Proud to be a Pakistani

“Pakistan is facing such an identity crisis right now, that it is essential for our generation to understand why this country was built, what happened in its early years and what happened to derail it from its tracks to make it the country it is today?” says a vehement Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, President Citizens Archive of Pakistan.  She is committed to “preserve, record, archive and make available

Smartphone Safety

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With the proliferation of smartphones these days, it is really important that we are really careful with how we use them. Especially the photo feature and our children, or even ourselves. There are far too many sickos out there in the world. I was sent this video by a friend of mine that I wanted to share with you all, especially my wonderful friends with such beautiful children whom I care

Historically Correct, Literary Riveting

“To write a novel or a short story is not as difficult as writing about cultural heritage. I have to create within the given limitations of this genre. The facts have to be correct and presented well and yet, I still have to tell a story,” says Ihsan H. Nadiem, author and poet. Keen to procure a place in literature for his distinctive brand of creativity, Nadiem reminisces at his career in

Thursday's Recipe Swap Meet ~ Baked Chicken Breast

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OK... we know you have all these recipes that you love to make. You got them from your mother, your grandmother, a magazine, or maybe you made it up, perhaps you don't even remember where the recipe came from. Well, how about sharing them with all of us? We are going to share ours with you every Thursday!




My good friend and (according to her husband) excellent cook, Dolly over at

Monday Mingle ~ April 25th Music and Easter!

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“Mingling with you since August 2009!”


"Welcome to Monday Mingle! Each week three questions are asked, and you can answer via a written post, or a vlog post. If you have always wanted to try vlogging, Monday Mingle vlog meme is a fun way to try vlogging. If you’d like to join in the fun, answer the 3 weekly questions in short vlog on your blog, or a written blog post, then link up over on

Happy Anniversary to Me

“Birthdays don't really matter much anymore ... for me, I sort of have a new birthday and that's October 2nd, the day I was diagnosed, ... the day we all sort of look to and mark these milestones by one year, two year, five year, 10 year. Hopefully, I have a 50 year.” Lance Armstrong

One year ago today, I was diagnosed with carcinoid cancer; the following day, I started this blog. Recently, somebody commented that perhaps Channeling Jackie-O had lost focus, "I mean - is it a cancer blog? a travel blog? a food blog?" I guess the answer is - it's all of those things, because although cancer has become a big part of my life, it has not consumed my entire identity.

One of the toughest things about this past year has been trying to lead a "normal" life - in between doctor appointments... my blog is a record of both the cancer, and life beyond the cancer. So here is to another year of colonoscopies and Sloan Kettering appointments, teaching and grading essays, traveling with friends and eating great food... here is to another year of celebrating life - one day at a time.

Atlantic City Spring Break Kick-Off

Last Thursday was the first day of my spring break, and Gary and I celebrated by going to Atlantic City for some pampering. After checking into our room at Harrah's Resort, we went to White House for Italian subs.

White House Sub Shop, AC

White House subs are legendary, and the real deal. In fact, Frank Sinatra loved the subs so much - he once had them shipped from NJ to a movie location. But for "all its stardust, the White House remains a humble naugahyde-and-neon sandwich shop with a row of booths along the wall and a counter up front. The lighting is harsh, the napkins are paper, and the service is lightning fast: it would be a sin to sell subs any other way." (from roadfood.com)

Now some of you may be scratching your head, saying "I thought Gary was a vegetarian. What is he doing with that giant meat filled sub?" Well, you're right - he is a vegetarian...with rules. He will in fact eat meat if it falls into one of three exceptions: 1) if we are traveling to an exotic location, 2) if he knows the farm where the animal was raised and slaughtered, or 3) if it is a dish that a famous restaurant is known for. White House Italian subs fall into exception #3.

After White House, we wandered around the AC outlets, and I picked up an 8$ t-shirt at H&M. Next, it was over to the Tropicana for some tasty treats at Cuba Libre Restaurant and Rum Bar.

Cuba Libre

We started out with cocktails: a watermelon mojito for me and a pineapple mojito for Gary, while snacking on some Tostones (twice fried green plantains with garlic mojo dipping sauce). Then, we indulged in the siren song of the coffee world - cafe cuba libre, which is dark Cuban coffee made with steamed coconut milk.

After we finished our coffee (and practically licked our mugs) we headed over to the Borgata because we wanted to try N.O.W. Noodle Bar. I don't gamble, but we had some time to kill so Gary taught me how to play the one-armed bandits - and I had a good time trying my luck at an "Airplane" themed slot machine ... I even scored a couple bonus rounds.


Even though it was 11:30 pm by the time we got over to the noodle bar, we still had a 45 min wait for a very disappointing, bland dinner of well... you guessed it... noodles. (And I LOVE noodles, so for me not to like a noodle bar - it has to be pretty terrible.)

Then it was back to Harrah's for some sleep before our "couples massage" at Elizabeth Arden's Red Door Spa. Luckily, our spa appointment wasn't until 9 am, so we had enough time to sleep off our noodle haze.

After our blissful massages, we checked out of Harrah's and headed to the Chelsea Hotel for possibly the best thing to ever come out of an oven: sweet monkey bread.

Monkey Bread at Teplitzky's in the Chelsea Hotel

Let me explain the genius of this monkey bread. First, the bread itself is a loaf of warm, twisty knobs of delicate pastry, layered with butter and cinnamon. If that wasn't enough to knock your socks off, there are two dipping sauces to dunk your bread in: homemade strawberry jam and a rich cream anglaise. I should also mention that the monkey bread was followed by perfectly cooked eggs, fresh squeezed juice, and a pot of strong coffee ... but that monkey bread made us go ... well, bananas! (too easy of a pun?)

What a great 48-hours with the guy of my dreams.

Hudson Valley Restaurant Weekend

iphone picture of Hudson Valley: March 19, 2011

Hudson Valley Restaurant Week
March 14 - 27 2011
Three courses, lunch $20 + dinner $28

Now that it's spring break, I can catch up on some blogging. A few weeks ago, Gary and I celebrated his birthday by spending a weekend in the Hudson Valley, and taking advantage of their restaurant week.

Day 1

Blue Hill at Stone Barns

The restaurant that Gary had his heart set on for his birthday dinner, Blue Hill, was unfortunately not participating in the Hudson Valley Restaurant Week - but the meal was so good that it was worth every outrageous penny.



The grounds are rustically beautiful, and the inside of the restaurant is designed to look like a modern, airy barn - complete with iron beams and white linens.



Blue Hill only has two dinner options: either a five-course tasting menu for $108, or an eight-course tasting menu for $148 (both menus provide the same amount of food - the eight courses are just smaller portions).

What perhaps is the most unique thing about the menu is that other than the number of courses, diners have no choices at all. The chef constructs the menu every night depending on what is fresh from the farm that day; and with each course, the servers explain the "local" ingredients. For example, before an amazing poached egg in pesto course, our server showed us this "nest" of eggs and explained how many egg-laying hens were on the grounds, and how the eggs were gathered that morning for our meal. Now that is fresh!



Gary and I both chose the eight course tasting menu, and with each delicacy, we ascended higher and higher into culinary heaven. One of our favorite small bites were these "beet burgers" - mini burgers made with beets and goat cheese on a micro-bun (pictured below).


After we left Blue Hill, with goofy smiles on our faces - trying to recall every epicurean detail of our wonderful meal, we headed over to our B&B: the Kittle House Inn.

Kittle House Inn

11 Kittle Road, Chappaqua, NY 10514

After getting our room keys from the "hotel reception" area (which doubles as the restaurant hostess station) we climbed a set of wooden stairs to a clean, comfortable room -- above the restaurant's kitchen. Surprisingly, it wasn't too noisy, and we were able to get a good night's sleep for the second day of our adventure.

Day 2

Luckily for our bank accounts - our culinary adventures on day 2 revolved around restaurants actually participating in Restaurant Week.

We started the day with lunch at Union Restaurant and Bar Latino, which was not only festively decorated, but featured beautifully prepared traditional Latin dishes with a modern flare. Another wonderful layer to our lunching experience at Union Restaurant was the "local" wine and beer offerings, meant to compliment the prix fixe menu.

Union Restaurant Lunch Prix Fixe ($20)

Gary's Menu
Guacamole Tomatillo Salsa (chimol, hard egg, and smoked paprika tortilla chips)
Pan Roasted Hake Habichuela (zucchini, white beans ragout, and kale sauteed in citrus)
Conklin-Farm Apple Fritters (vanilla ice cream and Phillip & John honey NYC)
Mother's Milk Keegan Ale, Kingston NY

My Menu
BBQ Pork Quesadilla (jack cheese, cucumber, and cabbage coleslaw)
Pan Roasted Hake Habichuela (zucchini, white beans ragout, and kale sauteed in citrus)
Coconut Arroz Brlee (coconut rice pudding and caramel crust)
Millbrook Chardonnay, Hudson Valley, NY 2008

CIA

After lunch, we drove over to the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) to stroll their grounds and pick up a "class list" for Gary. The campus itself was lovely, and inspiring.

We even got to see the pastry class's "final projects" - themed cakes.... I really loved the detail on this one (especially the cute, muddy pig)


Valley at the Garrison - Dinner Prix Fixe ($28)

After we left the CIA, we were ready for our final meal of the weekend, dinner at Valley at the Garrison.

Gary's Menu
Garrison Farms Leek Veloute (speck, potato)
Wild Hive Grits (local egg, winter vegetables, black olive, caper berries)
Warm Brownie Pudding (coffee crunch ice cream, roasted almonds)

My Menu
Tuna Crudo (honey, chives, grapefruit)
Wild Hive Grits (local egg, winter vegetables, black olive, caper berries)
"Chunky Monkey" Bites (chocolate chip doughnuts, coconut cream glaze) - pictured below



The best part of the dinner at Valley was the creamy grits, which were served in a black iron skillet, with a perfectly poached farm egg nestled on top, and soft chunks of vegetable nestled underneath. The appetizers were clunky and had very single-note flavors; in particular, the thick chunks of tuna were just "ok", and lacked any real sweetness or acidity that the honey and grapefruit promised to provide. The deserts were also a bit disappointing. For example, although the doughnuts looked pretty, they were dry, despite sitting on top of a thin layer of cream. However, for the price and beautiful atmosphere - the grits alone were were worth it.

Trip Links:

Hudson Valley Restaurant Week

Friday March 18, 2011
Gary's Birthday Dinner: Blue Hill at Stone Barns
Bed and Breakfast: Crabtree's Kittle House Inn

Saturday March 19, 2011
Lunch: Union Restaurant and Bar Latino (participating restaurant)
Day Trip: American Culinary Institute of America (CIA)
Dinner: Valley at the Garrison (participating restaurant)

Wordless Wednesday: What Mommy? We're Trying to Sleep!

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Welcome to Wordless Wednesday.... You know that I have a billion photos of my fur-babies, so here is one of Lady Mia and Mai-Li, whom we lovingly refer to as "Sister Wives" because they both have children from the same male Yorkie (who unfortunately passed away last year).




For more Wordless Wednesday posts, check out the WW Hub, leave your link, check out the other participants, and

A Bitter Experiment

A Bitter ExperimentOBJECT:To attend a boring class.REQUIRED:Hot/cold weather, class room, strict teacher, pin drop silence, a boring topic (420 9211 1.C)THEORY:A boring class is one in which you have to listen patiently to a topic which cannot be understood. Extra talking, activities such as hooting, singing, talking or other past times are not possible.PROCEDURE:There are few procedures one can

Flag Ceremony at Cape May Point, NJ to Honor Veterans

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I saw this and was truly moved by it and wanted to share it with you.... Marvin Hume has been conducting a flag ceremony to honor all who served our country for 38 years, now THAT is a commitment to support our troops.






What can YOU do to support our troops?  God bless Mr. Hume and God bless America!

Monday's Music Moves Me: Freebie Week!

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Welcome to Monday's Music Moves Me the fantabulistic music meme hosted by me, Dolly from XmasDolly, Larry from Cakeblast and Callie from Jamerican Spice and this week is a

In the Memory Of Moin Akhter

Undoubtedly, Moin Akhtar was a comic genius. He had comedy lovers across Pakistan and beyond guffawing at his natural wit long before Pakistani entertainment became what it is today - glamorous, glossy, heavily-financed and yet often mundane. Moin began his foray into Pakistani comedy back when all we had was theatre and the one TV channel. But for

ROYAL WEDDING

Kate ‘will not obey’: Bride will follow Diana’s lead and ditch ancient vow as she pledges to ‘love, comfort, honour and keep’Kate Middleton will not vow to 'obey' Prince William in her wedding vows - following Princess Diana's lead, it was claimed last night.The bride-to-be will instead promise to 'love, comfort, honour and keep' her husband.The couple have

The curious case of the dry hops

I found myself racking a red seal clone I brewed a few weeks back into secondary this afternoon. And it occurred to me that I need to hit up the secondary fermentation with some dry hops. Dry hopping is a pretty simple process, just add hops to the secondary ferementer after racking. People talk about dry hopping like its some sort of an art form, but it is a simple procedure used to hit the wort with one last blast of fresh hop goodness. If done right it will add hop aroma with a very fresh quality. If done wrong it can introduce harsh grassy and vegetal notes to the finished product.

Brynildson (of Firestone-Walker) says that three to four days of dry hopping is optimal. Cilurzo (of Russian River) believes the appropriate time to be 7 to 14 days. Regardless, keep your dry hopping to less than 2 weeks and you will be good to go.

How do you hop?

-Holz

WHAT PILOTS SEE WHEN LANDING AT OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE

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This is just south of us on Hwy 75 south. A farmer named Chris Shotton does it with his tractor and not sure if he uses a plow or a disc. He uses GPS to get the letters readable. He has done this every fall for several years now.

Here's the view from the flight pattern into OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE (Bellevue, NE., just south of Omaha). This is what our servicemen see when landing at Offutt AFB.

Friday Food Fight: Homemade Mocha Coffee

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Denise @ RunDMT

To join the weekly Friday Food Fight, post a picture of your favorite food, meal, snack or drink. Of course, you enjoying your tasty treat would be great, but you don’t need to be in the picture. Then on Friday, post your drool inducing photo and link up with Denise at RunDMT. That’s it!!



This is a new treat I have discovered. I love having mocha coffee, but I refuse to

Friday Photo Flashback ~ All Dressed Up

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Alicia from More Than Words says she started Friday Photo Flashback because "I have so many pictures from my PRE-digital camera days. I thought it would be fun to scan them and share them here with you.. I'm having so much fun doing this, that I would love for you to join me, too! So dig out the photo albums and put your scanner to good use! Don't forget to link up so we can all visit and

Truth is stranger than fiction??

I find the weirdest things to be thought provoking..While returning home yesterday I read this phrase on the rear shield of a car, and I've been thinking about it ever since..Never mind what exact words made up that phrase,'cause living in Karachi Ive learned alot of people don't even give a damn about what grammar or posture are they composing their statements upon *rolls eyes*..In simple

Perfect Daily Health Routine...for a more cheerful n happy energetic life

What else could be better than to write about health...all the points mentioned here are known merely by all of us but we just refuse to follow and blame it on other petty things(in front of health we can consider everything petty i guess!!!)but from this moment please promise yourself to put in more efforts to make it work..because our families want us healthy and our children want us forever in

Thursday's Recipe Swap Meet ~ Tortellini with Bacon

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OK... we know you have all these recipes that you love to make. You got them from your mother, your grandmother, a magazine, or maybe you made it up, perhaps you don't even remember where the recipe came from. Well, how about sharing them with all of us? We are going to share ours with you every Thursday!


My good friend and (according to her husband) excellent cook, Dolly over at XmasDolly

Wordless Wednesday: Happy 5th Birthday Lady Mia!!

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Welcome to Wordless Wednesday.... Today is our Lady Mia's 5th birthday so I decided to post the many faces of our beautiful baby.









Lady Mia and her baby Nano Bytes




Our little Princess ~ Lady Mia
Happy birthday Lady Mia, we love you very much and are so happy that you came into our life a year and a half ago.  You are the sweetest little baby (and totally spoiled by Daddy)

Shahid Khan Afridi

In My Neighborhood Tuesday April 19: Wildlife

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I'm joining my friend Jennifer over at Eighty MPH Mom called In My Neighborhood Tuesday – a fun photo meme where you spend some quality time with your family and friends and discover average things in a new light, get creative and try and get outdoors on occasion. There will be an assignment/prompt for each week, and hopefully you will have some time to take a walk and show us what you found

Monday Mingle ~ April 18th: Coupons and Taxes, WooHoo!

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“Mingling with you since August 2009!”


"Welcome to Monday Mingle! Each week three questions are asked, and you can answer via a written post, or a vlog post. If you have always wanted to try vlogging, Monday Mingle vlog meme is a fun way to try vlogging. If you’d like to join in the fun, answer the 3 weekly questions in short vlog on your blog, or a written blog post, then link up over on

Anantasana

Anantasana Wallpaper

page	anantasana posizione di ananta
anantasana	anantasana lrg
yoga Anantasana	Anantasana
natalie morales anantasana	Anantasana Yoga Pose BKS Iyengar
lrg Anantasana	Anantasana
anantasana	mpuech Anantasana
anantasana inner img	Anantasana Side Reclining Leg Lift Pose
Anantasana x

Bhujangasana

Bhujangasana Wallpaper

bhujangasana cobra pose	aof bhujangasana
jp urdhva	SOS Bhujangasana
cobra bhujangasana	Tiryak bhujangasana
HP MAR Bhujangasana	bhujangasana
Bhujangasana	bhujangasana
cobra bhujangasana Tw

Simhasana

Simhasana Wallpaper

yoga pose roaring lion simhasana	Simhasana
simhasana	simhasana lion pose
simhasana	simhasana
simhasana	simhasanaI
lion	simhasanaIIch
Simhasana I BKS	Simhasana II BKS
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simhasana	simhasana