Author: amisampat

Friday Favorites

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I’ve really been slacking on the blog posts, but it’s been pretty busy lately. It seems like summer is officially gone and fall is now here considering it’s been raining for the past two days straight. I do love it though. It gives me the perfect excuse to stay under my covers and watch a TV show or a movie.

I’m feeling a little under the weather though and drinking loads of hot water and vitamin C tablets in a effort to ward off a cold. It would be a very inopportune time to fall sick.

Here are my highlights of the week:

A paneer wrap and potato salad make the perfect lunch.

A cool coffee shop that had lit up trees in the middle of it.

A mocha, my knee high boots, and bright nails can make even the dreary of days better.

Have a great weekend!

Who watches TV shows on the TV?

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I watch a lot of TV shows and this fall I’ve added a few new ones to my roster (Pan Am and Revenge, particularly). This article, posted on Adweek, discusses how the ratings for many TV shows have been dropping. It made me wonder: who actually watches TV on the TV anymore?

Personally, in the past three years, I’ve rarely watched a TV show live.

Most of the time I watch my shows on Hulu or the channel’s website. If I do feel like watching the show the day it airs I DVR it, wait 20 minutes, and then start so that I can fast forward all the commercials.

It has a lot of advantages such as being able to watch a TV show exactly when I feel like it and not having to wait for a specific time and day. With people busier than ever, it’s hard to wait for a specific time and day to watch a show.

I do feel bad, especially when some of my shows have low ratings and are relying heavily on viewers. But then I remember that I don’t have a Nielsen box anyways.

I believe that the Nielsen box is an outdated audience measurement system. With so many different avenues to watch TV shows now like computers, smart phones, and video game portals Nielsen no longer paints an accurate picture of a show’s audience size.

How do you watch your TV shows?

Advertisements

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While brands and companies are focusing on social media as it reaches a wide audience for virtually no cost, I don’t think print media should be dismissed as a valuable marketing strategy just yet.

I’ve always felt that the best ads are ones that are creative, funny, and/or useful and educational.

I came across this interesting article on Adweek that showcases 10 great magazine ads. My favorite was the ad for the advocacy group, Reporters Without Borders because it also includes a QR code and the use of an iPhone. It’s an ad that intertwines all the elements of marketing, both new and old,  into something simple and sleek, all while restating the non-profit’s brand.

What are some of your favorite ads? Why do you like them?

Technology and the Cookbook

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Just the other day I was browsing through my mom’s recipe book trying to find a recipe for alfredo sauce. I flipped through all the recipes multiple times until I finally found it. I wondered why I was spending so much time when I could have easily found the recipe online in a matter of seconds.

This article, featured today on Huffington Post, discusses how technology is affecting the cookbook, and helping create satisfying meals. Certainly cookbooks as we know it are a thing of the past. There are countless websites that give you recipes based on the ingredients you have and your dietary restrictions. You can even splice together different recipes you find interesting.

There is also an added video aspect to recipes nowadays. Many cooks post YouTube tutorials of how to make items, which certainly helps those that learn visually. Or if you’re a beginner cook like me and lack any estimating skills about exactly how much masala to put in your paneer tikka masala.

How do you find new recipes? Do you still use cookbooks or have you shifted to recipe websites?

The Pizookie

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For years and years, I thought that it would be near impossible to improve a chocolate chip cookie. I mean, it’s pretty much perfect right?

Enter BJ’s Brewhouse. BJ’s has an amazing dessert called the pizookie. It is essentially a freshly baked cookie topped with vanilla ice cream. It is the item that started my penchant for hot/cold dessert combinations (such as fried banana and ice cream, fried mango ice cream, etc).

After having this delicious item at BJ’s a few times, I realized just how easy it is to make at home as well. It’s a simple dessert that can be made at the spur of the moment, for as little as one person to five people.

Unplugged

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I spent this weekend at Yosemite National Park. While I’m not a complete nature person (2 days is all I can handle max) I do enjoy going to Yosemite mainly because we used to go every summer when I was a child.

It was incredibly peaceful and the views were as breathtaking as always. Since there is no internet or phone connection, you really feel like you are cut off from the real world. It felt good to step away from everything and reconnect with nature.

Here are some pictures:

Yosemite Valley

Mirror Lake

 

Do you consider yourself a nature person? Why or why not?

Change of Scene

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Since I work from home it can get very easy to go stir-crazy and lose all sense of the outside world. So I thought a change of scene would do me good, especially considering the Indian summer we are experiencing.

I went to a coffee shop to get some work done. (Libraries are too quiet for me.) I sipped on an iced chai, ate a marble cookie, listening to my favorite songs and powered through my tasks/emails for the day.

My current favorite songs I’m listening to on repeat and get me in the zone:

1. You Make Me Feel Like – Cobra Starship ft. Sabi

2. Moves Like Jagger – Maroon 5

3. Stereo Hearts – Gym Class Heros ft. Adam Levine

4. Mein Toh Margaya Oye (Hindi) – Mausum soundtrack

Life on the Go

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I’ll be honest, I was really struggling with a topic to write about today. So in the midst of my brainstorming, I opened up my Facebook app on my iPhone and browsed through the newsfeed. It made me realize just how ingrained Facebook is in our lives these days. It’s turned into such a big deal, causing divorces and ending friendships or relationships. But that is a whole other blog post entirely!

My favorite aspect of Facebook is the mobile uploads section. I feel like it really gives you a good insight into the person..you can learn a lot about the person based on what they decided to take a picture of and deemed it worthy to share with the rest of Facebook. If you all saw my mobile uploads album, you’d think “Wow, that girl really loves her desserts!”

All jokes aside, here are some of my mobile uploads I thought I’d share with you. Maybe it’ll give you a better idea as to who I am! (If this blog hasn’t told you already. :))

Crumbs cupcakes in NYC.

My own baking and decorating skills (for the India vs Pakistan World Cup Final).

Funny signs I come across.

Beautiful scenery: Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

My travels: Maui, Hawaii

The Best Sandwich Ever

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I thought of this sandwich creation a few months ago, when I was starving and looking for something to eat for lunch. It just so happened that all my favorite ingredients were in the fridge, so I experimented by mixing them all together.

I am a vegetarian, but this sandwich is so fulling and flavorful that meat eaters won’t even realize what’s missing.

Here are the steps to making the Best Sandwich Ever (I’m still trying to think of a better name):

The vegetables: tomatoes, lettuce, onions, cucumbers, and avocado.

The spread: spicy hummus, pesto, pepperjack cheese, bread, Sriracha, and Sambal paste.

The assembly: spread the hummus and pesto, add the cheese and vegetables, and top with some Sriracha.

Serve with some kettle cooked jalapeno chips and you’re good to go!

Friday Favorites

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This week has flown by pretty fast. While I’m excited that most of my shows are back on the air, it makes me wonder where exactly summer went. Even more, I can’t believe we’re already halfway through September!

Here are some picture highlights of the week:

I saw this while I was driving through town and had to take a picture.

Enjoying a white chocolate mocha and a warm chocolate chip cookie at Tart by Tart bakery in San Francisco.

A look at one of the sari blouses I’m wearing during my brother’s wedding events.

The menu for a dessert truck at a local food truck gathering. I took home red velvet, salted caramel, and chocolate coconut cupcakes.

I hope you have a great weekend!