The Hidden Path of Self-Discovery

"It's better to live your own destiny imperfectly
than to live an imitation of somebody else's life with perfection"
~ A quote from the "Bhagavad Gita", the ancient Indian Yogic text

"Masking"...

... A wonderful little skill that was presented, preached, practiced & "perfected" (ok, maybe not perfected) during the course of my program of study.

It's amazing how much I've been using this delightful little technique in the past few days. So what is "masking" you ask (in the sense that I'm talking about it at least); well, "masking" is the art of hiding your true emotions/beliefs/opinions about a certain scenario/person/situation in which it is not appropriate to voice your opinion on the matter.

For example... have you ever rolled your eyes at a stupid question or comment? Well, during my work, it's not appropriate for me to *roll my eyes* at the information or exchange taking place; in fact, it'd be downright, cut and dry, unprofessional. That being said, funny enough, the majority of my most recent masking practice has been happening outside of work!

I've never been one to be able to hide my emotions well, I'm more of the open book type-
If I'm happy, you'll know it-
If I'm surprised, you'll know it-
If I'm sad, you'll know it-
If I'm ticked, ohhhh boy, you will know it!
Anyone who knows me well can attest to this and because of such, learning to "mask" and I mean really mask my innermost feelings has been a big challenge for me.

I'm sitting here thinking to myself "and what's your point? Why did you even start writing about this?", and to be honest, I can't remember. I guess I'm just a bit in awe of how much I have improved this complex technique in such a short amount of time...

I suppose that's what happens when you're exposed to people that you just can't relate with; they're on Mars and I'm here on Earth... or maybe it's the other way around.... either way, when all I want to do is shake my head in awe at someone and have an utter "are-you-f'ing-stupid?!" look on my face, the better option (for now) is to "mask"... let it slide... leave the soul-searching to them, I don't want to preach anymore, not at least until they're ready to look beyond themselves at the bigger picture-

Pseudo-Shortbread Biscuits, a la Toaster Oven

On my downtime, here in (blank)town, I've started to expand upon my culinary and baking skills- now, I've always been one to lean more towards the baking side of things; there's just something that can't be beat about a warm, gooey, home-style meal fresh out of the oven to make you feel good :)

Problem is, our oven here in (blank)town is... *gasp* busted (cue sad clown music); however, not all is lost! You see, we have our trusty Toaster Oven, the little Toaster that could! And thanks to this toaster oven, I've been able to continue creating and experimenting with different types of dishes.

A friend told me I should start including my baking adventures on this blog, but so far, whenever I get an idea in my head I just go-go-go, having only remembered about documenting the process when all's said and done...

Well, well! Memory served me right this time, and I got set up before the cooking was done, so here is the first (of possibly many) food blogs to come- These savory biscuits are odd, yet delicious. Despite the ingredients, they come out with a shortbread'ish-like flavour, suped up to a new level with a tad of Crunch. Enjoy :)

Pseudo-Shortbread Biscuits
(The original recipe I found was called "Cornflake Biscuits", but I changed a few things up and decided the new title was much more fitting)

Ingredients
~ 3 tbsp of yogurt (get creative! I used mango-papaya flavoured)
~ 1 tbsp olive oil
~ 1 tsp salt
~ 1 tsp chili powder
~ 3 cups all-purpose flour
~ 1 cup of butter
~ 1 cup of crumbled cornflakes
~ 1 tsp baking powder
~ 1 egg yolk, beaten
~ sesame seeds
~ sprinkling of sugar

*** Preheat oven (or in this case: toaster oven) to 350F

Mix yogurt, olive oil, chili powder & salt in a bowl until well blended

Add flour, butter (semi-melted is easier to work with), cornflakes & baking powder into the yogurt/olive oil mixture. Mix until well blended into a stiff dough...

Ta-Daaaa!

Roll out sections of dough to 1/4" thickness & use any cookie-cutter (or in this case, a champagne glass) to shape the biscuits.

Plain-Janes into ------> Beautiful egg-yolk glazed, sesame & sugar sprinkled biscuits

*** Pop those lovelies into the oven for 20-25 minutes (until golden brown on the tops) and you'll have your very own pseudo-shortbread biscuits in no time!

Bon Appetit!

Inspirationals-

Image source

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. ~Mark Twain

If you want your life to be a magnificent story, then begin by realizing that you are the author and everyday you have the opportunity to write a new page. ~ Mark Houlahan

Keep your face to the sunshine and you can never see the shadow. ~ Helen Keller

The View

"The World is a looking-glass, and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face.
Frown at it, and it will in turn look sourly upon you;
laugh at it and with it, and it is a jolly kind companion"

~ William Makepeace Thackeray

The Years....

There are tribes around the World who don't keep track of how many years they've been on this planet... it's just not something they focus on or worry about- Imagine how your Life might be different if you weren't making developments (e.x. college, moving out, acting more "mature") based on your Age... Would you be more Free? Less inhibited?