Recipes from Around the World

Ever since we joined DP, I have been wanting to ask for a good ciabatta recipe. Mine works OK, but there has got to be a better recipe, even if I haven't found Italian flour in Nelson. I have two problems: 1) the dough is too watery there is no way I can shape the loaves nicely, and 2) my loaves tends to be flatter than what I think it's supposed to be. (The one on the far right was bought at the local boutique bakery.) I think it tastes good, but I would like to improve on the look. So far I've only experimented with the length of time it rests, not with ingredients or portions.

And then I thought, I now know so many people from so many places, why not ask for ANY recipe from ANYWHERE and try them out.

So, I just created a blog; I've given it the very imaginative name of "Recipes from Around the World". Please stop by. Please email me your favorite recipes, (the kind you can tell me about and then not kill me), especially if the ingredients are relatively universally available or substitutable. If you try any of the recipes, do please leave a comment. A more general discussion on food and ingredients is also very welcome.

I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you!

EDIT: I've not been terribly active in this blog, so we moved all the recipes here. Please use labels "food" or "recipes" to check the few I've posted there.

Gaspacho Alentejano, the Mile Stones Way

I love soup, but summer's coming, so a nice cool Gaspacho sounded great. Here is a recipe and photo by Mile Stones at Time and a Word (his original post) of Lisbon, Portugal.

***

Time to Prepare, including cutting veg: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS (for 6 servings):
4 ripe tomatoes
1 green pimento (and/or red optional)
3 cloves of garlic
4 soup-spoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 soup-spoons white wine vinegar
sea salt
2 slices of stale bread (I used 3 of toasted garlic-bread)
oregano as much as you want
fresh coriander

PREPARATION:
-Add into a large bowl the crushed garlic, salt, olive oil and vinegar, mixing well;
- Cut all the vegetables and bread into small cubes, then add to the bowl, topping with the chopped coriander & oregano;
- Fill the bowl with iced water, or room-temperature and ice-cubes.

I also added a little white wine and just a few drops of freshly pressed lemon juice, finishing with some herbes de Provençe to complete. It was delicious. In the picture (serving suggestion!?), you see the perfect Mediterranean lunch - green olives stuffed with red pimento, turkey ham & Greek feta cheese, in olive oil, herbes de Provençe & a Palestinian spice called summaq that doesn't exist in Portugal and fresh crusty bread.

I put it back in the fridge till I was ready for it, and in fact I only finished it five days later, no problem.

***

I was surprised to hear summaq is not readily available in Portugal, considering the physical and cultural proximity to the Middle East, and because it is available at most supermarkets in New Zealand. Mile asked if there is a large Middle Eastern community here, and the answer is no, but there is, I believe, a large Lebanese community in Australia, so maybe we benefit as a result.

Thank you, Mile Stones.

Ben's Salad Dressing / Marinade

This is our must-have, all-round, versatile salad dressing/marinade.

***

Mix in a bottle equal parts and shake well:

* Japanese sesame seed oil
* Japanese rice vinegar (white or dark)
* Japanese soy sauce
* water

Store in a cool, dark place.

I specify Japanese, only so you don't make mistakes like we did. We used high-quality Australian organic sesame seed oil, but it had no sesame seed smell and was no good for this recipe. Likewise there are gazillion different soy sauces all over Asia, and we tried a Korean (?) product once; again, the sauce was nice, but too thick for this purpose.

Sesame seed oil always floats to the top, so you may need to top it up from time to time. I sometimes add roasted sesame seeds.

As a dressing, it's goes with just about anything; fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuces, okra, mushrooms, capsicums, onions, or cooked potatoes, aubergines, and asparagus. Good with very fresh uncooked, or otherwise boiled, tofu.

As a marinade, it's good with beef, and pork, and the meat doesn't have to be an expensive portion. Marinade anywhere from 30 minutes to overnight.

For those of you who can eat meat blue, try marinating a steak about 2cm/1 inch thick, sear top and bottom, and then slice into very thin pieces. Top with chopped green onions, and pour a little more of the dressing.

Do comment to let us know if you liked this recipe.

Just Another Sunset

Later yesterday. See, Mile, the sunset is just so ordinary; no balls of fire, no special peep holes from where we can see the outer galaxies, or whole sky turning green or yellow or swirly.

And the moon as usual. What are we to think, my friend?

Ultra V Friday

I took this photo about the same time of the day as yesterday's rain clouds. Today's UV level must have been much higher than Sunday's; the sea was murky green and I kept my sunglasses inside the house. And yet the hills to the left of the picture were snow-capped and we have rain forecast later tonight. Go figure.

About 20 minutes after the above, here's the start of an Ultra V sunset.

Smells Like Rain

Flowers are blooming in everybody else's garden; even lazy gardeners like we have been doing a bit of planting. Now all we need is some rain!

"Victory"

I must tell you this is a very beautiful work. Strangely omitted from my favorite Nelson Public Art & Sculpture Walks map, the sign reads:

Defaced%&#@!!!

My nephews had a great time in front of an orangutan cage at a zoo in Hokkaido this summer, so when we went to the Auckland Zoo last month, I got them this postcard. This afternoon, my sister texted me to ask if this was the design of the postcard. NOOOOOOO! So I ask you:

1) Why did an airmail postcard from New Zealand to Japan take almost a month?
2) What was it doing in Hong Kong?
3) What the hell (yes, I said hell!) is wrong with a postal worker who puts a sticker on the face of an orangutan on a postcard to some kids! %$#@!

Expensive Rocks

Just a few meters away from today's post on Nelson Daily Photo.

Sleep

My future health-professional friend Cristina wrote: I learned some of the possible symptoms of sleep deprivation: ptosis (abnormal drooping of the eyelid), blurred vision, fine motor clumsiness, decreased reflexes, decreased reasoning and judgment, decreased auditory and visual alertness, cardiac arrhythmias, confusion and disorientation, increased sensitivity to pain, irritable, withdrawn, apathetic, excessive sleepiness, agitation, hyperactivity, decreased motivation.

I'm thinking persistent fatigue is a given, so add low grade persistent fever and persistent headache, subtract hyperactivity, and that just about covers me. So I'm not sleeping well? Is that all?

All the Happy People

In New Zealand, you must register with one GP (General Practitioner) and whenever you have health problems, you must first see your GP. From there, you may be asked to go have some tests done at testing or radiology labs, referred to a specialist privately (you pay) or at the hospital (you wait a long time), or, be given a prescription. Insurance policies will not cover specialist treatments unless you are referred to by your GP, but they don't cover the GP cost, so GPs have enormous powers over one's health and well-being; it's my Stockholm Syndrome.

I have been having minor but persistent health problems for five years, and all that time I was told there was nothing seriously wrong with me, but I should loose weight (don't I know it?) and lower my cholesterol. But certain things started to worry even me, who didn't see a doctor between the ages of 3 and 43. So after much to-ing and fro-ing, I changed my GP; my new GP only practices two half-days a week, and is in a less convenient location, I like the way she thinks, and have more respect for her decisions. I'm glad I finally switched.

The above photos were taken at Stoke Medical Centre, my new GP's office. How can one stay unwell when you visit a place like this?

Name Those Cats!

Over here. I can't believe I'm promoting this because I am NOT a cat person. OK, I've been staring at those furballs too long, my eyes are watering and my skin is itching. Rudy, your fault!

Sorting Hat

Warning - You Are Under Surveillance

Honesty box is a big part of New Zealand life. And truth to tell, I don't think the Boat Club is watching.

Warning - You Must Not Encourage Theft

Warning - Electric Fence

The discussion of electric fence came up when I introduced the steps often seen in New Zealand walkways. Darling Husband just gave me a photo of a sign warning of live fences. But I know not all fences have these signs, because I almost leaned on one once, and two big Kiwi boys grabbed me just in time. On the other hand, DH is probably correct in saying most fences on public walkways are ordinary wire fences.

Jack

We used to have a neighbour who had two Jack Russells; one was named Jack. Imagine my disappointment when I found out the other was Jesse.

Pooch

I love dogs, and as far as I'm concerned, there can never be enough pooch pics in a photo blog. The thing I like about New Zealand dogs is many of them are extremely well-behaved, and nobody worries when a builder or plumber comes to your house with a German Shepard not on leash; you just get some water in an old ice cream container and make sure s/he doesn't get thirsty!

Twins

I thought after 12 years I was a hardened old soul unmoved by lambs, but I found this while culling the September pics folder. Awwww shucks.

No Flying

I used to think this was a joke: "no flying", because it looks like a plane, doesn't it? Some years later, I found in the Road Code book that this is: "no skateboard".

Busking vs. Blogging

Phlegmfatale, commenting on my footprints in the sand, said, "Capturing such a transient thing is exciting and invites questions about the authors of the footprints and our connectedness. That's sort of a great metaphor for photo blogging in general, isn't it?" I agree, but I hadn't thought about it in the way she said it, until she said it. Here's my take, which is probably same candy, different wrapper, but stated in a less eloquent, typically long-winded way.

We have lots of buskers in Nelson, mostly on Trafalgar Street, of various ages and abilities, all year round. This man was singing in the Mongomery car park during Saturday market last weekend. He had a deep, rich, sweet voice and sang old favorites of the Rat Pack vintage, I think; his companion, 12-year old Cameron, used no pre-recorded assistance/gadget, and just let his fingers glide over the keyboard like ice dancers on ice. I don't know if they are related or how they came to form a combo, but they were one of the best I've heard. And I didn't see an obvious hat/guitar case/bucket that screamed out "$" at their feet; they might have it, mind you, but it got me thinking.

What makes a guy get up early on a still-chilly spring morning on Saturday, (granted, Kiwis love to get up early,) set up a gig with a 12-year-old boy, and serenade a crowd that may or may not notice them, let alone listen with care, if not for money? (And even if he had a bucket and got a few tax-free bobs, surely it's not so much as a day's grocery? Though I am speculating.) And the answer I came up with was to make his mark, here and now, not so much in the minds of the market-goers, as in his own. And maybe it didn't matter to him that nobody was listening, or thought he was good, but here he was, and then he sang.

And that's similar to what a lot of us are doing, isn't it, and if we get a complimentary comment or a nice friend out of having scribbled a few lines, great. But at least, here I am, and this I wrote. Grand!

Oooh, but he had a smooth voice.

Who Says?

Spring in New Zealand

These babies are a bit older than what I wanted to capture (some of their tails are gone!) but you can't help but loving the sight of bouncy lambs.

Earnest, Lord Rutherford

The nice man who split the atom in a garage at Canterbury University in Christchurch was born in Brightwater, just southwest of Nelson. There is a not-too-small memorial on the side of Highway 6 right after the Brightwater turnoff.

I couldn't get a good picture of the memorial without stepping in the middle of the highway, so instead I post this. The memorial is called the Rutherford Birthplace; either they didn't have a photo of the boy genius, or they wanted the statue to be recognizable; whatever the reason, it appears the sculptor glued on a grown man's head on a narrow-waisted, pear-shaped boy body. Unfortunately there is no information on this work on my Nelson Public Art & Sculpture Walks map. We just came home with a haunting creepiness akin to when I saw Jenni's pic.

I wonder what he thinks of New Zealand's No Nuke policy.

Not a Good Week for Our Neighbours

I just heard that Peter Brock, the racer, died in a crash today. I'm very sorry for our Aussie neighbours for two big losses in one week.

With Brockie's passing, I'm reminded of the shock and sadness we felt when our own Possum Bourne crashed out. Both were reputed to be very careful drivers. That's the beauty (and the sadness) of boys always being boys, I guess.

My Mate

Sunset, Saturday, Rabbit Island

Ben would suggest I do something with one of them fancy software thingies, but I can't be bothered learning how to use them for now, and, I need to read the tiny manual that came with my spiffy new camera first.

Seeing Things Differently

I never paid much attention to graffiti or signs before I joined DP; today I found this about two feet off the ground on a concrete post. The only name I could put to this face was Charlie Bronson, but why him, why now? On Church Street.

Shame

I found this undernearth the stairway at Nelson Hospital this morning. OK, so it's not Rodin, but wouldn't you agree under a stairway is hardly a complenent to the artist and the couple who donated it? But then, shame on me, I didn't write down the name of the sculptor; I do remember it's made of Oamaru stone (limestone) and gold sheets (filigree is the wrong word, isn't it?)

August Best List

This is more for my record than for your linking pleasure, because, honey, when you get to my age, if you don't write it down, (and remember where you put the piece of paper) there's no chance in high heavens you're ever going to remember anything. But if you're new to this game, you might find something incredible.

The One Photo: Woman returns to the reality of Carrer Nou de Dulce, by Barcelona Bob.
I'll eat the dust underneath this man's feet any day, as soon as someone sends me an air ticket.

The One Blog: Beirut Daily Photo
It wasn't so much the war photographs as the contrast before and after 13 July. Before the 13th, Beirut was just another exotic city, and the blog referred to the Civil War as something in the past. This also brought home to me the power of the Internet and blogs, as it was the first time I went looking for a non-journalist's perspective in any conflict myself. I sincerely hope the author is safe in Saudi Arabia, and will return to DP, from whatever city. (I discovered him on 31 July and read his entire blog on 1 August, so he's part of my August.)

The Funniest: Final Four Minneapolis Regionals, by Slinger.
I discovered I shouldn't participate in caption contests, either.

Nelson's Best: Boulder Bank - Morning

My Best: They Call This Land Godzone, for the sheer emotion the experience bought. I'm a hardened cynic, but for 25 minutes there, it was better than cheesecake.

The Best Moment: when Tube Dude asked Ben if he could download/print out Jetty.

The Second Best Moment: when Marie McC included Boatshed Cafe in her weekly Best Of Daily Photo. (I'm luke warm about Lake Tennyson.)

The Best Thing about DP: new (and old) frineds.

The Bad Thing about DP: in August, I blogged somewhere between 4-9 hours a day except the week I was in Auckland; in that time I wove about 9 hours total. No regrets, but I'll go blind at this pace.

Attention to Detail

No Place for Girls

Kiko, the wife of Akishinomiya, the second son of the emperor of Japan, produced a son this morning. I'll bet my new spiffy camera all discussions on female succession ends here until the next time they are stuck with a girl. Akishinomiya household may be entitled to bigger budget now that they have a boy. It's a sad day for the nation. Ooops, nothing to do with Nelson.

Seeing Red

I have been traipsing around town trying to look at things differently in hopes of getting more arty photos, and because it's one of my favorite colors, my eyes seek out red.

"My Car Matches my Roof"

"Red Sox"

I also want to learn about cropping, so I thought I get these two red mailboxes, and experiment later. I pressed the shutter, when out of nowhere this woman turned up. Check out her socks.

Gum Tree Holding Up Its Hand to Catch Spring

One day, while waiting for the anesthetic to take effect before a dental surgery, I looked out of the waiting room window to discover gum trees had beautiful patterns and coloration in the bark on the trunk.
In front is a trimmed gum tree; these are vigorous trees and come back after hard trimming. If left untrimmed, they grow fairly quickly to quite a height (15m and more), as seen behind the house with the brown roof. This is a very oily tree and the wood makes good firewood.
Close up. Subsequent to the dental surgery, I wanted one of these trees so I contacted a specialist who was very helpful, until I told him I live in the suburbs and needed one that didn't grow beyond 3m, 5m tops; he stopped emailing me.

Dear Mr Architect

Lachezar, what do you suppose... watching out for Japanese subs??? this far into land??? This is Trafalgar and Hardy Streets. (I'm so glad Neo suggested you join DP, and you did just that the following day!)

Bust Up

I don't know how I could have ever missed this until this morning. I don't know how Ben could ever NOT have told me when he "read it a while ago".

Footprints

Lisi invites readers to leave footprints on her blog, which is a gentle but irresistible invitation to leave comments. I was thinking about that when I took these at Rabbit Island, just west of Nelson but in the neighbouring Tasman District, this afternoon.
We normally go to Rabbit Island in the summer so the footprints we see are all bare feet. But today, the water was still cold and we found many different patterns, sizes, and the firmness of indentation. (OK, I did feel a little bit like a CSI gal, too.)

Looks Like a Great Book for Kids

Found this book Road Trip through Jenni's Washington DC; the illustrations look so lovely.

One Month On - Part 2

On 31 July, I was searching for news of the war in Lebanon, and found Beirut Daily Photo. I revisited it on 1 August and read his blog from the beginning, and forwarded the URL to friends. Then I started to read some of the comments and discovered there was a whole universe called Daily Photo. After much discussion and deliberation with Ben, on 2 August, we contacted Eric and signed up. It's been an exciting and hectic one month.

We alternate posts, making the burden half that of many of you. Still, coming up with photos worth posting every other day has been challenging, and adding interesting, spiffy texts and fact-checking sometimes requires more time than we would like. Added to that, we knew we would be gone for a week at the end of the month, so in the first 19 days, we needed to prepare 27 posts. By the time we left for the airport, we felt harassed by this beast, and relieved to be computer-free for a week at that point.

We enjoy the time we spend on a common hobby. Come November, we will have been in New Zealand for 12 years and Nelson for 10, and it has been a great way for us to relook at our adopted home. And there is so much we haven't explored, because, well, we thought we'd get around to them eventually. We are even reading about Nelson, and reading carefully. And we are lucky Nelson is a pretty nice place.

But this is a little place, and sometimes we laugh at being part of the 'City' Daily Photo. We worry that at some point we will be have to take photos of places we have already visited; that cycle will be a whole lot shorter for us than many of you.

For me, it is a great pleasure to see Ben 'publish' his photos because he is an immensely private person; only I and a handful of his colleagues have ever seen his photos, though he has been a life-long photography enthusiast. As well, though we love to travel, the two of us living in New Zealand and the rest of both of our families living in Japan, we have very little opportunity to travel outside these two countries; seeing your photographs and reading your texts enable us to live vicariously in your beautiful, interesting, vibrant, serene, exciting and sometimes tragic cities.

But as with most things in life, the greatest pleasure is found in the company one keeps. We thank you all for that.

One Month On - Part 1

You might be thinking, "What is this for?"

I know it's not a pretty picture, nor interesting, nor informative, nor even necessary, but it brings back memories. I was so very excited to have joined DP the previous day and shot about 80 pictures on Ben's clunky Canon G3 in one morning. He didn't get to touch the camera for a few days, which defeats the purpose of joining DP, because, as most of you have probably guessed already, he is the one with a life-long interest in photography. I just liked being included in this exciting family, and to have a common hobby with him. I feel like a cheat that I'm the one who got a new camera out of this experience SO FAR.

All this was only a month ago, and I'm already thinking: how much longer before I shoot my first Barcelona Bob shot??