Lake district

                                         Leisure  -

What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass, Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight, Streams full of stars, like skies at night

. No time to turn at Beauty's glance, And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this is if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.                                                                                                         by William Henry Davies

I dream of Africa...... Neo colonialism and the niceness of it all

I want to go to Africa for a gap year......... I had a penny for every time I heard that.....

A young chap said that to me today. At which point I nearly bit his head off. He justified it by saying Africa is poor which made me more angry. He is very young however that is no excuse really. He cited the goodness of his heart and his desire to help less fortunate people. I was told this is enough and one mustn't get cynical of good intentions. Why not? It seems sentiment and emotion must outweigh rational thought. As a woman of colour I was of course the hysterical one, cynical and not a good servant. All this good will was being offered to me and I would have none of it my ingratitude was hurting someone's good intentions. 

That this persons saw Africa as a little village full of poverty stuck children waiting for his good intentions and little loose change is to be taken for granted. His feelings are of utmost importance never-mind his blatant ignorance and misguided sense of charity or should I say voyeurism. 

There are several issues here 

1 This person refuses to see the problems in his own society- Europe is a nice place but isn't exactly perfect there are lots of homeless people here. 

2 Poverty is graded with African poverty being the worst and somehow only redeemable by a good hearted white boy.

3 Good intentions are seen to be all that one needs to change the world. Sorry economists and social workers if only you sprayed fairy dust all around you.

4 Black people are seen as people without agency and dependent on the benign goodwill of white people, their opinion in this matter is non existent.

5 Africa the continent is though of as little village which is made of all poor people who would kill each other if it were not upto white people to save them. 

6 African people are thought of as all poor with very little or no insight into the inner working of their society.

All these assumptions are racist yet questioning them makes me a hysterical cynical black woman. So the brutality of past colonisers is gone instead we have young men and women with good intentions  how have things changed? 

Real men do.....

I sat chatting with a lovely man today someone who could hold a conversation, not patronising and a good listener. Before I forget I was within the earshot of a young man or should I say "man" yeah the type who think being a man involves being a sexist who loves violence. It has always struck me how insecure masculinity is. Frightened of femininity and homosexuality. The overt manifestation of this masculinity revels in putting down what it thinks is deviant masculinity. There is nothing wrong with being manly but manliness that is created by putting any other state of being down seems false. It seems to be an overcompensatory mechanism which seems to suppress any form of dissonance. While every gender should allowed to be experienced in its own way very obvious manliness seems to be the most violent and insensitive. However this not the sum total of masculinity, there are those who aren't particularly bothered by upholding laddish laws who aren't part of a herd and are able to assert their individuality. Resisting this externally created masculinity for an innate and perhaps more individual sense of being.

It seems this narrow understanding of masculinity is way of experiencing all the joys of being manly  minus the responsibility. 

Potato and tofu roast in gochujang

I had a lovely dish of noodles and dumpling with fried potatoes at a Korean restaurant sometime back. This is my take on the dish with a slight British influence....... well it's Sunday so I had to do the roast potatoes.

You will need
Potatoes for roasting
Firm tofu
Spring onions
Oil
Sesame seeds
Gochujang- Korean hot pepper paste.

Give the potatoes a boil in hot boiling water with a pinch of salt they need a few minutes till they get a slightly tender. Drain and let them cool. Cut the tofu in bite size pieces and dry them a bit.

Heat oil in a baking dish and pop in the potatoes and tofu. Bake till crisp , tofu might cook faster than the potatoes so take it out and set aside. Once it is all done throw a spoon of gochujang on the warm potatoes and tofu, mix well. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and spring onions.

Tofu is very versatile so it can be baked, fried, boiled steamed...... you get the point.

Lake District in its full glory

Boys will be boys...... and what are little boys made off?

An overcompensatory masculinity harms men who are given to believe that being a man is scripted and includes behaving in a way that is contradictory to their inner nature and feelings, that being a part of herd is more important than being in individual. What are boys meant to be? Feminism has rightfully questioned stereotypes and how patriarchy is harmful to women and men. 

This scripted masculinity hurts women and men alike. What is constitutes masculinity has been constantly changing over time and culture. Men  were not always expected to be tough and unfeeling. 

Authentic natives- why nativism is destroying our activism

So it's black history month here in the UK and I am hearing a lot about native cultures and exaggerated stories of racism and glorified pasts. Good and bad things have happened in the past, however how we tell those stories and construct our identities based on them is what I am interested in. To quote MN Srinivas 'the present was so bleak that the past became glorious'. He goes on to talk about how India's past was reinvented with exaggerated claims of superiority. These claims can be seen in the way activists approach issues, through reclaiming the past. Rahul Rao has written about the use of these arguments are being disavowed cousins of the very antagonists they are fighting. 

Nativism has several problems as it goes onto to prove that we are nothing more than an unchanging history, to be petrified in time. This is an aspect of racism I have encountered in the UK, it is liberal, well meaning and positive but still racist. This argument also plays into the hands of the extreme right who use culture as a way of distinguishing between civilised white people an uncivilised black people whose are tied to their culture which makes us nasty. 

The call for authenticity for me also poses the fear of right wing groups eliminating non authentic citizens. While activists emerge from a positive position they are nevertheless using the same argument and the oppressor which does not sufficiently argue why groups of people must be treated well in the present time. 

Autumn is here again

Autumn is such a lovely season in the UK. Everything seems brighter in the rain the greens seem greener, red berries seem to seem riper and fresher. Rich colours everywhere the chill in the air a reminder of colder weather to come. This painting made it to two art exhibitions this year, quite an achievement for me. 

St. Denys Pancakes

I made these pancakes the other day for the feast of St. Denys patron saint of Manchester Cathedral. Here is what you will need (accompanied by pictures):

Gram flour

Salt

Chilli powder

Turmeric powder

Mango powder (amchur)

Crushed black pepper

Fennel seeds

Cumin powder

Chart masala (optional)

Finely julianed carrots

Finely sliced onions

A few mint leaves (I usually use coriander but since I have none today I used mint)

Yoghurt - I use the low fat type as it blends easily, but Greek yoghurt would work just as well

Blend all the ingredients together until the batter is of pouring consistency. Lightly grease a non-stick frying pan and pour in the batter. I use three tablespoons for each pancake but you could vary this to your taste. Fry lightly on both sides until cooked golden brown, flipping occasionally.

Cooking tip - the onions are crucial but you can vary the spices and vegetables according to your taste. I have some cabbage Kimchi in the fridge which I will use next time I make these pancakes.

I had a few onions leftover so I roasted them on the pan and put some chilli flakes on them  for garnishing the pancakes

And here is what the final product looks like. I left it on that contraption to cool,  however these are best served straight from the pan with a drizzle of lemon or lime juice, a chutney of your choice and or yogurt.

Here is a link to the video click here

St Denys was a 3rd century martyr and bishop of Paris. Publicly beheaded he is said to have picked up his head and walked six miles with it in his hands 

Autumn is here

For the love of poor black people

I got chatting with a young Englishman yesterday who as most English people go was polite and well mannered and I wont hold that against him. We got chatting about racism or rather about the silly things people say to me. At the end of the conversation he said to me  'I believe the poor in India are very happy which is unlike this country.'  This is someone who comes from an affluent family and claims he has material comforts which don't make you happy. Fair enough material things don't make you happy but does not having hot water and good make you happy?

I personally think this makes a mockery of the poor and is a lazy stereotype. It is also a complacent position. To be fair to him I have heard Indians say the same. If poverty is so good then why don't we all give everything up and live in poverty to be exploited? Not knowing when where and what you will eat again makes you happy now, or being sold into slavery?  

This is intellectual laziness but also insensitive white liberal racism. This is by far the most difficult prejudice to fight because the person who holds such views generally isn't a misanthrope but just misguided. There is a sense of goodness in this person and I wouldn't want that turning into cynicism, however that they are insensitive to the plight of people i would like them to change that. 

If white poor people are ungrateful to the affluent classes in England they are the same in India the difference is poor 3rd world citizens are privileged for their exoticism, thereby alienating white working class people. Is it any surprise the EDL is anti non white people? White working class people are demonised in the UK the same can't be said for their non white counterparts. A case in point is an internet meme about how immigrants built everything in Britain which is why we must be nice to them. Before us exotic types came in poor white people were exploited but have now fallen out of fashion. If liberals really cared they would change things for the poor rather than love them with cloying sentimentality. 

Vegetarian noodle soup.

I love making this dish because it is simple and can be adapted to ones taste.

So this is the recipe in order in which I cook everything.

Add finely chopped ginger and garlic to a little oil in a cauldron let it cook for 30 seconds or so.

Add soy sauce and a little boiling water to make this.

I let this cook in water till the raw taste of ginger and garlic is gone about 10 or 15 minutes.

Add chopped mushrooms to the pot with a few carrots and broccoli this gives the broth some flavour. I had marinated tofu 2 days in advance so I added some of it to the cauldron at this stage.

I let this cook for 15 minutes.

At this point I add the soup base. You can get a variety of sauces or make your own. I prefer buying ready-made sauces. For the broth in the picture I used Lee Kum Kee’s chilli garlic sauce, it is a bit salty so add a little at first. I will try this with Korean gochijang (there will be pictures of that soon). Black bean and garlic sauce by the same company is good too but feel free to experiment.  These are the vegetables I used as I had them at hand but feel free to use vegetables you like. Sliced mushrooms, sliced carrots (I used frozen ones). Brocolli florets cut to a bit size (again I used frozen ones), spring onion stems and bean sprouts. The rule is add vegetables that need more time first. Meanwhile fry your remaining tofu or if you prefer boil it all in the broth. At this stage I add my noodles and let everything simmer. If you are using noodles that take a long time to cook add them in earlier. I use rice sticks which cook in 3-5 minutes.  

After everything is cooked I add a little miso paste (I have found a nice vegetarian paste which is organic too). Miso looks so pretty it is hard to resist the way it looks in a soup. Miso should never be added to boiling water but to hot water. If you want a thick soup add a spoon of flour. And your noodle soup is ready to serve. Since I was cooking for a  large group of people I put some finely chopped carrots, spring onion stems, toasted sesame and coriander out in separate bowls but feel free to add this to your dish before serving.

Unfortunately we didn’t get pictures of the finished soup L. I will post pictures of it another time.

Cooking tip- Cover the noodle soup with a lid and it will cook faster and use less energy.

toasted sesame

chopped ginger and garlic

chopped mushrooms

this is what the broth looks like when its boiling

i made some spring rolls too. The fried tofu is on the right.