Followers

Monday 1 March 2010

Words of Wisdom;

Wisdom is knowing things that help a person to live sensibly and make good decisions. Wisdom is defined differently by many cultures. Some say that wisdom is something a person learns as they grow older.
If someone has wisdom we say he is wise.

The ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting; insight.
Common sense; good judgment:
The sum of learning through the ages; knowledge:
A wise outlook, plan, or course of action.


"What experience and history teach is this -- that people and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it.": Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel - (1770-1831) German philosopher

Saturday 20 February 2010

Cooking; Lentils; healthy and delicious;

Ingredients to cook a healthy and delicious lentil stew.
2 cups lentils, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 3 bay leaves, curry powder, ground cumin, pepper, herb salt (made from my herbs), tomato paste and water. (I use when ever possible my own grown or organic.)

The ancient Greek dramatist Aristophanes mentions lentil soup in his plays and describes it as the "sweetest of delicacies."

Put half a table spoon ghee into a pan and make a sofritto with the finely chopped onion, carrot and bay leaves. The onions and carrots must not get brown. This will be the base for the lentil stew.

Lentils contain high levels of proteins, including the essential amino acids isoleucine and lysine, and are an essential source of inexpensive protein in many parts of the world for those who adhere to a vegetarian diet or cannot afford meat acids, methionine and cystine.

Apart from a high level of proteins, lentils also contain dietary fiber, folate, vitamin B1, and minerals.

Add the soaked and rinsed lentils (soak the lentils 2-3 h before use) and 2 table spoons tomato paste. 1 teaspoon curry powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, salt and pepper to your liking.
mix well and let simmer for 2-3 minutes, add 2 cups of water.


Let this lentil stew simmer for 1 1/2 h or until the lentils are nice and soft. Check from time to time if it needs more water. It can be reheated in the microwave the next day.

Lentils are annual plants producing lens-shaped seeds. A cousin of the bean, the lentil belongs to the legume family, or those with seeds that grow within pods. Lentils are quite rich in iron and have the highest levels of protein of any vegetable next to soybeans.

Lentils, botanically-known as Lens culinaris esculenta, have been a source of sustenance for our ancestors since prehistoric times. The word lentils comes from the Latin lens, and indeed, this bean cousin is shaped like the double convex optic lens which took its name from the lentil.

Lentil is the oldest food legume that has been known to the mankind. The nutritious value of the seeds of the plant is quite high as it is rich in carbohydrates, fibers and proteins and that is why lentil is so popular among the vegetarian population of the world.

It also acts as an important secondary crop in the crop rotation schedule as it has been proven that masur crop is extremely good in fixing nitrogen from the atmosphere and forming nitrogen nodules in the soil that rejuvenates the nutrients and keeps the soil productive for a long time.

Lentil or masur is one of the earliest and first crops that have ever been cultivated. Lentil originated in the central Asian region in the prehistoric times.
The earliest archeological finding in context of lentil is from the Paleolithic and Mesolithic layers of Franchthi caves in the Peloponnese, Greece that dates back to almost 13000 to 9500 years ago. Other ancient findings are from Syria and Jericho area of Palestine that is almost 8000 years old and from Turkey dating back to around 6700 BC.

Bon appetit



Monday 1 February 2010

Lunch with the family;

The table is ready for a companionable lunch with the family;

A good Red, Shiraz "Cow Bombie" Margaret River, Western Australia;


Heirloom Napkins;

The Poeta bought me this contraption to cut onions etc. He saw it and bought it, thought it would be a big help to cut the onions. It is alright when one has to cut lots of onions like for Goulash or onion Pie or Pissaladiere etc. I usually cut the onions by hand. It is definitely not a MUST HAVE!

I cooked Capsicums filled with Rice and Mushrooms; Lamb and a mixed salad.
I did not make an Entree because Lilli had prepared an elaborate, filling dessert.

(When I removed it from the oven looking delicious; I forgot to take a picture of the finished dish...LOL)


Lilli made this Bread and Butter Pudding, it was yummy; would anybody like the recipe?





























Saturday 9 January 2010

Reflections; Imagine...


Shadow like the goldfish swim between the branches of the Jacaranda tree and the Strelitzia leaves.

To see many more reflections click here

Monday 9 November 2009

I love rain;


C J Dennis1876-1938, written in 1913

Adelaide and Oodnadatta,
Pepegoona, parched and dry
Laugh beneath a dripping sky.
Riverina's thirsting plain
Knows the benison of rain.
Ararat and Arkaroola
Render thanks with Tantanoola
For the blessings they are gaining,
And it's raining - raining - raining!


Weeps the sky at Wipipee
Far Farina's folk are dippy
With sheer joy, while Ballarat
Shouts and flings aloft its hat.
Thirsty Thackaringa yells;
Taltabooka gladly tells
Of a season wet and windy;
Men rejoice on Murrindindie;
Kalioota's ceased complaining;
For it's raining - raining - raining!


On the wilds of Winininnie
Cattle low and horses whinny,
Frolicking with sheer delight.
From Beltana to The Bight,
In the Mallee's sun-scorched towns,
In the sheds on Darling Downs,
In the huts at Yudnapinna,
Tents on Tidnacoordininna,
To the sky all heads are craning -
For it's raining - raining - raining!


Mile on mile from Mallacoota
Runs the news, and far Baroota
Speeds it over hill and plain,
Till the slogan of the rain
Rolls afar to Yankalilla;
Wallaroo and Wirrawilla
Shout it o'er the leagues between,
Telling of the dawning green.
Frogs at Cocoroc are croaking,
Booboorowie soil is soaking,
Oodla Wirra, Orroroo
Breathe relief and hope anew.

Wycheproof and Wollongong
Catch the burden of the song
That is rolling, rolling ever
O'er the plains of Never Never,
Sounding in each mountain rill,
Echoing from hill to hill…
In the lonely, silent places
Men lift up their glad, wet faces,
And their thanks ask no explaining -
It is raining - raining - raining!



C J Dennis, Poet & Journalist was born in Auburn, South Australia, on 7 September 1876, he was christened Clarence Michael James, and afterwards given the confirmation name of Stanislaus. He preferred to be known as Den.
After formal education in Gladstone, Laura and Adelaide, Den worked in a number of diverse positions, such as a solicitor's clerk, a member of the staff of the Critic (a weekly Adelaide journal), and a hotel barman. Already writing, a number of his early verse were published in the’Critic’ in 1898.



Raindrops on Salvia;