Anastasia

Monday's Greek Recipe - Milk Pies with Macedonian Halva and Chocolate

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A. Ingredients (for 6 tartlets)

• 2 crusty phyllo sheets
• 400 gr. fresh milk
• 100 gr fresh cream
• 30gr coarsley ground blanched almonds
• 4 egg yolks
• 50 gr corn flour
• 1 cup crumbled vanilla Macedonian halva
• 1 cup dark chocolate shavings (52% cocoa)
• olive oil for the phyllo
• confectioner's sugar (icing sugar) for sprinkling
• cocoa powder for sprinkling

B. Directions

1. Pour milk, cream and almonds into a large pot and heat over medium heat.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and corn flour until well blended.
3. As soon as the milk is hot, pour half over the egg mixture and whisk vigorously.
4. Pour this mixture back into the remaining milk whisking all the while over low heat until thick and frothy.
5. Remove and cool for a few minutes.
6. Add the halva and chocolate. Stir until the chocolate melts. Cover with plastic wrap.
7. Brush 6 tartlet pans or ramekins with olive oil. Cut the phyllo sheets into 18 equal squares and fit three each, oiling between the sheets, into the tartlet pans or ramekins.
8. Divide the cream filling evenly among the tartlets and bake in a preheated oven at 180*C / 350*F until golden brown.
9. Remove the tartlets from the oven and let cool slightly.
10. Sprinkle with icing sugar and cocoa powder and serve.

Recipe by Dina Nikolaou

Source: Kerasma

Being Thankful

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I think it's very important to be thankful and feel thankful for all the great blessings we've had in life. Surely, we also experience some rocky times. - then we're the least likely to feel thankful. But we shouldn't be. To me life would be meaningless if it was just a bed of roses. Hard times make us all feel stronger, don't they? That's how I take hardships. A friend of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer , last week. She called me and said she'd love to buy me a coffee. Over coffee, she told me about her health problem. But she was smiling and said she'd be forever thankful for having such a great doctor, a great family and great friends.

I feel thankful for being healthy and happily married, I also feel thankful for being my own boss, and for the sheer joy of working with children! They're adorable! And they always make my day! I feel thankful and proud of having the coolest students ever! They may be testing my patience at times, but I love them all! To me feeling thankful is an inner need, and blogging made me realise how silly I was to spend time on the chat where most people would make you feel bad because you apologise or because you are thankful. If I need to apologise online or feel thankful, I will. We're humans, after all.

How does feeling thankful affect your life?

The Moon

I sometimes wish I were a better photographer so that I could take a better picture of the moon as I saw it tonight from my flat. It was so bright and shiny against a black cloudless sky. The moon has always exerted a strong fascination on me, hence I love:

• its magic
• candlelit dinners under the stars and the full August moon
• a good reason to dream or daydream
• a good reason to feel romantic.

And whenever there is a new moon , I love to watch it or simply contemplate it. In what ways has the moon affected you, if it has at all?

Google Translate

Many of my friends whose native language isn't English have often asked me to translate my posts in French and Greek. I only wish I had the time to do that. It took me some time to test Google Translate knowing that this is an electronic translation. It's pretty good, though. Grammar and structure aren't always respected but if you don't understand English, Google will give you a relatively decent translation in a variety of languages.

First go to my sidebar on the right handside.Just below Search you can find Google Translate. Choose your language and click translate. You will then see Google Translate in process at the top of my post. Please, bear in mind that comments can't be translated but feel free to leave a comment in your language. Depending on your Internet speed, the page will be translated within minutes. Should you wish to translate the whole blog, it will take much longer, though! Don't hesitate to let me know if this works for you.

Sexiest Couple Ever?

 

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Is there any couple more physically perfect, more staggeringly sexy than Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johansson? Thanks to the nation's magazines, we now have a definitive answer to that question: no.

This morning, People Magazine named Ryan Reynolds its 2010 "Sexiest Man Alive." And just two days ago, Johansson was anointed GQ's "Babe of the Year." In addition to these honors, Johansson hosted SNL last weekend and Reynolds' Green Lantern trailer hit the 'net Tuesday night: Not a bad week in the Reynolds-Johansson household.

While most couples are bracing for the stress of the upcoming holidays this week -- hoping to hit the gym a few extra times, eating one less scoop of low-fat ice cream after dinner perhaps -- one assumes Johansson and Reynolds are just floating through their spacious loft, their skin emanating with a bright glow as doves sing hymns to them. The faucet of their sink probably runs with champagne.

via omg.yahoo.com

Well, I'm not a gossip (only occasionally) but when I read the above article on Yahoo!, I truly thought that was most unfair! To me, Earth's sexiest couple ever is Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.( I know, some of you will laugh at me!).  I can't forget Guess Who's Coming To Dinner directed by Stanley Kramer and starring Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy and my beloved Sidney Poitier.

If I ask you to ...think hard - movies, pop stars or celebrities in general -  who's the sexiest couple ever in your opinion? And to you ladies, who's the sexiest man ever?

Vitamine C, Rhinoxehal and Green Tea

I was in the middle of a lesson on Friday afternoon when I started to sneeze every two minutes. According to a Greek superstition, when somebody sneezes you should ask that person to name a number up to 24 - the number of letters in the Greek alphabet. The person or people you know whose name begins with the letter corresponding to the number are supposed to be thinking of you. So, my kids kept naming letters ...I think everyone I know was thinking of me on Friday!!! Alkis included!

Although I'm now used to his business trips abroad, I had missed him and was looking forward to a great weekend - just the two of us. He had flown back from London earlier on Friday afternoon but, unfortunately, when I finished work on Friday night, I greeted him with a slight headache and a runny nose that spoilt my make-up and lipstick. His words were music to my ears. He said I was just as beautiful! We had a light supper but I was unable to resist the vanilla fudge he brought from London and, of course, I was delighted to upload all the wonderful photos he had taken in London for My Photo Blog!

I spent most of the weekend talking with Alkis. I honestly didn't feel ill! It was just that runny nose and  no, it wasn't an allergy! Ok here are my symptoms: a terribly runny nose, a slight headache, sneezing - no sour sore throat, no cough, no fever. Alkis insisted on me seeing a doctor but I told him I'd see the free family online doctor first. Then he said: "Oh really? Now I know you are ok". On Saturday afternoon, I took the Quiz - Cold or Flu? The verdict   diagnosis was an allergy! I think the online family doctor was wrong. Because first thing on Monday, I visited my chemist and she gave me Vitamine C and a decongestant nasal spray called Rhinohexal (it contains xylometazoline! - whatever this is). I loved the Vitamine C - you dissolve the tablet in water and , believe me, it does taste like Fanta ! As for the nasal spray, it does wonders. My nose isn't as runny as on Friday. Together with Green Tea, this combination is probably the best to fight a cold.

 

 

Black Friday Discount Shopping

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Black Friday is the discount shopping day that follows American Thanksgiving, which is always on a Thursday. Retailers promote Black Friday as the day to start shopping for Christmas. Black Friday is often advertised with "Christmas Sales" as well as "Thanksgiving Sales."

The word "black" in Black Friday refers to the term "in the black" meaning making a profit. Today, Black Friday is not a crucial source of profit to retailers, but is important in driving traffic into stores. Many retailers mail special Black Friday circulars to consumers, announcing deeply discounted items in the hopes that consumers will visit their store on Black Friday.

via www.wisegeek.com

Such a pity there is no Black Friday in Cyprus! In my area prices go up just about a couple of weeks before Christmas!  I wish there was a discount shopping day for us as well...just before Christmas! I think I'll do most of my Christmas shopping online and take advantage of Black Friday discount offers.Are you going to participate in the Black Friday shopping rush?

Old Photographs

This photo was taken by dad on Christmas Day 1961. He loved photography as a hobby and he'd always take pictures of me and my brother. What I can't understand is my brother's ....miserable look! Poor darling! The flash must have scared him! I also hate the outfit I put on for Christmas. But it was my uncle's Christmas present. He had brought it for me from Lebanon and I wanted to put it on for Christmas. On a black and white photo, it looks black but it isn't. As my mother told me, it was deep purple.

Purple is my least favourite colour, so I really cannot understand now why I decided to put on a purple outfit on my civil wedding ceremony which took place in Geneva, in December 1983. Most of my friends and family thought I was crazy to wear purple on a wedding ceremony as purple seems to be the colour of the dead! But in 1983 it was trendy just as it was last winter! Fashion is like history. It repeats itself. 

To me old photographs are precious. And, occasionally, I like to browse my old photo albums and dream. They make me long for home. No wonder Jim Capaldi's song is one of my favourites.

 

Divorce - A Blessing or a Curse?

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Not as long as 20 years ago, divorce was rare in Cyprus. If a married couple had problems, they'd talk and search a solution or they'd compromise for their children's sake. In the last five years or so, divorce rates have rocketed in Cyprus! One in three file for divorce and this tends to affect older ages as well. The other day, someone came to the school to repair something. His mobile phone rang. He said:"Sorry, it's my wife." (He meant his ex wife).

Although I hate people talking on the phone for personal reasons while at work, I told him that it was ok. When he hung up, he apologised again and went on to tell me this: " I'm 51 and my wife is 46, but we decided to get a divorce." Of course, as he opened up, I asked him why. He said their children were to blame. He insisted that they caused their parents to get a divorce. When I asked him how old their children were, he said they were 12 and 14! I was shocked!

Children are not to blame for their parents' divorce! They are not responsible for their parents' problems. But if a couple can't live together, regardless of the reasons why, it is much better for their children to get a divorce. However, both parents together should explain to their children that they divorce because they (the parents) have problems and assure their kids that they'll always have two parents.

To me divorce is a blessing if there are children. Children should be spared all this -  if not through compromise, through sincere parents who will take the time to talk to their children and explain why they are divorcing. .

And please let me repeat this:

No child is responsible for their parents' divorce!

Your thoughts are very welcome as always.

 

Facebook Vs Twitter

When I first started an account on Facebook, it was mainly to find old classmates and some good, old online friends I had lost contact with. All I had to do was to either import contacts from an email account or just type their name! I was so excited when I finally managed to find so many great friends! Thanks to Facebook, we can keep in touch, write on each other's Wall, share photos, links, videos or personal updates. And this is why I find Facebook the best social network ever.

On the other hand, I do feel a bit of an "outsider" on Facebook. Most people play games. I like games as well but the ones on Facebook are promoted by apps which require access to your personal data - that's what I don't like! And besides, I like to write! Blogging  to me is the best social media ever! And, of course, I'm glad TypePad provides the one and only blogging interface on Facebook. My Facebook friends who really know me also know that I'm not there to play games. I'm there to keep in touch and let them know what I blog about, or post a personal update. But whenever I have some extra free time, I'm curious to see what my friends are posting.

A few months ago, I joined Twitter out of curiosity. All right, fair enough, it took me some time to figure out how this social network works. I understand that I can only use 140 characters or so to keep in touch with friends!  So, instead of concentrating on what I wanted to say, I caught myself being distracted by the character count!  My illustrious ancestors, the Spartans, said "To lakonizin esti filosofia" meaning that brevity is wise. But they meant words...not characters!

As William Henry Davies (a Welsh poet) once wrote, life is meaningless if we take no time to stand and stare. What would you choose? Facebook or Twitter ?