Food for thought

Grilled Sardines

2011-04-15T14:45:00.000+08:00

Sardines, anchovies and mackerel belong to the pesci azzurri family, literally translated as “blue fish” because of the blue tone to their skin. Fresh sardines in particular are very good for you. Not only are they high in omega-3 fatty acids, but they are also a good source of vitamin D, calcium, B12, protein, selenium, and other important nutrients

You’ll want to buy fresh sardines ideally the same day they are caught; they spoil very quickly because of their high omega-3 fat level. For that reason you’ll also want to clean them immediately, Look for sardines (or also known as Tamban in Philippines) that are fresh looking and not smelly, with shiny silver skin, and are whole. They should look like they just jumped out of water. Avoid them if they are bruised or look dark in color. Don’t buy them frozen! Sardines do not freeze well; the oils in them turn rancid even in a freezer, and the flesh becomes a mushy mess when thawed.

But in my case, it's been a month now since I have these sardines in our freezer. Let's say I was astounded with the cheap price and the trip to Muttrah fish market is not an easy one so I bought more than I could eat in one day. I purchased 2Kg of sardines, cleaned the fishes, grilled the other half and put the uncooked half in a microwaveable container, add some salt and water (the salt keeps the oil inside the fish and the water keeps the fish fresh when frozen) and stored it in my freezer. My fiance is not much of a fish eater so I end up eating the whole lot I cooked and still have these frozen sardines for over a month now. I do not want them to go to waste so I decided to shake up my cooking talent a bit.

This fantastic recipe for grilled fish starts with fresh or frozen whole sardines. Sardines are extremely healthy they're also one of the cleanest and safest fish to eat. While most people associate sardines with the canned or dried variety, "real" sardines are something else entirely. You'll love the tenderness of this easy fish recipe, which includes a dry barbecue rub slathered on the fish before grilling followed by a flavorful Thai sauce that makes this dish truly gourmet!

Prep Time: 12 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 22 minutes

Ingredients:

BARBECUE RUB FOR SARDINES: (double this recipe for more than 10 sardines)

8-10 whole sardines, fresh or frozen (see recipe for instructions on how to clean sardines)
1 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. dry crushed chili OR 3/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1/8 tsp. black pepper

SIDE SAUCE:

3 Tbsp. good-tasting oil, such as coconut, canola, or olive
1 Tbsp. coconut milk OR 2 tsp. butter
1 fresh red chili, de-seeded & minced, OR 1/2 tsp. dried crushed chili or cayenne pepper
1/4 cup fresh coriander, chopped
2 Tbsp. fish sauce (available at Asian food stores)
3-4 Tbsp. lime juice
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp. brown sugar

PREPARATION:

Lightly oil the grill with a little cooking oil to prevent fish from sticking.
To make the barbecue rub, simply stir all the rub ingredients together in a small bowl.
If the sardines you are using are already cleaned and prepared, skip this step. If not, cleaning sardines is relatively easy. Make a cut along the bottom of the fish and remove the intestines and entrails (simply run your finger inside the cut). Rinse and place the fish aside to dry.
Place prepared sardines on a try or in a long casserole dish, so that they're lying flat. Drizzle with about 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil and slather evenly over the fish.
Now sprinkle the BBQ rub you made earlier over the entire surface of the fish. Gently rub it along each fish, so they appear yellow-gold. Sprinkle any remaining rub powder over the fish and set aside to marinate until your barbecue/grill is hot (at least 10 minutes).
To make the sauce: Simply place all sauce ingredients in a small pot or sauce pan. Heat very briefly (do not boil) - just warm up over medium heat to bring out the flavors, and it's ready! Taste-test for salt, adding more fish sauce if not salty enough, or another squeeze of lime juice if too salty for your taste. Add a little more sugar if too sour. (Note: You only need a teaspoon of this sauce per fish, as it's very flavorful.)
Before grilling, make sure your grill is lightly oiled or the sardines will stick. Grill the fish until cooked - about 5-8 minutes each side. When done, the fish will appear golden and the skin will be crisp.
Enjoy the fish as is, or spoon over the sauce for an extra Thai treat. The sauce is also very nice with rice. ENJOY!

Book of Eli, a fallout 3 movie?

2011-04-01T16:05:00.000+08:00

"It looks like a Fallout movie."

That's what a friend of mine said the first time he saw the trailer for The Book of Eli. I had yet to play the game again when the trailer first debuted, but I've since picked up the Game of the Year edition of Fallout 3 for PC. My friend was right, and I don't think he's the only person that noticed.

A reader over at Kotaku assembled an interesting little side-by-side photo comparison, pitting the crumbling overpasses and sun-bleached post-apocalyptic landscapes of the film and the game against each other. While I doubt Denzel Washington will face off against Super-Mutants while collecting Nuka-Cola bottles, I do expect to see some of the societal drama in the film that I've come to expect from the game.

The trailers reveal Washington (as the titular Eli) trying to cross a burned-out wasteland in relative peace, and running afoul of folks that aren't nearly as accommodating of others as he is. Violence ensues. I know Fallout didn't invent the post-apoc sci-fi subgenre, but the visual resemblance is certainly there. If the movie is one-tenth as absorbing as the game is, then sign me the hell up.

What do you think -- were the Hughes Brothers (the directors of The Book of Eli) influenced by Fallout 3?

A reader over on Kotaku has pointed out some pretty strong resemblances between The Book of Eli, a movie staring Denzel W. that comes out in January, and Fallout 3. I've embedded the trailer after the break, and while Denzel isn't looking for his poppa, there's some strong inspiration there. Make sure you pay close attention to the title font at the end.

After all this time

2011-03-28T10:24:00.000+08:00

After more than 5 pondering years, I didn't expect my Blog to be still active. Imagine my last entry was september 2005 and up to now, it's still here! and that's not the half of it, My blog is now linked up with my FB, Twitter, and other social accounts. wow! these this is my kind of blog. maybe i'll start writing and posting nonsense quotes again. hehehe

2005-09-01T18:51:00.000+08:00

We are going to always have obstacles and challenges. We will have to continue the battle within which is a reflection of the universal macro battle. And maybe battle is not a good word, conflict or the work for total unity and harmony is a better way to say it perhaps. My day and your day will still have to be fruitful or at the least not hindering to this process. I tell you verily my child, this is the only dance happening which is worth dressing up for every single day.

2005-07-18T14:45:00.000+08:00

oakley titanium

2005-04-22T14:25:00.000+08:00

Perhaps we need to talk a bit more about Grace. It requires constant attention to one's thoughts and their energies. If I am to experience serenity then obviously thoughts of worthlessness in times of self doubt, thoughts of fear, worry, attachment to what I possess matrially, all become factors which produce anxiety and destroy Grace. There is always some one doing worse than I am, that must give me reason to be grateful for my life. Walking with Grace is to be kind to every part of life in all forms. To see the hands of God as it were in whatever I experience and not get attached to my pains or my glories. I walk free with Grace even when I am hurting internally or externally, because Grace is like the ray of the Sun, it shine on every one at all times and in all conditions. If I look at what I lack in my life, I have lost my walk with Grace. If I for goodness and grace, then goodness and grace will follow me for the rest of my days. Must see and accept God the Master Engineer in all aspects of life, and know that it is God's attention that keeps vibrating life's particles into and out of form and formlessness. Quantum physics has pretty much proven that now.

2005-03-28T15:55:00.000+08:00

He who does not know and is aware of his ignorance will, somehow find his way home. He who does not know and is not aware of his ignorance he; will die in the even unto the next world in that poly ignorance. But about the one who does not know and thinks he does, him; we feed to the wolfs and use as fill matter in the abyss of the pool of ignorance.

2005-03-25T13:41:00.000+08:00

We all have days when it seems that for no reason (any that we are aware of anyway) we wake up felling down and depressed. Now, in and of itself that is nothing to be worried about. Some days are diamonds and some days are just plane old stones. But I want to warn you children against getting up every day feeling somehow not fulfilled, unsatisfied with your life, and having to force yourself just to face the world and go to work. Worries, anxieties, fears; These are all symtoms of an inner struggle for not having found something to believe in. Who or what is your God? If you figure this one out by definition you have found your inner peace. Because my love, God is suppose to be the creative force which brings all your desires to fruition. I want to urge you to find a higher power to whom you can relate to and from where you can drive calm and resolve. This Higher Power must by all the laws of the universal energies, be the SOURCE of your daily bread and breath.As Max Plank the atomic physicist put it "that intelegent mind/force is the matrix of all matter" Find your matrix my

2005-03-22T03:00:00.000+08:00

It hurts to love someone and not be loved in return,but what is more painful is to love someoneand never find the courage to let that person know how you feel.
Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one so that when we finally meet the right person, we will know how tobe grateful for that gift.
Love is when you take away the feeling, the passion, and the romance in a relationship and find out you still care for that person.
A sad thing in life is when you meet someone who means a lot to you,only to find out in the end that it was never meant to be and you just have to let go.
When the door of happiness closes, another opens but often times we look so long at the closed door that we don't see the one which has been opened for us.
The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.
It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it'salso true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives.
Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they'll loveyou back! Don't expect love in return; just wait for it to grow in their heart but if it doesn't, be content it grew in yours.
There are things you'd love to hear that you would never hear from the person whom you would like to hear them from, but don't be so deaf as not to hear it from the one who says it from his heart.
Never say good-bye if you still want to try --never give up if you still feel you can go on --never say you don't love a person anymore if you can'tlet go.
Love comes to those who still hope although they've been disappointed-to those who still believe, although they've beenbetrayed, to those who still need to love, although they've beenhurt before, and to those who have the courage and faith to build trust again.
It takes only a minute to get a crush on someone, an hour to like someone, and a day to love someone -but it takes a lifetime to forget someone.
Don't go for looks; they can deceive. Don't go for wealth; even thatf ades away. Go for someone who makes you smile because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright. Hope you find the one that makes you smile.
There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real! Hope you dream of that special someone.
Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go;be what you want to be , because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet,enough trials to make you strong,enough sorrow to keep you human, enough hope to make you happy and enough money to buy me gifts :)
Always put yourself in others' shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, it probably hurts the person too.
A careless word may kindle strife; a cruel word may wreck a life; a timely word may level stress; a loving word may heal and bless.
The beginning of love is to let those we love be just themselves, and not twist them with our own image - otherwise, we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them.
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.
Happiness lies for those who cry, those who hurt, those who have searched, and those who have tried,for only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives.
Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss and ends with a tear.
The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past,you can't go on well in life untilyou let go of your past failures and heartaches.
When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you wassmiling.
Live your life so that when you die, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

2005-03-21T14:10:00.000+08:00

acoustic live at solas bar and resto

2005-03-21T06:57:00.000+08:00

A True FriendWhen I needed you,You were there.When I felt alone in the world,You convinced me that I wasn't.When I was in a dark tunnel,You were the light.When my life started getting away from me,You helped me get it back,When I didn't want to live,You gave me something to live for.When I choose the wrong road to follow,You were always there to help me choose the right path.When my thoughts had been dangerous,You were there to help me dissolve them one by one.When my problems became too big to control,You were there to help me,Always Watching and Caring for me.When I needed you in times of loneliness,You were there to support me.When I called out your name,You came running out of nowhere.When I fell into the darkness,You were there to lift me once again.Whenever I'm blue and felt like crying,You were there to wipe away the tears.When I lost my hope and faith,You were there to bring it back once again.You Truely Are My True Friend.