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Monday, October 18, 2010

5 Semester in college...

Hello reader's! Just another post of the day...
5 semester in college makes me wonder

Am I doing well in college life?

Am I ready to go find a job after college?

Can I have a better life in the future?

Well I don't know the answer but I hope God give a hint or a sneak peek into my future ( if you know what I mean)
There's still many things to do out there ~~

And yes there a few people I do hate in my class and secrectly I called them stupid pig ( Godd please forgive me...) HO HO HO ~

Anyhow,I hope everything will be just fine and I'll study hard for you mom ( I'm not making any promises but we'll see )

For today class.... lets see ~~~


Nah Nothing interesting happen ....plain !!!

Nothing much for today's post too ....What the **** Can I just hit my head to the wall?


Well that all for now, I had to go for lunch Hungry Ooo..

Friday, October 15, 2010

Sweet Potato and Haupia pie


I made sweet potato and haupia pie for a friend's housewarming party last night, and it was so popular with everyone that the hostess asked me to share the recipe with her. Seriously, people were threatening each other over this pie; completely bypassing the main dinner to make sure they got a piece. I had no idea people would get so crazy over a pie. I'll share the recipe with you, but use it wisely and only under adult supervision.
Notes:
→ Okinawan sweet potatoes are a deep purple color when cooked and fairly dense. There is no adequate substitute. The dark potato layer stands in distinctive contrast to the creamy white of the haupia on top. (This pie is as almost as much fun to look at as it is to eat! By the time I realized I might want a photo it was already too late; the carnage was over and the pie gone.
→ Between the cooking and chilling, it takes several hours to make the recipe, and then a couple more to cool the pie at the end. Allow yourself plenty of time, otherwise you'll find yourself like me, trying to accelerate the cooling phases in the freezer.
Crust
• 3/4 c. cold, unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
• 2 T sugar
• 1 3/4 c. flour
• 1 c macadamia nuts, well chopped
The very first thing you need to do isn't a "crust" step, but you'll be glad you got it out of the way. Peel your sweet potatoes (from the Sweet Potato Layer section just below). Okinawan sweet potatoes come in wildly different sizes, so I can't easily tell you how many potatoes you'll need to make 2 cups. Just use your best judgment, and if anything, make a little extra. Boil the potatoes until a fork slides easily into them. Drain and mash them, then set them aside to cool while you make the crust. Isn't that purple color amazing? How thoroughly you mash them depends on the final texture you want. I don't mind little chunks in my pie, but other people prefer a creamy texture.
Oh yeah, now would be a good time to preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Now we can get started on our crust. Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium size bowl. Add the chopped nuts and the butter. Cut the mixture with two butter knives, pulling them across each other in a scissors motion, until the crust mixture is crumbly and no large butter chunks remain. Press the crust mix into the bottom of a pie pan, continuing it up the sides of the pan. You don't need to create a substantial or fancy lip to the crust. Place the crust in the refrigerator.

Sweet Potato Layer
• 1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened (1 stick)
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 c. Okinawan sweet potatoes, mashed
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 t. salt
Wash your medium size bowl that you used to mix the crust. Cream the butter and sugar together in it until smooth and... Creamy. Add one egg at a time, mixing them each until completely incorporated. Add half the sweet potatoes, mixing thoroughly. Add the other half and mix again. Finally, mix in the evaporated milk, vanilla and salt.
Spread the sweet potato layer into the pie crust, making sure not to add too much. The potato layer should fill the pie no higher than 1/2 inch from the top edge of the crust, so that we still have room for the haupia layer. Bake the pie at 350 for 30 minutes, or until the edge of the crust is golden and the potato filling is lightly browning in spots.
Cool the pie completely in the refrigerator.
Haupia Layer
• 1 can coconut milk (usually 13.5 oz)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
When the cooked pie has cooled, begin preparing the haupia layer. You do not want to prepare the haupia early or it may solidify into an unwieldy block of coconut goo.
Place the coconut milk and water in a saucepan, but don't turn on the heat just yet. Mix together the sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl then add them to the liquids. Heat at medium, stirring constantly, until thickened. You can tell it's thick enough when you lift your spoon out, and the bits that glop off the spoon back into the saucepan basically hold their shape.
Immediately pour the haupia mixture over the pie and return to the refrigerator to chill for several more hours. Serve when cooled, making sure to step back so that you don't get trampled!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Aerolíneas Argentinas' New Circle Route

Argentina is the world’s eighth-largest country - only slightly smaller than India - and the distance from the tip of Tierra del Fuego to the top at its border with Bolivia is 3,700 km (about 2,300 miles), only a little shorter than that from New York to Los Angeles. For that reason, getting around the country on a relatively short trip of a couple weeks or so means flying significant distances.

Unfortunately, flying from any Argentine city to another almost always means going through Buenos Aires, the country’s capital and biggest city (nearly a third of the country’s population of 40 million lives in or near “Baires”) and transportation hub. Traditionally, for instance, flying between the provincial capitals of Mendoza and colonial Salta (pictured below, roughly 1,000 km or 600 miles from Mendoza as the crow flies) meant an obligatory detour to Buenos Aires, for a total distance of about 2,250 km or 1,400 miles - not to mention layover time and the chance of missed connections. In the United States, this would be roughly equivalent to flying from Boston to Washington DC via Chicago.

The root of this, of course, is the fact that Buenos Aires has dominated Argentina’s political, economic and cultural life for two centuries now, in a way that Washington DC can only dream about - even if Argentina’s federal constitution bears superficial resemblance to that of the US. That was the case in the days of horsecarts and railroads - which emanated from the capital like the spokes of a wheel - to the times of air travel, but it’s changing as new air routes simplify the connections between some of Argentina’s top destinations.

That began to change last year when the startup Andes Líneas Aéreas began to fly from Salta eastward across the Gran Chaco lowlands to Puerto Iguazú - thus connecting the stunning northwestern canyon country to the world famous Iguazú Falls (pictured above) without necessity of returning to Buenos Aires first. Before that the only trans-Chaco option was a marathon 22-hour bus ride.

Andes continues to cross the Chaco but, recently, Aerolíneas Argentinas has added a new route that should appeal to the tourist trade - twice weekly, its so-called “Corredor Federal” route will link Buenos Aires with the popular destinations of San Carlos de Bariloche and its Andean lakes (pictured above), Mendoza (pictured below) with its nearby vineyards and wineries, colonial Salta and its canyons, and Iguazú before returning to the capital; another flight will do the itinerary in reverse. This will also help residents of those cities - a passenger from Mendoza, for instance, will be able to fly to Bariloche and back without having to change planes in Buenos Aires.

At present, the flights will take place Wednesday and Saturdays, with early morning departures in each direction. The relative infrequency means that, in some cases, visitors may still have to backtrack to Buenos Aires to visit the destinations they prefer, but at least it’s a start. If only Aerolíneas can improve its on-time record, it could be even better.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010