Thank you, ianai.
Friday, 21 October 2011
The graphic truth
I can't resist a bit of politics, so when reader ianai sent me some graphics, I had to share:
Thank you, ianai.
Thank you, ianai.
Thursday, 20 October 2011
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
Madagascar
Madagascar is the world's fourth biggest island after Greenland, New Guinea and Borneo. Because of its isolation most of its mammals, half of its birds, and most of its plants exist nowhere else on earth.
The World Bank has estimated that 70% of Malagasy live on less than $1 per day. Poverty and the competition for agricultural land have put pressure on the island's dwindling forests, home to much of Madagascar's unique wildlife and key to its emerging tourist industry.
2 boneless chicken breast halves, cut in bite size chunks
2/3 cup canned coconut milk
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper or tomato, sliced and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1/3 tsp (or to taste) cayenne powder
salt
pepper
lemon juice
oil
Marinate chicken in lemon juice 30 min, drain and season with salt and pepper to taste. Saute over medium heat until cooked on outside but slightly pink inside. Drain oil and place chicken in a container and set aside. Saute onions, stirring constantly, until slightly browned. Add bell peppers and garlic and saute 3-4 min, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to simmer, add coconut milk, ginger, cayenne powder, and lemon rind. Add chicken back to stew.
Cover and simmer 30 min or until in thick stew consistency. If mixture is too thin simmer with lid removed until desired consistency is reached. Serve over a bed of steamed white rice.
NOTE: One pound shelled and deveined shrimp can be added to or substituted for the chicken.
Varenga is a simple beef recipe from Madagascar, Africa. It is traditionally made in large quantities for sharing with friends and family.
2 lb braising steak, cut into 2-inch strips
salt and black pepper
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 medium onion, sliced
Cold water
1. Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan, cover with ½ - inch of cold water and bring to the boil, stirring.
2. Reduce the heat, partially cover the pan and simmer gently for about 2 hours, keeping an eye on the water level and topping up when necessary, until meat is very tender and can be shredded with a fork.
3. Preheat the oven to 400F and grease a wide shallow baking pan. Remove the meat from the saucepan and shred into thin strips using two forks. The meat should be soft enough to pull apart very easily.
4. Transfer the shredded meat to the greased pan, pour over enough of the cooking juice to moisten then roast in the oven for 30 minutes until well browned on top. Serve with rice.
*****
Here are two examples of music from Madagascar, one is young and modern, from the north and the other is very native, from the south of the island.
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| Madagascar lies in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Mozambique |
The World Bank has estimated that 70% of Malagasy live on less than $1 per day. Poverty and the competition for agricultural land have put pressure on the island's dwindling forests, home to much of Madagascar's unique wildlife and key to its emerging tourist industry.
A taste of Madagascar
 |
| MADAGASCAR CHICKEN |
2 boneless chicken breast halves, cut in bite size chunks
2/3 cup canned coconut milk
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper or tomato, sliced and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1/3 tsp (or to taste) cayenne powder
salt
pepper
lemon juice
oil
Marinate chicken in lemon juice 30 min, drain and season with salt and pepper to taste. Saute over medium heat until cooked on outside but slightly pink inside. Drain oil and place chicken in a container and set aside. Saute onions, stirring constantly, until slightly browned. Add bell peppers and garlic and saute 3-4 min, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to simmer, add coconut milk, ginger, cayenne powder, and lemon rind. Add chicken back to stew.
Cover and simmer 30 min or until in thick stew consistency. If mixture is too thin simmer with lid removed until desired consistency is reached. Serve over a bed of steamed white rice.
NOTE: One pound shelled and deveined shrimp can be added to or substituted for the chicken.
 |
| VARENGA |
Varenga is a simple beef recipe from Madagascar, Africa. It is traditionally made in large quantities for sharing with friends and family.
2 lb braising steak, cut into 2-inch strips
salt and black pepper
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 medium onion, sliced
Cold water
1. Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan, cover with ½ - inch of cold water and bring to the boil, stirring.
2. Reduce the heat, partially cover the pan and simmer gently for about 2 hours, keeping an eye on the water level and topping up when necessary, until meat is very tender and can be shredded with a fork.
3. Preheat the oven to 400F and grease a wide shallow baking pan. Remove the meat from the saucepan and shred into thin strips using two forks. The meat should be soft enough to pull apart very easily.
4. Transfer the shredded meat to the greased pan, pour over enough of the cooking juice to moisten then roast in the oven for 30 minutes until well browned on top. Serve with rice.
*****
Here are two examples of music from Madagascar, one is young and modern, from the north and the other is very native, from the south of the island.
Tuesday, 18 October 2011
Some sensual, powerful flamenco
This video stirs something in me. My maternal grandparents were born in Granada, Andalucia, and flamenco never fails to touch me somewhere.
Standing up for the 99% - UPDATE: London
Sleuth posted this video in the comments yesterday and I think it deserves a wider audience:
From the (rightwing) UK Daily Mail:
The times they are a-changing'...
UPDATE
I found this video of the London demo. [WARNING: The language gets a bit salty for a short while.]
From the (rightwing) UK Daily Mail:
The times they are a-changing'...
UPDATE
I found this video of the London demo. [WARNING: The language gets a bit salty for a short while.]
Monday, 17 October 2011
Girlie wisdom
Mrsgunka makes her debut on What time with a few funny pearls of girlie wisdom...
1. A friend of mine confused her Valium with her birth control pills... she has 14 kids but she doesn't really care.
2. One of life's mysteries is how a 2-pound box of chocolates can make a woman gain 5 lbs.
3. My mind not only wanders, it sometimes leaves completely.
4. The best way to forget your troubles is to wear tight shoes.
5. The nice part about living in a small town is that when you don't know what you are doing, someone else does.
6. The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat are really good friends.
7. Just when I was getting used to yesterday, along came today.
8. Sometimes I think I understand everything, and then I regain consciousness.
9. I gave up jogging for my health when my thighs kept rubbing together and setting fire to my panties.
10. Amazing! You hang something in your closet for a while and it shrinks 2 sizes!
11. Skinny people irritate me when they say things like...'You know sometimes I forget to eat!' Now, I've forgotten my address, my mother's maiden name, and my keys, but I have never forgotten to eat. You have to be a special kind of stupid to forget to eat.
12. The trouble with some women is that they get all excited about nothing -- and then they marry him.
13. I read this article that said the typical symptoms of stress are eating too much, impulse buying, and driving too fast. Are they kidding? Throw in a cocktail and that's my idea of a perfect day!
Thank you, Mrsgunka. I'm sure #4 should work... until you take the shoes off!
1. A friend of mine confused her Valium with her birth control pills... she has 14 kids but she doesn't really care.
2. One of life's mysteries is how a 2-pound box of chocolates can make a woman gain 5 lbs.
3. My mind not only wanders, it sometimes leaves completely.
4. The best way to forget your troubles is to wear tight shoes.
5. The nice part about living in a small town is that when you don't know what you are doing, someone else does.
6. The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat are really good friends.
7. Just when I was getting used to yesterday, along came today.
8. Sometimes I think I understand everything, and then I regain consciousness.
9. I gave up jogging for my health when my thighs kept rubbing together and setting fire to my panties.
10. Amazing! You hang something in your closet for a while and it shrinks 2 sizes!
11. Skinny people irritate me when they say things like...'You know sometimes I forget to eat!' Now, I've forgotten my address, my mother's maiden name, and my keys, but I have never forgotten to eat. You have to be a special kind of stupid to forget to eat.
12. The trouble with some women is that they get all excited about nothing -- and then they marry him.
13. I read this article that said the typical symptoms of stress are eating too much, impulse buying, and driving too fast. Are they kidding? Throw in a cocktail and that's my idea of a perfect day!
Thank you, Mrsgunka. I'm sure #4 should work... until you take the shoes off!
It's spreading...
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| USA |
 |
| USA |
 |
| USA |
 |
| Miami |
 |
| Miami |
 |
| London |
 |
| Auckland |
 |
| Frankfurt |
 |
| Hong Kong |
 |
| Sydney |
 |
| Stockholm |
 |
| Malaga, Spain |
 |
| Vancouver |
 |
| Tokyo |
 |
| Zurich |
 |
| Montreal |
 |
| Rome |
Sunday, 16 October 2011
Time for a quick soup
This recipe was sent to me by Shapeshifterbelly. It's vegan, so I suppose the non-vegetarians could use real chicken stock...
Veggie Soup in “Chicken” Broth
4 cups of water
4 cups of chopped veggies (cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, etc.)
½ chopped onion
1 clove chopped garlic
1 tsp onion powder
2 heaping tablespoons of Nutritional Yeast
2 tablespoons of Braggs Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
Put it all in a kettle and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Makes 6
cups, or thereabouts.
This is LOADED with B-12 from the supplemented nutritional yeast. If you use the
liquid aminos instead of soy sauce, it also has plenty of protein.
Thank you, Shapeshifter. There's nothing like a nice soup now that temperatures are dropping...
Veggie Soup in “Chicken” Broth
4 cups of water
4 cups of chopped veggies (cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, etc.)
½ chopped onion
1 clove chopped garlic
1 tsp onion powder
2 heaping tablespoons of Nutritional Yeast
2 tablespoons of Braggs Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
Put it all in a kettle and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Makes 6
cups, or thereabouts.
This is LOADED with B-12 from the supplemented nutritional yeast. If you use the
liquid aminos instead of soy sauce, it also has plenty of protein.
Thank you, Shapeshifter. There's nothing like a nice soup now that temperatures are dropping...
Registering with Disqus - UPDATE
UPDATE - I may have confused people with this post. Registered readers should ignore it. This tutorial is to help unregistered people who may have been given the runaround by charming but temperamental Disqus...
*****
This is a long overdue tutorial about registering with disqus. Only registered users can have avatars and the "edit" button feature. It also means you'll have the same identitity on all sites using Disqus.
Start by clicking on the settings icon (gear symbol), and a drop menu will appear. Click on "Login."
A box will appear. Click on "Need an account?"
Fill in the required fields. Click "Register."
Once you've clicked "Register," an email will be sent to you for confirmation:
Click on the "Verity" button and you'll be taken to a Disqus page to choose a password:
Type your chosen password, then "Let me in!"
On the blog, you will appear next to the comment box, still showing the default clock avatar. Now you can edit your profile. Click on the gear icon again and choose "edit settings" from the drop menu:
You'll be taken to a disqus page, with your account open. Click on "avatar" on the left menu.
Choose how you will upload the picture. It may be from your own files or from the web. If from your files, click on "Browse" and choose the file you want to use. Click on "Upload." Scroll down and click on "Save changes." A new box will allow you to tweak your picture. Play with it until you're happy and click save.
Make sure that the picture has appeared at the top, scroll down and click on "Save changes" again.
Now refresh the blog page and your profile will be updated to show your chosen avatar. That's it. You may repeat the process whenever you wish to change the picture.
If uploading from the web, you'll need to find the picture you want and have it on its own on the webpage. Copy the text on the address bar. Just click on it and it will turn blue. If it doesn't turn blue with one click, left click on your mouse, hold it and run it over the whole address. Once it's all blue, press the control key on your keyboard, followed by the "c" key. Go back to the disqus box and click on the field under the upload from the web, press the control key followed by the "v" key and the text you copied will be pasted there. Scroll, save and the process will be the same as for uploading your own file. Always click save at the bottom of every box in the process.
That's how you can post links in the comments: Copy the address bar (Control + "c") click on the comment box and paste (Control + "v").
When you want copy & paste text, choose that start point in the text you want to copy, left click on your mouse, hold it and run it over the text, up to the point you wish to copy. It will turn blue. Do the control + "c" as explained above, go to where you want to paste, click on the field, then do control + "v." I copied this from Palingates last open thread:
Then I pasted it in the comments:
You may also set your "Notifications" to anything you wish. Click on it on the menu and check the things you want, then save.
Welcome to Disqus. It's guaranteed to give you hours of exciting fun and drive you up the wall!
*****
This is a long overdue tutorial about registering with disqus. Only registered users can have avatars and the "edit" button feature. It also means you'll have the same identitity on all sites using Disqus.
Start by clicking on the settings icon (gear symbol), and a drop menu will appear. Click on "Login."
A box will appear. Click on "Need an account?"
Fill in the required fields. Click "Register."
Once you've clicked "Register," an email will be sent to you for confirmation:
Click on the "Verity" button and you'll be taken to a Disqus page to choose a password:
Type your chosen password, then "Let me in!"
On the blog, you will appear next to the comment box, still showing the default clock avatar. Now you can edit your profile. Click on the gear icon again and choose "edit settings" from the drop menu:
You'll be taken to a disqus page, with your account open. Click on "avatar" on the left menu.
Choose how you will upload the picture. It may be from your own files or from the web. If from your files, click on "Browse" and choose the file you want to use. Click on "Upload." Scroll down and click on "Save changes." A new box will allow you to tweak your picture. Play with it until you're happy and click save.
Make sure that the picture has appeared at the top, scroll down and click on "Save changes" again.
Now refresh the blog page and your profile will be updated to show your chosen avatar. That's it. You may repeat the process whenever you wish to change the picture.
If uploading from the web, you'll need to find the picture you want and have it on its own on the webpage. Copy the text on the address bar. Just click on it and it will turn blue. If it doesn't turn blue with one click, left click on your mouse, hold it and run it over the whole address. Once it's all blue, press the control key on your keyboard, followed by the "c" key. Go back to the disqus box and click on the field under the upload from the web, press the control key followed by the "v" key and the text you copied will be pasted there. Scroll, save and the process will be the same as for uploading your own file. Always click save at the bottom of every box in the process.
That's how you can post links in the comments: Copy the address bar (Control + "c") click on the comment box and paste (Control + "v").
When you want copy & paste text, choose that start point in the text you want to copy, left click on your mouse, hold it and run it over the text, up to the point you wish to copy. It will turn blue. Do the control + "c" as explained above, go to where you want to paste, click on the field, then do control + "v." I copied this from Palingates last open thread:
Then I pasted it in the comments:
You may also set your "Notifications" to anything you wish. Click on it on the menu and check the things you want, then save.
Welcome to Disqus. It's guaranteed to give you hours of exciting fun and drive you up the wall!
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