Sunday, 29 November 2009
Moving can be incredibly stressful. Moving abroad, doubly so. So I decided to use my blog to do a moving diary, partly to keep myself sane, partly to make sure we are doing all the right things and thinking about the right things as well. I hope it will be a useful resource for people planning on a move abroad!
First of all, as I said in my previous post, we are combining moving to a different country with a holiday first. This is because both Kay and I are from different countries, and while we are moving to Kay’s, I don’t know when we will have the time or funds to make a proper trip to India, where I am from. So when we confirmed that we were definitely going to move, I decided that we should combine the move with the holiday, so I can see all my family for an extended time and relax before settling into a new country.
Which meant a lot of planning in advance, of course!
Firstly the shipping! The shipping is probably the most stressful, as it encompasses packing, sorting, deciding what to keep, what to throw away and what to give away or sell. As I was working full time, Kay and Mum had to do the majority of the packing, with lots of help, more hindrance rather, from Aditi. Luckily we discovered very soon that the best way to keep her occupied, was to put her into a box with a couple of toys and she was happy there. Having someone else packing also meant that I had to be so clear about what I wanted to keep, as arbitary decisions sometimes meant that things that had sentimental value to me did not have the same value to some people :-)
At the same time as packing, we had to organise a carrier. As we didn't have a fixed address in Canada, we had to ship to a friend's house. Choosing the right shipping carrier is probably only of the most important decisions we had to make. I did a lot of research on the internet, and also read loads of reviews. And realised that you also have to shop around for the right price. I played off a couple carriers against each other and got a very good price to Prince George. The actual pick-up and sorting of boxes was then relatively straightforward, and all the boxes have arrived in one piece and except for the antlers of my jade moose, everything else is intact. Obviously all the research helped :-) The good thing was that I was even able to change the destination address from PG to Edmonton, and that helped enormously. Kay reports that customs clearance was easy and they even overlooked my bottle of Granadan vanilla extract :-)
Part 2 of the diary will detail the travel woes and chaos :-)
Monday, 23 November 2009
Leaving does bring about mixed emotions though! Seven years ago, I left India for my big adventure. I moved to London. Where have those years gone? In my time here I have met wonderful people, seen places I would never have thought possible, got married to a boy from Terrace, BC [what are the chances of a girl from Mangalore, India, finding and marrying a boy from Terrace, Canada, in a normal lifetime, pray tell :-)] I also have my gorgeous Aditi, who is growing up and turning into a proper little girl.
So many memories! Actually, I can't think of anything to write just now, as I kind of feel a bit overwhelmed. So, instead, I figure I'll use this blog as a moving diary for a while, at least until I get settled back into a proper house and start cooking properly to blog about it.
To start with, there's booking the tickets! We decided to combine moving with going on a holiday to India as I may not get a chance to go back for a while. I actually found that a multi-stop, Man - Lon - Bom - Lon - Vancouver actually costs a couple hundred quid less than a single from Manchester to Vancouver! Who knew!
So we're going to have a proper Indian Christmas with my large family. Isn't it wonderful to have four generations celebrating this festival properly? I am looking forward to see my grandmothers again and Aditi is now grown up enough to appreciate Christmas.
Before that, we have to do our leaving bash, plus Kay and Aditi's birthdays. More planning! Luckily Kay's good with planning bashes he likes, so we are having a proper old pub do with the Affordable House Band and hopefully, Voo playing for us. Wow, what a treat!
Then there are the million and one things we have to think about before moving, the phone, internet, taxes, healthcare, post, utilities, insurance, bank... the list is endless. So far I have only managed to make a tiny dent in the multitude of tasks, but time is running short now, so I better get cracking with all the admin.
Oh, and in between all this, I am still doing a full-time job! Well, keep those fingers crossed for our big move! Back soon with sagas of shipping and headbutting officialdom!
Thursday, 1 October 2009
Chumbles (named after his teddy bear) is a prolific poster on Masterchef on Digital Spy. It has been mooted that he sign up to Masterchef, in order to provide us with endless hilarity and great cooking. Sadly, he declined the offer :-(
Chumbles, will you reconsider, please??
Oh and by the by, family and myself are relocating in January to cold, freezing mao, built up, oil sandy Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. As I will be officially unemployed then, I can only hope that the blog will prosper as a result :-)
Wednesday, 19 August 2009
K caught a fish almost as big as Aditi
The next time, the husband went fishing with his brother. His brother, by the way, goes almost every day during the fishing season, and managed to fill his freezer full, and give every one he knows some fish too. Its my favourite part of being back in Canada in the summer (along with being with my in-laws, relaxing in the back garden and going to the lake). Sadly, I only had two weeks this year, but what wonderful weeks they were. It was hotter than in India, and we spent almost all our time outside getting a tan [or in my case, topping up the naturally existing one :-)]!
Recipe:
Another easy recipe, adapted from Aldo Zilli's 'Fish Cook'.
Depending on how much fish you have, increase/ reduce the quantity of the marinade accordingly. This marinade is enough for a whole salmon.
50 ml olive oil
50 ml lemon juice
5 garlic cloves (crushed or Microplaned into a paste)
A couple big handfuls of snipped chives (replace with spring onions, finely chopped)
Seasoning to taste
Whisk together the marinade. Let rest for an hour or so, then re-adjust the seasoning. Marianate the fish in this for at least an hour, if not longer (I do it for about 3 - 4 hours). The lemon juice will start cooking the fish as well. Barbeque or roast for between 10 - 25 minutes, until the flesh flakes easily. Serve with sliced and fried Granny Smith apples and roasted potatoes.
Tuesday, 18 August 2009
Freshly caught salmon in the fish pool
I realise I have been away for quite some time now. My excuse: well, seeing as my wonderful mum has now gone back to India, I am now working a full time job and being a full-time mum myself. Thus: What time? We have also been to the wilds of Canada, with a lot of fishing thrown in, which gave me the idea of a river to plate theme for my come-back post.
Anyway, this post will document the easiest, yet the tastiest recipe ever. Plus, its got some memories for me, as we had this barbequed salmon at our wedding three years ago. Its my brother-in-law's recipe, and he was the chef that lovely summer's day at the wedding. He and his lovely wife catch the fish themselves, so it was a real treat this summer to be taken out fishing by them. Though the 'bash the fish on the head' bit wasn't very nice... but hey it needed to be done, otherwise we would have lost them to the river again!
Recipe:
Equal parts of dark or light soya sauce, brown sugar and peach cider (or Sprite or White Wine!) (the marinade should cover the fish fully, so add more of these three ingredients until that happens)
Your freshly caught fish.
For the glaze: One part soya sauce to three parts brown sugar (make the mixture thick and gloopy)
Mix together the soya sauce, sugar and cider/ wine/ sprite into a marinade.
Lay the filleted fish in a shallow bowl, and pour over the marinade.
Coat well, then turn the fillets so they are skin side up.
Marinate for a few hours (more the merrier).
Lay the fish with the skin side up on the barbeque with th heat up high for 3 - 4 minutes until the grill marks form on the fillet.
Turn it, so that the skin side is now down, and barbeque on low until the fish is done and flakes easily. Keep brushing with the glaze every so often.
Lift the fish off the grill, leaving the skin behind. The skin should come off easily, and will clean off once the grill is cool.
Not much left for me to get a picture of :-)
Another salmon recipe coming up after this one, so keep an eye out!
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