Baked Ziti.

This baked ziti is a classic midweek meal, which is a lot like lasagna. The best (well there are many really) part about this meal? You can make it ahead, freeze it, and it’s still fab when you cook it- also, it’s impossible to screw this “recipe” up and you can add in all kinds of things if you want, it's that basic. 


Consider this your “little black dress” of meals, it works for everything. 


Ingredients. 

1 (16 oz) package of ziti or fusilli pasta
2 cups of ricotta cheese
2 (24 oz) jars of marinara sauce
Fresh Mozzarella or Shredded Mozz (as much as you want)
Parmesan for topping


Optional: meatballs, meat sauce, chopped veggies, sausage.


Directions.


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees


Prepare the pasta, undercooking it just a little. Drain the hot pasta and pour it back into the warm pot.


Stir in the ricotta and one jar of the marinara, mix until it is blended. Toss in a bit of the mozzarella cheese- stir to combine. If you are using the optional add in ingredients, put those in now and stir.


In a rectangular pan, pour in just enough marinara to lightly coat the bottom. Top with the pasta/cheese mixture. Sprinkle or place the extra mozzarella on top of the pasta.


Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is bubbling. Serve warm with extra marinara, garlic bread, and salad. 

100 Things I Love About Britain Part.1

So I've decided to do a series documenting 100 things I love about Britain. I'm a born and bred Sri Lankan girl exchanging my flip flops to rain boots, family and boyfriend for economics and finance and temporarily living in the UK for 3.5 years. You guys want to do your own series like this then feel free, it would be fun to see the reasons you love where you live, at least temporarily. :)  

#1 Full English Breakfasts.
When I went to America they seemed to find it weird that the Brits eat beans with their breakfast.

#2  Sunday Roasts.

#3 Harry Potter.

OK, so everyone grew up with this series, so really it belongs to everyone, but the fact is - an englishwoman created this, and therefore it definitely is part of their heritage. 

#4 The Royal Family.

Mostly they're boring. But sometimes we get some pretty good scandals out of them, such as 'who is really Harry's father?' and 'did the queen kill Diana?' Always fun to read about.

Also, how good was that wedding last year? And how cute is Prince Harry? 

#5 Indie music.

Because indie boys do it better. At least, they did when I first came to this country.

#6 You can be anywhere in the country within a few hours.

#7 They have some really good animal charities, Cats Protection and the RSPCA to name but a few.

#8 Walks in the countryside, and lunch at country pubs.

#9 Tea

Because who needs coffee?

#10 Only Fools and Horses.
Arguably the most classic of all British comedies, this programme is amazing. I used to watch a few episodes here and there, whenever it's on the Gold channel.

#11 Mr Kipling's exceedingly good cakes.
The ones pictured are called, angel slices. My favourites also include lemon slices and french fancies. SO good! 

#12 The need to layer.
England is absolutely freezing, and the only consolation is that I can layer my clothes, which I LOVE doing. 

#13 London.

#14 Jude Law.
The most beautiful man in the world, with the most beautiful voice.  Yum!

#15  Fish and chips.

#16 In England, everything can be solved by a trip to the pub.

#17 British boys.
I hate to burst the bubble ladies. But only London boys have the sexy accent, and it's mainly the gay men that will call you 'love'.

#18 The interesting history.

When I saw The Iron Lady, which has given me a new found appreciation for Margaret Thatcher. Far from the evil witch I've been lead to believe she was, she actually came across as very inspiring.

However, I wasn't around when she was in power,  so if you disagree with my conclusion then please, No hate mail.

#19 The Inbetweeners.

If you've never seen the Inbetweeners, then seriously, you HAVE TO SEE THE INBETWEENERS. These boys remind me of some of my male friends at uni, which makes this show even more hilarious for me. 

#20 Their cats are cute.

I imagine cats are cute everywhere. I know in Sri Lanka we have our very own  gorgeous, stray cats. But the fact of the matter is that I get to see the ones in UK every day.  So they win. :D

Oreo stuffed cookies

I have almost no words for these cookies. Almost. A few that actually do come to mind are miraculous, ingenious and life-changing. How could anything stuffed with Oreos and baked to a golden, gooey deliciousness NOT be life-changing? 


If you're looking for a fun and decadent treat these would definitely fit the bill! 


Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
Find original recipe here


Ingredients. 

2 sticks (1 cup) softened butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
10 oz bag chocolate chips
1 pkg. Oreo cookies


Directions.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream butter and sugars together with a mixer until well combined.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.



In a separate bowl mix the flour, salt and baking soda.  Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips until just combined.  Using a cookie scoop take one scoop of cookie dough and place on top of an Oreo Cookie.  Take another scoop of dough and place on bottom of Oreo cookie.  Seal edges together by pressing and cupping in hand until Oreo cookie is enclosed with dough.  Place onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet and bake cookies 9-13 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.


Makes about 2 dozen VERY LARGE cookies.


* NOTE:  I had some trouble with the dough spreading too much during baking. If that becomes a problem, throw the dough balls into the fridge for a quick chill before baking. That should solve the dilemma beautifully.  :)

What it feels to be in love - a look in to a day's affairs.

You may wake-up happy as a single person...life would be simple...less complications...much less obligations and yes...you fart more! BUT, when your in love; oh boy does the tables turn or what! You wake-up smiling, almost singing a verse out of a 70's disco hit made popular by a band with Afros as silly as the lil tap dance you do with your Bata slippers on...you reach for the iPhone kiss the wallpaper and make sure your hair's in tact and the stubble doesn't hurt her delicate cheeks on the Retina display! You were happy as a singleton...but your jubilantly elated as a committed man! There is no greater feeling! 

When you go to work as a single man, you flirt with all the girls that passes you by, offer an umbrella to them on a rainy day and even walk them to their office which on route back to your will make you wave efficaciously with a few other lasses...life is a bliss as you gingerly walk in to office and catch-up on what went down in the Marvel Universe while you were away;...but when your in love, Oh boy it's a look down at your shoes and the road...oblivious to the girls who waves at you...you would smile at them realizing "Wow how my kella would beat all these Barbies on her worst day, one hand died to her back, and without even a blow dried hair do!...she is beautiful...in fact the most beautiful in this whole Universe...including Marvel!" ... There is no greater feeling! 


Single men goes home, fart while lazily walking in to the room salivating at the thought of the roast pork for dinner cooked by a mother who'd bring your egg flip to the room...a one whom you would not have a chat about things like current affairs, the longest conversation would be about the sauce that would be made for the roast, for dinner! But now that your in love...you think of her voice, all excited would walk up to ammi and say "she is my whole world"...would be an absolute mute to mom's question on "what do you want for dinner?" and would instead of walking dart in to the room all to put the white fancy ear phones and dial that name "P a t i y a" on the fancy contact list on the iPhone (We use white iPhones....the best... #Apple give us some money now you big corporate you...much love!) ...speak for hours...and them some! The turning world is no longer in your peripheral thoughts...the hours that passes seems like candy floss...airless and yummy...all that was mundane and routinal has now become much more interesting than a day in the life of Tony Stark! (#Marvel we love you, give us some money now, you big comic universe, you...much love!) ... There is no greater feeling! 


So there you go...to be in love with the right person...to be in love with that one girl who was taught to you by REO Speedwaggon back in the retro days...... There is no greater feeling!

(Dedicated to my Princess; Natasha without whom my life would not have known the "GREATEST FEELING" ) 

What i've learned from... The Boy.

Sometimes you need to make sunshine a priority. Sometimes you need to set up something spontaneous  just to soak up the daylight — and yes, the laundry (and the groceries, and the dishes, and all those phone calls) can wait until tomorrow.

A good workout and/or patience can solve just about anything. 

It's important to take time for the people you care about most. Even if it means stepping outside your comfort zone or rearranging your schedule, those moments are worth it. They make you whole.

Happy music can do wonders for your mood. So can YouTube.

Cooking really isn't that hard, so don't be afraid to try something new. Plus, if you do mess up, who cares? There's always  takeout.

Most of the time, your stress is your own doing. Relax and take care of it, one to-do at a time.

People deserve second chances, and sometimes a third, too. Trust yourself. You'll know in your heart when it's time to step away from a relationship and move on.

Nothing beats a blue sky, cool portello, and a wrestling match.

Take the high road.

It's possible to wake up happy every single day. It's possible for cool, calm, and collected to be your version of autopilot on a daily basis. (He's like that. Seriously.)

Before you ask for help, try to do it on your own. You may just surprise yourself.

Silly faces and ridiculous baila dance parties are a crucial part of life. Let loose. Acting childish every once in a while is good for the spirit.

When you're good at your core—really, truly, honestly good—love comes easy.

Trust and empathy are important, but relationships are really built on the little things. Don't overlook the smaller moments, the tiny ways in which you relate and react to each other. Flirt, laugh, stay up late talking about anything and everything, and never forget to show how grateful you are.

These are the ways you love yourself. (to forgive)

Forgive yourself the nights you climb into bed full-face of makeup, too tired to take it off. 


Forgive yourself the days when one latte is not enough, when the two major food groups are coffee and sugar. 


Forgive yourself that one night when at two am you woke to use the bathroom and inhaled an entire chocolate bar instead.


Forgive the time spent with a man you now have not one nice thing to say about. and forgive just how long it took to get over him. he was not good and not kind and he is not your fault. 


Forgive yourself for actually loving the gentle curve of your hips. and to hell with a society which suggests you might not or should not. they herald your womanhood, the man you marry will lose himself in them, they will hoist groceries and children. they are sturdy--anchoring you firmly to this earth. 


Forgive the nights you cannot sleep-sadness or some unnamed force pressing heavy on your chest. 


Forgive the mistakes of the last several years. so you made them. okay. enough. move on. the mistakes and the fault-lines, they are the foundation. 


Forgive yourself that you did not choose an easier path. and forgive yourself the sadness you caused those around you. the broken-promises and cutting words and the things left unsaid. 


Forgive the anger you feel. feel it and then look again with kinder eyes. 


Forgive yourself for not handling it all better, for feeling like you let others down. The path is not done, the road is not finished. 

One year.

15.3.2011 - 15.3.2012

It was that kind of love that walks down the street and makes people say, "AW". The love that sits in the corner and doesn't see anyone else in the room. The love that slow dances, the cinematic kind. 

I fit into him, like puzzle pieces. And today and every day, I'm am so very glad he's mine. 

Today i believe...

... that sun is sometimes the best medicine.

... that missing the past is okay, planning for the future is good, but soaking in the present is best.

... that hearing from a friend you haven't talked to in a while can lighten your heart faster than anything in the world.  

... that mat kearney's song "wait" is still one of the most beautiful songs in the world even after listening to it almost daily for one month.  

... that sometimes, all we need is for someone to say: "yes. i understand completely." 

... that sometimes, the most stressful times can result in beautiful moments of inspiration because when the storm ends and the dust settles, clarity sets in.  

I just wish...

I just wish....

It's a crazy mean and angry world we live in these days. As Bon Jovi so poetically sang, "No one wants to be themselves these days"...this blog is not a cliche attempt to send out a hidden message to someone who I've been hurting with without consideration quite a bit since of late. God as my witness, none of it was done with malice or intent to hurt her...but the devil seem to have won the first few rounds. I am sad. I truly am. I am apologetic, I am sincerely sorry. 

Work around me seem to be the culprit in the foremost manner. Too much of pressure, too much stress, too many meetings and too much work what my frail structure could handle...but that does not justify my dynamite volatility of a mental state that has taken over me lately. I come home, and even the slightest word with a wrong timing seem to offend me which in turn leads to a verbal outbreak in the harshest of forms known to the both of us. I JUST WISH I WASN'T SO EASILY ANNOYED, since of late. I am sorry for it. 

Will Smith was damn straight speaking the truth when his first single "Parents just don't understand" was released. Little did I know as a bloomer to the music of R&B that it would be the outcome twenty something years later. The parents just don't understand. Caught in a crossfire where ego's and feelings are hurt, I am a prime example of collateral damage. The kindda stuff Karan Johar would be drooling to write & direct for his next Bollywood blockbuster (in which case I would want SRK to play me, purely based on the fact that I need the ratings :p) ...I JUST WISH MY PARENTS LEFT ME ALONE TO BE THE (almost) 29YEAR OLD MAN I AM. I am sorry about them. 

The traffic I endure, is a living organism. Like Hercules slaying Hydra, I indulge in this life & death battle on a daily basis. It wears me down, ageing me little by little, almost to a state that my legs fail me to walk, hands fail me to catch and my head fails me to think...all of which contributes to my rage that waves over love and affection, in which case the Satan takes over me and I swing in to a frenzy where words become my swords & I slash all thats in my sight...only that I keep slashing her heart...I JUST WISH THAT I BE DELIVERED FROM SATAN SO THAT I MAY NOT SLASH HER HEART. I am sorry for my over powering rage. 

Loneliness knows me by heart. It physically hurts me to see other couples hand in hand and being all mushy. I want that with my princess...I want to hold her, smell her silky hair and play with her pink fingers while I gaze in to those beautiful eyes before I whisper in to her ear; "I love you angel"...it saddens me that she is not here, all would be simplified if I have my bubsypops in my arms...I would never let go of her then! I JUST WISH SHE WAS HERE, SO THAT LONELINESS TO ME WOULD BE AN ALIEN.  I am sorry for my constant clingy neediness. 

I will hang in there for the name of love, hold her hand through the screams, tears, rage and scars...and look in to your eyes one day while your dressed in white on an aisle at a beautifully decorated church surrounded by all our family & friends and think to myself, aloud "it was all worth it!" ... I JUST WISH I WAS DIFFERENT AND NOT THIS PERSON WHO I AM NOW! 

Sometimes..

Sometimes I have existentialist freak outs and start panicking about the meaning of life and what's going to happen afterward. And then I get really scared and sad. But I am the luckiest girl in the world to have him around for late night phone conversations to help me calm down and strengthen my faith. 

I don't know what I'd do without him.

And I've got an inkling...

It might just be the best month of this year, yet.

I miss...

I looked down at my hands today and I realized I don't have little kid hands anymore, my hands have signs of work in them, my veins are visible and my fingers are long like my mother's. I always loved her hands and remember looking at my little girl hands wishing they weren't so small, weren't so stumpy, I wanted elegant hands to put pretty rings on and nails long enough for manicures. I don't know when it happened but today my hands belonged to a woman, they didn't belong to a little girl anymore and it made me miss being young with my whole body. It made me miss everything about it; the curiosity, the innocence.

I miss clutching to my father's hands that were so much bigger than mine, that protected and took care of me. I miss swinging all of my body weight on one grip. I miss picking out Christmas dresses and patent leather shoes that you could see your reflection in.

I miss licking all the frosting off the tops of cakes, I miss picking dandelions and crushing the yellow petals between my delicate tiny little fingers. I miss thinking a vanilla ice cream cone was the best thing in the whole world, and that chicken soup could really cure anything or a kiss would make anything feel better. I miss running to my father when he'd come home from work and feeling his warmth as he wrapped me up in his arms and the smell of my mom's perfume.

I miss when I didn't know what it felt like to miss somebody, and I was just excited to see someone I loved at the end of the day. When I didn't know the sound of writing checks, or hearts falling, when I didn't know that not everyone in the world is kind and open. When I assumed good was always the outcome and if someone promised that was enough of a contract.

I miss sticking my tongue out at strangers, making strange noises and throwing fits in public. I miss being connected to myself enough to cry when I was sad. When being analytical, calculated, and manipulative weren't a means to get what you wanted, but a simple please would do. The times when I was conscious of saying my thank you's and excuse me's.

I miss when I was supposed to have a sense of wonder, and people wouldn't warn that soon I would be hardened I miss softness. Blankies, and stuffed animals, granddad's temperament and my grandmother's stories. I miss bedtimes and birthday parties, crushed Goldfish and snack time. Ratty hair and purple nail polish.

When I didn't have to be accountable. When the only fear I knew was that of the dark. When the perfect vacation was one that involved people in costumes with pink cheeks, and parades. When I played house instead of worried about paying for one. When I didn't know how to tell time and just trusted there was always enough of it. Play dates over real ones. Before insecurity and awareness, before anxiety and doubt, before I knew anything about my body and I used it as a means to live in; skip, stretch, climb, and ride bikes.

I miss when guilt, lack, regret, or disappointment weren't emotions that existed to me.

I miss when love was really unconditional, when faith just was, and security always meant Mom and Dad.

When I look at my hands I'm proud of them, I like that they look like my mother's, that they move quickly and have strength, I just wish that they could have stayed young, that I could have stayed young... a little bit longer.

On girls.

I like girls names you can shorten and make slightly boyish. I like the names that start with A. Strong names, but also pretty. Names that you could find in a novel, perhaps. Not too typical. That sound good as they roll out of the mouth.

I imagine that if I had a daughter, I would try and keep her grounded. Of course she would be full of silliness and fall in love with little things like girls do, but I'd want her to be practical too. To know what she likes. To be healthy and happy and have a good head on her shoulders most of all.

I would send her on little trips, so she could make friends and stay outside all day and breathe in fresh air and scrape her knees and run around in the sunshine and swim all day. So she could sleep in bunk beds with new friends and learn to french-braid and have secret midnight feasts. This is the kind of thing (I think) that teaches you about people and the world and sets you in the right direction. Not to mention the outdoors, which is just so good for you.

I'd read her classics and poetry of course, but most of all I'd read her stories about magic so she could keep it with her as long as she could. Not just witches and wizards and fairies, but real-life magic. The kind that exists in ordinary people. I'd want her to know that her life would be full of it.

Anne of Green Gables, to teach her about how important it is to stick up for what is good but let her know it's okay to make mistakes as long as you try and fix them. Little House on the Prairie, so she could learn about growing up and having patience through your hardships and sisterhood and family and being happy with what you have. I'd read her Mallory Towers so she could learn about resolving conflict, about loyalty, about standing on her own two feet, about education and wise old headmistresses. And Little Women for so many reasons. I'd read her stories about strong, amazing girls who learn lessons and laugh all the time and work hard and have adventures and fall madly in love and help out their girlfriends when they're in a bind.

Hopefully she would have a brother, who would teach her about boys better than I ever could. (I knew virtually nothing about boys until I was 16 years old and that rarely worked in my favour.) I would try to teach her about love. I'd try my hardest to be a good example here. And offer advice when she needed it, but I would learn too. I'm sure I would learn more from her than I can even imagine now.

I'd tell her stories about her great, great grandmother and teach her how to make a mean chicken curry and pani walalu. I'd teach her all the little traditions so she could keep them alive, no matter how distant they seem.

I would show her Steve Martin and Bill Cosby and old Eddie Murphy shows. I'd have her listen to David Sedaris books on tape. I'd hope she would laugh. We would watch John Hughes movies, and somewhere between Duckie dancing to Otis Redding, and John Cusack driving through the rain, something would click with her. I would twirl her around the living room to 80's post punk music, and maybe (just maybe) she would have a soft spot for The Smiths for the rest of her life.

In this dream world, we wouldn't talk about weight or cellulite or diets. You know, all those things girls talk about that chip away at their characters and consume them to the point where they can't talk about anything else. We would eat wholesome things. We would bake caramel pudding like my mom does, and enjoy it, and we'd hit the library afterwards. We'd shop at the market. She wouldn't be one of those kids on Jamie Oliver shows who is completely unaware of what an eggplant is.

I'd give her my old journals and photo albums. Things that would make me cringe, but probably make her happy (if she's anything like me). I wish my mom had kept clothes and pictures! I always feel like I would know her better if I could see that stuff. My dad wrote a little, and reading what he thought at 19 is one of my favourite things to do.

I'd hope she would have long hair like mine, if nothing else. And the eyelashes. But most of all, the sense of adventure. I'd hope she would wonder at the world.