Sunday, June 29, 2008

Garlic, and what I love about you.



I love garlic. Its taste and smell. The way it looks carmellized and soft after roasting. My mouth waters at the thought.

There's tons of garlic lore out there. Good food... heart and immune health food, aphrodesiac, insect and vampire repellent. Bad food... some people are offended by the odor (wierdos.)

In 13th century France, ailee (a soupy sauce made of garlic, almonds and breadcrumbs ponded together with chicken broth) was benificial health aide. Chicken soup, almonds and garlic together - that's my kind of super food.

Hardneck/softneck: hardneck (rocambole) have a hard central stem and more robust flavor vs. softnecks which obviously have a shy flavor and thin grassy stems.

Buying garlic: only purchase firm, plump cloves. When garlic ages, it shrivels and sprouts green shoots. Common pink skinned = spanish garlic, thinner skin and (imho) is more forgiving in cooking and less bitter flavor in general. Elephant garlic = mild flavor, big bulbs. Green garlic = never even seen it. I hear it is very rare and delicate in flavor.

I could go on and on - this could easily be a garlic blog, there is so much to say about garlic. Check out this site for even more info: http://www.hoodrivergarlic.com/variety.htm = garlic of the month club. + Great garlic information resouce.


Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Moon Illusion


See a Huge Moon Illusion Wednesday

Robert Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer
SPACE.com
Tue Jun 17, 11:15 AM ET

As the full moon rises this Wednesday evening, June 18, many people will be tricked into thinking it's unusually large

The moon illusion, as it's known, is a trick in our minds that makes the moon seem bigger when it's near the horizon. The effect is most pronounced at full moon. Many people swear it's real, suggesting that perhaps Earth's atmosphere magnifies the moon.

But it really is all in our minds. The moon is not bigger at the horizon than when overhead.

The illusion will be particularly noticeable at this "solstice moon," coming just two days before summer starts in the Northern Hemisphere. The reason, according to NASA, lies in lunar mechanics: The sun and full moon are like kids on a see-saw; when one is high, the other is low. This week's high solstice sun gives us a low, horizon-hugging moon and a strong, long-lasting version of the illusion.

If it's any consolation, space station astronauts report the same effect.

Here's how it works: Your mind believes things on the horizon are farther away than things overhead, because you are used to seeing clouds just a few miles above, but the clouds on the horizon can indeed be hundreds of miles away. So if we think something (such as the moon) is farther away, and it's not, then it seems larger.

If you remain doubtful, test the idea yourself. Go out at moonrise with a small object, perhaps a pencil eraser. Hold it at arm's length as the moon rises and compare the sizes of the moon and the eraser, then repeat the experiment an hour or two later when the moon is high in the sky. A rolled up tube of paper works well, too.

Moonrise times vary by location. On Wednesday, it will come up at these local times at these locations, according to NASA: New York City, 8:58 p.m.; Miami, 8:35 p.m.; Seattle, 9:51 p.m.

The moon rises about 50 minutes earlier Tuesday night, when the effect will also be noticeable because the moon will be nearly full. Oh, and that raises another fallacy: There's no such thing as a full moon.

Additional moonrise times for your location are available from the U.S. Naval Observatory Web site.

Key to All Optical Illusions Discovered Top 10 Cool Moon Facts Moon Image Gallery Original Story: See a Huge Moon Illusion Wednesday

Friday, June 6, 2008

Everyone knows it takes quite a lot of chocolate to maintain a magnificent bosom like hers.



This is a great (fast, easy, tasty) recipe. I shared it with a friend today and thought I might share it with all y'all too. I do shave down the sugar a bit b/c I think semi-sweet morsels are perfectly sweet just the way they are.

http://crackinggoodegg.blogspot.com/http://crackinggoodegg.blogspot.com/2008/02/choco-hoto-pots.html
This is a great food blog with many other delicious recipes.

Choco Hoto Pots
(adapted from Nigella's Feast TV show)

Melt 175gm of dark chocolate with 125gm of unsalted butter in a double boiler. Leave to cool.

Whisk together 2 eggs and 3/4 cup caster sugar. Mix in 3 tbspn of plain flour.

Fold egg, sugar and flour mix into the chocolate butter mix.

Spoon the mix into small buttered ramekins (less than a cup in size) or little teacups. Only fill to about 2/3 full. You should have enough for 4.

Place ramekins onto a baking tray. Bake in a 200C oven for 20 minutes. The pots will be piping hots so leave to cool down a bit. Expect the tops to sink down. Serve warm.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

This Girl is Amazing!




I like bellydancing. I've taken bellydancing. This girl has stunning control. Watch in awe and wonder.