Current Category: S America (3 entries)
Posted by Trudi on July 15, 2006
Chinese Parsely (Cilantro) must be one of the most hated and loved food herbs - there is no middle ground. It is widely used in Mexican, Caribbean and Asian cooking and has become popular in most metropolitan areas in the States. In S America and in SE Asia, it is used in everything from salsas and salads to burritos or meat dishes. It is indispensible in the Chinese steamed fish - a must-have dish in any upscale restaurants in southern China. In Thailand, they even stuff it into a Hamburger. Western Europe is probably the only place where Cilantro is generally not very well received.
The Chinese bellieve that Cilantro will increase potency and its usage was dated several thousands years’ ago. The book of Arabian nights which is over a thousand year” old also has a story about the aphrodisiac qualities of Cilantro. These notions may not hold any scientific ground but one thing for sure is that Cilantro does have a quality to stimulate the digestive system and is a proven appetite stimulant.
Posted by Trudi on July 14, 2006
The Tequila area in Mexico was recently added to UNESCO’s (United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) list of World Heritage Sites. The inscription will help preserve what is often considered synonymous with Mexican cultural and identity.
Unlike most alcoholic drink, tequila is not made from grains or fruits. It makes use of a blue agave plant grown in central Mexico. What distinguishes the quality of tequila is largely based upon the percentage of agaves used in the mix. Tequila is commonly distilled only twice to preserve the agaves aroma. Although there are some triple-distilled tequila (especially in the premium brand range) in the market, they are considered by many as merely marketing gimmicks.
Tequila, the 100% agave version, should be served in room temperature and sipped slowly. No mix. The tequila shot with lime and salt is Hollywood stuff and few people who know tequila drink it that way.
The official Mexican standard defines 4 categories of tequila:
- Blanco or Silver - clear and transparent tequila that started it all. It gives the true bouquet and flavor of the blue agave and is usually strong.
- Oro or Gold - a lighter version of Blanco with colorant and flavoring additives. Ideal for mixing and is the choice for frozen Margaritas.
- Reposado or Rested - Blanco aged in white oak casks or vats. Pale in color and is not as strong as Blanco although it still retains much of its blue agave aroma. Sold at a premium and has gained increasing popularity outside Mexico.
- Añejo - Aged longer than Reposado and therefore tends to lose its agave taste but inherit a woody flavor and an amber color from the oak.
And of course, we cannot write about tequila without mentioning Margarita. According to Forbes, the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess resort in Arizona only charges US$57 for a margarita mixed with Herradura Seleccion Suprema tequila.
Posted by Trudi on July 25, 2006
Although this is not strictly about food, it is equally delicious.
Flickr API facilitates the use of a set of callable methods to make requests and to receive corresponding formatted responses from its fantanstic photo archive. There is a good number of open-source applications making use of the Flickr API to enhance our browsing experience.
The above thumbnails are made using phpFlickr - a wrapper for the API translating the Flickr response XML into some meaningful data.
There are some very useful documentation in Flickr Services and Yahoo’s UI library if you are interested to develop your own Flickr tool or you may try out some of the cool stuff in the 3rd party application list in Flickr.
We have made two simple pages for your enjoyment: