Couve Chips and Zucchini Pasta Sauce

Those who know me know that I am most at peace, and therefore, most creative when I'm in the kitchen cooking; I'm always looking for healthier and interesting ways to cook vegetables and would like to share a couple of my recent discoveries on this blog entry. 

During my time at the University of Miami one of my closest friends, an Italian girl, one day made me the most exquisite zucchini pasta sauce that I had ever tasted.   This weekend with a very oversized, organic zucchini I recreated the dish a little healthier than the original but equally delicious.  

The original dish requires you to wash and peel the zucchini and shallow fry the cut medallions in hot olive oil.  I don't like frying things, it makes a huge mess and you use a lot oil, which doesn't come cheap in Brazil, so I decided to roast the medallions in the oven with just a drizzle of olive oil over the top, also, I didn't bother to peel the zucchini as it was organic and felt that the skin could only add a nice flavour.  So as to minimise the washing up, I also roasted 5 unpeeled garlic cloves and some chopped up onion in the same roasting pan.  For flavour I threw in some bay leaves and sea salt on top of the zucchini and left it all to roast in a hot oven.  

Once everything was roasted I put the zucchini, onions, and peeled garlic cloves in the blender and blitzed it into a pale green creamy sauce.  I added a little white wine as liquid to help the blender get going..... result delicious.  

I think the best use of this creamy sauce is fill up oversized pasta shells

Another healthy snack that I made this weekend was a variation on kale chips.   I'm not sure if you can get kale in Brazil, so I opted to use couve instead and it worked out great!!

The most important element to this great, healthy beer snack is a very hot oven and very dry couve leaves.  Wash, dry well and cut out the stems of the couve, tear the leaves up into a roasting dish and drizzle olive oil and sprinkle sea salt on top, pop in the oven and wait to they get nice a crispy. They don't take long so don't leave them.  Take out of the oven eat with a cold beer, chips with out the guilt!! 

Sole Food Recipes - Sweet Potato Salad and Sweet Potato Home Fries

Sweet Potato is a great, healthy alternative to regular potatoes and is as versatile as regular potatoes. it can be found easily in most supermarkets and street markets in Sao Paulo.  There are two common types of sweet potato red and white and either or both together can be used in these simple healthy recipes.

Sweet Potato Salad 

In order to keep the recipe as healthy as possible I have substituted mayonnaise for  natural, whole fat yoghurt, which is a great way to include probiotic into your diet.  Personally, I always prefer to use full fat rather than skimmed or semi skimmed and just use less.  You can also use cottage cheese which is low in fat, but can be expensive to buy in Sao Paulo.  However, I have noticed you can get it from the supermarket "Dia" quite cheaply. 

The flavours that I like to use with sweet potato are cinnamon, paprika, lemon juice and fresh coriander.  Sweet potatoes lend themselves nicely to warm spices with a little kick of heat, seasoned correctly you can avoid salt altogether yet another health benefit.  

Ingredients for the salad:

4 large sweet potatoes, red or white or both mixed together 
1 small pot of natural, whole fat yoghurt or cottage cheese 
handful of fresh coriander 
4-5 spring onions 
1 lime or lemon, whichever is available 
1 fresh red or green chilli 
Paprika 
Cinnamon 
Freshly ground Sea Salt 
Freshly Ground Black Pepper 

Peel, wash and chop the sweet potatoes into cubes of roughly the same size and add them to a large pan of boiling water.  Once cooked through drain and leave to cool.  This can be done in advance to allow cooling time. 
Empty the yoghurt or cottage cheese into a mixing bowl and squeeze the juice of the lemon or lime to it, add a little salt and pepper for taste.  For extra health benefits you could also add a pinch of turmeric to the yoghurt or cottage cheese.  Turmeric is an anti-inflammatory spice and can help people who suffer with skin disorders, like psoriasis and arthritic problems.  Unless you eat a lot of Indian cuisine it can be difficult to include into your diet, so mixing it with yoghurt for dressings is great way to get it into your diet and besides it will make the yoghurt turn a lovely pale yellow colour.  Here you can also add a teaspoon of cinnamon and teaspoon of paprika into the yoghurt mix 
Wash and chop up the fresh coriander, spring onions and wash and deseed the chilli.

Once the potatoes have cooled down mix them together with the yoghurt dressing, fresh coriander, spring onions and chilli, chill in the fridge for 10-20 mins serve as a great healthy side dish. 

Sweet Potato Home Fries 

This is an excellent recipe to go with dips and is a much healthier option than buying fatty potato chips that are full of saturated fats and salt, plus it is cheaper and takes no time at all to make.  

Pre heat your oven to about 180 degrees to get it nice and hot, while that is heating up peel and wash your sweet potatoes.  Chop the sweet potatoes down the middle, on the long side, then down the middle again on the long side, so they look like big cut chips.  Depending on how big the potatoes are you may have to chop them one more time, just make sure they are all roughly the same size.  

Take a roasting pan and put a small circle of sunflower oil in the centre throw in the sweet potatoes and mix them into the oil, making sure they are all nicely coated.  Now dust a teaspoon of paprika and cinnamon over the potatoes mixing again with your hands to make sure they all have a nice even coating. Shake the roasting pan and pop into the oven allowing them about forty minutes to cook.  if you have a gas oven you may need to turn them so they cook evenly.  

Once soft in the middle with a crunchy outer layer put onto a serving dish with some kitchen paper to absorb any excess fat and serve with either a homemade tomato salsa, guacamole or mint yoghurt dip delicious and healthy with no SALT !!!!

I will put my dip recipes up soon.

http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/20-health-benefits-of-turmeric.html
http://www.undergroundhealth.com/harvard-low-fat-milk
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=64
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=79753

Vocabulary Review, Phrasal Verbs and Idiomatic Expressions

Daunting - "When something is daunting you really don't look forward to it, as it will probably cause you stress"
Word collocations:  daunting task 

Umpteen - "a lot" 
Word collocations:  umpteen things to do 

Landline - "house telephone"
Word collocations:  Landline services 

Saga - "a long story" 
Word Collocations:  Family Saga 

Dab hand at something:  "to be good at something" 
Word Collocation:  Dab hand at cooking 

Jot Something Down:  "take a note of something" 
Word Collocation:  Jot down my number 

To play something out:  "is when something is being acted out"

Cut to the Chase:  "get to the point" 

Get on with something and Get down to business:  "to do something" 

To be put off:  "to be dissuaded or feel like you don't want to do something"

Out of the blue: "When something happens suddenly"

Get your points across:  "make your point clear" 

How to make a complaint in English

Living or visiting other countries is usually a fun, pleasant experience; however, there are times when we are faced with problems that require us to complain about poor services, or mistakes, a task that can quite often be stressful and daunting when you have to do it in a second language.  

I live in a foreign country, Brazil, which for the most part is great until you need to deal with the telecommunication companies, possibly the most incompetent companies in the world. My recent dealings with them have resulted in many hours on the phone; umpteen case numbers or protocol numbers, which are never required a second time; various visits to stores; various visits to my house, by technicians and at present I am still without a landline service.  This whole saga has been played out in Portuguese my second language and has, quite honestly, contributed to the stress of the situation and inspired me to write this blog entry on "How to deal with Complaining in English", so let's cut to the chase and get on with it. 

The first and most stressful point you have to face when complaining on the phone is actually understanding the person at the other end of the line, I have found it helpful to tell them that I am not a native speaker and therefore I will need them to speak slowly. Sometimes this results in them talking to you like you have a learning or hearing disability, but hey if it helps make things clearer I am in favour.   Highlighting the fact that English is not your first language will benefit the situation in two ways, first if you make a mistake the person will know why and second you put the pressure back on them to explain things clearly and simply to you.  

Second, be ready to give all your personal information to them, such as full name, ID numbers, reference numbers, address etc.  This is a golden opportunity to practice all those language skills you learned in English 101 when the teacher would constantly ask you questions like:  What is your name? What is your surname? What is your date of birth? What is your address etc?...... at this point you can take advantage of practising your English without the expense of paying a school or a teacher.    Also there will be plenty of opportunities to practice taking down numbers, as case numbers and reference numbers are usually assigned to each complaint.  In my own experience I have become a dab hand at jotting down protocol numbers.  

Once all the formalities have been dealt with it is time to get down to business and tell them what the problem is.  Depending on how complex the situation is it maybe useful to have some notes of specific vocabulary for the situation, that way you don't stumble too much and lose track of your points.  Don't be put off by interruptions, or out of the blue questions, keep calm and make sure you get the most important points across.  

Finally, you will want your problem to be resolved as calmly and stress free as possible. Maintaining composure and not becoming too stressed out will be highly beneficial to your language learning, as getting stressed out can greatly jeopardise clarity and accuracy.  

BLOG IS BACK

After a long period of absence the blog is back with a view to post at least once month interesting 

How to guides
Best Practices and Tips
Vocabulary Reviews
Idioms, Phrasal Verbs and Slang
News Updates
Question forums   

All this to assist with your language learning!!!

So let's get started with our first post of the month...........

Stop and Check

I have decided to dedicate this blog entry to common errors that i frequently hear being made by Brazilian's.  These errors are common and stem from the fact that most people translates phrases from Portuguese to English word for word.  This is a bad habit and you should quit it before the mistakes get to fixed in your mind.  

Take some time to read my top 10 list.

I think yes, wrong. Try, I think so, which is the correct way to translate eu acho que sim. 

Look to me, wrong. Try, Look at me, which is the correct way to translate olha pra mim.

What more, wrong.  Try, What else, which is the correct way to translate que mais. 

Never more, wrong.  Try, Never again, which is the correct way to translate nunca mais. 

I like that music, by Franz Ferdinand, wrong.  Try, I like that song, by Franz Ferdinand, which is the correct way to translate eu gosto daquela musica do Franz Ferdinand.

Let me catch my things from my desk, wrong.  Try let me get my things from desk, which is the correct translation of pegar minhas coisas. 

It is very depressive, wrong.  Try,  it is very depressing or I am very depressed.  

Strong rain, wrong.  Try, heavy rain, which is the correct translation of chuva forte.

It is 7 and a half, wrong.  Try half past seven of seven thirty, which is the correct translation of sete meia. 

The same of, wrong.  Try, the same as, which is the correct way to translate o mesmo de. 

I would also like to explain the expressions by myself and on my own.  This question appears on my level test and it is surprising how few people get it right, so just to clarify it is either:

on my own 
or by myself 
and never by my own 

Please feel free to make comments on any others that i have missed out

Thank you for reading 

Vocabulary Related to the Video

Buying an authentic Chanel bag can be a mind field -there are so many fakes or replicas, so we might not know what to look for when buying expensive luxury bags 

Lamb's leather, leather from a baby sheep, rather than calf's leather leather from a baby cow.  The lamb's leather has a buttery softness and is delicate meaning it is as soft as butter compared to the calf's leather which is durable and hardwearing. 

Turnstile lock and hardware - The recognisable two Cs.  On an original Chanel bag the right C is always over the left C. The C is wide and long with flat edge finish.  The markings mean the country of origin, if there is a marking it was made in France if not it was made in Italy. The plate behind the lock should have flat head screws.

Stitching - high stich count, 10 stitches per 1 inch.  This is very costly as the needles go through a lot of wear and tear.  The replicar is puffy and too padded signs of low stich count 

Lining - often overlooked - The original lies flat, fits snuggly.  The fake is baggy and loose 

Stamping - Sits 1 and half centimeters below the quilted C with the other stamp, made in france,  mirroring it on the opposite side.  The gaps between the double C should all be of equal distance.

Chain/Leather Straps - gilded with 24 carat gold, heavy in weight

Shape of Bags - Replicar version the corners are rounded a sign it has not been turned out properly.  The original the corners are squared.

Quilting - Always maintain a consistant diamond pattern even when closed.  Some replicar versions have loose threads, or marks of glue 

Serial Stickers - First introduced in 1984.  6 diget code 1984 -1986, 7 diget codes 1986-2004, 8 diget codes 2005-to present day.  These are found in the bottom left hand corner 
Customers sometimes get hung up on (over worried) serial stickers and authenticity cards , but they shouldn't because these are the easiest things to copy and styles from the mid 80s were literally just stickers, so could have rubbed off.

Authenticity cards - Don't have hologram sheen and the consistency of a credit card.  The grey symbol was introduced after 2005 

How to spot a fake 2.55 chanel bag

Chanel and the Diamond

https://vimeo.com/57853073

This video is beautifully told with many wonderful adverbs to make the story more intriguing.  Let's take a closer look at some of the vocabulary?

Curiously - strange or unusual 
Serendipitously - occurring or discovered by chance in a happy or beneficial way 
Resolutely - admirably purposeful, determined, and unwavering
Poetically - like poetry 
Symbolically - involving the use of symbols or symbolism
Audaciously - showing a willingness to take surprisingly bold risks
Furiously - extremely angry

Other eloquent language used in the video include? 

Ephemeral - transitory, transient, fleeting, passing, short-lived, momentary, brief, short; temporary, impermanent, short-term; fly-by-night.
Legendary - remarkable enough to be famous; very well known:
Fluidity - flowing freely 
Sparkle - shiny, glittering like a star
Lightness -  the noun of the adjective light 
Timeless - always in style, never out of fashion, classic 
Exaggeration - overstatement, overemphasis, magnification, amplification, aggrandisement; dramatisation  elaboration, embellishment, embroidery, hyperbole, overkill, gilding the lil

Making Mistakes

Many foreign language learners fear making mistakes when speaking either to native speakers, or, perhaps even more so, infront of their colleagues and peers.  

A lot of my students have requested  that they want to be able to speak English without making any mistakes and at the same time sound fluent without too many pauses for thought.  It is not an impossible task, but requires a balance between accuracy and fluency in which sometimes fluency prevails which can lead into mistakes.  

My first piece of advice is to pay attention to what you are saying.  Quite often the mistakes I hear are basic and have already been taught. Second don't let the fear of making a mistake stop you trying.  This perhaps is worst thing you can do to hinder your development with the language, because if you don't try to speak you won't be able to speak.  Third if you hear your own mistakes correct yourself, out loud, immediately.  Why?  Because you will train your brain into using the correct word or expression rather than repeating the mistake.  This reprogramming can take some time, so be patient, but keep correcting yourself.  Finally, put your mistakes into perspective, if you have still managed to express yourself and make your point you have communicated, which really is the whole point of languages.   

How can you achieve this balance between accuracy and fluency?  It depends on your level if you make a lot of mistakes and are not aware of them maybe you still need to learn the grammar.  If you know you are making mistakes stop, correct yourself and make a note somewhere.   Pay attention when the teacher corrects you, remember the classroom is a safe place where you can comfortably make mistakes and be corrected without fear of embarrassment.