First off, it was the hubby’s birthday and we enjoyed that awesome Cineworld D-Box experience with Avengers, which has now broken a plethora of worldwide box office records. I may have already mentioned them, but here’s the visual – the Gourmet Burger Kitchen does these super yummy Rosemary fries – perfectly salted, herbed (if that’s even a word) and beautifully crisp. As described on the menu, these indeed encapsulate one of my favourite foodie words, ‘moreish’.

I was very excited when my dear friend Charles Bosco, a young British Asian music producer, told me that the cable cars of North Greenwich were almost in action, more so, when I saw them being tested – I won’t comment on how this may affect the British tax payer. Emirates, the airline, has made these to facilitate easier crossing over the River Thames, in line with the London Olympics. The last time I’d been on a cable car was on a trip to Mount Pilatus, in gorgeous Switzerland, what seems like an eternity ago. And before that, my reminiscence was in Genting Highlands, Malaysia, as a child, where one of my most favourite memories happened – I touched a cloud. As I recollect, it was absolutely magnificent, I jumped, touched and it felt like snow, only better.

As we’re dwellers of the newly Royal Borough of Greenwich, we frequent the O2. I’m always fascinated by the sunsets in that area and love exploring. This is the Quantum Cloud, by the famous ‘Angel of the North’ artist,  Antony Gormley – his tallest sculpture to date, I’m told. This sits very close to the cable car area and fits it’s surroundings very well. I remember becoming a fan of his art after seeing Zero degrees, with the dance legend Akram Khan, whom I recently had the pleasure of meeting at the South Bank Centre. This production also featured the superb Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and the brilliant British musician, Nitin Sawhney.

This is the O2 at sunset, just as one of my oldest friends, the hubby and I headed to see Morten Harket of A-ha, a Norwegian pop group that I loved as a kid in Nigeria. I dedicate this experience to one of my old friends, who introduced me to their work – Manosha in Michigan. Their Take on me video, is still one of the most creative visual works I’ve seen, and for a guy in his early 50s, Harket is looking fabulous and still hits those falsetto notes he’s renowned for, with perfect pitch. This blog by Akin Aworan captures the sold out concert at IndigO2 to a tee.

Next up, 3 perfect culinary moments. It’s no secret to those who know me, that I am extremely partial to Dishoom, the fabulous Parsi style ‘Bombay cafe’, in the heart of Covent Garden. After one of our BAFTA meetings for the upcoming London Indian Film Festival, my dear friend Naman, who is a renowned journalist, academic and writer (more on him another time), and I headed down. We were presented with the brand new Thums up float, a heady non alcoholic mix of India’s Coca-Cola substitute, until Coca-Cola came back with a vengeance circa 1993. Teamed with good quality vanilla ice-cream (complete with vanilla bean flecks), it truly was a lovely juxtaposition of flavours.

Then came some spicy yet yummy kebabs, with the 3 Dishoom condiments, tamarind, coriander/mint and chilli.

I topped this off with some ‘naughty’ chocolate chai, a firm favourite of mine, from when I tried it before my surgery, back in early December 2011, at a special tasting event.

As always, bidding you wonderful memories and make every minute count, even if it means taking time out to reminisce about how beautiful life is and how God’s nature is truly magnificent.

I’m not quite sure why Mark Ruffalo is my latest crush, but he is. It could be due to my 2 screenings of the most MARVELlous The Avengers movie (one on the Sky Superscreen at Cineworld O2 in 3D, and the other on the super fab D-Box seat also at the same cinema, my fave place, a special treat for my hubby’s birthday), or perhaps it’s due to my loving The Hulk since childhood in Africa, when I watched a few TV episodes of the giant green being. In this Joss Whedon world of the Avengers, The Hulk doesn’t just “smash”, but he gives us some good laughs via his antics with the 2 Demi Gods, Loki and Thor. The brilliant Dr David Bruce Banner also says some Hindi words in the film, and lives in Calcutta, doing good to help the sick, with his medical capabilities, in an early scene.

Most of my friends know about my love for Chris Hemsworth and his character in Thor, and I have to say that I am very partial to Tom Hiddleston (who was great in Spielberg’s War Horse) and his Loki. Moreover, I also love Robert Downey, Jr and those beautiful eyes of his and his playing of the quintessential British character, Sherlock Holmes. I can go on about Samuel L Jackson and his being the highest grossing film actor of all-time and my admiration for him, or how cute Chris Evans aka Captain America is, and of course, how much I’m looking forward to seeing Jeremy Renner aka Hawkeye, in the upcoming The Bourne Legacy.

But this blog is about Mr Ruffalo, who is of Italian and French Canadian descent and has worked as a bartender to fund his creativity. He’s not only acted, but also made films, as a director. He has fought through an acoustic neuroma, a brain tumor, and is indeed a survivor. I’ll be honest and admit that when I saw The Kids Are All Right, I didn’t really crush on him and I barely took notice during Scorsese’s Shutter Island. But his Avengers role really stood out for me, and I’ll indeed be watching out for his next role in Red Light Winter.

I feel thankful when they do, as they give me some lovely moments to enjoy, even if I’m not doing much. There is beauty to be seen, out of a window, and with the internet, plenty of wonderful sights to see without leaving home. I keep as busy as possible, when this happens, as I believe that an active mind helps keep pain at bay. Yes, I may not be able to socialise much, but that’s my cross to bear and I am cool with it. There is a lot that one can achieve with a wireless connection and a laptop, IMHO.

I’ve tried a lot of alternative therapies, had surgery, but ultimately, my health is in my own hands – the Doctors cannot help, but I can help myself. I am thankful for the vat of spirituality that my family surround me with, and in my quest for enlightenment, I also seem to touch others, who are in need of similar words of comfort.

To anyone who has something similar, I have only one piece of advice: Embrace the good moments. This is akin to what Eckhart Tolle always said, in his best selling book, The power of now. It’s a powerful concept, as the pain maybe in the now, but if you go through it, you then move to the next moment of now, which could be pain free and so on – the circle continues till one gets through the discomfort and moves into better health. That’s my simplistic view of it.

I catch up on TV and enjoy a few guilty pleasures (cue GCB, Gossip Girl, 90210, The Vampire diaries, The Secret circle, Castle, The Mentalist, Hawaii Five-0, 2 broke girls, Big bang theory – Chuck Lorre, you rockstar, Bones et al)

This is a video I made for all my Facebook and Twitter well wishers and wanted to share it with you all too.

Here is what transpired when my press broke – yes, I proceeded to make coffee in it, as you know how much I love my morning coffee:

We then realised that it was a big of a health hazard, what with potential chips of broken glass and all, so we said goodbye and threw it away, and as I knew that the sister in law was visiting, and she’d promised me a new one, we knew we could manage for a few hours. But, it was morning and my hubby was at home, which always means the gift of coffee and conversation. So, I decided to try out my Bodum tea maker, rather than make some Starbucks Via, which just isn’t the same. I coarsely ground the beans and the coffee actually turned out very well, surprisingly.

As my sister in law loves Akara, the Nigerian bean fritters that the hubby makes so well, he cooked and made a lovely batch, while we awaited their arrival. They were exactly on time, and came armed with a gorgeous new miniature Bodum Chambord French Press! It is one of the original French presses, designed in the 50s. Looking at the shiny new contraption, there is no doubt about it’s beautiful build quality and I must look after it well.

Says Bodum about the art of easy, yet lovely coffee: “The French press system has always been the simplest and ultimate way of brewing an excellent cup of coffee. Using fresh coarseground beans with water between 92 and 96 degrees brings out the very best in all types of coffee.”

Here is my new baby!

As an aficionado of Tamil cinema, it also marks another Cannes outing for young music director GV Prakash, the nephew of double Grammy and Oscar winner, AR Rahman. His first was Veyil, which was the 1st Tamil film to be screened at the famous festival and this time, he is due on the red carpet with one of India’s coolest directors, Anurag Kashyap, as part of the directors’ fortnight section at the 65th Cannes anniversary, with the epic revenge saga, Gangs of Wasseypur.

More on it’s UK release at the London Indian Film Festival – it’s UK premiere is on 20th June, at Cineworld Haymarket.

Rafta, Rafta…, an adaptation of a 1960s Bill Naughton (Alfie playwright) play, with an ‘Asian’ twist, by Ayub Khan Din (East is East and West is West), was something I did a press feature on, years ago, when I worked with a British Asian newspaper as entertainment editor, and this is its big screen outing.

The film stars veteran British Asian actress, Meera Syal MBE (Goodness Gracious Me, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Anita and Me), the formidable Superstar Rajinikanth loving theatre legend, Harish Patel (Run fatboy run, Zubeidaa, Mela) and young British actors, Amara Karan (The Darjeeling Limited, St Trinian’s, the forthcoming films A fantastic fear of everything and Jadoo) and Reece Ritchie (The Lovely Bones, The Sands of Time). It also stars a well known British Tamil theatre actress, Rani Moorthy, a lady I love a lot, whose career I’ve followed and I’ve always relished seeing her live theatrical work, like Curry tales and most recently, Looking for Kool, which I missed during Alchemy 2012.

Amara Karan is a fellow British Tamil, who, like me, gave up a corporate career, to follow her dream. She’s Oxford educated, stunning, articulate and her very first role was for a Wes Anderson film, which is a very impressive start. She broke barriers by being super hot and very sexy sari clad waitress, in The Darjeeling Limited, as the love interest of Adrien Brody.

Here are my original post film reactions. The embargo is lifted, so I can share them!

All in good time, for me, is an important film to get made and distributed, as it takes the original play, Rafta Rafta, to another dimension and the story, which is quite universal to British Asians, will be seen by many more, on silver-screen and then TV and DVD. Nigel Cole, whose films, Made in Dagenham and Calendar girls are firm favourites of mine, shows his versatility with this film.

I was a little confused about the Datsun (then Nissan) Cherry car in the very end sequence, as it’s a very 70s car, but the film itself didn’t seem as dated – a timeline, as one of my peers pointed out, may have elucidated better. Then again, it is a universal subject and while it does reinforce the stereotype of Asians living with their Parents after marriage and explores those topics of arranged marriages e.t.c, the treatment was excellent.

The cast, in my opinion, made the film special. Amara proved her mantle as one of Britain’s brightest young actresses, and Reece Ritchie is not just good looking, but showcased the gamut of emotions his character was to reveal during the film. Meera Syal and Harish Patel pulled off stellar performances and the rest of the cast, particularly the likes of comedian Rani Moorthy, were impressive.

Overall, it’s a film that I feel will go down well with audiences, with a great mix of serious emotion and humour. The story will feel a little ‘old’ to the younger generation of viewers, but nevertheless, they will resonate with some part of it. From an Asian standpoint, I don’t think this is a ‘family’ film per say, but I feel that the different generations will enjoy watching it separately. There were some slow moments, but thankfully, there were comedic redemption points.

The cinematography was on point and I was particularly heartened by the music, from Chanda Re (Eklavya), to pertinent English language songs, evocative of an era gone by. The brilliant British composer Niraj Chag, whose work I’ve followed for a long time now, does due diligence to this soundtrack. It is well directed, well produced and I look forward to it getting a fabulous distribution. I feel that audiences beyond the UK will enjoy it and I feel it is particularly something that India will connect with, due to it’s subject matter, which is more current to life there now (in some parts).

We as British Asians have moved on from many of the film’s themes, but there is room for us to watch and feel the emotion beyond the stereotypes and learn a little bit about the history of our people in the UK, much like enjoying the period TV series, The Indian Doctor.

As I saw Avengers last night at Cineworld O2, at the Sky Superscreen and was given a taster of the film in one of the D-Box seat screens, as a special preview (Thank DS for this, it was unforgettable, I just didn’t want it to stop), I was totally enthralled. The sound, the 3D, the adventures and moreover, the D-Box experience, which is the 4th dimension.

Back in 1998, I tried this at Universal Studios, on the Back to the future ride and today, it is a reality at our local Cineworld multiplexes across the UK. Once you go D-Box, watching a film normally will feel odd, IMHO.

What does this all have to do with inspirational women? Well, I have been partial to the voluptuous Scarlett Johansson since Lost in Translation, and felt that her BAFTA award was so well deserved. Seeing her as the formidable, super smart, super fast, super fly Black Widow, from the Marvel Universe, was a real treat. Watch her in action, below:

Is it any wonder why my spotlight is on Ms Johansson? She’s just been given her own star at the Hollywood walk of fame, she’s beautiful, and I love that she’s intensely private about her life! As for her incarnation as Black Widow, all I ask is for more!! After the post credits UK scene (spoiler alert - Thanos), I do hope this will happen, and soon…

Kudos Joss Whedon, for a MARVELlous comic book outing coming to life. I always loved your work and strong female characters in Buffy and Angel, Firefly et al.

Keep up your inspirational work, Scarlett, and may you always choose diverse roles, like those in Vicky Cristina Barcelona and We Bought a Zoo.

We’re not vegetarians and marinates, in my humble opinion, work best with fish, poultry and meat. Don’t get me wrong, I love my South Indian vegetarian foods, from time to time and I often made tadka dhal, rasam and rice, for my own consumption.

As a couple, we both come from very different backgrounds, from Asia and Africa and of course, we have very British sensibilities also, so our cooking is a true fusion of flavours.

From Oriental to African, and sometimes the hearty British brunch with an African twist (read the addition of Scotch bonnet peppers, spring onions and Titus sardines to scrambled eggs).

Here is an image of when I roasted Spatchcock poussin, which already came part marinated – I added to it with a Danish ‘Granny’s rub’ from an obscure shop in London’s Olympic land, Stratford.

My husband has crowned me the ‘Queen of the marinade’, due to my recent stints of home cooking, as eating out is a rare affordable option (despite us both having Taste Cards) and while I’d always loved cooking, time was always a factor in creating space in my life for it. I am humbled by his compliment and sweet love for me and hope to deliver some good food selections to him and those who visit us.

We have taken to getting together in the kitchen and my love is the blending of spices, while he’s very good at fine chopping of various peppers, spring onions, garlic, ginger and all such magnificent ingredients.

As a kid, my Dad always spoke of Pataks, as he spent some of his life in the UK before moving to Denmark and Africa and then moving back for good when I was a kid. Mr Patak himself, used to run a store in the Drummond Street area of London, an area that PhD students like my Dad were living in.

Mr LG Patak came to the UK with £5 in his hand and created an empire, while servicing the culinary needs of so many students, and his legacy continues, with the likes of me, who may infuse with spice powders like Jaffna roasted curry powder and Rajah spices garam masala, but often finish off an Indian style marinate with a rub of Pataks Korma paste or Madras paste. I find that it just adds to the flavours descending all the way to the core of the meat marinated.

This is an image by Akin Aworan, from a trip to Fez in Morocco, where meat was always beautifully soaked in flavour.

I am a big fan of the Marks and Spencer spice mills and more so, of the Jamie Oliver ones – they make my life easier and quite often, a good Keralan black pepper, like the Tellicherry from Jamie’s collection, or the Wayanad variety from Lakeland, are all one needs to finish off fabulous dish.

Bart’s spices also make some amazing ready mixed spices, like their Moroccan Ras el hanout, which I procure at Waitrose. I also met the Fox’s spices guys at the Ideal Home Show and picked up some fabulous and rare items, that have since enhanced my cooking.

My Hungarian sister in law introduced us to Paprika and it’s virtues – we now seek good capsicum peppers on our grocery trips and also cook a lot with wine and fresh herbs. Our kitchen often has a pot of fresh parsley, coriander and/or basil growing, as we enjoy the subtle flavours they impart and thus enhance our food.

With my health juggle, post a fairly big surgery, eating in is more important, as is knowing exactly what is in my food. I have to make sure I am gluten free and also incorporate things like rice bran oil, coconut milk, quinoa and different types of grains into my diet. The hubby also loves rice and when he fancies pasta or pizza, we tend to find gluten free varieties for me, to go with the sauces he makes so competently. There is a baby gluten free pasta at Boots, that I can eat, and M&S do some nice pizza bases, but I digress.

Back to the marinade that my new crowing at home beckons, I find that it’s about blending flavours that ‘may’ work together, like dill seeds or coriander seeds, with pastes, oils, vinegars and all such foodie delights. I’ve found that oil helps the marinade seep through, and stabbing the meat well is not just stress relief, but also allows for a tastier end product!

In London, there are luxury stores like Selfrigdes, Harrods and Harvey Nichols that stock some unusual varieties of spices, herbs and condiments. When I have some spare cash, I head down, if not to buy, then to get ideas and be a tad impulsive in adding zing to my culinary journeys.

Happy cooking, food lovers. I hope to share more on this topic, in the near future, God willing. Be blessed, enjoy taste explosions in your mouths and surrender to the glorious aromas that behold.

Photos: Yours truly, who is an amateur photographer with a phone camera, and the wonderful pro Akin Aworan

Due to all my health challenges over the last ten years or so, there are many things I can’t eat and drink. The good news is that a small amount of coffee is something my body can take and I make it one of my daily rituals, and like everything I do, I make it with gusto and put 100% into it.

Grinding beans daily means releasing the antioxidants they contain and the jury’s always out, when it comes to how healthy coffee is. I believe that one cup is good for me and say a little prayer before drinking it, or dare I say, relishing it, sip by sip.

On weekends, my husband and I often enjoy our matching cups of coffee, and after tasting many of my flavour blends, his favourite is Madagascan Vanilla and Thai Jasmine (Mali), made with fresh ground Starbucks limited edition Bali, Guatemala Casi Cielo or Espresso roast and seasonally, the lovely Christmas blend.

The process of making the coffee is really very easy, and I first experienced this ‘real flavour’, on my first trip to Chennai, in South India. Their ‘decoction’ coffee uses a similar method, and the flavour is truly king.

So, here are the steps for my daily coffee ritual:

1) Grinding beans – pick your favourite roasted beans, available at Starbucks, Supermarkets and Market stalls all over the world. My beloved bought me my very first coffee bean grinder from the James Martin range at Wahl. I grind it to different consistencies depending on my mood – the finer the grind, the smoother the coffee.

2) Use a clean French Press – I used to own a purple Bodum one, that sadly broke, so I now own a La Cafetière from Marks and Spencer. Fill it with the ground coffee.

3) Add flavourings – I tend to use Vanilla as a base essence, as it softens the taste of roast beans and takes any bitterness off. I then add whatever essence takes my fancy. Favourites are Jasmine essence, Rose water, Orange blossom water, Almond essence, Cinnamon powder and I do sometimes grind a cardamom pod of two, with the coffee beans. I also like a touch of Nutmeg powder, in the winter. I love to acquire syrups by the amazing company, Monin, and was given the almond syrup from Selfridges in London, for my birthday, but I plan to collect Coconut, Cherry blossom, Violet, and perhaps Ginger and Caribbean syrups, when I have my syrup fund in place. I tried Banana essence with cinnamon, but somehow, it’s not like in pancakes or cakes – it was quite a weird combo. I’ve tried coffee with Starbucks seasonal syrups, like Dark Cherry, Amaretto, Butterscotch and Gingerbread, but somehow, I wasn’t very impressed.

4) Add sugar to taste (I like the unrefined Billingtons golden granulated type) and pour in the coffee and stir very well.

5) Enjoy and really savour the aroma – this is the best part, when enjoying your very own home made gourmet beverage.

Once you try this at home, you’ll be very picky about buying coffee in shops and cafes. Moreover, you will save a ton of money by doing this. It can cost up to £1000 to buy a year’s worth, in coffee shops, if you’re an everyday drinker.

I do hope that you’ve enjoyed reading about my little daily indulgence. A small pleasure that is truly wonderful. After leaving the corporate world, I have found the biggest happiness, in little wonders, from watching the setting of the sun from my window, to the birds chirping, to gently inhaling the aroma of freshly roast coffee beans.

Enjoy and may you be blessed with many flavour combinations!

“I orchestrate my mornings to the tune of coffee.” Harry Mahtar

Photos: Akin Aworan