Zenni Opticals

Walk down the street and you will most likely find optical shops in every angle. And if you have a prescription for any type of glasses the guess is that you are trying to compare prices to see where to stop. But, now you can stop with the calculations because ZenniOptical.com Sells Stylish Prescription Glasses Online.
Zenni Optical: Sell Rx Glasses $8 with case! They have a huge selection of frames, with single vision lens, sunsensor (potochromic)lens, tinted suglasses lens, bifocal lens and progressive lens. When you buy from Zenni you save a lot of money as they sell their own manufactured frames directly to you. Check them out and get your prescribed glasses sent to you.

Fruity treat: I want that shake shake

Whether it's fruits, or vegetables sometimes we need to be creative to bring them out in a way that they are appreciated and leaves our children wanting more.
This is yet another shake shake fruit cocktail. My son sometimes he does not like fruits, so the only way is be a little creative. Last weekend he said he wanted yet another of shake shake.
Well, I just put Kiwi fruits without seeds in the blender plus a little sugar. Then I added a little water. In another one I added mixed ice-cream and also worked that for a minute or so.

Proud to say it really went well.
So, Moms when fruits are no longer appreciated in the family its the time to get creative. Have a Shaky shaky day woun't you?

unique ideas for valentines day

Valentine's day is fast approaching, and many people are already in search of ideas to make this day memorable, whether you are seeking for a valentines poem or ideal gift there is one idea that will always sell:

Chocolate

Gourmet Chocolate Gifts for Valentines Chocoholics Good for the Heart by Sarah R. Parker

Remember when you were a kid and couldn't wait for Halloween - dreams of candy swirling in your head? Valentines Day is like that for chocoholics dreaming of gourmet chocolate gifts. Chocolate lovers dreams come true when you also tell them it's good for their heart.

In a recent Japanese study, researchers found that dark chocolate rich in flavonoids can actually improve coronary blood flow. People who ate 550 milligrams of dark chocolate a day showed vast improvement of coronary blood flow after just two weeks compared to participants who ate white chocolate without flavonoids. Flavonoids are what gives chocolate it's antioxidant power. Antioxidants help protect the body from damage to our cells by free radicals - formed by environmental pollution and normal cellular activity. These antioxidants are what helps keep plaques from forming in our arteries. Good news for gourmet chocolate lovers.

Dark chocolate contains the most flavonoids because it is the less processed than milk chocolate or white chocolate. Flavonoids also give dark chocolate a stronger flavor. As a cocoa bean goes through fermentation, alkalizing and roasting (more processing), more flavonoids get lost.

Other chocolate research has shown dark chocolate and cocoa powder may raise good cholesterol (HDL) levels by up to 10%, while keeping bad cholesterol (LDL) levels at bay. Stearic acid, one of the fats in chocolate, can actually boost HDL levels according to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. And although, one would expect bad cholesterol levels to rise because of the increased fat intake, this was not the case. This is more good news for chocoholics.

They say that laughter is the best medicine, chocolate in moderation may be a close second.

About the Author

Click here for great Chocoholic Gift Baskets you can customize! Sarah R. Parker is a gourmet chocolate and wine lover who helps people find unique gifts for chocolate lovers. Visit: http://www.chocoholic-gift-baskets.com

Pregnancy and Caffein

I first heard this news from BBC. A new study has found that pregnant women who consumed more than 200 milligrams of caffeine a day, equivalent to about two cups of coffee, had twice the risk of miscarriage as the women who consumed no caffeine at all. The findings are published in Monday's Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Read here the article and pass on to friends

Sharing information helping people!

The making of tomato sauce

In Italy the tomato is the king of the kitchen. So many recipes go with it. Many times you might have bought Italian tomato sauce for spaghetti or Macaroni etc.

Let's see how you can make a simple tomato sauce in your kitchen.

You need: 8 tomatoes, 1 small onion, 1 clove garlic, small piece of celery, a few bay leaves(in Italian alloro) and parsley.

Chop up everything and put on the fire together with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Should be stirred from time to time.
When the mixture becomes thick strain it through a sieve and your sauce is ready for use. Can be preserved or used fresh.

hint: If you do not have fresh tomatoes use tomato paste I have used it many times.

This sauce can be used for dressing all kinds of pasta and meat.


Some people will even add mushrooms to it which is great too!

Broth remains: use with bread

From today it is useless throwing away the left over bread because you can turn it into a mouth watering soup that every member of the family will love.
Ingredients:
Left over bread
Grated cheese
Nutmeg (a pinch)
oil
eggs if you like

These ingredients cut the bread into pieces and put together with other ingredients in warm broth and cook on low heat for half an hour. You can also add some left over vegetables if you have.

Enjoy your soup.

Italian's call this soup the Panata

Making good broth

My mother in-law advised me that to make a good broth from Chicken we need to use cold water and allow it to cook slowly.

Ingredients:
Piece of beef steak
Chicken (thighs)
celery
1 carrot
1/4 of an onion
salt
1 big tomato (whole)



Cook in 3 litres of water. Put it on high heat and when it starts to boil you lower it and cook on low heat for 3 hours. When the soup is ready strain and serve as you like.
This soup is good for digestion and also for invalids.
Alternatively in Romagna area of Italy this soup is used to cook the mini ravioli.
It is also a base to many Italian recipes.

This soup recipe is simple to prepare and can be cooked by anyone, no extra skills required to cook it.

You like my blog here's how you can help

Look at the paypal button on the right side of the blog and give a donation. Your help is highly appreciated for this blog. Let's keep cooking.

Kenya

You may wonder why I'm posting this here. The breaking news in the world now is the Kenyan situation. Yes, I was born and brought up in Kenya, at the slopes of Mt. Kenya. While I was at the University we did riot several times, threw stones but we knew that the result was university closure and going home for some months.
Now, this is different, nobody knows what tomorrow will bring. I'm glued to my computer I have 4 windows permanently open that is Nation (Kenyan newspaper), BBC, CNN and ANSA. If I'm not infront of my computer then I'm infront of my TV and or SMSing my family in Kenya and friends.

I'm going to bed but I'm not sure what will tomorrow bring.

Readers, I will be back to cook again when all this is calm and a way out of this crisis has been found.

Mary

Italian chocolate cake: Are you feeling fruity?

sacher chocolate delight

This is another version of the chocolate cake basics are the same of the sachertorte but this time we decided instead of Apricot jam we filled with fruit and whipped cream. To finish we added lot's of cream and candied tropical fruits.

Enjoy your cake and Happy New Year Everybody!

Menu of the day: lift yourself up

Christmas Eve: Our guests were moved with all the cooking that I did. To me it is always a pleasure to see my family and or guests you know eat and eat. It makes me feel sooo happy to see happy faces after all the food. I grew up in the slopes of Mt. Kenya and the way food was presented was really not a great affair. After a hard day working the land, picking coffee in the rain carrying 40 kilos of potatoes to sell in the nearest market, food was something to keep you going.

7 years ago I moved to Italy after I got married and everything changed. Now, food to me is something I love to dedicate time to. Then, with mothers of my husbands friends I quickly learn't the basics of pasta making, baking italian simple cakes which after working on can be made into italian pieces of art.

I wanted to make my Christmas Eve a special one. So I cooked and at the end around 1 in the night I could see the faces of my guests. What a wonderful evening we put together.

I missed Christmas eve at the slopes.

I just wanted to share with you some of the food that we had, maybe you could try that for new year.
For tiramisu recipe find it here
simple cake find it here

Safari Notes: a community of black travellers

I bet many out there have heard of "Safari" safari is a swahili word for journey. Safari Notes is a social network where black travelers come to share ideas, news, experiences and tips.

I have shared this with you here because it's where I'm hanging out lately, very interesting place especially if you are planning a trip or you are just a person who loves to travel. You will get many ideas here.


Visit Safari Notes


You have some tips to share? Well on Safari notes you can join the forums, have your own page, add travel photo's to share with or even connect with other travelers.
See you there!

Christmas Menu

Christmas is done. We had some friends over for dinner.Our visitors represented 4 countries Kenya (cook), Italy (organiser), Italy (guest), Canada (guest) and India (guest).

Our idea was to make the evening as interesting as possible. So we made this menu of the day on the chalk board.

Merry Christmas everybody and I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas