Danderma's Blog, page 95

When Do You Stop Blogging?

Disclaimer: I’m just asking, nothing is ending yet. Cancel your celebration plans o 3n elshmata :p

 

Over my four madry five years of blogging, I’ve asked myself this question over and over again, ever since the start.

Pre- 2008 it started with the question “Should I even blog?” before starting the blog.
During 2008, it with the first few posts, “Should I continue to blog? Is there anyone reading out there? Do I care if anyone was reading?”
Come 2009, the second year, my question became “Am I a dot of ink on the newspaper of blogsphere? How do I measure up to other bloggers? Will I ever be someone?”
In 2010, the third year, I had some blogging friends, I was on twitter and facebook, and my question became “Will anyone remember my blogs existence if I disappeared?”
By 2011, my blog was a little more famous than before, my worrisome nagging question was “Can I keep the status quo, or at least improve? if so, until when?”
Now, 2012, years and years later, my most nagging question is “What more have I got to give? Maybe I’ve given it all there is to give? Should I just quit and move on with my life? Should I stay and try to do my thing? What’s the point?”

 

Those years of blogging have given me so much, great friends, social relatioships, insights into things I’ve never dreamt of knowing, new experiences, a brand new lease for life. But it had also given me enemeies, heartache, tears, ulcers, anxiety, and deep profound sadness. Especially when you realize that people on the blogsphere are basically the same people surrounding you in real life, only masked by a nickname partially hiding their identites. Bullies who go out of their way to make sure they break your spirits, thieves and copycats who have no shame stealing your content and parading it as their own, people who make sure to exclude you because they can and they will, others that can see injustice with their own eyes, and allow it to happen just because its beneficial to their gain. Quitting because of them is as good as quitting on life itself, after all, every one who didn’t hide in in his cave throughout history have been subjected to similar occurances, its human race’s nature. If life give you lemons, you don’t commit suicide, you make lemonade out of them, and make it extra sweet too.

 

But…

 

I believe you quit when you can no longer deliver. When your posts are as boring as a lecture in physics, when your pictures pathetic and looks like they’ve been taken with a polaroid from the 80′s, when your ideas are as stale as cigarrete smoke, when your template is as old as a moth eaten tapestry hung in a run down restaurant, when you see that you cannot turn things around and move out of the rut you have, when the dashboard of yours is as empty as a haunted house, void of joy and laughter. Maybe then, its time to bid the crowds adieu and take your last bow, wave good buy while someone still knew your name.

 

Am I tired? Hell, yes. Will my quitting make others happy? I can give you a couple of names that would whoop in joy and distribute noon, I hope there aren’t more. Have I reached the end of the road? Given this all my might? I don’t know. If I knew, I wouldn’t be writing this post. What I know for sure is that the day I decide to quit, I’m going to hang my boots quietly and simply stop publishing new posts, a clean cut and no turning back.

 

Fellow bloggers who still blog, why are you still doing it, when will you stop?

 

Fellow bloggers who did quit, if  you still read out blogs, what made you realize its time to go?

Sell your Instagram Pictures in Your Online Virtual Gallery

I read on Kuwaitiful’s blog today that there is a website that enables you to open your own online gallery of your Instagram photos and help sell them as art pieces! So I went ahead and checked it out.

I love my cameras, both the Canon and iPhone 4S’s. I have taken endless pictures with them, some on this blog, some on my flickr page, and of course on instagram that’s taken the entire world by storm. But I also love printing out pictures and hanging them on the wall for the world to see (post) or stuffing them in albums to browse using the old trusted thumb, old school style.

Now, everyone with an instagram account has a chance to open up a virtual gallery showcasing his instagram pictures and they can be sold! All you have to do is sign up and wait for the gallery to open. The more people “ask” for the gallery to open, the sooner it would.

I don’t suppose people in Kuwait, or the middle east, would be interested in purchasing any “instagram” pictures but wouldn’t it be cool if someone abroad does purchase a picture of yours and hangs it on their living room wall as art? Why not? It could happen!

Any ways you can request my Instagram Gallery Opening by visiting my URL instacanv.as/danderma . You can also create your own gallery by visiting Insta Canvases website (link).

Project X is Launched…

Remember my post about the Bloggers Cooking competition, Project X (post)? The actual cooking competition is going to take place on June 8th, that’s in 11 days time btw. The teams are decided, the dates are set, and we had our first orientation last Saturday at Chef Boutique’s headquarters.

Apparently I was the only blogger who has never set foot in Chef Boutique before, I’ve never been invited with the other bloggers who have been there, cooked there, and knew Chefs Olga and Vector plus knew their way around the place. A big advantage for the teams competing against each other.

Chef Boutique is really well equipped for a cooking class, I wonder why I never took one there before? Probably because I cannot handle cooking life carcasses and am afraid I would have to.

After a quick round of Project X introductions and going over the competition and its rules by chef Victor, we were shown around the place, taught some safety measures, shown how to operate a gas over (gulp! I only do electric), and then told to put on our aprons and watch a demo by Chef Paul for the basic techniques of using knives and cutting vegetables.

Very good techniques indeed. Its like watching The Food Network but live! I don’t recall that I’ve ever seen a real life trained chef demonstrate in front of me before!

Here is Triple F, recording the techniques to go over them later on. Girl, any chance of switching back to you? You seem determined :p

Later on it was time to grab our veggies and head to our stations to practice Chef Paul’s techniques.

Here are my cut onion and garlic. Thank you thank you, they look perfect I know

And this is my partner, Pink Girl, ele betwadena eb dahya unless she spend some quality time in the kitchen with Soma their cook! She’s being a good girl here, peeling a carrot like a pro.

I cannot wait until the 9th of June for us to start the competition! There would be camera action and videos posted on blogs. I hope you my reader would be interested and would cheer me on.

Blogs participating, as far as my understanding goes, in teams are:

Danderma (me!) & Pink Girl, Jacquies & Swera, 3ateeja & Triple  F, Q8 Rain & Dudette, The guys from Chapter Q8, the Guys from Elderwaza. The sisters from Triples Sisters, His & Hers, Fried Junk & 7abatain blog. I know the Side Talk is participating but I don’t know her partner.

Thanks to Basma 13 Cups for pulling this together. A big thank you goes to Chef Paul, Victor, Olga, and Ahmad Al-Hendi as well. May the best team wins

Recipe: Mushroom & Provolone Cheese Fettucini

I was in TSC the other day searching for Teleggio cheese for a Jamie Oliver’s recipe. TSC told me that the only Italian cheeses they stocked were Parmesan, Grana Padano, and Provolone. I’ve never cooked with Provolone before so I took it. 

Then I decided not to cook Jamie Oliver’s recipe that needed Teleggio. So I was left with the Provolone sitting in my fridge. Then I thought to myself why not use it in a white sauce? Like a Fettucini Alfredo thing? So I did.

An authentic Fettucini Alfredo uses cream in the recipe. I don’t cook with cream. I make my over version of white sauce with only 10g of butter and low fat milk and it does pass as a white sauce. I’ve posted about it before here (post). I’ll use the old pictures again. Start by boiling the Fettucini in hot water. Meanwhile, melt a 10g knob of butter (the small packet) in a pan.

Then add one clove of crushed garlic.

Add the sliced mushrooms and cook well until the mushrooms are nice and brown and reduced in size.

When the mushrooms are all brown and watery add some salt and pepper, then add a tablespoon of flour and stir quickly, coating the mushrooms entirely.

Gradually add a cup of low fat milk to the mix, mixing well so no lumps of flour are present.

Add a dash of nutmeg. Not necessary but it does bring out the mushroom and white sauce flavors.

Then just as you are about to remove the sauce from the heat, mix in a good helping of grated Provolone cheese, make sure its melted, then mix in a tablespoon of chopped parsley. Yes, no oregano in this recipe. No, it won’t make the sauce taste better.

Pour the now boiled pasta on top of the sauce, mix well, place in a serving dish, and sprinkle with some more grated Provolone cheese. Voila, you have lunch!

Some green salad and crusty bread on the side would complete this dish.

If you are a cheese lover, like me, then you might want to keep the Provolone block nearby to grate a little bit on your own serving. Its just so, so good with the mushroom fettunici  

Much better than Parmesan? In my own humble opinion, yes. Parmesan is over used, you find it everywhere and some how makes all dished end up with the same flavor -so is oregano by the way-. Enough is enough, there are like one million cheese types out there! Provolone is tastier for sure and less sharp.

Shraykom ib my “So Called” recipe? Would you be making it anytime soon? 3sa ma ye3taw?

Recommended: Kérastase’s Chronologiste Caviar Treatment

It was about a year ago when I went to the salon to get some hair treatment, I was then shown a sleek black box of my favorite shampoo brand, Kérastase, and was told this is an excellent caviar treatment for the hair that does wonders, according to  Kérastase, they say its their “finest hair care treatment ever.”

I forgot about it, or rather, ignored it for the price tag isn’t really that low. But after I had removed my braces I’m going for a new and total makeover and after spending a long weekend day in the salon getting my hair done, I’ve decided why not?  Lets give it a try.

The box comes with four things: Cream, A pump filled with silver thingies swimming in sea water, a small marked mixing bowl, and a spatula.

All you have to do , after washing your hair and towel drying it, is to mix a certain amount of the cream with a few pumps of the pearly caviar like things, mix and apply to hair, wait a few minutes, then rinse out.

It is called the caviar treatment because those silver orbs swimming in sea water look like real caviar. Whether or not it does actually contain caviar in its combination is not that clear anywhere on the box. In Kuwait they call it Caviar Treatment though.

Did it work? Well, the mixing was a piece of cake, after I rinsed it out I immediately felt my hair strands become softer beneath my fingers, way softer, and styling it was smoother. I loved it! I wonder what took me so long to use it! 

Is it worth the price tag? Well to me, it is. Those strands on my scalp are a part of me and they deserve the best treatment I can give them. After all, the box will last around 10 applications and if you divide the price on 10 you will be left with less than 5 KD which is cheaper than having your hair treated in any salon. I believe the treatment of the caviar was at 20 KD per treatment in the salon that day.

You can find out more about the Chronologiste treatment and if its suitable for your hair type here (link). Highly recommended.

Review: The Butcher’s Den

Last week on our way to Izakaya in Al-Bida’a area we noticed that the Butcher’s Den was open, so we made a mental note to visit it the next time we were out for dinner.

My husband has been waiting for its opening and we had Bo Throos for the day so we asked him and he said he wanted to go :p

When we got in it was crowded and there were people waiting even though it was almost 10 PM. We waited and took our time gazing at the menu, we saw Dudette & 7aji from 7aji Dude dining there and they took Bo Throos for a little visit

Butcher’s Den is, obviously from the name, is a steakhouse. The interior design is awsome! I loved the chandeliers, the glass panels with the different cows painted on them, the cow wall papers, the lime green detailing which is my absolute favorite color ever!

As we got a table the first thing we had was those little tiny jars of condiments placed on the table. So cute!

Then the drinks. Nothing fancy just a diet coke and lemonade.

Next, all the food items came at once! Which was very annoying because 1- we told them repeatedly that we wanted the salad and burrata for appetizers and the rest of the stuff for main dish but they all came out at once and 2- there was no place on the table and 3- we didn’t know what to eat first before it got cold. Anyways moving on, the Goat’s cheese and Goji Berry salad. It was good but I didn’t feel the goat cheese at all, not even see one piece around, maybe it was in the dressing?

Baby potato chips. As good as you would expect.

The Burrata, this is the dish of the night, and it was prepared so beautifully!

Screaming fresh, it had yellow and red cherry tomatoes, olive tapanade, avocado slices, drizzled in some yummy green sauce and balsamic, and walnuts still in their shell on the side.

That dish was simply lip-smacking.

Bo Throos wanted to gnaw on these walnuts with his teeth. Thankfully they brought us over the walnut cracker thing.

Next, the macaroni and cheese. There are two macaroni and cheeses on the menu: one with goat cheese and one normal. I chose the normal one. Its not a boring classic old Mac & Cheese, it comes with mushroom slices -tasty- and cherry tomatoes. I’d order it without the cherry tomatoes next time their sour taste was overwhelming the flavors Mac & Cheese. But it was gone in seconds.

The meat order of the night was the mini burgers. My husband is not a fan of eating meat at night so no steaks for him. Two mini burgers on a wooden slab with a side of matchstick potatoes.

The burgers, according to my husband, came in brioche like bread and were succulent and very juicy. He actually muttered with a mouthful of burger at me “This is much better that burger hub’s burger!”. He kept talking about the burger the next day so I suppose its very yummy.

Those onion rings were cute and crunchy, I liked them! I must order onion rings the next time I’m there insha2 Allah.

Bothroos 6arat 3yonah 3la the matchstick potatoes.

For dessert we ordered the Raspberry chocolate cake with one double espresso. What we got was two double espressos immediately. We drank them slowly, then it was getting cold so we had to down them. Then we waited, and waited, and waited. In the end we cancelled the cake and asked for the check. It was 11 something and the restaurant was now empty.

The manager came and apologized to us, then brought us over the cake and said its on the house. I’m glad he did, the cake? 3awar galb!!! It has raspberry infused chocolate center with what I assume is hints of orange, maybe orange zest? I’d go back just to eat that little peace of heaven! My GOD!

It comes this little strawberry encased in cotton candy. My husband and Bo Throos shared it between them, didn’t give me a bite.

 The Butcher’s Den takeaway bag is actually a reusable shopping bag! Now you don’t have an excuse not to use this for your grocery shopping in the future to reduce the usage of plastic bags which in turn will help the environment.

Our check came to about 25 KD which is not bad for three people dining, but the bill can be quite expensive if you order steaks or the wagyu lasagna for example but that shouldn’t be too expensive in comparison to other similar restaurants in Kuwait.

We had a great time at The Butcher’s Den. The food is delicious but the service was a disaster. They didn’t bring us the cotton candy thing at the start of the meal like everyone else. They brought all the dishes at once -btw pizzetta staff do the same as well- and then the incident with the dessert. But we kept reminding ourselves its soft opening only and hopefully by the time they open full time most of these issues will be dealt with.

Worth a visit? Totally! Will we go again? You bet! I am not really a fan of steakhouses as I don’t really find much to eat as a Vegetarian but The Butcher’s Den case is different, I still want to try half their menu!  I would wait until they open full time though so they can provide a better service and we can go for lunch since my husband cannot eat steak at night.

Butcher’s Den is located in Al-Bida’a restaurant strip next to Java Detour cafe. For more information you can visit their facebook page (link) or follow them on Twitter (@ButchersDen) or instagram (@ButchersDen).

Bo Throos’s Day with Danderma…

Bo Throos is a very cute cuddly toy that’s been making a lot of fuss on instagram lately. His mama, alnoury, lets him spend each day with a different person, and last Friday was my day His visit started by Bothroos shyly arriving at our doorstep. It took a while to get my husband to coax him inside the house. He was very shy indeed, check the picture above. Y7leelah.

I have a lot of toys I treat as my babies, Tootee and No3man dolly for instance (post). I thought Bo Throos would feel right at home with them but, well, they were aggressive towards him maskeen

I had to scold them, they need to learn some manners! Anyways given that Bo Throos woke me up I took him through my Friday morning rituals, first breakfast.

He didn’t like my cereal with banana and low fat milk, he hates diets, so he ate toast and Kiri cheese instead.

Then it was prayers time. He got tangled up in my thoub, too giddy to be indoors.

After prayers I took him out to play in the garden.

He demanded to be picked up and thrown in the air, my husband did that for him. He was laughing so hard.

It was getting too hot, so we went back inside and he wanted to watch a DVD.

He chose some munchies, went gaga over my London chocolate stash.

He settled down with Bazaar magazine and the remote control in the end. Apparently my DVD collection wasn’t good enough for him 3eshtaw.

When it was finally time to start lunch, he came into my pantry and demanded he has a say in what I choose. So bossy!

As I assembled my ingredients and put some music on, he took a browse through my play list and chose his favorite song.

When I made fattosh, he took a long sniff, tasted a bit with his plastic pink spoon, and said he liked his mama’s fattosh more!

Come evening time and Bo Throos became all fidgity and whiny. Shfeek? He missed his mama’s Karak (tea with milk). So we made him some Chai karak with mini darabeel on his size

Bo Throos asked us about our plans for the evening, and my husband told him that he is going to a wedding so he began jumping up and down asking to go too. ‘OK, Bo Throos,’ my husband said, ‘get ready!’. First things first, Bukhoor…

Then he went to get dressed and have some perfume on. He was scared by the sight of my straightener :p

He found a mesba7, wanted to use it but ended up tangled up in it. He wasn’t a fan.

Anyways after a lot of prodding and huffing and puffing, finally keshakh. He wore ghetra o 3qal, chose Christian Dior’s leather oud as his favorite perfume, and he was ready to rock.

Here, on 2nd ring road aka Share3 el7obb “love street”, he got out of his chair and began dancing

He was really excited, only he was a bit naughty and as a result we forbid him from going to the wedding. He was heartbroken!

To make it up to him we took him out for dinner, his choice. He chose The Butcher’s Den. Insha2 Allah by mid-day today I will post about that visit -with Bo Throos-.

In the restaurant, I showed Bo Throos my retainers and he jumped a mile! He is not a fan of dentists.

Finally back home, he changed his clothes and borrowed a sleeping dishdasha from my husband.

This is the last picture we took of him that day. A group photo with all our babies who finally warmed up to him as he went to sleep, ashwa

Bye bye Bo Throos, you were sorely missed yesterday Thanks to mama Alnoury for sending you over to spend the entire Friday with us. We must do it again soon

You can follow Bo Throos’s adventures on Instagram using this link (@BoThroos). He spends each day with a different blogger or a friend. Next time you see him posing in Kuwait, don’t be surprised

Review: Izakaya Japanese Restaurant

Last week we were invited to a “Blogger’s Night” in Chef Ahmad Al-Bader’s chic Japanese-French-Kuwaiti fusion restaurant in Al-Bada’a. The name is Izakaya.

Izakaya resides on top of a high staircase that left me out of breath by the time I reached the door, god I’m out of shape. The word Izakaya is a Japanese word describing a kind of dining establishment that is like a pub in England, casual and relaxed for after work drinks and food.

Inside it was kinda relaxed, the music is perfect, open kitchen with roasting flames going up high every now and then. I loved the atmosphere.

As we sat down we were bombarded, literally bombarded, with dinner dishes. First we got this shrimp sesame chicken thing – chili mayonnaise, some cream, and ranch with sesame-, it was a big hit and the most eaten one.

Then came the salads, a Tuna Nicoise salad with what looked like boiled quail eggs tossed in.

A fresh cucumber salad. Please notice the dinnerware? Zoo’3a! Every serving dish was more beautiful than the next!

Spinach, basil, and raspberry salad. I loved the raspberry in the salad a lot. Its even better than strawberries.

A very fresh and different red and yellow cherry tomatoes salad with diced black olives.

Next, Sushi. This one had shrimp and avocado in it.

Shrimp sushi.

Lobster bites.

Seared tuna.

Edamame Ravioli, it was a very interesting dish.

The grilled wagyu tenderloin, which was brought sizziling and while its being served on the table they poured what I think is soya sauce on it, emitting a cloud of vapor to the table. Nice.

This dish, which I’ve called Cabamaro’s Qoraides Maqli, is shrimps breaded in crushed peanuts. My husband kept raving about this dish way until we were home and he fell a sleep. Yannana!

This is another shrimp dish. I didn’t get its name but I’ve heard two opinions regarding it: one it was smelly -zafer-, two it was really good.

Teensy wagyu wraps.

I don’t know what this dish is called, honey mushrooms chinna, but its basically a foil poach with fine angle hair noodles and mushrooms insides. Taste? Fancy Balalee6 with mushroom. It was good, it would have been my favorite dish if it was savory instead of sweet. If you are a fan of balalee6 -I’m not, at all- then you will love this dish.

Grilled jalapenos stuffed with spicy meat with a smear of ketchup on the side. They say its good.

Stuffed and grilled shrimps. They were popular too.

Tofu platter with tomato slices stuffed with pickles cucumber and . The tofu was a tad bland.

More and more dishes, we sometimes couldn’t even catch the name of the dish.

For dessert we were presented with ice cream. Five different flavors of ice cream. First the raspberry one which was very light and not too sweet. Very good!

Next came four different flavors: Chilli & Basil, Chocolate, Butterscotch, and Balsamic. I loved the balsamic A LOT, didn’t really think I would but I did. I think Chef Ahmad’s next culinary endeavor should be a funky gelateria.

Pancakes with nutmeg ice cream. It was lipsmacking! The nutmeg ice cream was really something.

This is what’s left of it, one bite only.

Very dangerous french toast bites, with raspberry compote and vanilla ice cream. They weren’t good, they were divine.

Before we left the restaurant manager bid us farewell with a plateful of mini wrapped chocolate truffles that simply melt in your mouth. Yum!

It was a great night. If you are a fan of Japanese food and you are looking for something new to try, you must give Izakaya a visit. Thank you Chef Ahmad Al-Bader and Ghalia Group for the kind invitation.

For more information regarding Izakaya you can check their facebook page (link), follow them on Twitter (@IZAKAYAkwt) or on instagram (IZAKAYAkwt).

Ne’emah Perfumes New Perfume

Last week as I was walking in the Avenues I saw a makeshift stand for one of my favorite  Kuwaiti perfume makers, Ne’emah perfumes.

The first thing I did when I saw them is to head over to them and ask them if they had my favorite marshoosh, kady? They said they didn’t but they do have new perfumes. The first one is Noir Oud.

Next they had a collection called “Soul” collection of five different smelling perfumes. Each one more refreshing than the next.

One notable one was with cardamom! Yes cardamom, pretty brave indeed. It smelled like Ramadan

My favorite was the oud smelling one, Soul V, I couldn’t let it go so of course it had to come home with me

Of course I couldn’t resist buying the best smelling one, even though I have a strict pact with myself against purchasing any more perfumes until I use up some of what I own. Alas, I couldn’t let it go.

I adore Ne’emah perfume. Its about time they start selling their perfumes in the Avenues. I keep going back for Kady but its always sold out For now I have Soul V to keep me company though.

For more regarding Ne’emah perfumes you can check their facebook page (link). They have a stand in the Avenues near Pinkberry Phase II and two stores, one in Burj Baitak and one in Abdullah Al-Salem Co-op.

Help: Data Recovery Service Urgently Needed in Kuwait

My favorite external hard drive, one that had taken many abuse from me over the past year, fell down yesterday. It was a tiny fall, nothing major, like 30 cm from the desk to the carpeted floor. But now it won’t work.

When I plugged into the PC it will whir, give out strange sounds, then the indicator light will stay on but it won’t show up on the computer. I tried it with different pc’s, over and over, but it still won’t work

The way I see it there are two causes: either the USB connectivity thing is busted up and just needs replacing, or the entire thing is a goner and I must extract the data using data recovery. O most likely its the first one given that it connects and shines its lights and everything.

But no one will look at it!

I’ve been calling different companies and repair men all morning long. Whenever I say “Hard desk fell and won’t work” they go “oh its ruined, sorry ma’am nothing we can do!” Bloody hell! Would someone please just check it! Open it in a workshop and then decide if it needs data extraction or not?

Then I asked around if anyone is doing “data recovery”… to go with the flow. No one would do it. Everyone is like “Send it to America!” ebkaifi oho? Only one little workshop in Fahaheel said they would do it, but it would take 20 days?! 20 days eshmalah? I highly suspect that they are going to send it to India or to the USA to extract the data, hence the duration, and that I would have to pay double when it can be only a fuse thing!

Eshda3wa? An entire country ma feha wa7ed I can trust to fix my external hard disk and then tell me truly they can extract my data? And I can trust they would extract my data in a reasonable timing, I can’t trust anyone with my data on the hard disk, they are important and confidential?

What do I have to do? Fly to Dubai? or wait till I’m back to the UK to make use of my geek squad subscribtion?

Looking for a new business… there you go… open up a data recovery center in Kuwait for apparently everything can be done except that.

Help please? This is urgent :’(