It turns out that little kids like the music from movies almost as much as the movies themselves. As an example, we have just finished youtubing "Hallelujah", a classically popular song performed by one John Cale in the first Shrek movie, and originally written and performed by Canada's own Leonard Cohen. The real deal. And here we sit, listening to the song over and over and over. Deja vu and vu and vu and vu.....the Shrek movie itself screened a minimum of four times a day for two straight months during our overseas vacation (that may actually be a conservative estimate) and was mysteriously left behind upon departure. Could it be that the fascination with "Hallelujah" and "All Star" and "I'm a Believer" (another classic originally attributed to Neil Diamond) is some form of revenge?
It has been theorized that much of what ties us to our childhoods are these sensory cues. A favourite cartoon character, a cd (in my case LP) that your mother listened to over and over, the smell of the diesel tractor in the field, the taste of rice pudding straight from the oven, and the list could go on and on into eternity. I like to think that this endless stream of Shrek-related events represents a couple of bricks in the sturdy foundation of a happy and fulfilling childhood for the children of the new generation.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Koshary to the Max
One should probably not advertise oneself as authentically diverse without backing it up once in awhile. So saying, I would like to provide, for your sampling pleasure, a recipe for Koshary Ads...the ultimate in Egyptian comfort food:
6 eggs
2 cups calrose rice
1 cup red lentils
1 tablespoon olive oil
tepid water
salt, pepper, cumin
3 medium roma tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
Boil a small pot of water. Place the eggs into the boiling water. Let boil for around ten minutes while you prepare the koshary ads.
Place rice and lentils together in the pot of your rice cooker. Rinse thoroughly and repeatedly with tap water until the water stops becoming milky when added to the rice mixture. This may take as many as four or five rinses. Add water until it comes up to the first knuckle of your middle finger when you stick your hand in vertically and touch the rice. Add the oil and the spices and set your rice cooker to cook. It should take around twenty minutes. During this time, dice the tomatoes and chop the cilantro and set aside. Place your boiled eggs into lukewarm water and peel. They are much easier to peel if they are still quite warm. Once peeled, let the eggs cool for a few minutes then slice in half lengthwise.
When your koshary ads is finished cooking, fluff it up with a large plastic spoon, then spoon a generous portion onto each plate. Place beside it three egg halves. Garnish the koshary ads with diced tomatoes and chopped cilantro and a sprinkle of cumin. Serve while koshary is still hot. Serves four.
All true Egyptian meals should be followed by hot loose-leaf tea with sugar and mint.
6 eggs
2 cups calrose rice
1 cup red lentils
1 tablespoon olive oil
tepid water
salt, pepper, cumin
3 medium roma tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
Boil a small pot of water. Place the eggs into the boiling water. Let boil for around ten minutes while you prepare the koshary ads.
Place rice and lentils together in the pot of your rice cooker. Rinse thoroughly and repeatedly with tap water until the water stops becoming milky when added to the rice mixture. This may take as many as four or five rinses. Add water until it comes up to the first knuckle of your middle finger when you stick your hand in vertically and touch the rice. Add the oil and the spices and set your rice cooker to cook. It should take around twenty minutes. During this time, dice the tomatoes and chop the cilantro and set aside. Place your boiled eggs into lukewarm water and peel. They are much easier to peel if they are still quite warm. Once peeled, let the eggs cool for a few minutes then slice in half lengthwise.
When your koshary ads is finished cooking, fluff it up with a large plastic spoon, then spoon a generous portion onto each plate. Place beside it three egg halves. Garnish the koshary ads with diced tomatoes and chopped cilantro and a sprinkle of cumin. Serve while koshary is still hot. Serves four.
All true Egyptian meals should be followed by hot loose-leaf tea with sugar and mint.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
A Word of Warning
Over the past week or so, Blogger has experienced a significant crash and burn, possibly due to a purposeful aggressive act against the system and/or a specific blogger.
Just to make it completely clear to anyone out there who may be engaging such activites, you are not beyond the reach of the law and you are not anonymous or untraceable. Every online action can be tracked and if an individual is found to have been involved in slanderous, fraudulent or destructive (or to any other degree criminal) activities, he or she has a very high likelihood of criminal prosecution. Do not be fooled by the perceived untouchability of your location; such criminal prosecution falls under a certain category of reciprocity between countries such that you will be found and held accountable no matter where you are or were when you engaged in these activities.
You should give some serious thought to whether your misguided attempts to wreak havoc with people who have no connection to your life are really worth carrying a criminal record for the rest of your life, interferring with your ability to travel internationally, to be hired by most corporations, etc. etc. Just saying.
Just to make it completely clear to anyone out there who may be engaging such activites, you are not beyond the reach of the law and you are not anonymous or untraceable. Every online action can be tracked and if an individual is found to have been involved in slanderous, fraudulent or destructive (or to any other degree criminal) activities, he or she has a very high likelihood of criminal prosecution. Do not be fooled by the perceived untouchability of your location; such criminal prosecution falls under a certain category of reciprocity between countries such that you will be found and held accountable no matter where you are or were when you engaged in these activities.
You should give some serious thought to whether your misguided attempts to wreak havoc with people who have no connection to your life are really worth carrying a criminal record for the rest of your life, interferring with your ability to travel internationally, to be hired by most corporations, etc. etc. Just saying.
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