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Steelers Coach Tomlin Upset Villanueva Refused To Join In Trashing USA
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin held a press conference after his team lost to the Chicago Bears, an outcome that, given the pathetic and disgusting manner in which they conducted themselves regarding the National Anthem, many new Steeler haters had hoped for.
After a brief discussion of some of the events during the game, including an official review of what he described as "an okwert play," Tomlin is asked about all but one member of his team hiding out in the tunnel while the National Anthem was being played.
The reporter asks, "Mike, was it your decision not to come out for the anthem and what was your thinking with that?" The "powerless" head coach replied in typical NFL buck-passing form, "No, it wasn't my decision. Like most teams in the National Football League, we didn't ask for this."
Really, Mike? So who forced you not to discipline your disruptive players, to allow them to engage in inappropriate conduct on the field if it wasn't you and the rest of your inept, complicit management? You most certainly asked for it and got more than what you expected in return. You can't pass this off on anyone else.
It began with "hands up don't shoot" in St. Louis after Ferguson when the coward Jeff Fisher let his Rams team turn into an unruly mob of political agitators and has continued escalating ever since. You most certainly asked for it, in many regards you've enabled it and begged for it.
Tomlin says that it was his position not to allow politics to divide them so rather than prohibit the extraneous activities outside of the norm, he intended to force those who didn't want to be disrespectful to their nation to do so anyway.
Unfortunately for him, he had a three tour Afghanistan war Veteran Army Ranger for a starting left tackle, Alejandro Villanueva. He wasn't going to hide in the tunnel and therefore, neither could the anonymity-seeking coward Tomlin and his band of America-haters.
Tomlinson said, "I asked the football players, we're a football team, [for those of us thinking this was NASCAR] if many of them felt like something needed to be done. I asked those guys to discuss it and whatever we discussed that we have a hundred percent participation or we do nothing. They discussed it for an appropriate length of time, they couldn't come to an understanding, so they chose to remove themselves from it."
Hold on there, coward Mike, removing themselves "from 'it,'" the playing of the National Anthem, is doing something, and you said you weren't going to do anything unless you had 100% agreement, which you did not have. Ranger Villanueva didn't agree to disrespect his country so that means you should have stuck with plan "A," just play football like you did a couple of years ago, before Obama and Holder stirred all of this garbage up.
Many of them were "not going to accept the words of the President," says Tomlin, who clearly agrees with their decision and likely, as the coach, played a role in arriving at it. His words "we decided to sit it out" belie his claims of not being involved.
The reporter addresses the fact that Villanueva came out of the tunnel, with Tomlin cutting him off and stating, "Like I said, I was looking for a hundred percent participation, we was going to be respectful of our football team." [As they disrespected our nation and those who fought for it]
He then plays the "Aw shucks, I'm just a football player not a politician card," as he and his comrades around the league engage in manipulating their position in professional sports into the creation of an unwelcome, unwanted and inappropriate political venue.
He says "We're not politicians, we're coaches and professional athletes. [who want to have our cake and eat it too] And if those of us or individuals choose to, you know, choose to participate in politics in some way, I'm going to be supportive of that but when we come out of locker rooms, man, we come out of locker rooms to play football games and, to be quite honest "wit chu" man, I didn't appreciate our football team being drug into politics this weekend."
Maybe you should have manned up, been a leader, and told your football players to put the external influences aside and concentrate on what they're paid to do. Who knows, you might even have won if the leadership had been there and the distractions eliminated.
Tomlin makes excuses based upon the platform, and the irresistible urge to stick their noses where they don't belong and the pressure being applied as just too much for them to overcome. Again, get a coach who can run a team if it's too big of a job for you, Coward Mike. Can anyone imagine Mike Ditka, Bill Cowher or Don Shula putting up with this nonsense? Not for a minute.
He rambles on about protecting those who want to agitate as well as those who don't with clearly no idea what he's doing, what he's done or any planning for the future. Tomlin's no better at covering up for forcing his own agitation and racism on his team than he is for making excuses for theirs. The Steelers have a serious leadership problem as does the rest of the league. Putting unqualified people into positions like this is a breeding ground for chaos. The NFL is in chaos.
Thank you for reading and sharing my work – Please look for me, Rick Wells at https://www.facebook.com/RickRWells/, https://gab.ai/RickRWells, https://plus.google.com/u/0/+RickwellsUs and on my website http://RickWells.US – Please SUBSCRIBE in the right sidebar at RickWells.US – not dot com, and also follow me on Twitter @RickRWells.
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Bonnie Schwartz Boasts Fiscal Cognizance & Tireless Dedication
I am writing to support the reelection of Bonnie Schwartz for Pound Ridge Town Councilwoman. We first met about 15 years ago when our daughters began kindergarten at PRES and volunteered for PTA/classroom projects. Bonnie's ability to foster cooperation and motivate people was immediately evident. Years later, when she volunteered as assistant coach of our daughters' softball team, these talents were on display again. We have worked together organizing social events and philanthropic endeavors, benefiting Pound Ridge families experiencing difficult circumstances. In every instance, Bonnie exhibited exceptional leadership and organizational skills.
The outcome invariably improves with Bonnie involved. Always fiscally prudent, she is adept at finding simple solutions for the issue at hand. As councilwoman, she implemented the installation of automatic thermostats in both the Town Hall and Conant Hall to reduce fuel/electricity costs. Additionally, Bonnie enacted the policy of charging out-of-town attendees to defray the expenses of the July 4th fireworks show.
Bonnie's tireless commitment to Pound Ridge is reflected in the numerous town organizations to which she volunteers her time. During the last 8 years she has actively volunteered for the Lions Club serving as the organization's president for the last five years. She's been involved in the town's Office of Emergency Management since 2007, our Recreation Department since 1999. The list of beneficiaries of her selfless efforts is endless.
Bonnie loves our town, so appreciative of its many wonderful qualities. She has been advocating patronage of our shops here long before "buying local" became a movement. She is "Ms. Pound Ridge" and can always be spotted in Scotts Corners or jogging through one of our neighborhoods. The sight of her joyfully figure skating on the Town Park pond without another soul in sight, as I drove by one cold winter night, is permanently etched in my memory.
On November 7, please join me in voting for Bonnie Schwartz and her team of Lyman-Marchetti-Damascus.
Camille Prisco, Pound Ridge
She loves Pound Ridge and wants to share love with everyone
To the Editor:
It's no secret that Bonnie Schwartz is my friend. You can see us together on the bike path to town or gabbing in the aisles of the Market. Bonnie and I discuss many things. I have begun to realize that most of our chatting involves how to fully enjoy Pound Ridge. She keeps me abreast of important events in town like the 9/11 ceremony and events at the town pool. She isn't doing this because of her current position as town councilwoman. She has always done this and will always do this. She wants everyone to get the full Pound Ridge experience. And its not just "her" Pound Ridge. She is just as enthusiastic about the road race as she is about senior citizen lunches. She knows the whole range of Pound Ridge and champions all of it. This is expressed in her hard work in so many levels of town government and volunteerism in town.
If you haven't met Bonnie, just say hello to her; she is never at a loss for words, even while handing out supplies during storm emergencies. She can't help herself. She loves Pound Ridge and wants to share that with everyone. Lucky for us she has intelligence and experience and is willing to do that for another term. Vote for Bonnie.
Evelyn Carmichael, Pound Ridge

subset: commoncrawl


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How come you compare the returns of the Rule Breaks to the S&P when it has a risk profile like the small caps. Wouldn't it be more honest to compare it to Russell 2000 or S&P small cap index? Could you do so in this thread for transparency?
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It's entirely possible that I've been staying up too late this week. After leaving the lab at the end of the day, I'll head home to binge on the political drama House of Cards, the third season of which was dumped onto our Netflix queues last Friday.
|They'd be better off just going to bed. (Tumblr)
Since the first episode of the show, I've been pretty appalled by the Underwoods' poor sleep habits. In the spirit of Sleep Awareness Week, here are three simple sleep hygiene rules that Frank and Claire would be wise to follow.


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Dana Goldstein notes that there appears to be a massive backlash from state NARAL chapters and major financial supporters against the group's decision to endorse Barack Obama. National NARAL seems to have gotten too clever by half here. They essentially endorsed Obama in an Obama-McCain race, which would have been a non-story, but by jumping the gun by a couple of weeks thought they could earn themselves some brownie points and get some attention.
But it got attention, of course, because the timing made it a bit of a shivving of Hillary Clinton even though in the real world they waited until after Clinton had dropped well below the threshold of viability. And now people are mad. At the end of the day, this seems to be a situation where a little less clever PR and a little more education and outreach could have done some work — it's clear that many of Clinton's fans genuinely don't understand that it's not possible for her to make up the ground she needs to and view efforts to get her to drop out as unfair efforts to rig things for Obama.


text: "The Adopted Life" is a new pilot webseries by transracial adoptee, Angela Tucker, who invites young pre-teen and teenage children to talk about identity, life, and adoption (amongst other things). If you are interested in being on the show and sharing your voice with Angela, please fill out the form below. If you are under the age of 18, we will need to confirm the consent of your parent or legal guardian.


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Share the gift of nature during your party and beyond with this tabletop arrangement. In this episode of Houzz TV, plant designer Baylor Chapman explains how to quickly create a living centerpiece for your dining room gatherings.
Plus, at the end of the night, you can take it apart and send your guests home with little plant gifts.Short on time? It's still possible to pull together a wow-worthy table arrangement that suits your party style. Create one of these inspiring ideas in five minutes or less.
A living centerpiece is made up of living potted plants. With minimum care, you can have a centerpiece that will last for months.
When you're finished with the centerpiece, take it apart and keep the plants for house plants or incorporate them into outdoor planters.


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Next is one of the UK's most popular fashion retailers – stocking its own brand coveted by millions of people.
Vangarde's Next also features an impressive home department, which features everything you'll need for all rooms in the house. With a dedicated team to help you design your perfect home, Next is the place to ensure your home is the envy of others.
Opening Times
Monday – Friday 9am – 8:30pm
Saturday 8.30am – 7pm
Sunday 11am – 5pm (10:30am – 11am browsing)
Summer bank holiday (Monday 26 August) 9am-7pm
Telephone: 01904 557550
Store Website: http://www.next.co.uk/


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Unbeing Dead Isnt Being Alive: InsideOut Health & Sports
{by Hailey Sadler & InsideOut Team}
Something inspiring would be a very nice way to start this blog. Something to convince you that healthy living is a vital commitment, which you ought to make in your life. But then, I realized, you probably already know this. I mean, I know it, and a Chick-Fil-A sandwich with two packages of sauce oozing down the sides still gets my mouth watering faster than a spinach smoothie [although Rebecca Florio, our Health & Sports writer will probably be able to convince us otherwise!]. The problem isn't knowing. It's doing. So I'm not going to try to persuade you of something you already know about, and know you should do. Instead, this blog's purpose is to offer encouragement and insight into actually doing it. Actually living healthily. Living vibrantly alive.
Accordingly, to jump right in… what are 7 things you can do this fall to jumpstart a healthier lifestyle? As school and schedules pick up and life gets a little bit crazy, it can be more difficult to make good choices but here are some ideas to get us started…
- Challenge yourself to make a healthy dessert. With so many bakers in our house, it's pretty much sweet tooth central around here. It can be challenging to find healthy substitutes that don't trigger the "what did you put in here?!" response, but try digging around in cook books or browsing for recipes online and see what you find. Or tinker with a favorite and experiment with how you can make it a little bit better for you. Of course, if you find something fabulous, be sure to share it with all of us here!
- Try a new sport. See what's available around you and sign up for something you've never done before. Running, basketball, soccer, tennis, golf…. stretch yourself.
- Sign up for a race. Nothing motivates you to lace up your shoes and hit the pavement like the knowledge that in a month or two you will be doing this amidst a host of other athletes in front of crowds other people. Even if you've never run before, pick a distance, grab some shoes and go for it. I promise you running is one of the most rewarding things you will ever try.
- Get creative with salad making: think of those lettuce leaves as a blank green slate. Skip the ranch and try a fall themed salad with craisins and walnuts, topped with roasted butternut squash. And don't forget the warm vinaigrette.
- Set aside time to do something active. Purposefully schedule a time in the afternoon to close your computer, take a break from schoolwork or whatever it is that consumes you, and enjoy an activity. Ride your bike, go for a walk, play a sport, do push ups [if you can… don't ask me about that.] Or maybe run around with your siblings instead of just playing referee. For you study-aholics [not me of course] a break for physical exertion of some sort will actually increase your productivity!
- Get new music. If you're cross training, strength training, running, walking, or working out in some other fashion, a new playlist can sometimes be the best thing to get you going. Pick somebody or some band that gets you're blood pumping, spend the money, then plug in and turn up the tunes.
- Take the focus off you. This is not about us, or our image… because God has called us to seek after something different – His image. That turns our whole view of health, fitness, and outward appearance upside down and inside out. These things are not an end in themselves; they are a launching pad for the greater things He will do through you and in your life.
So let's enjoy this amazing gift of life that He has given each of us; let's take advantage of every adventure that comes our way. Let's eat healthy [and still make time for ice cream.] Let's run and not care how fast we are. Let's play hard and not worry if we don't win. [Hmm… scratch that. Let's do our best to win, but still try to smile when we don't! Ok, so I might be a little bit competitive…] Let's cook creatively and not be afraid to throw away those whole grain and spelt muffin failures. Let's go outside and spin around until we fall down for no reason except that we feel like it.
He came that we may have life, and have it abundantly [John 10:10]. Let's live like we believe that. Let's live life with vibrance.


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The Occupied Wall Street Journal came out of Zuccotti/Liberty Square in the Fall of 2011. I was one of the editors. It was a free paper for free people that filled a place that the mainstream media couldn't fill. We printed the OWSJ five times locally each with a distribution of 100,000 and once nationally – in San Francisco, Houston and Chicago. All editions were translated into Spanish, French, Greek and Arabic. Contributors included well-known writers such as Rebecca Solnit, Barbara Kingsolver, Cornel West, Chris Hedges and Matt Taibbi.
You can download the paper here or follow our news updates on facebook here.


text: design punch 4 Posted July 15 Hi, After working with publisher for a while I found 3 little things in camparison to Indesign, which would make type setting work easier und faster ... maybe such wishes could be considered for a later update version? Thanks in advance for noticing it. 1. In text mode, if the blinking cursor is on the text frame (e.g. left of the first letter or on first space in an empty line), it is almost invisible (depending on the zoom level). Comparing to Indesign, their cursor has more width (or the outline of text frame is thinner). The blinking cursor should be made more visible ... 2. I'm using the keys Alt+PgDwn and Alt+PgUp to move through the pages. Unfortunatly it needs a click by click to switch a page ahead or back. If an automatic scroll through all the pages would be possible, while just staying on the keys Alt-PgDwn etc., this would be very helpfull especially for large documents (imaging a 200-500 pages document!). 3. A great speed up in workflow would be: holding the Alt-key while in Textmode (T-text tool ON) the handtool should be ON temporarily (means dragging around the page or spread on the screen). 1 A_B_C reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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The hydrating properties of coconut oil are well known and this is the reason that Onnit chose to create its Body Wash with coconut oil as the backbone. There are no added chemical fragrances or colours, just essential oils and elements of Eucalyptus, Cinnamon, and Bergamot.
This product is completely biodegradable and involves no animal testing, so it's just pure, natural, hydrating clean, in more ways than one.
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1. My kids are watching Charlotte's Web. I have no idea what the movie or book is about. Am I the only over 30 person to make it through adolescence without reading or seeing it?
2. I tweaked my knee at Breakout and it's bothering me a lot. Of course, it's been carrying too much extra weight for 10 years.
3. I've had nightmares that woke me up the last two nights. The first time I dreamed there was a snake in the bed and I jumped out of bed. This isn't the first time this has happened so Karen knew to just tell me it was a dream and that everything was okay. Of course, I was just standing there half asleep and hyperventilating. Last night, I dreamed that my kids and some others were riding on the backs of two crocodiles. Apparently this was safe, but then Drake fell off and was about to be eaten by a third one when I woke up in a cold sweat. Snakes and spiders have woke me up before, but that's the first time a dream about my kids has. What do these dreams say about me?
4. I'm not scared of the dark. I'm scared of what could be lurking in the dark.
5. There is a conversation I have to have this weekend. I've never had a conversation like this before and I am a bit scared. It's an important one and I trust God will be in it. It is a good conversation to have and I believe God will reveal his will through it.
6. Drake is up from his nap and getting into stuff so I'm off!


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Friday Night Fights: Boom! - Round 3: Skyjacked!
Although I'm jumping in a little late--2 rounds late, in fact--, I'm back for Spacebooger's latest FNF bout titled "Friday Night Fights: Boom!" Our host's unique ground rule: Each fight must feature an onomatopoeia!
When I first saw that ground rule, one name immediately sprang to mind: Marshall Rogers.
To help you understand why, allow me to present tonight's aerial altercation from Detective Comics #467, written by Bob Rozakis, inked by Terry Austin. and penciled by the aforementioned Mr. Rogers himself.
Synopsis: An atomic energy plant just outside of Hawkman's home of Midway City has suffered an overload and is on the verge of exploding, and our Winged Wonder is transporting the one atomic scientist who can prevent the explosion.
Or so he thinks.
I've always felt that the revamp Brad Meltzer gave the Calculator in Identity Crisis was a giant step down. Ol' Calc went from a villain who could use his computer keyboard suit to do--well--anythng....to Oracle's evil counterpart.
The Winged Wonder doesn't quite make it before...
Now that's what I'm talking about!
The fight music for tonight's flying fracas comes from the Cathy Richardson Band.
For more sky-high skirmishes, click here. And don't forget to vote!


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Once again NephJC is proud to have transplant recipient and patient advocate Kevin Fowler present his views on the safety of kidney donation for our NephJC discussion.
The subject of living donation is deeply personal to me. Next to my wife and our two children, the greatest gift I have received in my life is my living donation kidney. Through my donor Christine's selfless act of love, she restored my health, and enabled me to have a preemptive kidney transplant. @@Because of her powerful decision, I have been able see our children grow up@@, and I have worked every day since 2004.
Christine also healed me emotionally. Let me explain how. During the span of 18 months in 1986-1987, we lost half of our family. While on dialysis and never smoking, my mom developed lung cancer and died at the young age of 52. Just 18 months later, my sister Carol graduated from college, and one month later she was killed by a drunk driver. She was only 23 years old. For my Dad, my sister, Joanne, and me our life was in ruins. Emotionally, we were devastated.
Fast forward to 2004, and I was notified by my transplant team that my renal function decline was accelerating, and that it was time to schedule my transplant and find a living donor. My wife, Kathy, developed a communication strategy that informed our friends of our situation. The implementation of this strategy and conversations I had with friends resulted in 14 people offering to be living donors. Every time I think of this generosity of spirit, I become emotional.
In the United States, there is a concerted and coordinated effort to increase living kidney donation to increase the supply of available organs for kidney transplantation. While I am supportive of this effort, this article brings up an important point. Does the transplant community fully understand the long-term risks of living kidney donation? The authors of this study should be applauded by comparing a healthy cohort of patient vs living donors.
As has been suggested by members of the transplant community, the best approach to understanding long-term risks to donors is to have a living donor registry. An investment in a registry would answer many questions and help make the best decisions possible. For that matter, the US still needs a transplant registry such as the one used in Australia and New Zealand, anzdata.org.au.
Although my donor faced many challenges to donating her kidney, she still persevered. Her employer was completely unsupportive of her donation efforts. She was forced to take unpaid leave which would have resulted in the lost of thousands of dollars. Fortunately, my family and friends donated money that covered her lost income. Even without my this support, Christine still would have gone forward with the donation even if cost her financially. Think about that for a moment.
This article underscores a larger issue of donor recognition, both living and deceased. The donors are true heroes who have made great sacrifices in order that others may live. For far too long, they have not received the proper support they have earned. I have made two recommendations to protect living donors:
- Living Donor Registry: If the strategy to solve the kidney donation demand is living donation, then a living donor registry is needed. It would help guide decision making and protect the health of living donors
- Living Donation Act: I support the Living Donor Protection Act (H.R. 5263) introduced by Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), along with Representative Michael Burgess, MD (R-TX) to promote organ donation and protect the rights of living donors. This bill prohibits insurance companies from denying or limiting life, disability and long term care insurance and from charging higher premiums to living organ donors. The bill also clarifies that living organ donors may use time granted through the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to recover from transplant surgery and finally, the bill directs the department of Health and Human Services to add information on these new protections to its materials to encourage more Americans to consider living donation.
I would love to hear your response to my recommendations.


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If you're choosing and evaluating Content Management Systems (CMSs) you have to take into account a number of different factors to find the most suitable software that's will work for your organisation and circumstances. Depending on your requirements, an evaluation may need to be quite detailed. For example on a recent client project I evaluated a number of CMSs on nearly sixty different criteria!
Compared to CMSs which are chiefly geared towards creating websites, intranet CMSs have their own must-have features, strengths and nuances. You'll want to make sure that your CMS has a portfolio of capabilities that in turn can make sure your intranet:
- is flexible and scalable
- delivers relevant and impactful experiences for all staff
- enables employees to get things done and complete tasks
- drives efficiency and productivity
- facilitates connections, colloboration and community-building
- supports goals around employee engagement and organisational culture
Ten essential features
Often there are some specific core capabilities and features within an intranet CMS which are integral to delivering all the above.
Recently I was invited by DNN Software to lead a webinar on ten essential capabilities of an intranet CMS, where I covered some of these "core" features that a successful intranet CMS needs. I argued there were:
- Personalisation for content targeting
- Configurable templates right out of the box
- Easy tools for creating and editing content
- Workflow for content retrieval and approval
- Tools for findability
- Great employee directory and profiles
- Social engagement with content
- Communities and related social tools
- Great mobile experience
- Top notch metrics dashboard
If you're interested the webinar deck is now up on Slideshare. This includes a checklist with some more details about each of the features.
Of course evaluating the right CMS is also not just about capabilities. It's also about:
- Technical fit
- Security and risk requirements
- Cost
- Vendor chemistry and stability
- Extent of partner and developer network
- Self-sufficiency and ease of use
- Ability for customisation and integration
- Flexibility and scalability
- Ability to meet your specific requirement
It's also important to look at your CMS requirements in the wider context of your digital toolset, applications, and skill set within your organisation. For example, although findability tools within your CMS are important, the best approach to meet the more sophisticated search needs of your users (important in some industries) may well lie in a separate search application, which will require a different skill-set to set up than your CMS. You may then want to integrate more systems into that search. A hat-tip to Martin White for pointing this out.
Similarly, a good intranet CMS may meet some needs around delivering great online communities, but more formal collaboration for projects usually requires a different tool.
In other words, if your intranet CMS of choice has some excellent features but doesn't deliver a solution which truly meets all your user needs, it may need to be supplemented by other applications.
What I've definitely found is that one size doesn't fit all. It's worth spending the time to research the market, doing your homework, and finding the right intranet CMS for you.


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Whether you're looking for that whimsical feel to your wedding photography or just want a softer edge for family portraits, creating dreamy photos combines an understanding of the right shooting conditions and techniques, with some in-the-know post-processing. From working with that magical "golden hour" light to tweaking your shots in Lightroom, here are 6 ways to capture dreamy photos.
1.Shoot when the natural light is at its softest
The soft tones and warm ambiance of the "golden hour", when the sun makes its final approach towards the horizon, is the ideal time for capturing dreamy photos. While the rich lighting of sunrise can also have similar results, starting your shoot an 1 1/2 - 2 hours before sunset gives you time to experiment before the most atmospheric and creative lighting conditions set in.
2.Position your subjects
Positioning your subjects with the sun either in front or behind them can create distinctly different shots. Front lighting their faces will see them illuminated with naturally warm tones, while back lighting them against the low setting sun gives a rich glow around your subjects.
3.Selectively angle your shots
Even slight changes in the way you angle your shots can create drastically contrasting photos, particularly if you are backlighting at sunset. If you angle your camera just right, you will get a magical, rim lighting glow around your subjects, and if you let the sun directly hit your lens, a rainbow flare will illuminate the scene.
4.Have your subjects wear light colored clothes
While having your subjects in bold, brightly colored clothes will automatically draw the viewers attention, light colors will work with the whimsical theme of the shoot and let the light work its magic. Soft pastels and earthy tones are ideal when capturing dreamy photos, while whites create an ethereal effect.
5.Select an open, airy space
The open space of a grassy field or deserted beach is ideal for capturing dreamy photos, with natural breezes giving life to your images and an unobstructed setting for the sunset light to shine through.
6.Post-process with the Santorini Preset Collection
Creating dreamy photos is as much about post-processing as it is about shooting, and the Santorini Preset Collection allows you to do just that with one simple click. Enhance your color tones, soften skin and remove yellow casts, all whilst adding a golden-hour sunlight overlay to your images.
With the opportunity to step outdoors into the natural environment and work with the rapidly changing light, capturing dreamy photos is a great way to test your creative potential. Shooting in uncontrolled conditions doesn't always produce perfect results, however, but with a few post-processing adjustments, the results can be magical.Follow my blog with Bloglovin


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- American Airlines filed an application on Monday to start nonstop Chicago O'Hare - Beijing service, to start on March 25, 2009. (This isn't the first time American has tried to do this - a few months ago it filed a similar petition but failed because it couldn't agree with its pilots on work rules for the rather long flights.)
- Continental Airlines wants to fly between Newark and Shanghai starting on March 25, 2009.
- Delta Air Lines applied for Atlanta-Beijing and Atlanta-Shanghai service.
- MAXjet quietly filed for Seattle-Shanghai service, with a continuing flight from Seattle to Los Angeles.
- Northwest Airlines wants to fly Detroit-Beijing and Detroit-Shanghai.
- United Airlines is seeking San Francisco-Guangzhou service in 2008 and Los Angeles-Shanghai service in 2009.
- US Airways has proposed flying between Philadelphia and Beijing.
US carriers look for more US-China routes
Posted by Tom on Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Several US airlines are pushing for more nonstop routes between the US and China, beginning in March 2009. And they're also going straight to the customer for help - most of them have designed separate websites highlighting their bids and are asking fliers to help out by signing petitions that will be presented to the Department of Transportation. Here are the airlines:


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Hi my friend and me are going to Baltimore for the first time, as well as attending BronyCon for the first time. Because my friend has a fair bit of luggage we are planning to take a shuttle to our hotel. The shuttle service we plan on taking has an allowance of up to 3 people, so to save on costs we plan on splitting the transportation cost two ways, which would be roughly $23. If we can find someone to ride with us it would be split three ways, which would be roughly $15. If anyone is interested please let me know as soon as possible, as we would like to know before we fly down. Other than that I hope you all have a fun time at the con, and hope you all have a good traveling experience.
I'd be interested in a shuttle share. I'm staying at a hotel near the convention center.
I'm staying at the envy hotel near the convention center. Glad to share price of a shuttle if its roundtrip. I'll be there for the whole convention.
Hi,Sorry I haven't had a chance to reply back more sooner.We are currently having issues with super shuttle over their baggage allowance for their 1-3 person private $47 shuttle service, or the only other option we would have is to upgrade to a premium service. At this time we might just have to call it off. I am sorry for any inconvenience I may have caused you, as I never intended to upset you or frustrate you. If I have I am truly sorry for that and apologize deeply for that.
Also my friend that I am traveling with goes by SnowDay in this forum. So if you see them post anything on this post's thread they would be best to ask any further questions you may have if I am not able to answer them. Again I am truly and deeply sorry for any frustration I may have caused you


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As you all know, Parkjets was founded over 15 years ago as a resource for builders out there, a place where all the best parkjets plans were collected, organized, and made ready for you to download. All so you can get to building. Now, Parkjets is a membership site!
Over the last year, we have been working hard to improve Parkjets. We have added plans and have made the site run all on donations from folks that opened up their wallets to keep the site going. For those that donated, THANK YOU!!
To keep Parkjets online and improving, we just relaunched Parkjets as a membership site. Your membership gets you unlimited access to all the free plans and an ever growing catalog of goodies. For $24.99 a year, that's $2 a month, your membership keeps Parkjets running and lets you download away. We also have a weekly subscription plan for $5 a week, for those of you not wanting to commit to a year.
We know this is a big change, but we are committed to keeping Parkjets online and providing builders like you the opportunity to find and download the best plans out there.
Why Did Parkjets Become A Membership Site?
In January 2017, we launched Parkjets as a membership site. Many of you are wondering why? Well, several factors have led us to change the business model of Parkjets, we hope you understand.
First, Google Ads, which used to support the site, have become untenable. Revenue from Google Ads has fallen over 95% over the last two years. There are many factors for this drop, including ad blockers, mobile platform use, and generally less money in the market for Google Ads. These ads used to cover our expenses, they don't anymore, not even close. For example, of all the ads we have on the site, we typically earn about $0.30 a day. We used to earn about $12 a day.
Second, Parkjets operating costs have increased over the last two years. Parkjets performs over 100,000 file downloads a year, plus hosting, plus newsletter costs, and personnel costs mean we can't continue to operate at a deficit.
While we wanted and tried to keep Parkjets totally free for as long as possible, the fact is that Parkjets was costing us several thousand more dollars a year than what we were bringing in revenue.
What we have done is allow for two tiers of membership, one annually, at $24.99 that gives you unlimited access to all the plans. Or if you just want to download a few plans, we offer a $5 week pass as well that still gives you access to all the plans, but for a limited time.
It was a tough decision for us, we agonized over it for months, but we either had to shut the site down, or try something new. We hope we can earn your membership, and we hope you understand.
The Parkjets Team


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10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? (1 Cor 2:10-11).
i) The word "spirit" and "spiritual" are conventional theological jargon in English usage. Problem is, in popular English usage, these words have vague or opaque connotations. What does "spirit" mean? What does "spiritual" mean? I assume this convention comes to us via Latin theology or the Vulgate in particular. "Spiritus".
ii) In 1 Cor 2:11, Paul uses an implicit body/soul analogy. The Spirit's relationship to God is analogous to the soul's relationship to the body. Outsiders can't read your mind. Only you have direct access to your own mind. According to the analogy, the God's Spirit is akin to God's soul (if God had a soul).
There's the additional principle that "like knows like" (a point made by Fitzmyer). Only God can truly reveal God.
In this passage, Paul uses "spirit" for both the divine and human referents for linguistic continuity in the comparison. In addition, the "Spirit [pneuma] of God" is a conventional designation, via the LXX.
But conventional designations aside, it's clear that he's comparing the human mind to the divine mind. He's using "spirit" as a synonym for "mind" (or intellect).
iii) If, instead of the "Spirit of God," we used the "Mind of God" to designate the third person of the Trinity, that would instantly dissolve the ambiguity of the linguistic convention. There's no doubt that the "mind of God" must be both personal and divine.
iv) But how can the third person of the Trinity be the mind of God? Surely the Father and the Son aren't mindless individuals.
To some degree, we need to make allowance of the limitations of Paul's analogy. However, even though it sounds paradoxical, a mind can engage in self-reflection. Paul is trading on the human experience of introspection. A mind can be the object of its own consideration. A mind can be both subject and object. Like when we search our memories. And Paul is saying God is like that.
v) The thought in v11 underscores the thought in v10. Because only God can know his own mind, so only God can reveal what's on his mind.
vi) On this analysis, "spiritual" means, at least in part, "mental" (or psychological), in contrast to physical or material. In biblical usage, I'd also say it has connotations of sanctity or holiness. "Spiritual" stands in contrast to sinful.
Indeed, the two go together inasmuch as the mind is the primary theater for sin. Sin begins with sinful thoughts and impulses. In some cases the sinner acts on his thoughts and impulses. In that event, the action takes place in the world of space.


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Members: Static Stamina is made of Will, Nicole, Stefan, Kevin, Dan, Jake, Adrien, Jason, and Molly. And also Sam, Hannah, Max, and [Nate Jacobs]. You know. Crazy kids. Bio: Static (Fucking) Stamina, in their own words:
"We're a bigger band than you might expect. But our heights are pretty varied. Some of us are really short. Three main members are under 5'5". But we have at least two members who are more than 6 feet tall."


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Mission Statement
Elite Dance Center is dedicated to creating an inviting and comfortable environment for dancers to grow and develop his or her own passion for dance. We strive to guide every dancer in meeting his or her full potential with high quality, well-rounded training in a positive learning atmosphere. Elite Dance Center's goal is to have every EDC dancer leave class motivated and energized to continue his or her training.


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These days there are a lot of options for getting your business, pet project, blog, photo gallery, et ctera, on the web. More often than not, it doesn't make sense to start from scratch and there are services that exist to help you get where you need to be quickly. Two very popular site-building platforms that often go head to head for user favor are Squarespace and WordPress.
Note that WordPress comes in two flavors:
- WordPress.com, i.e., the fully hosted online site-building platform
- WordPress.org, i.e., the free software that can be used in conjunction with a web host
We'll cover all three in this article as we look at Squarespace and WordPress in detail — determining which one is the better fit for your next project.
The Gist: Our Overall Comparison
In the interest of keeping this simple, we have given our short opinion of each option below.
Squarespace Is Great for Simple Websites That Require Very Little Customization
Squarespace is used as a drag-and-drop tool that is great for creating very basic websites.
If you're building a one- to three-page website, including one with eCommerce capabilities, Squarespace may be an easy solution for you; however, it can be difficult to customize these sites to perfection, and for more complicated eStores, you're probably better off trying a WordPress host.
WordPress Is Great for Simple to Complex Sites, but Can Take a Bit More Work
WordPress is fully customizable and can also handle eCommerce sites. There are drag-and-drop themes available, but these aren't as polished as the Squarespace.com experience. With a WordPress site, you can scale (grow your website to accommodate more users/traffic) easily and there are a TON of themes and forums out there for added customization and communal support. Plus the WordPress community is one of the largest on the web.
Virtually anything you can dream of has already been done by someone with WordPress and there is probably someone on the internet that will show you how to do it too. On the downside, you may need a developer to really give you the exact look that you want.
Comparing Features, Usability, Support, Cost, & Use Cases
Below we further break down the features, pricing, pros, and cons of each site building contender. Take your time and read each row carefully to get a good feel for each type of tool.
|WordPress + Web Host
|A typical WordPress host offers:
|Ease of Use:
|Most WordPress hosts will offer:
|Pay ~$2-7/month and get:
As you can see, in the battle between these popular website building brands, it really comes down to a dual between the fully hosted platforms and the externally hosted software (i.e., Squarespace.com or WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org).
Unless you are building a very basic web property — in which case, Squarespace is your champion — our recommendation would be to go with a WordPress web hosting plan.
Squarespace.com vs. WordPress.com: Squarespace Wins for Usability
Both Squarespace.com and WordPress.com can be sufficient for basic web projects, such as uploading your resume, personal sites, or small eMarketplaces with a few products. If this is all you need, Squarespace is your winner simply because there are more customization options with more readily available support, compared to WordPress.com.
Fully Hosted Platforms vs. a WordPress Hosting Plan: WordPress Wins for Cost
However, if you're looking to build a more dynamic web property, be aware that you're probably going to have a hard time justifying the fully hosted Squarespace.com or WordPress.com financially. With either option, the costs you're going to accrue trying to replicate the features, functionality, and personalization of an externally hosted WordPress site are going to far outnumber the monthly bill of any recommended WordPress web hosts.
For example, with iPage, you can:
- Install WordPress in one click
- Take advantage of their drag-and-drop site builder or build an online store from scratch
- Host your site or store at a domain name that is free, complements of the host
- Easily add a shopping cart for your customers to check out at
- Integrate PayPal to collect your profits
- Experience friendly customer support 24/7
All of the above can be had for a few dollars per month, whereas the fully hosted Squarespace and WordPress platforms require you to pay more and more to upgrade to plans with "premium" features (e.g., a personalized domain or selling more than 25 products).
Squarespace is Better for Basic Sites & WordPress Wins Beyond That
Squarespace is an exceptional resource for those who want to build a basic one- to three-page site; beyond that, WordPress will probably be a better fit for your website building and hosting needs. There's more of a learning curve, but the saved cost and added functionality will help you meet your website goals more effectively.
Continue comparing with similar articles on popular site-building options:
- Squarespace vs. WordPress vs. Weebly vs. Wix
- WordPress vs. Weebly
- WordPress vs. Blogger
- WordPress vs. Shopify
- WordPress vs. Joomla vs. Drupal
If you're frustrated with the lack of moves you have to make with your basic, free, browser-based site builders, like Squarespace or WordPress.com, try starting out with an affordable and equally intuitive web host that you can use to host a WordPress website.
Questions or Comments? Ask Toby!
Ask a question and Toby will respond to you. We strive to provide the best advice on the net and we are here to help you in any way we can.


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Gourmet Kitchen Tales tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-85867418551621388 2015-11-04T12:10:25+02:00 A Turkish Food Blog in English with Recipes, Stories and Food Photography TypePad GourmetKitchenTaleshttps://feedburner.google.com Three Vegetarian Recipes For Catch-Up tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a96c0cf2970b01b8d1712274970c 2015-11-04T12:10:25+02:00 2015-11-13T14:19:31+02:00 Basmati And Quinoa Salad With Broad Beans, Zucchini And Fresh Mint For already sometime now, I'm experimenting pescetarianism by abstaining from meat except for fish and seafood. Nevertheless, the smell of grilled meat while passing by a burger joint still makes my mouth water. That's why I refrain from being... Gözde

 Basmati And Quinoa Salad With Broad Beans, Zucchini And Fresh Mint

For already sometime now, I'm experimenting pescetarianism by abstaining from meat except for fish and seafood. Nevertheless, the smell of grilled meat while passing by a burger joint still makes my mouth water. That's why I refrain from being too vocal about it (aside from announcing it on a blog); I might give in anytime during a weak moment and by ''a weak moment'' I refer to being under the influence of alcohol. I recently read that about seventy percent of vegetarians admit they eat meat when they're drunk and I'd hate being the minority.

I find no difficulty whatsoever in finding ideas to cook meat-free. I've never had a habit of buying meat for home-cooking anyway and consumed most of the meat at restaurants or from the hands of my mother. Since meat is completely out of the picture now, I pay more attention to eating balanced.

Cooking becomes more fun and easy to improvise when you have variety condiments and sauces. I have a collection of herb infused olive oils and vinegars. My absolute favourite is fig molasses and fig vinegar. If you have your hands on them definitely give it a try.

Anyway, although I'm the last person to give any advice on eating healthy and balanced, the least I can do is to share some ideas to do that.

The rice salad came out as an endevour to make a wild rice salad recipe from a magazine. I couldn't find wild rice, instead I used quinoa and basmati rice. The mandarin infused olive oil was a good compliment to give it an acidic as well as a citrusy kick.

The veggie burger used to be my favorite meal in my favorite pub in the neighborhood. Although a newly opened eatery just nearby outdid this burger with their Panko crumbs coated patties, I endorse theirs as my favourite since they came out with the idea first.

The pasta recipe is a product of my late obsession with a feta-like creamy cheese that was introduced to the market recently here in Turkey. Sadly, you might not find it anywhere else but the grilled eggplants and cherry tomatoes are as good an idea as they are. Just use any soft cheese of your liking, like Turkish feta or gorgonzola if you like you cheese sharp.

Homemade Lemonade

Penne With Eggplants, Cherry Tomatoes And Soft Feta

Vegetarian Burger

Basmati And Quinoa Salad With Broad Beans, Zucchini And Fresh Mint

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Basmati rice

1/4 cup black quinoa

1/4 cup peas

a handful of broad beans

1 courgette

a handful of fresh mint

 for the vinaigrette:

1 teaspoon lemon rind

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons apple vinegar or mandarine vinegar

salt

Directions:

Slice the courgette into thin rounds. On a non-stick grill pan, grill their each side for 5 minutes, until tender.

Boil broad beans for 10 minutes. Pass under cold tap water. Peel, set aside.

Boil green peas for 15-20 minutes until tender. Drain, set aside.

Wash and drain quinoa. Boil in 1 cup water for 10 minutes, until a white ring appears on the edge of the grains. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside to drain.

Boil basmati rice for 15 minutes in salted water. Drain, set aside.

Mix vinaigrette ingredients in a bowl and season to taste.

Toss everything together in a bowl with the vinaigrette. Check the seasoning, add more vinegar if necessary.

Vegetarian Burger

Makes 6-7 burger patties

Ingredients:

1 cup red lentils

3.5 cup water

just a little less than 1 cup fine ground bulgur

1 small onion, minced

1 small carrot, minced

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1 egg

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup sunflower oil or hazelnut oil, for frying

for the burger:

store-bought burger buns

red onion, sliced into rounds

ripe tomato, sliced into rounds

lettuce leaves

mustard and ketchup to serve

Directions:

Wash lentils. Boil them in 3.5 cup salted water for 20 minutes or until lentils have dissolved.

In the meantime, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a non-stick pan and sauté onion and carrot for 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent.

Pour the lentils with its water (if remained any) when still hot, over the bulgur in a larger bowl. Add the sautéd carrots and onions, salt, coriander and curry. Combine everything togerther with a spoon. Let cool for about 15 minutes.

Add the egg. Knead very gently and briefly to obtain a homogenous dough. Dispatch 130 gr. pieces, patt them into patties. Transfer them on a tray, cover with cling film, let cool in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Heat 2 fingers high frying oil in a non-stick pan. When hot, fry the patties until golden on medium heat, 1-2 minutes each side.

Serve patties in between burger buns, with tomato, onion, lettuce with mustard and kethcup on the side.

Penne With Grilled Eggplants, Cherry Tomatoes And Soft Feta

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 eggplants

10 cherry tomatoes

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

250 gr. penne

100 gr. Feta cheese

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 200C/400F, in gril function. Line the oven tray with grease proof paper.

Partially peel the eggplants in stripes. Cut them into bite-size cubes. Halve cherry tomatoes. Transfer them to the oven tray.

Drizzle the vegetables with 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle a teaspoon salt. Toss them to coat with oil.

Grill them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until eggplants are golden and tender. Midway through flip the eggplants. Keep an eye on the cherry tomatoes; they might be done before eggplants.

In the meantime, cook the penne al dente according its package instructions.

Drain the pasta. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the pasta pot. Toss the penne in this oil. Add eggplants and cherry tomatoes. Crumble the feta cheese and mix to let the cheese melt a little. Bon Appetit!

 https://www.gourmetkitchentales.com/2015/11/three-vegetarian-recipes-for-catch-up.html Basic Vanilla Cake tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a96c0cf2970b01b7c76a0106970b 2015-03-24T12:44:23+02:00 2015-03-24T12:57:30+02:00 I had found this recipe two years ago, took its screenshot and didn't consult to it until I entered a cake phase recently. I wanted to have a loaf of homemade cake sitting on the kitchen table every other day, to have something sweet to eat with my post breakfast... Gözde

I had found this recipe two years ago, took its screenshot and didn't consult to it until I entered a cake phase recently. I wanted to have a loaf of homemade cake sitting on the kitchen table every other day, to have something sweet to eat with my post breakfast coffee, with my afternoon tea and to sooth my after-midnight cravings.

What drawn me to this recipe in particular was that it provided instructions on how to change it into a coconut, lemon or a raspberry cake. It may not be very hard to customize cakes but the fact that the ideas were right there made the recipe even more attractive.

The recipe uses butter, not oil and despite and thanks to butter, it yields a thick, moist and tender cake. I made many varieties with lemon rind and lemon extract, with shredded coconut and lemon rind, with raspberries and with bergamot rind and still have many ideas to go. I think I may have even memorized the recipe, so for once I won't be looking secretly at my phone when I'm baking one simple cake. Thanks to Donna Hay.

 My cake phase was briefly interrupted by this sourcherry-yogurt cheesecake

Basic Vanilla Cake

Recipe: Donna Hay

Kitchen equipment required:

2 litres rectangular cake tin

Ingredients:

1.5 cup (225 g) flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

120 g butter, softened at room temperature

1 cup (220 g) caster sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup milk (125 ml)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 160C/325F. Grease and dust the cake tin. Set aside.

Sift flour and baking power into a bowl and set aside.

Beat butter for 3-4 minutes until creamy. Gradually add sugar and continue beating for 5 minutes or until fluffy.

Gradually add the egg, then the flour mixture and finally milk.

Add the vanilla and beat until just combined. To make a lemon cake or a raspberry cake you can fold in 1 tablespoon lemon rind or frozen raspberries at this point.

Bake in the preheated oven for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the thickest part of the cake comes out clean. (Baking time may differ in ovens so keep an eye on the cake.)

This cake stays fresh up to a week in an airtight container.

 https://www.gourmetkitchentales.com/2015/03/basic-vanilla-cake.html Gingersnaps And Peanut Butter Cookies tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a96c0cf2970b01bb07f1b3bd970d 2015-02-20T13:29:30+02:00 2016-03-15T14:52:05+02:00 Hello from a very, very belated new year's post. In my defense, these photos were published on my Turkish language blog just about time when the ornament 'meowy christmas' was still relevant. For those who read this part of the blog, although christmas is long gone, 'meowy' can - and... Gözde

Hello from a very, very belated new year's post. In my defense, these photos were published on my Turkish language blog just about time when the ornament 'meowy christmas' was still relevant. For those who read this part of the blog, although christmas is long gone, 'meowy' can - and should - always be a part of your lives.

Some exciting developments have kept me away: two are blog and photography-related, one is a little more life-changing and core-shaking.

First of all, I released my blog's app! Although it is currently only in Turkish and available at App Store and Google Play™, I started working on the English version too. It takes a lot of time to proof-read the recipes and transfer them to the database but I'm getting there. The English version will hopefully be on the market too in the next month or so. I'm going to make a whole parade here when it's done so you can't miss it.

The other news is that some of most favorite photos are being showcased at offset.com! For those who don't know what Offset is, it's an image licensing company owned by Shutterstock and offers premium, high-end stock photos. They work with top photographers in their field so it's beyond flattering for me to have them represent my work. You can visit my gallery and shop for my photos here.

Above all, what kept me occupied turned my life upside down was the arrival of a new resident to my home: a lady teenage dog. Judging from her looks and behavior, I think she is a Pointer-Labrador mix but who would know. I rescued her from a shelter in November where I only went to feed and pet some homeless strays and had no intention whatsoever to bring a dog home with me. Or at some level I did.

And here she is dominating, exhausting, overwhelming, enriching, beautifying and exhilarating my life and my being to its very core. It's difficult to be a dog's guardian. And yet truly rewarding.

And about these cookies...

My most favorite store-bought cookies have always been gingersnaps - or Pepparkakors Ikea brought into our lives - with their tongue and palate-tingling ginger flavor. For as long as I know, I've been trying recipes from here and there to be make less sugary ones for my mature, adult taste.

This recipe from Donna Hay's December 2011 issue has yielded me so far the most likable ones and here they are. I boosted the ginger amount for that tingly taste I love and used honey instead of corn syrup because manufactured syrups give me the chills. Use the syrup if you have nothing against them (although you should) because the taste of honey can be a little too overpowering. Flatten the dough as thin as you can, keeping mind that the dough will expand and that thinner the dough, the more the cookies will live up to their name.

And peanut butter and almond cookies are, well, peanut butter and almond cookies. Just bake and eat them already!

Happy New Year remaining 10 months!

Gingersnaps

recipe: Donna Hay September 2011 issue

Makes 40-45 cookies with 7 cm/2.5 inch, round cookie cutter

Kitchen equipment required:

handheld mixer

rolling pin

grease-proof paper

7 cm/2.5 inch cookie cutter

chop stick or a skewer to pierce holes

Ingredients:

150 gr butter, softened at room temperature

90 gr (1/2 cup) brown sugar

2/3 cup honey or agave syrup

1 egg

450 gr (3 cup) flour, sifted

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda

1,5 tablespoon ginger (use 1 tablespoon for a milder taste)

Directions:

Beat butter, brown sugar and honey for 5 minutes until well combined. Add the egg and beat well.

Sift flour, cornstarch, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder onto the mixture and add ginger. Blend to obtain a smooth dough.

Put the dough in between two pieces of grease-proof paper and flatten it with a rolling pin as thinly as you can. Rest it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F. Line the oven tray with grease-proof paper. Cut shapes with the cookie cutter and place them on the tray with enough space between them. Pierce holes and patterns on the cookies as you like with a chop stick.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly golden. (Baking time may differ in ovens so keep an eye on them.)

Cookies stay fresh in an airtight container for up to a week.

Peanut Butter Cookies

recipe: Donna Hay September 2011 issue

Makes 30-35 cookies with a 6 cm/2.5 inch, round cookie cutter

Kitchen equipment required:

non-stick pan

handheld mixer

rolling pin

grease-proof paper

6 cm/2.5 inch

Ingredients:

100 gr butter, softened at room temperature

140 gr (1/2 cup) smooth peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

220 gr (1 + 1/4 cup) brown sugar

1 egg

190 gr (1 + 1/3 cup) flour, sifted

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 handfuls of almonds

Directions:

Soak almonds in boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of cold water. Drain, peal and rub dry between layers of a clean kitchen towel.

Heat the non-stick pan on high heat. Roast almonds until lightly golden by continuously tilting the pan back and forth. Set aside.

Beat butter, brown sugar, peanut butter and vanilla extract with a handheld mixer for 8-10 minutes.

Add egg and beat for another 2-3 minutes. Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda onto the mixture and beat again to obtain a smooth dough.

Put the dough in between two pieces of grease-proof paper and flatten it with a rolling pin as thinly as you can. Rest it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F. Line the oven tray with grease-proof paper. Cut shapes with the cookie cutter and place them on the tray with enough space between them. You can cut chapes on the tray to prevent the dough from breaking. If the dough is still unmanageable rest it in the refrigerator for another 15-20 minutes. .

Press three almonds onto each cookie.

Bake in the preheated oven for 14-16 minutes or until lightly golden (Baking time may differ in ovens so keep an eye on them.) Transfer them to a cooling rack.

Cookies stay fresh in an airtight container for up to a week.

 https://www.gourmetkitchentales.com/2015/02/gingersnaps-and-peanut-butter-cookies.html Almond Tart With Caramelized Oranges tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a96c0cf2970b01a3fd3e084c970b 2014-08-01T13:45:29+03:00 2014-08-01T16:06:07+03:00 The Duck And The Lady I'm watching the passersby on the street from the balcony in my usual morning absent-mindedness with a coffee cup in my hand. It is busier than usual because it's weekend; mostly there are people walking their dogs. On the street that stretches ahead of where... Gözde

The Duck And The Lady

I'm watching the passersby on the street from the balcony in my usual morning absent-mindedness with a coffee cup in my hand. It is busier than usual because it's weekend; mostly there are people walking their dogs. On the street that stretches ahead of where I'm at, I see a duck on the sidewalk behind a woman. When the woman reaches the end of the street she turns the corner, throws a gaze at her back as if to see the duck coming and the duck follows suit. The duck waddles and effortlessly makes the ninety degree turn, seemingly undistracted by the cars driving by.

Other people on the street gaze briefly at this odd scene and adding to my amazement, carry on their ways without finding much interest. On the other hand, had I not been in my pyjamas, I would run out to the street to follow the duck and the lady to discover all the whats, whys and where tos. But worried that I might miss a second of this, I stay put and avoiding to blink, I see them out of sight.

The Plastic Trash Pin

The white plastic trash bin in my kitchen cabinet, one of those ugly ones with a turning lid, finally becomes disposable as soon as I get a handsome, metal one. I take it with me when I'm leaving the apartment that day, to throw it into the container across the street. I see a recycler boy looking for something of good use inside the container, ask him if he'd be interested in taking the bin, he expresses gratitude and takes it.

Suddenly, the old man I usually see sitting by the shade of a tree at the entrance of my building and sometimes greet too, starts yelling at me from across the street: 'bring that to me, don't you give that away!'. When I look at his direction, I see him crossing the street coming our way, swinging his walking stick in a threatening kind of way. The recycler boy freezes with the bin in his hand and I, startled, retreat behind the container as I am too old - and too afraid - to be spanked by a walking stick.

The old man is so aggressively determined that for a second I pause and review the brief course of events to figure if I actually did take something that belonged to this man and if so, I certainly deserve to be spanked.

Passersby stare at this woman hiding behind a container who have apparently lifted something that belonged to this unfortunate old man and her accomplice, the recycler boy. The old man occasionally lifts his walking stick up like a lightsaber. I mumble with fear ' hmm, sir, that was mine and I no longer use it so I gave it to him' pointing at the boy's direction. He, on the other hand, has no interest in my explanation and keeps yelling instead 'no give it to me! It's mine!'.

The fruit-vendor in our street who knows me and apparently knows the old man too, comes from behind him and gestures me that translates to saying 'don't mind him, just go'. I gladly obey and begin moving away sideways. I hear the old man behind me calm down and am relieved. The fruit-vendor helps him cross the street to the shade of the tree while one of the take-away boys who works at the grocery escorts me and says to me in a secretive manner, 'that man's a fourty-sixer you know'. I don't understand what the birth year of the old man has to with anything.

It turns out '46' is the section of the Turkish criminal code that deals with the criminal capacity of the mentally ill; that's why in slang 'fourty-sixer' comes to mean certifiably insane. Who would know.

The Flying Plums

I return to my second floor home in the afternoon with eggplants I picked up from the marketplace on my way back. My plan is to cook rice with eggplants. I fill the pan with frying oil, turn the heat up and open the kitchen window wide. While I'm rinsing the eggplants in the sink facing the open window, I hear a muffled 'tap' sound in my back. I ignore it thinking it's the fridge making its usual noises but when I turn around to go next to the stove, an object flies right next to my ear into the pan, splashing the burning-hot oil. Scared as well as dumbfounded, I advance towards the stove on tip-toe to see what's lying in the bottom of the pan: a green plum minus a bite.

I approach the window to discover the source of the flying plums when another comes flying and barely misses me on the forehead. Four boys are looking at my direction, one of them with his arm stretched to his back, about to send me another plum - perhaps minus a bite - freezes upon seeing me.

I loose my senses after almost getting burned because of a plum, I yell at the them like a fourty-sixer: 'are you boys insane, you almost burned me!' They apparently have no clue how a flying plum can burn a lady, but in any case they all point their fingers at each other.

The Crow

After briefly simmering dried orange slices with sugar, I pour the almond filling onto the crust I half-baked the day before and pop it in the oven. When the tart is done and is conveniently at room temperature I decorate it with the caramelized oranges. I place it on the kitchen counter and take a step back to enjoy the sight of my glossy work of the art.

For a change, I'm going to do a shoot with a 'afternoon tea' theme out on the terrace with shadows and sun reflected in the background. I bring the napkins, plates and flatware I'm going to use for the shoot and finally the tart and place it outside on the table. And while I'm putting the tart down, I see a crow facing my direction on the fig tree whose branches are sweeping the balustrade.

As I turn around and step inside to collect my photography gear I instantly remember the fate of those eggs mom had left out at the terrace once. Their shells were skilfully cracked and through a tiny hole their insides were eaten by what it turned put to be one sophisticated crow. The likeliness of my tart suffering the same destiny seems suddenly very probable; I make a swift 180 degree turn on the heels to catch the crow red-handed.

It is standing on the tart with its claws on my sticky oranges, working on the thickest edge of the crust with its beak. I leap forward swinging my arms to scare him away and seeing my reaction, it hastily flaps its wings but fails to take off because its claws appear to be cemented in the caramel. As it struggles to free itself, it slowly picks up while some of the oranges stuck on its claws fall down in slow motion, caramel stretching between its claws and oranges. Some fall on the balustrade and some disappear behind it. I run forward, look down and am surprised to see after all that on a mischievous day like this, the sticky oranges are only decorating the pavement and not somebody's head.

Once, a plastic ball fell on top of the meringue pie I concocted so diligently by whisking egg whites for unending minutes with a fork. Just as that didn't dishearten me, neither will this. As soon as I get over the shock of this even more improbable accident, I caramelize another batch of oranges, secure my set indoors away from predators and shoot the attached photos.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

So, three of these four events happened on the exact same day. But one, I made up entirely. Can you guess which?

Almond Tart With Caramelized Oranges

Kitchen Equipments Required:

20-22 cm / 8 inch round tart tin with a removable base

mixer

Ingredients:

For the tart base:

200 gr flour, sifted

100 gr butter, softened at room temperature

100 gr powdered sugar, sifted

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of salt

For the filling:

2 eggs

80 gr caster sugar

120 gr almond meal

half a teaspoon vanilla extract

juice and zest of 1,5 lemons

For the topping:

2 oranges (or 3 lemons)

330 gr caster sugar

250 ml water

Directions:

The tart base:

With a hand-held mixer whisk butter until creamy. Add flour and rub it into the butter in between your palms to obtain a crumbly mixture. Make a well in the centre, add egg, powdered sugar and vanilla extract.

With a hand-held mixer or your hand, blend everything together to form a smooth and soft dough. Roll the dough into a ball. Flour your hands if the dough doesn't come off easily. Wrap the dough in a plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.

Preheat your oven to 180 C/350 F. On a clean, dusted surface, roll the dough into a disk slightly larger than the base of the tart tin. With the help of a spatula, place the dough loosely on the baking tin and press gently into the bottom and the sides.

Pierce a dozen of holes in the bottom of the dough with a fork. Line the base with a grease-proof paper and put a handful of dried chickpeas or beans for weight. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Leave to cool at room temperature.

The filling:

Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F.

Beat eggs and sugar for 4-5 minutes until light and creamy.

Fold in almond meal, vanilla extract, lemon juice and zest.

Pour the filling onto the tart base. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until puffed and golden. To tell if the pie is baked, insert a toothpick into the tart. If it comes out clean, it's done.

Caramelized oranges:

Slice oranges in 2mm slices. (If using lemons, remove seeds).

Put sugar and water in a sauce pan, occasionally tilting the pan in circular motion until the sugar melts. Add oranges and simmer for 20 minutes, until the sauce thickens and oranges get a darker color.

Remove from heat and let cool slightly. (The caramel will solidify if cooled completely. Heat it up slightly before use.) Decorate the cake with oranges and drizzle the caramel on top. Serve the tart at room temperature or chilled.

 https://www.gourmetkitchentales.com/2014/08/almond-tart-with-caramelized-oranges.html Crepes With Strawberries And Nuts tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a96c0cf2970b01a3fd2738c5970b 2014-07-04T15:38:03+03:00 2014-07-28T23:08:05+03:00 A friend showed me how to make crepes when I was at university. Judging from the way they sound, French and fancy, I used to think they required precision. My friend proved me wrong, by roughly whisking an egg, a cup of milk and ballpark flour enough to thicken the... Gözde

A friend showed me how to make crepes when I was at university. Judging from the way they sound, French and fancy, I used to think they required precision. My friend proved me wrong, by roughly whisking an egg, a cup of milk and ballpark flour enough to thicken the mixture to coat the back of a spoon. That's how I made crepes until this day, never questioning this method nor having the urge to find out exactly how much flour one needs to add. Hence I ate, throughout these years, bland, sponge-like crepes whose taste fell way too short of their reputation. Some college friends may have taught us wrong things afterall.

Luckily, Elle à Table magazine came to the rescue. If you are a reader you know that it publishes a brilliant feature in every issue called 'Recette de Base', meaning 'the basic recipe'. It provides one basic recipe which comes very handy if you like cooking things comme-il-faut and provides 8-10 recipes that uses that basic recipe. Couple of months ago it was this crepe recipe accompanied by variation of sweet crepe ideas. With one look over the ingredients, I saw that there were other things than just egg, milk and flour, I began suspecting that I was doing something wrong all along.

First of all, I was being too tight on the eggs department, by strictly using one. That's what mine owed their unappetizing cast color to. Secondly, the added two tablespoons of Grand Marnier or Cointreu, no matter how pretentious they may sound, are the missing link that makes our crepes at home bland, and those at proper creperies extraordinary. My humble opinion strictly.

When it comes to toppings, the sky is the limit. But by smearing it with say Nutella, one can eat a piece of wood. But this crepe is so delicate, using overpowering toppings would make it injustice. I like berries for their mildness and roasted nuts like pistaccio, hazelnuts and almonds for they counterbalance with their cruchiness. And finally, a little drizzle of honey adds slight sweetness, wrapping the whole thing together, giving you the best sweet crepe you can concoct at home.

Crepes

Serves 2-3/makes 12 crepes

Kitchenware Required:

mixer

18 cm non-stick pan

Ingredients:

100 g flour, sifted

2 eggs

a pinch of salt

250 ml milk (almond milk or soy milk can be used)

10 g granulated sugar

10 g butter, melted*

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier or Cointreau

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

regular olive oil or clarified butter, for cooking**

For topping:

nuts of your choice almonds, pistacchios, hazelnuts and/or walnuts, crushed

fresh berries of your choice, bananas or peaches

Directions:

Roast nuts seperately in the pan, over high heat, frequently tilting the pan back and forth for 2-3 minute, or until they become light brown but not burnt. (Pistaccios roast without changing color. Roast them very briefly until they exhume their aroma.)

Whisk all the ingredients with a hand-held mixer.

Heat the non-stick pan over high heat. Pour 3-4 drops of oil. Once the oil starts to smoke, remove the pan off the heat. Pour 1/3 cup of crepe dough in the pan, while with your other hand tilting the pan in a circular movement for the dough to spread out evenly. Return the pan to the heat and cook each side of the crepe for 1 minute, until they lightly brown.

Transfer crepes to a plate covered with aluminum foil to keep them warm. (Edit after more experience: covering them with aluminum foil causes them to soften in their own steam and loose their crispiness. Instead, you can keep them warm in the 80 C / 170 F preheated oven,) Serve them with fruit, roasted nuts and honey.

Crepes keep fresh in the fridge for 2 days. You can warm them up in the 180 C/350 F preheated over for 5-10 minutes.

*Fill one thirds of a small sauce pan with water. Put it over low heat. Place a heat proof bowl bigger than the rim of the pan and put the butter in that bowl. The butter will melt without being cooked with the steam of the simmering water.

**For clarified butter, place the required quantity of butter in a sauce pan and melt it over medium heat. Skim off the foam with a spoon. Pour the rest of the butter into a bowl leaving the milky residue at the bottom. The clear yellow liquid is the clarified butter.

My sweet Bıdık resting on the guest bed after breakfast

 https://www.gourmetkitchentales.com/2014/07/crepe.html Black Mulberry Margarita tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a96c0cf2970b01a511d55956970c 2014-06-27T14:50:40+03:00 2014-08-02T15:35:31+03:00 If it wasn't for the outrageous overpricing of cocktails, I wouldn't be this much in love with margaritas. The formula for eternal love, the inability to fully own or reach the subject of desire - in my case margaritas - keeps my passion alive for them. As the romance icon... Gözde

If it wasn't for the outrageous overpricing of cocktails, I wouldn't be this much in love with margaritas. The formula for eternal love, the inability to fully own or reach the subject of desire - in my case margaritas - keeps my passion alive for them.

As the romance icon Julio Iglesias once said 'Love is like wine. To sip is fine, but to empty the bottle is a headache.' But who am I to learn from a wise man's experience; I'm human too. I will believe that I will never get bored or bore the one I love - the margarita - and we'll live happily ever after because our experience will be different.

So what I do to fully own my subject of desire, I go shopping for margarita ingredients. I have tons of berries stocked up in my freezer left over from a series of marmalade and jam shootings. Using my long-neglected smoothie machine I puree the mulberries, squeeze some lime, mix Cointreau and my precious Silver Patron Tequila and sit down in an afternoon at the balcony to start sipping this glass from heaven.

I don't have a smothering character, I like giving things I love, space. So, me and the margarita, we have a very balanced relationship; we get together only once a week; this way I allow myself time to yearn for it. But still, by having easy access to it, knowing that it will be there whenever I want, have I been less in love?

Actually the opposite, as we get to know each other, slowly and with moderation, I'm becoming more and more fond of it.

"Be always drunken.
Nothing else matters:
that is the only question.
If you would not feel
the horrible burden of Time
weighing on your shoulders
and crushing you to the earth,
be drunken continually.

Drunken with what?
With wine, with poetry, or with virtue, as you will.
But be drunken.

And if sometimes,
on the stairs of a palace,
or on the green side of a ditch,
or in the dreary solitude of your own room,
you should awaken
and the drunkenness be half or wholly slipped away from you,
ask of the wind,
or of the wave,
or of the star,
or of the bird,
or of the clock,
of whatever flies,
or sighs,
or rocks,
or sings,
or speaks,
ask what hour it is;
and the wind,
wave,
star,
bird,
clock will answer you:
"It is the hour to be drunken!"

Baudelaire

Black Mulberry Margarita

Recipe: allrecipes.com

Serves 2

Kitchenware Required:

blender or smoothie machine

Ingredients:

12 (about 1/3 cup) fresh or frozen black mulberries (raspberries, strawberries and sour cherries are also good)

1/3 cup Cointreau or other good quality orange liquor

1/4 cup tequila 100% agave

4 tablespoon lime juice

1 teaspoon powdered sugar

a lime wedge

ice

A mix of 1 tablespoon sea-salt and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, for the rim

Directions:

Rub the rim of glasses with the lime wedge. Dip them in the sea-salt-sugar mix. (You can skip this step if you don't like sweet-salty combinations)

Blend black mulberries, tequila, Cointreau, lime juice and powdered sugar in a blender. Transfer to glasses. Serve on ice.

 https://www.gourmetkitchentales.com/2014/06/black-mulberry-margarita.html Strawberry Tart tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a96c0cf2970b01a511d33604970c 2014-06-24T16:39:15+03:00 2014-07-28T23:09:01+03:00 At the ground floor of the building I live, there is my local greengrocer. And the strawberries are displayed in a tray that lay right next to the building's entrance, like a trap. Each day when I'm passing through, my eyes catch a glimpse of the picture-perfect strawberries that have... Gözde

At the ground floor of the building I live, there is my local greengrocer. And the strawberries are displayed in a tray that lay right next to the building's entrance, like a trap. Each day when I'm passing through, my eyes catch a glimpse of the picture-perfect strawberries that have visibly dwindled since the morning. The vendor, seeing my interest hands me one, confident that the taste of his produce won't let me pass empty handed. I thank him, hiding my hesitance to eat unwashed fruit and after some small talk, I'm hopping up the stairs with that strawberry in one hand, to be gobbled after being rinsed and half a kilo in a paper bag in the other.

My brother have, like most brothers, always exploited my share when we were kids. Be it ice cream, chocolate or a round to play The Prince Of Persia. Strawberries too disappeared in a matter of minutes before I could get to eat my share. I don't know if it's that or because they used to be scarcer in those times, they were really precious to me. It was more appropriate to enjoy them exclusively and there was no need to 'waste' them on tarts or cakes.

This summer though, strawberries magically got so sweet and abundant and their source being so close to where I live, it was time to let go of my old-fashioned habit. The first thing to do was to 'waste' them with this classic, handsome tart.

I used pâte sablée as usual, and crème pâtissière, custard cream. Strawberries don't last long on the tart, passing their color to the custard cream so it's best to assemble the tart right before serving. Both custard cream and the base can be prepared ahead and stay fresh in the fridge for a couple of days and for three to four months in the deep freezer. Sprinkling the tart with roasted nuts gives it a crunchy kick.

Strawberry Tart

serves 6

Kitchenware Required:

20-22 cm/8 inch round tart tin with a removable base

mixer

Ingredients:

For the topping:

500 g strawberries, pitted, washed and wiped dry

1/2 cup strawberry, cherry or other berry marmalade

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon cognac or orange liquor

For the tart base:

200 g flour, sifted

100 g butter, softened at room temperature

100 gr powdered sugar, sifted

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of salt

For crème pâtissière:

100 g sugar

3 egg yolk

45 g flour

250 ml boiling milk

1/2 tablespoon butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

For the tart base:

With a hand-held mixer whisk butter until creamy. Add flour and rub it into the butter in between your palms to obtain a crumbly mixture. Make a well in the centre, add egg, powdered sugar and vanilla extract.

With a hand-held mixer or your hand, blend everything together to form a smooth and soft dough. Roll the dough into a ball. Flour your hands if the dough doesn't come off easily. Wrap the dough in a plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.

Preheat your oven to 180 C/350 F. On a clean, dusted surface, roll the dough into a 28 cm/11 inch diameter disk. With the help of a spatula, place the dough loosely on the baking tin and press gently into the bottom and the sides.

Pierce a dozen of holes on the surface of the dough with a fork. Line the base with a grease-proof paper and put a handful of dried chickpeas or beans for weight. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until slightly golden. Leave to cool at room temperature.

For crème pâtissière:

Whisk egg yolks with sugar for 2-3 minutes or until creamy and light yellow in color.

Fold in the flour.

Add the boiled milk in a thin stream while whisking.

Transfer the custard to a sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat while whisking continuously. Reduce heat to minimum and simmer for 2-3 minutes and keep stirring.

Remove from heat and fold in the butter. Cover the surface of the crème pâtissière with a cling film to prevent a crust from forming. Let cool at room temperature.

Assembling the tart:

To prepare the glaze, boil marmalade, sugar and liquor in a small sauce pan, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat when it comes to a boil. Let cool at room temperature. Heat it up if need be since it hardens when cooled.

Brush the base of the tart base with the glaze. Pour the custard filling onto the tart and level the surface with the back of a spoon.

Arrange strawberries on the tart closely together. Put the largest strawberry in the center, their stems ending in the cream. Brush strawberries with the glaze.

Let the tart cool in the fridge for 1 hour before serving. Consume at once.

 https://www.gourmetkitchentales.com/2014/06/strawberry-tart.html Salad With Quinoa For Beginners tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a96c0cf2970b01a511cb90da970c 2014-06-19T13:19:55+03:00 2014-06-23T21:32:10+03:00 Yes, quinoa still remains an ingredient in Turkey so obscure and expensive that you have to repeat its name five times until the vendor can pretend he knows it and tell you ''we are out of it''. You are likely to hear the same answer if you inquire about ''tyrannosaur'';... Gözde

Yes, quinoa still remains an ingredient in Turkey so obscure and expensive that you have to repeat its name five times until the vendor can pretend he knows it and tell you ''we are out of it''. You are likely to hear the same answer if you inquire about ''tyrannosaur''; they are always out of it.

Those of us who follow international food trends (yes such a thing exist) and food blogs have familiarized with quinoa visually but had to wait a long time until we could lay hands on it. First, the word spread that it could be ordered online then it appeared in a high-end supermarket chain. And to my surprise before I made an effort to travel to that market's branch, I located it in a neighbourhood charcuterie that sells all sorts of imported goods like dried porcini, almond milk and halloumi cheese; a discovery that's likely to boost my contribution to Turkey's trade deficit.

So, the first time I brought a pack of quinoa after paying an armful of money, I made quinoa salad but not a salad with quinoa, you see. Which means, I treated quinoa like bulgur, putting lots of it vis-à-vis the rest of the ingredients. It yielded a mushy and tasteless tabbouleh (which was unintended) and the more I added oil and vinegar, the mushier it got. I made an effort to like it because have I mentioned I paid lots of money? I hated it anyway, while taking a note to myself not to jump on every fashion train when it comes to food, I put the pack out of my sight.

As the memory of the mushy tabbouleh faded of my palate, I made thruce with quinoa and reasoned that maybe it was not meant to be used in large quantities. Over time, I used it in small amounts, adding it moderately to my salads and came to the conclusion that quinoa can safely exist in my food as a side-kick instead of a leading ingredient.

In the future, I will probably explore quinoa pilaf and such and most probably love it too but for the time being quinoa remains to bring my salads texture and well... only texture because let's admit, this thing is tasteless. However, it conveniently absorbs whatever sauce you put on it, a trait that assures versatility.

I prepare this salad at least two times a week with crunchy lettuce, fragrant arugula, season's ripe tomatoes at their peak, handful of nuts and sometimes tuna or halloumi. It sends me to bed with a satisfied stomach and a detoxicated, healthy feeling. I can't tell whether it's just the idea of having ate quinoa or if it actually is as healthy as said. Either way, welcome to my life quinoa.

Green Salad With Quinoa

Serves 1

Kitchenware required:

a non-stick pan

Ingredients:

two big handfuls of arugula

couple of romaine lettuce leaves

a handful of fresh basil leaves, washed and drained

1 ripe tomato, sliced in crescents

a handful of pine nuts

1/4 cup quinoa

salt

balsamic vinegar

extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Wash and drain quinoa. Boil in 1 cup water for 10 minutes, until white ring appear on the edge of the grains. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside to drain.

Roast pine nuts in a non-stick pan over high heat, tilting the pan constantly back and forth, until they slightly brown.

Combine all ingredients in a salad bowl. Add salt with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Toss well and correct the seasoning to your liking.

 https://www.gourmetkitchentales.com/2014/06/quinoa-for-beginners.html Potato Cakes With Creamy Mushrooms tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a96c0cf2970b01a511c2a2dc970c 2014-06-02T17:26:01+03:00 2014-06-23T21:31:55+03:00 When a meal contains no meat or pasta but nevertheless is fulfilling, I instantly fall in love with it; I am susceptible when it comes to food. In fact, I didn't even need to make this recipe to love it; the mere idea of potato-based pancakes topped with anything creamy,... Gözde

When a meal contains no meat or pasta but nevertheless is fulfilling, I instantly fall in love with it; I am susceptible when it comes to food. In fact, I didn't even need to make this recipe to love it; the mere idea of potato-based pancakes topped with anything creamy, let alone mushrooms, was mouth-watering as it was.

It can be Ottolenghi's recipe but I'm still me and I have to meddle and make some changes for my convenience. For instance, I love a touch of nutmeg in a potato-based dough so that's what I added. The original recipe uses chanterelle, portobello and button mushrooms but I use whatever kind is handy. More varieties you include, the tastier it'll be. I'd refrain from using only button mushrooms though, as they are dull-tasting. Also, I had serious problems when frying the cakes, as butter burned on high heat and cakes got stuck on the pan on low heat so I found solution in using either clarified butter* or hear-resistant olive oil.

I can't think of a single vegetarian guest who wouldn't be impressed with this great meal accompanied by white wine and green salad unless he is a picky eater who, like Sir Patrick Stewart, despises cooked mushrooms because they are 'slimy and old-tasting'.*

Potato Cakes With Creamy Mushrooms

Recipe: Yotam Ottolenghi's Irish Inspired Recipes, the Guardian

Serves 3

Kitchenware required:

rolling pin

a non-stick pan

Ingredients:

500 g potatoes

60 g (about 4 tablespoons) butter

100 g flour + some extra for dusting

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

salt and pepper

350 g button mushrooms

350 g cremini mushrooms

90 ml (1/3 cup) white wine

80 ml (1/3 cup) cream

chopped parsley or tarragon

4 tablespoons clarified butter or other oil resistant to heat

Directions:

Boil potatoes with their skins until soft. (Alternatively, you can bake them after piercing them with a fork, in a 200 C/420F preheated oven for 1 hour, until they are soft.)

Peel potatoes. Mash them in a large bowl and add 60 g butter, flour, nutmeg and half a teaspoon salt while still potatoes are still warm. Mix with your hand to form a dough. Add more flour to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands. Roll it into a ball, wrap it in cling film and put in the fridge for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180 C/360F. Line the oven tray with greaseproof paper.

Roll the dough to a cylinder on a generously dusted surface and cut it into 6 pieces. With a pin, roll each piece into a 12 cm/5 in round.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil (or clarified butter) in the pan over medium heat. When oil is hot, transfer two breads into the pan. Cook each side for two minutes, until golden. Transfer them to the oven tray and wipe the pan with a paper towel. Add 1 tablespoon oil and repeat the process to fry remaining cakes.

When all cakes are ready pop the tray into the oven for 5-10 minutes, too cook through.

In the meantime, wipe down the pan and melt 1 tablespoon oil (or clarified butter) over high heat. When it starts bubbling add mushrooms, half a teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper. Saute mushrooms for 3 minutes, tilting the pan back and forth.

Add cream and white wine and boil over high heat until the liquid is reduced by half. Remove from heat.

Place two cakes in each plate, top with mushrooms. Sprinkle with chopped parsley or tarragon.

For clarified butter, place the required quantity of butter in a sauce pan and melt it over medium heat. Skim off the foam with a spoon. Pour the rest of the butter into a bowl leaving the milky residue at the bottom. The clear yellow liquid is the clarified butter.

*quote from Bon Apetit's June issue

 https://www.gourmetkitchentales.com/2014/06/potato-cakes-with-creamy-mushrooms.html Braised Green Peas With Pilaf tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0120a96c0cf2970b01a3fd11465b970b 2014-05-27T15:33:56+03:00 2014-05-27T16:11:19+03:00 Forget about all my favourite, my 'all time best' or 'absolutely my most beloved' recipes I've posted here so far. Can something I've tasted for the first time in my 30, like salmon, be my real favourite? Or truffles pasta I ate during that visit to my friend's grandma in... Gözde

Forget about all my favourite, my 'all time best' or 'absolutely my most beloved' recipes I've posted here so far.

Can something I've tasted for the first time in my 30, like salmon, be my real favourite? Or truffles pasta I ate during that visit to my friend's grandma in Pula, the land of truffles, until when the only kind I knew were the button mushrooms? Or black rice that seemed too extravagant until its price was discounted at the store? Nope.

One's true love is what they make for your pleasure only the day you arrive at your grandma's and you wait for with a spoon too big for your hand. Or what puts a smile on your face when you get back from school and it is what you see once you tilt the lid of the boiling pot on the stove?

It is what you have always loved and ate with great apetite as long as you can remember. For me it is this, braised peas with simple pilaf.

Braised Green Peas With Pilaf

Serves 4

Kitchenware required:

wide and shallow pan for the pilaf

Ingredients:

For the peas:

1 tablespoon butter

1 onion

1 teaspoon red pepper paste (optional)

1 ripe tomato, diced

500 g green peas

1 small potato, diced

For the pilaf:

2 cups rice

3 tablespoons butter

2 cups boiling water

Directions:

Melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and saute until transluscent for 8-10 minutes. Add red pepper paste, mashing it with the back of a spoon to smear it to onions.

Add tomatoes, peas and potatoes. Cook stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Add boiling water just enough to cover the peas. Add salt. Cover and reduce heat to minimum. Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until peas are tender.

Serve on top or next to pilaf.

Pilaf:

Soak rice in a bowl with 4 cups boiled water and 1 teaspoon salt for at least 20 minutes.

Wash and drain the rice.

Melt butter in the pan over medium-high heat. As butter starts to bubble add rice. Keep stirrinf for 2-3 minutes until transluscent. Add 2 cups boiling water and salt. Level the surface with the back of a spoon and cover the lid. Reduce heat to minimum. Cook for 10 minutes, or until holes appear on the surface. Remove from heat and leave covered to brew for 10 minutes.

 https://www.gourmetkitchentales.com/2014/05/braised-green-peas-with-pilaf.html