Danderma's Blog, page 121
January 17, 2012
Coffee…
I have a coffee related announcement post coming up later on today. To set the mood let me show you how much I love coffee through those pictures. Enjoy 
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Alban Dairy's Low Fat Labna
Remember my previous post about Alban Dairy's Akawi cheese that I got from the farmers market corner in TSC for dinner (post)? Well that day I also got me some low fat Alban Dairy Labna.
Their labna when consumed with their fresh Egyptian Country bread and some of the extra virgin Palestinian olive oil that I especially buy from the food expo make one hell of a meall! So fresh and so good you can cry while you are eating it, bite by bite.
It was so good, I could finish the entire Labna box in one go and want some more. YUM!
I was told Alban dairy sold amazing gaimar too! Must try that someday!
3asa ma ye3taw?
Vote for me on Blog@'s Al-Derwaza Competition
Our fellow blogger the Derwaza who also happens to be the creator of the Blog@ Apps in the Apple Store has a competition going on starting yesterday and until midnight today for the best blog's logo, icon design, and best logo color combination. My blog is included and the first three winners get their own apps while the best 15 winners get their own tabs at the Blog@ update.
Since this is not a popularity contest I though if you found my logo interesting you might vote for me ma 3lekom amor? 4 hours 50 minutes left and who knows, maybe I will win? After all I did design my blog header from scratch on my own 
Here is where to vote (link). Wish me luck!
Things 2 Do in London: Masala Zone Restaurant
I know that most Kuwaitis adore Amaya and consider it the best Indian restaurant ever. However I am not a big fan of the are plus their dress code is smart casual. So after a long day of shopping or walking around what is better than stopping at one of Amaya's sister restaurants from the same company, the casual Masala Zone?
The decor of the restaurant is in modern orange and silver and has two levels. The lower level of the restaurant over looks the kitchen directly where you can see the chefs cooking. The service are really friendly and very patient as they explain the dishes and even bring you some of them to try before ordering to taste the spice level.
Masala Zone also specializes in Thalis: a round stainless steel tray with tiny steel bowls filled with different types of food in miniature portions with a cup of rice in the middle and sauces as well. I love the concept of Thalis!
We placed our orders: one Vegetarian Thali for me and one Chicken Thali for Bu Tootee (chicken is halal, we checked). We also ordered Cheese Naan as an appetizer which was good.
Our drinks were good too. The mango lassi was really tasty.
My Masala spiced coke was good too. Regular coke with mint, lemon juice, and spices!
Really tangy and very different. I like it. Others might not though.
Then the Thali's arrived. Mine had a paneer cheese cooked in tomato gravy sauce. Bu Tootee had butter chicken if I recall correctly. Both with rice. Both were polished off to the last morsel.
A papadamus is included in each thali to dip into the mango chutney and the green sauce that I love but don't know its name.
Then there is the curry to mix with the rice.
And there are still two mini dishes to be eaten. Either on their on, with the naan, or mixed with the rice and curry. First is the potato o the next is the vegetable of the day dish. There is a third daal mini dish that I don't have a picture of 7safa.
My favorite Masala Zone branch in the one located in Soho just behind Carnaby Street which makes it the perfect shopping lunch break spot. There are also other branches around London. For more information you can check their website (link) facebook page (link) or follow them on twitter (@masalazone).
Blog Update: Instagram Badge Added to Side Bar
Look to your right, yes right there, on the top of the 1st column or what is technically called first side bar. You'll see there is a Followgram button followed by an instagram Badge, both for my instagram account.
If you click on the Followgram button you will be re-directed to an instagram page of mine on line. To get your Followgram button click here (link).
Bellow the Followgram button there is an instagram account badge with my 3 recent pictures and my stats. I've been torn between using this Badge from Badge Plz (link) or an using an instagram widget downloaded here (link). I actually went first with the instagram widget then changed my mind because the Badge Plz offered me the option to resize and recolour my border which I did.
So now you have no excuse. If you read my blog and have an instagram account, follow me! I am aiming for the target of 750 followers 
If you have an instagram account, saw this, and still didn't follow me then eshda3wa ya 7afoth? Why not?
To recap: if you want to add a followgram button on your blog you can do so here (link) or if you want to add an instagram widget click here (link) or an instagram badge click here (link). Remember to backup first!
January 16, 2012
Book Review: Sister by Rosamund Lupton
I adore books in all shapes and types and kinds. I have an entire book unit filled with unread books that keep piling up. Last year I bought this book, Sister, which was a Sunday Times Best Seller and it was on my shelf waiting forever. As past of my new resolution to read at least once a week in 2012 I picked up this book but couldn't put it down!
Describe it in one word? AMAZING! So well written, the characters so deep and the feelings just jump off the pages straight to your heart. You laugh, you wonder, you ache, you weep, and you feel the danger. I always believed that a good book is a well written one but the ending is what makes a great book. The twisted ending of this book is one to love indeed!
Highly recommended! Now I know I bought a second book by the same author but I am not really sure. Must look for it. If you love book you will not be able to put this one down, trust me on that one. You can find it on Amazon (link).
The Most Beautiful Shopping Bag I've Ever Gotten…
What I love about shopping abroad is the attention they give to packing and wrapping your newly bought items. One of the most beautiful shopping bags I've ever seen recently is one I got while shopping at Mulberry, London this past December.
After I've paid and my purchased items were neatly arranged inside the bag the sales lady took out three little golden bells and with a black satin ribbon she closed the bag and made a bow. It is a very simple yet an amazing idea! The bag looked gorgeous, the bells sounded magical and as I continued on shopping the bells kept jingling with the most beautiful sound. Shoppers were looking over at the jingling bag and smiling, I was hearing the sound of the bells and smiling, feeling like a little kid who just got a surprise gift. I simply loved it! I didn't want to open the bag at all afterwards!
I just wish stores in Kuwait paid that much attention to their bags. A little quirky gesture changes the shopping experience all together and makes you double happy especially if your shopping that day was part of a retail therapy shopping spree
Don't you agree? What's the most beautiful shopping bag you've ever gotten?
Grilled Akawi Cheese Sandwich
Anyone who truly knows me knows that I am a sucker for something called "cheese & bread". Recently I've been craving grilled cheese sandwiches all the time so yesterday I was in Sultan Center Al-Shaab and I passed by their farmer's market corner. Immediately I know I found the ingredients for my dinner!
I chose a bag of fresh Egyptian Country Style Bread which I adore. Plus Low Fat Labna and Akawi cheese from Alban Dairy which are made fresh in their farm in Wafra. The first thing I did at home is taste the Akawi cheese.
I love Akawi cheese! If you've never tried it before its this very soft and stringy cheese that can be soaked for a while to get rid of its saltiness and then used in a variety of dishes: Qa6ayef and Konafa for example. I took a taste of it and it wasn't very salty. But I did soak it for a few hours just to get rid of a bit of its saltiness. It is so creamy and yummy and fresh
As I soaked it for a few hours, then rinsed the salty water. I took about a third of the round cheese and put it on my chopping board.
Added green olives and fresh mint. Pity I had no parsley.
Chop everything up.
Then open that lovely paper bag filled with fresh bread.
Smells gooood! Its brown bread by the way so its not just white bread. In every bag there are about 5 loaves of bread.
Cut a bread in half and open it gingerly so it doesn't tear.
Fill it with the chopped cheese mix.
Heat up the sub grill.
I don't like to put the sandwich directly on the sub so I put it on to of a sheet of foil and close the lid.
2-3 minutes later you will smell the most amazing aroma ever. Only then should you open the sub's lid and look at your now ready grilled Akawi cheese sandwich.
The cheese is all melted and smells good and its ready to be enjoyed!
Smells good, looks good.
Coming closer…
All grilled and crispy on the outside and cheesy and most on the inside…
The sandwich is really really REALLY good…
You can taste the freshness in each bite. Its so good you regret the moment there is only one last bite left 
I can eat this sandwich every day, for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dinner! Can you blame me? If I ever open a restaurant I will for sure add this sandwich to its menu!
The Akawi cheese and the Egyptian Country bread are AMAZING! Needless to say they are highly recommended. Their labna is amazing too -wait for my post on it-.
Ye3taw?
Picture of the Week: Look
After a lovely stroll in the streets of London one rainy morning, I stood at an intersection, looked down, and saw the word look. I wanted to remember that moment, a moment I was happy and content and in London, so I did, I looked.
I looked at the falling brown leaves, at the droplets of rain lining the remaining tree leaves. The pigeons walking all around me searching for food. The red double Deckers passing by. I looked and took all that in, the small things in life that make us happy, and kept it in my memory.
We should always stop and look, really look. Look at the little things that bring joy to people even in the midst of their bad moment and appreciate them. Always look and never look away.
When your blog is wiped away…
One moment you are happily posting new posts and replying to comments. The next moment you press on something and BAM! The entire blog does not exist anymore, you log out and log in and all you can see is that ugly gut wrenching message above.
That's why I haven't been posting or replying to comments. After an initial period of swearing and panicking to the point of almost losing my mind. I tried to fix the error. All the while internally kicking my self for not backing up my blog. I've always been lazy and didn't backup regularly.
I panicked in a way that all I've rarely panicked before. I tried to fix it and while I was doing so my mind kept thinking that I can get my blog up but without any of my updates. I thought of all the hours it took me to upload pictures and make posts. I thought of all the comments. I nearly cried when I remembered the 20,000 comment prize and tried to decide if I should start all over again or just have an approximate number. As I tried to fix the thing I was so nervous I was sick twice running to the bathroom mid-fixing.
Thankfully its all fixed now. But the error still comes up. So I am now in the process of backing up my entire blog and then I will try and fix it once and for all. Always backup.
Dear fellow bloggers: backup your blog files now so if anything should happen you will not be left in a state of terror like I've been for hours. For the love of god BACK UP NOW!
