Stuck in a Dilemma

No matter what you study or whichever field you choose, it always comes down to one question i.e “Will you get suitable job opportunities for going into a particular field?” Some people might judge me on this statement but that’s not how I think but I am rather forced to think that way by our own society.

After passing out from college you have loads of things to look forward to, a whole new chapter of life is about to begin. From university applications to aptitude tests it all seems good. But when it comes to choosing fields apart from medicine, business studies, engineering, LLB every university has loads to offer but well you are forced to choose the field ‘jis mein aapko koi achi naukri mil jaye.’

Like seriously it’s so difficult for me to understand this mindset of people. Since I’ve always wanted to pursue arts but well there’s not a single day when I don’t get to hear that art is pure waste of time and there’s no scope for arts blah blah blah. People can be so discouraging. I’ve already regretted two years in college by choosing pre-medical even though I had least interest in it. Now I don’t want to make another four years of my life hell just so that I get a good job.

Some of you must be thinking that I am exaggerating but well I am just concerned. While seeking advice from a senior who’s also studying in an art school she advised me not to waste my time on something that doesn't fulfill or satisfy me. There are plenty of jobs available in all fields of art it’s just a matter of marketing myself. Making money should not be a priority right now as a prospective university student; instead I should just focus on being successful.

So I am just confused because my family is pushing me to do BBA and I want to pursue a career in arts. SO that really puts me into a difficult position. The other day I even considered the option for BBA and well I started checking its courses and bloody hell they just sounded so dull and boring. How can I even do accounts, economics and what no -____-  

So I hope I figure out the solution to my problem soon. But here’s an advice for you, do what you really want to do, because you don’t want to regret your decision afterwards. J

Fakeness

Three more months to go for the college to get over. Phew what a relief!
These two years in college passed with the wink of an eye and it seems like yesterday. Well to be really honest my two years in college weren't very pleasant for me.
In the journey of life you make many friends and not all of them are bound to stay with you forever. Some are the fake one (the ones who are great at pretending) and some are those who genuinely love you for who you are.
It's very important to have a good company be it your school, college or workplace or it bacomes hell to survive there. In these two years of college I've encountered different categories of people, the sweet loving ones, the bossy one and especially the fake and wannabee people. Unfortunately ,y college is full of such people.
For instance people who pretend to be my good caring friends and are so sweet on my face I've actually heard them backbiting about me. Is it jealousy or hatred?
I mean I really despise these rituals of fake friendship. I sometimes wish one could just claw each other's eyes out and call it a day instead of putting huge radiant smiles and sprouting compliments until our teeth hurt with the saccharine sweetness of it all.
Why can't people just act real what's the point of putting up a good act and trying to be sweet. What are they trying to prove?
While I still ponder about these questions. 
Till then bubye :)
P.S will be posting about my baking experiences soon :)

PAINTING, A Canvas To My Imagination

Life goes on and another year has started. Time passes with the wink of an eye and here I am. Before coming to college I never realized that I was so much into arts because I had buried my dreams under a pile of sand because I was trying to live upto other’s expectations. All I had in mind was that I want to become a successful doctor just because I watched a couple of seasons of House M.D a medical T.V show which inspired me to choose medical. But that was all temporary I guess.

I’ve met many people in my life who have inspired me a lot. Sometime in the journey of life you met certain people who leave an everlasting effect on you, who influence you a lot, with whom you share mutual interests, and who inspire you to follow your dreams no matter what the consequences are. They are just like free birds that don’t give a damn about the world and are really happy in their own lives.

I as a child always aspired to become an artist cuz I’ve always been indulged in arts. In kindergarden what started as drawing wobbly figures has become one of my passions. But most of the time I am seeking approval and trying to live upto other’s expectation. I often get told by my sister that I am not creative or the people around me that painting and drawing are just pure waste of time.

Arts provide all kind of beauty in our world. Sometime you don’t realize that we have arts everywhere. The chair you are sitting on right now was designed and constructed by someone, the shoes you are wearing is also art, the music you listen to was composed by someone. So just take a look around yourself for a minute you’ll see art in every tiny little thing. Not having art is just like living in a black and white world trust me.

Art for me is communication is a creative and artistic way. I like to draw or paint with soft music playing in the background. For me it’s like digging deep down into my emotions, either from my subconscious or something that is affecting my life right at this moment and bringing them out on the canvas. I love to express myself through pencil, colours and with my brush strokes.

“Art washes away from your soul the dust of everyday life.”

When people say to me that I’m wasting my time in arts it just disheartens me. So I ignore such people cuz I seriously don’t feel the need to explain myself to others. Art is like meditation to me it stimulates my mind as I throw all my emotions on a blank piece of paper. Art is an opportunity to express what you think, what you feel, what you love or hate, what you admire from the past, what you wish to change and whatever you admire.

And each one of us has a different perspective of seeing things which is based on different experiences, our surroundings and beliefs and when you paint transfer a part of yourself on the canvas. Your art reflects your personality, your goals, how you perceive things and it inspires others.

“Every artist dips his brush in his soul and paints his own nature into his picture”

Many of us don’t find the things that we are really good at, just because we aren’t given the freedom to explore. And art is one such thing that helps us in discovering our talents. So remember if you are good at something and it gives you happiness pursue it, always follow your intuitions and let it bring happiness throughout your life.

“No matter what people say there’s creativity is everyone”

Here are few of the things that I drew randomly :)

 

Baking - My Intangible Sanctuary

“A bad review is like baking a cake with all the best ingredients and having someone sit on it.” – Danielle Steel

Baking for me is an expression of love. People find many ways to express themselves for instance some write, some paint, some debate and some act. But how do I express myself?

Anger, confusion and weariness totally evaporates when I enter the realm of baking. Baking is like a heaven for me. It completely relaxes my mind and takes me to another world which is full of food fantasy. The whiff of tempting, caramelized strawberries shining on the uneven surface of the freshly baked strawberry tart.

I started baking during my summer vacations few years back. Beat butter and sugar, stir in the flour and eggs pour it into a mould, pop it in the oven and Ta-Da!

The smell of freshly baked golden brown cake wafting over me domed and cracked on top mouth watering. The moment I open that oven door is a moment of complete bliss for a baker.

Baking is my intangible sanctuary, kitchen a place where I pour out my feelings that even one of my closest friends won’t understand because no one’s crazy about baking as much as I am.

My confusion and fear ends up with as a chocolate marble cake come out of the oven, the swirly patterns inside when you actually cut the cake describes how much effort I’ve put in.

The circular cake iced with vanilla buttercream, chocolate ganache dripping slowly down the sides decorated with such intricate design it just reflects your creativity.

Some of you must be thinking that I am exaggerating but trust me this is how it is and what baking means to me.

The final product reflects the efforts that you’ve actually put into it. The aftertaste is what lingers, contentment and happiness replacing all your stress, fear and anxiety.

For me baking takes care of everything.

“No one is born a great cook, one learns by doing.” – Julia Child

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hey Everyone,
Chocolate Chip Cookies are everyone's favourite. No one can say no to thick and chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies  :)
But lets face it all the cookies are thick and chewy when hot out from the oven but when it cools its becomes crisp. The question arises that how do we maintain that thick and chewy texture?
After trying a couple of recipes I discovered the secret for delicious, thick and chewy cookies.

Use melted butter not just softened butter.

Extra fat, which we get from an extra yolk.

  
Cooking time, which is less than you’d think. 
Ingredients:
Butter  melted (170 g)
Dark Brown Sugar  1 cup
Castor Sugar  1/2 cup
Egg  1
Egg Yolk  1
Vanilla Extract  2 tsp
Chocolate Chunks  1 cup
Flour  2 cups+2 tbsp   
Baking Soda  1/2 tsp 

Method: 
Preheat the oven to 165 degrees.
Line two cookie trays with parchment paper. 
Whisk the flour,baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl, set aside.
Melt the butter either on a stove-top or microwave it.
Transfer the melted butter in the mixing bowl and mix the butter and sugars either by hand or with an electric beater until thoroughly blended.
Beat in the egg, yolk and vanilla essence until combined.
Add the dry ingredients while beating a low speed keeps it from flying out of the bowl.
Stir in the chocolate chunks.
Cover the bowl with a cling film and chill the dough in the refrigerator for atleast an hour before continuing.
Scoop the dough onto the lined cookie tray, leaving plenty of room for spreading.
Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown.
Pull the cookies from the oven while they are still slightly underbaked and let them set for 10 minutes on the hot baking sheet. The cookies will finish baking as they sit. Doing this ensures moist, chewy cookies.
After the cookies are cooled you can store it in an air-tight container. 

Enjoy :)
      

Chicken Patties

So, on my last post I promised that I'll post recipes which use puff pastry so I made these Chicken Patties in the month of Ramadan for iftar because honestly speaking I was completely sick of having fried items every frikin day. So I decided to try something different.

And the chicken patties came out perfect.

And you know what every time I try something new it always turns out to be more than what I expected.

Seriously I mean it when I try the same thing for the second or third time I always get something wrong.

After seeing that my chicken patties were such a hit. I decided to make it for my cousins who were coming over to my place for iftar. And on that very particular day something went wrong with my oven while my Chicken Patties were still in the oven not baked to perfection. The puff pastry I made didn't have that nice and crisp layers, and was a bit undercooked.

But my cousins they praised me for making it. Anyways back to where we were - The Chicken Patties yeah.

So enough said here's the recipe:

Did I tell you I take photographs of my food from every frinkin angle :)

Well that's me :)

Ingredients:

Puff Pastry

For the Chicken Filling:

Boiled Chicken   2 cups shredded

Milk                  1 cup

Salt                  as required

Black Pepper      2 and a 1/2 tbsp or as required

Oil                    2 tbsp

Flour                 2 tbsp

Onion                1 medium chopped

Egg

Method:

In a fry pan pour some oil and in it saute the chopped onion for a minute or two or until its soft and transparent. Then put in the flour and stir for a few seconds then add in the chicken along with the seasoning then add in the milk and let it cook until it get really thick in consistency. 

Take it out in a bowl and let it cool.

In the meanwhile roll the puff pastry lightly with the thickness of 1/8 cm. And cut it out with a round cutter. And put int on a lined baking tray. Grease the edges with egg and place a spoonful of the chicken filling in the centre. Cover the top with another piece of pastry cut in the same shape. Press the edges until its firmly sealed. Give it an egg wash (greasing the entire thing with egg to give it a nice shine)

Bake it in a preheated oven at 200 degree centigrade for 25-30 minutes or until its raised and brown in colour.

After 25-30 minutes ta-da your treat is ready!

Enjoy :)

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