text:
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Rice and Red Lentil Pilaf - Kichiri
From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is the dish you get when an Irish lass decides to make a wonderful Indian comfort food called kichiri. This is an easy, satisfying and cheap eat. I, however, managed to complicate it with a decision to make ghee, an oil that some call the clarified butter of India. Actually clarified butter and ghee are not the same thing. While there are similarities, ghee is cooked until all moisture is removed and the milk solids in the butter are caramelized. This gives it a rich nutty taste and assures that the "butter" has a long shelf life and a higher smoking point than its counterpart. I have a local source for ghee, but I wanted to attempt making it on my own. My curiosity is now satisfied and ghee is now on my been there, done that list. Vegetable oil or a mixture of one part oil to one part butter can also be used to make this pilaf. As you glance through the recipe you'll see that it is one that you can easily make your own. If you are unable to find red lentils substitute yellow. I will also add some heat the next time I make this pilaf. It is a wonderful accompaniment to curry or eggs. Here's the recipe.
Rice and Red Lentil Pilaf - Kichiri...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite
2 tablespoons ghee, vegetable oil or a mix of butter and oil
6 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled and chopped
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 teaspoon kosher salt + salt to taste
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup long grain white rice
1/2 cup red lentils (masoor dahl)
3 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1) Heat ghee or oil in a large frying pan that has a lid; set over medium-high heat
and warm until oil shimmers. Add garlic and ginger and toss until it is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in onions and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
2) Meanwhile, combine salt, cumin, turmeric, coriander and pepper flakes in a small bowl.
3) Stir spice mixture into onions and cook for 1 minute, tossing to make sure everything is combined. Stir in rice and lentils and cook 5 minutes longer. Add vegetable stock and bring to a rolling boil. Stir well, reduce heat, cover pan and cook for 20 minutes. Do not remove lid. Remove pan from heat. Let sit, covered, for 10 minutes. Uncover pan and gently fluff rice with a fork. Stir in cilantro and serve hot or warm. Yield: 4 servings.
You might also enjoy these recipes:
Balti Chicken - One Perfect Bite
Kedgeree - One Perfect Bite
Braised Pork Chops with Homemade Curry and Chutney Sauce - One Perfect Bite
37 comments :
- Patricia @ ButterYum said...
Oh Mary - I can't decide which I like better, your photos or your recipes. Exquisite!
ButterYum - May 23, 2010 at 1:25 AM
- chamki said...
Perfectly beautiful colorful cone of rice. You are getting ready for the trip! Ciao
- May 23, 2010 at 1:29 AM
- Deb in Hawaii said...
Making ghee is kind of a big pain isn't it?!--But good you did it once to try. This looks like a great dish!
- May 23, 2010 at 1:29 AM
- Angie's Recipes said...
The picture looks gorgeous and I would like to try the recipe too! A very comforting rice dish.
- May 23, 2010 at 2:49 AM
- Cherine said...
A beautiful colorful pilaf!
- May 23, 2010 at 3:14 AM
- Mary | Deep South Dish said...
A wonderful pilaf - glad you made it through the ghee experiment! ;)
- May 23, 2010 at 4:25 AM
- Diane said...
I was given a similar recipe like this from a Mauritian woman many years ago and it was tremendous. Diane
- May 23, 2010 at 4:36 AM
- Allie and Pattie said...
I'm giggling because now you've put the bug in my ear to attempt making ghee. I always have tons of lentils around- this sounds lovely
xoxo Pattie - May 23, 2010 at 6:14 AM
- Chef E said...
Funny how all those years in the professional kitchen I made clarified butter- only to work for two Indian families and discover it was Ghee and could be purchased so cheaply in Indian markets. Your right the flavor is so good! Love me some rice, love it in the photo with the reflection, now that makes me want it for breakfast today!
- May 23, 2010 at 6:28 AM
- Salsa Verde said...
Must be delicious and the presentation outstanding!!
Lia. - May 23, 2010 at 6:30 AM
- Unknown said...
That looks great Mary....love the way you have it piled on the plate!
- May 23, 2010 at 7:33 AM
- Barbara said...
I love that you have a "been there, done that" list, Mary! I feel that way about quite a few things.
Think I will leave the ghee-making to someone else but I sure love this pilaf recipe. And the photo is mouth-watering! - May 23, 2010 at 7:44 AM
- Hayley said...
Hi Mary
wow..you made khichri perfectly..we Indian loves khichri..it's one potmeal and very healthy..kudos to you you made ghe at home, even we Indians are very lazy to make ghee...:-)
actually I'm making khichdi today with lots lentils, it's too hot here in uk, so don't want to stand near the cooker making chapattis, so just khichri in Pessure cooker with raita... - May 23, 2010 at 7:46 AM
- Chats the Comfy Cook said...
I have made two red lentil recipes recently and we have added it as a regular item. This is the perfect dish for it and yours looks delicious.
- May 23, 2010 at 8:30 AM
- Cathy said...
The lentil and rice combination sounds delicious, Mary. This is a must try dish.
- May 23, 2010 at 8:44 AM
- tasteofbeirut said...
This is the kind of dishes that we make a lot in lebanese kitchens, minus all the spices; I love it with spices as well and will try your version one of these days. The photo that you took is beautiful as it is not always easy to photograph lentils and rice and make them look good! - May 23, 2010 at 10:01 AM
- My Little Space said...
Now, another clue! So, are you going to Nepal, Tibet & India/Bhudan? I heard that Bhudan is a very origin & beautiful place. Have a nice day!
Cheers, Kristy - May 23, 2010 at 10:59 AM
- Kait said...
Delicious. Congrats on making your own ghee!!
- May 23, 2010 at 11:22 AM
- PranisKitchen said...
Mary really delicious one..in indian its known as Pulav also.really delicious one.So u prepared the ghee .homemade ghee is good ..
What are the other places u r planning to visit..Enjoy your vacation and also pls share the experience - May 23, 2010 at 12:00 PM
- From the Kitchen said...
Mary, thanks for coming with me to "Mitford". I enjoyed your good company!
And, thanks for another delicious recipe. I can always count on you. Next time, I hope you'll pack the lunch.
Bonnie - May 23, 2010 at 12:01 PM
- Mary Bergfeld said...
chamki, you are absolutely right:-). Blessings...Mary
- May 23, 2010 at 12:20 PM
- Ren- Lady Of The Arts said...
I love making Pilaf- So yummy.
I will give yours a try- was looking for things to make with red lentils since I for some reason stick to the green.
Hope you are having a good weekend. - May 23, 2010 at 1:03 PM
- Sushma Mallya said...
healthy and delicious pilaf...loved it..
- May 23, 2010 at 1:43 PM
- Joanne said...
I am so impressed that you tried to make your own ghee! I usually just substitute butter and call it a day. This pilaf looks delicious - so much flavor.
- May 23, 2010 at 1:48 PM
- pigpigscorner said...
I normally just use butter =P Looks and sounds really flavourful! This is something similar to kedgeree but without the fish.
- May 23, 2010 at 1:52 PM
- Khadija El Mary said...
Lovely Piaf! You've got gifted hands my friend.
What a shot!
Have a great evening!
Cheers - May 23, 2010 at 2:13 PM
- Velva said...
Beautiful pilaf dish. Beautiful photo too. Just lovely.
- May 23, 2010 at 2:45 PM
- Julie said...
This looks delicious! Love the photo. I've never heard of ghee. Something new learned today! Thanks, Mary!
- May 23, 2010 at 4:33 PM
- Jen_from_NJ said...
Homemade ghee - very impressive! Your pilaf is just gorgeous and sounds tasty.
- May 23, 2010 at 4:46 PM
- Lori said...
love love rice recipes. I have yet to make ghee. It needs to make it over to my- "been there, done that" list.
- May 23, 2010 at 7:50 PM
- Unknown said...
This is just how I love kitchri! Light and tasty and healthgiving!
- May 23, 2010 at 8:20 PM
- giorno26 ¸¸.•*¨*•. said...
Buongiorno Mary,
questo è un ottimo pranzo da essere gustato all'ora di pranzo su di un terrazzo all'ombra :-)
Happy day :-) - May 23, 2010 at 8:58 PM
- Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...
What a great, versatile dish to serve to vegetarians and meat eaters alike! :D
- May 23, 2010 at 10:54 PM
- Eliana said...
Awesome looking side dish!
- May 23, 2010 at 11:03 PM
- Arlette said...
what a gorgeous photo my friend, this Kichiri is very similar to our rice and lentil pilaf, which we cook in olive oil and we add caramelized onions and decorate with toasted onions.
A great healthy and delicious meal . - May 23, 2010 at 11:26 PM
- Claudia said...
Rice and lentils always draw me in. Loving the flavors - but I must say your photos makes it doubly enticing.
- May 24, 2010 at 9:17 AM
- penny aka jeroxie said...
Thanks for your kind words that you posted on my blog. I am now a very regular reader at yours too. :)
I love the colours and the aromatics that you used. Delicious! - May 24, 2010 at 5:37 PM


text:
27 Sep Postal Rate Hike Proposal Faces Senate Scrutiny
By ANDREW MIGA, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Postal Service's proposal to raise the price of mailing a letter to 49 cents is sure to face scrutiny from lawmakers as a Senate panel considers bipartisan legislation to overhaul the cash-strapped agency.
Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe's appearance Thursday before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee comes one day after the post office said it wanted to raise the price of a first-class stamp by 3 cents. He's pressing lawmakers to act quickly on legislation to fix his agency, which expects to lose $6 billion this year.
The Postal Service's Board of Governors, in its rate hike request, cited the agency's "precarious financial condition" and the uncertain prospects for postal overhaul legislation in Congress.
"Of the options currently available to the Postal Service to align costs and revenues, increasing postage prices is a last resort that reflects extreme financial challenges," the board's chairman, Mickey Barnett, wrote customers.
The rate proposal must be approved by the independent Postal Regulatory Commission. If the commission accepts it, the increase would become effective Jan. 26.
Under federal law, the post office cannot raise its prices more than the rate of inflation unless it gets approval from the commission. In seeking the increase, Barnett cited "extraordinary and exceptional circumstances which have contributed to continued financial losses" by the agency.
As part of the rate increase request, the cost for each additional ounce of first-class mail would increase a penny, to 21 cents, while the price of mailing a postcard would also rise by 1 cent, to 34 cents. The cost to mail a letter to an international destination would increase 5 cents, to $1.15.
Many consumers won't feel the increase immediately. Forever stamps bought before an increase still would cover first-class postage. The price of new forever stamps would be at the higher rate, if approved.
The Postal Service also said it would request price increases totaling 5.9 percent for bulk mail, periodicals and package service rates, according to a filing to be made with the commission Thursday.
Media and marketing businesses that rely on postal services say a big increase in rates could hurt them and lower postal volume and revenues.
Rafe Morrissey, the Greeting Card Association's vice president of postal affairs, said the rate increases were "no substitute for common-sense, structural reforms" and the group hoped they would be rejected.
The post office is seeking help from Congress to turn around its finances.
Barnett said the increases, if approved, would generate $2 billion annually for his agency. The agency last raised postage rates on Jan. 27, including a penny increase in the cost of first-class mail to 46 cents.
The Postal Service unsuccessfully sought an emergency 5.6 percent rate increase in 2010, citing the recession. The commission acknowledged that the recession had hurt revenues but said the rate request was more of an attempt to address long-term structural problems.
Barnett said the post office would reconsider its rate request if Congress passes legislation to put the agency's finances back on track. But prospects in Congress are unclear.
A bipartisan bill in the Senate would end Saturday mail delivery after one year and cease door-to-door delivery for new residential and business addresses. The agency says ending Saturday mail delivery would save $2 billion each year. But many lawmakers, along with postal worker unions, have resisted such changes, saying they would inconvenience customers.
The Postal Service supports the proposed delivery changes. It also is seeking to reduce its $5.6 billion annual payment for future retiree health benefits. It missed two of those payments in 2012, one deferred from the previous year, and is expected to miss another at the end of this month, when its fiscal year ends.
The Senate bill would change the method by which the retiree health costs are calculated, as well as allow the agency to ship alcoholic beverages and compete with private shippers.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee approved a bill this year that would allow the Postal Service to gradually shift from door-to-door delivery to cluster box and curbside delivery. No Democrats voted for the measure.
The bill, introduced by the chairman, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., also would end Saturday delivery and change how pension and retiree health costs are calculated.
Issa said that the proposed rate increases were merely a short-term solution and that the agency's "costly, inefficient delivery" system needs to be fixed. Such increases could hurt businesses that rely on the post office, he said.
The Postal Service is an independent agency that receives no tax dollars for its day-to-day operations but is subject to congressional control.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
I've been busy with lots of different Bodhi things of the late. The latest of my many projects has been getting the Bodhi desktop functional on the RaspBerry Pi:
This first release while having some rough edges does give you a fully functional Enlightenment desktop on top of a Debian Wheezy ARMEL base. I am providing two different downloads which you can find on our source forge page here. The first is an easy to use .img file that can be written to 4GB or larger SD card.
If you dislike .img files I've also provided tar files that contain the boot partition (which should be written to a vfat partition at the start of an SD card) and the root file system (which should be written to the second partition on a card that is extX).
The default logins for this image are:
The "bodhi" user has sudo rights by default.
If you hit any snags or find bugs with this image please let us know in the RaspBerryPi section of our user forums (not the comment section of this blog!) so we can improve this release.
~Jeff Hoogland


text:
Wee! It's the start of Birthday month! My birthday is on Sunday!
For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie, Noskos of Living the Life chose Linzer Sables on pages 134-135 of Dorie's great book: Baking: From My Home to Yours (which makes a great holiday gift by the way! :)
I rolled out the dough waaaaaay too thick. And the mat wasn't floured enough so everything stuck. It was kinda a nightmare - all my fault. I ended up with just a few that turned out.
But since I did buy new Linzer Sables from Sur la Table, I'm going to try again!!
Be sure to check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers who probably did a much better job!!


text:
Need help?
Follow Us
Main menu
Enter your e-mail and password:
New customer? Create your account
Lost password? Recover password
Enter your email:
Remembered your password? Back to login
Please fill in the information below:
Already have an account? Login here
Spend $150 more and get free shipping!
Your cart is empty
Stand-up wheelchairs
This collection is empty
Free local delivery (SG) for orders above $150
Sign up an account & start collecting member rewards
Top-notch support
Feel free to contact us on the phone, email or even live chat!
Secure payments
We accept Visa, Mastercard, AMEX


text:
People have been sharing food with strangers since ancient days, offering up the household's finest fare to mysterious travelers. Think Abraham and the three men of Mamre in the Bible and the folks who take in strangers after natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy. That deep tradition of generous hospitality has long been thought uniquely human.
If so, then bonobos, those gregarious African apes, may be more like us than we thought.
"The pairs that are unfamiliar with each other are the ones that shared most often," says JingZhi Tan, a graduate student at Duke University who tested bonobos' penchant for sharing food and discovered that they not only share with strangers, they even offer their fruit and nuts to an unfamiliar bonobo faster than they will feed one they know well.
Bonobos, like humans, are acutely social, and often eat together. With both species, it works. Children and other vulnerable relatives get fed, social ties are strengthened and alliances formed.
But humans also developed a rich tradition of feeding strangers, one that's embedded in religion and literature – the xenia of ancient Greece, promoted by Zeus, the god of travelers. Back then there were practical reasons for selfless hospitality. It allowed people to travel far from home in the days long before Holiday Inns and drive-throughs. Stingy hosts were reviled, but so were guests who failed to be properly grateful. When Paris made off with his host's wife, Helen, in the Iliad, that faux pas kicked off the Trojan War.
But could hospitality be important to apes? Tan and his colleagues at Duke had done experiments with bonobos two years ago that showed that bonobos would share food with unrelated bonobos, rather than hoard it. Now they wanted to find out just how far that spirit of sharing went. So they created a series of experiments with bonobos living in a sanctuary in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
The series of experiments gave bonobos the ability to decide whether they would share their apples, bananas, papayas, and peanuts by giving them control over doors in a room. (See how the researchers did it in this video.)
In the first experiment, the scientists created a setup where one bonobo was put in a room with food. That bonobo could choose to open two doors leading to two other rooms – one housing a friend, the other, a stranger.
All of the bonobos opened a door to let in another, rather than dine alone. And nine of the 14 animals chose dining with the stranger over the familiar face – the ape equivalent of a restaurant's communal table.
What's more, when the familiar bonobo was invited to join the feast, it was almost always by the stranger, who would have considered that bonobo a new face. None of the animals fought over the food, and there was quite a bit of the friendly genital rubbing that's made bonobos renowned in animal behavior-land.
Then the scientists tweaked the layout. In another experiment, the bonobos were isolated in separate cages, with food in a compartment in between. Offered the option of sharing the food without physical contact, not one of the seven bonobos tested pulled a rope that would have let another reach through to the food. The results were published online in the journal PLoS One.
So it looks like if you're a bonobo, sharing food is only worth it if it's a social event. Bonus points if you're meeting someone new. It's fascinating behavior, but the researchers say it's not clear that this is altruism. "If you're being nice to a stranger, it's not necessarily unselfish," Tan told The Salt. It's easy to see the benefits to humans in sharing a meal with a stranger, even in modern times. Good conversation, future business partners, a broader social network – maybe even romance. Perhaps bonobos see those potential payoffs in a meal shared, too.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


text:
Please devine your report about this image.
Pond In Forest A Foot Of Mountains Photo
This image is from burst.shopify.com and is licensed under Burst Some Rights Reserved was added on May 02, 2020 and has been viewed 391 times. You can download this "Pond In Forest A Foot Of Mountains Photo" stock photo for free but make sure to check the license for each image by visiting the download button link.
Warning! Please keep in mind although the images listed here are free to dowload and use, some images may not have model or property release. Some images may also contains copyrighted brand logo.


text:
Citrix is credited with having established various different certification systems. Each of those certifications is for a specific area of IT expertise. Certifications such as these help establish the knowledge credentials of an IT professionals. Among others, it serves two major functions:
It helps an individual gauge his/her own level of knowledge and expertise
It helps potential employers in finding the right candidates for the various IT positions
Geekcert.com provide our candidates with the latest exam materials updates for Citrix. To ensure about the relevance and accuracy of our resources, the study materials are constantly revised and updated by our expert team. We guarantee the materials with quality and reliability which will help you pass any Citrix certification exam.
As a professional IT exam study material provider, Geekcert.com gives you more than just exam questions and answers. We provide our customers with the most accurate study material about the exam and the guarantee of pass. We assist you to prepare for almost all the main certifications which are regarded valuable the IT sector. You can easily find all kinds of IT exam Q&As on our site.
We guarantee your success at your first attempt with our product. If you do not pass the exam at your first try with Geekcert.com materials, we will give you a full refund.
We provide you with 7*24 customer service to assistant. You can contact us when you need help with our study materials or any problems about the IT certification exams. We are ready to help you at any time.
Geekcert.com provide you free demo of all Citrix Products. You can have a try of our Citrix training products before you make your decisions to buy. You can download them easily from our website You may find sample Citrix questions and answers for downloads on all the Citrix exams pages. And all the demos are for free. Even though, our actual Citrix products are more useful and comprehensive than their demo versions, it is something we urge you to try first. Informed choices are always the best choices.


text:
I try to do all of my grocery shopping for the week at once. I like to come up with a list of everything that I need to get for the meal plan for the week. Sticking to the list is a challenge as I invariably end up impulse buying a few things. Like this week, I opened up my refrigerator at the end of the week to assess the situation only to find a full bunch of asparagus and a container of grape tomatoes staring at me. They were nowhere on my meal plan and of course they did not get used, but there they were. I grabbed them thinking that they looked good and then completely forgot about them. I also had some leftover goat cheese. I immediately though of a pasta with roasted asparagus and tomatoes with a goat cheese sauce. I melted the goats cheese into a bit of the pasta water to create a creamy and tangy sauce. It turned out pretty good for a clean out the fridge meal.
Roasted Asparagus and Grape Tomato Pasta with a Goat Cheese Sauce
- 1 handful grape tomatoes
- 1 handful asparagus (cut into bite sizes pieces)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 serving of pasta (gluten free for gluten free)
- 1 ounce goats cheese
- 1 tablespoon basil (chopped)
- Toss the tomatoes and asparagus in the olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Roast the tomatoes and asparagus in a preheated 425F/220C oven for about 10 minutes.
- Cook the pasta and drain reserving some of the pasta water.
- Mix the pasta, tomatoes, asparagus and goat cheese in a bowl adding some pasta water to thin out the melted goats cheese sauce.
- Serve garnished with chopped basil.
Maccheroni Calabrese with Asparagus in Alfredo Sauce


text:
The picture Forgiven reveals the heart of God
toward you. As you look at the painting you see not only Jesus wrapping
His arms around a fallen man, you see Him wrapping His arms of mercy
around you. Your eyes say, "Jesus is holding a broken sinner."
Your heart says, "Jesus is holding me." When you look at the
cross you will never need to question if He loves you. He came for you --
He died for you -- He lives for you. What a tremendous price has been paid
-- more than all the riches in the entire world. This price was paid so
that you could know the joy of being forgiven. ROY LESSIN ***************************************************************************************************** One day
awhile back, a man, his heart heavy with grief, was walking in the
woods. As he thought about his life this day, he knew many things
were not right. He thought about those who had lied about him back
when he had a job. His thoughts
turned to those who had stolen his things and cheated him. He
remembered family that had passed on. His mind turned to the illness he
had that no one could cure. His very soul was filled with anger,
resentment and frustration. Standing
there this day, searching for answers he could not find, knowing all
else had failed him, he knelt at the base of an old oak tree to seek
the one he knew would always be there. And with tears in his eyes,
he prayed: "Lord-
You have done wonderful things for me in this life. You have told me
to do many things for you, and I happily obeyed. Today , you have
told me to forgive. I am sad, Lord, because I cannot. I don't know
how. It is not fair Lord. I didn't deserve these wrongs that were done
against me and I shouldn't have to forgive. As perfect as your way is
Lord, this one thing I cannot do, for I don't know how to
forgive. My anger is so deep Lord, I fear I may not hear you, but I
pray that you teach me to do this one thing I cannot do - Teach me To
Forgive." As he knelt
there in the quiet shade of that old oak tree, he felt something fall
onto his shoulder. He opened his eyes. Out of the corner of one eye,
he saw something red on his shirt. He could not
turn to see what it was because where the oak tree had been was a
large square piece of wood in the ground. He raised his head and saw
two feet held to the wood with a large spike through them. He raised
his head more, and tears came to his eyes as he saw Jesus hanging on
a cross. He saw spikes in His hands, a gash in His side, a torn and
battered body, deep thorns sunk into His head. Finally he saw the
suffering and pain on His precious face. As their eyes met, the man's
tears turned to sobbing, and Jesus began to speak. "Have
you ever told a lie?" He asked? The man
answered - "yes, Lord." "Have
you ever been given too much change and kept it?" The man
answered - " yes. Lord." And the man sobbed more and more. "Have
you ever taken something from work that wasn't yours?" Jesus asked? And the man
answered - "yes, Lord." "Have
you ever sworn, using my Father's name in vain? " The man,
crying now, answered - "yes, Lord." As Jesus
asked many more times, "Have you ever"? The man's crying became
uncontrollable, for he could only answer - "yes, Lord." Then Jesus
turned His head from one side to the other, and the man felt something
fall on his other shoulder. He looked and saw that it was the
blood of Jesus. When he looked back up, his eyes met those of Jesus,
an d there was a look of love the man had never seen or known before. Jesus said,
"I didn't deserve this either, but I forgive you." It may be
hard to see how you're going to get through something, but when you
look back in life, you realize how true this statement is. Read the
following first line slowly and let it sink in. If God
brings you to it - He will bring you through it. Lord I love You and
I need You, come into my heart, today. For without You I can do nothing. Author
Unknown |


text:
How to choose an operating system for your computer and how to run it there.
3 Aug 2012
Three LXDE-based distributions: race them face-to-face
Can I compare them somehow? Probably yes. Let's do it.
Zorin OS 6 Lite is an LXDE-based distribution with roots in Ubuntu 11.10. Its main task is to help ex-Windows users bridge to the Linux world in terms of desktop outlook.
WattOS R5 is similar to Zorin OS 6 Lite, because it shares all the same platforms: LXDE and Ubuntu 11.10. It is more targeted on the low-end computers than Zorin. As a result, some of the functions in WattOS have less resource-hungry applications. The best example is the browser: Midori versus Chromium. Also, WattOS, from my point of view, has a more complete set of tools for the beginner. A spreadsheet application and graphics editor are not in Zorin, but they are in WattOS.
In contrast to the above mentioned distributions, ROSA Marathon LXDE does not aim at the low-end computers. At least, not that much. That is why ROSA includes heavy-weight tools instead of lightweight ones, like Firefox and LibreOffice. Also, the boot time of ROSA is significantly more than WattOS or Zorin OS Lite. At the same time, ROSA LXDE is a godsend for multilingual users like me: the keyboard layouts switch is available in ROSA right after the boot.
All of these distributions help the users who want to get their system ready for multimedia playback, but neither was able to connect to my remote partition from the file manager, although ROSA LXDE includes very helpful Gigolo tool.
Of course, this is just a quick roundup, not pretending to be a complete comparison.
And what is your favourite LXDE-based Linux distribution? Why?
About DarkDuck DarkDuck is a person with whole life spent in IT area. It does not mean only Linux, but also SAP systems. Learn more about him here. |
38 comments:
As a PCLinuxOS KDE user I found the LXDE version very familiar, with the same set of systemtools, and snappy on older hardware.
Including the language tool addlocale for international users and lomanager if you need to install LibreOffice.
Best way to check it out is to testdrive on an older, forgotten, dust getting PC.RepliesLXDE, KDE and Xfce are all sticking to the Desktop layout proposed by Windows 95. No doubt, you find LXDE version very similar to KDE. LXDE indeed is for low-grade PCs.
Under the "language tools" I understand out-of-the box support for users with multiple keyboard layouts, like English (Latin) and Russian (Cyrillic) with an easy switch between them. None of the distributions I tested so far, except for ROSA, has this support.
I like the use of LXDE with Peppermint LINUX. I think it goes well with the ideology of Peppermint.
Peppermint tries to marry up web based apps with a traditional OS and LXDE just provides a simple way of navigating around.RepliesGary, I haven't tried Peppermint OS. Have you written any reviews of it?
DeleteI did but it was a very brief one and it was a while ago. I intend to do a better review for version 3. It is a very interesting project.
Delete- Anonymous29 August 2012 at 22:05
Peppermint OS is the beginning of the end of computing freedoms. Supporting any type of cloud based computing for personal use is quite literally handing over your computing freedoms to the corporations that run the cloud services. If you wake up one day and say, how did i loose control of all my information and personal computing freedom. You can look back on your support for such OS's as peppermint as the beginning of the end.
Delete - Anonymous30 August 2012 at 00:06
Just looked up your name Gary Newell seems your a peppermint os troll...
Delete Yes since my previous comment I wrote a review about Peppermint Linux 3. Like I said before it is a very interesting project. I don't agree with the comment above about losing control of your computing freedoms because you embrace "the cloud". If someone produces applications like Google Docs and they work then yes I will use them in the same way I use Youtube and Twitter. If Peppermint provides a unique tool for making those web applications appear as desktop applications then that is a great unique selling point.
DeleteGary Newell is a very real person. He wrote a guest post on this blog earlier, and comments quite often.
Delete- Anonymous5 September 2012 at 02:40
Even still to deny the threats of the cloud is sheerly being naive. Do you really think that they will keep the hard drive programs around forever if they force feed you cloud apps? Of course not,,, its called progression and not as in progress mind you but as in cooking a frog in a pot... cook em quick he jumps out, cook him slow he just sits there and does nothing until the next thing he knows hes dead... same goes here,,,, to say simply i dont believe it will take away computing freedoms is not enough,,, you've provided no reason why it won't happen.
- Anonymous29 August 2012 at 21:39
then don't call it a race... ;)
IMHO rosa is an interesting new concept, even if sacrificing some LXDE lightness.
I'd also consider the new knoppix, which should be LXDE based too
cheers I use a highly customized Lubuntu. First I remove all the Lubuntu packages, Then I install the full lxde package along with compiz, emerald, and cairo dock. I then disable the lxde panel, and activate desktop cube, animations and scaling plugins along with others. I then install libre office, virtualbox and all my other favorite apps. I now have a fast and beautiful desktop setup just the way I want. It runs quicker than bodhilinux on my pc. Yes I am a big fan of LXDE!
ReplyDeleteReplies- Anonymous30 August 2012 at 00:37
Linux Mint 12: Install was very easy on a 12 year old Gateway. Like the uncluttered Desktop appearance. Used mainly for just browsing the internet, email, and audio streaming of internet radio.
Delete Linux Mint 12 Lxde "Lisa" FLIES on my old MSI Wind U100-432US netbook--RAM already maxed out to 2GB, newer Western Digital Caviar Black 320GB 7200RPM 16MB memory cache hard drive! This Lxde distro is based on Ubuntu 11.10 "Oneiric Ocelot".
The Ubuntu-based Linux Mint 13 "Maya" distros come in Cinnamon, KDE, MATE, and Xfce--no Lxde this time.I did hear that it's possible to install the Lxde meta package over any of the following distros: Cinnamon, MATE, or Xfce.
DeleteI have no doubt you can install Lxde packages on top of any other distribution. But why bother with Mint, if you can run it with pure Ubuntu then?
- Anonymous30 August 2012 at 15:14
I personally prefer fluxbox, but I also choose my own applications, because I build from the ground up. As far as a nice lightweight complete desktop goes, LXDE is lighter than XFCE and is what I give to new users that want familarity without complexity.
May I suggest that any further exploration into LXDE-based distros include the choice of applications, to better reflect the goal of the distribution.RepliesWhat do you mean by "further exploration"? The distros mentioned in this "race" are reviewed in their own articles, and list of applications is somehow given there.
Delete- Anonymous2 September 2012 at 23:48
By "further exploration", I mean doing a review yourself, I mean including Lubuntu, Debian (the boot menu from the install disc allows for a base system with LXDE), and other distros or their derivatives that allow for a base install with LXDE, and I mean do more than gather other peoples work for flamebait.
As far as listing applications, there is no need to list every single application, but it would be nice to point out when the default kernel is for a 586 or 686, instead of for 386 or 486. Also, letting your readers know that a particular distro decides to use Filezilla over gFTP, Firefox over Dillo, or Thunderbird over Claws-Mail would give a good indication of whether the distro is targeted to older hardware, is looking to save some resources in one place - to be used elsewhere, or if the decision-making process is erratic and/or irrational.
If you need further explanation as to how to be a blogger, please feel free to embarass yourself with another response. I generally don't like Lxde because of its failure to work normally for multilingual users (those who need several keyboard layouts to communicate with different people).
Although, I wrote some reviews, apart from those listed in this roundup. In particular: Debian Lxde, Fedora 16 Lxde, PCLOS Lxde.
These reviews have a slightly different content compared to what you suggested, because I have my own testing strategy. If you have your own requirements for the blog posts, feel free to open your own blog instead of trolling other people.
- Anonymous30 August 2012 at 15:29
I also like the speed and "snappiness" of LXDE. I have also combined it with Compiz which gives some eye-candy.
On the other hand, I like the totally new concept of gnome-shell or cinnamon (no, please, don't hit me too hard!). For me, those work fastest for me (in regards to finding programs and so on), but they are both noticeably slower on a netbook of course... I have tried lubuntu 12.04, fedora 17 lxde spin, linuxmint 12 lxde,and pclinuxos 2012.06 lxde on my netbook. but only pclinuxos 2012 can work well with my evdo modem prolink pcm100 without any sophisticated configuration, just plug in setting and connect. so i stick with pclinuxos for now.
ReplyDelete- Anonymous7 September 2012 at 09:09
Hello !
I found a distribution based on Puppy Linux with a full LXDE desktop. For me, it looks nice :D. It is called Checkmate. We can have two versions, a Slackware or an Ubuntu precise base ! It is even very updated, with pcmanfm 1.0, gpicview 2.3 etc ...
Very handy on a USB key.
If you want to see :
Can you give your opinion? :)RepliesPuppy should be really very nice and quick. Although, I'll not test this particular distro, as I see no point to test "yet another disappointing LXDE" one. That's purely because of bad multi-language support of LXDE in general. So far, I only saw ROSA solving this issue, and it was visible straight away on their screenshots. The linked page also have the screenshots, but without this feature.
Delete- Anonymous7 September 2012 at 21:49
When I tried, I could easily switch to another language. At the startup, I could change locale to another one, and LXDE followed my settings.
Maybe I don't understand ?^^ You misunderstand. I need to switch layouts on-the-fly between different languages, even different charsets: Russian with Cyrillic and English UK with Latin.
Delete- Anonymous7 September 2012 at 22:14
Aouch, okay. I don't know sorry... :/
It is true that it should not be very practical for an advanced use.


text:
Dempsey worries about effects of withdrawal talk
BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (AP) — Depicting a grim future for Afghanistan without U.S. help, the top U.S. military officer said Wednesday that Afghanistan's refusal to sign a security agreement with the United States may make the fight more difficult this year, embolden the enemy and prompt some Afghan security forces to cooperate with the Taliban to "hedge their bets."
Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spent the day with his commanders and troops in Afghanistan working to manage the after-effects of President Barack Obama's order Tuesday to begin actively planning for a total withdrawal of U.S. troops by the end of the year. In back-to-back meetings, he urged them to focus on the considerable military work they have to do and not worry about next year.
Dempsey told The Associated Press in an interview that the possible exit of all U.S. troops was making Afghan military leaders anxious and eating away at their troops' confidence. He said he spoke with some Afghan leaders after the Tuesday announcement, and they asked him to stay committed to an enduring U.S. presence, and told him they were doing all they could to get the agreement signed.
Frustrated with Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai, Obama ordered the Pentagon to accelerate planning for a full U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan by the end of this year. But Obama is also holding out hope that Afghanistan's next president, to be elected this spring, may eventually sign a stalled security agreement that could prevent the U.S. from having to take that step.
The administration would like to leave up to 10,000 troops in Afghanistan after combat operations end on Dec. 31 to continue training Afghan forces and conduct counterterrorism missions. But without the agreement that would give international forces legal standing to stay in Afghanistan, Obama has threatened to pull all troops out, and NATO forces would follow suit.
Obama spoke Tuesday with Karzai, the first direct conversation between the two presidents since last June. Karzai has refused to sign the pact.
The impasse is having an effect, Dempsey said.
"It is having an effect on the enemy and in some ways I think encourages them, and intelligence supports that," Dempsey told reporters. And, he said, the uncertainty of a continued U.S. presence in Afghanistan may encourage Afghan security forces in some parts of the country to "hedge their bets."
"There are parts of the country where it seems to be, there will — with some likelihood ...be some accommodations between the Afghan security forces and the Taliban," said Dempsey. "I think a delay in the (security agreement) might accelerate those kind of accommodations. I don't think it will be widespread by the way, but we do have to be alert to that possibility."
He also said he expects that the Taliban will become more aggressive during the coming summer fighting season. Noting that the Afghan forces were in the combat lead last year for the first time, he said they did well. "So I think the Taliban has always calculated that they need to up their game this year to confront what they now realize is a pretty credible opponent."
He added that while the U.S. can wait until after the spring elections before deciding whether to completely withdraw all forces, that decision will have to be made sometime in the summer.
"We have a pretty clear understanding of, at what pace they must progress in order to — if it became necessary — to empty the (war) theater by the end of the year," Dempsey told the AP. He said they are nowhere near the point where the military couldn't make that decision and successfully get all troops and equipment out by Dec. 31.
Obama's announcement after his conversation with Karzai appeared aimed at marginalizing Karzai's role in the high-stakes negotiations over the future of the lengthy U.S.-led war. The Afghan leader has deeply irritated Washington with anti-American rhetoric, and with his decision this month to release 65 prisoners over the objections of U.S. officials.
The White House insists it won't keep any American troops in Afghanistan after December without a security agreement giving the military a legal basis for staying in the country. While the White House did not publicly set a deadline for finalizing the agreement before that time, officials said the size and scope of any U.S. mission could shrink the longer Obama waits.
While Dempsey visited commanders, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel met his NATO counterparts in Brussels this week. And NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that the 19,000 troops from other countries would also pull out of Afghanistan after year's end without a security agreement.
"Let me stress, this is not our preferred option," Rasmussen said. "But these are the facts."
The U.S. and Afghanistan agreed to details of a security pact last year, and the agreement was also endorsed by a council of 3,000 Afghan tribal elders known as the Loya Jirga. But Karzai caught U.S. officials off guard by then declaring he wanted his successor to sign the agreement.
It's unclear whether Afghanistan's new president will be any more likely than Karzai to do so. There is no clear front-runner among the 11 candidates seeking to replace the president, who is constitutionally ineligible for a third term and has not endorsed a successor.
The longer the U.S. waits to decide on its future in Afghanistan, the more expensive and risky a full withdrawal would become. With less time to move troops and equipment, the military will have to fly assets out rather than use cheaper ground transportation.
The Pentagon's biggest challenge will be closing large military facilities, including the Bagram and Kandahar air bases. Shutting down a massive base typically takes about 10 months, but military officials said they are prepared to do it in a much shorter — although far more expensive — period if necessary. Military officials said commanders would still like to have about six months.
The Pentagon is currently planning to cut the total American force in Afghanistan to as low as 20,000 by midsummer, giving commanders the ability to pull all troops out by Dec. 31 if no agreement is reached. There are currently about 33,600 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Associated Press writers Julie Pace and Deb Riechmann in Washington, Robert Burns in Brussels, and Cassandra Vinograd in Kabul, Afghanistan, contributed to this report.


text:
The Elkhorn
Custom Cedar Homes If you would like to contact Cedar Designs, LLC., or see more of our Custom Cedar Homes, Post and |
Cedar Designs, LLC. offers affordable custom cedar home kits for sale in: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming. Post and Beam Homes Cedar Homes |


text:
7-Eleven is your go-to convenience store for food, snacks, hot and cold beverages, coffee, gas and so much more. We're also open 24 hours a day.
Enjoy rewards? You can earn points on every purchase with 7REWARDS, then redeem those points for FREE snacks and more. From paper towels to pizza, empanadas, mini tacos, nachos, taquitos and chicken skewers, even drinks, you can earn points on all your favorites.
Snacks near me? Pizza near me? We know the questions you're asking, and the treats you crave. So, have 7-Eleven deliver them to your door. Late night energy or morning boost let us bring it to you.
Get the 7NOW app and have your favorites delivered in about 30 minutes. Whether you want a warm breakfast sandwich, candy and ice cream, a Big Bite, Big Gulp or tasty Slurpee we deliver 24/7.
Visit your local 7-Eleven today.
584 Kinderkamack Road, River Edge, New Jersey 07661, United States


text:
While U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker says there is a path toward relative stability in Afghanistan and away from a return to the kind of civil war that devastated the country in the early 1990s, the difficulties still facing that nation have been underscored by more violence:
-- CNN.com reports that "a bomb exploded inside a shop in the northern Afghanistan province of Faryab on Monday, killing nine people, according to the Afghan Interior Ministry."
-- On Sunday, The Associated Press writes, "an assassin armed with a silenced pistol shot dead a top member of the Afghan peace council at a traffic intersection in the nation's capital, police said. The killing strikes another blow to efforts to negotiate a political resolution to the decade-long war."
Still, there are these two related reports that offer somewhat more hopeful news:
-- "One of the most powerful men on the Taliban council, Agha Jan Motasim ... told The Associated Press Sunday that a majority of Taliban wants a peace settlement and that there are only 'a few' hard-liners in the movement."
-- Crocker, in an interview with NPR's Renee Montagne that aired on today's Morning Edition, said the long-term security and assistance agreement signed earlier this month by President Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, can keep Afghanistan on a stable and relatively peaceful path.
According to Crocker, the warlords who infamously went to war with each other in the early '90s after the Soviet Union left Afghanistan are not looking to rekindle those fights. "It is a case of been there, done that," he said.
And, he believes the Taliban will eventually lay down its arms. "We can fight and talk [with the Taliban] at the same time," Crocker said. As the U.S. and its allies "keep whacking" the Taliban, reconciliation will come "when your opponent's no longer winning or no longer thinks they can win."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


text:
3:57 PM kyle: russel you got a second
3:58 PM ill get ahold of you
There follows a brief pause as I look Kyle up in my email history, because I have no idea who this is. Turns out I had two email exchanges with him, and it's abundantly clear that he's a theist, and that his reason for believing is of the "You can't prove me wrong" variety.
I don't want to encourage private chats with someone I don't like, but I'm not feeling the urge to be too rude, so I go along with only slightly testy non-encouragement.
3:59 PM me: I'm at work. What do you need?
No answer for a few minutes, so I check again.
4:06 PM me: Yes?
4:11 PM kyle: i have a song that has a glory in it.. most the song will be annoying but if you wana hear Gabriel listen in with logic of course
[My inner thoughts: You have a what what in the what now?]
4:12 PM me: Why would I be interested in listening to something annoying?
kyle: not all of it
4:13 PM its all good if your ever intrested let me know
me: Why is it that you're wanting me to hear it?
4:14 PM kyle: there is a recorded part in it that has no effects and is a angel singing
[Undt how long haff you felt zis vay?]
me: And how do you know that?
4:15 PM kyle: because im one
me: You're an angel.
kyle: yeah
me: Nice to meet you.
kyle: =)
me: What kind of superpowers do you have?
kyle: lol
mock away
4:16 PM i cant share anything with a fool
me: You're the one who said you were an angel, I assume you're having fun with me. I was just playing along.
kyle: lol ill talk to ya later
we will
Oh, snap! He called me a fool! I guess God exists.


text:
Osteochondritis are lesions that usually cause pain and stiffness of the ankle joint and affect all age groups. Osteochondritis is caused by a twisting-type injury to the ankle. Symptoms include swelling and ankle pain.
Immobilization of the foot and ankle for a period of time usually resolves the problem. In more severe cases, however, surgery may be prescribed. During the surgery, loose fragments of cartilage and bone are removed from the ankle joint and, in some cases, small drill holes are made in the defect to stimulate new blood vessels and to help form scar tissue that will fill the defect.


text:
Scope, time, and cost management are at the heart of successful project management. This course will give you the tools to develop a project scope, schedule and budget and then status them to predict project performance. Throughout the course, you will learn about change management and techniques to implement it.
By the end of this course you will be able to:
• Create a requirements document
• Create a Project Scope Statement
• Identify ways to control the scope of the project
• Decompose the work and develop work packages
• Create a Work Breakdown Structure
• Develop a Critical Path Schedule
• Review types of cost estimates and identify whether they are "top down or bottom up"
• Review budgets, contingencies and reserves
• Calculate planned and earned values to compare with actual cost
• Perform a cost and schedule analysis
Each week you will prepare a key deliverable for the project plan based on a provided Case Study. These deliverables include:
• Project Scope Statement
• Project Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and WBS dictionary
• Critical Path schedule sequence diagram
• Bar Chart Schedule (Gantt Chart)
• Project Cost Estimate
• Project Status using an Earned Value Calculation
All of this will position you to set up a plan to control your next assignment or your next project whether this is as the project manager or as an area leader.
Rice Center for Engineering Leadership is a Registered Education Provider through the Project Management Institute (PMI)®. Learners who complete this course on the Certificate track will be awarded 14 hours of Profession Development Units. These are recognized by PMI for continuing education or can be applied toward the 35 hours of education required for the Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification.
PMI and PMP are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.
What you will learn
Course Introduction
Project Scope Management
Project Schedule Management
Project Time Management
Cost Estimation


text:
Free Report
Color Oracle
Select the color you find most pleasing.
Pull it into field 1.
1. 3. 5. 7. 9. 11. 2. 4. 6. 8. 10. 12.
Here's how it works:
1. Look at the 25 colors and select the one you find most pleasing right now. Pull this color into the first empty field at the left of the top row.
2.Now select the color that you find most unpleasing right now. Pull this color into the first field at the left end of the bottom empty row.
3. Now look at the remaining colors and again choose the most pleasing and the most unpleasing one and put these into the next empty field of their respective row. Repeat these two steps until all the fields in both rows are filled.
4.When you are finished, click on the button "Continue to Interpretation". Then you will receive an interpretation of your color selections.
5.The interpretation, based on the Color-O-Scope color test by Johannes Schneider, describes your current situation, your personal focus and your behaviors and gives you clues as to how you can deal with these constructively.
From the same author Johannes Schneider comes the Color Horoscope, an interpretation of your birth horoscope combined with elements of color psychology. Here you find your personal, free try-out edition.


text:
A sign now outside the small library at a religious school for girls in Pakistan's capital says the room has been named for a martyr — Osama bin Laden, whose al-Qaida terrorist network was responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that killed more than 3,000 people in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
"For us he was a hero of Islam," a school spokesman tells Agence France-Presse.
The school in Islamabad is run by "hardline cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz, the imam of the city's Lal Masjid (Red Mosque)," according to Pakistan's Dawn newspaper.
In 2007, that mosque was the site of a week-long standoff between armed militants and Pakistani security forces. It came to an end when government forces moved in. More than 100 people died. Afterward, there was a wave of suicide bombings, assassinations and other violence across Pakistan as militants struck back.
Bin Laden was killed by U.S. Navy SEALs in May 2011 during a raid on the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where he had been hiding for several years.
Earlier this week, Fresh Air interviewed New York Times correspondent Carlotta Gall about her new book — The Wrong Enemy: America in Afghanistan, 2001-2014. Here's how the show described that book:
"Highly critical of Pakistan, it offers new information about how Islamabad has helped the Taliban in Afghanistan, and how Pakistan's intelligence agency may have helped Osama bin Laden hide out in Abbottabad, Pakistan."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


text:
12 Best EyeshadowsThe search for the best eye shadow is over; these long-lasting eye makeup winners from Stila, Urban Decay and other eye shadow brands made our readers swoon |
Why it's great: Readers love this product for its smooth, creamy and gentle application. The colors are "vibrant enough to go from day to evening." One delighted reviewer explains, "I love this product because even though it's natural, it also has beautiful depth of color." Plus, the package itself is ultracompact.
Agree? Disagree? Write your review for Jane Iredale PurePressed Eye Shadow Triple here.
Buy Now on Amazon.
*At time of publication
SEE NEXT PAGE: Best Eyeshadow No. 1: M.A.C. Mineralize Eye Shadow (Duo), $22
Older comments
i forgot about l'oreal's hip colors! i loved it so much, i ran out of it fairly quickly n forgot to buy another 1... i will have to get it again soon! also want to try mac, sonia and some other brands is aw on this article... i love eye shadows! great article! :-)
by camigirl Wednesday, April 17, 2013 at 04:38PM Report as inappropriate
i love Clinique eye colour surge, but the best "stay put" eye colour that i own is Chanel
by AstridB Tuesday, April 9, 2013 at 05:36AM Report as inappropriate
MAC eyeshadows are the best
by LittleBunny Tuesday, March 12, 2013 at 08:30AM Report as inappropriate
good read MAC shadows are very good .
by .flawless. Sunday, February 24, 2013 at 04:33AM Report as inappropriate
I love MAC, its awesome. The L'oreal HIP eyeshadows actually aren't that bad. they are a good drugstore brand.
by msbrown822 Saturday, February 23, 2013 at 04:59PM Report as inappropriate
Excellent picks here. However, you missed the creme de la creme--"Five-Color Eyeshadow Palette" by Christian Dior. Whether you choose a designer, iridescent, or "lifting" combination, the colors are gorgeous and the shadows blend like butter. It is nearly impossible to make a mistake with this brand; I think Dior sets the bar for eyeshadow!
by GigiSD Thursday, February 21, 2013 at 02:45PM Report as inappropriate
Urban Decay and Mac are good for sure. I tried the Loreal "HIP", and it was NOT good.
by MissPurple Friday, January 25, 2013 at 01:13PM Report as inappropriate
Urban Decay and MAC are my favorites! I really want to try some NARS shadows too!
by Chris213 Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 07:09AM Report as inappropriate


text:
The waitress, still smiling patiently, brought us another round of frothy cappuccinos, a heart drawn in cocoa on the thick froth of each cup. Clearing away empty glasses of cocktails and stained plates, she asked politely if there was anything else we desired.
After spending hours in the cozy restaurant in South East London there was just one thing we wanted: more time. More time to enjoy the bubbly conversation, to laugh, to gossip and more time to appreciate the company.
A fantastic meal enjoyed in the midst of vivacious friends, some familiar and cherished others new and benevolent . A common bond brought us together, but it is the affection we share for each other that strengthens the friendship.
One of the many highlights I experienced while I was in London in late November last year was a glorious brunch we arranged. We exchanged several mails, actually I think there were almost over 100, it was obvious that we were all excited to see each other. Back and forth they went, mails about where and when to meet, menus, cocktails, food and dietary issues all peppered with some gossip here and there. Some dropped out, only to rejoin us again while others came on board and ultimately we were ready to meet. If the emails were any indication of how the afternoon would proceed, I could safely say we were in for a lot of lively chat and boisterous entertainment.
Finally on the Saturday morning Jeanne, Jamie and I made our way to Village East. The air was crisp and frosty, our stride picking up pace as we walked from the underground station to the restaurant. The separate room we had reserved was cozy and warm, prepped with plates and silverware, inviting us to linger a little longer. Orders of food and drinks were given and the room was filled with cheerful talk and contagious giggles.
Why do the paramount moments in life end so soon?
Gifts were exchanged and the first started to say their farewells. We shall meet again and until then we have other means and platforms to stay in touch and "get together". A glass of wine over Twitter, a movie over Skype or collective cooking via our blogs. We are creative and we find a variety of means to stay connected, even with an ocean between us.
Kavey's creativity with her gifts was simply unique and promised to be a lot of fun. Her bags of spices and herbs were attached with a small note: a challenge to create a dish using the contents of the bag. I held the clear bag in my hands and smiled: lemon pepper. And the first thing that popped into my head was "macarons!"
Experimenting on ideas and playing around with ingredients are something I love to do and macarons for me are the perfect vehicle for my flavor experiments. Not only do the flavors blend effectively but they also impart a distinct essence for me to get an initial idea of how the combinations could work in other dishes.
Here I paired the fiery lemon pepper with the savory notes of goat cheese and a tangy highlight of lemon curd. The results are a complex flavored macaron, which is not too sweet but deliciously piquant with a zingy note. Rounding off this macaron experience are the rich, earthy flavors of ground hazelnuts, which I used instead of the almonds.
Lemon Pepper Hazelnut Macarons with Lemon Curd and Goat Cheese Cream
Printable version of recipe here
For the macaron shells
110g icing sugar
60g hazelnuts, very finely ground
60g egg whites, (about 2 eggs) aged for either 5 days in the fridge, then for 24 hours at room temperature or a little over 24 hours on the countertop
40g granulated sugar
½ teaspoon lemon pepper
Yellow food coloringFor the filling
100g goat cream cheese
175g plain cream cheese
3 tablespoons + 120g lemon curd
2 tablespoons sugar
For the macaron shells
- Prepare your baking tray and baking sheets with a stencil of circles. Draw circles on some baking paper using a (mathematical) compass about 2 cm in diameter. Then place some white parchment paper on the baking tray and flip the baking paper back around. Or use this macaron template.
- In a large mixing bowl mix the egg whites with an electric hand beater (alternatively you can use a stand mixer with the whisk attachment) until it is thick and frothy. Gradually add the granulated sugar, whisking all the while, until the mixture turns into a thick glossy meringue. The consistency of the macaron batter should be similar to hair mousse or shaving foam. Make sure the meringue is not over-beaten or else it will be too dry.
- In a food processor pulse together icing sugar, hazelnuts and lemon pepper until everything is finely ground and powdery. Sift the mixture 2 or 3 times to make sure there are no lumps.
- Place the dry ingredients into a bowl. Add the meringue in three portions, giving it a quick fold using the macronnage technique described in my macaron tips section. Fold the mixture a few times to break the air. Add some of the yellow food coloring till you get the shade of yellow you like best. Continue folding until you get a smooth and supple mixture, thick in consistency so that when you lift the spatula it flows back in thick ribbons. Test a small amount on a plate – should the tops fall back and flatten by themselves then it is ready, if not give it a few more folds.
- Fill a piping bag with a plain tip with the batter and pipe small rounds (2 cm in diameter) on your prepared baking paper. Leave the macarons to rest and dry for about 15 to 30 minutes.
- In the meantime preheat the the oven to 150 degrees C. When the macarons are ready bake the shells for 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Use a flat offset spatula to gently remove the shells from the baking paper and allow to cool further on a rack
For the filling
- Place goat cheese, cream cheese, 3 tablespoons lemon curd and sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk with electric beaters until thick and creamy. Transfer to a piping bag and refrigerate for a few hours.
Assembling the macarons
Pipe a blob of the goat cheese cream mixture onto one of the shells and add a small dollop of lemon curd over the filling. Gently cover with another shell. Continue to do this until you have used up all of the filling and shells.Storing Macarons
If you are not going to be using them right away you can store the shells in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.They freeze well too but it is recommended to freeze them unfilled. To fill them take the shells out of the freezer 48 hours prior to serving and without defrosting fill them. This way the flavors will be allowed to blend as they thaw.
Suggestion: Make your own homemade lemon curd using my delicious and foolproof recipe.
Temperamental and sublime with a a subtle fiery note – these macarons were an awesome flavor experiment. I really liked the variety of layers this offered. It's not your regular very sweet macaron but instead it renders an intricate body of savory flavors accentuated with a sweet note.
Sending many warm wishes to Sarah, Catty, Anne, Kavey, Julia, Michele, Eunice and of course my spice sisters Hilda, Jeanne and Jamie. It was a wonderful afternoon!
After all the sweet we've been indulging here on What's For Lunch, Honey? over the past several weeks, next week I'll be sharing a fantastic German stew to get us warm and cozy. Hope you'll join me!
Have a great weekend!
More macaron ideas from WFLH:
Rooibos Chocolate Chai and Sweet Spicy Chocolate Cinnamon Macarons | Rosewater and Raspberry Macarons | Lebkuchen Spice Macarons with Quince Jam and Candied Ginger |
All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2011 Meeta Khurana Wolff unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First


text:
Special Feature
"It's nice to be in there with somebody that you respect more as a martial artist and somebody that's not just a fighter." - Cole Miller
"Me and you keep having this same interview," laughs Cole Miller when talking about his five year career in the UFC. It's not a belly laugh that you would have after a funny joke, but more of a 'can you believe this?' kind that has him wondering how a fighter with his level of talent sits at 7-4 in the Octagon. "I'm just trying to find some consistency. For every two good performances I put in, another s**t one comes out. What are you gonna do? Just go in there and just do it."
Just biting down on his mouthpiece and going to work may be the best course of action for Miller, who, despite his claims, is one of the more intriguing interviewees in the sport. At this point, coming off a decision loss to Steven Siler in his featherweight debut in March, the Georgia native sounds exasperated about the struggle to maintain the performances he had against the likes of TJ O'Brien, Ross Pearson, and Dan Lauzon while also staying injury-free in the process. And it's a valid concern.
"I've been walking up this mountain for four or five years now," he said. "There's nothing fun about struggle. It's two forces meeting in there and one force trying to come out on top and trying to make a living."
So maybe what happened after his loss to Siler was the best thing for him at this point. He hit the road, he got on a bike, and he hit the water. Yeah, he got back to competing in triathalons.
"I wanted to do something that was fun and get back to having a hobby," he said, proving that he is a true athlete, because few of us couch potatoes would consider triathalons fun or a hobby. When this is pointed out to him, he's quick to explain.
"I'm not doing anything crazy, I'm not doing the Ironman distance. I did four sprint distances, an Olympic and an international distance this season; the sprints take me a little bit over an hour, the international is just over two, and the Olympic is over two and a half. I don't really consider racing for an hour very long."
He said it, not me. Then he chuckles.
"I don't like running, I don't like biking, I don't like swimming – I just kinda like doing all three back to back."
And while there are obvious physical benefits to Miller's "hobby," getting away from the MMA grind for a bit may have been the biggest plus, as he was able to clear his mind and get back on track by the time he received his next fight contract. That fight will be this Saturday against Nam Phan, and like many of Miller's fights, it's a barnburner on paper, but unlike many of those same fights, this time there will be no added heat between the combatants, only a mutual respect.
"It's nice to be in there with somebody that you respect more as a martial artist and somebody that's not just a fighter," said Miller. "So I don't think of it as being better or worse; I would say it's kinda refreshing to go in there with a different attitude."
He pauses before getting down to the heart of the matter, which is no matter whether he likes or dislikes his opponent outside the Octagon, when the bell rings, he's going to try and punch him as hard as he can. And he knows that Phan will do the same to him.
"I know what the deal is – I'm coming off a loss and my back is against the wall and the bottom line is that me and Nam are gonna get nasty in there. We're fighting close to his hometown, he's gonna have a lot of supporters there, and I'm sure he's not trying to lose in front of his people or get another loss in the UFC, and I know that he's trained hard for this and is gonna be bringing his A game. I gotta get in there and get nasty, and he's never been one to shy away from an aggressive game, so we're gonna both move forward, clash in the center, and hopefully it goes good for me."
If it does, the win will be the 28-year old's 19th as a pro, against only six losses. That's an impressive run over the last seven-plus years for sure, but the American Top Team member doesn't think for a minute that he's figured this complex sport out.
"It's not even surprising," he said. "It's really frustrating and it kinda sucks. I'm getting older and I kinda feel like I don't really know anything about the game or about fighting. I feel like I'm making a fresh start over and over again, and that may be a good thing, but because my game is still growing, sometimes you go into the gym and you feel like you've really got it down, but you still might not have it completely down to do it in the fight. So even though you're getting better, it's really kinda hard to grow as a fighter."
The way he explains it, if you neglect your strengths to work on your weaknesses, the weaknesses start to fade away but at the same time your strengths get weaker. It's a push-pull scenario that can drive anyone crazy, and Miller describes it as "a constant war with yourself." But through it all, he stays with it, he perseveres, and he does whatever he needs to in order to win that internal war. Once that's done, he can show off what he's learned in competition, and when it comes down to it, that's what being a martial artist is all about.
Miller admits that the martial arts part of mixed martial arts isn't always at the forefront of the sport these days, and he deals with it the best he can. Again, that's just part of the journey, one that he's not ready to step away from just yet.
"That reward can hit on a small level every time you get in there, and I've had it within my grasp, but I want something more," he said. "I want to win on a consistent basis, I want to work my way up the ladder and I want to work my way up as a martial artist, just like you want to work your way up through life in general. It's just with a different career choice than most other people. I probably could do something else, and you know what, maybe one day I will. Maybe one day soon, maybe one day later. But this is where I put my time in since 2003, so this is all I've been doing, it's what I'm gonna keep doing, and I'm gonna keep trying to hone and perfect my craft as a martial artist, and strive and keep searching for that consistency and perfection."
Suddenly, wins and losses just don't seem that important any more. Sure, this is Cole Miller's job and this is how he pays his bills, but there's always something bigger than what's right on your plate at the present time. He knows it, and you get the feeling that no matter whose hand gets raised at the end of a fight, he's going to find a way to succeed where most wouldn't.
"You're gonna have setbacks in life and things are gonna hold you back, but you just gotta get up and keep going," he said.
Power Slap


text:
I usually write about myself, my family and friends here. I share info about my favorite food, music and movies with you, my dear readers. But today I am going to tell you a story that happened to someone else – Neusa, a coworker of mine.
She was once at her mother-in-law's and was served a beautiful, delicious cake for tea. The cake was on Neusa's mind for a while – that was, for sure, a fantastic dessert. She finally asked her MIL for the recipe. The answer came as a surprise, though: "You must be confused; I have never served such thing. Sorry, but I don't know what you are talking about."
Neusa knew she wasn't confused and she hadn't dreamed the cake either. But some mothers-in-law are not very good at dialogues, and she soon learned that hers fit that bill, even though the woman was an extremely refined person.
We know great things come for those who wait and one day Neusa felt like she had been hit by something – while flipping through one of her cousin's cookbooks, she found a photo of the cake. THAT cake. The "I-have-never-served-you-this-you-must-be-confused" cake. I don't even have to tell you that she got a copy of the recipe and made the cake herself, do I??
She did and the cake was wonderful. Guess what she served her MIL the next time she visited? Oh, vendetta can be such a sweet thing sometimes. :)
Neusa has given me the mission of making the cake, too - a Zuger Kirschtorte. She wants me to spread the word – by posting the recipe here, many people will have access to it, which is something her MIL never intended to happen. Neusa told me that her MIL was born in 1914 and, for many people from her generation, family recipes are precious things that are not supposed to be shared. They are supposed to be prepared and served to guests who will be in awe with the food without ever knowing how to make it.
The recipe on Neusa's book was not as accurate as I expected it to be and it kicked my a** a bit. But I finally got around and made it and I post the recipe as full as details as I possibly can.
She was also kind enough to lend me this absolutely gorgeous plate – a German piece – so I could photograph the cake on a family treasure. See how posh she is – an extremely refined person herself.
Zuger Kirschtorte
Almond meringue:
4 egg whites
120g confectioners' sugar
20g corn starch
100g almond meal/ground almonds
3 eggs, egg whites and yolks separated
3 tablespoons hot water
80g confectioners' sugar, sifted
10g caster sugar
50g all purpose flour
50g corn starch
pinch of baking powder
150g unsalted butter, room temperature
150g confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 egg yolk
50g currant jam – I used blackberry jam
4 tablespoons water
20g caster sugar
120ml kirsch
For sprinkling:
100g almonds, toasted and chopped – I kept the skin to add some color to the cake
70g confectioners' sugar
Start by making the meringue discs: preheat the oven to 160ºC/320ºF. Draw two 25cm (10in) circles in a large piece of parchment/baking paper, on a baking sheet. Generously butter the insides of each circle.
Sift the confectioners' sugar in a small bowl, add the corn starch and almond meal; set aside.
Beat the egg whites until stiff; remove the bowl from the mixer and, using a rubber spatula, delicately fold the reserved ingredients into the egg whites. Spread the mixture inside the circles, leaving 0.5cm of the edges free of meringue – it will spread. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the meringue is golden. Turn off the oven and allow meringue to cool inside, for at least 4 hours (can be made overnight).
Biscuit: preheat the oven to 175ºC/350ºF; butter a 25cm (10in) springform round cake pan (I used one with a removable bottom), line the bottom with baking paper and butter the paper as well.
Using a mixer, beat the egg yolks with the water until thick and light. Add the confectioners' sugar gradually and beat well. Set aside.
Beat the egg whites until stiff; add the caster sugar and beat well. Remove the bowl from the mixer and add the yolk cream to the egg whites. Sift the flour, corn starch and baking powder over the mixture and fold in carefully with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cooked through – the cake will pull apart from the sides of the pan when baked.
Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely.
Buttercream: using a mixer, beat the butter until light and creamy. Add the confectioners' sugar gradually, beating well. Add the egg yolk and jam, beat well until smooth.
Syrup: in a small saucepan, combine water and sugar over medium-high heat until it starts boiling. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Add the kirsch and mix well. Set aside.
Assembling the cake: very carefully, peel the meringue discs off the baking paper and place one of them on a serving plate. Spread 1/3 of the buttercream over the meringue. Place the biscuit cake on top of it and brush it generously with the syrup. Carefully spread 1/3 of the buttercream over the biscuit cake. Cover with the other meringue disc.
Spread the remaining buttercream on the sides of the cake and "stick" the chopped almonds on the cream. Using a sieve, sprinkle the top of the cake with the confectioners' sugar. Draw a criss-cross pattern on the sugar using the back of a knife.
Keep it refrigerated, but serve it at room temperature – the cake gets hard in the fridge.
Recipe from a book by Roland Gööck + a little help from here.


text:
Horses Gallop Run Horse Running Cake Topper Centerpiece Birthday Party Decorations
- Single-sided, back sides with white card stock
- Printed on premium glossy photo paper
- Approx 6-7 inches round
- Attached to wooden picks
- Cake and stand NOT INCLUDED
- Electronically cut to perfection for a seamless look
- Attached to a bamboo skew
*Make sure what type of product you need, DIGITAL is sent to your email. PHYSICAL is shipped to your door.
*Digital File, Provided within 1 business day (often sooner).
For Digital File Download orders
Step 1: Select either Rush! Within 6hrs Download File Only OR Within 24hrs Download File Only on the TURNAROUND TIME drop-down list.
Step 2: Type the NAME and AGE in the PERSONALIZATION box. Once we get all the details, we will create the artwork for your template. We will email the files in PDF and JPEG format.
Step 3: Download the digital file, print it on cardstock paper, cut the pattern, and glue it on a stick.
For SHIPPED-TO-HOME orders
Step 1: Select SHIPPED to Home on the drop-down list.
Step 2: Type the NAME and AGE in the PERSONALIZATION box.
Step 3: We will PRINT, CUT, and GLUE your cake topper on a stick before shipping it to you. Wait until you get the package and enjoy!
Note: Production takes 1-2 business days while shipping takes 2-5 business days depending on the distance.
Type of Image |
Within 24hrs Digital File ONLY, Rusch! Within 6hrs Digital File ONLY, SHIPPED to Home |


text:
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Caramelized Pear and Cranberry Upside Down Cake - Outdoor Wednesday
Bob adores pears and today's post is about our quest for pears and the sights we encountered on our way to an orchard to pick them. This was our first stop. If a man can call his home a castle, I guess it logically follows that a marina can be called a yacht club.
There wasn't a yacht in site, but there were sail boats and other small marine vessels, including the one that appears below.
They were having a great time, but they were in cramped quarters and the boat was riding low in the water.
...and this was the object of our quest. An orchard full of Bartlett pears to make a cake I've been wanting to try.
From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The orchards of local growers are now open and bargain hunters, drawn by the lure of u-pick fruit, have descended on them with a vengeance. Pears and early apples are ripe for the picking and the pears are especially good this year. As usual, I ended up with more fruit than I had intended to pick. This lovely upside down cake with caramelized pears and cranberries is one of the recipes I've used to work my way through the glut. The recipe was developed by Matthew Kennedy. It's one of his signature desserts. The cake is simple, different and delicious. I'll definitely be making it again but I'll replace the vanilla extract with pear brandy and use a brulée torch to create a more defined layer of caramel. My only disappointment was the time spent creating a ring of overlapping pear slices. They weren't discernible in the finished cake. Here's the recipe.
Caramelized Pear and Cranberry Upside-Down Cake...From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite
11 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, divided use
3/4 cup lightly packed golden brown sugar
1/3 cup dried cranberries
2 firm but ripe pears, peeled, halved, cored and cut in 1/8-inch slices
1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups whole milk
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9-inch round cake pan. Set aside
2) Melt 6 tablespoons butter in a saucepan set over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and cook, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Immediately pour into cake pan. Sprinkle cranberries over syrup in cake pan; top with pear slices in an overlapping, circular pattern. Set aside.
3) Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.
4) Cream remaining 1/3 cup butter with sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until just combined. Add vanilla. Add dry ingredients, alternating in thirds with milk and beating until well blended. Pour batter over pears, using a spatula to cover fruit if necessary.
5) Bake cake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until edges are golden and a cake tester inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack, Cool for 5 minutes.
6) Place a serving plate over cake pan; gently invert cake tapping gently to release. Serve warm. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.
This recipe is being linked to Outdoor Wednesday, an event sponsored by Susan at A Southern Daydreamer.
62 comments :
- Amy I. said...
Looks absolutely delicious! U-pick fruit is one of my favorite pastimes and one of my favorite things about living in Oregon. We're lucky enough to have a pear tree in our backyard. Seems like you've gotten a great start to fall already!
- September 9, 2009 at 1:03 AM
- Mary | Deep South Dish said...
Bring fall in - Yum Yum! Love the couple in the little khaki lookin' thingy!
- September 9, 2009 at 1:27 AM
- Fifi Flowers said...
- September 9, 2009 at 1:31 AM
- My Little Space said...
Nobody touch this! It's mine...yeap, it's mine!
- September 9, 2009 at 2:21 AM
- Bits said...
This is so perfect! It must be a mouth watering dessert for all!
- September 9, 2009 at 4:44 AM
- petite nyonya said...
This cake looks truly moist and delicious.
- September 9, 2009 at 4:57 AM
- Alessandra said...
Great recipe, thank you Mary! Can I put your link on my blog list?
Alessandra - September 9, 2009 at 6:51 AM
- JLS Hall (Joysweb) said...
Gosh, those pears look really beautiful, and the cake sounds amazing! I'm gonna have to go check out that "real coffee cake" recipe, too. Have a great Wednesday!
- September 9, 2009 at 7:34 AM
- Martha said...
This looks yummy -- so yummy in fact that I may have to make it today!
- September 9, 2009 at 7:42 AM
- Puna said...
hmmmm Mary. This looks interesting. I've never seen those two ingredients combined before.
- September 9, 2009 at 7:46 AM
- pigpigscorner said...
Beautiful! and the cake looks amazing! I've got to try making upside down cakes!!
- September 9, 2009 at 8:29 AM
- Cathy said...
A beautiful cake, Mary. Bartletts are my favorite and I love cooking with them. Great idea to combine them with cranberries for a little tartness.
- September 9, 2009 at 8:53 AM
- Kathy said...
Thanks for sharing. The picture of the finished cake is so pretty.
- September 9, 2009 at 9:04 AM
- Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...
Great pictures...I would love to have fruit tree's. Maybe one day!
- September 9, 2009 at 9:11 AM
- Bonnie said...
Those pears look wonderful!
- September 9, 2009 at 9:19 AM
- Hootin Anni said...
Oh be still my aching heart! I'm so hungry now, I can eat a horse...and this pear upside down cake......well, I can SMELL it!! Mmmmmmmmmmmmm!
And the Yacht club photos are super Mary. You can't beat a scene like those. - September 9, 2009 at 10:09 AM
- Jamie said...
My husband is the pear lover here and he loves upside down cakes! This would be perfect! Looks wonderful!
- September 9, 2009 at 10:21 AM
- Mary Bergfeld said...
Alessandra I would be honored, especially after seeing you beautiful blog.
- September 9, 2009 at 10:22 AM
- Kathleen said...
That looks wonderful..No U Pick pears here..apples, at 23 dollars for a 20 lb bag...low bush, many varieties, but not cheap...
- September 9, 2009 at 11:58 AM
- theUngourmet said...
Love the pear and cranberry combination. Lovely cake!
- September 9, 2009 at 12:21 PM
- Shellbelle said...
I would love to make this to take to my aunt's in Georgia for Thanksgiving this year. Now, if I can only find some decent pears.
Love the little dinghy photo! - September 9, 2009 at 12:45 PM
- noble pig said...
I really want to go pear picking, the cake looks amazing too. Very nice.
- September 9, 2009 at 12:49 PM
- The Blonde Duck said...
That looks wonderful! Absolutely delicious!
I'm so ready for fall. - September 9, 2009 at 1:25 PM
- figtree said...
YUM! Can a dessert get any better than this???????????????? Figtreeapps
- September 9, 2009 at 1:38 PM
- Maria Berg said...
Tomato Jam - and I had tomatoes chocolate. My father new wife usually make green tomatoes in acid..something and it it in winter time.
Pear we have one tree but it is small and only a few of them.
I do not know If I would like this one, MB. - September 9, 2009 at 1:43 PM
- My name is Riet said...
Such lovely pictures. I don't dare read your delicious recipies . I try to loose a few kilo's. Have a nice day and thank you for your visit.
- September 9, 2009 at 1:57 PM
- Pam said...
This looks delicious even if the overlapping pears didn't show up. I love those u-pick orchards.
- September 9, 2009 at 2:21 PM
- aspiritofsimplicity said...
Oh my word that looks so good. I'm going to have to try it. It looks like a pleasant change from cranberries and apples.
- September 9, 2009 at 2:26 PM
- Love Bears All Things said...
That looks like a paddle boat and it does look over loaded.
The cake looks delicious.
Mama Bear - September 9, 2009 at 2:41 PM
Each time I visit your blog you make me mouth watering. your recipes seem all delicious. - September 9, 2009 at 2:41 PM
- Signing Out said...
Wow, does that look gorgeous! I think you need to have your own show on The Food Network!
Jane - September 9, 2009 at 3:02 PM
Oh my gosh, that cake looks wonderful. You didn't need to spend your time overlapping the pears, it would look great if you just randomly placed them.
- September 9, 2009 at 3:08 PM
- Stayathomemommy said...
I love all the boats! The cake looks absolutely scrumptious. Have a great day.
- September 9, 2009 at 3:23 PM
- Diers Eve said...
As usual that looks just yummy!!!
Thanks for sharing. Have a great day,
Val - September 9, 2009 at 3:59 PM
- Ebie said...
Hi Ms Mary, I love your taste test kitchen! You always have some way of making it taste better, if not the best. Love the photos especially the couple.
I hope to go for the raspberries when I am able.
Thanks for sharing. - September 9, 2009 at 4:00 PM
- ❀~Myrna~❀ said...
I love this post . The pics are great.I love upside down cakes ,this is one recipe I must try. ;-) It looks sooo good!!!
Thanks for stopping by.
~Myrna - September 9, 2009 at 4:03 PM
- SmilingSally said...
Just the title of this recipe has my mouth watering.
- September 9, 2009 at 4:32 PM
- bj said...
Dearest Mary, i am as thrilled when you stop by as I would be of Julia Child dropping in..(well, when she was alive!!:O)Thanks so much for taking the time. I also feel a little intemidated because what I cook is farm food...what you cook is delectable food. I love coming over to see just what you have for us each time.
This cake sounds sooooo good. And, how pretty it is. Thanks for the recipe....
xo bj - September 9, 2009 at 5:26 PM
- storyteller said...
Oh YUM! Having just returned a while ago from my morning class and finished lunch, I could go for some dessert ... and THIS looks most tempting. Loved the 'search' photos too. Thanks for your visit to Happily Retired Gal and your kind words. I am having a lovely day, thanks. Hope YOU are too ;--)
Hugs and blessings, - September 9, 2009 at 5:34 PM
- Lori E said...
Mary this is what I love about your site. Pointing out the work involved in arranging the pears that doesn't even pay off in the end.
Lots of people don't try things just because of the work that would be involved.
You just cut the work in half. - September 9, 2009 at 5:47 PM
- Jean Stockdale said...
Thank you for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment. I am so glad to meet you online! What a fabulous cook (or chef may be the better term!) you are. Your cake is gorgeous and I can only imagine how good it tasted. Thanks for sharing. blessings.
- September 9, 2009 at 5:59 PM
- Cindy (Applestone Cottage) said...
OH Mary,
That looks so so good! You are an awesome cook! Cindy - September 9, 2009 at 6:19 PM
- penny said...
Hi Mary, this post reminds me of the big old pear tree in my grandmothers back yard. As children we would gather all the pears that fell on the ground and she would make pickled pear relish.
I think I like your receipt better :)
Nice photo journey to the marina too. - September 9, 2009 at 6:51 PM
- Marsha said...
I have never seen a pear tree and what a fun experience picking your own must have been. The two guys under the slow wake sign sure made me smile and the gorgeous cake sure made me hungry! Thanks for sharing!
- September 9, 2009 at 7:05 PM
Love your Outdoor post...so cute...And the pears look delicious...Sound like the cake is yummy...Katherinellen - September 9, 2009 at 7:14 PM
- Pam said...
I love fresh picked pears - they are the best. Your cake looks so delicious, I could eat a few slices.
- September 9, 2009 at 7:25 PM
- Brenda Pruitt said...
Oh, wish you lived around here. We had tons of pears on one little tree. And we don't like pears! Gave them to the neighbors.
Brenda - September 9, 2009 at 7:37 PM
- jeanne said...
Hello Mary, Your journey to find pears and apples was a very interesting one. I would love to pick that wonderful fruit. I too would get carried away. We once picked sweet cherries in Traverse City MI. They are famous for their cherries, all kinds. I picked so many it took me two days to make black cherry preserves. I had so many pint jars I was giving it away for a year.
The cake looks delicious. I would like to try making it. Thanks for the recipe.
Hugs...Jeanne - September 9, 2009 at 8:10 PM
- ellen b. said...
Oh girl...you are welcome to come pick the pears off my tree in Washington State...I'm always looking for people to give them away to :0)
- September 9, 2009 at 8:42 PM
- La Cuisine d'Helene said...
That must be so nice to pick your own pears. Love the pitures.
- September 9, 2009 at 9:51 PM
- Miller Racing Family said...
I totally love the photos. I love the photo of the couple in the little boat, how cute. The photo of the pears are beautiful. Thanks for stopping by my blog today and have a fabulous OW!
- September 9, 2009 at 10:37 PM
- Tracey said...
The cake looks so delicious! I love all of your recipes that you post.
Thanks for stopping by my blog today for a visit. Since I am in the southwest, my growing season will last through the winter. If you get a chance, stop by again as I just posted a giveaway. - September 9, 2009 at 10:46 PM
- Lisa @ Fern Creek Cottage said...
Looks like a fun day! I loved going fruit picking with my family when I was a kid and now I am able to take my boys. Fresh is always best! The cake looks wonderful!
- September 10, 2009 at 12:34 AM
- Pauline said...
Mmm, you make me miss eating Bosc and Bartlett pears! My favorite! I love them when they're practically overripe. That is when they become a waterfall of juice with each bite.
Thanks for the comment on my veggie empanadas! It's so flattering to hear that you will make it for you and Bob! - September 10, 2009 at 2:27 AM
- Katy ~ said...
I miss living along the coast (opting for the hills at this time in my life, instead). Your pictures re so crystal clear and beautiful.
And speaking of beautiful, your cake sounds perfect for the season (or any season, grins). I like the idea of the pear brandy.... - September 10, 2009 at 4:40 AM
- Amy said...
This recipe looks absolutely terrific. My husband is a pear lover. I've got to try this and surprise him!!! Thank you!
- September 10, 2009 at 7:44 AM
- Anita@Theycallmejammi said...
This cake looks delicious and I'm looking forward to trying the recipe. Thanks for dropping by my blog and for your kind comments.
- September 10, 2009 at 12:19 PM
Mary, I love pears! and it's that time of year! I am definitely going to make this.
I have a lovely pear pie recipe I put together a month ago. The recipe, if you're interested, is on the Cooking With Jules section of my blog!
Bon appetit' - September 11, 2009 at 4:53 AM
- Deb in Hawaii said...
Such gorgeous pears and a delicious-looking cake too.
- September 11, 2009 at 5:46 AM
- Witchcrafted Life said...
How scrumptious and timelessly soothing (upside down cakes of all manner being great comfort foods) this very autumn appropriate recipe sounds.
Thank you very much for your lovely comment, my dear, it's a joy to make your acquaintance!
♥ Jessica - September 12, 2009 at 1:20 AM
- Glamorous G said...
Thank you for posting. I made it with fresh cranberries, and just made it in the cast iron skillet I melted the butter in. It came out perfectly. Great recipe!
- October 29, 2011 at 3:29 PM
- Glamorous G said...
Thank you for this awesome recipe. I made it with fresh cranberries, and put it in an iron skillet. So super great!
- October 29, 2011 at 3:31 PM