LimeBoard

There is a little girl in my neighborhood who calls me her auntie even though I am not. Probably because I gave her some Keebler Elves cookies a couple of months ago. Cookies are a sure way to make friends fast. And her favorite kinds of cookies are any cookies. She is not picky. Her mother started to ask me for babysitting services since the little girl liked me so much. Of course I said yes because she called me auntie and loved cookies, any kind of cookie, as much as me.

Her name is Jaclynn. She wears her hair in thick dreads that are long and catch the sunlight in them even when there seems to be no sun. She started to call me auntie after she saw me in the street, walking home after a grueling ride on the bus and too tired to think of much of anything at all. She came running across the street after looking both ways with a plastic bag in her hand, calling auntie at me. I stopped in front of the mailbox of the ancient woman who lives next to me. She is ancient too because I never saw so many wrinkles and lines except in the cement outside my work, old from years of wear and tear. But Jaclynn gave me a bag of cookies, the Keebler Elf kind, and then ran away again to the other side of the street, looking both ways before she left me again.

When her mother asked me to baby sit her, I came over with some cookies. She asked me to tell her a story about the Keebler Elves and how they managed to continue to make such delicious cookies. I work doing leadership training not storytelling. It caught me off guard, especially since I knew it was a ploy to continue to stave away sleep. It turned out my lack of storytelling skills were perfect for the cause. I poured out all my secrets about business related topics, from team building program to quality control, and how the elves must use those things to make such great cookies. In just five minutes, she was out with only a few Keebler Elves left in the bag.

Well you better not bring food to Elephanta Island or you may be swarmed with monkeys. Before you go to Elephanta Island pick the best Bombay restaurant you can find. After having a wonderful curry dish head over to the must see Gateway of India. This is one of Mumbai’s most famous sights. A massive monument Arch to commemorate the triumphant visit of King George V and Queen Mary. With very detailed lattice work of basalt stone this is the symbol of victory.  Here is were you can by your tickets, walk down the steps to the waters edge for a boat ride of the natural harbor. One of the many rides of course, take you to Elephanta Island.

So quiet with the sound of monkeys wrestling in the trees you will find the entry to the caves on the north entrance to a large hall. The hall is supported by large pillers which is were the massive Mahesamurti statue is kept. This 18 ft. sculpture is Shiva in his three head pose. Shivas is known to be the Creator which is the head facing right, the protector which is the face in the center and the Destroyer which is the head facing left. Other sculptures near by are all of Shivas contributing to different things. He brings down the Ganges River to Earth. He is shown as both male and female which symbolized the unity of opposites.

The sculptures and artists of this area are believed to date back to the 17th century. Know one knows who they are. They have remained anonymous over the centuries. The Portuguese seem to have made last main statement. They are the ones who named the island after they found a large statue of an Elephant. This statue fell at one point and was taken off for repair. One can now find it at the Victoria Gardens where it was reassembled. Sadly, the Portuguese had no regard for the spiritual statues and used them as target practice. So take care when visiting this wonderful cultural island. It would be a shame to loose any more history.

Outdoor kitchens are both sensible and exciting all at the same time.  They offer new possibilities for the way you cook as well as the way you eat.  There have been recent studies that suggest a direct relationship between happiness and the amount of time preparing meals.  There may be some truth to all this, for many different reasons, but an obvious one is the social.  Preparing food for your family and friends means more time with them, engaged in meaningful activity.  We can’t say if our built in barbecue grills are a direct route to personal happiness, but they will make some of the most pleasurable aspects of life even more enjoyable.

And easy, too.  Our grills are very precise, with engineering that’s designed to make them very accurate in the heat they put out.  This means that you’ll be able to control your culinary experiments to a very high degree.  You’ll see how sensational meat and vegetables turn out when you’ve got the right equipment, and this will lead to more experiments that will surely make your guests happy indeed.  There are many ways to cook fantastic meats quickly and with great precision, but there are also slow methods to cooking foods that add very different flavors, and at the right social events, can be a perfect way to make an evening stretch on.

Slow roasted tomatoes are an outrageously good taste sensation.  It’s been compared to sun-drying, in that it brings out a sharpness to the tomato flavor, but real aficionados say that’s just a fraction of the taste that slow-roasting will bring out.  With a little garlic and olive oil, and cooked at low to medium temperatures for at least half an hour, but these can be cooked at the right heat for up to three hours to bring out their maximum potential.  It’s hard not to eat all the roasted tomatoes at once, so be prepared for an unusually impeccable temptation, that’s well worth the wait.

When one is searching for a Singapore restaurant, what ever food one is wishing for will be found. The diversity of the cultures that have moved to the country over the years as served to create not only a variety of art, music, theater and dance, but of the world of food as well. Each of the cultures have brought with them the foods and the recipes of their homelands, and through time these dishes have evolved into food that is unique to Singapore, the Singapore French food, the Singapore Vietnamese food, etc. The list goes on and on.

Throughout the history of this island, many have traveled from other countries to find work in Singapore, and to find a better way of life. As different cultures have settled in the country, they have adapted and evolved their traditions and how those relate to the environment and their surroundings, and to the produce and differences in the local ingredients.

Many different ethnic groups have provided the variety of cuisine which ranges from Italian to Indian, from Chinese to Thai. Three examples of dishes that are truly Singapore, are curried fish heads, the famous chili crab, and a salad of raw fish called yu sheng. This variety is similar to that found in the streets of New York City, USA, and is the tell tale sign of a culture that is truly metropolitan and international. Throughout the city of Singapore, there are some hubs, or epi-centers to be found, again similar to the Chinatown and Little Italy neighborhoods of Manhattan.

If one has a taste for Thai food, the Golden Mile Center is the place to go. Or if one should desire some schwarma or falafel, Arab Street offers up the best of the cuisine from the Mid-East. There are locations to find the more expensive and gourmet restaurants such as the Quays or the Colonial District, as well as the famous hawker stands that are located throughout the city and in the suburbs. These stands offer up hearty meals, for a good price. Anywhere one may wander, the good food is always easy to find in Singapore.

The ingredients used in Thailand have changed, have been influenced by the cultures that have immigrated into the country, for work in city businesses such as luxury Phuket hotels and restaurants, however the traditions surrounding meals has not changed. The chefs of India had used in their woks, Ghee. However recent Chinese influence has replace the use of ghee with coconut oil. Spices which at one time were overwhelming and sometimes, a bit overpowering, have been replaced with herbs such as fresh galanga and lemon grass. The use of herbs over spices has generally increased in all Thai dishes, such as the curry dishes, which had tended to be extremely hot, and are now just more flavorful. All chefs are concerned with and pay attention to the harmony of the flavors, and it follows that most restaurants throughout the country, will serve meals all at once, so that the variety of flavors in the soups, the appetizers and the main courses will compliment and enhance the flavors and that harmony.

It is considered proper, in Thailand, for dining to involve more than one person, it is a communal event. The more people dining together means more dishes, more of a variety of the textures and the flavors that is meant to be experienced. Soups, vegetables, fish, and salads are all shared. Individuals have their own plates of rice and then the rest is family style. In this way the variety of spicy dishes is proportionate to the number of bland dishes to avoid discomfort and to provide a bit of relief for the heat. The dishes are prepared with the utensils in mind. They are meant to be eaten with just a spoon and a fork. Knives are not part of the table settings when one dines in a Thai restaurant, as the food is cut into pieces which are already bite-sized. Deserts usually include shaved ice, or ice cream with a variety of fresh fruits such as melons, mangoes and papaya. Dining out in Thailand is a healthy and very tasty experience.

Ever since I tasted the hot sauce served alongside my meal when I went Fine Dining at some Goa Spa Resorts and found that the hot sauce not only enhanced the food on my plate, but it didn’t give my tongue 3rd degree burns, I had to know why. I’ve been experimenting on my own how to make a killer hot sauce or a mild salsa that is tailor made for the dish with which I am serving to my dinner guests. I found that the pepper selection is all too important. Picking the correct pepper to use will not only determine how mild or hot your sauce will be, but can either overwhelm the dish you have prepared or bring out the best flavors of the dish you have prepared.

The popular Jalapenos is ideal for making a mild sauce, yes mild. It has a strong flavor with less of a kick than other peppers. The Jalapeno is typically green and about 1 and 1/2 inches long with a curved shape. Serranos peppers have a similar look as the as the jalapenos, but are twice as hot. I use this pepper for a hotter sauce for my more bland potato recipes. The Piquin pepper which looks like a small red berry have a unique flavor and are also very hot. The difficulty with using this pepper is finding enough to make a good sauce, but well worth the trouble if the dish you have prepared is a thick bean soup or even a meat stew. Now, the Habanero , is one of the most hottest peppers to use. This will burn your mouth. The Habanero looks all shriveled and is usually a bright orange or red. When I use the Habanero, I find cutting with pineapple juice reduces the heat, somewhat, not completely because the heat of the Habanero sauce is best served with any Mexican dish, like beef or chicken enchiladas, topped with sourcream. The recorded hottest pepper of the entire world is the Naga Jolokia, it is 2 to 3 times hotter than the standard Habanero and is 1 to 2 times hotter than the Red Savina which was considered the hottest pepper in the world before the discovery of the Naga Jolkia. I don’t think I will ever us either of them.

I recommend that you do your own experimenting and find out which hot sauce is best for your favorite dishes. Experimenting will give you a wonderful excuse to invite your friends over and use them as your personal guinea pigs. Hopefully, your experimenting with hot sauces, didn’t burn any mouths and your friends keep coming back for more.

The South African Museum is one of the most visited attractions in Cape Town. Set amongst the boutiques and wine shops and the best Cape Town restaurants, the museum offers up more than entertainment. The history of the natural and cultural world of this country is exhibited and celebrated. Founded in 1925 by Lord Charles Somerset, this is one of the oldest and most conclusive scientific institutions in Africa. It is second only to the Royal Observatory which was founded five years previous. There are educational and research facilities located on the grounds, which offer tours and seminars to those interested. The entrance for the museum is located just off of Queen Victoria Street, conveniently situated between the House of Parliament and the Company Gardens. Both of which are equally interesting to those touring the region. All of these sites offer a look into, not only the material evidence of the culture, but into the earliest of human origins, the beginning of a culture and a nation.

Lord Somerset was a governor of South Africa, of English decent, and he was interested and devoted to the recording of the history of the country. What is catalogued and exhibited in this museum is the diversity of a nation. The collection of the museum is diverse as well, from one hundred year old artifacts to specimens discovered just weeks ago. Upon leaving the museum, the tourist takes with them a greater understanding of the country they are exploring. As well as the understanding of the way in which human culture affects, and is affected by, the natural world. The Planetarium is just as responsible for the greater dissemination of knowledge. This is the only planetarium connected to an historical museum throughout all of Africa, and the shows that are given here further illuminate the significance of the natural world, as well as being entertaining and exciting.

Mumbai is the largest city in India and arguably the most cosmopolitan. The city formerly known in the West as Bombay is a center of commerce, entertainment, and culture for India and its influence can be felt throughout the world. Mumbai has it all: historic palaces and temples, modern shopping malls and office buildings, street food stall and world-class restaurants. Visitors can stay in one of the five star hotels in Mumbai or choose smaller and cozier lodgings.

Visitors should be sure to sample the local cuisine as offered in the omnipresent street stalls. While there are higher concentrations of food stalls near rail stations, colleges, and on the beaches, you should be able to sample food stall on practically every street corner. Just be careful that they prepare the food in front of you to ensure its freshness and you may want to avoid street food completely during monsoon season due to the presence of flies. Street vendors offer a variety of foods from Vada Pav stands (which is a Mumbai speciality) to Bhelpuri stalls (bhelpuri is called chaat in other parts of India) to Chinese food stalls and sandwich stands.

Some of the Indian foods offered at street stalls may be unfamiliar. Vada Pav is a mashed potato patty served between pav bread and served with several chutneys. Pav Bhaji is mashed vegetables cooked with a variety of spices and topped with butter. It also is served with pav. One classic Mumbai dish is bhel puri (sometimes just called bhel) which is puffed rice with assorted spices and several chutneys. You can specify if you want it spicy or bland.

Mumbai street vendors also offer hybrid foods that blend Indian and other cuisines. Some varieties include Chinese Bhel puri, Tandoori Chicken Pizzas, and McAloo Tikki burgers. If you’re craving ice cream, its sometimes better to get it from a street stall than a fancy ice cream parlor — its cheaper and the flavors available are incredible.