1. A moveable feast - Ernest Hemingway
The description of Paris, the streets, the little warm cafe's. Hemingway's coffee and grappa, the wine, the oysters, the smell and taste of the brown pears.
If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.
Ernest Hemingway
"As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans."
Ernest Hemingway, 'A Moveable Feast'
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2. The portrait of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
I loved the book, the descruction of one is the pudding of another....
Thursday, 21 October 2010
Less is more...........
Proper Zen practice....."we need to want less..."
http://zenhabits.net/steps-towards-a-more-sustainable-life-of-less/
Here are but a few ideas — I’m sure you could contribute some of your own:
* Can we walk to more places and drive less? We’d get fitter and use less fossil fuel. We’d have to loosen up our schedules to do this, but I think that’s a good change anyway.
* Can we start building more livable communities, where things are less spread out, so that we can walk more instead of driving everywhere? Where everything we need is a 10-20 minute walk away, or at least reachable by bike or public transportation? You might already live in a place like that, but not where I live, and not in lots of places. Even work should be close by. Again, this is a long-term change, but I think a good one.
* Can we start living in smaller houses, so that we need less heating and cooling and land and maintenance and cleaning? We can if we buy less stuff, which leads to …
* Can we start buying less stuff? We don’t need all the stuff we buy.
* Can we start celebrating things like birthdays and Christmas without spending sprees? We could do nice things for each other instead, or make things, or bake something.
* Can we start buying locally more? I know a lot of people already do this, but it would be great if this trend continued. It supports local farmers and drastically reduces the amount of resources needed to get food to our homes.
* Can we start packaging food less? Even non-food items (like toys) come with ridiculous amounts of packaging these days. I’d like to see a return to olden ways, when you scooped flour out of a huge bin into a container or something like that. Packaging we throw away (or even recycle) is so wasteful.
* Can we stop buying so much processed food? Real food is so much healthier, requires fewer chemicals and resources, and tastes better once you wean yourself from the addiction to processed foods.
* Can we eat slower, and enjoy the food more, instead of rushing through meals?
* Can we stop our addiction to mobile devices and being connected all the time, so that we can enjoy the pleasure of other people’s company without interruptions, or enjoy solitude or a nice quiet walk without being connected?
* Can we design cities and towns so that they aren’t based on the automobile, so that perhaps private vehicles parked at the outside of cities, and then people used public transportation or walked within the cities? We’d reclaim the streets for the pedestrian, make them alive once again with street markets, cafes, parks, children running around without fear of death, people exercising and doing tai chi and jogging and walking and enjoying a fume-free outdoors.
http://zenhabits.net/steps-towards-a-more-sustainable-life-of-less/
Here are but a few ideas — I’m sure you could contribute some of your own:
* Can we walk to more places and drive less? We’d get fitter and use less fossil fuel. We’d have to loosen up our schedules to do this, but I think that’s a good change anyway.
* Can we start building more livable communities, where things are less spread out, so that we can walk more instead of driving everywhere? Where everything we need is a 10-20 minute walk away, or at least reachable by bike or public transportation? You might already live in a place like that, but not where I live, and not in lots of places. Even work should be close by. Again, this is a long-term change, but I think a good one.
* Can we start living in smaller houses, so that we need less heating and cooling and land and maintenance and cleaning? We can if we buy less stuff, which leads to …
* Can we start buying less stuff? We don’t need all the stuff we buy.
* Can we start celebrating things like birthdays and Christmas without spending sprees? We could do nice things for each other instead, or make things, or bake something.
* Can we start buying locally more? I know a lot of people already do this, but it would be great if this trend continued. It supports local farmers and drastically reduces the amount of resources needed to get food to our homes.
* Can we start packaging food less? Even non-food items (like toys) come with ridiculous amounts of packaging these days. I’d like to see a return to olden ways, when you scooped flour out of a huge bin into a container or something like that. Packaging we throw away (or even recycle) is so wasteful.
* Can we stop buying so much processed food? Real food is so much healthier, requires fewer chemicals and resources, and tastes better once you wean yourself from the addiction to processed foods.
* Can we eat slower, and enjoy the food more, instead of rushing through meals?
* Can we stop our addiction to mobile devices and being connected all the time, so that we can enjoy the pleasure of other people’s company without interruptions, or enjoy solitude or a nice quiet walk without being connected?
* Can we design cities and towns so that they aren’t based on the automobile, so that perhaps private vehicles parked at the outside of cities, and then people used public transportation or walked within the cities? We’d reclaim the streets for the pedestrian, make them alive once again with street markets, cafes, parks, children running around without fear of death, people exercising and doing tai chi and jogging and walking and enjoying a fume-free outdoors.
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
Tuesday, 12 October 2010
Brine Chicken
How to make the best chicken, brine then flash up on bbq
http://ruhlman.com/2010/10/how-to-brine-chicken-quick-brine-recipe.html
http://www.jamieoliver.com/foodwise/article-view.php?id=2029
http://ruhlman.com/2010/10/how-to-brine-chicken-quick-brine-recipe.html
http://www.jamieoliver.com/foodwise/article-view.php?id=2029
Monday, 11 October 2010
Vietnamese Cooking
Really interesting.....
Famous for its lively, fresh flavors and artfully composed meals, Vietnamese food and cooking is the true 'light cuisine' of Asia. Abundant fresh herbs and greens, delicate soups and stir-fries, and well-seasoned grilled foods served on, or with, rice or noodles are the mainstays of the Vietnamese delicacies. Even the beloved sweets for snacks or desserts are often based on fresh fruits served with sweetened rice or tapioca. Rarely does any dish have added fats.
While the Vietnamese cuisine relies on fresh vegetables, subtle seasonings and rice, Vietnamese cooking also reflects its Chinese and French influences and it has numerous regional difference; in the south, look for plentiful fresh seafood and in the colder north, you'll find slightly heartier meals with beef. In central Vietnam, around the ancient royal capital Hue, the food may contain influences of the former court cooks.
But regardless of the region, home-style Vietnamese cooking calls for an array of simple dishes that make complementary partners at a family's communal meal. Dinners customarily call for a soup, probably a platter of leafy greens accompanied by rice papers and a dipping sauce, seafood or grilled meats or poultry, a vegetable stir-fry, and rice or noodles in some form - with hot tea as the preferred beverage. While such meals may look complex to outsiders, most dishes come together easily, and some call for advance preparation to avoid last-minute conflicts. And, as in any type of cooking, planning ahead makes putting together meals much easier.
Modern cooks with well-equipped kitchens and handy appliances will find preparing a Vietnamese meal both rewarding and relatively easy. And with the widespread popularity of Asian recipes and foods, locating ingredients is not a challenge as most supermarkets carry such basics as fresh ginger and spring onions, lemongrass and chilies, even coconut milk and Asian noodles.
* Recipe For The Month *
Hue Stuffed Pancake Recipe - Serves 4
Ingredients:
6tbsp oil for frying
2 eggs
55g seasoned flour
Pancake Batter
85G RICE FLOUR
1/4 salt
43 eggs beaten
Pancake Filling
Chopped ginger
garlic
soy sauce
white sauce
crabmeat
mushrooms chopped
green onions
bean sprouts
pepper salt
Method :
Combine rice flour, coconut milk, 3 eggs and salt to make a pancake batter.
Heat a little in an 8 in nonstick frying pan, add enough batter to coat the bottom. Make pancakes in the usual manner until all batter is used. Blend ginger, garlic, soy and white sauces. Add crabmeat, mushrooms, green onions (scallions) and bean sprouts. Season to taste. Place 1 tablespoon of the mixture on each pancake. Tuck in ends and roll like a burrito, so mixture doesn't escape. Carefully roll each pancake in seasoned flour then in remaining beaten egg. Deep fry until golden. Serve on lettuce leaves, sprinkled with chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves, accompanied by nuoc cham sauce with finely sliced, seeded red chili pepper. As a variation, use thinly rolled puff pastry or dough instead of pancakes. Pancakes can also be filled and served without deep frying.
Famous for its lively, fresh flavors and artfully composed meals, Vietnamese food and cooking is the true 'light cuisine' of Asia. Abundant fresh herbs and greens, delicate soups and stir-fries, and well-seasoned grilled foods served on, or with, rice or noodles are the mainstays of the Vietnamese delicacies. Even the beloved sweets for snacks or desserts are often based on fresh fruits served with sweetened rice or tapioca. Rarely does any dish have added fats.
While the Vietnamese cuisine relies on fresh vegetables, subtle seasonings and rice, Vietnamese cooking also reflects its Chinese and French influences and it has numerous regional difference; in the south, look for plentiful fresh seafood and in the colder north, you'll find slightly heartier meals with beef. In central Vietnam, around the ancient royal capital Hue, the food may contain influences of the former court cooks.
But regardless of the region, home-style Vietnamese cooking calls for an array of simple dishes that make complementary partners at a family's communal meal. Dinners customarily call for a soup, probably a platter of leafy greens accompanied by rice papers and a dipping sauce, seafood or grilled meats or poultry, a vegetable stir-fry, and rice or noodles in some form - with hot tea as the preferred beverage. While such meals may look complex to outsiders, most dishes come together easily, and some call for advance preparation to avoid last-minute conflicts. And, as in any type of cooking, planning ahead makes putting together meals much easier.
Modern cooks with well-equipped kitchens and handy appliances will find preparing a Vietnamese meal both rewarding and relatively easy. And with the widespread popularity of Asian recipes and foods, locating ingredients is not a challenge as most supermarkets carry such basics as fresh ginger and spring onions, lemongrass and chilies, even coconut milk and Asian noodles.
* Recipe For The Month *
Hue Stuffed Pancake Recipe - Serves 4
Ingredients:
6tbsp oil for frying
2 eggs
55g seasoned flour
Pancake Batter
85G RICE FLOUR
1/4 salt
43 eggs beaten
Pancake Filling
Chopped ginger
garlic
soy sauce
white sauce
crabmeat
mushrooms chopped
green onions
bean sprouts
pepper salt
Method :
Combine rice flour, coconut milk, 3 eggs and salt to make a pancake batter.
Heat a little in an 8 in nonstick frying pan, add enough batter to coat the bottom. Make pancakes in the usual manner until all batter is used. Blend ginger, garlic, soy and white sauces. Add crabmeat, mushrooms, green onions (scallions) and bean sprouts. Season to taste. Place 1 tablespoon of the mixture on each pancake. Tuck in ends and roll like a burrito, so mixture doesn't escape. Carefully roll each pancake in seasoned flour then in remaining beaten egg. Deep fry until golden. Serve on lettuce leaves, sprinkled with chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves, accompanied by nuoc cham sauce with finely sliced, seeded red chili pepper. As a variation, use thinly rolled puff pastry or dough instead of pancakes. Pancakes can also be filled and served without deep frying.
Monday, 4 October 2010
Prayer Rope
St. Kosmas Aetolos
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer_rope
How to make one...
http://www.wattfamily.org/prayerope.html
http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_6949809_knot-prayer-rope.html
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