It's Halloween again

Not that it’s a popular festival in this part of the world but there are still some signs hinting of its arrival. Some shops and department stores decorate with toy bats, spider webs, tapered witch hats and the inevitable pumpkin with a smile craved onto it. Yeah. If there is a chance to earn an extra buck (in this case, it is Euro), every commercial merchant will embrace it.

The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain (which Halloween is associated), allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. So, whether you observe it or not, it is never a bad idea to follow some rules during Halloween.

1. When it appears that you have killed the monster, NEVER check to see if it's really dead.

2. Do not search the basement, especially if the power has gone out.

3. If your children speak to you in Latin or any other language which they should not know, shoot them immediately.

4. Avoid walking under a ladder.

5. Do not take ANYTHING from the dead.

6. As a general rule, don't solve puzzles that open portals to Hell.

7. Never stand in, on, or above a grave, tomb, or crypt. This would apply to any other house of the dead as well.

8. If you're searching for something which caused a loud noise and find out that it's just a black cat, …. GET THE HELL OUT!

9. If appliances start operating by themselves, do not check for short circuits; just get out!

10. If you find a town which looks deserted, there's probably a good reason for it. Don't stop and look around!

11. If you're running from the monster, expect to trip or fall down at least twice. Also note that, despite the fact that you are running and the monster is merely shambling along, it's still moving fast enough to catch up 
with you eventually.

12. If your companions suddenly begin to exhibit uncharacteristic behavior such as hissing, fascination for blood, glowing eyes, increasing hairiness, and so on, kill them immediately.

13. If your car runs out of gas at night on a lonely road, do not go to the nearby deserted looking house to phone for help. If you think that it is strange because you thought you had half of a tank, shoot yourself instead. You are going to die anyway, and most likely be eaten.

14. If you find that your house is built upon a cemetery, now is the time to move in with the in-laws. You still suffer, but  at least your wife will be happy. 

Superenalotto

When TOTO’s grand prize reaches beyond $1 milion in Singapore, there will be a long queue at the betting kiosk. $1 milion dollars can change one’s life. But wait till you hear about the recent TOTO grand prize in Italy. It is called Superenalotto.  And Super it sure is. For the prize has reached 156 million Euro!  Yes, I say it again. It is 156 million Euro. (about SGD282 million)

Here we really talk about life changing moment.  I cannot even spend 10% of it in my whole life time.  (Ok, maybe it is slightly difficult for me since I’ve passed half of my life time already)  With that amount of money, one can purchase a few islands and made oneself the king there or go insane.

Only 6 numbers are needed. Any 6 numbers from 1 to 90.  Seems easy but apparently it isn’t because there is no winner for more than a few months and the prize continues to increase. Let’s hope I’ll be lucky this Saturday.  One thing is for sure: If I win, I am not going to tell.

PS: the writer is presently living in Italy.

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Another birthday

I just had my birthday last week. Like previous years, there was no celebration. The only difference is that this year, I receive numerous greetings through the social network.  Long live Facebook.

So what now?  Any changes?  Yes, there are several but one affects me particularly. I am obligated to change my Curricular Vitae by adding another year in the age column. And there goes my further chances for employment.

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Welcome for Indian food

Folks, I really have no intention to make this blog into a food column. Let’s hope this will be my last attempt to talk about food and move on.

8 of my friends were here for dinner the other day. Ok, I admit that I was trying to impress. So instead of the usual Italian or Chinese food, I cooked some Indian dishes (with the help of the BBC program “Indian food made easy”)

A few friends commented that the food was not spicy enough. That is the common misconception of Indian cuisine (and in a certain extend, on Thai food too). Many think that the more it burns your lips, the more authentic the cooking is.  Little did they know that Indian food was not to be judged by how fiery the chilli is or the quantity added. Besides chilli, there are other exciting spices like cardamom, mustard seeds, fennel, fenugreek, coriander, cumin etc.  Clever mixing them will highlight its intense flavor but not overpowering the principal  ingredient. A fish, in the end, has to taste like a fish. Same for mutton, or pork or any vegetable. Isn’t it strange to taste nothing but chili in a fish?

  

By the way, there is a standard to measure the piquancy, or “hotness” of various chilli peppers (capsicums).”The Scoville Organoleptic Test”, now standardized as Scoville scale was invented by the American chemist  Wilbur Lincoln Scoville in 1912.

The normal Italian variety measured under 5000 Su (Scoville Units), while some Thai varieties top the scale with 100,000 units. Selected Indian species can reach to 1 million Su, a level, in my opinion, suitable for weapon making. Why? Because when its scale top 250,0000 Su, only pain can be experienced.

Oh, I drifted too far, now back to my Indian dinner. Now I am in a dilemma. Next time, should I make the food authentic to its origin or adjust its taste to suit the diners?

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Fighting with my fig jam

Summer has just ended and the fig tree is bursting with its fruits. Anything free is so rare these days. Surely I cannot and will not live to see these figs ripen and drop to the ground. So I put those tree climbing skills learned during my boy scout days to good use.  Having a low tree helps too. 30 minutes later, together with 2 kg of figs, I got patches of rashes (due to skin allergy from the leaves), a few ant bites and a torn in the pants.  At least I don’t need to pay for the figs.

What to do with them? They perish fast. Someone suggested “figs jam”.  Yeah, just as I was making a list of 20 interesting things to do on a lazy afternoon.

At this point, Google came to the rescue.  With some recipes in hand, I start to make fruit jam for the first time in my life. There is a problem. Is it REALLY necessary to stand over a hot boiling pot stirring and getting splattered by hot jam until all vitamins is cooked out in order to get the final thick consistency?  It is the 21^st century. There should be some micro chips invented for making easy home cook jam. Google again.  The search result came out: No chip for that, you idiot. Alternatively, you can try Pectin.

Pectin? What is that? Some kind of pesticide, I reckon.  Google again. 

Result: Pectin is a naturally occurring substance. When heated together with sugar, it causes a thickening that is characteristic of jams and jellies.

The one that available in the nearby supermarket is a kind of ready mix of pectin with sugar. Well it should be the same anyway. So I proceed with the science experiment. One hour later, my pot resembled some kind of deep red watery sticky gravy, not different from a tomatoes pasta sauce. Another 30 minutes more on the fire. Nothing change. Hmmm…maybe because I wanted a low sugar jam, I put less pectin/sugar mix. So the jam just does not set.  By now, my enthusiasm is all dried up. I just have to learn to live with syrupy jam.

 Soon, it is the harvest period for apples.  Syrupy apple jam anyone? 

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