Thursday, October 28, 2010

Chicken Soup for a Cause

There is nothing remotely romantic about men who talk to your breasts. Its uncomfortable and downright disgusting to have someone stare at you in a manner which is not only inappropriate but also comes close to being “unlawful”.

The Blog world is full of posts on Pink Power and the cause and awareness of Breast Cancer, well there is another kind of cancer that affects individuals with breasts!

I was still naive in my first job at a large encyclopedia company. I was also very aware of the fact that every time I talked to a certain male colleague, I “mesmerized” him in a way which was all too new for me. His eyes remained transfixed. The gaze just wouldn’t shift. Initially I thought it was me. The next few times I had the need to talk to him, I would shield myself with the latest edition of The Merriam-Webster Thesaurus. But his peering gaze bore through its hard covers. Neither Merriam nor Webster could provide an armor for me.

I talked about it to another colleague. Apparently she was a victim too. Soon, we were all talking about the man who stared at… And he did not even look like George Clooney!!

I was definitely not alone.

In my last life in an ITES corporation, I was no more naive, no more the duckling trying to become a swan. I was the swan in four-inch stilettos. And my hawk eyes met another such highly placed honcho, who was in the habit of having conversations with the chest.

The first time he talked corporate policies and tools and technology in the Knowledge Management domain to my breasts, I did brush it off thinking it was my imagination (read paranoia).

The second time, I was not so kind. As his stare shifted, so did I, on my swivel chair. I slid in my seat to meet his eyes. I stooped low to meet his gaze. But it was all worth it. He never looked at me again. Not even my eyes.

This Chicken Soup is not related in anyway to the above incidents (or the people), except that I used chicken breast portions for my soup which is now becoming a highly recommended source of calm and cure when the mind is racing and the nose is runny.

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Ingredients for my Chicken Soup are:

2 portions of chicken breasts
One small onion, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon very finely chopped ginger
Half cup finely chopped green beans
Half cup finely chopped carrots
Half cup green peas
Half cup chopped coriander/cilantro
1 tablespoon butter
Black pepper
Salt

Make the broth by boiling the portions of chicken, onion, salt and pepper with 6-7 cups of water. Cook covered.

Remove the boiled chicken pieces and shred.

Just before you are ready to have the soup, crank the heat up of the broth, when its come to a raging boil, add the chicken, ginger, green beans, carrots and peas. And butter.

Turn the heat off after about 3-4 minutes. The idea is to keep the vegetables crunchy and retain their color.

IMG_2354 Remove from the stove and add the chopped coriander. Lots of it. Cooking the soup with the coriander in will result in darker leaves which are not too pleasing, just like the looks of these men.

Season with more salt and pepper if needed.

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8 comments:

GB said...

Kaminey!

You know pree, growing up in delhi and travelling DTC buses was another experience in itself---they groped! The first time it happened, I was only a class 9th student, and I thought there was something wrong with me--picture this beetroot faced kid who was embbarassed beyond belief. But life teaches you a lot, I learnt to stand up for myself. I would ask very loudly for everyone to hear, kya kar rahe hain bhaisaab? and once I scratched a man so bad that I left my fingernail trail on his hand---now I shudder in disgust at the germy aspect of it, but he had it coming!

Anonymous said...

I love GB's opening word :)
And I love the way u have written about the issue which makes every woman in this world uncomfortable!! Simply loved the way recipe connection.
I remember one of my friend's incident when after being paranoid for almost a month..she apparently asked the guy if he could look "up" and talk to her...she became the rani Jhansi of our girls hostel after that ..LOL...And the DTC buses in Delhi...uff..I dun wanna think abt them now!
Am a big fan of clear soups and a bigger one of ginger in them.
Thanks for a good, upfront post...read it in one go!

Unknown said...

what a great post! you've written about this issue with such a spirit. I think GB has said it all!

And well the recipe...must try on my list now. I can see myself drinking gallons of this...this winter

PreeOccupied said...

Strange, how only the Delhi belles spake about this issue. Well, you know girls, my Blog isn't just about food and home and pretty candles. Thanks for having an opinion of your own and a mind to talk about it.

Priya Suresh said...

Wat a fabulous post, u have written very well and handled superbly this issue..Fortunately i never went through these sort uncomfortable issues till now..Dont when this gonna be change..

Yummy chicken soup,prefect for winter evenings..

Sanghamitra Bhattacherjee(Mukherjee) said...

Thanks Pree for this bold post...and let me tell you a lot of Kolkata gals also have the same experience(s)...and am sure a number of Mumbai/Chennai folks will tell their similar stories ...Yes,very soon... Thanks once again !!

Sassy Fork said...

love the way you dealt with it,Pree

Anonymous said...

Very well written post.I would also like to add those disgusting men who ape Michael jackson in the midst of a conversation.