Danderma's Blog, page 70

How many Kisses do you Greet People With?

As customary in Kuwait, when we greet each other we bestow kisses on each others cheeks. Though I’m not a fan of kissing especially when you enter a room chock full of women and would love to only say hello and wave, I can’t escape it but I guess its worse for elderly people, greeted by a continuous stream of their family members and must always end up with some lipstick mark on their clothing or forehead.

Now the embarrasing moment comes when you peck someone on the cheek twice, only to have them pull you back for a few more. I’m exhausted, trying to remember and figure out how many kisses/pecks/air kisses I have to bestow per person. Some kiss once on each cheek, some kiss twice on each cheek, some kiss once on one cheek and then three continuous ones on the other cheek.

Why don’t we have one unified code of kissing in Kuwait? What do you do when you are trying to greet someone and don’t know how to? Personally, I’d go with one kiss per cheek only and whomever wants to extend the greeting -which I cannot fathom why to start with- can pull be back and continue. What about you? How many kisses are there per your greeting and most importantly, why?

LoFat Vegetarian Diet – Day 3

Day three of Lofat vegetarian diet menu trial started with breakfast. Fruit skewer, low fat laban, and a grilled cheese sandwich. I made myself a cup of black coffee to

go with it.

What I really love about Lofat’s breakfast is their fruit skewers. I’m given a chance to choose other fruits or a fruit yogurt but I will be choosing the fruit skewers every day for the next thirty days because I love them and they go so well with the laban.

As for the grilled cheese sandwich, or half a sandwich to be exact, after I reheating it was kinda limp and sad. The cheese was too mild and almost tasteless in its melted state. I don’t think I will be ordering it again.

Lunch was mushroom risotto and a

The risotto was really good. I’m not much of a risotto fan but I did enjoy every bite of the mushroom risotto. Pity the portion was too little if you compare it to the pasta or the kushary provided in days one and two. When the portion of the main dish is so little, you need a full fledged big salad to compensate. The salad I chose however was the potato and orange salad.

The orange potato salad was OK. The potatoes were a tad too firm and the oranges did nothing to complement them. The sauce was light but it still is missing something. It needs an extra ingredient to take it from OK to really good. Maybe a dash of lemon and paprika would do.

Dessert was Dessert is bread and apple pudding. I had high expectations for this dessert since its supposed to be a bread pudding but it tasted weird. I didn’t like it. So far the risotto was the best thing I’ve tasted on day 3.

Dinner was lentil vegetable stew with plain rice and a grilled vegetables soup.

The soup was OK but it had a peppery after taste. I still think the mushroom millet soup is Lofat’s best tasting soup so far.

 

As for the lentil stew, well it was a classic Indian stew and mildly spiced but you can still feel a bit of heat. Its a “7amsa” with rice as we say in Kuwaiti only very light and not oily at all. Its not something I’d be craving in the future.

I think my choices for day three weren’t that successful not counting the mushroom risotto of course. I hope day four meal’s are much better and tastier.

To learn more about LoFat’s diet menu plans you can call them 22250650 on ,check their website (link), like their facebook page (link), follow them on Twitter (@LoFatGroup), or instagram (@LoFatGroup).

Memo Q8 Blog’s Anniversary Giveaway

Our fellow Memo Q8‘s blog turned one years old on 12 December 2012. To celebrate that occasion she contacted me saying she had a surprise for me and a surprise it was indeed. A nice giveaway that is not very common in Kuwait.

Memo sent me a white bag with a nice card and a cute acrylic box with Memo’s blog logo engraved on its lid.

Inside the box? Two fortune cookies! I’ve never seen fortune cookies in Kuwait before and I’ve been wanting to bake them myself but I’ve been too lazy. How cute! Where did you get them from Memo?

Inside my two fortune cookies where two different sayings: one in Arabic that translates to “Smile, life is beautiful” and the other one is in English “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does”. Nice

Thank you Memo Q8 for the nice surprise and happy blog’s first anniversary! Wishing you many more prosperous blogging years

LoFat Vegetarian Diet – Day 2

Day two of my LoFat Vegetarian diet menu trial began with a breakfast of scrambled eggs and hash browns. I reckon it was one scrambled eggs with one half a round hash brown and half a thin brown pita bread. With the low fat laban, fruit skewers, and a cup of coffee it was a decent breakfast. The egg was like a homemade scrambled egg without the milk/cream so it really tasted like a plain egg and that’s it.

For lunch I received Spaghetti with tomato sauce and a Nachos & Beans salad.

The salad was really good. The dressing is light and there were two kinds of beans: black and kidney. I love a big crunchy salad that takes forever to finish and this one didn’t disappoint at all.

As for the spaghetti pomodoro it arrived in big portion with the sauce on top instead of mixed in with a side of Parmesan cheese. I added a couple of fresh basil leaves to the spaghetti after reheating it for both decoration and taste. Their spaghetti is good but the sauce wasn’t enough for the amount of spaghetti. Plus I don’t like this powdered parmesan cheese, I’d rather sprinkle some real parmesan shavings on top so I didn’t use most of it.

For dessert which I was really looking forwards to was a folded crepe with banana and some sauce’s filling with a side of white tea.

The crepe is much bigger than yesterday’s carrot cake which is good. The inside was filled with mashed banana with something creamy but I liked it. I enjoyed every bite.

For dinner I got a stuffed tomato with brown risotto like rice and a Moroccan lentil soup.

The stuffed tomato was OK but I don’t think I’d be ordering it again. I didn’t like the concept of grilled tomato but if you are a fan of tomatoes you might like it better. I think I’d liked it much better if it was a stuffed red pepper instead.

The Moroccan lentil soup was rich but quite spicy.

And this concludes day two of my vegetarian diet menu trial from Lofat. They didn’t forget any food items this time and I was very happy having spaghetti pomodoro for lunch

To learn more about LoFat’s diet menu plans you can call them 22250650 on ,check their website (link), like their facebook page (link), follow them on Twitter (@LoFatGroup), or instagram (@LoFatGroup).

Movie Review: The Hobbit

The thing I love about Peter Jackson’s adaptations of LOTR is that its consistency with the actual book. You see it as you’ve read it with very minor changes here and there. In my humble opinion the LOTR movie trilogy was one of the most successful book-movie adaptations ever therefore when I saw that The Hobbit was going to be shown at Grand Cinema on 13 December, I knew exactly where I would be spending my Thursday evening.

I loved every single one of the three LOTR movies. I’ve seen the extended version of each over and over again. When The Hobbit began, with the same soundtrack as the three LOTR, I almost cried. Watching Frodo, Gandalf, Elrond, and Smeagol again on screen again felt really good. I enjoyed every scene and as expected from Peter Jackson The Hobbit didn’t disappoint at all. It was quite funny actually if you compare it to the other LOTR movies.

The movie is long but I wish it was longer. I hope there is another extended version that I can buy on DVD. The good news is that The Hobbit will be a movie trilogy as well with the next film coming out on 2013 so we won’t have to wait long. If you are a fan of LOTR you will love The Hobbit. If you aren’t a fan then it might bore you so don’t waste your time.

LoFat Vegetarian Diet – Day 1

On day one of my LoFat vegetarian menu trial I was just about to go out to work when I got a call from the LoFat delivery guy with my first box to try. Just in time to grab my breakfast and take it to work with me.

For breakfast I got 250 ml of low fat Laban (butter milk), two fruit skewers, and some foul with tahina (mashed fava beans with tahini sauce) with two quarters of thin brown bread with a quarter of a tomato and a few cucumber slices.

The fruit skewers were always delicious when I tried Lofat back in 2011 and this time they didn’t disappoint. Fresh, cubed, and ready to be eaten.

For drinks I had a choice between Laban, Milk, or Yoghurt and I chose Laban everyday. Milk unsettles my stomach and yoghurt gets boring while Laban with fruit is a combination I like a lot so I chose laban.

As for the foul Still it was good if you are a fan -I am- but the portion was very little. If I’m to calculate right I’d guess it was about 3-4 tablespoons max. Plus, you couldn’t taste the tahina at all. I enjoyed making myself fool sandwiches with cucumbers and tomatos.

Breakfast was good and I enjoyed it feeling very light. I had my breakfast at around 8:30 and didn’t start to get hungry until about 1 PM or so. By the time I got home for lunch I was starving. Lunch was Koshary with a side of apple and carrot salad.

I’ve tried LoFat’s kushary before and I wasn’t impressed. It was bland and quite oily in 2011. This time however when I emptied the kushary in my serving plate I took note of the residue in the packaging and I’ve noticed it’s way less oily than before! Here is a before and after picture, the picture above is from my experience in 2011 and below is from 2012.

The 2012 kushary was less oily all right but I’ve noticed it had much less black lentils as well. I could barely detect any and the kushary is still bland.

Also, I stated on my LoFat preferences that I didn’t want anything with chili. On the paper provided with my meal it states on the kushary “no chili” but the kushary came without its tomato sauce all together! I did get the strange pink sauce in the picture below but no tomato sauce!

Personally I can eat my kushary without the tomato sauce but most people I know can’t. Forgetting the tomato sauce could very well put someone off having lunch all together. After all, what is kushary without its sauce right? I’m not sure if it was forgotten or simply eliminated because of the chili comment but either way it wasn’t there.

The side dish was the Apple and Carrot salad. Crunchy, sweet, creamy, and with walnuts. If you like contrasting mixtures and trying something new you will like it but I personally prefer salads with a base of green leaves. My husband would adore this kind of salad though so its a matter of preference really. Lunch was OK and LoFat’s kushary still needs some improvement.

For the tea time treat I made myself a cup of orange white tea to drink while eating my dessert: mini carrot cake. Mini means business, the carrot cake came in two tiny bites but it was good and moist. The portion is too tiny though :’(

Dinner was a small portion of vegetable fried rice with a side of mushroom milet soup with cheesy garlic bread.

The fried rice was OK. Not very special and not very delicious. I’ve had better dishes from LoFat’s menu but it felt strange having rice for dinner, its like you are violating a dieting rule or something.

The mushroom soup was excellent! Definitely the best thing I’ve eaten off LoFat’s menu all day. Really creamy although a tad on the salty side when compared to rest of the menu items I’ve received.

 

However, the mushroom soup was supposed to come with a side of cheesy garlic bread. I looked everywhere in the box and sadly there was no cheesy garlic bread to be seen I’m not sure if they forgot it or if they eliminated it on purpose given the amount of carbs I’ve had for dinner and lunch but I really was looking forward to trying it. Maybe next time.

To learn more about LoFat’s diet menu plans you can call them 22250650 on ,check their website (link), like their facebook page (link), follow them on Twitter (@LoFatGroup), or instagram (@LoFatGroup).

Announcement: Trying LoFat’s Vegetarian Diet Menu for 30 Days

LoFat offered me a thirty days trial of their new vegetarian diet menu in exchange to posting about my experince on the blog. I’ve tried LoFat diet for while in 2011 and liked their food alot but their menu wasn’t customized to a vegetarian lifestyle so I had to make the vegetarian choices myself. This time however they have a new menu dedicated solely to vegetarians taking into account the lack of protein in their diet.

Therefore, for the next thirty days on my blog I will be posting about my daily balanced vegetarian diet food from LoFat.. I will take pictures and post on daily basis a summary of my meals of the day which will include my honest  comments on how the food/portion/service was. I will also compare it to my previous experience whenever I retry a dish I’ve tried before.

A very important desclaimer to take into account: I will not be paid for the reviews. I never review anything on my blog in exchange for money, period. The LoFat meals however are free of charge of course since they’ve approached me and not vice versa.

So if you are interested, the next thirty days will have a daily post on my LoFat vegetarian meal experience. One thing I know for sure is that a vegetarian lifestyle is finally getting attention and having their own dedicated menu instead of having dietitians sigh, scratch their heads, and halfheartedly try to accomodate your bizzare diet choices. I wonder if vegans are next!

LoFat’s vegetarian diet menu was delivered to my house, I made my choices for the next two weeks, and my first post on the diet will be tommorow. If you have any questions/complaints/comments/suggestions you are more than welcome to share and comment.

To learn more about LoFat’s diet menu plans you can call them 22250650 on ,check their website (link), like their facebook page (link), follow them on Twitter (@LoFatGroup), or instagram (@LoFatGroup).

Magnolia Bakery’s Invitation

If you thought the cupcake craze was dwindling you might want to hold that thought for a new cupcake bakery in Kuwait is opening its doors next week. Not any cupcake store, mind you, it’s the cupcake bakery, the one is thought responsible for starting the cupcake hoopla in the first place, Magnolia’s Bakery.

Yesterday evening as I was taking the last bites of my lunch this bag arrived bearing the familiar Magnolia Bakery’s logo with my blog’s name on it with a cupcake box and an invitation to the opening inside.

I’ve never tried Magnolia’s bakery in America but I tried the Dubai’s branch (post) and I have some very fond memories of standing in their line, gawking at all the goodies -Banana pudding, red velvet cheesecake, the vanilla frosting!- and wishing I didn’t have to bring back a box of squished cupcakes whenever I returned to Kuwait (post). Yesterday, my wish came true and I had my very first Magnolia cupcake freshly baked in Kuwait. The scent of vanilla wafted out of the box the moment I opened it

Thank you Magnolia Bakery for inviting me to your opening next week, I can’t wait to try more delicious cupakes -and banana pudding-. For more information about Magnolia Bakery Kuwait and their opening updates you can follow them on Twitter (@MagnoliaKuwait) or instagram (@MagnoliaKuwait).

The Moments of Laughter in 2012

Its December already and 2012 is all but gone already. 2012 wasn’t an easy year for me, I didn’t like the way it started at all but now that’s its about to wrap up the show I’m looking back and thinking to myself “Not Bad!”. There are two monumental things I remember about this year and one of them, the one worth remembering, I’ve decided to share on my blog. My 2012 laughter moments.

The year started on a very good note. In January I went to a five day coffee training course with Gloria Jean’s Coffee and then I had a coffee graduation where I invited my fellow bloggers and prepared coffee for them (post). Barista Danderma had a lot of fun that day and laughed so hard it hurt to smile afterwards. Thank you Gloria Jeans for that day!

The second moment I could think of came in June when I discovered our cute stray kittens (post). They were scared, naughty, yet curious, peeking at me from their hiding place. My heart melted when I saw Toto, Lolo, and Nephertiti. Toto passed away later on and Nephertiti left but Lolo is still there all grown up and getting courted by a strange cat which I’m not very happy about! Thank you my cats for putting a smile on my face when I least expected it.

The third memorable moment of laughter I remember was also in June on the night of the Project X cooking competition (post). We lost but we laughed so hard that day I facial muscles hurt afterwards. I’m still sorry judges and you know for what. Thank you Project X for the memory!

The night of the Dathra party was unforgetable especially when the girls arrived in their, well, 80s outfits (post) (post). It was a memorable night, one of those where you giggle with happiness even if nothing was particularly funny especially when we voted on the most Dathra outfit later on that night. Thank you girls for the beautiful memories :*

Next memorable moment of laughter came in July when we attended Zain’s social media day (post). It was like one long happy laughter event and I’ve got a lovely picture of me laughing out loud and looking very happy! Thank you Zain and Zain’s Social Media team for making our day that day!

The next moment was when I saw the disastrous results of my first vine leave cooking expirement (post)! I laughed so hard and then I picked up the phone, called my grand mother god bless her, and with her instructions I’ve perfected my very second patch that very night and made her proud.

In August my memorable laughing moment was spent with my friend Haya over endless cups of Turkish coffees. I’m blessed to have you as a friend my dear and if you are reading this know that I’m thinking of you. May god protect you and your little family

The memorable and perhaps the best moment of laughter was on the Movie night when instead of serving desserts to the guest they began moping the broken glass and spilled soft drinks off the floor (post). I’m hoping they had fun too! Thank you girls for turning a tragic moment into a memorable laughter one :*

When friends gather and chat, they laugh. When friends gather for a picnic in a small garden in Shaab area and are attacked by a bloody bat descending lower and lower on their spread, you hide beneath anything that would protect you but your friends will laugh at you and you will look back and laugh again and again. That’s me above, hiding from the bat -yes, bats live in Kuwait-.

There are more days left in 2012 and I’m wishing on more laughter moments like the ones I’ve described. The moment when you laugh so hard, you forget who you are, where you are, whatever that saddens and bothers you, and its only you and the tickling tingling sensation in your stomach and the sheer happiness of that moment. Laughter is delicious, infections, and free! Take it from me, if you are feeling down there is nothing like laughter to change your mood. Find a way to laugh, a book, a TV show, a song, an old picture, a crazy friend, even a stray cat will make you laugh. Laugh away my friends for life is only two days long and laughter is remedy to the torn soul.

To everyone who made me laugh this year, much obliged my friend! I wish you all a happy laughter filled 2012, 2013, and beyond.

P.S. I’ve scheduled this post to be published at 12/12/2012 at 12:12 P.M.

A Picnic in the Gorgeous Weather

Its not everyday in Kuwait that you wake up to a perfectly cool weather so my friends and I decided to take our spread and go have a picnic in the park. The one we chose is next to Fatima Mosque, a famous monumnet in Al-Dhahiya area overlooking a lovely park.

We lit up a small fire to warm us up and for to make Chai Faham.

A picnic in the cold weather means hot drinks! We had, tea, Arabian coffee, and Chai Karak -or Spice Chai Latte-.

We had quite a spread that day! I brought along a basket of mini sandwiches and decided that this basket is to be designated the picnic’s basket from now on.

When night had fallen and the weather became too windy with a bit of dust, we decided to call it a day and go home. I arrived home relaxed, and a bit sleepy from the lovely breeze and fresh air I got in the picnic.

I know a lot of people who would think its too demeaning to go have a spread in a public park but if with the right company, great food, and gorgeous weather its an experience you should’nt miss let alone dismiss as a social faux pas. Enjoy life’s simplest pleasures, let go and be happy

Thank you girls for the lovely picnic, I can’t wait for us to have another one soon