It's been a long time...

Wow! I hadn't realized four months had passed since my last post. I apologize. Most of you may know that I began my own law practice late last year and it keeps me quite busy. Overall I am pleased with my decision--I learn a tremendous amount every day.

We recently enjoyed visits from my friend Beth and Mihir's mother. What fun! We love visitors. The picture of Mihir and me was taken at Billy Bob's Texas, reportedly the largest honky tonk in the world. I have no way of verifying this information, but I will say that it is very difficult to imagine a bigger honky tonk. I think it fulfilled a long-standing dream of Beth's to actually go there, but she was very disappointed that they didn't have a mechanical bull. I guess I'll have to search for one for her next visit.


And here is an adorable picture of Alfie and one of his favorite people: Mummy:

Holidays and a visit with Aditi

Merry Christmas! As usual, the Texas weather precluded me from really feeling the Christmas vibe. Friday, the day after Christmas, broke a record with postings of 83 degrees. Bah. I miss my snow. Mihir and I managed to have a nice Christmas in spite of that. The highlight was a visit from Mihir's cousin Aditi, who flew in from California to spend the weekend with us. What a lovely excuse to check some things off our "to-do" list! On Friday we finally went to the King Tut exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art. We have mixed feelings about it, primarily because Tutankhamun himself was a no-show. The PR folks at the DMA craftily lead D/FW residents to think the mummy of King Tut himself would be on display and if not that, then at least the famous golden death mask which is featured very prominently in all of the ads for the exhibit. Well, allow me to spill the beans: The mummy is still in Egypt and the death mask is also conspicuously absent. We felt slightly scammed. It was a great exhibit, but probably not worth the $32.50 per person price of admission. Not to mention the inflated ($20) parking fees. The next day the Dallas Morning News ran a story about low attendance at the exhibit. Hmm. Can't imagine why. But I'm never one to miss a cultural event and I suppose this still counts as such. We also went to the Nasher Sculpture Museum, which was nice. This Picasso especially caught my eye:

On Saturday we saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the new Brad Pitt movie. Again, mixed reviews. The film is about a man who was born with the wrinkled body and ailments (cataracts) of a man in his 80s. As he grew he aged backwards. Perhaps I'm missing some deeper meaning but I can't help but think it was nothing more than an attempt to tell a love story (that of Benjamin and Daisy) with a certain creative twist. I'm not sure it worked.
Yesterday was another nice day, with highs in the 60s. We went to White Rock Lake in Dallas for a walk. Aditi took the above picture of Mihir and me. From there we went to the mall, and then to the Preston Hollow area of Dallas to see this house, which may or may not be the future abode of a certain President when he leaves office in a few weeks:

Today everyone goes back to work, including me. With that in mind I really have to go to the gym so I can get ready to meet two new clients. Happy New Year, everyone!

What I'm Reading

Life has been very busy lately for both of us. Mihir's job keeps him constantly engaged, so much so that he is rarely without his laptop computer, even at home. And since starting my own law practice I find myself without a moment to spare. Most days I'm so fried from hours of drafting documents or conducting legal research I can't stand the thought of reading anything more. And I regret that. Mihir loves to read Agatha Christie mysteries (they remind him of childhood, I think) and he's always able to do that. I, on the other hand, have gotten lax about my reading. Anyone who was present for my childhood knows what a voracious reader I was. Now I'm taking a vow to be that again. I've joined a reading challenge (again) in order to commit myself to reading at least six books during 2008. Here's the list:

1. A book with a profession in the title: The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman;
2. A book with a time of day in the title: Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie;
3. A book with a relative in the title: Difficult Daughters by Manju Kapur;
4. A book with a body part in the tile: The Frontal Lobe by Katrina Firlik;
5. A book with a building in the title: A House for Mr. Biswas by V.S. Naipaul;
6. A book with a medical condition in the title: Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Curry Turkey Burgers

Mihir and I never eat red meat anymore. There are many reasons for this, with health and ethics ranking at the top of the list. There are times, however, when I really miss sinking my teeth into a burger. I am American, after all. Luckily, I found a great recipe for turkey burgers one day while perusing the Whole Foods website. I've toyed with other turkey burger recipes but I always fall back on this one. I especially love how it blends Indian flavors with an American classic. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients
1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/3 cup grated carrot
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
1 tablespoon mild curry powder
1/2 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 pounds ground skinless white-meat turkey

Method
In a medium bowl thoroughly combine breadcrumbs, carrots, raisins, cilantro, curry powder, ginger, salt and pepper. Add turkey and gently bring all ingredients together with your hands, being careful not to overwork the meat. With dampened hands, form turkey mixture into 6 patties of even thickness. Arrange patties on a lined baking sheet, cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Light the grill or preheat the broiler. Cook burgers, turning once with a spatula, for 6 minutes per side, or until no longer pink inside.

The original recipe calls for dark-meat turkey, but I can't justify adding extra fat when white meat works just fine. I also use a dollop of ginger-garlic paste (available at any Indian grocery store) instead of plain ginger. AND I think I use more than one tablespoon of curry powder--just a tad. We love to eat these with sweet potato fries. Yum!

Thanksgiving 2008

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone. It was another quiet one for us, but we did enjoy some great turkey at Avanti Neighborhood Bistro in Addison, Texas. There were a handful of restaurants open for Thanksgiving dinner, and we decided that was the best option for us. Although I love to cook, my one foray into cooking a Thanksgiving feast resulted in way too much leftover food. I made the reservations during the Cowboys football game, which meant we had the restaurant mostly to ourselves. Immediately before dinner we finally got around to seeing the new Bond movie,
Quantum of Solace. Again, we were he only people there.
Still, we took time to reflect and give thanks for our good fortunes. For those of you who don't yet know, I officially opened my own law practice this year and so far everything is going very well. I practice family law and already I have had my share of high-drama moments. Mihir continues to enjoy his work at River Logic. Alfie probably doesn't realize the luxurious nature of his life and rarely seems thankful for anything.
We hope the holiday season got off to a nice start for everyone! Mihir and I are thinking about everyone, especially family members in Mumbai as they persevere through this senseless attack on their city.

We are proud

Turning 30 at The Grape

It happens now and then that my birthday falls on Labor Day weekend. It would seem that my 30th would be more tolerable if it passed discreetly during the middle of the week without much fanfare or notice. But surprisingly, turning 30 during a holiday weekend has been quite pleasant. Mihir and I went to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, where we perused their ongoing Impressionists exhibition. I suppose Monet is the most famous Impressionist painter, but my personal favorites are van Gogh and Gustave Caillebotte. I can't say this often enough--I love D/FW for giving my opportunities to see art like this once in a while.

For dinner we tried a new restaurant--The Grape . I love to try to restaurants. This one was no disappointment. My appetizer was crispy corn and peeky toe crab patties; Mihir had mushroom soup. Our entrees were quite unusual for us because we both had meat. I ate steak and bistro frites (French fries) and Mihir had a pork chop with a habanero/Dr. Pepper glaze. And dessert--warm apple pie for me, creme brulee for Mihir. It was a great meal. Our constant point of comparison for restaurant meals, however, is Nick's Fish Market in Maui. Even though the Grape was fantastic, Nick's still reigns supreme for us. But Dallas has so many great restaurants, I'm sure someday we'll find something to top it. I can't wait to try!

Campion Trails

Finally, some relief! This past weekend finally saw the temperatures dip into the low to mid-80s. We took advantage of the break by heading to one of our favorite places in Irving--the Campion Trails. Part of the Irving Parks system, Campion Trails are approximately 7 miles of natural area right in the heart of Irving. It's the only place I can think of where it's actually possible to smell nature--leaves, grass, water, etc. We even saw a snake! We normally cycle the entire route two times around, which is approximately 20 miles. Sunday, however, we walked the more lengthy section of the trail, which was probably about 5 miles. It was fun. Words can't express how nice it felt to be outside for the first time in weeks.