The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks

What do you do when you find yourself in a reader's block (A term coined by me akin to writer's block)? Of late, I was finding reading at a stretch difficult. I was picking a book and abandoned it after turning a few pages and I couldn't read more than a few pages at a stretch. Even though I have a good pile of interesting titles on my shelf, I was wary of picking them up. In such situation, I thought it would be best to pick up a book that I knew would keep me glued. Nicholas Sparks is one author whose books does that to me. Simple language, easy reads and heart touching stories - this combination doesn't go wrong for me. I picked up 'The Rescue' by Nicholas Sparks to get myself in reading mood and the book lived up to my expectation.

The book has all elements of  typical Sparks book - love, relationship, romance, friendship, country life, unexpected dramatic twists. Be prepared to keep a few tissue papers handy. If you have read his books, then you know what I mean.

Here is the blurb from the book, that gives an idea about the storyline, but, let me tell you there is more.

"When confronted by raging fires or deadly accidents, volunteer fireman Taylor McAden feels compelled to take terrifying risks to save lives. But there is one leap of faith Taylor can’t bring himself to make: he can’t fall in love. For all his adult years, Taylor has sought out women who need to be rescued, women he leaves as soon as their crisis is over and the relationship starts to become truly intimate. When a raging storm hits his small Southern town, single mother Denise Holton’s car skids off the road. The young mom is with her four-year-old son Kyle, a boy with severe learning disabilities and for whom she has sacrificed everything. Taylor McAden finds her unconscious and bleeding, but does not find Kyle. When Denise wakes, the chilling truth becomes clear to both of them: Kyle is gone. During the search for Kyle, the connection between Taylor and Denise takes root. Taylor doesn’t know that this rescue will be different from all the others, demanding far more than raw physical courage. It will lead him to the possibility of his own rescue from a life lived without love and will require him to open doors to his past that were slammed shut by pain. This rescue will dare him to live life to the fullest by daring to love."

After reading a little more about the novel on the web, I was surprised to know that the character of Kyle is inspired by Sparks' second son - Ryan. Kyle in the novel has what’s called Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD), which is something akin to “dyslexia of sound.” He didn’t talk because language is jumbled for some reason, though no one knows the reason. The sacrifices her mother, Denise makes for him and the way she strives to make him speak makes you wonder about motherly love. It was more surprising to know that the author and his wife has been through that phase and Denise is a character inspired by her wife in many ways. I would encourage you to read this for know about the inspiration behind this novel.

The novel is not so much about Denise or Kyle but about Taylor McAden. Although, his first entry in the novel is not a hero's but slowly the focus shifts from Denise's life to Taylor. Taylor has his own demons to face and only after a tragic and dramatic incident in his life, he gathers the courage to do so and eventually rescues himself from a life devoid of love and companionship. Apart from some description of fire rescues, which I found uninteresting to go through in detail, this book was an breezy read.

Nicholas Sparks know how to tug the chords of your heart and this book does exactly that. Recommended if you are a Sparks' fan. Read it even if you have not read any of his works.

Linking to R of A-Z challenge.You can see my A-Z Reading Challenge list here.

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Baked Crispy Onion Rings

 For Blog Hop Wednesday this month, I am paired with Harini of Tamalapaku and among all the variety of dishes that are there on her blog, I chose these Baked Crispy Onion Rings. To know more about Blog Hop Wednesdays check this. To see what other blog hoppers are up with see this.

 

Ingredients:

1 Large Onion sliced in rings. I used the white variety.

For the coating batter

2-3 tbsp AP Flour

1 tsp corn flour

A generous pinch of salt

1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup water

For coating the onion rings

Bread Crumbs, as needed (I used 2 multigrain bread slices, toasted them and churned them to crumbs)

1 tsp oil

1/4 tsp Italian dried mixed herbs

1. Preheat the oven at 200-220 C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. Mix all the ingredients for making the batter and add water and whisk till there is no lump.

3. Mix the bread crumbs, seasoning and oil and rub with your fingers.

4. Dip a onion ring in the batter and then coat it with the crumbs and place them in the lined baking tray. Do the same with all the onion rings.

5. Bake them for 15 minutes, turning them once after 7-8 minutes to ensure they are uniformly crisp.

6. Serve with tomato ketchup or sweet chili sauce or enjoy with a cup of tea.

Notes:

1. I used multigrain bread crumbs as I had them at hand. But, I think using regular bread crumbs will be better for taste.

2. Instead of bread crumbs, I think coarse semolina should also work fine.

3. Do not slice the onion too think or they will burn while baking.

Only disadvantage of this recipe is that, one has to be patient while making them. It is simple enough but baking the rings is time consuming. But, on the brighter side, they are really low fat and you don't have to worry about having eaten too much of them.

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Green Chutney ~ Variations~ Indian Kitchen Staples

Green Chutney/Dip is another thing that you will always find in my fridge. A must for Indian Chaats and pairs well with Indian snacks like Samosa, Paneer Tikka, Onion Bhaji, Vada Pav, Cutlets etc. The list can be endless. I had shared a recipe of this chutney in my Vada Pav post. But, I thought a separate post for this versatile chutney will be helpful for any one looking for this recipe.

You can make it in many ways and hence I have included a list of the variation right after the recipe. Let me know how you make it.

Green Chutney:

1 bunch of coriander leaves (will be about 3 cup of coriander leaves)

1 ripe tomato (optional)
2 green chillies.
1 tsp cumin seeds.
2 inch ginger piece, peeled
Salt to taste.
Lemon juice as needed.

Process:

1. Add all the ingredients in a grinder and make a paste. Add water as little as possible.
2. Add lemon juice to taste just before serving.

 Variations:

1. Add half measure of plucked fresh mint leaves and adjust seasoning for Coriander and Mint Chutney.

2. You can leave out tomato totally. Instead, 1/4th cup of chopped raw mango (when in season) for a tangier chutney.

3. You can can add 1/4 cup of chopped onion and 1-2 garlic cloves if you wish.

4. Another variation would be to add dried pomegranate seeds to it. 

5. You can also add a few tablespoons of tamarind paste.

6. Add a few pieces of fresh coconut flesh

It can be stored for weeks  in freezer without adding the lemon juice. I store it in my ice cube tray and use cubes of chutney whenever required. Once the chutney cubes are frozen, you can take them out and transfer them in a Ziploc back and refrigerate until needed. Generally, I defrost two cubes of chutney in microwave and then add lemon juice. It is ready to use.

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Tamarind and Dates Chutney ~ Sweet Chutney~Mithi Chutney~ For Indian Chaats and Snacks

There are certain things that you will always find in my fridge and one of them is this dip/chutney. This 'mithi'(sweet) chutney as it is popularly called is one of the staples when making Indian chaats and pairs well with Samosa, Dahi Vada or Paneer Tikka. There are a number of ways to make it - with or without dates and I have made some varieties of it myself, depending on the things I have at hand. It was only when I posted these Dahi Vadas, I realized I have not posted a recipe of this sweet dip on this space, even though I have mentioned serving a couple of dishes here with it. So, when I made a fresh lot of this dip recently, I clicked a few pictures to share them here.

A post for another staple dip - Green Chutney will be up next. Lets hop to the recipe of this Tamarind and Dates Chutney now.

Ingredients:

15-20 dates, pitted, soaked overnight with just enough water to soak them
1 cup tamarind pulp
1 cup brown sugar/regular sugar/grated jaggery
2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black salt
1 tsp ground ginger

Process:

1. Puree the dates along with the water they were soaked in.
2. Dry roast cumin seeds and the fennel seeds and coarsely ground them in a pestle mortar. Alternately, you can also finely grind it in a mixer.
3. In a heavy bottomed pan add the dates puree, ground cumin and fennel mixture and the rest of the ingredients and a cup of water.
4. Bring it to boil and then lower the heat and simmer the mixture for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Take it off gas and let it cool completely.
5. Store it in sterilized glass jars and keep them refrigerated. Keep well for 2-3 months. Use it as needed in Indian chaats or as a dip with snacks or starters.

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Random Pictures #1 ~ Dublin ~ For Saturday Snapshot

For Saturday Snapshot, I thought I would post some random pictures from Dublin this time. as I browsed through the pictures taken sometimes back, I chanced upon some pictures, taken at different times, of the canal that flows near my house.

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books. It’s easy to participate – just post a picture that was taken by you, a friend, or a family member and add your link on Alyce’s site.

Only a couple of minutes walk away from  my house, this is my favorite place for a quick walk and the Swans in the canal adds to the beauty of it.

 (Swans @ Canal)

 (On a cloudy day)

(On a bright day)

(In Black and White)

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