Madhavi's Cilantro Rice Recipe

Ingredients:
2 Cups Basmathi rice
1 bunch of Coriander (stems and leaves)
4 or 5 greenc hilies
Fresh grated Coconut
Salt to taste
Thalimpu samanulu (a mix of black mustard seeds, dried red chili peppers, followed by a fry of urad dhal and cumin seeds, and finally curry leaves - this is also know as Tarka in the north I believe)
1/2 cup of cashews or mixed nuts
1 lime

Directions: Cook the rice and let it cool. Meanwhile grind together Coriander,Chilies, Salt and Coconut with a little water. In a pan pour 4 tablespoons of oil and after it is heated add all the thalimpu samanulu to it.Then addthe ground paste and fry it till it becomes dry (Podi podi gaavaali which means it should look like a powder). Now mix this with the rice and finally add some lime juice.

Armin's Persian Lentil Soup

I had this Persian Lentil Soup at one of my best friend's cousin's home. She is an amazing cook. I am not sure the recipe is specific enough to make it as good as she does though.

Here is the recipe for something so tasty that you will be smiling:
1/2 cup parsley (dried I think)
1/2 cup basil (dried I think)
3/4 cup ground walnuts (roast a little if you like)
chicken broth
rice
persian lentils brown
red chilli powder
turmeric powder
onion

It's soup so just cook the onion and spices first. Rinse lentils for a while and then just dump everything in and cook it down.

Hard Liquor Secrets from an Eccentric Bar Guy

So, I met this really interesting older guy at Nectar a couple of months ago. He really new his spirits. He was big and had a personality that just projected across the room. We ended up talking at the bar for a while. His knowledge of liquor was impressive. This are some of the secrets shared:

Cascade Gin - Made from real juniper berries from Washington or Oregon. This is probably some of the best Gin you can find. It beats all the commercially popular brands.

Crater Lake Vodka - Another Northwest spirit with a kick

Gosling’s Black Seal Bermuda rum- A very special Rum.

I really would like to try the Gin and the Rum. They both sound like a nice change from the norm.



Adding to this post:
Recently I had a great grain vodka at my friend's wedding.
Also on a camping trip we had some Buffalo Trace Bourbon and it was amazingly smooth.