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Today finally the first face off between the regime and the opposition under Vatican and Unasur guidance was held. Allow me to be deeply pessimistic about the prospects by just looking at the first picture. What is wrong with that picture? Or if you prefer, what could possibly go wrong when the first scene of that movie is the one above? Maduro IS PRESIDING !!!!!!!!! And far removed from anyone else!!!!!! Symbols matter. Even more so when dialogue to avert civil wars are undertaken. Here we have the guy who is the psychological focus of all that has been going wrong since Chavez died, and he is presiding ? How could the opposition accept to sit down with Maduro? One thing is to try to dialogue with Maduro's people, another is to discuss under his direct oversight. At a moment when Maduro is cornered and totally done overseas, such a picture gives him a new legitimacy at home. The more so that only state TV is showing news on the scene, and manipulating the whole thing at will. I a...

Fun night with Doug team's team... They are such a great team , chopping, cooking and having a great conversation after all good meals.Thank Doug again for bringing the team joined me cooking .

It was a lovely night with these two couples . They love cooking and Thai food, so tonight was a fun class for them and for their special celebration as well. Thanks everyone :)

In this edition of, Going by Nationals, where we see where these teams would end up in major international competition if they went by their national scores, we will be testing Romania and their qualification to the Olympic games from worlds. Also, these are the top four scores from event finals. *USING TOP NATIONAL SCORES 2015 Worlds Quals: Place      Nation    Vault Total    Bars Total   Beam Total   Floor Total   Total 1st          USA       62.099           57.715         57.198           59.599         236.611 2nd         Russia    60.299       ...

      Created with flickr embed . The book is available for sale (RM30 per copy) in Dr. Phang's clinic at Sunway Medical Centre (Suite 16, 5th Floor, Tower A). For a preview of the book (3 chapters) - HERE .            Buy Now  at Payhip (e-book version - only RM20 per copy)

Quite simply one of the most popular food pairing/combo in the entire Nigerian cuisine pantry. Beans and plantain offer a really nutritionally balanced and great tasting dish.  I love the simplicity and frugality of this combo and whether you like your beans all well mashed up, cooked plain with added pepper sauce or stewed in a thin sauce, it always catches my attention. Here I share one of my earliest well presented beans and dodo dish, encouraging you to try some out this weekend.... See a full recipes of my popular beans and dodo dishes Layered Beans Yam and Plantain Beans. Plantains, Meatballs Hotpot

Today the opposition has called for a work stop for individuals. The regime is in full propaganda mode to claim that the move is a failure. The opposition claims it is a success. So here are 7 items to figure out whether it was a success 1- It is NOT a strike, nor a lock out. What the opposition did was to ask folks to stay put at home between 6 AM and 6 PM. 2- Whether a strike or a lock out or a stay-put, one fact is that it was called on Wednesday for Friday, not even 48 hours before it was supposed to start. A general movement of this nature is not easy to start, and it certainly require preparations so that adverse propaganda will be reduced to a minimum. In France where strikes are too regular an occurrence and where employees are highly trained at such activities, they are rarely called with less than a week notice. 3- You need to understand that the regime has used threats that it often brings to fruition. Never mind that fascist piglets like Diosdado Cabello have said they will...

For some time, Arctic sea ice extent has again been at a record low for the time of the year. The image below shows Arctic sea ice extent on October 26, 2016, when extent was only 6.801 million km². One reason for the low sea ice extent is the high and rising temperature of the Arctic Ocean. On October 27, 2016, the Arctic Ocean was as warm as 14.8°C or 58.6°F (green circle near Svalbard), 12.1°C or 21.7°F warmer than 1981-2011, as the image below shows. On October 29, 2016, the Arctic Ocean was as warm as 14.9°C or 58.8°F (green circle near Svalbard), 12.1°C or 21.8°F warmer than 1981-2011, as the image below shows. As the sea ice shrinks, less sunlight gets reflected back into space, while more open water and higher sea surface temperatures also cause storms and cyclones to become stronger. Stronger cyclones also cause greater amounts of water vapor to move up the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean toward the Arctic. [ click on image to enlarge ] [ click on image to enlarge ] Less...

If you're like me, you've had your share of killing time waiting in a doctor's reception room. Sometimes however, there are magazines to read that don't date back to the Nixon era and from which I can glean some good recipes.  Since butternut squash is one of my favorite vegetables, and the season is upon us, this twist on the classic tarte tatin made with butternut squash, rather than the traditional apples, caught my eye while I waited for my name to be called during a recent appointment. It starts out with roasting half moons of butternut squash, seasoned with herbs, salt and pepper. The roasted squash is delicious as is, just out of the oven as a side dish, but this recipe, with a hint of honey, transforms it into something special. Layer the slices in an oven-proof skillet (cast iron is best), overlapping the edges slightly. Fill in the center with another piece of squash. Place a piece of puff pastry on top, and pierce holes into it with a fork. Bake in the oven ...

Thus we are in the middle of a social, economic and, thus, political crisis of major proportions. The regime assuredly thinks about what to do to counter an opposition that has been setting up the agenda for quite a while now. After a massive brain storm they come up with a minimum wage increase of 40% . I think, I cannot even be bothered to check whether it is 40 or X: it makes no difference. So chavismo is recurring to the LONE policy it knows: throw good money after bad. Even if now it needs to print it. OK, I could still deal with that. But what I cannot wrap my mind around is that the regime calls it a major success to raise wages artificially for the fourth time in one year. Never mind that the wage increase may be no more than a fourth of inflation, tanking any purchasing power at any pay scale... Of course, I have heard today employees happy about the increase. Note, I heard more of them bitch that it is not enough and will solve nothing. But the point is that after two years o...

What else could the regime expect today after the annulation of all elections? Or is is it what the regime hoped for? And will it still be of any use for the regime this late a confrontation? A fraction of the river of people in Caracas today October 27 2016 What has happened today is transcendent, on many aspects. The causes are the naked abuse of the regime which has refused to recognize the duly elected majority of the National Assembly. A regime that has refused to recognize the constitutional right to call for a a recall election. A regime that has suspended all elections until they decide to hold them again, someday, when conditions are good for them. A regime that has decided to assault the national assembly. And of course, most importantly, a regime that has left its population with not enough food, not enough medicine and not enough money to buy from the little that is left to find. In not even 48 hours the opposition managed to organize spontaneously what is probably the larg...

In honor of the upcoming NCAA Gymnastics season, we're throwing it back to last season. Remember how spectacular the Michigan men's team was on vault last year? Remember Anthony McCaullun and his tsuk double pike? Well, that's what we're showing you today! Anothony McCaullun performed a HUGE tsuk double pike last year and he often landed it well and even stuck it. At the BIG 10 Championships last season, Anthony was one of the last vaulters to go and boy did he sure perform a BIG vault! Watch below as he incredibly sticks a tsuk double pike! Click  here  to find it! Isn't that amazing! Anthony then went on the win the NCAA title, a huge success for Michigan! As a sophomore this year, we hope to see Anthony perform just as well. Also, did you know Anthony competed at P&Gs and plans on competing elite again this year? Anyway, good luck to Anthony and the rest of his Wolverines this year in the NCAA season!! :) Photo via Getty Images. Sam Mikulak when he competed a...

It never ends well when a group uses its hordes to take a properly elected assembly (reichstag, French revolution) pic.twitter.com/EadEBmJEvn — daniel duquenal (@danielduquenal) 23 de octubre de 2016 This is the tropics, this is a banana republic. What else could one expect but the picture above which should be making a few international front pages tonight. The assault was planned as a mob scene. There is even an intercepted audio that may suggest active military involvement, instead of guaranteeing the security of a special Sunday National Assembly session. Whatever it was, it had no spontaneity whatsoever. It was a group coming from "colectivos" which are nothing more than a cross between S.S. and Cuban "comités de defensa de la revolución". The whole led by Caracas mayor, Jorge Rodriguez, who managed to look more the dissociated psychopath than ever. There is an actual doubt as to whether he was running the show. It is probable that at some level he realized t...

Happy Friday with a lot of fun,laughing,  interesting people and welcome back Elizabeth with her friends.. Good job for master three course meals everyone!!

It was a fun afternoon with Trulia team ! They are 27 people in the class today and they are full of energy and work very great together.Food they made were so great- and I love that everyone ate all the food they made.. Happy full and fun day! Thank everyone for coming and cooking all yummies meals with me.

I suppose I should write about the annulation of the Recall Election.  I had guessed long ago that it would not happen. The intensity of the dislike toward Maduro is so strong, even among chavistas, that the regime could not allow CNN document the huge lines that would have formed for three days this week.  They had no stomach for that, it was better to use an idiotic legal sophistry and send it all ad patres . To concur with the prevalent head line this week end that Venezuela is officially a dictatorship is an hypocrisy. I have long said it so and I am actually upset at some people having trying to avoid the D world finally pouting it. As if annulling the Recall Election was more despicable than, say, having political prisoners, forcing those freed into exile, stealing the budget of the nation, and more, I will just comment on how ridiculous the pretext to kill the Recall Election was. In short, a sub judge in Podunk decided that the CNE had not done its job to vet all the s...

Giulia Steingruber who historically won a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, a first for her country, has recently been forced to withdraw from the upcoming Swiss Cup due to injury. This two time Olympian has been suffering from foot pain and will have surgery in the new year. This will make it difficult for Steingruber to compete much next year and she has already confessed that she will miss Euros, however, she thinks she will be able to perform in Montreal at worlds next year. Thankfully, for Steingruber and fans around the world, this is only the beginning of a new quad and Giulia will have plenty of time to heal before the next Olympic games in Tokyo four years from now! Below is Steingruber performing her bronze medal winning vault (top), and accepting her medal (bottom)! Photos via Getty Images.

Welcome to the 1st edition of "Where are they now?". This time featuring, 2008 Olympic All Around Champion, Nastia Liukin. This segment will include not only facts about a former gymnast's career, but also their personal life today. Enjoy! BEIJING, CHINA - 2008 Olympic All Around Championships:       It's the final rotation of the all around final. Nastia. One of the final competitors. It's going to be close and everyone knows it. What it comes down to is who can stick the most passes. Yang Yilin of China performs shortly before Nastia mounts the floor exercise podium. After Nastia, Shawn Johnson, her teammate, rival, best friend, will go. This is what counts. The music starts and the crowd stops. The tension can be felt, the intensity is insane. This is the make it or break it moment. First pass. Handspring, front full, front double full. Beautiful. She follows this with some beautiful leaps. Liukin finishes the rest of her routine efforlessly. After her last pas...

Pork With Wine Grapes (Maiale con Uva da Vino) 1/3 cup EVOO 1 Small Onion - Chopped 4 Sm. Cloves Garlic - Skin On 3 Sprigs Rosemary 6 Leaves Sage 2 Sm. Sprigs Thyme 4 lbs. Pork - Cubed (The better the cut, the better and more tender the meat) 10 lbs. Small black grapes (divided in half) Seedless grapes are more enjoyable in finished dish - Concord grapes would work well.  Parchment paper Kitchen string Heat EVOO in skillet and saute onion and all herbs.  When onion soft, add cubed pork.  Continue cooking for 20 minutes. Squeeze juices (by hand) from ½ of grapes.  Discard skins. Add grape juice to skillet and continue cooking until liquid is reduced by 1/3. During this process deglaze pan 2 or 3 times. When liquid reduced by 1/3 add remaining whole grapes and reduce to simmer for 15 minutes. Create 8 large parchment bags from parchment sheets (or purchase parchment bags) and fill each evenly with pork, grapes and sauce.  Each will hold approx. 3 cups filling and ...

Salsiccia e Fichi Risotto (Sausage and Fig Risotto) Serves 6 6 - 8 cups chicken broth 4 Tbs. unsalted butter + 1 Tbs. 1 medium yellow onion - chopped finely 2 ½ cups Arborio rice 3/4 cup white wine ½ tsp. powdered saffron ½ cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese Sea salt to taste 4 lg. ripe figs - cut into quarters 3 spicy Italian sausages Additional freshly grated Pecorino cheese for garnish In medium pot heat broth. Saute sausages with skins in fry pan until cooked through. Slice into bite sized slices or chunks. Set aside. In medium sauce pan melt 4 Tbs. butter and saute onions until pale yellow.  Add rice and mix well until rice is completely coated.  Add wine.  Continue cooking, stirring constantly until wine has been absorbed.  Add 1 cup of broth, or enough to cover rice, and continuing stirring and cooking over medium heat until liquid is absorbed.  Continue adding broth a little at a time until rice is done. This take 15 - 20 minutes.  Rice should be te...

Italian Peanut Cookie (Biscotto di arachidi italiano) Ingredients 2 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/4 tsp salt 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder Zest of one medium orange 1 cup dark corn syrup or honey 2 cups dry-roasted peanuts, chopped Preparation Instructions Combine dry ingredients. Roast peanuts in 350-degree oven for 10 minutes. Coarse chop in food processor. Add orange zest, molasses and peanuts to dry ingredients. Mix well by hand. Divide dough in half. Wet hands with water and shape each half into a log about 14 inches long. Place on parchment paper on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes. Cool. Slice logs diagonally as you would for biscotti. Make slices about 1/2-inch wide. Re-bake for 5 to 7 minutes. Cool. Dust tops with confectioners’ sugar. Yield: About 4 dozen cookies.

 DE FILIPI FAMILY MEATBALLS SERVES 8 1 ½ LBS. GROUND BEEF 1 ½ LBS. GROUND PORK 2 SLICES DAY OLD WHITE BREAD (FRESH BREAD CAN MAKE MEATBALLS TOO MUSHY) 1/4 CUP MILK 1 EGG 1/4 CUP GRATED FRESH PARMESAN CHEESE 3 OR 4 CLOVES GARLIC - MINCED 1 TSP. PARSLEY 1 TSP. OREGANO 1 TSP. DRIED BASIL ½ TSP. SALT 1/4 TSP. PEPPER EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL - SOAK BREAD IN MILK FOR 10 MINUTES. ADD ALL OTHER INGREDIENTS TO WET BREAD AND MILK. MIX WELL WITH YOUR HANDS ROLL MIXTURE INTO GOLF BALL SIZED MEATBALLS SAUTE MEATBALLS EVENLY ON ALL SIDES IN OLIVE OIL UNTIL BROWNED ADD TO SPAGHETTI SAUCE (MARINARA) FOR AT LEAST 30 MINUTES BEFORE SERVING NOTE MEATBALLS CAN BE SERVED AS A STAND ALONE, WITHOUT PASTA

DIANE’S PIEMONTESE LASAGNA SERVES 8 - 10 1 LB. SWEET ITALIAN SAUSAGE (ABOUT 5 LINKS) ½ LB. GROUND BEEF ½ CUP FINELY CHOPPED YELLOW ONION 2 CLOVES CRUSHED GARLIC EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL 2 TBS. SUGAR 1 TBS. SALT 1 ½ TSP. DRIED BASIL OR 6 LEAVES FRESH BASIL ½ TSP. FENNEL SEED 1/4 TSP. BLACK PEPPER 1/4 CUP CHOPPED PARSLEY 4 CUPS CANNED TOMATO’S WITH LIQUID 2 - 6 OZ. CANS TOMATO PASTE ½ CUP RED WINE ½ CUP WATER 1 TBS. SALT 12 - 15 LASAGNA NOODLES 1 - 15 OZ. CONTAINER RICOTTA CHEESE 1 EGG ½ TSP. SALT 3/4 LB. MOZZARELLA THINLY SLICED 3/4 CUP FRESH GRATED PARMESAN - REMOVE SAUSAGE FROM SKIN AND BREAK APART.  IN LARGE DUTCH OVEN SAUTE SAUSAGE, BEEF, ONION & GARLIC IN OLIVE OIL UNTIL PINK IS GONE FROM MEAT. ADD SUGAR, 1 TBS. SALT, BASIL, FENNEL, PEPPER AND HALF OF PARSLEY.  STIR WELL. ADD TOMATO’S (SQUEEZED BY HAND), THE CANNED TOMATO JUICE, TOMATO PASTE AND ½ CUP WINE. BRING TO A BOIL, REDUCE HEAT AND SIMMER UNCOVERED FOR APPROX. 90 MINUTES DEGLAZE AS NEEDED, ADDING ½ CUP WATER. SAU...

Crispelli with Bechamel (Savory Crepes) Serves 8 Crispelli Batter 1 cup whole milk (cold) 1cup flour 2 eggs Pinch of salt 1 cube unsalted butter - melted Whisk flour and eggs together. Gradually add cold milk and a pinch of salt. Whip until smooth. You will know your batter is the correct consistency when the batter coats the back of a metal spoon.  Heat a small flat bottom fry pan and brush light coating of melted butter to pan each time to prepare a crepe.  Using a 1/3 cup ladle, add batter to buttered hot pan, rotating the pan as you add the batter to evenly coat the pan.  Be sure to give a quick stir to the batter before each crispelli because ingredients separate easily. When edges are set and dry use a small spatula to lift and turn the crispelli over. When lightly goldened be brave and flip your crispelli free style! Set aside on baking sheet or board. Do not stack crispelli or they will stick. ~ Bechamel Sauce ½ gallon whole milk -cold 1 stick unsalted butter 4 he...

Classic Spaghetti Carbonara Ingredients ½ pound pancetta (bacon), chopped into fine cubes 1 tablespoon chopped garlic Freshly ground black pepper 1 pound fresh spaghetti, cooked al dente 4 large eggs, beaten Salt 1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano (Parmesan can be substituted) 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves Directions Bring an 8-quart pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and 2 Tbs. salt and cook until al dente, about 1 minute less than the package directions, stirring often to prevent sticking.  Reserve 1 cup of the water and then drain the pasta.     In a large saute pan, over medium heat, cook the bacon until crispy, about 6 minutes Remove the bacon and drain on paper towels. Pour off all of the oil except for 3 tablespoons.  Add the garlic. Season with black pepper. Saute for 30 seconds.  Add the crispy bacon and the pasta. Saute for 1 minute.  Season the beaten eggs with salt.  Remove the pan from the heat and add the eggs, whi...