Saturday, April 30, 2011

Sunday Reflection

I have really been blessed by a lot of the songs that the group Phillips, Craig and Dean sing. Here is another one that I have been enjoying.


Have a blessed week!





Lovina Cooking Class,Bali cooking School, Balinese Recipe

Lovina Cooking Class,Bali Cooking School,Balinese recipe

Student Activity,in Class room














Tofu with Bali Spice
Our recipe this time is the traditional cuisine of the island resort. Tofu recipe is quite famous Bumbu Bali Recipe Tofu. Bali Island is famous for its cuisine rich in flavor and spicy flavor. Well, for those of you who want to taste the delicious cuisine from the area of Bali just try Bumbu Bali Recipe Tofu following. Here's how to cook Tofu Bumbu Bali!
 
Bumbu Bali Recipe Ingredients:

     * 400 grams of white out / out of China, cut
     * 2 tomatoes, cut
     * 1 joint thumb ginger, crushed
     * 1 tablespoon brown sugar comb
     * cooking oil to taste

Subtle Seasonings Tofu Recipes Bumbu Bali:

     * 6 red onions
     * 4 cloves garlic
     * 10 red chilies, partially seeded
     * 1 / 2 tsp roasted shrimp paste
     * salt to taste

How to Make Tofu Bumbu Bali:

    1. Fry know until cooked or partially cooked.
    2. Heat 3 tablespoons cooking oil, saute ground spices and ginger until fragrant. Enter a tomato and red cave, stirring until cooked flavor.
    3. Enter the fried tofu, stir until the spices to infuse. Serve,,,,www.adjanibali.com

Patates: Potatoes by any other name


welsh onion cake straight out of the oven


Which starch do you like best? Rice, bulgur or potatoes?
Thus ran an idle conversation between husband and wife recently.
Predictably he said rice, fair enough, although he qualified that by saying that he meant a real Turkish pilav and not just plain old English rice!  I being my father’s daughter, plump for potatoes every time.  I had also just stumbled upon a lovely blog called Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen with an easy  recipe for potatoes in the oven that took my fancy and reminded me how good potatoes can be.   In Assos of necessity I cook very simply and the quality of the potatoes is excellent. I was inspired to make potatoes in the oven just drizzled with olive oil and cooked with a few sprigs of fresh rosemary from the garden with a little salt and pepper.
It was so tasty that we had it two nights in a row! But you do need good potatoes.
Another night  I made Welsh Onion Cake from a magazine I had with me: basically onions and potatoes cooked in an ovenproof dish. I used to do all sorts of similar potato dishes where basically the ingredients were varying amounts of either butter, cheese, or milk. Potatoes Anna for example was a firm favourite and is the same as this recipe minus the onions.
Ingredients for Welsh Onion Cake
Adapted from BBC Good Food magazine
Serves 6
100g/4oz unsalted butter, melted and warm
500g/1lb 2oz white onions, sliced
1 rosemary sprig
1kg/2lb 4oz Desirée or Maris Piper potatoes

 Method
·         Heat about a quarter of the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Sweat the onions with a little salt and the rosemary sprig. Slowly cook on a gentle heat with a lid on for about 20 mins. Remove rosemary and set aside.
·         Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Peel the potatoes and immediately cut into wafer-thin slices directly into a bowl containing the rest of the warm butter. Season with salt and pepper. The thinner the potatoes, the better the dish will be. Do not wash them once they are sliced, as you want all of the starch to stick the potatoes together.




·         Layer the potatoes neatly in an ovenproof dish in a circle, slightly overlapping. Continue to pile in half of the potatoes, then add the melted onions. On top of the onions, continue with the potatoes until all used up.
·         Place in the oven and cook for 45-50 mins until the potatoes are soft and starting to brown.
·         Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 10 mins before slicing into wedges.
·         Excellent with the Sunday roast if that's something that you do, or indeed any meat or fish.

***************************
here is another variation, again cooked in the oven

This time the potatoes are boiled then sliced and arranged in the ovenproof dish and there is no onion. Sprinkle with a little salt and instead of butter, drizzle with olive oil. Scatter grated kaşar peyniri/cheddar cheese over the top and cook for 10 mins at 180C/350F. 
Tips
  1. Here in Turkey we don't have the different types of potato that exist elsewhere. Or rather if we do, we don't know the names. The Assos potatoes are fantastic and the ones available in Istanbul are also very tasty. Just get nice firm ones and I am sure they will be just fine.
  2. In my experience, one should set aside a certain amount of time for ovenbaked potato dishes as their success relies on their being thoroughly cooked and also browned. So in reality, don't rush when making dishes like these. They can easily continue cooking for longer.
Afiyet olsun for both!

Dodol Recipe II (Glatinous Rice Candy Recipe II)

Dodol

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 lb gula merah - Chopped
1/2 cup water
1 pandan leaf
(B)
1 cup glutinous rice flour
1 tbsp rice flour
1 can 400 ml coconut cream - Savoy brand
100 ml water

Combine ingredients A and cook on "high" for five minutes. Stir and cook further if the sugars are not dissolved.
Add ingredients b and stir well. Strain mixture.

Cook on "high" at 3 minutes interval, stirring vigorously at every interval. Continue to cook and stir until mixture thickens, is shinny and does not stick to finger when touched.

Discard the pandan leaf and transfer dodol to a greased clingwrap. Wrap up well.

Dodol Recipe II (Glatinous Rice Candy Recipe II)

Dodol

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 lb gula merah - Chopped
1/2 cup water
1 pandan leaf
(B)
1 cup glutinous rice flour
1 tbsp rice flour
1 can 400 ml coconut cream - Savoy brand
100 ml water

Combine ingredients A and cook on "high" for five minutes. Stir and cook further if the sugars are not dissolved.
Add ingredients b and stir well. Strain mixture.

Cook on "high" at 3 minutes interval, stirring vigorously at every interval. Continue to cook and stir until mixture thickens, is shinny and does not stick to finger when touched.

Discard the pandan leaf and transfer dodol to a greased clingwrap. Wrap up well.

Two Links Of The Day

... both from our Missionary to the Frozen, Northern Wastelands.

Fire ants using the forces of water surface tension in their effort to slay us all.

Why the Royal Family is a good financial deal for England.

So Is It 1211 Or 2011?

From Portiuncula, a Franciscan blog:
When the people heard them preach, they said: "Who are these men, and why do they speak like this?" They made this comment because at that time the fear and love of God had died out in the country and no one spoke of penance which indeed was considered as folly. This attitude was caused by the temptations of the flesh, the cupidity of the world, and the pride of life; the whole of mankind seemed engulfed in these three evil forces.
Times of faith come and go and the self-indulgences of men are ever the same. If you think the world is doomed to go to Hades in a handbasket, there's a book coming out that might surprise you.

long trip to pantai timur.

assalamualaikum! i am currently blogging, at the one and only pantai batu buruk, terengganu! it's mom's hometown by the way. mama was born in duyung, terengganu, but then my grandfather took the whole family and moved to kuantan, pahang and my mum grown up there. that is my favorite famous answer if someone asked me, why did i celebrate Aidilfitri in Terengganu, like almost every year :)

As a typical orang Terengganu, i did have fun talking in Terengganu accent. YES I DID! i am not a pure pantai timur punya org, but at least i try okay! thank you dkt kawan-kawan MRSM kuala lipis lah kan sebab jadi cikgu terhebat! :D

okay, as for yesterday, i arrived Kuantan around 730pm, had dinner and kak aizam bought a cute chocolate cake for abah! YEAY! thank you kak aizam. She asked me to follow her to go to the kitchen and bring the cake along with the candles. but unfortunately, there's a talkative, hopeless secret keeper --- little guy amsyar, keep on jumping and shouting in front of abah and said "Ayah Da, ada cake bday ayah da! jom la jom la!" pfttt. i was like, "kak aizam, kalau tu anak qla dah lame kene taw x. hahahahahah."

and so, today, we had breakfast and drove straight to terengganu! there were 3 cars, and i'm adopted by mama ngah. haha. teman faris drive je. mama ngah bace novel dkt belakang.


mama ngah has one special room, full of malay love novels at her house.
she could be reading the whole day and stay late at night until 3am.


yes i was bored, i didnt sleep at all, not a second,
so this is as a result --- being totally perasan. :P


faris, drebar hari ni yg baru dinaikkan gaji oleh SONY. haha :P


YEAYYY almost there!


this is it. :)
our favorite family vacation, a place to stay!


well for those who never came or been here, i mean Terengganu, well, i could suggest you to at least, try to eat these few things.
1 - akok! THIS IS THE MOST TEMPTING KUIH! not to forget, bahulu! the one yg dijual tepi jalan, berasap-asap, bakar dgn sabut kelapa tu taw! makan panas-panas!
2 - KEROPOK LEKOR - itu memang sgt amat wajib, makan both rebus and goreng okay! especially KEROPOK LEKOR LOSONG!
3 - last and not least, nasi dagang. and then you can also try lah laksam, nasi kerabu apa semua yg lagi famous dkt Kelantan tuh.


okay dah lapar. esok jamuan 2pupu kahwin, so till then, enjoy! :)


Friday, April 29, 2011

Vegetarian Diets

 Bali Cooking Class,Lovina Cooking School,Vegetarian Dietswww.adjanibali.com

    If you are a vegetarian parent you have probably considered putting your child on a vegetarian diet. Not only would it save you time and make meal planning easier, but for dietary reasons or ethical reasons you may believe it is the best choice for your child.
Conversely, you may not be a vegetarian but you may have a child who is at a vegetarian phase where he or she is rejecting meat but doesn't eat enough healthy foods to compensate for the nutritional gap.
Whatever the case may be, you may be wondering if a vegetarian diet is a sustainable, healthy choice for your child. Or, perhaps you have heard that a vegetarian diet could potentially stunt the growth of your child.
These concerns probably prevented you from putting your child on a vegetarian diet up to this point.
You should be aware that these concerns are in-fact legitimate issues and that if a vegetarian diet is poorly planned, it can cause serious long term and short term deficiencies especially in children who do not have sufficient stores of vitamins and minerals in their bodies as yet.
   If you have not done sufficient research and are not well-prepared for the task of putting your child on a vegetarian diet, then you probably should not. However, if you've done your research and are aware of the kind of nutrients that vegetarian diets lack, then you know that these problems can easily be over-come with some meal planning.
You will probably be aware that putting your child on a vegetarian diet can greatly improve his or her health and limit the exposure to animal products that are often linked to hormones and preservatives.
To begin your child on a vegetarian diet you should make sure that you your meal-planning ensures enough of the following elements that vegetarian diets lack:
1) Protein - make sure that your child is getting enough protein from additional sources such as nuts and soybeans.
2) Calcium - ensure that your child is getting enough calcium in his diet by including lots of green leafy vegetables to his diet.
3) Iron - add more iron to your child's diet by increasing beans, soybeans, tofu and cereals.
4) Zinc - enhance your child's Zinc intake by increasing, nuts, peanut butter, and mushrooms.
If you concentrate on compensating for all of these common deficiencies that vegetarian diets lack, then, you can absolutely put your child on a vegetarian diet without any negative consequences. www.adjanibali.com

Cooking School

 Cooking School
  If you really want to cook up some hot dating and romance with single women, think about cooking - literally. If you're looking for a place where you're in the minority and women are in the majority, go to cooking school. Or, at least sign up for one cooking class. Even if the worst happens and you don't manage to cook up some romance with single women, you might learn a thing or two about putting together a really yummy dinner. If Ms. Right doesn't turn up in cooking class, the next woman that comes along is bound to be impressed by your culinary schools.
  Cooking classes can lead to dating and romance with single women as you prepare your dishes as well. That's because you'll be one of the few (and perhaps the only) males in the class. There will be competition for your attention, and perhaps even your affections. Just a little of the "oh, clumsy male me, I wish I could manage this. Can't someone help me?" routine will have them running to your side to guide you. After a few cooking classes you might then turn to cooking up some hot romance, with a "let's get together and try our new recipes" line.
Especially if someone has been really helpful, this is bound to be effective. "You helped me so much, the least I can do is cook for you", can lead to romance too.
As you look for just the right cooking class, keep in mind that you want one that runs for several weeks. You want to have time to get to know the single women in the class and figure out just how to build to dating the woman (or women) of your choice.
  Once you have a handle on putting together a fine meal, and the woman of your choice has agreed to test your new found cooking skills, it's time to pull out all the dating and romance stops.
Besides the great meal you're about to cook, don't forget a table setting that's as elegant as it is romantic, a nice wine, some soft music, some dim lighting or candle light and fresh flowers. Make it look nice but not so dim or sexy as to be blatantly seductive. That could make your guest feel like you've been underhanded about your motives. Be casual, let her help in the kitchen a little (while she sips your wine, of course) and ask her opinion of your latest music CD. Or, better yet, pick out several that are soothing and sentimental and let her pick. Avoid hard rock and raucous sounds unless you know she's a devoted fan. In fact, if somehow the course of a prior conversation has gotten around to music favorites make sure that her favorite singer or group is part of your musical repertoire.
This, then, is how to use a cooking class for some hot dating and romance with single women. www.adjanibali.com

Vegetarian Right for You

Bali Cooking Class , Vegetarian Food
  Do you ever feel like you know just enough about Vegetarianism to be dangerous? Let's see if we can fill in some of the gaps with the latest info from Vegetarianexperts.
Vegetarian Diets are lower in fats, cholesterol, and animal protein and higher in fiber than diets containing animal protein. Because of this vegetarians have a reduced risk of obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, to name just a few.
However it is not just the way vegetarians eat that impacts their health so positively it is also their lifestyle. Most vegetarians don't smoke for example.
Just because someone is vegetarian does not mean they are healthy. This is because some vegetarians cut out eating animal meat and continue eating a lot of junk food. Because they don't satisfy their hunger with plenty of protein and fiber they often have cravings and overindulgences with high-sugar, high-fat, and empty calories
To be sure you are keeping yourself healthy as you change over to being a vegetarian you should read articles like this on a regular basis.
  For protein use soya beans because they are an exceptionally good source of protein. For instance in the dried form they contain about 40% protein, which is about double the amount of protein in other types of beans.
Take some of the mystery out of becoming a vegetarian by changing the ingredients in some of your favorite recipes. For instance you can leave out the meatballs from your spaghetti recipe. This will enable you to begin being a vegetarian without a lot of research and shopping in the beginning.
After you have found the time, look inside the supermarket for vegetarian products, ingredients, and meals. In this step it is important to stay flexible. Try different vegetarian items twice if you don't like them the first time. For example: if you have tried a veggie burger and you did not like it, try it again only this time prepare it differently. So if you microwaved your veggie burger and did not like it then the next time grill it.
  Another tip is to be patient with yourself. If you discover you are having cravings for say that big juicy hamburger, then give yourself more time to let go. The longer you had eaten animal meat the more used to it you are, and the more it may bother you to give it up. Well don't despair! Just keep going and be patient and before you know it all your cravings will be gone. Go now and enjoy!
If you base what you do on inaccurate information, you might be unpleasantly surprised by the consequences. Make sure you get the whole Vegetarian story from informed sources.
The day will come when you can use something you read about here to have a beneficial impact. Then you'll be glad you took the time to learn more about Vegetarian. 
www.adjanibali.com

MIE 88

MIE 88

DSC_9824


Restoran Mie 88
Salah satu alternatif restoran di sekitaran kuta dan petitenget, Menu chineese ood yang dihidangkan relatif banyak mulai dari mie ayam sampai siomay dan bakso goreng.

DSC_9831


Mie yang kita kunjungin malem ini adalah cabang dr yang di patih Jelantik, tempatnya strategis dan nyaman ditambah pemandangan sawah di area belakang, Harganya standard, malam itu yg kita pesan semangkuk Mie Ayam Bakso 19.000/porsi, Nasi Goreng Singapore 19.000/porsi ditambah Bakso Goreng untuk appetiser seharga 5000/pc.

DSC_9843


DSC_9845


Mie 88

Jl. Patih Jelantik No. 1, Kuta - Bali . Indonesia
Telp: +62 361 761 716
Opening hours : 08:00 to 22:00

jl. petitenget, kerobokan kelod, kuta, bali, indonesia

Steamed Glutinous Rice with Chicken (Lo Mai Kai)


I still keep in mind my self-challenge to showcase asian (especially Singaporean) food instead of the usual real food fare, and if I do share a recipe that's not, to follow up with one that's similar/inspired, but asian. When I did the Greek dolmades, I knew I just had to do Lo Mai Kai, fragrant glutinous rice steamed with chicken, shiitake mushrooms, chinese sausage, and/or dried shrimps, wrapped up in lotus leaves (hence also called Lotus Leaf Rice 荷叶饭). However, the Singapore version of Lo Mai Kai is slightly different. It's steamed in little aluminium foil bowls, sold in coffeeshops (kopitams) along with Chinese steamed buns (pau), as takeaway tea or breakfast.

Lo Mai Kai
serves 1 hungry person (please make more!)
Ingredients
1/2 cup brown glutinous rice
70g chicken thighs, deboned and chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 shiitake mushrooms, soaked (mushroom soaking water reserved)

For chicken and mushrooms
1 tsp dark soy sauce (I use 1 tsp tamari + 1 tsp molasses)
1 tsp natural oyster sauce
1 tsp shaoxing huadiao rice wine
1 clove garlic, grated
few drops of sesame oil
white pepper

For Rice
1 cup water (or stock)
1 tsp tamari light soy sauce (+a little bit of molasses)
1 tsp natural oyster sauce
1/2 tsp five spice powder
few drops of sesame oil
white pepper

Method
1. The night before, soak the rice with enough water to cover (This is not just a step to reduce phytic acid in grains, this is a must for sticky rice!) and marinate the mushrooms and chicken.
2. The next day, drain the rice and cook with 1 cup of water for about 30 minutes, or till cooked (I use a rice cooker). Mix with the seasoning for rice.


3. Fry the chicken and mushrooms for a few minutes till cooked.


4. To assemble, place the chicken and mushrooms at the bottom of a greased metal dish, then top with the rice. Press down to make sure the layers are tight.


5. Steam over medium high heat for 30 minutes.


6. Turn out onto a plate and dig in! If you've been wondering so far why I'm hiding the chicken and mushrooms with the rice instead of showcasing them, ah, now you know! It works like pineapple upside down cake.


The sticky rice is infused with the delicious flavours from the spices and seasoning, shiitake mushrooms, and marinated meat. And the pork lard, as used traditionally, and which I'd happily add to if I had. This was one of my favourite dishes growing up. My mum would go to the Tanjong Rhu Pau stall (best paus ever) and buy like 20 buns and these delicious Lo Mai Kai for tea that day and breakfast the next day. Now I wish I doubled the recipe..

Cheezburger of the Day

Eggs. Cheese. Fat. Salt. Your Basic Food Groups.

I'm not saying I tried to kill everyone at that baby shower I hosted recently, but I didn't exactly serve a lot of healthy food.  Oh but wait, there were celery sticks with the pimiento cheese.  Don't I get points for that? 


Nonetheless, no one died.  At least not so far.  Hopefully their blood pressures are back to normal after my not-so-healthy but absolutely delicious offerings which included a healthy (no pun intended) infusion of eggs, cheese, butter and salt.  You know you want to know ....so  keep reading.  I won't tell.

Don't laugh.  Yes, I do have one of those silly egg platters!
Doesn't every Southerner?

We Southerners love our deviled eggs.  Most are made with mayonnaise, usually Duke's or Hellman's (don't even mention Miracle Whip; that stuff ranks in my book as the worst product ever, maybe even worse than jarred chopped garlic or bottled lemon juice).  Some also include spicy mustard or sweet pickle relish.  Those basic versions (sans Miracle Whip or pickle relish) can be pretty good but they pale in comparison to a recipe I pilfered from the AJC (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) which incorporates both capers (always good, even on cardboard) and butter.  BUTTERIn deviled eggs?  You bet your sweet and now expanding you-know-what!  Here's the recipe:

DEVILED EGGS WITH CAPERS (adapted from Margaret Anne Mitchell's recipe in the AJC)

6 eggs
1/4 cup mayonnaise (preferably homemade)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon capers
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Chopped chives or small sprigs of parsley for garnish

Bring a saucepan of water to a boil over high heat.  Add eggs and reduce heat to a simmer.  Cover and cook for 13 minutes, then remove eggs to an ice bath.  Tap each one against the side of the bowl to crack lightly.  This helps release the sulphur to prevent yolks from turning green around the edges.  As soon as eggs have cooled, peel immediately.



Cut eggs in half lengthwise and remove yolks, reserving whites.  Press yolks through a fine sieve or strainer.  Stir in mayonnaise, butter and mustard, adding more if necessary to make a smooth puree.  Add capers, salt and pepper and stir to blend.  Taste to adjust seasonings.

Spoon or pipe into reserved egg whites.  Garnish with chopped chives or small sprigs of parsley.  Serve immediately

Yield:  12 stuffed egg halves

*  I can be a purist about some things and one of those involves mayonnaise.  As far as I'm concerned, it's easy to make and much, much better than what you can buy in a jar.  I'll share my recipe with you in the next post.  Of course, you don't have to emulate my OCD;  Hellman's or Duke's will work just fine if you're not as crazy as I am.

*  Have you ever tried peeling a hardboiled egg and the shell just doesn't want to come off, leaving you with a pock-marked egg that looks like it has acne?  The trick is to use eggs that are older (yep - believe it or not, this is one time when I'm not advocating fresh farm eggs).  That's because older eggs develop an air pocket at one end which makes them easier to peel.  If you know you are going to make this recipe, buy your eggs a week or two ahead and let them sit in the fridge until you are ready to cook them.

*Depending on the size of your egg yolks, you may need to use more or less mayonnaise.  Use enough that the mixture is smooth but still holds its shape when piped or mounded into the egg whites.

*************************

Now comes pimiento cheese which is another southern staple.  Extra-sharp cheddar, homemade mayo, roasted red peppers and a healthy dose of cayenne pepper.  Serve it on little toasts, scoop it up with celery sticks, tuck it into toasted brioche for a sandwich or just stand in front of the refrigerator and eat it straight out of the container with the largest spoon you can find.  Fat grams be damned!


PIMIENTO CHEESE  (from Scott Peacock's "The Gift of Southern Cooking")

2 1/2 cups (10 oz.) grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (or to taste; I like a little more)
3/4 cup mayonnaise (preferably homemade)
1 red pepper, roasted, skin removed and finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Salt to taste, if needed

Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl until well-blended and creamy.  Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.  Cover and chill until ready to use.

Yield:  2 cups






*  I realize that I am the least likely person to say this, but resist the temptation to add too much salt.  In fact, depending upon the quality of your cheddar, you may not need to add salt at all.  Taste carefully!

*  Speaking of cheddar, use the sharpest cheddar you can get your hands on.  Since there are so few ingredients in this recipe, they need to be of the highest quality.  Yes, that means homemade mayo is better!

*  You can buy roasted red peppers in a jar, but why would you do that when it's so easy to do it yourself?  Place the pepper over the flame on a gas stovetop or grill until skin is blistered and black in places.  Turn several times to blacken all sides.  Let cool slightly, then use your fingers to peel off skin and remove seeds. 

*  I don't like to serve this directly from the refrigerator.  While I don't recommend leaving it out at room temperature all day (lest you kill someone with salmonella), I think it's best when you leave it out for an hour or so before serving.  Taking the chill off enhances the level of flavor.

*  If necessary, you can console yourself that this is low carb ...  but only if you eat it with those celery sticks!

BTW, I did not manage to avoid The World of Coke.  My shoes  will never be the same after walking around in that tasting room with those sticky, sticky floors!  Nonetheless, anything for those adorable and amazing nephews of mine!

See what I mean?  Oh, and when it comes to food, they are willing to try anything,
 even  fried shrimp and mackerel heads at Nakato, courtesy of Chef Kaki.
Unlike my own  kids, these two actually friended me on Facebook. 
No wonder I'm so willing to walk on sticky floors for them!

Madam Defarge's War On Poverty

We're hearing a lot about how our taxes and social compacts need to help the "less fortunate" among us. Just who are these people? Well, here's the Census data on poverty. Assuming, perhaps rashly, that unencumbered adults can take care of themselves, let's look at families below the poverty line.

Married parents: 5.8% of all married families live in poverty
Single moms: 29.9% of all single mother families live in poverty
Single dads: 16.9% of all single father families live in poverty

How about total numbers of such families?
Married parents: 3.4M
Single moms: 4.4M
Single dads: 0.9M

Single moms make up more than half of all families living in poverty. So, by percentages and total numbers, it's reasonable to say that the "less fortunate" can be characterized as single moms. If our overall poverty rate was 5-6%, I'd think we'd be pretty happy with that.

So what's the plan here? As far as I can tell from the rhetoric, there's no longer any talk of a War on Poverty or any grand strategy, there's only financial envy and a desire to redistribute income. It's like we've given up on the whole "help the poor escape poverty" thing and have settled for making them our national housepets, paid for by "the rich". There's certainly no indication that our social programs have done anything at all to prevent the condition that leads to poverty more than any other. In fact, we can't even speak of it in polite company for fear of being labeled a prude.

Solving a problem you can't even discuss seems like a fool's errand to me.

Perhaps we should nominate Madam Defarge for director of Health and Human Services since we seem more interested in revenge than solving the problem. Assuming we can even bring ourselves to admit the real problem in the first place.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

IPAD 2!!!!!

Ah Ipad 2 udah launch di Malaysiaaaaaa. Duh jujur, pengen bangeeet. =(
Too pricey. Sudah lama ngidam Ipad 2. 
Soalnya featurenya bagus2 semua.
Ahhh I wish I have job right now. 
Hmmmmmm. =,=


the Smart Cover!
Dia lengket kayak magnet.
Di lipat, ketarik sendiri
Jadi sandaran deh
oooooooh. Life just too muuuuuch.

*wishing to to get one*

Bali Cooking Class,Lovina cooking, Lovina Hotel

Bali Cooking Class Lovina Cooking School, Lovina Hotel Informations

     Near the northern tip of the island of Bali lies a stretch of villages by the Bali Sea. Lovina Beach is the name. Lovina is really a string of coastal villages to the west of Singaraja. Escape from the hustle and bustle of Kuta to Lovina Beach located in north Bali, about 12kilometers from singaraja citys. It is well known as an excellent site for sunset watching, snorkeling, and diving. Darkly beautiful, Lovina offers quiet and calm, and is popular Asian tourists and those avoiding the hustle and bustle of the southern beaches. A number of coves offer tranquil, protected waters and Lovina is one of them. Although the sand is grey, it is quiet and peaceful, and popular among those who shun the glitzier beach resorts of the south. It is a popular place for dolphin watching; dolphins play in the water off Lovina. Famous for its early morning dolphin-watching boat tripsand Cooking Class, Lovina also offers good snorkeling and diving, and trekking in the nearby mountains. Diving off Menjangan Island, part of the Bali Barat National Park, is generally regarded as the best in Bali. Boats are readily available to take divers over to the island, where there are no residents or hotels.
In Lovina you can choose any hotel, we are recommendation your stay in lovina
1. Aditya hotel






















HAVE A NICE DAY
FOR MORE INFO PLEASE VISIT :www.adjanibali.com














Handicraft Bazar


Handicraft Bazar 29-30 of April. Das 14 às 21 Horas. Conselho Comunitario do Parque São Jorge. Florianopolis. Welcome:)

Things That Make Me Smile

Yes, Lent is over, but this is such a fun topic, I thought I'd keep going and post once in a while.

I love to come out the door in the morning and finding our Maximum Leader lounging in the sun on the front porch.

Cheezburger of the Day

Fava Bean and Goat Cheese Dip with Radishes


After being so thrilled to find all of those beautiful fava beans at Canino's  Mexican Market here in Houston, I knew I was set to make this delicious looking dip in Martha Stewart's April issue.  We had a busy weekend with many activities beginning to wind down for the school year.  I knew there might be some fast food runs here and there so I wanted to make something healthy for at home.




My son's "Odyssey of the Mind" team qualified for the state competition. That would keep us quite busy for half of the weekend.  His team was challenged to build a contraption that would perform a "simple" task like hammering.  They had to come up with a skit and tie the contraption to a storyline that included a famous person from history.  They created a story line about a lost invention of Leonardo da Vinci. 



The ingredients that went into this dip were simple but so aromatic. It was a wonderful dish to pull together because it is so visually appealing.  The lemon zest and juice with the fresh snippets of tarragon made my nose buds tingle.


Fresh Fava Beans from the market




The soft goat cheese is a perfect partner for the mild fava beans and the sharp crispness of the radishes.
I just cannot believe I haven't eaten radishes until now.  They are so good...well...especially spread with this dip.


Fava beans are the prettiest color green.  They are fun to shell because the pod is so big that they really "snap" quite satisfactorily!


The team did a great job.  Often I had to chuckle at the variety of pieces and parts teams were carting up and down the hallways.  All items for costumes and apparatus must come from scrap parts so some of the uses of foil, candy wrappers, soda cans, and whatnot were pretty amusing.  The judges were wonderfully kind and supportive of the kids.  Many of them had funny hats that they wore during the competition to create a light-hearted mood.



As the school year draws to a close, events like this help mark the end of so many new experiences for us here in our new home of Texas.  This was a tough move for all of us but we are finding our place slowly but surely in this metropolis.  We enormously appreciate the diversity of cultures all coming together in this city.  We always feel like we've just tipped the edge of discoveries waiting for us here.

Fava Bean and Goat Cheese Dip with Radishes


Fava Bean and Goat Cheese Dip with Radishes Recipe:
(adapted from the April issue of Martha Stewart Living)

Ingredients:

2 pounds fava beans, shelled
1/2 cup soft goat cheese (4 oz)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest,
plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon water, plus more if needed
1 bunch radishes, halved if large

Prepare an ice-water bath.  Bring a saucepan of salted water to boil.  Cook fava beans until tender, 1 to 2 minutes.  Drain, and transfer to ice-water bath.  Let cool.  Drain, and peel beans.

Pulse beans, goat cheese, oil, tarragon, lemon zest and juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a food processor until just combined but still chunky, about 6 or 7 times.

Stir in water.  Add an additional tablespoon water if mixture is too thick.  Transfer to a bowl.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Sprinkle with pepper just before serving.  Serve with radishes. (Snippets Notes:  I found these imported thin crackers at Whole foods that had bits of figs and hazelnuts in them.  I know, it sounds odd but in addition to the radishes, they also added a nice crunch)

Ingredients: