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Hello everyone! This week is brought to you by Freddy, and it's going to be short and sweet. No, really, this time it is. Do you want to be able to support the queer community and their civil rights? Good. The Human Rights Campaign has an app that can help you with that. You can search who your buying from and make informed decisions based on their ratings, because as we all know, money talks. Help support our community by making informed decisions on where and what you buy. <3 from Freddy    
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 Welcome to another week of Stuff We Like. Brought to you by Freddy, the letter V, and the number 8. Yes, this week is about my love for V8. I have liked it for a long time because it's something - as a person with food issues and allergies - that is good for me and helpful. Plus I think it tastes good. (What can I say? I appreciate tomatoey things.) My biggest problem was being able to have something to pack. The 12 ounce cans were too much. I could never finish one, and by the time I came back to it, the V8 was icky. That's why I love the smaller single serving sizes. Isn't it adorable? It's one tiny can, equal to one serving of vegetables. It's easy to pack for a lunch and not overwhelming to drink. It goes down much easier in fact.
So what can I say? I love my little can. Freddy here with today's Stuff We Like. This is going to be short & sweet, and I've been thinking since last week how to present it. The whole reason I even thought of choosing AIESEC for SWL this week is because an old college buddy, and fellow AIESECer is visiting with me this weekend. It's been forever since we saw each other but we've kept in contact over the years, much like a lot of members from -- as what we and other LCs lovingly called us -- the Indian LC.  AIESEC is one of the largest non-profit organizations in the world, and it's mostly run by students between the ages of 18 - 26. It offers work internships abroad to help create multicultural understanding and cooperation.
See, it was originally formed just after WWII between France and Germany as a way to heal after all the devastation and death. The youth of that time wanted a way to find common group and learn. They felt the best way to do that was to work together. It has grown to be so much more. I I loved my time as an AIESECer. I built life-long relationships during my time at my university LC. I was part of OCX (Outgoing Exchange), which meant it was my responsibility to help with resumes and find placements for students wanting to work abroad. ICX was filled with students going to businesses and getting them excited about bringing students abroad to grow and expand their enterprise and thinking. When I was part of AIESEC the hotbeds of placement were India and Turkey because of the growth taking place in both countries, but one of my friends got an internship with Heineken in Greece. We even had a World Wildlife Foundation internship in Peru that we worked hard to place. They were everywhere you could look, in 108 different countries. There are now 126 countries involved with 2,400 universities represented, and 70,000 students. That's a whole lot of like minds interested in divesity and understanding. I was attending an university that was honestly mostly white and male. My LC, however, was made up of most non-white students. It was filled with mainly middle eastern students (hence the Indian LC nickname), some black students, Asian and a few white people. We laughed and cried together. Played softball. Ran fundraisers. Took classes and commiserated over finals together. Had a hell of a lot of chicken BBQs, and even celebrated a birth of a baby between two AIESECers. When 9/11 happened, and a government agency came to question one of our friends because he flew home to Dubai twice a year, we came together and supported each other, taking part in Ramadan as a show of solidarity. Because an AIESECer - part of an organization that has produced world and business leaders, and a Nobel peace prize laureate - is all about creating understanding and acceptance, not hate and divisiveness. We worked hard, we played hard, and we loved each other. And if you're in college, check to see if there is and AIESEC LC on your campus. They may open up a whole new world for you. It will be an experience you never forget. HEY AIESEC!
Thousands, and I do mean thousands, of tourists and locals flock down to Mindil every week to enjoy the food & craft stalls and just the all round atmosphere. Fireworks are always a part of the fun on the first and last market for the year.
 Blankets and camp chairs are brought down and set up on the lawns or beach. Hell, I've even seen people with camp tables, tablecloths, glasses and vases with flowers in them. Darwin's equivalent to roughing it I'm sure. LOL There are roughly 60 food stalls covering just about every cuisine possible. It wouldn't be the Territory without a Roadkill cafe, then on the other side there's a stall called the lucky cow, a vegetarian stall that does an amazing deep fried camembert. Fresh fruit and smoothies are also in abundance. There are 130 craft stalls, from soap and moisturizers, to clothes and local artists drawings.
 Not only are there stalls and food galore to keep you entertained there's also live music, kids playing instruments or singing busking for money and then performers and artists putting on shows. They officially open at 5pm and run through to 10pm at night but if you head down there earlier most stalls will start trading well before 5pm My daughter counts down the weeks every year until the first market, she can't wait to head down and get her banana and honey smoothie.  Hi Everyone! Welcome to another week of Stuff We Like with me, Freddy. This week you're getting bombarded with one of my favorite pastimes. Baking bread, which really means sourdough starters. I know, I know. You guys probably think Angel and Toni wouldn't let me near a kitchen. If they had their way, they wouldn't. It's not exactly the safest place for me to be. I am not known for my kitchen prowess. At all. Ever. In fact, it's best if I just watch. (Who doesn't enjoy watching ;)) Anyway....  If you don't have someone who can give you some sourdough starter, you can order from King Arthur Flour. They're nice and helpful —you can also get the crock set, which is nice. People won't mistake your starter and throw it out. One of the things you learn to love — and desire — when you make your own bread is a nice sourdough starter. People have passed these down over decades. No joke. The taste and whatnot can change over time. The air, flour, all sorts of stuff (like time) effect the taste, therefore effecting the taste of your bread. The long fermentation process is something the modern, store bought breads have lost, and nothing can really make up for it. The old-fashioned way to make bread gives us what we need. If you're too poor for meat, and too poor for vegetables, bread is there — if you're making it yourself. It gives you the protein and energy you need. The gluten is different in sourdoughs made by the long fermentation process. And one thing that can help with making a good sourdough, is the sourdough starter.  King Arthur also has a nice, easy guideline up on their site for making a starter. This is what my starter looked like when I was just getting it going. It is water and flour. That's it. The air has yeast in it, and that yeast gets in the mixture when you're starting it. Bubbles are a good thing. That means the fermentation process is happening. Once your starter is healthy, the possibilities are endless. I store mine in a small crock pot. People can mistake it and throw it away if it doesn't scream—I am here on purpose! They *might* think it's something gone bad. It's not. It's just fermented flour and water. ;) Starters do need care. They can die, or go bad. But they're not something you have to slave over either. I use mine frequently enough that it sits out on the counter. Some people store theirs in the fridge — because of climate or because they don't use it as frequently. But the end result of having a starter is nice, crunchy sourdough bread that is yummy and is much better for you than the usual suspects.  |
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