Japan Farmland

These are very wonderful.........

Thai Cuisine

Thai cuisine refers to typical foods, beverages, and cooking styles common to the country of Thailand.Although popularly considered as a single cuisine, Thai food would be more accurately described as four regional cuisines corresponding to the four main regions of the country: Northern, Northeastern (or Isan), Central and Southern. Southern curries, for example, tend to contain coconut milk and fresh turmeric, while northeastern dishes often include lime juice. Thai cuisine has been greatly influenced by the cuisine of its neighboring and nearby countries, especially India, China, Malaysia, and Laos.
Thai food is known for its enthusiastic use of fresh (rather than dried) herbs and spices as well as fish sauce. Thai food is popular in many Western countries especially in Australia, New Zealand, some countries in Europe such as the United Kingdom, as well as the United States, and Canada.

Many Thai dishes are familiar in the West. In some dishes below, different kinds of protein can be chosen as the ingredient, such as beef, chicken, pork, duck, tofu or seafood.

Stir-Fried Thai Noodles

Ingredients:
8 oz (250 g) rice noodles (sen lek)3 tablespoons oil3 garlic cloves (kratiem), minced1/4 cup dried shrimp/prawns1/4 cup (2 fl oz/60 ml) fish sauce (nam pla)1/4 cup (2 oz/60 g) sugar2 tablespoons tamarind juice (ma-kaam piag)1 tablespoon paprika1/2 cup fried tofu2 tablespoons dried unsalted turnip, cut into small pieces1 egg, beaten1/4 cup 1-in (2.5-cm) lengths chopped chives1/4 cup (2 oz/60 g) ground roasted peanuts1 cup bean sprouts
Garnish:
1/2 cup bean sprouts1/2 cup chopped chives1/4 small banana blossom, cut into strips1/2 lime, cut into wedges
How to cook:
1. Soak the rice noodles in cold water for 30 minutes, or until soft. Drain, and set aside.
2. Heat a large skillet until hot, then add the oil. Add the garlic and dried shrimp, and stir-fry. Add the noodles and stir-fry until translucent. It may be necessary to reduce the heat if the mixture is cooking too quickly and the noodles stick.
3. Add the fish sauce, sugar tamarind juice and paprika. Stir-fry the mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the tofu, turnip and egg.
4. Turn the heat to high and cook until the egg sets, stirring gently. Thoroughly combine the mixture, and continue cooking over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes until most of the liquid is reduced.
5. Mix in the chives, peanuts and bean sprouts. Place on a serving dish, arrange the bean sprouts, chives, banana blossom and lime attractively and serve.

Thanks to " Thailand the beautiful cook book"

Marzipan Babies

Thought you'd be as fascinated with these as I. They are made with marzipan...really unbelievable! Every of them is amazing, and they look very real.

You can see all of them at http://oandee.flixya.com , in my gallery ( travel and places: so cute in hand)

Good luck.

The Taj Mahal : Monument of Love

The Taj Mahal stands serene and awesome, on a raised marble platform, by the banks of the Yamuna, testifying to the timelessness of art and love. Its pure white marble shimmers silver in the soft moonlight, exudes a shell - pink glow at dawn, and at the close of the day, takes on the tawny, fiery hue of the majestic sun.

Shahjahan built the monument in memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, the 'lady of the Taj', who died giving birth to their 14th child. It has been called the most extravagant monument ever built for the sake of love. The construction of the Taj commenced in 1631, and was completed in 1653. Workers were gathered from all over the country and from Central Asia, and about 20,000 people were recruited to translate this wild dream into a reality.

The main architect was Isa Khan, who was brought all the way from Shiraz in Iran. After he was deposed and brutally imprisoned in the Agra Fort, by his son Aurangzeb, Shahjahan spent the rest of his life looking wistfully at his wife's final resting place, just across the river. The Taj remains a symbol of eternal love where the heart - broken Shahjahan was subsequently buried, re-united finally with his beloved Mumtaz.

The World of Flowers

I happened to read some special explanation about flowers. It's said....

.....Look closely at a flowers, real close, and you'll discover a new world that is stamen, pistil,pollen and petals. A whole universe in every blossom. From a seed is born, bursting with the power of life, ready to grow, stretch to the sun and create a perfect piece of art-- a new flower; which inturn prod seeds, linked to the chain of eternity and life force. Mother Nature gives surplus of living, vibrantly colorful creations of art, filled with life, pure fantastic shapes....

Do you love to observe these perfect art works ?