Pre-holiday Weekend happenings

Saturday was baking day. It was truly fun. My partner taught me the magic art form of baking. I don't know why but I never really got into it, even though I love cooking. I suppose I thought it was just this grandma's gift and was too difficult to even try. However with the help of my partner and her amazing baking abilities I was able to whip up some of the most healthiest cookies I've ever tried! Our 'healthified' version included the following changes: using brown sugar, organic peanut butter, 99% cocoa, coconut and honey for sweetness (vs. refined sugar), wheat flour, flax seed powder and 9-grain oats (vs. refined all-purpose flour), and being masala man I added my partner's garam masala! And boy did those cookies have some kick! And the best part was that they were so easy to make - I couldn't believe it! I mean just mixing the ingredients and then only waiting 10 minutes for them to bake, I can't believe I've been scared of trying this art! I was very happy to share these cookies with my cousin Simmi, who's birthday it was just earlier this week.

Just as fast as all the cookies were eaten so was my partner. She is off to Cuba for a 3 week vacation with her family - and this of course makes me very jealous as I'm left in Vancouver with work, the cold weather and all the rain! Luckily for her she'll be backpacking all over giving her the exposure to all the local culture.

Since the car accident end of September I've had a very difficult time sleeping and since I couldn't get to bed I thought of watching some CBC documentaries - they are great. If you haven't watched them and you have some time to waste I highly recommend watching anything available at doc zone.

What was available this week was Paris Hilton Inc and Firestar .45. Wow were both these docs powerful. I was quite shocked to see the behind-the-scenes happenings of the celebrity world and then to see the shocking story of guns and the proliferation of their illicit use in the US due to the lobbying efforts of the National Rifle Association.

So waking up the next morning was difficult, but was made easier as Papa, Dipesh and I tried out a new dim sum place with his friend Subash uncle. Usually every other sunday my partner and I make it out to our favourite dim sum restaurant Dai Tung, but this week we thought of trying something new (well maybe it was due to the 1 hour wait for a table - boy dim sum is so popular in Vancouver!) The place we found was just up on Knight and kingsway - called the King's Garden. The food was quite good as we ate double what we usually do (and was quite reasonable!). What made the brunch most memorable was Subash uncle. We know that Dim sum restaurants aren't known for their service, so we didn't think much when my uncle from Winnipeg had asked for many things but was ignored. However, the funny thing that happened was really craving steamed spareribs (they are so tasty as it comes in a spicy sauce) so when the waiter came around my uncle tried his very best to order that. Instead of bringing these delicious spareribs, the waiter came back with a knife!

Also on Sunday my father and I watched "Bollywood Seen! The making of a Bollywood Movie!". It was definitely an entertaining show and we were quite amazed with the diverse dance team including dancers trained in barat natyam, bhangra, hip hop, jazz and ballet. It was definitely a comic act as they performed numbers from numerous bollywood films including Guru and popular artists including JoSH and Raghav.

The FootEdge Dance Company, the organizers of the performance, followed up on its last piece "From Kathak to Bollywood".

Anyone knowing bollywood movies understand the drama that unfolds onset, but this play showed the drama that happens behind the set. With the director and his sidekick cheechu having to deal with the many problems along the way.