Travel

FLUUUSSSSSSHHHHHH………… It’s Downloaded.

“What is life so full of care, we have no time to stand and stare’’, as the words of the famous poem ‘Leisure’ by William Henry Davies goes. I guess today with the invention of the smartphone at whom we stare all day, even more so than looking at ourselves in the mirror, Mr. Davies would have to make some modifications to his poem. I am pretty sure even the Evil Queen from the story ‘Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs’ would have replaced her magic mirror swiftly for a smartphone.

 It’s no secret that we have an involved association with technology. Be it for educational projects, social lives, recreational activities and even use of technology to organize ourselves. With the calendar, analog clocks, cameras, postcards & letters been overtaken long ago, today we even have apps for fitness, dating, gaming, tracking, you name it & it’s available in the palm of your hand. With more than 2.50 million apps available, naturally an addiction sets in and before you know it, your trapped.

At a get-together a couple of months ago, a friend’s son had not attended the party. On enquiring it was learnt, he was too busy on his phone to bother attending the luncheon. Then surfaced the real truth, he was so addicted that he has not one, not two, but 7 I-phones, using all phones for gaming and who knows for what. Being so attached to the phone as he is, it follows him or should I say he follows it like Mary’s little lamb even to the toilet, sitting there for hours on end. Unsure if there’s an app to rate how well you’ve dropped your bombs or to let you know if you hit the right notes when you’ve passed wind. We are told the addiction is so much he even bathes with his phone in the bathroom. I don’t blame his mother for wanting to look for a suitable match to take away his attention. Chances are they could both end up conversing through WhatsApp. All levity aside cellphone addiction is real, there is no denial.

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Faith

It’s time to move forward- Monday, 26th week in ordinary time – Zechariah 8:1-8

In order to understand today’s text you have to read Zechariah 7:1-7. In fact the whole of Zechariah 7:1- 8:23 is a series of oracles to answer a question asked in 7:3. What is this question? We know that it is 7th December 518BC. Sharezer and Regem-Melek are sent by the people of Bethel to ask the priests and the prophets to ask of the Lord if they “ should mourn and practice abstinence in the fifth month as they have done for many years?”

What’s going on? Why do the people not want to fast and abstain like they used to in the fifth month? And what is so special about the fifth month? To answer this we have to read 2 Kings 25:8-9 which says, “ on the seventh day of the FIFTH month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, an official of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He set fire to the temple of the Lord” This therefore, was the day and month the people of Israel lost everything; cult, home and country.

Now the people are back from Babylon. By the time this text of Zechariah was written it has been 20 years since they have returned to Jerusalem and begun building the temple. The foundation was ready but then they got discouraged and stopped work on the temple. After a lot of messing around the finally began to build the temple in earnest in December 520 BC, two years later.The temple will be finished on 12th March 515BC in just over 2 years from the date that this text was written but for now, at this point of the text, they are about halfway through the building project.

So if we picture the situation we can imagine the building taking shape and good progress being made. People are noticing the change and how well the temple is shaping up and so in the light of the progress Sharezer and Regem-Melek ask a question on behalf of the people. Do we need to keep fasting? Do we need to keep on acting the way that we were? This is the context to today’s text. They seem to suggest that they have atoned for the ruin of the temple but God is clear when he asked the people if they had atoned for the reason that caused the ruin of the temple? That it seems was the real question. Are they still in their hearts the rebellious sinful people who do not need to fast for their sins now that a structure of worship is taking form and shape?

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Food

Sweet and sour ribs

Ingredients

Marinate one kilo bite sized chopped ribs (remove excess fat) overnight with
1 tsp salt, pepper and sugar, 1 tsp oil, oyster sauce, and soy sauce, 1 tsp corn starch. Mix and cover. Refrigerate. If you don’t have the time to marinate overnight you could let it marinate for an hour. 

For the sweet-sour sauce
Take 1 cup water in a saucepan and 1/2 cup each of sugar, white vinegar, and tomato sauce. Bring this to a slow simmer and then add 1tbsp corn starch mixed with a little water. Once the sauce is thickened you could add some vegetables like green peppers, onion, carrots and pineapple. Remember to always add vegetables to your sauce at the last minute. If it sits in the sauce for too long it looses it’s crunch. 

Now to deep fry the ribs
Take the marinated ribs out of the refrigerator and let it stand for about half an hour so that it returns to room temperature. Apply 2 tbsp all-purpose flour and cornstarch to ribs. Add 1 egg and mix well. Then re coat this mixture with one tablespoon of corn flour again. Deep fry the pork for about 15 minutes till golden brown and crunchy.

Now add the fried pork ribs to the sauce with vegetables prepared earlier and stir till the sauce coats the pork. Add a bit of oil to give it a nice gloss and finally some toasted sesame seeds and some greens  of a spring onion. 

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Food

Stir fry Chicken with cashews

Boneless Chicken 300 g.
Soy sauce 2 tbs.
Cashews nuts 100 g.
Green bell peppers 100 g.
Carrot 100 g.
Spring onion 100 g.
Garlic 1tbs
Fish sauce 2 tbs
Sugar 1tsp
Chill jam/sauce 1tbs
Onion 100 g.
Dry red chilli 100 g.
Veg. Oil 100 g.

1) Marinate the chicken with fish sauce and soy sauce and sugar for 20 min.
2) Heat some oil in the wok and then add garlic and the onions. Stir until it reaches a brown colour and then add chicken. Fry for a few minutes in high flame and let the chicken cook well. Now add the chilli jam/sauce, cashew nuts, spring onions, dry red chilli and carrots and fry until everything is well mixed

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Food


Kra​ Pao Neua​ (stir fried beef and holy basil)

For the paste:
1tbsp baby garlic cloves
1½tbsp finely chopped bird’s eye chillies, or to taste
1 coriander root, finely chopped
5 white peppercorns
1tsp holy basil flowers or 1 kaffir lime leaf, finely chopped (optional)
For the stir-fry:
150g minced beef
1 kaffir lime leaf, finely chopped
3tbsp vegetable oil
4tbsp beef or chicken stock
2tbsp oyster sauce
1tsp fish sauce
½tsp white sugar
a large handful of holy basil leaves

First, make the paste. Pound the baby garlic cloves, chillies, coriander root, peppercorns, and holy basil flowers or kaffir lime leaf (if using) to a fine consistency in a pestle and mortar.

Heat the vegetable oil in a wok over a medium-high heat until sizzling, then add the paste and stir until aromatic. Add the minced beef, increase the heat slightly, add 3tbsp of the stock, and stir to combine.

Throw in the kaffir lime leaf, oyster sauce, fish sauce, and sugar, and stir again until the beef is cooked through. Taste and adjust the seasoning according to preference.

Add the holy basil leaves and the remaining stock, stir through and cook for another 30 seconds, then serve with steamed rice.

 Pad krapao can be made with any protein – replace the minced beef with your choice of minced or sliced chicken, pork, duck, or lamb, or use shelled prawns, squid, or tofu.

 

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