Spring...?!

Monday, March 24, 2008.
Spring started 4 days ago. And now this:




0° C, snow. Funny, we didn’t have that much snow throughout all winter...

Tuskany Tuna

Here’s my 2008 spring recipe, quantum for 4 people:

4 big tuna steaks
Salt and pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
Some olive oil
2 sticks celery
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
100g black olives
500g peeled tomatoes
1 roll of parsley
2 bay leafs
2 spoons of capers
20 leafs of basil
100ml dry white wine

Pour the lemon juice over the tuna steaks, put them back into the fridge.

Cut the celery into small pieces, chop onion, garlic and parsley. Also cut the tomatoes into little pieces, cut the olives in half and take out the stone. Steam the celery, onion, garlic and parsley in olive oil. Add the tomatoes, olives, capers, bay leafs and the wine. Let it boil gently for at least 30 minutes, but no longer than 45 minutes.

Spice the tuna with salt and pepper, fry it for five minutes on each side. Chop the basil, but not too small.

Sprinkle the basil over the fish, serve it with the vegetable sauce. For a side-dish, serve fresh bread or salted potatoes.

Notes: The original recipe says ‘Swordfish’ instead of tuna – also on the pictures you see swordfish. To my horror I noticed that the swordfish is a highly endangered species. So please, order tuna or porbeagle and let the swordfish live!

Desert: Spicy chocolate cubes

200g dark chocolate
100g milk chocolate
100g butter
250g oatcakes
60g walnuts
50g raisins
100g dry apricots or cranberries
100g molasses (not essentially needed – makes it just much sweeter)
Salt (I use Fleur de Sel)

Grind the oatcakes (not too fine, needs to be crunchy), chop the walnuts. Put both aside for the moment.

Melt chocolate and butter, be careful that things don’t start to boil! Add all other ingredients and stir. Pour mass into a flat baking pan and gently pour salt over it – only very little!!! Let the mass cool out, cut into cubes and eat. Don’t forget to brush your teeth after that...

I don’t use the molasses, it only makes things much sweeter. Also I add some barberries to the cranberries. Try it out!

Picture by courtesey of ET. Thank you and S. for 2 days wonderful company!

PersonalDNA

I saw this test on CS' blog last sunday and thought I'd give it a try. What can I say? The result was exactly what I expected. Does this mean, I know myself?

This is the graphic version:

Considerate Realist

And this is the result in plain text:

You are a Realist
Your attention to detail, appreciation of how things function, and awareness of the world around you make you a REALIST.
Routines are reassuring to you—you feel safer and more at ease when sticking with familiar things.
You like to stay close with those around you, seeking comfort from familiar faces.
You are interested in processes—how things work, what they do, and why—not just how things look.
Sometimes you doubt that you can find solutions to problems, although you have a good sense of why things happen, and can use that knowledge to find the best way to do something.
You are down to earth, concerned more with practical, detail-oriented things than with dreamy or ambiguous ideas.
You have a good sense of your abilities and weaknesses, and don't let your ego get in your way.
You're not one to force your positions on a group, and you tend to be fair in evaluating different options.
You're not afraid to let your emotions guide you, and you're generally considerate of others' feelings as well.
You prefer to have time to plan for things, feeling better with a schedule than with keeping plans up in the air until the last minute.

You are Considerate
You trust others, care about them, and are slow to judge them, making you CONSIDERATE.
You value your close relationships very much, and are more likely to spend time in small, tightly-knit groups of friends than in large crowds.
You enjoy exploring the world through observation, quietly watching others.
Relating to others so well, and understanding their emotions, leads you to trust people in general, even though you're somewhat shy and reserved at times.
Your belief that people are generally well-intentioned contributes to your sympathy regarding their problems.
Although you may not vocalize it often, you have an awareness of how society affects individuals, and you understand complex causes of people's behavior.
You like to look at all sides of a situation before making a judgment, particularly when that situation involves important things in other people's lives.
Your close friends know you as a good listener.

I have nothing to ad.

PS: I finished the test in 20 minutes. But I'm always fast on such things.

Bushpilots

A bushpilot returns from a hop to an international airport. His friend asks him: 'Their runways must be pretty long, as I heard.' - 'Long? Not particularly. But WIIIIIIDE!!!' Obviously he landed sideways...

I came across a series of DVD made by a pilot named Greg Miller and some of his friends. So far I thought I knew what bushpilots are capable of. The two DVD's tought me better... These guys land their highly modified airplanes in places I thought not even helicopter-pilots would get their vehicles in! And not only that: With their huge tundra tires they touch down on the water and let the plane roll out on the bank of very small rivers. 150 feet is enough to get airbourne, and turns during take-off or landing aren't a problem. Also the DVD's show that a real bush-plane has the main wheels in front and the wing on the roof. Low wings and tricycle landing gears are for pussies...

Landing in these places requires full control of the airplane. Knowing exactly where it begins, where it ends, and of course: Knowing what the aircraft will do next.

Greg and his friends show great skill controlling throttle and brakes when landing on river-banks with rocks as big as a medicine ball. With 44" low-pressure tires and self-designed heavy-duty gear struts they manage to bring the airplane to a stop upright - this is true skill.

I can't embed the teasers here, so please watch them here:

Big Rock & Long Props - Volume 1
Big Rock & Long Props - Volume 2 - Waterplay

Volume 3 is planed to be released by end of April. I'll be one of the first to buy!!!

Thanks Greg, you caused me sitting in front of my television, unable to close my mouth for two hours!