NOBODY IS INDISPENSABLE!

What a week! It's been so crazy hectic that I had no time to breathe, forget blog! I’ll chat about that perhaps later, though. Today, I want to discuss housewives and one of their biggest woes - housemaids! Because today, I feel like a housewife or housemaid, whatever you’d like to call me! I feel the housewife’s pain, her agony, her angst and her anxiety of dealing with the help! Especially when you treat them kindly and almost like a family member.

Yes, I’m sure you’ve figured by now that I have finally sacked my maid, Jacinta. Some of you might think I'm loony to write about my help in a blog. But you see, I love observing people. For me, Jacinta was more than help. And I when I like someone, they become a part of my life. Has it ever occurred to you that our help knows our life and us quite intimately? Didn’t cross your mind, right? Anyway, Jacinta and her kids (4 of them) had become a part of my family.

I remember when she came to work for me five years ago. Jacinta was a blessing.  She was sincere, honest, extremely hardworking & an excellent cook (which she still is). She was a quick learner and I taught her many different dishes from me. Some of her employers sing praises of the different types of salads she can now rustle up!

She was one of those rare maids who had the potential of becoming bigger, doing some incredible things with her life... I would urge her often to become a caterer or a dabba service... Sadly, she didn’t have the vision.  And what’s most unfortunate is when people start believing they are indispensable. That is when their downfall begins. The truth is no one is indispensable. Jacinta, in recent times, had grown too big for her own boots.

The tragedy is that Jacinta realized how good she is, which, isn't wrong. But the minute that knowledge reaches your head, not many can handle it. Jacinta began flying. She truly believed that none of her employers would ever sack her. I have to admit, there were times when I felt, 'How will I manage without her'. In the last two years, Jacinta began working at her own pace, & convenience, she shirked work, she was always late, she bunked work, tried to find easier (sometimes sloppy) ways to do her job... her sincerity was replaced with arrogance... her diligence, with a laidback attitude... The passion to cook good food had flown out of the window… She had turned into an insolent, audacious woman, who had no respect or value for the people who were kind to her.  

Sometimes relationships get toxic. And when they do, the only way to get rid of it is to end it. As funny as it sounds, Jacinta got toxic for me. And yesterday morning, when I couldn’t take her bullshit anymore, I asked her to leave. Do you know what I felt... a huge sense of relief! Yes, it's going to be a struggle to cook all my meals on my own, especially when my job has become more demanding than before and there's so much to do. And I may start my work by noon, but I will be fine. Because I do believe that everything just needs getting used to.

So, anyway, I woke up very early and prepared my vegetable juice, Upma for breakfast and lunch! Here are recipes of two dishes I hope you enjoy: Quick & Colorful Summer Salad (I know it's too early, but what the heck!), Spicy Tomato Prawns & Fenugreek! Here goes then!

QUICK & COLORFUL SUMMER SALAD

Ingredients:

Handful French beans

1 yellow pepper

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

3 large tomatoes

1 cup moong sprouts or sprouted whole green lentils 

1 sprig celery (only the leaves)

Juice of 1 lemon   

A good glug of extra virgin olive oil

Fresh ground pepper

Salt to taste

Method:

Blanch and chop French beans into bite size pieces. They should be green and crunchy. Dice the rest of the vegetables. Blanch the moong sprouts. Finely chop the celery leaves and toss with all the vegetables. In small jar, pour extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and give it a good shake. Pour this dressing all over the salad and toss again. Voila!

SPICY TOMATO PRAWNS & FENUGREEK

Ingredients:

1 cup prawns, deveined & cleaned

2 onions, finely chopped

3 tomatoes, finely chopped

1 bunch baby fenugreek leaves, chopped coarsely (Not the large leaves)

1 large potato, cubed

3 slit green chilies 

1 tbsp. fresh garlic-ginger-green chili paste

1 tsp. coriander powder

2 tsps. Chili powder

1/2 tsp. turmeric powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon powder

Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

2 tbsps. vegetable or olive oil (Not Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

Method:

In sauté pan, add the chopped onions to the oil and sauté till pinkish brown. Add the garlic-ginger-green chili paste and sauté for a minute. Add tomatoes and stir. Cover and let the tomatoes cook till it's a nice thick sauce. Add turmeric, chili, coriander & cinnamon powder and sauté till oil separates from the sauce. Now add the potatoes, the slit chilies, salt, pepper & half cup water. Cover, simmer and cook the potatoes. Keep checking so that the sauce doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Once the potatoes are cooked, add the prawns & the fenugreek leaves. Cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Remember, Prawns and the fenugreek cook very fast. The fenugreek should still have a green color. You could garnish it with coriander leaves, but I don't like mixing the flavors of fenugreek with coriander. Serve with steam rice of a nice, fresh loaf of bread!