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!