What to do with leftover DAL???

What to do with all that leftover DAL (dhal) that you've cooked for curry, but there is sits....still there, while all the other curries are gone.  You can make some great "parathas" from that leftover dal:

Recipe is only USD $3.99.....step by step easy to follow instructions. 49 years experience as a gourmet cook. Pay at: Paypal: farrshimla@gmail.com and please mention WHICH recipe you want

BEST WEBSITE EVER for online jigsaw puzzles....

This website is even better to find puzzles of all styles:

http://www.jigzone.com/

 

Cooking Cacti (Nopales) not for the faint of heart.....

Cactus (we call them Nopales) are a ready available "veggie" in Mexico.  In Mexican markets, you can buy them already cleaned, but in USA, they generally come with needles (espinas as we call them)....and you WILL have to clean them if you want to eat them.

It's funny how certain parts of the world regard certain vegetations as "poisonous" (we stayed with a Nepalese family who had hundreds of cactus plants but said "no, you can't eat those....they're POISONOUS!").  Eventually, after Nando and I patiently cleaned about 12 nopal "pads" and cooked them with tomatoes.....a few brave ones in the Nepalese family tried them and liked them, but the womenfolk were definitely not going to try these poisonous plants).  Likewise, in Sri Lanka it was generally believed that bamboo shoots were poisonous.  The Chinese who lived in Sri Lanka were only too delighted to relieve Sri Lankans of "those useless, poisonous roots".

Anyway - the cacti I will show you is not poisonous at all.  This is how it looks when you cut the pads:

Pretty SCARY, right????  And I guarantee if you pick these pads up in your hands all these needles will stick in your fingers, causing tremendous pain.  Firstly, wear gloves (that's important!).  Secondly, the majority of the needles are around the edges, so if you trim 1/4 inch all around, you'll be rid of quite a lot of the needles.
Nextly, remember that BOTH sides of the cactus pads have needles.  In Mexican markets elderly ladies (whose fingers are probably numb by years of cactus peeling) clean the rest of the needles out with a knife, like this:

This is a way I only recommend for the very "experienced".  My daughter and I have our own system - tweezers (we wear gloves) and a small glass of water.  We TWEEZE the needles out then dip the tweezers in the glass of water to rid the tweezer of the needles.  It's a slow process, but can be fun, chit-chatting all the while or listening to music.  She and I are FAST now.....we pile up the cleaned "nopales" on a large plate.

Now then, cacti ooze a slimy substance like okra (called "ladies fingers" in some countries and a lot of people do not like the texture of that slim.  Firstly, in COOL water rinse the CLEANED cacti to make sure no needles are left on.  As you run cold water over the cacti, you will notice that the oozing stops.  The next step is to slice the nopales on the diagonal, like this:

Discard the stub or base of the nopal; it is too tough to eat.  Drop into boiling water a just parboil, do not cook.  Rinse and drain again with cool water.  NOW they are ready to be cooked.  We always cook (just till they turn darkish green) with freshly chopped tomatoes (the acidity of the tomatoes absorbs all the rest of any leftover "slime" and adds flavour), onions, chilies, cilantro (coriander leaves) and a bit of salt and pepper.  They make a delicious ("veggie") side dish, or a great ingredient in tacos.  Enjoy - but please don't get hurt by the needles while cleaning!!     

Online Jigsaw Puzzles.....

Here's a fun website to do "jigsaw" puzzles on line.  Although it says "for kids" - you can make each puzzle as easy or as difficult as you'd like.  Lots of nice scenes:

http://www.dltk-kids.com/puzzle.htm

Have you ever tried a simple "I'm Sorry"?

So many close, good relationships end because one or the other has had feelings hurt and sadly, sometimes neither one is "right" or "wrong".  I remember a poem a dear Indian friend wrote to me for my birthday "True friends are like gems - special and very RARE".  Kamala is (alas) gone now (and as good/kind a person she was and such a devoted Christian, I would presume she is at God's side in heaven).

But her words linger on although she passed in 2008 of cancer - we still keep touch with her husband and two wonderful kids (now GROWN!!).

I thought about how "SORRY" must look and thought about dear Kamala's words.  Too often we hurt someone's feelings and lose them as a friend.  I urge each and every one of you (me included) to send an "I'm sorry" card to all your family and friends even if you feel you've done nothing wrong.  And this is how SORRY looks like:

IF
someone will not forgive you after sending THIS photo (and by the way, I'm sending this to each and everyone of my friends who I may have hurt unintentionally).....then, I suppose there's no hope to rejuvenate the friendship or family relationship.  THIS photo says it all!!!

PLEASE POST on the fridge if you have pets.....

Here is a list of 12 foods you must NEVER feed your pet (they are harmful and in some cases toxic).  It's such a short list, just print and put on your fridge so that your pet may never intentionally be harmed by you.

1. Alcoholic beverages
2. Artificially-sweetened ANYTHING (sodas, gums, cakes, cookies, etc.)
3. Onions of onion powder
4. Macadamia nuts
5. Avacado
6. Chocolate or Cocoa
7. Coffee
8. Raisins (a single raisin can kill a pet within 6-12 hrs.)
9. Salt
10. Grapes (see RAISINS for reason)
11. Yeast dough
12. Garlic

Ennio Morricone......

What a talented musical author we have in our world - Ennio Morricone, Italian composer.  To read more of all the films he scored music for please go to:  http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001553/

I love ALL his compositions but I have two in particular I adore:

The Sicilian Clan (1969) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUFJfco3vBY
and there is another little known work of his.....in Italian it was dubbed "Ad Ogni Costo" but you can also see it in English as "The Grand Slam":  he is Italian, yet in that film captured the essence of Brazilian samba.

We salute you and your music!