RECIPE - Pizza - the best ever!

Pizza is my very favourite comfort food, I have tried every type of pizza in Trinidad and I must say that my homemade pizza is the best! You must try it and taste the difference fresh ingredients make.

 

Recipe makes 2 large pizzas.

 

I use Bobby Flay's pizza dough recipe:-

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/pizza-dough-recipe.html

 

I tweaked it to my liking.

 

Combine: 

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup wheat
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 envelope instant dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dry Italian seasoning

Knead and drizzle 2 teaspoons of olive oil on dough ball. Cover and leave to raise for 1 hour. Separate into two balls and leave to raise for 10 minutes.

 

Ingredients:

• 6 fresh mushrooms sliced
• 3 tomato chunks
• 1 can pineapple chunks
• 1 package mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 lb regular cheese
• 1 bottle Bertolli pasta sauce

Roll out dough and heavily paste Bertolli pasta sauce. Sprinkle regular cheese, put toppings on and sprinkle mozzarella cheese to cover top. Bake for 20 minutes or 30 minutes for crispier dough.

 

 

 

This tastes just as good as it looks, you will not want to buy pizza again! Trust me!

 

 

 

Review - TTSPCA - Animals Need Love Too

Yes it is true, animals do need love too, maybe even more than we do and that is exactly what the Trinidad and Tobago Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (TTSPCA) does. Hats off to them for taking in these abandoned cats and dogs and taking care of them with such love and affection. The TTSPCA is a Non- Profit and Non-Government funded organization with a true passion for caring for abandoned animals and helping them to get adopted into a good home.

 

 

The TTSPCA has started a volunteer program where anyone older than 13 years can volunteer their time and services to help make the lives of these animals better. All volunteers must first undergo an orientation held on the fourth Saturday of every month. TTSPCA is giving our children an opportunity to not only give love but to also receive love from these animals. They are giving our kids a chance to learn the value of volunteering and how it can change lives and that every life is important whether it be human or animal. Through TTSPCA, we can imbed in the minds of our kids values like compassion and kindness. We need to teach them how to give back to society starting with animals. Volunteering not only benefits the animals but it also benefits those who volunteer.

 

The TTSPCA encourages us to adopt instead of buying animals since they have some extremely amazing dogs and cats that cater to whatever you are looking for in an animal. They have dogs that are very friendly and playful and perfect for kids, even  very cute puppies that can grow up with your children and bond with them. Pets are the ideal way to teach kids responsibility from a young age. They even have bigger breed dogs for security purposes, but these animals are so gentle you need not  be intimidated by their size.

 

 took my kids to visit the (TTSPCA) in Mucurapo and they absolutely loved it! They enjoyed visiting the dogs and cats and my four year old was very disappointed when she found out she couldn't volunteer but she intends to when she is older. She was extremely touched  by these animals and has already asked to visit again. I am very sure that your kids will be impacted in this way as well.

As parents, we need to know what is best for our kids and allow them the ability to be the best that they can be, not only in academics but as human beings as well. They are the future, and imagine how beautiful our future will be if we can instil in them these good values, teaching them to love instead of hate, to help instead of judge, to give instead of take and to be grateful instead of complain. We need to encourage the good light inside of them to grow brighter each day and their goodness will become contagious engulfing everyone they contact.

Review - MovieTowne's Green Park POS

I just love the Green Park at Movie Towne Port-of-Spain. It is such a beautiful place to just relax in such greenery and the perfect place for kids to play and ride bikes. Many people bring their kids to enjoy this green space as it gives them an opportunity for their kids to play outdoors instead of the regular cinema and mall outings. There is a really breath taking man made stream decorated with all types of greenery. I really love it and my kids do too.

I must commend Movie Towne for upgrading the Green park to now include three amusement park rides. These rides are kid friendly and perfect for the area, bringing more fun and excitement to the area. My kids love the Carousel, it is huge and very old fashioned. I really love that. They have also newly opened their children's Ferris Wheel and Rocket rides which are most enjoyable. The rides are well supervised and very safe for kids. Of course, smaller kids must be accompanied by an adult.

 

There is even a canteen in the Green Park selling drinks, snacks and pop corn which is incredibly convenient. Now, patrons do not have to walk over to Movie Towne for drinks and snacks.

 

Thank you Movie Towne for this gift to the west, we look forward to all the other amazing ideas and fun things you have planned for us.

Recipe - My Famous Lasagne

I finally found the time to write down my famous lasagne recipe, with photos I might add. I say it is famous because everyone who has ever eaten it has fallen in love with it, although it is a vegetarian lasagne. This dish is my specialty. I usually make it for Christmas Eve, however, I have found ways to make it healthier and packed with good stuff so I can make it all year round.

I use one container of fresh mushrooms. I cook my mushrooms first, with a little olive oil and lots of fresh basil until slightly brown.

If you can't find fresh basil, use dried basil or the Bertolli Tomato & Basil pasta sauce for the flavour.

 

 

Then I add the chopped carrots, onions and sweet peppers. I chop them chunky but you can chop them finer if you like. When they have softened, add the spinach and broccoli bits. Remember the vegetables will also cook in the oven, so don't over cook them on the stove.

 

 

 

 

You can put the lasagne strips to boil while the vegetables are cooking to save time. Don't over boil them, if they are too soft they will fall apart. I usually take out the strips one by one and line them around a bowl. This prevents them from sticking together.

 

Grate both cheeses, and begin layering the pie. I use the Bertolli brand pasta sauce because the quality is great. It tastes like restaurant sauce and tastes fresh unlike the other brands like Hunts and Prego.

 

Put some sauce in the dish and spread evenly, then layer with the strips. Spread some more sauce on the strip then layer the vegetables and cheese, then strips again. Continue until you finish with a thick spread of sauce and cheese. You can put less cheese if you wish to make it healthier.

Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, it should look like this when finished:

 

To make this dish even healthier, eat a smaller portion with salad and vegetables.

 

For my recipe, I use lots of good stuff like:
 
1   container of Fresh Mushrooms - PriceSmart
3   Carrots
3   Sweet Peppers
1   head of Broccoli
2   small Onions
3   cups chopped Spinach
2   handfuls fresh Basil
2   bottles Bertolli Pasta Sauce -PriceSmart
1   package of Mozarella Cheese
1   lb regular cheese
2   packs lasagne strips (Ronzoni brand)

This recipe is for 2 packs of lasagne strips.

You can also use pre-washed American spinach instead of the local. Also, you can use baigan instead of mushrooms if you don't like mushrooms or are allergic.

 

ENJOY





Independence Weekend Events

First let me start off by wishing everyone a Happy 52nd Independence. This year's Independence celebrations are grand and there are so many family oriented activities and events that everyone is invited to be a part of.

Independence weekend kicks off at the Divali Nagar site where The National Council for Indian Culture (NCIC) will be hosting their 3rd Annual Rainbow Dance Festival on Saturday 30th of August 2014. This event promises to be a beautiful night of dance as every cultural group in Trinidad will be represented. Their flyer is posted below for further reference.

 

 Independence Day starts off with a bang in San Fernando with their Dragon Boat Regatta at 9:00am on The Waterfront (King's Warf). This will be a sight to behold and the event I am most excited to attend.

 

 

It's an all day affair in San Fernando after the Dragon Boat Regatta. It will be a day of fun and entertainment for the whole family as the City of San Fernando hosts a Cultural Show, live Steel Bands Orchestra and Tassa. San Fernando's Independence Day will culminate with a Grand Fireworks Show on the San Fernando Hill at 8:30pm.

 



 

 If you live in Central and don't feel like traversing down to San Fernando to join in their all day festivities, Central has events planned for you too.

 

The perfect lunch solution is in store for you at the Chinmaya Ashram of Mc Bean as they invite you to part take in their International Food Fair with over 108 Dishes on sale from 12 to 6pm. This will indeed be a delicious event and one I will be sure not to miss!

 

 

After filling up your tummies, head on over to the 3rd Annual Fishing Tournament hosted by the Felicity Charlieville Fishing Association for some fishing fun! Be there to witness the teams as they bring in their catch for judging. See the youngest male and female fisher folk and cheer them on. Be sure to be a part of the fun and excitement.



 

 

There sure are many very exciting events this Independence weekend, a good opportunity for the kids to have some fun and experience some of Trinidad's culture before they head back out to school.

 

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE!!

 

 

New perspectives of RAKSHA BANDHAN

Raksha Bandhan is a celebration of brotherly love and protection. The Brahma Kumaris Raja Yoga Centre of Trinidad and Tobago, in collaboration with the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Cultural Co-operation (MGICC) hosted grand festivities celebrating the chaste bond of love between brothers and sisters. The audience was entertained with song and dance by students of the MGICC and serenaded by the nectarine voice of Mrs Meena Ramsaran. Sister Kuldeep of Hyderabad, India flew in to be a part of the celebrations and to share her positive energies and wisdom in the form of a story, teaching that God sends help to us in all forms; we just need to recognize it.

Raksha Bandhan sets aside a day where brothers and sisters can seek out each other and rekindle their love for one another forgiving any differences or misdeeds. As humans, we all make mistakes and as some may say, we are entitled to make mistakes, as that is how we learn. Raksha Bandhan gives siblings an opportunity to bury unresolved issues and find a way to rebuild their relationship and live peacefully together. It is an occasion that brings fractured families together to show our younger generations how they should live. It reminds brothers of their responsibility towards their sisters to protect them from harm and keep their honour intact.

 

Swamiji shared his wisdom and his unique connotation of Raksha Bandhan. He explained that the significance of tying a Rakhi for protection can be extended to all of nature and as we ask nature for its protection, we too must protect nature. If we can develop this way of thinking, then we can enjoy nature in its purest for a much longer period of time. Then we would not allow big money making companies to obliterate our environment and make it increasingly toxic for our future generations.

 

 

Raksha Bandhan has since evolved to also signify a promise in which the strong must protect the weak. India’s history has proven that the symbolism of the Rakhi has resulted in political ties between many kingdoms. Many Rajput and Maratha queens have sent Rakhis to Mughal kings who were primarily muslims. Despite their differences, they offered protection to their Rakhi sisters at critical moments and honoured their bond. This proves that Raksha Bandan is not only celebrated by Hindus, but all religions can participate in this celebration. This bond between brothers and sisters transcends religion and family and I believe that if youths of all walks of life were to honour this tradition then men today would respect women more. Young men would see young women as their sisters and treat them respectfully instead of being immoral with them. A society that condones such mentality and promotes the bonding of youths and children on this level will definitely witness more love and less violence, specifically, less sex crimes, and men will be more encouraged to protect their female counterparts rather than take advantage of them.

 

 

 

Pure love is the underlying lesson to be learned from this age old tradition of Raksha Bandhan. Love between brothers and sisters, love for nature, love and respect between kingdoms, love across religions and between youths everywhere. When every individual can live peacefully as brothers and sisters, then every member of the community can commit to protect each other and society as a whole.

Modern Music Not Fit For Youths

Youth today are bombarded by music and movies that are dangerous for their minds. Mainstream music teaches youths that it is accepted to dress scantily, abuse alcohol, party all night, wield guns and disrespect women. Is this what we want our kids to grow up learning? Do we want this lifestyle to become the norm in society? If we take a look at what is going on around us, we can testify that the effects of modern music and movies have slowly crept into our community and made its way into our homes.

 

Although music is freedom of speech, why can't lyrics be more positive and encouraging to young minds? Why can't positive images be portrayed for our girls to pattern from? Do we want our girls to think that they need to be skinny, almost naked and carry themselves without pride or respect in order to fit in? Do we want our young men to grow up thinking it is accepted to disrespect women and idolize women for their body and not their minds? It is my view that if an artist needs to use sex appeal to sell records, then he is not an artist at all but a money maker who will use any device to make money. 

As parents and leaders in society, we need to take a stand to protect our defenceless kids from these evils which we have allowed into our homes. We need to monitor what our kids listen to and what they watch, we need to build strong bonds with them and build confidence in them so that they do not give into this type of brainwashing but can think for themselves. The music of today encourages peer pressure as it suggests that girls and boys are supposed to look and behave a certain way. The damage in society didn’t just happen; it’s what we exposed them to. As a mom of two girls, I have boycotted this type of music and films and I propose you do the same as well if we are to change society and undo the damage done to our kids. We must expose them to only what is appropriate for their age.

However, I am not discouraged. Although there are many negative songs out there, we are also given much hope from many of our nation’s young and very talented singers who sing to make a difference, not just to entertain and sell records. Their example should be followed by the adult singers who pride themselves on singing about negative and degrading things. Once such admirable young man, Vinesh Ramnarine, son of Raymond Ramnarine of the Dil-E-Nadan, speaks against bullying in his song, I AM A STAR. His song encourages victims of bullying to be strong as their struggle will soon be over. This eight year old strives to portray to bullies that it is not cool to take advantage of others. It is very brave and compassionate of him to want to make a difference. We need more kids like this and more parents like his. I do need to applaud his parents for raising such a fine young man, by I am sure exposing him to positivity and teaching him to respect others. Vinesh is just one example of how good only begets good and why we need to plant more good seeds in the minds of our kids in order to reap more good in society.