Top 10 Foods of 2010

Huffington Post:
By: Endless Simmer 
Posted: December 28, 2010 


Huffington Post, lists the top 10 foods of 2010 in this article.A great and interesting list: from Fried Peanut Butter, Banana and Bourbon Sandwich, North American Sushi, Burrato (Mozzarella ) , Chicken tenders and avocado sauce, Malaysian BBQ , Pie Shake ( Pie and Ice cream ) , KFC fried chicken, Smoked meat with cheese curds and gravy,and at the top : Fried Beer.


Check them out! The photos look very delicious! :)


Toast for a new food experience .
And Happy New  Year 2011 :)

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods

  I chose this poem by the British poet Lord Byron. He was  famous  for his romanticism and  his satire Don Juan! But, here is one of the poems that i like from his writings . Enjoy it!


There is a pleasure in the pathless woods
From Childe Harold, Canto iv, Verse 178

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,

There is a rapture on the lonely shore,

There is society, where none intrudes,  

By the deep sea, and music in its roar:

I love not man the less, but Nature more,

From these our interviews, in which I steal

From all I may be, or have been before,

To mingle with the Universe, and feel

What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal.



Inspired and Retired (Food Markets)

Though there are plenty of striking books that I have read and are beyond doubt considered an inspiration for me in food writing.

But there is one particular book .

It is not a narrative, nor an autobiography, neither a coaching book.

Food Markets of the World , is a book with an idiosyncratic adventure, that takes us to  60 different markets around the world. Markets that span from   from the famous Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington, to the olive vats of Palermo, to the markets of the south of France, and to the Amish markets of Pennsylvania

The book entices all our senses as we flip through the pictures Nelli Sheffer took and through the description of the prominent food critic Mimi Sheraton.

Mimi Sheraton  makes us feel that we are really roaming these markets with her, choosing the herbs, picking the exquisite vegetables, buying those spices,  bargaining over those fresh fish with the sellers .Indeed, a cultural and historical experience that encourages us to visit these traditional markets  and explore somehow their secrets. Mimi also provides us with recipes and information of some exclusive local foods of these markets.

Nelli Sheffer's  eccentric photographs cannot , but  make these markets alive . The lure of each  place is seen  in the book, such as the  Delhi spice vendor asleep among overflowing sacks of fiery red chilies and heaps of burnished orange turmeric.

Nevertheless, many critized this book as it lacks so much information and it is not really satisfying in terms of its writing and that the photos weren’t alluring to some readers.

It got a rating 3/5  from goodreads website.

However, personally, i consider this book inspired me to start this whole photoblogging activity. So, I took few photos of some of the three markets i visited  so far and i will be posting them separately later. 

And perhaps, when I am retired  or hopefully before, I will inaugurate in this voyage to visit the local markets of each country in the world, because it is these places you learn the essence of authentic and traditional foods. And It is that such places, that teach you the nativity of the land , and the folklore of the locals.

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(This photo is the property of the Publisher of the Book)

Publisher Notes:
In Food Markets of the World, noted author and food critic Mimi Sheraton conducts an international tour through a full itinerary of marketplaces, introducing each region and sharing recipes, market lore, and colorful anecdotes about local culinary traditions. And photographer Nelli Sheffer has traveled the globe to capture in stunning images the spice merchants of Delhi, the floating vegetable stalls of the Mekong Delta, the olive vats of Palermo, the Amish farmers of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and more. Included are markets in China, Egypt, Brazil, France, Germany, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Tanzania, the United States, and Vietnam.
Published October 1997 by Harry N Abrams

more details... ISBN 0810911841 (ISBN13: 9780810911840)

Not Playing the Game

I came lately across a very interesting quote from the famous  Irish playwright :"George Bernard Shaw". I enjoy his writings, his plays, his sarcasm and his unique sense of humor. This post  I sn't intended to talk about him, though I had a flicker of hesitation to delete what was on my mind to blog, and write about Shaw and his  achievements. Indeed, he is my idol in sarcasm and play writing. But I think i will keep a special post for him later.

Back to the subject, the quote was  : " The man who writes about himself and his own time is the only man who writes about all people and all time."

That was a really motivational quote for me to write in my blog further about my personal experiences, believes and thoughts. While some of my friends encourage me to detach my personal life from my blog, and others advised me to make it more professional i,e more about my career ( like those blogs that aim on marketing a service or a product). Frankly,  I told them I dont like their advise. I like my blog the way it is; delicate, with my thoughts, and my individualism in it. It is not being egoistic. It is being distinctive.

And from being distinctive, you can explore the world around you with non-conformance.  And thus, you can eventually write about this world. Shaw is right. His quote falls perfectly in the realm of what I want to reach by writing these posts in my blog.

“Not playing the game”, in the blogging aspect , is what may help me reach my ultimate goals.

A Summarized Script for writing a Research… .in Love.

The Scientist:
A scientist I am; always yearning for an answer. Longing to unravel all the ambiguity that surrounds me.
All because curiosity churns my stomach like someone who swallowed a pebble and can’t get it out.

A scientist I am in love. Constantly craving for an explanation of my feelings towards you. "What is love? Why do I love? And most importantly why do I love you in particular?"
It is not curiosity this time. It is something beyond it, something even harder to get it out because it is not just my stomach that aches; it is also my mind, and my soul.
Something which is not just physical, not even notional, but metaphysical – something beyond human senses or feelings, beyond what can be established by scientists.

Perhaps I am becoming a mad scientist. I don’t want to. And to avoid reaching this phase, a scientist got to do what a scientist got to do: experiment, try, and test to get a viable proof, maybe not a proof to the world, but merely to him.

Albeit, no matter how much I designed and tried, the scientist in me is a human afterall.
So, I fell in the cracks of randomness, clumsy experiments, uncertainties and jumbled proofs, that one experience when in love.
But I am an unwavering tenacious scientist. I never give up.

So, I went to proceed with my subject. However, this time it was you.

My Favorite Recipe

This recipe holds some wisdom in it, it is a short poem made by the famous American Poet Langston Hughes, titled " What happens to a dream deferred"?
I recall that I was in grade 7 when i  heard his poem for the first time . My english teacher was reading it and I immediately and  memorized it . ( Not that it is short :P) . From that time till now ( 9 years almost) ,  I enjoy reading it over and over again every time I feel like I am  losing sight and hope of my dreams. I consider this poem as a great recipe to make you struggle and not give up on your dreams , otherwise they will "explode " at some point of your life.




Langston is right. Dreams can never be lost. They are just postponed, deferred.


So"What happens to a Dream Deferred?"

Does it dry up

like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore--

And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over--

like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

like a heavy load.

Or does it explode? 
Langston Hughes

Though  Each word in this poem has a meaning , whether the raisin, the sun, or the meat . Everyone one  can associate these things that Langston mentioned to something in his/her life . But According to Langston, the main reason behind the poem was his urge to let the world  fight racial discrimination at the times it was prevailing in the U.S.A, and  his dream was  that the Black people get their rights and live equally with other people after  centuries of struggle.

Blogging Lebanon Event

So, I never posted the events I attend . But this time it is different. It is related to Blogging. I am basically a member in the AUB's Online Collaborative and we are organizing this event, check it out guys! :)

After its unfortunate cancellation last May due to student protests at the American University of Beirut, AUB's Online Collaborative is announcing the relaunch of AUB's First Lebanese Bloggers Convention, now renamed to Blogging Lebanon. This event that attracted many bloggers from the Arab and international scene is rescheduled to Friday December 3, 2010 at the American University of Beirut. The aim of this convention is to gather bloggers from around the region under one roof. The event will include several guest speakers from different backgrounds who will share their experiences and discuss different topics related to blogging and social media, such cultural aspects, privacy issues, importance of blogs, political implications, and dangers etc... Below is the list of guest speakers we have so far:

• (Her Majesty) Frances Guy, British Ambassador to the Republic of Lebanon, http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/roller/guy/
• Imad Bazzi, Executive Director of CyberAct and Journalist, http://www.trella.org/
• Diana Nemeh Afif, Business Owner/Writer, http://www.dinbcity.blogspot.com/
• Marc Dfouni, General Manager of Eastline Marketing, www.eastlinemarketing.com/blog
• Farah Abdel Sater, President of the UN Youth Association of Lebanon, farah-has-a-lot-to-say.blogspot.com
• Naeema Zarif, Art Director, http://www.naeemazarif.com/, on behalf of Creative Commons Community in Lebanon and Middle East Region
• Arek Dakessian, Online Content Manager of Shankaboot, http://www.shankaboot.com/
• Johnny El-Hage, Events Coordinator at AUB, http://www.johnnyhage.com/
• Mohamad Shawash, Head of Design, http://www.moeys.net/
• Ayman Itani, Social Entrepreneur, http://www.aymanitani.com/
• Mohammad Hijazi, President of AUB's Online Collaborative, moudz.blogspot.com, on behalf of Arab Social Media Forum http://www.arabsocialmediaforum.com/
• Meedo Taha, Architect & Filmmaker, http://www.meedosite.com/
• Loryne Atoui, Designer and Photoblogger. Currently projects: http://www.onewigstand.com/ and http://www.mosaic-ashrafieh.com/ (with Spreadminds) 
• Representatives from Arab Thought Foundation (Fikr), http://www.fikrconferences.org/
• The list will be updated with more speakers and the exact time of each session will be posted soon
  
  For more information and inquiries, don't hesitate to contact us at: online.collaborative@gmail.com. Meanwhile, join our event page on facebook and help us spread the word by inviting your friends.
  
  If you are a non-AUB guest, please read this very important post about your entry to AUB campus.

The " Do-nut" Comedy

 One of my favorite comedy quotes about Food :

" I bought a doughnut and they gave me a receipt for the doughnut... I don't need a receipt for the doughnut. I give you money and you give me the doughnut, end of transaction. We don't need to bring ink and paper into this. I can't imagine a scenario that I would have to prove that I bought a doughnut. To some skeptical friend, 'Don't even act like I didn't get that doughnut, I've got the documentation right here... It's in my file at home. ...Under "D".'”  by Mitch Hedberg

Doesnt it bug you?? seriously!!! The next time  I am going to buy a doughnut , i will write this comment on  the customer survey!

  

It's time like these

I have not added any music lately to the "music" collection.
I was just listening to a song that really caught my ears :) ( if I am allowed to say this ).

A song by a famous American Rock band : The Foo Fighters , : "It's time like these"( Acoustic Version).
I feel that these are sincere word, here are the lyrics :

"I am a one way motorway

I’m the one that drives away

Then follows you back home

I am a street light shining

I’m a wild light blinding bright

Burning off alone....."

10 Unusual-Looking Fruits and Vegetables You Should Cook With

"Not all fruits and vegetables are as beautiful as strawberries or as elegant as asparagus but these nutritious plants deserve a chance at your table " . That's what the latest October  issue of  Reader's Digest magazine wrote.




True that i am not a fan of fruits, perhaps more into vegetables, this article lists all these exotic  fruits and vegetables that not only will add flavor and taste to your plate but will also provide you with the  beneficial nutrients


Check it out in the link below!
Reader's Digest ; 10 Unusual Looking Fruits and vegetables you should cook with!

The Sacredness of Tasting

A close friend was telling me today that i always brag  how much i like food, how much it is something personal for me and how much i choose it delicately . Nevertheless,  she adds that she actually never saw me so passionate about it . Despite that i talk about food constantly ( since i am a food scientist), she says she didnt saw me experience this  zeal "on the ground" .But  this talk was after the small incident that happened today.
So, what happened today??

Well, it was a small incident. Today,  I had a very arduous never lasting 60 minute aerobic class, where i literally couldn't breath . In the class, i was thinking about  juices, water , chocolate, french fries, Basmati rice , lasagna..etc This is what we call an urging appetite . Yes Yes  I was having a "FOOD Fantasy".

I wanted this class to finish so bad, so that i rush up to Bliss Street and choose whatever i like from my favorite foods .(Ironically, the streets name is after Reverend Daniel Bliss-an American missionary who founded the American University of Beirut,  and not because it is blissful due to all the restaurants there :P:P)

Despite all this food enthusiasm, i chose one simple food : "Hazelnut chocolate filled doughnut and a bottle of water". My friend ( which ofcorse was having a doughnut too) was watching me how  i  was eating the doughnut with passion : So, i just sat and looked at the doughnut for 30 sec, then i smelled it. After that , i had a first bite and listened to the sound that my teeth made  as it chewed the poor dough. Then I had another bite much slowlier than before . I wanted to incite all my senses, to feel this food, and so to enjoy it with nothing interrupting me.  My friend confessed that i was treating it as a sacred object.
It was  my heaven that moment.

I cant deny that tasting food is my passion. And i want to pursue more things in it .
Perhaps it will become  my religion, my ceremonial, my ritual, or even my sanctuary :)

Too Much Will Kill You

Too much of what? Too  much of Love !!
Huh? A thought I had  spinning in my head these past few days. Why on earth would too much love kill someone??
Shouldnt hate do this job?? Shouldnt revenge?
Love??? This divine emotion?? This unique state of humans?

But wait a second. It does kill sometimes if it is superfluous. It melts the person, dissolves him or her, make him/ her tired from loving. It can suffocate , leads to cases of insanity.  And so perhaps,  at the end it will lead to death, literally or figuratively.
Perhaps  the arabs got it  first in their famous arabic saying which  goes like :" من الحب ماقتل   "  : Translation : And  of love one kills.

Food for Quote

I had a cliche idea of  merely collecting some quotes that are "food" related  but actually hold wise words behind them.

"Men are like a fine wine.  They start out like grapes, and it's our job to stomp on them and keep them in the dark until they mature into something you'd like to have dinner with."  ~Author Unknown .haahaha true ;) dont you think so???

"Give me a fruitful error any time, full of seeds, bursting with its own corrections.  You can keep your sterile truth for yourself."  ~Vilfredo Pareto  . This one i cant blindly agree to!!

"Happiness is a bowl of cherries and a book of poetry under a shade tree. " ~Astrid Alauda . Nice :):)

"Life is half delicious yogurt, half crap, and your job is to keep the plastic spoon in the yogurt." ~Scott Adams. Perhaps. I hope not :P

“When you shoot an arrow of truth, dip its point in honey ” ~Arab proverb. Good advise! 

In the Summer.....

                                               In the Summer-بالصيف

In the summer,
I stretch out on the shore
And think of you
Had I told the sea
What I felt for you,
It would have left its shores,
Its shells,
Its fish,
And followed me

This is a poem for the Famous Arabic Poet "Nizar Kabbani" . A simple poem that takes me to another place and time :)

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Let There Be Light !!....[when we eat]

As  food scientists , we are always taught the importance of light in affecting our senses. Light is a main factor while evaluating food . Thus, when performing sensory evaluation tests , a specific type of light of  specific intensity should be chosen according to the aim of the experiment done on the food product.


For example, if we were testing an " upgraded product" and we wanted to see if consumers can detect the change in taste integrated in it , we evaluate it with the previous version of the product by performing a "Triangle Test". The lights in this test should be dark ( dark red rather than the normal light bulb in homes) to mask any difference in appearance that can affect the panelist's judgement immediately and let them indicate the product as being totally different.


This is an example of how light affects our food experience. Another example is will be an extract from the "Scientific American"  magazine.


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An article published in Scientific American ( Mind & Brain section), reviews the effect of darkness and light on our eating habits. The article thoroughly cites a  new scientific study  " Dining in the dark. The importance of visual cues for food consumption and satiety"(Scheibehenne B, et al., 2010).

64 Participants were served food in a dark restaurant .Half of them received supersize portions and thus they ate 36% more food. Participants normally weren't able to  precisely estimate their actual consumption than those who ate the same meal in the light.

Some scientists claim that this reason is because the eye is main detector i.e the eye can accurately evaluate how much the body needs food and how much it can consume and how much it consumed, whereas the stomach would take its time to judge appetite and satiety!

Of corse other scientists refute these findings by claiming that many factors weren't taken in consideration.


Perhaps that  is why they call "Light Food " , when there is light , you will eat less :P

You can find the whole article on this link : 

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=eating-in-the-dark

U2 Concert in Istanbul

Well, I wouldn't dare not to write a post on my favorite Rock band, U2.


I wont be talking about U2 but rather on their latest concert yesterday in a nearby country,Turkey.
Remarkably, U2 was the first rock band to play in Istanboul, Turkey.


I saw their concert just on the TV news and some youtube videos and i was amazed by the Ataturk Stadium , the lights, the stage and everything U2 prepared to enthrall their fans. It was really an unbeatable concert ( thought i wasnt there). 50,000 people from around the globe came to watch !


There was one remarkable video where Bono ( as usual including politics in his speeches) talked about the " Bridge" since Istanbul was European Capital of Culture. Here is what he said:
"It took us a while to come to your magical city Istanbul.... We are so very grateful to be here. What is going on in this country is important for the whole world. Yesterday, thanks to Egemen Baris, we walked across the Bhosporus Bridge from West to East, not just a bridge from Asia to .......... It's a beautiful bridge, and it's a bridge not just from Europe to Asia, not just from the religious to secular, from the past to the future, from where Europe has been to where Europe needs to go..." 


I also liked what he said about Snow Patrol as being a sacred talent :)
Noone can beat really beat U2 , neither in their songs, nor on their social and cultural impact they bring to this world . 
And as Bono once sung:  "But hope and history won't rhyme

                                          So what's it worth
                                         This peace on Earth"

*An intersting analysis of what U2 said by Lisa Darick, can be found on this link :
http://lafiga.firedoglake.com/2010/09/07/u2-bridges-istanbul-turkey-on-world-stage/

Food Price Concerns

Food prices are on the rise daily. Hunger is getting worse day by day. Despite all the technological advancements in the food production systems, there seem to be a missing link in ensuring food security worldwide.
BBC news reported that The United Nations' food agency has called a special meeting of policy makers to discuss the recent rise in global food prices. But where this meeting might lead and what will be the solutions, i think we will just have to wait and see !


Check the article , the link posted below:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11177346

No Average Eyes

She grows up with a dream, a "wild dream". A dream she thought she will never lose. 

She never wanted to be a doctor, or a teacher or a lawyer like all the girls she used to  play with.

Her mom wakes her up for the morning bath. She watches the ants walking around, while she is sitting in the bathtub. The ants were searching for food in a place that had  nothing.  But look how they were naïve when she poured water or stepped on them. She wanted to have their stamina, their endurance, but she wanted to be witty and sophisticated at the same time.

She went outside to shout at her cat that was ruining the flowers her mom planted. A bee comes around her. She heard it doing its symphonic humming sound to scare her off. Yes, she wanted to hum like a bee..but she didn’t want to sting though. 

A butterfly came roaming around. Then, the little girl thought I wanted to grow up like it; to wander freely, but I want to have a purpose in my roaming.  

She went back inside her house, to the work room of her father, with all the papers thrown here and there …What a mess! Usually, she sneezes alot when she enters this room, it is so dusty and her dad doesnt allow anyone to clean it. She screamed. She found a spider hopping around with his thread.  How fast he was, and how cunning!! She wanted to be like it , fast and light, but she didn’t want to make webs and let people fall for them . 

It is dusk now. Her mom was dressing her up her pijamas, when a moth entered the room searching for light chaotically. The little girl started looking at the light as well, she wanted to be driven by light but she didn’t want light to burn her like that poor moth.  

She is tucked in her bed now. She heard an annoying noise. Here comes the mosquito! Ahh, how she uses the perfect time during the night to get her food. "I want to be smart like it, seize the perfect moment when it comes ", said the little girl."  But I don’t want to live on people." 

 She eventually asked her father to get her a magnifier. Yet she was always afraid from them. 

Perhaps, one time in her life those insects inspired her. Yes, she wanted to be something different. 

Perhaps her dream changed by now, like all the girls who wanted to be doctors, teachers or lawyers...Their dreams changed too. So she is no different than them. But she still holds this aspiration deep inside, that nature will always be her idol, and she will always learn from it.

She is a grown up now. Sitting in bed , reading a book for Rumi , when she comes across this part: “Every tree and plant in the meadow seemed to be dancing, those which average eyes would see as fixed and still."

She knew her childhood eyes were never average. 

Some Food Humor

My collection of some photos related to food humor!

Enjoy :)

.

Invention of Splayd

For all the Sushi or wanna be sushi lovers !!

hahah i wish so !

oh well! no comment !

Sensory Evaluation of Love

Speaking of part of my major which involves greatly sensory evaluation of food i.e appearance, aroma, flavor and mouthfeel. I developed  a nice " sensory description" lexicon for  Love. Yes Love.


This is is a food scientist point of view of love :

Love -  is not just an experience of feelings , it is a complex sensory experience that beats any  food you will have in your life.


Appearance : Love has no color, no shape.  People report that it can also blind  eyes .


Smell : Once you smell it, It follows you wherever you are. You can never get rid of the aroma .
It can sometimes cause mild hallucination due to its overwhelming effect.


Taste : It is sweet , and bitter as most people say. But you can feel  some pungency on the tongue . In some cases,  astringency can be felt if love became "harsh and dry".


Some tasters may indicate that love has a   vivid taste  that engulfs all flavors and can sometimes add flavor to other things in life. That is , it can be a flavor booster , an " Umami" !!!!


Surely, It will leave an aftertaste , a leftover effect ; either a soothing mouthfeel , either a throat burn down.


Love belongs to the  " food mood"  class in the pyramid as indicated by  the US FDA :P




Perhaps Love is the ultimate sensory experiment that one can get in his life. Perhaps it is because Love is truly the food of the soul, providing energy  and enthralling one's senses every single second.

S' mores

I have met them under Brooklyn Bridge. It was two thousand and eight.
It had been a long tiring day, had been walking all day exploring the city by foot. We walked from upper Manhattan up till downtown , crossed the bridge and reached Brooklyn. We were searching for a famous pizza restaurant. Cant remember its name now. I remember that it was dark when we finally found it and there was a long line of people waiting for their turn for a place in the restaurant. Oh! wow we werent going to wait for our turn to come. We would die from hunger.

So, we left and started searching for an alternative till we found a small " open bar" restaurant right infront of the bridge and beside the water. The view of Manhattan skies was indescribable. The Lights of the skyscrapers , and the darkness they have at the same time.

In this open air resturant,  my friends made me order " SMORE'S". I had never tried it before. Now i wish i really never tried it. It was one of the blissful things human made on earth.

The melted chocolate wrapping  the white marshemellows  inside the graham-crackers, served hot.
It was a great " hunger quencher" . A simple formula, yet it arouses complex aromas and flavors.
Not to forget,  a chocolate moustache will appear at the end of this indulging experience.

Here is how you can prepare a S'more:

1. Heat the marshmallow over an open flame until it begins to brown and melt.
2. Break the graham cracker in half. Sandwich the chocolate between the cracker and the hot marshmallow. Allow the marshmallow to cool a moment before eating.

( Courtesy of Allrecipes.com) 

Notepad

Yesterday night was a night full of agony. I was fighting myself while sleeping, with things i wanted to do, with things I didn't do  and with things i did so far.
I woke up with a plan , I opened a notepad at 4 am in the morning, jotted it down.
The case is that  is not that I will forget these things, but i want them to be constantly haunting me so that I dont procrastinate or even worse hesitate.
And in case i failed , it will be my post of remorse ( I hope not)

of corse the list goes on, but these are my top 5.

PS : i forgot a 6th mission, which  an idea recently that i want to  attend a culinary class/ workshop  and turn part of this blog into a " culinary " appreciation or perhaps criticism ;)                       

                                               ah lets wait and see!

        

60 Pearls

It's my 60th Post . And since i turned 22 yesterday, i wanted to post all the pearls that make my life wonderful :) .
However, i will keep them to 6o only.

These are the 60 pearls that make the necklace of  a happy life :

1.   Blessing of your family.
2.  Falling in love.
3.  Laughing till your stomach hurts.
4.  Riding a car and randomly going to anyplace !
5.  Listening to your favorite song on the radio. And shout at everyone who are talking inorder to hear it
6.  Going to sleep listening to the rain pouring outside., and the thunder bursting
7.  Staying under warm water for an hour or more  !
8. Going to bed early and waking up early
9. Finding some money ( coins) in your purse.
10. Hearing a compliment .
11. Just ignoring what others think bad about you.
12.  Laughing at yourself. Or worse : Laughing without a reason
13. Studying hard for a test and getting the grade you deserve.
14.  Going out to dinner with all your friends.
15. Cooking for people you love.
16. Praying with all your heart and body ….and crying when you pray.
17. Watching the sunset.  And the sunrise :)
18. Remembering your childhood memories
19.  Listening to a song that reminds you of an important person in your life.
20. Playing cards, Monopoloy,  or even Risk….. Like old days
21. Having an  umbrella with you  when it rains accidentally and perhaps sharing it with someone.
22. Sun rays hitting your eyes and you feel you are really beautiful :)
23. Being the devil's advocate and defending other's rights.
24. Seeing the one you love happy.
25. Treating your enemy well.
26. Following the moon when you are in the car.
27. Kissing your mother's forehead .
28. Listening to the stories of your grandmother.
29. Looking under a waterfall, walking in a forest, climbing a mountain and splashing your feet in a river.
30.  Visiting an old friend of yours and remembering great memories.
31. Wearing your new beautiful cloth on the same day you got them.
32. Taking photos of random things you see .
33. Planning a birthday surprise for your friend.
34. Putting a birthday cake in the face of your friend or ice cream on the nose.
35. Having a quiet afternoon, maybe sipping tea and reading a book!
36. Getting a pet to your house !  A cat , dog, turtle , fish, or a bird! J
37. Swimming at night on a hot summer day.
38. Writing a blog : P
39. Shouting at people who annoy you. Yes just do it.
40.  Hearing someone telling you "I LOVE YOU"
41. Charity or doing any voluntary work for your community : ) 
42. Enjoying holiday vacations with your family !
43. Winning a contest or getting an award  because you worked hard on it.
44. Watching Disney movies!!
45. Simply Riding a Boat !
46. Coincidences!  And how they change your whole life!
47. Planting baby trees and see them growing.
48. Smiling to random people , and some who you don’t know.
49. Waiting for a special phone call, text message or email!
50. Playing with  kids ;  their games , their rules.
51. Admitting you were wrong and admitting that you lost.
52. Doing something you never did before like joining a Ta ke wo do class or a yoga or salsa or go skydiving.
53. Having a  five hour conversation with a  friend,  or a special person, or just your brother/sister.
54. Going to a concert for your favorite celebrity and singing their songs  out of your lungs!
55. Getting a surprise gift or sending one :)
56. Dancing and singing on the street!
57. Counting the stars.
58. Writing your own diaries for your future since you are afraid you might forget about your sweet / sad moments of your life.
59. Imagining your dreams coming true : having a family  and kids and being successful in your field :)
60. LAST but not least ,  BREATHING EVERY MOMENT!

Paulo ! It is Contagious!

Well, this whole post started because of Paulo!!.
Ah i was listening to a singer called Paulo Nutini. Perhaps none of my friends heard of him. A young singer but with a 50 year old voice!! Even more when he sings country music, his voice would sound like a yorkshire! But i was surprised while i was reading his biblioraphy that most of his songs were featured in the most watched series :  Last Request (Scrubs & One Tree Hill ), Million Faces ( Grey's Anatomy )...etc
Check his other songs as well . They are awesome. Gotta love his voice ;)

" Tallllll--INT"
Talent. Talent. Talent.
 Yes, everyone got a talent, an allure that makes him/her different from others.
Maybe am not in a position to judge who is talented and who is not . But i know  for sure that talent is everywhere around us . An average eye ignores a talent.So, we just have to search, look and enjoy it . It is a bless to have it and even more to enjoy people having it.

Perhaps, we dont know what is our true talent, this one special gift  makes us unique.  One talent , two or even more  are just waiting for you to be discovered.

You might be a drawer, a musician, a singer, a swimmer,  a businessman , a dancer.....you might be a comedian, an event organizer,  a politician, an adrenalin addict,  a computer geek,or  a fanatic soccer fan, a  community volunteer, a story teller, a workaholic, a  music collector, a crazy driver,

A marathon Cheerer ,traveling across countries 

                                                                A Wanna be clown!!
                                   

A C

Crazy Scientist!!

A Cool Farmer 

a cameraless photographer , a creative blogger, even a "post- it note " maniac, ..oh and i almost forgot a magical cook! ;)

So like What Paulo said :Try " New Shoes" every day, 
Try them all .....And  whatever you find is " your special" thing, enjoy it , and spread it around you.Show your apptitude .

Inspire others because talent is contagious ! :)

Thesis Syneresis

Syneresis : is a common term used by food scientists to explain the synersis of gels i.e the expulsion of liquid from gels. For example, when you press the " Jell-O" or when it stays in the fridge too long, water drains out.

This is "syneresis". Another example is the whey ( liquid) draining out from yogurt .

I should have been working on my thesis now, but i could not focus on reading around over 50 boring , mind- drenching,   scientific research articles!!! And  meanwhile i am  swifting , sea-saw like motion,  between two topics !!!

Hopefully, my thesis will be " syneres-ing" gradually  during this summer !! :)

"Copy from one, it's plagiarism; copy from two, it's research." - Wilson Mizner 

 “Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought” 

 “Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing.” Werner von Braun 

Oh, Btw this is V8, my cat , ( two years ago). She used to study with me. 
Or might i say sleep while i am studying!!! 
A Valid proof that research is really boring !! :P
( miss u V8)

I'M MAD AS HELL

BLOW THE WHISTLE ON HUNGER

1 000 000 000 PEOPLE live in chronic hunger and I'M MAD AS HELL

Put pressure on politicians to end hunger. 

Sign the petition and push for change wherever you are:

Click here 

**In the time it takes to watch this video, two children will die of hunger

An Angel's Kiss, the Sea, Sponge Bob and Milky Way!

" Strawberries, Cherries , and an angel's Kiss in spring .. my summer  is made of all these things ".. This was the summer for the Corrs & U2 ;) hehhe

Well, my summer wont be that different :, but it surely has other delicious  ingredients :)  yummmmy. I can start smelling it :)
Perhaps from : 

summer Solstice was yesterday. Ya, I announce that Summer officially started today.

But how will my summer  be like ?