Chili Pepper

Photo © Flickr user flattop341

Chili peppers, both hot and sweet, are a common ingredient in almost every major cuisine worldwide. It's hard to image a time when there were no peppers in Asia, or Europe, but it all began over 10,000 years ago in the Americas. Peppers were clearly one of the first crops grown by the Native Americans. From Peru, up to New Mexico, these prehistoric people grew chili peppers for both their culinary, and medicinal benefits. Christopher Columbus is credited with naming them "peppers" because he thought they tasted like Asian spice (the peppercorn variety). After being brought back to Europe they quickly spread around the globe, especially thriving in the tropics.

Avocado

Photo © Flickr user nate steiner

The avocado is the pear-shaped fruit of a tree native to Mexico and Central America. There is evidence it has been cultivated in Central America since 5,000 BC. The Mayans believed the avocado had magical powers and was an aphrodisiac. In fact, the name comes from the Aztec word for this fruit "ahuacat" which means "testicle." Avocado's amazing silky texture is due to its high fat content of over 20%. Even though high in fat, it's the beneficial mono-unsaturated type. Sailors used to call avocados "butter pears" and actually used the flesh as one would use butter. California is the largest producer of avocados in America. While there are many varieties grown, the most popular is the "Hass" variety.

Penne with American Vodka Sauce – Stirred Not Shaken

As long as there are ice and vodka, people will argue about the merits of a shaken vs. stirred Martini (although it is hard to go against Bond, James Bond). However, when it comes to vodka sauces, stirring is clearly the more desirable method for mixing the ingredients.

I just posted a penne pasta recipe featuring an American vodka sauce. Traditionally, vodka sauces are made using pancetta, a type of un-smoked Italian bacon, but I prefer to use regular bacon.

I enjoy that little bit of smokiness the American bacon brings to the sauce. If you've never tried one before, vodka sauces are surprisingly easy recipes, and while very popular in restaurants, they're not as common as many other homemade pasta sauces. I hope you give this a try.

The First Cut Is The Deepest

The first episode is always the hardest elimination. Though we (judges) don’t have any attachments yet to any finalists, we also are just getting to know them. So figuring out who should stay and who should go is always a combination of intuition, a few pieces of evidence, and a lot of what you think their potential might be. Basically, you’re filling in a lot of blanks on your own.

But sometimes when I watch the final cut of the show as a viewer – out of the heat of battle, and fully edited with all the interviews and behind-the-scenes footage put in – I get a different point of view. In this episode, I’m not sure we sent the right person home.

The Food Network stars agreed that Jen had one of the worst dishes of the day. In both conception and execution, her green bean dish was below par. So I immediately questioned if she had the culinary expertise and technique to pull off her “Housewife 2.0″ conceit. But watching her interviews, I found her funny, bright and tart. Humor is a trump card – anyone who can make an audience laugh instantly hooks them. Jen is funny.

Eddie was the other candidate at the bottom of the pack. His BLAST bowl – inferior ingredients not elevated at all by cooking technique – was one of the other worst received dishes. When I was going through the buffet line I asked him about his culinary POV and got a torrent of words that made no sense. I asked him to say it in one line and he couldn’t. His presentation was earnest, no hint of humor or passion.

If I had it to do again, I probably would have voted to send Eddie home. But I’m hoping that it was just nerves that strangled Eddie into dullness. Otherwise, he’s got a killer combo of intelligence, looks, food passion and rebel personality that could pay off. With Jen on the other hand, I felt like she had already laid all her cards on the table. I liked her. I think both she and Eddie can probably cook better than either did on this one day. But I thought her point of view and culinary command would limit her greatly. Eddie just seemed to have many more possibilities.

OUR RUN IN WITH THE LAW

Wow the bus station here in Tucuman is huge! Like a shopping center, well it actually is. 12 hours in the bus relieved to be off it, there were a group of guys who sat around me one is my seatmate, annoying as hell, played music loudly and the guy sat next to me keeps changing seats, one time bumping his head on the tv , he never came back to his seat and I slept pretty well through the night. Thre was a bad smell in the bus that pervade for awhile, either i got used to it or it disappeared, I took the semi cama to save 7 US dollars, the upgrade was grand! Next time.. 

Took a taxi to La Posta de Viajero hostal. Paint peeling from the rooms, but its nice overall, hardly anyone there, was alone in my dorm, kitchen to use and lots of toilets! Showered and went for a walk to town, Plaza San Martin is my 1st stop, a statue of San Martin again, in the middle, around the park are kids in uniform milling about the 
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park some still wearing a white lab coat, i see them here and is fairly 
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students to wear them outside of school, quite unusual for me as I only wear lab coats at work. Anyway walked towards the center of town to Plaza Independencia lots of nice buildings around the square, and museums too but did not go into any of them. Had a good lunch on one of the ped. walkway streets then went to look for the cinema, found it but it was shut! Damn that siesta! Hardly anyone in the center around 3pm so decided to go back to my hostel to chill, as i was crossing one of the streets I almost got run over by a freaking taxi, It made a sharp left turn and almost nicked me, hate these Argentine drivers! 
Had a siesta of my own, got up and walked the center again, this time very lively, full of people and then went to shop for steak! at Carrefour, went back and cooked my meal of what else, steak!Walter, the reception dude offered me mate´ and so we sipped the traditional drink while chatting in Spanish, quite difficult task as I have forgotten 
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they have a different accent, took me awhile to adjust once again, but 
MENHIRES MONOLITHShe was very helpful and gave me tips for our road 
trip coming up tomorrow. After breakfast left the hostel and walked to the bus station where I waited for Aurelie, Georgina and Joe coming off the bus from Mendoza, we left our luggages at the left luggage facilitiy and went to town and had a walk around, brunch at the Mercado Central so cheap but quite good. Then we eventually walked back to the bus station to meet Andy, the Aussie friend of Joe who is driving from Salta with the hi lux he rented and we will all do the road trip for a week up north. 

Joe decided to drive out of the bus parking lot on our way to Tafi del valle, not 2 minutes out and we got pulled over by traffic police! He missed a no left turn sign and the police dude wanted us to pay a fine of 2,500 pesos! or pay him 400 pesos and save all the paper work, this guys are so corrupt, Joe got annoyed and asked Georgina 
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to help with the translation, all in all it took us a good 2 hours arguing with the traffic 
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police, just to get the hell out of there we offered 300 pesos bribe but they insist on 400! Then a local couple came and asked what was going on, after explaining our situation hoping for some sympathy they started giving the cops a sermon on how they are fed up with corruption and that she threathened to write an article on a local paper about it, they said locals get away with a warning and just because we are tourists they are taking advantage of us, then the cops denied having asked us to pay 400 pesos! A tow truck came and like hell we will give up the truck, we drove and parked the car out of site a block away while georgina and Joe sort out things, Aurelie meanwhile called the French embassy in Ba for advice, and was told to get attention from locals to deter them as they are illegal bribes, just then that Joe and Georgina came back walking to where we are with all the paperwork returned to them, they were told to follow the cops but we just floored it and left right away, thus we are now fugitives! 


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JOE BEING REPRIMANDED BY THE CORRUPT TRAFFIC COP
Driving towards 
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JOE BEING REPRIMANDED BY THE CORRUPT TRAFFIC COPValle del Taffi we have to go up on a winding zigzaggy road through a humid forest, all green really 
gorgeous scenery then suddenly turn dry. Arriving in Valle del Tafi we found Los Cumbres hostel, nice small hostel with a tiny kitchen where we cooked our dinner of veggie pasta. Had a few more red wine to celebrate getting away from the corrupt cops of Tucuman without bribing. Apparently Andy and I had a snoring contest that night and had to be poked couple times to shut up! The bad news came next morning, Goergina was feasted on by bedbugs and we think we all will get them as well, she started the day itching. Visited the Reserva Arquelogica de los Menhires to visit some monoliths, then walked around the manmade lake. from there we moved on to Quilmes a small town that resisted the Spaniards during the conquest. up on the hill, hiking on a very hot day we managed to go up to the top of the site and walk around shading ourselves from the intense sun under the huge cacti around us, quite a nice landscape.Drove to Cafayate and found the hostel 
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JOE AND GEORGINA NEGOTIATING WITH THE TRAFFIC COPS
Rustyk which is very 
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JOE AND GEORGINA NEGOTIATING WITH THE TRAFFIC COPSnice with a nice courtyard. We decided to sign up for the asado 
cookout tonight for dinner for 25 pesos each. we walked around town, quiet and not rushed as other towns. We started drinking early, a few Saltas and a few Quilmes at a bar near the plaza, we found a hotel called Briones! Did not know we have a hotel here! The church is nice inside and when we got out there was a small procession going carrying a very small image of a saint. went back to the hostel and had our asado, delicious, and with salad greens and free wine! typical of hostels here in Argie. When we had our fill and booze I went to bed, by now it is very cold and tucked myself in my bed. Joe went out with the lads from the hostel till 3am, woke me up when he was getting ready to bed. Our roomie from Switzerland threw up on the sink, stinks! 

The next morning we all got ready for the hike, we will take a hike along the valleys around the town and do some wineries 
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Corrupt Tucuman traffic cops trying to extract 2,500 pesos($667!)from us for making an illegal left turn near the bus terminal.
as well. The view was fantastic, a small dog followed 
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Corrupt Tucuman traffic cops trying to extract 2,500 pesos($667!)from us for making an illegal left turn near the bus terminal.us up as we follow an aqueduct, cacti, tall grasses, colorful trees, 
amazing landscapes, what more can you ask for and we keep following the stream to hopefully find the waterfall but failed, we walked about couple hours and we lost the trail and we decided to go back to do the wineries. we made it down and met more hikers and we gave them advice where to go. A local dude on the trail told us the direction of the waterfall and if we pay him he can lead us there but we decided enough is enough so we headed to the wineries. Las Nubes is our first winery. We had lunch of humitos and washed it down with torrontes, a slightly sweet wine that is quite refreshing. Then we headed off to town and dropped off Andy at the hostel and we looked for the goat cheese factory, we had a tour of the facility, showing us the goats, and how they process cheese and at the end we bought some for later. we got dropped off by Joe in town and we 
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went to another winery called Ninna, we got a tour of the bodega and we 
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decided to buy another torrontes for dessert.

Mediterranean beaches

With the promise of warm weather, cheap flights and delicious food it's no wonder that the Mediterranean attracts throngs of holidaying Brits to its sunny shores each year. See our top picks for best Med beaches.

Agios Gordios, Corfu

Although it has earned a noisy reputation in recent years, mainly in the lively resort of ‘kicking' Kavos, much of Corfu still remains tranquil and picturesque. Set on the west coast, Agios Gordios is a rural gem set away from the busy tourist hordes. Still retaining much of its traditional Greek charm, bougainvillea-clad houses painted in pretty pastel hues wind down the hillside towards to the long stretch of sandy beach. The beach itself has been granted a Blue Flag for cleanliness and safety, making it an ideal spot for some family fun. Adults will also be entertained with the numerous watersports on offer such, as banana boats and jet skis. 

Barcelona


The Spanish city might not be the first resort that springs to mind when considering a beach holiday, but with one of the best urban beaches in the world at Port Olímpic, Barcelona perfectly combines city energy and beach relaxation. The stretch of golden sand also comes alive after dark when the area's bars and clubs attract party revellers. For a touch of seclusion, head down the coast to Lloret de Mar for the sheltered white-sand stretch, or if it's an all-over tan you are looking for then the private cove at Caldes d'Estracs is a naturist hotspot. Those with nippers should head to the stretch of beach to the north of the city, from La Barceloneta to the seawater pool at Forum, as they are shallow with low waters - perfect for kiddies to paddle in. 

Alghero, Sardinia


Alghero is one of the most popular resorts on Sardinia, yet retains the charm and atmosphere of a working fishing village. It manages to cater for all tastes, with cultural sites and plenty of amenities. It is less glitzy than the busy Costa Smeralda on the north coast of the island, but has plenty to offer those wanting sun, sand and sea - with clean beaches, and a lively clutch of bars and restaurants. The medieval old town is the most picturesque on Sardinia, and has a fascinating Catalan heritage: a legacy of centuries of Aragon rule. 

Santorini


The volcanic island of Santorini is one of Greece's most glamorous island destinations. The most upmarket resorts are Fira and Oia, which are perched upon the reddish-black cliffs plummeting into the deep-blue waters of the caldera, and offer sophisticated boutique hotels and gourmet dining. Moneyed travellers, including a smattering of celebrities, favour the glamorous west coast, while the east coast caters for those on a lower budget. For many people, the quintessential Santorini experience is watching the sunset from Oia, an evening ritual during high season, when crowds applause as the sun sinks into the horizon. 

Corsica


This vine-filled island rewards visitors with sun-kissed beaches and rugged mountains, as well as verdant pastures and dense forest. At the height of summer, warm Mediterranean waters, balmy evenings and beaches from which a host of watersports can be enjoyed are the main attraction. Some of Europe's least polluted seas see scuba divers make a beeline for the island, with adventure activities like rock climbing and canyoning also available to keep the adrenaline pumping. Corsica is blessed with everything from small rocky coves and beaches strewn with multicoloured pebbles to those replete with fine white sand. Bustling resort beaches, complete with watersports centres are balanced out by tranquil, almost deserted spots. Choosing where to soak up the sun's rays, or where to take a dip in the bath-temperature sea is a matter of personal preference. Beaches consistently rated as some of the island's best (and some of the finest in Europe) include Barcaggio, Ostriconi, Palombaggia and Saint Giulia.

Angling made simple

The island in Chau Thanh District, Tien Giang Province sits in the Tien River and can be reached in 25 minutes by motorboat from the city of My Tho on the Tien’s northern bank.


A quicker alternative is to cross the Rach Mieu Bridge and take the sign-posted exit.

Thoi Son is 1,200 hectares of populated fertile land with many canals, ponds, and orchards full of jackfruit, plums, papaya, bananas, oranges and mangoes begging to be picked.

Angling is popular there though it’s not done in the traditional way, at least not by visitors at one of the island’s small resorts.

What they do is don farmers’ garb and bail out a fish-filled pond with a bucket, pouring the water into an empty adjacent pond and leaving the fish exposed. Then it’s a simple matter of picking them up and stowing them in a basket.

The catch of the day can be cooked and eaten with rice wine under shady trees in the cool breeze off the river.

During meal time, local singers and musicians entertain the guests with the southern folk music known as Cai luong and the more formal Don ca tai tu, which combines southern folk rhythms and Hue Royal Court music.

A popular excursion at Thoi Son is visit the venerable house of local identity Tam Cho, whose home is made of precious hardwood in the Mekong Delta style and surrounded by ornamental trees and flowers.

A package tour to the island inevitably takes in one or more of the island’s many apiaries, where bees are raised for their honey, pollen and queen bees’ milk.

The beekeepers tell visitors all about keeping bees, harvesting honey and collecting pollen, which is done by putting a tray under a hive to catch the pollen falling off the bees’ legs before they enter the hive.

Another must-see is one of the workshops where coconut candy is made by hand, along with handicrafts and household utensils fashioned from different parts of the coconut palm. They can all be purchased by visitors.

To get the most out of Thoi Son Island, book a tour with the Indochina Star Tourism Company at 85 Dien Bien Phu Street, District 3 or the Hanh Dung Tourism Trading & Tourism Company at 83 Truong Son Street, Tan Binh District, both in Ho Chi Minh City.