Song of the Week:Someone Like You by Adele

                                                           Song: Someone like You
                                                           Album: 23

New Music Thursday: The Truth About Love

The Truth About Love is the sixth studio album by Pink. The album was release on September 14, 2012. The fist single is "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)" and it was release on July 2012. The second single which was release on September 6 is call"Try". Here is the track list:


1. "Are We All We Are"                                                      
2. "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)"                                                      
3. "Try"                                                                                      
4. "Just Give Me a Reason"                                                          
5. "True Love" (feat. Lily Rose Cooper)                                      
6. "How Come You're Not Here"                                             
7. "Slut Like You"                                                                      
8. "The Truth About Love"                                                      
9. "Beam Me Up"                                                                      
10. "Walk of Shame"                                                                      
11. "Here Comes the Weekend" (feat. Eminem)
12. "Where Did the Beat Go?"
13. "The Great Escape"                                                            

Appetizers Wednesday

Cheese Dip and Pita Chips

        Cheese Dip and Pita Chips                      









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Appetizers are something that people go for to entertain; one of my favorites is pita chips with cheese dip.  It is super easy to do and save a lot of time.  I start doing the dip by putting the cheese in a crock-pot and I just put all the ingredients together and forget about it. Here is my recipe

16 ounces of Velveeta cheese, cut into cubes (I like this cheese because it melts nicely)

 2 ripe tomatoes

1 red onion

 2 teaspoon of Tabasco

I put all the ingredients together in the crock-pot until everything is melted and smooth. The pita chips can be bought at any convenience store, but i like to do it myself. I bake the pita already cut into little triangles for about 5 minutes in a heat of 375 F,  I don't put anything to them. Simple and Easy.  I'll love to hear from you

Book Tuesdays: Left Neglected by Lisa Genova

                                     

It follows a busy woman with a career, a marriage and children who all of the sudden has to change her lifestyle and her priorities.

Sarah Nickerson is the main character. We follow the story through her eyes. We see how Sarah tries to balance her career with her family and marriage. Then Sarah is in a car accident from which she comes out with a brain injury. Now Sarah has to deal with this brain injury that renders her unable to recognize the left side of her body. This prompts a series of changes in her life which lead her to question whether or not she wants to go back to the life she had before the accident or she needs to accept the changes the accident brought to her life.

Left neglected is a compelling journey about survival, changes in priorities and appreciation of the things that matter most.

Rice and Mango Salad

                 

Rice and Mango Salad

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I love to do this dish because the sweet and acidic flavor of the dish makes it so complex. I would say this is more like a salsa than a salad. Nobody thinks of rice as salad especially where I come from, rice is always something to be as an accompaniment to the main course or a main course itself. Hope you love this recipe as I do.

1 Mango, cubes

1 Avocado

2 Tomatoes

1 Red Onion

2 Cup of cooked rice (preferably long grain)

1 Cooked chicken breast, cut into cubes

1 Tablespoon of lemon juices

1/3  cup of cilantro

 Dressing

1 Teaspoon of mashed garlic

 2 Tablespoon of olive oil

2 Tablespoon of lemon juice

1 Tablespoon of white sugar

Pinch of Salt

2 Teaspoons of black pepper

This is a really easy recipe because the only thing you need to do is to cut everything and mix. One thing, though, I do when doing this salad is I cut the avocado last and mix it with the one tablespoon of lemon juice and then add it with the rest of the ingredients.

For the dressing, I mix all the ingredients and refrigerate for about one hour.  The dressing is always good to do it ahead of time and there you have a fast rice and mango salad. I'll love to hear from you, comments and such.

Song of the Week: Clocks by Coldplay

                                                          Song: Clocks
                                                          Album: A Rush of Blood to the Head

Picture of the Week

The Sea 

Appetizers Wednesday

Bruschetta, An Amazing Appetizer

Bruschetta

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When one is entertaining the hardest the thing to do is to choose the menu.  The appetizers before the main course present a challenge to us, for one we want to make these dishes ahead of the occasion to save time. That is why we need to choose simple and appealing appetizers. One of the things I love to do to entertain is bruschetta. Bruschetta is a dish that it can have as many or as little ingredients you want and the main thing you need to have handy is the bread. When I do the bruschetta the bread I preferably use is French Baguette, but you can use any type of bread such as Italian bread or any other sourdough bread. Here is my recipe:

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1 French Baguette, cut into halves and then squared

3 or 4 Cloves of garlic grated or mashed.

¼ Cup of olive oil plus 1 tablespoon

1 Medium-sized red onion

3 Roman tomatoes, seeded and diced

3 tablespoons of cilantro, fresh

3 tablespoons of basil, fresh (it can substituted by dried basil but need to use less, 1 tablespoons)

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoons of black pepper

Cut the baguette into 4x4 inches sized squares and leave it on the side. Take the garlic and the ¼ cup olive oil and mix, spread this concoction on the squared-piece bread. Toast the bread in a large skillet; I usually use a griddle pan. Meanwhile, put together the tomatoes, onion, cilantro, basil, salt and black pepper, mix really well and spread in the squared toasts. Ta Da there you’d have an amazing and not overworked appetizer.

Book Tuesday : Ordinary People by Judith Guest

This is the story of a upper middle class family who has gone through the lost of their elder son Buck. It follows the aftermath of this event through the eyes of the younger son Conrad and the father Calvin.

Conrad had been release from a psychiatric facility where he was committed after he tried to commit suicide. He is trying to adjust to his daily routine by resuming his school life but quickly realizes he can not go back to how things were before his brother's death and his suicide attempt. We also see how Conrad perceives his relationship with his parents, how different his mother treats him and how his father treats him.

Calvin is also trying to deal with the lost of his oldest son and at the same time he is constantly worrying about Conrad. He encourages Conrad to seek support with a psychiatrist Dr. Berger. Calvin, like Conrad, slowly realizes that something may not be right with his family and tries to come to term with that.

Ordinary People is a compelling story of how a tragic event can change the dynamics of a family and they way each individuals deals with the aftermath.

Jambalaya (not spicy)

Jambalaya

Jambalaya originated in the Caribbean Islands. The Spanish culture mixed with native foods created what we know as Jambalaya. Jambalaya is traditionally made in three parts, with meats and vegetables, and is completed by adding stock and rice. It is also a close cousin to the saffron colored paella found in Spanish culture. There are two primary methods of making jambalaya, Creole Jambalaya and Cajun Jambalaya. This recipe is a Creole Jambalaya which does not contain any spicy ingredient, I do it not spicy because I'm not very tolerate to spice, sorry folks.

1 tablespoon olive oil 

1 pound sausage, such as kielbasa or Andouille, sliced 

1 pound smoked ham, cubed 

1 tablespoon butter 

1 medium onion, diced 

1 cup celery, diced 

1 green bell pepper, cored and diced 

1 red bell pepper, cored and diced 

1 cup seeded and diced tomato 

3 garlic cloves, minced 

2 teaspoons diced fresh oregano 

1 teaspoon diced fresh thyme 

2 tablespoons tomato paste 

6 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade 

3 cups long grain rice, rinsed 

3 bay leaves 

2 teaspoons kosher salt 

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

6-8 dashes Tabasco (optional) 

½ cup chopped scallions divided 

¾ cup chopped fresh parsley, divided 

¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 

1 pound medium shrimp, deveined (20-24 count) 

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or black iron pot over medium heat, add the kielbasa and sauté for 8 to 10 minutes, until browned. Remove the kielbasa to a bowl, and set aside. Add the ham to the same pot and cook 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove to the bowl with the kielbasa, and set aside. Add the butter, onion, celery and peppers to the same pot and sauté for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Add the tomato, garlic, oregano, thyme, and tomato paste and cook until all the vegetables and herbs are blended well. Add the stock and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in the rice, and add the sausage, ham, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Return to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Add ¼ cup of the scallions, ¼ cup of the parsley, the lemon juice and the shrimp, and stir well. Cover the pot, remove it from the heat and allow the jambalaya steam, for 15 minutes, before serving. 

Garnish with the remaining ¼ cup scallions and ½ cup parsley.

Today's Song

    

She by Charles Aznavour

Battle Born

Battle born is the new and fourth album by The Killers. It will be release on September 17 in the United  Kingdom and September 18 in the United States. The first single is "Runaway" and it was release on July 17, 2012. Here is the track list. 

1. "Flesh and Bone"                                                  

2. "Runaways"                                                          

3. "The Way It Was"                                                 

4. "Here with Me"                                                     

5. "A Matter of Time"                                               

6. "Deadlines and Commitments"                             

7. "Miss Atomic Bomb"                                          

8. "The Rising Tide"                                             

9. "Heart of a Girl"                                                    

10. "From Here on Out"                                         

11. "Be Still"                                                         

12. "Battle Born"                                                       

You can also listen to a sample of the whole album here: http://smarturl.it/BattleBorn

Picture of the Week

The Planet Earth From Space

Homemade No Yeast Pizza

Homemade Pizza

There is no exact origin for pizza. Some say the basic of pizza has been around for awhile but the innovation we call pizza was invented or better yet originated in Naples when people started to add tomato sauce to their yeast based bread. Since then, pizza has been a welcome favorite of the population in general.






Dough                                                        
2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoon of baking powder
2/3 cup of water
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup of olive oil

Pizza
1 cup of tomato sauce
1 chopped onion
1 chopped red pepper
shredded mozzarella cheese
smoke ham cut into ribbons

Mix flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, water and vegetable oil. Knead on the flour in a floured surface until it is spreadable. Place the dough in pizza pan, round or square. Then spread the olive oil on the crust. Baked the crust for about 3 minute. When it comes out add the sauce, half the mozzarella, onions, pepper, ham and the left over of the mozzarella cheese. Bake for 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.

The toppings for the pizza can be anything you are in the mood for. This is a super easy pizza because it has no yeast which is one of the things that people fear when making homemade pizza.

Banana Bread

Banana Bread

Banana bread is fairly recent recipe in the American kitchen. Banana bread first appeared in the 1930s. It became popular because housewives did not want to throw away overripe bananas.

In my family it is one of our favorite desert and we are frequently make it.







2 to 3 smashed ripe bananas
1/3 cup of melted butter
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1 large beaten egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda

Preheat the oven at 350 degree Fahrenheit

Take the smashed bananas, melted butter, beaten eggs, vanilla and lastly the brown sugar and mix it with a hand mixer. Then add the pinch of salt and baking soda mix again thoroughly. Finally, add the all purpose flour slowly and mix it well enough there isn't loops of flour in the mixture.  Pour the mixture into a buttered 4x8 inches pan. Bake for 45 minutes. Cool  and serve with whatever you want.

Hello World!

This blog will about the things which brings us delight in our hearts. If you want to explore book, food and music this is the place where you can do it. So welcome to my little corner in the world.