Entries from May 2008 ↓

(ETA: Sorry, videos keep getting pulled from YouTube – I keep fixing the links though. Arrr.)

Check out the smokin’ hot Vânia Fernandes, Portugal’s representative at the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, who’s made it into the final:

She faces stiff competiton from a variety of Euro-pop acts, including another Finnish metal band and the spectacularly awesome Pirates of the Sea from Latvia:

Everything’s been moved over from the WordPress-hosted site, except the blogroll, which has to be done manually (argh). So don’t get worried if your link doesn’t show up right away – I’ll be doing them in batches.

Shinobi posted that Yogurt is gross. Which it is, generally, because most glop calling itself yoghurt these days is pretty much just that – glop. You might have to go to a fancypants deli or ethnic grocery store to find it, but real thick Greek style yoghurt is a magnificent food. (Also labelled ‘continental’ or ‘Mediterranean’ yoghurt or something similar.) It can be a little intimidating by itself, however, if you’re used to the gelatin-thickened abominations that abound, and the flavour may even be off-puttingly strong. Two very delicious ways to use this yoghurt is to make Turkish dips (which are technically ‘salads’ in Turkish cuisine, a bit like a coleslaw, not appetisers or snacks). The two I like best are carrot (yoghurtlu havuc) and beetroot (kiz guzeli). There are many ways of preparing these dishes, but here are the recipes I use:

Turkish carrot dip

• 1 large or 2 small carrots
• good splash of olive oil
• 1.5 cups Greek style yoghurt (may need more or less depending on how much carrot you end up with)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Grate the carrot using the fine blade on your grater or food processor.
2. Heat the olive oil in a sautee or frypan, and gently sautee the carrot until it’s tender. Set aside to cool.
3. Mix the cooled carrot, garlic, cumin and salt together in a bowl. It should have a consistency like those mayo-heavy commercial coleslaws!
4. Serve in a shallow bowl, drizzled with a little more olive oil and sprinkled with about half a teaspoon of cumin powder.

Turkish beetroot dip

• 3 medium beet bulbs
• olive oil
• 1.5 cups Greek style yoghurt (approx, as above)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. Wash, top and tail the beets but don’t peel them. Parboil them (about 20 minutes), then drain and place on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and bake in a med-hot oven until tender. This can take up to an hour depending on how big your beets are.
2. Peel the cooked beets, and chop into smaller pieces to allow faster cooling.
3. Place the cooled beet pieces, yoghurt, garlic and salt into a food processor and whiz. You can have anywhere from a chunky to smooth texture. If you don’t have a food processor, chop the beets more finely and use a stick blender, hand masher, or even a potato ricer, then mix with the yoghurt.
4. Serve in a shallow bowl or dish, drizzled with a bit of olive oil.

Slice up Turkish bread (pide), or pita bread or chips, and serve with the dips for Western style party or BBQ food. More Turkish-ly, you’d have these a side or condiment with your meat and vegetables. Example: a platter with lamb kofte or felafel, green or chunky (Greek style) salad, rice pilaf, and havuc or guzeli. Any way you eat them, they’re delicious.

Just a note, prompted by a comment on another post.

I am in fact quite fat. I don’t know exactly what I weigh but it’s a lot. I estimate it at about 120kg (265lbs) (going by various clues), and I’m 155cm (5’1″) tall, making me about 60kg “overweight”. That’s a BMI of 49.9, well into Super Extra Morbidly Death-o-matic Obese category. I wear a size 26 on the bottom. I’m fat. I know what it’s like to nearly always be the fattest person in the room and have a thousand assumptions made about my life by strangers.

I’m fat and it’s ok with me. Sure, if there was a magic wand to wave and I would wake up in the morning all slender without any side effects, I might well do it, just to get some damned respect. But that’s not fixing the real problem, is it?