Good Bye Dodger

Goodbye Dodger

How do you eulogize someone who gave love unconditionally and asked for an occasional bone in return? When Shibani and I married, we were young enough to have our "own" kid but instead we brought home Dodger. The cutest little Golden Retriever Pup, one could ever hold. He was "ours". For a guy who had never had a pet, Dodger taught me how to love one. Don't get me wrong, I had my moments but letting him go today was one the hardest thing I have ever had to do and I hope no one has to make this call, but when your dog is unable to get up and refuses to eat for days it is cruel and selfish to let him endure whatever discomfort or pain he might be feeling.

We almost lost him in October of last year, but he made a miraculous recovery and gave us another 6 months. A gift, I will never forget. As Shibani mourns, I try to find solace in writing and sharing my grief. I walk around the house and look at the things we have collected. There is something to learn from the simplicity of our pet’s lives. All Dodger had, were two beds, a pan from where he ate food, a leash and a water bowl. The lump in my throat might subside in a few days, but the memories he left us with will take a lifetime to fade. I hope to see you wherever we go when we leave this planet. Thank you for enriching my life and the unconditional 14 years of love you gave me Dodger.

My Left Foot

My Left Foot

“Life’s journey is very hard to follow… When you have a broken foot”, proudly proclaimed a small printed note on my office door when I returned to work 3 days after a surgery to repair my broken ankle. It broke because of an ill conceived parking lot puddle jumping attempt. This among myriad of other signs were on the office door to remind me that I was either a klutz or was more prone to accidents than other mere mortals. After all, this was my fourth surgery in about as many years. 

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect to slip and fall in ill maintained parking lot, let alone suffer a compound fracture with a broken ligament. An injury severe enough to warrant paramedics to the scene who stabilized my dangling left foot and transported me in an ambulance to the emergency room. What ensued has been the most trying time for me personally in coping with this injury. 

As cliché as it may sound, everything in life teaches you a lesson. This accident has not been without some remarkable awakenings. The biggest one being, “never take being able bodied for granted”. But why does it take an injury for most of us to realize it? Why don’t we take care of ourself and our bodies? The answer may not be an easy one. After all, our abilities are no different than material things that are available to us in abundance. We tend to neglect them or not particularly care about their existence until the day we can’t have them anymore. 

The day you lose your ability to do something that was so basic to your day to day life can be devastating and powerful at the same time. Your attitude primarily determines the outcome of your disability. The second most important thing is your support system. If you are surrounded by supportive and positive people, you are likely to have a better outcome. This isn’t based on some thesis or some exhaustive study that I have conducted but purely based on my personal experience through recovery. 

This injury introduced me to one of the smartest Podiatrist/Surgeon I have had the pleasure of meeting. I am awe inspired by Dr. Bruce Lehnert who not only has an innate ability to be a master at his craft but has also proven to be numinous for many children in Vietnam where he has given the gift of walking to many who had no chance of ever having access to surgical procedures to repair their congenital foot disorders. 

Then there are family and friends. I am fortunate to have an amazing wife who pushed me and helped me heal both mentally and physically. Having been a caregiver in the past, I am all too familiar with the toll it takes. Without her, this would have been far more excruciating. My friends have been incredibly supportive and kind. My advice to anyone who is going through any type of recovery is to never turn down an offer from a friend to just hang out with you. It unties you from being maudlin. Friends are the best elixir for you and there is nothing wrong in getting pampered during your recovery. 

I am walking now after 8 weeks and will hopefully be back on a trail soon. This is has been a tough but an incredible learning experience and I can’t thank all of the people who have helped me including strangers that opened doors for me and the small gestures of kindness everywhere. 

Blood, Sweat and Years

January 13, 2016

Love, Sweat & Years

30 years in USA

A grey custom tailored suit, an Aristocrat VIP hard shell plastic suitcase and a duffel bag. Some clothes, a pair of worn out shoes, an oversized woolen sweater stitched by my grandmother, a couple of hundred dollars and a jar full of my mothers tears. This is what I left with on this very day, 30 years ago. Palam Airport, TWA flight to New York JFK and then on to LAX. Listening to “Take on Me” by A-Ha, over and over again on the flight, the first sight of San Fernando Valley with it’s glistening lights while descending on the 405 freeway and walking into a am-pm mini market and taking in the sight of what seemed an endless variety of wrigley chewing gums (yeah, they were a big deal in India). Incredible! I was smitten with USA on day one.

My father was often complimented by many of his friends for being a “self made man”. I have heard this over the years and a few have said the same to me in recent times.  I understood the words but could never really reconcile with them, I still can’t. How can anyone ever be self made? After all, your mere presence in this world is due to someone else. The point being, there is no way anyone can ever be “self made”. My journey of 30 years in this amazing land is proof that I am here because of countless hands that reached out to help me at various junctures of my life. I could never profess to be “self made”. 

Unlike a rolling stone, a journey this long, gathers plenty of moss. It would take me a sizable time to chronicle and to recognize all of the people who have made an impact on me over the years but there are many without whom I would not be here.  These were people who never knew me and yet found a place in their home for me to stay, without whom, I would have been truly homeless. These were people who helped me while I was down and out and gave me whatever they could, a hug, a compliment, a hand whenever I needed something, anything. The journey has seen a lot of blood, sweat, years and many tears. I am thankful and fortunate to be where I am in my life and I wanted to take this moment to recognize the people behind it. 

No man is an island,

Entire of itself,

Every man is a piece of the continent,

A part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea,

Europe is the less.

As well as if a promontory were.

As well as if a manor of thy friend's

Or of thine own were:

Any man's death diminishes me,

Because I am involved in mankind,

And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; 

It tolls for thee.  - John Donne

Red Light Camera's in Fremont - What to do if you get a ticket

I am no fan of red light cameras. Well, let me restate that. Unless you can put a red light camera in every intersection, you are not applying the law equally. Worse, the ticket prices are exorbitant. We are talking upwards of $500. Add traffic school fees and the money that the actual traffic school charges, you could be looking at over $700. I hope you know that I am not suggesting that you do not follow the law, however these tickets are a mostly a money making scheme for cities and counties across USA.

I happened to receive a ticket in Fremont on Mowry and Farwell. I decided to challenge it and paid my $500 fine and asked for a court date. You also have the choice to do a trial by written declaration. I suggest that you not do that. After paying my fine and requesting a court date, I received a notice with a date and a place to appear at the Paseo Padre Court. My strategy was to plead guilty and ask for a reduced fine and traffic school.

When I arrived, the court clerk had posted the defendants list on the wall and very politely explained the process to everyone. He opened the court doors on time and asked all the defendants to be seated. A few minutes later a portly gentleman walked in. He was the public defender. A nice, polite gentleman who went about his business setting up his laptop, managing his file folders while whistling away to his favorite tune. Upon completion of his what seemed like a daily routine, he faced the defendants and went on to explain who he was and his role in the court proceedings on that day. A retired police detective, he went on to explain that his job was to verify the evidence of the camera and attempt to match the photo with the drivers license of the person who owned the vehicle.

He carefully explained that there will be at least 4-5 defendants who he will recommend that the judge dismiss their tickets because of either photo's that were unclear or other evidence that led him to believe that there was not enough merit in the case for it to proceed.

He then proceeded to call out names of the folks who were going to be presented in front of the judge and allowed them to review evidence that he had on his laptop on a DVD. This went on for about 10-15 minutes and then he called out the names of 5 people who he asked to step outside the courtroom in an alcove. He went on to explain that all 5 of us were going to be recommended for dismissal in front of the judge and he wanted us to step out so that the rest of the folks in the courtroom would not feel bad (what a nice guy).

The court began it's session and the first 5 people to be called were the ones being recommended for dismissal and the judge agreed to all of them. I received my dismissal papers and while waiting I heard a couple of cases being presented. Here are my key learnings:

• Never pay a traffic ticket from a red light camera outright. In my case, my photo was blurry but I was not sure if that would matter. So had I paid my ticket, my case would have never been dismissed and I would have paid $500 plus traffic school fees for no reason. 
• Right turn on red is one of the easiest ones that the judge will either dismiss with a warning or reduce the penalty significantly (as witnessed by me in the courtroom), additionally the right on red is a zero point violation so no need to go to traffic school and waste your time and money.
• Ask for reduction in fine. This will succeed almost always unless of course you blatantly jumped the light with your middle finger pointed at the camera.
• The Fremont court is friendly and the court clerk and the detective were extremely polite and helpful (red light camera court). I am not sure if these folks are always there or not. Your mileage might vary and please don't write to me complaining if you ran into a someone who was not as I described.

Surgery for your aging dog

I can't profess to be a much of a dog lover. While growing up in India, my family never had a pet. I ached for a parrot but somehow a caged bird wasn't my cup of tea and moreover my father never really agreed on letting me keep one.

Dodger Dog

Fast forward a couple of decades and travel several thousand miles and here I am in USA the land of the free and the home of the dog lovers. About 12 years ago, I caved into my kids and wife's desire to get a dog. We brought home a chubby golden retriever with a penchant for mischief and named him dodger. No one liked the name but since I am a big fan of the LA Dodgers, my condition for getting the dog and naming him Dodger did not face stiff resistance.


Years passed and Dodger has grown on me. I still can't let him lick my face and stand to have him breath on me but other than that, I am good to go. The standard unconditional love sans the unending greed for food and a penchant for cuteness beyond anyone's imagination has me completely swept off my feet. Well maybe not completely but I do love this dog.

The purpose of this blog was to highlight a condition we faced with Dodger recently as it may help others who are facing the same dilemma. Dodger over the years developed lipoma's all over his body. Some were small to begin with but grew over time. We took him to the vet early on and they ran a gamut of tests on him including a biopsy which came back negative, much to our collective relief.

The vet suggested surgery but told us that if it the Lipoma's were not bothering Dodger's mobility or otherwise grew bigger, we had nothing to worry about. Time went by and Dodger started developing more Lipoma's. My wife and I were in a quandary. On one hand we wanted to get these removed and on the other, our Dog was getting old and we were still unsure if these bothered him.

In December we decided to take Dodger in for surgery. It was an opportune time as both my wife and I had plenty of time off during the holidays which would allow us to be at home with Dodger. Having done plenty of research on the web, we still found ourselves unsure if we should proceed with the surgery. Upon doing further research, I stumbled upon an article from a lady who was facing a similar dilemma. You can read it here. This blog post convinced us to have Dodger's Lipoma's removed.


On the day of the surgery, Dodger went into the clinic and was extremely apprehensive and restless. The surgeon gave my wife the perfunctory speech about the risks from surgery. My wife left Dodger at the clinic and we patiently waited. The news was positive, Dodger had done well. He had a lot of fatty tissue removed and had been sutured up. A day later, we brought him home. The sutures were tough to manage. With Dodger's mobility it was hard for the sutures to heal completely as they kept oozing, requiring frequent trips back to the vet. A second follow up procedure was performed to drain the fluids from his wounds and he was re-sutured. The hard work that my wife put in has paid off tremendously. Dodger has done remarkably well and has more energy than before. One of the best outcomes of the surgery has been that we have started feeding him home cooked food and stopped giving him store bought dog food. It's a basic recipe of rice, minced chicken or beef with lots of vegetables (celery & carrots). With this new diet, Dodger sheds less hair than ever, has lost weight and is more energetic.  I personally think that we have not only added more years to Dodger's life but have made the rest of his life better.

Kale, Not Super Enough For Me

The food revolution in America has resurrected Kale to the Super Food status. A green, sickly looking leaf which garnished the plates of cheap diner dishes in years gone by, has all of a sudden skyrocketed to fame. Take a couple of celebrity chefs, sprinkle in a few juicy buzzwords, get Huffington Post to write an article gushing with praises of a "leaf" and you have a star in the making. Except, I still fucking hate Kale. I have always hated Kale and just like Justin Beiber would never grow on me, neither will Kale. My hope is that Kale will get relegated back to obscurity on the diner plates and never grace my salad. Yes, I know that it has more Vitamin C than Orange Juice but puhlease do not serve it to me in any Juice form as a matter of fact, in any form. Sorry Kale Chips but I do carry a grudge with anything that looks like only a cow would chew. If I want to get some Kale in my body, I will prefer eating the Cow that ate the kale instead.  

What is wrong with butter chicken in America??

Lazy summer evenings in Delhi with the erstwhile Mohan Meakins, Golden Eagle chilled beer. A quick short drive (those were the days) to Moti Mahal in Daryaganj and you were whisked in by a lanky, burly mustached guard in royal style. You step into a large courtyard that looked like the Veranda of a my grandmothers village home. Replete with red bricks pieced together like a mosaic with greenish edges from the moisture, rain and the sun that pummels it everyday. Modest tables and chair with freshly starched white table covers that show signs of wear and tear around the edges and an occasional small hole with frayed fabric. The table was usually adorned with a small fresh flower in a vase surrounded by cheap plastic salt and pepper shakers and a bowl of vinegar laced, small red pickled onions that were tart enough to cause lockjaw with the first bite.

The menu used to be laminated in plastic and was a simple and straightforward. The most famous dish to be ordered at Moti Mahal was and still is their butter chicken. Some might say it was their tandoori chicken but the butter chicken comprised of a tandoori chicken that was cooked in a rich butter sauce with tomatoes. The taste was simple yet elegant and in a recent visit to Delhi, I stopped by to try "THE BUTTER CHICKEN". All I can say is, the dish was as good on that day as it used to be 30 years ago. Wait, maybe even better. Our waiter told us that he had been working at Moti Mahal for about 20 plus years and the burly mustached guard had recently passed away much to our dismay. Since we had arrived around 6 PM there was no one in the restaurant, which allowed us to interact with our server at ease. We ordered Burra Kabab, Tandoori Chicken and of course, Chicken Makhani with Rumali Roti and Naan.

Can you say food coma? After having lived in the USA for 25 years, I have yet to find a place that can come within 15 miles of this delicious delicacy. So, the question of the day is? What is wrong with butter chicken in America? Why is everyone here so hell bent on trying to be so authentic that they lose authenticity. I sometimes wonder if the Chinese knock off watchmakers actually sat down and spent time on a great original watch will they be able to make a better watch than Rolex? I think so. Same can be said for the many Indian restaurateurs in America specially when it comes to this classic Indian Mughlai Dish. The only thing I can say to the defense of the hapless wannabe Indian Chef's in the USA is that the quality of the chicken itself cannot be replicated here. The chicken in India is of the smaller variety. A tandoori chicken for instance cannot be made with a hen weighing more than 2 pounds. In fact the ideal weight for a well made tandoori chicken is somewhere in the neighborhood of 700 grams. The only type of chicken in the USA that comes close is the cornish game hen and you would be hard pressed to find one which weighs less than 2 pounds. Here is a recipe from my wife that I believe comes pretty darn close to the Indian original. My advice is to find the smallest chicken/hen possible. Organic free range chicken from a reputable store such as whole foods would be a way to go.
A classic butter chicken requires that you make tandoori chicken first and then add it to a tomato/butter sauce which can be prepared ahead of time.


For the Tandoori Chicken

1 Small/Medium Size Organic Chicken cut up in roughly about 10 pieces and skin removed
Score the chicken pieces to allow the marinade to seep into the chicken (all the way to the bone).
This is an important step

First Marinade

Salt to taste
1 Tablespoon Red Chili Powder
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
Juice from 1 lemon

Mix the ingredients and the chicken together and let sit for 30 minutes.

Second Marinade

1 cup hung yogurt ( put about 1 1/2 cup yogurt in a muslin cloth and hang for about an hour or so until the water is drained)
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 tablespoon garam masala
pinch of mace (optional)
3 Tablespoon olive oil (Mustard oil is preferred)

Whisk the ingredients and rub it into the marinated chicken. Marinade for at least 1 hour and up to 6-8 hours in a fridge. Please take the chicken out for an hour prior to cooking. If you are only going to marinate the chicken for an hour leave it covered on your kitchen counter.

Cook the chicken on a charcoal grill to get the best flavor (gas grill should be your other option). Oven cooking just does not do justice to this chicken I am afraid. Get the edges of the chicken pieces to char a bit to add that extra flavor.

Butter Sauce

2 Tablespoon Grated Ginger (chopped ginger somehow does not work because of the chunks)
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon Garam Masala
1 Teaspoon Red Chili Powder
1 Teaspoon Sugar
4 to 5 Good Quality organic tomatoes Peeled, seeded and chopped (puree is fine as well)
2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
1/2 Cup heavy Cream

In a large pan heat butter without burning it. Add ginger paste and sauté for a few minutes. Add chopped tomatoes. Cook for about 3-4 minutes and add the tomato paste, salt, garam masala, chili powder & sugar. Cook for an additional 15 minutes or so until the sauce has come together nicely and fat is separating from the sauce. Add the tandoori chicken pieces and cook for an additional 5 to 8 minutes. Top with Cream and serve hot with Rice or Naan.

A quick note about Garam Masala. We make our own in the house in order to control the elements that go into this important ingredient. Buying store made masala is an obvious option but choose one that is balanced. Most garam masalas in the market tend to be made with a mix which is heavy on the cheaper ingredients (cumin, coriander, black pepper) and light on the expensive ones (cardamom, cinnamon). I am not entirely sure how you would know the balance other than just trying. Another option would be that you could get the packaged garam masala and in a $10 electric grinder add some extra pieces of green and black cardamom with a couple of slivers of cinnamon to enhance it. There is a recent but disturbing trend among some Indian women to add Star Anise to the masala. Help fight this trend. Don't let friends add Star Anise to Garam Masala :-)

Lasting Influence

I have never made bones about not having a great relationship with my father. I was born when he was 37 years old. Not too old an age for someone to become a father but starkly in contrast with my experience. I became a dad when I was merely 23 years old. Add a myriad of medical issues that he faced when I was young and throw in some tough professional circumstances and the result was a fragmented relationship. I left India when I was 20 years old, which didn't help either. I did however have the privilege to have him with me when he passed away at a fairly young age of 66 in Elyria, OH. 


It's now almost 17 years since his death and still, on a daily basis, I feel his influence & presence. Someone could say that it is obvious, that I carry his genes. The question is, whether your parents influence your tastes? I am sure they do. Take poetry for example. My father was an ardent admirer of Urdu Poetry. He was a passionate writer, much of his works are alas in Urdu which I never learned. While growing up, he used to try and talk to me about the finer aspects of Urdu Poetry. He was a huge fan of Mirza Ghalib. I however was never interested in listening to him or showed any interest whatsoever in poetry much less urdu poetry. I remember vividly the evenings at Modern School Barakhamba Road, attending the annual Shankar Shaad Mushaira (held even to this day) or being asked to sit quietly to listen to Cassette tapes of Kaifi Azmi. I simply hated it. I could never understand why I was being forced to listen to music that I didn't enjoy and words that I didn't understand. 

Now, if I ever even so much so, get a whiff of Begum Akhtar singing, "Ab chalakte Huey, Sagar Nahin Dekhe Jaate", I can guarantee you that you will find goose bumps all over my body. This phenomenon has always perplexed me. Why, when I was a kid, you could never make me sit down in front of a 17" black and white Crown TV to listen to the most magical voice of our past and why now, you cannot peel me away from listening to the same voice or easily distract me by Urdu poetry web sites.


I believe somewhere in the deepest cavities of our brain, there is a space that stores this information. You don't have to like what is stored there or even have any inclination that it is in fact stored. You just need to know that there is a possibility that in your lifetime, you will get a chance to retrieve this information and use it to your liking. 

So, take heart in knowing that your tastes are being registered in your children's brain. You may think that they are not listening or paying attention but know that your legacy good or bad will emerge one day and your children will remember you in ways that it is hard for you to imagine at the moment.

An Absentee Parent

I for one will never understand how a parent (mom or dad) who helps bring a child into this world can decide one fine day that their creation is not of importance to them. There are tabloids and tv shows that are rife with images of dead beat parents and dads who have been absent in their children's life only to emerge one fine day and proclaim that somehow they were "messed" up and profess innocence or worse, ignorance. 

For every story about abandonment, there is yet another story of the "half boiled egg". A parent that pretends to be there but really isn't there for the most part. I find that even worse. It's like being pretentious. Keep one leg in the child's life enough to create a farce of being there and yet absolve yourself of all responsibilities for "your" child. I find parents who are like this perhaps worse than the ones who are entirely absent. I for one would rather have someone there or be gone entirely. Call me crazy but for every half baked parent, there is another who toils day and night to be there for his/her child and often gets nothing in return except being taken for granted. While the half boiled egg retains all the glory and the charm. It can make a guest appearance once in a while and shower all the attention and disappear in the cloudy half boiling water looking extremely elegant. All this while there is a parent who watches in amazement it's trivialization and marginalization and wonders what life would have been if he/she had not chosen that path, but of course that choice had always been there for her/him. Somehow he/she is reminded of the greater calling from inside it's gut which is often called conscience. A trait only carried by those who posses a spinal cord and you shake that thought and go back to taking care of your loved one, because life isn't just about going after the glorious, it also about doing what is right.................................

A Strange Dichotomy

I have often wondered if it is harder being a patient or is it harder being an observer/caregiver. In all honesty, I don't know albeit I have often felt that I would rather endure the pain than watch your loved one wrestle with it. Having a child with a congenital disorder can be a lifelong teaching lesson and it does not get any easier over time. You might get used to the procedures and terminology but you pay a heavy emotional toll on every episode. Yet, I sit here and watch with admiration the many people around me with kids who have ailments that you may have never heard of and their stoic parents who toil day and night to care for their children. It is a humbling experience to say the least.

Last week, I got a chance to meet a mom with a toddler in tow. They were being driven back to the Holiday Inn from Cincinnati Childrens Hospital in the free taxi that the hotel provides (amazing how generous can people be). The little girl was the cutest thing and reminded me of little Priya of 18 years past. Well, we had a nice conversation with the mom and found out that they were regular visitors from New Mexico and the little girl is Hanna and her wonderful story is chronicled on the Ronald McDonal website. Take a gander if you want to read a true heartwarming story. I guess there is so much depth and beauty among so much pain and there are stories like this everywhere. I am watching life unfold in front of me and I smile and cry at the same time. http://www.rmhcincinnati.org/family-stories-details.aspx?ItemID=138

Of two places?

There are times when you hear a line and it resonates with you so much that it permeates your thoughts for days. It brings to the forefront the sentiments that you have been carrying inside you for a while. On a recent drive home from work, I was listening to Terry Gross interview Anthony Shadid where he spoke a line that has stuck with me since. “It is hard to be of two places”, Anthony said when asked about his grandparents home in Lebanon, where he has decided to rebuild and live. I can’t say how true that is and perhaps for many first generation émigrés to USA.

Next year will mark the 25^th anniversary of my arrival in the US. I could perhaps write a book about my experiences here in the US but not a day goes by when I don’t find myself to be of two places and how hard that has been. There is a daily struggle between the two you. One that is Indian to the core and the other that lives in America. It is almost like your body is in once place and your soul is stuck on the guava tree that you used to climb on hot sunny afternoons. 

Then all of a sudden you see your 3 children who were born and brought up here and you envy them, because they are really not of two places. They may understand where you come from but they never grew up where you did. It’s hard to explain but not very hard to understand.

The recent uproar over the mismanagement of commonwealth games has created an opportunity for a lot folks to demonize India as it highlights the inadequacies and exposes the ugliness, greed and ineptness of some but you don’t hate your mom just because she is imperfect. She is someone who gave birth to you and you carry those imperfections whether you like it or not.

I am as guilty as anyone who has moved overseas at a young age to scoff and shake my head at the daily misery that people endure whenever I visit home and swear that I will never return, yet I am the first one to catch a flight back home to absorb the culture, the richness the realness of the people. Some call it “Khoon ki Pukar” (call of your blood), some dismiss it as a need; “you have family and roots”. I have to confess, I miss the closeness, I miss the culture, I miss the holidays, the marriages and every other cultural event good or bad. It is an entirely different feeling to light the diya’s around diwali back home than do it in a synthetic community center in San Jose surrounded by people who wear their silky kurta’s and sari’s that came out of an attic the night before smelling of mothballs or look over your shoulder during holi and wonder what your neighbors will think. It’s hard to be you. I am lucky to be working at a very diverse place where our cultural differences are easily understood but yet you somehow feel like a guest.

  

Chili Cook off at the Clos La Chance Winery

It is no secret that I like to cook, however there are certain dishes I have never attempted. Chili being one of them. Somehow deep down in my bones, I have always felt that I could do a decent job with Chili. Having spent my formative years in India, Chili was not a dish that I was familiar with until I came to the USA. I was introduced to Chili in Van Nuys of all places. Original Tommy's Burgers with Chili on them!! Oh my, what a revelation. This tiny joint (a large company albeit) on the corner of Victory and Van Nuys has left an indelible mark on my psyche and needless to say my taste buds!! Which brings me to the Chili Cook off. There I was sitting at my desk and out pops a email notification from Clos La Chance inviting folks to participate in a Chili Cook off fundraiser at their scenic winery. The temptation was too hard to resist. A couple of email exchanges later, I was officially entered into the contest. As usual, I had fabulous support from my better 3 quarters who has always encouraged me to try new things. Thanks babe.

In doing some research, I found much to my dismay the same outline for making chili in many recipes that I reviewed. A few variations here and there but most of the recipes follow the same tired path. How does one then, make their chili stand out? Let me tell you, it's not an easy task. No wonder the same basic recipe is used over and over again. So the quest for a good chili started with an experiment or two or three and then finally it dawned on me that I should be myself and not follow recipes. Below is what I did to create my chili. I didn't win, but I did get many compliments and I do know what I need to do the next time to change a few things to make this better. Your mileage might vary. Here is what I did.

KJ's "Finger Less" Chili with Sour Cream Avocado Sauce and toasted Cumin 

Serves 8 to 10 people

2  Pounds Ground Chuck (please, no lean meat, you need fat)

1 Pound Chorizo (but you could use Linguica as well)

6 Roma tomatoes

4-5 Tomatillo's

2 Anahiem Chili's

1 Large red onion 

6  Jalapeno's

1 Habanero

10 cloves of Garlic

2 tablespoons Ancho Chili Powder

2 tablespoons Pasilla Chili Powder

1 tablespoon Roasted Cumin Powder

3 tablespoons brown sugar

3 Cups Chicken broth

1 ham hock

1 bay leaf

2 bottles of dark ale or stout

1 large can of any beans you like (kidney, cranberry etc)

1 can tomato sauce (good quality organic sauce)

5 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Shots El Patron

Sour Cream Sauce (Optional)

2 Avocado's 

2 Cups Sour Cream (mexican sour cream)

1/2 cup Fresh Cilantro

1 tablespoon Roasted Cumin Powder

1 tablespoon Honey or Maple Syrup

Juice from 2 limes

Salt to taste

Preparation

Light a grill. When the grill is hot enough, put tomatoes, 4 jalapeno's (keep 2), garlic (wrapped in foil), tomatillo's and Anahiem Chili's on the grill. Char them like their mother's hated them. Take them off the grill and let them cool. Keep the grill on and grill the chorizo or the linguica. Remove from grill and chop.

Put 3 tablespoons of Olive oil in a large pan. When the oil is hot enough, put the ground beef and brown the beef. While the beef is being cooked, chop onions and coarsely chop the roasted garlic. 

Remove beef from the pan by draining it. Leave the oil in the pan. Heat the remaining oil and add the other 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil to it. Add the chopped onions and saute them for 3/4 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and bay leaf. Saute for another few minutes. Add the Ancho Chili, Pasilla Chili and Roasted Cumin powder to the pan. Saute for about another minute and add 1 bottle of the dark ale. Drink the other bottle. 

Let the sauce reduce to almost a paste consistency. While the sauce is reducing. Add charred tomatoes, peppers, tomatillo's and the Habanero pepper in a blender and mix and make a puree out of it. I don't remove the skin from the peppers or the seeds. I like the texture with them in the sauce. Set aside.

Add cooked beef and chopped Chorizo or chopped Linguica to the reduced sauce in the pan.Mix thoroughly. Add the tomato and pepper puree to the pan and 2 cans of good quality chicken broth and the can of tomato sauce. Stir and slide in the the ham hock.Tell the women and children to leave the house and put on some nice music and take 2 tequila shots. Thank you Bill Hassell for this tip :-) Simmer the mixture for about 45 minutes making sure that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. 

Drain the beans and add to the pan. Simmer for another 20 minutes. Check for salt, heat and sweetness, adjust accordingly. Remove the ham hock from the chili carefully with a tong and cut the meat from the hock and shred with a knife. Put the shredded ham hock meat removed from the bone back into the chili. 

At this point. Your chili is ready.

For the Avocado sauce. Put all of the ingredients in a blender and make a paste. Check for salt before removing from blender and if the paste is too thick, add some water but be careful not to make it too thin.

Serve the chili with a dollop of Sour Cream Sauce and some Corn Tortilla Chips

Enjoy!!!!! 

Our tendencies towards star athletes!!

A funny thing happened right as the Lakers were starting to celebrate their 16th NBA championship. Someone asked Ron Artest about his performance during the final and on National TV, Ron in his exuberance thanked his therapist who helped him overcome anger. Normally, such a statement would raise few eyebrows only for the fact that it is unusual for a professional NBA player to boldly proclaim this in front of an audience of millions. For those who are not aware, a few years ago, during a game against the Detroit Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Ron Artest was involved in a major on court brawl while playing for the Indiana Pacers. Ron went after a spectator who had apparently thrown diet coke at him during the game. Ron was suspended for 70 games by the erstwhile NBA commissioner David Stern and lost about $7 million in salary that year.

Fast forward to the Lakers and this episode. The day after the championship, the airwaves were abuzz over Ron's comments. Radio sportscasters were asking listeners to call in and comment on the on air admission of therapy. I usually don’t listen to sports radio talk show but I had tuned on to the radio to catch a world cup soccer score and instead, what I heard was a constant mockery of what Ron said and other comments about Ron’s admission of drinking Hennessy during half time of games in the years past. I want to make something very clear. I am no big fan of Ron Artest and hardly know anything about the man but I did spend some time reading about Ron’s history, his upbringing and the trouble he has been in over the years. The media today focuses on labels. Ron Artest has been labeled as the “bad boy” of NBA and that label is likely to stick with him for the rest of his career. Never mind that he has upped every team’s performance that he has played for and his defensive intensity is an envy of many players. Why then does the media, specially the Sports Radio talk show hosts spend so much time on putting someone down who has the gumption to take steps in improve himself and admit openly that he has had problems and chooses the biggest stage to announce that his therapist has helped him. Isn’t getting help supposed to be a good thing? Half the men I know don’t have the courage to admit their wrong doings much less admit seeing a therapist. Hell, most men I know feel that going to a therapist a sign of weakness.

In the Celtics series alone, there were many instances where Ron was being baited to get into an altercation so that perhaps he could get technical fouls or better yet be ejected, but he showed poise and proved the Celtics wrong by making clutch shots and being instrumental in helping the Lakers win their 16th Championship.

I think our society likes to see people who are talented and successful, fail. Somewhere deep down inside, we take pleasure when the likes of Tiger, Ron or Kobe for that matter, stumble. We tend to forget that players and artists are human beings just like us and have weaknesses much like we do. We should instead try to remember that there is much to learn from them, such as their determination to get better and make amends.