text:
"A man walking alone on a deserted beach, brandishing a lantern in his outstretched hand, might be a fool. But, for a ship that went astray on a stormy night, he might be the savior."
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Al-Mina Street
I often write about a Tartous that is no more, about a time that treads on the fringe of anamnesis. I might be a nostalgic old dude but I am neither bitter nor grumpy. I simply miss a past that is far too beautiful to be laid to rest then forgotten.
Until the 1980's Al-Mina street was the crown jewel of my city. I was born right there, where I planted the red arrow on this photo dating back to the early 1960's. It was taken from the roof of the Awkaf building looking north. I remember every single building in that photo, a few of which still stand after almost five decades.
The Roman port, which was later obliterated, is visible right across the street from my home by the sea. So is the open field we called Al-Bayader with a tin roof cafe that was the compelling gathering place for all the Tartoussi men in the evening. During the day it served as playground for us kids. We played ball, rode our bicycles and made up games of unimaginable simplicity. Women with their children strolled down the long street as ice cream vendors carried their big thermoses on their backs and roasted corncob outcriers pushed their colorful carts with blazing fires.
There was a short-haired pointer dog in almost every house down the street. Men and boys hunted year round. Game birds were abundant and lunch invariably included quails, thrush, shukkar partridges or doves. Anyone who did not own a felucca had a fishing rod. A small piece of dough was all the bait needed to catch the most magnificent specimens of Buri fish. Sure they sold lamb at the butcher shop but red meat was something reserved for special occasions and shunned at in our everyday Mediterranean diet.
Less than a handful of cars cruised the sleepy town. The mayor had an automobile of course and so did the doctor. There were three or four taxis people shared to go to Tripoli on a jaunt or to travel to Damascus for an overwhelming need. However, the streets of Tartous were teaming with Vespas, Lambrettas and bicycles. Oh, and we had quite a few tumbors (wooden carts pulled by donkeys or mules) which adequately fulfilled the roles of delivery trucks and utility vehicles. As a kid I never found a compelling reason to venture beyond Al-Mina. Inland Tartoussis, those who did not live on the front row facing the sea, came to us instead. Everybody knew everybody else. Everyone had a nickname and it was used to call him by. The houses of the rich had more rooms than those of the less fortunate but there were no significant visual clues setting people apart. A wealthy person who took himself seriously stood to lose most. Nobody liked him and all the money in the world could not buy him an ounce of respect.
During summer break and unless a kid was sick he rarely stayed at home. Our parents had no reason to worry about us. We were always to be found somewhere by the sea. Most of us learned how to swim before we could take our first steps. We were obviously as safe outdoors as we were inside our own homes but it was much more fun. The visible thin line in the background of the picture is the foundation for the northern breakwater of what later became the Port of Tartous. We went there, searched for and found Batlouness (mussels) on the submerged rocks. We would spread them on a piece of discarded tin, collect splinters of wood from ill-fated boats and cook them on the spot. They provided more lunch than any raucous kid needed to keep him going for the rest of the long day and they were tastier than the fanciest restaurant in the world could ever dream of presenting.
I grew up there, on that stretch of road. I wore high rubber boots in the winter and an orange parka over my uniform. A ten-minute walk due east put me in school but I never followed a straight course. From a distance, I shadowed the girl next door to her school, just in case some backland lad was fool enough to cross her path. I also gazed at her cute little butt in the tight Foutouweh Khaki pants every single step along the way. I had my first kiss on the roof of one of these buildings. Her cheeks turned red when we kissed and her lips tasted of strawberries. We both trembled as I gathered my courage and cupped her breast. It was smaller and firmer than a crunchy apple and infinitely more scrumptious.
In a trance, I stare at the frozen moment captured in this old photograph. Phantasms from my past flicker on a screen in my mind. The laughter of the dead echos against the walls, memories of those who sailed West shimmer on the facades and the twinkle in the eyes of my remaining companions reassures me that it was all real, that I am neither bitter nor grumpy. We had all known better times... on Al-Mina Street.
|What do you think?
21 comments:
- Neetu said...
Going down the memory lane with you
- Karin said...
I join in dear friend, walking down memory lane, if you don't mind! What a great review of old times while recalling situations, pictures, tastes and sensations! If I think back of those years during the time I was a first grader ... my godness - maybe I should write about one day, what do you think?
GREAT post Abufares, great post indeed!!
- Unknown said...
Please walk along. The more the merrier, always.
- Unknown said...
I would love to read about your Munich. Although I've traveled far and wide I still haven't set foot in Germany. Well not exactly, I transited through Hamburg once. There's no one better to take us on a mind tour around Bavaria than you and I really look forward to it.
- Joseph said...
The memories that, forever have impregnated my mind and soul with images, sounds and scents are just that, memories! Beautiful memories that are far more real than the place that once was my intimate village, and now is no more!
Certainly things move on with the times... places grow just like people do, in numbers and in years. But, like everything else some things mature beautifully and well, and some unfortunately go sour!
It's going to take a miracle to slow down and control this runaway train...
Yes, we had all known better times, Abufares. You, on Al-mina Street, and millions of others elsewhere around the world.
A great write up, Abufares, as always.
- Gabriela said...
Portuguese language has an untranslatable beautiful word to describe all the nostalgia you transmit here: saudade.
Surely I'm not wrong if I say that everyone has its own Al-mina Street. I do.
All the best, my friend.
- Unknown said...
We each has his or her own Al-Mina Street and this is exactly what this post was about.
I'm not fighting the inevitable nor standing in its way. However, there is a common sense of guilt associated with Nostalgia intellectually. Time and again we read or hear about the futility of reminiscing over the past, about the solid reality of the present and the potential of the future.
I have no guilt whatsoever enjoying my memories. They are, as you rightly pointed out, more real than the place itself. I possess a selective mind. I offhandedly dismiss the bad memories while I foster those endearing to me and infuse them with a dash of magical sparkle... for myself, for my inner joy.
- Unknown said...
Without having knowledge of the Portuguese language the word Saudade immediately revealed itself to me. We're lucky to have one in Arabic too: Haneen حنين
I have saudade/haneen for my old house by the sea, for my mother running her fingers through my hair and for the smell of a freshly baked cake welcoming my return from school.
But I also have saudade/haneen for an embrace to come, for a place I've never seen and for a time that isn't yet.
With this post and the comments I see, each of us has some of those special moments/places when revisited just are not the same. Some would call it progress, a natural evolution or (as in many cases) someone's fat headed ideas being put into reality "something" for the sole purpose to promote themselves and to have that lasting legacy for others to be in awe of…how sad. All the more so when one thinks of cities as old as your beloved Tartous. We have the same thing happening all over the country in which I live. The historic buildings are more often than not let to rot simply because the money is not there to refurbish them or they are not the most energy efficient. Yesterday, I had visited my childhood home town and seen it slowly evolved into something that even I did not recognize. I have seen the old majestic homes from the mid 1800s with their wonderful views overlooking the Mississippi River being torn down to make room for a new express way. But the memories still remain of the way it once was, with the small town charm that will ever be in my mind. Bitter……no, just sad knowing it was once a much nicer place than what it presents itself today. Great Post BIL
- Unknown said...
It does hurt when we see that our birthplace had morphed into something grotesque.
The impact of these changes on city folks are not as hard as they are on those of us who came from smaller towns and villages.
That my Tartous lives only in my mind and in the scattered black & white photos taken mostly by people who had already passed away is somehow painful.
Progress should have strictly controlled negative effects on the environment, history and/or culture of a region.
When I read that in a country such as the US these avoidable mistakes are happening it doesn't make me feel better about my own hometown. It has the exact opposite effect since I get the feeling that I'm advocating a lost cause.
I hope someone, someday stops in the way and decides that enough is enough. The argument is that more people need more resources is self-defeating because we do live on a finite planet and we cannot continue to grow indefinitely.
There are still a lucky few places in the world and I hope we can learn their secret and absorb their wisdom.
- Joseph said...
@Gabriela, the first thing that came to my mind when I read your comment earlier today was, "Cesaria Evora's" "Saudade" Words are unnecessary here!
Abufares, has hit the nail on the head! Haneen; melancholic yet beautiful and melancholic once again!
- Mariyah said...
I stood there, for a moment, on Al-Mina street, around 1965. I smelled the sea air, heard the relaxed traffic on the street, and watched the children playing. One child, in particular, had a very mischievous look on his face. ;) What a lovely place lost in time but not memory. Thank you, Abufares, for taking us there.
- Unknown said...
"1965!? Oh, OK." He agreed reluctantly. Moments later and as if struck by a flash of genius, he reconsidered.
"Why not 1975?" The mischievous look remained on his face, except he was no longer that innocent child :-)
- Yazan said...
Out of everything that you've written here on this blog (and I think I've every last word of it), the ones that stuck the most in my mind, are your poignant memories of that town and those people. The sheer energy in those words you pen down, whirls me on a journey to a past long before I was.
This time that belongs not to any history, this mythical picturesque and vivid image, copied down from the memory of that child, this man. The Japanese have a word, that can hardly be translated, for this feeling you bring, 物の哀れ (mono no aware). It describes the transience of things and the bittersweet sadness at their passing. But more than that, it describes this stillness in the universe outside and inside all of us, beyond the daily changing landscape of real history.
Beautiful, absolutely beautiful, is what I wanted to say.
- Unknown said...
I enjoy writing about my memories of my town and her people more than anything else.
物の哀れ (mono no aware)
Is it about a sweet sadness dipped in bitter happiness? Because that's how I exactly feel when I reminisce about those days. Blogging about them is my humble attempt at recording a history of Tartous which otherwise would disappear from the collective
conscience of her descendants.
- KJ said...
I am suffering from a lonely night, which have been very frequent in the past and thankfully they cross paths with me less often. But tonight I am both alone and lonely, which often compels me to drown in one too many thoughts, most of which now centre around why inability to exist in that lifetime you narrate.
I live in the most consumerist city in the world, devoid of nature and devoid of the natural - the healthy lifestyle and life cycles of a normal human being. Sure, I can find part of it, but it is too tainted by fakeness for me to undertake.
When I read your stories I sit and wonder, what would I tell my kids? Surely my time, to them, would be a much simpler time. I feel guilty in considering bringing children to this world, but I will not be selfish and would push them all the way for them to achieve their dreams and aspirations, and hope for a better world.
I long for this simpler time, where I don't have to have a list of acronyms on my diplomas and resumes, where I don't need to pay an exorbitantly large sum of money to a greedy landlord, where I don't need to always be up to date with the plethora of technologies and current universals to stay at least on par with my peers.
True, I can choose to opt out, and go live somewhere more quiet and frozen in time. The longing is so cruel, and so is the mind, which compels me to keep my aspirations and outlook to the future through the roof.
I've noticed this a lot with us born in 1984. It's a magical number - we're stuck between past and future. Our present is the transition between the generations. And it's mentally exhausting to be on a train with no clear source and a foggy destination.
I am learning to enjoy the ride, more than the months before, and enjoy looking out the window. There's really nothing more I can do.
My apologies in hijacking your post. But you always manage to remove my writing block, and I fear the thoughts wouldn't be penned down if I took my time to create a post on my own blog.
- Unknown said...
Thank you for your "long" comment. You don't have to apologize at all, I'm really happy you put so much thought into it.
I often wonder about my kids. What will their memories be like about Tartous. Except for home and school they know very little. I wouldn't be able to stand it here if it were not for my memories and I really feel sorry for the young folks... stuck in this time and place.
- fantasia Lillith said...
I always find this fascinating. For those that had the experience of growing up in one single place, this way of reminiscing ... is something I can read, enjoy and smile at - but cannot share. I moved every 4 years. My father was a diplomat and as such - there is no sense of "home town". I do not have a village, a street, nor childhood friends to reminisce this way about. There are no roots. Perhaps no sense of loss.
I found this post fascinating - as one does listening to an experience one simply can't share.
Beautifully written as always.
- Unknown said...
Just like you in a way I moved out of my childhood cocoon too soon. But Al Mina Street imprinted itself on my consciousness irrevocably. Tartous of the 1960's was more open to the rest of the world than the rest of Syria. Al Mina was its western front, its facade and window to the endless blue sea. Ironically, I'm attached to a bygone place that defied, in essence, staying in one place for long. I miss the place that ingrained my mind and soul with the love of travel, of leaving it and discovering other far away places.
i want to start from where you finished your nice story ,yes : we had all known better times ...on al-mina street.....
i was looking to the nice photo which reminded me my shildehood about 40-45 years ago , and look today to that busy dirty street , busy with people from nowhere became the daily faces of that deformed street. and dirty with the quality of new residents saying today we are from al-mina street .
faces have been changed , names have been differentd , buildings became more high but certainly more ugly and glassy, nothing links today to the original al- mina street ,exept memories in our heads , we, the real al mina street stones.
we were born there , few meters away of each other , i still hear the cries of the ladies giving birth to their childs at your fathers clinic , most of the al-mina children passed between his hands before getting hugged by their mums for the first time .
whom are al mina street people today?
a big smuggler , had a lot of dirty money to buy half of the streets old buildings , or a big thief became a respectfull person in today's society , or maybe a cakes vendor transformed his wooden carriage in a nice mercedes paid by those whom didn't have their salaries paid for a couple of years from him.
new comers are nicely set up along that quite street , making so called buiseness , but under the clouds of phosphates flying from the port nearby , so nobody knows what kind of buiseness they are doing...
no place to park your car , as both sides are filled with (noveauriches) cars,everyone of them must have three or four highly branded cars , as their fathers had before a highly equipped (tonbours) , so they are used to the trafic at al- mina street.
where can we find our selves my dear , no more (bayader) tin covered coffe where our fathers used to sit and play cards , no ( oyoon ) to go for a nice clean swimm followed by a watermelon cracked by the cold water coming from the natural springs among the golden sands.
no ( zanzouaa) at the empty land next to our house ,which became a huge tower with dirty glassed walls.
no cinema ( al amir ) or ( alnejmeh) where we had our (falafel ) sandwich and sinalco (cazzouzeh) during watching the indian films .
all those nice memories are scrambled with new faces and foreign rules governing the daily life of al-mina street.
(rizk allah) on those days of that street full of oraginilaty and love in the 60th , with the taste of (boury) fishes we were catching at ( bahr al sheaar) in front of your house ,and the flavour of (naoumeh ) this magic mixture of pinuts powder with sugar given to us every thursday by ( kho
ujayeh) after having a sucssesfull week of coran reading.
where is al-mina street today ?
it is only in such photo like you have posted , and our hearts where no one can touch to its nice history.
yes ,we had all known better times ..on al-mina street
- Unknown said...
@tartousi from almina
Well what can I say?! You said it all :-)
Right now I'm craving a Sinalco Kazouzeh and a Falafel sandwich more than anything else.
Thank you for taking me down memory lane from one Tartoussi from Al Mina to another ;-)


text:
A Psalm: Lament for Consolation
In you O Lord, I have put my trust.
My words wash away but yours will stand forever.
There is no one but you O Lord who could feel my despair.
Take this sorrow from my heart, release me from my shame.
Reason stands but for an instance;
yet, your word stands the test of every moment.
Turn me from my pathless way,
in your righteousness I can face the unknown.
Mine is too quickly faded away in morning glare,
but, brightly shines your gleaming stream turning darkness into light.
Ever present, your right hand stands before me.
Your glorious throne to adorn.
Crush this oppressor my Lord, this darkness in which I stand.
Push back this dark deception that creeps uneasily near your truth.
Only a breath of your Word and it fades completely away.
Your Word breaks the dark; the bright gleaming stream brings me life where there was none!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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text:
I just wrote a Lisp interpretter embedded in Ruby. I used ANTLR 3.0ea7 for parsing (it's alpha-quality software, unfortunately).
The dialect is supposed to be vaguely based on Scheme, but the idea was for it to be naturally embedded in Ruby, so many thing had to be changed compared to Scheme:
$ cat examples/fib.rl
(defun fib (n)
(if (<= n 1)
(+ (fib (- n 1)) (fib (- n 2)))
(map fib '(1 2 3 4 5))
$ ./rlisp.rb <examples/fib.rl
#<lambda:0 ...>
(1 2 3 5 8)
- send function for method calls: (send 2 '+ 2) and syntactic sugar for it [obj method arguments], which evaluates to (obj 'method arguments). So it's possible to write [2 + [3 * 4]], what expands to (send 2 '+ (send 3 '* 4)). The syntax was stolen from Objective C.
- lists are implemented as arrays. So no cons, car or cdr. Now of course we need some replacement, and I haven't really thought about it. You can send get/set method to Array object, like that ('(a b c) set 0 'd) (or ['(a b c) get 0]).
- macro system - doh, that's the point of the whole thing
- links to Ruby object system, so we can define classes, methods etc.
- some support for iterators, I have no idea what syntax to select for iterators (send-with-iterator '(1 2 3) 'each (lambda (i) (print i))) would probably do the trick, but it's kinda uglyish.
- support for other basic Ruby objects like hash tables, regular expressions etc. Most of them need little more than (let a (send Hash 'new)), but some might not be very usable in such form.
- exception handling and callcc support would be cool


text:
On State Street and 722 South in Salt Lake City, you will find something that looks like it was transported from a century that SLC had no part in. Nonetheless, there sit ancient houses from Vietnam that are over 300 years old. It is a corner of the city that looks and feels as though an ancient Asian market town got lost somewhere in the universe and then eneded up in the land of Zion.
But don't worry, this beautiful and delicately old strip of State Street is just another one of the amazing restaurants that Salt Lake City has to offer, Sapa. On the inside and out, Sapa has really outdone itself in regards to creating a certain "feel." Bringing together ancient and modern decor is difficult, but I think that Sapa pulls it off beautifully. However, just like a beautiful bottle doesn't always mean the wine is tasty– a restaurant that has the decor down, doesn't mean the food is good.
But, it was. It REALLY was.
Our server, Justin, was pretty great. My friends and I are definitely a group who will take suggestions if they are given. When we asked Justin for a few suggestions, he didn't hesitate. "Jalapeno Bomb!!" he cried!! You will love it!". Oh, and he was oh so right. This was probably my favorite dish of the evening. For $7.50 you get jalapeños stuffed w/ cream cheese & spicy tempura tuna served w/ spicy trio sauce. Oh. Em. Gee. Please order this tasty appetizer when you eat at Sapa–that is a Nosh Maven order!
Also, among the other appetizers that we tried were Miso Soup (always gotta check that out) and the Gyoza. The Miso Soup was great–adding mushrooms to a traditional favorite. The Gyoza was…well, interesting. Not in a bad way, but different. While the discription on the menu was to be expected (freshly made, steamed & pan seared dumplings w/ pork, chives, vegetables served w/ homemade ponzu sauce), there was definitely some cinnamon and/or nutmeg flavor that had been added to the meat. Was it good? Sure. Was it what I was expecting? Nope. I didn't love them as much as a traditional Gyoza dish, but they weren't bad.
Then, there was the sushi. I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew that Sapa served sushi, but they seemed more of a main dish type of restaurant–and you never know what you are going to get with those. However, the sushi was fresh, beautiful, colorful, and amazingly tasty. The two rolls of the evening: The Snow White (tempura shrimp, avocado & cucumber topped w/ scallion, fried onion & seared escolar) and the Black Magic (crispy rice topped w/ spicy tuna, scallion, masago & black pepper sauce on cucumber). Both rang in at $12 and both were awesome.
The main entrees of the evening did not disappoint either. The Coriander Seabass (pan seared Chilean sea bass seasoned w/ a house blend of Chinese 5 spice served over forbidden rice, sesame seed spinach and house made ponzu) was excellent. The fish was a smidge undercooked, but not enough to bother me–although some other guests at the table mentioned it. This dish will cost you $20, but it is quite worth the bill. It was so beautiful, I couldn't stop photographing it. The sidedish of "forbidden" rice was awesome–the brown rice was much more texurized than the white, adding a really lovely mix of soft white rice and more grainy brown rice. The coriander was definitely present as well, which I loved.
And of course, a few noodle dishes were a must. Justin recommended the Drunken Noodles (flat rice noodles stir-fried w/ basil, garlic, tomato, sake & chili tofu paste), which were ordered with beef and we also ordered the Sapa Noodles (rice noodles stir-fried w/ egg, bean sprouts & green onion served w/ lime & peanuts) with Shrimp. Both were great, but the Drunken Noodles had a rich, almost smokey sauce that worked perfectly with the super tender beef. Noodle bowls will run you anywhere from $10 – $12, will fill you up, and will satisfy cravings like you wouldn't believe. If you are looking to spend a little less–the noodles are a good way to go and there is plenty to share.
We didn't have any room for dessert at this point (obviously), but that didn't stop me from enjoying the Sake Sampler. I am personally a fan of chilled sake, as that is how sake is traditionally served. For $12, I was able to sample several: Diamond, Pearl, Ruby, Silver, Kurosawa. Ruby was my personal favorite–a little smoother with some nearly fruity notes. Delish! And of course, a bottle of Sake was had as well.
You can find Sapa at 722 South State Street in Salt Lake City. Get there–and check out their excellent catering and party menu as well. I can't wait to see the amazing patio in the summer!
Make sure to check out their website for some beautiful photos!


text:
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Courgette cake with lemon frosting (Lemon and Zucchini Cake)
I've been blogging for over 7 years now, and have been reading a number of foodblogs from regularly since then. You know who you are, JW, KD, AK, DL, EB, MK, CD, MW and so on. I still clearly remember an old Utah (?) joke Kalyn posted in her excellent blog six years ago, so I've dugged it up for you:
Do you know why people in Utah lock their car doors in the summer when they go into church? It's because if they don't, when they come out the car will be full of zucchini.
(Kalyn Denny, Garden Update #3, 4 June 2006)
Well, the courgette/zucchini grows just as well here in Estonia, and I'm having to come up with delicious ways of using the bounty on almost a daily basis. And there are only 2 zucchini plants in my vegetable garden this year!!!
Chocolate and Zucchini seems to be the most common and popular combination for a zucchini cake - take chocolate and zucchini cake and chocolate zucchini bread (Elise @ Simply Recipes), gluten-free chocolate chip zucchini brownies (Karina @ Gluten-free Goddess), double chocolate zucchini bread (Michelle @ Brown Eyed Baker), chocolate zucchini cupcakes (Two Peas & Their Pod), for instance. The list goes on and on. But trust me, courgettes/zucchini and lemon are just as good mates. So here's another excellent cake and another lovely recipe helping you to use up that courgette/zucchini bounty.
Note that the American measuring cup is 240 ml - that will help you convert the recipe into "American", in case you haven't got kitchen scales.
Courgette cake with lemon frosting
(Suvikõrvitsakeeks sidrunivõõbaga)
Serves about 10
200 g courgette/zucchini (about 400 ml coarsely grated)
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
200 g all-purpose/plain flour (about 350 ml)
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla sugar or 1 tsp vanilla extract
a pinch of salt
2 large eggs
125 g caster sugar (about 150 ml)
100 g oil (rapeseed, olive; about 150 ml)
3 to 4 Tbsp pinenuts (or chopped nuts of your choice)
Lemon frosting:
juice of 1 lemon
icing sugar/confectioner's sugar
Preheat oven to 180 C/ 350 F. Grease and flour (you can use flour, semolina, polenta) an 8×4-inch loaf pan or 1,5 litre/quart Bundt tin; set aside.
Grate the zucchini/courgette coarsely, add the grated lemon zest.
Mix flour, baking powder, vanilla sugar and salt until combined.
Whisk the eggs and sugar until pale, thick and fluffy. Fold in the oil, then the dry ingredients. Finally add the grated courgette/zucchini, lemon zest and the pine nuts.
Spoon the batter into the prepared cake tin. Bake in a pre-heated 180 C/350 F oven for about 45 minutes, until fully cooked (test the doneness with a wooden toothpick - it should remain clean after being pierced into the cake).
Let the cake cool for about 15 minutes, then turn upside down onto a serving plate. Cool completely, then remove the cake tin.
If you wish, you can glaze the cake with a lemon frosting. To make the frosting, simply add enough icing sugar into the lemon juice to get a desired consistency. Spoon the frosting over the cake and serve.
I've used blue borage flowers to decorate the cake.
12 comments:
- Katarina said...
This sounds so delicious and is really beautiful!
- 1:01 pm, August 21, 2012
- Tanita said...
I love lemon frosting, and I love courgette cake - only I tend to make it in the autumn. Yours is very fine and light looking; mine tends to be more like a spice cake. It is lovely with the borage flower on top! Quite festive.
- 1:04 pm, August 21, 2012
- Dagmar said...
It looks absolutely lovely! And now I know what to do with the large Zucchini that I need to harvest today :-)
- 1:19 pm, August 21, 2012
- Heidi said...
Looks unbelievably delicious.
- 2:55 pm, August 21, 2012
- Kalyn Denny said...
It has been fun to follow certain blogs from the beginning, hasn't it! So fun to hear the old Utah joke has spread to Estonia! And your cake looks amazing!
- 9:58 pm, August 21, 2012
- Margaret@kitchenfrau said...
I've been on a zucchini bender here in Canada lately, and your recipe is a must-try for me. I'm tired of zucchini chocolate cake. Thanks so much for the recipe!
- 4:42 pm, August 22, 2012
- Alanna @ Kitchen Parade said...
Blogger wouldn't let me comment on my phone yesterday so will try it again, here.
Your cake (as always) is just so pretty, and one I'd make in a heartbeat! And I also love that I don't recognize all the initials but am proud that mine's among them, dear friend!
- 12:22 am, August 24, 2012
- Moritapititona said...
A beautiful cake and an excellent recipe. I will soon be making it. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
All the best from Spain,
- 8:20 am, August 24, 2012
- Sarah said...
I never heard about blogging until 4 years ago when I stumbled upon Chocolate and Zucchini(wonder if she has a recipe for courgette cake). I love the way you decorated the cake, so pretty!
- 7:09 pm, August 25, 2012
I made this the other day and it is delicious! I made two mini-loaves in some decorative paper loaf pans. The glaze really makes it; I added a drop of lavender essence to it. :-)
- 6:44 pm, August 28, 2012
- Jiri Brambory said...
Cake looks so good. Its one of my favorite meal because of home recipe is quite close to it.
- 10:55 pm, September 02, 2012
Made it and my husband loved it!
- 1:17 am, September 11, 2012


text:
Addiction Counselor
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Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor
3730 Kirby Drive Suite #930, Houston, Texas 77098 | 713 303 7344
As a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor, I am well trained in the latest therapy to help with addiction disorders. Additionally, I will offer you an array of resources that will help you meet your individual goals. Of importance, is that I will help educate you and your family regarding this disorder. You will never feel judged--only complete acceptance!
Addiction Counselor
Eddins Counseling Group, Frankie Gonzalez
Licensed Professional Counselor
5225 Katy Freeway, Suite 103, Houston, Texas 77007 | 8325592622
Addiction involves compulsive behavior that can gradually lead you to feel out of control with your life. Addiction comes in many forms and can include addiction to substances, people (love addiction), food, or work. Our approach is to help you manage unhelpful compulsive behaviors while also working on underlying causes. Often, this involves identifying and dealing with low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, or feelings of emptiness and inadequacy. The process of recovery helps you take control of your life, regain an identity of worth and value, develop healthy coping strategies, and manage difficult emotions.
Addiction Counselor
Chris Stravitsch, D.Min., MA, LPC-S, LMFT-S
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist Supervisor, Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor
10503 Westheimer Rd, Houston, Texas 77042 | (844) 295-3167
Addictions steal people's lives and break apart families. An addiction can be described as any compulsive and habitual behavior that limits your freedom. This includes alcoholism, substance abuse and dependency, drug abuse, compulsive gambling, pornography and sexual addiction, and others. Addictions have several warning signs, such as increased secrecy, withdrawing from family/friends, fatigue, failure to meet responsibilities, declining health, defensiveness, mood shifts, and demanding more privacy. The addictive cycle is hard to stop, but it can but it can be broken. As professional counselors we can help you break the chains of addiction!
Addiction Counselor
Ashley Evans, CPC, MA, LPC Associate
Licensed Professional Counselor - Associate
Available for Online Therapy
Overcoming addiction can seem like an impossible goal. You are not alone. Together, we can work through the issues that are holding you back. I use a strengths based approach, utilizing mindfulness, meditation, CBT and EMDR and I believe that through compassion and a judgment-free safe space, we can make your recovery a way of life. Your journey is safe with me.
Addiction Counselor
Angela Pham, MS, MA, LPC
2500 Wilcrest Dr. Suite 410, Houston, Texas 77042 | 2816246211
I have extensive experience working with individuals and families that struggle with addiction. The shame and stigma surrounding addiction makes asking for help difficult and the disease of addiction is hard for families to understand. Personal therapy in conjunction with medication management, and 12-step or group attendance has been shown to be highly effective for those wishing to overcome substance, sex, gambling, eating, or gaming addictions.
Addiction Counselor
Jessica Eiseman, MS, LPC-S, NCC, CCTP
Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor
1638 West Alabama Street, Suite 2, Houston, Texas 77006 | 832-387-5735
Addiction can often times lead to mistrust and put a strain on important relationships in our lives. We understand that addiction is a disease and treat it as such. We utilize CBT in our approach to help create a recovery plan, coping skills, and short-term goals that can help you to succeed. We know that with addiction also comes shame and guilt and we will help you to learn to forgive yourself, separating the person from their behaviors.
Addiction Counselor
Charlotte Parrott, Ph.D.
Licensed Psychologist
6300 West Loop South, Suite 390, Bellaire, Texas 77401 | 713-364-6383
Addiction can take many forms and it can be hard to find the strength to make and maintain changes that you know will improve your life. My approach to treating addiction is centered on you and what you want for yourself. It's natural to feel ambivalent about change and therapy can be a great place to understand what's keeping you stuck and to find ways to make change feel more achievable. When treating addiction, I focus on helping you find a way forward so that you are able to make lasting change.
Addiction Counselor
Kevin Fleming, Ph.D.
Coach/Change Agent/Consultant
Houston, Texas 77001 | 1-877-606-6161
While most treatment approaches to addiction include 12 step programs, rehabs, and now sober living houses, Grey Matters International, Inc. provides a wildly successful alternative to traditional models of addiction treatment----that keeps the brain in mind. That is, talking to the conscious brain while the primal brain is deciding things even before you are consciously aware? Well, that is the problem to solve in addiction. We have the solution utilizing a new cutting edge neuroscience-centered brain rebalancing system. Contact email@example.com or call 877-606-6161.
Addiction Counselor
Phil Ginsburg, M.A., LMFT, LPC, LCDC, CSAT, NCC
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, (LMFT), LPC, LCDC, CSAT (Certified Sex Addiction Therapist)
7825 Highway 6 North Suite 102 suite E, Houston, Texas 77095 | 832-375-1700
People tend to think of addiction as a problem with alcohol or drugs, however we can be addicted to work, sex, food, gambling, pornography or even internet use. If you have experienced personal, family, or legal consequences as a result of addiction issues, we can help individuals and families learn better ways of coping with life on life's terms. We work with with codependency, chronic relapse, and co-occurring mental health disorders that are frequently part of the addiction cycle. If you believe that there are others who have been where you are right now and are not there any longer, you may be ready to make meaningful changes. The work can be hard but you do not have to do it alone!
Addiction Counselor
Debbie Grammas, Ph.D.
Licensed Psychologist
6300 West Loop South, Suite 390, Bellaire, Texas 77401 | 713-304-6554
Often times people engage in addictive behaviors as a way to avoid some type of emotion or trauma. Insight into these emotions will be explored. Healthy ways of coping will be discussed along with relaxation training. I will also teach about the relationship between thoughts, feelings and actions. Triggers of the addiction and ways to avoid this triggers will ablso be explored.
Addiction Counselor
Gary Stittgen Jr, MSW, LMSW
Licensed Master of Social Worker
7601 Fannin Street, Houston, Texas 77054 | 713-796-2273
Addiction is a disease and can quickly become overwhelming. Frequently, the substance user has other mental health concerns too. Real Talk Therapy aims to address the addiction and mental health concerns consecutively. By helping the client review his past, understand how addiction is a disease, what it is doing to his body, managing his mental health, and putting into place protective factors, the client can say "No Thanks" to the drug of choice once more.
Addiction Counselor
Counseling Houston, Drs. Ken and Karen Waldman
Licensed Psychologist; Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
8303 Southwest Freeway, Suite 330 (at Gessner), Houston, Texas 77074 | 713-670-6626
I think of addiction generally as a habit out of control. You can learn to change your habits and thus control your behavior. Of course some addictions are so out of control they require detox and residential treatment. That is not the kind of addictions I deal with. You can be addicted to anything: pornography, alcohol, drugs, sex, or even chocolate.
You have Found the Top Therapists for Addiction And Codependency in Houston, TX.
Thank you for visiting our Texas page of therapists in Houston who specialize in addictions in all forms- internet addiction, pornography and sex addictions, gambling, alcohol and drug abuse, shopping, and food addictions. An addiction can destroy lives and relationships. Often times there is a codependent person somewhere in the sphere of an addict. Professional therapy from an addiction specialist in Houston, TX is a vital part of recoverey and healing. We are ready to help, let's get started.
Houston is a city that is located in multiple counties- Fort Bend County and Harris County and Montgomery County in Texas. It has a land area of 637.54 square miles and a water area of 28.30 square miles.  The population of Houston is 2.3 million people with 814,599 households and a median annual income of $46,187. .
Therapy Affordability Meter for Houston, TX
Some budgeting needed
While counseling can certainly be an expense for individuals and families in Houston, with proper budgeting, it is entirely do-able and the risk/reward is worth it. For some families, it may be difficult to sustain a commitment to therapy without proper insurance coverage. If this is you, ask your therapist about low cost options as practitoners in and around Houston may have flexibility or sliding scales. Low cost counseling and affordable therapy are also sometimes offered by listed city and university level clinics, check with your local Houston public health department.


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Conservation and Environment in Fiji: Monthly Updates
Fiji Shark Conservation - Monthly Update
January - February 2014
The Projects Abroad Fiji Shark Conservation Project officially opened its doors on 5th January 2014. Starting with a full complement of 21 volunteers, we got off to a strong start as we began introducing our pilot research studies and conservation initiatives.
January was challenging as we found much of our time was spent overcoming obstacles which were all part of this new project set up. This included limited internet access for the first 6 weeks, difficult logistics, research equipment not working – and then breaking, food and accommodation problems, and so on.
Even so, from the outset, the volunteers were actively involved with the research work as well as the setting up of our new local initiatives, becoming 'pioneers' of this project. They worked hard and with enthusiasm, and had a very positive effect on our newly formed local relationships. They have also set a serious tone to our project, which is continuing to flow as new volunteers start to arrive.
In the first week of February we decided to make a major shift in our schedule and change the fishing times to sunrise and sunset, as this is when sharks are known to be more active.
We dedicated the first part of February to finding effective fishing methods to catch sharks with minimum by-catch. The arrival of Dr Juerg and Gary Adkison gave us a fresh perspective and Callun custom built us a long line system.
On 18 February, on its debut outing, this method proved successful. The two 15-meter long lines were deployed using several baited hooks. We caught two baby bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) using this method, one male and one female. Length, weight, sex and fin samples were successfully taken from the sharks.
This month has also been important in working out a functional training and preparation method for the volunteers. In addition to our presentations, we hold practical workshops to train volunteers in our methods.
We are hoping that the next months will enable us to improve on our fishing techniques and increase our catch numbers.
Dr Juerg also brought with him 100 PIT (Passive Integrated Transponder) tags and three readers. He agreed we were ready to start implementing the tagging process as soon as we catch our next shark.
As part of the Tagging Project, we will soon implement a 'Local Ecological Knowledge' survey, as well as map the Navua River in order to gain a better understanding of the eco- system.
Mangrove Reforestation and Community Education
January 2014 was also the start of our Mangrove Reforestation and Climate Change Project.
During our opening month, the volunteers built a large mangrove nursery at the back of one of our villas. The volunteers used locally sourced bamboo and building techniques to create the structure, which is big enough to house around 3000 propagules.
The volunteers visited the local villages of Dranikula and Galoa to set up a seed collection and reforestation plan. The Women's Group agreed to collect plastic bottles from around the village, beach, and mangrove forests, which we would then use as seedling containers to grow the propagules.
The volunteers prepared the growing containers by cutting the plastic bottles in two and drilling holes in the bottom so that the plants do not become water logged. These containers will soon be filled with soil, which we are currently buying, but eventually we will obtain soil from the same areas where the propagules will be planted. The seedling containers are then placed in 10 x 10 squares, giving us 100 propagules in each square.
Towards the end of January, once the practical aspects of the project were sorted out, we concentrated on our short term goal, which was to get a large quantity of propagules in our nursery (6000 by end March!) as well as to raise awareness by teaching the local people and volunteers about the importance of mangrove forests.
We set our long term goal as running the 'Mangroves for Fiji' carbon offset initiative, by partnering up with local businesses to offset their carbon footprint with the help of local communities and schools.
During the month of February, we planted 2000 propagules in our nursery. We estimate they will take 6 weeks to propagate to a strength that makes them suitable for planting.
In March we are partnering up with local schools and communities to build a nursery on their premises, whereby we will utilize their resources i.e. students and villagers will be helping in the whole process of planting propagules, and this will see an exponential growth in our mangrove planting output.
Ingrid and Ron will also be meeting with GIZ in March to present on behalf of Projects Abroad and Mangroves for Fiji, with the aim of partnering with them and to get funding to extend our mangrove project model around Fiji and its islands.
Community Education
We organized our fist Dirty Day on 24 January and invited the Suva based volunteers to join us. We organized a beach clean-up of the nearby beach so the local people could see the positive impact our volunteer program would have directly on their community. The volunteers prepared and presented a PowerPoint presentation about our work to the local people and tourists at Uprising Beach Resort, who provided us with refreshments in gratitude for our work that day.
January ended on an incredibly positive note, with our visit to Galoa village on 31 January. One of our volunteers, Luc, has formed a partnership with his local school back in Quebec. As part of the partnership, Luc developed a project called "Here's My Village" which focuses on various aspects of a child's life, such as favorite meals, games, sports, etc. After the kava ceremony, the volunteers were split up with the local school children and went around the village with them (and their parents and/or teachers) and took photos and filled out the worksheets.
Later in the morning, the local kindergarten was brought over to us, and our group played educational shark games with them, focusing on types of shark fins and demonstrating how to use a snorkel and mask. Everyone left the village visit with huge smiles on their faces and we are excited to work with Galoa village in the future! Afterwards, volunteers were given an Education Assignment to complete to encourage them to design and use a wide variety of educational activities on education based days in order to keep them interesting and to increase knowledge.
Every Monday we go to Galoa and Dranikula village to buy plastic bottles at $0.03 a bottle. This project has been instrumental in getting the local village's to clean up their surroundings. Over the last month we have seen a gradual reduction of plastic from the village, its beaches, the Mangal, and surrounding areas including the farming areas. We can see villagers going through their rubbish, digging, and looking for plastic on the beach, forest, and even in the Mangal. Through buying these plastics bottles we are providing a much needed financial resource for the local villages.
Over the last month we have conducted cultural workshops for our volunteers. This included how to dress, behave and act in a village setting. We will also be conducting a similar workshop for when we go to schools. These are to prepare our volunteers for when they conduct community education and awareness activities in schools and villages.
We have been to Galoa and Dranikula Village on a number of occasions letting them know who we are and what we do, and any future plans that we have that will involve them. We have also been to schools in the local community raising awareness of sharks' vulnerability, their purpose in the eco-system, and our mangrove and recycling projects. There has been a lot of interest in partnering with us on these worthwhile projects.
Another aspect we will be pushing forward in the next months is to develop an educational program that we can use in schools. This will include games, fun activities, and theory on conservation and sharks specifically. We want this to be taught on a progressive level. It could also be modified to include the older and younger classes. Forward planning and flexibility on when we can go out depends on when they are free. In time we believe that when they see the benefit of our awareness campaigns, they will give us a regular spot on their timetable.
Survey Dives
Starting in the first few weeks of the project, the volunteers were trained to identify the local species of sharks, rays and turtles. Erik created hand signals for each species so that communication underwater was consistent and mis-identification limited.
The aim of this survey is to count the same species inside the Marine Protected Zone and outside the protected area, to show that the marine eco-system is healthier and fish more abundant inside the MPA, than outside.
Currently, our sightings are entered into 'The Great Fiji Shark Count' and 'eShark.org' surveys. However, we also started to develop our own shark survey that hopefully can be implemented next month.
In January we drafted a Public Perception Survey. In February we began completing the surveys around the local area, targeting mainly local people and business owners, schools, villages and some tourists. The aim is to see the local public's perception of sharks now and then conduct the same survey in one year to see the impact of our Education and Awareness Campaign in the local area. We will shortly be recording and analyzing the data collected and will prepare a report on our findings.
By mid January we were able to set up our first BRUV within Beqa lagoon. The following weeks found us developing techniques and saw a lot of trial and error with deployments and retrievals, as we were faced with extremely strong two directional currents, bad weather and working from an unanchored boat. It took some time to figure out good deployment methods and set techniques, and also to develop a good work distribution of the BRUV survey.
We accomplished 6 successful BRUV survey drops in January. We are now convinced that this project will give some interesting results.
As part of the pilot study, we experimented with chum to figure out the necessary amount and consistency of fish chum to be used in our bait cage. Volunteers were shown how to take all the necessary surface measurements from the boat, including salinity, temperature, visibility and current velocity.
After several discussions with Mark Bond over the past month, we are currently adapting the original hypothesis to enable us to work within our logistical limitations. In the meantime we are continuing to set BRUVs and collect data in randomized GPS areas – to use for this for training purposes as well as to improve our methods.
Most of February was therefore dedicated to resolving issues and working on all the practical and logistical parts of the project. Volunteers received training in performing all the tasks necessary for this study. Hence, we are now confident that the practical part of this project is under control.
We have also suffered some bad weather in February, including a cyclone. This has resulted in some cancelled diving trips and BRUV sets. The spirit of the volunteers remained good and they understood the circumstances.
March will be the month when we will transcend from the initial planning/trial and error phase of this project into actual data collecting.
Wow. These last 2 months and the lead up to the opening of the Project have been a lot of hard work! But we are confident and passionate and have science and the support of the Fijian people behind us. We know that this coming year is going to be something special!


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Summary and Keywords
Research on constitutional law has come in different waves mirroring the development of states in recent decades. While the decolonization period of the 1960s still kept the old ties of constitutional "families," comparison based on such ties has become ever less persuasive since the 1980s wave of constitution making following the fall of the Berlin Wall. Research about de facto and de jure constitutional law now tends to embrace institutional details like judicial review powers and procedures of direct democracy. The field of comparative constitutional law is controversial both in methods and substance. It still lacks a consistent framework of comparative tools and is criticized as illegitimate by scholars who insist on the interpretive autonomy within each constitutional system.
Research in the area of fundamental rights has to deal with long-lasting controversies like the constitutionality of the death penalty. Bioethical regulation is another new field where constitutional positions tend to diverge rather than converge. Embryonic stem cell research, therapeutic cloning, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, and surrogate motherhood are examples from biotechnology and reproductive medicine where constitutional scholars disagree about what, if anything, constitutional law can contribute to provide a basis or limit for regulation. With the worldwide rise of constitutional courts and judicial review, the standards for the interpretation of fundamental rights become more important. Legal scholarship has worked out the differences between the rule-oriented approach associated with Anglo-American legal systems versus the principle-based approach common to continental Europe.
Keywords: democracy, constitution, fundamental rights, bill of rights, human rights, organization, legal system, powers, freedom, equality, supreme court, nation, interpretation, rule of law
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Dr. Bechara Choucair, Commissioner of the Chicago Board of Health, was the keynote speaker for the Ground Hog Job Shadow Day Kickoff Rally on February 2nd at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Science. Eli's Cheesecake has been a long time supporter of the school and Job Shadow Day and Eli's Jeff Anderson and Marc Schulman spoke at the special assembly with Dr. Choucair.
Last year Ground Hog Day activities were postponed as Chicago was hit with two feet of snow. This marked the debut of the CHSAS Ground Hog which called for 6 more weeks of winter.
Commissioner Karen Tamley (center) of the Mayor's Office of People with Disabilities has been a long term supporter of CHSAS and Ground Hog Job Shadow Day.
Dr. Bechara Choucair (center), guest speaker for Ground Hog Job Shadow Day at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences is thanked by Eli's Marc Schulman, CHSAS students, Alex Villerreal and Mohammed Shalabi, attorney Rouhy Shalabi and Principal William Hook. Schulman and Shalabi serve as co-chairs of the 50 member business advisory board for the school.
Eli's Jeff Anderson and Marc Schulman thank Crain's Chicago Business Publisher David Snyder for once again participating in the Ground Hog Job Shadow Kickoff Rally.