write their own cookbook. 

And yet, as I walked out of the best kitchen I'd ever set food in, I was kinda relieved.  Don't get me wrong- at the actual moment Chef Ramsay asked me turn my apron in, I felt like I'd been kicked in the stomach.  There are pictures to prove it.  But as soon as I walked out, I felt strangely calm.  When asked what I would do with my life now that I had been eliminated, I gave them a puzzled look and said, "Go back to being an attorney," in my standard, matter of fact way.