Παρασκευή 25 Δεκεμβρίου 2009

Russian Beetroot (Borshch ) Soup Recipe



4 to 6 servings

* Butter or oil -- 2-3 tablespoons
* Onion, minced -- 1
* Beets, peeled and grated -- 1 pound
* Tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced -- 1 cup
* Beef stock or water -- 2 quarts
* Red wine vinegar -- 3-4 tablespoons
* Sugar -- 1 tablespoon
* Salt and pepper -- to taste
* Sour cream -- 1/2 cup
* Fresh dill, chopped -- 1 bunch

Method

1. Heat the butter or oil over medium flame in a large pot. Add the onions and sauté until translucent. Stir in the beets and tomatoes and stir to heat through. Pour in the stock or water, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Taste the broth, and adjust the amount of vinegar or sugar as needed. Broth should be lightly tart-sweet, but not overwhelmingly so.
2. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to low and simmer for 45-50 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked yet retain their texture. Serve hot or cold in bowls garnished with a dollop of sour cream (smetana) and a sprinkling of chopped fresh dill.

Variations

* Some say a true Ukrainian borshch must have beans. Add fresh green beans or cooked white beans to the simmering soup.
* For a borshch with meat, add some chopped beef brisket, ham, sausages, beef frankfurters, or some pork ribs to the simmering soup. Use about 2-3 cups total. Simmer until the meat is tender.
* Try using a variety of vegetables. Sauté some chopped carrots, celery, celery root, parsley root or mushrooms with the onions. Add some shredded cabbage, chunks of potato, parsnip, fresh green beans or cooked white beans to the simmering soup. Use about 2-3 cups total.
* Traditionally, borshch achieved its sour twang by being left to ferment for a few days. These days vinegar speeds the process up. Other ingredients are often used in place of vinegar to add a sour flavor. These include lemon juice, pickle juice, rhubarb juice or fermented beet kvas.
* Use rubber gloves when peeling and grating the beets to avoid staining your hands. The beets can be grated on a box grater, in a food processor, or you can cut them into a small dice if you prefer.

Russian Salad Recipe

This is a colourful and fun-to-make salad from Russia! Really impressing on the dinner table!

Ingredients

* Beetroot
* Canned corn
* Onions, cut in pieces
* Pomegrades
* Canned Cucumber
* Lettuce

Sauce

Mix mayo, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. At the end, add some yogurt to make the taste lighter.

Put all vegetables in a large round plate and put sauce in the middle. Serve it on individual plates after mixing the sauce and the veggies! Enjoy!

Τρίτη 15 Δεκεμβρίου 2009

Munich Japan Dinner :)))

The before:





And the after:

Σάββατο 12 Δεκεμβρίου 2009

La Revancha del Tango


The video that gave me the inspiration of starting dancing tango!

De angelis - PREGONERA

http://www.chorotropio.gr/


You know you're a tango junkie when...

* When you realize the milonga is where you see all your friends.
* Walking into new buildings and noticing potential dance space to tango.
* You cross country lines to tango!
* You often find yourself googling phrases containing the word "tango".
* Your first question when buying clothes is "but can I dance in it?"used to be "but can I wear it to work?"
* You wish you paid more attention in high school Spanish class.
* You have a tango bumper sticker or your license plate contains a word related to tango.
* You plan the rest of your social life so it doesn't conflict with tango nights.
* Your fantasy travel destination is Buenos Aires.
* You listen to tango music when you're not at a practica or milonga.
* You now view the world in terms of people who tango and those unfortunate souls who don't.
* Before traveling, you check out the net for tango events in that area.
* You have to work hard to maintain nontango friendships (if you have any left).
* You have developed the ability to turn any conversation to tango within 2 minutes.
* You no longer have parties at your house; you host milongas.
* You practice the roles of both lead and follow to fully understand the dance.
* You have bought a piece of clothing not commonly seen in public.
* You dance tango in your mind.
* You've gone home after a dance with someone else's glitter on your face.
* When you wait in line, you must fight the urge to randomly gancho those around you.
* You constantly have bruises on your legs and feet..
* Your respect for others is measured by how well they can dance.
* You feel exhausted but come alive when you hear a tango and hit the dancefloor.
* When you find yourself dressing a stranger in your eyes in 3" heels and a black dress.
* When you and another contractor are workin on a move to Calo two stories above the ground, tool belts clinking.
* When you laugh out loud at bad tango in movies.
* When you walk backwards to the refrigerator.
* You've remodeled your house mainly to maximize dance space.
* Entering a lift and making a side step with your left foot to give way to somebody going out, you change weight on the doubletime.
* You copied your tango music to your office computer.
* You've danced with one of the biggies and survived.
* You go through withdrawal without at least one tangohigh per week.
* You've stopped saying sorry when you screw up you just tango out of the trouble you got into.
* You keep a pair of dance shoes in your car.
* You've sold or moved most of your furniture to give yourself practice space.
* You are unable to schedule major surgery without compromising tango commitments.
* When you look in the mirror, you are usually looking at your feet.
* Your shopping cart often substitutes as your dance partner.
* You've figured out how to find the hidden tango sections in any record store.
* You are willing to spend twice as much time driving to a milonga as you actually dance.
* Your computer passwords are phrases related to tango.
* Your ear has been trained to recognize the tango possibilities in all forms of music.
* You maintain a phone list of the hardcore tangueros in your area.
* Tango has diminished, if not ruined, the appeal of every other dance you ever did.
* You have become nocturnal.
* You have been spotted dancing tango in parking lots.
* Posters for upcoming tango events are always magnetized to your refrigerator.
* Your interest in shoes can easily be mistaken for a fetish.
* You have been known to sing in the ear of your partner while dancing.
* You recognize that special glow in the night as another hotbed of tango erupts in the distance.
* Friends and family automatically assume that you want tangorelated birthday gifts.
* Your dancing shoes always look wellused.
* You can't resist dancing a few tango steps whenever you cross a wooden floor.
* You find that you sandwich feet far more often than shake hands.
* You find that dancers drawn to tango are the most interesting passionate people you know.
* You draw satisfaction every time you break someone's Hollywood misconception of the dance.
* When you go to a conference, you plan your trip around local tango events.
* The first thing you do when you buy a new cd is skip through each song to evaluate its tango potential.
* You keep a portable stereo and an iPod full of tango music in your car.
* You choose your bars based on how much they mind you bringing in your own music and clearing tables out of the way.
* You'll pay money to attend a regular ballroom dance just on the offchance that they'll play a tango.
* You dance with spare chairs in the middle of the room.
* You gancho your way out of the door.
* You look at random people in the street and try to evaluate their tango abilities.
* You look at dresses and skirts as "good" or "not good", according to how good and practical they would look on you, while you dance.
* In the supermarket you hide yourself behind the trolley and practice forward steps. Now and then you have to check the price of the product you don’t need two meters behind your back to also practice the reverse.
* The first thing you do when you buy a new cd is skip through each song to evaluate its tango potential.

Films I like :)



"Andrei Rubluev" - Andrei Tarkovsky

"Solaris" - Andrei Tarkovsky

"The Mirror" - Andrei Tarkovsky *

"Nostalgia" - Andrei Tarkovsky

"The Yards" - James Gray

"We own the night" - James Gray *

"Two Loves" - James Gray *

"Walk the line", The life of Johnny Cash - James Mangold *

"Cursive II" - Japanese DanceTheatre Play, Music By John Cage

"Summer with Monica" - Ingmar Bergman

"Η νύχτα των σαλτιμπάκων" - Ingmar Bergman *

"Persona" - Ingmar Bergman *

"Passion" - Ingmar Bergman *

"Belle de jour" - Luis Bunuel *

"El ángel exterminador" - Luis Bunuel

"Nazarin" - Luis Bunuel

"The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" - Luis Bunuel *

"Ascenceur pour l'echafaud (ασανσέρ για δολοφόνους)" - Luis Malle

"Shadows" - Kasavetis

"To mystiko frourio" - Kurosava *

"Down by Law" - Jim Jarmusch

"Barfly (Written by Charles Bukowski"

"Yes Man" -
Peyton Reed


* To be watched soon..

The Books I like :)


Literature:

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

The Idiot- Dostoyievsky

Crime and Punishment

The Eternal Husband

White Nights

Stieg Larson - Millenium The Trilogy

Several:

Tarkovsky

Yojokun

Woman: An Intimate Geography

Self Trigger Point Therapy

Zen Body Therapy

Cooking:

A Little Taste of Japan

Japanese Cook Book by Harumi

The Modern Ayurvedic Cookbook

Matcha Ice-Cream


from the book "New Tastes in Green Tea", by Mutsuko Tokunaga

"I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream", Roberto Benini in "Down by Law" :))

* 2 cups milk
* 4 egg yolks
* 2/3 cups sugar
* 1 Tbsp cornstarch
* 1/3 tsp salt
* 4 Tbsp matcha + 2/3 cup hot water
* 1 cup fresh cream
* 1 medium orange, cut into sections
* fresh cherries

1. Heat the milk in a small pan to about 140 degrees F (60 degrees C). Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Place the egg yolks in a pan and beat lightly. Add the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. and mix thoroghly with a whisk. Gradually pour in the heated milk and stir, making sure that no lumps form. Strain the mixture and pour it back into the pan.

3. Place the pan over a low flame and cook until the milk thickens, stirring all the time with a wooden ladle. Remove from heat and set aside.

4. Mix the matcha and hot water and stir briskly until the past becomes smooth.

5. In another bowl, whip the cream until semi-stiff, fold the milk, and add the matcha paste.

6. Pour into a metal or plastic container, and place in the freezer to set. After two hours of so, take it out and mix thoroughly with a spoon or whisk, then resume freezing. Repeat this process 3 or 4 times to ensure the ice-cream is smooth.

7. Serve with orange sections and cherries.