Japanese Rice Ball

Ingredients:

• 4 cups steamed Japanese rice
• 8 strips of dried nori (seaweed)
• Salt to taste
• *For fillings:
• ume (pickled plum) / grilled salted salmon

Preparation:

Grill salted salmon slices. After the salmon cools, tear it into small chunks and set aside. Cook steamed rice. Put about a half cup of steamed rice in a rice bowl. Make a dent in the center of the rice and place fillings, such as ume (pickled plum) and grilled salmon. Wet your hands in water so that the rice won't stick. Rub some salt on your hands. Place the rice in the rice bowl on your hands. Form the rice into a round or a triangle, by pressing lightly with your both palms. Wrap the rice ball with a strip of nori. Makes 8 rice balls.

Source: Japanese Food

Offshore Drilling - You want it?

As gas prices continue to increase, Congress continues to blame others while ignoring practical steps to stop the pain Americans are feeling at the pump. To lower gasoline prices and reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we need real solutions to our energy challenges.

Strawberry Pina Colada Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 (8 ounce) package PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 pkg. (4 serving size) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
• 1 (8 ounce) can DOLE Crushed Pineapple in Juice, undrained
• 1 (8 ounce) tub COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
• 1 (6 ounce) HONEY MAID Graham Pie Crust
• 1/4 cup BAKER'S ANGEL FLAKE Coconut, toasted
• 1 1/4 cups sliced fresh strawberries

Directions:

1. Beat cream cheese and milk in large bowl with electric mixer until well blended. Add dry pudding mix and pineapple; mix well. Gently stir in 2 cups of the whipped topping; spoon into crust.
2. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm.
3. Top with coconut, strawberries and remaining whipped topping just before serving. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Source: All Recipes

Your Firsts

Most of our 'firsts' made some sort of impact on us ... they have become the fabric of our lives ... I don't remember my first romantic kiss, but I do remember my first beer ... it was with my dad at a Knights of Columbus event ... so, dig back and remember.
Many thanks to Joan Batanes for suggesting this conversation!!

Sesame Crusted Mahi Mahi with Soy Shiso Ginger Butter Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 shallots, minced
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 shiso leaves
• coarse kosher salt
• ground white pepper
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 6 (6 ounce) mahi mahi fillets
• 4 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 4 tablespoons black sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a sauce pan over medium heat, combine shallots, ginger, lemon juice, and white wine. Cook until liquid is reduced to approximately 2 tablespoons. Stir in heavy cream, and bring to light boil. Reduce cream by half; do not burn. Stir in soy sauce, then transfer to blender. Blend on low while slowly adding butter, a few cubes at a time, until all of the butter is emulsified. Roughly chop or tear shiso, add to sauce, and blend for about 10 more seconds. Season to taste with kosher salt and pepper. Keep sauce warm.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
3. Heat oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Season both sides of the fillets with kosher salt and white pepper. Mix together white and black sesame seeds, and place in a plate or flat dish. Press the TOP side only of each fillet into the mixture, and press seeds into fish so it sticks. Make sure that the crusted sides are evenly crusted with the seeds. When oil is smoking, add fish, sesame seed side down to pan, and be careful of oil splatters. Pan sear fish for about 30 to 45 seconds per side. Place pan into oven, or transfer fish to baking sheet, and cook in oven for about 5 to 6 minutes. Serve sesame crust side up with ginger butter sauce.

Source: All Recipes

Home Computer Security

No matter how a home computer is connected to the Internet, intruders? attacks are often successful. Many home computer owners don?t realize that they need to pay attention to computer security. In the same way that you are responsible for having insurance when you drive a car, you need to also be responsible for your home computer?s security.

Black Bean Salad Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 (15 ounce) can of black beans, thoroughly rinsed, and drained (or 1 1/2 cup of freshly cooked black beans)
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn, defrosted (or fresh corn, parboiled, drained and cooled)
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions or shallots
• 2 fresh jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced, or 1 whole pickled jalapeño pepper, minced (not seeded)
• 3 fresh plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks
• 1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
• 2 Tbsp lime juice (about the amount of juice from one lime)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of sugar (to taste)
• Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:

Make sure to rinse and drain the beans, if you are using canned beans.

In a large bowl, combine the beans, corn, onions, jalapeno chile peppers, tomatoes, avocado, cilantro, basil, lime juice and olive oil. Add sugar and salt and pepper to taste. (The sugar will help balance the acidity from the tomatoes and lime juice.) Chill before serving.

Serves 6 to 8.

Sources: Simply Recipe

Gas Station Convenience

Do we get our gas at a place where we can get a lot more done? We're on the move and but when we staop we like to make the most of it ... or it may be better to find a speacialist store rather than opt for convenience.

Chicken Curry Salad Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 lb skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
• Salt
• 1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 2 heaping Tbsp yellow curry powder
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 apple (tart or sweet, your preference), peeled, cored, and diced
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (just lightly packed)
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 1 Tbsp mayonnaise optional

Methods:

1 Heat olive oil on medium/medium-high heat in a thick-bottomed sauté pan. Add chicken pieces and cook, stirring frequently until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle some salt on the chicken pieces while cooking. Check doneness by removing the thickest piece and cutting it in half. If it is still pink in the middle, keep cooking. Try not to overcook the chicken or it will be dry. Remove chicken pieces with a slotted spoon, set aside in a bowl.

2 Add yellow onion and cook. After a few minutes, when the onions are beginning to get translucent, add 2 heaping tablespoons of yellow curry powder. Cook a few minutes more, stirring frequently. If the curry sticks to the bottom or the mixture gets dry, add a bit more olive oil to the pan. As you stir, scrape up the stuck curry bits. Add raisins, and cook, stirring another minute. (If adding optional mayonnaise, remove curry from heat and mix in mayo.) Add raisin and onion mixture to chicken and mix well, coating the chicken pieces with the curry infused olive oil. Refrigerate until cool. At this point you can make the salad a day a head of time.

3 When you are ready to serve the salad, mix in the apple, green onions, and cilantro.

Serves 4.

Source: Simply Recipes

Brand Loyalty Survey

It tells a lot about who you are and where you came from.

Panara Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 1/4 kg shrimps, peeled & chopped
• 2 11g MAGGI Pork Broth Cube
• 4 cups upo (bottle gourd), peeled & sliced
• lumpia wrapper
• cooking oil for deep-frying

Instructions:

• Heat oil and saute garlic and onion until limp. Add shrimps, MAGGI Pork Broth Cubes, and upo (White Gourd in English).
  

• Simmer about 10 min. or until cooked. Drain liquid well and cool.
  

• Wrap with lumpia wrapper and form into triangles, sealing edges with starch paste.
  

• Deep-fry until golden. Drain in paper towels to remove excess fat.

Source: pinoyrecipe.net

Should Hillary concede?- Survey

"Our party and our country are better off because of her, and I am a better candidate for having had the honor to compete with Hillary Rodham Clinton," Obama said Tuesday night. Clinton Aides say that not conceding is a strategic decision to preserve her leverage to negotiate over policy disagreements and the possibility that she would join Obama's ticket as the vice presidential nominee.

Apple Cornbread Recipe 1

Ingredients:

• 2 cups white cornmeal
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 2/3 cups milk
• 3 apples, pared, cored, sliced

Instructions:

1. Mix the dry ingredients together.
2. Add the milk and beat thoroughly.
3. Add the apples and mix.
4. Pour into well-buttered pan and bake at 450 degrees for 10 to 12 min.

Sources: Recipes

It's time for some Sex and the City Survey

From a half hour cable show, to the BIG screen. On TV, SATC wry look at Manhattan's dating scene that was more about female friendship than sex, though there was plenty of that. Will the movie live up to the series?