Wednesday, April 1, 2009
POKER FACE
Mum mum mum mah
I wanna hold em' like they do in Texas Plays
Fold em' let em' hit me raise it baby stay with me (I love it)
Luck and intuition play the cards with Spades to start
And after he's been hooked I'll play the one that's on his heart
Oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhhh, ohh-oh-e-ohh-oh-oh
I'll get him hot, show him what I've got
Oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhhh, ohh-oh-e-ohh-oh-oh,
I'll get him hot, show him what I've got
Can't read my,
Can't read my
No he can't read my poker face
(She's got to love nobody)
Can't read my
Can't read my
No he can't read my poker face
(She's got to love nobody)
P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face
(Mum mum mum mah)
P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face
(Mum mum mum mah)
I wanna roll with him a hard pair we will be
A little gambling is fun when you're with me (I love it)
Russian Roulette is not the same without a gun
And baby when it's love if it's not rough it isn't fun, fun
Oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhhh, ohh-oh-e-ohh-oh-oh
I'll get him hot, show him what I've got
Oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhhh, ohh-oh-e-ohh-oh-oh,
I'll get him hot, show him what I've got
Can't read my,
Can't read my
No he can't read my poker face
(She's got to love nobody)
Can't read my
Can't read my
No he can't read my poker face
(She's got to love nobody)
P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face
(Mum mum mum mah)
P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face
(Mum mum mum mah)
I won't tell you that I love you
Kiss or hug you
Cause I'm bluffin' with my muffin
I'm not lying I'm just stunnin' with my love-glue-gunning
Just like a chick in the casino
Take your bank before I pay you out
I promise this, promise this
Check this hand cause I'm marvelous
Can't read my,
Can't read my
No he can't read my poker face
(She's got to love nobody)
Can't read my
Can't read my
No he can't read my poker face
(She's got to love nobody)
Can't read my,
Can't read my
No he can't read my poker face
(She's got to love nobody)
Can't read my
Can't read my
No he can't read my poker face
(She's got to love nobody)
Can't read my,
Can't read my
No he can't read my poker face
(She's got to love nobody)
Can't read my
Can't read my
No he can't read my poker face
(She's got to love nobody)
P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face
(Mum mum mum mah)
P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face
(Mum mum mum mah)
P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face
(Mum mum mum mah)
P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face
(Mum mum mum mah)
P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face
(Mum mum mum mah)
P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face
(Mum mum mum mah)
TRUE LOVE
—I Corinthians 13:4-8a (NIV)
FRIENDSHIP
and lasts for more than a while
don't think about saying never
just look around and then smile
true friendship will stand the test of time
no matter what people say or do
one like yours and mine
are proof that it's all too true
true friendship is one great gift
when you are down and low
it will give you a big lift
when you don't think it'll show
true friendship is like a magic wand
whenever you might be lost
it's never any kind of con
it's there when you need it most
Monday, March 30, 2009
HERBS AND SPICES
Many plants are classified as herbs. A lot of people when they think of herbs, they think of the standard culinary herbs. Take a look at the gallery section on the page photos of eight basic culinary herbs. These eight herbs are considered some of the main everyday cooking herbs. There are so many more herbs that not only have great culinary value, but produce wonderful foliage as well as cut flowers or blossoms for you to enjoy in your gardens.
Spices also are very similar. In your individual country or region, you have basic seeds or ground varieties you use everyday. Many of these plants can also be used in different landscape areas. As I continually add on to this section, take a look at garden projects and see if any of these spices will fit into your landscape plan.
I am very excited about doing this section for you. I also will be adding a page where we all can share information and stories of specific herbs and spices in our own geographic location.
The Cayenne Pepper - Beautiful Plant And A Spicy Delight
Ginger, Nutmeg and Cloves - Three More Savory Spices
Mustard - Whole Seeds, Ground, Or Prepared Is A Great Spice For Everyone
Herbs Growing from Seed
Growing herbs from seeds can be so rewarding! You can watch the seeds grow into plugs and finally into beautiful plants. There are a couple of special techniques to achieve happy and healthy herbs, and flowers too.
Leaves from Fresh Herbs Can Create Wonderful Vinegars
Making herb vinegars are easy and quick. Use rosemary, garlic chives, fresh garlic and a few other herbs, and you will have a wonderful tasting vinegar for beef, or pork roasts.
Eight Culinary Herbs
Drying Your Herbs To Preserve And Enjoy
Simple Step By Step Guide In Doing Several Herb Gardens In One Landscape Area
Basic Healing and Holistic Information on Eight Herbs
Mint - One Of The Largest Herb Families
Tarragon And Coriander - Great Plants For Culinary Dishes
Horseradish Is An Old Time Herb And Adds Zest To Culinary Dishes
Celery Is A Medicinal Herb As Well As A Vegetable
The Leaf From A Bay Or Laurel Tree Is Wonderful In Culinary Dishes
Caraway Leaves Are A Great Vegetable, And The Seeds Flavor Many Dishes
Garlic Is Very Popular And Many Cultures Use This Herb
Lemon Balm - A Great Aroma Herb In The Mint Family
Seasoning Vegetables, Poultry, And Meats With Different Natural Plants
Allspice Is Native to Jamaica, Central America and The West Indies
Cinnamon Is One Of The Oldest Spices And Still Popular Today
The Shallot Is A Member Of The True Onion Family
Turmeric Is The Main Ingredient In Curry Powder
Fennel Is An Old Herb And A Member Of The Parsley Family
The Leek Is A Member Of The Onion Family
Pine Nuts Are Found In The Cones From The Tree
Asparagus Is Actually Considered An Herb And A Vegetable
Artichoke Is Native To The Mediterranean Region And Also An Herb
A Dried Mushroom - Wood Ear Enhances Many Culinary Dishes
Yarrow Is A Perennial Herb With Different Colored Flowers
Fragrant Leaves From Herbs Provide A Delightful Smell
Primrose - The Evening Variety Has A Delicate Pink Flower
Recipes Using Herbs Can Create Tasty Appetizers
Star Anise Is A Wonderful Spice Native To China, India, And Other Countries In Asia
Chamomile - One Of The Oldest And Very Fragrant Herbs
Germinating Times And Proper Lighting Of Herbs
Flax Is Grown Commercially For Its Oil And Seeds
Monday, March 23, 2009
ICE CREAM
Precursors of ice cream
Ancient civilizations have served ice for cold foods for thousands of years.[citation needed] Mesopotamia has the earliest icehouses in existence, 4,000 years ago, beside the Euphrates River, where the wealthy stored items to keep them cold.[citation needed] The pharaohs of Egypt had ice shipped to them.[citation needed] In the fifth century BC, ancient Greeks sold snow cones mixed with honey and fruit in the markets of Athens.[citation needed] Persians, having mastered the storage of ice, ate chilled desserts well into summer.[citation needed] Roman Emperor Nero (37–68) had ice brought from the mountains and combined with fruit toppings. These were some early chilled delicacies.
Ancient Persians mastered the technique of storing ice inside giant naturally-cooled refrigerators known as yakhchals. These structures kept ice brought in from the winter, or from nearby mountains, well into the summer. They worked by using tall windcatchers that kept the sub-level storage space at frigid temperatures.
In 400 BC, Persians invented a special chilled pudding-like dish, made of rose water and vermicelli which was served to royalty during summers. The ice was mixed with saffron, fruits, and various other flavors. The treat, widely made in Iran today, is called "faloodeh", and is made from starch (usually wheat), spun in a sieve-like machine which produces threads or drops of the batter, which are boiled in water. The mix is then frozen, and mixed with rose water and lemons, before serving.[citation needed]
In 62 AD, the Roman emperor Nero sent slaves to the Apennine mountains to collect snow to be flavored with honey and nuts.[citation needed]
Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat asserts in her History of Food, "the Chinese may be credited with inventing a device to make sorbets and ice cream. They poured a mixture of snow and saltpetre over the exteriors of containers filled with syrup, for, in the same way as salt raises the boiling-point of water, it lowers the freezing-point to below zero."(Toussaint does not provide historical documentation for this.)
In the sixteenth century, the Mughal emperors used relays of horsemen to bring ice from the Hindu Kush to Delhi where it was used in fruit sorbetsWhen Italian duchess Catherine de' Medici married the duc d’Orléans in 1533, she is said to have brought with her Italian chefs who had recipes for flavored ices or sorbets and introduced them in France. One hundred years later, Charles I of England was supposedly so impressed by the "frozen snow" that he offered his own ice cream maker a lifetime pension in return for keeping the formula secret, so that ice cream could be a royal prerogative There is, however, no historical evidence to support these legends, which first appeared during the 19th century.
The first recipe for flavored ices in French appears in 1674, in Nicholas Lemery’s Recueil de curiositéz rares et nouvelles de plus admirables effets de la nature.Recipes for sorbetti saw publication in the 1694 edition of Antonio Latini's Lo Scalco alla Moderna (The Modern Steward).Recipes for flavored ices begin to appear in François Massialot's Nouvelle Instruction pour les Confitures, les Liqueurs, et les Fruits starting with the 1692 edition. Massialot's recipes result in a coarse, pebbly texture. However, Latini claims that the results of his recipes should have the fine consistency of sugar and snow.
The meaning of the term ice cream varies from one country to another. Terms like frozen custard, frozen yogurt, sorbet, gelato and others are used to distinguish different varieties and styles. In some countries, like the USA, the term ice cream applies only to a specific variety, and their governments regulate the commercial use of all these terms based on quantities of ingredients.[1] In others, like Italy and Argentina, one word is used for all the variants. Alternatives made from soy milk, rice milk, and goat milk are available to those who are unable to enjoy traditional ice cream due to lactose intolerance or allergy to dairy protein.
Monday, March 16, 2009
PASTA
Under Italian law, dry pasta (pasta secca) can only be made from durum wheat flour or durum wheat semolina[4]. Durum flour and durum semolina have a yellow tinge in color. Italian pasta is traditionally cooked al dente (Italian: "to the tooth", meaning not too soft). Abroad, dry pasta is frequently made from other types of flour (such as wheat flour), but this yields a softer product which cannot be cooked al dente.
Particular varieties of pasta may also use other grains and milling methods to make the flour, as specified by law[4]. Some pasta varieties, such as Pizzoccheri, are made from buckwheat flour. Fresh pasta may include eggs (pasta all'uovo). Some specialty pasta varieties can be made from grains low in gluten for gluten-intolerant people, or from whole wheat flour. Gnocchi are often listed among pasta dishes, although they are quite different in ingredients (mainly milled potatoes) and therefore can't be called pasta because they don't contain flour.
History
Making pasta; illustration from the 15th century edition of Tacuinum Sanitatis, a Latin translation of the Arabic work Taqwīm al-sihha by Ibn Butlan.[5]
The works of the 2nd century AD Greek physician Galen mention itrion, homogeneous compounds made up of flour and water.[6] The Jerusalem Talmud records that itrium, a kind of boiled dough,[6] was common in historic Palestine from the 3rd to 5th centuries AD.[7] But these references are vague and simply speculate on a possible connection to modern pasta.
Lasagne
A dictionary compiled by the 9th century Syrian physician and lexicographer Isho bar Ali defines itriyya as string-like shapes made of semolina and dried before cooking, probable evidence of Arab influence on the ancestor to modern-day dried pasta. One form of itrion with a long history is laganum (plural lagana), which in Latin refers to a thin sheet of dough.[8]
The Chinese were eating noodles made of millet as long ago as 2000 BC. This was confirmed by the discovery of a well-preserved bowl of millet noodles over 4000 years old[9]. However, durum wheat was not known in China until later times. The familiar legend of Marco Polo importing pasta from China[10] was born in the USA on the Macaroni Journal (published by an association of food industries with the goal of promoting the use of pasta in the USA) [11]. Marco Polo describes a food similar to "lagana" in his Travels, but he uses a term with which he was already familiar. Durum wheat, and thus pasta as it is known today, was introduced by Arabs during their conquest of Sicily according to the newsletter of the National Macaroni Manufacturers Association[12].
In the 1st century BC writings of Horace, lagana were fine sheets of dough which were fried[13] and were an everyday food.[8] Writing in the 2nd century Athenaeus of Naucratis provides a recipe for lagana which he attributes to the 1st century Chrysippus of Tyana: sheets of dough made of wheat flour and the juice of crushed lettuce, then flavored with spices and deep-fried in oil.[8] An early 5th century cookbook describes a dish called lagana that consisted of layers of dough with meat stuffing, a possible ancestor of modern-day Lasagna.[8] But the method of cooking these sheets of dough do not correspond to our modern definition of either a fresh or dry pasta product. The first concrete information concerning pasta products in Italy dates from the thirteenth or fourteenth century.[14] The question of Pasta's origin continues to evoke speculation. The name (λαγάνα, lagána) survives in modern-day Greece to denote an unleavened, flat bread eaten during the Great Lent