Mujaddara Arabic Lentil Rice

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry lentils, rinsed
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 3/4 cup white rice, rinsed
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 white onions, sliced into 1/4-inch rings

1. Combine the lentils, 2 cups water, 1 teaspoon salt, the cumin, and garlic powder in a pot over medium heat; bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and cook until the lentils begin to soften, 20 to 30 minutes.
2. Stir the rice, 3/4 cup water, 1 teaspoon salt, and the olive oil into the lentils. Cover the pot and continue cooking until the lentils and rice are tender, about 40 minutes.
3. Heat the cooking oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook the onions in the oil until browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Spread the onions over the rice and lentil mixture to serve.

Vegetarian Reuben

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons ketchup
• 2 teaspoons chopped capers
• 1 teaspoon chopped pickle or relish
• 3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
  1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 5 cups baby spinach
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 4 slices rye bread
• 1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat Swiss cheese (2 ounces)
• 1/2 cup sauerkraut

Whisk mayonnaise and ketchup in a small bowl until smooth. Stir in capers and pickle or relish). For the sandwiches: Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet medium-high heat. Add onion and mushrooms; cook, stirring, until the onion is softened, 4 minutes. Add spinach and cook, stirring, until it wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the mixe to a plate.

Coat the pan with the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and return to medium heat. Add the bread; divide cheese equally among the slices. Divide sauerkraut between 2 slices and divide the spinach mixture between the other 2 slices; cook until the cheese has melted and the bread is golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer sandwich halves to a cutting board. Divide the dressing between the spinach halves. Carefully place the sauerkraut halves on top. Cut sandwiches in half and serve

rest our heads upon the grass and listen to it grow...

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about things we take for granted

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...like when he loved you or when you thought you had all the time in the world...

...like breathing. Yes. I am happy to breathe freely for the first time in the last two weeks...all due to a terrible flu. I think I never truly understood before what a wonderful exhilarating thing breathing is. I am indulging in this new found pleasure.

I'm not preaching anything here, I'm far from being one of those happy persons that finds joy in everything in life...I guess it's no news that we cannot really appreciate something unless we lose it for at least a while, same as we stop appreciating something that is always there. It's human nature...or maybe it's just me... I need to miss something in order to truly understand it and appreciate it...and then in a while I forget again...so in a few days when i go back to just breathing without thinking about it...what then? hope I will find some new drugs...

And then there's sunshine... While my friends back in Bucharest are complaining about terribly hot weather I am making the most of the few hours of sunshine we get here in rainy Cheshire. I was so happy today to hear my sister calling me out the window to go lay down on a blanket in the garden. Laying in the sun is great! Why are you guys complaining about!! It's just such an easy way to put a smile on your face! One thing about this country is that you never get to stop appreciating what a simple pleasure sunshine is :P

Southern Style "Chicken"

What you Need

1-2 pounds of Tofu, Seitan

2 cups self-rise flour

1 teaspoon pepper

House seasoning

1 (1 to 2 1/2-pound) chicken, cut into pieces

Oil, for frying, preferably peanut oil

3 eggs

1/3 cup water

About 1 cup hot red pepper sauce

Cut "mock chicken" into desired size. In a bowl beat eggs and water. Add hot sauce untill the mix is all orange. In another bowl mix flowe and pepper. Sprinle the Tofu with house seasoning. Dip the tofu in the egg, water hot sauce mix. Now Marinate the tofu/seitan in the pepper and flour. Heat oil at 350 degrees F in a pot, with 1/2 oil. Fry it til brown. Enjoy!

Guinness Stew

What you need

chopped ribs celery,

2 chopped carrots,

2 medium potatoes chopped into 1 inch pieces

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 12 oz bottles Guinness Stout or 1 bottle plus 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

2 tbsp flour

1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme

1 tsp brown sugar

Salt and pepper

14 oz seitan, or mock beef strips cut into thin strips (in place of beef)

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp steak sauce

3 tbsp butter or margarine

1 diced onion,

Pepper

Marenate Seitan in olive oil until browned for 4-6 minuts. Turn down heat and add steak sauce stiring untill the seitan is is coated. Now remove from heat. In a large pot saute celery, carrots, onions, potatoes and garlic, in butter, for 3-5 mints. Then reduce heat and ass Guinnnes, flour, sugar, thyme, salt and pepper. Make sure you stir. Now add in you seitan and sinner untill it thickens. Wait 40-50 minuts. Remove from pot to a bowl and now its time to serve!

Musroom Burger

What You Need

• 3/4 cup diced fresh mushrooms
• 1 15 ounce can pinto beans
• 1 tsp parsley
• salt and pepper to taste
• oil for frying
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 green onions, diced
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• Burger Buns

Sautee onions & garlic in olive oil for 4 minutes, or until onions are soft. Then add green onions, cumin and mushrooms cooking for about4-6 minutes. Please put aside. Smash the beans in a food processor Add the mushrooms, beans, parsley, salt and pepper. Now Stir! Shape the mixture into a pattie. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil and cook the patty until the veggie burgers are finished, Cook 3 minutes on each side. Place on buns and put on toppings of your choice.

Buffalo Tempeh Wings

What you Need
1 block tempeh
1 cup (roughly) vegetable oil
1 cup Buffalo-style sauce
celery

salad dressing

Directions
Heat oil over medium-high heat in a skillet- make it at least a half inch deep.
Now, cut the tempeh into half-inch thick slices. Set them aside on a plate.
Now put the tempeh into the oil and fry for 10 minutes, turning it so it gets a, dark golden color.
Once dark and crispy, use aspoon or spider to pull them out of the oil, and drain them on the paper towels/plate.
Put Buffalo sauce into a bowl, adding a few of the tempeh pieces. Mix them around to coat them, now cover the bowl and shake. Do this till they are each done.
Serve with celery sticks, and salad dressing for dipping.

type and go

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Type the Sky by Lisa Rienermann is an alphabet formed of shapes buildings make against the sky when photographed from below. According to the original post on German typographic blog Slanted the alphabet was created by Rienermann while studying at the University of Duisburg-Essen.


“It began with the Q,” she tells Slanted. “I was in a kind of courtyard in Barcelona. I looked upward and saw houses, the blue sky and clouds. The more I looked, I saw that the houses formed a letter Q.” She then set out to find more letter forms, spending weeks only looking upwards. The more difficult letters such as Q and K were the easiest to find, she says, but admits that PhotoShop helped here and there.


I love them especially because wherever I am I like to look up and notice all the details that you normally wouldn't on a fast walk down the street.

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Next is ABChairs by Roeland Otten. He has designed a collection of 26 chairs, each spelling out one letter of the alphabet.
Called ABChairs, the seats can be arranged to form words. Made out of plastic, very light and affordable the designer sees a great future for these chairs, suitable for cool interiors as well as outdoor furniture, kids rooms or libraries and schools.
I'd love some in my living room!

here's a cool lady...

* Roisin Murphy

I love her music and her style - on stage and off stage. She's so cutting edge sophisticated!
I've seen her in concert and at that time I only knew a few of her songs but the atmosphere was soooo great and everybody was dancing, I fell in love with her music! It is just like modern magic ...all those intriguing sounds and the smart lyrics! Her hairdos, her outfits, especially her sunglasses are so classy cool :D


here's a taste of the real life cool roisin murphy :P



pics source here

machinarium

is the best game ever!!! I absolutely loved it!!!


Machinarium is a point-and-click adventure game from Czech independent studio Amanita Design.
The graphics are wonderful and very inspiring...I'm thinking about drawing something tomorrow... Little lovely robots :D If you like it as much as I do, you can find wallpapers available on the game's website here
The soundtrack is great, I've been listening to it for a few hours now...This little game kept me busy all afternoon. Quite difficult sometimes...but this only gives you more satisfaction in the end. You've got to try it!

The Vanities Girls

OK guys so you all know I have a guilty pleasure for pin-ups...so here's moooore from Vanity Fair


Since 1992, Vanity Fairs Vanities section has opened with a full-page portrait of a promising young star. In September 2006, they tweaked the format: the Vanities opener now features an up-and-coming actress in a 50s-style pinup shot. These shapely ingénues are on the cusp of fame or have just hit it big; they have names you need to know and faces you won’t have trouble remembering. Here’s a look at all the bombshells who’ve struck a playful pose in the new retro style.

-Text: Vanity fair-
-Images: Vanity fair-

Enjoy!