World Class Guacamole
The co-ops and stores in Kuwait are full of beautiful avocados right now. Chose ones that are already a little soft and buy two or three – or more! This dip goes FAST.
Cut the avocados in half, scoop out pulp (save the seed to put in dip until you serve it, I don’t know why but it helps keep the avocados from turning dark) and mash the pulp in a bowl.
Chop two or three cloves of garlic very finely and toss in with pulp.
Chop half an onion, very finely, and toss in.
Chop cilantro, very finely, maybe 3 – 4 Tablespoons, and toss into pulp.
Chop up one tomato, and toss into avocodo mix.
Add fresh squeezed lemon juice from one half lemon.
Add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir everything together – Taste – is there enough salt?
Some people put mayonnaise in guacamole. *shudders at the very thought* If your avocados are of the right ripeness, once you add the tomato and the lemon juice, you won’t need any more moisture – the guacamole will be perfect.
Serve with tortilla chips, the corn kind, not the flavored kind. The combination is perfect for a hot Kuwaiti summer’s day.
The serving/mixing stone in the photo is called Molcajete.)
Update on Chinese Seafood
From AOL Health Watch originally taken from an article by Andrew Martin at the New York Times. You can read that article, and several similar articles, there.
The problems with Chinese seafood are evident in a database of products that the FDA stops at the border. In May, for instance, the FDA. turned away 165 shipments from China, 49 of which were seafood.
Monkfish was rejected for being filthy. Frozen catfish nuggets were turned away because they contained veterinary drugs. Tilapia fillets were contaminated with salmonella.
The problems were even worse in April, when 257 shipments from China were rejected, including 68 of seafood. Frozen eel contained pesticides, frozen channel catfish had salmonella and frozen yellowfin steaks were filthy, the records show.
The word “filthy” resonates with me. I am going to stick with Kuwaiti fish!
More Souk Mubarakiyya Art
There’s just something about this market that feeds the photographer’s soul! I love the public art . . .
Whoda thunk that the butcher would be wearing glasses? I love the quirkiness of this art.
The flag the man is carrying says “Kuwait” (for my non-Kuwaiti readers).I think this one has to do with the liberation of Kuwait, but I am not sure . . . anyone? I remember from reading Jihan Rahab’s book on the Invasion of Kuwait that the market was totally trashed and at least partially burned, and a lot of damage was done out of sheer malice.
I have this thing about ships!
Just look how CLEAN this place is. Every time I go into any of the markets, I think of France. These markets in Kuwait are cleaner!
Glitz, Bling, Flamboyance and Glam
Today when Adventure Man called at lunch, I was telling him I bought some bling for fun gifts. He said he didn’t think my family did “bling” and I said we didn’t, but this was just a little glitz, just for fun.
“What’s the difference between ‘glitz’ and ‘bling?’ he asked.
I said ‘glitz’ is like a little decoration, a little frosting, but ‘bling’ is ostentatious.
“I consider myself ‘flamboyant.’ he said.
“Oh no!” I protested. “Flamboyant is over the top, it’s that color that is just a little too bright, the gesture that is a little too large, the voice or laughter just a little to high, a little too loud.”
Then it nagged at me until I had to go look it up. As it turns out, bling MIGHT be expensive, but it has the origination of new riches that the owner is afraid he might lose, so he turns it into jewelry that he can keep close to his person, as well as showy and ostentatious. So, I was wrong.
As it turns out, all the following words have a connotation of excessiveness, ostentation and a little over the top.
glitz (glts) Informal n.
Ostentatious showiness; flashiness: “a garish barrage of show-biz glitz” Peter G. Davis.
tr.v. glitz·ed, glitz·ing, glitz·es
To invest with an ostentatiously showy quality: “have started to glitz up their shows with filmed backdrops” Bill Barol.
[Back-formation from glitzy, flashy, showy, probably from German glitzern, to glitter, from Middle High German glitzen, to shine, from Old High German glzan; see ghel-2 in Indo-European roots.]
glitzi·ness n.
glitzy adj.
From The Free Dictionary.
Bling
“Bling-bling” (usually shortened to simply “bling”) is a hip hop slang term which refers to expensive jewelry and other accoutrements, and also to an entire lifestyle built around excess spending and ostentation. In its essence, the term refers to the exterior manifestation of one’s interior state of character, normally displayed through various forms of visual stimuli.
The first apparent use of the term ‘bling bling’ in mainstream culture was in reference to the L-3 badge (real gold) and also a hip hop track of the same title, by rapper B.G., along with Baby Birdman, Juvenile et al [1], celebrating their wealth (as many of their tracks do). “Bling Bling,” released in 1998, led later in the 2000’s to the term proliferating through mainstream hip hop and eventually spilling over into popular culture as a sarcastic term used to mock the perceived vacuousness of hip hop culture. Comedians such as Ali G in the UK, exploited this for humour.
Bling can also be plastic, or fake, jewelry. Many people who cannot afford, or do not wish to buy, real diamonds, gold, etc, opt for fake glass or plastic jewelry. This makes them look big, and bling-bling.
In 2005, the rapper B.G. remarked that he ‘wished he’d patented the term’ so that he would have profited from its extensive use. In interviews, he has stated that the term refers to the imaginary sound that light makes when it hits a diamond. However, the term was in use for several years prior as a reference to getting rich quickly inspired by the sound made when collecting gold coins in popular Nintendo video games such as Donkey Kong and Mario Brothers and when collecting gold rings in Sega’s Sonic Hedgehog.
The culture of ostentatious display of wealth was ingrained in street culture long before the 90’s, however: it is thought that wearing expensive jewelry was the one way in which young previously impoverished men, who had acquired riches through crime, could be sure of holding on to their wealth by keeping it about their person. This marks out the wearer of such jewelry as a person with ghetto roots, as it shows that the source of their wealth or their personal prejudices prevent them from investing in more stable assets such as cash in the bank or property. Hence ‘bling bling’, while widely regarded as a faddish slang phrase, has been seen by some as manifestation of a deeper socioeconomic problem in the US, trivialised by mainstream media and hip hop. For comparison, see chav.
Related meaning
In the Middle East, counterfeit brand-name goods (such as Rolex watches) may be known as bling bling specials.
From The Free Dictionary.
flam·boy·ant (flm-boint)
adj.
1. Highly elaborate; ornate.
2. Richly colored; resplendent.
3. Architecture Of, relating to, or having wavy lines and flamelike forms characteristic of 15th- and 16th-century French Gothic architecture.
4. Given to ostentatious or audacious display. See Synonyms at showy.
n.
See royal poinciana.
[French, from Old French, present participle of flamboyer, to blaze, from flambe, flame; see flame.]
flam·boyance, flam·boyan·cy n.
flam·boyant·ly adv.
From The Free Dictionary.
Aren’t these great words?
And last but not least:
Definition:
Glam
Glamorous; wearing fashionable clothes and make-up, particularly when done to excess.
Example:
1) She’s so glam that people think she’s a model.
2) I love David Bowie and all of those glam rockers.
Etymology:
‘Glam’ is short for ‘glamorous’. Glam and glamorous refer to the magical attraction and excitement produced by celebrities.
From English Daily – Slang
Kuwait: Chinese Seafood Imports?
First it was illegal – and poisonous – additives in pet foods, then in toothpaste. Pets and people died. Now, it is illegal antibiotics in the seafood – additions that exacerbate plagues like the MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) virus being fought in hospitals around the world, because it has become antibiotic resistant. My own father’s death was hastened by his vulnerability to this virus, and his lowered immune system couldn’t fight it off. For me, this is personal.
And I think a lot of the canned shrimp, frozen shrimp and scallops we buy here in Kuwait are also from China. Who is monitoring these foods?
US halts Chinese seafood imports
Chinese exports have surged as their prices have stayed low
The US has said it will halt imports of five types of farmed Chinese seafood, claiming they contain antibiotics that are not allowed in North America.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it would detain shipments of catfish, basa, shrimp, dace and eel.
But the FDA said it was not recalling seafood already in the US, and that drug levels were not dangerous and only slightly above detectable levels.
This is the latest in a number of US warnings about Chinese products.
In past weeks there have been concerns about contaminated toothpaste, dog food and the paint used in toy trains.
China countered that its exports were no threat to health and “guaranteed” the safety of its products.
The FDA said it had found that Chinese seafood tested between October 2006 and May 2007 was repeatedly contaminated with antimicrobial agents.
Some of the substances included nitrofuran, malachite green and fluoroquinolone, which, according to the FDA, may help build up a resistance to antibiotics when used in food animals.
You can read the rest of the article HERE at BBC News.
Best Dates in Kuwait
I often look at the Search Engine Terms part of my Blog stats to see what searches brought people to my blog. Some of them are hilarious, and some of them – I wish I had the answers!
One of yesterday’s questions was “What are the best dates in Kuwait?”
I am not an expert on dates. I remember our first visit in a Kuwaiti house, and how at the end of dinner, the host brought out dates. There must have been ten different kinds, some dry, some moist, one very soft sugary one that I adore) it probably has about 10,000 calories in each date, but oh my, what a taste!) All the dates were from his own trees – he has a date plantation all his own! What luxury!
I remember that when I lived in Qatar, and had a date tree in my yard, the date harvest usually occurred somewhere around now – or maybe July.
So I ask my Kuwaiti readers and fellow bloggers, on this lazy Friday, to help me out. And not just me, but the likes of me, people who read my blog because they are fascinated with life in another country and learning more about different ways of life – What is your very favorite Kuwaiti date, and why?
Kuwait Beauty (2)
Public art in the Souk Mubarakiyya parking:
Mubarakiyya Market:
The Marina Crescent:
Parking Wall of Shame
At the Al Manshar Mall, where there are only about forty spaces for a huge mall:
Black Magic Chocolate Cake
No, no, no sorcery involved in making this chocolate cake, althought you might think so when you taste it – it’s so good! The magic in this cake is using a lot of cocoa powder (not cocoa mix, which has milk and sugar added – cocoa powder, which is all chocolate) and some very strong coffee to boost the intensity of the flavor. Everything you need is available here in Kuwait.
This is the very best chocolate cake I have ever tasted. The batter seems thin when you make it up but it cooks to a very moist chocolate cake with a fine crumb. And best of all – it’s EASY!
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup Hershey’s cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup strong black coffee (secret ingredient!)
2 cups buttermilk or sour milk (In a pinch, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice plus milk to equal 1 cup, let stand 10 minutes)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine dry ingredients in large mixer bowl. Add remaining ingredients – beat at medium speed 2 minutes. Batter will be thin. Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 degrees (180 degrees Celcius) for 35 – 40 minutes. Cool completely and frost.
Black Magic Chocolate Icing
(makes about two cups)
1 stick butter, softened
2 2/3 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup Hershey’s cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 t. salt
milk
Cream all together until smooth.To thin, use just a little milk at a time until you have the right consistency.
HINT: After you grease the baking pan, use cocoa instead of flour to sprinkle in pan, and shake really good until it adheres to the butter or Crisco you greased the pan with. This helps the whole cake release without those pesky stuck spots.
Cat Meat Rumors Refuted (Ho ho ho ho ho)
Front page of todays Kuwait Times is this article:
KUWAIT: A ministry of Commerce official denied rumors that a local restaurant has been closed for selling cat meat. According to Ali Baghli, assistant undersecretary for commercial supervision affairs at the Ministry of Commerce, no violation has been registered against the Arabic restaurant in the Jahra governate as of yet. . . .
My comment – So here is what we know for sure:
A ministry official says the restaurant has not been closed for selling cat meat.
He says no violations has been registered AS YET.
He does not say the restaurant was not selling cat meat; he is saying the restaurant was not closed for selling cat meat.
What was interesting, is that both the Kuwait Times and Arab Times, when they reported this cat meat restaurant closing, said that because of connections in the government, this restaurant was unlikely to stay closed.
It is not unlike Make This Case Go Away where two youths are caught with a maid they have abducted and raped, they fight the arresting officer and bite him on the hand, they confess to what they have done . . . and no violation is registered, because the police officer is pressured by his superiors to drop the case.
It’s not like your next schwarma is guaranteed not to contain fresh cat meat. It’s only guaranteed not prosecuted.
If I sound angry, I am. Police and law enforcement officials are supposed to protect the public – that’s you and me. When the system is broken so badly that laws are not enforced against the transgressors, and worse, when courageous policement are punished for doing their job, it is a very very sorry state of affairs.
And I am convinced that God has a very special place in hell for those who abuse the trust the public places in them.
I sure wouldn’t eat any schwarma in Jahra.
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