Download LINE and enter to win a 2013 Mini Cooper, Samsung Galaxy S4

LINE, the world’s leading mobile messaging platform with 200 million users, has launched a promotional event to invite new Filipino users to LINE. Anyone can enter this event by simply downloading the application from July 31 to August 19.

A quick and easy registration will give the participants a chance to win the grand prize of a 2013 Mini Cooperas well as Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphones, adorable LINE dolls and many more. The lucky winners will be announced on September 2, 2013.

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Flatiron Steak with Herbed Butter

Happy Monday! How was your weekend - Any fun eats to share? I had my usual busy weekend but it was fun nonetheless. We had folks join us in our kitchen where we made some French Macarons and taught another class devoted to sushi. All and all, a delicious time. I can't forget dinner out with a girlfriend over lots of sangria! Sunday was another family day spent with the Baron's and we enjoyed some amazing grilled steaks in honor of his mom's birthday. The steaks were so succulent and perfectly cooked that I'm still craving steak today. In fact, I made steak not too long ago and I was reminded to share it here. This Flatiron Steak with Herbed Butter was a nice meal even for a weeknight. Simply seasoned flatiron steak is topped with a fragrant fresh herb butter and served over a bed of roasted Yukon potatoes with a touch of citrus...

I love steak and especially a steak that isn't overly done up. I've seen restaurants offer special sauces to accompany steaks for an extra touch but in my mind, good steaks don't need anything else besides salt and pepper. With that in mind, these steaks don't rely on anything else. The only special touch, which is really optional, is the fresh herb butter. It's served on top of the steak for just a subtle richness and flavor but probably goes better with the bed of potatoes the steak is served with. The herb butter is great to have on hand to use in other recipes as an added touch but it really does add something nice to the steak.

Flatiron Steak with Herbed Butter

recipe from Plated

3/4 pound baby Yukon gold potatoes, quartered
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons basil, divided
12 ounces flatiron steak
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon parsley, minced
1 tablespoon chives, minced


Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Place potatoes on a large baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Roast in preheated oven for 20 minutes, turning halfway through.

While the potatoes roast, in a small bowl, combine the zest, 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped basil and 1 tablespoon salt. Mix using your fingers. Sprinkle mixture over the roast potatoes after 20 minutes and continue roasting for 5 more minutes. Remove potatoes from oven and keep warm.

Combine the remaining basil, parsley and chives with the butter. Season with salt to taste. Using a for, mash butter together with the herbs and combine well. Set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Pat the steaks dry with a paper towel and season both sides generously with salt and pepper. add steaks to pan and cook until well browned, about 4 minutes per side.

Transfer steaks to a serving plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Set aside to rest for 5-10 minutes. Top each steak with 1 tablespoon herb butter and serve with citrus potatoes.

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La cottura sottovuoto: branzino all'acqua pazza or "Crazy Water" Sea Bass

The term "acqua pazza" is Italian for "crazy water". It means poaching fish in water with garlic, olive oil, parsley, and tomato. Vacuum cooking is a cooking method that has been used for years: foods are put into jars, which are then cooked for a long time in hot water. The hot water creates a vacuum inside the jar, which allows the food to be stored for a long time. Vegetables and meats that are canned are similar to vacuum cooked foods: after being packaged they undergo a thermal treatment that sterilizes the product.

La cottura sottovuoto è utilizzata in cucina da moltissimo tempo: già da molti anni si conservano dei prodotti alimentari in vasetti che poi vengono cotti a lungo in acqua calda per creare un vuoto all'interno, in modo da poterli conservare più tempo. Allo stesso modo si avvicinano molto alla cottura sottovuoto le verdure o la carne in scatola che, dopo essere state confezionate in barattolo, subiscono un trattamento termico che sterilizza il prodotto.

Macchina per il sottovuoto Elegen Grandispensa

L'azione di chiudere in un contenitore ermetico un alimento, per proteggerlo da una contaminazione batterica esterna e uilizzare il calore per distruggere i batteri presenti all'interno è il processo più utilizzato per conservare un alimento senza intaccare il sapore o la consistenza originaria con condimenti o conservanti o con processi di disidratazione o affumicatura.
 

Storing food in a hermetically sealed container protects it from external bacterial contamination and uses heat to destroy the bacteria. This is the best process for storing food without affecting its taste or original consistency and without using preservatives, dehydration, or a smoking procedure. Vacuum packaging before cooking isolates the food from the external environment and extracts as much of the oxygen in the package as possible; the subsequent process of heating the food in the vacuum package creates a condition of pasteurization inside the package, which destroys most of the germs present. There is no contact between the food and the method of cooking; the food does not dry out and it does not absorb liquids or fat: the ingredients combine well among themselves without losing their individual flavors, and the water contained in the food does not evaporate (like with meat that is cooked too long). All in all, the loss of moisture is significantly less than that of traditional cooking methods.

Il confezionamento sottovuoto prima della cottura permette di isolare l'alimento dall'ambiente esterno e di estrarre quanto più ossigeno possibile dalla confezione; la successiva cottura crea all'interno del sacchetto una condizione di pastorizzazione che permette di distruggere gran parte dei germi presenti e, non essendoci contatto fra alimento e mezzo di cottura, l'alimento non si asciuga e non assorbe liquidi o grassi: gli ingredienti si mescolano bene fra loro, senza però perdere il proprio sapore; l'acqua non si separa dall'alimento come nelle carni cotte troppo e comunque la perdita di liquidi è di gran lunga minore rispetto alle cotture tradizionali.

Fondamentale per la riuscita di questa cottura è avere un'ottima macchina per il sottovuoto, la mia è la Grandispensa della Elegen, macchina per il sottovuoto alimentare totalmente in alluminio, realizzata con una tecnologia mai applicata prima nel settore del sottovuoto, che ne garantisce presta-zioni tecniche e funzionali all’avan-guardia, caratteristiche che la collocano nella fascia alta di gamma del settore sottovuoto alimentare, con un eccellente rapporto qualità prezzo. 

An excellent vacuum is fundamental for the success of this method. I use the Elegen Grandispensa, which is a vacuum for packaging food. It is made entirely of aluminum and created with a type of technology that has never before been applied to vacuum packaging. This technology includes functional state-of-the-art features and characteristics that place it in the top range of vacuum products. It also has an excellent price-quality ratio.

Realizzare con questo apparecchio il Branzino all'acqua pazza è estremamente semplice e consente, tra le altre cose, di non dover lavare pentole o padelle, visto che la cottura sottovuoto... non sporca! Mettere in un sacchetto adatto alla cottura il branzino eviscerato e ben pulito, salare, aggiungere pomodorini tagliati a metà o in quarti, anelli di cipolla rossa,  prezzemolo, sedano e sigillare, dopo aver fatto uscire l'aria con la Grandispensa Elegen (basta posizionare il sacchetto sotto la barra spaziatrice e premere: la Grandispensa aspira l'aria dal sacchetto e poi lo salda perfettamente!). Mettete il sacchetto in acqua bollente e calcolate, dalla ripresa dell'ebollizione, venti minuti di cottura (il mio branzino pesava all'origine 800g, aumentate o diminuite il tempo a seconda del peso). Tirate fuori il sacchetto dall'acqua, lasciatelo intiepidire prima di aprirlo: pulite il pesce, conditelo con un ottimo olio extravergine d'oliva monocultivar Taggiasca Roi e portatelo in tavola! L'olio che ho usato merita una menzione a parte: >>ROI<< è un piccolo produttore che propone oli extra vergine di altissima qualità, dei veri e propri cru, extravergini millesimati frutto di una sapiente selezione annuale e territoriale delle migliori olive Taggiasche.

Oltre agli oli, tipiche della produzione >>ROI<< sono le olive Taggiasche in salamoia o denocciolate in olio extra vergine, il pesto e le salse della tradizione locale. Tutti i prodotti >>ROI<< sono conservati in olio extra vergine di oliva che ne esalta le caratteristiche ed il gusto e ne garantisce una perfetta conservazione.

Using this appliance to prepare sea bass all'acqua pazza makes the entire procedure extremely easy. Further, there won't be any pots or pans to wash, since vacuum cooking... doesn't dirty anything!

Place the sea bass, which has been well gutted and cleaned, into a bag suitable for cooking and season it with salt; add cherry tomatoes cut in halves or in quarters, red onion cut into rings, parsley, and celery. Seal the bag after having removed all the air with the Elegen Grandispensa vacuum.

Place the vacuum-packaged sea bass into boiling water and cook for 20 minutes once the water starts to boil again. My sea bass originally weighed 800 gr. (1 lb. 12 oz.) so you should increase or decrease the cooking time according to the weight of the fish you use. Remove the package from the water and set it aside to cool slightly before opening it. Prepare the fish to be plated: drizzle with some excellent extra virgin olive oil and serve!

Nella mia cucina
Piatto Villa d'Este Home
Grandispensa Elegen

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Γράφουν τα γραμματόσημα ιστορία;;

Από το Μποπάλ ώς τον Αλιάγα

Τα Ελληνικά Ταχυδρομεία δεν έβγαζαν γραμματόσημα με προσωπικότητες εν ζωή. Τώρα αποφάσισαν να συμπεριλάβουν τον επικεφαλής της Dow Chemicals και τον διεθνή τηλεπαρουσιαστή...

ΓΕΩΡΓΙΟΣ ΣΕΦΕΡΗΣ 1980

 

 

Της ΣΤΑΥΡΟΥΛΑΣ ΠΑΠΑΣΠΥΡΟΥ

Το Ελληνικά Ταχυδρομεία δεν μας έχουν συνηθίσει στην έκδοση γραμματοσήμων με απεικονίσεις προσωπικοτήτων που βρίσκονται εν ζωή. Συντονισμένα με την πρακτική που ακολουθείται σε πολλές χώρες του εξωτερικού, έχουν υιοθετήσει την αντίληψη ότι μόνο μετά θάνατον μπορεί ν' αποτιμηθεί με σιγουριά η συμβολή κάποιου στην πατρίδα, και οι εξαιρέσεις στον κανόνα μέχρι τώρα ήταν μετρημένες στα δάχτυλα.

Χατζιδάκις Ο Μίκης Θεοδωράκης, πάντως, δεν έχει αξιωθεί τέτοια τιμή. Δεν είναι ν' απορεί, λοιπόν, κανείς με τη δυσθυμία που προκάλεσε σε φιλοτελικούς κύκλους η πρόσφατη απόφαση της διοίκησης των ΕΛΤΑ για μια έκτακτη αναμνηστική σειρά με «διακεκριμένες ελληνικές προσωπικότητες» οι οποίες ζουν και βασιλεύουν, μεταξύ των οποίων και ο Νίκος Αλιάγας, ο γνωστός τηλεπαρουσιαστής!
Θεοδωράκης Στη σειρά περιλαμβάνεται ένα γραμματόσημο για το κοινωφελές Ιδρυμα Νιάρχου και εκτός του Αλιάγα τιμώνται τέσσερις προσωπικότητες από το διεθνή επιστημονικό, καλλιτεχνικό και επιχειρηματικό χώρο: ο καινοτόμος γενετιστής Αρης Πατρινός, ο βραβευμένος με Οσκαρ συνθέτης Βαγγέλης Παπαθανασίου, ο πρόεδρος της 20th Century Fox Τζιμ Γιαννόπουλος και ο Αντριου Λιβέρης, επικεφαλής της βιομηχανίας πλαστικών και χημικών Dow Chemicals. Από τα καζάνια της τελευταίας, θυμίζουμε, στην περιοχή Μποπάλ της Ινδίας διέρρευσαν το 1984 φονικά αέρια με 4.000 θύματα, σηματοδοτώντας μία από τις μεγαλύτερες οικολογικές καταστροφές της Ιστορίας...

   
Πέραν του Κωνσταντίνου Καραμανλή με αφορμή την είσοδο της χώρας μας στην Ευρωπαϊκή Κοινότητα, των Ολυμπιονικών και των εθνικών ομάδων ποδοσφαίρου και μπάσκετ, κανενός άλλου εν ζωή συμπατριώτη μας το πορτρέτο δεν έγινε γραμματόσημο. Το ίδιο συμβαίνει όμως και με τις περιπτώσεις του Μάνου Χατζιδάκι, του Ιάννη Ξενάκη, του Βαμβακάρη, του Τσιτσάνη ή του Μάνου Λοΐζου, που δεκαετίες τώρα δεν βρίσκονται ανάμεσά μας. Είτε κανένας φορέας -η Ακαδημία Αθηνών, το ΥΠΠΟ, κάποια άλλη κυβερνητική ή μη οργάνωση- δεν ενδιαφέρθηκε να τους προτείνει, είτε η πρότασή τους δεν έγινε αποδεκτή από τα ΕΛΤΑ...
Οι νομπελίστες
Ο Κ.Π. Καβάφης και ο Νίκος Καζαντζάκης, οι πιο δημοφιλείς πρέσβεις των ελληνικών γραμμάτων στον κόσμο, μόλις το 1983 απεικονίστηκαν σε γραμματόσημο, ενώ οι νομπελίστες ποιητές μας Γιώργος Σεφέρης και Οδυσσέας Ελύτης το 1980 και το 1997 αντίστοιχα.

Το άνοιγμα των ΕΛΤΑ προς το σύγχρονο ελληνικό πολιτισμό άργησε -ξεκίνησε δειλά-δειλά τη δεκαετία του '80- και ανάμεσα στους μεγάλους καλλιτέχνες και δημιουργούς που συμπεριέλαβαν στις σειρές τους συναντάμε τους Μανώλη Καλομοίρη, Μαρία Κάλλας, Νίκο Σκαλκώτα και Δημήτρη Μητρόπουλο, τους Αιμίλιο Βεάκη, Ελένη Παπαδάκη, Μαρίκα Κοτοπούλη, Κατίνα Παξινού και Κυβέλη, καθώς και τους Δημήτρη Ροντήρη και Κάρολο Κουν.
Το 1992 ήρθε η σειρά του καθηγητή Μανόλη Ανδρόνικου, το 1995 της Μελίνας Μερκούρη, με μια ολόκληρη σειρά αμφιβόλου όμως αισθητικής, το 1997 κυκλοφόρησαν γραμματόσημα αφιερωμένα στους μεγάλους Ελληνες κωμικούς -από τους Αυλωνίτη, Λογοθετίδη και Βασιλειάδου ώς τους Κωνσταντάρα, Παπαγιαννόπουλο, Φωτόπουλο και Σταυρίδη- και πιο πρόσφατα πορστέθηκαν τα πορτρέτα των Ρένας Βλαχοπούλου, Θανάση Βέγγου, Ορέστη Μακρή, Βασίλη Διαμαντόπουλου και Σαπφώς Νοταρά.
Η Λεβέντη
Σύμφωνα με ανακοίνωση των ΕΛΤΑ, το αίτημα για την έκτακτη αναμνηστική σειρά που θα κυκλοφορήσει στις 16 Σεπτεμβρίου υποβλήθηκε από το International Foundation for Greece μέσω της προέδρου του, Ασπασίας Λεβέντη, κι έγινε δεκτό με γνώμονα «το διεθνές κύρος» τόσο του Ιδρύματος Σταύρου Νιάρχου όσο και των υπόλοιπων υποψηφίων. Ωστόσο, στο καυστικό ρεπορτάζ του «The Press Project» για το θέμα που δημοσιεύτηκε προχθές στο Διαδίκτυο επισυνάπτεται επιστολή της Ελληνικής Φιλοτελικής Εταιρείας προς τον Πρόεδρο της Δημοκρατίας, με την οποία οι εκπρόσωποι της τελευταίας εκφράζουν τις αντιρρήσεις τους γι' αυτή την πρωτοβουλία και καλούν τον κ. Παπούλια να συμβάλει στην αποτροπή της έκδοσης της σειράς.

   
Για την επιλογή του Ιδρύματος Νιάρχου η Ελληνική Φιλοτελική Εταιρεία δεν έχει κανένα πρόβλημα. Το ότι οι υπόλοιποι τιμώμενοι είναι εν ζωή, όμως, ενοχλεί, καθώς «είναι πολλά τα παραδείγματα κολάσιμων πράξεων ανθρώπων που είδαν το φως μετά το θάνατό τους» και «οποιαδήποτε τιμή δύναται να ανακληθεί -αφαίρεση μεταλλίου, απόσυρση αγάλματος- πλην των γραμματοσήμων». Το γεγονός δε ότι «διαφημίζονται επαγγελματίες σε πλήρη δραστηριότητα» χαρακτηρίζεται «ανεπίτρεπτο».
Η 16η Σεπτεμβρίου, εν τούτοις, δεν είναι τυχαία ημερομηνία. «Η πρώτη μέρα της κυκλοφορίας της σειράς συμπίπτει με τη βράβευση των διακεκριμένων αυτών προσωπικοτήτων και του Ιδρύματος Νιάρχου, που θα γίνει στο Μουσείο της Ακρόπολης από τον Πρόεδρο της Δημοκρατίας, τον πρωθυπουργό και την πολιτική ηγεσία της χώρας», μας πληροφορούν τα ΕΛΤΑ. Ποιος είναι ο θεσμοθέτης των βραβείων; Το International Foundation for Greece και πάλι. Αναζητήσαμε περισσότερα στοιχεία για το ίδρυμα της κυρίας Λεβέντη, αλλά όπως διαπιστώσαμε η ιστοσελίδα του είναι υπό κατασκευή...

ΤΟ ΑΡΘΡΟ ΕΧΕΙ ΔΗΜΟΣΙΕΥΤΕΙ ΣΤΗΝ ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΟΤΥΠΙΑ 1-ΑΥΓΟΥΣΤΟΥ 2013
 

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Surge in Philippines’ IT Market - Business Analytics on the Rise

The Philippines’ IT market is seeing a tremendous boom. According to a research published by Business Monitor International[1], it is expected to grow by about 9.6 percent in 2013 to touch $3.86bn[2], attributed largely to the sales of Software and IT Services. These are estimated to grow to $442mn and $1.1bn respectively.

Specifically, cutting-edge technologies like business analytics and cloud are in great demand, and the Philippines is predicted to clinch a $20 billion share in the estimated $160 billion global business analytics market in the next two years (PHL eyes $20-B share in analytics market - 03 June, 2013).

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Bugaboo Camping Cookware Winner Is...

Earlier this week I hosted a giveaway of this Bugaboo Camper Cookware Set and I thank all of those that took the time to comment with a camping tip to share or their favorite camping food. Now that all the entries have been received I'm pleased to announce the winner! And the winner is... 

Please email me [itsjoelen@gmail.com] by the end of day, August 5th with your mailing info so I can have this awesome cookware set mailed out to you! 

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Free Smartphone for Plan 499 from Globe

For as low as P499 monthly, subscribers can avail of a free device of their choice under the telco’s suite of fully-customizable postpaid plans, ranging from Android devices Samsung Galaxy S Duos or CloudFone 501D, Windows phones Nokia Lumia 520 or Huawei Ascend W1, a BlackBerry 9320, or a CloudPad and CloudFone 352g bundle.

 

Android enthusiasts can take advantage of the extensive Android app community with the Samsung Galaxy S Duos which has a large 4-inch screen display that can comfortably accommodate web pages, long e-mails, detailed photos, and videos, or the CloudFone 501D which has a 5” WVGA Touchscreen and a 5MP camera powered by a 1GHz dual core processor.
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