Pretty much anything goes here as you will see people dressed up fancy with wine, cheese platters and real silverware to groups of kids with plastic cups and watermelon wedges. Last night one table had a beer guzzling …
Life on Food: Weekend Edition: Put Your Rump On A Stump
May 20th, 2012Posted in Information | No Comments »
Significant Facts About Auto Glass Ann Arbor | ApostolicCM.com …
May 20th, 2012The catchphrase in this region is “P2″-pollution avoidance. Resource reduction means making significantly less squander in the 1st spot, with a secondary aim of minimizing the toxicity of the squander that still exists. In today’s throwaway culture, it’s a prolonged-time period resolution, but much more and far more products are getting intended and utilised in techniques that reduce their probabilities of ending up in the trash, and marketplace study indicates consumers consider positively about companies producing these more attempts.
Some examples of source reduction consist of: brReduced use of mercury in dry-cell batteries and the introduction of a lot of forms of rechargeable batteriesbrInnovative resin engineering, which means milk cartons and plastic bags created with fewer materialsbrImprovements in tire style and design, which have increased the helpful life of car tires by 45 p.c considering that the 1980s.
But foodstuff is a various tale. The most recent U.S. Division of Agriculture figures estimate Americans throw away 27 % of all the edible foods readily available in the nation. If just 5 p.c of this discarded food items (not even the relaxation of the trash) in the nation was recovered, it would give one day’s meals for four million persons and preserve $fifty million per year in reliable squander disposal expenses.
In the identical report, foodservice squander was blamed generally on overpreparation, expanded menu alternatives, plate waste, and product sales fluctuations that have been over and above the operator’s management-things like sudden climate improvements that prompted fewer customers to demonstrate up on a certain day. A single approach of resource reduction is to purchase less food items, making use of up what you’ve bought just before you substitute it. Computerizing your stock will aid significantly in this variety of planning.
Labeling inventory and employing the “very first-in, first-out” approach will assure that nothing at all sits too lengthy on storeroom shelves and goes terrible. Inquire your suppliers about items that satisfy your requirements but are minimally packaged. Request them to just take back again and reuse their transport offers and pallets. Use and wash linens, cooking area towels, dishes, and silverware instead of disposable paper items.
These are just a number of components that need to be considered when starting a waste reduction method. Yours will be far far more helpful if you know exactly what it is you classify as “waste.” Environmental agencies, and quite possibly your possess trash pickup firm, can offer you with a squander audit type so you can commence trying to keep observe of what (and how significantly) you throw absent.
You may well start off by, virtually, getting a single day’s trash and separating it into categories. How much is food items squander? How substantially is cardboard? How considerably is recyclable? Making use of the squander audit information, you can operate with your trash pickup company to locate out about the assets in your spot for recycling. Recycling is the collection and separation of particular refuse products that can be processed and marketed as raw products to manufacture new goods.
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Foodie Tutorial Cleaning Silver for Pennies!
May 8th, 2012Suzie the Foodie demonstrates just how easy it is to make your old silverware look like a million bucks for pennies! A very healthy and simple alternative to using harsh chemicals. suziethefoodie.blogspot.com
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Update International Food Service Supplies Introduction Video
May 5th, 2012www.foodservicewarehouse.com This video is about Update International Food Service Supplies. Update International’s motto is "Your Solution Provider," and with such a tremendous variety and breadth of products, they’re sure to have a solution for practically any food service related problem. Founded thirty years ago, Update International has a wealth of experience bringing superior quality products from all over the world to the food service industry. As import specialists, they thoroughly research each and every manufacturer to ensure the utmost quality and reliability in every single product and with their bulk buying power, bring only the best available products to the food service industry at economic prices.
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Fight the Good Fight of Faith « FamilyIntegratedPastor
May 2nd, 2012 Vance Havner said in a sermon years ago that he walked into a restaurant that was “a dimly lit dungeon,” so dark that he was tempted to ask the waiter for a flashlight so he could see the menu. He had to feel his way to the silverware on the table. The food came, and he said, “We sat there and ate by faith and not by sight.” After a while, he could begin to make out a few things on his plate. That’s when his companion for supper said, “Isn’t it amazing how you get used to the dark?” He was speaking literally, but there is a spiritual truth there that relates to fighting the good fight of faith.
I believe one way we know we are getting used to the dark is when the fight has gone out of us and we are just floating with the current, kind of like dead fish. That’s the situation David found when he visited the battle, or the non-battle, between the Philistines’ champion, Goliath, and the army of Israel. Goliath strutted and mocked, taunting the army of Israel, challenging them to send their champion out to fight him. There were two problems with the army of Israel. First, not one soldier moved a muscle because they were all afraid. They were doing all they could to avoid a fight. Courage leads to action. Fear leads to apathy. Perhaps the reason most Christians do not witness is because we have become accustomed to our fear-born apathy. When we first got saved, our faith was stronger than our fear and our joy in the Lord for saving us made us bold witnesses for him. Remember, believer? We were not always the wisest witnesses, but God can work with that. Then, the edge of our joy began to wear off and we began to settle into a routine. We got used to the encroaching darkness around us and gave up the fight.
There’s a second thing we see about this army of Israel that helps us understand what it means to fight the good fight of faith. The soldiers whom David observed that day were no longer practicing the disciplines they had first learned in the army. There was no one even in the bullpen warming up to face Goliath. The fight was gone out of the team and the game was over. Though they were trained warriors, no one was using his training. David showed up on the scene, heard Goliath’s blasphemous taunts, and immediately signed up to get in the game. He said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” He defeated Goliath because he was not afraid of him, because he was well trained in the weapons of his warfare, and because he used those weapons by faith. When Goliath mocked David, the young soldier replied, “You come to me with a sword and a spear and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts.” David brought the fight to Goliath and brought glory to God.
Have you grown accustomed to the dark? Or are you fighting the good fight of faith? Examine your heart for fear and its companion, apathy. Examine your life for the disciplines that keep us always in the fight, with the Word of God and prayer being our primary training table.
It is always too early to quit in the good fight of faith.
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UDS Spring 2012 Satisfaction Survey | uwsp uds food journal
May 2nd, 2012DeBot is doing well with friendliness of staff, speed of service, temperature of food, but needs to work on menu variety, taste of food, and cleanliness of plates & silverware. The Food Court is doing well with food taste, food …
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RoboWrap Autonomous Silverware Wrapper
April 29th, 2012Georgia Institute of Technology ME 4182 – Capstone Design Our group wanted to make a device that could automatically wrap and band silverware in paper napkins. In restaurants, these bundles are made by hand by the waitstaff in the off hours and is a tedious and time-consuming process. We aimed to create a device that would wrap reliably and autonomously. There are products on the market that perform this function, but they are large and expensive; we aimed to create a device that was both small and affordable so that smaller restaurants might consider purchasing one This is a working prototype, the product of 3 months of work. It is far from devoid of kinks, but showcases the validity of our wrapping method and that with a few revisions, a marketable version can be created.
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The Tea Horse Caravan: Cha Dao Utensils: Cha Shao – Tea Scoop …
April 26th, 2012Specializing in fine teas and teaware for the novice or connoisseur.
www.teafirst.com
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bon appetite « ubugingo (the good life)
April 26th, 2012My crossover and full immersion into Rwandan culture seemed somehow complete at dinner the other night when I visited some neighbors. It wasn’t upon some magical-breaking down boundaries conversation; rather when given the choice of cold, clean water or Rwandan tea, I hardly hesitated and chose the tea. I realize this sounds completely irrelevant but for people who know me well (or just know me at all—I advertise it pretty loudly by having a water bottle by my side 24/7) I love water. And yet, I wanted tea, and lately, that’s all I really go for.
A minimal blip on the radar? Yes. But, it’s often our food choices, how we share a meal, and what exactly we eat that reveals much more into our cultural context and the lives we are leading.
Wow. Reading that over, I realize I sound like I’m about to write a sociological analysis regarding food culture, but really, it’s just me thinking about food in Rwanda.
What’s interesting about Rwandan food (which generally, I really like) is that it’s essentially the same wherever you go. Often, you are guaranteed to find some combination or assortment of the following:
-plantains
-beans
-potatoes (sweet or regular—called Irish potatoes here?)
-meat
-sauce
-rice
-vegetables
Sometimes, “salad” will be served (especially on special occasions) which for all intents and purposes is a pile of cabbage, topped with a sliced red tomato, and a dollop of mayonnaise.
For snacks you can opt for the greasy ‘amadazi’ (fried bread, essentially) or my much preferred ‘cheke’ (like sweet cornbread).
Food availability depends on the region, of course, and so in the East with the plentiful (and never ending) vision of banana trees, eating plantains (‘igitoche’) can be assumed at nearly every meal. I’ve noticed that one Rwandan traditional dish called ‘ubugari’ (cassava bread) was available much more in the West. Fine by me. Ew. I was not a fan, but in an attempt to win over the host family, pretended to enjoy it, and as punishment, had it at least once per week during training. Not only is the taste less than appealing (reminiscent of uncooked flour? Maybe?) the texture is weird and you eat by hand and so you’ll get cassava under your nails for the evening. Enticing, right? Interestingly, a similar dish was available when I was in Ghana (called ‘banku’) and I actually liked it! I don’t know what gives in regards to the distaste I have for ubugari, but my best guess is that West African food DEFINITELY has more flavor and so maybe the sauces accompanied with the flour like substance cancelled out the weirdness? Who knows.
Yet, don’t count out all traditional dishes! In fact, my favorite thing to eat here is called ‘isombe’ which is essentially mashed up cassava leaves. It’s like spinach; it’s green and can be eaten with rice or plantains as a soup-like dish. I lack the Rwandan capacity to cook it, but when I eat it at the homes of Rwandans and it is a part of the meal, I get really excited.
Which reminds me: often, I forget how wonderful it is to share a meal with others. I enjoy cooking on my charcoal stove and I enjoy even more eating my creations after. Usually, I’ll eat later in the afternoon after a full day of work, and I’m finally able to relax. My roomie, Louise, likes to eat later at night, so typically, we don’t eat together.
Last night, I visited the health center director, Ernestine, and her husband, Emmanuel (a lab technician at the Rwandan Military Hospital, a pastor, a member of Gideon’s International, and a former soldier during the Genocide—a jack of all trades) for dinner. We ate a dining table (a rarity out here in the village) and as we passed the pots around I remembered the joy in eating together. Rwandans are good about that—though there is some strange hierarchy to it (typical) where kids and servants will eat separately. It’s like my family holidays every day of the week—there is the adult table and the kids table (man, wasn’t that such a good feeling when I finally moved up with the adults!). Yet, meals are important, no question about that. It’s at these tables full of pots designed to keep heat on the food (as cooking often takes forever) that you learn and share.
I glanced at their kids, Hope and Prince, as they played after they finished eating, and it was like watching me and my brother, Lance, as little kids. I got a little choked up and told the parents what I was thinking: we are so different…and yet, not really at all.
“My brother and I…we did the exact same things. We played the exact same games,” I told them.
Interestingly, it was earlier in the same day that I shared lunch with a couple of students on home visits I decided to do during the holiday when a neighbor began to tell me about how he was a teacher before the Genocide.
“What happened? Why did you stop teaching?” I asked innocently
“I went to prison. Me and my wife. For 12 years. After…well it was all new after that.”
The Rwandan government won’t hire war criminals as teachers, even if they serve their sentences in full, I was later told. So presumably, I was speaking with a former war criminal. And that wasn’t the last time it would happen (and due to my lack of knowledge about what happened in 1994 here and who did what, it has probably happened many many times previously). As I was given an omelette to eat from another pastor I knew while greeting him at his home today, I complimented his family.
“Your family. They are good people.”
“No. My parents…they…during the Genocide…they were bad.”
So, in two days, I heard more about the Genocide in 1994 than I have in 7 months. Each time, while consuming food. Like I said, when you eat together, the conversation becomes much more wide open and you begin to maybe know and learn about the people you are eating with.
Though it’s not as if every meal in Rwanda is transformative; I had plenty of silent dinners with only the clattering of silverware with my host family. Simply, food is a starting point—especially when you are new and adjusting to a new community and life.
So far, my tricks of the trade to food culture in Rwanda are the following:
-if someone offers you food, take it.
-a Fanta is a sign of friendship.
-leave a small amount of food on your plate when you are full—it shows you are satisfied.
-don’t eat before praying. Just don’t.
-if you have a visitor at home, offer them food. If you don’t have any, offer them tea. That’s good enough, sometimes even better.
-unless you are on a bus, don’t eat in public.
-if you find yourself living with a host family and you genuinely don’t like something TELL THEM. If you tell them the opposite, you will be eating it again. And again. And again.
-you are going to miss American food. That’s a given. Have the good stuff sent in packages.
-unless you are a vegetarian, if you are served meat, eat at least some. It’s expensive her for Rwandan families.
There’s still a lot to know in terms of eating in Rwanda. But as I master my own cooking and eating too, I’m realizing that food is right in the center of Rwandan culture—any culture, really—and so, as Rwandans say upon taking the first bite, enjoy.
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Silver Spirit Live Voyage Report – Day 9 | From The Deck Chair
April 20th, 2012Coming ashore in Porto Novo, Cape Verde
One of Silver Spirit’s tenders, flanked by the majesty of Santo Antao Island. Photo © 2012 Aaron Saunders
I am in the middle of nowhere.
I know that sounds like an exaggeration, but I whipped open the curtains of my suite this morning aboard Silver Spirit, eager to get a glimpse of Porto Novo, Cape Verde Islands – our very first port of call since leaving the Caribbean port of St. Lucia nearly one week ago.
And Porto Novo gazed back at me – all six blocks of it. Yet at the time, I had no idea this unassuming town and the massive island of Santo Antao that it resides on would be the site of one of my best shore excursion experiences ever, as we set out on a 7.5 hour tour that Silversea offers here.
The elegant Silver Spirit; the first time I’ve seen her exterior in almost a week! Photo © 2012 Aaron Saunders
For Silversea, this call on remote Porto Novo is a brand-new addition to their itineraries, and still quite a rare one at that: only three other Silversea voyages will stop here in the next two years: Silver Explorer Voyage 7222 en-route from the Canary Islands to Accra in September; Silver Wind Voyage 2304 from South Africa to the Canary Islands in February, 2013; and Silver Wind travelling in the reverse direction in December 2013 on Voyage 2336.
Three chartered busses were provided to whisk guests aboard the Silver Spirit on a 7.5 hour tour of the Island. Photo © 2012 Aaron Saunders
Because this small island of just over 50,000 inhabitants is so new to both Silversea and the Silver Spirit, Shore Concierge Manager Clive Jellicoe followed the three tour busses in a chase car along their predetermined route to learn about the island, the excursion, and its popularity with the guests. It’s yet another nice little touch that reflects positively on how Silversea conducts their shoreside experiences.
Santo Antao presents an ever-changing landscape of thrilling heights, rocky cliffs and surprising outbursts of lush, green vegetation. Photo © 2012 Aaron Saunders
You can tell that tourism on this scale is relatively new to Santo Antao, because while we were ready for Porto Novo, it wasn’t quite ready for us. In fact, during the first hour of the excursion – most of which involved steep inclines up twisting and seemingly endless switchback roads made entirely of rough cobblestone – many passengers, including myself, were trying to make sense of the tour. There were some language barriers, and passengers were largely unprepared for the cold weather that awaited us at Santo Antao’s highest altitudes, which dipped to roughly 10 degrees Celsius from a sweltering 30 degrees Celsius near the tender pier.
It might be searingly hot pierside, but at the Island’s highest elevations, temperatures dropped significantly. Photo © 2012 Aaron Saunders
The vistas, however, were breathtaking. Photo © 2012 Aaron Saunders
But our 26-year old guide Margarita gave it her all, and as she relaxed, her English improved dramatically. We also reached the summit and the end of our switchback climb, and most of the passengers began to relax as well.
Lush vegetation only grows on the islands higher-altitude locations. Photo © 2012 Aaron Saunders
During the course of the next seven hours, I had one of the most memorable experiences of any shore excursion, due largely to the fact that Santo Antao Island is as far from so-called “commercial” tourism as you can get.
Much of the island remains in an odd state of both under and over-development. Photo © 2012 Aaron Saunders
The island remains largely undeveloped, and what does exist does so in a largely primitive state. There’s plenty of old buildings on the island, but many are abandoned and in a state of disrepair. A recent growth boom has injected newer buildings made of concrete into the landscape, but these, too, sit dark and unoccupied, waiting for an influx of tourists and residents that just hasn’t come.
Photo © 2012 Aaron Saunders
But what really got me about our Silversea shore excursion to this remarkable island is the severity with which the island changes. At its highest point, Santo Antao boasts forests as lush as any, with plenty of flowers, trees and foliage shaded by low-hanging clouds and fresh mountain mist. But the closer to sea level you get, the more the island starts to resemble a harsh, alien landscape. Black sand lines the shorelines, while red volcanic rock clings to the sides of mountains, unwilling to part with the land that created it.
A girl dressed in bright pink poked her head out the door briefly; clearly, the dozen of us milling around were the attraction of the day. Photo © 2012 Aaron Saunders
The result is something straight out of an Allan Furst novel; bizarre, other-worldly, and at times, like something out of a Western or Film Noir that’s been turned on its head.
We also paid a visit to a local Secondary school, which was a very cool experience, indeed! Photo © 2012 Aaron Saunders
But after traveling to the complete opposite end of the island, I had a fond appreciation for Santo Antao. We stopped for lunch in a local village tavern, which in all likelihood is someone’s living room that doubles as a restaurant. But it was clear our hosts had pulled out all the stops for us: their best crystal and silverware graced the table, adorned by fine linens and crisp red tablecloths. A veritable feast was dutifully brought out of the small kitchen, the live music kicked up, and Glogg, the island’s official party-maker, was served.
Photo © 2012 Aaron Saunders
It was then that the excursion stopped being just an excursion and became a true experience. It’s just the kind of tour I’ve come to expect from Silversea, and one that would fit in well with the kinds of in-depth tours found on the company’s Expedition vessel, Silver Explorer.
The ever-changing landscape and the friendly people are two of the best reasons to call here. Photo © 2012 Aaron Saunders
If you are booked on one of the aforementioned Silversea voyages calling on Porto Novo, you owe it to yourself to take this tour. Sure, there’s no Gap or Starbucks along the route, and it’s unlikely you’ll do much, if any, souvenir shopping, but I would take a thousand of these tours over other offerings, if only because it provided a startling insight into Porto Novo, Cape Verde, and the island of Santo Antao itself.
The landscape is surreal, the style of living is rustic at best, and yet the people here are some of the friendliest I’ve met.
Some more shots of our day on this remarkable Silversea Shore Excrsion:
Two men and their goats making the powerful Glogg that locals drink on the island. Photo © 2012 Aaron Saunders
The landscape can, at times, be as barren as anything in the farthest reaches of our planet. Photo © 2012 Aaron Saunders
Santo Antao can also be as lush and breathaking as Hawaii. Photo © 2012 Aaron Saunders
Photo © 2012 Aaron Saunders
An abandoned airstrip hints at what might have been – and what might still be possible for this remote but beautiful island. Photo © 2012 Aaron Saunders
After seven and a half hours ashore, we bobbed our way back to the Silver Spirit at anchor in the bay. As if there wasn’t enough reason to appreciate all that we have to be grateful of aboard the Silver Spirit, our time ashore today really drove home how lucky we are to be sailing on this magnificent, ultra-luxury ship for as long as we are.
Coming Home: the Silver Spirit awaits us at anchor off Porto Novo, Cape Verde. Photo © 2012 Aaron Saunders
Tender service back to the Silver Spirit. Photo © 2012 Aaron Saunders
We were hungry when we arrived back at our Silver Suite, but we found ourselves in-between meal times. On many ships, that would pose a problem – but onboard a Silversea ship, getting that afternoon snack is as easy as picking up the phone. Within 15 minutes, our butler Roland was at our door with some piping hot food and a complete table set-up as elegant as anything in the main Restaurant. Why not take your food out on the balcony, he suggested. And so, we ate a fantastic pre-dinner snack out on our balcony as we sailed away from Porto Novo, which gradually disappeared into the mist left by the brilliance of the setting sun.
Taking a post-lunch, pre-dinner snack on our Silver Suite balcony. Photo © 2012 Aaron Saunders
The start of evening here onboard the Silver Spirit welcomed yet another round of excellent food, entertainment and company, and while many people chose to take dinner in The Restaurant or Le Champagne, there’s another dining venue unique to this ship that doesn’t get as much attention: Stars.
Sailing away from Cape Verde and into the open Atlantic, as Silver Spirit sets a course for Las Palmas, Canary Islands. Photo © 2012 Aaron Saunders
Tucked away on Deck 7 just aft of the Library and forward from La Terrazza, Stars is Silver Spirit’s very unique (and exceedingly popular) Jazz Supperclub that combines a fixed, multi-course menu (designed around the them S-T-A-R-S, with different dishes for each letter), along with elegant drinks and some of the best Jazz music I’ve heard upon the high seas. No extra charge is required to dine here, though reservations are a must: I’ve seen Stars at standing-room only on my past Silver Spirit voyages.
Experience a relaxing evening in Stars, located on Deck 7 aft. Photo © 2012 Aaron Saunders
Though it’s modeled after the famous Jazz clubs of New York, dining at Stars is a decidedly European experience, with dinner times that typically run between 8:30pm and midnight, though I’d personally recommend dining there around 9 or 9:30pm, when Silver Spirit’s jazz duo take to the stage. On this voyage, the amazing team is made up of Seandrea Earls & Michelle Yap Wei Mien, who do a brilliant job at creating the soothing atmosphere Stars is known for.
On my past Silver Spirit voyages, I’ve always met fellow passengers who have only discovered Stars near the end of their voyage, and were disappointed they hadn’t given it a shot earlier on. If you’re planning an upcoming sailing on the Silver Spirit, give Stars a try first; chances are you’ll get to enjoy this amazing venue before the majority of the ship learns about it!
Superb entertainment is a hallmark of Stars, one of the most popular dining venues aboard Silver Spirit. Photo © 2012 Aaron Saunders
Finally, after an invigorating day ashore in a strange land, I realized last night how wonderful it is to come back onboard a ship like the Silver Spirit, where friends on the crew inquire about your day and ask you if they can do anything for you, and where you can sit talking with new friends, look at your watch and go: my God, it’s already past midnight!
They say time flies when you are having fun, and I am having the time of my life here onboard the Silver Spirit, so you can imagine the fast-forward effect I feel from time to time! But with just under one week to go before our voyage comes to an end, I wouldn’t mind slowing down time. It’s been hard to leave my other Silversea voyages, but I get the feeling next Thursday will be the toughest day of them all.
Our Live Voyage Report from aboard Silversea’s elegant Silver Spirit continues tomorrow, as we spend another rejuvenating day at sea en-route to our next port of call of Las Palmas, Canary Islands!
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