As a student here in the US, we end up having very stereo-typical bread sandwiches - Bread and Jam, Bread and Cheese Slice, Bread and Butter, Bread and Peanut Butter, Bread and Nutella (A favorite of mine!) etc. But if you've noticed, they all are either bland or sweet. How about giving it a spicy twist?! Yesterday, I made a bowl of Coriander Chutney. It turned out quite spicy, actually! And one nice way to have it is with bread. I usually spread the chutney over a slice of bread and place a few cucumber slices too. You can add onion rings and tomato slices as well. It tastes even better when you spread butter on the other slice of bread. Its a quick recipe, and you can use it to accompany your dosas, idlis, upmas, vadas, etc. as well.
SERVING SIZE: About a medium sized bowl
PREPARATION TIME: 5-7 Minutes
INGREDIENTS:
Coriander leaves/Cilantro - A bunch (Comes to about 2 bowls)
Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp.
Ginger/Ginger Powder/Ginger Paste - 1 tsp
Green Chillies - 1/2 nos.
Peanuts - 7-8 nos.
Water - as required
Salt - to taste
Sugar - A small pinch.
APPLIANCES NEEDED: Blender
METHOD:
Wash the coriander leaves well and cut out the stems and discard them.
Blend all the ingredients together, except the salt and sugar, by adding little amounts of water to get the normal consistency of chutneys.
Pour out the chutney into a bowl and add salt to taste.
Add a small pinch of sugar as well, to get a better taste.
PURPLE TIPS:
Add chillies according to the desired spiciness.
You can also add Pudhina/Mint leaves to give a minty flavor.
You can fry some mustard seeds in oil and pour into the chutney.
You can have this chutney with idli, dosa, uthappam, upma, pongal, vada, chappathi, dhokla etc.
Keep this chutney handy in your fridge, so someday if you're too tired to cook something, you can just spread it over bread and have.
I know its been quite a long since I posted an "actual" post. Its been just "Time Twitters" for quite some time! But it is one way you get to know what I've been doing all day! Well, at least some parts of my day! But I've come back to post quite a few posts! I think there will be an array of posts you would see on my blog in the next couple of days!
For this post, I have a very interesting stuff to share with you guys. I stumbled upon this article on BBC News, which is totally mind-blowing, or you could say "brain" blowing!
In 2005, the Blue Brain project was launched as a joint research initiative by EPFL and IBM. This project aims to "create a biologically accurate, functional model of the brain using IBM's Blue Gene supercomputer", as quoted from the project website.
The article on the BBC News site just merely says the current development stage of the project, and then when I went onto the project's website, I was quite amused! Amused is putting it mildly. I was hit with a rush of several emotions, actually - surprised, shocked, awed, inspired, anxious, apprehensive... Well, its a wonder what science is capable of, but then, as I thought more about it, this apprehension crept into me - someday, the fiction of robots ruling humans might actually come true! In a few years, we'll have a simulated brain that can think and act like a real human brain. Next, there would be robots that can think independently - oh well, it isn't next, it has already been done! Just that, they still haven't gone to the point of having Cyborgs!
I might sound crazy, but hey, think about it. We're all so dependent on machines already that life, now, without a single machine is just not possible! Hell, I don't think I can even live without a laptop now!!! Sometimes, even for social communication we end up using machines; my roommates and I sometimes communicate via email or chat or SMS while being just a room apart! Someday, we might end up not using our own brains, and we would rely on such "simulated" brains. Who knows! Anything can happen!
Take a look at thearticle and let me know what you think.
The sun is scorching down your neck, literally burning your skin. The sunscreen you applied seems to be of no avail. Aargh...
Imagine a coooool glass of lemonade...Plop! A few ice cubes in it... Imagine the cool liquid trickling through your throat, making its way down to your stomach... Aaah... Sounds like heaven, doesn't it?
Well, I needn't imagine it now! I have 1.5 litres of lemon concentrate now, that I can make myself a lemonade anytime I want at least for the next two months!!!
OK here's the story. Everyday in the morning, I have a glass of lukewarm water with 2-3 drops of lemon juice in it; without any sugar or salt. It actually tastes good! And apparently it is supposed to be good for the immune system as well, and it purifies the body! :) I usually buy the lemon concentrate that we get in a small lemon shaped plastic container, but my roommate S, yes, the same one who suggested the "email bug" topic, told me that she'll get some lemons for me from her aunt's place. For some background information, her aunt lives here, and S visits her every weekend. And that aunt grows a lot of stuff in her garden, lemon being one of them. I expected her to get maybe 2 or 3 lemons; well, lemons here are so huge, that 1 lemon will last even two weeks! But alas, she ended up with about a dozen lemons, even bigger than the ones we get in the stores!
I was wondering what to do with so many lemons. All I use is just 2-3 drops a day! I didn't want the lemons to get spoilt, so I thought I'd just make some concentrate and keep it in the fridge, and I can use it whenever I want. So I went to the store today, and got a citrus juicer for a pretty good deal; well, the lemons are pretty big and hard, and if I squeezed them with my hands, all I'm going to get is maybe 15 drops and no pulp! I couldn't wait to come home and try out the juicer!
Finally I came home, and took out the juicer from the cardboard box it came in, and arranged everything on my kitchen counter. I took one lemon, cut it in half, and pressed it on the juicer. WOW! I took out the lemon half to see just the skin left on it! Amazing! One by one, I squeezed all the lemons, and then ended up with 1.5 litres of fresh lemon concentrate! I have two large vessels in my refrigerator filled up with the concentrate now, and I can make myself lemon juice anytime I want, thanks to S and her aunt! Yay!!!
How many of you out there are Sims Fans? Well, I guess not many of the people I know too well even know about the game, but out there you have a large community that thrives on it! Once you start playing it, you just cant quit! OK, before you quit reading my blog, I'll give you a small introduction to the game.
The Sims is a simulation game developed by EA Games, the creators of SimCity. You can create people rather choose bodies from a collection, called Sims, and play their lives - you literally control them. You can assign them characteristics to make up their personalities, and also dress them up! You make them eat, sleep, bathe, go to work, watch TV, play etc. You can make them talk and interact with other Sims, you can get them to be friends or get them married or make them fight, make them host parties... anything! You can make the kids go to school, finish their homework or get help for homework etc. You can build houses for them to live in, furnish the rooms, paint the walls, decorate the floors, construct swimming pools etc. Currency in the Sims World is called Simolean, and the Sims talk Simlish. :) The motivation factor mainly is getting high grades or getting promotions in their jobs, and other similar goals.
Sims 2 is a much more advanced version of the game. It has better graphics and also you get to create the bodies - you can place the eyes, chin, lips and all other facial features to your liking. You can also make them fat or thin. One major improvement is that Sims 2 is much more closer to reality. Sims get fat if they keep eating and don't work out, or they wean out if they starve. Also, they have aspirations, and wants and fears that need to be worked toward. And they Sims grow old too! :) In the first version, they didn't really grow old after one point! Also, the skill range for the Sims is also broad in this version. Plus, the default plain version of the game includes two other interesting neighbourhoods (a strange place with aliens, and one place similar to the times of Romeo and Juliet) to play apart from the usual standard neighbourhood.
Apart from the standard versions of both The Sims and Sims 2, they also brought out Expansion Packs to make the games more interesting, like Pets, Vacation, Seasons, Open for Business, University etc. You can maybe take a look at their website to know more! Its really difficult to explain the entire game in a post!!! :) Like all other games, these games also have cheats! My favorite one is the one that increases the Simoleans (money)! :)
You might be wondering how people actually play this game. You know about games where you need to kill people or shoot ducks or collect tokens etc. Well, this is different. Its a game where you play God! :) You get to control your Sims' lives and they do what you make them do! Some people replay movies with the Sims, i.e. they actually make the Sims do stuff like in a particular movie. Oh and I forgot, you can make movies with your Sims too, there is an inbuilt camera mode that lets you make movies or take pictures and write a story. :) So that's one interesting thing. Or you could make up a story of your own, and make the Sims play along.
And now, they've come out with Sims 3, which is even better!!!!! Amazing graphics, and much more customizability, and now the you can make the Sims be clumsy, neat-freaks, dramatic, romantic, rock stars, leaders, or even evil masterminds, and criminals!! And you can totally customize the furnishes too! :) Isn't that awesome??!! And the camera settings have been improved too! Its out on June 2nd. I just cant wait that long!
Maybe you can join me and the rest of the Sims Community! Watch these videos that have been made with Sims and you might be tempted!
THE SIMS 1 - TRAILERS
THE SIMS 2 - TWILIGHT MOVIE TRAILER
Note: There are lot of videos on YouTube made with Sims 2, even Titanic. You can check out the play lists there when you're free. :)
Drowned in the chaos of daily life, voices all around - some sweet and alluring, some steely and rebuking, some gloomy and doleful, some dull and insipid; visions all around - some inspiring, some provocative, some daunting, some haunting, some appalling, some contrite; scents all around - aromas, fragrances, stenches, odors; I emerge with my dreams and aspirations, to bring in poise into my life, with the help of the magic sprinkles - those same voices, visions and scents around me.
It is an invitation only website, where you can get BIG discounts on TOP luxury brands, which last for a short period! Click HERE for my invitation, if you would like to join the group!
Don't worry, its not spam or another social network or an auction site. Its just a shopping site, except for designer items!
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