Who am I???

So far, it's very interesting that I have followers of my blog from all over the world - and I am surprised at some of the places, and honoured.

You may like my recipes, my politics not so much, my opinions even less. 

But WHO AM I???

Finally I should introduce myself.  I am Chandani Diaz....a multi-cultural individual - a wife, a Mom.  I was taught to cook when I was 9 years old and by age 10 my Mum asked me to entertain a whole "ladies group" (high tea, you might say).

I grew up in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and I've had many, many positive influences in my life and not just in the cooking sphere.  I try to learn (old dog learning new tricks?) even now.

I support democracy to all and religious freedom.  I am susceptible to bronchitis (my fate in life) and cooking is my PASSION.  I cannot think of even a week when I wasn't thinking of or creating some new recipe.  Have collected recipes from friends of family since I was 10 years of age and never knew what to do with all these except to share them with others who like to cook.  Julia Childs was my heroine, although I never bought her cookery book - she just was COOL to me and had learned by school of "hard knocks" (in her times a WOMAN was not supposed to earn Diplome Supreme).

Mostly, I try to be vegetarian, but have a daughter who is a carnivore (chicken - we do not eat beef)  and who would "die" (I doubt it!) if we didn't at least serve one chicken dish.

We're Hindu as a family and as such believe that each person is entitled to his/her own belief (be it Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism or atheism) - that is the basic principle of Hinduism - that each individual is entitled to his/her future according to his/her belief or lack of.

My "heroes"??  The late Mahatma Gandhi.  Mr. Bean!! (yes, I said Mr. Bean!), Mother Teresa, "Hugging Amma" (Amma Sri Mata Amritananda Mayi Devi) and our own guru Sri  Haran Aiya.  Have met many, many people in these many decades I've traversed this earth - good and bad.

Pet peeves??  Perhaps the way some individuals of some countries regard "adopted children" - we adopted a child and to US she is (and legally so) our daughter....to some in other countries an adopted child is a
"servant", definitely not one accepted into the REAL family.  Frustration - told a frield of ours in a certain third world country how pleased we were that their daughter made honour roll and told him that ours did too.  I was not prepared for the response:  "Oh, but that is our REAL daughter, not like YOURS!"  (oh, so sorry, our daughter is made from plastic or foam!!).  But I can't cure all the world's problems.  There are places on this earth where domestic adoption is not necessarily the BEST option for a child.  I know of 3 "well-to-do" families in such countries who have "adopted" a child - always a girl....she sleeps (in each case) on the FLOOR in the kitchen as a servant and is not allowed to eat with the rest of family....these are Ph.D. educated individuals, so I do wonder.  

     I miss my Mum, my Dad, my 2 late sisters, my niece, my Aunts - and sometimes wonder why I am still here...who am I to deserve (?) to stay on this earth.  I have one biological sister in Florida and many adopted sisters and cousins from Australia to Canada to Singapore.

     And now - I'd best go see what my husband is doing because he's making sounds in the kitchen that are SCARY!!!!!

love to all & nighty-night!
CD