Meme: 6 Quirky Things I Do

October 27, 2008 | Filed Under Memes | 13 Comments 

Mikky of My Finds has tagged me for a meme called 6 Quirky Things I Do.

Here are the guidelines to the meme:

1. Link back to the person who tagged you - that’s me.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 6 bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the blogger’s blogs letting them know they have been tagged.

Hmmm… Let me see…  I’ve done several similar memes, which you can find here, but I’ll try to come up with some more quirky things for you.  

1-  I like to face my dollar bills according to its color — black side or green side.  

2-  I prefer to use only black ink pens.

3-  I’ve started talking to the birds.  In the morning, I wish them good morning.  

4-  I can’t get rid of my books (except for school books). 

5- I like to eat french fries with ketchup and mayo.  

6-  I still like to watch Little House on the Prarie and it still makes me teary-eyed.  

I tag anyone interested in participating in this meme.  Please let me know that you’re doing it, so that I can read it.  Thanks Mikky for the tag!

Paz

10

June 30, 2008 | Filed Under Memes | 30 Comments 

Yellow Cupcakes

I love how the yellow roses compliment the Yellow Cupcakes in this photo.

Kat of Our Adventures in Japan has tagged me for this latest meme called 10. 

Here are the rules:
1. Post 10 of your own favorite food shots.
2. Pass the opportunity on to others by leaving a message on their comments page just so they’re aware of it.

I had a hard time choosing just 10 photos but here’s what I came up with.

Paz

Roasted Baby Roma Tomato and Feta Tart

This photo brings back good memories of making my very first (and only) tart.  It was delicious, too! 

Tiramisù

My very first blog photo of the very first dessert I prepared.  I still get excited thinking about it.

Salad à la Paz

I love colorful food and I love how the photo is full of color.

Oven-Roasted, Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus

This photo reminds me of how much I love prosciutto and asparagus — oven-roasted!

Fried Yellow Plantain (Kelewele)

This is my all-time favorite comfort food — plantain.  The photo has me salivating.

Peaches in Red Wine

 Another earlier dessert I learned to prepare.  Very simple.  Very good.

Oven-roasted Carrots

This photo reminds me of the best-tasting carrots I ever had.  Yum!  And so easy to prepare.

Hot Meatball Salad

I love this salad.  The meatballs give it an extra punch.  I’m glad the photo came out well.  The tomatoes entice me, too. 

Carrot and Peanut Salad

I like carrots and peanuts and this was an interesting salad.  Crunchy!  I think I got lucky with this photo, which I like. 

So, there you have it — my ten favorite food shots.     ;-)  

 
There’s no set number of people to tag, so I’m tagging 10 bloggers.  You can do the same — tag 10 bloggers or less.  On the other hand, you don’t have to tag anyone.  This meme is NOT obligatory.  You DON’T have to participate if you don’t want.  It’s totally optional.  With that in mind, I tag the following:

1- Courtney from Coco Cooks

2- Pretty Baker from Pretty Baking in Israel

3- Sra from When My Soup Came Alive

4- Rosa from Rosa’s Yummy Yums

5- Elizabeth from Blog from Our Kitchen

6- Rebecca from From Argentina with Love

7- Tanna from My Kitchen in Half Cups

8- Laylita from Laylita’s Recipes

9-Paul and Mike from Eat Me

10-Anyone else who would like to participate.  Let me know you’re doing it, so that I can check it out on your blog.

Tag, You’re It! (Meme!)

February 16, 2008 | Filed Under Memes | 11 Comments 

Rebecca of From Argentina with Love tagged me for this Tag, You’re It! (Meme!). I’m supposed to write 5 facts about myself.  Gee, folks.  This is hard.  There’s not much to write but here it goes… 

1.  There’s the time I majored in Classical Studies (and Romance languages) in undergrad college.  I wanted to be an archeologist — a female Indiana Jones.  

2.  There’s the time that I took tango lessons after seeing the 1997 movie The Tango Lesson.  I thought I’d get a hot, handsome, Latino dance teacher and fall in love, like the movie.  Instead I got this grumpy, unhappy, blonde-haired female American teacher.  Plus I sucked at the tango.  I am NOT a dancer.  I love to watch tango dancers, though. 

3.  There’s the time I used to watch Saturday morning cartoons.  Actually, I still do.  I especially enjoyed the  1992-1995 Batman TV (cartoon) series and the 1996-2000 Superman TV (cartoon) series  They don’t show it anymore.  They’re showing a 2004 Batman TV cartoon version.  It’s okay. I’m not crazy about it.  The cartoons they show today, pretty much suck, in my opinion.  I love the 2005 TV series Avator: The Last Airbender.  That’s a cool cartoon, although I haven’t seen that in a long while.  They show it on a cable station.  I don’t have cable.  ;-(

4.  There’s the time when while walking on the streets of NYC, I passed by the likes of Michael Jackson, Brooke Shields, Alec Baldwin, Liam Neeson, Natsha Richardson, the Icelandic singer, Björk (who wore the famous swan dress to the 2001 Oscars awards show) and more.  In the city, I see a lot of celebrities all the time — practically bump into them.  However, I’m not star struck.  I really don’t care if I see them or not.  They put on their pants/skirts one leg at a time, like me.  So, I take look at them but keep walking.  No biggie.

5.  There’s the time, when I was in Egypt,  a very persistent fellow wanted my hand in marriage.  He told me that he’d offer many horses to my family, including a white stallion.  Too bad for him, I don’t know much about horses. 

Thanks for the tag, Rebecca. 

Oh, by the way, I’ve done similar memes.  If you’re interested in reading more,  you can find them here.

I tag the following:

1. Mari - Cha no ma-ri

2.  Britt-Arnhild - The Blue Café

3.  Kat - Our Adventures in Japan

4.  Megan - Pennypincher’s Pantry

5.  Dorit - PrettyBaking in Israel

Here are the rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 5 facts about yourself
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their Blogs.

Christmas Meme

December 22, 2007 | Filed Under Memes | 7 Comments 

Megan of Pennypincher’s Pantry tagged me for this Christmas Meme.  Thanks, Megan!

Christmas Meme Rules:

1)  Provide a link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.

2) Share Christmas facts about yourself.

3) Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.

4) Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1.  Wrapping or gift bags?  Either or.  They’re both nice.  There are some very nice wrapping papers and creative gift bags out there.

2.  Real or artificial tree?  Artificial.  That’s the only type I’ve every had. 

3.  When do you put up the tree? Normally Christmas Eve.  Don’t have time do it earlier.  This year my sister put it up and did it a week earlier.

4.  When do you take the tree down?  A few months later.  Seriously. 

5.  Do you like eggnog?  Umm… Not really.

6.  Favorite gift received as a child? I can’t really recall.  I just know I’ve liked all my gifts.

7.  Do you have a nativity scene? This year no.  But we’ve had it before.

8.  Worst Christmas gift you ever received?  I don’t think I’ve received a "worst" gift.  Once,  one of my brother’s friends wrapped up a dead mouse and put it under the tree for him.  My brother did NOT find it funny when he unwrapped his gift.  LOL!  I’m glad no one has ever decided to give me a gift like that — prank or no.

9.  Mail or email Christmas cards?  I’ve done both but I prefer to mail cards.  Although I didn’t get a chance to mail cards last year (or the year before or the year before) and I don’t think I’ll have a chance to send them out this year.  *sigh*  Maybe New Year’s cards?

10.  Favorite Christmas movie? It’s a Wonderful Life; Scrooge (All versions); Christmas Story are a few that come to mind.

11.  When do you start shopping for Christmas? Whenever.  I hate to shop, though.  I’m shopping-challenged.

12.  Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Anything.

13.  Clear lights or colored?  Either or.  Depends on how I’m feeling at the time.

14.  Favorite Christmas song?  All

15.  Travel at Christmas or stay at home?  STAY HOME! 

16.  Can you name all of Santas reindeer? No.  Oh –  Rudolph.  Yeah.  That’s right, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.  

17.  Angel or star on the top of your tree?   Either or.  Like the lights in #13 and Angel or Star in #17, it depends on what/how I’m feeling at the time.  This year, since my sister decorated the tree, she put a white dove on the top.  So our tree top always differs.

18.  Open your presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?   Christmas morning. 

19.  Most annoying thing about this time of year? Those who forget about the true spirit and meaning of Christmas.

20.  What do you leave for Santa?  Nothing.  I should leave something for him now, since I’ve started to cook and bake, huh?  Maybe I will this year.

21.  Least favorite holiday song?  None that I can think of.  I like them all.

22.  Specific theme or color? Hate to sound really boring here but… Uhh… I don’t usually have a theme or color.  One year, I decorated the tree in all white — white lights, ornaments, etc…

23.  Favorite ornament?  Dont’ have one, really. 

Okay.  So, I’m tagging:

1.  Anyone

2.  Reading

3.  Who

4.  Would

5.  Like

6.  To

7.  Participate

Go for it!  And let me know if you do, so that I can go read it. 

Paz

Five Things People Don’t Know About Me Meme

February 6, 2007 | Filed Under Memes | Leave a Comment 

The Butterfly Effect meme

September 30, 2006 | Filed Under Memes | 1 Comment 

Cardamom Pods

Back in June (Oh, my goodness! Has it been that long!?) Dan from Saltshaker tagged me for The Butterfly Effect meme, which he’d created. Time flew by and for several different reasons, I never responded to the meme. A lot of things were going on around me and I simply wasn’t able to get to it.

Annoyed and disappointed Dan took drastic measures into his hands by casting a kitchen pox on those he tagged who hadn’t responded “May their hollandaise curdle and their mayonnaise separate,” he wrote.

Yikes! After I begged and told him I still intended to do the meme, he somewhat reluctantly removed the pox — temporarily. The threat covertly still hung over my head.

The other day, I tagged Dan for the Five Things to Eat Before You Die Meme and he put me to shame by doing it immediately. *sigh*

Okay, Dan: Finally, here are my answers to The Butterfly Effect Meme. I thought about doing it a little bit at a time, like Ilva. I liked that idea but since I’ve kept you waiting for so long, here it is in its entirety. I hope the pox is now removed permanently.

The Butterfly Effect Meme asks you to name food items or events that changed your foodie life. Specifically you are asked to recall “an item, person, event, or place” that affected you profoundly – something that created a moment you can look back at and say “that was a defining moment.” It doesn’t have to be “big, splashy” things. Instead, it can be something “small and simple” – something that changed the way you view the world.

These are the categories:
1. An ingredient
2. A dish, a recipe
3. A meal (in a restaurant, a home, or elsewhere)
4. A cookbook or other written work
5. A food “personality” (chef, writer, etc.)
6. Another person in your life

Okay, here are all the defining moments in my baby foodie life span:

1. An ingredient – CARDAMOM: I had never even heard of it before. Then Michele sent me this awesome recipe for Basmati and Nut Pilaf. I had an adventure shopping for the Cardamom. Once I found it, I was so glad. It made a nice difference in my recipe and I’ve used it often, since. I love this spice!

2. A dish, a recipe – TIRAMISU: You may think this is not a big deal but being able to make tiramisu was a big moment for me. After I successfully followed the recipe to make this Italian dessert, I realized that perhaps I had it in me to learn how to prepare other recipes. That was very exciting for me. This occurred in the early stages of The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz. You can read about it here.

3. A meal (in a restaurant, a home, or elsewhere) – SPINACH STEW: I mentioned this stew in my childhood food memories meme. My mom used to make it but we haven’t had it in the longest time. Its main ingredients include spinach and shrimp. I finally decided to attempt to make it and asked my mom for the ingredients. She half-heartedly mentioned them. I think she didn’t believe I was serious. After a thousand questions, I set out to replicate the stew. When it was ready, I served it to my mom. She hesitantly brought the fork full of stew and rice to her mouth. I closely watched the diplomatic look on her face (ready to tell me it tasted fine even if it didn’t) change to a look of disbelief and then pleasure as she savored her meal. “This is very good.” She nodded her head with approval. Later, she asked for seconds. Now, that was another defining moment in my foodie life!

4. A cookbook or other written work – THE FANNIE FARMER COOKBOOK and THE FOOD OF LOVE by Anthony Capella. The former is my first cookbook. The latter is a novel that inspired me to attempt two recipes listed in the back of the book. To my surprise, I was successful. Again, it took place in the beginning stages of my cooking adventures. With each success and cooking venture, I became encouraged to continue.

5. A food “personality” (chef, writer, etc.) – GIADA DE LAURENTIS and RACHEL RAY: There are more but these two T.V. chef personalities immediately come to mind. Especially in the beginning, I watched a lot of Food Network cooking shows. It would take me about an hour and a half to make Rachel Ray’s 30-minute meals. Hehehe! But the point is that I made them! These were all defining foodie moments for me – someone who didn’t know how to boil water.

6. Another person in your life – FOOD BLOGGERS: All the food bloggers that I’ve come across. Everyone’s been so inspiring and creative. I love when I find a recipe from their sites, try it, and it actually comes out. It’s edible! Yay for me! Thanks, everyone! Keep cooking and happy food blogging!

Tag
I would like to tag the following for this meme:

1- Sravanthi from When My Soup Came Alive
2- Neil from Food for Thought
3- Elizabeth from Blog from OUR Kitchen
4- Gattina from Gattina
5- Haalo from Cook (Almost) Anything at Least Once
6- Anyone who wants to participate

If you decide to participate, please let Dan know at: dan AT saltshaker DOT net
Also, don’t forget to provide a link to his original post: http://www.saltshaker.net/20060630/the-butterfly-effect

Oh! And let me know, too, that you participated. I’d love to read about your experiences.

Thanks, Dan!

Paz

The Me meme

September 30, 2006 | Filed Under Memes | Leave a Comment 

Five Things to Eat Before You Die

September 2, 2006 | Filed Under Memes | Leave a Comment 

Melissa of Traveler’s Lunchbox has started a meme of sorts asking food bloggers to recommend “things you’ve eaten and think that everyone should eat at least once before they die.”

Susan of Porchini Chronicles, Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen, Gilly of Humble Pie, and Tony of Bachelor Cooking have tagged me to participate. Thanks, ladies and gentleman!

I’ve seen a lot of wonderful lists. Here’s my humble list. I wish it could be longer but this time, I’m going to be good and stick to the required five-list instruction.

Paz

1- Fried plantain – (called kelewele in Ghana, West Africa) or ripe plantain in any recipe form: Everyone knows by now this is my number one favorite food from childhood. Plantain, sprinkled with salt, sometimes fresh ginger, and then fried – delicious!

2- New York City hot dog – In particular, Nathan’s hot dog from the original Nathan’s at Coney Island (Brooklyn). There are other Nathan’s around the city but the hot dogs don’t taste the same. My friend Kathleen wonders if it’s the salty air by the beach that makes the difference. Another recommended hot dog place in the city is Grey’s Papaya Hot Dog. My favorite hot dog topping is mustard and sauerkraut but other topping choices are available.

3- New York City pizza: There’s nothing like a NYC pizza; one can become addicted to it. It’s so different from other pizza made elsewhere. It’s unlike deep-dish pizza, thin crust pizza, Chicago pizza, and Italian pizza… You get the idea. You can order different toppings — either vegetables and or meats — on your pizza. While I like that, my favorite is a plain ole’ slice (just cheese and sauce).

4- BLT sandwich (Bacon, lettuce, and tomato): From the right NYC deli, this is a simple yet mouthwatering, tasty sandwich.

5- Italian gelato: One of my favorite memories of Italy was having delicious gelato every evening after dinner. Yeah, every evening! It’s too bad I didn’t try all the available flavors.

Tag:
I tag anyone who would like to participate in this meme. Go for it! What’s your list of five things to eat before you die?

* * * * *

Man eats 53 ¾ hot dogs in 12 minutes!

Every July 4th, there a hot dog eating contest held at Coney Island in Brooklyn. A Nathan’s hot dog is pretty good, but I do not suggest you gorge yourself like this, as you will not enjoy your hot dog.

Six-time hot dog eating champion, Takeru Kobayash from Japan.
Photos from news.yahoo.com

Champion’s hot dog contest eating technique

Wiener Wars

Confessions in Groups of 5 Meme

June 17, 2006 | Filed Under Memes | Leave a Comment 

Getty Images

Michele of Chef Michele’s Adventures and Pam of Posie’s Place have tagged me for this Confessions in Groups of 5 meme. So let’s get started!

5 items in the freezer
1. Frozen vegetables – cut okra, chopped spinach, green peas
2. Häagen Daz – Butter Pecan
3. Sofrito
4. Pine nuts
5. Ground beef

5 items in my closet
1. clothes
2. books
3. shoes
4. books
5. clothes

5 items in my (our) car (van)
Don’t’ drive. Don’t have a car.

5 items in my purse
1. Mace/Pepper Spray – NO just joking! Keys
2. Library card
3. face powder, which I rarely use
4. lip balm, which I always use
5. Non Drivers License I.D.

5 Bloggers I tag for this meme
1. Anyone
2. Who
3. Wants
4. To
5. Participate!

Thanks, Chef Michele and Pam!

I’d like to remind you all about two upcoming events:
1- From My Rasoi event - See here. Deadline is June 30.
2- BlogDay 2006 - See here. Takes place August 31.

Come along and join in the fun!

Paz

Around the World meme

April 4, 2006 | Filed Under Memes | Leave a Comment 

Photo (c) Copyright 2005 Lucullian delights

Ilva thinks I’ve been slaking off on my blog posts lately. So, she has tagged me for this Around the World meme.

Sorry about the decline in the number of my posts but at the moment, my schedule no longer allows me much time. Also, I’ve been having some serious Internet connection problems, which makes it difficult for me to sometimes access my blog and many of the blogs that I normally read. Oh well, such is life. I’m sure things will get better and I’ll be more active to everyone’s liking again.

Okay: Here are my answers to the meme:

1. Please list three recipes you have recently book marked from food blogs to try:

Hmmm… that’s hard because I book mark many recipes from various blogs, all the time. To name a few: The Traveler’s Lunchbox. As a matter of fact, I think I’ve book marked almost all of the recipes there. The same applies to recipes from Lucullian delights. Oh, and there are recipes from The flying Apple and the Domestic Cat. There’s a wonderful Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Vinaigrette recipe on de Arte Coquinaria. Yum! There’s a Slow Roasted Salmon with Chive Oil recipe on Beyond Salmon… There’s more. I could go on, but I’d better stop here. Oh, wait a minute – I recently saw an okra recipe on Fran’s Flavors… and some recipes from Trembom in English… and more… It’s terribly unfair to ask me to only name three blogs….

2. A food blog in your vicinity
For a long time, I only knew of Mona’s Apple. I’ve since found out there are more like: Foodite, Hold the Raisins, The Hungry Rose, Iron Stomach, and In Mol Araan…. Sorry, I have to name more than one.

3. A food blog located far from you
Again, I can’t only name just one: Sailu’s Food (India), Rosa’s Yummy Yums (Switzerland), Kafka na Praia (Brazil), 80 Breakfasts (the Philippines), Nami-Nami (Scotland)….

4. A food blog (or several) you have discovered recently (where did you find it?)
Posie’s Place, Kai-Vegan, I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream, and Food for Thought, and Naughty Curry – I believe they’ve all stopped here. Gastronome – I discovered on Cream Puffs in Venice.

5. Any people or bloggers you want to tag with this meme?
Anyone who wants to participate in this meme is very welcome to do so.

Thanks, Ilva, for tagging me!

Paz